Saturday, July 26, 2008
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Feel the love
And a recent Josh-talk:
Jake: Josh, who do you wuv better? Andrew or me?
Josh: Jacob, you awe my twin bwover and i wuv you cuz you gave me a dowwa.
Recent Jakeism's
These are the things that I have heard Jake say lately.
To Rainia: “I hate you, but you’re cute”
To Me: “Your face is ugly but your hair is very beautiful, and that is why I love you.”
And the moral decision of his young life:
Recently Jake lost his tooth:
That night, he put the tooth under his pillow, woke up the next morning to check, and his tooth was still there. Rick and I explained that sometimes the tooth-fairy is very busy going to people’s houses, and it takes 2 nights. He played with his tooth. Yes, I know how disgusting that sounds, but it was in a ziplock bag. Anyway, he played with his tooth, and unfortunately, lost it. He was VERY sad. One of the other kids gave him the idea to write a note to the tooth-fairy, explaining that he lost his tooth, and then lost his tooth. He did this, and to his delight, the next morning there were three dollars under his pillow. He was excited, held and loved his dollars, and then, this evening, we offered to take him to the dollar store. He was very sweet, and decided to take Joshua and Andrew with him, since he had 3 dollars. Andrew declined, but Josh took him up on his offer, and they went to the dollar store, spending a dollar each, which left Jake with one dollar. This evening, as we were getting ready for bed, came his big moral dilemma.
He decided that since it worked to put the letter about the lost tooth the other night, it would probably work again tonight, even though he actually didn’t lose another tooth. So he wrote this:
Wow. I was shocked to the point of confusion. I was both proud and disappointed at the same time. I was quite impressed with his ingenuity, but could not believe that he would feel ok about telling such a blatant lie. I knew that I had to somehow turn this into a lesson, but how?
Rick and I took turns asking him gentle questions. Some of the questions included:
“What do you think will happen if the tooth-fairy finds out you’re lying?”
“How will you feel tomorrow if there IS money, and you know that you lied to get it?”
“What about God?”
“What if there is another little boy who lost a real tooth tonight, and the tooth-fairy is busy coming to our house?”
We left the decision up to him, not trying to sway him one way or the other, Just carrying on conversation. I could see the struggle in his face as he pondered his decision, and he ultimately decided not to leave the note, saying that he had another loose tooth anyway. We both gave him a big hug, and told him that we thought he made the right decision. Later, when it was just the two of us, I asked him why he decided not to leave the note. His answer gave me warm fuzzies in my heart. “Because I didn’t wanna lie mommy.”
To Rainia: “I hate you, but you’re cute”
To Me: “Your face is ugly but your hair is very beautiful, and that is why I love you.”
And the moral decision of his young life:
Recently Jake lost his tooth:
That night, he put the tooth under his pillow, woke up the next morning to check, and his tooth was still there. Rick and I explained that sometimes the tooth-fairy is very busy going to people’s houses, and it takes 2 nights. He played with his tooth. Yes, I know how disgusting that sounds, but it was in a ziplock bag. Anyway, he played with his tooth, and unfortunately, lost it. He was VERY sad. One of the other kids gave him the idea to write a note to the tooth-fairy, explaining that he lost his tooth, and then lost his tooth. He did this, and to his delight, the next morning there were three dollars under his pillow. He was excited, held and loved his dollars, and then, this evening, we offered to take him to the dollar store. He was very sweet, and decided to take Joshua and Andrew with him, since he had 3 dollars. Andrew declined, but Josh took him up on his offer, and they went to the dollar store, spending a dollar each, which left Jake with one dollar. This evening, as we were getting ready for bed, came his big moral dilemma.
He decided that since it worked to put the letter about the lost tooth the other night, it would probably work again tonight, even though he actually didn’t lose another tooth. So he wrote this:
Wow. I was shocked to the point of confusion. I was both proud and disappointed at the same time. I was quite impressed with his ingenuity, but could not believe that he would feel ok about telling such a blatant lie. I knew that I had to somehow turn this into a lesson, but how?
Rick and I took turns asking him gentle questions. Some of the questions included:
“What do you think will happen if the tooth-fairy finds out you’re lying?”
“How will you feel tomorrow if there IS money, and you know that you lied to get it?”
“What about God?”
“What if there is another little boy who lost a real tooth tonight, and the tooth-fairy is busy coming to our house?”
We left the decision up to him, not trying to sway him one way or the other, Just carrying on conversation. I could see the struggle in his face as he pondered his decision, and he ultimately decided not to leave the note, saying that he had another loose tooth anyway. We both gave him a big hug, and told him that we thought he made the right decision. Later, when it was just the two of us, I asked him why he decided not to leave the note. His answer gave me warm fuzzies in my heart. “Because I didn’t wanna lie mommy.”
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Rick's best friend
Although Rick very strongly denies liking our cat Grier, the cat has no problems expressing his feelings for Rick.
This is Rick playing playstation football:
This is Rick's motorcycle. No, he didn't drive off sending the cat flying. Although he wanted to.
This is Rick playing playstation football:
This is Rick's motorcycle. No, he didn't drive off sending the cat flying. Although he wanted to.
At the Barn
Recent horse pictures:
Kyley's first rodeo: She ran barrels on Montana in 32 seconds. Her goal for her (and Montana's) first time was 45 seconds. So we were very proud.
A day at the Barn
Brooke and Poco
Brittney and Lasso
Rainia and Floyd
Kyley and Montana
Jacob and Cherokee
Andrew and Smokey
Josh and Poco
Cherokee and Smokey love each other very much
Very, Very much
My sexy Cowboy and Montana
Kyley's first rodeo: She ran barrels on Montana in 32 seconds. Her goal for her (and Montana's) first time was 45 seconds. So we were very proud.
A day at the Barn
Brooke and Poco
Brittney and Lasso
Rainia and Floyd
Kyley and Montana
Jacob and Cherokee
Andrew and Smokey
Josh and Poco
Cherokee and Smokey love each other very much
Very, Very much
My sexy Cowboy and Montana
Friday, July 18, 2008
Paper
I went to get some more paper for my project, and the paper I am using is SO incredible. In the store, I caressed it, and then I hugged it, and then I licked it. Because I couldn't resist. Then Rick said I was crazy. Then he said that he was going to cover his body in that paper, and just for a minute, I entertained the thought and smiled. That is how much I love that paper.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Family
So I don't want to turn this into "the wedding blog" but I am already stressed and emotional to the point of crying, and we are only trying to chose a location. How am I going to do this?
Kyley had her last day of horse camp last Fri. She was very sad, and asked Mr. Jim (the owner) if maybe she would be able to ride on the weekends some time. Mr. Jim was very kind and told her yes, but unfortunately a couple had bought "her" horse. The horse that Kyley has been taking care of is Montana. He is a 7 yr. old paint. She has been riding him daily, as well as learning all of the horse care on him. She has gotten very attached to him, and is understandably upset that someone has bought him. Mr. Jim informed her that the couple would be taking him home, instead of boarding him, so she wouldn't be seeing him if she visited the barn on weekends. She cried, but had to pull it together, because the couple showed up at the barn to get him, and wanted to ask her about him since she is the one who knows the most about him. Imagine her surprise when she walked out of the barn and saw us. WE were the couple who bought Montana. Oh, and Mr. Jim exagerated when he said the couple was taking Montana home. Montana is in fact staying at the barn where people know how to take care of horses. Also, we didn't actually buy Montana, Rick traded him. We are in the South you know. Rick says that it was a good trade, because when the gas prices get even worse, he will be riding Montana to work.
This is Kyley's intense hapiness
Kyley and Rick. Tears of joy
Kyley, still crying, with some of the other "Barn kids"
Kyley and Montana
Montana
Kyley had her last day of horse camp last Fri. She was very sad, and asked Mr. Jim (the owner) if maybe she would be able to ride on the weekends some time. Mr. Jim was very kind and told her yes, but unfortunately a couple had bought "her" horse. The horse that Kyley has been taking care of is Montana. He is a 7 yr. old paint. She has been riding him daily, as well as learning all of the horse care on him. She has gotten very attached to him, and is understandably upset that someone has bought him. Mr. Jim informed her that the couple would be taking him home, instead of boarding him, so she wouldn't be seeing him if she visited the barn on weekends. She cried, but had to pull it together, because the couple showed up at the barn to get him, and wanted to ask her about him since she is the one who knows the most about him. Imagine her surprise when she walked out of the barn and saw us. WE were the couple who bought Montana. Oh, and Mr. Jim exagerated when he said the couple was taking Montana home. Montana is in fact staying at the barn where people know how to take care of horses. Also, we didn't actually buy Montana, Rick traded him. We are in the South you know. Rick says that it was a good trade, because when the gas prices get even worse, he will be riding Montana to work.
This is Kyley's intense hapiness
Kyley and Rick. Tears of joy
Kyley, still crying, with some of the other "Barn kids"
Kyley and Montana
Montana
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Homemade Sucks!
Note to self:
Never, ever think that DIY is cute and original. Sentimental is SO over-rated! You could have chosen magnet save-the-date cards like everybody else. And then you would be done instead of spending every waking moment working.
Never, ever think that DIY is cute and original. Sentimental is SO over-rated! You could have chosen magnet save-the-date cards like everybody else. And then you would be done instead of spending every waking moment working.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Camping
So we have been rejoicing health and family, and spending a lot of time together. Our camping trip was wonderful, and we stayed here. We all had a great time. We stayed in our tents the first night after watching the firework display, and when it rained on Sat., we switched to a rustic cabin, which was SO cute. The highlight of the trip was the 4 girls singing their hearts out at karyoke night. Also this tree, which I just loved:
Since we've been home, we have decided that because of Andrew's good report, it is time to focus on planning a wedding!!!
Since we've been home, we have decided that because of Andrew's good report, it is time to focus on planning a wedding!!!
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Hooray!!!
Everything looks great!!! I am so happy. The tumor has actually gone DOWN since the last MRI, meaning the radiation is still working. YYYYEEEEAAAAAHHHHH!!!!! I will post exact size measurements when Rick gets home with the paperwork. The Dr. says that the dizziness was probably caused by the tumor changing (shrinking). I guess that the attitude was simply 11 year-old-boy!!! Totally normal, but at least now we can feel more comfortable disciplining. lol. He doesn't even want to see us again for another MRI until Jan. unless Andrew shows symptoms. PHEW! Rick says he feels like 600 lbs. was lifted off of his chest, and I feel the same. Now to get ready for our camping trip...
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
I'm Scared
Rick and Andrew just left without me, because I decided to stay home and clean and pack for our camping trip this weekend. Now I'm really scared and sad because what if they get bad news without me. And is camping gonna matter if they find out tomorrow that Andrew has to start chemo? Of course not. Great. Now I'm crying.
Let them teach eachother
Hey All!!! We go up to Durham this evening. Andrew has a MRI early tom. morning, and then an appointment for us to get the results. We are praying that everything is OK. It's so difficult with his tumor to know what is normal and what isn't. He has had more of an "attitude", but is it from the tumor or is it because he just turned 11, and is testing the territory? He has had decreased appetite, but is it from the tumor, or is it because he's not going through a growth spurt right now? He did have a couple days of dizziness, but is it from the tumor? or did he have a little virus? We just never know. It's so scary to deal with this. Where his tumor is located, and the kind it is, eventually it will start growing again, and he will need to start chemo treatments. We just pray that the day is not today. Lets hope that the radiation is still doing it's thing, and we don't have to worry about more treatments right now.
I will leave you with a video of him, taken by Kyley without his knowledge. This is SO hilarius to us. He still has not regained full control of his right arm and hand, and he has a limp. All curtesy of the surgery. In this video, he shows that these things can have a distinct benefit.
Parenting 101 Lesson 4: What you can't teach them, let them teach eachother
I will leave you with a video of him, taken by Kyley without his knowledge. This is SO hilarius to us. He still has not regained full control of his right arm and hand, and he has a limp. All curtesy of the surgery. In this video, he shows that these things can have a distinct benefit.
Parenting 101 Lesson 4: What you can't teach them, let them teach eachother
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