Wonderful hubby!

Have I told you what a wonderful husband I have?

Sunday evening a friend asked me to go to coffee with her. She was hesitant about where I wanted to meet so she offered to come pick me up. Okay! She had to meet her mom at 8, so she came over at 5:30. When I told Aaron the time I expected some resistance since that is when we usually eat dinner. Nope, not this time!

So, unsuspecting, we went to starbucks, talked and had a good time. When we got back to the house, my friend came in with me to use the bathroom, or so I thought. When we walked into the house, (have you guess what happened next ?) all I heard was SURPRISE! There were 8 of my friends! Aaron had organized a suprise chocolate fondue party for me!

It was very fun to be able to talk and eat without kids! What a fun party, thanks honey!

With all the excitement, I forgot to take pictures. But I did take one the next morning of all the beautiful flowers I received!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Yup, its the big 3-3 for me! (hey that rhymes!)

So if you would like a big laugh today, go visit Jodi's blog and read about "stupid guy syndrome".

Restaurant-Style Chinese Chicken

A while back Susan asked about dishes you like to serve to company. I made this dish last week for our family and Joel and Micah devoured it. Joel said "Its yummy!" And it really does taste like a dish from a Chinese Restaurant!



If you wanted to make it for company, you could do all the prep work ahead of time, then just cook it up right before you serve. Cooking time is about 15-20 minutes.



Restaurant-Style Chinese Chicken

from Saving Dinner by Leanne Ely



Marinade for chicken:

6 T soy sauce

6 T dry sherry, optional

3 cloves garlic, pressed

3 t ginger root, grated (or the powdered stuff is okay too)

(last time I added 1-2 T of oyster sauce and that was good!)


-------------------
1 lb chicken breast halves, skinless, boneless and cut into cubes

3 t vegetable oil (Add some sesame oil too if you have it)

4 oz unsalted roasted peanuts (or any other nut you have on hand, I use salted anyway)

1 red bell pepper

3/4 cup green onions, sliced

3/4 cup chicken broth

3 t cornstarch



(Now you can add or subtract pretty much any of the vegetables. I've used yellow onion instead of green onions. I've added tofu, mushrooms, broccoli, whatever you like)



In a large zipper-topped plastic bag, combine soy sauce, sherry, garlic and ginger root. Mush the bag to blend well, then add chicken (and tofu, if you want), turning several times to coat. Place bag of chicken in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.



In a skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add peanuts and cook, stirring frequently, until nuts are lightly browned, about 1 minute. Transfer nuts to a plate and set aside.



Now cook chicken in the skillet (reserving marinade) until cooked through. Transfer chicken to same plate with peanuts; set aside.



Add bell pepper and green onions to skillet and cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until crisp-tender, 1-2 minutes. Mix broth, cornstarch and reserved marinade, then add to the skillet. Add chicken and peanuts. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil and thickens, 2-3 minutes.



This is a good recipe b/c once you have it down then you can experiment with different flavors and veggies.

Impending Congratulations!

Congratulations to Tim and Wendy who are about to become foster parents to two adorable little girls!

Follow their story via their podcast!

Blueberry Farm

Today we went to pick blueberries at the blueberry farm in our town. You would never expect to see this blueberry farm, because its in the middle of a residential area. The trees are about 100 years old, so it is leftover from when our area were all farms. Its nice that the city has preserved it.

Micah started out by putting berries in the bucket. That lasted about 20 min, then most of them ended up in his mouth. I think Joel only put about 3 in the bucket the whole time. He liked running through the bushes like a madman, and playing hide and seek from us. Mostly hiding from us.

Then tragedy struck. Micah dropped his bucket and spilled his berries. We tried picking them up, but we lost probably half the berries. Then joel sat in the ones that fell, to make matters worse!

Here is Micah and Joel "picking" blueberries.

We ended up with 6 pounds of blueberries!

7 year old midget

I just applied for passports for the kids and myself since soon "they" will require passports to drive into Canada or Mexico. Given the proximity of ourselves and the border, and the frequency with which we "talk" about going to Whistler, I thought it best to start the process now.



The thing that cracks me up is on the application you are required to give your height, even if you are 22 months old. What? So it can change in about 5 minutes? Passports for kids are good for 5 years, so when Joel is 7, it will say on his passport that he is 2 foot 11 inches. By the time I apply and finally recieve his passport (which the website says is 3 months!) it will no longer be correct!



Ha!

Picnic at the Beach

Tuesday evening we had a fun picnic on the at the lake for dinner. This lake park is about 3-4 miles from our house and just down the hill from where Aaron works. Great location for us!



The boys had a great time playing in the water and sand. Joel is becoming quite the little swimmer! He likes to float on his tummy and puts his hands down on the ground to hold him up. Then he says "I swimming, I swimming, mommy!" The funny thing is he calls this a back float. Micah is also getting more brave, going in the water up to his neck! Tonight he laid down in the water on his back (about 3 inches of water) to do a (real) back float.



Some kids had dug holes in the sand next to the water and had filled them in with water. Micah said "Look! Tide pools! But, where are the fish?" The kids had fun, none-the-less in the little "pools". Joel was dirty, head to toe. Then they started jumping into the little pool. Very fun.



Here are some pictures from the picnic:

HO-mo-NYMS! HO-mo-NYMS!

Last week while driving back from the aquarium Micah asked me, out of the blue, (or so I thought) why we can't see the inside of mussels.



me: "Well, that's because muscles are under our skin, so we can't see them"



Micah, confused: "But they are under the water!"



Me, confused: "No, they aren't. . . oh you mean mussels! A-ha!! "



It's amazing what they pick up from an aquarium talk. He now knows about barnacles and mussels.



________________

Sweet Boys:



This morning Micah told me "I love you mama. Mama, you are my girlfriend. And you are Daddy's girlfriend too." Later he told me I was Joel's girlfriend too and that I was his beautiful mama.



Joel, on the other hand, calls me Mama C******* (insert our last name) . As opposed to his other mother. However, the other morning I came in to get Joel up out of his crib and the first thing he said is "mama kisses" and he blew kisses at me.



When Joel is ready for his nap, now he says, "night-night time with Tigie". And sometimes he sings the night-night song we have. Tigie is a small "lovey" blanket that looks like a Tiger. My MIL bought it for him and I gave it to him when he was 3 or 4 months old. They have been inseparable since. Tigie is definitely a special friend. Whenever Joel sees him he has a little giggle, grabs him, giggles, hugs and puts him in his mouth. Tiger is usually carried around in Joel's mouth. I looked through all our pictures from this year and couldn't find a pict of tiger in Joel's mouth. I will have to take a few, for posterity. (and good wedding picts!!) Here he is, on his lap:

_______________

Rant:

Why do people ask random pregnant strangers when they are due?? When I see a pregnant woman, the first question out of my mouth is not "when are you due?" I mean, not even a hello, or hi! Geez, thank you for confirming the fact that the first recognizable thing about me is the size of my belly. I needed the confidence booster.

Harry Potter.

So everyone is talking about reading The New Book out for the summer. I have an admission. I have never read a single word of Harry Potter. Nor do I have a slight desire. There, its out.

Is that kind of like never watching Star Wars? (I have seen all 6, for the record)

I've watched 2 Potter movies, I don't remember which ones. They were okay. I only watched them b/c my hubby wanted too, but I'd never pay to see one at the theatre.

Now, to be clear, its not because I think there is something wrong with them, or that I dissaprove because of the magic. It just doesn't look very interesting to me. But then I've never really been into fantasy-type books. (Does the Chronicles of Narnia qualify as fantasy?)

I hope you all still talk to me.

adoption brings pregnancy

I am just about convinced that adoption is a sure-fire way to become pregnant. Three people I know in the past few months were in the middle of the adoption process or just completed adoption. Now these 3 are pregnant! One gal I know was told by doctors "she would never be pregnant". This is now her 2nd pregnancy, naturally with no fertility drugs. The first pregnancy happened while they were trying to adopt. Now they just completed an adoption. Her 2nd and 3rd child will be 9 months apart!!! Imagine the stares and questions at the park she'll get! =)

Oh, and remember Dana? Go read her blog for her latest announcement!

So if you are thinking about adoption....just be prepared for 2 new kiddos.

Oklahoma

We are enjoying our trip here to Oklahoma to visit family. I was afraid it would be WAY too hot, but it hasn't been too bad. So far we have:

-Been to a spray park. Those are sooo much fun!! Free, and you don't have to worry about small children drowining. The kids really enjoyed themselves. I wished we had one close by.

-Visited the Museum of natural history. Joel said "big dinosaur, ROARRRR!"

-Went swimming, shopping and visited with lots of family. Micah and Joel have had soo much fun playing with cousins. These are Aaron's cousins' kids, so they are 2nd cousins. But barring any unforeseen (and unknown) annoucement, these are the only cousins my kids have. So fun to have family their age to play with.

Computer and /or blogger is VERY slow, so I will finish later, hopefully with pictures.

Here is what we did!

So if you want to know what we were up to last week, go to Daphne's blog.
Just a sidenote:
Daphne mentioned that Joel wakes up early. He was. Now he is back to sleeping in to 7:30 or 8. Awesome! I think the 2 year molars finally came in. Ahhhh, then end of teething, yes!!

Busy week!

Whew!
We have had such a fun week, but exhausting! Daphne and her family came to visit and we had a great time. It was fun to catch up, talk and meet kiddos!

Someone came over almost every day for dinner b/t 4th of july, biola friends, and a baby shower for Dana's family. It was alot of fun, but I am just beat from all the entertaining!

Pictures to come later...

Forgiveness

Since we have watched the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe last week I have been ruminating over one of the scenes. I've read this book many times, but the visual image of it in the movie tends to stay with you longer.



Background: Edmund is the "black sheep" who cooperates with the White Witch and betrays his brother and sisters. The White Witch chains him up, but Aslan and gang rescue him.



The Scene: Aslan talks to Edmund about his wrong-doings. We just see them talking off in the distance. Aslan comes back to Lucy and Susan and says "It is done, do not speak of this". And that was the end of that. Edmund was repentant, Aslan forgave, that was it. No one belabored his major mistake and wrong-doing. It was forgotten.



Sometimes I think that I belabor Micah's wrong-doings AFTER he is repentant. I think that he doesn't "get it" about what he did wrong. So I belabor it. And talk about it. And try to punish him more by my words and actions. Christ never withholds love from us after we are repentant. And after we repent, he doesn't remember it, or grumble about our sin. The problem is not Micah, its me. I feel like I was wronged, and I want him to realize that. Wrong motivation for discipline. AND a sin *I* need to repent from!

Aaron's new blog

Aaron has a blog!

http://voicesfromthemargin.wordpress.com/

Read the "about" page to see what he's up to with this new endeavor.

Woo HOO

Major milestone that I must record for all posterity, because this is my version of a baby book , in a way:

Today, Joel pooped in the potty for the very first time. 22 months old.

Who knows if it will continue.

I was getting him out of the bathtub and he got this look on his face, said something and pointed at his bottom. He let out a toot, and I grabbed him quick and put him on the potty because it looked like more was coming. He was a bit scared, but then he did it! Micah and Aaron came in and we all did the happy dance, clapping and cheering for him. He loved it.

We'll see if it catches on. But if not, at least it was one less poopy diaper I had to change!

Glimpse

Today I had a glimpse of my life to come. A visit from the "future fairy" a la A Christmas Carol. Yikes!

Joel was just acting out and out like a 100% boy today. On top of that I watch my friend's son one day a week, which happened to be today. I tried to read the 3 of them a story today... well it was interrupted by Joel tackling the Other Boy, who started crying and Micah jumping in on top. The Other Boy successfully got away, but Joel and Micah were tackling each other at full-speed ahead. Wow. This would be my life if the next one is a boy.

I actually heard myself say these words..."Stop doing that because I don't want to go to the ER right now".

Should I stock the liquor cabinet now or later?

Ahhhhhhh.....

How do you quantify comfort in pregnancy?

Exactly $19.99 at Old Navy.com on sale. Specifically--under the belly stretch size Medium Long. Exactly.

Remember the topic of pregnancy last week? One thing I didn't realize is how different everyone carries their baby. I've been able to borrow some clothes, which is great, but unless the waist is the way I like it AND its a Long for pants... then chances are I'm just making due... which is hard to do for 9 months. When you already feel uncomfortable and self-concious.
So for me... under the belly is heaven. I carry the baby high. I'm sure you all wanted to know that.

I know that this is my 3rd baby but, some of my clothes are 5 years old (read: out of style) and have been passed along to many, many friends. There's nothing like dropping 40 bucks at Old Navy and having clothes that fit and feeling good about what you're wearing. Besides, each top is about $8. I've always said that Old Navy is like disposable clothing. Well, it only has to last 9 months. (Actually 5 months now!)

Weekend Fun

We had a busy and fun weekend. Saturday night after church, we rented The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe for Micah to watch. He has been listening to it on cd, so he knows the characters. He really enjoyed it, wasn't too scared of the White Witch. It was fun to share it with him. He did have a TON of questions!

Sunday we went to the Strawberry Festival. That was alot of fun! They had exhibits of old farm equipment that the kids could use. There was a few old water pumps that you could pump and many old tools with signs that said what they are used for. There was also a gasoline powered Maytag clothes washer. Micah had fun trying everything out.

We hit the fruit stand next, which I was so glad we found BEFORE the junk food stands. There are 3 fruit stands/fields operated with subsidies from the parks and rec dept in our city. Its so nice that they keep that green space AND we can pick fresh blueberries, only about 1 mile from us! So the kids chowed down on blueberries and cherries.

They had the obligatory "fair/festival" booths that tend to be at all of these type events. We looked through to see what was being sold.

The Blues Clues bounce house was hard to compete with, however. So we made our way over to the games section. The rain started pouring down and the bounce house was too wet inside, even for Micah. We headed for the midway games where Micah and Joel had fun doing playing games.

Sunday evening, Micah and Dad got to go to a "minor league" basketball game. Micah's been asking for quite some time to go to a basketball game. He came home and announced that now he wanted to go to a soccer game. At least it wasn't football! (contemplating the ticket prices for that one....)

Random question...

There are a few "mom" blogs that I read out there just for fun. One is about living frugally. She makes her own dishwasher detergent and clothes detergent! Even her own crackers! Yikes! The thought to make those items never crossed my mind! We spend about $32/year on dishwasher detergent and about $15-20/year on Tide. We buy a box from Costco and it last just about 1 year. We have a front loader washing machine and you use less than 1/4 the detergent. So, making my own would have to be very easy and very cheap.

Pregnancy Question of the Day

Thank you for all your inquiries into how the pregnancy is going. Right now its going great! I felt AWFULL for the first 10 weeks. I thought it would NEVER end! It was the worst first trimester of the three kids. So, of course, everyone has suggested it might be a girl. We'll see. I'm not counting on that.

The nausea hit me so hard, that I immediately suspected I was pregnant. I mean, like exactly when I was 4 weeks along. Is that when implantation happens? It was such an overwhelming wave of nausea and tiredness. I haven't felt that before. It was all I could do for about 8 weeks to just take care of the kids. Then you all heard this story. Finally at 10 weeks I felt like I was turning the corner and its just become better ever since. I'm 17 weeks now, and except for a few passing cravings, that's about it. I feel the baby flutter now and then, but nothing regular yet.

So here is my question of the day: What did you wish you knew about pregnancy and/or children? (I see all the guys checking out right about now.) Think of this as a PSA for those of us w/o kids.

My answer? I had no idea that you lose half your hair when the baby is about 4-8 months old! Yikes! Fortunately, someone had clued me in when Micah was about 5 months old. Then it started falling out about 8 months. With Joel it fell out at 4 months.

I also had no idea the feeling of complete tiredness and sleeplessness. But no one can prepare you for that feeling and how you will react.

Happy Father's Day!

Saturday we went hiking to celebrate Father's Day. It was a good time and perfect hiking weather; not too hot or cold. Micah walked and Joel rode in the backpack. We walked for about 1.5 miles up hill, and it was up hill the whole way! Micah did a great job! He was fascinated by the slugs and bugs we saw. That kept him interested. We really want to get the boys interested in the outdoors because we like to hike so much. At the trail head we saw a cub scout group and that perked Micah's interest. Aaron's now telling him cub scout stories to get him excited about joing scouts when we gets older.

Joel was sacked out at the end of the hike. He is in the backpack, in case you were wondering.



On Sunday we went down to have lunch with my dad at the Spaghetti Factory. No more contaminated brocolli issues; we skipped it this time. It was great, except when Joel acted out the part of the 1 1/2 year old at the end. (We stretched our luck into his nap time.)

First Crop

We had our first harvest of the garden today. We cut two broccoli stalks for dinner tonight. He was so proud of his vegetables!



Micah loves broccoli. He will grab it and chomp a bite of it raw. I cut the stalk off and Micah grabbed it and ran off with it to gnaw on it. When he was about 2 1/2 Aaron's mom tried to feed him cotton candy and he refused. He would not eat it, instead he said "NO, I want broccoli!!"

Broccoli related, but more about food allergies:
One time we were at the Spaghetti Factory where you can order a side of broccoli. We were very careful to check and make sure there was no butter on it. However they put olive oil on it. Well, he ate the whole plate of broccoli and broke out in huge hives everywhere. We asked the waitress about everything he ate. She came back from the kitchen and told us that they use the same ladle for olive oil and butter! Some things you don't even know to ask about when you go out to eat.

Its a Big Day!

Happy Birthday to my wonderful Hubby!

Also, Happy Anniversary to my brother and sister-in-law!

Tickets tickets tickets

We started Micah on a ticket system for the TV and computer. I give him 7 TV tickets and 7 computer tickets per week. Each TV ticket is worth one 30 minute show. Each computer ticket is worth 20-30 minutes worth of time on the computer or L-Max Leapster. Although, he gets to play the leapster in the car for free at the moment. I think that may change. If he doesn't use his tickets at the end of the week he will get a quarter for each ticket.

I needed a way to say no to TV and take it out of my hands. This way when the tickets are gone for the week, that's it. If he wants to watch "one more show" he has to give me another ticket. Micah is such a couch potato that we needed a way to regulate it. We were allowing one show per day, but that would creep into two shows, then there would be the whining. Now he is in control with the tickets. He thinks its a fun game. However, now his TV tickets are gone for the week and he doesn't get any more until Sunday.

He doesn't grasp the concept of saving his tickets; mostly because I don't think he understands "a week". Why save it for this nebulous concept of "Friday" when you can watch Sesame Street today, right now? Ahhh, delayed gratificaton.

Go guess!

Go to Daphne's website and make a guess as to the boy/girl fraternal/identical combo of her twins! I'm dying for her to tell us and she wants more guesses!

I found this very funny

Check this out from my friend, Dana's blog. Scroll down to see the picture.

8 things about me

I was tagged my Rebecca and Erin, so here goes

1. We found out the sex of our first two kids, but the third will be a surprise.

2. I will eat pretty much anything except for crustaceons and shell fish. Raw fish and spicy food get the axe when I'm pregnant.

3. I don't wear makeup most days...most of the time I plain forget.

4. I don't like coconut flavoring or coconut in pretty much anything.

5. I don't know how to start a fire. This was not very convenient when we lost our power back in December when our only source of heat was a wood stove.

6. When I was 5 I used to tell everyone that spinach was my favorite food for the shock factor. Then I really started to like it since I had to eat it all the time (since everyone thought it was my favorite food).

7. Yoplait yogurt is disgustingly too sweet.

8. Growing up my pastor had two sons that I used to babysit. Their names? Micah and Joel, in that order. Aaron named our kids. They only had two kids, so we're at a loss for the third.

"New" Stroller

We bought a "new-to-us" stroller. It looks just about like this. Except about 5 years old. I finally broke down and bought a Peg Perego stroller. I feel so.... yuppyish. I was tired of having the giant Graco stroller and a cheap-o umbrella stroller that I had to hunch over to push and which also make Joel slouch. Now lest you choke on your lunch at the price tag (if you have small kids, you're not surprised) I found ours on Craig's list. So its a few years old, but at a small fraction of the cost, I can buy 2 at that price if this one wears out before #3 comes along. The thing I love about is that it will accomodate an infant carrier, AND it folds up like an umbrella stroller PLUS there is a footboard on the back for a toddler to ride on! I can get rid of 2 strollers! The Graco stroller is just about thrashed anyway after Micah and Joel were done with it!

Its funny thing about strollers. When a child is a baby its a useful tool to push them around because they can't walk. When they learn to walk it a useful tool to KEEP them from walking (or in my case RUNNING away). I'm all for containment devices. Especially during brother's swim lessons.

Now if you're a guy you're wondering why I would blog about a stroller. If you're a mom, you know exactly why.

Lake Fun!

We've been having some good weather, so the kids have been literally living outside. It is so nice! Joel loves being outside. The first thing in the morning he is at the sliding door in his jammies pointing and saying "outside, outside".

I filled up the baby pool with water along with a large plastic container (2'x1'). Poor man's water table. Needless to say we went through 3 changes of clothes yesterday. Doesn't help that Micah thinks its hilarious to dump water over his head and his brother's. Good thing Joel goes along with it!

We went to the lake yesterday to play in the sand and water with friends. I go to the "beach" SO much more now that we live up here. It is so much easier here because its not (usually) crowded, there are no waves, it is very close and parking is free. We live near two very large lakes, so there are an abundance of beach parks. Lake Sammamish is the closest--you can see it within a 5 min walk from our house. There is a small lake at the end of the cul-de-sac, but you can't see it from our house because of the trees. We don't swim there because all the lake front there is privately owned. Its weather like this that makes us remember why we love living here. =)

Now I know what you're thinking--"Why are they playing in the mud??" I swear it is not mud. It is gray, but the camera makes it look darker than it really is.

You know you are at FolkLife Festival....

As seen by us at the Seattle Center on Memorial Day.

piano

Two weekends ago, Micah had a piano recital! That was so cute! He is in a music program called Move over Mozart piano class. I found it through our parks and rec department. It is an excellent way to introduce kids to music and develop fine motor skills. Miss Pam, is very patient with the young ones. She starts by color coding their fingers and the piano keys. The music is with numbers and the numbers are colored as well (the kids color the numbers). She then transitions to music with the letters printed on the page (instead of musical notes). The kids then color the letters. He has learned about bass clef, treble clef, quarter notes, rest, and half notes. She also teaches them etiquette at a recital; bowing, listening and clapping when appropriate. The recital was so cute and yes, we video taped it. It was held in a room at a piano store, so they even had a grand piano to play on! When we first arrived, Micah said "WOW this place is cool! Look at all the pinanos! (that's how he says piano). Look how big this pinano is, just like Miss Pam said!"

Tonight, Micah said that next week he was going to marry Grandma. I said I thought he would marry me! He said, "oh, we already married you, right mommy?"

You know its a 2nd child when...

...he dumps all the cheerios on the floor and is eating them. You don't think its cute and you don't run to get your camera. You've seen this before.

Lunch Help

I need ideas for lunch. We sort of alternate between PB&J and chicken nuggets. With an occasional hot dog thrown in for good measure. What do you or your kids eat for lunch? Being pregnant has also made me bored with leftovers. I am blessed with two non-picky eaters, so that is not the issue. Just an uncreative mom.

BTW, according to Micah, we are having a girl, and her name is Hiking Sister. He's very adamant.

Weekend away

Okay, I really should be doing the dishes, but I'm procrastinating, again.

I was able to go to a ladies retreat this weekend with a good friend of mine, Kelly. Kelly and I have been friends for about 10 years, we met at Calvary Santa Ana. They sold out and moved to Spokane last year. Her oldest is only three weeks younger than Micah. Its been so nice to have them only 4 hours away!

Our church did not have a ladies retreat this year, so I invited Kelly to come to the Camp Gilead ladies retreat with me. Camp Gilead is in Carnation, about 30 minutes away. I attended camp there in high school and worked two summers there as a camp counselor. A good friend that I know from my counselor days is the program director there now. It was a great time to get away and catch up with old friends.

A unique thing that Camp Gilead does is leave the first day open with nothing scheduled, letting you do as you please. As a mom, you know how rare that opportunity is! We went on a walk, and even some garage saleing! Nothing bought for ourselves, of course, all for the kiddos! Friday afternoon the retreat program started. The topic was our identity and how it is found in Christ. Ironically, Susan is discussing the same topic.

In closing, I must comment on the Office finale. I think it was one of the best episodes I have seen! I had tears in my eyes at the end! (Must be those darn pregnancy hormones!!!)

TV observation

Have you ever noticed that having lived (or currently living) in Southern California ruins your ability to suspend reality during TV shows? Like last week when Aaron was watching Jericho and I was ironing (half watching). They were in "Kansas". Have you ever been to Kansas? I have. Its flat. Very flat. With trees. That stereotype is very true. They were having a gunfight supposedly in Kansas, but all I kept thinking was "Simi Valley", "Magic Mountain" and "Santa Clarita". Very hard to believe.

This even happens on The Office. It is set in Scranton, PA. Which seems like it would be a place that is very green with lots of trees. Whenever they do outdoor scenes, the first thing that pops into my head is "Studio City". Especially with the hard-to-miss smoggy hills in the background. The episode about the Beet Farm was the worst for me. It in no way resembled anything that I imagined the Pennsylvania countryside to be. In fact it looked alot like Little House on the Prairie.

Prayer for friends

Since many on this blog are adoption-minded, I thought I would tell you about my friends, Mike and Dana. They are adopting a little boy, Matthew, from Vietnam and they are leaving tonight at 2am (which is really tomorrow). We are so excited for them as we have seen the process with them. God has answered many prayers, including that of a mother's heart; that she see her baby on his 1st birthday! They have known about Matthew since December but have been waiting on immigration paper work to be able to travel. Just 3 weeks ago they were given word that they'd have to wait until July or later to travel; missing his birthday. Five days later they were told they were travelling now! It brings tears to my eyes!

Please pray for them as they travel, they have an older son, who is 2 1/2. Pray for safety as no one uses car seats in Vietnam (there aren't even seat belts!). Pray for bonding with Matthew and feeding issues as he has a cleft pallet.

You can see pictures at their blog.

The Office Finale

Update: I just realized I won't be able to watch the finale until Saturday! Eeks, how will I survive! So no comments or discussion on it until Saturday! =)

**spoiler for Susan!!***


I was SO surprised last Thursday night. I could not believe that Miss Pam Beesley found herself to confront Jim IN FRONT OF EVERYONE! It was great!

So what is your prediction for Thursday's finale? Who do you think gets The Job?

scenario #1 I think that Jim gets the job and that is the cliffhanger. We come back from vacation to find out that he passed on the job and passed it on to Karen.

scenario#2 Karen gets the job. Jim stays for Pam.

Do you really think Michael has a shot? I also really can't see Jim leaving the office yet again.

Discuss.

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day from my two punkins!

Hope everyone had a fun day with their peanuts. My Dad came over and we went to the park for a picnic. It was much better than going to a restaraunt with the kiddos. Thanks honey for organizing it!

Works for Me Wednesday-Occupy a Toddler on an Airplane

One of the blogs I read, Rocks In My Dryer, sponsors a blog every Wednesday where you can share tips about kids, household chores, cooking, anything! I thought I would play along this week and share some ways I found to occupy toddlers on an airplane after our recent trip.

Joel is 19 months. I think between 15-26 months is the hardest age bracket to occupy on an airplane. Its not like you can reason very effectively with them. They just want to run around and play! TV is generally not effective, maybe 5 minutes. Here are some activities that kept Joel's attention for 30 min to an hour.

• Deck of cards. Bring a deck that you don't mind losing a few cards (obviously). Joel loved to put the cards in the box, one by one. He was very meticulous about it too.
• Sticker books. I would have to show him where they went, but he loved lining them up and putting them in the book.
• Pennies and a small can. Make a small can into a bank--maybe like a small peanut can that has a plastic lid. Since you're sitting right there you can regulate if any go in the mouth.
• Leafing through the inflight magazine and asking him to find things on the page, like the dog, a certain letter, a ball, etc. I let him "color" or circle the items too.
• Completed sticker books. My 4 year old loves sticker books too. Once he is done with them, I give them to Joel, who loves to take the stickers off, on, off, on, off on. Eventually they all end up on the floor. Who cares? They have both had their fun with it.

Of course, by the end of the 6 hours flight he was jumping on the seat, but these were a few things that kept my sanity.

Do you have your own ideas? Please leave a comment!

Hiker Joel

Today was a gorgeous day, 72--not too hot or too cold. Since its been awhile since we've seen this weather, we live outside when these days come along. Today we went to a new park/playground that also had trails through the forest. After playing hard on the playground we went for a walk in the forest. Joel refused to be carried. I let him walk, but then tried to carry him when I thought he was getting tired. No. Can. Do. What a little trouper he is!! He wanted to walk and do it himself! This was not a flat trail, either--lots of hills, some pretty steep. We walked a total of about 2/3 mile and he walked every inch.

Tomorrow we'll be tackling Mt. Rainier. 14,000 feet, what do you say?

In case anyone was thinking about...

....reading Linda Berdoll's book, Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife, I have one piece of advice. Don't. Its a "continuation" of Pride and Prejudice and takes up where Jane Austen left off, with the courtship, wedding and 1st few years of marriage. Sounds good, doesn't it? Well, Ms. Berdoll likes to focus on one aspect of marriage, and wash it up with Austenesque language. Berdoll is much more explicit than Austen would ever dream to be. So after two chapters, I refused to read furthur. The Amazon reviews I read all liked the book, so I thought I'd give it a try. Big mistake.


Has anyone else found any worthwhile "Austen continuation" storytellers? (for lack of a better word)

Less Stuff

I read this article today in the Seattle Times. Its about a groups of gals who have vowed to not buy anything new for a year, except for food and items related to health and safety. (So they do buy tooth brushes and deoderant). Its pretty interesting and one that I have thought often about. I try to go by the Children's Hospital Thrift Store every now and then to see if they have any kids clothes for the boys. While there I sometimes find a household item or gift wrap item that I need too.

BK, (that's before kids, not Burger King), I used to do more garage sales. Often I would just happen to find things that were on my list to buy at Target. Such an awesome feeling. I love the "thrill" of the hunt.

I think its interesting read and a good idea to scale down the amount of "stuff" that we have.

One more thing...

Forgot to mention... remember the shoulder injury? Well, another funny thing. Exactly the day after I finally decided, that yes, I would have the shoulder surgery done, I find out I'm pregnant. Whoops! Guess that won't get done!

Any guess on my ER bill on Maui? We got the amount today. Not a bill, thank goodness as it is going to insurance.

Birthdays

Micah's birthday is in December. I tell everyone, don't have a baby in December (as if you can control it!) It gets very hectic with the holidays and wanting to make his birthday still special. Then there is the whole present overload issue. I used to hide some presents and dole them out during the year. But now that he is older he knows everything, keeps track of all presents given.

God has a sense of humor. Guess who is now pregnant and due November 30? Yup, me! Since my babies have a history of staying put in the womb; another December birthday is in my future.

I talked a bit about how I was dehydrated when we were on Maui. The reason I was dehydrated was because of the pregnancy, flying and not drinking any water (only diet coke b/c of nausea). It also doesn't help that they don't allow water through security; you must buy it in the airport. It was the most horrific experience I have ever had, and I do not wish it on anyone. I thought I was going crazy, my muscles were spasming, my eyesight was blurry, my heart rate would skyrocket and jump around. I remember looking at the doctor in the ER and having to push up my forehead in order to be able to look at him because my muscles were cramping so bad and forcing my eyes closed. They put 2 liters of fluid in me and I did not need to use the bathroom at all! We've had 2 ultrasounds since and baby is doing great!

What You Know About Math?

The math teacher in me couldn't resist posting this video.

Joel's First Haircut

Joel had his first haircut today! We go to a great barbershop nearby. They have toys on the side to play with if we have to wait and a tv with cartoons to distract during the haircut. The owner knows us and recognizes the boys when we come in. She was even careful to save some of Joel's hair for me. Best of all their prices are great.

We also planted Micah's vegetable garden this weekend. Tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, salad mix, onions, and peas were on the menu. We also planted strawberries in the backyard.

Jars Of Clay- Dead Man Carry Me

I have always thought this song sounded just like the OK GO song, Million Ways (posted below). What do you think?

Ok Go -Million Ways

From the guys who did the treadmill dance--this was their first video. I love the fact that they turn on the camera themselves. Try to catch the Matrix reference.

We're Back!

We just returned this week from spending 2 weeks in Hawaii! It was a great time with fun times had by all. We spent 10 days on Maui, then the boys and I went to Oahu for 4 days to visit Jodi and HER boys. =)



Highlights from the trip:

• The first day was spent in the ER because I suffered from severe dehydration. NOT fun, I would not recommend that for anyone. More on this later.


• snorkeling at Molokini, a crater off the coast of Maui and swimming with giant sea turtles


• Warren and Annabelles magic/comedy show in Lahaina


• Drive to Hana


• Swimming at "Big Beach" in Makena and Micah getting stung by bees 3 times!


• Relaxing and playing with Jodi's kids; Micah saying "I will miss Josh".


• Taking the kids on the Pineapple Express train.


• When the kids woke at 4:30 (b/c of the time change) having Grandma and Grandpa there who were already awake!!
• I got to get a Dole Whip TWICE! I love this pineapple soft-serve ice cream. The only place I've found it is in Hawaii and at the Tiki Room at Disneyland.
• Haleakala crater. At 10,000 feet, it looks like the moon up there! Its one of the steepest drives in the US going from sea level to 10,000 feet in just 2 hours.
• Dinner by ourselves (sans kids) at the beachfront restaurant, I'O in Lahaina. It was delicious food. Thai Curry Asparagus Soup---yum!
• I was so impressed with myself that I drove us from the airport to Jodi's house from memory with no wrong turns!

Here are a few pictures from Oahu. The Maui picts are on the other computer. I've done all the toursity things, so we just hung out and did mom things like take the kids on the train, McD's playland, and the park. Its so great to have a friend you haven't seen in a year and it feels like you live next door. Love you Jodi! I'm so bummed that I didn't get any picts of Daniel!! Head over here to see some cute ones.

Can you believe that Josh took this picture of us? He is quite talented!!

WOW!

If you know Daphne, you need to go here and find out the SHOCK of their lives! My jaw hit the floor!

Question of the Day

Today is a wonderful day. Why? Because today marked the official end of March Madness. WOOO HOOO! (ducking right now for pillows being thrown at me from a certain somebody) Every March my favorite shows are pre-empted or moved around for College Basketball. Basketball is a sport we have never learned to watch around here. Although Micah says he likes it. He is tall for his age....

On to the topic at hand. There is a new and much anticipated episode of The Office airing this Thursday. I thought I would throw this out there:

What is your favorite episode of The Office and why? If you mention an episode from Season 3, do Susan a favor and type SPOILER at the top for her, so she knows to skip it.

Here is my favorite:
Hands down, it is The Injury. Watching Michael wallow in self-pity is just too funny. The scene in the van when Jim drives Dwight and Michael to the hospital was hilarious!

Radical Reformission

We are reading the Radical Reformission by Mark Driscoll in a small group. This week a paragraph resonated with me.

"Arguably most Christians and churches prefer the past to the present or the future, because the past is over, while the present and the future still require a lot of work. A naive romanticism in each of us desperately wants to believe there was a time after Genesis 2 when the world was a wonderful place to live, when things were better and easier than they are today. This powerful delusion enables us to excuse our laziness and failure to be about reformission because of the difficult days we live in." pg 50

Recently, this idea that things were so much better 50 years ago has become so tiresome to me. I guess its because there is nothing you can do about the past, and like the quote says, it distracts us from what God has called us to do for the present and future. We live in a fallen world and we always will until God redeems the land. How do you expect fallen people to act?

Another irritating idea out there is that, and I'm paraphrasing, "we shouldn't let the culture into church, be in the world but not of the world." Would you say this to Hudson Taylor when he went to evangelize to the Chinese? Most misisonaries will tell you that before you can be effective in reaching those for Christ, you need to learn the stories of the culture and then relate the gospel in terms they will understand. This idea applies today to our American culture. You need all three: church + gospel + culture, to be relevant.

Random links

If you haven't seen I am Facing Foreclosure, you need to check that out. Wow! Take a page out of his book for "What Not to Do, Ever!" Aaron doesn't believe me that this guy is for real, but he even has his own Wikipedia page.

Short story: Basically Casey Serin was making about $50K /year as a website designer. He decided that his true calling in life was to be a real estate mogul. So he fudged a bit (alot??) on some loan docs and bought 8 houses in 8 months with no money down, looking to fix and flip. Well, if you don't sell the house within 30 days, then guess what? The mortgage payments comes due. Now he is about $2-3 million in debt. Go here to read the full background. The funniest thing about this site are the comments. After all that has happened to him he still does not have a real job and continues to think he can "get into" real estate.

*****
We have recently checked out the Highlights (kid's magazine) website. Lots of games, stories and crafts. The best part so far are the interactive hidden pictures. They are addicting, even for me!

Now I know why...

Have you come to the point in your life when you realize why ... your mom made stir fry? I reached that point tonight. Don't know what's for dinner? Hmmm, lets see what I have in the fridge and toss it in the frying pan. What do you call it? Dinner!

(I think only Jodi and Richard will find this mildly amusing, but maybe Daphne too)

Glimpses

We had some friends over to play the other day, Josiah (age 5) and Luke (age 3 1/2). They also have 2 younger brothers which makes for a busy momma!

They dressed up as cowboys and ran around with the stick horses. I gave them sheriff badges which were left over from Micah's birthday party. Too cute! The had a good time together and I had a good time catching up with my friend.

When it was time to go home Josiah mentioned the he wanted a stick horse too. His mom said that he could save his money to get one. Micah ran to his room and got down his frog bank (it is NOT a piggy bank, don't try to call it one) and told me he was getting money for Josiah so he could buy a stick horse. How could I say no to that? He gave Josiah two nickels, one for him and his brother.

Micah's generosity reminded me of my mom because that is something she would do. If she heard of a need she would think of a way that she could help. And sometimes if Micah looks at me in just the right way I catch a glimpse of my mom; something I just noticed a few months ago.

Prayer Gratefully Accepted **UPDATE**

UPDATE:
I talked to Jodi this evening and they are all home from the hospital. No one really knows what is wrong, BUT there is nothing they can do for him at the hospital. His oxygen levels are at 100 and there is nothing wrong with his heart or lungs. They are under orders to just watch him. He continues to have labored breathing and an accelerated heart rate. Please pray for REST for the whole family and that Daniel's respiratory system would mature so the scary breathing noises would cease.
************************
Would you take a minute and pray for Jodi's new baby Daniel? I talked to her on Sunday when she told me that he was laboring to breathe and his heartbeat was elevated. The took him to the ER where they admitted him and ran all the usual tests which came back normal. They are still at the hospital and they haven't figured it out yet.

You can check her blog (link at the right) for more info.

In Wonder

Written by Ric Knott, Steve Taylor and Peter Furler

So much wonder carved in your coral seas
So much wonder shaded by ancient trees
I consider all that your hands have made
Every newborn’s eyes, every new sunrise
No power can tame your presence
No light can match your radiance

LET ALL CREATION SING IN WONDER
EVERY SEA, EVERY CREATURE, EVERY STAR
YOU OPENED UP MY EYES TO WONDER
WHAT A VISION, WHAT A WONDER YOU ARE

Such a wonder, ordering time and tide
Such a wonder, bridging the great divide
I consider all that you had, all you gave
And all that you endured from this rebel world
What a wondrous cross you chose to bear
What a wonder you would even care

LET EVERY ROCK CRY OUT
LET EVERY KNEE BOW DOWN
YOU OPENED UP MY HEART TO WONDER
WHAT LOVE, WHAT A WONDER YOU ARE

No power can tame your presence
No light can match your radiance
Such a wonder... Such a wonder...

LET EVERY ROCK CRY OUT
LET EVERY KNEE BOW DOWN
YOU OPENED UP MY HEART TO WONDER
WHAT LOVE, WHAT A WONDER YOU ARE

Weowna Park

We have a beautiful old growth forest with trails that is a city park and is just outside our neighborhood. Not in the sense of a park with a playground, more like a national forest, but smaller and the city maintains the trails. There is a waterfall there too. When we first moved here, I was so impressed that we lived down the street from a waterfall. Last summer while doing training for the 3-Day walk, I learned that it was not a "real" waterfall, but a man-made waterfall. I was crest-fallen. The City of Bellevue even won an award from the American Society of Civil Engineers for the waterfall. Instead of paving over the ditch and making an ugly, normal drainage ditch, they made it into a stream with a waterfall. It looks very real!

Try saying Weowna Park out loud to yourself. Once I was telling a friend about the park down the street from us. She had this strange look on her face. Then she said, you own your own park?

Yesterday the boys and I went on a walk to the waterfall. I took pepper spray with me, just in case. Micah saw me get it out and wanted to know what it was and what it was for. I explained that it was called pepper spray and that it was in case any bad men came along. On the walk down there, Micah says "I think all the bad men are sleeping", because he was expecting to use the pepper spray since we were taking it along. We walked along the trail in the woods and an older man came running by us. Micah saw him and was scared. "Mama! Where is the pepper spray?" I was very embarassed until I heard the man laugh. At least he has a sense of humor!

Book meme

Hardback or trade paperback or mass market paperback? I don't think I care too much

Amazon or brick and mortar? Brick and Mortar... when I have time to get there.

Barnes & Noble or Borders? I would have to say library. I guess B&N (ducking from Jodi) since I don't know where Borders is here.

Bookmark or dogear? Depends on what you define as bookmark. I use random pieces of paper lying around.

Alphabetize by author or alphabetize by title or random? Okay, anyone that knows me at all would know the answer to this question. RAndom!

Keep, throw away, or sell? I keep it if it is written by Jane Austen. Most books I get from the library. I would never throw a book away, however. I would give it away.

Keep dustjacket or toss it? Toss it. Definitely. Especially for kids books

Read with dustjacket or remove it? I would read with it until it gets lost or torn. It makes a good bookmark! Then throw away.

Short story or novel? Novel. Short Stories are too short for me. I always want more detail. =)

Collection (short stories by same author) or anthology (short stories by different authors)? see above.

Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket? I'm proud to say i've never read a Harry Potter book. (gasp!) (Now I'm ducking from Julie) I've actually never read Lemony Snicket either. Not interested. Is that kind of like saying you've never seen Star Wars ?

Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks? tired.

“It was a dark and stormy night” or “Once upon a time”? Once upon a time. I used to like mysteries but haven't read any in awhile.

Buy or Borrow? Borrow, see above comments about library.

New or used? Used, whenever possible. Preferably from the library.

Buying choice: book reviews, recommendation or browse? recommendation

Tidy ending or cliffhanger? Tidy ending. Cliffhanger if it is a series.
.
Morning reading, afternoon reading or nighttime reading?Afternoon and Nighttime. I try to read the Bible in the morning but usually by the time I'm awake enough my kids are awake.

Stand-alone or series? I think series because I don't like a good book to end. I tend to read one book from an author I like then reading everything that author has written.

Favorite series? Chronicles of Narnia

Favorite children's book? Goodnight Moon-I remember reading this before bed when I was a child. Miss Nelson is Missing--this is a hoot! I love you Forever--always makes me cry. Dr. Seuss, because I remember learning to read with Green Eggs and Ham. Micah loves Dr. Seuss now.

Favorite book of which nobody else has heard? hmmmm...

Favorite books read last year? The Radical Reformission by Mark Driscoll, one of the few non-fiction books that I have read. I highly recommend it. A Grief Observed by CS Lewis was also a good one.

Favorite books of all time? Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe

Least favorite book you finished last year? If I don't like it I don't finish it, or really start it. I can't remember any that I didn't like.

What are you reading right now? Maui Revealed. We're going to Maui next month, woo hoo! If you ever go to the islands, I would highly recommend this series. They have some sights in their books that even the locals didn't know about. Their candor about different things have led to their books being pulled from shelves at some island bookstores. The author throws in humor, local legend and history which makes it very interesting to read.

Movie adapted from a book that you enjoyed more than the book? I'd have to say the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I don't know how many times I've tried to read them. So many. I could never get into it at all. I loved the movies, however.

Consider yourself tagged!

We have a winner!

So Daphne was correct and she is now crowned Queen of the Blog for today. Aren't you honored?

Our state does not have state income tax. yay!
But since Aaron earned $63 for "being" on The Office, (for standing around a convention hall and taking picts with John Krasinski), we had to pay $1 in state income tax to California. It cost $1.10 to mail the paper work in!

Cookie Anyone?

Remember this? Well it has come back to haunt us. I'll give a cookie for the first person to guess how. Well, not really, but you'll get praises and lauds and be crowned "King of the blog" for today.

I'll give you a hint. It involves a dollar.

Here's another hint:

Maybe "haunt" is too strong of a word. A better description is "annoyance". Its not really a big deal, just wanted to see if anyone could figure it out.

Happy Birthday!!

And another round of congratulations goes to Jodi!

Happy Birthday!

I hope that you find rest soon from your little baby birthday present. I wish I was there to hold and rock him for you!

Another 2boysmama!

Congratulations to Jodi and Jay, proud parents of a new little boy!!



Can't wait to meet him!

Chinese Broccoli Slaw

I couldn't resist posting this recipe because EVERYONE in our family inhaled it. Joel (1 year old) had 2nd and 3rd helpings. I couldn't believe how big of a hit it was. It called for chopped cabbage (coleslaw), but I substitued a premixed bag of broccoli slaw. This is a great way to get those green veggies in!

1/2 T soy sauce
2 t fresh ginger, grated (or you can use the powdered ginger)
1 1/2 T rice wine vinegar
1 t chopped garlic
2 t sesame oil
2 t lime juice
2 T mayonnaise

Mix all the ingredients well. Toss together with :

10 oz bag of broccoli slaw or shredded cabbage or coleslaw mix
2 green onions, chopped

Cover and refrigerate (30min-1 hour) to let flavors meld.
Optional: before serving toss in some toasted almonds.

(source: Saving Dinner)

At Bedtime

"Do you want me to rub it in (my goodnight kiss) so I can keep it in my heart and then I will remember you love me?"

DaVinci Code, part deux

The director of Titanic strikes again. If you haven't heard, he has filmed a documentary that claims, among other things, to have found a box containing Jesus Christ's bones, and the bones of his son. Read here for the story and here for a short rebuttal.


The documentary airs March 4 on Discovery Channel.

Sad Day for the Tree

Before (The doomed tree is the one in the foreground)
During. They cut the branches off, then he climbed up and cut 3 foot sections off all the way down.
I couldn't resist slipping this one in. Cowboy Joel.


Yesterday we had to cut down a Theodora Cedar in the front yard. During the wind storm the trees that fell towards our house sheared off the limbs on the front of our cedar tree. The cedar was precariously leaning and it was on a mound that was welling up on one side. We had an arborist look at it and he said we could prune it to balance out the loss of branches. BUT... we would need to keep pruning it every other year and never let our kids sleep in their rooms during a wind storm. Sadly, we decided to take out the tree then take a chance on it falling on the house.

A Theodora Cedar should have never been planted there in the first place. We looked it up and their limbs get to be 40-50 feet....it really spreads out!

Pictures soon!

A book not by Dr. Seuss???

The Exodus by Leon Uris

Yes, its true. I have finally read a book that is not by Dr. Seuss. I'm sure you're all wondering if I read anything else.

I have been trying to finish this book for about 2 1/2 years now. I would get stuck in the middle where it bogs down a bit and not finish. This time I plowed through and made it all the way to page 626!

I am not very good at book reviews, so bear with me. In high school I watched the screen adaptation of this novel and loved it. Years later, a friend and I were talking about the book and she let me borrow it. I since have bought a copy.

The Exodus is the story of the re-birth of the nation of Israel. The story is told through the eyes of an American nurse and several Israelis. The book takes place in post-war Europe where millions of displace Jews have no where to go because no one wants them. They are placed in refugee camps that are only slightly better than concentration camps.

The first half details the history of the Jews. First the holocaust told through a German girl who escaped to Denmark, and then told through a Polish boy who survived Auschwitz. Next it discusses the history of the Jews in Russia during the late 1800s, told through two Jewish brothers. There is so much rich history of Palestine that makes one understand currents events so much better.

I highly recommend it, even if it is 626 pages. The history is so easy to read since most of it you read through the eyes of characters, and there is a love story! =) It made me realize how persecuted the Jews have been throughout history. It wasn't just the Holocaust, that was just one of the many tragedies.

One thing I found very funny. Remember during the fall of Baghdad just a few years ago, that Saddam's minister of communications ( I forgot his name) got on the TV and announced to the world how Iraq was "winning" and they were "blasting away all the US tanks". All the while Iraqi soldiers were surrendering en masse. In The Exodus, numerous battles are detailed between the Israelis and surrounding Arab countries. Almost every time the Iraelis beat them handily and the Arabs would be broadcasting about their "great victory" , even after everyone knew they had lost mightily. I did not realize this great pride.

Reading about how Israel became a country makes you understand the conflicts that continues today.

Happy 10th Anniversary!

We have been married for 10 years today! What a difference a decade makes! I love you now more than ever. Thanks for being my friend, confidant and love.

Micah's new glasses

If you'll remember Micah was diagnosed with esotropia. He says that he can see better with his glasses and he doesn't squint anymore. Doesn't he look cute!!

Public Service Announcement:

Esotropia and amblyopia can be hard to diagnose. The literature I received from the ophthalmologist says that all children should have an eye exam by an ophthalmologist by age 4.

Milestones

Today Micah had his first official away-from-Mom playdate. He's been at friends' houses before, but it was because *I* needed to go somewhere, like the dentist. Today he is at his friends house so that *he* can play. Without me. I'm not sad... just seeing him grow up. The other day he told me he was almost 5.

"What?? You just had your birthday!"

"It's okay, mom. When I'm 5 I'll still give you snuggles, 6, 7, 8, 9 , 10 , 11, all those numbers I will give you snuggles. 12 14, 14, 16, 17 all those numbers too."

Sniff.

Joel's favorite toy is now a Gordon train from "take-along" Thomas the Train. He carries it around everywhere. It *almost* rivals tiger blanket. Almost. When he finds tiger you can see the dillemma going through his head. "I don't really want to put the train down... but it is my tiger...how can I carry all 3 things... I know! I'll put tiger in my mouth!" Then he joyfuly toddles around carrying one train part in each hand with tiger in his mouth. He calls Gordon "my guy". I am trying to get him to say train or Gordon instead. I think its working. Today at lunch he would say "bye bye twain" (or a g-word, maybe gordon?) and then move it back and forth like it was going somewhere.

Two sweet boys!

Check THIS out!

Oklahoma City-based Rocketplane Kistler will launch Temple into space as part of his grand prize for winning "Vanishing Point,” an interactive online puzzle created by Microsoft and Advanced Micro Devices.
"I never even thought I would actually win,” Temple said Monday. Temple received word that he won last week, and after making sure the call was legit, he started celebrating.
"I Googled Aaron's name,” Temple said of Aaron Coldiron, Microsoft's senior product manager and the mystery caller. "When I realized it was real, I stared dancing around my office saying, ‘I won, I won... The Daily Oklahoman Feb 13


Aaron was in Oklahoma City yesterday giving away the grand prize of a trip to space for the Vanishing Point game.

Read the rest of the article here.

You have to get this on your blog!

After reading this post about what crazy internet people can do, I decided to get site meter on here. I didn't realize you could track who was reading your blog this way. It is super duper easy to put on your blog with blogger beta. I realize that maybe I'm the last person in the universe to know about this tool, but hey... if one of you didn't know, check it out!

Scary

Don't want to sound the alarm bells, but you should definitely read this post about placing kids pictures on your blog.

Its been one year

Today marks one year that I have been without my mom. Grief is such a strange thing. Sometimes there are so many words inside but I don't know how to say them. Sometimes there are no words, just impressions. I feel it most acutely while watching my kids play and knowing I can't share this with my mom. She loved them so much, just as much I do, and she got so much joy from them. I just hurts to know I can't share her with Joel and that he will never know her. That just seems so strange to me, that someone so instrumental in your life will never know your child who is a large part of my life. Life is full of changes and I don't always like changes. When I was a child I cried because my balloon lost air and I knew I couldn't keep it forever.

I miss my mom, but I also miss my friend. That unconditional friendship where you can whine and complain and now that she'll still love you and you don't have to worry about it.

Following is the speech I gave at my mom's memorial service last year. That was also a strange thing. I do not like speaking in front of groups ( unless it is a group of 30 teenager where I try to cram math into their brains...). But I knew right away I needed to speak for her . When I wrote this out, the words just poured out of me. It was like someone else took over and wrote the words for me. It must have been the Holy Spirit.

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How do you sum up a life in 10 minutes? A lifetime of memories. I want to express to you today what was important to my mom, and what she would want you to know about her. I want you to know why she was so special to me.


Loving
It’s only recently, since I have had children of my own, that I have come to realize the depth of her love for my brother and me. All of those poopy diapers, late night feedings, clean ups, and sicknesses that you never know anything about as a child. As a mother myself, now I appreciate all of those things she did for me. She used to tell me when I was a child that I wasn’t getting married until I was 35. Of course, I just rolled my eyes and said “whatever”. Now I understand what she meant. She just loved us so much she couldn’t bear the thought of giving us up. More recently she had a new role in her life: that of Grandmother. She cherished this role and loved Micah and Joel very much. She called Micah, “her baby” and treated him like she was her child. I would take Micah to the TSC to eat lunch with mom and dad. Micah would get paraded around to meet everyone. Anyone who knew Sharon knew Micah and saw 10-12 pictures. In California, every so often I would get a phone call and it would be mom announcing she missed her baby and she was coming to visit.

Giving
My mother is one of the most unselfish and giving people that I know. She had a true servant’s heart. As my dad said, he just came to accept the fact that she would just give away all they had. I remember her saying frequently “oh well, its only money”. If she knew someone was in need, she would help them out. This included the small ways. She would give you the last cookie or go to the restaurant you wanted. She was generous with her time as well. People always came first. We lived in Southern California for 12 years. During that time if I ever asked her to come help me she was quick to jump on a plane and come. Now I am so grateful for those visits. I also remember her attending every event in my life, big or small, far or near.

Strong:
My mother was also a very strong person. I remember her as a drill instructor as a child. Several times I was sent back to clean the bathroom for a 2nd or 3rd time because it didn’t pass “inspection”. Discipline was swift and quick! I didn’t appreciate it at the time but now I do and I try to discipline and train my children as my mom and dad did to me. She started and ran a preschool at our church in Hawaii. It became one of the best preschools in the area with a long waiting list—due to her planning and organization. My mom’s strength was very apparent when she was diagnosed with cancer. She never looked back, she just asked, “okay, what are we going to do to fix it this time?”


Faithful
We put together some pictures and music that you will see. One of the songs is called “Blessed be the Name”. When I first heard it on the radio last year I instantly thought of my mom. I believe God gave me this song for today. Here are some of the lyrics:
Blessed be your name in the land that is plentiful, where your streams of abundance flow. Blessed be your name when I’m found in the desert place, though I walk through the wilderness, blessed be your name. Blessed be your name when the sun’s shining down on me, when the world’s all as it should be, blessed be your name. Blessed be your name on the road marked with suffering, though there’s pain in the offering, blessed be your Name. Every blessing you pour out, I’ll turn back to praise. When the darkness closes in Lord, still I will say: Blessed be the name of the Lord, blessed be His glorious name. You give and take away, my heart will choose to say blessed be Your name. “
Just like the verse from Job that Richard read earlier: through all the tumors and sickness with cancer never once did she blame God. She saw it as an opportunity to show how faithful God was to her. She chose to bless God. Paul said in 1 Cor 12:9, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” We see this lived out in my Mom. She had such a great attitude and the only way that was possible was through the relationship she has with Jesus Christ. Her faith was not a crutch, no, the Lord was her rock. I know without a shadow of a doubt, that today, as we remember her, she would want the focus not to be on her, but on the work of the Savior in her life. She would want you to investigate her faith and to know Jesus.

Closing:
Loving, giving, strong, faithful. That is my Mom.

What will I miss the most about my mom? I’ll miss her smile, her contagious laughter. I’ll miss the way she would be so excited for any good news I told her. I’ll miss my cheerleader and the shoulder to cry on. I’ll miss the unconditional love. Most of all I’ll miss her voice at the other end of the phone saying “hi, doll”.

Many of you had not seen my mom in recent months. Please know that’s ok. Her body and mind were shutting down. She wouldn’t have wanted you to remember her that way. Instead, remember her at work: full of life, bounding around the building, wanting to know everyone’s business. Remember her at church: playing the piano or clavinova, singing her heart out. Remember her at home: baking special dairy-free cookies for Micah, laughing, cross stitching, sewing, doing crosswords. Think of her as she is right now: a new body, finally rid of cancer, running and jumping, nothing hurting. Praise God! And that’s exactly what she is doing: basking in the glory of her Father; praising Him:

“Day and night they never stop saying: Holy Holy Holy is the Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come.” Rev 4:8

When I was a kid I would ask a million questions. I drove my mom and dad crazy. Just ask my dad. Why is the sky blue? Why is the water salty? Why did God tell Noah to use gopher wood? Who wrote Hebrews? Mom would always patiently try to answer as many as she could or take me to the library to get a book. But when it got to the point where she couldn’t answer or find an answer she would say “well, one day when we get to heaven we can ask Jesus”. So, Mom, make sure you ask those questions for me. When I see you again, I’ll be sure to ask you!

We're back!

I want to be consistent about blogging again, but we were in Oklahoma City last week. We had a good time. Aaron had to go for work. Kind of. He signed up to go to a Best Buy in OKC and demo Windows Vista for customers. We found cheap tickets, so we went along too. It was nice to sleep in until 8:30 every day. It did snow one day and it was cold cold cold! Just when we finally broke out of our cold weather here.

We made it to the zoo and the Omniplex (a hands-on science center) and the natural history museum. Aaron and Grandpa even took the kids for a day so my MIL and I could go shopping sans kids. Yippee!

Other than the 2 hour delay with the airline and conjuctivitis for Joel and me, it was a great trip!