Snips and Snails

Some things never change

2011-03-15T12:02:00.000-07:00

This day, nine years ago, is a day I will never forget. It is etched in my mind and heart forever. My memories of that day are not good ones. They are sad, scary and painful. It's the day our baby Lauren breathed her last breath. It's been nine years now and time has changed a lot of things. I have been on the verge of tears all day. My heart is heavy and my mind can think of little else than wanting to hold her tiny body in my arms. It used to be that this was my everyday. Back when it was all fresh and new, feelings like these consumed me all. the. time.

You keep track of all my sorrows. you have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book. Psalm 56:8

It's not like that anymore. I'm mostly fine. I can keep my emotions in check for the most part and my days are filled with taking care of my boys. I always miss my girl but the bad days are fewer and fewer. That change has been gradual but it is full of hope for me. I am healing. My pain doesn't have the same hold on me as it used to. I'm learning to give it up to the One who can change my ashes into beauty. It's not easy for me to do, I want to hold on. It sounds weird to want to hold on to pain but I think that as time took Lauren farther from me, it was something that made me feel closer to her, closer to the time that I had her here with me. I don't think that God intended for me to live holding my hurts so close. He wants me to lay them down, trust that he knows and cares, and then choose joy. I am still learning and many times I fail miserably. I'm not sure why God chose this path for my life but I'm following him.

If you are suffering according to God's will, keep on doing what is right, and trust yourself to the God who made you for he will never fail you. 1 Peter 4:19

He gave me a sky that looked like this last night. I was on my way home from getting groceries, missing my girl and he gave me a pink sky. How awesome is that!?

Who else among the gods is like you, O Lord? Who is glorious in holiness like you-so awesome in splendor, performing such wonders? Exodus15:11

I will always miss my firstborn. She made me a mommy and I will always love her. March 15 will come every year and bring with it memories that no mommy should have. We will always have a spot at the cemetery to take care of, as long as we live, that will be part of our lives.

But...God is still God. He is still on the throne and he is good. All the time. I am loved and cared for by the one who knew my days before they were. Some things never change.

You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in you book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. How precious are your thoughts about me, O God! Psalm 139:16-17

Our escape from the snow

2011-02-16T07:58:00.000-08:00

Matt and I have never left the boys for more than one or two nights and it really never occurred to me that we should. All that changed last week. My (very gracious) brother in law offered to Matt, a weeks vacation in Ft. Myers Beach Florida, at a Condo owned by his father in law. When Matt told me I automatically started planning for the boys to come with us. He very patiently waited for me to settle down and said, "I thought maybe just you and I could go." Bingo! It didn't take me long to switch gears and I'm sooooo glad we went for it. We made plans for the boys to stay with my mom and dad with some babysitting from my lovely sister and sister in law's during the days when mom and dad had to work.

I have to say it was just what we needed even though we never knew we did. It was so good! We had so much fun together and we really didn't do much at all. That's the bueaty of it I guess. This may have been the first time but I'm thinking it won't be the last!

It was so refreshing to see flowers blooming, green grass, fresh LOCAL produce, and most importantly the sun! I think I was really struck by all the color. I was coming from seeing only shades of grey and white outside and it was such and nice change of scenery.

We loved every minute of our time away and it was really hard to drag ourselves away to come home. We were greeted at home by temperatures in the single digits, which seemed pretty cruel but we were so thankful for getting to escape it for a while.

How to deal with the snow in 7 easy steps

2011-02-03T11:25:00.000-08:00

1. Grab a daddy and go sledding!

2. Make some art with marshmallows and toothpicks. If you are like Colin you just throw something together quick and get started munching marshmallows like they are going out of style.

3. Snuggle up with your cousins and watch a movie. If your like Colin, feel free to suck your thumb and pick your nose through the entire thing.

4. Bundle up and play outside after a blizzard.

4. Build a fort and hang out there for a day and a half.

5. Make snow ice cream and enjoy it for a bedtime snack.

6. Eat snowman pancakes that your mom was way more excited about than you.

7. Last but not least, leave your babies in the loving care of Grandma, pack your bags and head to somewhere warm and full of sunshine with your hunny. See you later snow. I'm off to the beach:)

Our girl

2010-12-23T08:22:00.000-08:00

Today we are remembering our girl. Celebrating her life.

We will eat pink cookies, answer hard questions and tell stories to the boys.

We will thank Jesus for blessing us, nine years ago, with a little girl who changed our lives.

We love our girl.

Oh, Christmas Tree

2010-12-03T09:38:00.000-08:00

I love our annual trip out to the Christmas tree farm. This year was no exception. What's not to like? Bundling up, searching for the perfect tree, free popcorn, a visit with Santa, and driving away with a tree on the roof of your van. Good stuff! Here is our 2010 Christmas tree experience.

Our first stop was to see Santa. It was quite funny to see how different each of our boys were with this.

Jake ran right up first thing, not one bit leery of this jolly fellow. He told Santa he wanted "Optimus Prime". Which is what he said last year too and I believe he even got one. He has never seen any transformer anything and never played with the one he got but asked for it again this year. What in the world?! Peer pressure I suppose.

Evan was next. He was visibly nervous. I think last year was the first year he was able to even walk by the Santa hut without a complete meltdown caused by fear. He was so nervous that when Santa asked what he wanted for Christmas he stammered around before proclaiming, "rocking chair". Santa looked to me for clarification and Evan stuck by his answer. I was trying so hard not to bust out laughing. It was clearly the nerves talking.

Colin was not one bit happy about Santa. He managed to stand in front of him for the promise of a candy cane but there was no smiling and absolutely no talking. Funny kids! Then it was off to find our tree.

My boys posing in front of "the one".

I'm pretty sure Matt will be happy when the boys are old enough to help with this.

Following our fearless leader.

For some reason I just love seeing our tree atop our van. The boys really enjoyed decorating the tree this year too and we only had two broken ornaments!

They are so into long underwear right now. Jacob asks to wear his to school almost every day. I think Colin just likes it because he thinks the word underwear is hilarious. After it was decorated they ooooohed and aaaaaahed over it for a really long time. I don't blame them. There is just something exciting and beautiful about a Christmas tree all lit up and decorated.

I love this picture. What you can't tell from looking at it is that they were singing their version of Christmas carols inserting the words, underwear, toot, stinky sock, and toilet, where they thought appropriate. Life with a houseful of boys is...interesting. I love creating traditions with them, knowing that we are making memories that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.

Tennessee

2010-11-24T06:24:00.000-08:00

We took a little trip over the boys fall break. It was our first time traveling with no diapers, no feeding schedules, no pack-n-play, and unfortunately no DVD player. The boys did super for the long van ride and I give full credit to their lunch box's. I got each of the boys a new lunch bag and filled it to the brim with goodies. PB&J, pretzels, yogurt raisins, cheese stick, sliced turkey, fruit snacks, grapes, snack mix, almonds, water bottle, Capri sun, and a go-gurt! I gave them permission to eat whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted. They thought it was so cool, it kept them happy the entire drive and we never had to buy them a meal! I will be doing this for every road trip here on out.

My grandpa lives near the Hang-gliding capital of the world. It was one of our first stops after visiting with grandpa. The boys loved it and we were lucky enough to see a glider take off.

We hadn't been down to see Grandpa since Colin was born so we were long overdue for a visit. When we asked the boys what they're favorite part of vacation was, Jake said, " Seeing Grandpa Clifford!"

They also enjoyed the hotel pool, of course. We had it all to ourselves the whole time we were there. BONUS!

We went to Rock City and the boys were at the perfect age to enjoy it! That was definitely a highlight. We also got to go on a train ride at a train museum we visited.

If you ask me what I liked best, that's easy. I don't even have to think about it. Quality time with my four guys!

I love my life!

Fall

2010-11-04T10:59:00.000-07:00

I love jeans and sweatshirt weather. I love the view of our tree lined street. I love apple cider and pumpkin patches. I LOVE FALL!

I am filled to overflowing with gratitude for the blessing of family, beauty, love, and provision.
Blessed.
Amen.

What he does

2010-11-03T10:00:00.000-07:00

Evan has always loved reading.

He finds books wherever he is, plops down, and gets down to business.

It is the first thing he does when he gets home from school.

If anyone ever wonders where he is, the answer is usually, "He's in there with the books."

The library is his favorite place to be. He always leaves quite a pile of books to be re shelved.

My voice gives out long before he tires of sitting with me while I read to him.

Books are what he's into. It's just what he does. All. The. Time.

Kitchen Re-do

2010-10-24T18:54:00.000-07:00

Our kitchen has been a two part process. Part one made the kitchen functional and part two made it pretty. When we bought our house we tore down the wall paper and painted in the kitchen. Then three months later we added an island and different cabinets so the set up made more sense. That was part one and we did it on the cheap, in hopes of being able to do more later.

Forgive me for these first set of pictures. They were taken back in the dark ages before we had a digital camera. I guess we are still in the dark ages because we don't have a scanner so I had to take a picture of the pictures. Oh well I thought it was important to show you the BEFORE, before pictures.

Yes, that is a tiny little Evan in the corner there:)

Here are the second set of before pictures. These were taken right when we were starting to make some of our pretty changes. The wainscoating was already up around the island and even though the kitchen was far from clean I knew I had to take before pictures while they were still before.

I have never been known for my decorating skills and up until recently didn't know what I wanted or what style I was. I'm getting better and I get lots of help from an expert who happens to be related to me. She is the one who encouraged me to go for it when I showed her the blog post that inspired the style I was going for in my new kitchen. Then she helped me pick out colors and details, she is awesome.

Here is my new kitchen. I wish I was a better photographer but I'm not so you'll see shadows and the color is probably all wrong but you get the point. (I hope)

Shout out to my electrician husband who did all the lighting. He is dang good at his job and he built these lights himself when we couldn't find what we wanted for the price we needed. Awesome.

My husband also built this cabinet. (For the same reason as above.) Yes, he can do everything. I married well, very well.

I love my new kitchen and it has given me the bug to re-do all the other rooms in my house! One thing at a time I suppose.

*I'm linking up today at Metemorphosis Monday.

Did you know?

2010-09-27T10:38:00.000-07:00

This little guy started preschool at the beginning of the month. He goes two mornings a week. Do you know that means I have an hour and a half two mornings a week without ANY kids at home? It has taken me off guard and I like it but it's weird at the same time. It should mean that I have more time for getting things done around the house or actually updating my blog, but so far it just means I'm basking in the loveliness of quiet and doing nothing. I know I will probably miss all the noise once my boys are grown but right now I am loving my hour and a half two mornings a week!

First Day

2010-08-17T05:27:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty sure I was the only one with the first day jitters. The boys were excited to hop on the bus and ride off. I now have a first grader, kindergartner and one little boy who misses his brothers already. Summer was good but summer is over. We no longer have the luxury of lounging around in the mornings and spending the day however we please. It's on to routine and schedules, to rushing around and heading out the door at 7:35am, to field trips and homework. The first week is always a shock to the system but we will get into the groove and feel like old pro's before we know it.

I can't wait to hear about their days when they get home!

Our song

2010-07-28T18:13:00.000-07:00

Garden

2010-07-24T12:09:00.000-07:00

I haven't had a garden in years. I have been too busy being pregnant, tending to babies, and chasing toddlers...until now! This year, the boys aren't needing my constant attention and I felt up to the challenge of gardening. We tried to come up with a plan based on what we knew we would eat. Strawberries were at the top of the list so we carved out a good patch and planted our little starters. We are looking forward to actually seeing the fruit of our labor next summer! We also planted cucumbers, lettuce, bell peppers, carrots, green beans and tomatoes. I did not have very high expectations. I don't exactly have a green thumb, but wouldn't you know, everything grew! Here is a little collage of the progress.

I'm very excited to be eating fresh veggies from my very own backyard garden and we realized quickly that we will have more than enough for our family alone so it has been fun sharing with family and neighbors! Jacob even set up a "cucumber stand" to try and thin out our ever-growing supply of cukes.

18 cucumbers for sale fresh from the garden.

Waiting, waiting, waiting.

Mom, someone is coming!

You can always count on G.G. (My grandma). She was the first customer and bought ten!

My handsome salesman. Who could pass up a pickle from this boy?

Around Here

2010-07-22T18:26:00.000-07:00

We are having quite the summer. Remember when I said I wanted to do better about blogging and not go so long between posts? I still do and maybe one of these days I actually will. Until then I will just have to keep playing catch up with my few and far between posts.

The boys did the bike rodeo. The huge bonus was that they got to do it with their buddy William! They all did so great and they barely noticed that they didn't get trophies when they all had medals hanging around their necks:)

We've been hanging with these guys lots. I don't know what we'd do without cousins to play with, and these ones here are some of the best you can come by!

Let's hear it again for the cousins. Seriously cute if I do say so myself!

We've done a little camping (minus staying overnight in a tent...I know, we are wimps).

A little picnic-ing. In our own backyard even:)

We went to the beach!

We've been getting many, many "gun shows" from this one.

We've had lots of bare-chested boy days.

This one got tubes in his ears.

I braved the park with this crew one day. Six boys, seven and under! Oh the adventures!

We shared ice cream cones with this cutie pie cousin. Couldn't you just eat him up?!

So could Colin.

The days have been hot here and the boys play hard. I don't have to try too hard to wear them out. They do a great job of that themselves.

We still have some summer left but I'm already feeling myself wishing it would last longer.

Making a way for Evan

2010-06-05T18:03:00.000-07:00

It's no secret that things don't come easy for my Evan. He has to work HARD to accomplish whatever he may be doing. His fine motor skills have always been the hardest. Imagine trying to write, eat with a spoon, button your pants, zip your jacket or stack blocks with two oven mitts on each hand. That is what Evans occupational therapist says it's like for him. Not easy.

Obviously, pencil and paper learning isn't the best way for Evan so we, along with the school, had to come up with a different way for him to accomplish the same things. He loves computers but he can't seem to make the connection between what he is doing with the mouse and what was happening on the monitor. So the solution was a touch screen.

I think I cried every time I watched him using it for the first few weeks we had it. I just had never seen him so confident and independent. I realized that this could be THE tool that helps Evan learn and allows him to express himself.

Evan doesn't really fit into any mold and we are just learning as we go, how best to help him. School is a tricky place for a kid like Evan but I think we are heading in the right direction and that's a good place to be. I'm so proud of Evan and I think this will open up a whole new way for him.

Summer

2010-05-28T12:55:00.000-07:00

Let the fun begin!!!

We Love Summer!!

A good excuse for some fun

2010-05-17T10:34:00.000-07:00

Evan had a neurology appointment in Indianapolis last week. The kind of appointment that you drive three hours for and it only lasts twenty minutes and the doctor says, "Keep doing what you're doing and we'll see you back in about six months. Oh, and why don't we set up a MRI for you since it's been a while." Blah. It did give us a good excuse to surprise the kids and make this seemingly, miserable trip into a fun one. We had some Marriott Rewards points burning a hole in our pockets so we decided to drive down the evening before Evans appointment and stay the night in a hotel and get in some swim time. This happens to rank right up with Disney World where our kids are concerned.

Then we took it up another notch and took them to the children's museum for the day until time for the doctor. It was fun, fun, fun and the boys are at such good ages for it. No strollers or diaper bag! They loved the Bob the Builder exhibit, the playscape area, the carousal, and of course, the dinosaurs! It was so nice to feel like we were going to Indy for fun and just happened to stop by the Neurologist on our way out of town.

Three

2010-05-14T19:17:00.000-07:00

Colin turned three last Friday. He's big now, definitely not a baby. We are so blessed to have this boy. He brings so much laughter and joy to our family. He loves his brothers and is very much a daddy's boy. In fact, many times when I tell him that I love him, he says, "I wuv daddy". I don't take it too personal. He happens to be starting three on the wrong foot, with an attitude to big for his little body, but I'm sure he will come around. How can I think otherwise when I'm staring at this face?!

We love our little three year old buddy!

For the love

2010-05-05T20:05:00.000-07:00

I really do want to blog. I want to post something at least once every couple of weeks. I get on the computer and read everyone else's blogs. I make mental notes of things I want to blog about. Then I fail miserably to follow through. But here I am and I'm resolving to do better.

I'm going to try and cover some of what has happened since I last posted....3 months ago (for the love)! This should be quick and painless but I just won't feel right about not at least mentioning some of this. Deep breath, and:

Evan had his 7th birthday. We celebrated our little hearts out, he deserved it. : : The 8th anniversary of Lauren's death came and went. There were tears but there was also hope, I'm still learning this. : : Our newest little nephew, Silas, came and captured our hearts. : : We celebrated Easter. I made resurrection rolls with the boys. We colored eggs and had an egg hunt. We talked a lot about Jesus. : : We went to the zoo. We went to the park. We picnicked. : : I worked at and shopped at the Children's Resale at the Wakarusa Missionary church. : : Jacob had his Kindergarten round up. He is so excited and so ready. : : Maple Syrup Festival, garage sale, library story time, more park, more picnics. : : Matt had his 32nd birthday. We celebrated our little hearts out, he deserved it. : : We planned a garden. : : We are in the middle of a landscape project. : : We are in the middle of a little kitchen makeover, which is making me want to do a whole house makeover. : : Matt and I managed to sneak away for the weekend sans kids. We should really do that more often. : : Parks, picnics, field trips.

I'm leaving one thing out. I did it on purpose, because it just can't be thrown into the mix with everything else. Somewhere in the midst of all of these happenings (and many more), Evan and Jake gave their hearts to Jesus. I'm tearing up just writing about it now. I'm so proud of them. Evan made the decision first one night after our Bible story. I knew his heart was getting ready and that night he prayed and asked Jesus to live in his heart. After his prayer he looked down his shirt to talk to Jesus in his heart. Oh the faith of a child. Jacob had a few more questions and waited a few weeks, but since his prayer I have noticed a real difference in his heart. As young as they are, I just don't think I expected much but I should have known better. Jesus is really working on, in and through my kids and I think it's awesome.

Coming soon: Evans new computer. Gardening. House face lift. Kitchen makeover. Colin's birthday (he'll be 3 on Friday!). Pictures. Pictures. Pictures. Stay tuned:)

*Friends are Friends Forever

2010-02-08T11:32:00.000-08:00

We had so much fun this weekend with our dear friends, the Damaska's! I think all the kids were plotting on how we could stay together longer. Jacob suggested we stay for four weeks and when I said that we couldn't do that he thought two weeks was a fair compromise. Unfortunately we couldn't do that either. William made up a song about "the boys" staying longer. Evan pulled out the pouty lip and used it in full force when it was time to go. They just love to be together and since there are four hours between us, we don't get to see eachother as often as we'd like. We are thankful for the time we do get though and it's always good and always crazy. We love it! Thanks for the memories guys. We love you.

*Micheal W. Smith rocks!

Where has the time gone?

2010-02-02T10:38:00.000-08:00

January sort of got away from me and now here we are in February! Funny thing is, I still don't have much to say. I hate when I leave my blog for this long. It's always so hard to get back on track.

We have been keeping busy with all our usual stuff, plus I am starting to try to tackle a project everyday. When I say project, I mean, clean out a drawer or wipe off a shelf in the bathroom I haven't wiped in 2 months. So far I've cleaned out 4 cabinets, 2 drawers, and my pantry. Not a bad start but I'm sure by the time I get through my list it will be time to start over again.

Colin has been a sick boy. He started in with a cough and runny nose. That quickly turned into croup and ended up having to go in to the doctors office to get a shot for that. Now he is just a fevery-coughing-snotty mess. Poor guy is just plain miserable! Am I being unrealistic to hope that the rest of us escape this bug?

Oh here is an interesting tid-bit. When I took Colin to the doctor, I asked about why my boys tend to get croup when they catch a cold. He said that some kids just have that tendency. He said that there could be 100 kids with the same cold and three of them might get croup with it. Unbelievable! Matt and I got ALL three of those kids! We thought maybe we should start playing the lottery or something with all our luck:)

I think I've rambled enough for today. Happy Tuesday!

p.s.
I seemed to have lost the spell checker option for my posts. Where did it go? I can't spell so I hope you all can get through this without too much trouble:)

Bearing Rings

2010-01-17T08:17:00.000-08:00

Love is in the air. Matt's brother Chris and his fiance Rachelle got married yesterday. It was a beautiful wedding, they are a beautiful couple, and they have pretty good taste in ring bearers.

Evan did such a great job at the wedding and was the most handsome ring bearer I've ever come across! The boys all had so much fun with all the festivities that come with a wedding in the family. We are so glad that Chris found such a sweet girl with such a lovely family. Rachelle has one sister and six brothers! Chris fits right in with all the crazy fun they have. We feel pretty lucky to be gaining Rachelle into our family too.

The boys all dressed up and ready to go!

Wedding party.

Our nephew Tyler looking awfully handsome!

Jacob and Daddy dancing at the reception.

Colin getting his groove on! He was a total ham and everyone was impressed with his moves.

Evan and Tyler.

Congratulations Chris and Rachelle! We love you and are so happy for both of you.

An award

2010-01-11T07:04:00.000-08:00

Today I got a pleasant surprise while checking my blogs. The lovely Heather over at All A Flutter passed on a blog award to me. I'm flattered really. I don't get many awards these days so I'll take what I can get. :)

Along with this award, I'm supposed to reveal seven random things about me. Oh, boy!

1. When we got married, I was 19 and Matt was 21. We were practically babies!

2. In third grade we had to draw a picture of what we wanted to be when we grew up. I drew myself with a broom, and a baby. I wrote that I wanted to be a homemaker. I only wavered on that in middle school when, for a short time I wanted to be an O.B. nurse.

3. I love hearing birth stories! I secretly hope that someone (anyone at all) will ask me to be in the delivery room with them. I would love to be a labor coach.

4. I would choose pickles and olives (black or green) for a snack over cookies and brownies every time.

5. I hardly ever change CD's in the van or mess with the radio. I catch myself singing along to Veggie Tales a lot, when I'm driving...whithout any kids.

6. I love looking through cookbooks and cooking magazines, I love going grocery shopping but I DO NOT like cooking!

7. I'm not a picky eater at all. I like almost everything. The one thing that I have never liked was peanut butter.

Thanks Heather that was fun! Now I get to give this award to seven other bloggers!

Designer Mama

This Side of the Rainbow

Family time

2010-01-09T10:22:00.000-08:00

We had a great time over Christmas break. Matt had the week off between Christmas and New Years so we had tons of great family time. I'm convinced that the "stay cation" is the way to go. I'm sure this doesn't surprise anyone who knows me as the homebody I am.

The boys and I started out our break by making "white trash". We munched on it for the whole two weeks. You start with these,

mix it with this,

to create this yummy treat!

Warning: You may have to spread it out with your hand which will result in this,

but you can just enlist the help of an eager eater to do this,

Problem solved!

We had a great Christmas, celebrating with lots of family! We had four different family celebrations and then our family's' on Christmas morning.

Matt and I took the boys to see the Alvin and the Chipmunks movie. They loved it and it was Colin's first movie in the theater. He did great! We also took them to see Sesame Street Live. It was super fun! We took Evan and Jake to see a Sesame Street Live show two years ago and decided that Colin would really enjoy it this year. We were right!

It was great to start out the new year coming off such an awesome family time. Happy 2010!

Merry Christmas

2009-12-24T11:31:00.001-08:00

from our family to yours!

Eight

2009-12-23T03:00:00.000-08:00

Last night when I tucked the boy's in bed, I told them that tomorrow was someones birthday. They guessed everyone they could think of and then I told them it was someone we love who lives in Heaven. Their faces lit up and they shouted, LAUREN! I love when they say her name or talk about her. They have a sister that they never knew but somehow I know they love her.

Evan came home from school one day a while back and told me that he drew a picture of our family. I asked him to tell me about it, and he said, "I made me and Jake and Colin and you and daddy. You were holding Lauren and we were all smiling because Lauren was with us." What a reason to smile. Things like this are a gift to me, I love it. Jacob was looking at a baby picture of himself one day and told me, "Hey I look like Lauren, both our hands are the same." Sure enough, in his three month picture his hands are folded up by his face just like hers were in one of the pictures we have hanging up. Colin is still a bit young to talk much about her but when he says her name "Yo-yen" it gets me every time.

Today would have been her eighth birthday. Sometimes it seems so far away, like it never really happened. But it did happen. I know that on December 23, 2001 we welcomed a little girl into our family. We have hours of video tape of her and hundreds of pictures. So I know it happened. I know we have three sons, but before that we had a daughter. Our sweet, beautiful girl, Lauren Rebecca. I struggle every year to know what to do with this day. It's just hard do do birthday's without the guest of honor. I'm sure we will look through her scrapbook. We may end up going out to the cemetery. Whatever we do, I know we will be celebrating in our hearts this day eight years ago when God gave us Lauren.

Mystery revealed

2009-12-18T13:12:00.000-08:00

My sneaking suspicion was right. The pin cushion came from my good friend Sarah! We are going to use that pin cushion together some day. We have big plans.

Thank you for the gift Sarah. I love it and I love you! (p.s. remember what you told me on this day?)

Deals

2009-12-16T18:05:00.000-08:00

I've done a few posts about the deals I get couponing but haven't for a while. I had a pretty good shopping trip this week and thought it would be fun to share. I did two transactions at Meijer and spent a total of $23.24. The fun part is that I got $72.45 worth of groceries! When I brought all the food in and told Matt the total, he asked me if I stole some of it! ( I didn't of course.) I used about $18 worth of coupons on top of store sales and scored some awesome bargains. I'll tell you about some of my favorites.

Select Kellogg's cereals were on sale for 5 for $10. Meijer had a promotion, buy 5 Kellogg's cereals and get a free gallon of milk. I had a coupon for $5 off any 4 Kellogg's cereals and a .75 cent off coupon for 1 box of cereal. That means I got 5 box's of cereal and a gallon of milk for $4.25! I am loving that deal!

Mueller's pasta was on sale 3 for $2 (.67 cents each). I had a coupon for $1 off 2. That means I got 2 box's of past for .34 cents (.17 cents each). That is some cheap pasta!

Tropicana Trop50 orange juice is $2.92 regular price. I had a $1 off 1 coupon, which I stacked on top of a $1.50 off 1 Meijer coupon. That means I got it for . 42 cents. Woo-hoo!

This makes me so happy. Weird? Maybe. Budget friendly? Oh, yeah! Hooray for extra grocery money in the envelope after shopping!

I got a package

2009-12-16T07:27:00.000-08:00

A little brown box came in the mail on Monday, addressed to me! I never get stuff in the mail so I was very excited. I didn't recognize the return address and had no idea what it could be. I wasted no time ripping into it and found this sweet little gem.

It's a pin cushion. A very cute one at that. It makes me wish I knew how to sew! I looked through all the packaging but there was nothing saying who it was from. A mystery package! The only other thing in the box was a little business card from the etsy shop it came from. Have a look.

I have only one idea who it might be from and why but I don't know. Does anyone want to fess up to sending this sweet little bird my way? Does anyone want to teach me to sew so I can help it live up to it's full potential? Just asking.

Jacob's birthday party weekend

2009-12-14T13:30:00.000-08:00

Jacob will be turning five on Wednesday, but we had his party's (two to be exact) this past weekend. The weekend started out a little iffy. (We can't make plans in this family without some type of hitch!) Jake had a fever for three days straight but, thankfully, it took a hike on Friday afternoon so we didn't have to cancel the festivities. We hosted our first "Friend Party" on Saturday afternoon. Five of Jacobs friends came and of course Evan too. It was lots of fun for the kiddo's and also reminded me why I stopped after 3 boys. We played a few "organized" games but I'm convinced that they all would have rather just wrestled the whole time. I think everyone had a good time and Jacob was happy as a lark to have all his buddies in one spot!

We also did a much smaller celebration at my mom and dad's on Sunday afternoon with family. Mom and dad host Sunday afternoon/evenings at their house almost every week (they are awesome like that) so it wasn't much different except we ate cupcakes and Jacob got to open more presents.

He was quite wore out by Sunday night. It was a busy weekend for just getting over a fever and it may have been a case of too much birthday.

I love this boy. I love his heart. I know God has big plans for him.

More Christmas Cheer

2009-12-09T17:28:00.001-08:00

The girls in my family had our annual Christmas cookie bake on Saturday and as you can see we were quite busy! It's no wonder I can't take off those pesky ten pounds but boy am I in the Christmas spirit:)

What we did today

2009-11-28T10:33:00.000-08:00

It is a beautiful day here and perfect for decking the halls. We went and got our tree and trimmed it. I love it and the boys love it. My heart feels happy. I am blessed.

Breathe

2009-11-23T10:30:00.000-08:00

Evan was not quite four months old when he was first hospitalized with croup. He seems to gravitate to croup any time he starts with cold symptoms. He has asthma and that tends to complicate things further. We started to see a pattern. He would start with a clear runny nose, then get completely stuffed up, and then the cough would start. The super tight, barky cough. That usually started in the middle of the night and then we were in for it. If the pattern held true his breathing would start being labored and then sometimes end up with him struggling for each breath. We would sit up with him most of the night giving him breathing treatments, sitting in the bathroom full of steam, taking him outside in the cold air and still there would be times that we would end up in the E.R. There was one evening that "the cough" started at dinner and by 8pm we had called 911 and he was on his way to the hospital via ambulance. I have seen my boys lips start to turn blue and have to fight so hard to get a breath that his whole chest caves in. It is scary and awful. I think it was when he was around two or three years old that our pediatrician told us that it might start getting better when he was six or seven, when his airways were bigger. It seemed like such a long way off back then, but here we are!

This past weekend Evan started his old pattern. Runny nose, stuffed up, barky cough, but that was as far as it got! The last three nights I have brought his inhalers upstairs to bed. I've been on high alert and had super sonic hearing to detect the slightest change in his breathing (from across the upstairs). I mentally prepared myself for the worst. Ready to dash to the hospital with a boy, tinged blue, and having trouble breathing. I had to be. You can't exactly take many chances when your child has a history of not being able to breathe. But there was nothing. Not even a single wheeze. The doctor was right, he is finally growing out of the worst of his asthma! I am tickled pink, truly amazed and so thankful!

We might not be completely out of the woods yet but I'm counting this as a victory. Evan's first cold without having breathing difficulties. It may just have to go down in his baby book!

Catching up a little

2009-11-18T10:34:00.000-08:00

I feel like I should tell you that I haven't just been sitting around my house crying for the last few months. We have managed to do fun stuff, I just never managed to blog about it. I figured the best way to share all the pictures from some of the fun was to make these cute collages.

The boys and I tagged along with the Birch's (my sister Lindsey, and her family) to Kerchers for some fall fun. It was packed but we managed to do a hay ride, pick a basket of apples, eat lunch and drool over all the yummy baked goods. The pumpkin patch was a muddy mess so we opted to pick pumpkins from the already picked and cleaned pile:) The kiddos didn't seem to mind and we left with only one boy throwing a major fit. I count that as a success!

We also had the privilege of babysitting this sweet boy. My nephew Tyler blended right in as a fellow Moyer boy. I have to practically peel my boys away from him when he's around. They just love him and I think it is mutual. It always does me some good when I get some good snuggle time with him too:).

Lindsey, Shannan and I packed up all the kids, and a picnic lunch and headed to a fun park one day. It was supposed to be close to 70 degrees but I think it might of topped out at 45. We were all under dressed but it didn't stop these cousins from having a blast. The hit of the day was definitely the merry go round. The cold did, however, stop us from having our lunch outdoors. We packed up and headed back to Shan's for an indoor version of our picnic.

I am such a game player! I love to play just about any game so it makes me happy when one of the boys asks to play a game. It's usually Jacob and he usually picks Candyland. He is still working on being a good sport and gracious loser but let me tell you, he is NOT there yet! Evan won this particular game.

There you have it. A normal-ish post, from a normal-ish family, with exceptionally cute kids:). Happy Wednesday!

November

2009-11-17T07:03:00.000-08:00

November is a tough month for me. The past 7 Novembers to be exact. Lauren was born on December 23 but that day isn't as hard as the month leading up to it. For some reason the anticipation of her birthday is worse than the actual day. I start getting anxious and sad when November hits. It is hard to think of another year without our girl. Another year without a birthday celebration. Another Thanksgiving where we gather up all our strength and give thanks for all the hard stuff that has shaped us into the family and people we are. It's easy to thank God for all the blessings and good things but it's not so easy to say thank you for something that causes such tremendous pain. We are so thankful for Lauren and the gift she was. She changed us and I think she changed others too. She changed the way we think, the way we feel, the way we pray, and the way we love.

November is also the month that we do this:

These are always the first decorations of the season for us.

Just for fun

2009-11-14T18:16:00.001-08:00

These pictures make me smile...and they make me miss summer. I think I'm already starting to get antsy about being couped up for the winter! Enjoy!

This is my very favorite picture of my boys with their pals William and Kate.

Beach fun

My soccer boy.

Classic

At the pool.

Love these shorts on the boys. Don't they look handsome?!

Here, but not really.

2009-11-03T10:08:00.000-08:00

I've been sitting at my computer, staring at a blank page trying to think of something to write. I've already written and erased an entire post. I'm just not feeling it. I'm in some sort of haze that I can't seem to break free of. I'm having a hard time moving past my Annie post. Annie started a new grieving cycle for me. It's good and hard at the same time. Don't give up on me. I'll be back with other posts that are happy and fun but right now, I'm just not feeling it.

Annie Jane

2009-09-23T19:34:00.000-07:00

I have this friend, Sarah. We grew up about a mile from each other and have been friends since 1st grade. We have a history. We always knew we were a lot alike and people still mistake us for sisters when we're together. I'm always very flattered when that happens. I love her and even though we have been separated by many miles most of our adult lives, we have remained very close.

Sarah was one of the few people that I drew comfort from when our Lauren went to be with Jesus. She wrote me a note about 2 months after Lauren died and in it she said,

"I hurt for you and Matt, because I can't imagine your pain, I want to be there for you, to understand what you are going through, but I can't."

In the same note, she affirmed my feelings, assured me that she was praying for me, offered her support, and let me know that she would never forget Lauren. She is a great friend and her support meant so much to me. She was good on her word and has continued to love and support me through this almost 8 years later.

It breaks my heart to say that on Friday, we will be attending the funeral of Sarah's 6 month old baby girl, Annie Jane. Annie was sick for about a month before doctors discovered she had a large brain tumor. She went from the arms of her mom and dad straight into the arms of Jesus on September 22. I can't understand how something like this happens or why. Matt and I felt like since we went through what we did with Lauren, that everyone close to us was "off the hook" so to speak. Surely this type of tragedy wouldn't strike so close to home again. It did and boy does it hurt.

My prayer is that I can be the kind of friend to Sarah that she was to me. I certainly don't have any answers but I can offer her the same support she offered to me and this time, unfortunately, we will both understand the pain that comes with this type of loss. I hate that it is like that. I hate that Sarah has to know that pain. I hate that we have that in common. I do know that God is at work and I am trusting that he will sustain Sarah, Peter, William and Kate.

I am coveting your prayers now for my dear friend and her family. Pray for a peace that passes all understanding. They are going to need it. Annie Jane and Lauren are together in heaven. I can only imagine that they will be the best of friends.

I will leave you with a scripture that Sarah and I memorized (or were supposed to memorize) during a bible study that we attended together.

Isaiah 61:3 "and provide for those who grieve in Zion - to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor."

Evan

2009-09-03T09:52:00.000-07:00

Evan is 6 1/2 years old. He has seen pediatricians, developmental pediatrician, opthamologist, dermatologist, neurologist, neurosurgeon, urologist, geneticist, and endocrinologist. He has had too many viles of blood drawn to count, had 4 MRI's, 1 CAT scan, 2 EEG's, 2 eye muscle surgery's, 1 skin biopsy, been hospitalized 3 times, been taken to the hospital 3 times by ambulance, had numerous x-rays, been in physical therapy, occupational therapy, developmental therapy and speech therapy in different combinations since he was 8 months old, and been poked, proded, and checked over more times than anyone would want. He has been diagnosed with Syringomyelia (fluid in the center of his spinal cord), asthma, and Chromosome 17q21.31 micro deletion syndrome (a small portion of his 17th chromosome is missing).

Evan had some appointments this week down at Riley's Children Hospital. Our first was a 23 hour EEG. Evan is always so tolerant of doctors and does very well but having leads glued all over your head would get to anyone!

He was less than thrilled with the new "hat" he had to wear but decided that it might be ok, after a few books. He is easily distracted:)

The nurse told me that I was lucky that our room had the "deluxe" bed. Yes, that is it folded up behind Evan. FYI...it didn't feel very deluxe to me! He was very ready to have all of this removed but I think that part was worse for him than getting them put on! He was a trooper though and was very happy to see that his hair was still under there:)

After our neurology appointment we decided to have a fun day! We ate at our favorite Indy restaurant, Buca Di Beppo! It was so yummy!

Then we headed to the zoo. I forgot how cool that zoo is and we had so much fun forgetting about doctors for a while. He thought about reaching in and touching the sharks but decided against it.

He did touch the elephant and said that it felt like a porcupine. I'm not sure how he came up with that.

We even got to watch a dolphin show. It was so nice to spend some fun time with Evan in the midst of so much not so fun stuff.

The next morning brought more lab work, an x-ray and an appointment with the Endocrinologist. It was a long 3 days but I came home to two other happy boys, cared for by my parents and sisters and a sparkling clean house (thanks to my awesome mom)! In most ways it was annoying that we had to spend 3 days going to doctor appointments but I spoke to one mom who said they had been there for 13 days! We really are blessed and it was obvious that Evan doesn't have it half as bad as some of the other children we saw at the hospital. We are so blessed with a 6 year old boy who despite all of these medical issues is learning and growing and even teaching us a thing or two. God gave us a special little boy and we are so very proud of him.

Crazy

2009-08-28T10:29:00.000-07:00

Things are crazy around here right now. We have a ton of stuff going on and it's all happening at the same time. I feel like a stressed out, worn out, unorganized mess at the moment and it's about to get worse. We head down to Indy on Sunday night with just Evan. We will be there for 3 days for doctor appointments and tests. Those kind of trips are not my favorite. He will be getting a 23 hour EEG, seeing the Neurologist, and were adding a new specialist now, Endocrinology. We are also throwing another test in at the lab while we're there, for good measure. (ha, ha)

But, since I would really prefer not to think about all that I'm going to post some pictures of the boys several weeks ago. They make me smile and I need that today!

I bought goggles on sale at Dollar General and thought it would be fun to let the boys try them out in the tub. They agreed.

HA! That one cracks me up! Ahhhh, I feel better now:)

Trusting Faith

2009-08-24T05:15:00.000-07:00

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding." Proverbs 3:5

It's been 71/2 years now since we held our sweet girl in our arms. Lately I've been feeling like it's getting harder for me. Seven years is a long time and I liked it better when I could say, "Just 3 months, 6 months, even a year ago we were taking care of Lauren and kissing her little cheeks." Oh sure, the emotions were flying high back then, but the memories were so fresh. I still remembered how she felt in my arms, how she smelled, and how her tiny cry sounded. Now it is so fuzzy. There are too many other things crowding those memories in my brain. So much time has passed and so many things have happened since then. Several weeks ago, Matt and I were developing some pictures for a project that my sister in law was working on for my parents. After we picked them up, I opened the envelope to see how they turned out. When I pulled out the pictures of Lauren I started crying immediately. Right there in Meijer, I just busted out the tears. I couldn't help it. I was standing there looking at my little girl and she was so beautiful and it had been too long since I had really looked at her. Time is a weird thing and it most definitely doesn't heal all wounds. It's a good thing I know Someone in the healing business.

I was clearing off a bookshelf the other day and came across a piece of paper with a passage I had typed out from a book I had read. I actually read it outloud to the group of family and friends who came to a balloon launch we had in memory of Lauren. It was just what I needed back then when everything was so fresh and it is just what I need to be reminded of 7 years later. Forgive me for not remembering what book or who the author is but here is what it says.

"Scripture tells us that in this life, our view of reality is like a blurry reflection in a mirror but that someday we will see God clearly, as He really is, and we will see Him face to face. Our earthly eyesight is just too imperfect to see down the road far enough for this life to make sense. That's when trust takes over. God doesn't expect us to understand all of life's circumstances. In fact He tells us not to rely on our understanding, but to trust Him. So when you are tempted to ask why or when your heart wants desperately to make sense of it all, remember Proverbs 3:5. You don't need to understand, what you need to do is trust in the Lord. When trust turns to praise and we open our mouths to thank Him for His goodness, something supernatural takes place inside our souls. We find peace and strength. We forget about ourselves and instead focus on the One who holds the world in His hands. When we stop striving to understand and give in to trust, we will see that His mighty hand was at work all along in the thing we thought would crush us."

You see, even though our daughter was born with a chromosome disorder that was, "not compatible with life", and we no longer have the joy of having her with us, God is still God and he is still good. He never promised that we would live lives, void of any troubles or hardships, but that he would be there with us and never leave us. He has walked this road with us and carried us most of the way. He knows every tear I've cried and heard every desperate prayer I've prayed. I have a reason to praise him and I should....and I will.

Deals

2009-08-20T18:40:00.000-07:00

I made a trip to Target this afternoon with the boys to get some prescriptions filled for Evan. I also happened to score some major deals while I was there!:) I got a a little coupon booklet in the mail the other day from Target. It had (among others) a Luvs diaper coupon, Huggies wipes coupon and a Boost Kids Essentials coupon. It also had coupon for $5 off a $25 purchase of baby items. I was pretty sure I could turn this into a pretty sweet deal so here's what I did:

Luvs Diapers $17.99

Huggies Wipes $5.99

Boost Kid Essentials $6.85 (on clearance)

I used my $5 off $25 and then I used my $1 off Luvs Target coupon, my 1.50 off wipes Target coupon plus .50 off wipes manufacturer coupon, and my $2 off Boost Target coupon plus a $3 off manufacturer coupon.

I also bought:

Yogos $1.75

3 individual cups of Cheerios $1 each

2 tubes of Carmex $1.02

I used a .50 off Kellogs fruit snack Target coupon plus a .50 off Yogos manufacturer coupon, 3 $1 off General Mills cereal Target coupons, and 2 $1 off Carmex manufacturer coupons.

I paid a total of $19.79 for all of this! Not too bad since the diapers alone were originally $17.99!:) I love shopping trips like that!

And then there were two

2009-08-18T05:06:00.000-07:00

Evan left us this morning. The first day of being at school all day! He is repeating kindergarten this year, which is half day, and will spend the other half of his day in a class for kids with different special needs. He is thrilled and had no worries this morning.

He just walked onto the bus like he'd been doing it his whole life....no looking back! He could have at least humored me and pretended that he might miss me a little.

Now, I am trying to wrap my brain around only having two boys for the day. Only two bodies to cart around, only two mouths to feed at lunch, only two pairs of shoes to tie and only two little tornado's running all over the place being crazy. This is going to be weird! Jake and Colin sure will miss Evan during the day. Jake already told me this morning, "This is taking forever!", referring to Evan getting home. It might be a long day with only two! But aren't they cute:)

Blueberry Summer

2009-08-13T10:23:00.000-07:00

We love blueberries at our house! This summer I've taken the boys several times to go picking with me. The first time was a little iffy but they got the hang of it soon enough. (and by "got the hang of it", I mean they realized they could use the pick and eat method.) The first time we went, Jake was picking on a bush behind me and kept asking me to look and see if the berry he picked was a good one.

I told him to taste it and if it was good then the berries like it would be good too. He decided that was a good enough answer and went back to picking. Pretty soon he said, "Mom, I'm tasting each and every one!" I thought he just meant he was eating all that he picked instead of putting them in his bucket. I looked in his bucket a minute later and found that he was indeed tasting each and every one. He was picking, taking a bite, and then dropping the half eaten berry in his bucket!

Evan didn't even mess around with putting any in his bucket. They went straight down the hatch and when I tried to convince him to pick them to take home he tried chanting, "Don't eat 'em, don't eat 'em, don't eat 'em." , while he was picking. It didn't work and every time I asked him how his bucket was coming along, he said "Not good".

Colin mostly ate his too but wasn't good at remembering that only the blue ones were good to eat.

I'm glad we made so many fun memories this summer! I'm really going to miss the blueberries and the picking now that summer is nearing an end and school is starting very, very soon. There are fun things that go along with that but there is nothing quite like summer time!

Mr. President

2009-08-05T11:11:00.000-07:00

President Obama visited our little town today. It was a big deal, with nearly 500 police officers positioned all over town (one in my sisters driveway), secret service all over, bomb sniffing dogs, and snipers on the middle school roof top. I dressed the boys in red, white and blue and we headed out to see the action up close at my sisters. (She lives right across the street from where the helicopters actually landed!)

I don't exactly see eye to eye with President Obama but it was fun to see Air force One fly in right over our heads and to have Marine One fly in and land right across the street! That sort of thing doesn't happen everyday!

The boys thought it was cool to see all the police cars, motorcycles, and helicopters. Maybe someday they will look back on all these pictures and think it was cool that the President of the United States of America came to their town and they got to see it!

Pete and Repeat

2009-08-04T11:10:00.000-07:00

Colin is Jacobs shadow. He does (wants to do) everything that Jake does. If Jake wants his shoes off, so does Colin. If Jake is finished with lunch, so is Colin (even when he isn't). If Jake climbs up on a huge rock at the park and jumps off, so does Colin. You get the idea. This annoys Jake sometimes and I hear, "Mom, he's doing whatever I do!", a lot. We have been trying to talk to Jake about being careful to make good choices because Colin is always watching him and trying to do what he does. It is semi-affective at best. I think it is adorable to watch and I'm so thankful that all my boys are such good buddies. I hope they always stay close and enjoy being together.

Deals!

2009-07-27T10:33:00.000-07:00

I am so excited about my latest shopping adventure. I know that probably makes me weird but that's ok. Meijer was having a big "10 for $10 and get the 11th free" sale going on. I had a ton of coupons to match and resulted in me saving tons of money! Pictured below is everything I got (minus the Scotts flushable wipes and wipe refill that I forgot to put in). I got it all at Meijer and everything except the wipes, bananas, milk, carrots, margarine, and waffles were on sale.

I spent $41.13 and saved $78.64. I used $26.45 worth of coupons!! WHOO-HOO:) That means I got roughly $120 worth of groceries for $41 bucks! At least 10 of these items were absolutely free!:) Meijer was very good to me this week!

Everyday

2009-07-23T19:05:00.000-07:00

- I got my haircut. It's super short. I think I like it but I may or may not look like a boy.
- My sister and I attempted to take our boys blueberry picking. It did not go well and we left with several crying children.
- I got to go on a date with my husband....to the grocery store.
- I spent $55 on groceries and saved $50 ($24 in coupons). Not too bad considering all the mouths I have to feed:)
- We skipped the fair (again) this year even though I know that Jake really wanted to go on the dragon roller coaster. Does that make us bad parents?
- Evan lost his first tooth and the tooth fairy left him a big hopper ball (you know the kind you sit on and bounce). I love it that the tooth fairy is so therapy minded:)
- The boys and I ate lunch at the Farmers Market today. It was fun but very expensive.
- I had to exchange a pair of pants for a smaller size today. I wish it was because I'm loosing weight, unfortunately it must be because the pants are made funky.
- I'm tired and really wish my house would clean itself!

Jake

2009-07-20T08:55:00.000-07:00

This morning at the breakfast table I thought I'd ask the boys what they thought Jesus was like. Jake piped right up and answered, "Well, he doesn't make a mistake, he doesn't throw fits or anything like that. Oh, and he has a mustache!"

Happy Monday!

Julember

2009-07-18T06:34:00.000-07:00

The title is a fancy word that I made up for the weather we are currently experiencing. It's July that feels like September. (Clever, I know) I love summer and all the fun activities that come along with it but I must admit that fall weather is my favorite so I'm enjoying this break from the norm!

It just seems funny that just last week we looked like this.

And now we look like this.

Crazy, mixed up Indiana weather! I hope that a surprise snow storm isn't next!

To eat an ice cream bar

2009-07-12T18:47:00.000-07:00

My dad brought ice cream bars over one evening a couple weeks ago. The boys (and Matt and I) thought it was such a fun treat. It was funny to see the different styles of ice cream bar eating the boys had. Here is the recap with pictures. Evan took big bites all over his bar and ate very fast.

He was the first one done and had the most on his face:) Jacob took small and steady bites, starting at the top and working his way down. A very grown up approach.

He finished 2nd and was by far the cleanest with only a few sticky fingers. Colin is a rookie ice cream bar eater and needed the most coaching. He took tiny bites and sometimes only licked the chocolate coating. He took long breaks between bites resulting in a lot of melting.

He finished last and most of it ended up on his hand and later on the cement.

We all loved the ice cream treat and hope we get another try at perfecting our styles of eating them soon!

When moms away, boys will play

2009-07-08T07:51:00.000-07:00

What I got done this morning:
- Cleaned bedrooms
- Put two loads of clean laundry away (my worst chore)
- Cleaned upstairs bathroom
- Vacuumed carpets downstairs
- Cleaned downstairs bathroom
- Swept kitchen
- Dishes
- Cleared and wiped down countertops
- Started more laundry

What the boys got done this morning:

- Put every, single toy in the playroom in the basement, on the floor.

They now have a project of their own to do today!

This is a test

2009-07-07T11:34:00.000-07:00

Well, I thought it was time for a change so here we are. I hope that I can figure this new system out quickly and get back in the habit of blogging more...time will tell. If you want to read from my old blog you can find it here.