Happy Birthday James!

Love ya James. We hope you have a wonderful 15th year. Wishing you success and happiness...

Man, I can't believe he is 15 already. It seems like it was just yesterday...

Friday!

Yeah! It's Friday. Another fun filled week. There is one really special thing I would like to document. Every week I go on a date. A very special date. I have lunch with Liam. Sometimes I bring him some fast food, sometimes we eat school lunch. It started when he was in kindergarten and he still enjoys it. I know it won't last forever. I am savoring it now. Before Myles was born I told Liam that I might not be able to come every week (thinking finding someone to watch him for 20 minutes) and Liam made it very clear that he wanted Myles to have lunch with him too. It is now part of our routine. We love it. We love Liam. I love how proud Liam is of Myles. I love that he shows him off to his friends. I love that he wants to spend time with me.




More football. It seems that the sports seasons consume our lives. Another awesome game. They won. 22-8. Myles is seriously the only 2-year-old I know that can sit through an entire game. It is funny to listen to him mimick the crowd. He would shout out... "Come On, BOYS!" and "Way to go Defense" I also wanted to share my favorite part of the watching James' games. At the end of each game they kneel and pray. It is quite humbling and moving to see.

Football

Another awesome game for South! Final score was 6-0. James did just awesome. I am learning the game but it makes me so proud to hear my kids name over the loud speaker. Hard to describe.



Myles has been obsessed with football lately. Anytime he sees a football he smiles and says "fuball, James play fuball." So tonight we took him to James' game. He loved watching it. He would get so excited when he would see James. He loved the treats.



Just as a side note. I didn't take a shower right before this picture was taken. It wasn't raining. My hair is soaking wet because it was 85% humidity. So gross. I looked around and this wasn't happening to anyone else. So obvious that I am not from here. Gross. And even grosser. It literally was raining bugs.




These crazy A#* beetles were falling out of the sky. No, falling isn't the right word. Shooting. Shooting from the sky. And they hurt when they hit you. I meant to get a picture of the bleachers littered with their carcasses but I just wanted and needed to take shelter. Gross.


Awesome game James!

How cute is this...

For your viewing pleasure...

Confession time

I have a confession. Those who know me well know that I have an addiction. Lost. I love it. I spend my whole week thinking about what happened and what will happen next. I have deep conversations about the theory behind it all. I have the seasons on DVD. I love it. I really love it. The only thing I don't like about it (besides Anna Lucia) is that the seasons go from January to May. I have strong feelings about this. I went to the Lost website and was hit again by the fact that I will not be able to Sawyer or Jack until January of 2009.

So, I have found something to fill the void. Temporarily. I am hooked. It's nothing to be proud of. Matt doesn't enjoy watching it with me. It has the suspense, the drama, and the suspenseful music. Minus the eye candy.

Enjoy...

Rain, Rain go away!

It's raining. It has been all day. It fits my mood. It has been a really rough week. I am emotionally drained. I want to take a minute and update some good things. The kids are back in school. They are all loving it. This year has been easier than last. That's a really good thing. Seriously, could they be any cuter?



James started football. We went to his first game. It was so hot and humid. But football season means fall. I love fall. It is my favorite season. I need to learn more about football. I do know he is #47 White playing linebacker.



Jessie had her first band concert night. I forgot my camera. Trust me, it was memorable. She is playing the clarinet. She loves it. We need to work out a practice "understanding".

Liam is loving 4th grade. That in itself is a reason to celebrate.

Myles and I have had lots of us time. I love spending my days with him. I feel very blessed to be given the opportunity to be able to stay home and take care of him. I will always look back on this time in my life as a tender mercv from the Lord.

I also love Thai food. Matt took the day off and we went to lunch. We found this little Thai place in the next town. It is really quite scary looking. We have avoided going there. Never judge a book by it's cover, right? We went there for lunch. It was really yummy. It was nice to have lunch with Matt. I really appreciate his support. But just when the day was looking up...
No joke. This was my fortune. Who writes this stuff?
.

What a great day!

Today I was invited by my super cute friend to go to her husbands homecoming. He has been deployed to Iraq for four months. The other day we were talking about his homecoming and she said that she has pictures of her kids with him but not any of her when she sees him. So I offered to go and take pictures of their family. It was such a wonderful, heart warming day. It made me so proud of our servicemen and servicewomen and all their families. I am so thankful for the sacrifices that they make. It was such an emotional thing to just be standing amongst all of these strong families and be a witness to their reunions. I cried. I took pictures. I thought about my nephews. I cried. Thanks Cherstin and Don for letting me be part of your special day.

This was just one of my favorite shots.

Last Day of Summer!

I can't believe summer vacation is over already... We had our last day boo hoo celebration. The weather was actually nice and we spent the afternoon at the park. Then we took the kids out for dinner. Tomorrow is a big day. James is a Freshman. Weird. Wow. Jessie is entering Junior High. I am scared for her. It is a whole new chapter in her life. Liam is going into 4th grade. His last year in elementary. Weird again. They really do grow up too fast. I am sure that after the initial shock of being alone Myles will do just fine (mom too).

Happy Day!

happy birthday to one of my favorite little people.

Love you myles...

happy day

Just because it's FriDaY!

Amen...

Click the picture to be able to read this crazy stuff...

What excluded from corporal punishment?? What year is this again? I could go on and on about this...
Liam got this rocket for his birthday. (Great time by the way) But after reading the Warning: This product contains a chemical known to the state of California... Liam said "Whew, Good thing we don't live in California".

One last reason to celebrate. Gizmo has eaten all of Myles bottles. I refused to buy any more. SO... One whole week without the baba. We all survived, however, Myles does still ask for it several times a day. Thanks a lot Gizmo. (for the bottle chewing, not the pooping in my closet, your still in trouble for that, not that you read this blog because your a dog)

A day at the lake...

This past Saturday we got to spend the day at Heber Springs with some of our good friends. We had a blast. Now that we got our feet wet we can't wait to go out again.

He wasn't too sure about it in the beginning...

Liam, James, Chelsea and Candice

Matt & Me

the back of Catherine's head and James

Always the daredevil. Liam scares me to death but he had SO much fun.

Myles never actually got to ride but every time we would stop to trade out we would swim in the water with him. He looks like he is being tortured but he really did enjoy it.

What a fun day!

Helen Keller works at the local SmartStyle

It started off innocently enough. He needed a haircut. Long story shortened (mainly because it is still too fresh to talk about) He bucked, she slipped, the scissors cut and the only way to fix it was this...

I still think he's cute he just looks so much like a little boy and I just wasn't ready to move out of the baby stage.

{followed by a big sigh}

You must be the change you wish to see in the world. ~Gandhi

My brother gave me a gift certificate to Kiva for my birthday.
Thanks, Jesse, for helping make this such a special year for me.

Greetings from Ruhengeri in Rwanda!
Vestine is 28 years old and is married with three children and four adopted orphans from the 1994 genocide.

In 2003, Vestine started her business of selling agricultural produce in different local markets in the area. Vestine has a plan of expanding her business to other local markets in the country. She is requesting a loan of 500,890 RWF to be repaid in 8 months.

I just made a loan to someone in the developing world using a revolutionary new website called Kiva (www.kiva.org).

You can go to Kiva's website and lend to someone in the developing world who needs a loan for their business - like raising goats, selling vegetables at market or making bricks. Each loan has a picture of the entrepreneur, a description of their business and how they plan to use the loan so you know exactly how your money is being spent - and you get updates letting you know how the entrepreneur is going.

The best part is, when the entrepreneur pays back their loan you get your money back - and Kiva's loans are managed by microfinance institutions on the ground who have a lot of experience doing this, so you can trust that your money is being handled responsibly.

It's finally easy to actually do something about poverty - using Kiva I know exactly who my money is loaned to and what they're using it for. And most of all, I know that I'm helping them build a sustainable business that will provide income to feed, clothe, house and educate their family long after my loan is paid back.

I just love this boy... Warning: Long post

I know I have a lot of entries that are about Myles. Here I go again... I have had several conversations and situations in the last week that have led me to where I am today, right now. Filling out intake forms I realized this kid is a genius. Really. I know all parents say that. He is. One week ago we had dinner with a family who has a two year old. Sometime I have difficulty being around kids his exact age. Don't get me wrong, I love his little friends. I love spending time with their families. Sometimes it is just hard. Sometimes it hurts my heart to see what he "isn't doing". I hate the comparing thing. I have always hated it. It always made me mad at church when people would comment that he wasn't walking or he wasn't talking or whatever he wasn't doing. I hate the stupid emails that I get "Your 23-month-old". Anyways, we came home from this previous mentioned dinner a little... I don't know what the word is. We had the conversation... "Why isn't he doing this or that?" Matt sees is so logically as if to say, he isn't doing ______ then this is what we should do. I see it more emotional. I am his mom. I want to protect him. I want to hand pick his little friends. I want to rescue him in situations where I know he is struggling. I want people to see what I see. To love him like I love him. From the moment he entered my life I knew things were going to be different. Not a bad different. But just different. I was given a quote at a time when I was struggling. I know I have shared it with a lot of people but it fits a lot of different situations. It also makes me feel good.

Two friends are taking about one of their wayward son and how heartbreaking it is and ultimately why...

"This is what I think, Sam. In the premortal life you had a heart, which allowed you to love, and you had a mind, which allowed you to make choices. I think your mind recognized in David something that said he might not come home, and you worried about it. And because your heart loved him, you said, "Send him to me, and let me be his earthly father. I will always love him and teach him and never give up hope, and I will do all I can to help him because I know him so well. I will be patient and kind. He might break my heart many times, and I may lose a thousand nights of sleep over him, but I see him for who he is now and what he may become. So please, please send him to me because no one will love him more than I." You might have said something like that, Sam, and now you have your wish, and your heart is broken and your thousand nights of worry plague your mind, but it could be that you asked for all of this. Maybe it was one of the first decisions entrusted to us, to petition for certain family relationships on earth."

That has really helped me not necessarily that I have wayward children but some of the difficulties we have faced with our children. Why them? And it helps for me recognize that maybe I had that same conversation with Heavenly Father and I said to him "Please, please send him to me because no one will love him more than I."

So as I completed the latest round of intake paperwork I realized I have been entrusted a very special little boy. I will be patient. I will do all I can to help him because I know him so well. I will help him show the world his light. I want to share a few brilliant Myles moments we have had...

I want to share a few brilliant Myles moments we have had...

11 months old. I had just dumped a bunch of stuff on his tray and he sorted.

14 months old. I know, I know. Babies and chemicals don't mix. But he was obsessed with organizing them and I was right there by him, watching. See his method.

18 months old. I watched him do this one afternoon. Picked up a green marker. M... Y...L... E... S... I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen him do it in that order.

Lots of things end up like this at our house. Nothing wrong with a house of order.

He could spend hours doing this. Actually he does spend hours doing this. But he has a method. One he has perfected. No one can disturb his stack. Stack them all exactly the same way, put them in the basket, stack them all exactly the same. There is something very calming about this...

I just love him.

David

We received news yesterday that my nephew David was injured while serving in Afghanistan. I just wanted to write about how proud we are of him. I am amazed at what an awesome man he has grown to be. He is a wonderful husband and father. We couldn't be prouder of him that he has chosen to serve his country. He is constantly in our thoughts and prayers. We love you Dave and pray that you will make a quick and total recovery. ~ M