A moment in the life...

Hello!

2008-09-02T11:50:00.000-07:00

Wow...it has been a long time since my last post. I've changed jobs. A did a year in daycare. J went to Kindergarten and we moved. We bought a house not far from our church and we LOVE it!! We moved in the week of Thanksgiving last year and have been in it for almost a year now. In the spring J played t-ball and is looking forward to it again next spring. My job allows me to have summers off so this past summer we went to VBS, on vacation with my parents and ended the summer with a trip to Shreveport. Our vacation with my parents was to Gulf shores. This was J and A's first time at the beach and they loved it in spite of the jellyfish. We spent time on the sand, at the pool, and discovered a place called the Track. The Track is a place with go carts and seemed to be the highlight of J and A's trip. We stayed at Phoenix VIII which I would definitely recommend it to anyone going to Gulf Shores. J and A stayed home with me this summer and we all enjoyed being out of school. A turned 4 in June and is now in pre-k. J turned 6 in July and is now in first grade. School has now started and I'm thankful to be working at the same school that my boys go to.This past Saturday, the boys had a blast at Sci-port. Yesterday, we got to visit with friends from out of town (and a few in town) Today, we are at home due to Hurricane Gustav(now a tropical depression). So far, we've had a lot of wind and rain but other than that it hasn't been bad. We won't be back in school until Thursday at the earliest so I'm working on getting the house clean (taking a break right now ;-) and tomorrow we are supposed to go over to my parent's house. That's pretty much the general update. I'll try to do a better job at keeping up with this!

Way overdue...

2007-03-14T20:13:00.000-07:00

Ok, so it's been awhile since I last posted. So much has happened, I don't even know where to begin.

In November, we learned that my mother-in-law's brain tumor had returned and she has declined treatment and now there is nothing else that they can do for her anyway. Over the past few weeks, she has started declining fairly rapidly.

On a happier note, my bro-in-law and his wife are expecting again! They have a daughter who is 9 months old and baby 2 is due end of July/first of August. We are all excited!

J is loving school and wakes up everyday with the question of "Is today a school day?" and is disappointed if it is not a school day. I've been able to go on most of their field trips and help out some in the classroom, which I've really enjoyed. This Friday they are going to the zoo and I will be going with them.

A is just growing and growing! I can't believe that he will be 3 this year! He's starting to look more like a little pre-schooler and less like a toddler. He already knows all of his letters and the sounds they make, now if we could just conquer potty training! We haven't really started this process but he does sometimes ask to "go" but doesn't really do anything but sit. Oh well, I guess ya gotta start somewhere!

Rob is doing ok. He got some good news at works today-a raise! Woohoo! That will definitely help our budget!

Couples Retreat and Pumpkins

2006-10-31T14:11:00.000-08:00

The Couples retreat was great! The weather was gorgeous and the speakers were wonderful. Above is just a sample of some of the beautiful scenery. I can't wait til next year!

I'm 27 years old and I still love to carve pumpkins! These are the pumpkins that Rob and I carved. Bet you can guess who carved which one! Happy Halloween :-D

Linguistic Profile

2006-10-17T17:30:00.000-07:00

Your Linguistic Profile:

50% General American English

35% Dixie

10% Yankee

0% Midwestern

0% Upper Midwestern

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

Celtic Festival

2006-10-11T10:28:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday we went to the 2nd annual Celtic Festival at the Zoo. Here are a few pics from it. The weather was gorgeous and we all had a good time!

School Days

2006-09-06T18:55:00.000-07:00

It's been over a month since I've last posted. I'm waaaay overdue for a new post!!

Let's see...

The J-bird is now the big 4! He's so grown up. I still can't believe I have a four year old. We had his party at Papaw and DeeDee's and he got lots of 'Cars' (his favorite movie) stuff. Then it was swimming time! He had a good day.

A made it through his ear tubes surgery just fine. He was a real trooper. By that afternoon he was up and playing.

Then it was school time! We did "meet and greet your teacher" on Monday, testing on Tuesday, parent orientation on Wednesday, and then J had his first full day on Thursday. It got off to a bit of a shaky start but every day since then has been good. After the first day I asked him if he wanted to go back and he said that he did. I was very relieved.

We had a little family reunion in Hot Springs which, even though we didn't spend a lot of time with family, we still had a good trip.

J is really enjoying school. We're getting in a routine now and it seems to agree with him. He always wants to go to school, even on Saturdays and Sundays! We're working on the days of the week right now to help him understand this. His teacher is really good and communicates well with the parents. We had our first book-order this week! I love book orders! (I know, I'm a nerd) Next Tues night is open house and I'm taking off work to be there :-) Their first field trip is Sept. 21 to the Little Theater to see "Go, Dog Go!" I'm going too! Woohoo! Then Sept. 22 is picture day :-) All kinds of fun new things! I'm liking school too :-D

2006-07-25T14:19:00.000-07:00

Well, July has flown by. Next Monday my big boy will be 4. I can't believe it. He will be starting pre-school in a matter of weeks. Where does the time go?

These past few weeks have been busy with gearing up for his birthday and preschool. I haven't really done much "noteworthy" but it's just been...busy.

Also, at A's ENT appointment last month, the Dr. recommended putting tubes in his ears. I've been wrestling with this one for awhile. It's a "routine procedure" but when it's your child, it seems a little less "routine". I'm afraid that with J-bird going to school, A may end up with even more ear infections. So we decided to go ahead and have the tubes put in. His surgery is scheduled for next Thursday, August 3rd.

Birthday time again...

2006-07-05T16:23:00.000-07:00

These are the flowers that I got from my sweet and thoughtful hubby for my birthday last Friday. He's sooooo wonderful!

It was a good day. I got a phone call from London from my mother and dad to wish me happy birthday. They are having a great trip. I can't wait to go back! Rob took off half a day and we went to AR to see our new little neice. She is sooooo precious! We visited with her mama for a little bit and then went to eat with friends at Coltons. It was yummy! Later that evening we went back to AJ and JJ's house and played a game-Moods. It was lots of fun!

Then Saturday we left about noon and ended up going to see my ma-in-law at her house. It was a good visit. On the way back we stopped to see the baby again and then finally by 9pm we were on the way home. It was midnight before we got home but we got to see a lot of people and it was a fun trip :-D

New links

2006-06-29T07:50:00.000-07:00

I finally added a couple of new links that I've been meaning to add. Check out "The daily life of...", "The Woglemuths", and "Thinking out loud" some time!

2006-06-26T13:19:00.000-07:00

I got a letter from our neighborhood school on Friday. J got in! I can't believe it. In a few months I'll be taking my little baby to pre-k. It seems unreal.

My parents finally made it to London. They were supposed to leave Sat. morning at 11:45 but they got a call that morning that their flight was cancelled but they would be leaving at 3:45 that afternoon. I went to the airport to see them off and their flight didn't end up leaving until after 4. They got to Atlanta and their next flight was supposed to leave at 9:45 pm. Due to weather conditions they didn't leave until 12:55am! They finally made it to London and claimed their luggage and went through customs. When they got to the place that they are staying they realized that their luggage and everything in it was soaked! I guess the Atlanta airport left it out in the rain or else they strapped it to the top of the plane or something! They were glad to get there and this morning they were leaving for Edinburgh and will be there until Wednesday. YAY for them :-D

I've been reading lots of new, cool stuff and trying to get the house in shape a little. We were going to go to AR for a day visit to see our new little neice but A and J were both sick this week so we decided to stay home (didn't want to give anything to the new little baby!) We even missed church yesterday b/c we wanted to make sure that A didn't pass anything along to the other kids. J also ran some fever yesterday so we ended up missing evening church too.

I think that this week's going to be pretty quiet. Rob gave me an early birthday present last night-Season 1 of Little House on the Prairie. I've been a fan of the show since I can remember.
Thanks, dear! I love it!

2006-06-20T09:03:00.000-07:00

Well, my boys never cease to amaze me. A has decided that he's as big as J and that he wants to wear underwear. So, last week he found a pair of J's underwear and proceeded to put them on correctly on the outside of his shorts. He was so proud,

He's also decided that he wants to "tee-tee potty" and has done so every day for almost a week. He goes in the bathroom and says "tee-tee potty" and starts pulling at his diaper. I help him with his diaper and he sits down and tee-tee's in the potty. I don't know what to think! He's so funny!

2006-06-13T09:08:00.000-07:00

I know it's been awhile but it's been pretty busy here lately.

May 6th-baby shower for my sis in law...went really well...shower was in Malvern,AR. We went up that Saturday and came home Sunday before church.

May 7th-6pm...Veggie Connections...we had 11 "spring fever" filled 3-5 year olds. (We don't usually have 5 yr olds too but this particular evening the 5 yr olds were supposed to be going somewhere and he apparently was late and missed the bus.) The lesson was on "How God shows His love for us" --tough lesson to teach to a small room full of WIRED kids. A managed to get through it some how...Rob and I are the helpers in the class.

May 12-13-Rob and I went to Shreveport for a little anniversary trip. It was fun...we went to the boardwalk over there and shopped, had a quiet supper, got icecream, and went to a movie. Then Saturday we went to the airshow at Barksdale. It was awesome! From parachuting, to stunt pilots, to flying in formations, plus all the planes on the ground that you could go up to and some even go in...it was very neat.

May 14th-Mother's Day...Rob cleaned the kitchen...a WONDERFUL mother's day present!!

This week I've been keeping 9 week old twins for friends of mine. With my 2 on top of that, sometimes it seem like a circus. The boys love them though.
Next week is preschool registration.

skipping way ahead...(I've been working on this post for almost a month!)

ok, I got Johnny registered for pre-k...won't know til the end of this month whether he'll "get in" or not. They only take so many kids. The next week it was time for.....

Vacation Bible School!!-it was a blast. Our theme was the Incredible Race and by Friday I felt like I had been running the race. I had 11 Kindergarteners from 8:45 am-11:45 am. It was fun, they were a great group. I was sad at the closing program realizing that it would be a whole year before VBS again. I had a FANTASTIC helper-AJ- I couldn't have done it without you! You're the best. Thanks a TON!

My sis-in-law is full term now and if she doesn't go into labor on her own, they are going to induce tomorrow. She's had some issues with blood pressure and swelling lately and so the Dr. wants her to go ahead and have the baby. I can't wait to meet my new little niece!

This past weekend we went to AR to see family and ended up staying a little longer and got to see friends too! We stayed at a hotel and got to swim. My hubby went golfing Sat. morning with his dad, brother and his sister in law's brother. I guess that would make him his brother in law too? I dunno. I think they all enjoyed the "male bonding" time.

This week Andy has an appt with an ENT to see about putting tubes in his ears. ICK! I hope that we don't have to do that. Right now it's just a possibility, not a definant. Other than that, I hope it's going to be a pretty quiet week. Mom and Dad leave in 11 days for London! YAY for them. One day, hopefully, Rob and I can take a trip to Edinburgh. Maybe for our 10 yr. anniversary? That would be FUN!!! That's only 6 yrs. away. Wow...time flies.

Happy Birthday!

2006-06-07T16:46:00.000-07:00

My littlest turned 2 today. I can't believe it! Happy birthday little sweetness.

2006-04-17T19:06:00.000-07:00

Goodness. Time flies. It's been over a month since my last post. Part of the reason is that I"m hardly ever on the computer at home and when I'm on it at work it's been really really busy.
Let's see. My ma-in-law (who has brain cancer) is doing very well.
My sis-in-law is due June 17th--a little girl, I"m excited! Been trying to work on a shower for her but it's hard when you are 3 hrs away.

Easter was great fun. We had an Easter cantata at church Rob was in the drama part (he did great!) and I was in the orchestra. It was fun to play again and many of the people in the orchestra were band buddies from ULM. I'd forgotten how much fun it is to be with other musicians. We did much egg hunting this year. We could open a candy store with the amount of candy that we have at home. I had to be the "bad guy" today and conviscate it from easter baskets before they made themselves sick. the candy is now out of reach.

I had a Dr's appointment today...just for a checkup...haven't been in about 2 yrs. Everything was good except for high triglycerides. So I have to work on getting those down. Work is o...k..some nights are better than others.
All is well, just busy.

Something blue...

2006-03-03T07:59:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a good day. We had lunch with friends that I haven't seen in forever (seemingly)It was paydayand we got our state taxes refund. The boys were cooperative while I did a little shopping. Work was nice and slow so I was able to chat with a friend in AR while she was in class and while I was at work mys husband informed me that he had gotten me a suprise. The whole rest of the 30 minutes at work, I'm sitting there trying to figure out what in the world it could be. I got home and here's how the conversation went.

me-"So what all did you get tonight?"

Rob-"oh, just (baby) wipes and ovaltine" (for moo juice aka-chocolate milk...it's a crisis if we don't have chocolate milk n the mornings...apparently that's their "coffee")

me-"oh? anything else?"

Rob-"yes, wait just a second, close your eyes." (Rob gets up and goes into the study)

me-*thinking* oh boy, he's found a new "geek" thing that he wants me to have--not that I mind having new geek toys...those are fun too, but I never expected what he was about to hand me.

It was in a long white box...with a smaller green box inside...it resembled a box that jewelry would come in and guess what, it was. I opened the box and inside was a BEAUTIFUL sapphire bracelet. 20 sapphires. White gold. Perfect. I was absolutely stunned. Speechless. I finally managed to muster a "wow, it's beautiful, thank you." Talk about a suprise! No special occasion. He just saw it and wanted to get it for me. Wow. His thoughtfulness blows my mind sometimes.

Tax Time

2006-02-16T18:42:00.000-08:00

Well, I had hoped to do better at keeping up with this but I just haven't. Today was payday! WOOHOO! We should be getting our tax refund this weekend...double WOOHOO! After the week it's been that's a nice ending. We all had a stomach bug this week and it was NASTY. I'll spare you the details. I missed 2 days of work and Rob missed 3. He started a new job last week and so far is loving it. His mother is doing better. She's no longer in the hospital and is refusing any further treatment. Only God knows. We are house-hunting. Oh boy. I"ll let you know how that goes. Anyway. I'll try to write more when I'm not at work.

Goodbye 2005...

2006-01-02T08:50:00.000-08:00

Wow. It's 2006 already! One more year and I will have been out of Highschool for 10 years. Time flies. This year started out with a bang. My husband lost his grandfather-Marvin Millard Kirchoff--in a car accident on January 7th. Our loss is heaven's gain.
My youngest turned 1 on June 7th.
My oldest turned 3 on July 31st.
On November 9th my mother in law was rushed to the hospital with stroke-like symptoms. Ten days later she had brain surgery to remove a tumor that we now know is cancer. One month later she started radiation and chemo therapy. We don't really know what her prognosis is. Some family members say it's hopeful and some say it's hopeless. Rob and I have yet to talk to a Dr. so we don't know. How's she doing? Well, I don't really know. I've never seen anybody close to me go through this before. She's not in a wheel chair or anything like that. The medication and chemo and radiation isn't making her nauseous or anything. She hasn't lost any hair. So I guess in that way she's doing good, just sleeping a lot and so much of her independance has been taken away. She thrived on independance so how does a bird do when you clip it's feathers? I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Rob's brother says it's the worst of the worst and that she probably won't make it through the year. I'm a skeptic though and have trouble believing a lot of what he says. (even stuff that's not related to this). Even if you did believe it was the worst of the worst wouldn't you HOPE for something better? Maybe I just don't want to believe it's the worst of the worst and, even if it is, God is bigger than this and if it's His will to heal her then He will. I've quit asking the questions of "how much longer" because when you put it in perspective, none of us know how much longer any of us has. It really makes you take a step back and look at life from the perspective of every day is a gift from God and that none of us are guaranteed tomorrow. That was just head knowledge until all of this happened and now it's really sinking in.

Here's to 2006,hope for the future and better things to come!

Geek Score

2005-12-21T09:51:00.000-08:00

Nerd Score

2005-12-21T09:31:00.000-08:00

Up to date

2005-10-26T14:43:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was great. We went to the Celtic Festival at the zoo and there were kilts everywhere. It was very cool. We got to hear some really good music and watch some highland games. The animal watching at the zoo was fun too. The tigers were being very frisky and playful. I'll have to try and get some pics posted.

I just realized that I never did a commentary on the Couples Retreat that we went to a couple of weekends ago. It was wonderful!! Lot's of stuff to work on and improve upon plus it was so nice to have a little time away from my little ones. I sure did miss them though! The 4-H Center where the retreat was is in a very pretty setting. Rob and I even did a little canoeing on the lake that they have there. The leaves were starting to turn and the scenery was beautiful. It's far enough away from civilization to feel like you are secluded from busy life but not so far that you have to drive for miles and miles just to get there. I'm looking forward to next year!!

I guess the big news is that I have an evening job now. I won't start for a few more days but I'm looking forward to another paycheck in the family! Finances were just getting a little to stretched and were to the point where they just couldn't be stretched any more. I'll still have my day job of taking care of my boys :-)

This Saturday our church is hosting a ladies retreat. It sounds like we're going to have a really good speaker and breakfast and lunch are provided. It's going to be from 9-2:30...long enough to be away for a bit but not too long so that I will still have some time with my boys!

The poop hit the fan...

2005-10-17T09:47:00.000-07:00

Well, actually the bathmat. Pretty gross. Let's travel back a bit to get the whole story.This morning I awoke to a goodbye kiss from my husband and him handing off our 16 mo. old to me. Yes, I was still in the bed and not suprised to see our 3 yr. old sleeping peacefully beside me. Sometime in the wee hours of the morning he had joined our bed. A (the 16 mo. old) settled down a little bit and I thought that he might go back to sleep for a few minutes. I knew that we had a Dr's appt. at 9 and the alarm was set and so I was desperately wanting a few more moments of sleep. Well, had I only know the havoc that was about to take place i would have gladly jumped out of bed. The 16 mo old did not go back to sleep but I shut my eyes and the next thing I knew the alarm clock was going off. I get out of bed and J is still sleeping but where is A? Then I see him in the doorway of the bathroom. Hmmmm...k...J wakes up and walks to me with arms up and wanting me to pick him up. I pick him up and take him to the living room and rock him for a few seconds in the recliner. Then here comes A toddling along in the living room. He wants to sit on Mama's lap too, so I pick him up and then start to smell something like a dirty diaper. Shortly I realize that the poop is on the outside of the diaper. Yuck! Then I realize that the poop is also on the hands of A and is getting all over J and me. I pick them both up and march straight to the bathroom. Then, I realize that no only is the poop all over me and the boys but it's also all over the bathmat and smeared on one of the bathroom walls. I plop both boys in the tub and throw the bathmat in the washer. Finally we managed to all get clean, but we were 30 mins late to the Dr's. Oh well. Poop happens.

happenings...

2005-10-03T10:31:00.000-07:00

Ok. well, things are better in the realm of potty training. High fives are a good reward (thanks B for the idea!!) Also working on a "potty chart" with stickers.
Went to Malvern this past Friday...got to see bro-in-law and sis-in law's new place....very nice...went to Adona on Saturday...Rob and guys built fence for his mom...I cooked for family there who had all come up for the birthday party that turned into the "birthday party that wasn't" (long story, oh well)...very tiring trip for everybody but good family time.
This weekend friends are moving and looks like it's going to be a nice weekend weather-wise, yay!:-)
Next weekend Rob and I are going to a couples retreat. YIPPEE!! Time with my hubby and friends too without my sweet little boys. I'll miss them. It will be nice to have a little time away though!!

potty training

2005-09-15T14:52:00.000-07:00

He's only 3 but some days he makes me want to pull my hair out. We are potty training. He woll go for a few days doing great and then it's like he forgets. I don't know. Some days sre so frustrating. AAAAAHHH!!!

Hurricane Katrina

2005-08-31T11:54:00.000-07:00

"Complete and utter devastation" is the phrase that I keep hearing. This is just unreal. A friend of mine said that it looks like something out of a movie about armageddon. My heart goes out to these people that have literally lost everything but their lives and even some have lost that as the death toll continues to rise. I thank God that my friends and family are all accounted for and all safe. I can not imagine all of the chaos that is going on down there right now. I'm not going to post any pictures on here because they wouldn't be my pictures and I don't want to deal with permission issues but if you go to flickr and do a seach for hurricanekatrina (yes, all one word) then you will see some of the photos of the immense devastation. If you want to help out in the relief effort--
American Red Cross
Govenor Blanco said that today should be a day of prayer for the victims and their families but also those working down there to try to help the people get out and the ones that are in charge deciding what would be best to help these people need prayers too.
It was first thought that New Orleans dodged a bullet but now it looks like she may have received a fatal wound. Let's all pray for south Louisiana right now as the waters continue to rise.

too long...

2005-08-09T08:31:00.000-07:00

Goodness, it's been too long since I've posted! Well, let's see, what all has been going on. We went to Odessa and had a good visit with Rob's dad. J loved riding on the airplane. A fell asleep on the airplane so I'm thinking that he liked it too. Rob's dad sent us shopping while we were there too. We bought some cute little clothes for the boys, Rob got some new things for work and I got 2 new dresses, a new skirt, 2 sweatery tops, and a pair of pants. (I found some REALLY good sales). Rob's brother is getting married in September, so I chose one of the dresses with that in mind. We also got to tour Odessa a little bit but mainly the boys (and us) got to visit with Pawpaw. It was a goot trip, although really short-we arrived at 1pm on Friday and were back on the way home by 4pm on Sunday. We got home Sunday night at about 8:30 or so and just crashed.
The next week was spent getting ready for J's birthday on Saturday. The party turned out really well. A few of the AR relatives came in for the party and they seemed to have a good time but my little niece, who's almost 6 was a bit of a behavior problem. They came down Saturday and by Sunday afternoon I had about had enough of her. All things considered, it was a good weekend.
Last weekend was a rest weekend. Rob and I both gave blood on Saturday and then we shopped around the mall here for a bit. Sunday was church and then Sunday afternoon we had friends over for a late lunch and had a good visit with them.
This weekend we will be gong to a family reunion in AR. It should be fun, or at least interesting ;-) My niece will be there for atleast part of the weekend, I guess we'll see how that goes.
Rob and I have started taking a Bible class on Monday nights that we both really really like. I believe it's the fastest 3 hrs we've ever spent! This semester is on Prophecy--oooh! Fun stuff!!
Here's their site if you want to check it out

-bl

twice in a week!

2005-07-15T10:22:00.000-07:00

WOW! Two posts this week. I managed to get my sis-in-law (to be in Septmeber) blogging.YAY! There is a link to her blog on my sidebar.

Happy Friday! I think it's going to be a pretty quiet weekend for us. We've got some housecleaning to do. Nothing big planned, though. I have all the invites written and ready to mail for my oldest's birthday party on the 30th. I think that my wonderful and hardworking husband is going to mow this weekend. I"m glad he takes care of that. I think it will also be a carwash weekend too. Our cars need it something terrible and J also gets into it.

Mom and Dad's anniversary is Saturday-28 years! yay them! They were going to do something big for their 25th but I got married and had a baby so they decided not to. Oh well, maybe one day we can suprise them with a trip or something to make up for it.

Anyway, I hope everyone has a great weekend!

~bl

stuff...

2005-07-13T13:50:00.000-07:00

The baby shower was a success. We had tons of food left over but our husbands took care of that for us. On Monday I did my returns (returned the perculator that we had rented-AM shower, brunchy stuff--and cups and napkins--overbought to assure that we had plenty) I think it turned out pretty cute and if I get some pics I'll try to post them. I forgot to take my camera so I would need to get them from someone who had theirs.

My house looks like a tornado passed through. Housework was on the back burner last week so now I'm dealing with the aftermath. I finally got last week's laundry put away yesterday and I did get the dishes washed Sunday but there just seems to be clutter here and there. Oh well, it'll get done.

Next Friday (July 22) we fly to Odessa,TX to visit with Rob's dad. I'm looking forward to the trip but just kinda wondering how we're going to do this with 2 children and 2 carseats, none of which are negotiable. We change planes in Houston and we'll planeside check the carseats so we'll be juggleing a 2 year old and a 13 month old plus their respective carseats. It'll all work out. We are just going for the weekend. We leave at 9:30 Friday morning and will be back about 8:30ish Sunday night.

Update on the tomato plants--I've had several tomatoes from them...on the grape tomatoes, I think I'll just plant cherry tomatoes next year as these took too long to ripen. It's been fun having fresh tomatoes!

~bl

ramdom happenings

2005-07-05T22:24:00.000-07:00

ok, so it's been way too long since I've updated this blog. What all has been going on, hmmm...Let's see. June 11th was A's 1st birthday party. It went great. He was showered in gifts, cake, and love. He's such a sweetie.

June 30th was my birthday. I'm now 26. Birthdays usually don't affect me but this one, I dunno. I was just kinda in a funk. I need to lose some weight and I think that's much of what the funk was about. My goal is to be at my goal weight by my next birthday (50 lbs. lighter) I can do it, it will just take dedication and hard work. Anyway, enough about that.

July 1st was a special day for my husband and me. It was the anniversary of our first date. Four years ago we had planned some friendly hangout time and we ended up going to dinner at a very nice Italian restaurant, to Books-A-Million for chai and browsing, and then to a movie. We ended up holding hands and we both knew that it was the start of something special. Four days later on July 5th, 2001, I left for 5 weeks to study and travel abroad. We talked everyday. We still have the stack of phone cards, all the e-mails, and even some of the IM chats from the internet cafes in London, Edinburgh, and Paris. I returned August 6th 2001 and from then on we were inseperable. We were so inseperable that I almost lost one of my best friends, not due to BKW but rather my own stupidity. Thank God that she forgave me and is still one of my best friends. I value her trustworthiness, loyalty, and honesty greatly. She got married June 5th of last year and I wasn't able to be there. I was big pregnant with our scond son at the time. He was born 2 days after her wedding. My ma in law taped the wedding for me (God Bless her for it) and when she called to let me know that she was at the wedding I cried and cried. I just wanted to be there so bad.

Back on track here...
This past weekend we hadn't planned on going out of town but after a conversation with my ma in law (a good conversation) Rob and I felt that we really needed to make a trip to AR to visit with family and so we did. I'm so glad that we did. It was worth it.

This coming weekend a friend and I are co-hostessing a baby shower for another friend. She's having her second baby so I guess this is more of a sprinkling than a shower but her first was a boy and her second is a girl so she needs some girlie things. She's due last part of August. Waaaayyy too hot to be pregnant in LA in August IMO.
Anyway. I think that's all that's been going on here.
~bl

My little sunshine

2005-06-07T08:13:00.000-07:00

My littlest one is a year old today. I can't believe it. It goes by sooo much faster with the second one. He's so funny. He just started really walking last week. Up til then he would take a few steps but now he's going to town. He's so proud of himself and we are all so proud of him. He will even stand up by himself now without pulling up on things. Most of the time he's such a happy boy. He's my little sunshine.
This time last year my oldest was being admitted into the hospital for osteomyelitis. Talk about an emotional roller-coaster. It was such a happy day and such a sad, scary day. My oldest had gotten to the point where he wouldn't walk on his right leg, and for a boy that runs most of the time, that's really scary; atleast to me it was. It took the doctors a while to figure out what the problem was but finally they did and he finally started responding to the antibiotics. A and I were discharged 2 days later. I went home with my tiny newborn and had to leave my 22 mo. old in the hospital to be taken care of by his daddy and his grandmother. I am so thankful that they took such good care of him, but I felt like such a bad mother for not being able to be there with him. I wasn't there when he cried for me at night. I wasn't there when the nurse had to draw blood or restart the IV. I wasn't the one that reassured him and got him to be still during his x-rays and bone scans. I did go up to the hospital to be with him for 2 hrs at a time in between feedings. My husband and my mother traded off staying with him at night. He was in the hospital for 7 of the longest days of all of our lives. He was released from the hospital on June 14th which was such a happy day. We finally got to be a family again and he finally got to meet his little brother. J absolutely adores his little brother and A absolutely adores him. They play together and laugh together, it's so sweet to watch them. In the midst of such a hard and scary time, A was (and still is) my little sunshine. Happy Birthday, my precious little one.

-bl

Anniversary

2005-05-12T07:01:00.000-07:00

Today marks 3 years that Rob and I have been married. There is no one that I'd rather ride the roller coaster of life with. Rob is my friend and companion in every way. He is the love of my life, a wonderful husband and a devoted father. Thank you so much, Dear, for your love, patience, kindness generosity, devotion to family, and perserverance. I love you.

yours always.
-Raleigh

Stomach Bug round 2

2005-05-03T21:38:00.000-07:00

Well, it happened again. We went out of town and came back with a stomach bug but this time it was all four of us plus my parents. It began Saturday with my youngest being sick. Then He seemed better on Sunday. Then Monday it hit the rest of us like a Mack truck. Monday, at about 3am I woke up sick then shortly followed by my oldest and then my husband. It was all the my husband and I could do to pull it together to get our sons to the doctors. Atleast the test for rotavirus came back negative. The little one seems to be doing ok as far as hydration this time so hopefully we can stay out of the hospital. Today was a better day than yesterday. We all felt better, though still not 100%. My poor parents had to cancel their trip as they would have been leaving today. Mother is better but Dad is worse.

We did have a good time in Dallas. We explored a new mall there that also has a childrens play area and visited our old favorite, the Galleria, that has an awesome childrens play area, and, of course, the shopping is great too! Glad to be home and even more glad to be feeling better today.

Just want to say to BKW--thanks for all of your help with our sick little ones! I couldn't have made it without you! I love you, always.

~bl

housework and yard work

2005-04-20T11:45:00.000-07:00

The weather has been gorgeous but it feels more like summer than spring today. It's in the 80's here. Soon it will be time to put up our pool. My oldest already wants to go swimming.

This past weekend was productive. I got caught up on some housework and BKW and my dad put a tomato/flower bed together for me. My husband also mowed the lawn and cleaned out the carport. It looks sensational dear!!! I got my tomato plants planted, 6 in all and also planted some zinnas for a bit of color. Maybe I can get some pics posted on here. I'll try!

This week I've been doing housework and getting ready for a possible visit from my ma-in-law. I"m not sure if she's coming yet but the house needs to be clean anyway. Next week my husband has training for his work in Dallas and we are going with him. We'll be gone Tuesday-Friday. The place we'll be staying is really nice and has a nice pool, hopefully it will be warm enough to swim but I guess we'll see! Anyway. That's what's been happening here.

~bl

where I've been...

2005-04-14T07:56:00.000-07:00

Finally, after about 2 and a half weeks things are getting back to normal. We had a really good Easter and then after that the bottom fell out. The Thursday before Easter, my husband got a raise!! Then the following Monday both boys got sick while we were out of town with a pretty nasty cold. When we got back in town we went to the pediatrician and they both had ear infections in both ears as well. So we got meds for that. Then by Monday I had gotten the cold/sinus infection myself so I went to the Dr. to get meds so that I could feel better and take better care of my boys. Then Tuesday, my youngest started vomiting everything. After being showered in green peas Tuesday night, I took him to the Dr. on Wednesday and as we were checking in he proceeded to show the office why we were there. Yes, he vomited all over everything. The doctor said that it was probably a stomach bug (ya think?). Then Thursday, my oldest got the stomach bug and was unable to keep anything down. By Friday morning my little one was limp and still vomiting everything. So we went to the Dr. and she said "yep, dehydration" and my youngest was admitted to the hospital that day. He and I spent the weekend in the Pediatric unit. He slept most of the day Friday and by Saturday he started to come around. Sunday we went home and slept most of the afternoon. (we were just exhausted from being in the hospital and I was still kinda sick).

My oldest also had this stomach bug which we later learned was Rotavirus. We were very blessed that he didn't get dehydrated as well because then we all would have been at the hospital. He stayed home with daddy. I think by saturday afternoon he stopped vomiting completely.

Things are finally starting to get back to normal around here. The laundry pile is getting a little smaller. My cold is finally reduced to a sniffle. My ears finally quit hurting and got unstopped. The bruises on my youngest from the IV sticks and the blood drawing are finally turning yellow. The boys are doing MUCH better, although we're still being kinda cautious about their diets.

So that, ladies and gentlemen, is where I've been.

~bl

Happy Day

2005-03-23T11:13:00.000-08:00

I got to visit with friends this weekend. They were in for a funeral, so not so great circumstances but always fun times with friends.
My youngest had a Dr's appointment this morning. Just a 9 month checkup,even though he's already 9.5 months. He's getting so big! Excellent report from the Dr. and we don't have to go back until he's 12 months. yay! It's been a much better day than yesterday, praise God! The weather is gorgeous. I'm going to cut this short so that I can take my little ones outside! God Bless!

~bl

Thoughts...

2005-03-18T09:27:00.000-08:00

Well, I hope that everyone had a great St. Patty's day yesterday. It's been a good week and at the same time a not so good week. One of my friends from AR was in for a visit and it looks like more transplants are coming into town this weekend but for not such a fun time. Her Grandmother is clinging to life by a thread and it may be a matter of hours before she goes on to meet Jesus or as I'm writing this she may have already passed on. What a sad and yet happy time because she will not be in anymore pain. I had the privaledge of getting to meet her and visiting with her a few times and she treated me like a member of the family. I know there will be tough days ahead for the family and I pray that God wraps his loving arms around them and comforts them and reminds them that they will see her again.

This weekend is the company that my husband works for Easter Egg hunt. All week they have been saying that the rain isn't supposed to get here til Sunday but now it looks like it may be here a day early. I hope not. I hope the rain will atleast hold off till afternoon and my boys are napping! I guess we shall see.

I don't know what to think about this Terry Shivo case. It seems to me that the court has decided to put her to death for being disabled. Hmmm...shades of Hitler. It looks to me like the husband wants her out of his way so that he can get on with life. What I don't understand is why they won't give her to her family (people who WANT to take care of her)? Are we coming to a point in this country saying that the infirm have no right to life? If so where is that line drawn? I have a good friend who has a child with a disability and he will (and has) improve but it's taken a long time. He will never have a "normal" (which is a very relative term anyway) life. What if the court decided one day that he was not improving so his feeding tube should be taken out, denying him life? That is killing a living breathing human being!!! EVERY BODY was put on this planet for a purpose. God doesn't make mistakes. The "mistake" lies within our feeble minds who are unable to comprehend how someone "different" from the "norm" could "possibly" have a purpose. We may not understand the purpose but God does. Things should happen in His time, not ours.

And on that note. I hope that everyone has a great weekend!

~bl

2005-03-15T14:34:00.000-08:00

Oh, the weather outside is frightful but it's nice and toasty warm in my house! Yes, I know that's not how the song goes but s'ok. Really. Seriously. This past weekend the weather was gorgeous. We went with some friends and their children to the park and spent a beautiful Saturday. Sunday, we returned to the park for a nice long hike. Then we left the park about 4 pm and my husband and I went to a local mexican restaurant. During our meal, I had gone out to the car to fed our youngest and it began to hail. Hail is REALLY loud when you are sitting in a car! I don't think that the hail did any damage to the car though, thank goodness. Saturday and Sunday it felt like spring/early summer weather. Today, we are back to dreary winter and it's rather cold (well, for us Louisiana folks it's cold). Anyway. I LOVE the new digital camera. We've been having lots of fun with it! If you are in the market for one, I highly recommend the Pentax Optio S40!

-bl

Armed and Dangerous

2005-03-10T11:49:00.000-08:00

Beware. I armed and dangerous...with a digital camera, that is. As part of our tax refund fun, my husband and I decided to get a digital camera. We agreed that the limit was about $130 but we ended up paying more. Oh well. It looks like it's going to be a really good camera.It's a Pentax S40 and without the batteries it weighs only slightly more than the styrofoam that was around it and is the size of my palm (fingers excluded). We tried out one at a local camera store here and it looks like it takes really great pictures. I'll try to get some posted pretty soon so you can judge for yourself.
I also ordered a puzzle ring from overstock.com ($18.99) I've been wanting one for awhile but not enough to pay the $40-$50 for one. They also have $1 shipping on anything that you order from them for the month of March.
Also, for those of you that like tartans (like I do!!) there's a site where you can design your own. Here's the link-- design your tartan. I have one created that I am working on as the backgound for my blog instead of the brown that's currently here. Have fun!

~bl

Movie Quiz

2005-03-03T21:02:00.000-08:00

You scored as Artistic.

Congratulations, you scored Artistic. You're looking for the unique movie in the bunch. You've probably watched a lot of movies that nobody has ever heard of, and good for you. You also know good filmmaking when you see it. You just get it, no questions asked. Check out: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Amelie, Garden State, Lost in Translation.

Artistic

70%

Romantic Comedy

65%

Drama/Suspense

65%

Sadistic Humour

55%

Sci-Fi/Fantasy

50%

Mindboggling

50%

Mindless Action Flick

20%

Movie Recommendation.
created with QuizFarm.com

Fun stuff...

2005-03-03T10:32:00.000-08:00

Goodness, it's been over a week since I blogged! We got our State Taxes last Friday and bought a new car seat for my youngest who is now 22 lbs. He's kinda chunky for an almost 9 mo old but that's ok. When you are that litle chunkiness is cute ;-). The car seat is a step up from the infant seat that he was in. It's still rear facing for now but when he's a year old the seat can be turned to face forward. He seems to like it pretty well. Federal Taxes should be in tomorrow. YIPPEE!!
We were going to be going to Dallas next week with my husband on a business trip but that has been postponed until the end of April. He and I have been tossing around the idea of going to a renaissance festival in Waxahatchie, TX. It sounds like a lot of fun! Here's a link if anyone is interested Renaissance Festival . We've been wanting to go for about 3 years now. We shall see! The company that my husband works for is having an Easter Egg hunt on March 19th. It's held at the local zoo here and after the hunt everyone gets to go to the zoo for free. Let's see, whe else is on the calendar...my husband informed me yesterday that his/our buddy from Wisconsin will be in town pretty soon...don't know a date on that one yet though. Mom and Dad will be going to visit family in Canada in May. I haven't been up there since '97. I think that's about all that's on our calendar so far. We were recently talking with some good friends about going to NYC. One family is supposed to be going over Spring break and the other later in the year and they asked when we would be going up. I said that it depended on our tax refund but it looks like it's going to be another year before we can make it up there. Not so much for $$ reasons but more for family ones. My little ones are too little to go and too little to stay here without their parents. That's ok though. They grow up too fast anyway! Maybe next year. I also just found out that a friend of mine is going to have a baby! YAY for them!!!! Babies are so awesome!

~bl

Taxes

2005-02-22T15:21:00.000-08:00

I FINALLY got taxes done today! WOOHOO!! Looking forward to a refund. We have some things to pay off but most of the $$ is going into savings. YAY. I"ll have to write more later.

~bl

Ramblings about the week...

2005-02-18T12:20:00.000-08:00

It's Friday. I think I'll just go back to bed until it's Saturday. Today hasn't started out so great. I woke up this morning to my oldest screaming OW!!! I still don't know if my little one pulled his hair or poked his eye or what happened. The cat was there too but I didn't see any evidence of bite marks or scratches, so I'm not convinced that the cat was the culprit. Who knows, maybe he did it himself. It's been a good week. My in-laws were here last weekend and seemed to have a good visit. Friends from AR were in too. Poor AJ got sick though but inspite of that I think that they had a good visit. We didn't get to spend much time with them but hopefully next trip (either us visiting up there or them coming down here. Monday was Valentines Day. My husband, the boys and I all went to Peking. The food was great, the service was horrible. We haven't been there in awhile and I'm hoping that maybe they were understaffed or something. It was still nice to see my husband at lunch. After lunch the boys and I went to Toys R Us, my oldest's favorite place. He loves the train playtables there. Maye one in his future for his birthday, we'll see. He'll be 3 this year. My youngest loves to watch him and right now his favorite is the "Johnny Jump Up". He was going to town in it today.

Let's see...Tuesday. We had lunch with BKW, (wow! 2 days in a row!) and then the boys and I went to the park. Little man was content in his stroller while big brother climbed and ran and got rid of some energy. It was a very pretty day, in the 70's. Saw an MBSFer, her hubby, and daughter (now almost 3). She's expecting her 2nd child, also supposed to be a girl, in the next couple of months.

Wednesday, my thoughtful and sweet husband suprised me with a beautiful Azalea and a pot of variegated English Ivy. The azalea is a coral pink color. It is absolutely beautiful! I love plants and flowers...don't really have too much time to devote to them but that will change as my boys get older (all too soon!) My oldest went to visit his grandparents (my parents) and BKW and I went to Big Lots. Can't do that very often; spent WAY too much $$! Oh well, you only live once!

Thursday, pretty much normal day at home. Went to Wal-mart for MAJOR grocery shopping. We have plenty for about the next 3 weeks. Got Home and had supper and the boys fell asleep in rapid order.

Anyway, that's been the week here. Hopefully today will get better! Hope everyone has a GREAT weekend!

~bl

a funny :-)

2005-02-09T12:20:00.000-08:00

DID NOAH FISH?
A Sunday school teacher asked, "Johnny, do you think Noah did a lot of fishing when he was on the Ark?"
"No," replied Johnny. "How could he, with just two worms."

Sentiment in Song

2005-02-08T23:46:00.000-08:00

I do write poetry from time to time (or atleast attempt it) but sometimes it's someone else's words that express my sentiment better. I heard a song today that described my exact feelings when my husband lost his grandfather. I heard the first few lines and then proceeded to pull over in a parking lot to listen to the rest of it (I had not heard it before and as to not be distracted by fellow drivers). The song is by Matthew West and it is titled You Know Where To Find Me and here are some of the lyrics:

I saw your sky fall down today
Suddenly turn from blue to gray
Till one by one the raindrops
Turned to tears upon your face
Wish there was something I could do
Wish I could ease this pain for you
But I’ve never felt so helpless

It’s like you’re drowning right in front of me
And I’m reaching out but you can’t see
There’s something holding on to you so tight
So I guess this is all I’ll say to you tonight

If you ever need me
You know where to find me
I will be waiting where I’ve always been
If you ever need me
You know where to find me
I have never left you; I’m where I’ve always been
Right by your side
Right by your side

~bl

a case of the "mondays"...

2005-02-07T23:16:00.000-08:00

Well, today was good and bad.
Very Rainy-bad if you have to drag 2 little ones around in it which I did.
We had a Dr's appt. this morning for ears recheck-all good
My youngest is 8mos. old today-good
1 month anniversary of BKW's grandfather passing-sad
Got to see BKW at lunch-always good
BKW's work not too his satisfaction (or mine either)-bad
It was....a rainy Monday. Here's hoping that Tuesday will be better. As far as this weekend, friends are coming in town (woohoo!) but inlaws are too so it will be tricky. We shall see! As far as this past weekend--Saturday was a fun family day. Sunday BKW and I actually got to see a movie. I think that the last movie that we saw in the theater was Spiderman 2. My parents kept the boys. It was a date which has been overdue for a while now! Fun times :-)
~bl

It's Friday!!

2005-02-04T11:39:00.000-08:00

The sun has actually peeped out from behind the clouds today. I was beginning to wonder if it had forgotten how to shine or something. It's been raining and cloudy all week...just rain for the sake of rain...not cold enough to snow, although here it would probably be an ice storm, so I'm thankful it wasn't that. Anyway. Friday means that Saturday is to follow which means family and friends time yippee!!

Time for change...

2005-02-02T12:47:00.000-08:00

Everything changes. From something so simple as one day changing to the next to something so complex and intricate as a child growing up and changing. These last two and a half years have been an immense time of change . I am a married college graduate with 2 sons. Wow. Sometimes I still can't believe it. I am so greatly blessed. I start this blog now to keep track of all the changes over the years as I'm quite sure there will be many! Happy reading.

~bl