HP Pavilion m8300f Media Center Desktop PC

That title was purely so I'll get more google hits. I've only had a few, and I've learned that the more specific I am, the higher I am on a google search!

I am typing my 1st blog on my new computer, and I love it!!! I actually bought my computer Tuesday night and couldn't get it to work to save my life. The machine wouldn't power up. It was very frustrating (to say the least) and after multiple phone calls with HP, I took it back to Circuit City this morning and got a new one!!! I really love the "media" emphasis of this computer, so if I could get it to work I knew I wanted it. I traded it out, and this one started up with no problems whatsoever.

It will be interesting to see what Vista problems I come across. Please tell me any to be on the lookout for, but so far I've had a very positive experience. I couldn't get the internet to work, and all I had to do was get Microsoft to "find the problem for me". Loved it! And even though the first HP computer was a lemon, I would definitely buy an HP again and shop at Circuit City again. They gave me no problems returning the computer. I'm off to download my first photos onto my computer. I'm going to have fun creating my new digital filing system!!!

Day 1 of the Marriage Challenges (Interesting Twist)

Last night I told Dan I had taken up these "challenges". I read to him the one on Revive Our Hearts, and he told me he didn't want me to do it. The part specifically he was referring to was not saying anything negative to him. He said if he does something stupid, I'll have to be negative when I talk to him. So we scratched that part of it. I will still try to not say anything negative about him to other people. And the thing I want to say positive about him right now is that I think that was pretty cool. I love that he wants to be held accountable, and doesn't want my encouraging to glide over anything he should be held to.

I also did the rest of Day 1. The hardest part was looking him in the eye and thanking him for choosing me above all women. It was good for us. When I told him I was in his corner, he said, "That just made me feel really good." I don't know that I'll update every day, but last night's was pretty profound, so there ya go!

And in full disclosure: It's a little easier for me to not "worry" about Valentine's Day because I already know I have a present coming and it's some sort of jewelry. Dan went a little overboard at Christmas, and this one item didn't make it in time. I had already gotten plenty and told him to save it for Valentine's Day.

5 Weird Things About Me

I was tagged quite a while back by Steph, and since I see how fun it is when people "take up" the meme tag, I'm going back and doing it even though it's been so long!

1. I've actually spent all this time trying to think of which 5 things to write. Don't worry-I don't deny that I'm weird. I just didn't know how to narrow it down!

2. I have fallen in love with blogging. After a year of wrestling with it, being suspicious of it, and hating that people can't be automatically notified when we post (which is untrue), I jumped in. What I love more than writing is learning the ins and outs of it-the "behind the scenes" stuff. And I love trying to figure out who from Columbia, MO, has read my blog. I may never know!

3. I have absence seizures. That alone is weird, obviously. But to make matters trickier (weirder), they are usually found in children AND outgrown by adulthood. Mine were diagnosed at the age of 18 (we tracked symptoms back to age 16). I've been to 4 neurologists since I've been diagnosed, and they all agree they're "absence", but no one knows why.

4. I just started liking cheesecake a few years ago, and I hate fruity toppings on it.

5. The longest I've ever lived in the same home was my 4 years of high school. In my married life the longest I've lived in one place was 18 months, and that's because we owned the house! I have no planned moves in the next 13 months, so maybe where I'm living now will break my record! I'd really love to break my record from high school, but one year at a time!

5a. I just read over my post, and all but one paragraph ends with an exclamation point.

Oh, I forgot to say the "tag" part. Since I just did a meme, I don't want to call anyone out, but I would LOVE anyone to tell us 5 weird things about them!

Valentine's Day...Not Just for Women Anymore?

Here's a strange idea: instead of wondering what our husbands are going to do for us for V-day, we spend our time thinking about what romantic thing we are going to do for them. Sounds crazy, doesn't it? Well, that's the creative idea proposed by Stephanie. Jump over and read her blog that gives a logical and inspiring explanation as to why we should help our husbands out this Valentine's season and not waste our energy expecting them to make our wildest dreams come true. She extends a "No expectations while you love on your man challenge!"

She also gives some great links on Revive Our Hearts that will help you direct your mind and heart to show love towards your husbands. They are the 30-Day Husband Encouragement Challenge and 31-Days of Praying for Your Husband. If you're going to take up the "no expectations while you love on your man challenge", either (or both) of these will probably be extremely beneficial! If you've read my anniversary post, you know that I think it would be just fine for Dan to only think of me for Valentine's Day and every other day of the year! But I am up for the challenge and plan on doing everything I can this month to encourage my husband.

4 Things

My little boy is sick this morning, and after wrestling with whether or not to take him, my husband & I opted for leaving him at home. We really wrestled for a while because we thought he was down to just the cough. We made the right decision because a few minutes ago his nose started running dark yellow. Yuck. So we're at home while Dan and Sam are at church (since Dan had to miss last week because of work, who got to go was an easy call). With one child gone and one child dragging again, what better thing for me to do, but blog!!! Stephanie tagged me, so here goes...

4 Jobs I've Had:
1. Admin asst. for Abstinence By Choice
2. Deductions Specialist for Delimex
3. AP/AR Administrator for IT
4. Journeyman for IMB

4 Movies Watched Over and Over:
1. Legally Blonde
2. Grease (just being honest)
3. Dave
4. Little Women

4 TV Shows I Watch:
1. The Biggest Loser
2. Chuck
3. Monk
4. Psych

4 Places I've Lived:
1. Istambul, Turkey
2. Arkadelphia, AR
3. San Pablo City, Philippines (this utube video shows my city PERFECTLY!!)
4. Guam

4 Places I've Been:
1. Mombasa, Kenya
2. Hong Kong, China (my favorite city in the world)
3. Chiang Mai, Thailand
4. Paris, France

4 People Who Email me Regularly:
1. Stephanie
2. Gindi
3. Dan (he's gone a lot)
4. Avenue

4 Favorite Things to Eat:
1. Fajitas from On the Border (we're going there for lunch TODAY!)
2. Cashew Chicken
3. Poppyseed Chicken
4. Brownie Bottom Pie (desserts are food, right?)

4 Places I'd Rather Be:
1. Church
2. Dallas-I really want to be caring for my Grandmother right now
3. No children allowed-ville
4. If it were fall, I could say the East Coast, but since it's winter-EVERYONE should be in San Diego. It's 56 degrees right now, and this is a "cold" and rainy day.

4 Things I Look forward to This Year:
1. Living with 2 potty trained children (I DREAD the potty trainING, though)
2. Big "family trip" to both Kansas and Texas (I know, I can't even believe I feel this way)
3. Getting my new bedroom furniture and computer (aren't I a lucky girl?)
4. Timothy learning to swim, Lord willing

4 People to Tag:
1. Jill-because I know I'll love whatever she's watching on tv
2. Christi-because she gets to look forward to things this year
3. Natasha-because I think the answers may be new info for me
4. Dena-because I miss reading her blogs, and this will hopefully be the impetus to write one

Latest about IA (Individual Augmentee)

You may understand this post a little better if you read the first blog I wrote about IA. For a less biased explanation, you can go to Wikipedia, which was just updated in December 2007.

The Navy is trying to rectify the fact that sailors are being sent to Iraq with no warning. An article came out in the Navy Times on Tuesday explaining what they hope to implement. The article is very informative, but here's the new plan in a nutshell: When a sailor comes up for his 3 years of shore duty, he will be given shore duty orders with the condition that his 1st year of the 3 he goes IA. Then when he returns, he will go to shore duty for 2 years, and then on to his sea duty rotation. And my understanding is that if he opts out of the IA/shore duty, he will be given another sea duty tour (that part isn't actually in the article, but that's what I've been told). The goal of this is to make IA more "volunteer" basis, instead of "voluntold" (which is often how it is now).

If it wasn't clear in my last post back in October, I'm fairly outraged by how this system is being handled, and it is good to see the Navy trying to bring some order to something that isn't pleasant for anyone. What I think I didn't totally realize until I read this article a few minutes ago is how close to home it may get. This article states that officials have identified the top 10 ratings most likely to be asked to take on an individual augmentee assignment. Dan's rating of fire controlman is one of them. Ironically, Dan's rate has been critically manned for years, which has limited our options every time we've moved. "Critically manned" means the Navy doesn't feel like they have enough of them, but this article even uses Dan's rate as an example saying, the head of personnel and allocation at Fleet Forces Command "must provide sailors in critical ratings, such as fire controlman, to both the fleet and the IA arena." Crazy stuff!

To answer Steph's question in her comment: Yes, you understand it perfectly. We don't know for sure what Dan will be offered, but if they are able to implement this before he's up for shore duty, it seems pretty likely. Both scenarios stink, but if we can be given the choice of Dan going to the ground in Iraq or not then we'll have more options than many other sailors have had (currently there are 13,000 Navy IA). We have to count our blessings.

Good Books

I mentioned to Steph a long time ago that I was reading some really good books. She asked what they were, and since I just came to that email in my inbox, it looks as though I never answered! I would recommend these books to anyone, so I thought I would blog it. All available at Amazon.

All That You Can't Leave Behind: a rookie missionary's life in Africa by Ryan Murphy Through personal stories, cultural insights, and perspectives on the mission movement in Africa, Ryan Murphy shares what the missionary like looks like in the 21st century. The author's first book offers an entertaining bridge into the unknown lands of missions work and challenges you to make a difference in your world for God's glory.

This book is really an outflow of Ryan blogging his first year on the mission field. Here's his blog: http://www.strangersinkenya.blogspot.com/

TrueFaced: trust God and others with who you really are by Bill Thrall John Lynch and Bruce McNicol In a sincere, but misguided attempt to please God, many of us strive to "fix our sin". We soon discover that it doesn't "fix" very well or for very long. And so we try to hide it and pretend like it isn't there. But it only leads to more pretending, hiding, and despair-and nothing ever changes. We fear that God is almost never pleased. TrueFaced draws a clear distinction between two very different underlying motives: our determination to please God OR to trust him. The resulting difference from these two starting points could not be more profound. One results in a striving that never feels it has done enough to please him. The other results in a trust that experiences his full pleasure. Our motives as followers of Christ will either keep us in unresolved sin and immaturity or free us into God's astonishing dream for our lives.

What's so Amazing About Grace? by Philip Yancey If grace is God's love for the undeserving, then what does it look like in action? And if Christians are its sole dispensers, then how are we doing at lavishing grace on a world that knows far more of cruelty and unforgiveness than it does of mercy? Grace does not excuse sin, says Yancey, but it treasures the sinner. True grace is shocking-scandalous. It shakes our conventions with its insistence on getting close to sinners and touching them with mercy and hope. It forgives the unfaithful spouse, racist, the child abuser. It loves today's AIDS-ridden addict as much as the tax collector of Jesus' day. Yancey offers compelling, true portraits of grace's life-changing power. And he challenges us to become living answers to a world that desperately wants to know, What's so Amazing about Grace?

What's so Amazing About Grace was the best book I've read in a long time. It is historical, political (relevant in this election year), biographical, and love-filled all in one!!! I can't say enough good things about it.

Okay, posting the little pictures of the books was really hard for me as an extremely new blogger! This was exhausting to finish, but these books were worth the effort. If you've read any of these already or happen to in the future, please post your thoughts!

Blogging Pays Off!

My husband randomly checks my blog, and he wrote me this email earlier today after reading my Mother's Day Ideas entry:

Honey, I would like to know if you think you could get all dressed up the day before mother's day for pictures of you and the kids and then on Sunday afternoon, I take them out (or late afternoon if Sam needs her nap). What do you think?

I said yes!! AND, my fellow mom and dear friend, Christi, is going to be in town that weekend so we get to celebrate together! Show your husbands the blog of your crazy friend-it could pay off!

FREE $100 Giveaway!!!

My friend, Stephanie knows all the cool stuff! If you go to Biblical Womanhood, you can enter to win $100 to spend at The Vision Forum (a great website with unique Christian products). It's very easy to enter, so hop on over!

Slow Motion is Always Scary!

Samantha and I were upstairs earlier doing some things. On the way downstairs, Samantha tripped on the top stair and rolled all the way down. She was in front of me, and there was nothing I could do to stop her. She fell down the entire staircase and landed on the ceramic tile floor at the bottom. Those few seconds lasted forever.

She landed face down. Of course she had been crying all the way down and still was. I quickly picked her up and started comforting her. She cried into my shoulder for a while and then pulled back. That's when I saw some blood around her face, but since she had just rolled down 15 stairs I was shocked it wasn't gushing. She touched her upper lip, and when I asked her if it hurt, she gave a tearful, "yes". She then buried her head again into my shoulder and after about 2 seconds said, "Better now" and walked off to play! ("Better now" is what she always says the second after we kiss any boo boo.)

A couple of hours after that happened, the lip had puffed up some, turned slightly purple, and you could see exactly where it was "popped", but that didn't stop her from eating corn on the cob for dinner. Don't get in between this girl and her food!

Mother's Day Ideas

The managers of the housing we live in are very good about planning events at different holidays. This question about a Mother's Day event is on their website right now: Mother’s day 2008 is just around the corner and we would like your input on what kind of event you would like to see. Do you want an event for just mothers while your children are in child care? Do you want a shopping day with or without your children? How about mothers, sons, and daughters together? Are there any places or attractions that you haven’t been to that you are dying to go? Any idea is a good idea!

I wondered what moms would think is a good Mother's Day event, as well as what they personally would want for Mother's Day, so I emailed several moms I know (mostly non-bloggers) for ideas. They came up with some great ones, and I put them all together in one email which I thought I would share...

Ideas that mom's had which included being with their kids:

1. Professional pictures made with just mom & the kids. I don't think most moms would splurge on themselves and go out and get photos of just themselves & the kids. And in my home I'm the "camera girl", so even most amateur shots don't include me.
2. Pajama brunch with a bunch of your other moms and have the kids/husbands do all the cooking while the group of moms just gather and chat, trade stories, kids tips etc.

Ideas that mom's had which involved being away from their kids:

1. Shopping (one mom asked, "will they chip in the money, too?)
2. Conference
3. Spa day (massage, manicure, pedicure)
4. "Mother's Day In"-that's my term, but basically getting a day at home w/o the kids-cleaning the house, putting pictures away in photo albums, or listening to whatever music we want, watch OUR tv shows, and stay in pjs, all in the comfort of our own home
5. Getting to eat yummy snacks that you don't usually eat in front of your kids (because they can't or too time consuming to fix).

I really liked all these ideas. I thought these moms were creative and practical! I always think Mother's Day is this weird conflict of feeling the desire to be recognized for what we do, but wanting a break from it all at the same time! I think I would love a big party where only moms are invited, and childcare is provided. We get to play, eat, & talk about anything we want (even the freedom to talk about our children if that's what comes up). Oh, to have an uninterrupted adult conversation with another mom! Without our children there, we may actually accomplish that!

So what do you think? Does an idea on this list strike your fancy or do you have another idea? Please tell us about it!

Quiet Day

On Sunday Timothy whined and complained about every single thing that happened. That is, thankfully, not the norm these days, but I let the day get to me nonetheless. We have been pretty healthy for a while, but yesterday morning Timothy woke up with a nasty cough and hot to the touch. Oh, THAT'S why he was so crabby on Sunday! His cough has been come and go, but his fever has stayed pretty consistent around 103.3. He got up a couple of times to try to play computer games with dad yesterday, but he intiated going back to the couch to lay down. He took a nap yesterday and one this morning (he hasn't taken naps for way over a year). Samantha, who copies everything her brother does, has laid on pillows today just like Bubba. It's really cute. Of course I'm keeping him on one side of the room and her on the other because if we can get through this without her catching it, we'll be doing great! As for me, I've had a pretty relaxing day, to be completely honest.

YembiYembi People

Dan and I are attending Clairemont Emmanuel Baptist Church here in San Diego, and this church has such a beautiful heart for international missions. The church financially supports about 30 missionary families that have come out directly from our church, so it is really the heartbeat of everything they do. The associate pastor is called the missions pastor, and his role is leading our church in missions of every sort. Once a month on Sunday nights is a "Missions Update", and since we started coming in September, 3 of those months there has been a missionary on furlough to tell us what's going on. Prayer requests for all our missionaries are shared, and after the missionary is done speaking (or from the beginning if no missionary is there), the church just prays. It is powerful to me, and really gets my global world view back on track. Life becomes so ego-centric, so easily!

Tonight after Missions Update, our church has started a 24-hr prayer chain for the YembiYembi people of Papua New Guinea. Some New Tribes missionaries will be presenting the gospel to these people for the first time through a series of teachings this week. I signed up for a 30-minute time slot to pray, and I have to be honest that at first I was wondering how I was going to pray that long. Once upon a time, I could easily pray that long, but I am out of practice. I feel like I need to confess that my prayers are short and the subject is often me. I'm very thankful that my church loves people here and around the world and is leading me to focus on others.

If you have a few minutes check out this stuff about the YembiYembi people, and pick one of the people in a picture to pray for:

http://bringingthesecrettalk.blogspot.com/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/yembiyembi/

Samantha and Elmo

As multiple pictures attest to, Samantha loves Elmo. We don't even watch Sesame Street here, so whoever the pr guy is for Elmo wins the prize! When I got Samantha up this morning, she was holding Elmo's hand and said, "Sam carry Elmo". I asked her if Elmo and Sam were friends. She beamed and said, "Yes!" After I got her out of her crib, she took Elmo over to a chair and said, "Sit right there", and then she picked up these beads of hers that are in a tupperware container. The container is too hard to open, and she usually says, "Mommy, open please." I let her work on it a while, and then I asked her if she needed help. She calmly said, "No, Sam open toy for Elmo." After all, that's what friends are for right? Now, if I could only get her to like children as much as she likes Elmo!!!

Grandma Pearl Update

My grandmother has been medically approved to receive 100 days of rehabilitation at a rehab center. She will be transferred by ambulance from the hospital to the rehab center this afternoon. Her rehab times have been positive so far (she enjoys the social interaction), and she is good spirits about moving there.

On a personal note, after several days of questionable health, I am very glad that medical staff will be near her 24 hours a day for the next 3 months.

My roomie came to visit!!!

My friend, Gindi, came to San Diego on business, and yesterday she took the whole day off so we could be together. We had SO much fun, and here is what our day entailed:

8:45-started our day and headed to LaJolla
10:00-breakfast @ "The Cottage" in LaJolla. It was great-delicious food and totally empty. The reason it took so long to get there is 1) traffic, 2) as soon as we exited LaJolla Pkwy, Timothy threw up all over himself. He never gets car sick, so this was really odd. Thankfully (and shockingly) I had a change of clothes with me. We got him changed and cleaned up, and after some sprite and saltines he was like a new child. They give the kids "wiki sticks" which are these pliable sticks that children can mold shapes into. They're neat, and Timothy loved them! Samantha thought they were edible. Just fyi: I ordered the oatmeal pancakes and Gindi ordered the french toast, and they were both delicious. The kids loved Gindi. Oh, and my original plan was for us to walk around after breakfast and go see the sea lions. Time just didn't allow for that, so I drove past the park so Gindi could at least SEE the cove and sea lions, albeit from the car.
11:45-Dropped Sam off at Jolina's, my precious friend who offered to watch Samantha so we could have this fun girl day.
12:15-Dropped Timothy off at his school bus.
1:00-Caught the ferry over to Coronado
1:15-Lunch at Peohe's. Yes, if you know me, you know this is a must stop for me (Thai Chicken Spring Rolls)! I wanted to catch the 2:30 ferry back over and go to Point Loma Lighthouse for sunset, but our waiter made a mistake. Peohe's has a famous dessert, and their menu says "give 30 minutes notice". I've learned to tell my waiter when I order the food, and that's what I did. After our meals, he brought the check over, and we were like, "the cake?" He said, "Oh, I'll get that for you right now." We thought that meant he could whip it up quickly, but he went and submitted the 30 minute order right then. This gave us good talking time, and then something kind of cool happened. A cruiser past by us in the bay headed to 32nd street, and I said, "That's the same type of ship Dan is on." Then I looked and saw 54, and I realized it was Dan's ACTUAL ship. It was really fun.
3:30-Caught the ferry back over to Broadway Pier. Not long into the trip, they came over the loud speaker and said, "we'll be making a regularly scheduled stop at North Island to pick up Navy personnel. When we cross the security barrier, no cameras will be allowed and security will confiscate them if they see them". It was SO cool because we got to go into North Island waters, and we were docked about 40 feet away from an aircraft carrier! We were also in the water when another cruiser was coming back in, so Gindi definitely got her fill of military life!
4:00-We really had to give up the Lighthouse idea because I had to be closer to San Diego central in case Dan didn't get off in time to get Timothy. Sure enough, he didn't.
5:00-Picked up Timothy and took him to Dan on base.
5:30-Parked by the hotel Del, and walked down to the beach at twilight. Within no time it was really dark. It was BEAUTIFUL! I've never been on the beach at night, and the Coronado lights were awesome. The sand was freezing, but worth it. We noticed some fire pits up by the hotel and decided to find out if that was only for guests. It wasn't! So they have multiple pits with nice patio furniture around each one and they have a full bar and appetizers. All I cared about was getting warm, and they brought me a delicious hot chocolate. So we got to warm ourselves by the fire, watch the waves break, and relax.
7:00-Ate dinner at Marie Calendars. I had never eaten there, so we were just winging it. I wasn't that hungry and only ordered the cheesy potato soup, but it was not good at all.
8:45-Dropped Gindi off at her hotel (Loews Coronado) and came home to my hubby that I haven't seen since Sunday (except passing Timothy off to him earlier in the day).

Even with the "hiccups" and changes of plans, it was a great day. We just stayed flexible and made eachother (not the plans) top priority!

Smilebox

My friend, Sheila, sent one of these out, and it was so cute I couldn't resist:

Make a scrapbook - it's easy!

Grandma Pearl

My friend, Monica, recognized her grandmothers on her blog a couple of months ago, and I thought that was a fantastic idea! My maternal mother is my only living, blood grandparent. She is 94, and this morning had a TIA, or mini-stroke. She was admitted to the hospital this morning for further tests, including an MRI, and she has had a rough day. She had another TIA, or possibly a series of them again this evening. She is very precious to me, and since all I can think about today is her I thought maybe it would be cathartic to write about her.

She was a unique woman for her generation. She didn't marry until her early 30s, and had my mom (her 1st born) at age 36. During her single days, she attended Moody Bible Institute. After graduating, she came back to Texas and reunited with her high school sweetheart. They married, and she became a nurse and a Pastor's wife.

When I was a little girl, I went to their house in Abilene, TX, a couple of weeks every summer. My family always tried to coordinate my visit with my cousin, Chad, who is 3 years younger than me. Those were joyous times, full of scrabble, dominoes, jigsaw puzzles, and tennis. Grandma always cooked yummy Bisquick chicken 'n dumplings, made me eat canned peaches, and had the cookie jar full when I got there. We always had to put newspaper down on the coffee table in order to eat there.

When I was 8, I went to a Vacation Bible School at my grandparents' church. My grandmother taught me the verse Revelation 3:20, which says, "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me." A week later at a G.A. camp that verse pricked my heart during an invitation time, and I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.

When I was 11, my cousin Chad & I took a train trip with our grandparents to visit the rest of our family in California. On that trip, my grandfather's Alzheimer's became evident. He lived 11 years after that, and my grandmother was a faithful and loving nursemaid to him. Last year I was going through a painful time, and she opened up to me like she never had. She said at the height of Grandpa's illness, she was very lonely. No one was helping, and she was doing all the work by herself. She said, "Alicia, I wouldn't change that time of my life because I grew closer to the Lord than I had ever before."

If my math is right, it's been 12 years since my grandfather died, and she has had to carve out a new life for herself. I would go visit her at her retirement home and see her at age 87 telling someone about Christ. I confidently label my grandmother an evangelist.

And then the most recent videos that keep playing in my mind are the times she and Samantha had together while we were living in Dallas. We would go to visit, and Samantha walked straight to Grandma's room to see the "birds". Grandma had ceramic birds, and she would bring every one down and tell Samantha what kind of bird it was (red bird, blue jay, etc). Samantha would repeat each thing Grandma said and study her every word. The other routine they had was curlers. Grandma would put those old fashioned curlers in Samantha's hair, and she would sit so still while Grandma did it. Then Sam would walk around like her hair was SO pretty and look at herself in the mirror.

My mother is fantastic at scrabble, I'll work a jigsaw puzzle any day, and Samantha still points out every bird she sees. It's cool to see these "pieces" of my grandmother carried on in us. But what's awesome is to look over the course of her life and know that she ran the race, and she didn't stop running when it would have been easy or socially acceptable. "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:2

Dallas Cowboys

I'm a fan no matter what, but right now I have to admit I am sad. It's so disappointing. At least the Chargers won today. Go Bolts!

YMCA Part II

We started driving to Dan's work, and Timothy asked if he could have cookies from McDonald's (there is a McDs right by Dan's work that we typically get cookies from). Dan and I are trying to be aware of the things that we run to for comfort that are not Christ. Food is a big one from me, and as I learn to stop living in denial, I am admitting it out loud! It was pretty obvious to me in this moment that Timothy was using food to comfort himself from Daddy going back to work.

I told him that we could get cookies, but that before we ate them we were going to pray. I explained that Jesus was the only one who could really comfort him when Daddy is gone. He said okay. Well, about a mile down the freeway, he said, "Mooooommmmmm, I'm ready to pray." I was totally shocked, and explained that I needed to get to a stopping place (I was driving). I don't normally care about closing my eyes, but this was especially emotional for Timothy and I wanted to be focused. Again, he said okay. We finally exit off the highway, and at the first red light he yells, "Mom, let's pray!!!!"

So I said, "Jesus, thank you for loving us and caring for us and wanting to be the one who makes us feel good. Please help Timothy and Mommy not be sad while Daddy is at work. Amen." Timothy said a resounding, "Amen" afterwards, and by the time we got to Dan's work he said good-bye easily. He has not argued with me about one thing all day today. I've had to say no to several little requests, and he has said, "okay" to every single one.

I don't think the story really communicates it well, but there was such a desperation in his voice to be able to pray. I want to be like that!

YMCA Part I

This morning Timothy started tee ball for the 1st time at the YMCA. (Info for later in the story: Dan got special permission today to leave work for 3 hours for this.) There were 5 boys (ages 3-5), and it was a purely positive experience. Timothy hit the ball very well, listened to instruction, and even learned a bit about fielding a grounder. Since we were starting Timothy in this, I thought it would be a GREAT idea to start Samantha in gymnastics right after tee ball. I was wrong.

First of all, she doesn't even "want" it like Timothy wanted baseball, and Timothy wanted to join her gymnastics class! Second, she wanted to keep climbing on the original obstacle course set up-she didn't want to have to change activities. Third, she doesn't like people. She's gone through serious times of separation anxiety, but even when she's not dealing with that she does NOT like other children in her space. Usually I only see this when bigger kids want to pick her up and carry her around. I always thought that was a pretty logical reason to be mad someone was touching you! But no, she doesn't want the other little 2 yr old girls even on the same gym mat as her!!! It ended a little on the bright side with her liking this really cool trampoline they have. It's already paid for, so I've got 3 more weeks of that torture.

When we met up with Dan & Timothy, Timothy was already upset that he was having to "leave YMCA". We tried to console him, but he was crying uncontrollably. Finally, on the way to the car, he got out his entire feelings, "I don't want to leave because daddy has to go back to work". Oh, it ripped our hearts out. He loves his daddy so much.

"When I grow up, I want to be a teacher."

My son spoke those words to me about an hour ago, and I didn't even know he knew this phrase! Since teaching is the opposite side of my gifting, I have great respect and appreciation for teachers. I am happy to hear this is the 1st of I'm sure many things he wants to be when he grows up!

Samantha Turns 2!!!

Samantha's b-day was December 8th, 1 week after Dan's. Samantha's CF has a median life expectancy of 37. Because of that, it's not hard for us to feel a little emotional when she turns another year, and more importantly, rejoice in another year of incredible health. That being said, I'm glad I didn't have a huge party or tons of presents this year because she was way more concerned about the cupcakes!!! Happy Birthday, baby girl. I love you.

Dan turns the big 3-0

Yes, my husband is 5 years YOUNGER than me. Don't rub it in. Music I enjoyed in college, he listened to as a jr. high schooler, and music I skated to in elementary, he DOESN'T KNOW. It's terrible. I wasn't worried about turning 30, but I have never met anyone so eager to be a 30 year old in my life. Dan, welcome to the 30s!!! Since I'm so behind on blogging, this actually happened December 1st. I've got to think for a second to remember what we did...

Chris (good buddy of Dan's) & Becky Dittmer met us at Arby's for lunch. Dan wants it all the time, but we never think to eat it here, so he didn't even know there was one in San Diego. So his little surprise was that he didn't know where we were going and didn't know his friends were going to be there. Afterwards, we were going to head to Julian, which is a mountain town right outside of San Diego, famous for their apple pies. Weather was really cold and Sam was starting to get sick, so we bought Mrs. Smith's instead. Dan has been wanting a chess set, and I thought as he entered "adulthood" this would be a good time to get it. He had no idea and was happily pleased.

I really thought I did more for him, but I guess I didn't!!! It was one of those lovely days, though, where everything is peaceful and you really get to experience the ones you love. He said it was perfect.

Build-A-Bear

Think back to 2007 because a lot happened that I need to blog! Timothy's school took a field trip on November 30 to Build-A-Bear. Is that the coolest field trip ever? We had never been, and the school bought the bear, so all I had to buy were the clothes (and Sam's bear & clothes). I was going to get Chargers stuff, but all they had were divisional opponents. The Chargers uniform has changed and Build-A-Bear doesn't have the new bear costumes yet. Timothy selected the Spider-man costume. The teachers asked us not to put clothes on the bears while we were there, which is why you won't see a picture of the complete bear until we got home. The kids had a great time. Samantha got a bear & princess dress, and Timothy's bear is now affectionately called Spider-Bear by both kids. Here are some pics...