I wish it was quiet

Married to a Pastor: parsonage

2012-01-29T14:13:00.000-08:00

Don't be jealous, but we live in a parsonage. It always strikes me as funny that we live in California, where the normal ministry rules don't apply, but we live in a parsonage.

This was a huge, scary deal to me when Steven told me that the church where he was interviewing had a parsonage. Oh yeah, and it's next door to the church. Great.

Honestly, we haven't had any issues with it, though. I wish there was a funny story behind this to make my blog post a better one. Hmmm.....anyone want to do something to change this?

We really wouldn't be able to make it here without the parsonage. We are at a small church and we live in stinking expensive California. The parsonage allows us to live here and serve at this church.

The house was built by the men at our church in 1970. There are parts of it that are really outdated and the carpet is in sad, sad condition. But, it is solid house. I mean, I look around at the cabinets and the house is just built really, really well.

I think it's amazing that it was built by some of the members of our church, who are still around. (People live forever out here)

The church members are very giving with our needs for the parsonage, too. When the dishwasher went out, I got to go pick out the new one. I had heard horror stories about parsonages before. Like families who have to have yearly inspections of the house (don't get any ideas!). That is not the way that we are treated here. The house was freshly painted before we moved in. I mean, they even let my parents live with us.

There is a small part of me as a middle class girl that wishes we were building equity into something. But, really does it matter? We are living in a house that is nice and it's actually convenient for Steven to work next door. If he has a meeting at night, he can pop over and see the kids after school.

I need to work on my hospitality and have church members over more often. Right after we moved in, we had everyone over for Grilled (bbq'd) hamburgers. Mr. Jee, who helped build the house and is in his 90s, complimented something in the house and told me that it was the first time that he had been invited over to the house.

So, there's no horror story to go along with our stay in the parsonage. Our church is so gracious to us. Have you heard any crazy stories about pastors living in the parsonage?

George

2012-01-24T22:25:00.000-08:00

This is a picture that I took last Friday morning at McDonald's.

George is one of Steven's friends. They eat breakfast at McDonald's and talk and talk and talk.

Last Friday, they started talking about a radio show that George was on. George wanted credit for being on a radio show called "how does your garden grow?". So, Steven edited the wikipedia page. George thought this was great that you could edit the internet!

George is a very interesting man and can talk to a brick wall. He has met his match in Steven. They are really good friends and I snapped this picture while they were editing wikipedia.

Kitchen timer

2012-01-21T10:42:00.000-08:00

Patrick's new favorite game is to take our Kitchen timer and use it like an alarm clock. He makes us pretend to go to sleep. We have to snore and close our eyes.

He sets the timer and makes it go off. Then, when the timer goes off, we "wake up" and yell and he laughs hysterically.

The funniest part is that Patrick calls this his clock.

Guess what letter he doesn't pronounce when he is saying clock?

L

So, Patrick runs around our house yelling "where's my cock?".

Creative Girl

2012-01-20T09:47:00.000-08:00

Maggie decided to make a newsletter last night. This was totally unprompted by me. I promise. I had a newsletter when I was little that was called the "Kitty Comet". I sent it out to my friends and family and updated them on what was going on and had jokes in it.

My mom also had a newsletter. It was called the "Twinkly Times" and it was sent out to her friends, too.

Here's Maggie's newsletter. It's called "Maggie Cookie Jar Chronicles". She printed out 40 copies and handed them out to her classmates and friends at school.(the format didn't come out right on my blog...just imagine cuteness).

MAGGIE’S COOKIE JAR CHRONICLES!!!!!!!

Written by: Maggie Cole January 19, 2012

Yesterday, I got a lot of new food. I could not stop eating. We got chocolate popsicles. We got Phineas and Ferb fruit snacks and a lot more. It was SOOO hard to stop eating! School was okay that day.

Copper, my puppy, is kinda crazy and you might already know this, but he bites me a lot. Copper likes to herd people’s feet, especially my brother, Patrick.

Angry Birds. It makes me kind of angry when I lose a level. I don’t like it when the pigs snort at me.

One time, a really long time ago, we were watching the show, Cupcake Wars. It was very frustrating when the team wanted to win did something bad. We made cupcakes one time for a baby shower. The cupcakes looked like cupcake suns. Candy corns on the cupcakes were the rays of sunshine. The baby’s name was going to be Sunnie!

Pastor's wife's expectations

2012-01-15T08:54:00.000-08:00

Maybe I'll make this a Sunday blog topic. We'll see how vulnerable I feel.

Let me tell you a little story. When we moved to our church, there were about 40 people attending. About twenty of them were in their 20s and 20 of them were were over 50.

One of the people in the over 50 crowd came up to me one of the first Sundays after Steven started working at the church with a big smile on her face.

She said, "I hear you can play the piano."

Confused, I replied, "well, I took piano lessons in middle school. But, I'm not good at it."

She said, "No. THEY told me that you could play the piano."

I told her that I was sorry, but I couldn't play the piano.

She looked so disappointed. Then, she said, "I know what I'll do. I'll started praying that God will give you this gift."

I honestly don't remember what I said to this. I probably smiled and tried to cover up the emotion on my face.

It's so funny, but I understand what she wanted. She wanted our church to go back to hymns played on the piano (you know, the way God intended). She wanted the old pastor back who plays the piano beautifully. Maybe I could be the answer to that.

It's so cliche, isn't it? For the pastor's wife to play the piano? Isn't it a course that they offer seminary wives? (just kidding)

I haven't had to deal with situations like this very often. But, I think it gives me a glimpse into what some people expect for wives married to ministers.

Even if you aren't in ministry, you can probably relate. What have you expectations have you experienced in ministry or in life? How do you handle it when you don't fit the mold?

Patrick's world

2012-01-13T09:58:00.000-08:00

Steven and I were talking about Patrick last night and really how bizarre it is that we are raising and loving for "someone else's child." I mean, he's ours, but isn't that kind of strange when you really think about it?

I noticed that he says a few words with a southern accent. Yes, we are raising him right.

Isn't that bizarre? He was born here and lives here. But, he is being raised by people from the south and Texas.(Texas isn't the south, according to my husband).

I started thinking about children who are adopted and raised in a culture that is different from there own. It's an amazing concept when you really think about it.

Not that being southern is exactly the same thing. But, don't worry, we are raising him well and true to his NorCal roots. Today, on the way to Sandee's house, we were looking for school buses and we passed an orchard. He said, "look, almond trees".

I was shocked. I mean, his vocabulary is coming along, but he doesn't use a lot of words that are clearly spoken. So, this was a big deal.

And he would never see almond trees in the south and he recognized them this morning. He will get to experience two worlds, actually. We go back at least once a year, so he will experience the Gulf of Mexico and southern hospitality and all the great things about the south. In fact, he will call adults Mr. and Miss even though it's not cool to do that here.

At the same time, he will live here and eat Tri Tip and play in the snow at Lake Tahoe and cough when they are shaking the almond trees.

But, don't worry, he will "grill" Tri Tip. Not BBQ it.

Little Brothers

2012-01-11T11:06:00.000-08:00

Isn't this picture the epitome of being a big sister? Maggie is standing next to Nikki and Jerry's wedding cake smiling and trying to keep her brother still. Patrick wants nothing to do with taking a picture. He just wants to DANCE.

Maggie is very patient and protective of her little brother. She does get aggravated with him at times. He takes her stuff and runs through the house. He grabs her blanket and taunts her with it before running away. He wants to play with whatever she has. He is always trying to get into her room to destroy something.

Sometimes, Maggie gets fed up and can't take it anymore.And I try to tell her that I completely understand. I had a brother who was 5 years younger than me. He was annoying. But, now, he is a great friend. I've been trying to explain this to her. She will eventually find him to be a good friend and not just an annoyance.

She looks at me like I'm crazy.

But, I see glimpses of their future relationship. They have been playing a game where they go on a train. Patrick is the conductor and has a whistle. Maggie makes up adventures for them to take. They hide behind the big chair in the living room and give us tickets for the next train ride.

This works for me cause I just have to sit on the couch while they drive the train.

I pray that they will have a good relationship and that they are laying down the ground work for a good relationship as adults. I just have to keep reminding Maggie that it's a good thing to have a little brother.

Christmas break

2012-01-09T10:30:00.000-08:00

Maggie had a different break from school than the usual get out of school the week before Christmas and have the week after Christmas off this year. She got out of school on the Thursday before Christmas and doesn't go back until tomorrow.

I have really loved it. I had a week off of work before she got out of school so I could finish up lose ends and wrap presents and that was great. Then, during the week after Christmas, we were all at home. But, I didn't have to work and I just got to hang out with the kids without the looming feeling of "oh crap, I should be working right now". We all slept late and played and went to the Machado's house to jump on the trampoline.

This past week was Nikki and Jerry's wedding, which was one of the most fun receptions that I've been to. Patrick was a dancing machine and Maggie was beautiful. Then, Patrick started going back to Miss Sandee's house and I started back to work. Maggie has been joining me at Starbucks during these mornings. She plays on her phone and draws pictures.

She has today off from school and goes back tomorrow. It's been one of the best school breaks that we've had so far. Just enough time together. I got a break from work. Steven's been working from home some and we've just enjoyed being together and playing with Copper and watching tv.

I guess I'm ready to go back to the real world tomorrow of getting up on time and getting everyone dressed, but it's been nice to be in this bubble for the past few weeks.

Being married to a pastor

2012-01-07T22:39:00.000-08:00

There is no way to get all of my thoughts on this into one blog. So, I'll just start here and maybe be brave enough to hit the publish post button. Why is my heart beating so fast? Oh yeah, cause I hate controversy.

I can think of no other job where a husband's job determines so much about a wife.

I'm married to a man who is a pastor. I love him. I love that he is doing what he loves. I love that he is a pastor. But, I would love him if he wasn't pastoring.

I don't like that his job defines me.

This has nothing to do with the people at our church right now. They are wonderful and like me for me.

I remember when Steven was interviewing for this job. He asked me what other questions he should ask them. I immediately said, "what expectations do they have for the pastor's wife?"

So, during the interviewing process, Steven asked this question to the group and I remember Daniel answering. He said, "we want her to be an active member of our church. We don't have any other expectations of her."

And I breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, this has been true. I mean, there have been some funny moments where people ask me about playing the piano, but that's for another blog.

I guess I find it frustrating when I meet people for the first time and they find out that I'm a "pastor's wife" and they apologize for cussing earlier. I don't tell people what Steven does for a living. I don't volunteer that information. I hate it when they start acting different around me. Or making a big deal about his job.

I don't make a big deal out of what their husband does for a living. I know that it's really just their insecurities coming out, but it's always awkward. And it makes me feel uncomfortable.

So, that's all I have for right now. I mean, there's more to this subject. I just want to be given more than just the "pastor's wife" title. There's more to me than that.

My artist

2012-01-07T15:24:00.000-08:00

Maggie's been going with me to Starbucks this week while Patrick goes to Sandee's house. She takes colors and paper and her "new" iPhone and works while I am working. Luckily, it's an easy week for me, so I'm able to get the work done and talk to her at the same time.

Last Wednesday, she drew this picture for the lady who usually takes our order. The lady is so nice and knows Maggie's name and that Maggie gets a tall black iced tea with no sweetner.

Maggie got out her art supplies and drew this for her. The lady hugged her and thanked her.

Then, Friday, when we got to Starbucks, Maggie's picture was hanging up on the community bulletin board.

My little artist is getting famous!

Maggie's thoughts during Tron

2012-01-06T20:19:00.000-08:00

We are watching Tron Legacy tonight. Maggie is inserting her words of wisdom during the movie.

Here's a few of her thoughts:

What if every night in heaven is movie night?

What if we get to eat spaghetti every night in heaven?

I asked Maggie what happened to the main character's mom. She said, "Mommy, it's a disney movie. All the mommies die in Disney movies".

Isn't that hilarious? First of all, she knew it was a disney movie. Secondly, what 7 year old puts that all together? Third of all, why do all the mommies die in disney movies? What's up with that?

We're only halfway through the movie. I'll let you know if any other words of wisdom are spouted out.

Super Pat Pat

2012-01-04T22:32:00.000-08:00

We were watching the Incredibles last night. Patrick wanted a cape, so I went into his room and got this for him. Patrick ran around the room to make the cape fly.

This was Jonathan's cape when he was little. So, I texted Jonathan to let him know that his cape was still being used to fight evil in Northern California.

Jonathan texted back: That's fine, but make sure he knows that it's mine.

Babies

2012-01-03T13:26:00.000-08:00

Patrick is starting to really notice and talk about babies. When we pass a stroller, he looks inside and says "aww" at them.

There are twin babies at Miss Sandee's house that he talks about. Ezra came over the other night and Patrick was playing with him and kept saying "aww" over and over again.

We went to In and Out burger last weekend and we saw a mom pushing a stroller. Patrick pointed to the stroller and said, "awww...baby".

I asked him if he liked babies and he said "yes".

Then, I asked him if he wanted Mommy to have a baby.

Without hesitation, he said "NO!".

(Patrick contemplating a baby)

What are you doing, NYE?

2011-12-30T21:14:00.000-08:00

I love this video from Zooey Deschanel singing this song about plans for New Year's Eve.

Let's face it. I pretty much like anything that Zooey Deschanel does. But, this is pretty good, right?

So, what are you doing on New Year's Eve? We'll be ringing in the New Year according to East Coast time so we can celebrate but get the kids to bed on time and be okay for church the next morning. Doesn't that sound grown up and mature?

I mean, it would be fun to go out and get dressed up and celebrate, but it's fun to be where we are in life right now. It's chaotic and crazy and loud and I try to remember that it's not going to last very long. There will be years ahead for going out and not worrying about babysitting.

But, really, I'll be tired by then and will enjoy just being at home then, too.

Christmas pictures

2011-12-29T22:01:00.000-08:00

I snapped a few pictures before the Christmas eve service. Patrick wanted this to be finished quickly!

Pretty cute one here, Maggie was behind me making silly faces at him and he gave us a little, bitty smile!

She's such a cute little elf!

Copper's first Christmas picture!

Ears

2011-12-28T11:21:00.000-08:00

This guy loves to put things in his ears.

We first noticed it when he started requesting his "bee" to go to sleep. "Bee" looks just like Maggie's "quame" and was given to Patrick. "Bee" is a blue blankie with a silk lining and he loves to sleep with it at night.

Patrick will take the tips of "bee" and put it in his ear. He will rub it around his ear and it just seems to comfort him when he is relaxing.

The funny thing is that this has transferred to other items now. In the car, he will take the strap of his car seat and put it in his ear. He will take off his boot and put the shoelace tip in his ear.

Tonight, he was playing with Copper and grabbed his tail. He sat down and put Copper's tail in his ear. Copper didn't appreciate this at all.

Twas the night before Christmas

2011-12-27T14:26:00.000-08:00

And all through the house
2 year old little boys dressed up in Santa pajamas weren't quiet as a mouse

He found a light saber and he was rocking this Santa/Jedi look, don't ya think?

Santa Paws

2011-12-26T23:15:00.000-08:00

Do you know how hard it is to take a picture of a wiggly, all black puppy? Do you know much harder it is when you want him to wear this adorable santa beard and hat? Doesn't he look like he wants to kill someone?

Christmas eve service

2011-12-26T10:51:00.000-08:00

For the first time since we've been here, we had a Christmas eve service. As a child, we usually went to a Christmas eve service and I remember singing songs by candlelight and the choir walking down the aisle while singing. I loved the Christmas eve service this year, too. It felt familiar and nice to slow down in the middle of Christmas chaos and celebrate the birth of our savior.

To up the cuteness factor even more, the kids sang "Go tell it on the mountain" at the beginning of the service. Maggie's in the back row wearing the pink Santa hat.

Owen started off the singing by reciting scripture. He got a little nervous and it was really cute. You can hear him say that he was scared in video. The kids were so cute and as I watched them sing, I had to fight off the tears. There were 2 of Maggie's classmates in the group singing. They don't go to our church, but come each Wednesday night to our church. Jesse does a great job with this group of kids each week. Maggie and her classmates begged to sit together after the service and they were so cute sitting together all on our little row. They were hugging and wishing each other Merry Christmas and begging for playdates at the end of the service.

Most of the people at the service were people who don't normally attend our church. Out of the 80 people there, I probably knew 30 of them. They were mostly family members there to see the kids singing or just looking for a Christmas eve service.

I loved every part of it and singing next to Maggie as she nervously held her candle was a great way to end the service. I hope each of you had a merry Christmas eve, too.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T21:15:00.000-08:00

I probably say this every year, but this year was one of the best Christmases. My kids were so stinkin' excited and it's easy to be happy when they are this excited and thankful and happy.

Here's a glimpse into our world. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas too.

A pretty December day

2011-12-24T09:08:00.000-08:00

It has been unusually cold here. I know, not as cold as what you northerners think of as cold. But, pretty cold for us Californians. This afternoon, though, it was pretty outside and Patrick and Copper took advantage of it. This is Copper at around 12 weeks old.

Sometimes having a 2 and a half year old and a puppy is hard work. Lots of pee, poop, and craziness abound. But, sometimes it works to my advantage. They both love to run around in the backyard and chase each other. Look at how cute Copper's ears are in this picture.

This guy can't wait for warmer weather. He NEEDS to be outside running around. I'm grateful for days where it warms up a little bit for him.

CHristmas with a two year old

2011-12-23T21:11:00.000-08:00

It's too much for him to bear. He's fascinated by the Christmas ornaments and the Christmas tree. He's always trying to put new things on the tree. He's put a flashlight on there and talks about the star on the top of the tree.

His absolute favorites are the snow globes. I found a plastic snowglobe when we went to Lake Tahoe and he loves it.

A box

2011-12-22T13:11:00.000-08:00

Patrick got a gift from Nana and Papa in the mail. He doesn't care what the gift is going to be. Cause look at this box. Isn't it awesome? Maggie and Patrick have been playing in it ever since we got it. Patrick loves watching tv in it. Thanks for this gift, Nana and Papa!

Elf on the shelf

2011-12-21T09:55:00.000-08:00

We have had an elf on the shelf for two years now. Last year, the elf mosly moved around the living room. But this year, he has gotten a little crazier. Here are some of his antics.

I guess he was hungry.

Writing a letter to Santa about the state of our family's behavior.

He drew on Maggie's preschool picture.

He fell in the box of dum dums from Halloween.

Hanging out with some Christmas peeps.


Making snow angels in sugar on our counters

Reading tiny golden books with some other Christmas friends

Sitting on a little sofa that used to belong to Twink

Hanging around

Drinking a juice box

Do any of you participate in Elf on the Shelf? What do you do?

I really miss him

2011-12-20T21:16:00.000-08:00

I'm having a hard time looking at his last pictures. Maggie took an incredible amount of pictures of Willie during his last days. It's hard to look at him and realize that he's not here anymore. I really miss him.

When I see these pictures, I remember how much he was hurting. He had to keep his head up all the time to keep breathing and not choke.

I miss him a lot.

Picture with Santa 2011

2011-12-20T11:48:00.000-08:00

We planned it right this year. No long lines. Go on a random night after dinner when there won't be a crowd. Talk up Santa and take two adults. One adult stands in line while one adult takes the kids to play with the trains and other things set out at Bass Pro Shop.

Maggie was excited and couldn't wait to talk to Santa. Patrick loves Santa and was going to tell him that he "wants to ride a twain".

I didn't even consider that Patrick wouldn't want to see Santa. He loves things in costumes. His favorite part of Chick Fil a is when the ginormous cow is there to play with the kids.

As we walked up to see Santa, he lost it. He didn't want anything to do with the guy in the red suit.

He compromised by sitting on a stool NEXT to Santa.

Maggie told Santa that she wanted an Elf for Christmas.

Santa replied: That's the strangest thing I've ever heard.

Merry Christmas from the COLES

One year ago!

2011-12-17T21:19:00.000-08:00

One year ago, we adopted Patrick. It's been a great year and I'm so glad that he is officially part of our family.

Tonight, Maggie and Patrick went to Raley's with me. I told Maggie that it was one year ago that we adopted Patrick.

Maggie said, "really, we adopted Patrick today last year?".

Patrick raised his hands and shouted, "yay me!".

Isn't he awesome?

Weight loss

2011-12-11T18:24:00.000-08:00

On Friday, Steven and I were enjoying our Starbucks deliciousness and I asked him if he would be able to fit into his suit for Nikki and Jerry's wedding at the beginning of next month.

You see, Steven lost a lot of weight last year. I lost some weight, too. But, it's slowly creeping back on. I've gained about 10 pounds back this year and I didn't need to gain it. 10 pounds is a lot when you are 5 foot 2.

So, he said, "I guess I need to lose about 15 pounds before the wedding."

I almost spit out my Starbucks. But, I didn't. Cause that would be evil.

He was going to lose 15 pounds in 20 days?!

And the crazy thing is that he probably will do it and I decided to join him in this crazy journey right before Christmas. I need to lose it and I really need to lose it before Lori's wedding. I have to get fitted for my dress at the end of January.

So, here we go. We're on day 2 and still feeling okay. No sugar does make me a little grumpy. But, the scale is already going down so that helps. Wish us luck!

Willie

2011-12-10T19:18:00.000-08:00

We made the decision to euthanize Willie on Friday. He had a horrible night on Thursday where he couldn't breathe. I realized that it was like he was suffocating and it just wasn't fair for us to let him hurt.

It was a horrible decision to have to make. I had seen it performed many times when I worked in a vet's office in high school. I knew what to expect. But, it's different when it's your dog.

I put Willie up on our bed on Friday during the day and I fed him his favorite foods. I didn't know what to do about Maggie. We decided not to let her go. When we told her, she begged us to let her come and we decided that it was okay. I don't know that it was the best decision, but I just don't know if there is best decision in a situation like this. We just tried to do what we felt was right with this.

I dreaded his appointment all day long. I felt such anxiety. I mean, I really felt like it was the right thing to do, but it was such a bad thing to have to decide.

We took him to the vet and we were there when he died. Maggie and I talked about our favorite memories of him when he took his last breaths. We wrapped him in a large blanket and took him home.

Steven put him under the tree in our backyard. We said a prayer and Maggie came up with the idea to make him a special stepping stone.

I miss him terribly. It's hard to deal with just him being gone and forgetting that he's not here anymore.

I went to bed last night and was sad that he wasn't following me to bed. For ten years, Willie's followed me to bed and snuck onto the bed somewhere in the middle of the night. I was feeling sad as I crawled into bed.

Then, Mickey (who never wants to be inside at night) jumped on my chest. He laid down next to me and stayed there all night. It was comforting to have him there.

Willie T. Johnson

2011-12-08T10:11:00.000-08:00

This is a picture from a few years ago when Maggie was trying to teach Willie how to talk like Martha on "Martha Speaks".

Willie is really not doing well and it's breaking my heart. I know that he is "just a dog" and a lot of people don't understand. But, I love this stinky, silly dog. He was initially doing better, but now it's setting in that he's not going to be around much longer.

I watch him breath to see if his chest is still going up and down. Sometimes I wish that he wasn't breathing anymore. I know that he would not be hurting anymore. That is hard to write down.

He has been through so much with our family. He was supposed to be put down as a puppy and he was given a chance. He's taken that chance at life to extremes. He survived a house fire, a cross country move, he was hit by a car, he has put up with 4 different cats and he has loved Maggie and Patrick.

My favorite thing about Willie is how protective he is of babies. If there is a baby in the house, he goes and sits by it.

We used to live in a busy neighborhood with a fence that wire fence in the backyard. He would jump on his hind legs all around the fence to see all the people walking by like a very large rabbit.

He has been a great dog and I already miss him.

This girl

2011-12-07T20:31:00.000-08:00

This girl is about to explode if Christmas doesn't get here soon.
and literally jumped down every aisle in Target.
and told me how she wanted every single thing in the store.
and loves her new puppy.
and is excited about the family that her classroom is adopting.
and went through her room looking for stuffed animals to donate.
and wants to buy the family more stuff at Target.
and wonders why we can't go buy it all right now?
and wonders why it isn't Christmas yet?
and told me I was the best mommy in the whole world.
and I love her.

This boy

2011-12-06T22:25:00.000-08:00

He's adorable.
and silly.
and dances.
and says "huh" about 500 times a day.
and loves to hug the dogs and cats.
they don't appreciate his love.
and wants to touch the Christmas tree.
and crashes his toy cars.
and says "hi" to random strangers at the grocery store.
and has the most beautiful eyes in the world.
and drove me crazy today.
and I love him.

Polar Express

2011-12-01T10:32:00.000-08:00

Last weekend, we went on the Polar Express. Patrick absolutely loved it. This was our conversation on the train:

Patrick: Mommy? TWAIN.
Me: I know, Patrick, isn't it great?
P: Mommy! TWAIN!
Me: I know, a train.
P:MOMMY! A TWAIN!
(repeat)

We went with Patrick's grandparents and it was such a fun trip. The tree lighting in Old Sacramento was going on after the train trip so we got to see the lights and then we went to Chick Fil A.

And....

there. was. a . TWAIN!!!

Thankful Thanksgiving #28

2011-11-28T09:37:00.000-08:00

I'm thankful for an easy morning filled with puppy kisses, snuggles from Patrick, hugging Maggie goodbye at school, a husband to take Patrick to the babysitter's house, an hour of time to myself at Starbucks, and a job that lets me volunteer at Maggie's school.

Thanksgiving day #27

2011-11-27T23:31:00.000-08:00

I am thankful for my husband's budget skillz. I tend to want to take the duck and hide approach when it comes to our finances. I'm thankful for a husband that takes the budget by storm and handles it. Please pray for us and our ability to "STICK" with this awesome budget. I don't have any new classes starting in January and it worries me. I'm trying to remember that this happens to us a lot in January and I don't need to worry about it. Worrying is not going to fix it, right? I just need to trust that God will provide and give me lots of new classes.

Name this puppy

2011-11-24T21:48:00.000-08:00

We need opinions for this little guy's name. Maggie's come up with these names:
Rex
Wags
Charley
Steven
Black
Alex
Fred
Frank
Paul
Buddy
Matthew

Please vote in the comments.

Thankful Thanksgiving #25

2011-11-24T21:39:00.000-08:00

Today, we surprised Maggie and Patrick with a puppy. Patrick is in love with the "baby woo woo" and I've never seen anyone more in love with Maggie before. They are stuck like glue and she wants to sleep in her room tonight (shockingly) so the puppy won't be lonely in his cage in her room.

I'm thankful for this little guy. Any name suggestions?

Thankful Thanksgiving #24

2011-11-24T10:27:00.000-08:00

Today, I'm very thankful for my God and my Savior. I'm constantly reminded of all of the blessings in my life. I'm so thankful that I have a relationship with Jesus and that I am His daughter.

I have a hard time putting into words what I want to say here, but I am so grateful for all that I have been given. I am so blessed.

Even in the hard times, He is there. Thank you.

Thankful Thanksgiving #23

2011-11-23T09:35:00.000-08:00

Today, I'm thankful for our little family's thanksgiving day together. I was feeling left out of the big family get together in Georgia, but it's just not practical for us to go out there this year.

But, I think it's going to be okay. We have the day all planned out. We are going to eat cinnamon rolls for breakfast and go see the Muppet movie in the morning. Then, back home for Dallas Cowboys' football and a small Thanksgiving dinner. I think it's cheating that I bought a small Jennie-o turkey, but I don't really care. Steven's making his mom's rolls and I'm making my mom's dressing, so it's all good.

I think that because we have made it into a fun thing that Maggie is more excited than ever about Thanksgiving. She asked if we could have whatever we wanted on Thanksgiving. I told her that we could since it was just us. She told me that she wanted to have "popcorn, toast, and jelly beans" (anyone catch that reference?) and pizza with turkey on it.

It should be a fun Thanksgiving day.

And just for fun...here's a cute picture (cause it's my blog and I wanted to post a random picture here)

Thanksgiving Day #22

2011-11-22T17:24:00.000-08:00

I didn't know what to be thankful for today so I asked Steven what I should be thankful for.

His humble reply?

Me. Be thankful for me.

And I haven't really written about Steven yet in this month of thankfulness. And I am very thankful for Steven. He is a Godly man and I love him. He does so much for our family and for me. Last week was pretty rough and he did so much for all of us. I love him and I am VERY thankful for him.

Thankful Day #21

2011-11-21T21:21:00.000-08:00

I am thankful for books. I have always loved to read and my kids love it too. Patrick will grab a book and back up into your lap.Maggie tells me about the new books she finds in the school library. Her journaling at home and cat school is pretty impressive, too.

Thankful Thanksgiving #20

2011-11-20T18:41:00.000-08:00

I'm thankful for the sounds of sweet siblings. Tonight, Maggie is teaching him how to peel foam stickers and putting them on a bag. I have been hearing a lot of arguing lately, so this is especially sweet to hear.

Thanksgiving #19

2011-11-19T16:27:00.000-08:00

Today, I'm thankful for Christine Curry taking our family pictures. I won't show you all of them, because we haven't officially picked out our Christmas card picture yet, but here are some of my favorites.

I mean, those eyes..seriously!

My cute goofball

Thank you, Christine. Your photography is amazing and I have a great reminder of my family this year. You rock!

Thankful Thanksgiving #18

2011-11-18T11:10:00.000-08:00

My kids are geniuses. I'm thankful for how smart they are and how much they love to make and create things. This is what Patrick did last night.

Patrick's invention

And Maggie had a great parent teacher conference. Her spelling and writing and reading comprehension are incredible and she is having an awesome year. She has a great teacher who finds Maggie hilarious and smart.

I agree. They are awesomely smart!

Thankful Thanksgiving #17

2011-11-17T07:25:00.000-08:00

I'm thankful for a date with this guy. We went to a very fancy dinner (I won a gift card) and on the way home we saw the light.

Yep, that's right, the Krispy Kreme light. After a few second long debate, we went in and gorged ourselves.

It wasn't pretty. It ended with me throwing my head on the table. I kept saying, "why, why?" over and over again. It was so wrong and so right.

Steven (so poised and dignified) yelled to the lady as we left, "thanks for the heartattack". It was a fun way to end our date.

Thankful Thanksgiving #16

2011-11-16T07:21:00.000-08:00

I am thankful for good friends. Since I have been sick, I have gotten so many offers for help and emails and texts to check on me. It's nice to know that I have a great support system around me. Sandee called and offered to watch Maggie and Patrick for me. My mom and stepdad have watched the kids so I could go to the doctor. Kim watched Maggie for me. Kirsten offered to pick up Maggie from school and the list goes on and on. I wasn't able to go count money for walk jog a thon and the group just took it over and told me to stay home and get better. I'm grateful.

Thank you,everyone.

Thankful Thanksgiving #15

2011-11-15T19:20:00.000-08:00

So, I missed a few days. Ummm.....sorry about that.

I have been feeling pretty yucky lately. So, I'm going to skip a few days and come back to say that I am thankful for doctors and health insurance. Our family has had a lot of health issues lately and I'm thankful that we have access to great medical help.

Thankful Thanksgiving #11

2011-11-11T22:09:00.000-08:00

Today, I am thankful for my home. We have a really nice home and we live in a nice neighborhood. Our home was built in the 1970s by the people in our church. It's really well built and it's in a great location for our family. I'm thankful for our home!

I admit that when I first found out that we would be living right next to the church that it scared me. But, it's worked out really well for our family to be so close to the church. The commute time for Steven is great, too!

Thankful Thanksgiving #10

2011-11-10T19:28:00.001-08:00

I am thankful for walk jog a thon.

I am thankful for walk jog a thon.

I am thankful for walk jog a thon.

Maybe if I keep repeating it, I will start to feel it.

Maggie's school has one fundraiser a year. It's called walk jog a thon. It raises A LOT of money. It's awesome to see the community come together and work together for the kids at our school.

But, I'm a tired mama tonight. I counted money all day. Luckily, we had a lot of help with it this year. But, I'm a tired mama.

So, I'm thankful for walk jog a thon (and it being over for tonight).

Thankful Thanksgiving #9

2011-11-09T14:12:00.000-08:00

I am so thankful for Sandee, the wonderful lady who watches and loves Patrick. I met her at the water park 2 summers ago. I started talking to her and saw how sweet she was with the kids that she was watching. I got her phone number and went to her house and signed up Patrick right away.

From the moment, he started going to her house, she loved Patrick. She feeds him, changes him, watches him for me. But, more than that, she really cares for him. And she loves each of the kids that she watches.

She has been so worried about him over the past few months as he has lost weight and stopped eating and battled with his tonsils. During that time, I couldn't get him to eat anything, but he would still eat for her.

I am so grateful for her and for the love that she shows to Patrick. I got the best phone call from her today. She called to tell me something funny that he was doing. She is amazed by his recovery. She said that it was like the doctors took out his tonsils and gave us back our sweet little boy.

Thankful #8

2011-11-08T19:38:00.000-08:00

Today, I am thankful for says of rest. Patrick and I were super lazy today. We snuggled and played all day. Those kind of days are few and far between. I honestly have a hard time just being still and relaxing, but today was very needed and I am thankful for it.

Nuff-in

2011-11-08T11:50:00.000-08:00

Today, I heard a loud crash in patrick's room.

I said,"patrick, what are you doing?".

He says,"nuff-in"!

His new found vocabulary is cracking me up!

Thanksgiving #7

2011-11-07T19:59:00.000-08:00

On day #7, I'm thankful for Rochelle, David and Kayli coming to visit. They are on their way to a new home and have spent a few days with us. It's been so nice to have them here. Since we are so far away from family, I really appreciate seeing family out here and it's been way too long since we have seen them.

We had a nice, relaxing day yesterday and it was fun just catching up with them. Today, we did a tour of Sausalito and the Golden Gate Bridge.

Maggie has been so excited to see her cousin and had crafts and movies planned for their visit.

Thankful Thanksgiving #6

2011-11-06T19:25:00.000-08:00

On day #6, I'm thankful for my job. It's the perfect job for my life right now. I am able to work from home and be there for my kids, my family and my church. It allows me to use my brain and feel like I am using my degrees, too.

In honor of my day #6 post, I accidentally posted the wrong set of assignments to my new class that started. So, I will spend my extra hour this morning trying to fix that mistake.

I'm also thankful that I have new classes starting to replace the ones that just ended. I haven't had as many classes lately, so I'm grateful when I have new ones starting.

Thankful Thanksgiving #5

2011-11-05T21:31:00.000-07:00

Day #5 of being thankful...

Today, I'm thankful for Patrick's grandparents. I'll never forget the terror I felt the first time I called his grandma on the phone. His social worker decided it was time for us to meet and gave me the phone number. I called and talked to this lady on the phone and tried to be "normal". I was fine until she said, "just so you know, we're not going to try to take away your baby". I lost it.

She just wanted to know that Patrick was safe and happy with us. After that, we started building a relationship. It's an important issue for us. We want him to have some connection to his biological family.

And I'm so thankful for that. I'm thankful that they are willing to have this relationship with us. I'm thankful that they love Patrick enough to let us adopt him. I'm thankful that they include Maggie in our get-togethers and give her gifts, too.

I'm thankful that we get to share Patrick's life with them and for the relationship that has already begun.

She and Him

2011-11-05T13:32:00.000-07:00

Kim and Tiffany told me about this:

This is Zooey Daschanel's band's Christmas album. It's only $5 on amazon right now.

I first loved her singing "Baby it's cold outside" on Elf and got the CD immediately. Now, it's a whole album of her singing Christmas songs. I know, I know, it's not Christmas yet, but this is a good deal!

Thankful Thanksgiving #4

2011-11-04T09:55:00.000-07:00

If you are my friend on facebook, I'm sure you have heard about the Willie drama. I have been so upset in the past week about my dog. We got Willie 10 years ago a few weeks after we got married. He's definitely my baby and Steven puts up with Willie.

After Patrick got home from his surgery, we started noticing that Willie was having a really hard time breathing. We took him to the vet and they did some x-rays. His lungs were almost completely filled with fluid. They couldn't even hear his heart beating. They said that it didn't look good for Willie (aka Woo-Woo). They sent us home with lasix and 2 antibiotics and said to come back in a week to recheck him.

Over the past few days, I've sobbed and wondered what to do. How do you know if a dog doesn't feel well? He's kinda lethargic and he gets older and super picky about his food and seems to forget why he scratched on the door. His breathing has gotten quieter, but he still is laboring to breathe and now he's not eating. I had to shove his medicine down his throat. He wouldn't eat it with cheese or ham or even wet cat food. I called the vet to recheck him today and cried some more. Oh yeah and I cried in the grocery store on the pet food aisle the other day and bought Willie a treat.

We made the appointment for after school so Maggie could go in case this was a goodbye visit. I took this picture of Willie and Patrick just in case it was Willie's last picture. Patrick thought it was hilarious that Willie was sitting in "sissy's seat".

Patrick really loves "woo woo" and held tight to his leash during the whole visit. The vet was impressed by Willie's progress. He could hear his heart and got another x ray that shows that he is improving. The antibiotics are working. We can actually see through some of the fluid on the x ray. So, we're going to keep doing what we are doing and see if he stays with us a little longer. He even ate a cheeseburger tonight loaded with antibiotics and a lasix.

Today, I am grateful for a little while longer with Willie. I love him and his sweet, goofy spirit.

How about you? Have you ever had a scare with a pet?

Thankful Thanksgiving #3

2011-11-03T05:46:00.000-07:00

I'm thankful that they have each other. We were watching CARS 2 and he crawled up in her lap to snuggle. He has an oreo cookie moustache.

They are snuggling and hugging and it's quite a love fest. And I'm thankful for them.

Thankful Thanksgiving Day #2

2011-11-02T13:09:00.000-07:00

It's Wednesday. Day #2. Think I can keep this up?

I'm thankful today for my Wednesday morning breakfast with Maggie. I have changed my volunteering time in her classroom to Wednesday mornings. So, I just stay at school with her until her class goes to lunch. It's been a really great time for me. I am working with the kids on counting money and on carrying with 2 digit numbers. My dad would think it's hilarious that I'm teaching kids math skills. But, I think 2nd grade math is my limit!

Since I can't survive until 11 a.m. without coffee, I suggested to Maggie that we leave a little early for school and stop at Starbucks and have some breakfast. She loves this. We call it our breakfast dates. She was so upset last Wednesday because Steven couldn't take Patrick to Sandee's house and we had to skip our breakfast date together.

We usually get the protein package and an unsweetened black iced tea and an iced coffee with splenda and cream. She eats the hard boiled egg and I get the peanut butter in the package. She poses for goofy pictures. We talk about chasing boys on the playground and spelling contracts and important stuff like that. It's just a time for me to really be able to listen to her.

I'm thankful for Wednesday morning breakfast dates.

Thankful Thanksgiving

2011-11-01T18:20:00.000-07:00

A lot of my friends are posting things that they are thankful for all month long. I think it's a great idea. A great reminder about all of the things that we have and should be thankful for. I figured it would be better for me to blog them so I can have them all in one place.

So, for the 1st day of November....

1. I am thankful for my friend, Brandy. She made me a new blog banner with our family picture on it. Remember just last year, when I couldn't post Patrick's face on the internet. Well, now I can! And my blog can reflect it. Thanks to Brandy.

Brandy was one of the first people that I met at North Georgia College during orientation weekend (INTRO). We got along great and I asked her if she wanted to room together so we would at least know each the person a little bit that we would be living with.

We only roomed together for 2 semesters, but she is still one of my best friends. I miss her terribly. She is a wonderful photographer and mom and wife. She homeschools her kids and I love getting glimpses into her life through her pictures.

I wish we lived closer to each other so we could catch up in person.

Thank you, Brandy, for my new blog banner. I'm thankful for you!

Beth's happy day

2011-10-24T10:08:00.000-07:00

When I was little, my mom gave me this book one year for my birthday. It's the sweetest book about sharing your birthday with people around you and being nice to people. And I remember there was an adorable kitten in the book too.

So, in honor of my birthday, I'm sharing my day with an adorable two year old. He is actually feeling better today and has eaten half of a pancake so far. He's snuggling next to me and points for me to sit down if I get up to get something.

Maggie gave me a card and my dad called me and Steven tried to take me to breakfast. We had to improvise on the breakfast a little, but so far, it's a happy day

Jonathan's birthday

2011-10-23T09:55:00.000-07:00

I missed posting about his birthday yesterday. But, my brother, Jonathan's birthday was yesterday (along with 6 other friends on facebook. Who knew October 22nd was such a popular birthdate?)

I am so proud of him. He's a talented musician and his band played a really big festival yesterday in Milledgeville. I really wish I could have been there to celebrate him. But, my kid had his tonsils out, it's across the country, and I can't stay out that late at night, etc.

Happy birthday, Jonathan. I'm so proud of you. I miss you and I love you.

Patrick's tonsils

2011-10-22T20:24:00.000-07:00

Patrick had his tonsils taken out yesterday. The hospital was really nice and the nurses/doctors were amazing. Everyone was amazingly nice and helpful to us.

Here are some funny moments that were maybe just funny to us since we are sleep deprived after taking care of a wimpy 2 year old:

One of the nurses came in the room and was talking to Patrick. She said, "what is your name?". He said "Me!"

The doctor came to check on Patrick after he got out of surgery and looked at him. He said, "Is he always that pale?". We laughed and assured the doctor that he is just a really white baby.

Patrick refused to eat or drink. He ate some ice chips on Friday afternoon The nurses were really concerned and kept trying to get him to eat. We told them that he doesn't eat much on a regular basis and has gotten really skinny. The nurse looked confused and then said, "but both of you are both so, ummm....you are healthy".

There's lots more to tell. I just wanted to remember some of the funny moments!

Dancing

2011-10-20T09:16:00.000-07:00

Maggie and Katelyn performed at the East Union's football game. Patrick LOVED it. He loved "foo-ball" and would cheer and clap. But, if you asked him if he wanted to play football, he would say, "I dance".

So, here's a video of him dancing to the band.

Lots of Maggie

2011-10-19T09:11:00.000-07:00

When we left for the bridal shower on Saturday, I had 10 pictures on my phone. After I left the shower, I had 54 pictures on my phone. This was the majority of the pictures that had been taken.

At least she knows how to entertain herself...

Davisstreet

2011-10-18T13:46:00.000-07:00

This is my brother's band, Davisstreet. You can listen to one of the songs here. If you are near Milledgeville, GA, they are making their debut on Saturday night at Buffington's.

Bridal shower

2011-10-17T19:04:00.000-07:00

We went to Nikki's wedding shower on Saturday. It was absolutely gorgeous. One of the games was to make a bridal gown out of toliet paper. Luckily, I had Carla and Kim and my mom on the team. And Maggie was adorable. How could we lose?!

We WON and got to pick out fabulous prizes. Such a fun party!

Saturday morning

2011-10-15T20:49:00.000-07:00

I got a new phone yesterday. Maggie knows how to use it better than I do. She made this video while I was unloading the dishwasher and Steven was cooking breakfast. Enjoy.

I love this picture

2011-10-14T22:57:00.000-07:00

I really like this picture. We went to the beach one night this summer and Patrick got in the water and Jonathan grabbed him for this shot. I love these guys!

LOL (for real)

2011-10-13T21:49:00.000-07:00

When I met Steven, I realized something very interesting about him. He really laughs at tv shows. Like really LOLs at the tv.

I don't know why this stood out as so odd to me. I think that I usually smile at something or maybe let out a small giggle if something is funny.

Am I weird or is he the weird one in this relationship?

I think it says a lot about our relationship and the way we see life.

Or maybe I'm just a big stick in the mud who is usually blogging while he watches tv and I'm not really paying attention to the show.

What do ya'll think? Is it weird to laugh at tv shows? Or am I weird and don't know how to really let loose?

Deep thoughts during Thursday night tv shows....

crazy

2011-10-11T22:31:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting here working/playing Words with Friends and Steven asks me if I have heard of this girl. http://www.kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com/

I googled her and started reading and crying. He's reading the USA today article to me as I'm reading her blog.

She is a mama to 13 children. We just kept repeating, "it's so crazy, it's so crazy".

But as Christians, it's not that "crazy". It's what we are called to do. We are supposed to be crazy and do crazy things.

I'm such a mom. My first thought is, "what if that was Maggie?".

What would you do if it was your daughter? Would you be proud? Terrified for her safety?

Sparky

2011-10-10T10:43:00.000-07:00

Sparky came to us on a cold February morning. He was an adorable tabby kitten who was in Steven's motor. Maggie begged us to let her keep him. I can't say that he is my favorite cat in the world. He's just kinda umm......ANNOYING.

He's one of those cats who is always hungry. Norma (our vet friend) told me that it was because he was on his own for so long before he came to us and he's always worried about being hungry again. This results in him always meowing and weaving his way through your legs in the kitchen.

If you go to the kitchen, he's meowing and running to the kitchen.

If you open the fridge, he's trying to jump in the fridge.

But, he is snuggly and cute, so we try to find the nice things about him and focus on those things.

Earlier this year, he had a bad reaction to flea medication. He started having seizures and we ended up spending $400 on this cat. My husband is a saint.

I told Sparky that it was his one get out of jail free card and not to pull anymore stunts like that again.

Sparky and Mickey are great at one thing. Killing gophers in the backyard. We live next to a big field and they probably bring us a dead gopher once or twice a week. This makes up for some of Sparky's other annoying habits, I guess?

On Tuesday, Sparky came home and was slightly limping. I checked him out and found nothing.

By Friday morning, he wasn't putting any pressure on it and it was really swollen. I finally found a bite mark. Probably from a mad gopher.

Crap. I love Sparky, but I can't spend another $400 on him. What in the world was I going to do about this?

On a side note: Maggie said that Sparky was probably just faking this injury so we would start really liking him.

I called Norma and she said it wasn't necessary to come in yet. Just to apply warm compresses on the spot and let Sparky try to heal on his own.

I asked her at what point I would need to bring him in. She said that if he developed a fever. Or if he was lethargic.

Lethargic?! I literally laughed out loud. Has she met this cat? I mean, he sleeps 20 hours a day. How would I even know if he was lethargic?!

So, I applied warm compresses to the cat. (p.s. cats hate this)

And I prayed. And guess what? Sunday morning, he came inside and was walking completely normal and the swelling was gone.

Maggie was right. I do like him a little more now. I am so glad he's okay.

Boots

2011-10-07T23:16:00.000-07:00

Patrick calls every pair of shoes "boots".

Last winter and fall, he would only wear boots. Even if he only had on a diaper, he was wearing his boots. My parents got him a pair of cowboy boots with Woody and Buzz on them and he LOVED them.

Today, it got a little chilly and I told him that it was time for us to go look for a new pair of boots. I didn't think that we would find cowboy boots with characters on them again this year. In fact, "pre-baby" Beth thought that shoes with characters on them was ridiculous.

"Current" Beth thinks it's a great idea. Anything to get my kids to put on clothes without a fight is a good idea, in fact.

We looked at the options at Target. We didn't see much. In fact, Patrick was eyeing a pair of tennis shoes with CARS on them. I was willing to compromise and get these. I mean, if he didn't care that they weren't boots, why should I care?

Then, we saw these boots.
He threw down the CARS tennis shoes and tried to start putting on these bad boys.

I had to calm him down and convince him to wait until we paid for them. We put them on as soon as he got in the van.

He looked down at the boots and puffed out his chest and said, "my boots. I daddy". This was followed by, "go daddy. see boots?".

All this is translated into:I'm cool like Daddy because I have new boots. Can we go show Daddy my new boots?

So, we did and he compared his boots to the ones that Steven was wearing and he showed them to everyone this afternoon. These will be the boots that Patrick has picked for his fall fashion line this year.

13 miles

2011-10-06T22:41:00.000-07:00

Steven and I have been walking/training for a half marathon at the end of the month. I really enjoy walking with him (even at 6 a.m.).

BUT...I've hurt the tendon that goes right behind my knee. My right knee. It is so annoying. It's not like super bad pain. More of an annoying pain. One of those things that makes you wonder if you should keep going and possibly injuring yourself further or do you just suck it up and keep going.

Right now, the plan is just to keep going with the half marathon training. Besides, who can resist walking in Napa Valley on an October weekend?

While I'm walking and pondering these deep thoughts (pre-coffee), I just imagine this....

Nik Nak

2011-10-05T14:45:00.000-07:00

This is a video of Nikki asking Maggie to be her flower girl for her wedding. The video quality is not that great, but you get the idea from the squealing and hugging.

We are going shopping for Maggie's flower girl dress in a few weeks. Maggie is so excited! She gets to spend a whole day with Nikki and gets to try on pretty dresses. What could be better?

When we moved to Manteca, Maggie was immediately drawn to Nikki and started calling her "Nik Nak". What little girl wouldn't love Nikki? She dances, wears pretty clothes and is always interested in what Maggie is talking about.

I'm so happy for Nikki and Jerry. They are getting married in January and I'm so happy to have our family be a part of their special day.

boxes

2011-10-04T14:34:00.000-07:00

Today, Patrick climbed into this box and got all snuggled inside. He had his sister's pillow pet, a big blanket, baba and his sister's stuffed leopard. He stayed there until Martha Speaks was over. He was allowed to play with all of his sister's stuff cause she was at school and didn't know that he had all of it.

When I looked at this picture, it reminded me of this picture....
This is a box that Maggie made for the "new baby" a couple of days before he came to our house. As you can see, Sparky claimed it before Patrick came to our house and we never actually put Patrick in this box. Maggie was trying to make him a crib and just knew that this would be perfect for the new baby.

I guess she knew what he would like. It just took us a few years to get used to the idea of putting our kid in a box!

Snuggle time

2011-09-22T21:20:00.000-07:00

This morning, Patrick and I were snuggling. Isn't he adorable?

Me turn

2011-09-20T20:10:00.000-07:00

Brenda gave us a golf set a couple of months ago. Patrick loves it. He doesn't try to hit people with the clubs very often. Why do clubs automatically turn into weapons, by the way?

Patrick quickly wanted to trade his plastic ball for a real ball.

Here he is concentrating on his form.

Daddy showing him how to hit the golf ball.

Patrick wanted to use Steven's club. He would say "me turn" over and over again.

Daddy showing him how to hit the ball.

The club is taller than Patrick.

Steven and Patrick had a great time in the backyard today.

Dora part 2

2011-09-15T09:50:00.000-07:00

This morning, Katelyn came over early before school started, since her mom was subbing. It's pajama day at school and the level of excitement was just too much. Katelyn asked if they could make a new video about Dora.

If you recall, they made a video about Dora and that she is a weirdo.

In case you are wondering, Katelyn is wearing a travel pillow on her head to look like Dora's hair!

So, for your viewing pleasure......Dora part 2

Airplane

2011-09-13T10:43:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning, Patrick found this book and backed up to my lap for me to read it to him. It always kind of surprises me when he wants to read. He is such a busy boy and reading doesn't seem to be his personality. I mean, it involves sitting and being still for a few minutes. But, he asks me to read to him at least once a day.

He's also not a big fan of "little einsteins". I think this was one of Maggie's books.

I read it to him complete with "pat,pat, pat" and he loved it. He loved the big jet in it and the rocket ship.

After we read it, it was time for him to ride with Steven to the babysitter's house. In his limited words, he asked if they could ride in a jet instead of Daddy's truck.

He mimicked flying and said "pwane" over and over. He was a little disappointed to get in Daddy's truck instead of a pwane, but was appeased by Daddy bringing the book along with him in the car.

Picture winner

2011-09-12T09:06:00.000-07:00

Good morning.

The resounding winner was smile #1 with teeth showing.

However, we went with Miss Beth Townsend's advice this morning. Do whatever feels natural when the photographer says "cheese".

We practiced some more this morning and she was totally at ease about it all.

She hopped up this morning so I could fix her nails that got messed up after we painted them last night. She put on her clothes and shoes and we fixed her hair. I love picture day. Everyday should be picture day!

We went out to the car to go to school and lots of kids were walking to school already. Maggie said, "everyone looks so nice today". We both smiled as we commented on the new clothes and combed hair. Everyone was kinda putting forth their best efforts today. It was sweet.

So, as soon as the pictures come back, I will be sure to post them. I love rituals like this.

What was your favorite school picture? Yours or your kids?

What do you think?

2011-09-11T14:15:00.000-07:00

Maggie has been practicing her smile for picture day tomorrow. I keep finding her in front of the mirror practicing the way she is going to smile for the camera. She kept asking for our opinions. We couldn't decide.

So....we are coming to you, dear internet friends.

Which smile would you pick?

This is smile #1:

This is smile #2:

Which smile would you pick?

She wants your opinions before tomorrow's picture day. I need all votes by tonight at 9:00 pm PST. She thought it would be a great idea to get your opinions.

***NOTE: Maggie is a very fickle person. She could change her mind dramatically tomorrow morning!******

the funk fog cleared

2011-09-07T11:13:00.000-07:00

Because of a series of weird events, I have been in a funk this morning. Several things happened and I've just been kind of in a weird mood this morning.

One (kinda) funny thing was that I dreamed all night that rats had invaded our house. I guess this is because Maggie and I watched the pixar short film about rats and the plague last night and Christine told me about a rat yesterday. These all became a giant rat infested dream in my head last night. Dog the bounty hunter came to my house in my dream and threw all the rats out on the lawn, where Mickey and Sparky finished them off. This was a very intense and disgusting dream. When I woke up (30 minutes late), I was in a weird mood.

In addition to that, some strange things have happened in the last two days and I can just kind of feel myself in a funky mood.

I was wallowing in my funk.

Until I logged onto pinterest. My mom tagged me on this pin.

This just made me really laugh out loud. Can you imagine? What if I really wrote this down as my address? Could my mail man find me here? Cause it's true.

Then, I looked up and Steven was walking towards me in his galaga tshirt that I bought him at Kohl's. It made me smile.

Then, magically, my funk fog cleared. I was happy and things were looking better.

Facebook, what would I do without ya?

2011-09-05T22:03:00.000-07:00

My mom has this update on her facebook status from 2009. (Patrick came to our house on Labor Day weekend 2009)

Maggie looked at her new little (foster) brother today and said: "I didn't even know he was missing from our family!"

I don't even remember her saying that, so I'm writing it down so I never forget it. Thanks, facebook.

Homework Center

2011-09-01T09:17:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, I saw this idea on Family Fun. I immediately pinned it to my pinterest board (cause I'm obsessed) and thought that I would do it "someday".

http://familyfun.go.com/magazine/familyfun-magazine-archive/familyfun-september-2009/homework-central-787551/2/

Doesn't this make homework look fun?

The more I thought about it, I decided that I needed to go ahead and make it. And by that I meant, my mom needed to help me tackle this project.

I bought a trifold board from Wal*Mart for about 8 dollars.

I found some sticky dry erase posters there too. I think they were about 4 dollars. They weren't necessary for this project, but it added some color and who doesn't love a dry erase marker? Especially if you are 7?

We used sticky double tape to put down cardstock pages. Then on some of those pages, we hotglued clothes pins. Then she could clip important papers onto the board.

My mom printed out a number line. I wrote down the alphabet to help with pesky alphabetizing homework sheets.

We hot glued some post it notes onto the board.

We also hot glued another dry erase board. Just for fun.

The last thing on the front side was clothes pins with a pencil holder. We put crayons, pencils, a pencil sharpener, tape, glue sticks and a pair of scissors. This was to eliminate the mad search for pencils when she started her homework.

On the back, we glued down a folder. This holds a world map that is laminated and her homework folder from school. She keeps it with her during the week and returns it on Friday.

From Drop Box

She loved it. She plays school with it a lot.

I can't say that it has revolutionized the way that homework is tackled at our house. But, it was a fun project. It keeps all of her stuff together, too.

I would say overall this project was around $15-$20. I used a lot of stuff that we already had at home to complete this.

Miss Lori

2011-08-30T21:53:00.000-07:00

This is my friend, Lori. We met while I was a social worker with the Pre-K program in Georgia. We quickly became friends. She is the sweetest, kindest, most southern girl in the world. If she met you, you would feel like you had known her your whole life.

We quickly bonded over our dogs and went on long walks together. We took our dogs to puppy training classes. The stories from those classes are hilarious. We had a blast. Her dog, Zoey, was a star student. Willie got uhhh....most improved.

She recently met her Prince Charming. I haven't met him yet and I hate that. But everyone that met him thinks he's perfect for her.

She asked me to be in her wedding March. I can't wait and I'm so honored. She knows everyone in Troup County, so it's a big deal for me to be included in the wedding.

I'm so happy for her. Her fiance is such a lucky guy.

Morning breath

2011-08-29T10:59:00.000-07:00

(this is an older picture of them, but it's still cute)

My kids love to snuggle in the morning. Patrick, Maggie and Steven were all snuggled up in bed and they were pretending to be asleep, which is one of Patrick's favorite "jokes". He snores and giggles.

This game involved snoring, giggling, squealing and starting all over again.

Patrick had a serious case of morning, milk breath.

Steven said, "Patrick has stinky morning breath." They all giggled.

Maggie repeated it, "Patrick has stinky morning breath." Silence.

Patrick piped up, "no, Maggie".

He was offended that Maggie thought he had stinky breath and blamed it on Maggie's breath instead.

I think they all needed a breath mint.

On the menu this week....

2011-08-28T13:59:00.000-07:00

I don't think this will really interest anyone, but I thought this would be the best place for me to plan out menus with website links. My mom and Mr. Tom are going on vacation this week, so I actually have to cook and plan menus. So here's my ideas for the week:

Monday: Tomato Basil Soup

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/rich-and-creamy-tomato-basil-soup/detail.aspx

Tuesday: Green Beans and Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf --I will put them in a cupcake pan for individual meatloafs. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/bacon-cheeseburger-meatloaf-recipe/index.html

Wednesday: Taco Salad

http://www.genaw.com/lowcarb/taco_salad.html

Thursday: No noodle Lasagna

http://www.dashingdish.com/2011/01/no-noodles-about-it-the-best-low-carb-lasagna/

Friday: Grilled Hamburgers and Roasted Broccoli

http://www.amateurgourmet.com/2008/11/the_best_brocco.html

The final reasons....

2011-08-27T09:21:00.000-07:00

30. He made all of our family's Halloween costumes last year. He sewed them and designed the iron on patches. Then, he created a trunk for our trunk or treat contest at church.

31. He can go anywhere and find someone that he knows. Or someone that he has a connection to. It is kinda of weird. I mean, we will be in the middle of nowhere and he can find a connection to the person next to us.

32. He is passionate about his job and ministry. One time I asked him what he would do with his free time if he won the lottery. He said that he would still be a pastor, but just wouldn't take a salary.

33. He has an extreme love for hair metal bands. We always play a game where I try to guess what band it is if we hear a hair metal band song. My guess is always "white snake". Unbelieveably, I get it right a lot of the time.

34. If we see a car with an out of state license, one of us says "I guess they are a long way away from home." The other person says "or maybe they are just borrowing a friend's car". It's an old joke that we started when we were dating. It's not really funny. We just say it out of habit now and laugh cause we are dorks.

35. When I was pregnant, he would paint my toenails for me. He even learned how to do a french manicure on them.

36. I haven't loaded up luggage into our car for a trip in over 11 years. I lay out the clothes and stuff I want to pack and he puts it in the suitcases and then loads it up. Then, when we are leaving, he does the same thing. He also checks the hotel about 4 or 5 times to make sure we haven't left anything behind and checks under the bed there.

37. He made a playhouse in the backyard for the kids.

38. From Maggie: He gives us a lot of kisses and hugs.

39. He loves Jesus. He leads our family to love Jesus, too.

Happy birthday, Steven. I love you.

I love him some more

2011-08-26T09:27:00.000-07:00

25. He knew my brother first. He was the new youth minister at the church that Jonathan attended. Jonathan brought him over to our house on Sunday afternoon. My computer was acting up and he tried to fix it for me. He is still fixing my computer and phone for me 11 years later.

26. Last year, he lost 60 pounds. It took a lot of work and breaking addictions to overeating. This was an amazing accomplishment. I'm so proud of him. He looks great and he did it so that he can be around a long time for our family.

27. He has run 2 marathons.

28. Now, he is helping me to train to walk a half marathon. We get up early every morning before the kids get going and walk together. I love spending this time with him and I get in some exercise.

29. He hasn't cut me off of his Amazon account yet. He just rolls his eyes when I order cases of peanut butter. I keep expecting him to change the password on me.

A few more reasons

2011-08-25T09:18:00.000-07:00

20. He coached Maggie's soccer team. It was a group of 5 and 6 year old little girls. The team was called the puppies. I don't think he really enjoyed this very much, but he did it.

21. This one is courtesy of Maggie. She said that her favorite thing about Steven is his scratchy moustache.

22. He has taught himself how to play the piano. He just sat down earlier this year and taught himself how to play.

23. Almost every night, I leave the living room and go to bed. I say, "hey, don't you want to come to bed?". He will say, "yeah, I'll be there in just a minute" and then he comes to bed like at 4 a.m. This scene replays almost every night. It used to bother me when we first got married. Now, I just think it's funny that we do this every night and expect different results. He wants to just do "one more thing" before he comes to bed.

24. I like the way that he gets down on the floor and wrestles and plays with Maggie and Patrick.

9 more reasons

2011-08-24T09:13:00.000-07:00

10. He will fix anything. He likes to fix things on his own. It is very rare for us to pay for someone to fix something. He loves to work on stuff.

11. He is fine with my parents living with us. Enough said. :)

12. He loves history. He loves to hear stories about the past and his favorite channel is the History channel.

13. He is completely addicted to pistachios. It reminds me of my dad. My dad used to eat them a lot, too. His were dyed this red color. Steven eats the natural ones and we need to buy them in bulk.

14. He understands my need to be somewhere early or at least on time. From a man who was chronically late, this is a big deal. This caused a lot of our early marriage fights. But, now, he doesn't get mad that I want to be somewhere on time. He has actually adapted to more of an early person.

15. He values how flexible my job schedule is and encourages me to keep with it. I could make a lot more money with a full time job, but he sees the value in me being at home and being there for our family.

16.He is extremely loyal. If you are his friend, you are his friend for life.

17. He is a really good golfer. I wish he more time and money to play more often.

18. (facebook just sent me a reminder about what I wrote in 2010 and this popped up. thanks, facebook lol) We are watching top 100 songs of the 90s and we are singing along to Beck and Weezer. Celine Dion's "my heart will go on" comes on and we both groan and reach for the remote!

19. He left for a trip last weekend and had to leave super early. Before he left, he cleaned up the living room. It reduced my stress level tremendously!

39

2011-08-23T20:03:00.000-07:00

Steven Cole is turning 39 on August 27th. I've decided to spend the days before his birthday listing 39 things that I love about him.

So here are 39 reasons that I love Steven Cole:

1.He puts up with my pets. Willie and the cats appreciate that.

2.He turns the tv to Paula Deen when I am upset. It does make me feel better.

3. He wears boots every day. Every single day. I'm surprised he didn't wear them on the beach. Because of this, Patrick thinks that boots are awesome and calls all shoes "boots". His boots are Cars crocs, so they are his "ca chow ca chow boots". You need an interpreter around here.

4. He is the only male on Maggie's school's community club. It puts up with a lot of hormones and craziness. I think it says a lot about him to put up with that much estrogen in order to help out at Maggie's school.

5. He is passionate about Aggie football. Even though we are far, far away tv coverage of it. If there's ever a Cowboys' game on tv, he is totally immersed in the game. I love watching him watch a game. He is instense!

6. He will watch Sponge Bob over and over and over again with the kids. And laugh at it.

7. He has a little following of old guys that he has met at McDonald's. He goes to work on his computer at the local McDonald's. He has started talking to some of the old men who drink coffee there. They love talking to him every morning.

8. He drinks unsweet tea like nobody's business. We always say that the "only" reason we got married was because we were the only two people in the south who like unsweet tea.

9. He has owned 2 trucks his whole entire life. He blames me for getting rid of his first love cause I didn't want my babies riding in his truck. He is still a little bitter about that. I can't imagine him driving anything else but a truck.

2 years ago

2011-08-23T08:38:00.000-07:00

Two years ago on the way home from Back to School night, I got a phone call that changed my life.

Our social worker called and asked if we were interested in fostering a little boy with "blondish red hair".

YES!

And it was the best decision for us!

two choices

2011-08-21T21:21:00.000-07:00

Tonight, Patrick was not being very nice. I told him that he had two choices. He could either go to the living room or he could go to his room.

He looked thoughtful and said, "hmmmmmm.....cookies?".

Like that was an even better option than what I was offering.

I had a hard time not laughing at him.

Follow that bird

2011-08-20T20:42:00.000-07:00

The other night, Maggie and I were trying to find something to watch on Netflix. I saw "Follow that bird" and decided to share this part of my childhood with her. Luckily, she was willing to endulge me.

We were watching it and I loved the trip down memory lane. Then, this song came on the movie.

What's shocking about this song is that I started singing along word for word. I haven't seen this movie since 1985 and it wasn't one that I watched over and over again. But, somewhere in my brain, the words to this song were stuck in my head.

It is just amazing to me. I wonder what else is lodged in my brain.

Anyone else have something like this happen to them? Something from your childhood that you didn't even realize was there?

I mean, really?

2011-08-19T09:30:00.000-07:00

How stinkin' cute is this baby? This was from February 2010. He is 8 months old here. I saw this picture tonight and I just had to post it. I just wanted to share it with ya'll since I couldn't share it at the time that I took the picture. I'm so glad that I can post his pictures now. I mean, everyone should see this right?

This was a picture that I took on a day trip that our family took to Santa Cruz. We walked along the beach and then went to on a small walk in a nearby forest. It was such a fun day. He was such a sweet and easy going baby and had a fun day.

I love this guy.

Ice, ice baby

2011-08-17T11:24:00.000-07:00

This is one of Patrick's favorite things. Ice.

When I drive through Starbucks to appease my own addiction, he starts yelling "ice" from his car seat. He gets a cup of ice. And it makes him very, very happy.

Maybe some day, he will eat food. Right now, he's a very cheap date.

winner, winner...chicken dinner

2011-08-17T09:24:00.000-07:00

(not really, just a redbox code)

The winner is Greg. Greg send me an email or facebook me with your email address so I can send you the redbox code!

The answer was:

$723.86

That's right, folks. Our church made $723.86 selling used potties and Christmas ornaments. It was amazing. That's a lot of money for a bunch of people's old junk. And it's going to ministry!

The money's going to ministry, I mean. The junk went to people's houses that will be featured on hoarder's soon.

Yard Sale

2011-08-15T09:21:00.000-07:00

This weekend, our church had a yard sale. In the past, our garage sales have been massive. Tons and tons of stuff. Good stuff. And we made tons of money. Ilda said that one year, the church made 1300 dollars. That is a lot of money for selling a bunch of stuff that people want to get out of their house.

This year's yard sale seemed a bit rough to me. I didn't think there was a lot of stuff. We did have a ton of Christmas decorations, oddly enough. Oh and a lot of toilets. Cause everyone wants to buy a used toilet right?

We met some really interesting people during our time. My mom said that she didn't feel right encouraging these hoarding tendencies in people. It was obvious that some people were hoarders. You could just tell. Were we enabling them?

We sold a ton of stuff. It was not a lot of stuff, but we sold a lot of it. I had a junk seller come up to get the majority of our left overs so we didn't have to haul it all away.

Guess how much money we made on this garage sale? The closest guess will get a free redbox code. Oh wait, the closest guess from a person who wasn't at the garage sale and knows the answer cause they asked Ilda wins a free redbox code. Don't be a cheater.

The contest ends tomorrow night at midnight PST.