Thankful

It's Thanksgiving today. I'm sitting here watching the boys play, and I just was thinking about all the things I'm thankful for this year.

I'm thankful for my wonderful husband. He laughs with me and at me sometimes, but that's ok. I wouldn't have fallen in love with him or married him if he didn't. He is the head of our family and the amazing father of our kids. He has a great sense of humor, but is serious also. He makes me laugh, and he makes me want to be a better wife and mother, because he deserves it.

I'm thankful for my son Micah. He was worth the eighteen hours of labor. He was worth the c-section. He makes me laugh with his imagination and how he can stay in character for so long. He is a great cuddler and his hugs and kisses are worth waiting for. He enjoys playing with Lima and Caleb. He is a bright personality who is just growing and maturing every day.

I'm thankful for Caleb. This little boy changes every day and I treasure watching him grow and learn. He has the happiest belly laugh and the sweetest smile. I could just gobble him up. I love how he looks up to his big brother and wants to do everything just like Micah. I love his excitement at something new.

I'm thankful for my family near and far. My parents are always encouraging and I love to watch how they play with their grandkids. My sister loves being an aunt to my children. My mother and father in-law are supportive and they enjoy playing with the boys. My sister-in-law is busy, but always has time for the boys. And I'm thankful for my nieces, Taylor and Madison. They are so spirited, and I enjoy watching all four cousins play together.

I'm thankful to have such a big extended family. It is always a joy to get to gather and spend time together. They all have such personalities, and I enjoy getting to see them whenever I can.

I'm thankful for our friends. While some of them have moved away, we hold them in our hearts. We are thankful for the ones who still live close by so that we can get together and visit, and to watch their families grow.

I'm also thankful to have a roof over our heads and food to eat. I'm thankful to be safe and sound inside our warm little house, and to have transportation to get wherever we need to go. I'm thankful that John has a good job that he enjoys and is good at.

But most of all, I'm thankful for the gracious gift of God...his son Jesus Christ. Without that most precious gift, I would have no hope for my future, or the hope for the future of my sons, who I pray will one day accept Him as their Savior. I'm thankful that He thought I was worth His time. I am thankful for my relationship with Him. Without Him, I would have nothing. Sure, I would probably get by, but I wouldn't have this joy in my heart at knowing that one day I would get to live forever in Heaven with Him.

I'm thankful.

Now we're the Imagination Movers!

OK, I already told you about Micah's imagination.  Today, we are all the Imagination Movers.  If you don't know them, they are a new show on Disney.  They are 4 guys who work in a warehouse solving idea emergencies.  Their names are Smitty, Scott, Dave, and Rich. 

Micah has decided he is Smitty (which he pronounces as Mitty), John is Scott (pronounced Cot), I am Dave, and Caleb is Warehouse Mouse.  I don't know why poor Rich got left out. 

I already told you that Micah goes all out when he is pretending.  Right now, he will only answer to Smitty.  But it's been making me chuckle, because a few times, he has messed up with my new name.  He called to me a little earlier and said, "Mama...I mean...Dave."  It just makes me laugh.  Just wanted to share.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Do you guys remember when the toy catalogs used to come out when we were kids?  I do.  I loved to go through them and look at all the things I wanted for Christmas.  Remember the Best Catalog?  I don't know if that was a regional store or not.  I would go through the catalogs and circle the things I wanted.  My sister would go even farther and make a list of things she wanted and number them in order of importance.  Of course, this didn't mean we got those things, but it was still fun to look at.  I guess that was the beginning of window shopping.

Well, it has come full circle here in our house.  A couple of weeks ago, we got the Toys R Us toy book, the Target toy book, and the WalMart toy book.  Micah has been flipping through pages, and he says things like, "Me need to buy that!"  and "Me want to have that!"  Oh the fun of it.  Now he sees toy commercials on TV, and he will say the same things.  I think he's also becoming an expert in reverse psychology or something, because he also says things like, "You want to buy that for me." 

I remember a few years ago, my mom and I were driving around town during the holidays.  My mom told me that she used to dread having to go to Toys R Us during the holidays, and that she was glad that she didn't have to do that anymore.

Luckily, I think we have  a few years before our kids start demanding that we buy them stuff.  Hopefully...

Such imagination!

My boys are constantly giving me something to laugh about.  If they aren't dancing around together, they enjoy playing chase.  Caleb especially.  He loves it when big brother chases him around.  He will just squeal.  I love that squeal.

Today, out of the blue, Micah decided that he was Tony the Tiger.  He was just playing around, and came up to me and told me that he was Tony the Tiger.  I don't remember ever seeing a Tony the Tiger commercial on when he was watching TV, so I don't know where he got that from.  But he decided that's who he was, and of course, he didn't want to pretend alone.  So he told me that Caleb was baby Tony the Tiger.  And it just makes sense that I would be Mama Tony the Tiger.

He had me follow him to his room to show me where Tony the Tiger's food and water was.  So I pretended to fill up his bowls and he showed me how a tiger eats and drinks.  He even roared for me.  What a ferocious roar!

Now, Micah always goes full throttle when he is pretending.  You can't call him Micah...you have to call him by the name of whoever or whatever he is pretending to be.  So a little later I tried to get his attention by using his name (what a crazy thought!).  I was promptly corrected, and told to call him Micah Tony the Tiger.  Too funny!

What will he come up with next???

It's been a long week

I'm a little worn out.  It started last week.  Every Tuesday, I take the boys to my grandma's house and we visit with her and my Aunt Frances.  It was normal in every way except that my grandma had a tooth removed that day by an oral surgeon.  She came home from the appointment and we all visited as usual. 

The next morning I get a call from my aunt asking me to take her to a doctor appointment because my grandma isn't feeling well enough to do it.  Once I say yes and get off the phone with her, I call my grandma to encourage her to go to the doctor and offer to take her.  She didn't want to at first, so I told her to think about it and call me back. 

She called me back a few minutes later and said she wanted to go.  So I got the boys ready and we went and picked her up.  The doctors were booked up so we went to Urgent Care down the hall.  That's when I hear her tell the receptionist that she thinks she might have had a TIA (Transient Ischemic Attack)!  She had not mentioned that to me or I wouldn't have given her a choice of going to the doctor!  All she had said was that she had been stumbling around since she woke up and that her leg wasn't doing what she wanted it to.

Well, that got people moving!  A nurse came out immediately to find out more information.  Then she went back and got a room ready in less than 5 minutes.  I waited in the waiting room with the boys.  Talk about fun stuff...keeping two boys occupied and out of other people's hair.  Actually, they weren't that bad.  Micah kept wanting to go find Grandma.  Caleb started getting fussy because it was his usual naptime.  He wouldn't fall asleep on me, so I finally went to the receptionist and told her I had to take the kids for a drive so Caleb would fall asleep.  I gave her my cell phone number and asked her to call me when Grandmother was ready. 

We were driving just a few minutes when Caleb fell asleep.  So I headed back to the doctor's office so I would be ready when she was done.  The timing worked well because the nurse called me to say she was done.  Since she had been stumbling and I couldn't leave the boys in the car alone, I asked the nurse to have someone walk her out to me so she would be safe.

When they get to me, the nurse says I have to take her over to the hospital immediately to get a CT scan.  I had already called my father-in-law to ask him to watch the boys since I would be taking my grandma to the hospital for tests.  He said yes, so that relieved my stress over taking care of my grandma while watching the boys.

Since my in-laws live right down the street from the hospital, I dropped them off first.  Caleb was still asleep so Fred was going to take him inside to finish his nap.  Then I took my grandma to the hospital.  We had to register her, then we had to walk down to the lab to get blood work done.  They wanted to check her Coumadin levels.  I forgot to mention this earlier, but to get her tooth extracted, the oral surgeon told her to stop taking her Coumadin.  Coumadin is a blood thinner, and she had been off of it for 3 days.

She stumbled even though she was holding on to me, so I got her a wheelchair.  After her labs were done, I wheeled her down the hall to the CT waiting room.  This is past her usual lunch time, but they didn't want her to eat anything.  Meanwhile, it is also time for me to pick up my aunt to take her to the doctor.  So I leave my grandma in the waiting room, and go to pick up Aunt Frances.  I rush over there, and then take her to the doctor.  I told her to call me when she was done, and I would get over to her as soon as I could.  I warned her she might have to wait in the waiting room for a while until I was able to get back. 

Then I rushed back to the hospital, and my grandma was waiting for me ready to go.  We then had to go back to the doctor's office to hear the results.  We got in and they got us a room pretty quickly.  We were in the room a little while, when the doctor came in.   She said they didn't see any evidence of a stroke, but that a CT couldn't determine if there had been a TIA.  So the doctor said she really needed to get an MRI.  By this time, the doctor had asked if she was ever able to eat some lunch (I thought that was an odd question, since she hadn't wanted her to eat anything).  My grandma said no so they got her some juice and crackers.

Meanwhile, my aunt had called me twice, but I had wanted to wait until I heard the results.  So while they were scheduling her MRI, I drove back across town (everywhere in Lompoc takes 5 minutes) to pick her up and take her home.  Then I sped back to the doctor's office because while I was picking up my aunt the doctor's office had called me and told me to get back as soon as possible so that I could get her to the MRI, since there was an opening in a few minutes. 

I get my grandma and drive her BACK to the hospital.  Luckily we didn't have to register again, but once we got to the MRI waiting room, we had to wait a while.  So much for that 2:30 appointment.  I waited with her until the tech came to get her.  He said it would take about 20 minutes, so I went off to get some food.  I decided that the situation called for a corn dog from Foster's.  While I'm doing this I get about a bazillion phone calls from people checking up on my grandma. 

So I rush back to the hospital because I didn't want her to have to wait for me.  I had a few minutes to eat my corn dog before she comes out.  The tech then says that we have to go BACK to the doctor's office to get the results.  We go back, and they get us into a room again.  The doctor comes back and says that after looking really hard that they did find that she had a stroke.  She said it was about 5 millimeters.  I don't really know what that means, but the doctor said that it was about as small of a stroke as a person could have.  She said that she thought my grandma would make a full recovery and would get all her strength back to her leg. 

Turns out, this all happened because she had been off of her Coumadin.  It thins the blood and stops clots.  So since she wasn't on it, I guess a clot formed.  (Ah!  I just now figured out while I was typing that maybe the clot was 5 mm)  So she had the stroke. 

It was  very stressful day, but we finally got my grandma home just after 5 pm.  I had picked her up at 9:45 that morning.  She was exhausted and went right to bed.  My dad had already decided that he was going to fly out in case she needed help with anything.

My dad got in about 11 that night.  So the next few days he shuttled her to doctor's appointments and lab work.  But we got to visit with him each day.  Of course, spending 4 days in a row visiting at my grandmother's house left nothing done at my house.  I'm such a great procrastinator that I was able to convince myself to let things slide at our house.

So, sorry for the long post, but that's been my very long week.  And my grandma is doing much better.  Now I guess I have to stop procrastinating and start getting my house back in order.!

Dancing, dancing

I don't have any pictures or video to attach (Brenda, you'll have to tell me how to attach video).  But last night we were all sitting around after dinner.  We were letting the boys watch the Imagination Movers.  It's a new show on Disney and the boys love it.  Thank goodness for DVRs!  Well, we turned it on and Caleb just started waving his arms around and dancing.  Micah, hearing us praise Caleb's dancing, had to get in on the act too.  He went over to where Caleb was and starting dancing around and showing us some of his breakdancing moves also.  It was too funny!  Caleb was bouncing around and stomping his feet, and Micah was just wiggling all over the place.  John and I love watching the boys enjoy themselves.  They both really enjoy music. 

Going to the chapel, and she's gonna get married

Well, I've been waiting a long, long time to be able to say (or write) these words.  MY SISTER IS GETTING MARRIED!  Christina has been dating Brad for over 2 years, and he finally proposed to her.  They got engaged on Saturday.  Here's a picture of them pre-engagement.

And here's a picture of Christina post-engagement.  It's a cell phone picture, so sorry about the quality.

And I know girls always want to see the ring, so here it is.  Again, another cell phone pic.

So, the details as I know them...Brad and Chris were going to the Aggie game, and I guess you sit at the quad before the game and watch the March In.  Well, they were sitting there and Brad put the ring on her finger.  I guess he asked her if she wanted to wear it and she looked down, and just started hitting him.  My family tends to get a little physical :)  I think she asked him if he was serious, because you never know with Brad.  And then he got on his knee and asked her if she would marry him.  I think she eventually said yes after all the hitting.

I don't know when the wedding will be, just that it will probably be next fall.  But the details don't matter right now!  I'm just really excited for my sister and I wish her all the happiness in the world. 

Even superheroes need their sleep!

We have now entered our 6th day of Micah wearing his Spiderman costume.  To his credit, he was patient enough to wait until Halloween to wear his costume.  And I did tell him that after Halloween he could wear it whenever he wanted. 

But all of his superhero duties have worn the poor boy out.  Not to mention waking up earlier each day due to the time change.  He usually doesn't take a nap anymore, but today he just pooped out.  He was laying on the ground, and the next thing I knew, he was asleep.  Now, I'm attaching pictures, but just don't pay attention to the stains on the carpet. :)

Please go vote today!

 

This morning we were up bright and early.  No, not for the election.  Micah is still waking up early since the time change.  Sunday and Monday he woke up at 4:30 and would not go back to bed.  This morning he gave us a little break and didn't wake up until 5:15.  Every extra minute counts when you need your beauty sleep!

But since we were already up, we decided to go vote now instead of waiting until this evening.  We could have both gone at different times, but we wanted to take the boys so that they could learn about what we were doing.  John and I both think that it is good to teach the boys about our civic duties.  Just like training your child up in the ways of the Lord, we are teaching them the importance of voting.

I have always believed that voting is a right AND a privilege.  As women, we weren't always allowed to voice our opinions in the form of a vote.  It really irritates me when people say they aren't going to vote because it won't matter or some other nonsense.  But they still feel that it's ok to complain.  I don't see it that way.  If you don't vote, then you don't have the right to complain about how things are.  You make your opinion count when you vote.

So, I'm off my soap box.  Whichever way you are going to vote, just go vote.  This is the most important election our generation has ever been involved in.  And if you happen to be in California, please vote Yes on Proposition 8.

Halloween Fun

I'm just now getting around to posting pictures from Halloween and the Fall Festival at our church because I lost the little doodad that I use to download the pictures onto the computer. 

Micah was ready to put on his costume bright and early in the morning.  He wanted to go show it off to everyone.  I had been putting him off every day since we had bought the costume, so since he had waited so patiently, I told him he could put it on now.  We decided that we could go see family around town.  So I got the boys into their costumes and loaded them into the car.

 

We went around town visiting different family members to show off.  Micah got a little added bonus because I had to run to the grocery store as well.  It was easier on me to just take the boys as they were instead of going home to change, so Micah got to be Spiderman at Vons.  He really enjoyed it when people would walk by and comment on his costume.  What a ham!

In the evening, it was time for the fall festival.  So we got the boys dressed up again, and off we went!  This was our first year attending this fall festival, and it was nice, because it was on a much smaller scale than the one we had been attending in past years.  It made it easier to keep track of the boys.

 

 

   

   

The boys really enjoyed themselves, and we loved watching them participate in all the games and activities.  Caleb enjoyed any game that had a ball with it, especially the ones that would fit in his mouth!  We won some cupcakes and cookies in the cakewalk.  I won at bingo!  And we...I mean...the boys got a lot of candy.  We wouldn't dream of eating the boys' candy, of course.