15 day countdown...

Just 15 days until Mr. Caleb should be here. the dr. says that it might be sooner, and I am for that! Sorry I have been a bad blogger, haven't even replied to a tag from Terri about the holidays. Maybe I'll get that done after Christmas - ha! Just wanted to update a little. Have a very Merry Christmas!!!

Something to think about...

I got this e-mail today and thought it was really something worth reading...

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.
The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.
The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know,
Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.
A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.
"What are you doing?" I asked without fear,
"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"
For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts.
To the window that danced with a warm fire's light
Then he sighed and he said "Its really all right,
I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night."
"It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.
No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like my father’s before me.
My Gramps died at ' Pearl on a day in December,"
Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers."
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of ' Nam ',
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.
I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.
Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue... an American flag.
I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.
I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..
Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall."
"So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."
"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
"Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son."
Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
"Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us."

Thanks

Thanks to all of you who gave me ideas last Wednesday. What a blessing to have so many people check my blog within an hour to write comments on a busy Weds. night - That can't be coincidence! I really appreciate all of my blogging friends!!!

Dinner Drama...

I have no idea what to make for dinner!!! I haven't had any idea what to make for dinner in a couple of weeks but have so far managed to put together something pretty good - today may just be different. I thawed some chicken but I don't know what to do with it - does anyone else run out of ideas? I have a few dilemmas making today more difficult than other days. First, I am so not hungry! I haven't been hungry in several days - hormones I suppose. Another difficulty is that Micahel has virtually stopped eating meat. I don't know why, but hopefully it's just a phase. And, finally - it is Wednesday night and Chad gets home at 6:10 and we need to be out the door by 6:35. We used to eat after church, but poor Michael just can't wait that long. I've tried making a menu - that is not working, I guess I am a spur of the moment person after all. Oh for an endless supply of restaurant gift cards!! Hmmm...back to the Kraft website for more inspiration...

Such a small drama in the grand scheme of things...

I'm so glad it was a good hair day!!!

Yesterday Chad was off work for Veteran's Day. (thank goodness for postal holidays!) So, we decided to go on a big adventure to Opry Mills to do some Christmas Shopping. We parked near Macaroni Grill, and got to eat lunch there - yummy!! We stayed a couple of hours and when we made it back to the truck we decided to change Michael's diaper before heading off to the Gospel Advocate Bookstore. So, it is nice to drive a truck because you can just let the tailgate down and change your child's diaper on the tailgate - sorry they are on exhibition, but it sure is easier than trying to do it inside and cleaner than a public restroom! So, we are there changing his diaper and a bunch of men walk by and one says "Hey, now you know why you bought a truck!" (referring to the fact that we were changing Michael's diaper) So, we look up and chuckle and say "Yeah". And as the one who did the talking kept walking I looked at Chad and said "Do you know who that is?!?!" It was none other than Paul DiMeo from Extreme Makeover: Home Edition! So, we thought that was a super fun way to end our shopping trip - you never know who you will see in 'Nash-vegas' that's for sure. We are big fans of that show, so we knew who he was right off. Anyway, as we were leaving they were going in to Macaroni grill, we suppose they were going to eat, but they did have the whole film crew there, so who knows? That's a picture of him above, just in case you don't know who he is. Oh, and if you don't get to watch that show - check it out sometime - it is usually very heartwarming.

Mr. Messy

Michael is learning to feed himself more messy things with a spoon...this is one of those attempts, thought you might find it funny!

Musings...

So, here's another rambling post from me - I know I don't post very often, but I think of posts a lot and then decide they are too serious or just too silly to put on here. Then there are other times when I think of the few people who do stumble by and hope that I don't 'bother' anyone. Now, that's just silly! I guess this is my blog and I can write whatever I feel like writing, right? I guess I think about other people I know who have gotten rude commentary back on their blog writing and it makes me want to avoid that - not sure how I would take criticism or just general mean-ness right now.
You might notice that I have put a link to Mike Huckabee for President in my blog on the left side of the page. I am usually not too political, but I believe in this man. I lived in Arkansas during the time he was governor, and you would be amazed at the impact he had after having to follow such turkeys as Mr. Clinton and another governor you've never heard of Jim Guy Tucker who ended up in prison for his misdeeds. Gov. Huckabee came in and was an honest governor, which is more than I could say for a lot of politicians. He is a people person, he is just real. For those of you who are conservative Christians - so is he! I don't know if they keep old programs on the Glen Beck show that comes on in the evenings on Headline news, but if they do and you can see the one where he interviews Gov. Huckabee you'll see what I mean.
Pregnancy news - there's really not any new news to share, but we hit the 32 week mark today so only 8 more weeks to go. For all of you savvy shoppers out there, that means there are only 6 1/2 weeks or so until Christmas so you better get started! :-)
The past week or two I have been in a funk. I have yet to really give the funky feeling a title, though it would be something like the "I feel scared and inadequate even though I am trying to do my best, I worry too much about the future, I just want to feel at home somewhere maybe it's within myself that I feel small and confused" funk. That should pretty much cover it! Yikes!! This isn't one of those funks that overshadows everything else, thank goodness!!! But, it is still lurking in the back of my mind when I try to think about anything else these random thoughts come creeping in to make whatever nice thing I am trying to focus on less than it should be. The Devil plays mind games when he can't get his way in other areas, don't you think? Some people might call it pregnancy hormones, but I say that hormones allow you to see/say the things that normally you would be able to get a handle on and understand - what is there is real it just is more overwhelming with the whole hormonal factor thrown in. So...just rambling... 'This too shall pass' and 'For such a time as this' are phrases that help - you never know if what you are going through is going to help you have a good perspective on what someone else is going through after you, so that's a good way to look at the 'days of funk'. So... (how many times can you use the word So in a paragraph!?!) anyway...
Well, my pint-sized sweetie is waking up from a nap so I better run!

Halloween!

I was so busy looking at everyone else's pictures of Halloween that I neglected putting up pictures of Michael. (Sorry!!) He was quite a stinker...ha!

Tagged...

Here are the rules--
1) Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
2) People who are tagged need to write a post on their own blog (about their eight things) and post these rules.
3) At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
4) Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog

Ok -we'll see if I am with-it enough today to think of 8 things about myself...:-)

1. I teach at a home-school co-op every Friday and I really love it! I teach Biology and Creative Writing

2. I thought I would like Creative writing better, but it turns out I am really enjoying teaching biololgy

3. I have read all the Harry Potter books, but am thinking of getting rid of them - over the weekend the innocence of the books was ruined in my opinion.

4. I love Facebook! It is so fun to have little connections with so many people and see what they're up to.

5. I am glad to be a housewife. I wish I could figure out how to get more things done!

6. In about 10 weeks I am going to be even more seriously outnumbered by all the boys living in my house! :-)

7. My favorite color of lipstick is called "Surprise".

8. I could live on bread, fruit and cheddar cheese!

Whew- I almost got stuck on #6. I tag Ashley, Valerie, Terri, Carla, and Elaina. And anyone else who hasn't done this already...

Stuff...

It's been quiet in our house for about 30 minutes - the first real time since 5:30 or so this morning. I can use the quiet to gather my thoughts a little. Yesterday was a busy day and I must say I was in some sort of state of 'dazed and confused'. Do you ever get like that? I mean sometimes I just don't even think straight! Oh well - there are just those sort of days I guess!
Here are a few things I have been thinking about lately - in no particular order... (Thanks to Amy B. for her recent post just like this - I love knowing I am not the only one out there who just has a few things to say and needs a place to put them!)
1. I have been thinking about trying to do a weekly menu for our family meals. Does anybody do this or have a good suggestion for a place to start?
2. I love to try new recipes, the easy ones anyway. Especially if it is something that goes in the crockpot. I have been thinking about starting a second blog where we could all just write in our helpful hints for each other for making dinner, saving money, where to find good sales and coupons, new recipes that you invent, etc. What do you think?
3. Does anyone else read Prevention Magazine? I love that little book and usually read it cover to cover. No one will say that I am the healthiest person in the world, but I really do try to think and buy groceries in a healthy way. (too bad I really like to bake and could eat a whole pecan pie by myself in two days!!) Anyway - there are a lot of good things in that magazine and here are a couple I have been trying to keep on my mind while grocery shopping. One is try not to buy or make anything with Hydrogenated Fats (Basically some margarine and all kinds of Crisco). So, I have been doing really good on this, but do you know it is just difficult to find any convenience foods like snack cookies and breakfast bars for kiddos that don't have this bad stuff. I have found that the Gerber brands of toddler foods don't usually have that in them and the NutriGrain apple breakfast bars don't have it either. Probably the other flavors don't but I haven't checked them. There is also another word - I think I am spelling it right - Interesterified fats. This basically means the same thing as Hydrogenated, but they are using the big word so no one realizes what they are getting. The other thing I try not to buy is anything with MSG - my dad is mildly allergic to it and it's just not very good for you. But, it is hard to find some things without it - boxed stuffing (StoveTop turkey flavored is the only one without it that I have found), don't even try to buy hamburger helper or anything like that without it, and a lot of chips have more MSG than they even do salt. Gross! So, anyway - those are two of the things I have been trying to watch out for. I can only remember so many things at one time that I have to look for on the label. Maybe once I figure out which things I can easily buy without these two ingredients I can move on to trying to look for other things to avoid like High Fructose Corn Syrup...but that might mean I'd have to give up DrPepper and that would be too sad!!
4. I am making Michael's Halloween costume this year - I probably haven't used a sewing machine in 10 years! Yikes! I mean I know how, it's just been a while. He is going to be a Dr. so I am making him some scrubs. Good thing they will be able to do double duty by being PJ's after Halloween!
5. I got two pair of Carter's PJ's for Michael at Macy's on Saturday for $1.99 each!! I love to find bargains like that!!

Well, that's probably enough to bore you today- more ramblings to come...

Red Wagon

By request - here are a couple of shots of Michael in the wagon. It was pretty cute, and if I get any better pictures of him in the wagon I'll post them too.

Oh, and Valerie asked about how the pregnancy is coming along...we seem to be doing great. We have decided on a first name, Caleb, but no middle name yet. I guess we are almost 27 weeks along which seems to be awfully fast! Good thing pregnancies last 9 months, it gives me a little time to adjust to the idea of our little family being a foursome instead of a threesome.

The Ring Bearer

Ain't he the cutest ring bearer you've ever seen? Yesterday was Chad's sister's wedding - it turned out to be quite lovely! The only time I really started to cry was when Michael came down the aisle...visions of the future already! ha! But, he was sweet and did a great job. He rode in a little red wagon pulled by the other ring bearer who was 6 years old. Some serious cuteness!

Remake

A friend of mine put this remake of a song on her blog and I thought it was too good not to share for anyone else who might happen to read my blog...this is for all you mommies of boys...

Mama's Don't Let Your Cowboys Grow Up To Be Babies:
Original words and music by Ed and Patsy Bruce
New lyrics by Roy, Angela, and Robin English

Some men have always been babies
The spoiled irresponsible kind
Aimless and hell-bent on dodging commitment
Running away all the time
Little boys ain't easy to hold and they're harder to raise
They learn real early all the tricks for getting their way
But while he's still little, you better teach him
He can't win by makin' a fuss
Or he'll get good at groanin', gruntin', and moanin', poutin' and kickin' up dust
Mama's don't let your cowboys grow up to be babies
Cause someday when he's grown and out in the world
He'll look for his mama in every girl
Mama's don't let your cowboys grow up to be babies
Cause he'll always complain there's a woman to blame
'Specially, the ones that he loves
Real cowboys work hard and they tell the truth
They don't pitch a fit, quit, and walk out on you
If he looks good in the saddle, but he's all hat no cattle
Ladies, just let him ride on
Chances are, he's rotten cause nobody taught him
What it really means for a man to be strong
Mama's don't let your cowboys grow up to be babies
Cause someday when he's grown and out in the world
He'll look for his mama in every girl
Mama's don't let your cowboys grow up to be babies
Cause he'll always complain there's a woman to blame
'Specially, the one that he loves

Don't you love this weather?!

So, today we get a breath of fall weather - isn't it wonderful!?! I am a big fan of fall, I call it 'football weather'. But this cool down is a welcome thing, and also the rain that it brought this weekend.

Here's a good discussion question for you mommies out there - how long do you leave out a sippy cup with milk in it? Michael can only drink so much at a time, so if I left it out the milk would no longer be cold. I saw some sippy cups online that were made by thermos that say they keep the milk cold for up to 16 hours, but they cost $13 each and the reviews on them were not so great. So, I am not sure what to do about that.

Tomorrow, 9-12-07, is the first annual National Day of Encouragement. The website is http://www.letsencourage.com/. It is sponsored by Harding's Institute for Church and Family. The story of how it came about is neat, you can find that on the website. The whole idea is that as a nation we need to spend more time encouraging one another - President Bush even sent a letter to the director of the day saying he thought it was a good idea. (that is also on the website) So, do something to encourage someone tomorrow - send a card, make a call, smile at a stranger...

Hope you have had a good day!

Request...

Back again - everything is going well at our house. Nothing too exciting happening. Next week I start teaching at the homeschool co-op which I am looking forward to, but other than that things are quiet around here.

On the other hand, things have been wild and crazy for my brother and sister-in-law and their family. They have started their job as house parents at Westview Boys Home and have jumped right in to being crazy busy. I am asking a favor for them today actually. They are blessed to have a lot of support for the home they work with, which includes people sending lots of groceries that need to be used. Because of that, they have been given huge amounts of canned tuna and canned salmon. Not an easy thing for those of us who aren't so sure about fish! So, does anyone have any good recipes for tuna or salmon? Especially ones that might mask the taste a little bit? I know they would greatly appreciate anything you might suggest!

Thanks and have a great day!

Big News

We had our Ultrasound today and everything looks great according to the doctors. We also found out that Michael will be having...A Brother!!! So we are looking forward to January 4th, although the dr. said today that we are measuring about 6 days ahead of schedule so maybe our new little one will be a few days early. We'll have to let you know on the name because we only had a girl name picked out - boy names are harder! So, if anyone wants to use the name we chose - try out Millie Katherine Rose - we thought it was pretty, and you're welcome to it - Well, maybe not until after January, just in case the ultrasound was wrong... :-)

Tagged...

Ashley tagged me so here goes...

First Memory - Getting in the kitchen cabinet to find the cereal early in the morning before my mom got up - we still lived in CA so I guess I must have been 2 or 3

First Love - There have been so many crushes in my life...Chad is the best one!!

First Concert - Elton John and Billy Joel in Little Rock, AR

First thought in the morning - Boo Hoo and Whaaa!

First question you'll ask in heaven - Hmm....not sure

First thought when hearing "vacation" - PLEASE!!!!

First Best Friend - Kelsey Groves

Last food you ate - PB&J

Last CD purchased - Veggie Tales Songs for the Road

Last good book you read - Harry Potter 7

Last time you cried - Ummm...a couple of Sundays ago - I went in the closet so no one would see me-ha!

Last time I said "I love you" - This morning when Chad left for work.

Last funny thing you did - Michael thought it was funny when we played tug-of-war with his sippy cup when he ate lunch.

Last T.V. show watched - Barney goes to the Beach

I will tag some out of towners- Rachel and Erin

I'm Back

Well, I am obviously one of the worst 'blogger slackers' there are! But, I have some good reasons, I promise!

In the four months, as most of you know, Chad has been working 6 days a week. That is finally coming to an end! He will be getting Saturdays off again starting a couple of weeks so I am mighty thankful for that! So, that has made things a little more hectic.

My sweet helpful mom just left after being here 2 1/2 weeks helping us do some remodeling. She did such a great job with wall-papering and painting! Dad was here for 5 days and he and Chad built a new desk for the computer that is built in to the corner of the family room. It is so nice and big, lots of room to spread out whatever you are working on. Now we only have 2 rooms left and we will have re-done every room in the house. Whew! What a job!!

And, since I last posted, Michael turned 1! We had a nice family birthday party for him a week before his birthday, and on his birthday we took him to Pepper's (his favorite restaurant) and they sang to him and brought him ice cream. It was pretty cute! Our big boy also decided that he would get some more teeth. He has only had two for the last 3 months, but now he has 5 total with another 5 you can tell are about to break through - goodness! Poor little fella, no wonder he is a little grouchy! The picture above is us on his birthday.

Ummm...not much else going on I guess. We are now 17 weeks along in our pregnancy, and our first ultrasound is Aug. 8. Hopefully we will be able to post and tell you if we will be buying all pink or keeping with the blue theme.

First Haircut

Before...



During...

After! Ain't he cute?!?

Michael and his cousin Joshua went together last Saturday morning to get their first haircuts. They look like little boys now instead of babies - such sweet faces!!!

Say a little prayer for Michael - he is sick again with a high fever. Bless his heart, he just can't seem to stay well. We know for sure that it isn't ear infections this time so that is a great thing!

Update

Well, it has been quite a while since I last updated the blog. Things have been hectic around here. All three of us have been sick - and I mean in the bed sort of sick. No fun at all! My brother and Rachel and the kids were here for several days and we didn't even get to do anything fun - maybe next time they are here! Michael also had tubes put in his ears on May 30. It wasn't too bad of an experience - at least it is a very short surgery. Since he started feeling a little better last week he has slept through the night 3 times - hooray! While he was sick we were getting up 4-5 times a night and that wasn't any fun for anyone. Two Sundays ago I called my parents in Houston at 6:45 in the morning to see if mom could come up and help out for a few days. How fabulous to have parents that will drop what they are doing to take care of you!!! So, mom was here last week and helped us all get better. We are a much friendlier bunch now. ha! This morning I went to the doctor and got to hear the baby's heart beat for the first time, it is so nice to feel like he/she is doing alright. Poor Chad has been working 6 days a week for the past 12 weeks - maybe longer, we can't remember. The week of July 4 he will have a vacation, so we are excited about that. Maybe he will be able to get some rest. We just found out today that my brother has an interview at Alvaton church of Christ for their Associate Minister position on June 24. We are so excited that they got the interview, and may be able to move closer to us if it all works out. That would be so nice!! I think it would be great for all of the family to live pretty close together, it's just no fun being so spread out. Ummm...I can't think of anything else interesting...sorry this is such a jumble, I'm trying to hurry because I ought to be doing laundry! Here is a picture of Michael in the process of his new trick - pulling up on his music table.

1+1=2!!

Our due date is January 2, 2008!! All is well and everyone is excited!

Mr. Michael

Michael LOVES to read books! I hope we can keep that trend going throughout his life! He just sits with a book and opens each page to look at the pictures - pretty cute!

Future Chef? Actually I think all kids like to play with big mixing bowls. Last night he had about 10 of them out all over the kitchen floor. Hey, if they will entertain him I don't mind washing them before I use them the next time!

One thing it is hard to keep Michael away from is electric cords - yikes! We put his exer-saucer in front of the cart that has the waffle irons on it and he just crawled right under it in search of those cords. I need more cabinet space!!

Oh, and in case anyone is worried about his love life - he has a crush...sorry Allison and Hannah - he is going for a woman even older... Any of you who live in Kentucky have probably seen the Billy Harper for Governor commercials. Well, I am sure Michael would vote for him because at the end of one of his commercials there is a young lady in a blue dress who sings the word "No" in opera style. Michael will stop whatever he is doing anywhere in the house - even if he is not watching TV, and smile so big, that Opera Girl really makes his day! I will have to introduce him to some other styles of music...Veggie Tales is ok with me for right now! ha!

Thankful

Some of you know that our house we live in has some serious issues! Like it was all (except for three rooms) painted an interesting fleshy pink color when we moved in, it has some strange wiring issues, the yard has taken hundreds of hours of work and still has hundreds more that it needs, you know stuff like that. But, one thing I have been and continue to be very thankful for about our house (besides the fact that we are blessed to actually have a nice house with a beautiful view) is the flowers! Whoever used to live in our house may not have cared about keeping things up, but they loved flowers!!

Right now we have at least four colors of iris blooming, white peonies, hot pink peonies that are about to start blooming. We already had tons of daffodils, forsythias and pear trees that bloomed in the early spring along with a lilac bush that is so pretty. We have several crape myrtles and rose of sharon bushes that bloom in the summer. Isn't it amazing the beautiful colors God paints the world with!?

Whee!!!

Thanks, Gram and Pops for the new swing! And Daddy and Pops for putting it up!!

The good ol' days...

I got this on e-mail today and thought some of my friends might be old enough to remember these days... I remember most of them...Maybe we should remember how much fun we had and try to pass it on to our kids!! :-)


Close your eyes...And go back...
Before the Internet or PC or the MAC......
Before Playstation, SEGA, Super Nintendo, even before Atari...
Before cell phones, CD's, DVD's, voicemail and e-mail....
way back....way.....way.....way back.....

I'm talkin' bout hide and seek at dusk
Red light, Green light
Red Rover....Red Rover.....
Playing kickball & dodgeball until the first...no...second...no...third streetlight came on
Ring around the Rosie
London Bridge
Hot potato
Hop Scotch
Jump rope
Duck....duck....GOOSE!!!
YOU'RE IT!!
Parents stood on the front porch and yelled (or whistled) for you to come home - no pagers or cell phones
Mother May I?
Hula Hoops
Seeing shapes in the clouds
Endless summer days and hot summer nights (no A/C) with the windows open
The sound of crickets
Running through the sprinkler
Happy Meals
Cereal boxes with that GREAT prize in the bottom
Cracker jacks with the same thing
Ice pops with 2 sticks you could break and share with a friend
...but wait.....there's more....
Watchin' Saturday Morning cartoons: Fat Albert, Road Runner, Smurfs, Picture Pages, G-Force & He-Man, Schoolhouse Rock
Watchin' Sunday morning oldies (Abbott & Costello, Three Stooges)
Wonder Woman & Super Man Underoos
FONZIE.....AYYYYYYYY
Playing Dukes of Hazard
Catchin' lightning bugs in a jar
Your first day of school
Bedtime Prayers and Goodnight Kisses
Climbing trees
Swinging as high as you could to try and reach the sky
Getting an Ice Cream off the Good Humor Truck
A million mosquito bites and sticky fingers
Jumpin' down the steps
Jumpin' on the bed
Pillow fights
Sleep-overs
A 13" black and white TV in your room meant you were RICH
Runnin' till you were out of breath
Laughing so hard that your stomach hurt
Being tired from PLAYING
WORK meant taking out the garbage or doing the dishes
Your first crush
Your first kiss (I mean the one that you kept your mouth CLOSED and your eyes OPEN Rainy days at school meant playing "Heads up 7UP" or hangman" in the classroom Remember that? Oh, I'm not finished yet....
Kool-Aid was the drink of the summer - So was a swig from the hose
Giving your friends a ride on your handlebars
Wearing your new shoes on the first day of school
Class Field Trips with soggy sandwiches
When nearly everyone's mom was at home when the kids got there
When a quarter seemed like a fair allowance; and another quarter a MIRACLE
When ANY parent could discipline ANY kid, or feed him, or use him to carry groceries...And nobody, not even the kid, thought a thing of it.
When your parents took you to McDonalds and you were COOL
When being sent to the principal's office was nothing compared to the fate that awaited you at home.
Basically, we were in fear for our lives but it wasn't because of drive by shootings, drugs, gangs, etc. Our parents and grandparents were a much bigger threat! And some of us are still afraid of em!
Didn't that feel good? Just to go back and say, "Yeah, I remember that!" Well, let's keep going!! Let's go back to the time when...
Decisions were made by going "eeny-meeny-miney-mo"
Mistakes were corrected by simply exclaiming, "do over!"
"Race issues" meant arguing about who ran the fastest.
Money issues were handled by whoever was the banker in "monopoly"
Catching fireflies could happily occupy an entire evening
It wasn't odd to have two or three "best" friends.
Being old, referred to anyone over 20.
The worst thing you could catch from the opposite sex was cooties.
Nobody was prettier than Mom
Scrapes and bruises were kissed by mom or grandma and made better
It was a big deal to finally be tall enough to ride the "big people" rides at the amusement park.
Getting a foot of snow was a dream come true.
Abilities were discovered because of a "double-dog-dare"
Spinning around, getting dizzy and falling down was cause for giggles.
The worst embarrassment was being picked last for a team.
Water balloons were the ultimate, ultimate weapon.
Older siblings were your worst tormentors, but also your fiercest protector
If you can remember most or all of these, then you have LIVED!!! Pass this on to anyone who may need a break from their "Grown Up" life......I TRIPLE DOG DARE YA!!!!!!

Into Everything!

How does this thing work anyway?

Who knows? Maybe I'll just see if I can get out from under it....

Oh well, nevermind. I think I'll just play with my ball!

This is just one of the few things that Michael got into yesterday. I mean, when you are trying to fix dinner and you look up and your baby is laying underneath his stroller like a mechanic it is pretty comical! Another funny thing he did yesterday was literally chase me all over the kitchen trying to untie my shoes! I am not sure what his fascination is with shoelaces, but he is serious about it! Little Boys are so funny - pray that I will be able to keep up with him now that he is on the move...I bet running after him will burn lots of calories! Ha!

Houston?

I don't really know how many people look at this blog, but I have a question for you...do you know anyone who lives in and/or goes to church in Houston, TX? My parents just found out they are going to be moving there for at least 6 months and need some help finding an apartment and a good church to attend.

Thanks!

Hunting for Easter Eggs?

That's what it looks like! But, actually he was just playing on Easter morning while mommy and daddy were finishing getting ready for church. Interestingly, these were the only pictures I took yesterday - I am really bad about that. I just love to be in the moment and sometimes I forget about 'capturing the moment' on film. Chad did get some video of Michael with his Easter basket, if you want to see it, we proud parents would be glad to show you! :-)

Stuff

For several days I have been thinking of things I wanted to blog about - I haven't had a lot of time for blogging, and so I forget some of the things. Any of you other mommies out there have memory troubles? Mine started way before Michael I'm afraid. I've been called the "Absent Minded Professor" many times. Mom used to think I couldn't hear very well, come to find out I can hear fine, I am just off in my own thoughts so deeply that it takes a while for me to shake out of it sometimes so I can be aware of what is going on around me.

Today's first topic - chicken. How do you find a brand of chicken at the store that consistently tastes like...nothing? That is the great thing about chicken - it is just supposed to taste like whatever else is around it. You put it in Mexican spices - that's what it tastes like, the next night for dinner have some chicken in a stir fry - tastes like Chinese food, right? But sometimes chicken tastes like chicken and it is kinda gross! You hear people talk about how to choose fresh fish - which are, I understand, not supposed to taste or smell like fish if they are fresh. I think you look at their eyes to see if they're clear. I don't think that will work with chicken, I don't really like birds up close in the first place, in the second place my childhood was traumatized by gross smelly chickens in the back yard, and thirdly I really like chicken that comes processed from the grocery store with no feathers, eyes, skin, or beaks! So, how do you find chicken that, when cooked, won't taste like chicken? If anyone has any good tips, let me know!

Michael has not been feeling well the past few days, actually today is the 8th day. When your child is sick you really do start to count the days they have been sick - generally it is the same number of days that you have not had a full night's sleep. Poor little fella - he has a dr's appointment on Monday so we are trying to hold out for that without having to visit the pediatrician this week. His ENT dr. called him in some medicine last Saturday night which is sort of working, so we'll see.

Not having a good night's sleep is probably the most frustrating thing, so far, about being a parent. I want so badly for Michael to have a good night's sleep for his own sake, but I certainly wouldn't mind it for my sake (or Chad's) either! Lack of sleep makes me silly, as many of you know, but it also makes me a lump. I want to try to do things around the house, but something inside of me says "it will get done, don't worry about it". Ahhh...the never ending battle - not only is it spiritually tough to make yourself do what you ought to do (As I paraphrase Paul - 'what I do not want to do, I do' and 'what I want to do, I do not do') , but it is hard physically and emotionally to make yourself do what you gotta do. I am going to have to figure a way to get over this before we decide to have another baby- it will get ten times more hectic around here then. Whew! Maybe I should leave the dusting until tomorrow and get some rest! ha! I did dust today and am on my third load of laundry so maybe I am accomplishing something!

Did anyone see Oprah yesterday? It was a pretty good show, one of the topics was a minister in Kansas City who had challenged his church to go 21 days without complaining. They are making bracelets to wear that they give out for free to anyone who will take the challenge. My sis-in-law had mentioned these bracelets on her blog, but it got me to thinking - what do you suppose is the definition of complaining? The minister on Oprah said it had everything to do with your intention of what you say. So, you could say "It is raining outside" as a report, or in contrast "Man, it sure is raining outside" in a sad tone of voice and that would be a complaint. So, any discussion on that? What is the definition of complaining? Is defining it an attempt to make some of the things we say OK even if they're not? Is complaining something that we know only when we do it and it is hard to define? What about not complaining out loud, but complaining to ourselves? Does that count as complaining? I am really not good about complaining - sometimes I guess I think it is how I get some attention, other times it is just conversation. If I remember correctly, there was a time in my life when I was more quiet - when I took more seriously the verse about thinking before I speak and seasoning my words. Definitely something I need to get back to!!

Did you see my tulip pictures in the post below this one? They're so pretty - I love mixed up colors of flowers!! Maybe tomorrow I will post some pictures of Michael - he is so fun!!

"TTFN - ta ta for now!"

Green thumb

I am so excited that some tulips I planted last year have come up and bloomed! The soil isn't too great looking, but we are planning on mulching sometime and it will look much better. I also need to get some summer flowers to put in these beds. It's fun to see things grow that you planted!

First time to the park

This morning we went to the park for the first time. Michael rode around in his stroller while mommy walked with her friends. We had a good time!

Michael also got his first tooth today! I thought I felt something a little different yesterday, but today it was really there. He sure has done a lot of changing in the last two weeks.

One of my questions...

Ok - here is one I have often thought about just as an example - Do you really think the world is billions of years old? I wonder if God created the world as whole, just like he created Adam as an adult. I also wonder - did he do things like making dinosaur bones/fossils just to give some people some employment? I mean if they were here millions of years ago and I'm wondering if the world is really that old, maybe God just put the dinosaur bones there to give people something to think about. I think God does that sometimes - leaves things out so we will have to think critically about a subject. Aren't there several subjects in the Bible that appear "muddy" to us? Or do we muddy the water by thinking about those subjects too much?


This is the way my brain works - I've always said I would like to have the job of thinking up questions for other people to research! :-) Please don't laugh at me too hard!

Pictures of our cutie pie

Here are a couple of more recent pictures of Michael - I noticed that I haven't put that many on the blog, so I better catch up! The top one is him modeling his new swim trunks at the hotel last week. He wasn't so sure about the pool - it was so cold! But, we got in the hot tub for a few minutes and that seemed to go over much better. The second picture is from Saturday, Gram and Pops sent him a box of new clothes so he was modeling his hat and checking out his outfit he will wear for Easter.

A few people have asked what exactly I mean by silly questions I have about life that Chad just shakes his head about - I realized I haven't posted very many of the type of question I ask him. The funny thing is that I can't just come up with these questions on the spur of the moment, it is just random. So, I will do my best to remember the next couple of questions I have and try to put them on here so you will have an example of what I mean.

Hope you are having as warm and sunny a day at your house as we are here - Spring is Springing!

Car Seats

Hey all you young moms (and maybe a couple of grandmoms) -

I got some info on car seats today, one of the sheets says to write down the manufacturer's name, date, and model from the car seat. Then go to www.carseat.org, click on the "Recalls" link and then click on "View" to make sure there have been no recalls on any of your car seats. Just thought it might be info you'd like to have. Also I learned when we were expecting Michael that you can go to the county health department or to the state police station and they will check your car seat to make sure it is in right. You do need to call first, but today they were doing a free check at the Lil Angels' Attic consignment sale so I had Michael's checked and they fixed it where it won't loosen up like it had been. (It was driving me crazy!) So, just something to think about!

Hotel in Evansville

Here is our little man - relaxing in the king size bed he has all to himself - he looks pretty happy about it, doesn't he?! He pulled his shirt up so we could see his tummy, what a silly goose!

Happy March!

Happy first day of March! The daffodils are blooming today outside our kitchen window - it is supposed to be 69 degrees here today - hooray! Storms should come this afternoon and cool it off again for a few days, but I am excited to have at least one day close to 70! Spring is right around the corner - yippee!

Well, as some of you know our trip was cut short this week. Chad says we now know why stamp prices will be going up soon. The trip we took to Evansville started out great - we left Monday night and got there fine, had a good night in the hotel (Michael even slept all through the night!), and then Chad got up bright and early to go to his class. When he got to his class he found out that it had been cancelled! Oh dear - so we ended up coming home Tuesday morning because when he called to tell his boss it was cancelled they told him to come on back to work. Then when we got home and he called to tell them he was back in town they told him to take the rest of the day off. We are not sure why they did not call or e-mail him to let him know it was cancelled. But, silly things like that which cost the Post Office over $200 might be why there will be a higher stamp price. It was very nice to have him home for the rest of the day and spend some time together, he has worked the last two Saturdays and will need to work this one too. One day maybe he will have a nice 8-5 job somewhere with weekend off - that would be great!

Well, I should be getting a few things done - I'll post a picture of Michael in the hotel later - he thought it was pretty neat there!

Swimming anyone?

Pretty soon we have the opportunity to stay in a hotel for a couple of nights and they have an indoor pool. We bought this boat for Michael so he can learn to get used to the water and not get too wet up around his ears. The dr. says that he doesn't think the water would hurt, but who wants to take a chance?! So, we are looking forward to seeing what he thinks of a pool - he LOVES taking a bath, so I imagine this will be good too!

We went to the Ear, Nose, and Throat specialist for him today - he still has an infection in his right ear, too much fluid in both ears, and a perforated ear drum in his right ear. So, back on antibiotics - this is our fourth in the last three weeks and back on ear drops - our third in the last three weeks. Whew! We go back in two weeks to see if these new medicines have helped - hopefully he will be mended by then!!

It has begun...

Michael has learned to be messy while he eats! He has always been a clean eater for the most part, but now he has started to put his fingers in his mouth when he takes a bite. I've heard that they do that to help them learn to swallow well, so I let him do it. I sure hope it's not just him saying, "Hey, Let's make a fun mess!!" But, boys are usually more messy - this just gets us geared up for mud pies! :-) It's a good thing I got over the 'fear' of having dirty hands!

The last cake I did

Here is the picture I said I would post a couple of weeks ago. The colors on the cake matched the napkins that were bought for the shower we did. The symbols in the corners are the Chinese symbol for Love since the shower we did was for a family who just adopted a sweetie-pie from China.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

I hope everyone has a good day today - things are looking much brighter around here!

My mom's surgery went great yesterday - she will be able to get out of the hospital today and she is on the mend! We are so thankful that she did not get bad results from the tests. Thank you for praying for her!

Michael is also continuing to get better. We have to go see the Ear, Nose and Throat specialist on March 1, but hopefully he will be all the way better by then and it will be a super easy appointment!

Chad has a training in Evansville, IN the last week in Feb for a couple of days, and Michael and I get to go with him! That will be really nice - we haven't been out of town since the week before Thanksgiving, so this will be a welcome break. I don't really know anything about Evansville, so if anyone has any experience there let me know!

Well, I should be cleaning and doing laundry so I'll write more later...

Better today

Things seem to be a little better today - have you noticed that the world looks a little bit rosier when you have had some sleep? Yes, we actually got some sleep last night! Michael slept 9 1/2 hours, minus about 20 minutes for a bottle - hooray! Ever since I was little I have struggled through the day if I don't get my sleep so I am very thankful that I have a very dear husband who understands that. He got up at 6am when Michael woke up and fed him so I could sleep a little longer. What a great guy he is!!!

Things are still a little precarious with the health of some family members. My mom has to have surgery on Tuesday the 13th, and will be in the hospital from 2-5 days depending on the extent of the surgery. So, please pray for her, and for my papa as he takes care of her. It is a little strange for them to be so far away from everyone and living in a hotel during all this.

More later...

Whew!

The past couple of weeks have been kind of wild! We have all been sick, especially Michael. He had a cold that turned in to ear infections and a high fever that lasted five days - I think we went to the dr. 3 times last week and were on 4 different antibiotics at various times. Thankfully all of that will be over by tomorrow night and maybe he will be feeling much better. Actually he is already doing better, he is even laughing again - that had been absent for a while.

My family lives coast to coast right now - lots of relatives in California, my parents all the way across in Connecticut, and the rest of us scattered about in between in Oklahoma, Texas. Missouri and Kentucky. What's strange about right now is that something seems to be wrong with everyone everywhere. Everyone is either sick, just getting over being sick, taking care of someone who is sick, having surgery or waiting for test results. Have you heard that song "Where could I go but to the Lord"? I guess to some people that is an oldie, but it 'came to me' this morning and it has sure been a help on this day of worry. Here are some of the words that mean the most right now - "Where could I go, oh where could I go - needing a refuge for my soul? Needing a friend to save me in the end, where could I go but to the Lord?" I may have taken liberty with the original words, but those are the words that are in my head...we'll call it poetic license. So, if you have a chance, breathe a prayer for my family coast to coast.

I did another cake for a shower a couple of weeks ago - it turned out pretty cute and when I get some gumption I will post a picture. A few people have asked me if I would do cakes for them sometime, so that is nice. A compliment considering officially this is only the third decorated cake I have ever done. It is kind of fun but a little stressful. I think I need to invest in some cake boxes for transporting them, transporting is really the hardest job.

Michael is growing by leaps and bounds - his hair is growing in a lot more. It is also a lot darker than it was when he was born. I think he will be a brunette. So far he has blue eyes too, what a handsome boy!!! We have a lot of fun together.

Ummm...I think that's about all I had intended to write today. The Super Bowl turned out very well I think - too sad that it is so long until Football Season again! Baseball will be here before we know it though, go Yankees!! And, anyone who is interested - Alex Rodriguez is going to be on Martha Stewart this week, I think on Tuesday. I wonder how a baseball player will do in the kitchen...

I've been tagged

Lee tagged me, so here are my instructions:

Here is how it works:
1) Grab the book closest to you
2) Open to page 123, go down to the fourth sentence
3) Post the text of the following three sentences
4) Name the author and book title
5) Tag three people to do the same

The closest book to me was a whole bookshelf full of books - mostly text books from college/grad school, so I grabbed the one that might be most interesting.

Here's the Quote: "Don't let Love escape you because of the false values of your culture. If genuine love has escaped you thus far, don't begin believeing 'no one would ever want me.' That is a deadly trap that can destroy you emotionally!"

That is from a book called "Life on the Edge" by Dr. James Dobson. It's a really good book for late high school, early college age about how to make good decisions in your life and important things to consider when making those decisions.

So...I tag Rachel, Ashley, and Amy.

This is kinda fun!

Whatever you do...

When we were little my mom always used to quote the verse about doing anything that you do like you were doing it for God. (I can't find the scripture reference right now, maybe later) It took me a long time to really grasp that concept, and it is still difficult some days for me to make that concept a reality in everything I do. But, when you have that idea in the back of your mind that you should always do your best, finish the job, leave things better than the way you found them, and then you move in a house like ours you really have to wonder if other people bother with those concepts at all! The picture you see is of part of the heat pump that was removed from under our house yesterday, to its right you can see another piece of equipment laying down that looks about the same size as the one standing up. Yesterday afternoon the nice man who was installing everything came in the house and said that whoever put the last unit in had a lot of trouble, didn't hook it up right, and left the old unit under there too! So, what you see are the last TWO units that were here. Oh dear! He also said there was a hot wire under there that was bare and could have shocked someone (which he nicely fixed) and the last under the house unit was draining under the house instead of outside so that could cause all kinds of mold, etc. I think I've mentioned before that our shower used to drain under the house, have I mentioned that in our back yard where we burn the things we trim from the yard the previous tenants/owners buried or tried to burn all sorts of things? I know for sure that there are car parts, tractor parts, tin cans, hangers, etc. Did they know that these items don't burn?!!?!?!? Isn't there a thing called a trash can? Yes, for those of us who live in the country you do have to pay for a trash service, but it's only $14 a month- that's better than burying metal and glass! Michael will never be able to play barefoot in the yard - we'd be at the hospital for a tetanus shot and getting strange objects out of his feet!

OK - enough venting - it just seems like to me that you should do your best to...DO YOUR BEST! I'm not a serious 'tree hugger' or anything, but leave the world a habitable place for our children- take care of your things and your responsibilities!

Ok - let's balance the griping with some things I am thankful for:

• The view from the front of our house - it's beautiful!
• The fact that we have a nice roomy house
• We are now warm and will be for quite some time
• That we have a place to host friends and family - one of the most important things you can do with your house!!

I feel better now...

Heat!

Today we are getting our new heat pump installed - hooray! It will be so nice to wake up in the morning and not worry about whether we have heat before we step out of bed. The old one, as some of you know, has been leaking freon and is basically on its way to a big junk heap somewhere - maybe they'll recycle it, that would be good. Anyway, just so thankful that we were able to figure out a way to get it and not have to worry about heat for at least 5 years (that is how long the first part of the warantee is good for)

I really thought when I started this blog that I would keep up with it better than I have, I read other people's blogs and think about how much I wish they would update theirs, but I am just as bad. Either I don't have a lot to say or it takes more time than I ever really thought it would to take care of a house and a baby.

Tomorrow I am going to observe a friend who teaches at a Home School Association so that I can be her sub starting next Friday while she is on maternity leave. I think it will be a really fun experience, although I have to teach geography. Ok, how many of you who know me well are rolling on the floor laughing? We all know that geography is not my forte, but I will only be teaching 1st, 2nd, and 3rd graders about China and maybe Japan - surely I can stay a step ahead of 6-8 year olds...I hope!

So, lots of things are happening around here, I'll write more about them later...

PS

I have gotten the hang of it!!! I am now on my 9th Sudoku puzzle and have managed to do two of them with no help from Chad or anyone. I am so proud!

Sheep...

Ok - so last night I had a Dr. Pepper way too close to bed time - it sure was yummy, but since I haven't had caffeine in so long it made me a little silly. So, after we got in bed and turned out the lights Chad said maybe I should count sheep. So, of course my mind which was in over-drive begins - why do people 'count sheep' to help them get to sleep? Who was the first person to do this, and more importantly why did they tell anyone that they counted sheep in the first place?? I don't know as that's something I would advertise!

We are doing well today - we still have heating dilemmas which apparently will require us to buy a new heat pump within the next couple of weeks. I am so thankful every day that we stay warm and our old one is still barely chugging along. We also will be needing a new water heater before long, and then a new dishwasher. Things happen in threes they say...

One sad thing about today is my Great-Great Aunt Winnie passed away last week, the funeral was today. My grandma and mom are very sad, Aunt Winnie was sort of the one person in the family who everyone still kept in touch with. But, she was a great Christian lady and one person I am sure must be in heaven. She was 97. Her older sister, who will turn 100 this year, is the only one left out of those brothers and sisters. They have all lived very long lives and loved their families.

That's about all I know for now...

Out of the notion...

Sorry anyone who checks my blog occasionally - I have not been 'in the mood' for blogging in the past couple of weeks, and then Monday when I was in the mood and got this lovely blog all ready to post, I hit the wrong button and it was lost forever in cyberspace. Don't you hate when that happens?!

We have been so busy, we had a good Christmas with a house full of people - just the way Christmas should be! Then, due to the passing of Rachel's sweet Grandma on Christmas day, Mom, Chad and I took care of Madison and Emma for the rest of the week so they could go to the funeral, etc in Indianapolis. Chad got off on New Year's Day and then also got Tuesday off because of President Ford's funeral, so we had a nice long weekend. I wish there were a few more like that during the year!!

This will probably be a pretty busy month, but maybe that means I will have more interesting things to write about!

Oh, I tried my first ever Sudoku puzzle last night...Chad is trying to fix it now...I wasn't too successful...maybe I'll try another one some day!