I spent most of the night before last on the floor of the bathroom with the stomach flu. Which means that I spent the day yesterday on the couch or in bed. My kids ate fruit, shredded cheese out of the bag and cookies from my cookie exchange.

The floor of the living room is still covered in cheese and really needs mopped after the milk tag they played at lunch. Oh, that is where you take a drink of milk and then spit it at each other.

This morning I actually managed to get Lillian to school on time and Isaac dressed- yesterday Lillian stayed home and in her pajamas all day and Isaac only had on a diaper and a button up shirt on with only one button fastened.

I am going to try to take a shower today and maybe do some laundry. The stomach pains have passed, but I am still so light headed. I just think I need to take it easy and have another lounge day. Just. no. energy.

Which means that I have to miss the last day of our ladies Bible study and the pot luck tonight with my knitting group. My husband rented Wal-E (or whatever) last night to keep the kids entertained this afternoon, God bless him! He even filled up the tank of my van last night when he took the kids to McDonald's and stayed there for 2 hours, cuddled up in the back of the van with blankets and watched a movie.

So, if anyone has some spare time and energy- I could put it to good use! Just send it my way!

We finally decorated our Christmas tree yesterday. We will be going this week to get the kids ornament, which is one of my favorite Christmas traditions. My husband did this growing up and I just love the idea of going through all the ornaments and remembering. I know so many of the stories behind his ornaments but there are still some that I don't know. It is like a new gift when he remembers the story behind them.

I can't find the tree skirt, though.

And that basically concluded our Christmas decorating. We have two nutcrackers and a snow globe. Oh, and a nativity scene, of course. I don't really have any place to set it up so it may live in the kitchen this year. I would like to decorate our small banister this year and hang the stockings on it. If I don't get to all this soon, it is going to be too late.

My husband bought lights for the outside of the house, but they are still in the van.

So basically, we are a bunch of scrooges around here. We never even finished the paper chain to count down the remaining days until Christmas.

But last night, after the tree was decorated and we were all sitting at the table with hot(ish) chocolate I asked Lillian to tell her little brother what Christmas is. She said without even stopping to think that it is Jesus' birthday. She went on with a few more details, none of which included Santa or presents or food. Just the love of Jesus.

Seven Random Things

I was tagged a few weeks ago by Veronica over at Toddled Dredge for the seven random things meme and so here I go...

1. I am not good at random. I try to be. When I try to make something look random, after I step back and take a look, it looks like a checkerboard pattern

2. I really like to read. I just finished the Twilight saga, which I really enjoyed. Any good recommendations on what to read next?

3. I am on the Women's Ministry team at my church. We are the Lady Bugs.

4. When I was 4 I was playing on a tractor and fell of the step and broke my arm. I only fell about 2 feet. I told my mom that I fell off the porch and was a guilty mess until I finally told her the truth after my cast was off 6 weeks later.

5. I LOVE Chick-fil-a. I don't think i could live anywhere that there wasn't one close by.

6. I don't really like the cold. I think it should only be allowed to snow at Christmas time. The rest of winter it should be at least 50 degrees.

7. I don't like heat either. I get sick when I get too hot. It should never be above 90 degrees.

I am going to tag Becky, Amy, and On Dragonfly Wings.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Right now, the ham is finished, the potatoes are cooking, and my husband is upstairs playing with the kids. Pretty good life.

We decided, since my husband has to work in the morning, that we would stay home for Thanksgiving this year, so this is my first time making a holiday meal on my own. I opted out for the turkey because, well, my husband asked for ham. We are having a jammie day and just hanging out.

My pies turned out fine, but not really very pretty. I was trying to boil the potatoes and they never would start boiling. The coil on my stove went out this morning. Great timing!

But my son likes the cranberry sauce. My kids are doing a puzzle with their dad while some years we have just waited for a 15 minute phone call from him from somewhere far away. We have a warm house and more than enough food. Lillian is enjoying the Macy's parade. I have more blessings than I deserve.

This week has been the climax of fall. The ground is carpeted with yellow leaves and the trees are all on fire and glowing.

This time of year makes me think of the majesty of God. Imagine the God that loves us so much that instead of the leaves just falling off the trees and going straight into the bleakness of winter, He graces us with the beauty of fall. He takes the time to make the world a beautiful place for our enjoyment and for His glory. All nature and beauty point to our loving Father that wants to bless us.

Imagine the God that even loves a leaf that is about to die and fall to the ground so much that he touches it with beauty. How much, then, does He love us?

I had one of those moments this morning after dropping my daughter off at school. The kind of moment you never think you will have until becoming a parent. Then you find yourself using the word poopy and using clothing as tissues.

As we were driving home my son was very still and quiet so I looked back in the mirror at him and he was staring very intently at his hands. He just looked so cute and serious. His little forehead was scrunched in concentration and something like confusion. He was touching his finger to his thumb and opening it again very slowly. I realized that they must be sticking together a little and he was wondering why. Then he stuck his finger in his nose and started it all over again.

We were infested with spiders.

Weird atmospheric phenomenon

Odd looking creatures started lurking about.

Happy 5th Birtday, Lillian!

My kids are upstairs playing by themselves. Together, but by themselves. I don't know what they are doing- if I go look it will all be over. I wish I could record the belly laughs that are coming down the stairs, though. I just wiped down the kitchen and swept the floors, folded a load of laundry and started dinner. I even had a brief telephone call. All without anyone attached to my leg or asking for anything. I think they are building.

My daughter is speaking so sweetly to Isaac. (Lillian is going to be 5 on SUNDAY! and Isaac is 20 months- FYI) She is using her sweet mommy voice that is usually reserved for the babies at church. Isaac is loving the attention and giggling away.

I feel torn, though. I want to go up there and join in the fun, but I know if I do I will also be ruining a bit of their fun. They need to be able to play together and if I go up there, the game will have to change. Also, I am enjoying this bit of apartness before my husband comes home. Oh, and the sound of their little voices are just so, so sweet.

Okay, times up! Chris just pulled into the driveway and so I give them 30 seconds after he walks through the door to come downstairs. I'll keep you posted!

My hairdryer quit this morning. I was in the middle of drying and a spark came out of the bottom followed by a flame. A FLAME! It was just for an instant but quite scary. Needless to say, I have not had a good hair day.

See, I try to keep things current and relevant here. I am very culturally aware and try to keep you up on what is important. Forget the state of the union. What is important is the state of my hair. I just need to keep my priorities in order, you know?

Okay, something else. Isaac has been talking so much lately. Here are a few of his favorite words. Doggie, Mi-e (Miley, our puppy) Mommy and Daddy. He says them daDDY with the emphasis on the end. so cute. Moo (moon), ball, belly, nose, peeeeesh (please). His favorite word is NO! followed by nonono. It has been so fun to hear him start to talk and remember things that I tell him. His favorite things to look at are animals of any kind and trying to make animal sounds. A few weeks ago anytime I asked him what an animal said he would growl. What does a horse say? ROAR What does a dog say? ROAR Now he knows dog and cat and sheep and (sometimes) cow. I love to hear him sound like a cat because he does it so sweet and soft.

New topic: My good friend is moving away. She is the friend I have had the longest since I have moved here. She has a daughter that my little girl loves to play with. (And get into trouble with) and we had our second babies together. Our due dates were two days apart so it was fun to have a friend to go through that with. That is the hardest thing about the military though (apart from long deployments). Every time you make a friend, they move away! At least we have all this technology so we can easily keep in touch. I'm not too worried though, they will be stationed here again soon. I don't doubt it!

Tonight as Chris and I were putting Lillian to bed and saying prayers, she told Chris to go first and "say something excellent." Then, when it was her turn she said "Thank you for me and Isaac and my family and please help Mommy be good." HA! funny. Can you tell what I am usually praying for her?

Okay, updates on my life:

~We have moved into our new house and are almost finished unpacking. It has just been under a week and we are loving, loving it!

We love having enough bedrooms, having a huge yard and mostly not having to show our I.D. at the gate on post to go home.

~A few weeks ago (man it has been a looong while since I updated this blog!) was my birthday. September 20. We went to a tourist-y place for window shopping and lunch. Here are a few pictures. Oh, I turned 28 in case you were wondering.

I am not very photogenic, but my daughter took this picture. She is quite the photographer. It just doesn't do justice to how beautiful it is there. I should have taken a picture of the sandwich that I had! Heaven on a plate!

~Who needs chairs? (this is at our old house, on post. The weird thing on the floor is a half-chewed dog bone. Yuck.)

~My husband got a promotion. Although it takes effect December 1, he had a ceremony a few weeks ago and gets to wear his new rank.

~I am in love with the movie The Spiderwick Chronicles. It was such a fun movie. We all watched it for our Friday night movie and the whole family loved it. I am going to have to get the book.

I guess that is the biggest things that have gone on here recently. I plan on posting some knitting posts soon. I will just end this with a funny thing Lillian said the other day:

Lillian: Can I go potty in your bedroom?

Chris: No, but you can go in our bathroom

Lillian: *giggles* Ya, that would be really rude!

I went to AWANA training all day today. I had to meet the other ladies at church this morning at 6:30 and I am really not used to being up at that time. The sun was just coming up when I left my house. It was really beautiful. Now, it is almost 8 and I am pretty much beat. Before I hit the sack I wanted to share something that I heard today.

The first is a story from one of the instructors. He is a college professor and teaches Christian Ethics so he gave a lecture today on teaching ethics to children. He is also a geologist and likes to explore caves with some of the college students. He said that one thing the students always like to do when they get into the cave is turn off the light to see what happens. What happens is very obvious- it gets very, very dark. There is absolutely no light.

One time, after they turned off the light he was waving his hand in front of his face and he could just barely see it. There was no light anywhere in the cave so he knew someone must have some light somewhere. They all searched through their bags and one student found a flashlight inside his bag that had a glow-in-the-dark sticker on it. That cave was so dark that the sticker gave off enough light inside the bag that they eventually could even make their way around the cave.

The darker the world gets and the more hopeless it seems, the less light it takes to make a difference. One little dim light can light up everything around you and make a huge difference. So, shine your light as bright as you can when the world seems dark. Even if you are only able to give off a little light, it will show the way to someone lost in the darkness.

In the front yard at our house lives a family of ponies. My daughter talks to them in the mornings while she is waiting for the school bus. They eat the little red berries that grow on the bushes. The smallest pony (Becky) likes Lillian to pick her up and she whispers in Lillians ear that she loves her and is hungry so Lillian shows her where the lowest bunch of berries are. There is also a baby pony named Jessica. The moms name is Miss Tina and is a unicorn. She is shy and likes to stay behind the tree. Every morning Lillian takes the time to pet them and speak very kindly to them and hold the smallest like a baby as long as she wants. They are very good and very quiet ponies and never make any messes. They aren't our pets (I don't think) but they are my favorite animals that we have.

We went to feed the ducks today. We had a nice time playing at the park and walking out to the duck pond. Isaac ate the bread instead of throwing it to the ducks. Lillian fell right on those sharp rocks and will probably have a bruised bum in the morning. Chris sat back and took care of Miley (the dog). We had a nice time and the best part was not thinking about the house we didn't get. The worse part (for me, anyway) was getting ate up by the bugs. Oh, and the walk all the way back to the car. That part is never fun, for some reason.

Oh, Alpha, where are you AlphaDogma. Gwen Stefani went and named her child Zuma Nesta Rock Rossdale. I need you to mock it. To call him Nestli Quick or something. Sigh, I miss you.



We are finally putting an offer in on a house tomorrow morning. This house hunting stuff is hard work. Especially on a deadline. We need to be out of our house on post by September 30 so we really needed to find a house this week. We probably looked at close to 30 just this week. It was grueling, especially since we have had both kids with us each time. Our realtor is great and so patient and we finally found a house.


Not without drama, of course. We found a house that is PERFECT for us. We knew we would like it, but between the hardwood floors, sun room, covered deck and beautiful big yard, we were in love. The only drawback? The owners won't move out until December 1. So, it just won't work. And as much as I tried to convince my husband to live in an apartment for 2 months and I can go live at home until we can move in, he just didn't think that was a good idea. So, I guess that is what I keep him around for- making good judgement calls.


Then it was just down to two houses that we loved. One smaller, 3 bedrooms but in a great location. One 4 bedrooms with a great layout but in a less than convenient part of town. We went with the smaller of the two because the neighborhood just felt more like home. So, tomorrow we are putting in an offer and I hope to be settled in fairly quickly.


I want to just leave you with some pictures of what I have been knitting lately.

A sweet baby hat (I will be making one of these for Isaac as well) and a pair of socks for myself. If you love to knit and haven't tried socks on two circular needles, you should. It is a way that makes them very quick. And I am loving this self-striping yarn.

It has been too long since my last post. My mind has just been too preoccupied by a few things and I couldn't bring myself to write about either of them. The first is obviously the house search. It is not going as well as we had hoped. About the only option in our price range is way to small or falling apart. Or both. We are waiting right now to find out if the once house we found that could work is going to be ours. The buyers rejected our first offer. They really aren't willing to negotiate at all so I think we may have to move on. Fun times. But, I haven't wanted to make this a "I'm looking for a house" blog, so I haven't written.

The other thing that I have had on my mind is a very dear friend of mine. She had a baby on August 8 and the next day started running a high fever and having migraine's. They finally discovered she has encephalitis. The swelling in her brain has caused her to have memory loss and be very confused. She didn't know she was in the hospital or who her husband was. They finally removed a rather large piece of her skull to relieve the swelling. She is, as of the last report, doing better. She was finally taken off her ventilator and is responding to them when they talk to her and ask her questions. It seems like things are looking up, finally. They think she will make a full recovery and not have any long term complications. She likely won't remember anything during this time and that may include having her baby. She has already missed the first three weeks of his life and I know she will be disappointed about that. The important thing is, she will be there for the rest of it.

I have not want to write about this while it was so fresh and while I was so worried. My friend just delivered her fourth baby boy. Her oldest just turned five. If you could find a moment, her family sure could use prayer for healing and comfort.

To Do List for the Week of Aug 17

- Go grocery shopping
- Catch up on laundry
- Buy a house
- Make dentist appointment
- Work on socks and afghan

The wait is almost over. My husband's medical retirement is almost complete. I will not really go into it because you just have to understand the military and that is impossible even for those in the military. Just know this: the Army's unofficial motto is hurry up and wait. That is not a fun place to be. To make a long story short, we were told in January that it would take 2 or 3 months. He is now, in the middle of August being told it is going to be about 3 weeks.

Anyway, on with the good news. My husband landed a nice job here, at the post where we currently live. This is great news for us. I miss my family a lot and would really like to move closer to them again, but we really love it here. It feels like home to us. I really never thought that I would choose to stay here but it really feels like where we should be. We won't have to find a new church and new mommy groups and a new hairstylist. Okay, maybe just I won't have to do those things. Also, we know what areas are good to live in here and so that does alleviate some stress when it comes to buying a house.

That is stressful enough. This will be our first house. I am really excited to get on with finding one that is perfect for us. Well, I guess we really can't afford perfect, but at least right for us. We have a few that we really like already so hopefully it won't take too long. Because, of course, we have to do this the most stressful way possible. We have just over a month to get out of this house so we really need to have something else lined up.

Also, just because I am really excited about it and also because I don't really know how else to end this post, I am going to change the subject. I am starting my sock knitting class tomorrow night. We are going to learn to make socks on two circular needles. I am almost finished with my afghan so I am going to need something to distract me from all this stress.

Lillian's first day of school

Plus, I found the USB cable for the camera. Okay, Chris found it.

This is Lillian this morning before school. Very excited to go. Why does the date say May 22?

This is Lillian after class. This is also the wall where they line up for class. Very exciting stuff.

This is Lillian this afternoon after lunch. Completely knocked out.

Trouble comes in threes

So first, my van was sideswiped and I had to deal with calling police and reporting a hit and run. Then, I got a ticket for pulling out in front of a state patrol car. Now, I hit a cow.





Yes, that really happens. It was one that was not quite full grown. It ran out in front of me and I just got the back hip. It broke its leg very badly. I had to stop and tell the farmer that his cow was out and that I hit it. It is his responsibility, of course, but I felt so horrible! The poor little cow. Plus, I know how much they cost and what a problem that farmer now had to deal with. Luckily, there wasn't a lot of damage to my van. The cow, not so much. He had plenty of damage to his poor leg. I just hope this is the end of the bad car karma.

Just a few things

In the car on the way home from VBS this afternoon:

Lillian: What does A L O H A spell?
Me: Aloha
Lillian: I know. I just wanted to know if you knew.

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Want to know why I can't keep my house clean? As I am folding laundry in one room, Isaac is pulling potatoes out of the cupboard in the other.

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I finally watched So You Think You Can Dance. I always forget about it, somehow. The best thing about it is watching my kids dance along to the music. The worst thing is Mary. She is SO not on the hot tamale train.

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I don't know what happened, but all the print on my computer is now in size 28 typeface and I don't know how to fix it.

Make sure you go before you go

My first mistake, not using the restroom while I was still at my knitting class. My last mistake was pulling out in front of a state trooper. Any idea how to come up with $188 for a ticket for failure to yeild?

We are having a lazy day around here, apparently. It is 8:40 and Isaac is still in bed and Lillian and I are still in our jammies. The only thing that I have so far accomplished is making a pot of coffee and rescuing a few things from Miley the puppy that she thought would be fun to chew on. After we get a few chores done then we may go to the pool and continue in our laziness. But I may be too lazy even for that. This morning would be a great time to work on my knitting, but I am out of yarn until Saturday when I have class again. I do have some great pictures but I still can't find the cable to my camera. Not that I have looked very hard.

I thought this summer would be a nice respite for me. Mops, AWANA, and Wednesday night children services at church are all taking a break for the summer, so I thought it would mean that I would have a lot of down time. For some reason I have been running, running, running every day. I have never been so busy. We still have lots of Mops get togethers and a Bible study. Lillian still has school and I still have lots of errands. I am taking a nutrition class one day a week. Plus, it is summer time which mean a lot more trips to the park and other fun outings. All written down I guess it doesn't seem like much, but it has been a very busy summer.

A summer that is already almost over, really. I finally got Lillian enrolled in school for Pre-K this week. School for most of the kids here starts on August 6 and for her starts on August 11! Can you believe it! All of August is spent in school. When I was a kid and August rolled around that meant we still had a month left of summer. The added bonus to this is that the pools on post are closed since all the lifeguards (or lifegardens as Lillian calls them) are high school students.

So, we are going to try to enjoy the summer and the pool while it lasts. If we can stop being too lazy to even enjoy the lazy days of summer.

Dream Land

Do you remember you dreams? Sometimes as soon as I wake up I loose my dream and can only remember the feel of it. Other times I can remember small snap shots of information. Other times I can remember the entire thing in amazing detail and relay it like it was a movie I watched.

Sometimes I dream about my husband or another person that I know very well except that in my dream they do not look like themselves. They are a completely different person but I know it is really them.

I can still remember the first bad dream that I ever had. My mom got bitten by a turkey and was paralyzed. I had to go to school that day (in my dream) and I was so worried all day that there was no one there to take care of her while she stood like a statue in the doorway to her room.

I dreamt about my daughter while I was pregnant with her and I knew she would look just like she did in my dream. She did, too.

So it has been very different for me lately to be having so many bad dreams about my husband. Dreams that he is with another woman and laughs when I find out or expects me to be happy and excited for him. I know these dreams are probably just my worries about our future and not a representation of how I feel about our marriage right now. In fact, just in case you are now worried, my marriage is the best it has ever been. Chris has never been unfaithful and I know he never will. It is just not in him. My insecurities about our future are more about where we will live and less about if I will be there with him or not. That is unshakable. Chris and I are one and will always be. When I wake up, I know this, but still I am upset at him. My feelings are hurt and I am angry anyway. I know that it is unreasonable to be grouchy at him because of something that happened in a dream but still I feel so unsettled. I explain it to him, what happened in dream land and he laughs and says that it does seem like a bad dream. Then he holds me and it all melts away and goes back to where it belongs. No where.

We finally settled on Miley for our puppy. She went through Lisa, Bonnie, and Molly before we decided. Add that to her former family's name, which was Lily and that is a lot of names for one little puppy in a very short amount of time. But, we love Hannah Montana around here so Miley it is. If you don't understand the Hannah/Miley connection, you obviously don't have a daughter above the age of 2. Also, my daughter screams anytime she hears the Jonas Brothers. And she can pick them out even without seeing them. It is almost scary. We are just listening to Radio Disney and on they come, followed by a soul-piercing scream.

I would love to show you a picture of our miniature pincer mix puppy, but I STILL can't find the cord to my camera. What an odd thing to loose. Here are some other things that I have lost in the last week or so: a package of loose leaf paper, the folder with the papers I need to enroll Lillian in school and my ability to put away clean clothes. Only my own, but still. It is getting ridiculous.

So, today is filled with glaring at my laundry and going though cabinets getting ready for our Mops yard sale Saturday and finding time to get to the grocery store. Oh! I keep forgetting to put the roast in the crock pot. Dinner isn't going to be very good without the roast. I'm actually making pulled pork sandwiches so that means that I must get to the grocery store because I don't have anything for it except the pork roast. Man, am I organized or what.

Happy 4th of July! We have had a great holiday so far. We went out with some people on their boat Thursday night and watched the fireworks display on the water. I was a bit nervous about the kids being out on the water, but they did so well. Plus, they looked so cute in their little life vests. Isaac especially acted like it was something we did all the time.

My mom and my sister came for the weekend, too and so Friday night we went to hang out in the church parking lot to watch the big show that was on post. I miss the display that we usually go to back home, but it was a great fireworks display. There is just something different about the fireworks going off right in front of you and the noise of it all that is part of the experience and I missed that on Friday.

In other news, my sister also brought us a puppy. She is a sweet little thing and we are thinking of calling her Bonnie. That was after Chris decided on Lisa and then everyone laughed at it at church last night. So, he finally listened and conceded that Lisa wasn't a good name for a dog after all.

So today (Saturday) we are going to the water park for a few hours this morning and then later we are going to bar-b-que some chicken and make some red-white-and blue dessert and just hang out and enjoy each other. And as soon as I find the cable to the camera I will post some pictures. I have some great ones that I have really wanted to post and now my cable is missing. (again)

So many months ago I was tagged for a meme about 8 odd things about me or interesting things about me or something which I found to be so difficult I never finished it. I am just not interesting. I even asked for help from my husband and sister and together we couldn't come up with anything interesting. Which is why I write this blog about my crazy, interesting self. heh. So, I have been tagged again by Beck and I thought this time I would buckle down and do it.

Think back on the last 15 years of your life. What would you tell someone that you hadn’t seen or talked to for 15 years? How would you sum up your life? You get 10 bullet points. A list of 10 things to summarize about you. At the end of your list, tag 5 more people and send on the love…

1. I went away for one semester of college. Just enough to be a waste of money
2 I got married to Chris, yes, the same guy from high school. Yes, he has grown up a lot and is very clean cut and has quit all of his, um, bad habits from high school.
3. I am an Army wife and I live in XXX. I never thought I would leave my hometown and now I did.
4. Yes, my husband has been deployed twice and yes it is hard, but we got through it just fine.
5. We had a baby girl who is now 4 and a half. (She gets upset if you forget the half)
7. I am a stay at home mom.
8. We had another baby almost a year and a half ago. Yes, just two kids so far. Just because we got married a year after high school doesn't mean we were pregnant.
9. I am very involved in church. Not a big shock I guess.
10. I love being an Army wife and a mother and I am really looking forward to the new phase of our life in the civilian world. I can't wait to see where God takes our family and how he will provide for us and bless us.

Okay, now for tags. I tag
1. Lanessa
2. AlphaDogma even though she probably won't do it
3. Amy
and that is all. Just three.

Get Smart

My husband and I went to see this movie last weekend and we really loved it. It was so funny and of course Steve Carell can be hilarious just with a straight face. I never watched the old series but I think this is totally worth going to see. We had a great time with our kids in childcare and it felt like a real date. He even bought me popcorn and then a smoothy later. It was some much needed adult time.

It is amazing that I have seen this because I am always so behind in movies. The last movie I went to see was Enchanted!

I have been trying to do yoga these past couple of weeks. I do not get a chance everyday, but when I put Isaac down for his nap and Lillian has room time, I put in my video and do one of the 30 minute routines. Since I began, my back and shoulders have been giving me fits. I do not remember any time when they have hurt this bad except when I had a pinched nerve. It is a good thing in this case. I have terrible posture, I have come to realize. During the day now, especially if I skip a day of yoga, I notice my shoulders up around my ears and all hunched forward. When I put them back where they should go it feels so much better. Like I can breathe again. I feel like my spine is aligning.

I need to find a good instructor in my area, since Haley-O is a little far. I am very inflexible and sometimes I notice how off I am in my poses. I enjoy my videos, though and I do not really enjoy making a fool of myself in public, even at the gym. I have been having a great time learning, though and if the (beginning) poses are too difficult then I can stop if I feel like it.

So far I have really enjoyed the time I spend taking care of myself every day and breating fully is nice. I feel like I am strengthening my arms and legs and slowly working on my endurance. My favorite is when it is over, though. I love the relaxation techniques and every time almost fall asleep during before it is over and am startled when it is over.

I need a reminder

For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body. Indeed, we put bits in horses' mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body. Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles! And the tongue is a fire, a world on iniquity. The tongue is so set among our memebers that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell.
James 3: 2-6

In-betweener

Lillian is in that in between stage of growing up. Or, I should say one of the in between stages. At 4 and a half she is not a baby and not a big kid. She sleeps in a twin bed and has not slept with her bottom in the air for a long time, which says big kid. She uses my shampoo and conditioner, but I still wash her hair. She uses baby or kid body wash, but washes herself. She makes her bed, cleans her room, puts away her own laundry and even helps with other chores around the house occasionally. She memorized all of her AWANA verses this year and at the end of the year had memorized almost 20 verses. Sometimes, though, I still see a baby in her. She cries when she gets grumpy and frustrated. But then, she will say, "I'm sorry, I'm just grumpy." Sometimes she just wants to curl up in my lap, but she is getting so long and lanky that it just isn't comfortable for either of us for long. She is so great with her brother sometimes, and others it seems like she just can't help but pester him. She loves to dress up in her princess outfits, but then will put together an outfit that is really great and add lots of different accessories and tell me she is being a cool girl. In fact, she says all the time, "lets pretend we are cool girls". "Pretend?" I say. "We are cool girls." She is only 4 and 8 months and only getting ready to start pre-K, but she is such a big kid, too.

The good, the bad, and the odd.

-finally able to see the Allman's again and had way too much fun.
-Chris, Isaac and I got a sun burn at the beach in Destin
-Lillian had a blast playing in the waves
-she also had a fit when we saw two crabs. I thought she would never go in the water again
-Isaac's first trip to the beach was better than I ever could have thought. He loved digging and feeling the sand. He didn't even mind the water in his face, too much.
-Chris was stung by a jelly fish and had a bad blister on his foot from his sandals which blistered over and was filled with sand. Gross.
-I went to a fancy smancy grocery store and bought fresh made peanut butter and a 9 dollar carton of cookies. I think this was one of the highlights of the trip.
-Chris was finally able to go on a "date" with his friend Jason and see Indiana Jones. He really misses his buddy.
-We had so much fun we took about 5 pictures on our trip. Most of them I took in the morning before we had to check out of our condo.
-Learned that Alabama has weird city names, loves peanuts, and apparently does not ever clean their public bathrooms.
-Do not take advice from MapQuest. If it says go north on your trip to Florida, do not listen. Use your own good sense and just keep going south.

Great news. On the way home from picking up Lillian, my van was hit. Fun times. We stopped to eat at Sonic and then went next door to McDonald's to rent a movie and go to the bathroom. We were inside for maybe 5 minutes. When I came back out, there was a big swipe down the back side of the van. I was about to get in the van and just leave because what could I do, really, if the jerk just leaves. Just then a man gets out of his truck and hands me the license plate number and tells me it was a silver Impala. So, I called the cops. They took a report and then I called my insurance company. The entire time I felt like I was making a big fuss about nothing. Really, there is a big scrape but no dents or anything. Very minor damage. It's the principle, though. Who would just hit a car and then just leave? A criminal, that's who. A jerk, at least. So about an hour after I was back on the road the guy called me and apologized. He went to the police station and let them know what happened. After I got back home my husband took over all the phone calls and running that this has caused. I really wanted to just drop the entire thing after he called and apologized which is why I need my husband- to be strong for me. Then today I found out what kind of person does this- a mentally challenged person who was taking his sister to McDonald's. If I didn't feel bad enough already, now I feel terrible. The good news is he did not end up getting a ticket because of his handicap and because he tried to come back and find me and when he couldn't, he went to the police. So, I guess this can just be life experience for him. When you hit a car, stick around or leave a note. Do not get flustered and leave.

Tomorrow I am going to pick up my daughter from her grandparents house. She calls them her grandfamily. She has been there since Sunday and it has been nice and quiet here. Isaac has enjoyed having more attention and I have really got a lot of knitting done. (Okay, Lanessa, not completed) The week didn't exactly go as I had imagined, though. The first day and a half I was sick. The next day I spent getting the house cleaned up for company that night and then today was just running errands to get ready for our trip tomorrow. I have The Mermaid Chair to listen to in the car on our 7 hour drive and I am really looking forward to that. So, the week went by too quickly, but I will be glad to have our little family all back together again.

I'm not sure how Lillian feels about it. I think she would stay there all summer if I would let her. She got to go to the pool (the inside one!) and to my aunt's to see them and my grandparents and my aunts ducks and ponies. She didn't take any naps all week and stayed up past her bedtime every night. I plan on bribing her with trips to the pool and our upcoming vacation to see Lanessa and her boys on our way to Florida. Hopefully that is enough.

It has been three days now, with no nursing. What I have noticed most is much more cuddling. Before if Isaac, who is 15 months, was tired or cranky or hungry (of course) he would want to nurse but never cuddle. The last few days have been very nice in that way.

I have also noticed a change in my body over the last month as we have slowly gotten closer to this point. My boobs are back to their non-existent form and my pants are just a tiny bit more snug.

I feel a little sad that this phase of our relationship is over but a bit relived, too, to be honest. I didn't really see this coming. He was always a good nurser and I thought I would have trouble weaning him. I thought he wouldn't want to give it up. He nursed all the time until he was 12 months. I couldn't get him to eat hardly any food up until that point. After that, he would eat but still want to nurse afterward, before and after bedtime and naps and several times throughout the day. I am happy that it turned out this way, though. I am glad it happened gradually, on its own. I have only had to tell him no once or twice and he didn't cry or anything like he usually would, so that makes it easier. I just feel like my baby is growing up too fast.

I don't feel the baby craving yet, though. (Sorry Lanessa!) I thought I might when I got to this point. I thought I might start wanting that little newborn person. Not yet. Maybe, if Isaac will ever learn to walk...

Isaac is weaned

I'm not sure how I feel about that.

Have you ever walked into a room full of people and realized that you didn't know anyone? How did you feel? Usually, when I am in that situation I feel small and lonely. This happened to me on
Wednesday. I was invited to a luncheon for the caregivers of wounded warriors. It was a small group of about 20 women and I arrived late because of another meeting I had that morning. As I walked in, I felt all eyes on me. I felt the normal spotlight that I feel when I am in uncomfortable situations. I felt like everyone was wondering who I was and what I was doing there. Why I thought I belonged in their group. And then, somehow, my thoughts changed. Instead of Oh, no! I don't know anyone! I thought, interesting. I don't know anyone. I realized that no one in that room knew that I was shy and awkward when I am meeting new people. That is is so hard for me to strike up a conversation with new people, or even people that I am acquainted with. So, I decided that I wasn't going to be that person. After we started eating our delicious lunch, I went to say hello to the lady running the meeting and appologize for coming in late. She said that she was just glad I could make it, and instead of thinking she was just being nice, I chose to believe what she said. Then, I sat at my table with two complete stranger who obviously didn't know each other either because there was an uncomfortable silence. So, I started a conversation with them. Everyone soon found out what a small world it is and how closely connected we were. The other two at the table were MySpace friends that had never met or even saw a picture of the other. Then, the speakers started and I put in my questions and comments when I really felt like I wanted to. The last speaker told us all about the life of C.S. Lewis. He had a very difficult life but through it all came back to God. He told us that Jesus died for us and we can all turn to him. But, this was on a military base, so he had to say it in a way that was not offensive. He just told about Lewis's life and how he coped with the heartache and loss he experienced. I was really touched at the gentle way he presented the gospel to these hurting women. So, after the meeting was over, I shook his hand and told him so. As I walked back to my car with my new acquaintances and (awsome) door prizes, I wondered who this person was. This person I became during this meeting where I knew noone. I like her. I am going to have her around more often.

I hope everyone had a great Mother's Day. I did. My husband made me homemade cinnamon and sugar muffins for breakfast and cooked a nice dinner for me after church. We sat on the couch watching movies and then he took the kids to the store for an hour so that I could have some peace and quiet. After they came home I spent some time coloring with Lillian and playing with Isaac. It was one of those days that ends up just like I hoped it would.

Not like the rest of the weekend. We had a date Friday night. All day long my stomach had felt puny, but I thought it was just cramps. We went to a restaurant then a bookstore and about the time we had to pick up the kids it hit me. I was so sick. I ended up in bed and sick all night. My poor husband had to take care of his pukey wife. He is such a great guy when I am sick. Well, I should say he is a great guy when I am getting sick. Anyway, not the way I would have wished our night to end. I was pretty disappointed. I have to wait and get sick on our monthly date night. Nice. Well, I guess there is always next month.

Another Mops post

Today was our spa day at Mops. We had a local spa come and do a little pampering for us, absolutely free. Is that kind and generous, or what? Here is how it worked: they offered three different services, 5 minute message, facial, or paraffin wax hand treatment. There was a sign-up sheet to sign up for one service. Then, we could just go down the list and make sure everyone was given a bit of pampering. That is how it should have worked, anyway. Of course the message was booked very quickly followed by the facial. A lady came in just as our meeting was starting and I told her to go ahead and sign up. She said she wanted a message and I told her that was the first thing to fill up but she could sign up for another treatment. So, when the lady was introduced and said that she could start taking people, who do you thing RAN from the back of the room and landed herself right in the message chair? And do you think she was the only (so called) lady to barge in? Nope. This meant that some people did not get the treatment they signed up for and some none at all. I just wonder, how do people have the gall to do things like that? How can someone just put their own desires above a whole room full of people who deserve it as much as anyone and actually got their on time to sign up for something? If I saw my daughter act this way, she would be in a lot of trouble and we would have a long conversation about manners and taking turns and courtesy. I guess when we get to be adults and no longer have mothers to point out ways to be better, we just rely on other peoples manners to not call us out.

I am half way finished with my afghan. I am planning some pictures soon, but as they are just different 12 inch squares, there is not much to show. I am looking for something to work on next and am thinking of learning to make socks. I really want to learn all different techniques. I really enjoy making different patterns, like lace work and cables. I am now on Ravelry. I am cyndiknits. Come by and check it out.

I think we skipped spring.

Yesterday my kids and I spent quite a while out in the back yard and it is HOT. We filled up the pool and they both got in and out because the water is still freezing, but after a nap we came back out and the water was so nice. It just seems odd to be playing in the water in April. Nice, but odd.

Not that I played in it. I sat and read Little Women. Can you believe it is the first time I ever read this book? I can't. It is wonderful and I will be sad to end it. My sister and I are trying to read all these books that everyone should read, so if you have any suggestions just leave me a comment. We have caught up on Jane Austen and have read Jane Eyre, so hit me up with lots of suggestions.

Stressed spelled backward is desserts. We learned that today at Mops. Our topic was stress management. Take time for dessert in you life everyday. Desserts in life are laughing, doing something that you enjoy and twirling. Just try to be stressed and focus on what is bothering you while you are twirling around. The worst thing that could happen is that you start worrying about falling and cracking your head open.

After we came home, my kids and I went out to play in the back yard and I now have my first sunburn of the season. It isn't too bad, so I am a little excited about it. No one was wearing sunscreen. (I am not stressed about this, but...) It is just so early in the year it didn't even occur to me. No one else is burnt, thankfully, but this just shows how fair skinned I am and how easily I burn. Anyway, we had such a great time with everyone running or crawling around and climbing over everything and each other. Then, my husband came out to play and I went in for a little 15 minute nap and read a bit of my book.

Later, dinner at church (including ham, coleslaw, and peach cobbler!) and then Bible study. Now it is time for some television and knitting. This was a dessert kind of day.

My daughters bedtime is 8:00. It is currently 8:16 and she is still in the bathtub and I am blogging. Oh well, she is having a good time with her ponies. Here are some other things going on in our lives right now:

My husband is getting out of the military soon. He is getting med-boarded which means he will have a medical discharge. This is good and bad. It means that he will always have great health insurance and we will too, for a very low cost. Also, we will get a check every month, which will be nice. The bad part is that it is a very lenghty process with no real time line. In January they told us 3 months until it was all finished and now they are telling us 2 months to go. So, we can't really count on that. Also, when it is finally finished they will pretty much say, okay, it is done. You are out of the Army now. Add that to the fact that he can not actually get another job until he is officially out of the military combined with the no time line thing can make this a pretty stressful process. We are thinking of staying in the area that we are currently living in (which my mother is SO happy about, but that is another story...) but that means buying a house, researching school districts and stressing about what will happen if he is offered a job in another part of the country. So, that has been fun.

Isaac has discovered books. I have a few board books out for him and he just can not get enough. His favorites right now is a book about the Muppet babies and The Lonely Firefly. He crawls over to them and brings it over and grunts until we read it to him. He just laughs and laughs while we read it. Today, Lillian and Isaac were in the living room and I was in another room and I heard Lillian "reading" his book to him. It melted my heart. Also, he is not walking yet. He is over 13 months old. Actually he is not even standing alone yet. I am not too worried about it. Lillian walked when she was 15 months, so I know he will get around to it when he is good and ready. That is the way it goes around here. My kids get lots of teeth very early (Isaac already has 12, including 4 molars) and roll over, crawl and walk late.

The Office! New episode on Thursday! Can't wait. Here is what I am wanting to find out: Will Dwight and Angela get back together? Will Michael and Jan break up? What is going on between Pam and Jim, because something didn't seem right.

On our recent trip home I listened to an audio book and what a difference it made! Our 7 hour drive seemed to go by too quickly. I also got a movie from the McDonald's red box. That way Lillian could watch a new movie as many times as she wanted and then when we got where we were going we could return it there. I think we have a new routine for car trips.

Also, while I was gone my husband cleaned the entire house. He was Mr. Spring Clean. He cleaned out closets, drawers, shelves. He moved furniture and scrubbed and made everything look like new. And, even better, he has helped me keep it this clean since I have been home. Isn't he the greatest? To show him my appreciation I bought him the second season of Smallville.

I want Carly or Michael Johns to win American Idol. Chris also likes David Cook and Brooke.

I LOVE knitting. My afghan is coming along really well and I am over a quarter of the way done. I have learned how to do cables, bobbles and lace work. I think the lace work is a lot of fun, which really surprised me. I didn't think I would like it as much, but it is challenging and I really enjoy it.

So those are some random happenings and thoughts of late.

I haven't been on the big blog-o-sphere for almost a month! Why? Computer problems, of course. First the monitor went down and then the internet. We still have no monitor but I have taken my husbands laptop in the meantime. I miss my keyboard.

So what has been happening since that day in the beginning of March since I last updated? Well, we ended up with about 7 inches of snow (that is quite a bit here) which was completely melted in 2 days. My good friend Lanessa moved away. My husband took 2 whole college classes in 4 weeks and got an A in both. Proud of you, Honey! I went to visit family for about a week. And knitting, of course. So that is a month in review.

Now on to try to catch up with other blogs which seems like a big job. So, I just wanted to pop on with a quick update while I have a working computer. Hopefully I will be back very quickly with a real update.

Today

Isaac is:

Lillian is:
I am:
then hopefully:

Happy Birthday, Isaac!

Here, the cake in the face picture.
Oh, look how much you have changed!

I'm tired. I am tired through to my bones. I am so tired I have misspelled words three times already. If I knew how to cross things out, I would make that four times. I am at the stage (five times) that I can't tell if I am getting really sick with a cold or flu or if I am having a major allergy attack. My eye is itchy and watery so that is saying allergies, but what about the bone numbing weariness accompanied by the waves of weariness and the occasional weariness. My children are both just getting over colds with fever so I could have caught that. I don't know. I know you will be very interested to know, so I will keep you updated on the source of my congestion (and weariness).

In other news, my knitting and I are getting along famously! I have learned to increase and cable. I have learned to read a pattern and correct most mistakes that I make. I have completed two squares so far including the crochet border around both. It made me question my ability to count to 48 but other than that went pretty well. Also, my friend Lanessa bought me a beautiful knitting bag with a zipper (I never realized how important a zipper on a knitting bag was until I had one) so that makes it even more fun.

Oh, also, my husband and I went to a piano bar for Valentine's Day. We had such a great time eating alone and having real conversation that is not peppered with interruptions. We just sat at the restaurant for almost two hours and enjoyed each other and the music.

Okay, my baby is calling me and so is dinner. (Mostly, the couch is calling me.)

Happy Valentines Day! Did your sweetheart do anything special for you today? My husband didn't notice my new haircut, gave me a card and a knife sharpener and went to the movies with his buddy.

Nice.

Actually, the card was very sweet. The knife sharpener was just a knife sharpener- not a gift. The movie is a longstanding ritual that usually happen on Saturday night but we are going out on a date on Saturday so they are going tonight instead. (The Army has a four day weekend for Presidents Day this weekend.) He really didn't notice my haircut, though.

We are trading babysitting with our friends (hi, Lanessa!) this weekend. They are going out Friday night and we are going Saturday. This is, by the way, the same friend that he is at the movies with right now. So, we are really celebrating love day then, instead. I guess we are going to the Olive Garden. This will be the first time we have been out to eat alone since July. I am really looking forward to it.

Today is also my sisters birthday. (hi, Deanna!) She turned all of 22. For her birthday I got Lillian to tell her that she looks older than me. I am such a good big sister.

It was also friend day at Lillian's preschool and we had to make out 40 (40!) cards. That was a lot more work than I had imagined.

So, whether you are celebrating Valentine's Day today, tomorrow, or Saturday, have a great day and tell someone you care about how much they mean to you.

First, I wonder when my stomach got so fat. Then, when did my pants get so tight? Then, a few days later I notice that I just can NOT get going in the morning. I don't even have the energy to get the coffee going. And, why am I so grouchy and short with everyone, especially my husband? WHAT is up with my skin, anyway? Then yesterday, everything finally fell into place. Why is it that I wonder at these same things, month after month. One of these days maybe I will catch on.

It's almost sad

16% Geek

God bless Nora Jones

Until we move, Isaac, who will be one year old this month (what? can that even be true?) is still sleeping in our bedroom. His crib is in the corner of our quite small room and every noise we make when we go to bed wakes him up so I knew that we had to come up with something better. Chris thought maybe we could put him in the laundry room, but somehow that doesn't seem like a good solution. I couldn't do laundry while he was sleeping. Plus, that just seems wrong, somehow. We can't put him in his sisters room because she has (mild) night terrors and she would wake him up anyway. So I finally came up with the idea, and then thought 'why didn't I think of this sooner?' to put on some music to cover up any noise me might make getting ready for bed. Even just pulling back the blankets could wake him up sometimes. I "borrowed" Lillian's CD player, popped in a CD of Nora Jones and he slept just fine. Then last night as I was getting him ready for bed, he kept looking over at the CD player to look for the music. I turned on the CD and he immediatly cuddled in to me and was ready to sleep. Why didn't I try this earlier?

Good News Bad News

The good news: When we woke up this morning, everyone was well!

The bad news: I really messed up my knitting.

EEEP! I had my first knitting class this morning. I have not been out of the house in the past week except for an hour to go to the grocery store, so I enjoyed it that much more. I am working on an afghan and got some actual work done. Marie, the wonderful, patient lady that is teaching me, said that I am going to pick up knitting very well. I knew enough to go ahead and start today. I also learned how to use circular needles and now I wonder why anyone would use anything else. It made things so much easier. This is it! A lot of work for two hours, right? HA! This is a picture of the afgahan that I am going to make.
So, this is what I accomplished today. It is not a lot, but after showing Marie that I could do the knit and purl stitches, learning her cast on technique and making a gauge piece, this is a good bit for me. In case you were wondering, the stitch is called reverse garter stitch rib. And also in case you were wondering, that is my husbands little booty at the top of the picture. I hope you can see the pattern in it alright. I am really having a great time and I hope to have a lot finished before my next class next weekend. I am really glad that I decided to take a class. I never would have tried making something like this so it is really good for building up some confidence. I will post more when I have some work to show. I am going to try to keep myself in check and not post every time I knit another inch.

Isaac is still sick. He has had a fever for a week now. I had his ear rechecked and it looks fine, so that is a relief. They said it could take up to two weeks for him to feel better. That is a long time for someone so small to feel so crummy.

My husband took Lillian to the movies this afternoon. They saw the Veggie Tales movie. And yes, he took her on a Monday afternoon. Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. What? Your husband doesn't get four days off for this national holiday? He didn't even get the day off? Oh, I'll bet you wish he was in the Army now. Also, because those uniforms are pretty sexy.

While they were gone, I had a peaceful shower. No one came and knocked on the door needing to potty and no one was crying in the other room. I did some laundry and the dishes, read for a while and took a nap on the couch in front of a sunny window. It was a very nice afternoon. The moviegator (as Lillian puts it) was supposed to be a family outing, but since Isaac is still so sick the two of us stayed home. I was a little disappointed because I happen to like both family outings and Veggie Tales, but I can't imagine a better day than Lillian having daddy time and me having a peaceful afternoon that included a nap.

My poor baby boy has a fever. I took him to the doctor today and even after a dose of Tylenol it was 102. It just won't go down. He has an ear infection. I have been a parent for over 4 years now and this is my first ear infection. Luckily it isn't a bad one and besides the fever he is fine. No cold or major congestion yet. I just hate holding him and feeling his little body all hot against me. Meanwhile, I still have a sore throat and a headache and crampyness. My husband totally bailed me out today by cleaning the house. In the midst of all this is sweet cheerful Lillian, singing her songs and playing her games and generally getting on all of our nerves with her healthy self.

Wow, I haven't posted in a long time. I have been caught up reading a couple of books and all my free time has gone to that instead. The first book was Three by Ted Dekker. I just love his books and if you like suspenseful books then you should really check him out. I read it through in a couple of days because I just couldn't put it down. It pulls you in from the very beginning and then throws a major twist at you at the end. Um, that isn't a very good description of the book, so you should just take my word for it and pick up any of his books.

I am now reading Animal Vegetable Miracle. I remember reading about it over at scratchin' the surface so when I spotted it at the library I decided to pick it up but I didn't actually think I would read it. Since I started reading it, I have been thinking about this book nonstop and I have not wanted to put it down. In case you haven't heard about it, it is about a family in Virginia that decided to only eat what was found locally for an entire year. Did you know that the US imports over a million pounds of potatoes and also exports over a million pounds of potatoes? The thinking behind it, of course, is making money on our potatoes while buying other countries potatoes for much less so that the farmers make pennies on the dollar while the oil companies make a ton on transporting and the middle men make a lot as well. Have you ever had a tomato or corn that was actually grown in your own county, even your own back yard? It is amazing to taste one. It is like remembering what one really tastes like. The book is a very interesting read and one that can really open your eyes to the way food is grown and consumed in the United States. (There is some information about Canada as well.)

So, in a nut shell that is what I have been doing. Reading. But today my baby is sick and I have a sore throat and my laundry really needs to be caught up and my floors need to be mopped and we have Bible study at church tonight so I don't think I will get a lot of reading time in today. Well, I am sure I can find a little time.