Consumed... Part 2

Baseball Season is HERE

This picture is after Bradley's game on Monday night. So far they are un-defeated. Up to bat.
Taking a swing at it (you can even see the ball - lucky shot)

Going for a grounder while playing second base.

He was much more alert and into the game while playing second base during this game. A good change from Saturday's center field position.

Anyway, it goes without saying that this is definitely "that time of year" when we are totally consumed by sports. I am so thankful that Kialaia only has to go to dance one night a week - and it doesn't interfere at all with Brad's baseball schedule. Whew! Paul has been working out of town a lot again so I'm doing this on my own... and it's about all I can handle by myself. It's really fun though. So if I'm not updating my blog much this month, you know why. Oh, and I also have 3 births this month as well... but God's timing is always perfect and we will survive! I am so thankful to one of the youth girls at our church who has been staying with me for the last 2 weeks. If it weren't for her I would be panicking about what I would do with a middle of the night birth while Paul is gone.

I hope you all are enjoying spring!

Consumed... Part 1

Okay, I admit it. I am SO a part of this. When I was first introduced to the Twilight series I just wasn't interested... books about Vampires were not on the top of my "something I would be interested in reading" list. But then the movie came out 2 weeks ago and couldn't resist seeing what all the hype was about. I watched it and honestly, it was good, but I still couldn't see what the big deal was. Knowing that books are always better than their movies, I sought out my friend's 14 year old daughter and borrowed the first book - and I couldn't put the stupid thing down!!! I started it late Monday night, read about 20 pages before I fell asleep, then finished it Tuesday night. I was back for the second book on Wednesday morning. That one was tormenting. I thought the first one was good... but they just kept getting better and better! To sum it up: I cracked open the first book late Monday night and finished the final page of book 4 a little before noon the following Monday. 2, 444 pages in less than a week. I have since bought the entire book series, the movie, and the soundtrack. *sigh* All I can say is that Stephenie Meyer is a fantastic writer. The detail and depth of this amazing love story is beyond comparison. If you are looking to get lost for a week or two, without having to physically go on vacation, I highly recommend taking a trip to Forks (the setting of the books... in case you were confused). You won't be disappointed. Or maybe you will. I don't know. I believe you have to read the whole series and not just watch the movie to make a sound judgment.

Okay, I'll end my ranting. Stay tuned to see what else has been consuming our lives lately...

What a Week!

When I picked Bradley up from school on Monday I looked at his shaggy mop of hair on his head and thought, "that's it! We've got to get this cut!" So I called and was able to get him in right away... and then Kialaia wanted her hair cut too. She likes it short, but I put a limit on chin length... so we compromised and got her a super cute A-line! I love it! She has gotten so many great compliments on it.

And if you're wondering why there are no pics of Brad, well, I didn't take any. I was so pleased with Kia's cute 'do that Brad's standard boy haircut just didn't compare I guess. Oops. Bad mom.

Then on Tuesday I was trying to be festive so I made the kids green pancakes. After adding the food coloring I looked at the bottle and realized it had a "sale by" date of April 2008. I contemplated whether we should eat them or not. Finally I decided it wouldn't hurt... and here we are today, not sick or dead so I guess I made the right choice! : )

Okay, so on Friday we were in our usual hurry to get out of he house in the morning. We all jumped in the car. Kialaia was the last to close her door and when she did I immediately started backing out of the garage. Well, evidently Kia didn't get her door shut all the way, so while we were backing out she opened her door again to shut it harder and **SLAM!** the door hit the house! We haven't had the damage assessed yet. I plan on keeping the car until it dies so I don't care too much about the paint damage and the crack along side the back door... but I am concerned about whether the door will be able to stay latched or not. Ugh. Anyway, here is my car with it's big owie. (side note: I'm glad I am blogging about my car's big owie, as opposed to one of my humans having a big owie. Praise God!)

I'm hoping this week is a little less eventful. It is Spring Break so we'll see...

A Milestone

On Sunday night Kialaia finally lost her FIRST tooth! That thing had been loose for about 4 months at least and we were very relieved to not have to see her wiggle it anymore... well, at least until the next one. This was our highlight of the week, although our week was kind of full of happenings. We ate Green Eggs and Ham in honor of Dr. Seuss's Birthday on Monday (they were actually really good!), we made it back to Wednesday night Church service for the first time in a long time and had a great discussion on "the end times". Always a fun topic to discuss. Seriously. I love hearing everyone's different interpretations of the book of Revelation. Then on Thursday we got our taxes done and found out we don't owe - for the first time in 4 years!!! **Big sigh of relief**

Today we're hanging out, enjoying the sunshine (and the fact that it is NOT snowing!). I'm on my second cup of coffee and have no plans for the day until I cook a meal for one of my clients this evening. Ahhh...

Teachable Moments and Parental Pride

Okay, so let's start with the parental pride. This boy - yep, the one with the cool hat - made me so proud the other night! We were out to dinner with Paul's parents and when the check came we continued talking, which must have annoyed Brad because he very impatiently asked, "can we go now..." Paul's dad told Brad that sure we could go if Brad was buying and wanted to take his credit card up to the counter to pay. But what came next was a moment where you are thankful to God for giving you moments like these that prove that your children really do listen to you. Here was Brad's response:

"Oh, I wouldn't use a credit card, I would only use a debit card. Credit cards are bad because they give you money that you don't really have and then you have to pay the bank back more than what you ever bought."

I just sat there and stared at him with my jaw hanging. Finally I was able to squeak out, "Wow. He really does listen to me!" And what an important subject for him to grasp at this age! I started teaching him about the evils of credit debt about a year ago (we have been free of consumer debt for over 5 years now) and I just wanted to share this story to encourage all of my fellow mom's out there that sometimes as a parent it feels like we teach and teach and teach our kids and we wonder if any of it is really sinking in... but trust that God will provide moments like these to tell you, "Yes. You are influencing this child in a positive way." So hang in there!

Okay, on to the teachable moment, which, by my definition, is one where you learn almost as much as the person you are teaching. This morning I was combing Kialaia's hair, getting ready for church. She started talking about one friend who doesn't play with her very much at church. I told her not to be upset and started listing off a number of other little girls she often plays with. She named two of them as ones who are her friends, but then exclaimed, "but that's only two! I need more than two friends!" This was followed in true Kialaia fashion with a "humph!", a frown, and a cross of her arms across her chest. Then the bell went off in my head and the words gently poured out, straight from God: "Honey, you need to be thankful for the friends that you do have. If God only ever gave you two friends in the whole world you need to be thankful for who they are and that you have them." It was this last part that hit home to me: " When we are not thankful for what we have it's like telling God that we don't appreciate what He has given us. Do you want to tell God that you don't appreciate the friends you have?" I'm not sure that the message really sunk in, but maybe a year from now I will hear her repeat what I said and have another moment of "parental pride".

I wanted to share this story today to spread this message to all of my blogging buddies and readers: BE THANKFUL! I truly believe that what we are not thankful, or have an ungrateful attitude, that it is like a slap in the face to the one who loves us and provides for us on a daily basis. Even in the midst of trials - if you wake up in the morning and are breathing - you have something to be thankful for.

Love you all! Have a great day!

Meet Aimee

This is Aimee. Aimee was a fun little gift that my friends thought would be memorable for my 31st Birthday this weekend. My Birthday happened to fall on the weekend of our 2nd annual Girls Weekend Trip. Instead of trying McCall again this year, we just stayed in town and got a hotel room. It was a much more relaxed version of our crazy adventures last year. I will post more about that later. I need to get all the pictures from the weekend gathered up before I can post about it. Anyway, while we were at the mall, we stopped outside Build A Bear Workshop and they informed me that I was going to build a bear. This was always something I thought I would do with Kialaia on her birthday... I actually thought they were kidding. But they weren't. So I played along and did all the silly rituals that are associated with birthing a bear (or bunny in my case). It was actually really funny and definitely memorable. The hardest part was coming up with her name. I used to speak fluent French so I often think of French words or phrases along side of my English. I was thinking of the French word for friend, Amie, so I decided to call her Aimee. She sure is a cute little thing - and if you were wondering, yes Kialaia can't get enough of her. But she recognizes that Aimee is indeed my baby, and respectfully calls her her sister.

Here I am holding Aimee right after birth (hee hee). She had much more hair than my human children and I have to say, I think I look a little thinner and less exhausted than when Brad and Kia were born too!
Like I said, I will do anther post on our fun weekend once I get the pictures gathered up. But here is a picture of my dear friend Heidi and I at our favorite Mexican Restaurant here in town on my Birthday. Heidi and I grew up across the street from each other and have known each other since I was born. We have remained friends over all these years and I love her dearly!

I know, I know...

I've been really bad about updating my blog and I'm sorry! It's not that we've been busy, in the sense that I hate - where you literally have no time to keep up with your personal life at all - but busy in the sense that "I'm too busy reading this book or snuggling with my family on the couch to answer the phone or update my blog". It's been nice.

So speaking of books, I have read many since Christmas but my absolute favorite (possibly of all time) was one called "Lady of Milkweed Manor". It's by Julie Klassen, and it's her first novel. It's a historical fiction about a young woman who becomes an unwed mother and is shunned by her family. She has to flee to a lying-in home for unwed mothers. The book is about her experience there, how she becomes a wet nurse, and has a lot to do with the sacrifices we make in life and finding peace and love through it all. It is SO GOOD! Julie is a Christian author, which I love because her book is clean. It's not religious or pushy, just written very clean. I've ordered her new book, "The Apothecary's Daughter" and it should be here any day - I can't wait! If I knew how to do the link thingy where you just click on the word "here" or whatever and it takes you immediately to her website I would, but I don't know how. If anyone wants to tell me that'd be great. But I'll just do it the old fashioned way and put her website right here: www.julieklassen.com.

Okay, so what about the kids? Well, I don't have any pics of Brad for today but he has become quite the little reader too. He reminds me of myself at his age. I would sit in my room and read all day. He has finished 2, almost 3 books in one week! He's doing really well in school and got to go snowboarding a couple weeks ago with his grandparents. If he were writing this I'm sure he could find something to complain about, but from the parental point of view - he has a blessed life!

Kialaia started dance class a couple weeks ago and loves it! It's a mix of tap, ballet, and jazz. They will have a recital in May. Bradley will be taking soccer this spring and Paul and I secretly hope that he hates it, because we do. But we're being... nice, I guess... and letting him try it out.
And speaking of all this reading, here is another book I've almost finished. I've listened to Dave Ramsey's talk show for years but this is the first book I've bought. Paul has decided to go to Paramedic school in the fall (unless he lands a full time FF position by then) and we intend to pay cash for it. This book has been so helpful in getting us started on the right path. I think everyone should read this book! We fortunately have been out of consumer debt for 5 years now, so that's good. But this book has been so helpful in teaching us how to save and telling our money where to go instead of wondering where it went at the end of the month (a saying from his book).

Well, I've got to wake the kiddos up for school in just a bit so I need to stop blabbering. I hope you all have a wonderful day!