For my last blog of 2011 I thought I would write a few stories of my children. One thing I appreciate about my family is that we laugh often and what they say and do contributes to most of our laughs :P
The other day at the dinner table Anna infoms us that she is in control of everything. Hmm, sounds like there is no doubt that she is my child! Hopefully she will learn soon that you are never in control to begin with (although I doubt it since I still try to control things)
While we were eating Christmas dinner Anna tried to cut her turkey. She worked really hard but didn't get far. My grandma said something to the effect that she had put a lot of labor into doing that. Anna looks puzzled and replies "There are no pregnant women here so there isn't any labor". We died laughing and she rolls her eyes and says "Mom, are you going to blog about that". Oh my dear!
Tonight I learned that there are planets named Plato, Earthquake, and Marsupial.
Poppy A. taught Matthew how to go down stairs. He learned in one day. We do laugh at him because he will start backing up even if he is going the wrong way for the stairs. I also found today that he has learned that it is much quicker to slide down the stairs than go one by one :P
He is a stinker and when brushing his teeth he gets an impish glimmer in his eyes and turns his tootbrush around. He starts laughing and then will turn it around when you look at him.
He has learned to wave. He is really into jumping lately and will "jump" by himself. He also loves to pretend drive. Sometimes he will even make noises while driving. He has figured out that you need to grab the shifter. Watch out world! He has suprised us by showing us where our eyes are when asked at times. He loves eyes and mouths!
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Sun sun come again another day
I love rainy days. There is something calming for me in them. I feel content for some reason. Maybe it is the instinct to curl up in a warm blanket with a nice lukewarm cup of tea and relax. All of life's cares are washed away with the rain. I am enjoying this feeling of contentment today as I tonight starts our five days of craziness and I could easily be overwhelmed. Maybe the rain is my Godwink of the day. In my content mood I was thinking of how much I prefer the rain of Texas to the snow of Colorado during the winter. The last few weeks I have come to the realization that I may miss Texas once we move. (BTW...the countdown is 17.5 months before we have the ability to move) I remember when I was dragged down here almost two years ago and thought there was no way I would ever come to like a single thing about Texas. It has taken a year and a half to appreciate anything about the unorganized, egotistical, behind the times state I live in, but now I can see some good things.
When we first moved here I had exactly three things that I liked about living in Texas. One was that Brad had a job. Thank you God! A month before Brad would no longer have a job in CO, we found out he had gotten the job here in Ft. Worth. That was a little nerve racking! I am so appreciative that we are so blessed with a well paying job. The second thing that I was thankful for was the apartments we lived in had a trainer that had a class three times a week. She was (is) amazing and it was one of the first times that I have looked foward to working out. Brad and I both did the class and loved it! There will be a blog about this sometime I'm sure :P The third thing that was good about the move down here was that Brad and I were able to come closer in our relationship and really be our own family. It is hard not to have family close, but we had to learn to depend on each other which is so important!
When we bought our house here we started looking for a church. We really weren't having much luck. One Sunday we visited the church we go to now. That Sunday the sermon was on the detours of life. The pastor at the time referred to how the Isrealites could have had an 11 day journey but instead they had a 40 year journey. I wanted to learn the lesson that God was teaching me now so that I didn't have to live here for 40 years! I'm pretty sure the lesson was that I need to trust Him in where He takes me and that I need to be content in the situations that I am in and praise Him. I do feel content here although I still miss CO and do look foward to one day moving back.
I have found some wonderful friends who are able to put up with my wacky and unsocialable ways. Anna has found some girl pals that she truly enjoys. I love that Matthew has little baby friends and that Brad has guys that he can go hang out with. Although it isn't my dream home, I'm very thankful that we were able to afford to buy a house (which there was no way we could have if we lived in CO). It meets all of our needs. I'm very thankful that we have pushed ourselves to get involved in different activities. In CO, we felt that we were living life in a rut and the move most certainly pushed us out of that! When we do move, I know that there will be a part of me that misses living here, but I know where I am that God has an adventure that will blow me away waiting for me!
When we first moved here I had exactly three things that I liked about living in Texas. One was that Brad had a job. Thank you God! A month before Brad would no longer have a job in CO, we found out he had gotten the job here in Ft. Worth. That was a little nerve racking! I am so appreciative that we are so blessed with a well paying job. The second thing that I was thankful for was the apartments we lived in had a trainer that had a class three times a week. She was (is) amazing and it was one of the first times that I have looked foward to working out. Brad and I both did the class and loved it! There will be a blog about this sometime I'm sure :P The third thing that was good about the move down here was that Brad and I were able to come closer in our relationship and really be our own family. It is hard not to have family close, but we had to learn to depend on each other which is so important!
When we bought our house here we started looking for a church. We really weren't having much luck. One Sunday we visited the church we go to now. That Sunday the sermon was on the detours of life. The pastor at the time referred to how the Isrealites could have had an 11 day journey but instead they had a 40 year journey. I wanted to learn the lesson that God was teaching me now so that I didn't have to live here for 40 years! I'm pretty sure the lesson was that I need to trust Him in where He takes me and that I need to be content in the situations that I am in and praise Him. I do feel content here although I still miss CO and do look foward to one day moving back.
I have found some wonderful friends who are able to put up with my wacky and unsocialable ways. Anna has found some girl pals that she truly enjoys. I love that Matthew has little baby friends and that Brad has guys that he can go hang out with. Although it isn't my dream home, I'm very thankful that we were able to afford to buy a house (which there was no way we could have if we lived in CO). It meets all of our needs. I'm very thankful that we have pushed ourselves to get involved in different activities. In CO, we felt that we were living life in a rut and the move most certainly pushed us out of that! When we do move, I know that there will be a part of me that misses living here, but I know where I am that God has an adventure that will blow me away waiting for me!
Monday, December 5, 2011
The queen of hearts
Tomorrow morning Anna has an appointment with a pediatric cardiologist. I struggle to know what feelings to have about this appointment. Since Anna was an infant she has had a heart murmur. Our wonderful ped. then had asked us to go get it checked out but we declined at that time. What was interesting was that it seemingly went away for a bit. Obviously it did come back later on. We have never been too worried about it and it really hasn't been a big deal. At this last check-up for Anna, our pediatrician informed me that she would really like us to get it checked out as it had changed. When she first told us that I was like, sure but I'm not worried. Then after a week and some jingle of thinking about it my mind has convinced me that a part of me is a little concerned. I think I wasn't really too anxious about things until I sat down with Anna to talk about what was going to happen. She was very open about her feelings and wanted to know what was going to happen. My mom explained to her some of the procedures that may happen and that helped. When I ask her about her feelings now her answer is "I'm a little scared but I know Jesus is with me". I think I'm sometimes plagued with guilt that I have two healthy children when so many of my friend's kids have had serious health problems this year. What if it has finally come to us? On top of being told that Anna's heart murmur has changed we were also told that Matthew has the same thing. Apparently it isn't common at all for siblings to both have a heart murmur. I know that God is in control. I know that there is a 99.99999% chance that everything is perfectly fine. My uncle has a heart murmur that he has had since infancy and he is perfectly fine (at least that I know of). I will stand strong that things will be fine and take it that this is a new adventure (hopefully short lived and just the 2-4 hours that we have to be at the appointment :P). Hopefully we can make some's day at the appointment.
Monday, November 21, 2011
Why I love my son
I find that the best time to blog is when I have about five hundred other things I should be doing. My justification today is that I didn't blog last week which broke my promise to myself to blog once a week. Therefore, blogging must be towards the top of my list of things to do. Or something like that...
I was going to write about the things that I'm thankful for and how much I love Thanksgiving and how irked I get that it is overlooked. I reflected on a lot of memories of Thanksgiving and how much I have been blessed. In those reflections I thought of one of the biggest blessings that I have received this year. So here it is.
When I found out I was pregnant I cried. I didn't want to have any more children. I was frustrated because it seemed like deja vu all over again with not being thankful for the being growing inside me. Over my pregnancy I dreamt of having a girl. I did not want a boy. Brad was even worried how I would take it if we had a boy. After the crazy delivery I had to ask what I had. When the midwife finally came over she said "He will be OK". It took me a minute to register that she said he. I will admit that I did mourn a little that I didn't get my girl and there are days when I am a little bummed about the fact and do get jealous when other people have girls. But you know what even in that moment of hearing I had a boy, I knew it was going to be OK and that I would love him with all my heart (which must mean that I have several hearts because I love my other baby with all my heart too :P)
We struggled between two names for him. I am so glad we chose Matthew. It means "A gift from God". There are no better words to describe my little guy.
Even with the things that have been thrown at Matthew-broken clavicle, bruised and swollen head, circum. that took forever to heal, rashes, allergies, etc- he shows the strength he posesses. He is determined.
Matthew is a cuddler. I love that he will wiggle around til he finds the perfect spot in the curve of your neck for his head to fit into. Now I love that he stretches his arms out and kind of holds me when I holding him. I love rocking with him. The feeling of him fitting in my arms is wonderful. I can the feel the love flowing between us.
Matthew is so sweet. I don't really know how to describe it....
I love that my son is ornery. Just like with Anna, you read in his eyes that he is going to do something silly or naughty. The glimmer always makes me laugh! He loves to come over and give me a kiss on the cheek. It isn't a short kiss, but he stays on there. After a little bit he will start giggling then I will move and start attacking him with kisses. When he is doing something to be funny, he will crack himself up. He loves to chew on the spoon when eating. He will do this then laugh. Of course we laugh with him. He likes to grab at my earrings. I won't be paying attention and will swat his hand away. His hand goes right back to my earrings. I swat away. What do you know, his hand is pulling on them again and by now his giggling at our little game. He freely gives smiles at home and they just make me melt. I will clarify that he is often serious when we aren't at home. Must be just like his mom :P
There is not a whole lot better in my day than watching my two little lovebugs with one another. They adore each other. After nursing, Anna is the person that Matthew looks for in the mornings. If he doesn't see her, he will crawl around looking for her. When she is doing school, he climbs up her chair and starts yelling at her until she talks to him. When they are the backseat of the car together they make each other laugh. No lie, Matthew says something that sounds like Anna and I know that he is talking about her. Whatever she is doing, he wants to be there doing it with her. I love the fact that she loves him just as much as he does her. They play amazingly well with one another. Anna will share things with him that she wouldn't share with anyone else. She is a good little mommy to him. Anna will beg me to let her "babysit" him. She is a wonderful big sister. I just hope that Brad and I are able to continue help them to always have a good relationship.
Some other things that I love about my little man. I love that he is active. Matthew is smart. He talks all the time. I love that he can look at you and through his eyes he can say "I love you". His eyes are a beautiful. I laugh at his blonde hair. He is so determined and focused.
Some current Matthew stories.
Anna, Matthew, and I were in Anna's room. I let him get markers because he can't get the lids off. This day, he went over and got a marker from Anna's desk. When I turned to look at him he had somehow gotten the lid off and was coloring her desk. I put the lid back on and heard the lid snap on. I went back to playing with Anna. Next thing I knew had had gotten the lid off again and had colored all over his mouth and hands. :)
Matthew loves to push things around. Anna has a stool in the kitchen. He was pushing the stool in the kitchen when I left to go help Anna with something. When I came back, he had pushed the stool over the drawers were we keep Anna's school books and have a basket for pens and the such. He had climbed up on the stool and was standing digging through the basket. Watch out world.
Matthew can not stand to have things on the trunk in front of our couch. He makes it his mission the clear it off at all times.
I know that I have not in any way fully described the love for my child. All I can say is that I am so thankful that God has blessed me with Matthew. I look foward to having our love grow for each in the years to come. I am anxious to learn the lessons that he has to teach me. I am excited to have a relationship with my son and see how we are able to bless one another.
I was going to write about the things that I'm thankful for and how much I love Thanksgiving and how irked I get that it is overlooked. I reflected on a lot of memories of Thanksgiving and how much I have been blessed. In those reflections I thought of one of the biggest blessings that I have received this year. So here it is.
When I found out I was pregnant I cried. I didn't want to have any more children. I was frustrated because it seemed like deja vu all over again with not being thankful for the being growing inside me. Over my pregnancy I dreamt of having a girl. I did not want a boy. Brad was even worried how I would take it if we had a boy. After the crazy delivery I had to ask what I had. When the midwife finally came over she said "He will be OK". It took me a minute to register that she said he. I will admit that I did mourn a little that I didn't get my girl and there are days when I am a little bummed about the fact and do get jealous when other people have girls. But you know what even in that moment of hearing I had a boy, I knew it was going to be OK and that I would love him with all my heart (which must mean that I have several hearts because I love my other baby with all my heart too :P)
We struggled between two names for him. I am so glad we chose Matthew. It means "A gift from God". There are no better words to describe my little guy.
Even with the things that have been thrown at Matthew-broken clavicle, bruised and swollen head, circum. that took forever to heal, rashes, allergies, etc- he shows the strength he posesses. He is determined.
Matthew is a cuddler. I love that he will wiggle around til he finds the perfect spot in the curve of your neck for his head to fit into. Now I love that he stretches his arms out and kind of holds me when I holding him. I love rocking with him. The feeling of him fitting in my arms is wonderful. I can the feel the love flowing between us.
Matthew is so sweet. I don't really know how to describe it....
I love that my son is ornery. Just like with Anna, you read in his eyes that he is going to do something silly or naughty. The glimmer always makes me laugh! He loves to come over and give me a kiss on the cheek. It isn't a short kiss, but he stays on there. After a little bit he will start giggling then I will move and start attacking him with kisses. When he is doing something to be funny, he will crack himself up. He loves to chew on the spoon when eating. He will do this then laugh. Of course we laugh with him. He likes to grab at my earrings. I won't be paying attention and will swat his hand away. His hand goes right back to my earrings. I swat away. What do you know, his hand is pulling on them again and by now his giggling at our little game. He freely gives smiles at home and they just make me melt. I will clarify that he is often serious when we aren't at home. Must be just like his mom :P
There is not a whole lot better in my day than watching my two little lovebugs with one another. They adore each other. After nursing, Anna is the person that Matthew looks for in the mornings. If he doesn't see her, he will crawl around looking for her. When she is doing school, he climbs up her chair and starts yelling at her until she talks to him. When they are the backseat of the car together they make each other laugh. No lie, Matthew says something that sounds like Anna and I know that he is talking about her. Whatever she is doing, he wants to be there doing it with her. I love the fact that she loves him just as much as he does her. They play amazingly well with one another. Anna will share things with him that she wouldn't share with anyone else. She is a good little mommy to him. Anna will beg me to let her "babysit" him. She is a wonderful big sister. I just hope that Brad and I are able to continue help them to always have a good relationship.
Some other things that I love about my little man. I love that he is active. Matthew is smart. He talks all the time. I love that he can look at you and through his eyes he can say "I love you". His eyes are a beautiful. I laugh at his blonde hair. He is so determined and focused.
Some current Matthew stories.
Anna, Matthew, and I were in Anna's room. I let him get markers because he can't get the lids off. This day, he went over and got a marker from Anna's desk. When I turned to look at him he had somehow gotten the lid off and was coloring her desk. I put the lid back on and heard the lid snap on. I went back to playing with Anna. Next thing I knew had had gotten the lid off again and had colored all over his mouth and hands. :)
Matthew loves to push things around. Anna has a stool in the kitchen. He was pushing the stool in the kitchen when I left to go help Anna with something. When I came back, he had pushed the stool over the drawers were we keep Anna's school books and have a basket for pens and the such. He had climbed up on the stool and was standing digging through the basket. Watch out world.
Matthew can not stand to have things on the trunk in front of our couch. He makes it his mission the clear it off at all times.
I know that I have not in any way fully described the love for my child. All I can say is that I am so thankful that God has blessed me with Matthew. I look foward to having our love grow for each in the years to come. I am anxious to learn the lessons that he has to teach me. I am excited to have a relationship with my son and see how we are able to bless one another.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Anna and the Christmas Cards
Right now B, A, and M are all at church. I am enjoying my brief time alone! I have started doing several projects (just to make sure nothing gets done :P) I needed to put an animal away in Anna's room and saw some papers sticking out from under her cubbies. I knew what they were...the Christmas cards she has been working on.
To back up...my darling daughter has a characteristic that she most certainly did not get from Brad nor I. She likes to be prepared for things way in advance. For instance, her friend had a birthday party coming up. Five days ahead of the party she came out with a birthday card that she drew for her friend. She tells me, "Mom, I decided to make this card now because I do not know if I will have time later and I want to make sure it is done." Yeah, I'm lucky if I have a card ready on the day of the person's birthday. Last night we headed to gymnastics and she asked if we could make her coaches a card like we have done previously. I said of course and she replied that we better get started tomorrow. She thrives when we sit down in the mornings and plan out what we need to get done. She has begged me to do this (which is saying a lot since she is five). I asked her why she liked doing that so much and she said it helped her to remember what all needed to get done. I admit that I work a million times better when I have things planned out, just struggle with the planning part. I think God gave her to me so that He could get me straightened out :P
Back to the Christmas cards. Randomly the other day Anna comes out of her room and announces that she made me and Brad our Christmas cards. We laugh and tell her good job on getting those done. Over the next few days she has made more. One thing we are not allowed to do is look at the cards. She did allow us to see one. The card she declares most important...the card she made for Jesus since it is His birthday. Can I just say that I have a good kid?! I'm so grateful that she can see beyond all the materialism and focus on the heart of the holiday. I worry that all the fun of getting presents and decorations and the other gobblygook gets in the way of teaching her the love that we are supposed to have for Christmas. Ok, now she isn't perfect and does expect presents and wants lots of them which she probably will get.
I got off topic again...so focusing...I just couldn't help myself tonight. I peeked at the cards. It is horrible I know. The one thing she asked me not to do I did. I looked at the the cards and melted. Tears came to my eyes. Her pictures were wonderful and you could feel her love pouring off the pages. They are the simpilist of pictures...nothing fancy, but have more worth than any present she could buy me. Now I understand when you here moms say "oh, you don't need to get me anything, just make me a card". Hugs and kisses Anna, all I want is a card :)
To back up...my darling daughter has a characteristic that she most certainly did not get from Brad nor I. She likes to be prepared for things way in advance. For instance, her friend had a birthday party coming up. Five days ahead of the party she came out with a birthday card that she drew for her friend. She tells me, "Mom, I decided to make this card now because I do not know if I will have time later and I want to make sure it is done." Yeah, I'm lucky if I have a card ready on the day of the person's birthday. Last night we headed to gymnastics and she asked if we could make her coaches a card like we have done previously. I said of course and she replied that we better get started tomorrow. She thrives when we sit down in the mornings and plan out what we need to get done. She has begged me to do this (which is saying a lot since she is five). I asked her why she liked doing that so much and she said it helped her to remember what all needed to get done. I admit that I work a million times better when I have things planned out, just struggle with the planning part. I think God gave her to me so that He could get me straightened out :P
Back to the Christmas cards. Randomly the other day Anna comes out of her room and announces that she made me and Brad our Christmas cards. We laugh and tell her good job on getting those done. Over the next few days she has made more. One thing we are not allowed to do is look at the cards. She did allow us to see one. The card she declares most important...the card she made for Jesus since it is His birthday. Can I just say that I have a good kid?! I'm so grateful that she can see beyond all the materialism and focus on the heart of the holiday. I worry that all the fun of getting presents and decorations and the other gobblygook gets in the way of teaching her the love that we are supposed to have for Christmas. Ok, now she isn't perfect and does expect presents and wants lots of them which she probably will get.
I got off topic again...so focusing...I just couldn't help myself tonight. I peeked at the cards. It is horrible I know. The one thing she asked me not to do I did. I looked at the the cards and melted. Tears came to my eyes. Her pictures were wonderful and you could feel her love pouring off the pages. They are the simpilist of pictures...nothing fancy, but have more worth than any present she could buy me. Now I understand when you here moms say "oh, you don't need to get me anything, just make me a card". Hugs and kisses Anna, all I want is a card :)
Friday, November 4, 2011
Operation Christmas Child
I love traditions. For Mother's Day, my parents always visit and for lunch we go to a Japanese steakhouse. On my mom and Brad's birthdays, we eat dessert first. On Halloween we watch movies and eat Chipolte. (hm, I'm noticing a tradion of eating...or else I'm just munchy and these are the only ones I could think of :P) One of my favorite traditions though is doing Operation Christmas Child.
Anna and I started making a tradition of doing OCC when she was two. We do the age group that she is. The first year she enjoyed picking out things even though it was hard to not want to buy for herself. Last year she told me she did not want to participate. I must admit that I got angry that she didn't want to do this with me. I felt as though I was failing and that I was raising a selfish child. No matter how much I talked to her about giving to other people she refused to back down. Brad told me just to take her with me and not to make her participate, but for me to have fun with it. What do you know, once we started shopping she got on board. Every once in a while I would have to casually remind her that we were not shopping for her. This year my heart rejoiced that she was excited to do OCC. When we brought our boxes home she already wanted to start planning what we were going to get. She informed me that she was cutting out the stickers to put on the boxes. She had a fantastic time picking out treasures to place in the two boxes. (one for her and one for matthew) When we were in line to check out she turned to the lady in back of us and proudly told her that we were shopping for OCC. She couldn't wait to pack the boxes when we got home. Unfortunately she had to take a nap, but after a nap and snack she was ready to get on it. We do have a few more things to get for the boys box but we are good on the girls box.
I am very passionate about giving to others. Constantly I wish that I had more money that I knew what to do with so I could take care of everyone. This is another trait I picked up from my Grandma and my parents. I pray that I am able to install in Anna and Matthew a generous spirit. Anna already can be tender towards the needs of others. Her prayers touch my heart as she asks for people without homes to find a place to stay, for the starving children to be fed, for the sick people we know to be healed. I have to be careful in the stories I tell her. She does make me laugh....this summer we had talked about the children in Africa who were dying from starvation. Today she told me that the OCC box that we were doing wasn't going to go to Africa because all the little girls were dead. Oops...miscommunication there! I think the thing that I love most about shopping for OCC is that I get to do this together with Anna and that we have a blast! I look foward to years to come when Anna, Matthew and I are all able to find other ways to give to others.
2 Corinthians 9:7Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
Anna and I started making a tradition of doing OCC when she was two. We do the age group that she is. The first year she enjoyed picking out things even though it was hard to not want to buy for herself. Last year she told me she did not want to participate. I must admit that I got angry that she didn't want to do this with me. I felt as though I was failing and that I was raising a selfish child. No matter how much I talked to her about giving to other people she refused to back down. Brad told me just to take her with me and not to make her participate, but for me to have fun with it. What do you know, once we started shopping she got on board. Every once in a while I would have to casually remind her that we were not shopping for her. This year my heart rejoiced that she was excited to do OCC. When we brought our boxes home she already wanted to start planning what we were going to get. She informed me that she was cutting out the stickers to put on the boxes. She had a fantastic time picking out treasures to place in the two boxes. (one for her and one for matthew) When we were in line to check out she turned to the lady in back of us and proudly told her that we were shopping for OCC. She couldn't wait to pack the boxes when we got home. Unfortunately she had to take a nap, but after a nap and snack she was ready to get on it. We do have a few more things to get for the boys box but we are good on the girls box.
I am very passionate about giving to others. Constantly I wish that I had more money that I knew what to do with so I could take care of everyone. This is another trait I picked up from my Grandma and my parents. I pray that I am able to install in Anna and Matthew a generous spirit. Anna already can be tender towards the needs of others. Her prayers touch my heart as she asks for people without homes to find a place to stay, for the starving children to be fed, for the sick people we know to be healed. I have to be careful in the stories I tell her. She does make me laugh....this summer we had talked about the children in Africa who were dying from starvation. Today she told me that the OCC box that we were doing wasn't going to go to Africa because all the little girls were dead. Oops...miscommunication there! I think the thing that I love most about shopping for OCC is that I get to do this together with Anna and that we have a blast! I look foward to years to come when Anna, Matthew and I are all able to find other ways to give to others.
2 Corinthians 9:7Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Books, books, and more books
I love to read. Right now I have four books sitting in a pile by my bed calling for me to spend hours investing my time in their stories. My first priority is to finish "The Help". (I can't renew that one). Oh, did I mention that I have another book waiting for me at the library? Yeah, getting my house in order has to be done so I can devote more time in this wonderful hobby. Or, I could ignore the house and just read. Hmm, that sounds way more likely and a much better choice. One of my favorite times of year is when we go home to the BV book sale. I love buying books!! I now have a problem at my house though as I no longer have room for books...guess we know what I will be buying. My mom and grandma are to blame for this habit of mine. Both of them have libraries at their house. It is great!
Anna is also an avid reader. Ever since she was a wee little one she has loved to read. I remember her being 5/6 months and her sitting in my lap as I read a few board books to her. The older she grew the more books she would want you to read. She had an uncanny attention span for reading. I would read a whole row of books to her and be done but she would want to keep going. This last year we got into reading short chapter books and I have treasured that time with her. In fact, I get a little jealous whenever someone else reads a "Young Cam Jensen" mystery to her. I anxiously await for her to be old enough to read series like "The Chronicles of Narnia", "Best Friends", "Boxcar Children", "Little House on the Praire", and so many more. When I was growing up my parents both read to me. I have wonderful memories of reading with my mom. When I was a teenager, my dad and I used to read the same book then have a discussion of what we thought of the book. I'm thankful that my parents did this with me (especially since my mom doesn't even like to read....that was love :P) I can't wait to keep up this tradition.
Matthew on the other hand does not have this uncanny attention span for reading. It has just been in recent weeks that he will sit through a short picture board book (his favorites are ones of animals). I will keep pestering him with books and hope that as he ages he will develop a love for reading. He will have to to live in our family :P
To end I wanted to put some of my favorite books in general. I know after I end I will think of many others, but oh well :P
Gerald and Piggy books by Mo Williams (they are hilarious...skip the pigeon and cat books by him though..waste of time)
Karma Wilson books....she wrote my all time favorite baby book called "Baby Cakes"
Eric Carle...Brown Bear, Brown Bear was read quite a few hundred times :P
Nate the Great
Young Cam Jensen
Chester the Cat Writes Again
Clack, Clack, Moo (I can't remember the author's name but the books she writes are hilarious!)
Berstain Bears
Franklin
Arthur
Mercer Mayer
Frank Peretti books
Tedd Dekker...his early writings
John Grisham
Laura Levine
The Princess
And the book that changed my thinking.....Ragamuffin Gospel
There are so many more that I can't even think of.....
Anna is also an avid reader. Ever since she was a wee little one she has loved to read. I remember her being 5/6 months and her sitting in my lap as I read a few board books to her. The older she grew the more books she would want you to read. She had an uncanny attention span for reading. I would read a whole row of books to her and be done but she would want to keep going. This last year we got into reading short chapter books and I have treasured that time with her. In fact, I get a little jealous whenever someone else reads a "Young Cam Jensen" mystery to her. I anxiously await for her to be old enough to read series like "The Chronicles of Narnia", "Best Friends", "Boxcar Children", "Little House on the Praire", and so many more. When I was growing up my parents both read to me. I have wonderful memories of reading with my mom. When I was a teenager, my dad and I used to read the same book then have a discussion of what we thought of the book. I'm thankful that my parents did this with me (especially since my mom doesn't even like to read....that was love :P) I can't wait to keep up this tradition.
Matthew on the other hand does not have this uncanny attention span for reading. It has just been in recent weeks that he will sit through a short picture board book (his favorites are ones of animals). I will keep pestering him with books and hope that as he ages he will develop a love for reading. He will have to to live in our family :P
To end I wanted to put some of my favorite books in general. I know after I end I will think of many others, but oh well :P
Gerald and Piggy books by Mo Williams (they are hilarious...skip the pigeon and cat books by him though..waste of time)
Karma Wilson books....she wrote my all time favorite baby book called "Baby Cakes"
Eric Carle...Brown Bear, Brown Bear was read quite a few hundred times :P
Nate the Great
Young Cam Jensen
Chester the Cat Writes Again
Clack, Clack, Moo (I can't remember the author's name but the books she writes are hilarious!)
Berstain Bears
Franklin
Arthur
Mercer Mayer
Frank Peretti books
Tedd Dekker...his early writings
John Grisham
Laura Levine
The Princess
And the book that changed my thinking.....Ragamuffin Gospel
There are so many more that I can't even think of.....
Monday, October 17, 2011
8 months!
Yesterday, Oct. 16th, Matthew turned 8 months. I can't believe how quickly the time goes. At times it seems like he has been a baby for a long time. I don't say this in a negative light as I enjoy him being a baby and this time around I am treasuring the time of him being little. I thought in this blog I would write down what things Matthew has been up to in the last month.
~He has discovered how to open and close the cabinet doors. So far there have been no pinches nor has he pulled out objects in the cabinets.
~He discovered that toilet paper unrolls
~Matthew is now able to walk around while holding onto furniture
~When we are eating, Matthew thinks he should be eating too. Many Graduates have been consumed. Mone't tried Cheerios again and discovered the enjoys those as well.
~Went to his first state fair
~Went to the circus for the first time....story with that is when he saw the tigers he signed (at least we think he did) dog. we may need to work on our animals :P he enjoyed watching the animals.
~Consumed many tiny objects off the floor
~Threw a few fits over not getting his way or things being taken from him
~Trained mom that sleeping on or with her is much better than sleeping in the crib in the wee hours of the morning or during part of our afternoon nap. Give me a break, I like sleep and I want him to sleep so it works. Not that I condone this behavior, but it happens.
~Cracks himself up. He will do something then just giggle and giggle which of course means that we all giggle too :)
~Went and stays at the church nusery and loves Miss Tami!
~Got 4 new teeth
~This month was full of rashes, worries, and creams. I declare that Wednesday's child of woe is gone and blessings will take over in the area of health.
~Matthew is a little ham. He likes to "play tricks" especially while eating
~Knows how to get down the correct way with feet first and will 50% of the time. Mostly we thing going head first is way more fun!
~He loves music and started to sing along. (although we don't care for mom's singing. mom was singing to him while he was eating and he started to cry. mom stopped singing and we were fine)
I know that there are so many other things he does that I'm missing. Matthew is a wonderful little boy and I can't wait to see what the next month entails!
~He has discovered how to open and close the cabinet doors. So far there have been no pinches nor has he pulled out objects in the cabinets.
~He discovered that toilet paper unrolls
~Matthew is now able to walk around while holding onto furniture
~When we are eating, Matthew thinks he should be eating too. Many Graduates have been consumed. Mone't tried Cheerios again and discovered the enjoys those as well.
~Went to his first state fair
~Went to the circus for the first time....story with that is when he saw the tigers he signed (at least we think he did) dog. we may need to work on our animals :P he enjoyed watching the animals.
~Consumed many tiny objects off the floor
~Threw a few fits over not getting his way or things being taken from him
~Trained mom that sleeping on or with her is much better than sleeping in the crib in the wee hours of the morning or during part of our afternoon nap. Give me a break, I like sleep and I want him to sleep so it works. Not that I condone this behavior, but it happens.
~Cracks himself up. He will do something then just giggle and giggle which of course means that we all giggle too :)
~Went and stays at the church nusery and loves Miss Tami!
~Got 4 new teeth
~This month was full of rashes, worries, and creams. I declare that Wednesday's child of woe is gone and blessings will take over in the area of health.
~Matthew is a little ham. He likes to "play tricks" especially while eating
~Knows how to get down the correct way with feet first and will 50% of the time. Mostly we thing going head first is way more fun!
~He loves music and started to sing along. (although we don't care for mom's singing. mom was singing to him while he was eating and he started to cry. mom stopped singing and we were fine)
I know that there are so many other things he does that I'm missing. Matthew is a wonderful little boy and I can't wait to see what the next month entails!
Thursday, October 13, 2011
God winks
So I wasted about an hour writing and re-writing trying to come up with something to blog about. When I decided to start blogging I promised myself to make it a priority to blog once a week. It is now Thursday and I haven't come up with one interesting thing. Oh, there are several things that I eventually want to blog about but don't have enough of a passion about it right now. Back to today...after wasting that hour I decided that I needed to accomplish something since my house is a disaster zone that is filthy and I also can't park my car in the garage yet because it still has stuff that needs to be put away from when we got new carpet. So I get off the computer and go at least out to the garage to stare at what needs to be done. As I finally pick a project to work on getting back in place I get this nagging feeling that I need to search some more for my phone charger that I lost a week ago. (side note....I lose things constantly and tend to leave things wherever I last was) I scour the garage to no avail. I look at the shelf above the sink where I stick most everything else and no luck there either. I look some more in the garage. May I tell you that I have been doing this for the last few days (and needed to find it since my phone died and I have been borrowing Brads). A little voice in my head keeps telling me "look on the table". Anyone who knows me knows that my table is the biggest shelf that we own and right now the shelf is piled extraordinarly high. I sigh and lift up a paper. I had been looking for a book on the table just this morning and didn't see a phone charger. I lift one piece of paper and what do you know, there lays my phone charger. I classify this as a God wink. (I may have forgot to mention that I prayed last night for some help in finding my charger)
My grandma is the one that led me to God winks. They are those times when you can see or feel in those little ways that God loves you and wants to show you He cares for you. A few of recent God winks....I couldn't find my zoo cards and we were going to the zoo the next day. As I am trying to go to bed a thought enters my brain that they are in the stroller compartment. I would have never thought to look there. When we were searching for churches we went to LCC for the first time. I was struggling with something and the topic of the sermon that day was exactly what I needed to hear to help me. God winks can be when a person says or does something for you. It can be a beautiful sunset or a rainy day. It can be finding your favorite book on sale in a book sale. It can be so many things. The most important thing is that you stop and say "Thanks God". here's to looking foward to the next time I see a God wink.
My grandma is the one that led me to God winks. They are those times when you can see or feel in those little ways that God loves you and wants to show you He cares for you. A few of recent God winks....I couldn't find my zoo cards and we were going to the zoo the next day. As I am trying to go to bed a thought enters my brain that they are in the stroller compartment. I would have never thought to look there. When we were searching for churches we went to LCC for the first time. I was struggling with something and the topic of the sermon that day was exactly what I needed to hear to help me. God winks can be when a person says or does something for you. It can be a beautiful sunset or a rainy day. It can be finding your favorite book on sale in a book sale. It can be so many things. The most important thing is that you stop and say "Thanks God". here's to looking foward to the next time I see a God wink.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
I know everything...well almost everything
I tell Anna that I know everything. She used to believe me.
Brad and I had made a pact saying that we would try our best not to lie to our children. The majority of the time we follow through on this pact. However, I may push the limit sometimes like when I tell Anna I know everything. It all started right after she turned four. She would go get a snack of say chocolate covered almonds. When she came to where I was I would ask how the chocolate covered almonds were. She was amazed that I knew what she had eaten (I'm psychic! JK...just watch too much Psych. She would have chocolate smears on her face). Or she would read a book in her room and not notice that I peeked in and saw what book she was reading. I might come by later and ask how the book was. She had no clue how I knew. We decided that I was supermom that knew everything. As the year went on she unfortunately got smarter. She caught on to the fact that I was BSing some answers. To try and trap me she would ask questions like "What is Daddy doing right now?" I would make up an answer and she would leave me alone. Now when she asks me a question and I don't know the answer she replies with "I thought you knew everything mom." Little sass she is. I finally had to admit that I know most everything with a few exceptions.
Yesterday Anna and I were sitting in my closet as I was organizing a drawer. I asked what she wanted to talk about and she replied with "everything that I don't know". I had a sinking feeling that I would know none of the answers. For those of you that don't know questions my daughter asks here are some examples of previous questions : "do octopus have tongues?" "do snakes drink water?" "how is glass made?". She asked a few questions then Matthew woke up and she went to play with him so I was off the hook without really answering a single question.
She is a smart little cookie and if I do admit that I don't know the answer to something she makes us go look it up on the internet.
I think there is still a glimmer of believing that Mama knows most everything and I will cling to the glimmer for a while. I don't know when she will turn and believe that I know nothing, but hopefully she waits at least til the day after tomorrow.
Brad and I had made a pact saying that we would try our best not to lie to our children. The majority of the time we follow through on this pact. However, I may push the limit sometimes like when I tell Anna I know everything. It all started right after she turned four. She would go get a snack of say chocolate covered almonds. When she came to where I was I would ask how the chocolate covered almonds were. She was amazed that I knew what she had eaten (I'm psychic! JK...just watch too much Psych. She would have chocolate smears on her face). Or she would read a book in her room and not notice that I peeked in and saw what book she was reading. I might come by later and ask how the book was. She had no clue how I knew. We decided that I was supermom that knew everything. As the year went on she unfortunately got smarter. She caught on to the fact that I was BSing some answers. To try and trap me she would ask questions like "What is Daddy doing right now?" I would make up an answer and she would leave me alone. Now when she asks me a question and I don't know the answer she replies with "I thought you knew everything mom." Little sass she is. I finally had to admit that I know most everything with a few exceptions.
Yesterday Anna and I were sitting in my closet as I was organizing a drawer. I asked what she wanted to talk about and she replied with "everything that I don't know". I had a sinking feeling that I would know none of the answers. For those of you that don't know questions my daughter asks here are some examples of previous questions : "do octopus have tongues?" "do snakes drink water?" "how is glass made?". She asked a few questions then Matthew woke up and she went to play with him so I was off the hook without really answering a single question.
She is a smart little cookie and if I do admit that I don't know the answer to something she makes us go look it up on the internet.
I think there is still a glimmer of believing that Mama knows most everything and I will cling to the glimmer for a while. I don't know when she will turn and believe that I know nothing, but hopefully she waits at least til the day after tomorrow.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Blogging....something I never thought I would do
A few weeks ago my mom and Brad mentioned that they thought I would be a good blogger. I laughed at thought and commented that if I ever did a blog (which I didn't think I ever would) that I would call it "In a JAMB" (joy, anna, matthew, and brad). After the conversation I dismissed the idea until my mom and I had a conversation while they were here for Anna's birthday. We were talking about how I regret not making baby food for Anna when she was a baby but have loved doing it for Matthew. That led to what will I regret not doing 5 years from now with Matthew and/or Anna. One of my biggest regrets is that I never wrote down their antics and stories. I hate that feeling when one of them does or says something hilarious and I go to tell someone about it and for the life of me can't remember what they said or did. So, basically this blog is designed to be a catalog or my kid's life with some of my thoughts and opinons thrown in. And we all know that I have an opinion about everything. Don't be expecting great English, good spelling, or even complete thoughts. I am dsylexic and it often comes out when I write. Also, some of the blogs that I read are great about giving you decorating ideas (love it rachelle!) or crafty ideas (yay Kelly!), but alas I'm not good at those things or have that many great ideas to pass on. I can only give you what I like reading about best....what is happening in life.
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