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August 28 TaggedI've been tagged. Meaning I have to give 8 facts about myself and tag others to do the same. This might take me awhile. I'm not good at remembering random things about myself on the spot. Here goes nothing:
1. I love sappy 80s love songs.
2. I am very emotional. I can't stop the tears whenever my husband says anything remotely sweet or I talk about my failures. Makes it awkward to have an honest conversation or evaluation with my boss!
3. I have an uncontrollable fascination with tragedy stories...Titanic, 9-11, Hurricane Katrina, Apollo 13, etc. "I Shouldn't Be Alive" is a show that sucks me in to watch it, but I have to force myself not to watch if it is late at night or I'm alone...it freaks me out!
4. I hate when I am waiting patiently at an intersection to turn left and someone comes up on my right just ahead of me, blocking my view, waiting their turn to turn right. I was there first and I can do nothing but wait for them to move! How inconsiderate!!!!
5. I love fish and bodies of water(btw...Ripple and her (his) buddies are in toilet heaven!) I was sad about that...they cost us like $21!!
 6. I named my cat after Joey McIntyre of New Kids On The Block when I was in 8th grade. (OMG he is still soooooo cute!!!!)
7. I don't like dogs. They seem like loud,annoying, high-maintenance toddlers that make you clean up their potty issues and make messes wherever they go and whine (bark) incessantly and never grow out of that stage.
8. I would like to pursue a second career (ok third...I'm already on my second) as a professional wedding and baby photographer.
How was that? It only took me like half an hour...but I got Steve's input to help me! Now, I only read a few other blogs and they have already been tagged. I think I'll put this in an email and pass it on. Watch out! You don't know who will be next!
August 25 As if...As if I don't have enough to do. As if I have TONS of free time. As if I'm BORED!!! I just couldn't help myself and I started a home project this weekend. I had been seriously thinking of redoing two of our bathrooms for a while now and curiosity got to me . "I wonder how easily this border would come down if I tried it..." And that was the beginning of 36 hours of in-over-my-head work! Two trips to Home Depot, Two trips to Walmart, and too much money later we have a beautiful new master bathroom!
Once I started I couldn't stop till the project was finished and at that point I wanted it to be perfect to show Steve when he got home. I worked and worked (incidently, the border came down easily but the project as a whole was a lot harder & time consuming than I thought) with the children underfoot and tagging along everytime I needed to go to the store. But I did it! I've never done a home improvement project all by myself before and I'm quite proud!
I stayed up till 3:00 AM last night and worked all morning trying to finish up. Steve was due back this afternoon and the last 2 hours reminded me of the end of the time on Trading Spaces. I was franctically putting away, cleaning out, cleaning up, and redecorating so it would be perfect when he saw it the first time! It was well worth the effort...he gave me the audible gasp when he opened the door...in a good way!
I let the girls help a little in the beginning and I still have paint to scrap off of their hands, arms, and legs! When I was cleaning myself up I learned that scrubbing with an abrasive pad to remove paint from your skin is not a good idea. I didn't realize until some time passed that I took off several layers of skin. Ouch. And the paint is still not completely off!
Here are pics of the transformation! Steve got home safe and sound and was thrilled that he got to lead a teen to Christ in the van while driving home today! Awesome! Have a good night... August 21 EM & ME Hannah was invited to spend the night with a friend tonight (THANK YOU, LYNDA!!!!!!) so it was just Em and me! What a welcome change! Hannah and I seem to get more time alone together than Em and I for some reason. We went out to dinner together and she was so good! Unfortunately the evening flew by and I didn't get as much done as Iwanted to nor did I get to play/snuggle with her as much I wanted to. But she was such a good girl tonight and it was so CALM and QUIET! Yes, Hannah is a ball of energy, but also they weren't fussing and fighting with each other. ~AHHHH~ It's been so nice!
Here is a stinkin' cute video of Em saying the Pledge of Allegiance. She totally floored us one day when she just out of the blue spouted it out! We had NO IDEA she had even heard it before let alone could recite it! Hannah then said, "Oh, yeah, I taught her that!" Wow. I finally got her to do it on video and I just have to share it! August 20 Girls' Week! (again)Here we are again...Steve is gone for the next six days with the ministry and we are having girls' week! It is nice just being with the girls, but also exhausting as I'm sure you can imagine. It's just that we can't only be together and have fun...I still have to work and line up babysitters and go grocery shopping and run errands and cook meals and do laundry and clean up...all alone. I think single parents have the hardest jobs in the world. I don't mind doing all that stuff...actually I do most of it all the time, but not alone. I miss having someone to share it with. When I really need it I can ask for help. I can talk about my work and frustrations and joys. I can snuggle at the end of the day and remember why we had these children in the first place!
Steve is gone for days and days at a time and he only gets a comp day if works on a weekend day. So for this trip he will be out of the state for six days and only get to take one off to make up for it. That is where my frustration comes from. I feel like we've been playing "catch up" all summer and my tanks are pretty low! I miss spending time relaxing with Steve. I miss spending time just enjoying each other's company. We've been really needing a break from life already and he just left this morning! So it has been a summer that has not left much time for hanging out on lazy afternoons, but it has been a good one. We have had some fun family outings. But, I need another cruise...not necessarily a cruise, but what the cruise did for us and our marriage and my sanity!
 I did some baby portraits this weekend and have 2 more lined up. I'm thrilled about that! I got to lead worship several times this month in church and I'm so honored that the staff continues to trust me to do that. I even got to lead a song I wrote in church and it went pretty well. That was so exciting for me. I think I may have the writing bug...the prospectof writing more songs for our church totally excites me! We'll see what God has on the horizon...
I hear 2 girls whining and arguing in the bath tub. "Steve would you go check on them, please?" Oh yeah...it's girls' week!
I'm off!!August 15 Ripple the fishThi s is Ripple. She (or he) is from the Steuben County Fair in Bath. We went there tonight for a fun family outing. I happened to get paid for a voice lesson today so we used that money and were on a pretty strict budget for the night. But a cheap dinner at McDonald's, the entrance fee for the fair ($4 per adult), and a few dollars for rides and such would make for a pretty fun evening, so we thought.
Now our family is quite good at having fun on a budget. Our kids NEVER get to indulge as we are so careful to let them know that their choices are limited and they are pretty good at understanding that and not complaning. They are used to it. However, I have to say that I was shocked at the cost of this fair. I was totally under the impression that the dirty, little, county fair would be much cheaper than, say, paying to go to a big amusement park for the day. I assumed we could do a few rides and games for pretty cheap like 50 cents here, $1 there. WRONG!! Every single ride was at least $2 each. Every single game was at least $2 each. All the food cost more than the food prices at Darien Lake last week. I thought it was ridiculous. Maybe I'm too old-fashioned (already?!) but I was expecting a nice, cheap, family atmosphere. Didn't fairs used to be that way?
The operators of the rides acted bored and most of them had a cigarette in their mouths. One ride that Em wanted to do was completely empty with no one in sight who wanted to do it and the guy stood there timing my baby! We spent too much (in my opinion) money to be on the stupid thing in the first place and he's making sure she is not on a second longer than she should be! Come on!
Anyway the girls were really good and didn't complain that they could only pick 2 rides (believe me it was difficult for them). We were proud of them. But each thing they did made my stomach turn that we paid 2 (or 3) dollars for THAT?!?!? I guess we are way too cheap.
So back to the fish. The one thing I wanted to do was play toss the ping pong ball into the fish bowl. So we all shared the balls and won 3 fish! Woo hoo! Total highlight of my night!! ANYWAY...We let Hannah and Emily have one and I asked them what they wanted to name them. Hannah is still mulling that one over. Emily's fish is named, "baby" because everything is about babies these days. Mine is named Ripple. Not for gentle waves made in the water...but as a testament to the evening...Rip Off!!
 August 08 Kingdom Bound! Yesterday we went to Kingdom Bound Christian music festival at Darien Lake theme park. Family Life Ministries is a sponsor every year so we get free tickets (Yay!!). This year we decided to let Hannah take a friend from church and we took 2 teenagers with us to help! We had a blast!! We spent a lot of time letting the kids ride rides in the kiddie area and Emily was big enough to ride without an adult this year. It was sooooo cute! We loved the water park although big, unsupervised kids were ruining it for our little ones...so then we headed to the huge wave pool. We were swimming like fish in the ocean when it began to rain. No problem...except it didn't really stop when we needed to get out and dry off. For the rest of the afternoon we were damp and chilly. We left the kids with the teenagers so Steve and I could ride one roller coaster but it ended up giving Steve a migrane. By this time Em was EXHAUSTED so they went back to the van to take cap naps while we did more rides. Steve was feeling better later so we went to see some awesome concerts: Denver and the Mile High Orchestra, Chris Tomlin, and Paul Baloche.
Coolest part of the whole day...our friend, Phil Snowden, was given the opportunity to play guitar with Paul Baloche! Phil called Paul and said he was in town if he needed him and Paul said. "sure, come on and play with us!" Phil had auditioned for Paul before and established a relationship then. He has been playing guitar in the Nashville area for awhile now seeing where God would take him. So Steve and I were in the front row taking pics and video and cheering for him. That was very exciting!
We were more than exhausted at the end of the day...and today too now that I mention it! Enjoy the pics!!
August 06 Stage FrightHannah was asked to audition for a part on the radio at FLM. They are looking for some kids to host the kid's hour. I've been coaching her on speaking up and not being shy and telling her what to expect. Today we went to the studio and she got to listen and watch some other kids doing it. When it was her turn she was a little shy. When she spoke she was soooooo nervous! My poor baby. But she did a fine job. After practicing the line a time or two she was really able to sell it and she was adorable. The nerves were getting to her though, and at one point I saw her eyes start to well up...but she kept going. However she is like her mom in that once she crossed that line into "teardom," there's no stopping it. When she said, "Family Life Network" she got her consonants all twisted and said, "Family Lite Nekwort." It was so cute and everyone laughed. But she couldn't handle it and she collapsed into tears on Mommy's lap. I so feel for her. I know how hard it is to feel like everyone's watching you. It's amazing how much of myself I saw in her. She said, "I don't want to be on the radio anymore, Mommy." The director said he would let her come back another time to read some short one-liners...just her. When I asked if she wanted to do it again without lots of people around she said yes. Aww, I felt so bad fer her...but she didn't do a bad job. We told her we are proud of her. Baby steps into stardom here...baby steps... August 04 Family FunYes, we are still busy, but we have had a nice couple of weeks. It seems like the weekdays are crazy, but our weekends have been lighter which has been so nice. Hannah finished up her summer school classes and rode the school bus for the first time! Now that she's used to it and make several new friends she is begging to ride the bus in September for 1st grade!
Kids Kamp was a great success. Steve and I led worship along with some teens from our church and FLM. The campers really got into the music this year which made it soooooo fun! Our kids loved it too and I think we'll be singing the camp theme song for awhile around our house!
After camp Steve had about a day and half off to be with us. He and I had a date one day and he and the girls had dates the other day! He started by taking Emily to the playground, the Corning fountain., and her favortie place ~ the bank (for lollipops!) just her and Daddy. Then later that afternoon he took Hannah out alone for mini-golf and ice cream. I love when he gets to take the girls out on a "date:" I especially like it when he takes me out on one!
 Then back to busyness. I feel like I run around crazy driving the kids to babysitters, working, picking the kids up, running errands, cooking meals, cleaning up, etc...then when I finally get a day to stay home I am cleaning and doing laundry ALL DAY to make up for it. It is hard and very frustrating at times...I feel like I can't do all the things I want/need to do. It has to be a take-one-day-at-a-time approach to survive. That's all I can do.
Our big news around here is that we are now the proud owners of a 2005 Toyota Sienna van! We have never owned a vehicle made in the same decade as we are living so this is BIG deal! Also, we have had two 2-door vehicles since we had kids...our van seems sooooooooo huge!! Today we decided to take a little road trip to Buttermilk Falls in Ithaca. We got to have lunch at our favorite pizza place since college, Papa John's. the closest one is in Ithaca, so we just HAVE to stop anytime we are in the area! We then hiked up along the gorge, walked the footbridge, climbed tons of steps (whew!!), found a toad (highlight of Hannah's day), walked DOWN the steep path, and swam in the pools at the bottom of the falls. These pools are spring-fed and today's temperature was a chilly 74 degrees. Steve and I tolerated it up to our knees ~ just deep enough to keep ahold of Emily, but Hannah was swimming up to her neck! More power to her...
It was a BEAUTIFUL day to take a road trip in our new van. God has really blessed us and we are so grateful. Days like this sprinkled among the chaos make our family close...and that's when I'm the happiest. |
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