garage door

I'm telling you, it never stops! This morning, my wonderful husband left for work and when he hit the button for the garage door to go down, it did. Halfway. Another push of the button made it go back up. Another push made it go down. A fourth of the way. Well, I think you are getting the picture. It's broken. Of course the home warranty doesn't cover it. :( After calling around, someone is coming to fix it this afternoon. In the meantime, we're hanging out in a different room than we usually do. The room where we usually hang out is right off the garage. It's C-O-L-D in there right now.

My son asked me why I was on the phone so much (as if I'm not on the phone alot all the time!). I told him the garage door was broken and we had to get it fixed. I was calling the man to fix it. He said, "Maybe we have to move back to the old house?" I quickly reassured him that everything would be fixed and fine by tonight. I think he was confused because we are hanging out in a different room - away from ALL of his toys. He had a few more questions but I just love when I get a glimpse of what's going on in that cute little head of his.

Well, I'm off to catch up on my emails and my blog reading. Just wanted to let you know what's going on over here today. :)

a new friend and a new skill

LOOK WHO WE GOT TO MEET!








There was a huge car show at the convention center in our city. My son is an absolute die-hard fan of the Cars movie. So, when he saw this life size Mater from the movie, he was amazed! It made looking at all those other cars worth it.




THAT'S WHAT BIG SISTERS ARE FOR!







A recent tooth-brushing lesson from his big sister left smiles on both their faces. I pray they always get along as well as they do now.

deer, dear

Awhile back, I posted a picture about a baby deer and her momma that were living in the stand of woods behind our house. Well, since that time, more deer have found their way to us. There are now about six or seven deer that live just over the hill. They are beautiful. It is so odd that they are so close. We live in a busy, suburban area. I just hope none of them gets hit on the road that borders the other side of the stand of woods. I was going to take a picture for you of all of them out there enjoying their breakfast. Unfortunately, the batteries are dead in the camera. I'll charge them and post it when they come out next time.

I got a call from my daughter's father last night and of course, it is another flip-flop of weekends. I had the power to say no but his grandfather is really ill. He's in the hospital and it seems they are gathering the family, just in case things don't go well. It's strange because I know who he is but my connection is so far removed these days. For my daughter's sake, I hope her father handles this with sensitivity and patience. Plus, my prayers go out to his grandfather. He was always very kind to me.

Nothing else new today. Other than watching Cars movie for the hundredth time, I don't have much going on. TGIF! Have a good weekend!

snowman

I thought you might like to see the snowman that my men built yesterday. They were cute working in the snow together. My son got to throw his first snowball. He laughed really loud about that.

He liked the snowman so much that he gave it a kiss...

and a hug. It's starting to melt this morning. Explaining why snow melts has been interesting.

snow

We woke up this morning to snow. Lots of it. Well, in light of the ice storms and recent Colorado snow storms, it wasn't really lots. But for the mild winter we've been having, it's lots. Our son is having a cow over all the snow. He wants to build a snowman, thanks to the suggestion from the lady that cut his hair yesterday. I'm hoping that will be a project that Daddy will tackle with him. I'm not really into playing in the snow. Something about being bundled up, wet, and freezing just doesn't appeal to me. However, being curled up on the couch with a good book and a hot cup of tea sounds heavenly.

My son got his haircut yesterday. As she was cutting it, he said it looked like Rascal Flatts. He thinks the singer from Rascal Flatts is indeed named Rascal Flatts. The first couple of times he said that, I just laughed. Could you imagine a mother calling for her son, "Rascal? Hey Rascal! It's time for dinner!" I apologize if anyone's name really is Rascal. I know that the name fits for my son sometimes but anyway, I digress...The singer has his hair spiked in front. It really looks like he didn't comb his hair that day. Actually, it probably takes longer to do his hair than it takes me to do mine. Well, the lady that was cutting his hair asked if he wanted her to put gel in it and make it look that way all day. He was ecstatic. My husband has done this for him on occasion but apparently he loves it. This morning it still has that little piece in the front sticking up. I think it looks like a cross between Dennis the Menace and Mr. Cool Guy. Oh, I love having a boy.

My daughter is off to her dad's for the weekend. She didn't want to go again. But she came around when she figured out they were going out to eat. Is that all it takes? Is she really that fickle? I hate having to figure out these things. Trying to take her opinions and judge them against adult standards to figure out if she is ready to make decisions about who she wants to be with and where she should go - impossible! Most days I just throw my hands up and move on. But someday - and someday soon I'm afraid - this will face me and there will be no avoiding it. In the meantime, I can't wait for her to come home tonight. It's so quiet around here without her!

I finally just hit "all read" on my bloglines. I had been avoiding doing that because I figured I would get to all the posts eventually. But by the time I was getting to posts, it was such old news I felt dumb commenting on it. So I decided to start from scratch. Hopefully that will get me back in the swing of things. I look forward to catching up with everyone!

thanks for noticin' me

I haven't posted in some time because it was all negative stuff and well, I didn't want to bring everyone down. The little one (who is getting bigger by the minute, it seems) battled a double ear infection and possible sinus infection. It was a ten day round of the gooey pink stuff for him. The bigger one went back to school and it was such a relief for her to be with her friends again. I don't know who was happier for her to go back, me or her! In the meantime, I went through another UTI which makes me grouchy, at best.

So, now that I'm posting again, all is good and happy? Well, not really. There are a few good things going on though...One of my New Year's intentions was to be in the Word more and to draw closer to God. And I've been successful so far. It's amazing the things God is doing in your life that you miss if you aren't paying attention. I'll be posting more often about those findings. It's totally uplifting when God works in your life so there's my solution to having a blog that brings you down. Also, some friends and I have been thinking about starting a group blog to support one another. That's coming to fruition finally. I will be glad to have that too.

But tonight I received the call I've been dreading. I knew it was coming but still...As I type this, my cousin is on his way to Iraq. It may be a few days before he gets there but he's definitely going. And he leaves behind a new wife who is expecting a baby in May. Could my heart break any more? I know that he will do fine. He's a smart guy. But sometimes it just makes you wish things were different, ya know? I don't do politics - not in real life nor on this blog. However, let me just tell you that with him leaving, it makes me wish they could just come home. Let that country implode and kill each other, but get our people outta there! I know, I know, it's more complicated than that. But my heart says it's just that simple.

Please say a little prayer for that young man and all he will see and hear. He's too innocent for the mission ahead, of that I am sure. Pray for his protection and for him to have peace. And please pray for his family - his new wife, his unborn child, his dad and the rest of us. I appreciate it.

Oh, and one more thing...could someone make it stop raining over here? I'm really beginning to feel like Eeyore! Thanks!

our christmas

Life seems to be getting back to normal. Finally. I had to work at the bank yesterday and it was so busy due to the holidays. Today will be busier because the post offices were closed yesterday. I'm glad I'm not dealing with that craziness. I am on my second viewing of the movie Curious George. My son and daughter spent the day with Grandma yesterday while I was at work. They went to the library and he found a new movie to watch. He's hooked. Last time he found The Fox And The Hound 2. That's a really cute movie too.

Christmas was weird for me this year. It snuck up on me and then was gone without much fanfare. On Christmas Eve, we went to my in-laws and had dinner. After dinner and some football, we went to Christmas Eve service at our church. I always love that. The end of the service is candlelit and we sing "Silent Night". That's the song I always sang to my kids when they couldn't sleep as infants. It's always bittersweet when we don't have my daughter for Christmas (like this year). I wonder if that's why I felt so blah this year?

My husband and I stay up until midnight on Christmas Eve and exchange gifts then. I like to have a special time with him outside of the craziness that Santa presents bring. I got the hiking boots I asked for, a really great lavender gift set with lotion, bath salts, shower gel, soap, etc. I also got a copy of each of my favorite magazines. I got one of those "Life is Good" shirts that I drool over every time I see them. And I got some Peach Bellini mix to make my favorite drink (non-alcoholic, of course - I don't really drink). I was amazed that he paid attention to the things I like. I mean, it isn't that I thought he doesn't but it was nice that he did.

We woke up on Christmas and our son was ecstatic! Here are a few pictures of the joy.

#1 on his list this year was Mack from Cars movie. He also got the movie. He LOVES it. I love it when he quotes it out of nowhere. He thinks he's Lightening McQueen. I call him Stickers. :)

I'm so glad my husband caught this on film. He looks like the Karate Kid! Actually he was dancing with joy because he got the things he wanted. I wish everyone was so easily pleased.

You can't really see the expression on his face but he was amazed that Santa brought this. We ran across it at the Christian bookstore and he came just short of laying on the ground and refusing to leave. It is the pirate ship from Jonah, the Veggietales movie. After a little while, he was frustrated because he forgot to ask for the whale!

Another drooled over item. We already have the GeoTrax train from Fisher Price (I highly recommend it!) but he wanted a Thomas train. So Santa brought this little set.

While I'm putting pictures in, I put this next one in. We started a new tradition this year. We went and cut down our own tree. I figured it would be a nightmare, trucking through the woods and cutting down a 15 foot tree because that's all they had. I kept my thoughts to myself though and it was great. We drove for 45 minutes or so and there were plenty of trees left. It was really fun. Check out the little man's hat at the bottom of the picture. My mom made it. Oh, and that's my muscular husband with the tree. Funny actually because the trunk of the tree was only about 4 or 5 inches in diameter. I picked it up with ease.

After we spent some time at home on Christmas Day, we went over to my mom's house. I am so blessed that my in-laws and my mom are okay with getting together at the same time. We had bunches of food and more presents than we could count. Here's a few more pictures.

This is the adorable sweater that my mom made for my daughter. She LOVED it!

This is my son and his uncle exploring a new toy. Check out the mess behind them!

We all pitched in and bought my mom a new weedeater for Christmas. She was surprised, I think.

The day after Christmas, we traveled to visit my husband's grandma and family. It was a quick trip but it was wonderful to see them.

Then on New Year's Eve, everyone came to our house and we played games until the ball dropped. And for a couple of weeks now, I've been telling my son that after "Happy New Year" we were going to do big boy underwear only. No more diapers. It's the last trick in the book about potty training...telling them ahead of time and letting them "plan" for it. I really was at wits end about it. Well, about 12:15 after the ball dropped, he said he had to go potty. So I run in there with him and he did it! I couldn't believe it!! He's had a couple of accidents (one with Grandpa yesterday - thanks again, Grandpa!) but he went ON HIS OWN last night after we put him bed. And he was DRY this morning! I think we've turned the corner and are on our way. We're working on the #2 part of the deal today. Say a little prayer for us. :)

I think that about brings us to date on things. One of my New Year's intentions (not resolutions, but intentions!!) is to blog more. I hope to fulfill that.

Here are a couple of other pictures I ran across while I was doing this post.

This is the cake I made for my mom's birthday just before Christmas. She has a thing with snowmen.


And this picture is the one I promised back after Halloween. It's the tail of his costume. What a cutie! (And if you look really carefully, you'll get your first glimpse of me on the world wide web!)

Well, if you're still with me at this point, thank you for reading my long post. Happy New Year!

mom? mom who?

joy in their faces
fills my soul

noise and
constant need
fills my head
and makes it hurt

finding the balance
during a busy time
is something
i am horrible at doing

all of a sudden
it is just too much

if i had a dime
for every "Mom"
i heard today
i'd be out shopping
right now

i should be grateful
for these blessings
i should be thankful
i can hear them

but after a long
holiday week

i'm just plain tired

Just a note: I did have a wonderful Christmas with my family. I will post again soon. I promise. If I can just get this monkey (that is my son) off of me!! :)