Weekend at Home

I honestly can't remember the last weekend where we didn't have a lot going on. So I was thankful that this weekend was going to be spent at home, relaxing and getting things done. We did venture down the hill for church....and Kids on Big Rigs. Yesterday we took P to this school that had all sorts of cars and trucks set up for kids to play on. He "drove" a bus, an amps (ambulance), police car, fire truck, tractor, dune buggy, garbage truck and a motorcycle. He loved every moment but his favorite of all the vehicles was the back of the U-HAUL truck. He wanted to play there the entire time! When it was time to go he was very good about leaving without a tantrum but he talked about all the vehicles the rest of the day.

Today was a productive day. I spent a lot of it exercising in some form or another so I sure hope it cancels out the Reese's Peanut Butter bunny I ate after eating a full meal tonight. Either way, it was a nice day to spend outside which is exactly what we did. As soon as it warmed up a little this morning, P and I went out for a couple hours before church. After we got home from church, Rob hung out with P so I could meet a friend for a walk. When I got home the boys were outside, shooting bows and chasing Geicos (lizards). We topped off the night by enjoying our first "Summer" meal....burgers on the grill, corn on the cob and a fruit salad. All in all it was a perfect family weekend!

God's Promise

Growing up in Sacto., I learned to despise the rain. I guess because it was relentless during most Winter months. Living in the high desert now, I love rain! Maybe it's because we desperately need it or maybe it's because it doesn't last long. Or maybe it's because it's usually proceeded by a beautiful rainbow. That's been the case the last week. Every time it rains we get a beautiful rainbow.
Rainbows became important to me on the day of my Nana's funeral because, as we walked into the restaurant, I saw the first double rainbow I ever remember seeing. To me, it was God's way of showing my family that my Nana and Papa were finally reunited. Ever since then I love when I see rainbows, especially double rainbows.
On our way down the hill there was a beautiful full rainbow that looked as if it spanned across the entire city. I was talking to P about how rainbows are about God's promise. P said, "Mommy, it's a rainbow! I looovvvveeee rainbows!! Rainbows are my favorite". I agree lil man. I agree.

At Peace

If you read our blog you know that we've struggled with infertility since having P. As much as we want to have a 2nd child, we also want to do God's Will. Tomorrow I'm seeing the specialist one last time so I'm asking that you lift us up in prayer. Whatever the outcome is (which we'll know in time) we're at peace with it. Thank you for your support, encouragement and prayers through this process.

First Time

We're having a crazy lightning storm right now so I took advantage of it by increasing my photography skills. Unfortunately I don't have a remote shutter release (my next purchase!) but here are the ones I like.....

Camping City Style

You ever look back on a weekend and realize that it was fun from beginning to end, more so than you thought it'd be? Well, that's how this weekend was. Friday evening we met up with some friends and followed them to Fallon, where we camped for the weekend. On Friday night we were going to camp at a golf course where we had attended a banquet, which made us feel like we were going to be on "Duck Dynasty". But the plans changed so we set up our campers at the local college campus parking lot. It was rather loud so the next morning we decided to move around to the other side of the building so we were more in the "wilderness". Our campers backed up to the train tracks much to P's delight. In fact, last night he fell asleep with his little face plastered to the camper window, watching the train test the tracks. He probably would've stayed up long enough to watch it do the full test but he was one pooped puppy. We had gone to the Fallon DU banquet to support that chapter and P had fun running around. He even won a fishing pole in the kids' raffle! Our weekend consisted of a nature tour, a swim at the hotel pool next door, the banquet, a fire pit and lots of fun memories with friends. Here are a few pictures from our time....

100 pounds

I feel like my head alone weighs 100 lbs today because I've got so much weighing down on it. I've been on break for 3 weeks and coming back was a little overwhelming. Overwhelming because of what some of my little students have to deal with on a daily basis. One girl was taken from her mom after her mom got drunk and severely beat her and her siblings. Her dad, who had just had her for a few months, has custody once again and the little girl had to move from one state to another yet again. One boy isn't back because his visit to Mexico is now permanent. His Dad can't get up to the U.S. and his mom is working 3 jobs to raise 5 kids. Another little boy is watching his mom slowly die from ovarian cancer and his dad is at his wit's end with dealing with the kids and taking care of his wife. The last situation is what makes me the most sad and I think it's because I see the girl's emotions change at the drop of a hat. According to her, her mom was put in jail because she was caught with "a bad guy" after being told not to (ie. her mom broke probation and my GUESS is that it has to do with drugs or prostitution). Anyway, she and her brother were put into the foster system. The hope was to get them placed with a family that lives close to the school but that hasn't happened yet. If I discipline her in the least she immediately gets tears in her eyes. She's a needy one so I have to remind myself several times a day to be more patient. It breaks my heart to see such young lives have to deal with so much! I had the "Leave it to Beaver" childhood so I have NO idea what my students are dealing with every single day. Some are homeless while others have several people live in one house (with my student sleeping in the closet) to make ends meet. I could go on and on about my students' lives but I think this is enough of a "downer" blog for one night. I was going to add more that has been weighing on my mind but, on my way home tonight, I realized that negativity can be oh so draining. So, I will end this by asking you to count your blessings. There's a saying that says something like, "If everyone dumped their problems into a pile you'd be quick to grab yours back" meaning that your life isn't so bad. I know mine isn't and I thank God for that!

Fun Recap

P and I went to visit my parents this weekend. As always it was a fun time full of trains, baseball, chasing squirrels, hours at the local park, bubbles, walks and many laughs. I'm way too tired (It was a super busy day!) to go into all the details of the memories we created. So hopefully these pictures will give you a glimpse of our time together.

The Adventures of a Lil Guy

We laugh that P looks like his daddy but has my personality. Another thing he and I share are active imaginations. Although he doesn't watch the "Cars" movie often he is OBSESSED with it. Everything in life is a race for the Piston Cup. Several times a day he'll tell me, "It was the final race of the season. The checkered flag waved and the crowd gasped." He also likes to talk about racing, losing a tire and spinning out in the grass. So it was no surprise, when I picked him up from school, that he began to tell me about racing adventures. It took a twist, however, when he introduced his little "girlfriend" into the adventures just like Lightning McQueen and Sally share. He told me that he and Lexie went to Radiator Springs and she told him to turn left. They also drove backwards (like Mater does). Then they went to Gee and BobBob's house. Lexie played the piano and P played the piano. Lexie liked Gee. Then he went to Lexie's house (She apparently has a 2 story house by the way), where he played with her choo-choos upstairs and took the wheels off her cars (something he would totally do!). He finished the story by telling me they both got white tires for the race. He spun out in the grass and Lexie helped him back on the track. He won the race and so did Lexie (what????). I love his imagination and the stories he creates from it. Who knows? Maybe some day he'll be an author or write movies for Pixar. Until then I'll just be entertained by his adventures!

Impressive

About a month ago, Rob got on a kick about losing weight and participating in a Tough Mudder competition that is happening in the Fall. I thought that this new weight loss kick was going to be something he lost interest in quick. HOWEVER, he's proven me wrong. I ordered him the P90X kit that comes with workout videos, a nutrition guide and a few different supplements. With the exception of a few days that he took off to recover from a pulled muscle, he's done the P90x workouts every night. If you have never done one, let alone seen one, you don't know how hard they are. I've done 2 with him and haven't completed either one before calling it quits. Although the workouts are proving to be hard (and give lots of sore muscles...at least for me), the thing I'm most impressed with is Rob's determination with the diet portion. If you know Rob you know that he loves his fast food, sweet tea and soda. But he's only induldged in a couple "splurges" since starting on his weight loss program. He is so dedicated to losing weight and getting in shape. I've noticed the 11+ pounds that he's lost in the past 2 weeks and know that, because of his dedication and determination, he'll hit his goal weight in no time. I'm very impressed with how he watches what he eats (He even ordered a veggie burger at the baseball game on Easter!), works out even after long days at work and has set his eyes on obtaining his goal weight. Keep up the great work babe!

legendary

well, today marks the 11th anniversary of the death of my grandpa. on april 9, 2001, the outdoors lost a conservationists, my dad lost his dad, and i lost my best friend. i was thinking earlier today about life, death, and things in general. although i know that everybody dies, it just didnt seem to me that my grandpa could ever die. once he did, the fact that im going to someday lose my mom and dad became very real. death is a bittersweet thing. sweet for my grandpa because he gets to be reunited with my grandma who hadnt seen in 9 years. bitter for us because we lost him. i know that noone is perfect, but in my eyes he was/is. to me, he was God-like. he accomplished quite a bit in his 79 years. he was at pearl harbor where he survived the attack on december 7, 1941. he accompanied admiral byrd on the infamous south pole expedition, he invented the pod for bowhunting, he came to know and befriend fred bear and many other outdoor enthusiests, he battled leukemia for thirty years, and he was a college graduate of ole miss and was an optometrist. above all of this, he would be quick to tell you his biggest accomplishment was his family. he was always proud of all of us. he sacrificed and did everything in his power to help everyone in his family achieve our goals. he was my hero, my grandpa, my best friend. he is missed daily, but i know he is watching out over us with grandma and smiling down on how well his whole family is doing. i think whoever wants to become a great man, they would do well to look at him and the way he lead his life and follow that example. i fall way short most of the time but i hope to get there someday. ill leave you with the lyrics to this song we played at his funeral. i think this bout sums it up.                                              If you don't get in the water you're never gonna learn to swim
He said a snake is just as scared of you as you are of him
He could tell by the moon when the fish would bite
Seems there was nothing that he didn't know
And as a kid I believed 'cause Grandpa told me so

He talked Daddy into letting me have my first car
I thought I was really something 'til Becky Thompson broke my heart
That first taste of love nearly did me in
Getting over her slow
And I knew someday I would 'cause Grandpa told me so

He said life is made for you to live
The best love is the love that you give
There'll be times when you wanna hold on but you gotta let go
And I live by those words 'cause Grandpa told me so

I promissed him I wouldn't cry when it was his time to leave
That's the only promise I made him I couldn't keep
He smiled from his bed and said we'll meet again
Somewhere down the road
And I believe 'cause Grandpa told me so

He said life is made for you to live
The best love is the love that you give
There'll be times when you wanna hold on but you gotta let go
And I live by those words 'cause Grandpa told me so

He said life is made for you to live
The best love is the love that you give
There'll be times when you wanna hold on but you gotta let go
And I live by those words 'cause Grandpa told me so

Easter Fun

Since Rob blogged a more philosophical entry this morning I'll just give you an update on our day. The Easter morning started when P discovered that the Easter Bunny had brought him all kinds of goodies. The expression on his face was priceless when he saw the cars, tires and race track in his Easter basket. Once he played with everything we got ready for church. Lately I've felt that church is more like going through the motions because it gets distracting having P with us. However, this morning, I felt the Lord's presence during the worship time. I could've sang praise and worship songs to my Lord all day! We left church and headed to the ball park. Can't say I've ever done that on Easter but it ended up being a lot of fun. P loved the game....until the 7th inning when he finally succumbed to a short nap. Once the game was over we came home, too late for the Easter ham dinner I had planned. So instead we had an overly salty shrimp pasta with the intent of having our Easter dinner tomorrow. Now we're relaxing, playing with cars, uploading Easter pictures and enjoying a wonderful end to our perfect Easter day.

happy easter

well, i got some big news to share. HE IS RISEN! now, we all know the story of how Jesus was crucified, was in the guarded tomb and on the 3rd day he rose from the tomb to live forever. this is the story that preachers will preach all over the world this morning and thousands will listen to. i guess i am a little different. i feel that since easter is the one day that even non-believers will attend church, preachers should take that opportunity to tell other stories that the non-believers havent ever heard. i dont know, thats just my take. i, like my family, believe that i feel closer to God in the woods hunting than i ever have in a concrete building. out there, im watching the sun rise, hearing the birds sing and other animals that he created scamper about through the forest. it is there, either in the deer or turkey woods, that i have silence around me to reflect upon the good and bad ive done, and admire all that the ALMIGHTY has created. i feel if more people spent their time this way, more would be able to grasp the concept that someone created all of this serenity. my wife is opposite in that she feels closer to God when surrounded by other christians praising him in song and voice. that is perfectly ok since we all worship in our own way. i guess to me when i am in church, in a congragation, i feel i have to worship him for one hour and then its over. when im hunting, im there for 12 hours and with all the beauty and serenity that surrounds me, i cant help but spend my time worshipping him in my own way. i guess what im getting at is i dont believe heaven waits for only those who congregate. this morning i will attend the service with my family and worship the ALMIGHTY and try and set a good example for my son to follow. however, it wouldnt disappoint me a bit when he is older if he were to say dad, i want to go to the church woods and talk to God. i know that is where i feel closer to God. the good book says where 2 or more gather in my name, i will be there. this could be taken several ways. personally, i believe God hears my prayers and praise just as much when im alone as when im with 300 people. i refuse to believe that God gives a church goer more attention than someone who lives alone in the mountains somewhere. we are all children of God and we all have our own beliefs and worship him in our own way.

Happy Easter Weekend!

My parents called earlier this week and asked if they could up for a pre-Easter visit. I warned them that today would be busy but they happily agreed. (They even offered to watch P last night so Rob and I could enjoy a golf and dinner date night.) The day started with an early morning wake-up call and then a 45 minute drive. We went to a 5k that I had signed up to run with some friends. Despite the early wake-up and the cold temps, they happily cheered me on at the finish line. P even got to go across the finish line with me! We took some pics, said our goodbyes and raced back into town for an Easter Egg Hunt. Although he didn't collect many eggs, P was thrilled with grabbing them and seeing what was inside of each one. From there we came back home to dye Easter eggs. Last year P wasn't into it so I didn't care that all I had were brown eggs or that there wasn't even a dozen. But, wouldn't you know that this year he loved it! There's always next year to get it right I guess. After the eggs were done and my parents' car was loaded with their stuff they took off and we took a much needed nap. It's been a fun day and I'm thankful that the rest of the day consists of....rest!

If I don't get to ya tomorrow I hope that everyone has a blessed Easter and takes a minute to reflect on the REAL meaning of Easter. He is risen! He is risen indeed!!

Spring Break

I   always think that I'll go on a big trip or accomplish a major project while tracked off from school but it rarely happens. This break I didn't plan anything other than a quick trip to visit my parents. However, I've been busy every day, having a lot of fun with different friends. On Monday P had a play date with his buddy so I got to catch up with his mom, a friend of mine. Tuesday morning I went for a 4 mile run with a friend then met another friend for lunch. Yesterday morning P and I met with some friends so we could feed the birds at the lake then go across the street to play at the park. Today my friend and I braved the snow to meet up in Tahoe City area for a photography/lunch date. She just got the same camera as I did so we had fun trying them out. Tomorrow P is going to do an egg hunt then my parents are coming to town for the night. It's been a super fun week, full of lots of last minute plans with friends. Since I have next week off as well there is more fun in store. I think I could get used to this flexible, fun, social schedule. :)

As for the big projects....I have a long to-do list but haven't really tackled anything yet. I want to start purging and packing. I've also come to the realization that it is not God's plan for us to have a 2nd child (at least right now) so I think I'm going to get some of P's baby stuff ready for a big consignment sale that is happening in a couple weeks. If I get the projects done I'll be happy. But if not then I won't sweat it. There's always next break!

Gone Too Soon

Yesterday morning I found it fitting that "Unanswered Prayers" was playing on the radio, followed shortly after with "I Can Only Imagine". The reason it was fitting is because I was on my way to the funeral for an adorable 8 year old that lost his battle against brain cancer 5 1/2 months after he was diagnosed with this horrible disease.
I thought I'd be a mess as it was my first funeral for a child, because I'm a mom and because I haven't handled funerals well since my Papa's death in 2003. But I held it together better than I thought. I think it helped that it was a Catholic ceremony and I had no idea when to sit or stand and what to repeat when the priest recited certain passages. I did shed tears when 2 ladies got up to share memories of his short life, when his little casket was carried out and when his siblings got up to recite a prayer. I shed the most tears when I read the passage in the bulletin (Is that what it's called at a funeral?). It read:

"When God calls little children to
dwell with Him above, we mortals
Sometimes question
The wisdom of His love.
Perhaps God tires of calling
The aged to His fold,
So He picks a rosebud
Before it can grow old.
God knows how much we need them,
And so He takes but few
To make the land of Heaven
More beautiful to view.
Believing this is difficult still
Somehow we must try.
The saddest word mankind knows
Will always be "Goodbye".
So when a little child departs,
We who are left behind
Must realize God loves children,
Angels are hard to find."

Rest in peace and suffer no more sweet, young Cris. Your contagious smile, big personality and wonderful sense of humor will greatly be missed.

Full Moon?

I looked out tonight to see if it was a full moon. Why? Because life has been weird in the past 24 hours but then again I guess life with a toddler is like that. Yesterday P and I went to a new church. Since it was Palm Sunday they posted a picture of a donkey as part of the sermon illustration. Everyone was quiet. Except P. He blurted out, "Cute donkey!". Then in the afternoon, after P refused to take a nap, I invited myself and P to join Rob at a round of golf. I knew it was a mistake at the first hole when Rob and I got out of the golf cart and P decided he wanted to drive the cart. He stepped on the gas pedal, releasing the brake, and ran over Rob. Oye! Luckily Rob wasn't hurt and that was the end of the weirdness last night.

Today started a whole new round of weird happenings. While I was on the treadmill P turned into Monkey Boy and climbed up his bathroom shelving to get to a container of medicine. He came into our room to announce he had taken medicine. I don't know how much was in there to begin with but there wasn't any left by the time I found it. Luckily there was a lot in the bath tub. So, I'm hoping that most of it didn't get in him. However, for the next few hours he acted "off" so maybe he consumed more than I'd like to think. :( He didn't eat lunch but took a super long nap. When I woke him up to meet one of his friends he was whimpering. Then he started crying hysterically, saying he didn't want to feed ducks and geese with Mason and that he didn't feel good. It took forever to get him calmed down. Once he was calm and ready he went outside to wait for me so we could go. As I walked out the door I yelled a warning to be careful because the garbage man was coming up the road. He came barreling down the driveway, screaming. Once again it took forever to calm him down. Finally, around 3pm, life returned to normal. No more weird things happened the rest of the day. Thank goodness....especially since it's not even a full moon yet!

Operation Ruby

P has gone through a phase where he can't sleep through the night. A couple weeks ago it had gotten REALLY bad, to the point where he'd wake me up 6-8 times a night. I felt like it was even worse than when he was a newborn because back then I would nurse him and get a couple more hours of sleep. At its worse, a week ago, he was waking me up every 1/2 hour. If you know me, you know I like my 8 hours of sleep at night with an occasional nap thrown in during the day. So Rob and I put our heads together to figure out a plan. It started with a nightlight which didn't work. Then it went to bribery (He'd get a Hot Wheel or "Uncle Jay Juice" if he slept all night) and that didn't work either. It was a few nights ago that we struck gold! At the advice of my hairdresser we let Ruby sleep in his room. Ruby is our yellow lab and P's best friend (At least once a week he put his arm around her and says, "You my best friend Ooby."). The first night was rough but ever since then "Operation Ruby" has worked like a charm. Yesterday we added another gem to the mix....a Cars tent. Rob had once again had P yesterday morning so I could do a photography fundraiser with a local studio. So Rob and P had a Father/Son time at Scheels. While there P found a tent that he just had to have. Turns out that also helped the sleeping issue. He decided he wanted to sleep in his tent last night so Rob set it up. Once he went to sleep he stayed asleep....and is still sleeping almost 12 hours later! It was so cute when I went to check on him before I went to bed. He was sound asleep in his tent and Ruby was lying next to it, lengthwise, instead of on her blanket. I think, at last, we have found the winning combination!!