Just a quick one

Jo and Adie are at the grandparents for a few days. Today was nice, getting to know Alex much better - he's such a sweet little fella! His smiles are so adorable. Feeding is going much better. We've been working on nursing and it is getting easier. Over the weekend, we celebrated Christmas with Jeff's family and his sister had some great encouragement to share with me. Thanks M! Today was super quiet, but still pretty busy. It's late and I'm tired, but I wanted to get on and do some pre-shopping (Jeff and I are doing gifts to each other after Christmas, to catch the really good sales!) and then decided to hop over and do a quick post.

Jo had a Christmas concert for his music class last week on Tuesday and it was so fun! All the kids sang so well, and of course, our Jo was awesome! We had planned to get a little bit of video of it, but when we got there, we discovered that the batteries were too low! I did manage to get a few pictures, but I'm going to have to work on the quality, they were pretty dark. I'll have to do a big posting of pictures some time, we sure do have several to share! And we do want to get pictures of all three kiddos sent out to everyone (like our summer cards), but I am just not sure when we will be able to get that done, I'm trying everyone! They will come, even if it's a couple months from now. They will.

Well, it's really late. Alex ate about two hours ago and I'm not sure when he's going to wake up (this morning, he woke us up at 5:30 - but I can't count on that all the time). Thank you for the comments and encouragement. We have amazing family and friends!

Three Children?!! Ahh!!!!

Wow, three children, all under 6. Not too bad, but boy does it keep us on our toes! And they all keep us guessing! Alex is such a sweet baby and doing very good. Jo and Adie are both adjusting. It's a little harder for Jo than Adie right now I think. To Adie we have a baby that we can both take care of and she has fun with it most of the time. Jo, on the other hand, is definitely seeing the changes it has made to our family and the time that Daddy and Mommy can spend. Our days are full of feeding - quite litterally! Alex gets us started eating at 3:30-4:30 or 5:30-6:00 in the mornings, depending on when we fed him the night before. After getting him back to bed, it's time to feed the cat (oh yeah, we got a cat a couple months ago and we love her!). Then, unload the dishwasher, fix breakfast for the rest of us and then Jo is up around 6, ready to start his day. Adie gets up at about 7:30 and then Jo and Daddy are off to school and work. At about 7:30-8:30, it's time to feed the baby again. Did I add that nursing didn't go quite as well as we had hoped, but my supply of milk is very good, so I'm pumping to feed him and so we fit that into our schedule, right before time to feed the baby (usually). He eats every 3 hours so that is helpful for planning the day out. In between all the feedings and getting that boy down for naps, I try to read to or play with Adie. It's all trial and error for now. Trying to get a good handle on the routines with all we have sure is interesting! I feed Alex about three times before it's time to go pick up Jo from school and then it's not long until Jeff gets home from work! So, my days go very quickly. Keeping up with the laundry has become quite a daunting task. Our living room is in a constant state of looking as though a tornado whipped through (it feels that way to me), but I have been able to keep the dishes done! I think that I have had about 6 showers since coming home from the hospital - isn't that wonderful! Several days, I have cried. Wondering, how in the world will we ever have time again?
Some people think that having three children is insane. "You're out numbered," they say. True, that is very true. But so many times in the last month (Alex will be one month on Saturday - 4 weeks on Thursday!), I have noticed both Jeff and I mentioning how blessed we are. Three children, our cup runneth over! We have an amazing nearly 6-year-old, a bright bubbly 3-year-old, and a sweet precious one-month-old. Everytime we think about our future with what God has blessed us with, our hearts have become so warm and we can't help but smile and thank God. In the midst of all the craziness, we have found extreme happiness. Jeff and I started saying something when we first got engaged that completely fits now - we are "extremely, extaticly happy!" There are no words to describe having three children, it is something so amazing and I'm so glad they are here.
I said that I would come back to try and write about things that I could remember about our time in the hospital. Well, I'm going to give that a whirl now. We are in the midst of an ice storm today and the post was closed today, so Jeff is at home! I actually have a little bit of time to myself and don't feel completely exhausted.
We got to the hospital at 5:30am and eventually were able to make our way up to the birth place. A couple days before going in, they called and asked me a bunch of questions so that we wouldn't have to go through that process during check in. Well, guess what, even though I answered all those questions over the phone, the nurse still asked them during check in! We told her that we had answered all of them, and were told that we wouldn't have to at that time. When she was done and left the room another nurse came in and saw that I wasn't hooked up to all the wires and IVs and such yet. Time for surgery was coming very quick and so things got pretty frantic. I had completely forgotten how everything felt since having Adie and this was not pleasant - and adding the fact that they were now rushing was not pleasant! But it was all going to be worth it - we were about to bring a baby into the world!
...Alex was born at 7:55 and it was wonderful. My surgery lasted about an hour and as soon as they finished, I asked how long it would be until I could see my baby. They told me that I would be seeing him right away! That surprised me because with the other two, it wasn't that way. So, as soon as I got to the room, I was with Jeff and our new addition! They did the recovery procedures right there in the room and it was so nice to not be in a room that was so cold and lonely. For a few hours, things were going just fine, but then I began to feel some pain. I complained about it, but they told me that my epidural and the small amount of pain meds they were putting into the IV was all they could do. Jeff took off around lunch time to go get Jo and Adie to bring them back and during that time, a friend from church came to visit. By this time, my pain was pretty bad, but I didn't want to keep complaining, so I kept it to myself. Cindy, however could tell that I wasn't a happy camper. She advised me that I should tell them that things weren't great. I was also getting hungry! They wouldn't give me any food right away, but I did convince them that I could handle a few sips of water. When Jeff and the kids came in, the first thing I remember hearing was from Adie. She saw Alex and said, "He looks like a girl!" We all had to laugh. They were pretty scared to come close to me in the bed, but by the second time they came, it was much better. However, before I get too far ahead of myself, I want to continue on with the first day. I began to notice that the tape on my back - holding in the epidural - was rolled up slightly. I notified the nurse and they had me roll over (very PAINFUL!) and discovered that my epidural was slipping! Okay, now that could possibly explain the bad pain I was keeping to myself. At that time, I did tell them that my pain was at times excrusiating. They told me that they would have to get an anestesiologist to come take a look at it. Our friend left after being there for about an hour or so and Jeff and the kids left at dinner time. My hunger pains were getting louder and I hadn't been sick to my stomach all day, so they did bring me some broth that evening for dinner and even let me have seconds! That felt good. Then, finally at 9pm (probably around 5 hours after discovering the slipped epidural), the anestesiologist came in and, after looking at it, said that it had been doing nothing for my pain for several hours. I would say that it probably fell out before lunch. Surviving on minimal pain meds that first day was extremely tough, but I made it and I think it made me stronger!
The second day went much better, I began to get out of bed and as tough as it was by the end of the day I was moving around very good. They were giving me great pain meds now and so I felt great. Our friend offered to keep Adie while Jo was at school so that Jeff could come and spend Friday with us in the hospital. It was so nice and pleasant. We had a great time and really enjoyed getting to know our little Alex. Saturday was another great day. Jeff brought the kids as early as he could get them ready, and except for lunch, they spent the whole day with Alex and me. It was so nice for all five of us to be together. Sunday, Jeff came down and we were out of there by lunch.
Now, here we are, nearly one month later and I can't believe how quickly time has passed. I've written as fast as I can so that I could get all of this written down without having to stop and I still have 20 minutes until it's time to get ready to feed the baby! I think I will get off now and start thinking about dinner too. I'll try to post more pictures soon.
Love to you all.

Oh, hopefully soon, we can get pictures of the kids and send cards out to everyone. It may end up being a New Year greeting!

~S

It's about time...I know!

Sorry, everyone! Jeff just didn't get to the computer at all in the last ten days. It's been . . . well, busy! The last ten days have all kind of melded together for me, so for now, all I am going to do is post the long-awaited pictures! As the week gets going (Jeff gets back to work tomorrow) and our schedule and routine starts to normalize, I'll be writing about all I can remember.











He's an angel and we are all so happy he's here!

I'm about to run out of time, he's about to get hungry again! But here are a few things for now: he was 7 lbs, 8.9 oz, 19.5 in long; is very used to his brother and sister, sleeps through all of their noise!; is already beginning to sleep 6 hours at night and is such a joy!

I hope to be back this week with stories about the last week and how it all progressed in the hospital.

Have a great evening everyone. Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving! And, Happy Holidays!
Time to get ready to feed the boy... :)

Up and Down and Round and Round

At the beginning of the school year, we set out to try making our Friday nights more fun. We've done several different activities from renting movies to football games, baseball games to playing hard in the back yard or parks, or games at home. It really has been a great semester so far! Last Friday, we decided to head to a mall to just hang out and do some window shopping, and we ate in the food court (something we haven't done in so long). As we were walking around in this mall that we don't frequent (it's about a 30-45 min drive for us to get to) we saw some really neat things. One that we saw was a carousel! This thing was huge - two levels! Usually we don't say yes to things like this, but it was Friday night! ALL of us got to get on! Both kids really enjoyed the ride. When we started going, I had forgotten about this little part, but the animals started going up and down! As we were going, Adie was pointing out lots of things, but the one thing I remember her saying is, "Around and round and round and round and round and round!" It was all I could do to hang on and keep her from falling off! As she was saying this, Jeff and I said, "Yes, up and down and round and round!" Oh my, what a ride, up and down and round and round - and nine months pregnant! Even Jeff got a little woozy! Jonathan loved it. He's been on two pony rides this fall and now a carousel!

The Last Push-up!

I've just finished reading blogs of our family and friends. Boy do I miss all of you! I'm also sitting here, and I can't believe that in one week, I will be preparing to go to the hospital! Unbelievable! So many things are going through my mind, but then again, I have no idea what! I haven't even packed the good ol' bag yet. Yikes!
We adopted a cat Saturday. We called our land-lords a couple weeks ago and they said that since we've been good tenants, they trust us! It is so fun! We love our Binx and the kids are so happy! She is all black and so fun! She is a very good and well trained 6 1/2 month old. She is quite the eater too! We've got to be careful not to feed her too much!
Well, Adie and I have lots to take care of today.
I'll TRY to post pictures before we go next week. I have no idea after that when I'll post again, but hopefully Jeff will get on and post about the baby!
Have a great end of the week!

Last Post for October

Autumn has fallen...literally
On a drive through our town
some streets are filled with leaves
Crunch, crunch, crunch
That's a favorite sound I hear these days
As the leaves are falling to the ground
and the kids are playing around
We pick up from school and
The leaves have fallen
Red, yellow, orange, and brown
the leaves have fallen to the ground
Go on a nature hike
in the middle of a city, no doubt
and the leaves have fallen to the ground
crunching leaves
throwing leaves
giving leaves
the leaves have fallen to the ground!

~Sendy



I wish I had a picture to go with it, but we've been enjoying the leaves falling so much, I haven't had the chance to capture any of the "kodak moments!" Maybe sometime in the next couple of days...

18 days until ... D-day!

We sure have been doing a lot - all of us! My wonderful friends and family, you who teach, raise beautiful children, care for the orphaned, and all of you going through some most difficult struggles at the time. My thoughts have been with all of you, even as we go through our busy times!

Jo has finished soccer and we think he is going to miss it. But Jeff and I are glad that the next two Saturdays are going to be time that we can spend preparing for Alex to arrive! This was a great season! It took pretty much the whole two months for Jo to really get in there and try to get that ball to his goal, to really understand it. He got the idea outside of games and practice, but when other kids were around the ball, he froze up. This last Saturday he did so great! He got in there and kicked the ball so many times! Yay for Jo! After the game, we all headed over to McD's for the after season party. All the kids received medals. Jo is so proud of his medal. We made some good friends on the team and have made plans with them to continue to keep in touch and hopefully get together! One of the boys - K, he and Jo were like the bash brothers! It was adorable. K's mom and I are definitely going to get them together for play days! One of the moms - R and I are due within a week of each other so we are going to keep up with each other for our babies. She seems like a great woman and I look forward to getting to know her. Their son, J, is a cutie and I think Jo and he will be good friends as well. This is a special family. They've really got quite a year to remember. Back in February, they began the process of adopting a little girl from Guatemala. Then sometime in March or April they found out that they were expecting and due in Nov! They went to pick up JC a few weeks ago and now are two weeks from the due date! JC is 8 months old and so beautiful! What a handful R has!

Our work with the education program at church is going well. We've been meeting with our team and making a lot of plans. We have our first teachers meeting planned for Nov 12! I'm nervous and excited at the same time. We've had so much clean up to do and we've done some reorganizing. We are currently working on getting the work room in better working order and making the classrooms better for teaching. December is going to be a slow month, but hopefully in January we can see some fruit from the work we've been doing so far. I've been so tired lately and uncomfortable, it has been hard for me to do as much work as I wanted to, but we are getting there. And the team is so supportive of Jeff and me, it is all going so great. My concentrations now, need to turn to LTC. We've got a dead line Dec 15! Just got to get in touch with our kids and get the ball rolling.

Adie is doing well, but she sure is a ball of fire! She has got so much energy, it's hard to keep up with her! She likes pretending she is a monster and sometimes gets very hyper with it! She is also very stubborn sometimes! Nap time is becoming extremely difficult. It is often more time spent in persuassion, than enjoying the quiet time. She has also decided that she is not interested in all in being a big girl. So we are still doing diapers and separation anxiety has taken a toll. I guess we have come to the time when we will just have to say, "it's time!" The kids are going to spend the night of Nov 14 with some friends from church and I'm so nervous about it. I hope they can all get some sleep!

Jo is going to be fine that night, hopefully he can help his sister make it through. Our friends aren't worried about it. Last week, Jo's kindergarten class went on a field trip to a farm! It was great! Adie and I tagged along. Yesterday I learned that one of the teachers was very worried about me going, being as pregnant as I am, but our teacher friend assured her that I was fine. It was funny. Jo has a great class. We all had a great time and learned some neat things about the farm! Adie really got a lot out of it too. She loved all the animals. Jo loved the horses and ponies. I don't think he had a favorite though. Kindergarten is going alright. He has made lots of friends and is doing so well with all of his classes. Yes, classes. He has three teachers and goes from class to class each day. They've got a homeroom and they do "specials" everyday. Specials are art, music, library, and PE. His least favorite is PE, because one of the kids in his class is very onery! This little boy, B, likes to pull the fire alarm and Jo does not like that at all. He happens to try it the most during PE. He has been learning to draw really good and brings home lots of artwork each week! Well, actually, a lot of the art work is from other little kids in his class...little girls actually. It seems as though our little Jo is crushed on by a few girls in his class! One in particular, E, has given him so many pictures. Hearts all over the paper, both of their names written together, and now, pictures of the two of them hugging! Several weeks ago, I had began writing Jo a little note saying "I 'heart' you" and that was something he said helped him get through his day, it made him happy. Last Friday, I found a note from little E that was just like what I had sent with him! My baby has a girlfriend! Ahhh!!!! Jo said that she tells him she loves him and he told me that he loves her. What do I say? We talked about it a little bit. Jeff and I still think he may be oblivious. But some things he's said are starting to make me wonder. Jo - my little heart throb! He does have a sweet, sensitive spirit that grils fall for, and he does get his great looks from his daddy! ;) Oh, we are in trouble!

Yesterday was great. Jeff taught the adult Bible class. It was a very good class, I'm so proud of him! We've been going through Matthew and he led chapter nine. I won't be surprised if he's asked again to lead a class for the adults, but I'm not sure when he'll be asked, or even if he'll say yes for a while. He did say he liked it. He got more response from the adults than he does from the middle school class he's teaching on Wed nights and the younger ages he's taught before. What he said about that was funny!

Well, I've written a lot. I realized I hadn't posted very much this month and wanted to catch you all up on what's going on. I don't always get on to write but I've been watching other blogs and it seems that we are all in the midst of some very busy times! We are coming upon the holiday season, wishes to you all for a great one! I don't know when I will be on again (probably before Alex comes, but maybe not). I'm just not sure. Jeff has told me that he will get on to post about the baby when he comes, I'll try to make sure of it, and that he adds pictures too!

Love to you all!

Loving Autumn!

You Belong in Fall

Intelligent, introspective, and quite expressive at times... You appreciate the changes in color, climate, and mood that fall brings Whether you're carving wacky pumpkins or taking long drives, autumn is a favorite time of year for you

What Season Are You?

This was cool and so fun! Fall is my absolute favorite season! As soon as September hit, we pulled out all the fall decorations and we went out and found all kinds of fall crafts to do together. I think we were the first on our block to put out pumpkins and all the other outdoor decorations we had. The kids and I have been picking up pretty leaves we find on the ground. I was so excited that we could make hot chocolate again! Fall sports are a blast and we are anxiously awaiting the changing of leaf colors here! (Though, we've been told this is looking to be one of the "not so colorful" years - boohoo!) We love going on walks in the fall. And we are excited about the cooler days settling in! We love fall!

An onery and little more busy...

Little Alex is an onery little boy! It has been a good week, but Wednesday, I thought things were going to change! Tuesday night, he didn't move in his usual way. I tried not to think much of it, but I began to get worried when each time I flipped over, there was no movement. When I woke up to take care of business, there was no movement. At 3:00 I couldn't stand it any longer, I couldn't sleep. By 5, Jeff could tell there was something wrong. We went down stairs and he got me some orange juice. There he was, a little bit of movement. But as the day went on, he still wasn't the same. When I called the drs office, they had me do the orange juice thing and some yogurt. That time, no real movements at all. Little knocks here and there, but nothing big like he always had been doing with little snacks like that. Alright, I was certain things didn't look good. So the docs office had me go in to the hospital. As soon as the monitors touched me, he started bouncing all over the place! He was a playful little fella, but onery! He even turned his body in a way that we couldn't hear his heart beat, but was still kicking around. Big kicks! The nurse, she was funny. She looked down where he was, and said, "Okay sweetie, that's impressive, but I want to hear your little ticker!" It took a couple of minutes to find the heart beat again, but it was very faint. Then one of the nurses said that he was showing hyperactivity, and when I asked about that, they said he is just the most excited little baby they have seen come in at that age. His heart rate was getting into the 160s and they asked me if that was normal. Most of the time, it's been in the 140s-150s. I asked if that meant something was wrong and they said that since he was calming himself down and the heart rate was going up and down, he was very fine.
Oh, dear, what are we in for?! He really had me going Wednesday. We were all a little concerned. And it's just good to not take any chances. I'm so glad he's okay, but I think he's really going to be quite a turkey! (And he is my turkey, coming right before Thanksgiving). My little Alex turkey - silly boy. I can't wait to meet you!

Nesting...

Our internet went down late last week sometime and I couldn't post this, but I put it in notepad last Friday so I would have it ready to go. It's been fun getting ready for baby. Here's a little bit of what I've been up to!

Picture this:
I'm fluffing my feathers, and making room in our nest. I've been cleaning out the bad and bringing in some new. I've been getting all the "eggs" in order and I'm ready for my baby to arrive!

A few months ago, I went nuts thinking about all I wanted to get done before the baby comes and we got busy. Our garage is not perfectly clean, but it is in so much more order than any of our garages have been in a long time. Woohoo! I could definitely do more cleaning down there, get more things in order for sure, but it is in good condition.

I went through all of the clothes the kids have been growing out of that I have held on too. Organized and separated Adie's from Jo's. Currently, a friend of ours is going through Adie's clothes to see what she will need for her baby. It felt good to get some things being stored out of the way! Jo's, I organized into sizes and then got them all into our really huge storage bin, to pull out every few months for Alex. Earlier this week, I soaked the baby bathtub and the bath seat in bleach, then scrubbed them down and they both look brand new! That felt good to get done, but when we were filling up the tub, Adie wanted to get baby Alex and put him in the bath! It was so cute! I guess my nesting is getting everyone ready to have Alex here now! Ha! We pretty much have the house in good order all around. The kids rooms are looking great and we've even gone a little farther in the decorating this year! Today, I realized that it would be fun to show y'all some pictures of what their rooms look like. I guess I could upload pictures of the whole place, we'll work on that. We've got the crib up, blankets inside. We've been slowly getting bottles (I don't like to hang on to them after one baby is finished using them, too much to store and they are in such good supply!). Today, I washed all the clothes that will fit Alex pretty much right away. We've needed to find a dresser for the boys' room, and I've been watching the garage sales, but haven't been able to find one. So we are sticking with the good old plastic drawers for now. Hopefully next year, we can start saving to get them a nice dresser to have in their room, hopefully. I'll be working on getting all of his clothes put away later today. I have his baby book filled out, just a few things to write before he gets here. We got the carseat cleaned up looking real nice and it is now in the van ready to go! We finished getting all of our summer cards with pictures sent out (sigh of relief) and I've got our winter letter written up and will be ready to print it off and sent with new pictures of the kids (all three this time!) sometime in December. We covered the couch and chair with some blankets we had around and now they look nicer - woohoo! I've been able to find all of our harvest decorations and our house is so cozy now! I didn't realize how much I love scarecrows! I've been collecting things slowly over the years and we've got so many of those cute things, it looks nice. I really didn't do it on purpose, but it has really worked out.
Now, for the last thing, our kitchen floor. How often do you mop your kitchen floor? Really, I want to know! I haven't ever really mopped all that much. I mean, we did to keep the place clean. But I've got to tell you, this floor is the absolute worst I've ever lived with. It's terrible! I think there is dirt litterally ground into the grooves of this floor from 5 years ago! It's crazy! I guess you could say I've been a little obsessed with it lately. I just can't seem to get it clean and now it seems to be getting worse. I really don't like it at all. I've now tried three different mopping things and I'm not sure what's going to do the trick. I really like the swiffer mop because I can just throw it in the trash and there is no messing with buckets and water and mud sloshing around. Back in Lubbock, we got a Bissel Flip-It for our wood floors. It is nice, it vacuums up the dirt so we don't have to worry about sweeping it and the chance of dirt getting missed and dusted up into the air. This thing doesn't miss the dirt. BUT the water. For the wet side, we have to mix it with a soap solution (no problem there). I haven't fully figured out the wet side (we quit using it after moving to Killeen). But when I do use it, I can't clean 1/4 of the floor without having to get more solution done, AND the dirty water is absolutely filthy! It is actually disgusting to me! I can't stand the thought of my kids playing on the floor in there because of how dirty I know it is. And now I've got one on the way that will be crawling everywhere, I can't keep him off the floor. I've got to figure something out. Today, I found a mop that, after using it, might work out. It's got a nifty little scrubbing brush on the flip side and the sponge is big and it looks like it holds a lot. But I have to deal with the water. And, oh that water was yucky! Also, after 10 minutes of mopping, I was so hot and out of breath, I couldn't even finish the whole floor. I do think it will get us started though, in the right direction. Jeff has Monday off, so we are going to clean that floor all day! I've got to get rid of the dirt, and I think it's going to take a mopping everyday or every-other-day at the least to keep it looking the way I want it to. Is that right? Everyday mopping? I've never heard of that, and I've never seen anyone do that. So tell me, what do you all do? How often do you mop your kitchen floors? I really want to know! :)

So, here I go, fluff, fluff, fluff. I'm fluffing these feathers and getting the nest ready, and we're ready for Alex to be here!

Fall Time Happeneings

Well, things have considerably slowed down for me! Adie and I will be able to enjoy our time at home with no other things to think about for two full weeks! Yay! We have been playing games, with balls, watching princess movies, cuddling, reading books. Today, we brought out the stocking I'm going to make for Alex and she is very interested in being involved in that! So, I guess we will look at some more crafts to get into. We are also going to be cleaning up some things for Alex: his bathtub, the bath seat, learning seat, car seat. I'm just so ready for him to be here, it's fun getting ready! The ladies at church gave us a shower on Monday. They were all so sweet to do that! When asked what we are needing, all I could come up with was diapers. One of the ladies said something so funny, "Real ones or fake ones?" I couldn't answer for a minute, it took a while to figure out what she was saying, I think I was just so confused by the fake diaper question! So, we got six pkgs of "fake" diapers! A few very cute outfits, a few bibs, someone made a little blanket - so cute, and a new toy. That was about it, all such wonderful gifts - thank you friends! We've got about 6 weeks, and I can't believe it, it's coming so fast!

Jeff has decided he likes taking Jo to school on his way to work. Jo likes it too. So, the mornings have been slightly less rushed. I think Adie likes keeping her "jamas" on longer in the morning! School is still going well, he's getting more comfortable there. They have already sent home two fund-raisers this year! Ahh!!! For one of them, we were to find family who would support him. So we made a couple phone calls. I never liked doing fund-raisers when I was younger and I still don't. It's just not fun asking people for money. When we called my mom, I told her that the part of school we didn't like has arrived. She laughed. It was rather funny. So, the grandparents are going to help out with that one! The second one, on the envelope, it specifically said that he was not to go door knocking. That's nice, I wasn't looking forward to doing that kind. Jeff has taken it to work and hopefully we will get a couple of people to help Jo out. Oh, fund-raisers, aren't they wonderful! But they're for a good reason, the school's got to get money from somewhere, and not all the parents can fork out all the money they need for things!

Something else that has Jo excited is the Fall field trip coming up at the end of the month! He thought it was going to be the 5th, I had to explain to him that it won't be until the 25th. He was a little disappointed, but he's still excited! They need parent volunteers, I think Adie and I will try and get in on that one, it will be fun to go with his class! There is also a book fair coming up and they asked for parent volunteers. A couple weeks ago, Jeff described me as a "yes ma'am." Apparently I've been saying yes to way too many things in the last several weeks. He very gently told me that I should really say no to this one. It was hard, but saying no actually made me feel pretty good, I won't have too much to worry about. I've got a baby on the way!

Jo is loving soccer. We had our third game Saturday and he did great. We were also told of a clinic after the game. We went to that and Jo really got a lot out of it. He says he really likes the game. I wonder what the future holds... This Saturday, the kids have a double header. All the teams this fall will have one. His first game is at 9 am! Ahh!!! That means an early morning! The second will be at 11 am. So we'll have time in between for a snack and a little break. One of the things I've loved about this, (just one small thing), his appetite has gone up! He's eating quite a bit more these days. Keep that boy active, huh? Love it. :)

Well, I suppose I should really go now. Hope you all are having a great week!

Happy Anniversary! . . . and other news

Yesterday was a very special day. Jeff celebrated his second year with nF. We are so excited and are looking forward to more years to come. Jeff sent me a fwd with a message from the president of the company. This message was very sweet and was reassuring that they are looking forward to more years with Jeff on their team. It also mentioned the fact that we will most likely be in Phx one day, but the timing is just not right these days. He told me last night that they sent him a bunch of balloons yesterday. It was neat. I know he feels good to be with such an incredible company. We are so blessed and thankful to God for opening the door to nF! Now, I have yet to meet these wonderful people and, in fact, his boss is in town today but as usual, he will be leaving after work to head back to Phx.

In other news, we had an OB apt today and scheduled our surgery to be on Nov. 15th. The ball is rolling! Ahh!!! That officially brings the number of days until we get to hold him to 49! That is seven weeks from right now. Wow. Woohoo!

Finally!!

Alright, so it's been a while since I posted pictures and I've needed to for a while. I post a few here, but I'm going to be making full albums at our new shutterfly account. The link is over on the right side under family albums. I'll try to get them all over today. I've got a little time to do this, it's nap time and I've got a lasagna in the crockpot!

Here are a few pictures from Jo playing soccer so far...


Their coaches are great men. Everyone is there to just have a bunch of fun!






And here is a picture from Adie's birthday. We didn't have a big party, it was just the four of us, but Adie was the princess for the day!

Happy Birthday Adie!

Mommy, will you write a story about this?

I love our little Jo! Saturday evening, we were out back pulling weeds and Jo asked me to "write a story" about our time. He calls blogging, writing a story.

Jo decided that we were harvesting corn. It was fun pretend for all of us. He was getting ready to cook all of that corn for us and was so excited about it all! I think Adie was getting ready to make it soup. She kept adding the wood chips and stiring it around. They were both being so cute about it all! I'm glad we got those weeds pulled, it is looking nicer out there. Hopefully this week, I can get some mums and bring some color to the yard.

I had some flowers earlier this summer, but the heat really killed it all. We have a flower pot outside our living room window, but Jeff had to get on a ladder and take it down for us to plant in. It was very heavy too. I wasn't too excited about him pulling it down again, so we've just left it. Lately, the temps have cooled down and we've had a few rain showers and the flowers are blooming again! I think they are impatients. It is nice to look out our window and see the pretty colors again. :)

Friday, the kids and I went out on a drive. We headed out to MO and did a little looking around for a place called the Red Barn Farm. It sounds very similar to the Dewberry Farm we went to last year! Well, our search was unsuccessful, but I'll find it on line and get a map. Hopefully this Saturday we can take a family trip out there! That will be so fun! However, our drive was still enjoyable and we did find something that will be cool this winter, if I can just remember that I saw it! There is a place for skiing and tubing. It looked like a place our youth group went to a few times while I was in high school. I would love for us to take a snow trip this year and show the kids some real snow fun! We'll see!

Jo is doing quite well in school; in classes AND socially! Apparently there are at least a couple of girls that really have taken a liking to him! I don't know if you could say it is a crush, but it sure is aweful cute! And, the best part of all, Jo is oblivious! There is one girl, Elizabeth, that drew him several pictures last week. She drew several hearts and wrote both of their names and put them in circles together. On one page, she wrote his name several times and even put one in a heart! When Jeff saw them, he thought they were cute, then it hit him, they were from one girl! He looked at me and said, "This is more than I got the entire time I was in school!" I then told him not to worry, I wrote our names together many times and put his name in hearts a lot while we were dating. ;) We both chuckled a little. Oh, *sigh*, our baby boy is in school! Ahh!!! I'm just glad that he's more worried about doing good in his classes than impressing the girls.

Adie has made a step since she turned 3 Thursday! We took the binki away completely. She had only been using it when she was in bed (naps and night). Now, she is totally binki free. These days have been so much better than I geared up for. She has accepted it so well! Thursday morning after she woke up, we got all of her binkis and put them in a box. She is such a giving little girl and so caring, we came up with something that might make the initial part easier. After getting them into the box, she was very curious and asked what the binkis were doing. We told here that we were sending them to the "binki factory." Here they would fix the binkis up and make them brand new for other babies. Then she said, "For baby Alex?" She was okay with them going away, as long as they would be getting ready for baby Alex. She periodically asks where they are and makes sure that baby Alex will get his. Such a sweetie! Adie's birthday was a lot of fun. This year was the year of just family celebrations. It was nice to have a quiet year of parties and not a lot of big planning. Adie and I did work together to make her a castle cake. A new experience for me and so much fun for her! We've got pictures, and I'll be posting several soon.

Speaking of baby Alex. We've got about 8 more weeks! I'll be discussing the time with our doc this week. It's wierd that we are this close. I'm so ready to be done, my bones and ligaments have been hurting pretty bad for a while now and I'm just ready to hold him. He is very active though! We've had several ultrasounds the last few weeks and he's been breech a couple of weeks. He likes to jump on the bladder a lot! I've also been having some heart burn, supposedly that is supposed to mean lots of hair! I didn't experience that much heart burn with Jo or Adie, and they both had so much hair! Hmmm...what could that mean for Alex? We've also been wondering what kind of little boy he's going to be. Jo was always extremely active when any kind of music was going on, especially singing at church. And we all know his love for music now! Adie seemed at times to do Jazzercise in utero and she is quite the acrobat now! Alex has been active, but so so so different from the others. He seems to move more when there is nothing else going on and it is quiet. We are excited to meet him and get to know who God has created him to be!

Oh, goodness. There is just so much to write about! Jo is still thoroughly enjoying soccer, Adie even wants to get in on the action now! Jeff and I have been very active with the church and we met with the education team on Saturday. Things are going well, just incredibly active!

Encouragement from Paul

Romans 8:18-39

"I consider that our present suffereings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.

We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercededs for the saints in accordance with God's will.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justfied; those he justified, he also glorified.

What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all -- how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whome God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died -- more than that, who was raised to life -- is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:

For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

emphasis added

"Sorry, Mom!"

Adie and I just got back from dropping Jo off at school. He seems to be adjusting fairly well. I'm so proud of him! This morning, though, as I was hugging him (while he was getting out of the van), he gasped and said, "Oh, Emily!" He took off running and yelled back to me, "Sorry, Mom! I didn't have time to hug you!" He ran as hard as he could to get inside and I guess find his little friend, Emily. I guess that's the first of many times he'll run after an adorable girl and not have time to hug me good bye. Right now, it's just friendly, and cute. But one day, THE girl will come and that will be it. Wow! I can't believe he's almost 6!

I love you little guy...

Already the 14th?!

I can't believe that we are half way through September already. Today is the first time in several days that I don't have to run somewhere or do something (well, until tonight, and I'll be taking something to Jo's class after lunch). Jo is really enjoying soccer, we all are actually! He's had three practices and the first game is tomorrow morning! I do have pictures, just need to get them on. Adie is doing good, she misses playing with Jo, but she's getting used to it. She is also ready to be 3! We are doing a castle cake for her and she has been asking me if we can go ahead and make it, she's ready for her birthday! It's quite adorable. Alex is getting bigger everyday and he moves so much! We'll be holding him so soon, I can't wait.
Well, I've got to get off now. Time to cuddle with Adie and just enjoy the cooler day and get ready for the weekend.
Hopefully I can write more next week.

Fall

It is amazing to me how from one day to the next, it seems that the seasons change. I guess that it hasn't been that drastic, but it has felt like it. As soon as we turned the calendar to September, the season of Fall began to appear. The sun has obviously been changing (the sun comes up later and goes down a little earlier each day), and cooler temperatures are beginning to settle in - finally! I have been eagerly awaiting this to come! This morning, I sat down to read and then a little voice popped into my head, "Sendy, get upstairs and do something with your daughter!" She was very content, coloring in the book that was setting on her floor. But there was something missing. God has given me these few precious months to spend with her and they are speeding by! After talking for a few minutes, we decided to go out on a walk. Sure, I've got several things that "need" to be done, but today, they are just going to have to wait! I'm even too tired to walk, but I could use the exercise. God was really tugging on my heart to go with her. We walked quite a ways, I was surprised that I made it that far. It's been getting harder to move around, this little boy is growing! As we went down the stairs, we talked about which way to go and Adie pointed her adorable little finger in one direction and said that she really wanted to go "straight." It was cute. So we walked. Well, she galluped along while I snailed on behind her. She kept turning around and saying, "Come on, MOM!" She was very sweet now and then to stop and wait for me and she did mind the rules we've set about not crossing the streets. But as we walked, the breeze felt wonderful and we even saw leaves begin to fall on the ground. I saw things in our neighborhood that I didn't know were there and enjoyed the new scenery. And now, as I sit here at my desk (that we recently decided to move up from the basement into the kitchen), looking out the window, I'm seeing more leaves fall to the ground, clouds in sky and the air conditioner is blowing on me. It is making me want to go get a blanket and warm up with some hot chocolate! It's the atmosphere that I love. Cooler days (yes, I realize the air conditioner is blowing on me - it's making me think of it!) are what we really love. We can't wait for the thick of fall to be here! I'm told the trees here are absolutely beautiful with the many colors their leaves change. I can't wait to witness a beautiful transformation of seasons, and to share all the exciting fall activities that happen with my family!

---------------------------------------------------------------

Today is the day! Today is the day!
We have been waiting so long for this day to come! (Can you tell we get excited about so much - even the simplest things in life?)

Jo starts soccer today! His practices will be Tuesday and Thursday and games will be on Saturdays! I'm really looking forward to all the fun this will bring! Oh, and another exciting thing to add to this, his coach happens to be the husband of his kindergarten teacher!
Hopefully many writings to come about soccer! Maybe, just maybe I'll have a picture to post tomorrow too!

Here's to a happy fall to all of you, I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
Blessings.
~S

God's Amazing World

We were extremely priviledged to witness an amazing transformation in God's creation recently. We did not see everything happen, but we saw each stage and it was incredible! A couple of weeks ago, a caterpillar climbed it's way up the wall that makes our driveway. The next day, Jo saw it in the last stages of making the chrysalis. He was ecstatic! We watched it day by day and about a week later, we saw this chrysalis moving! We didn't think to sit there and watch it, we didn't know how long it would take for the butterfly to emerge. However, within an hour, walking back outside, we saw a beautiful brand-new butterfly sitting next to the empty chrysalis! It was gorgeous! During that time, I saw another caterpillar do the same thing and I actually saw this one flapping it's wings slowly and climbing up the wall. They both had a fuzzy look and the colors were so vibrant. We are so thankful to God that we were able to witness his hands at work.

This one was the second one that I saw later on.

Makin Changes!

Just hooked up a computer in our basement. We are trying to get good signals down there. Laptop may be going down soon, so we need to make some changes! Don't know how often I'll be on email or blogger.
Will blog as often as possible!

Love to you all.

Mini Van

Alright folks! A few months ago, we were thinking about the idea of a minivan. Just thinking about it. We went to a couple of dealerships and looked at a few, even test drove one. And then we knew what to expect. At that time, we decided that it just wasn't the right time to get one and eventually we would know the right time. We've been keeping our eyes open this summer, while at the same time, taking care of a few things. Then recently a friend of ours from church came to us. He works for one of the dealerships we had visited. He asked us how things were going and wanted to know what had come of our search. He wanted to meet with Jeff to see what they could do for us. Tuesday night last week, Jeff went in and we were not expecting to be able to get one just yet, that we would have to wait a little longer, but he wanted to help. When Jeff came home, he told me that he didn't have bad news. We couldn't believe that we were going to be able to get one! We just didn't realize that it would be so soon! He told me about the one he had seen and we would later look at, but he was hoping to get us a red one. Thursday night, after Jeff got home, we had dinner and went to check out the van that he had seen Tuesday night. Oh, I might add that they were having a great big tent sale last week as well! When we showed up, there was our friend, walking over to us and waved us toward a beautiful red van. It didn't click with me, but this was the van that our friend wanted us to check out. And Jeff hadn't seen it. By the end of that night, we had gone home inside that thing! I thought we were just going to test drive and think things over again! Not once Thursday did I think we would have a van sitting in our driveway that night. I wanted to have a picture to post on here, but that will have to wait. We'll take that this weekend. I have been in unbelief and that is why I posted that last week, I just kept thinking that something would come up that we wouldn't be able to keep it! I guess we are on an uphill! WOW, I'm a minivan-driving soccer mom now! (Oh, and for another post to some soon, Jonathan is supposed to be starting soccer within the next week!)
Have a great day everyone!

"Tag!"

I've Been Tagged!!!! Actually I've been tagged by two people (so far). I went to check out my sister's blog (Tereasa) and found that I'd been tagged! And then at another friend's blog, she had tagged me with a different one! It's been a busy week of apts. and school and other things. Blogging has had to go on the back burner, but I've been slowly working on some posts. Hopefully soon, I can get to my other tag list. I hope you enjoy this list! I enjoy reading them, and then putting them together. (Thanks!)

FIVE THINGS I WAS DOING TEN YEARS AGO
1) high school - senior year
2) planning for college
3) working at a bank
4) youth group
5) being a kid

FAVORITE SNACK FOOD (Just 5???)
1) muddy buddies!
2) dark chocolate
3) trail mix
4) crackers and cheese
5) nachos

FIVE SONGS I KNOW ALL THE LYRICS TO
1) This World is Not My Home
2) Twinkle Little Star
3) Jesus Loves Me/Loves the Little Children
4) Books of the Bible
5) Love You Forever

FIVE THINGS I WOULD DO IF I WERE A MILLIONAIRE
1) Give to the church
2) Pay off all debt
3) Invest
4) Donate to a children's home
5) Help family

FIVE BAD HABITS
1) Not reading enough
2) Not doing the fun things enough
3) Sweets!
4) Perfectionism
5) TV

FIVE THINGS I LIKE TO DO
1) be a mom
2) spend time with family
3) spend time with friends
4) think of fond memories, and making them
5) dream about the future

FIVE THINGS I WILL NEVER WEAR AGAIN
1) my high school formal
2) high heels
3) rompers
4) shoulder pads
5) lots of bangs and matted so high!

FIVE PEOPLE I TAG FOR THIS
Amanda P (Jeremy and Amanda)
Stacey
Lisa
Rebecca
Amanda T

Just wondering...

Okay, I just got off the phone with a preschool that Adie had been on the wait list for. They've got an opening! However, I've discovered this summer that the preschools here do not accept children who have not been potty trained. I don't really understand that. Everywhere else we have lived, we've been able to find terrific preschools to get Jonathan into! The first one we had him in, he wasn't potty trained yet and that was no problem! The second, I knew that in the younger classes, it would have been no problem either. In fact, we nearly had Adie going last fall! I'm more than thrilled to be spending time with my daughter, but she is anxious to go to school! She wants to be like her big brother. It would be nice if we could find what Lubbock and Belton had. I guess we'll just have to wait till next year. Oh to find a group of moms who stay home with their children to get some good kid time for our daughter. I guess that is my next mission!

Is this real?

Don't have time to really write, 15 minutes till we gotta get Jo. But, right now, there is a beautiful red caravan sitting in our driveway. All I can say is, "Is it for real? Surely something is going to come up and we won't get to keep it." Is it real, or too good to be true?

??Bad Luck?? ~ Happiness found where the Ranch is made ~ Hidden Valley!

Long title, I know. Stick with me, I think it will make sense.

Instead of doing what I really should be doing right now, that is cleaning, organizing, and MORE cleaning, I've decided to actually take a break and write a little today. So, what's this about the bad luck and Hidden Valley? It's a story about our weekend. We don't really believe in "bad luck" but I've got to tell you that if there ever was a bad luck day in our life, last Friday was it. We got Jo off to school just fine, but after that... Well, lets just say maybe this heat has just gone on a little too much! Adie and I were both irritable and cranky most of the day. She refused to take a real nap and was just in one of those moods. We got to see Jeff for lunch and he said that things just weren't going too peachy at work that day (things are fine, it was just one of those days there too). We all tried to settle down that afternoon. When Adie and I picked up Jo, he seemed to be in a bad mood as well, but we all tried to get around it. Since it was Friday (we have decided that we would do something fun every Friday night, and not worry about bed time either), we decided to go to one last baseball game. We got ready and headed out. When we got to the ball-park, it was packed! Getting the tickets, they told us that there was lawn seating available so we thought that would be fun. Both kids were really looking forward to another game and so we went for it anyway. As soon as we walked through the gate, it became pretty apparent that we would have a difficult time finding a seat! It was crazy! After walking around for 30 minutes trying to find the lawn seating we were informed about, there was nothing available. We didn't know what to do! Everyone was ready to find a place to relax, ready to eat (yes, we waited until the game to eat - and the game didn't start until 7), and just wanted to end a frustrating day with something fun for the family. That was obviously not going to happen, so Jeff and I made the decision to go ahead and leave, we'd try again the next day. By the time we got back to the car, it was 8 and both kids were so sad. We finally found something to eat (late night, I know) and got the kids home and into bed. Just ended the day and wanted to try again "tomorrow." Oh, and I was wanting a Taco Salad from Taco Bell that night so Jeff was very sweet to head out and get one. One car in front of him...he pulled up to make his order and instead of hearing, "Welcome to Taco Bell, can I take your order?" he heard, "We just closed" What!? It wasn't even 10:00 yet! Hmmm... So, not everything went the way any of us wanted (okay, and so maybe a little more planning would have helped - we like to be spontaneous now and then!)...but then came the Hidden Valley.

After a meeting that morning for Jeff and me, we headed out to the ball park. We were going to buy tickets early for the game that night. All seats were sold out, but there was lawn seating available again! Ha! We learned that lesson "last night." Well, there are more games available at the end of the month, so there is the planning we made - two weeks from this past Friday, we will make it to our last game of the year. Whew! Got that done. Now, to just concentrate on now, do something fun for now. We kind of wanted to make up for the crummy day we had just had. Well, we figured something out and went out on a drive. We kind of got lost actually! It was quite funny though. We headed out to MO and found ourselves in exploring mode. We were looking for a street and kept seeing signs for it, but they weren't very clear. On one road, Jeff and I were talking and enjoying just being together and laughing at all the previous events. We ended up in a beautiful area, and still inside KC, but it didn't look like city at all. It was a beautiful area, lots of amazing homes, large lots, probably a few ranches out there. We'd love to live there. It was so great, it was like a "hidden valley!" We even kind of joked about it being the Hidden Valley. But we began to think we were going down the wrong road and thought we should turn around. By now, the kids had fallen asleep. But shortly after turning around, Jo woke up and asked where we were. Jeff and I looked at each other and said, "Hidden Valley." Finally, we came to an intersection and looked to see what the name of the streets were to try and find the one we were originally looking for. We could not believe what we read. The street we had been driving on, was indeed ~ Hidden Valley. Perspective came back to us and we realized that our drive down through the Hidden Valley, just getting back down on the ground, we had found our true happiness. It doesn't matter how much "bad luck" one may experience, how many or few things don't go our way. God has a "hidden valley" tucked away for us all to gain our perspective back.

School Dayz! and the Zzzz...

Well, this week has been quite busy! We've been working on our new routine and getting settled into that. We've got some getting used to this one! Then in a few months, it will all be changed again with the baby coming! The first day of school was good. Jonathan was both excited and nervous - the nervous that I think everyone has before their first day of something. He went shining though. In the picture in the previous post, he was just waiting to get in the car. When I saw how it turned out, it meant so much more than just waiting to me. It was our son looking to the future! A new chapter had begun. When he came home on Wednesday, we sat in the kitchen and had a snack, talking about his day. It was great and a tradition that I hope we've started. Yesterday morning was a little more difficult. We've got to work on our Wednesday night schedule. The kids went to bed late and Jo didn't want to get up! He actually said, "I need more time to wake up!" He has never said that! What a change! When we picked him up, his teacher was very quick to say that he is doing great and is a model student. We are so proud of him! This morning went a little more smoothly than yesterday, but the wake up times are definitely more difficult on us all! We will get better at it. We are so thankful that it is Friday and we have the weekend to rest (well sort of) and we can celebrate making it through the first week of school!
Adie and I are just about to walk out the door to go register Jo for soccer! That will be some fun stories coming up at the end of August (I think that is when it starts)! I've been super tired at night this week and just haven't had the time to get on and write about all I've had on the mind, but hopefully tonight or maybe tomorrow. I was asleep by 9:15 last night! Whew!
Until next time!...

A new chapter has begun...

Our trip to NM was an awesome ending to our summer! Now, a new chapter has begun and our new adventure is well on its way! Adie and I dropped Jo off at his first day of school nearly three hours ago and we are doing pretty good. It is great to be back from our trip and I'm excited to get all the pictures uploaded to the album. We were also able to meet a new nephew! Let me just say that last week was the week of cousins for Jo and Adie. It was fantastic. Adie and I are about to get lunch ready and then we will do some girl things. We've been unpacking some boxes down in the garage and that is moving along great - we are nearly done with all of them! Can't wait to have some time to write all I've got on the mind. So many things to blog about...

Until next time!

Packing Day!

Well, today is the day. We PACK!!! The kids have been going nuts all week. Both so ready to go. Very antsy! Me too! Jeff has been looking forward to a vacation from work and I think the week has been rather long for him. He's been saying he's ready all week long. Lots to do today!
We better get to work.
Have a great week everyone!

Just a few thoughts

I wanted to get this down before we leave on our trip. We have a book that has a great poem in one of the chapters. For now, just the poem, but when we get back, more on these thoughts to come.

Do You Just Belong?

Are you an active member
The kind that would be missed,
Or are you just content
To have your name on the list?

Do you attend the meetings
And mingle with the flock,
Or do you stay at home instead
And criticize and knock?

Do you take an active part
To help the work along?
Or are you satisfied
To be a "just belong"?

Do you ever go and visit
With the members who are sick,
Or leave the work to just a few,
And talk about the "clique"?

Think this all over, member,
You must know right from wrong,
Are you an active member
Or do you just belong?

Author unknown

Just a random blog, rambling on

Well, it is nap time, so I thought I'd get on and say hello and hopefully stop by to see some friends. :) It's a little sticky outside today so we are staying in mostly. We headed out to the stores today to get a few things. We are getting ready for a trip out of town Saturday and we are so excited! We picked up a few flashlights. We are going to be at a camp for three days and we will need the flash lights as soon as the sun starts going down. I was lucky enough to find two flash lights that were favorites to Jo and Adie! He is still so into cars and we found one that is from the Disney movie. She absolutely loves princesses and we found one with that too! It was fun to get those for the kids. We are gearing up for quite a week of fun. Some people are going to be bring instruments, so Jeff and I are taking the guitar and the dulcimer. We are not great players, but we love to have fun with them! Tuesday night, everyone will be getting there. Wednesday night, we'll have a devo. Thursday night is, I guess you could say "tallent" night. That should be interesting. Maybe more of a jam night! I'll write about it when we get back. And then Friday after breakfast, everyone heads out. We will be making our way back toward KS, hopefully we'll make it home at a reasonable time Saturday evening. I'm looking forward to seeing my family, Jeff is looking forward to seeing everyone as well. There are 6 young ones who will all enjoy seeing each other and two are very new to the whole group! My neice and nephew. Jo and Adie haven't met them yet and they are so excited to! Oh, I just can't wait! This will be so much fun! I've got the digital camera emptied out and ready for tons of great pictures. We've got our list of things to pack up. I'll be making trail mix today or tomorrow. We'll be packing everything up tomorrow and loading up the car on Friday, leaving as early as possible Saturday morning! We'll see how early that is!
So that is it for now. More when we return.

What's that noise Mommy?

Last week, we heard a loud grinding sound outside our place. When the kids asked what it was, we looked outside, and right away I knew that this was going to be a fun morning for them.


We had tractors right next to our place! And the best part was that we were quickly able to see that they were going to be fixing the HUGE pot hole that has been in our alley since before we moved here! It's an alley by definition of the word, but it is mostly used as a tiny road for a few of the houses here. We actually share a parking space with our neighbors (in the duplex) and so this is where Jeff has pulled in after work everyday. It is so nice that the hole is gone! That will also make this winter easier for getting rid of the slick ice.


But back to the kids. It was really fun to sit down with the kids and watch them enjoy seeing the construction workers. We talked about the tractors and how the men were all working as a team. Talk about teachable moments!

Who Am I? (part 2)

To finally be back, and do something I needed to a few weeks ago, maybe just a couple weeks. Here I am. This is Sendy. A special friend made a request to hear more about who I am, and Jeff as well (I suppose). Hopefully I can get him to agree to get on this blog and do a little writing himself someday. But for now, to go into a deeper answer for my friend. A long time ago, my hearts desires were to just have fun and live a happy life! Those are still pretty much the same, but a few things have changed, well, sort of. Keep reading to hear about the interests and hobbies that have made Sendy who she is over the years. It ended up being a long entry, but each part is equally important.

Something that used to be HUGE in my life and still is in heart and in my thoughts, track. I ran track in middle and high school. Those years were disrupted by stress fractures my junior year. I finished running track shining, though, and always thought that one day I'd be back in the thick of it all. For now, that is not the case. As you all know, my life is majoring in family!
My interests were also in the culunary arts. I didn't know it then, but I loved and do love to cook and BAKE! Adding the kids, though, has made it tough sometimes. But I'm getting back into the hang of it! While I was in high school I remember enjoying the time that I got in the kitchen, not that it was a lot. But when I was there I loved it. My favorites have always been cookies. I found a way to make them really soft while in high school and I love to make different kinds! When I went to college, a dear friend and I would have several late nights in the dorm kitchen (remember, dear friend?), we would spend time cooking very simple noodle or rice dishes in our little rinky dink pots and pans. They were what we had and they worked perfectly! It was wonderful time that we had together and we would have lots of laughs together. Those were most likely the nights that we were staying up working on our papers for the English class we took together. Boy, that was a laugh! We pulled a couple all nighters together and those were so fun. One night, in that very kitchen, I made my very first cake that began my exploration into cake decorating. This particular cake was for Jeff. He was turning 20 and several of our friends and I planned a whole surprise party for him. I didn't have the money to buy a big cake for him and I wanted to MAKE it for him anyway - I guess a way of showing LOVE. It wasn't that pretty, but I made it and it was fun, everyone thought it tasted pretty good too. After Jeff and I got married, my cooking went into high gear and I discovered that I love the kitchen! A couple years later, I discovered a cake decorating class and realized potential in the confectionary arts! However, before getting any further down either of those roads, real quick, heading back before being a mommy or even a wife, I'll go into another interest - or I guess hobby that I was into.
Pictures and SCRAPBOOKING! I have always love photography and during my freshman year in college, I was introduced to the world of scrapbooking. Fell in love with it! For as much as I liked it, I only have one real scrapbook and I've yet to finish Jo's first year! I quickly discovered that it could be an expensive hobby and one that I ought to put off for a while. It is so fun and I truly enjoyed it. We have a very good size shoe box full of pictures that need to be organized and later on put into scrapbooks, but that is going to have to wait! But now, fortunately we were blessed with the gift of a digital camera shortly after Adie was born and my love for photography has exploded! One day I sat in the kitchen with Adie in her chair and I think I took nearly 50 pictures of her in 15 minutes! I was experimenting with the different ways the camera could be used and just capturing every smile or adorable look I could. Thank you Richard and Eva! Now, I've discovered the fastest way to get my scrapbooking done. Granted, it doesn't have all the cutsie little stickers and fun stuff, but for now, I'm keeping up with what's going on and we have books to go back and reminisce with. But I love going to imagestation and uploading our photos and then, in time I've been able to make two awesome books chronicling some great times in our life! Currently, Jo and I are working together to make Adie's first year book. He's loved looking at his (what I've got of it), but he wants to see his sister's! That's one thing I'd like to finish before baby boy is here! Let's see, photography and scrapbooking are done.
Ah, back to cooking - I've done a lot of experimenting in the last seven years and have found some great things to make. Jeff and I often find ourselves watching the Food Network, learning neat things. We both really want to start perfecting our grilling! I'd love to get back into making chili. During our first year being married, I entered a chili cook-off at the OC apts. It was really fun to get involved, but Oklahoma was not ready for the chili I made. See, where I come from, chili is not all about the meat and beans. It's about GREEN CHILIS and the red ones too! Mmmmm...Mmmmm...Mmmmm...Mmmmm...Mmmmm! Those are some good things and they are hot! So, I spent some time figuring out what I was going to put into my "chili". When I finally figured it all out, Jeff and a friend of ours told me that it was pretty good! I even thought it tasted okay. So, I was ready for the big day. It came, I cooked all afternoon and then we headed over to the Nowlen Center. I was so excited! I couldn't wait to see and hear what people thought! The way it all went down, everyone there to try, got in line and tried all the entries at first, then they took their tickets to what their favorite pick was to get a whole bowl. As the line went by, a few tried ours, and we got several interesting looks. Not even one person came back for the "Greenjeans Chili". I was pretty embarassed and a little sad, we packed up as soon as we could tell it was over and took it home. We did go back to hear who the winners were, but it hurt just a little. That's the sensitive side of me I guess. My first mistake - the name. I hadn't thought about it, but they asked the name of our "team." I thought, okay, well, this is Jeff and me, we are the Greens, why not go with Greenjeans! That was something Jeff had told me about. I think that kind of weirded people out and they just weren't sure of it. A bunch of people who know about Cowboy chili - seeing "Green" in a chili cook off! Hmm...interesting! My second mistake - not taking this chili to NM! After telling my mom about it, she said that NM would have eaten it up! Ha! Maybe, I don't know. After that day, I just forgot the whole idea of making chili and forgot the recipe. Now, I'd love to get back into it!
About a year and a half later, somehow, the idea of decorating cakes came to mind. Jeff let me take a class at the local hobby store and I knew right away that I found something that would stay with me for the rest of my life! Since then, I've made and experimented with several cakes. What makes it great is that I get to create something fun or beautiful and I get to watch people smile and enjoy it! I love the way my children squeal when they see their birthday cakes. I've also been priviledged to make cakes for a couple of friends. One asked me to make one for her friend's wedding shower. What an honor, I thought! I couldn't believe that someone thought my cakes were that nice. It was also a great challenge, building something that took more than just a pan and cake mix. Now, the greatest challenge came when another friend called me and told me that she wanted me to do her wedding cake! I was extremely honored, but at the same time I was so nervous! 100+ people would see this and possibly eat this thing! What a challenge and what an honor! I loved baking that cake for my friend and I would do it again! Definitely a learning experience too! After those two big events and a few other small things I've done personally, I know that one day, I'd love to be in the confectionary business! A friend of ours even helped me come up with a name and Jeff has helped me make a logo! Now, I just have to have everything else in order - years from now! Ha!
Now for TRACK. Just the word tugs on my heart. It brings back so many memories. I thought that I would run track forever. I had a huge plan of going to the olympics one day (that was a dream that I spoke of many times in 7th grade and thought about for many years). But perhaps there was a reason that those stress fractures entered my life. Without that day the doctor told me that running was out for a while, my life might be very different right now. And I love the life I have! My thoughts were also in having a great training program one day with my dad. Well, with the way my family moves around these days, there's no telling where we will end up and there's no way my parents are going to move around with us! So the dad and daughter idea kind of left the house a long time ago. I thought that track was out of my life forever. Until a year ago, I guess. One day, I got on-line and did some searching around. I discovered that, just a couple hours away, there is a place that I can go to and take some classes (I think in just a couple days time) and become certified to be a coach! There are quite a bit more details than just that, but it got my gears moving in that direction again! Then, several weeks ago, when our family started walking at the track just down the street from our house, all the emotions hit me again. Track is in my blood and I just don't know how to explain it. There is just a feeling that comes across my entire body when I think about it. When I walked up that hill for the first time, as the field became visible, all I could do was just look at it for a minute. As my feet touched the track, every emotion from my track days came rushing in. Everything I saw, felt, and heard at the track meets and during practice surrounded me. With every breath I took I could hear the running, the cheering, I could feel the air speeding by as I ran, I remembered the adrenalin rush and I even remembered what the track smelled like when I was in the blocks. Track was my life for so long and when I entered that field that evening, those days came back to me. I know that one day it will be part of my life again. It is who I am. I will never run like I did again, but it will never leave me. And now, an extra exciting thing for me, when we go, my little Jo loves to just run and run! He's been running two laps each time we've gone! Who knows, maybe I've got a little runner in the making! We'll see what he decides to do!

Well, as I sit down to write today, I am nearly in tears. I just finished reading an email from the school district. It was pretty much just a newsletter. I cannot believe that we are at this point in our life already! The thoughts filling my mind at the moment, for who I am is a mother, am I really ready for this? Are we going to be able to handle all that comes with school? My baby is not a baby anymore, where has the time gone? This week is enrollment, supposedly we've already filled out most of the paperwork, but I've got a few things to check on. My nerves are in high gear, almost as if I'm getting ready for my first day of school! I hope I get it all right. What is his teacher going to be like? What about the kids in his class? Are they nice? Will he be okay? He's going all day long, what will I do with him gone? Is he going to lean on what we've spent so much time teaching him? What if he gets scared? What if he gets lost? I won't be there, I have to let go. Oh, my, I just don't know if I can do this. Okay, the flood gates have opened, and the tears are rolling. MY BABY IS GROWING UP!

Who am I? It's actually quite simple! Sendy. A wife. A mother. I am a student of life. I am a teacher to my children and hopefully sometimes to those around me. I've got a past with many memories and I love to remember. I've made many mistakes, but I try to learn from each one! I have many, many, many interests and I've had a few hobbies. As I learn and grow each year new things enter my life and my experiences expand! I am stubborn, sometimes hard-headed, and extremely passionate about some things, but I always have love in my heart. I've got a few friends that I've been able to hold on to for many years and with each new place we move to, I gain more. All of the people in my life contribute to a piece of who I am and I'm forever thankful to you all! I hope that you have enjoyed this little peak into the bigger portrait of who God made me to be.

And the word is...

What a wonderful time we had yesterday! The appointment was in the morning at 10 am. Jeff was able to come along and so we had a family affair! It was so fun! Jo couldn't wait to go and find out if he is going to have a brother and up until we got in the room, Adie was just enjoying the family time. When we got to the hospital, both kids were asking about the hospital. What kind of place is it? What do those words say? Is this where our baby is? It was quite cute. After waiting for just a few minutes, we headed back to the room and Adie got very interested. She was curious about the monitor and started looking forward to seeing a movie of her baby! When things got started, they both thought it was pretty cool. Jeff and I were just amazed at God's creation. It never fails. Every time I've seen our children on that screen, my heart just gets bigger! I love that day. Everything looked perfect, the head was beautiful. The profile was exactly like Jo's and Adie's. The heart was perfect. We even saw a little wave of the hand! I just can't wait to hold this hand in mine. All the way down to the legs, everything was perfect. The two feet were absolutely adorable! And when we saw who this will be, our hearts were elated! It was such a mystery for so long, this day was such an anticipated day for us all. Adie wanted to know if she will have a little sister to have tea with and Jo wanted to know if he will have a brother to play sports with. Jeff and I just wanted to know which way our life is headed! We had the strongest feeling in one direction and we were so sure that this would be. What is it? Oh, what is it? When she zoomed in and we saw that our son is on his way, the whole room was filled with joy. Even Adie had a smile on her face. She seemed a little surprised and even had a few funny comments to say, but now she can't wait to meet her little brother! Jo is extatic and has already planned out the next five years of sports. He's ready to teach his little brother everything. Adie is still planning on having tea and sharing her toys with baby brother. Jeff is thrilled as well. He's looking forward to all of their boys times, the games and workin on the yard together, getting out and camping, everything that boys do. My intuition was correct. Everything inside of me was telling me that this is a boy and I knew it from about the sixth or eigth week. It is so fun for us all to have our dreams and our plans. Life is great! Now, to get ready because the next four months are going to speed by! And we also got official word on our actual due date ~ Nov 22 Thanksgiving Day!

What Shall It Be?

Today is the day! Today is the day! In just over two hours we should be in a room looking at a screen with the image of God's beautiful creation! It won't be long until the mystery is revealed! What will we discover ~ boy or girl? Can't wait to find out!
Better get ready!

Thoughts about the lesson yesterday

Matthew 28:18-20 "And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

~ I've always known this as the "Great Commission" but how much have I thought of this? This lesson was a great one to get me thinking and do some searching and more learning. Now, I understand that most people who might one day read this may already have realized these thoughts I am about to express, but I felt it important to share anyway.

Apostolic - most of the time, we have assoiciated this with more charizmatic groups. But in the lesson, we were shown the Greek meaning of the word: Apostello - to commission or send. God is a sending God! He sent Jesus who sends the Spirit who then empowers the church for mission! We were given an example of the apostolic nature of mission - Ministry in Samaria.

In John 4:3-5, it was pointed out that Jesus "had" to pass through Samaria. John 4:6-8, he sat by a well. John 4:9-26, he crossed barriers (social, racial/ethnic, religious, and moral). John 4:27-38, this was his food and drink. Jesus went to where people were! He got involved with the people and made connections. He connected the water that she was drawing out of the well to the living water that he could give to her. He got to her level. He showed is care and he shared.

God calls us to consider ourselves, how can we be apostolic in all we do? In 1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 12, Paul lists several spiritual gifts and he never mentioned evangelism. The question was asked - WHY? It is part of who we are! It is not an option, it is part of our identity! We have been sent by God, that is our responsibility.

~ Now personally, I have not been comfortable with just talking to anyone about my faith. I've been frozen in what to say before and caught off guard without knowing what to say. People had blown me off. It has really broken me down. Most of the time, my words just don't come out the right way. When I take the time to organize things and get it onto paper, it works out great! But when I'm put on the spot, I freeze. So, after these experiences, I started telling myself that this was just not one of my gifts. It was okay for me to not really talk to people about my faith and why I believe what I do. Now, I have changed those thoughts. It is not okay, God has sent me, I have a purpose to bring people into his kingdom! I've got a lot to work on, and God has some molding to do, but I've got to allow it. I am so thankful that we had this lesson yesterday. It woke me up and gave me an aha moment. Now, to let God's word work and change me more, and give me the knowledge to teach our children to do the same things! What is in store for us now? (Change is always coming! That is the only thing that always stays the same - as pointed out by Scott) It is time to get out and transform the world!