My Loving, Chaotic Life

All I can think is wow. This has been the year of change. It started with a new TV because our big screen TV went out on New Year's Day. We ended up buying a LCD TV which was pretty awesome. Our laptop crashed and the dryer shortly after. While the upgrades are nice, I could have done without the extra expense. :)

I went for being a children's director for Community Bible Study and staying home to working full-time in a secondary office. In January 2009, Jack was going to school for 4 hours everyday, and Luke was going twice a week for 5 1/2 hours. Now, both of my boys are in school all day. They are flourishing in a way I never imagined. Luke can see me throughout the day, give me a big hug, and go along his way with the rest of the class. He went from crying every single time I left him somewhere to being completely happy being left in his Pre-K class.

Jack has amazed me this year. He went from a shy little boy who couldn't read very well to an outgoing young man who loves to read The Hardy Boys and The Wimpy Kid Diary which are good size novels. He loves Math and Science. The only thing that hasn't changed is his favorite thing at school is P.E.

Aaron has changed jobs. He was driving to West 820 until he moved his job to north Dallas. What a haul! Although, it is pretty cool that he knows his way around up there. It made it really nice when we went to Medieval Times last week. We both get up way too early in the morning, but he can be home by 6 and have Fridays off every week. We love it!

Probably the saddest change for me is watching my babies become boys. I see the little bellies and baby talk disappearing right in front of me. I love that they are growing up, but it hurts my heart at the same time.

Amidst all the change, we have had a lot of fun especially doing family activities. Some of my favorites this year were Six Flags,Nashville with Uncle B, Vonnie and Ellie,camping,and Medieval Times.

I pray that 2010 brings my family peace and happiness. I pray that my boys continue their love for school and find friends who love God and want to do good. I pray that Aaron continues to enjoy his working environment and always sees the progress he is making at his job. I pray that when I open my mouth it is used as a tool to lift others instead of being negative. I pray that as Aaron and I approach our 10th anniversary that we love each other more everyday and find laughter in everything. I pray that myself, family and friends will find a peace that will last them a lifetime.

I want anyone and everyone who reads this to realize that true peace is ONLY obtained through Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. No matter the circumstances He will always be there to stand beside you and comfort you in a way no human can. His love is everlasting, and He wants you to part of His forever family. When you claim Him as the Son of God who while sinless himself died on the cross for our sins and rose three days later, then a peace so pure will rest upon you.

This is one of my top three verses from the Bible:

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." John 14:27

Let 2010 be the year you give up control and let God be in true control of your life. What better opportunity than the start of a new decade to give your life to the One who loves you so much He had His Son die on a cross for you so you could be with Him for eternity. I don't know many people who would sacrifice their own child for someone else. God bless and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

On December 23, we took the boys to Medieval Times for something fun to do during the Christmas Break. It was fantastic! The boys are at the perfect age to enjoy the atmosphere and actually want to eat the food.

I will say that the show was probably 30 minutes too long for Luke. He was ready to go during one of the biggest fight scenes. Luckily, he was entertained enough going back and forth from my lap to his chair and drinking his Pepsi.

We cheered on the Yellow Knight and booed the Green Knight. Apparently, I cheered quite well for the Yellow Knight as he threw a flower at me. All I can say is I know how to rock the yellow streamer.

As usual, I have an excellent 4:35 minute montage of our experience. If you want to watch, then check out the last 30 seconds of the video. All I can say is Luke is NOT one to dance, but he really let loose when that song came on. I'm going to have to get it for my iPod just to watch him boogie again.

Brr.........

It amazes me that we are 10 days away from Christmas. I keep asking myself where did 2009 go?? As usual, the weeks before Christmas prove to be very busy. It seems like every night there is a party or activity to attend. If we aren't going somewhere, then we are busy getting stuff together for Christmas.

Sunday night, Aaron and I wrapped gifts for the family. We actually ran out of wrapping paper. I can't believe it! It isn't that we had many gifts. It is the fact that I haven't bought paper in years because I had so much left over year after year. I had to go buy wrapping paper yesterday AT FULL PRICE. You don't know how this pains me knowing the same wrapping paper will be 50% off in 11 days.

I've also been busy helping with the classroom parties for the boys. I love the fact that this year I can be more a part of the classroom as a homeroom helper. I find it ironic that it took a full time job for me to be able to do more with my boys when they are at school. Granted, my job is right there with them, so I guess it shouldn't be that shocking!

Yesterday, I was reminded of how sweet a spirit Jack has. He had to show his class a tradition that our family has at Christmas. He wanted to read Luke 2:1-14 from the Bible. We read it every Christmas morning. In fact, this tradition has been going on since I was a little girl.

So, he read Luke 2 (and did a fantastic job at pronouncing some of those tough words), and his teacher asked him if he had anymore to add. Below is what he said:

"Jesus was born on a Friday. Actually, he was born on Christmas Eve. He grew up and died on a cross. He died on the cross for my sins. He was THE child of God. He is my Savior. And that's all I have to say."

Can it get any better?

Through the hustle and bustle of the season, I pray that one things be the center point of the festivities. A baby was born many years ago. He was and is the Son of God. He died on a cross so that our sins could be covered in His redeeming blood. For me, the picture that captures this season's meaning is not one of a baby in a manger. It is a picture that show the destiny of that baby in the manger.

#9

The boys had a great time last weekend decorating the Christmas tree. Compared to last year, they did a great job of placing the ornaments throughout the tree instead of the bottom front of the tree. I have to say I truly love this time of year. The weather has been unseasonably cold. So far, we've had snow and temperatures in the upper 30s. For real!

As usual, any family event begins peacefully, but it always ends in chaos. My boys decided that just decorating the tree wasn't enough fun. They had to have a tickle war to see who could laugh the loudest. I got a ton of pictures and even shot the photo for our Christmas cards. Yay! Granted, Luke is wearing a long sleeve tee and shorts, and Jack has on his cut-up pirate pants I made him with a FBC tee. However, it doesn't matter. I used to be so irritated when stuff didn't turn out perfect. Now, I'm just happy to get a picture. As Lukey says, "You get what you get, and you don't throw a fit!"

Below is a preview is of all the fun we had on November 28 decorating the Christmas Tree:

I am several weeks behind on posting photos and other fun stuff that we did during October. I will catch up over the next few days.

Since I have a minute before I need to finish getting ready for church, I wanted to leave my family that didn't get to see the boys last night a little photo of their costumes. Let's just say...Mama mia! Dis is a good costume!

Often, I feel like this title (All Quiet on the Western Front) early in the morning. Everyone is still sleeping, and I'm sitting here enjoying my coffee. I soak up the silence because the rest of my day is filled with chaos, talking, laughter, etc. I do enjoy those times of the day, too. It is just at this time I can truly reflect on what is going on in my life and the lives of the ones I love.

There is a novel known by title of this post, too. I read it in my high school AP English class. It was pretty gruesome because it dealt with World War I and the loss of innocence of a young soldier. When I thought of this title, I instantly remembered that novel and found some similarities to my mornings.

I go through the day and am shocked at the cruelty in the world. I watch people hurt each other. I see loved ones pass away and watch families grieve. I find what little innocence I had left is simply slipping away as I sit and think during my quiet mornings.

Then, my boys wake up. Instantly, my innocence is renewed through them. I can view the world through their eyes. They see no bad. Well, the only bad they see is if they get their games taken away because they disobeyed. They believe that everyone is nice and good. It is refreshing.

I personally think that God gives us children so we can reclaim that innocence. He wants us to have that child-like faith. The world can harden us and force us to build walls around ourselves so no one can break through and hurt us again. A child has no walls because he wants to run free.

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." John 14:27

And a campin' we went! We decided to take the boys to Lake Mineral Wells State Park for the weekend. The boys were so excited! Jack loves to camp. He enjoys fishing, hiking and building a campfire. I think I learned this weekend that Luke just like saying the word "camping". He pretty much would rather hangout in the tent and play Nintendo DS. It is nice to see that one of my children takes after my enthusiasm for camping. :)

On Friday, Aaron cooked out hamburgers and hotdogs, and the boys did a little fishing. I enjoyed reading a bit and building the fire. Yep, my fire skills have grown considerably from last winter.

On Saturday, we had a pretty busy day fishing. Now, when I say "we", then I mean Aaron and Jack. Luke spent two minutes holding a fishing pole before he decided that he "no like holding fish pole". So, Luke and I hiked back to the camp site. At that point, Luke decided that he wanted to get naked. I don't know if it is a guy thing to be completely "free" in nature, but I let him get naked (well, he did wear his undies) in our tent. We spent the rest of the morning playing Nintendo DS in our tent.

After lunch, Luke and I hung out at the camp while Jack and Aaron went fishing again. Luke was sweating bullets in the tent (he was clothed this time). When he came out, he said he was ready to go home. Hallaluah! Um...I mean...so soon, Lukey?

I called Aaron and said we're packing up and outta there. Aaron wasn't that surprised. I can't imagine why. We did have a fun time. It was fun spending time with the family outdoors, and I did enjoy sleeping in the tent. Granted, I enjoyed sleeping at home more, but I can't always have it my way, right? :)

Last night, I began a journey that I do not understand. It is a world that has been mainly for boys and their fathers. It is the world of Boy Scouts.

Now, I will say that this world is one that wants the whole family involved at this age. There are several family events including campouts. Yes, family campouts. I'm not sure if I'm excited about that or not. I do like camping out with my family, but I'm definitely not some super campout mom. Perhaps this is where I become that awesome mom that really enjoys camping out all the time. Yeah, I'm thinking not.

However, Jack is SO excited about being a Tiger Cub. He loves his uniform and had to buy the hat. He wanted the special pants and belt, but I had to draw a line...for now. I'm sure we'll be back at the Boy Scout Store to purchase more items.

Jack can't wait to go camping, too. He keeps asking if he can take his sleeping bag to the meetings. I have a feeling all the first graders are asking that question. Luckily, he will get to have his first "official" campout at the beginning of October. In fact, the WHOLE family is invited to come. I've already booked us to go camping the weekend before because I didn't know there was a campout so soon. Hmm...two weekends of camping? I'll have to think that over.

A couple of weeks ago, our church had its first ever "Princesses and Pirates Party". The boys and I had a lot of fun coming up with our costumes. We went online to pick out the right skull and crossbones picture for their shirts. We cut up sweatpants to take on a more authentic pirate look. We even picked out a girly skull and crossbones for my hot pink shirt and added jewels.

I know it was a lot of work for everyone involved in this party at church, but it was so worth it for the kids. I truly appreciate everything that Katrina, Shelley, Chris and Karen did to make the Princesses and Pirates Party a success!



The boys started the party by painting boats and other piraty things. Then, they received their tattoos from Princess Pirate Shelley who told them it was ok to scream, but it had to be a manly "argh!" and not something whimpy. At this point, Luke just looked at her like she was nuts.

Next, the boys received their pizza as they watched a VeggieTale flick and heard a Bible story. Dessert was "Worms in the Dirt". I'm thinking the princesses got a better deal in their room with the fancy cake. Last, the boys went outside to walk the plank and smash open a pinata. Needless to say, being a pirate is tough work. They were worn out and ready to go home.

It has finally happened. Both of my boys are going to the same school for the same length of time. Yikes! Where did the time go? I feel like just yesterday I found out I was pregnant with Luke, and Jack was starting to walk and talk. Now, I have a Pre-K and 1st grader.

Both of the boys had a great first day. I do believe highlights of their day (and mine) included seeing their mommy in the secondary office as they walked to and from the playground. Jack even came by the office this afternoon to let me check out the ingredients on a special snack to make sure it didn't contain any peanuts. Could I have a more awesome job? I think not.

Luke did pretty well for being so stinkin' independent. The one time I peaked in on him was when his teacher was reading a story. His head popped up in the door window because the aide was bringing him outside to explain to him that he cannot hide under the table while Mrs. Smalley read the story. Needless to say, he needed a hug from me, and I told him if he didn't listen to his teachers that he wouldn't get to play on the playground. Those words seemed to help his listening skills the rest of the day. :)

As always, I've added some pictures from the day:

My cool cats:


My boys in their adorable uniforms with me:


The boys with their daddy:


Jack putting up his backpack and lunch:


Jack with his 1st grade teacher, Mrs. Marsh:


I sneaked this picture of Luke in the office:


Luke with his Pre-K teacher, Mrs. Smalley:


Aaron was being silly by taking a ton of pictures, and we were all laughing because of the camera flashes. I'm pretty sure that was the most pictures I've ever had taken of me in a short amount of time.

Our favorite things to do in Nashville:

Get tickled...


Play with toys...


Play other people's games...




Eat...A LOT!








Pout...


Suck a thumb while gnawing on a shirt...ok, maybe that was just Ellie.


Looking cool in sunglasses...


Having too much fun!




Thanks Uncle B, Vonnie and Ellie for making Nashville a ton of fun!

Today, we went to Best Buy to pick up the second season of Alias (**Alias!**) and Gold's Gym Cardio Workout for the Wii. As we walk into one of the greatest stores in America, I am memorized by the flat screen televisions. See, one of those beauties would look fantastic in my den. Plus, the prices are dropping. All in all, this is a great idea from my standpoint.

On the other hand, Aaron thought it was a better idea to spend said money on a sprinkler system. That he is installing by himself. For the past 2 weeks. And I'm pretty sure it has cost twice as much as the tv. But I digress.

So, the salesman is telling us how awesome this 47" tv is. I'm like "No need to tell me, Mr. Salesman, 'cause I already know. I just need to talk it over with my husband." The salesman says "No problem" and is willing to answer any questions I may have down the line. End of conversation. Or so I thought.

Jack pipes up and throws in his two cents:

Jack: I really want that tv. Plus, I'd like one in my room, too.
Me: Well, we need to talk to daddy first.
Jack: But why do we need to talk to daddy?
Me: Because he is the head of the household, and he needs to make the final decision on whether or not we spend the money for a new tv.
Jack: Hmm...that doesn't seem fair.
Me: Why not? **begins to think about what a valuable opportunity this is to tell him about the Biblical model of what a Christian household should look like**
Jack: Because you are older than him and you should be able to make all the decisions.

Hot dog! The kid makes a valid point. He sees it at school and at church. In his world, the person who is the boss is always older than him. Plus, he hears from his daddy non-stop about how old mommy is compared to daddy.

Needless to say, I was laughing too hard to really turn this into one of those great teachable moments. Instead, I just bought the tv.



Nah...just kidding! :)

This week has been a variety of words: fun, thrilling, chaotic, exhausting, fast and furious!

My sister and her two girls came down on Saturday to visit. We were so excited that they decided to come because VBS started this week, and they were going to get to join in the fun.

We went to church on Sunday morning and began VBS on Sunday night. We ran into town on Monday to pick up some extra VBS supplies, had some fun at Jumping Party, and ate a yummy lunch at Jason's Deli. Tuesday, we went to Six Flags (yes, I have "sucker" stamped across my forehead...but, in my defense, it was the prefect day to go since it was cloudy and a high at 88*). Of course, our evenings are filled with VBS fun.

I don't have any VBS pictures to share yet *hint hint Shelley*, but I have one picture that I feel like describes this week.

Exhausted. Weak. Blessed.

Kinda of an odd combination of words, eh?

Today was our VBS Decorating Day, and it was beyond amazing. We had so many people come to help out. There is really no other word for it besides amazing.

Exhausted: I walked over 7 miles throughout our church today. Holy moly. My knees were crying by mile 4 when I walked up the stairs one more time to see if there were more fish (thanks Shelley!). They were extremely angry at me at mile 6 when I had to have the cross on the stage and that included bringing the extremely heavy crate to prop the cross up on. Right now, my knees aren't speaking to me.

Weak: I had doubts. How were we going to finish this all? What if only a few people show up? How are we going to get a giant cross from the attic to the stage? All of these things were accomplished plus some.

There was a huge chunk of undecorated wall that needed to be painted. It is done. We had more youth and adults than I could imagine. Everything fell in place just as God had planned it.

Blessed: For me, VBS is more than just a fun theme and a nightly break for some parents. It isn't childcare. It is life changing. Kids come to have fun with their friends and end up part of a forever family. Some people see VBS as another activity. I see it as planting seeds that will forever change a child's life. Because someone cared enough to plan a VBS for me to attend when I was a child, I was saved. I am blessed to be a part of this chaos. So blessed.

To the man I married...
How little did I know
That when I saw you hold our first child
Oh how my heart would grow.



To love you so much fuller
Beyond my wildest dreams.
Then, I witnessed something greater
My love grew even more it seems



I thank God for the blessing
You are in my life.
We are so lucky to call you Daddy,
And how grateful I am to be your wife.



I love you more than the stars and moon in the sky...

When I became a mom, I was unaware at how often each and every choice made would profoundly affect my child...or does it? It seems that there is a debate for almost every parenting aspect out there: breastfed/bottlefed, stay at home mom/work out of the home mom, vax/non-vax, circ/non-circ, etc.

However, these debates tend to do only one thing: bring a mother down. I know there are some very distinct opinions on the topics I listed earlier, but I want to focus on only one in this blog. It pertains to this news article that I read today:

Breast-feeding Linked To High Grades, College

Really? I was intrigued at this article because I've never seen a statistic that has proof that breastfed babies are more likely to have higher grades and go to college than the bottlefed babies.

Then, I took a closer look at the article. I found these quotes very interesting.

Professors Joseph Sabia from the American University and Daniel Rees from the University of Colorado Denver based their research on 126 children from 59 families, comparing siblings who were breast-fed as infants to others who were not.

and...

The study, published in the Journal of Human Capital, found that an additional month of breast-feeding was associated with an increase in high school grade point averages of 0.019 points and an increase in the probability of college attendance of 0.014.

Out of 126 children, the study found that each month of breastfeeding caused an increase of .019 GPA and .014 probability of college attendance.

Um...ok.

I'm sorry, but I feel like this is another one of those "bad mommy" articles. It is an article that headline causes any mother who either chose to not breastfed or couldn't breastfed to question their bottlefed child's ability to receive higher grades and attend college.

However, the actual article doesn't even have enough meat in it to argue an effective point. Out of 126 children, the breastfed child has a hundredth point higher GPA and probable college attendance per additional month of breastfeeding. Seriously.

Mothers have so much going against them in society. There are these ridiculous standards that no mom can truly ever meet. The sad thing is we (as moms) can blame articles as pitting one mommy group against another, but it really comes down to realizing that every mom is doing the best job that she can. She is making the best decision for her child, and we should support those decisions instead of tearing apart the mom.

The wifey will play..and boy did she ever!

So...I had this great idea to buy some paint for the den. The den was still the startling flat white paint that originally came with the house. We have lived here for over 2 years, and it was time to do something to the room. I picked out Behr's Classic Taupe that would just give the room a bit of character.

The room began as the ultimate playroom with my couch from college (yes college) that belonged to my cousins when they went to college 10 years earlier. Yep, it has been around awhile.

The train set that took up half the den - note the curtains: Aaron couldn't STAND those curtains!


You can see the boys' chairs in the background. You can also see my classy 20+ year old couch...very retro.


As the boys got older, they began to play more and more in their bedrooms. I really wanted the den to be a relaxing room. Somewhere to sit and play on the computer, watch movies and just hang out. I wanted there to be enough sitting for our whole family. I had the whole week to get the house back together which was a good thing because once I get started it is hard for me to stop.

The final cost of the den was under $150. Granted, the couch I originally bought for the den is now in the living room. :)








I brought in the end table, couch, chair and ottoman from the living room. I bought a new computer desk (thank you Office Max for your clearance sale) because the old one broke when I was moving it to paint. The faux wood blinds were something we purchased a few months ago. Love those! The lamp behind the chair is new (thanks again Office Max).

The painting on the wall is very special to Aaron. His grandfather painted it a couple of years ago for Aaron. It is a picture of Aaron's family ranch in west Texas. It goes perfectly with the decor of the room. I added the stars and crosses because the chocolate brown paint in the living room made it difficult to see those wall hangings.

Whew! My back and knees are paying for all this, but I am thrilled with how it turned out. Now, I just need to talk Aaron into getting rid of the armoire so we can get a flat screen tv. I think he may be going on another business trip in a few months...

Luke at the end of the day...



Perhaps running errands all morning and swimming all afternoon just tuckered out the poor kiddo? He slept for 2 hours in his daddy's broken recliner. I didn't have the heart to move him because I was afraid he would get upset going back down.

Lots o' fun = ability to sleep anywhere

A glimpse into the vocabulary of Jack:

"Can I have cold, fresh water?"

- Has there been anytime that I have given him hot, slightly dirty water?

"My bad."

- He has said this no less than 10 times in the last two days. This has been the most recent "Jess-ism" that he has picked up.

"Sniff. Sniff"

- This one isn't a word but a sniffling noise he makes constantly. He claims he HAS to do it. I didn't believe him until I went to his Kindergarten class to sub one day and noticed that most of the boys make this same noise. Either there is some strange initiation for the boys going into to 1st grade or boys are just weird. I'm thinking it is the latter.

A glimpse into Luke's vocabulary:

"Jackson"

- The only person aside from an angry parent to call his brother by his full name. We aren't quite sure why he calls him Jackson. My guess is there was a little boy in Luke's preschool class named Jackson, and Luke decided to call Jack by his full name instead.

"Hold you."

- Ah, still one of my favorites. He can say this and pretty much know he will get exactly what he wants.

"I don't like it."

- It isn't original, but he says it about 5 times a day. He will claim this phrase on anything from ketchup to Bolt. He technically doesn't mean he doesn't like it. He doesn't like the fact that it isn't his original idea and will dispute it with his catch phrase.

"You leave alone me."

- Typically, this phrase is spoken when anyone walks by an open bathroom door while Luke is in there. Maybe there will be a day when he realizes that he can just close the door and not have to say this. I'm thinking not.

I am absolutely thrilled with how it turned out! A few weeks ago, Aaron designed the oasis and did all the wood and metal work. Also, he designed and built the water feature and for the area.

This weekend, we finish adding the rock and planting everything. I cleaned off the patio which involved removing all the leftover firewood from winter and scrubbing it down. The overall finish: Wonderful!!!

Before picture from a year ago:



Today:





The boys enjoying their view:



My spot for the next 2 months:



Life it soooooo good!