Tagged (twice)

I very rarely participate in tags. However, who can turn down a request from Jamie AND Jaime.
8 Favorite Restaurants:
1. CRACKER BARREL
2. Cheesecake Factory
3. Trulucks
4. Which Wich
5. McAlister's
6. The Cooker (sadly has been closed for years)
7. Pei Wei
8. Pancake Pantry in Nashville

8 Things That Happened Today:
1. Went to work
2. Drank a Starbuck's peppermint Mocha
3. Bought Christmas cookie cutters for KJ
4. Shared my dinner with Cbug without him gagging/puking...YAY!
5. Went to church
6. Made poppyseed bread
7. Shopped on-line for last minute Christmas gifts (apparently the same ones that every other mom in America wanted)
8. Went to bed too late (again)

8 Things I Look Forward To:
1. Christmas with family
2. Meeting BL3
3. Seeing my boys accept Christ in baptism
4. A date night with RRL
5. Putting up my Christmas tree
6. Meeting baby Asher
7. Going to Wimbledon with RRL (someday)
8. Going to Alaska

8 Things I'm Scared Of:
1. Losing someone I love
2. Not teaching my boys enough
3. Being held under water
4. Parking garages
5. Someone breaking into my house while I'm home
6. Hurting someone's feelings by saying something stupid
7. Waking up and realizing that I'm still in highschool (I dream this all the time)
8. Having a wreck with my kiddos in the car

8 Things I Wish For:
1. Family Vacation
2. Traveling more
3. Living closer to my family
4. Friends to find Godly husbands
5. Good friends for my kids when they go to school
6. Going to Europe
7. A cookies n cream milkshake
8. Less "clutter" in my life

8 Things I Watch on TV:
1. Curious George
2. Survivor
3. The Amazing Race
4. The Brady Bunch
5. The Cosby Show
6. Andy Griffeth
7. NCIS (thanks, Dad)
8. Christmas movies

8 People I Tag (no pressure!!):
1. Lori D.
2. Rebekah
3. Aimee
4. Haley C.
5. Kaylane
6. Jennifer B.
7. Chris B.
8. Summer B.

The cleaning Ninja

As an update to my previously mentioned wish for a cleaning fairy...
My cleaning NINJA (just as stealth and elusive as a cleaning fairy, yet way more studly and handsome) provided some major help at my house this weekend while I was out of town with the boys. After being gone less than 24 hours, I came home to a dusted, vacuumed, cloroxed, and mopped house. Someone had an idea that the chores I needed to get done before the Christmas festivities were weighing heavily on me and took it upon himself to ease the load A LOT. Have I mentioned how blessed I am?

How to make PERFECT Christmas cookies...

...with special assistance from chef KJ.

FIRST

Rollout the dough. Be sure to use plenty of flour on the dough and the rolling pin (and might as well also cover yourself, the entire counter, chair and floor...just to be sure nothing sticks).

SECOND

Cut the cookies into your favorite Christmas shapes (circles work if your Momma couldn't find any Christmas cookie cutters).

THIRD

Pat gently to the perfect thickness (pounding with your entire hand might be required) and place the cookies on the pan

NEXT

Put your cookies in the oven (and be sure to run by frequently to check to see how they are coming along)

THEN

Add the necessary toppings...we like icing AND sprinkles at our house

ALMOST DONE

They just need a taste test before the last step...

AND FINALLY

Share some Christmas cheer by making a plate of cookies to share with a neighbor (and definitely deliver them very close to your 2-year-old's bedtime so that he'll be nice and wild during your visit).

KJ and I had a blast making cookies together and he was so proud when we took some to a couple of friends. Please don't tell him, though, that might not be necessary to roll, cut, and pat slice and bake cookies...especially if you are just going to cut them into round cookies. He had way more fun this way. Why ruin it for him?

ABL

O Blog Fairy, Where art thou?

Don't you wish you had a blog fairy that could take all of your pictures, memories and thoughts, organize them and voila, forever memorialized on your blog? I think my blog fairy must be hiding out with my laundry fairy and house-cleaning fairy. If you see them, could you please send them back IMMEDIATELY!

It has been awhile since I've had time or felt like blogging. But I thought I should give some updates. Here are the latest happenings:

THANKFUL

We had a great Thanksgiving, getting to spend time with my family and RRL's family. We have so much to be thankful for. Here is a glimpse of what is high on my list of thanks:

I'm thankful for my husband and thankful for the way he loves on our boys. And I'm thankful for Cbug. He has been quite the snuggler lately, preferring to take naps snuggled with his Momma or Daddy. Mostly, though, he loves to snuggle this blue bear. He sucks his thumb and rubs its silky hat to go to sleep. So sweet. He giggle with joy when we hand him the bear at night. If it is not sleepy time, though, he'll not even acknowledge the bear's presence. Too funny.

I'm thankful for KJ and the way he reminds me to enjoy the simple things. While we were at my parents' house, KJ got to experience a taste of real fall leaves. He loved playing in this huge pile in their yard. Sheer delight.

EMBARRASSING Moments, by KJ:

1) While eating with a good friend from high school, who I have not seen in probably 7 or 8 YEARS, KJ turned to her for one of his "famous" jokes.

KJ: Knock, knock

Unsuspecting friend: Who's there?

KJ: See

Sweet friend playing along: See who

me, realizing suddenly where this is heading, turn to KJ and grab his face right as he says:

KJ: SEE FOOD (and reveals his half chewed PB&J)

Thank you, KJ, for helping me create that lovely first impression of my parenting

2) KJ is definitely in a time of testing the limits. He loves to ask "why" and he also loves to occasionally blatantly disobey over things that really shouldn't be an issue, just to see what will happen (well, he loves it until he sees what happens). Recently, we were at the mall and he kept taking one shoe off, dropping it out of the stroller and waiting to see if I would notice. Finally, I got down in his face and told him that if he took his shoe off again he was going to be in trouble. We walked into the next store and at the top of his lungs, he announces "If I take my shoes off , my momma is going to spank me" THANK YOU, KJ. Lets please leave the impression with people we don't know that your mother spanks you for just taking your shoes off. Could you please give the REST of the story?

CBUG's favorite thing

Our sweet little Cbug is so animated and full of life. He races towards the door when he sees one of us coming, and squeals with delight when we as much as speak his name. He is such a joy! Nothing gets him more excited, though, than his FOOD. The boy just enjoys eating. He sees the pantry door opening and starts bouncing up and down in anticipation. He can sign "more" and frantically starts waving his little hands toward one another the second he picks up the last bite from his tray. It is pretty funny. That said, we've had some issues with feeding him table foods. He seems to have a really strong gag reflex and chokes/throws up on things that we wouldn't expect to make him gag. It has been a bit of a struggle and causes a mommy concern. We just keep trying different things and praying for the best. It doesn't seem to bother him in the least, so I'm just praying he'll grow out of it soon. Anyone else struggled with this?

BL3

We got to hear the baby's heartbeat this week. It was 150...so right in the middle of the range and not very helpful for any of you trying to guess gender! We'll go back in January for a full ultrasound and get to find out then, whether we'll have "my three sons" or a little princess to add to our rowdy crew. For those asking if I'm feeling better and whether my appetite has returned....

I may or may not have eaten a peanut butter and raisin and marshmallow sandwich for lunch this week. This may or may not have occurred after my innocent 2-year-old asked if we could have marshmallows for lunch and i told him "No, silly, marshmallows are only for after we finish lunch". But it sure sounded yummy. Um yes, my appetite is back and I'm feeling much better, thank you.

The amazing RRL

The last week or so has been really interesting/tough for RRL work-wise. He's been involved in several situations with teenagers in crisis that require late nights, rearranged schedules, meetings with parents/counselors/school administration, and just a lot of emotional investment. I've been so proud of the way he professionally yet lovingly has handled each of these teenagers. He's gone out of his way to make sure that each of them feels like they have his undivided attention and has worked hard to help their families know how to lovingly handle the situation. I've seen him pray through tears for the souls of lost kids and I'm so blessed to get to watch him use his gifts to minister to others.

Christmas

I do love Christmas, I really do. I love the excitement of decorating, baking, traveling and gift-giving. I love getting to have time set aside for reflecting on the birth of baby Jesus. I love getting to begin traditions with my children and trying to keep things in perspective for them. I love KJ's early understanding of it all and I look forward to getting to teach him (and his siblings) more and more about what makes this holiday special. That said, I'm way behind this year. Maybe my cleaning/decorating/preparing for Christmas fairy is hiding out with the others. My tree isn't up (gasp for air), I haven't even gotten the stockings out of the attic (try to lift your jaw off the floor) and I haven't bought the first gift (I know, I know). In the meantime, we are at least talking about Christmas and baby Jesus at our house. And KJ and I did bake a batch of Christmas cookies on Tuesday (pictures coming soon). Hopefully this weekend we'll add to that and really jump into the season...we'll see.

Speaking of Gifts

I think I'm a little too late pointing you to this in time for Christmas, but you really must check out the "by Emily" etsy site. She is amazing, her work is extraordinary, and her creations are treasures to keep for a lifetime. Some of her items, that are not custom, may still be available in time for Christmas gifts and if she can't get you something in time for Christmas you can always make a creative "I Owe You" to wrap for your loved one letting them know that this gift is worth waiting for! Check it out TODAY!!

That's about it for now, stay tuned for "How to make perfect Christmas cookies"

ABL

Thank you, Lord, for orange shirts

This weekend, RRL and I traveled with a group from church to run the Rock N Roll 1/2 Marathon in San Antonio, TX. I paid to do this race in July, long before the BL3 morning sickness set in and my exercise goals changed radically from 1/2 marathon training to just getting off the couch. Being the accountant that I am, I hate to waste money and since the race was not cheap, I was determined that whether they had to push, pull or drag me, I was crossing the finish line. I did not care how long it took, I just wanted to finish and enjoy the fun of the run.
It ended up being a perfect day for a nice (long) jog through the fun town of SA. I finished much faster than I thought I might and lived to tell about it!

Here are a few things that motivated me to finish:
1) THE ORANGE SHIRTS- There was a team of people running this race to benefit Crohn's Disease Research, all wearing orange shirts. The first time I saw one, it nearly brought me to tears. Here were people like me, who had been impacted one way or another by this disease, and were out to do something about it. I thanked every single one of them that I saw, but could never have said thank you enough. Thank you to each of them for what they are doing, and Thank you to the powerful Healer that I serve for giving me such a miraculous 4 years, pain free. I'm not exaggerating when I say that the Lord brought at least one of them across my path every single mile to help motivate me to finish this race (and keep pressing on in my health race). That's pretty amazing considering the 30,000 people in SA to run...no accident, I'm sure that each one of these orange shirts crossed my path.

2) I saw a woman on the biggest hill in the race, really struggling. She was zig-zagging back and forth across the hill. She was struggling up the hill because she was in a wheel chair. She was doing the full marathon (26.2 miles) and I have never seen anyone so driven. Several people asked her if she needed help and she refused each one. What an inspiration!

3) Along the way there were tons of Daddies with their children holding signs that said "Way to go, Mommy" or "Run, Mommy, run" or "Mommy's pit crew". Even though my husband was running ahead of me and my boys were home with their Grammy, I didn't think these families would mind if I borrowed from their motivational moments. Nothing motivates me more than the three (soon 4) I love most. Even just imagining that it was them standing behind those signs pushed me on.

A few not so wonderful moments:
1) About the only kind of power bar or energy drink that I can tolerate is the snickers marathon bars. I have a race routine of eating 1/2 before the race and finishing the rest during the run. I was carrying my left-over 1/2 on the race with me this time and had decided I would make it to the 60 minute mark before enjoying it. At 57 minutes, I dropped the bar in the middle of a crowd of runners and it was unrecoverable. I almost cried.

2) At about the 11 mile mark, I was taking a (scheduled) walk-break. I usually run about 8 minutes and walk 1 minute. As I was walking along, a snooty girl and her friend came running past and smugly said "I hate it when so many people start walking at this point in the race". BAH. ARGH. And how far along in your pregnancy are you? Not nice.

3) At the end of the race, I was exhausted (to say the least). All I wanted to see was RRL's sweaty face. I knew he would finish ahead of me and that there was a HUGE crowd to sort through, but I just needed to find him. We had set up a meeting spot, but it took forever to limp-along and find it (and him). I felt so lost and started to panic before I realized I was in the wrong place and got turned in the right direction. I kept thinking "If I could just call the people we are supposed to be meeting, I could find them" but I couldn't remember anyone's phone numbers. Where I finally made it, and got to release some tears on RRL's shoulder, he sweetly reminded me that I had written the phone number on the back of my race number pinned to my shirt. NICE.

All in all, it was a great weekend, making lots of fun memories with friends and accomplishing a difficult goal. The Lord is good to give us what we need for each of the "races" we run and I was so thankful to have this race to remind me of that!

ABL

Guessing Game

Our family has one of the best surprises EVER headed our way. Wanna guess what the surprise is? Below are some picture clues to help.

10,000 points to the person who guesses first. 5,000 bonus points to anyone who can correctly caption the pictures as to how they relate to our "little" surprise.

Who am I kidding? As if I could wait until the end of some fake contest to give away the answer.

So award yourself the points if you labeled the pictures as follows:

1) My dream of owning a mini-van may come true sooner than I expected!

2) Recently I had lose-my-mind moment #1 (for this round) and actually buckled both boys into each other's car seats (KJ in the infant seat, Cbug in the big boy seat). NICE.

3) Foreshadowing to family of 5. Actually, this is us meeting sweet baby GCH for the first time. Isn't he handsome? You might be able to tell in the picture that I am a little green and feeling very sick.

4) Speaking of sick, nothing makes me gag more than opening a can of babyfood. I have to hold my breath to feed poor Cbug.

So NOW can you guess?

That's right...BL3 is on the way! We are absolutely over-joyed and so thankful that the Lord chose to bless us in such an unexpected way. We had our first doctor's appointment today, everything looks very healthy, and BL3 should arrive sometime at the beginning of June (right after KJ's 3rd birthday).

Thanks for sharing our excitement!

ABL

Disappointed

This blog is NOT about politics. It is rarely about anything outside of our little family. But I just can't get something out of my head. Maybe blogging will help. Two days after the election and I'm still very disappointed.

Obama won. I didn't really like either candidate but when I ranked things that were most important to me, based on my core values, I couldn't vote for Obama. But he won.

HOWEVER, that is not why I'm so disappointed.

I'm disappointed in the response...from both sides. This morning on the news I was still hearing about how much Palin spent on her campaign wardrobe. And yesterday on the ride home, the radio station I listen to went on and on about how bad things were going to be under Obama. Seriously?

In the media, and even in Christian media, I've had trouble finding a response that I can support. Our roles as Christians did not change one bit from November 3rd to November 5th. A new leader for our country was elected. And as our preacher pointed out last weekend, we elected a new leader and will see power change hands peacefully. A real honor and privilege.

We may agree with him or we may not (chances are we'll do a lot of both). But we'll stand behind him and we'll pray for him. And his policies on the economy, abortion, or the war won't change in the least my personal responsibility towards the poor, the helpless teenage mom or world missions.

Come on people, let's move on. Lets embrace CHANGE... and I do not mean "change" by Government. I mean change in heart, change in our churches, and change in our communities. If people got half as worked up about providing services for marriage reconciliation as they do about voting against gay marriage, what would it do for our families? If people spent half the energy they spend on welcoming the unwed mother and providing services for her unborn baby as they spend energy protesting abortion, how many lives could we save? And if we spent as much money on meeting the needs of the poor in our own neighborhood as we do on publishing articles about economic policy, how different would our communities be?

None of what I'm saying is new or original. In fact, I've read several really good blog articles lately about these kinds of changes. Thanks to so many of you who are sharing your hearts! I just needed to vent and to move on. I'm moving on towards change in my own life. Are you?

That's my 2 cents.

ABL