Life is Full

Bible stories

2010-10-12T15:58:00.001-07:00

Every Sunday, my daughter comes back with her sunday school lesson and tells me what she learned...it's absolutley hilarious what stands out to kids and I can barely keep a straight face as she so intently tells me what the story is...

Here's Noah and the big boat

Morgan : "mommy, here's noah and he made a BIG boat and he had a reallllly long beard!!!! Much longer then Daddy's beard!! I SAW IT!!!!

Me: "you saw it!!!"

Morgan: Yes!!! and it was SOOO Long and white!!!

Jacob and Esau

Morgan: there were 2 brothers, Esau had a REALLY red face and the other had a white face and REALLY HAIRY arms!!

Me: Really? are you sure Esau didn't have hair arms?

Morgan: NO, just a REALLY red face. and Jacob liked to stay home with his mommy and Esau went out and did trips!

Me: oh wow! did he hunt animals like deer?

Morgan: yah!!

Me: do you think he killed bambi's mom (I couldn't resist:)

Morgan: oh no he didn't kill her

So precious. and a big shout out to the preschool team that teaches my daughter these precious lesson :)

random thoughts

2010-09-25T09:13:00.000-07:00

I'm being encouraged in the small things these days which is good. A quiet afternoon with both kids either playing peacefully together or sleeping :)

I'm enjoying feeling baby J move inside of me and knowing that after each week brings us closer to getting to know baby J.

I'm enjoying the cooler evenings and the vines on our fence that are already changing colors into red and orange

I'm enjoying God's peace and grace in our lives and how he gives us strength to walk through what seems like a never ending valley

I'm enjoying soft blankets to snuggle up in bed with and a drink when my cat is NOT trying to hump the said blanket

I'm enjoying watching my kids get bigger and Caden speaking in his own language and expressing himself and having to show me everything he has a word for. Example...mama mama...dadda's truck...mama mama....another dada's truck....mama mama....yessssss.....dadda's truck....:)

I'm choosing to enjoy this time in life

Don't bug me

2010-08-23T12:42:00.001-07:00

So summer is coming to a close and I'm feeling as my daughter says "bigger and bigger" :)

I also feel the hormones kicking in. Main reason, everyone BUGS me...Everyone, the mail man, the clerk at the store, my kids and for no particular reason. I asked Andy if he thought it was because I was pregnant and before I finished the sentence he said "yes!!"...lucky for him, he's not bugging me ;)

Excited to go for our ultrasound tomorrow, and I'm determined to NOT find out the sex of the baby. I will close my eyes if need to

I'm kinda've felt dry this summer, desert dry, as far as life being stagnant. Same routine, same thing and it's left me feeling frustrated. Well, I kept asking the Lord about it and something jumped out at me while I was in the car listening to the kids bible tapes. Basically it sings specific bible verses. The one that stood out to me was from 1 Peter "exceeding great and precious promises are given unto us" and I cried out " I want to know these promises!! as they apply to me!

so guess I gotta read the bible ;)....In our daily reading plan we were reading out of Jeremiah 31:17 "So there is a hope for your future"

I'll take it!! as one of the precious promises to me

new season

2010-08-10T18:59:00.001-07:00

I'm really enjoying this cooler weather. It reminds me that change is in the air. Maybe not just because it's August and a new school year will start and that it will begin to get cold in a month or soo...ok I said it. I feel there is change for the Jones family. Specifically, ( I love when people are specific ;), regarding Andy's job. It will be interesting. We will see.

I almost have a 2 year old. Caden turns 2 on August 18th. I love seeing his personality grow and him express himself more. He's soo different then Morgan in some areas. He is quite a teaser and for this reason I have ventured to guess that boys don't need to be taught to be teasers. Maybe naughty teasers but, just overall trying to get a reaction, they don't need to get taught that.

This pregnancy is going by quickly, but I have enjoying it for the most part. That's easier to say as I'm past the puking stage. Entering now the heartburn stage....oh my

Been finding myself giving to more tendency to worry and become distracted and finding peace in the Bible and thinking about the good things Jesus as for us and actively practicing being grateful. A friend told me, that sometimes she starts to verbally thank Jesus for everything around her when she get's down. For example: thank you Jesus for the sun, thank you Jesus for my car, thank you Jesus that I have food in my fridge. you get the point. I've started to do this when my-self can't see anything to be grateful for.

Looking outside myself

2010-07-06T16:50:00.001-07:00

I'm sure it's common knowledge now that I'm pregnant with our 3rd baby. The baby is due end of December/early January. So balancing life has gotten more interesting with being more tired in the morning and morning sickness..

Any huu. I participate in the meals for mommy that our church does for moms that just got home from the hospital or people who could just use a meal due to some form of hardship. The team organized meals for a family just recently that was a co-worker of one of the mom's on the meal team. The family had never come to Hillside but the husband had cancer in the brain that had been taken care of a year ago or so and now it had re-appeared. The husband had to undergo major brain surgery which was the reason our group was delivering meals.

I signed up for a meal and didn't look closely at their home address until of course 10 minutes before I needed to deliver the meal. I was happily surprised to see that this family lived just 1 street down from me. I could easily walk to their house to deliver it. I delivered the meal, or left it on their front door as no one was home. A thought came to me, that I have no clue as to what people live through or are experiencing even people next door to me. Here is a family just down the street that are experiencing alot to say the least and by looking outside of myself for at least 1 hour, I could help complete strangers around me and show them love.

It just really touched me and made me realize how much I need to ask God to help open my eyes to others around me and not be consumed with me and what's happening with me and how me feels and what me is doing today and me is doing tomorrow....too much me

I guess I have a new understanding of the verse "I must decrease so he can increase

Oh the humanity!

2010-06-16T20:25:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been a rather unusual fun and sometimes deep breath moments these last few days.

We went camping with Andy's parents this past weekend. They like ultra secret camp sites that are not developed (they have motor homes ;) and then tradition has it that a hike is always taken the following day. This time for camping, we went up Monitor's pass off of highway 89. It's passed Markleville. I'll give away the location but for a price...a small one anyways ;)

They were nice to let us use there quaint little trailer and they have a bigger one that they slept in with Morgan. She was excited to spend the night in their big baby house (baby houses are what she calls motor homes :). We were in the small baby house.

First night was great, camp fire, marshmellows, not to many bugs, gave the kids their tradition milk before bed time. and Caden went to sleep between Andy and I in the small baby house. At 2 am in the morning, he starts coughing, but I can't see him in the darkness and assume everything is ok. Then I hear this gagging sound, and press the nightlight above me that goes on for 3 seconds which is just long enough for me to see him making the lurking motion with his mouth open. AWAKE to say the least. Push him forward to the end of the bed where the kitchen sink is and some of last night dinner comes out. Andy and I are well awake after that and so when 3 am rolls around and he does the same thing, we both leap out of bed and head him towards the sink. No more episodes after that, although with any irregular breathing or sound from him, we're ready to leap to positions. The little monkey then wakes up at 5 am (cause that's when the sun comes up when your camping :) and we order him to go to sleep :)....and he sleeps till 7......1st night

2nd day goes great. Both kids are acting completely normal.We go for a hike and have wonderful quite time reading in the afternoon while the kids sleep and Andy and I go check out the Carson River that is very very full and rushing like people have never seen it, thanks to all the rain this year :).....Getting ready for bed, give the kids their milk and a little while later, Caden is terribly fussy, Andy, me and him are in the trailer again, although not all laying down, and he looses everything he had during the day on the bed that we are sleeping on! I scream (cause that's what girls are suppose to do during moments like these) and Andy is telling me "get him out get him out" (cause guys jump into action). I put him on the ground of the trailer just long enough for Andy to say "no,.... put him outside!!" too late, he looses another round of all that he has ingested on the floor of the trailer.

I just have to say that these moments will later be and kinda've are now, what makes life interesting and having young kids fun and there is never a dull moment.

So I put him outside in time for nothing else to come out. :)....So change over the blankets again and fitted sheets.. and my ever prepared mother in law loans us more blankets. thank goodness. Positive note, is that this all happened before we fell asleep so nothing was left in the poor little guys stomach and we all slept well and even in till 8am!!!

Overall, great camping trip...just some minor hiccups to say the least. Enjoy the pictures above :)

It's finally hot!!

2010-06-06T18:53:00.000-07:00

Well today was 88 and so we all played hooky from church and went to the water park to use our passes. It was a very close tie between eating pancakes with friends or going to the water park. It's hard, as in this season of life, with our 2 very mobile and active kids, to finish a conversation with people without having to continually track your kids...no don't get up on the stage....no don't go out the emergency exit!!....no don't go out into the parking lot!...get my drift...

So water park won.

Morgan is at a great age, she's more comfortable with the water and can do the toddle/preschool slides on by her self, while her tired mommy who is busy making yet another baby :) sits in the shade...yes no tanning for this white girl!! and watches Morgan go up then slide down.

Caden is a bit more work, but usually hangs around our spot. So the water park went well and Andy and I agreed to leave at the same time in advance which means we took only 1 car not 2 to accomodate me who likes to leave rather early and an Andy who likes to stay rather late :)

I'm feeling the need for a Tahoe day soon, but we'll have to wait for some really really hot weather before visiting the jewel.

By the way, this picture is at the Sacramento zoo about 3 weeks ago :)

That time again

2010-05-21T11:35:00.001-07:00

my my, look at the time...time to blog...

Lot's have happened this last month...We sold my reliable and wonderful gas efficient Rav4 and got another reliable and not quite so gas efficient car, but still pretty good...Honda pilot. Mainly, the reason being is the Rav 4 was just not fitting our growing family any more.

So we sold the old car and bought the new used car on craiglist and both families that we had to interact with where surprisingly nice, considerate, and just like us... just folks living their life and trying not to get ripped off in the process of buying or selling a large item..

I enjoyed getting to know these families briefly and makes me wonder, how many more nice and down to earth people out there in my community that I haven't met? They didn't go to church, but that shouldn't be the only place to get to know people?...right? We did try getting a car from a dealership and that was not such a pleasant experience. In the end, we thought it wasn't the best place to find a reliable car and where people were completely honest....It's rather a long story.

I've pondered how deep and amazing God's forgiveness and mercy is and for the things I hear other people do and I gasp with disbelief or form my own opinion that I really want God's perspective on the whole deal and to not rely or settle for just what I think of something. It's just re-enforced to me how that I'm responsible for my life and how I life it and to remember that when I start to gasp. .....

Still waiting for spring to stay but hey....this variety in the weather can be kinda've nice, or I'll choose to enjoy it.

Our NoooWeez

2010-05-07T16:09:00.000-07:00

So our family did it.. We finally got a pet. We had been debating about dog or cat or cat or dog. We picked a cat cause we could leave a cat in the house for a weekend and have the damage of a cat would be less then a dog. So even with a possibility of Andy being allergic to one. We set out!

The Humane Society was having a special last weekend. 10$ for a pet and they come with shots and no baby making machines. So we decided to 'look' ..Well we told the kids we were looking cause we were planning on getting one bust just incase we couldn't find the right one ;)

The Humane Society building was actually very new and fresh with lots of natural lighting. and Lots and lots...I mean lots of cats. Cats were in the hall way in cages stacked neatly. Other cats were in large rooms that had TVs on with fountains and large food basins. Only some cat rooms smelled though, but the majority was very clean. There were just so many cats. A bit of a daunting task. I came with my list of requirements of course :)

1. Cat HAD to be short haired. This for Andy's and for shedding purposes
2. Cat had to be o the smaller side. As we both didn't want a walking 20 pounder
3. Cat HAD to be good with kids. Not scared or overly aggressive.

So after maybe a 1/2 hour of looking around. I spotted a tiny black kitty in one of the cages with another cat. The kitty seemed very energetic. So we asked to meet the kitty and it was brought into one of the meeting rooms with us. It loved the kids and loved playing with the little cords they'd drag along the floor. It wasn't even scared by my Caden who was so enthusiastic to play with it, he would smack the kitty with the toy :)

Kitty found. He fit everything we were looking for. He's small, weights just about 5 lbs and he's 8 months old so he won't get much bigger, short haired, and loves to play with kids great! So we took our cat home and named it Noowheez...that's how to say it. The story behind that is that is what Morgan first called all cats when she was learning how to talk.

Welcome to our home Noweez

that time of year....

2010-04-25T19:08:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year in Nevada where the weather teases you with 2 days of spring weather and then it's winter weather for the rest of the week...Monday it starts all over again

That time of year, where my birthday is coming up and this year was awesome already!! I am beyond grateful for the dear friends in my life. Words just brush the surface

Being 28 was a tremendous learning experience and for 29 I'm believing for even more growth and reaping the fruit of lessons learned :)

Being encouraged weekly by other women has changed my life...literally I am not the same person

Some phrases that are said stick to you....

Faith doesn't deny a problems existence. It denies it a place of influence

out of this world

2010-04-19T11:33:00.000-07:00

On our way back from our weekend off together, Andy and I stopped at a house at Lake Tahoe that Andy has worked very hard on. It's taken several years to complete but it's finally done and the owners were doing an open house for everyone that had worked on the house to come and tour the finished project.

We got bused up in Q&D's own transport bus and were the first ones there. Were greeted by the owners at the door and toured the house. I can't really find the words to describe the house except to say it is out of this world. One whole side of it is glass that overlooks the lake and it's not a deep house but tall, 4 stories high. Just one of the few examples of the luxuries. It had a glass elevator incase you didn't want to climb up and down the stairs. Complete with glass doors that open and shut as you get in and out. I didn't even know one could build a house like this. Speechless was what I was. Andy was glad that he got to finally show me the house he had been working on for oh so long and the reason for many redrawing of plans.

Andy and I were talking to the bus gal on the way back and we were asking her if she would get an opportunity to tour the house and she said she would rather not cause it's like seeing something but never being able to have it. That got me thinking, even though the house was in a class all by itself and only for a few people in America could build it, and it was breath taking, I wouldn't want to live in it. Plus I couldn't imagine cleaning up all the face and hand marks on the glass that my two children would make :)...

I like my life and am content with our house. I'm grateful for where I am and don't see that the one who dies with the most expensive house wins in life. I want to help build up my house and not tear it down with the words I speak to my children and my husband. I have recently been learning about Proverbs 14:1 " The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down."

So we left the glass house to go back to our house that day and our real life with our two wonderful kids who make life interesting and exciting and to my husband that is by my side

6 years later...and still

2010-04-16T09:56:00.000-07:00

learning and loving each other more through the years....and coming to a deeper understanding of what one friend wrote for us

marriage is not only enjoying the fettuccine but sharing the burden of choosing the restaurant

just got to do some stuff!

2010-04-14T12:40:00.000-07:00

I have recently been seeking employment. I have applied to the 2 hospitals here in the region for a per-dium position. Basically I would make my own schedule and work as needed. I had worked on several floors so I knew what type of patients I would like to care for :). There were some things I did NOT want to do. (work on the medical floor was one in particular) At the same time, I've been listening to this gal speak and one of the topics she talked about was grace.

One of the subtopics was determination and work (everyone cringes). The example was Namaan and how he traveled along ways to seek Elisha to get healing. He put all this effort into going to Elisha and then Elisha tells him to go to the Jordan and dip seven times in the river and he

"became furious and went away and said, Indeed, I said to myself, He will surely come to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leporsy"

in other words

I don't wanna....it's too hard...I want Elisha to wave his hand over me!

and I realized that there somethings that I just have to do and rather then an instant miraculous, wave your hand and it happens, there are some things that I got to physically go out and do.

This really hit home, when finally I got to speak to a real life person on the other end of human resources and she told me that because I have been out of direct patient contact for awhile the hospital wouldn't employ me in a perdium position but I would have to try part time or full time place.

So this is the door that is open, that if I want to work I will have to DOOOOO. Honestly I was hoping for this miraculous phone call from the head of ICU saying "we've waited 5 years for you and finally your here, can you come and work for us just a few times a month!!!".....yah probably not going to happen.

So I think I'll keep things as is for a bit longer but now I know what I need to DOO to get the job :)

another lesson from my garden

2010-04-09T11:57:00.000-07:00

I like this kick I'm on about lessons from the garden. :)...So this morning, I decided it's time to prune the roses. When Andy bought this house 7 years ago (wow...been that long), there were already roses planted which was great. When we got married, roughly a year later, I decided to take on the task of learning how to prune one. Fortunately, my mother in law is an expert rose pruner. She has a whole courtyard of roses and they are always looking amazing. She gave me some tips and some basic knowledge.

Last year, I decided to take a class about rose pruning at Idle Wild park. It certainly was an eye opener for how seriously some people take pruning. My teacher was particularly animated and forbid anyone to cut any leaf or stem without his approval. I wanted to shout "they're just roses!!" but kept my mouth shut wisely and learned from the rose pruner guru. It's amazing how much longer it takes to prune my roses now. No longer do I just snip here and there and it's done but I spend looking at the rose, thinking about where I want it to grow and particularly in which direction.
I study it.....
look at it....
then cut off the dead pieces
and angle my clippers and cut exactly 1/2 inch above a new growth bud and cut with the angle pointing down and out. I know that in the late spring and late summer, because of my pruning, I'm going to see some beautiful roses and the plant is going to flower again and again, not just once, thanks again to the the pruning.

It occurred to me this morning, how much this reminds me of what Jesus does in my life. How he encourages me to grow in certain areas and encourages to take away the dead areas in my life. He examines me and is with me and shapes me into the beautiful woman he created me to be. No easy task, but I'm grateful for the pruning cause in a different season......watch out......growth!

deep roots

2010-04-04T16:57:00.000-07:00

I really enjoy gardening.. It relaxes me and is one of my favorite hobbys in life. I was weeding the other day (which is quite relaxing....funny as this sounds) and I was pulling out these weeds that were so shallow and no problem just to toss aside and remove. I then came across the roots of the very very large tree in our backyard as the roots run right alongside and now inside the flower bed.. It was like cement. No way I could pull that thing out. I was trying to cut part of it away and it didn't move an inch. It was literally like tying to remove a cement foundation

I thought to myself, I want to be like this tree root. I want what I believe not to change just because I'm around other people...but because it's something that the Holy Spirit is bringing to my attention that needs to change. I want my roots to go deep.....in good things

What a Day!

2010-03-16T19:40:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, Monday, was an incredible day. Not so much in the incredible day like chillin with Andy but more like in the incredible whirl wind of excitement!

Caden and Morgan have both been stricken with a cold which produces sniffles plus cough plus really really whinniness! We took the weekend to rest and recharge, so we stayed home from just about everything. Sunday night, I was holding Caden in the rocking chair that is everyone's favorite chair in the family room. I hear this whistle when Caden exhales. I think that's funny, not like a whistle from his nose but deeper then that. Take out his Binkie and I still hear it. I've hear whistling and wheezing from sick patients that are getting breathing treatments at the hospital or about to be intubated but not from my 18 month old that seems pretty healthy. Well, his congestion continued to get worse and in the morning, same sound when I laid him down on his changing table.....this isn't usual even for a cold. Time for call to the MD who is quickly becoming in my mind the best doctor of all time.. Dr. Zucker

Receptionist gives us a 2:10 appt same day... YES!! don't have wait for it to get worse. Call my mom up to see if she can watch Morgan. She says yes without me even asking. Made me realize that I was soo grateful for them and their availability and proximity to us.

Go in, sit in the sick room. See a fellow Hillsider there in the waiting room. Reno really is small, or everyone knows who the best pediatrician is ;)

Get into the patient room.
Nurse asked chief complaint?
Cough and cold...
nurse: ooh just a cough
me...ahh yah..just felt I should bring him in.

Doctor comes in. Asks same thing. I tell him Caden sounded more raspy. He asks me what that means to me. I just said last night and this morning when he exhales his breathing was well.....whistling.

Caden takes one look at the doctor before he listens with his stethoscope and screams bloody murder! Little howler for sure....Doctor asks if he's running a fever. No he's not, I checked this morning. Doctor starts to examine him. Looks in his ears. "hmmmm...he has an ear infection"

I'm speechless, no fever but an infection? Felt like I was in a House episode where bizarre medical things happen that don't follow the usual progression. I ask how he can have a ear infection with a fever? Doc...good question.

Continues examine. He listens to his lungs. Says there wheezing for sure which indicates his bronchioles are narrowing. Illustration he gives, try blowing into a small straw and it whistles. same thing. Not good, and treatment is giving medication directing into the bronchial so they will open more.

Well, I'm relieved that I took the intuitive to bring him in and grateful for a same day appt and that the treatment, nebulizer will help him for sure. Got to get a at home machine to give the treatments but piece of cake. And for the ear infection without a fever? Well Dr. said we caught it really early and so he didn't have a fever yet. Thankfulness just got bigger.

So, we're on the mend. Caden's not quite 100% but, getting there :)

.....

2010-03-03T11:39:00.000-08:00

So I've totally hit a wall when it comes to thinking of things I could blog about but I'm going to push through..

random things...

Costa Rica seems like a dream of some sort. It was a good dream though! and when I think of how we took 2 young kids under 5 to another country, I'm still wondering 'how'd we do that?'

I do enjoy sick days for an odd reason, more TV can be watched without any hesitation ;)

Caden is such a trooper, even with this stomach flu he still smiles and likes books read to him. Seriously think he is going to be a book worm, more power to him!

Ever say something to someone and they respond with a statement that isn't even close to what you were saying but you can see that they trying to relate to you......nice to have a connection of some sort.

I watch my retired neighbor across the street from us smoke his cigar every morning. Seems relaxing, never have smoked one but seems like there is a enjoyable slowing down process that is involved. He is probably smoking one of the cigars we got him from Costa Rica as a thank you for watching our house. He wife was less then thrilled to say the least. He's in utter bliss it seems

time going by!

2010-02-16T18:51:00.000-08:00

Daddy and big girl Morgan playing on the ground

Special reading time.
He loves reading books and having books read to him

gotta wait!

2010-02-16T10:49:00.000-08:00

I love that Morgan is getting older and I can have actual conversations with her. Of course it's not to deep like politics or the conspiracy of the US government but still, I love the simplicity of talking with her and interacting more with her.

Morgan has this way of understanding that if she can't have it now she "has to wait!!" She says "has to wait" with such urgency and strain in her voice, you would think that she has to wait till the torture is over not just until after dinner. She is beginning to understand the phrases of tomorrow or Sunday but still the term "next week" is so vague to her it might as well be never to her.

She says "got to wait!!" if we tell her that she can't have her candy until after dinner or can't go to school until Monday cause they are closed on Saturday. She get's so anxious and says it over and over again 'got to wait!! got to wait!!!'

The other day, when she was saying this while throwing herself on the couch, I looked at her and said, Morgan, most of life is about waiting.....the thought dawned on me that I need to listen to my own words in areas that I'm anxious and can't wait for it to happen and how I can bug my husband about things I want done now or things I can't wait to happen. But the reality is, I need to have more patience and understanding that in the waiting, that character comes and God's grace changes me..

so I will say with a smile "gotta wait!!!"

Sunny Saturday!

2010-02-13T18:02:00.000-08:00

I have missed our sun shine here in Northern Nevada

Saturday it was here and so was the sun! and we loved it!! Soaking up everyminute in the backyard. One particular reason I am grateful for a warm sunny day is our backyard becomes an extension of our family room and I chill in the family room relaxing in the few minutes I have while the kids run and play and can't really get hurt on anything back there :) Ok minus the AC unit which I guess one could get hurt on just not sure how.

So there has been this rock in the back yard, and my in-laws got a rock driller awhile back. My father in law loves collecting rocks and has created a huge rock fountain of his own, so I got the idea of turning our own rock that is just lying there and kinda've large but not to big into a fountain that we could see from the backdoor. You know those one's you see where the water covers the rock and it's makes a nice watery sound. So I was going to endeavor to do this but was a bit daunted when my father in law warnded me that while I was drilling if it seemed to get really difficult to drill to let it go or it would break my wrist...hmmmm...broken wrist. Doesn't sound like that would make life very easy for me.

So I tactfully asked my husband if he would do it for me. Knowing that my love language is acts of service, his said yes! yes!! So this weekend it happened. Took him awhile as the rock was so big that the drill couldn't go through from just the top but Andy had to make two cuts one from the botton and top and connect them. It worked. I'm thrilled!!! Thank you Mike!!! for your rock driller!

highlights of our trip

2010-02-06T23:05:00.000-08:00

Arrived back in Reno tonight. IT was raining and we were all so glad to be home! We had a great great time in Costa Rica. There were challenges some days with the kiddos but we over came and did not dwell on these :)

We didn't have to use Benadryl until the return trip home. Caden was totally over the traveling thing the morning we got on our return flight and by some encouragement from our group, ( I think the exact words were, "give that boy an IV of Benadryl!!!") we gave him some. Worked great from San Jose ( capital of CR) to Dallas. I would say the hardest part in traveling with an almost two year old was on the return flight to REno. He screamed yes screamed for probably a good half way through the 3 and 1/2 hour flight. We did every possible thing to make him stop. No could do mi amigos. Some people though must think you purposely want your child to scream in your lap for fun. Yah that's how I like to travel...haha...That's for you lady sitting in front of us glaring at us :p and hufffing and puffing

We stayed at a bed and breakfast in the capital the day we arrived and then the day before we left. It was great. The gal who owned it was German but spoke Enligsh and Spanish. She and her family had lived in Costa Rica for over 10 years. There were cats and dogs wandering around but always well behaved and the eating tables were in a kitchen outside. Yes I can give you the info if you want to go there yourself :). Her name was Margarita which must be one she specifically made for her self and this can be confusing when my husband was asking her for an actual Margarita. She actually owned the house that we stayed at the rest of the trip in the little town of Quepos. The house was amazing. Use to be a restaurant in it's earlier days but the family lived there after that for 6 years. It had a great view of the ocean and the family room /kitchen/ dining room/ didn't have any walls to the outside. IT was like a Robinson Crusoe tree house. It had 3 pools that all connected. It was very nice :)

We sweated like pigs down there and I'm frankly surprised we have skin left. There is no place like home and we were ready to come home. Everything looks fresher and newer coming home. I need to remember to pray for those eyes to have so I don't have to go on vacation to see my familiar surroundings like that :)

Side note: Costa Rica airport security by far the most long and detailed I have been through ever. Pat downs right before we got on the plane. Carry on luggage checked twice, hand searched each time. I was thrilled now but sweating in a bus load of people seeing the search lines and having to drop and pick up our luggage while steering 2 screaming kids, I was not so thrilled at the time.

pictures will follow :)

Excel Sheets

2010-01-25T11:01:00.000-08:00

So my husband and I have very different ways of packing. He makes excel sheets on the computer for what needs to go in his suitcase weeks before the departure date. And this is for any minor engagement.

Me on the other, throw things in a bag a day or two before. The thought of being detailed in that area, I just basically don't want to make the effort. Well we usually share a bag which causes several interesting arguments the day leading up to departure.

ON friday we are going on vacation out of the country and I have agreed to the excel sheet packing and planning weeks ahead! It's actually a nice feeling to have the suitcase done. Although I don't know if I'll completely abandon my style of packing, I'm starting to like Andy's style. Not having a Wal-Mart of any Westernized store near by was a motivator to to change my ways :)

I do have to say, my husband gets such energy and satisfaction with going as minimal as possible! He packed all his stuff in a backpack and that's it for him. Me, I didn't want to go minimal but with the airlines charging for a 2nd bag and the fact that we have to check 2 carseats in, I was again motivated to change my ways ! :)

So after last night...the final results is me sharing a suitcase with the 2 kids. 1 bag having all of our beach stuff/diapers/wipes/booster seat for Caden and then a 3rd bag carrying both of the kids car seats.

I do have the say, the most minimalist I did accomplish was live out of a backpack for 2 weeks. Andy and I backpacked Europe right before we had Morgan. I'm wearing the same clothes in all the pictures as those were the only ones I had! Same Orange sweater and jeans....wonder where Erica is in the picture...Oh look for the orange sweater and jeans!

March Madness

2010-01-23T15:09:00.000-08:00

It's not March yet, but with all the college basketball on TV it made me have a flash back to 7 years ago.

I had just started to date this guy whose dad I worked for (another story for a different blog :). And I would drive to the yellow house that he rented with his housemate Bradon. We would spend time watching college basketball and there was alot on as it was March. My boyfriend's roommate would talk and talk and talk and talk!! All I wanted to say was...shhhh... I'm trying to watch the game and want to talk with my boyfriend!

Me and my boyfriend didn't hang out much with his roommate after that. Sorry Bradon :)

Wow, now we live down the street from that house, it isn't yellow any more :) and have 2 kids and much more life experience. A world has changed but maybe not so much but I know I have grown to love that man more now then I did then

So life really isn't fair

2010-01-19T15:43:00.001-08:00

I've always had heard that phrase while growing up and of course I would agree and would say how sad it was that life isn't fair. Some where along the way, I'd forgotten this phrase and the whole concept that life isn't what you expect and some things that in fairness should happen don't. I was talking to someone about something they had gone through and the situation they were describing it wasn't.....really wasn't fair! and I was indinant! and said well that's not fair! and she looked at me and her look said..."ah yah!!"

My response was something along the lines of...ooh so life realllly isn't fair. The impact of that statement kinda've hit me anew. I had reverted back to thinking life was fair. How silly of me :)

Thank you Jesus that life isn't fair but sometimes it seems that life would be easier if it was fair. But then I think of how Jesus' gift to us isn't based on fairness and I'm grateful that life isn't fair....

Funny Things My Son Does

2010-01-08T14:38:00.001-08:00

Caden is such a joy. He fills my day with laughs and some headaches. Here is just a few of the funny moments that I've had recently

Caden took his shoe off and I didn't realize it. He said ah ooh and I thought it was cute as I left the scene of the crime and walked 1/2 mile before I realized this and had to retrace my steps while hauling a whole bunch of bags uphill before I found it

He now knows that you put paper in the fireplace to start the process of starting a fire and he managed to empty out a whole drawer full of paper into the fire place one morning. Guess he wanted a fire

The poop saga is still continuing in the bath tube. Even with swimmers on, that guy still does a job. Why is the water all murky!

After I tell Caden no, he graps my hand and lays his face on it or tries to grap my shirt and lay his head on it. Soooo cute

Anytime someone says horse. He makes this little whinny sound.

It took 3 solo trips out to the church parking lot before his mom got wise and uses a stroller in that building at all times. I got it, I finally got it! Not just a hat rack my friends!!! ;)

Thrift Stores and thoughts

2010-01-05T14:57:00.000-08:00

Funny growing up, I never really shopped at thrift stores until I met this gal whose family became close friends to my family of origin. This gal had an amazing gift to see the most curvy appealing stuff in thrift stores. She took the time to look through the shelves and other junk and came out with some amazing treasures. I would always ask her, "where'd you get that?" and she would just smile and say the shop. My jaw would drop as I thought, "you found that at a thrift store!"

So I am taking lessons from her and looking carefully through thrift stores and discount stores. I don't HAVE to shop there but the way I think is the less money I spend on household items and food the MORE money I have for vacations! So I'm willing to make the exchange. I'm thinking about being in Costa Rica at the end of January...Plus I do like finding treasures :)

Me and the kiddos went to a thrift store today and I got Morgan Grave Digger the monster truck. Which is a monster truck that she and Andy went and saw last year at the Reno Livestock Center. 25 cents. ...priceless really though. Made me think of how Jesus takes the time to really look at each person and not in a rush to fix them and then move on. He stays and waits and hopes and encourages and is by my side for the entire journey.

2009-12-27T20:07:00.000-08:00

Update and thoughts of Christmas

2009-12-27T17:27:00.000-08:00

Man, I looked at the date and it's time for a post:

This Christmas was ok. I always liked Christmas growing up, was never a die hard Christmas lover and setting up decorations in September. As I have gotten older, I have become rather a Christmas hater...let me explain. I don't care for all the expectations that come along with this holiday. Like it's the most wonderful day of the year and when families get together it's the most wonderful thing ever. Frankly I find it not the most wonderful day of the year, far from it and I don't really enjoy huge family get togethers when there is alot of underlining crap. Rather stressful.

I DID enjoy having some smallish parties with a few friends that was intimate and relaxing and having Christmas eve night and Christmas morning with just our family

When it comes to Christmas, the BEST Christmases hands down where the ones that me and my family spent overseas for the one reason that getting gifts for everyone wasn't even an issue. The giving of presents weren't stressed on TV or even stores. It was just normal and the emphasis was getting together at other peoples houses just to hang out and enjoy each other. I really enjoyed that. I remember playing games and enjoying talking with all these different types of people and the buying the right presents and making sure everyone got a present wasn't even an issue....ahhh. CAn there be such a Christmas in the States. The shopping craze is really annoying, but my love language isn't gift giving so maybe that's part of the reason too :)

I do have to say though. Being together with my Andy and Morgan and Caden was thee best part. So I say the best day of the year is when I get to be with them!

Data is Scary!

2009-12-13T16:20:00.000-08:00

Morgan is getting to the age where is she very aware and watching what is happening around her and what is said and most noticeably what is on TV.

We were watching TV last night and Star Trek: Generations was on. It's rated PG so we thought ok, we'll just see. The movie was going on and we were off and on switching channels throughout the movie. She did watch the last part with Data who finds his cat on the destroyed Enterprise.

The movie ended and she started crying hard. Apparently, Data is very scary to a 3 year old and the thought of a nice cat with a scary person was to much. I never thought of that. Andy and I both ask her why she is crying and she answers..."nothing". Must have learned that response from her mom ;)...

So needless to say, nothing is watched now with her in the room except G movies and sports....it's going to be a looooooong winter

Where I'm at

2009-12-04T13:54:00.000-08:00

I've had some interesting thoughts the last few days about where I am at life. Meaning, being at home with 2 little ones. Having a RN degree but not currently choosing to use it. Being fulfilled in what I'm doing every day.

While I'm wiping Caden's nose or putting my almost perfect 3 year old in time out, :) I've had thoughts like "well if I started working and serving others and wiping their noses and butts, then I'd really be hearing God's call on my life." I was thinking these thoughts while waiting to pick up my daughter from preschool the other day and I got a picture/ memory of one of the days when I was working at the hospital after we had had Morgan.

I vividly recall sitting at the nurse's station charting on the computer and feeling annoyed that the call light had gone on again!! If only those patients could get their own bed pans and stop their own IV machine from beeping!! :) I was thinking, if only I could stay home with my kids, then I could truly serve the people that need me! and I would content and everything would be right.

I remembered this while sittng in the parking lot and the fact that I was saying the same thing about staying home with the kids really struke me that I have a contentness issue in this area. Just recongizing this, a light bulb has gone on and as my husband asked, "don't you think someone is talking to you?".

...yes, I don't want to not recognize where I am in life and miss what God has for me today even in the little small, monotous, un-noticed moments in my day :)

Memories in the past year that I'm grateful for

2009-11-28T10:24:00.000-08:00

Thoughts from the past

2009-11-18T09:32:00.000-08:00

I love being a mom and now that morgan is 3 and 1/2, she gets to go to fun birthday parties and has some friends that she really likes. I'm getting use to seeing my little girl interact with other girls and even helping Morgan friends. It's kinda've weird doing it, and I'm very aware that her friends might have different values/ways of living in their house/ opnions, but at the moment their playing with my daugther so indirectly I'm affecting them

I was thinking of this when we were at a play house last night and I was helping Morgan get her shoes on and then her friend asked me to get her shoes on as well, cause her mom wasn't right there. I helped both girls and it brought back a memory when I was about 14 years old......

My family was camping with another family at a beach when we lived in the middle east. The mom was English and her name was Christine and the dad was Egyptian who's name was Ahmed. They had one son who's name was Sam and he was the same age as my brother and I'll never forget how Sam used the word "pardon" when he didn't hear you or understand you. Americans usually say "what" or..."huuu" but hearing this little boy use the word "pardon" in his English way of saying things was really cute. Anyways, we were camping on the beach which is a very sandy experience, and all the kids were getting ready to go into our tent and Sam's mom carried over some water in a bucket and was washing her son's feet off before he went in the tent and then just like I was her daughter she washed my feet. It felt really weird having someone touch my feet and caringly clean them. I remember thinking, this is like something in the Bible!! But I was touched cause she was not my mom but was doing the same for me as for her son...

So anyways, those thoughts were going through my head while I was helping morgan and her friend get their shoes on. I hope that as Morgan grows up, I can help/serve her friends and touch their lives in caring ways.

Biographies

2009-11-13T14:22:00.001-08:00

So, if you didn't know, I love biographies. I like to read about people who do things that interest me. Currenlty I'm reading Andre Agassi's new book Open. Very interesting. I think it's appealing cause I have followed his career and watched him on TV and listened to him commentate several times.

What the outside actions and appearances don't show is surprising. He mentions matches in the book that I recall seeing and he writes about how he was struggling physically/mentally/emotionally, almost to a complete break down. Could never tell by watching the match. Makes me think about how God looks on the inside and us people look on the outside. How misleading that can be!!

I always wanted to be telepahtic (be able to sense what other people are feeling/thinking). This past few weeks, I have heard of people I know who are going throw really really tough life situations. My heart aches for them. Ino more want to be like Diane Troy (on next generation Star Trek, anymore. That would be a burden to carry probably to much for my fragile psych :)...So...grateful for something funny

Thoughts

2009-11-05T20:54:00.000-08:00

This weekend is looking to be an interesting one

I'm off to the ladies retreat for Friday night. I get to drive up with 2 friends which is great as I'll love the company. I'm just staying for 1 night and will come back down by Saturday afternoon. My brother is tieing the knot at dusk on Saturday so yes I will sacrifice my 1/2 hour massage appt up at the ladies retreat to go to his wedding, for anything else probably not. Still bummed about that but I'm glad to be at the special event.

My sister who is in Australia is coming back for 3 days...yes 3 days...A 14 hour airplane flight twice in 3 days. My sacrifice doesn't seem that big now which is good :)

Apple Hill pictures

2009-11-01T16:42:00.000-08:00

We all to our trip to Apple Hill. We try to do it every year on Nevada day but we went on Thursday instead as Andy took the day off.

It was really nice. Most of the farms had very little people at them, we even got to get into the Fudge factory without a mile parking wait! Not all the sites were open as we discovered most of them are closed during the week but it worked out.

I really enjoy making our own traditions and following through with them.

random thoughts

2009-10-31T07:49:00.000-07:00

Went christmas shopping last night with Andy. Enjoyed having an empty store with the shelves fully stocked and no lines for checkout. Made me excited for the upcoming holiday but also in not a hurry to get there

I'm really enjoying our kids age at this period of time. Morgan says the funniest things

example 1

I got a book that had pictures of the week when God created the earth and I was explaining to Morgan what it was. She looked at me and said as clear as day " and you got that at the library??"....

Caden is totally obsessed with the computer and the keyboard, that's all he wants to do that and the remote control to the tv. He truely is his father's son :`````````````````)

another fall is passing

2009-10-28T16:40:00.002-07:00

Man....the holidays are just going to keep getting better and better as the kids get older. they both get so much into it as they get older!

Meeting with the Real Estate agent this Saturday. That's exciting!

Fires in the evenings are THEE best thing.

Since the puking episode that my kids had, I have washed everything in their down to scrubbing their beds with bleach. So my spring cleaning is actually done in the fall and only because they got sick...oh well :)

Finally Caden is old enough where he will watch tv for about 30 min. Thus giving his parents time to sleep in! I've waited for this since he was first born and it's here and it's wonderful! Here's to Nick Jr. having great cartoons on at such an early hour.

2009-10-28T16:40:00.001-07:00

the aftermath of the Lion's Den

2009-10-22T09:29:00.000-07:00

So made it out alive ;)... and the lady was very helpful at the bank. Although there were abbreviations and some words used that left me puzzled even after I asked her to explain what they mean. I DID however understand one of the options she presented to us so that somehow we could get the $$$ for the addition. This understanding was in part to me watching the money channel, I was very pleased with that. :)

As a result, we declined all of the options she was able to give us and I'm grateful that we know were we stand. We are NOT adding on as it would require an insane amount of work and unwise combination of some accounts. So that is a huge relief.

On a fun note, I was able to watch Andy's favorite sci-fi show with him without hiding under a blanket or covering my eyes in fear. I must be getting thicker skin in a good way!

Heading into the Lion's Den

2009-10-20T16:09:00.000-07:00

So tomorrow we go talk to the mean old bad bank about seeing how much money we can borrow or our options as far as a new construction loan to adding on.

Warning....this will be a very blunt post

I think it's humorous when you talk to bank people when you are either opening an account or wanting to borrow money...all of a sudden it's brown nosing city.

Last time we were in a bank (who shall remain nameless), the lady who was helping us was interrupted by a co-worker to ask who to send this person who was looking to open up a checking account, she quickly told the man that he would have to wait as she was taking care of important business and these fine people!! I could see the money signs in her eyes, or maybe that was just my imagination

Ask these people if you can set up a new loan and they are all "what ever we can do", tell them you would rather pick the options that don't have the loads of fees attached and it's a frown and displeased response.

Perhaps the bank people really do want to help us get the best deal, (and this is where Christians can be refreshingly different) but I think most of them are thinking about how it can best benefit themselves and pocket book.

I find it hard to believe that rules/regulations can stop that way of thinking...

camping pictures

2009-10-17T08:26:00.000-07:00

I have ment to talk about the fall camping trip we did so here it is

We went camping up on Ebbetts pass (past markleville on 88) to celebrate Andy's mom's turning 60. Andy's brother and his wife, Melissa, and their new baby Cavery was there as well.

Andy and I had my parent's trailer so we each had our 'motorhome' which was needed cause it was so cold out at night.

Night one, Andy turned on the heat as the thermometer was falling and just the fan was blowing cold air..hmmmm that's not right. Andy couldn't figure it out so we just piled on the blankets on all of us and hoped for the best. Both kids were wearing beannies and were so snug they didn't wake up once and actually slept in till 7:30! Andy and I on the other hand were a little chilly but ok. At around 3 am, Andy had an idea to turn off the refrigerator and then try the heater. Heater worked!! Who knows where he got that idea, but it was great

We went for a hike the next day it was beautiful. We all got some great pictures and Morgan almsot walked the entire hike by herself. Caden voted for riding in the packback.

I have to say, my highlight of the entire weekend was the 2nd night, Andy and I decided to have a date night. HOw does one do this in the wilderness. Well we sat in the back of our pickup truck and stared up at the stars that were just incrediblely bright and it was breathtaking. God
s natures really does put on the best shows. It was very memorable. I don't think I'll forget what the sky looked like. There were soo many stars.

Good times

mid-week post

2009-10-14T18:43:00.000-07:00

getting use to it becoming dark early. Not to bad if you have an interesting book, crackling fire, and a glass of one's choice drink!

I've been thinking of what kind of next vehicle I will get. I think in a couple of years, the rav 4 will go bye bye and I will get a car. While in LA, we rented a Nissan Altima and I was very impressed with how much space in the back seat it had plus it got great MPG.

After 6 years of having to make a wood fire, I got the art down. Although I don't think that I could start it without my little fire starter but I'm not planning on getting lost in the wilderness anytime soon.

It's a real bummer when retailers put out christmas stuff about now. I'm purposely avoiding those aisles until it turns november at least

Thursday's Thoughts

2009-10-08T11:18:00.000-07:00

We're going camping this weekend, in a motor home as the weather is a bit cold at night for tent and camping with kids. Should be fun. My mother in law is turning 60 so this is the big par-ta done camping style for her.

Question, what is it with parties and people turning 60?

Camping is ok, but camping is the fall I especially like because the fall colors are amazing! and that is great.

I like the cooler evenings and mornings with warm afternoons. One word- layers-.....

The Office as started up again, and am I the only one thrilled to see Pam and Jim tie the knot!

When I am processing things, I sweep or vacuum. This week I'm pondering acceptance vs agreement. Let's just say my floors are spotless this week!!!

I'm enjoying my tap dancing class so much. I have more respect for people who tap dance and make it look easy. Cause it's not.....

We have one of those frog humidifiers and I told Morgan it's for her when she is sick. So now any ailment from hunger to stubbed toe to being sad Morgan says "I'm sick....I need the frog!!" Man, if only life was that simple!.....I need the frog!!!

I have missed an entire decade of great movies growing up. Movies made in the 80s. When ever my husband references one, I have a blank look. So now, I am embarking on a long list of watching them with Andy. This weekend! The Breakfast Club.

Change

2009-10-04T16:58:00.000-07:00

It's amazing how nothing big will change for along time and then all of a sudden it seems that a whole bunch of changes come. Makes me realize I need to relish the quite times and know that it's not forever.

Good changes, like the weather I love..Other changes are like a sore muscle. It's always there and you can ignore it when you're preoccupied but then when you relax for a second, you notice it again.

While in the nursery this Sunday, there was music singing and the lyrics made an impact on me

He (God) will not let your foot stumble, he who watches will not slumber. The Lord is near unto those that call upon, those who call upon him in truth.

This is comforting

Caring

2009-10-01T16:26:00.000-07:00

I think caring about people the closest to you can be the hardest. I love being a nurse and caring for others who are sick comes easily. I remember one time I was really frustrated with a difficult patient, just real done with them and a fellow nurse reminded me that I get to go home at night and they didn't. It made me see things different. But with people in your extended family, that's harder to just leave it at work or the family closet with all the skeletons ?....just saying.

Once you put some distance between you and them so you can get a handle on becoming too involved, then it seems like you don't have a relationship with them at all. So here's to trying to care without getting too involved. If that is even possible.

Vacation

2009-09-25T15:17:00.000-07:00

So our week in Escondido is coming to an end. It's been very relaxing and fun. Before the vacation, Andy and I talked alot about how many days we would go 'do' something and home many days we would 'do nothing'. Based on our last vacations the past few years, we've discovered several things that send the whole day spiraling down hill or kids have melt downs.

Well our past experienced paid off. We would go to an entertainment place one day and then the next do nothing but chill in the house/pool. Every other day like that, so this time it has felt like a relaxing vacation.

Wondered how long I could live like this. At the moment it seems like I could do this for a long time, but then I think ( and I know ) I would begin to miss people and having meaningful interactions and being in other people's lives. So real life here we come back.

Interesting to watch other families at the pool and watch other 3 year olds have fits and other babies screaming plus noticing which families played with their kids in the pool and others who didn't. Believe me, if I didn't have to hold my kids in the pool because they couldn't touch, I don't know if I would be in there with them all the time either.

Great times and gooder times to come :)

God is good

2009-09-18T10:51:00.000-07:00

I've been pondering the phrase, God is good. I know mentally what that is but actually believing it in my heart has been difficult these past few weeks. I think I believe in my heart that God is good to me and my family but sometimes life just doesn't seem fair for others.

It seems that some people are hit with a wave upon wave of difficulty or just life stuff but the fact that it keeps occurring to the same people seems unfair to me. I know God is good and I want to believe in his goodness.

mid-week post

2009-09-15T18:40:00.000-07:00

So I have had a cold for over a week and it's really starting to annoy me now. I bring a box of tissues where-ever I go now and if my eyes suddenly tear up..no I'm not going to burst out the water works but my sinuses hurt.....If no improvement in a few days, antibiotics here I come!!! It's funny cause my son and husband seem to have a super immune system and haven't even gotten a sniffel! and Morgan had it for 2 days. I contribute the male super immune system, at least Caden's dad, to the 20 vitamins Andy takes every day and I'm not exaggerating. I would too love to take alot more vitamins then I do but I have a 'thing' for swallowing pills. I choke so easily on pills that are NOT capsules and not small. Andy has performed the Heimlich several times and once I performed it on myself...although it really hurt but the vitamin came out! Darn you B vitamins!!! So it's chewable gummy vitamins for me....:( not much variety in those.

The Jones family is going on their family vacation on Saturday for a week. We're staying about an hour out of San Diego at Welk resorts. pictures of the place look great. We're about 2 hours from Disney land/ 1 hour from Sea World. I think we'll go see Mickey Mouse for 1 day maybe 2 if it's a great hit..how could it not be! :)

My tendancy for sarcasim comes out alot more when I'm tired/annoyed/ or just plain mad. I'm learning to practice the loving saying "if you can't say anything nice...don't say anything at all" ....a las it does have better results then sarcasim but not as amusing.

I really enjoyed the US Open this year. Can you believe the next big tennis tournament is the Australian Open in January and so that means it's been a year since I went there with Caden. That is hard to believe, it went by soo fast. Good times. I wouldn't even consider taking CAden on a 16 hour plane trip now without a suitcase full of tranquilizers ;) for myself and the other passaenges of course. It was the perfect period of time to take him and I loved spending the time with my siblings. My sister is considering flying to Germany from Australia to visit one of her roommates. Guess the flying time for that trip? 45 hours...yah..wow!

Happenings

2009-09-07T19:29:00.000-07:00

Preschool for Morgan is in full force and I love having her enjoy her day and me as well!

Changes are occurring it seems everywhere I look this includes the weather seasons as well. Having a foundation in not having fear has helped me not react in my old self way. Grateful for people and teaching around me

I'm totally procrastinating on some stuff and it's calling me as I type

I've always had a list of places I'd like to visit and recently that list as grown when I watch sunrise earth on HD (it's an 1/2 hour morning show that just shows the sun rising but each morning it's in a different location around the US)....I'm also appreciating the sagebrush! ( I can't believe I'm typing those words!)

My sister is investing residencies that she could enroll in 2010 in the western US. I'm thrilled!!! and I have to say anyplace is closer then Australia.

Caden is walking everywhere and as a result as numerous bruises and bumps just about anywhere. Morgan is thrilled someone can chase her and she is sooo frustrated as to why he can't keep up with her.

Autumn.....bring it!!

Growing Pains and milk

2009-08-31T14:19:00.000-07:00

little baby Caden is growing out of the baby stage and since he is just over a year his main source of nutrition should be more then just milk. This is for the reason that he will continue to grow and get big and strong like his daddy!!!

I'm totally on board with this plan and love the idea of him eating our food. Caden on the other hand is going through milk withdraw as he loves.... loves drinking milk all day long and could do so for every meal. So we're at the stage of him continually throwing food on the ground and screaming for you know what..his milk!!!

So I'm laying down in the afternoon and listening to how Caden is insisting for milk in place of a 'real' lunch before he takes a nap. Considering that he is in the 3rd percentage of all kids and small for his age anyways, I'm thinking he can't live on milk for the rest of his life...

Anyways my whole point is, I wonder if this is how father God feels when he trying to feed us substantial food in life and we are crying our lungs out for our yummy milk and throwing a fit cause he isn't giving it to us. It's interesting how being a parent gives us a better or more mature view on God. I can see some areas in my own life how God is encouraging me to more beyond the 'milk' stage. ...I've been crying like Caden inside.

Where's my fork and spoon??

Hecklers

2009-08-28T12:11:00.000-07:00

We lived Indonesia for a year or so in my mid teen age years and this is where I learned the word Heckler. It was the term that was used to describe the people who would stand outside the airport or a tourist place and try to sell you they item they were selling. These people of course just did not sit on the ground and show your their goods it was following you/ shouting at you to stop/saying anything to convince you to buy what they were selling...Yes that ugly Mr. T watch would look great with a Sunday dress! and that XXL oversized coat wouldn't look at all odd on your small daughter...Get my point? One guy followed my mom for over a mile and when she still said no to his insistent demands, his behavior turned to be far from polite.

Anyways..I am thinking that some not all modern day Realtor/construction people are western hecklers. May the non-hecklers in this business beam out or make some kind of sign that they are truely do care about the customer. I can wish and pray and will be for devine appointments! ;)

This time of year and Adding On

2009-08-27T15:32:00.000-07:00

Something about this time of year really makes me enjoy it. I do enjoy spring but something about a definite ending with summer out and school= fall. I like the darker mornings cause their cozy which is crazy. I like the darker mornings gets really cold out and your don't want to get out of bed until the thermostat is turned way up!

We'll the verdict is in and we are not moving but are going to add/remodel our house. We have thrown ideas around and after talking to realtors and construction people it has been decided. NOt like we are going at walls with hammers but probably next spring we'll add a 2nd story. I am so grateful that my husband knows more about construction/codes/ then I do as I know nothing.... nothing....I repeat! New 2 words for me owner/builder...What exactly does that mean? The owners build or the owners hire the builders or the owners over see the builders. Well guess I have time to figure it out

Now any quick tips anyone can give me on what they would have done differently when they remodeled or hard lessons they learned I am an open book

Positive Re-enforcement

2009-08-22T19:03:00.000-07:00

These past few days and nights it's like Caden has regressed on all the progress we had made with sleeping through the night and eating food from a spoon. He has refused and I mean REFUSED to eat food from a jar. First he waves both hands up and down like an obstacle course and then when you finally dodge the flying fist and get the spoon in his mouth he spits it out of his mouth! Do to a noticeably less food intake and drinking milk alone, he is waking up and staying up through the night cause Andy and I don't want him to get into the habit of having snacks again during the nights...The vicious cycle!!! Up all night no eating real food all day long again and again

We were at our wits end last night and I had less then angelic thoughts about my dear dear boy after being up from 1 am to 5 am. For some strange reason he still didn't want to eat from a food jar at 3 in the morning and was very disappointed that water was in the sippy up not milk

We have considered tieing his hands during meals and prying open his little jaw just isn't cutting it and plus I'm pretty sure that tieing his hands during meals would be very close to actual abuse and probably qualify him for certain theo sessions in his adult future!

Any ways...for dinner tonight he had 2 bites out of the baby food jar and I was soo happy! I was clapping and jumping up and down. This huge grin spreads across his face and he opens his mouth again and I did the same thing. So now it's almost bedtime and he ate an ENTIRE baby food jar and a few noddles which is alot for Caden. So what if our dinner was like a circus!

We shall see if this translates into a good night sleep....oh dear God!! let it be sooo!!!!!!!!!

Happy 1st Birthday- Caden!

2009-08-18T08:02:00.000-07:00

A year ago today, Caden was brought into the world. At 7 lbs 12 oz and 20 1/2 inches, I'll never forget the look on his face when he came out. It was of pure shock and then his little nose and face scrunched up and he screamed bloody murder as to ask

" why did you take me from my comfy home!" and he didn't stop crying until he was in our arms..

This year has brought so much growth for Caden, obviously, and for his parents a HUGE growth in the art of managing and balancing 2 kids and learning alot of patience of functioning fully during the day while NOT sleeping at night :) Caden is soo different from his sister and couldn't love dirt more or banging into things to get his body through or following his big sister everywhere.

Caden's little facial expressions are priceless and he has a couragious little boy's heart and tries to truly go where no baby has gone before...

and he holds a special place in my heart as I truely understand what it is to be 2nd born and have to find your place beside (NOT BEHIND) those overachiever/people pleasing, toy grabber, 1st borns !

Love you ,Caden, you are a joy and are soo important to our family

random happenings

2009-08-14T12:42:00.000-07:00

My absolute favorite season is fall and just recently it seems that fall is starting to be in the air. Andy commented how it is a bit darker out when we get up in the morning and there is just the hazy warmth afternoon but cooler evenings. I love it! I'd love to live in a place where it was fall all year around but then I start to think of the continual pick up of dead leaves and how hard it would be to keep one's floor clean and I would probably reconsider...

I am loving the Hillside learning community on Thursday. It for sure beats trying to listening to Keith Moore at my house and trying to occupy my kids at the same time AND it's a good reason to have a date night right before so we just extend the grandparents babysitting time.

I have discovered the worse smell in the whole world. It seriously makes me want to vomit and it was in our bathroom...no it wasn't in the toliet or anything of that related nature. It was very odd and surprising that this thing smelled so bad. We were pouring bleach on everything and I was burning candles nonstop to cover it up while trying to figure where it came from. Andy discovered what it was and when I held it up close to see it THAT was the smell... it was the worse. This must be what you smell in hell . Hope nobody is eating while reading this....;)

Teaching Morgan how to share is like having a constant headache all day. I explain myself and why she has to at least 20 times a day and time outs and everything. The selfishness of one's soul is amazing and that includes me not just my 3 year old...

on Judgment day...

2009-08-05T21:08:00.000-07:00

So this evening, Andy was explaining to Morgan about choices and how she chooses what she is going to do and then things happen. In this case it was her going to time out or obeying and not going in time out.

The first example he gave was Morgan could choose between cake or cookies and she said cake and he said great, that's a choice you make Morgan.

2nd example, he asked Morgan was she could choose between listening and obeying Mommy or go in time out, her response....cake!!!

How do you keep a straight face when your kid says something like that? Oh man.

So I doubt this will happen as I will be quivering in my pants and probably sweating in fear but I wonder what God's response would be if on judgment day when he asks me about the decisions I make if I respond 'cake!' if only that could happen

Hungry

2009-08-02T06:53:00.000-07:00

I am hungry for something...or maybe more accurate I want to be hungry for more of Jesus. Something deeper.

I want His power and grace to transform me. I have finally come to the realization that trying to 'read' the Bible is very not do-able in this period of my life. Having 2 little kids that are crawling all over me and my oldest no longer takes naps :(. Soo I have started to listen to the audio Bible and just in the past week Keith Moore. I'm really enjoying it and am less frustrated as I'm not trying to barricade the kids while I read. Quit crying kids, I'm trying to read the Bible!!! hmmm....

The listening to speeches and the Bible is going great. So let the spiritual feast begin!!

Things that make me smile

2009-07-27T16:31:00.001-07:00

My kids playing together and having crawling races down the hall

Caden waiting until I see him go into a place he is not suppose to be (i.e. the bathroom). He gives me a huge grin and then takes off towards the bathroom crawling as fast as his little legs can go. I can hardly stop laughing each time he does this

Both my kids jumping on Morgan's bed to the music of "5 little monkeys jumping on the bed"

When Morgan catches me by surprise and says, " I love you mommy"

My husband's smile and sigh of relief when he comes home from work

My vine outside my backdoor that is growing like crazy up our house

A robin in our bird bath

Eating ice cream outside in the evening

Sitting at the dinner table after dinner, chillin and listening to everyone play/talk

...These are a few of my favorite things

Welcome to the world...

2009-07-21T09:56:00.000-07:00

Cavery Justin Jones and congratulations to his parents Cullen and Melissa

I got to tell you, I like being an Aunt already!

Sunday Happenings

2009-07-19T17:51:00.000-07:00

This Sunday has been great for several reason

1. Finally new blinds up in our master bedroom as the old ones had broke. Do you think 5 + years of anxiously awaiting could be considered long suffering :)

2. Both of our kids played by themselves for a good 2 + hours this afternoon. This is a rare occurrence where no need is being expressed through crying/ tantrums/ or picking on each other

3. My husband took a much needed nap. I think for the time we have been married he has napped less then 5 times. Really tired

4. Got the info to sign up for a tap dancing class in the fall. It's one of my life long dreams to learn how to tap dance. Even better when friend Kati is going to accompany me.

5. Left-overs for dinner. Lots to choose from... Easy

6. I am closer to becoming an Aunt...but not quite yet

7. I managed to not spill one drop of spaghetti on my white pants!! This truly was a good day

pictures

2009-07-18T08:07:00.000-07:00

Random Thoughts

2009-07-15T19:58:00.001-07:00

Going camping really does make you appreciate the simple comforts of one's house and again things seem fresh.

Camping is also a fun way to bond with others, deepen relationships, and get away for a few days :)

I am ever in amazement of my hubby's ability to look at an area map and then drive away and get to the location. Me on the other hand have to print out step by step directions, I'm glued to the map throughout the entire tirp and still get lost in Sparks of all places! Thank God for cell phones!

At this second Morgan is throwing a huge fit cause she can't get a whistle to blow. And I'm crazy to teach her how to make it work!

Caden is for sure a bouncer. He bounces really good off the bed onto the floor and then back up again with barely a cry.

Any day now, I will be an Aunt to another baby Jones. It's comforting hearing about how someone else is not sleeping through the night ;)

At least twice this week I was grateful for my husbands completely different background that he came from

me- I tell Andy that one of his airsoft friends looks sketchy
Andy- why?
me- I don't know...plus he has earings!!!
Andy- so and so has earnings too, why does that matter?
me- oh man! will I ever learn!!!

There are two types of people in this world....

2009-07-08T10:52:00.000-07:00

Those that LEAP out of their beds in the morning and those that CREEP out of their beds in the morning. I am the latter and my husband is the former. I process and react to situations and people's request so much slower as I'm waking up and my husband is exactly the opposite. Perfect example.....

This also applies to being woken up in the middle of the night by our dear dear baby. Andy jumps out of bed and starts searching for a pacifier by throwing things out of the crib (not the baby mind you). He is moving at a speed I can only reach in the late afternoon. Me on the other hand am walking slowly with my eyes still half shut to Caden's room. By the time Andy has found a pacificer, Caden is now fully awake and Andy calls it quits and bolts back to bed. Me on the other hand have been watching sleepily from the chair in Caden's room. I quietly pick Caden up and sleepily rock him back to sleep.

How to people blend their lives together is truely a work in progess....

Post vacation thoughts and pictures

2009-07-07T08:04:00.000-07:00

So the family got back from vacation. The recovery has been good. I love how one's house and everything around you seems fresher after a get away and the monotonous daily routines have a new spark when you've been gone from them. So dishes/laundry/floors here I come!!!!

My sister is back to the Aussie land. I'm always sad to see her go and try not to keep asking her when she is coming back every day as her life is there and she is happy there. but the tentative date for our next sighting is January of 2010. :) Not to far off. I think on this last trip with her seeing the daily life of having small kids, her desire for kids has been reduced dramatically to say the least! She's quite content to be an Aunt. I think Caden waking up several times crying at night and then getting up at 5 am helped her reach that conclusion and the fits of emotion Morgan would have when she got tired. That's fine, I'm happy and content to be the sister who has the kids and helps them grow and become people and she can be the world traveling Aunt they go and visit.

As far as the family dynamics that went along with 6 adults in one house, I was really glad at how smoothly it was. There were definite different points of views on topics of conversation but still love and acceptance after the talks. Glad we can agree to disagree about things and then just continue on in relationship.

One irratating point about californians. What is it with tail gating with those drivers! It seems to be a pre-requistie to become a driver is that you will get 3 inches from the person's bumper if they are in the fast lane going 80-85 mph and it's just not fast enough for you! BACK OFF BUSTER! Maybe I'll make that into my own bumper sticker and post it on my car.

Thoughts on Vacation

2009-07-02T16:49:00.000-07:00

So Andy, I, our family and my family of original are chilling in Santa Cruz for the week in a rental house by the ocean. Doing nothing...the best kind of vacation there is. There's two different kinds of weather in one day. For the early morning it is very foggy and chilly. This last to about noon and then the sun gets really hot. Around 5 pm, it goes back to the fog coming back in and the degrees dropping sharply. Makes me miss the month of June in Reno where we got clouds/rain and then sun in the afternoon :(

The most BIZARRE bumper sticker ever. Actually it made me cringe inside and not want to associate with Christians at all. We were driving through Donner summit and we passed a red car and he had a bumper sticker that said in big bold black letters. THE FOOL HAS SAID IN HIS HEART THERE IS NO GOD.... Not if this was bad enough but the bumper sticker wasn't stuck on his rear bumper but to the side of his car, just incase anyone missed seeing it.. That makes me cringe inside. The only word I said was from Morgan's vocabulary- goodness. That is all.

The first night here was rather rough as Andy saw and tasted his dinner twice. Not so great being sick on your vacation. Glad it was the 24 hour flue and nothing longer.

It's amazing what you speculate about a person's life. We're renting out a house that a single gal owns. Everything in it is hers and it's apparent she lives in it when it's not being rented out. So things I have deduced. Possible lesbian as there are numerous pictures of naked women and one particular where their hugging. She is obsessed wither her little white dogs and she has great decoration sense and color scemes throughout the house. Also, she is rolling in it :)

2 more days of vacation then back to grind....

Story behind the man on the operating table

2009-06-23T20:32:00.000-07:00

Ok Jeni, here's your story, although there is no diagnosis to guess and others who want to know about the man on the table :)

Sooo, to start the tale. My sister went to Papa New Guinea as part of an medical rotation with the doctor missionaries that lived in a remote village in the mountains. Total hard core! She and 3 other residents had a guide and hiked in, which was a hike of a couple of days.

There they helped the missionaries with the medical clinic and performed treatments and surgeries as needed. The man on the table was raping his brother's wife when his brother walked in on him in the act and went at him with an axe. Danielle in the picture is sewing the skin back on the man's scalp. The man was hit on the head and his arm by the axe (this is what the other doctor is working on). He made it through the surgery and won't ever be able to use his arm like before but is able to farm his sweet potatoes :)

and she loved the experience and wants to go back....:D

So proud of my sister for pursuing her dreams!

2009-06-21T09:28:00.000-07:00

Poop

2009-06-20T11:20:00.000-07:00

My husband is off with his Cimmerian airsoft group camping the weekend away. Andy plans his camping trips out years in advance! So I had plenty of time to prepare for the weekend alone with the kiddos. Andy trying to give me motivation for me to be completely exhausted this weekend offered to let me go to Peru with my parents and my sister as they go and see Machu Picchu (if I knew how to do those clever little links I would use that now).

This was very tempting but the 2 draw backs, I would be taking Caden with me and as he did great in Australia, I think trying to cart a baby around in a 3rd world country would be no vacation at all and I would like to save this type of vacation for us as a family or with just Andy and me :)

So last night of course, Caden cried for the better half of the night. As soon as I get up, I check on him and he is fine sleeping away now cause now it's Morgan's turn to be up. I go back to bed and then wake up at 8. I go into Caden's room and it smells like a poop. No problem. Yah, but this blow out has gone through his diaper/ onesies/ and he is crawling around in it as it is smearing on everything. It's all over his legs and arms and everywhere in his crib. I put him in the bathtube and start the clean up. I should get a special applause for this. My husbands calls right at that moment as I am putting Caden in the bath with his poopy outfit on and poop is everywhere in the bathroom now. I answer calmly and tell him what happens and ask him to call back as I'm up to my elbows in poop.

So right now, I'm eating an ice cream sandwhich at the computer with cartoons on and there is brown stuff all over my shirt which I'm pretty sure is poop and I just don't care....

Fun Pictures

2009-06-18T10:33:00.000-07:00

almost got the camera person!
Swing batter batter batter

The family chilling on a cool evening watching the rain

Finally Meeting the Neighbor

2009-06-17T06:06:00.000-07:00

The people immediately around our house (on both sides and across from us) are all on the older side/ retired. The people though across the street and up 2 houses are a young couple who had twins around the same time Caden was born. They've lived there about 2-3 years and we had never met them.

You know when enough time has lapsed when you should have met a person and it seems awkward to wave or even pretend that they just moved in when it's actually been 3 years. They come and go and it's funny cause you start trying to make observations as to what type of people they are just in noticing their daily routine or when and what cars are parked outside.

Well this morning on my morning walk, I ask that God would give me an opportunity to meet the neighbors in some fashion or form. Later that afternoon, Andy was changing the oil in my car (thank you my love!) and he came in and informed me that the husband was out on the front yard with their babies. I was shocked, I have seen them in their front yard maybe 5 or 6 times in the past 3 years. I shrugged and then was reminded that this was an opportunity to meet them. So I took Caden ( I love how kids break the ice!) and Andy and Morgan followed and we have met our neighbors.

Glad I got to meet them finally:) The small gems in one's day...

Reason's Why I Love Reno

2009-06-10T21:33:00.002-07:00

So for the majority of my life I have wanted to live away from Reno. Having lived here most of my life, I've always wanted to move away. Well, the way life has worked out, I'm pretty sure, I will be here for the majority if not the rest of my life. I feel I have turned a corner. I have accepted this and have stopped shaking my fist at God. I'm actually finding out that I really love living in a place where I have roots and history and where I can tell my kids "yah, mom was born there....mom grew up here."

So reasons why I love Reno:

I ran into the lady who use to babysit me as a child at a nearby park. She got to meet my kids and we talked about how our lives have changed. Having roots :)

I have finally been able to master navigating Sparks, the last place I didn't know very well, so I officially should not be able to get lost in this city any more....

I enjoy running into people I know at odd hours of the night at odd places of the night and having the feeling like this really is a small town but with more then one stop light :)...good to see you Trista.

I love discovering new little shops or clubs ;) and knowing I'm going to come back

I love that our weather has some diversity but will always go back to sunny.

I love the people God has put into our family's life

I'm glad that I'm here to stay in Reno.. for the long haul

2009-06-10T21:33:00.001-07:00

Congradulations Roger Federer

2009-06-07T10:04:00.001-07:00

For all those tennis fans! He did it!!!

Weather and Oregan Health Science University

2009-06-02T19:37:00.000-07:00

I love this weather! The sun in the morning and the rain in the afternoon is a great change from the sun all day long day after day. Now understand I have lived in Nevada my whole life. I don't think I have ever seen our humidity at 67% (thanks Mike Alger for noting that).

Before I applied to be an RN at Washoe, now Renown, I applied to go to OHSU (Orgeon health science university). I went up for an interview and everything. I was applying to their ICU department and they took the best of the best ;). I had my apartment picked out and my roommate picked out as well. My roommate to be was a fellow Nevadean who was and did go to OHSU for her DDM (a dentist). What held me back?? A young man named Andy I had met a few months prior and who I really really liked and he liked me more :). Andy was so calm and patient as I finally came to the decision not to be employed by OHSU. On a side note, I was told by my could be future employer that I had to pay to park my car in the hospital garage while I was working.. What in the world?? No wonder people ride their bikes everywhere up there.

I didn't get accepted to be in their ICU deparment but another floor offered me a job. I declined, I decided Nevada isn't that bad especially because since there was a certain young man who lived there. Even if I had been offered the position that I wanted, I don't know if I would have accepted. I'm awefully glad I made the decision that I did.

So all that to say, I am fond of this weather and it makes me think of what it would have been like to live up in Oregon, but for this week I can have the weather/ great greenness too! plus I have my man!

You know your tired when....

2009-05-29T16:27:00.000-07:00

Instead of writing your daughter's name on her snack bag, you write your own name and don't even realize it until one of the teachers mentions it. :)

You go to call one of your kids and you go through every one else's name in the family including your parents dog

You water your flowers and then 15 minutes later go to water them again not recalling you just watered it.

You forget your bank pin after even though you type it every day for the past 6 years

Finally...

you blog about being tired cause you're just to tired to think of a more interesting topic

Sorting it Out

2009-05-26T21:06:00.000-07:00

We had a scottish neighbor growing up for a few years of my life and I liked to catch their own unique phrases they use. One of them Jerry (the mom) said quite often. She would tell her 5 year old to "go sort yourself out" or she would tell how she needed a walk a bout to sort herself out.

That's what I felt this past Sunday evening. I was trying to sort out boundaries/acceptance/tolerance/truth with a person in mind. It's easy for me to accept someone is an adult and how they are making decisions affect them. It's just when this adult is going around the same cycle of life and they are asking how their track can intercept your life. Saying no in love is hard but then also balancing that with giving people another chance. So I'm sorting myself out! and maybe I'll go on a walk about while I go sort myself out

So Happy the Weekend is Here

2009-05-23T08:21:00.000-07:00

I am really enjoying this weekend already. We as a family plan to chill and not go for a super good deal get away but relax which for the Jones means playing in the backyard/wild waters/barbecues with friends:).

This past week has been rather eventful. The last post about Caden kept me on the look out for any poops and man they are coming!! I have never been so happy to clean a poopy diaper in my life. Every time Andy or I change him and see a dirty diaper we literally do a dance. The absence of something for so long makes the coming of it quite an event

Plus garage saling season is upon us!!

Stuffed Up

2009-05-20T16:51:00.000-07:00

This describes the physical condition of my son. We went to his 9 month old appointment and the doctor after feeling his abdomen says hmmm he has poop all the way backed up into his intestines! Caden has never ever ever ever had a big poopy diaper since he was born. I've tried multiple things for constipation but I didn't think that it was that bad.

So the doctor scraped all of the little home remedy stuff off the page and said forget all that lets start something more serious. Miralax. Great Morgan is on that. Don't have to go to the store to get some. So Caden gets that lovely stuff everyday and we'll see in a couple of weeks if it is poop and will have gone away theoretically with a laxative or something more serious. Go poop Go poop!

So Morgan and Caden can bond being on the same laxative :)

I am convinced...

2009-05-16T08:24:00.000-07:00

That there is a market conspiracy in that they have created so many sizes of batteries that one must buy to get toys/mobiles to work for their children. I came to this conclusions after opening all of the kid's battery powered toys in hopes of finding C batteries for Caden's mobile as he was screaming his lungs out. No C batteries could be found. Makes me indignant as a consumer!!

That our the world is such much bigger then just what America has and does. I had never even heard of Eurovision just a few days ago. Makes me excited whenever I get out of the American box, just not to Russia though.

That the 2nd tennis grand slam of the year is starting in a matter of days! The French Open. I can hardly wait!!! Go Federer!! Makes me fondly remember seeing the Australian Open. If I was ever to go see the French Open though, it would be minus kids and plus Andy :)

That the weather has been so enjoyable . How long have we waited for this! So Nevada skips spring and goes straight to summer. Who said there are only 2 seasons in Nevada is a wise person. Seriously where have I heard that?

Yes for Sun!!

2009-05-10T14:54:00.000-07:00

Finally sun is here!!! I have planted almost all my flowers so no more snowing, Nevada!!

I have been especially tired the last week. By 8 pm, I'm feeling so tired and falling asleep sitting in a chair. I've started to look at my schedule and even the weeks that I'm home for most of the week, the tiredness is still there. Hmm, maybe it's the 2 kids that have so much energy. For example, I literally ran around our small island in the house with Morgan for a 1/2 hour cause she wanted to run/dance to the radio music. I couldn't believe it...she takes twice as many steps as I do and I'm the one out of breath and collapsed on the couch. I also jammed my finger really bad trying to jump like a frog across the house. Is there such a thing as being TOO active with one's kids? I'm deciding to go to bed earlier then usual, and not staying up for American Idol. Oh well, I think I know who's going to win any ways ;). Go away tiredness!

Yesterday a friend came by and offered to run that machine over our lawn that puts the holes in it to air it out. Later that afternoon, Andy was looking out the frontyard and exclaimed "what the heck!" There was large hump that had there grew on our yard. It literally looked like we had buried someone in our yard. Andy is calling it a grass zit cause as soon as he stabbd it with a shovel, water started to gush out. Pretty funny. Glad Andy was able to fix the sprinkler head with minimal effort.

Caden is standing up already. He seems to know that I'm trying to delay his mobile ability. It is funny seeing Morgan crawl around with Caden . She thinks it's funny to act like a baby and he thinks it's great that someone else is crawling like him.

San Fran

2009-05-04T08:06:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we went to the bay for a little get away as a family. We had tickets to the giants game which was on Saturday so that was already decided. The weather was mostly rainy and it was an interesting experience walking with 2 kids in the rain. I do have a new appreciation for those pop up covers that are attached to strollers and for rain coats!

It rained the entire weekend EXCEPT during the 6 innings of the baseball game. The sun came out and it was beautiful. Good timing! Right when we were leaving it started to down pour again. Even though it was raining most of the time, we had a great time. We went to the Exploratorium on Friday and had fun watching Morgan explore all the different types of experiments. My personal favorite was the toilet that was a drinking fountain. The point of it was to see how strong a person's emotions where tied to a particular object or the correlation of objects. I was really thirsty though :) plus we went to an old diner for dinner and they had very good milk shakes...yummy! I'll have to remember that place for next time

I really appreciate my husband, other people, and the Holy Spirit in my life.

It will be worth it all!

2009-04-27T08:24:00.000-07:00

When We See Christ (It Will Be Worth It All)

Esther Kerr Rusthoi

Oft-times the day seems long, our trials hard to bear,We're tempted to complain, to murmur and despair;But Christ will soon appear to catch His Bride away,All tears forever over in God's eternal day.

Refrain:It will be worth it all when we see Jesus,Life's trials will seem so small when we see Christ;One gliimpse of His dear face all sorrow will erase,So bravely run the race 'til we see Christ.

Sometimes the sky looks dark with not a ray of light,We're tossed and driven on, no human help in sight;But there is one in heaven who knows our deepest care,Let Jesus solve your problem — just go to Him in prayer.

Life's day will soon be o'er, all storms forever past,We'll cross the great divide to glory, safe at last.We'll share the joys of heaven — a harp, a home, a crown,The tempter will be banished, we'll lay our burden down.

Creativity

2009-04-22T14:47:00.000-07:00

It is amazing how much creativity God has given the human race. Everyone is so different with likes and dislikes that are sometimes similar and sometimes unique. I can't even wrap my head around the fact that every single person is unique, never like a previous person or a person to come. That's pretty amazing. I enjoy hearing about different spots or moments in life that other people really enjoy. Here are just a few that got me thinking, I never would have thought someone would like that. Truly precious and amazing are the different people in our lives:

- enjoying lay-overs in the airport and actually picking flights that cause long lay-overs to soak up people, airport atmosphere, ect.

- vacuuming walls, although this may have been more out of necessity then a liking ;)

-planning a spontaneous trip. meaning going to the airport and just picking someplace to go and jumping on the plane. Not knowing where or any other details. That's pretty cool

Getting to know people beyond 'hi, how are you' opens up a whole other world. Very cool

5 years later

2009-04-20T13:22:00.000-07:00

It was Andy and my anniversary this past weekend. We've been married 5 years and where did it go!! This last year has probably been the most enjoyable for us as we have finally, finally been able to work through issues we have had in the previous 4 years in regards to ourselves and other people.

To celebrate we went to a bed and breakfast up at the Lake. I love the fact that you don't have to drive far to get to lake Tahoe but it seems like a world away. On the drive back home, we stopped by one of the beaches and sat on some rocks just soaking in the beauty. An interesting note, we spotted another guy and girl sitting aways off and Andy and I spent nearly our entire time there trying to figure out if they were smoking pot or not :). Ahh good times! The final verdict was they were.

Cheers to the past 5 amazing years with a even more amazing man and onward to the next year!

Just Like That....

2009-04-15T15:07:00.000-07:00

It's amazing how our lives can change in just one day. What we cling to for security is amazingly superficial. There has been alot of lay offs at Andy's work. Today a gentleman got layed off who was a good family friend of my family of origin and who had been there 10 years. We never thought he would be layed off but he was. He's in his 50s so starting all over again at a job from the bottom I couldn't even imagine. Just like that, he's gone. I saw the truck he use to drive parked back where there are rows and rows of vehicles that the company isn't using. It struck me as how empty it is what we cling to. Andy and I have said how we'd like to think that his job is secure enough that what he does can't be replaced, but that's just a security we put up in our mind. Whatever tomorrow brings it makes me grateful...

That Andy has a job to go to and that we serve a God that loves us and will provide, even if it's in a different way then we could ever imagine.

That what we see here right in front of us isn't all there is

That God has good things for our lives not based on how we perform but just because He loves us :0)

I'm also grateful that up till now, I have been able to stay home with my kids and I'm cherishing every moment.

Easter

2009-04-12T21:09:00.000-07:00

This year's Easter was very enjoyable. Morgan is almost 3 years old so she is more involved in all the activities and really did enjoy stealing her brother's eggs and candy. Lucky for him, just one egg and he was quite satisfied. Oh the weather though probably did make it extra special. I recall that the past years, the weather has been either cold and windy or cold and snowing. Come on spring!

Another reason for an enjoyable Easter was I enjoy when my family of origin comes and visits Andy and my church. They get to meet our friends and hear and see what we talk about and also see Morgan have fun with her friends running and screaming in excitement, sorry about that :(.

Combining both sets of grandparents and what we got Morgan, she has enough candy to last until Christmas, which Andy is already planning on hiding so I don't eat it all before July. But I will find it!!! :)

Random Thoughts

2009-04-07T14:47:00.000-07:00

I'm so glad that our weather is moving closer to spring even though we still have some relapses into winter

I never thought signing up for swimming classes could be so tough. I swear the pool does not want to make it easy for parents to sign up. example

"can I sign up for the Tuesday/Thursday class?"

"we canceled our tuesday/ thursday classes because there were not enough kids"

"can I sign up for the monday/wednesday class?"

"well, you'll have to be put on a waiting list for that one"

Where is the logic in that

Although more then the majority of the time, Andy's boss is very crude and rude, he does have some funny moments. Andy told him that there were 2 bums peeing on the building outside and his remark was "good for them, saving water and going green."

No more Blood Bank!!!

2009-04-03T08:18:00.000-07:00

I have never given blood nor do I really have a desire to but I almost did once when I was at my previous job. The incentive was if you did give blood you got a gift certificate to Starbucks so I thought I could endure the pain for that. I sat and answered their almost entire questionaire. All of their questions about where I have lived and if I had ever been in the UK in the 80s walked in cattle fields gone to Japan (yes to that one, no didn't walk in cow fields). It seriously took like 10 minutes of constant questioning. The guy was almost done and he asked are you pregnant and at that time I was pregnant with Morgan so no I couldn't give. Wish that would have been the first question. But lucky for the blood bank I was in there system so every month for the past 2 1/2 years they would call asking if I would give blood. Mostly they would leave messages and sometimes I wouldn't answer their phone calls. I know I know passive aggressive and I'm NOT doing that any more :). Thanks Andy for reminding me :)

So I picked up the phone last night and told the lady nicely that they could just stop calling me as I 'm not able to give blood right now. She told me she would take me off their list for at least 6 months. Great...So no more constant messages on our phone.

Now I just have to start answering the phone for those stupid auto warranty messages, credit card advertisements, and Dean Heller and all those other folks. No more passive aggressive! Although it is harder to get through to a machine that you're saying no then to a live person. oh well

Rose Club

2009-03-30T15:08:00.000-07:00

I am a fan of roses. I don't have very many just 5 in the front. They were already planted when I bought the house. So I'm kinda've learned how to prune but decided to take a short class. There was a free one offered at Idlewild park hosted by the Rose Club in the park's rose garden on Saturday.

So off I went with baby in stroller and Andy followed on his bike with Morgan to go to the IdleWild Park. I was for sure the youngest one there (there was another girl maybe a bit older) and I probably owned the least amount of roses. You could sit down with any number of the rose club members who were pruning roses in various areas. It was amazing some of the devotions these people had to there gardens. When asked how much time I put into my gardening, I said just a little here and there I'm busy with my other hobby and with that I smiled at Caden. Talking about one's garden was for sure an object as some people would describe how they have an enormous garden with 1 acre of just roses!!! oh my!!!!

The term everyone's a critic came to mean something new. One person gave a demonstration and was saying how you need to cut 1/4 of an inch above the rose bud and then later the other teacher said no not 1/4 of an inch and 1/8 of an inch!! With all the seriousiness like that 1/4 inch could mean the death of the plant! I had to hide snickering on that one. I was amazed though some older gentlemen starting to cry when he was talking about how his bulbs got planted in the wrong area of the garden. Such devotion. Just a different type of nerdiness :) When the speaker person was talking how with budget cuts the park wouldn't be able to maintain the rose garden there was this gasp in the air from everyone. It was funny....

Amazing with age how one takes on hobbies to fill one's day. I could be one of those ladies in 50 years :)

Identity

2009-03-28T08:18:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking alot about my identity. Who I am as a person but more importantly who Jesus says I am. Beautiful and wonderfully made comes to mind! I've also been thinking about the verse that says this is the day that the Lord has made.... Even when I'm having not such a great day, it amazes me to think Jesus made today and the beatuy of his nature is wondrous.

This is not related to the paragraph above, but for Andy and my wedding we had a picture that was sketched out and we had paint that the our guests could use to paint the picture as they wished. I finally just hung it up and it's not finished but I was thinking how much that is similar to Jesus' healing work in my life. In a state of being finished. I've asked my much more artistic husband to finish the painting. Maybe I'll post a picture of it when it's done. :)

soooo tired

2009-03-23T14:04:00.000-07:00

I have been functioning on a way less normal amount of sleep. Caden has been sick so that answers the question why. It's amazing how the human body adapts. One may not be functioning at 100% but can still make it through the day. I have noticed I'm sleeping or I mean slipping ;) on little details for example

I backed my car into a green dumbster the other day. Very glad that the dumpster moved or else the damage could have been alot worse. In my defense the heigth of it was barely waist tall so I couldn't see it!

I'm dropping things almost every day. Like jars of baby food which then creates a much needed opportunity to mop the kitchen floor.

Now this one is funny. I find myself almost missing my chair quite frequently when I go to sit down...gotta laugh

Last summer I ran into one of my former co-workers at the water park. When she saw that I was great with another child she looked at me compassionately and told me to be prepared to be completely exhausted. Oh the truth of those words!

Sibling Fun

2009-03-18T10:01:00.001-07:00

Morgan and Caden's interactions are becoming very fun to watch! Morgan knows what makes Caden laugh and she frequently surprises him with her sounds and likes to watch him react. It's making my days very enjoyable to watch them play together

Allergies again

2009-03-16T09:17:00.000-07:00

My allergies are acting up again. I was telling Andy I don't think they have ever been this bad and then he found an old blog post of mine in March 2008 where I said the exact same thing.

Same allergies just a different year. Next year, I will plan ahead and stock up on allergy meds.

This time of year is hard to get through in my opinion. It's not quite spring but winter is still lingering on. It's still cold but warm though. Let spring come!!

Morgan cannot stop talking about Monster Truck she tells the same story over and over again. It made quite an impression :) Next year, we'll all go.

Oman 2- Abraham

2009-03-13T08:22:00.000-07:00

This event in Oman was probably one of the most life changing to me. There are some particular details one needs to understand about the culture to grasp some details about the story

1. In Oman culture, light colored skin was a desirable quality. much like skinniness or tallness is viewed as beauty (although distorted) in our culture. There were different shades of light skin with the lightest, olive colored, skin belonging to the native Omanians and the darker skin color belonging to those of more African descent

2. Oman was a foreigner friendly country and yet there were/are root arab/islamic traditions that are seemingly unbreakable

3. Houses are clumped together and referred to as compounds. The walls surrounding the houses are usually waist high and there are no guards of any sort. The garbage dumpster is located outside the compound across a dirt road (this is a key detail in the story)

4. We lived in a compound made up with various other families. 1st family was British and they ran the British council, 2nd family was scottish and he was a pilot who worked at the British base called ( thumb/ rait), 3rd family was from Palenstine who we frequnetly referred to as the family from Jordan (the country) cause we couldn't pronouce their last name. 4th family was us from America :)

5. The sultan (king of Oman) 'allowed' westerners, people from india, philipians, asian to have a compound where they atteneded church and where all the pastors lived. There were 2 church buildings where the various denominations held their services at different times (think of the gas and time people saved on church hopping!) The pastor of our small non-denominational church was named Ken and his wife Margaret. They were from Britan and with the best last name ever for a Brit ...Crummick sounds like crumb. Ken's love for people of every culture impacted my life greatly and has gave me a healthy view of Christ's love for everyone despite cultural differences. I contribute much of who I am today as a Christ follower to him and his wife's love for our family.....

One day our palenstian neighbors knocked on our door and we opened it to see them holding a baby, a brand new baby maybe a few hours old, in their arms. They quickly explained that they had found the baby on the ground right in front of our garbage container. They quickly handed the baby over to my older sister and left to their house. We were beyond shocked. The immensity/sadness of the whole situation was overwhelming. I vividly remember my mom crying and I was trying to grasp the enormity of why someone had left their baby by the garbage!!!...... We called the police. It was obvious that it wasn't our baby as the baby was definently Arab descent (explaining why our palestinian neighbors where so quick to hand off the baby)

The police took the baby to the hospital. We quickly called our pastor Ken as alot of the Philippian nurses at the hospital went to our church and thus Ken could find out what happened to the baby.....

Ken found out that the baby was o.k. and healthy and that the baby had apparently been delivered at that same local hospital as they could tell by the device on the umbilical cord. In that culture so much is not talked about or addressed even hidious and sad crimes. Babies out of wedlock are one of the many issues ignored and swept aside. As Ken talked to the nurses more they showed him that there was a room with several babies that had been abdoned and that there was another room with toddlers/preschoolers who had grown up in the hospital. Ken clearly heard God speak to him and tell him that this baby that we had found was like Abraham in that he would be the first of many babies that our church/community could change their lives just by holding/hugging/playing/talking to. And those babies were so hungry for love and affection and thrived on what we could give them.

So we all named the baby Abraham....

I couldn't even imagine how Abraham's mother felt and that the only option (she felt) for her was to throw her baby away??? That's despair....

Ken had his own speculations about what happened. First Abraham's skin showed that one of his parents was definently Arab. One could only speculate what type of situation Abraham had been conceived into. 2nd, our compound was the only compound where Westerners lived in that section of town. He thought Abraham was purposely left where the mother knew foreigners lived. 3rd, the baby was set in front of the dumbster...hmmm 4th He thought the mom actually went to see her son at the hospital as he grew up there....

When it was discovered that there were babies and children at the hospital our church formed groups where and Ken and a group of mothers plus me and my sibling would visit these babies weekly. Bring toys and just take them out of the cribs to give them affection. Love was never so simple.

I remember hearing Omani women comment on how beautiful Abraham was because of his light skin and then they would point or gesture to a darker baby and show distaste. So not surprisingly Abraham was eventually adopted by a loving Arab family. We had considered adopting Abraham as a family but when we further began to investigate our option, there wasn't any. Abraham was obviously Arab and the goverment wouldn't allow a Western family to adopt/rasie an Arab in a Christian home.

In the pictures above, my mom is holding Abrham and my sister is holding another one of the babies from the hospital. Where the person is standing to take the picture of our compound is where Abraham was found. The older couple is Ken and his wife Margaret.

Thoughts

2009-03-09T21:13:00.000-07:00

Today was a hard day. I have never seen the movie or read the book The Shinning but I couldn't imagine being stuck inside for that long.

Caden is such a handsome boy. His personality is developing and he is a delight.

Andy and I are getting away for our anniversary in April. Each year we try out a new bed and breakfast in the area and this year, we're finally making it up to the lake. That weekend can't come soon enough...

Morgan is enjoying preschool so much. I think I am enjoying it more then her though :)

I have tried to enforce the rule in our house that only 1 child can cry at a time....that did not work today

First Day.....

2009-03-04T14:16:00.000-08:00

So Andy and I have seriously been contemplated putting Morgan in Little Lites (the preschool at our church) since Morgan is potty trained. So today I went in to hand in our application and the teachers suggested that today be Morgan's first day because since the snow created a smaller classroom.. What the heck! So today was Morgan's first day in preschool!!!

I'm not sad at all!!. I'm excited that Morgan will make new Sadas (friends) and will have fun activities to do. She's been pretty bored at home and I am and have been running out of energy and activities to keep her energetic self preoccupied. Plus Caden can now get some good one on one time. Did I mention it's alot easier doing errands with one kid versus two. So yes, not sad at all. Maybe I'll be more reflective and meloncholy about sending our last kid away but that's for a different season.

Pictures are soon to come! Cheers to Little Lites ...

Chipped

2009-02-25T08:12:00.000-08:00

Seems strange but every year around this time, I start to ponder about my chipped vertebrae. I know I've mentioned it previously and this is how it happened...I

I I lived in the middle east with my family of origin from the time I was 12 years old to about 15 years old. My dad worked for the government in the country of Oman and we lived in the city of Salalah. It was a great experience living there and contrary to popular belief, there are parts of the middle east that are great places. We had made friends with a family that was from New Zealand and they had a girl that was my age. We all went camping out in the sand dunes and when I say sand dunes I mean sand dunes. These things are huge. Some have at least a mile circumference around them. It was out in the middle of no where. In the states, the middle of no where could bring to thought some places like rural Nevada where the nearest town is a couple hundred people and where the nearest hospital is rural but has an emergency room. Rural where we were meant the nearest town consisted of a few flocks of goats and sheep and several families living together and the first aid center had band-aids to assist in an emergency (you'll see how this ties into the story)

We had camped with our friends once out there and after they moved back to New Zealand, our family decided to camp there alone with one of our Omani friends who's name is Siheed ( it means Happy in Arabic and proncounced sigh-heeed. That's who is in the 2 pictures). Our friends had left us a snowboard that we had used last time to sand board. No bindings, no boots, no nothing except bare feet standing on the board going staight down.

I was thrilled to keep trying this new sport and didn't realize instead of going full speed straight down one should carve from side to side. I vaguely remember the night before the accident but not much else. Apparently, I headed straight down on one of my runs and at the bottom hit a slight incline and without knowledge or equipment flew off of the board and hard onto the sand. The sand is packed so hard it's like hitting ice. I laid face down in the sand for a few seconds not breathing and my brother was just a few yards away and ran over and turned me face up and cleared the sand that was covering my face. I'm sure I lost some brain cells on that fall and if my brother hadn't been there I would have lost quite a few more!! I was unconscious for the next few hours as my parents raced me back to our home town a few hours away by car. Not before they stopped at the nearest town at the first aid clinic which offered band-aids to help. Thanks but on-wards. I regained consciousness half way through the ride back. There was a family we had come to know who's husband was from Egypt and a physician in the local hospital. X-rays and tests showed I had chipped one of my neck vertebraes and had suffered a concusion. I've been told for the next few weeks I couldn't remember much of anything including what time dinner was, although I had just asked 2 seconds ago.

Thank you, Jesus that I healed.

Potty Training and thoughts

2009-02-19T19:25:00.000-08:00

Soo, I've been contemplating trying to potty train Morgan again. The first attempt 3 months ago did not go well and we reverted back to diapers after 2 days as mom was sick and tired of cleaning up poop and pee everywhere! I have been looking for signs to see if she is ready. Morgan's vocabulary has grown alot over the last 3 months and I could tell she was putting cause and effect together better. What was the clencher for me was when she was learning her numbers and put the 2 in the right place in the puzzle. She looked soo proud of her self and exclaimed I did it, I did it!!. ...That's when I decided to go for it.

Off came the diapers and out came the toliet. I decdied to do it cold turkey. She was happy to wear her panties. She peed on the carpet after 10 minutes and looked so surprised! I told her that it was yucko (new word, thanks papa!!) and that she had to keep Thomas the train (on her underwear dry not wet)...Worked like a charm!! She has been telling me when she has to go for over 36 hours and no diapers even at night...Dare I say it!!! I think she did it!!!! Go Morgan!!

OOh We did tell Morgan that in order to go to Little Lites and play with Sadahs (Morgan's word for friends) she had to not wear diapers....Maybe that did it.

On other thoughts, Andy is off tomorrow for 2 nights and 3 days in the Delta with his friends to do his airsoft stuff. I miss him already but I know I can do it...Just one day at a time

Trust

2009-02-18T08:03:00.001-08:00

I'm going to a great Bible study on James that I'm really enjoying and getting into. On our discussion last night on the 2nd chapter of James, somebody said the phrase how you don't have to trust in order to show mercy. I have always paralleled the two and thus have not shown mercy where I should be.

We also discussed the difference between trust and faith. Those two seem identical.

Wouldn't it seem that you couldn't have trust without faith?...Good thoughts

Thomas the Train....ooh NO

2009-02-13T19:14:00.000-08:00

Morgan is a new fan of Thomas the Train. While I was off galvanting down under, Andy took her to see the live show. She was hooked!!! and since then we have gradually gotten more parts. First the Thomas engine then the track and NOW we have to listen to the same Thomas song over and over and over. She is having quite a few fits over this..

So as I type, the song is playing for the hundreth time. I'm sure it will be playing in my dream...save me !!! No more Thomas...No we don't love you Thomas...I'm sick of you!!!