2011 Book List

Unfortunately, my reading was down this year and I did not meet my page total goal for 2011.  I am planning on trying again to reach it in 2012, but am not going to make it one of my main resolutions next year.  If only I would be willing to count all of the pages of all of the books I read with kids each day at school and each day to Luke, then I'm sure that I would have blown my goal out of the water! 
My list of books isn't as exciting this year due to there being several "educational"ish type books listed below, but I can say that most of them did "make me think" and that is something that I absolutely love in a book so maybe it isn't so bad after all! :)

1. Charlie St. Cloud by Ben Sherwood

~great book & it was a great Christmas gift (2010) to receive-Thanks Emily!

2. Swine Not? A Novel Pig Tale by Jimmy Buffet

3. Hachiko Waits by Leslea Newman

~4th grade book club book-good story about one very loyal pet!

4. Kenny & the Dragon by Tony DeTerlizzi

5. Redneck Boy in the Promised Land: The Confessions of "Crazy Cooter" by Ben Jones

6. Night of the Howling Dogs by Graham Salisbury

7.  Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas by James Patterson

8.  Hide or Seek by Dr. James Dobson
~an old book about helping kids with self-esteem...did not enjoy it (or agree with several parts)

9.  Red and Me  My Coach, My Lifelong Friend by Bill Russell with Alan Steinberg

10. Confessions of a Mega Church Pastor by Allen Hunt

11. Identical Strangers: A Memoir of Twins Separated and Reunited by Elyse Schein and Paula Bernstein

12. Rediscovering Catholicism by Matthew Kelly

13.  Homeland by John Jakes

14. Animal Farm by George Orwell

15.  Catholic Customs & Traditions by Greg Dues

16. Qualites of Highly Effective Teachers by James H. Stronge

17.  Begin with the Brain Orchestrating the Learner-Centered Classroom by Martha Kaufeldt

18.  The Speed of Trust by Stephen M.R. Covey


19.  The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf 

Read This

"Mrs. S. what did I write?"

This was the question I heard from a kindergartener on one of the last days of school before Christmas break.  The students had been working on writing Christmas lists when I came into the room for reading time.  The teacher had me helping some of the students "read" their lists.  Here's a little pop quiz, see if you can guess which answers were mine and which answer was what the student actually wrote.

The paper said,...

"trngl kosoo"

Your choices are:

A. "triangle kazoo"

B. "tangled kozoo"

or

C. "Tinkerbell costume"

If you chose C, then you did a much better job than I did of trying to read what she wrote as you witnessed in answers A and B.  At least my messed up attempts at trying to decode her words DID help her to come up with the answer to her question at the beginning of this post! :)

Happy Birthday to You!

To my niece, Brielle...

WOW...5! Congrats, it's a big age to be! :)

We Love You!

Happy Birthday!

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you & yours the merriest of holidays today!!!

Love,
Anita

Happy Birthday to You!

To my sister-in-law, Jenny...

We hope that your special day is quite special!

Happy Birthday! :)

Let Christmas Break Begin!

Today was my first official day of Christmas break & it was great! I swear I was more giddy about it than the kids at school yesterday :)

After completing an errand first thing this morning & getting to spend some time out & about with my little man, we spent the rest of the day baking cookies!  Scott made it home a little bit earlier than normal from work & is now officially on break (oh wait, he would correct me here, "on call" ;)  until the 2nd!  Looking forward to lots of family time together and getting a few things done and having some fun too!

Tomorrow's agenda...candy making and our 2nd official family Christmas gathering of the season!  With a few other things sprinkled in throughout the day as well...let the fun begin! :)

Advent Happenings

Here is Luke's and my handiwork...

 Closer up...

Each day we check the "tree" and Luke pulls off the post-it number for the day.  We flip the "ornament" up to see what Christmas 'job' we will do that day.  He has been very excited about it and I can honestly say that each day I look forward to whatever the task is for the day too :)

I tried to stick more with the concept of "preparing and waiting" for Christmas (to be more Advent themed) so most of our tasks are things to get the house or ourselves ready.  A few traditions and fun activities are sprinkled in along the way, but mostly I tried to incorporate something "fun" into a job that would have needed to be done anyway.  This way he has fun and feels like he is helping us out too, which is something that he constantly wants to be doing...helping somebody. It has also made the holidays much less stressful for me...cleaning and decorating one room or thing at a time rather than the whole house on one day.  And with the help of a kid who LOVES to clean/dust...what more could a mom ask for!

On a side note, it has its educational aspects too...teaching patience as well as numbers! ;)

All in all, it has been a neat experience and I'm looking forward to possibly making it a new family tradition in the years to come!

Happy Birthday to You!

To my youngest sister, Beth!

We hope you have the happiest of birthdays!
Have a very special day!

Happy Birthday :)

December Challenges!

For Myself:  To do something "active" each day...even on holiday/"party" days!
(I still have a couple of hours to fit this one in today! ;)

For Luke and Me (I realize the lack of proper grammar here too.):  To continue with an activity each day from the "Advent" tree that we made together a week and a half ago.  He really seems to like it and has been so excited to complete whatever the task is each day.  Hopefully, I'll get a picture posted on here sometime soon...I thought it turned out pretty cute, if I do say so myself. :)

For Scott and Me:  To stick with trying to create new routines to help us get the house organized and keep it that way.  This seems to be a constant struggle for us, but I'm hoping that tackling it as a team will bring success rather than me trying to do it on my own and "hand out orders" to everyone else!
[And I can admit it here that the house already looks 200% better (no lie...it was AWFUL) than it did around Halloween just from the 2-3 things we have already attempted doing!]

Updates coming at the end of the month :)

Goodby November and...

Hello christmas shopping!

Scott & I are planning a trip to, hopefully, finish up whatever shopping still needs to be done (quite a bit!)  I haven't done much yet this year & have not been motivated to do much either :(

I've been motivated to celebrate the whole Advent/Christmas season and have been doing a good job on that end, but with the whole capitalistic/materialistic end of things...sorry, not so much.  Sorry poor economy, but I'm sure that we will do our part to "help" in just a few days.

Anyway, bring it on December & you all can keep your fingers crossed that no one will have to wait until January for their gift from us! :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope that you all have a very happy, "thankful" filled holiday!

My loving husband, my beautiful son, our many family members, fulfilling jobs that we enjoy, wonderful teachers for Luke, some of the best friends in the whole world, good health, a warm home, clothes on our backs and food on our table...these are just a few of the many things that I am grateful for!  Some of these things seem so basic, yet, some people have to struggle each day just to have these very things that so many of us take for granted!

Happy Thanksgiving and may God bless each of you!

Bad Joke

I have been helping the 2nd grade classroom that I work in with their Thanksgiving play and poems for the past week (& today.)  On Friday, they had a substitute teacher so I was the "director."

Being it is a Thanksgiving play, there are two groups of characters...the pilgrims and the Native Americans.  The teacher and I had been working with them on staying seated and quiet anytime they were not "on stage."  Needless to say, a few of them were having some problems remaining quiet, especially on the side of the room where the NA's were sitting.  I looked at the sub and said...

"The Natives are getting restless!"

Hardy, har, har, har!  Hope you all don't have too much picking yourselves back up off the ground from laughter after reading that one! ;)

Deer Me

Cool:

Seeing a mother deer and several babies crossing the road about a 1/4 mile ahead of me while I was out running tonight!

Not So Cool:

Having the thought cross my mind that I was glad to be wearing a bright orange top...just in case there were any hunters with their bows in the trees nearby...lucky for me, they shouldn't be posted quite that close to the main road and it's not shotgun season yet! :)

That starts tomorrow...I think I'll skip running tomorrow ;)

I Hear Those...

Holidays Coming! (And I can hardly wait :)

Last night on my way to church for a meeting, I happened upon a radio station playing Christmas songs and I enjoyed every bit of it.

The urge to start watching holiday shows/Christmas movies is creeping in too.

Visions of Christmas card ideas and things to write in the letter this year are invading my brain.

Christmas shopping...eh...not really all that excited about this one...pretty much because I have zero ideas/inspiration of gifts for anybody, except Luke (lucky guy!)  Kind of wishing that just the joy of each other's company (for the adults anyway...kids still need presents ;) would be enough at all of the gatherings this year.

But, most of all, Thanksgiving will soon be here!  And, oh, how I loooove Thanksgiving.  It's not just the food...it's a feeling.  A feeling of gratefulness for all of the blessings that life has given.  A feeling of love and being surrounded by those you love (and it helps that the food is so good too...it makes it easier to pull everyone in ;)  It's just a nice feeling to have and it makes for a nice start to the Christmas season where this feeling becomes even more prevalent (as long as it's not taken over by the stress of the "giving and receiving" part of the holidays.)

So, this holiday season, instead of stressing about all of those things that I would normally stress about...I'm just going to enjoy the feeling of it all and do my best to not let all of the "other stuff" get in the way!

Here come the holidays! :)

Happy Birthday to You!

To my husband and Luke's dad, Scott!

We hope that you have one very special day!

We love you!

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday To You!

Birthday wishes going out today to my father-in-law, Carl!

We hope your day is very special and that it is everything you want it to be.

Happy Birthday!
We love you!

Catching up!

*Our little trick-or-treater had a very successful Halloween and I plan to post a picture sometime in the near future.

*Halloween weekend also brought my 1/2 marathon race.  My time was slower than my race in the spring...2 hours 48 minutes and 15 seconds, but only by about 8 minutes.  I was disappointed because I had been hoping to have a faster time (and most of my training runs were faster), but it was not meant to be this time.  Looking back, I know that I started out at too fast of a pace and the leg cramps around mile 10 forced me to have to walk most of the last 3 miles (up until this point I had been running a faster paced race...I am a slooowww walker when I have to walk :)  Around mile 11, I really wasn't sure if I'd finish or not, but I just kept thinking "it's just 2 more miles!"  Needless to say, I was happy to finally make it to the finish line and to do so running (which I did again for the last 1/4-1/2 mile)  :) 

*Thanks to my aunt for letting Scott & I stay with her that weekend.  And super thanks to my parents for taking care of the little man while we were away! :)

*I can't believe that Thanksgiving is only 2 weeks away!

*Life around here just seems to get slightly more stressful with each passing week...when is my next vacation? ;)

*Glad to only have 3 more school days this week!

Those are some of the basics of the past 2 weeks.  There are so many other things that I could (& may eventually need to) type about, but for now they will remain with me as I try to get myself organized! 
Have a happy week! :)

Happy Birthday to You!

To my niece, Rose...

Happy 1st Birthday!

Maybe you'll let me hold you once without crying sometime before you turn 2 :)

Have a very special day!  We love you!

Woot! Woot!

Frankly, I normally find that phrase very annoying when I see it used, but it was the only thing that kept popping into my head this morning when I stepped on the scale.

It was only a matter of 2-4 pounds that I had been "waiting" on, but now that they seem to have finally vacated my body...I am proud to say that I am finally back down to the weight I was for most of high school and early college!  Don't get me wrong-I am still absolutely nowhere near my "ideal/dream" weight and I am still a "big lady" (oh how I hate those words!), but it is a step in the right direction. 

This last pound or two also means that I am officially the "smallest" that I have ever been since I've been married!  I was at the heaviest I had ever been when I got married (hmmm...guessing stress might have been a factor...) and then I became even heavier during the first year or two of our infertility journey [wedding stress + (wishing you could be pregnant right from the start x watching many of those around you get pregnant/have babies) stress=10 extra lbs that I definitely DID NOT need at the time or ever!]

And now they are gone and here I stand almost 45 lbs lighter than that point I reached several years back!

WOOT! WOOT! (Yes, I still think this phrase is annoying! :)

Signs of October :)

October Activities (This one was a first for me!):

Luke's

                               Mine                           

     October Sights:

Spooooky!

October Flowers:

Lilacs???

Yep, that's right! For some reason, our lilac bush decided to start blooming.  I don't even think the weather has been that crazy to confuse the plants, but the lilac decided to bring us a nice surprise for fall.  I wonder if it'll still bloom next spring?

Running: Then vs Now

THEN (meaning last winter/spring's 1/2 marathon training):

*I was pretty sure that I just might actually die trying to complete a 1/2 marathon...

*I had only ran a full 3 miles a couple of  times when I signed up for my first race...

*I could not even imagine running the 5 miles that I would need to do several times throughout my training, let alone 12-13 miles...

*I felt WAY in over my head, but was determined to do it...

*I could normally run the entire time, as long as it was a distance I had ran before, but if it was not...

*I had to take walk breaks quite often, especially when running the "new" part of the distance...

*I was constantly checking weather reports and wind speeds to find the "best" days to run...

*I always took my MP3 player with me...

*I was SLOW...

*Running felt like work, but I sure did enjoy it!

NOW:

*I am pretty sure that I will not die while competing in my next 1/2 :) and am a much more confident runner...

*I have completed a 1/2 marathon, as well as a sprint triathlon, since I first started training last winter...

*I now know that I can do it...

*I know and can feel that my body is much stronger and in much better shape these days...

*I have ran the entire time for every.single.run  this time around, including last Saturday's 12 miler...

*If I've planned on running a certain day, the only thing that will keep me from doing it is lightning-bring on the weather, it's great strength/stamina building...

*I never take my music with me, instead I tend to get in my "zone" and meditate while I run...

*I am still SLOW, but a slightly faster slow...

*On occasion, running does still feel like work, but it just keeps getting better! :)

Ugly Driver

Earlier this week, there was an incident in the Walmart parking lot.  I was pulling into the parking lot as I normally do and there was (as usual) a long line of cars waiting at the stop sign.  I watched as one car pulled out as I was approaching and I saw the little red car behind it stop at the stop sign too.  Now to throw out a few of my fake statistics, usually 95% of the cars pull into the parking lot and turn right immediately, but there is the option to keep driving straight as one pull's into the parking lot and I am one of those 5% who ALWAYS keeps on driving straight ahead.

As you may have guessed, the little red car stopped at the stop sign and just continued to pull on out right.in.front.of.me!  Luckily, I slammed on the brakes and somehow was able to not completely T-bone the little red car.

I looked over at the driver (a really old little man with an old woman sitting next to him) and he was yelling at ME!  I motioned to him that he was supposed to stop.  Of course, our windows were up so I could not hear the guy, but it was clear to me that he was yelling at me that I was the one who was wrong and that I was supposed to turn.  I shook my head no and dropped my jaw in disbelief as he mouthed the word

A#%HOLE!

At me!  He then appeared to try to flip me off with his ring finger and drove away!

I admit that I was quite shaken up by the whole ordeal!  I am definitely NOT a "road rage" type of person and rarely even get upset with other drivers...I prefer to just tsk, tsk them as unsafe drivers.  Plus, he had been so nasty towards me and he was COMPLETELY the one in the wrong in every.single.way!  I was trying to hold back my tears as I walked into the store when I saw one of my super little students.  She had the biggest smile on her face when she saw me walk in and I went right up to her and told her...

"THANK YOU!"  because she had just made my world a little bit brighter after such an ugly incident!

I do have to admit that I was all ready to come on here later that day and type some nasty statement "to the man in the parking lot", but as I was walking around the store I thought "no" because then I would be putting that same kind of ugliness out into the world.  Plus, one never really knows the other side of the story.  Maybe that guy had just been told that he only had a few months to live, maybe he had just been treated rudely by someone else, maybe the store was out of his favorite kind of ice cream, maybe he was just having a really bad day, or maybe he is just an a#%, but whatever the case may be it felt good to know that I "broke his cycle" of ugliness that day and did not pass it on to someone else.  I just hope he was nice to everyone else he met that day!

Things I Don't Understand...

and am probably too cynical to ever understand ;)

"Car People" or in rural areas "Tractor People"- I just don't understand salivating over a certain car, certain brand of car/tractor, or the people who claim that their brand is the ONLY brand that is acceptable.  Here comes the cynical :)...I believe that every brand has it's "dud" and that every brand probably has at least one product that is pretty good.  I've also always disliked the whole "dream car" question because for me a car is a car-as long as it gets me where I need to go (& has ample leg room/space, which most "dream cars" do not) then I'm okay with it.

Politicians-I believe that 99% of them are just telling you whatever they think you need to hear at that moment (or whatever the "party brand" is at the time) to get your vote...maybe 1% of them are in it for the right reasons ;)

Making Excuses-I am VERY guilty of doing this one too, but I am also always catching myself doing this and then turning around and apologizing for it :(  I've learned that excuses just lead to more excuses and basically they're pretty much all BS anyway!  I am really trying to work on this one all of the time, but it's just so hard! (Did you catch that one there? Just trying to make sure you're still paying attention! hehe ;)

And finally...

How when my "plate" in life is fairly full, I can still manage to squeeze a few more big things into it! 
Here's to a "plate" that may just runneth over soon, but hopefully it won't take my mind with it! :)

An Anniversary!

Of what?  I know that some of you are thinking this :)

One year ago this weekend, Scott & I took a little trip with some friends to Southern Illinois.  We enjoyed traveling the wine trails...really enjoyed the wine...and all in all had a really fun time together!  It was a blast (except for maybe some of the effects of all of that wine that I experienced the next day, but we won't get into that here! ;) 

On this trip, one of my friends started talking about how she had started the "Couch to 5K" online training program for running and was really enjoying it.  I had previously tried this same program a couple of times already...only to have given up about halfway through it.

The discussion, my previous failures, plus the prospect of having someone to track our progress together...all equaled MAJOR MOTIVATION for me to want to give it another try.  I thought about it the rest of the weekend and decided that I was going to do it and this time...there would be NO giving up!

Not too long after getting home that Sunday afternoon, I printed off the schedule once again and I finished Day 1 of it.

So, this weekend marks the 1 year anniversary of me being a runner! :)

One year ago, I could barely imagine being able to run 1 mile at a time, let alone 3!  People who even attemped marathons and 1/2 marathons were crazy!  Well, look who's crazy now...ME!  As I am entering my last few weeks of training for my 2nd half marathon this year...I ran 9 miles yesterday...CRAZY! :)

Never in my life would I ever have imagined that this would be me, but boy does it feel good!

From the past year, here are some of the moments that stand out the most in my head...

1)  The first time I ran 20 minutes without stopping (on the Couch to 5K schedule) and called my friend to celebrate!  Then a few days later when she called and we celebrated her accomplishing the same thing!

2)  Making the decision to attempt a 1/2 marathon and being (almost) completely convinced that I might actually die trying to do one!

3)  The first time I ran/walked 10 and then 12 miles with my sister...these were some of the hardest runs I have ever done, but we both made it through!  (Wind was a BIG factor on both of these.)

4)  Crossing the finish line of my first ever race (the 1/2 marathon) and the sheer joy I felt doing so!

5)  Having my first ever experience with running in high heat/humidity at that very same race...not pleasant and neither were the effects of dehydration after the race.

6)  One of my goals when I first started running was to possibly compete in a sprint triathalon and I am proud to say that I can check this off my list too, but that doesn't mean that I won't do it again :)

What a difference a year can make!

Dull, Dull, Dull!

Sorry folks...September has been rather dull around the ole blog!

I am not looking forward to end of my most favorite month of the year this weekend :(  But it does mean the beginning of my 2nd most favorite month of the year! :)  I just love the fall season and all that it brings, but I am not going to bore you all with that...I'm going to guess that you have a good idea of what fall is like and if not just let me know and I will attempt to turn that into a post ;)

Anyway, I really do feel like this blog is a reflection of me and I can't help feeling that my life has been fairly "dull" as of late, which means a lack of "material" unless you all would prefer that I just keep writing about the same things over and over again.  Now that really would be dull wouldn't it!? hehe

I do have an "anniversary" coming up early next week that I am planning a post for...any guesses about the topic???

I have been tossing around an idea for another "series" type of post(s) that I may begin, but it would be fairly introspective and I'm still speculating ;)

There are 1 or 2 more posts that I have been thinking about writing throughout most of September and maybe I will eventually get to them.

AND...there are probably a handful more of these "foreshadowing"ish style posts in my future with the ways (or lack of I should mention) I have been posting this year! :)

I also really need to update my page total numbers (& the list of books for another future post) over there on the sidebar before I completely lose track of everything that I have read.  And so that I can end the whole blog "slacker" thing that I've had going on this year.

Until then, I'll keep you "posted"...well, maybe! ;)

31

Happy Birthday today to me! :)

31 lacks the glory of 30...it is just "another" birthday.  But I have enjoyed it.

It was just another regular day & that is really all I wanted this year...maybe because it fell on a Monday this year so I didn't really expect much from it.

I got to enjoy the day with students (many of whom just had to tell me "Happy Birthday!" every.single.time they saw me throughout the day. :)  I even had former students who were eager to wish me happy birthday...it really does make one feel special. 

The 2nd grade classroom I work in helped me celebrate with cookies :)

My parents swung out our way yesterday for a nice afternoon. :)

I received a phone call from some of my favorite people in the world, my goddaughter/niece Melissa and her sisters (with my sister helping in the background.)  :)

My in-laws swung by this evening for a little bit. :)

The only downside to the day was a very long afternoon spent with one very tired 4 year old who did not get his nap today due to renovations going on at the sitter's house. :(  It made for an afternoon/evening of "ignoring" what his mother was saying &/or doing the exact opposite!  Happy Birthday to Mom.

Oh well, at the very least, he is still one of the most precious "gifts" I could ever have received and he did have a good day for everyone else (preschool & sitter!) ;)  What more could a mom ask for, right?

And, as for Scott, well he did cook supper, offered to do Luke's bedtime, and even sat through watching the silly soap opera that I DVR'd today...without complaining! :)

It was a GOOD DAY!  Even if it was just a plain ole regular day! ;)

What Have I Been Doing? (By the bullets :)

*I've been training for another 1/2 marathon at the end of October (which I have yet to officially sign up for...probably will sometime this week.)  Thus far, the training has been different in several ways much to my surprise & I will try to post more about it in a future post.

*Luke has been adjusting to preschool and seems to like it.  Now if he could just stay awake on the bus ;) This has happened on several occasions & results in no nap at the sitter's and a cranky evening by the time we get home.  It hasn't helped that these same days have tended to be the days he gets up at 4:30 thus he falls asleep on the bus...(seriously, I'm thinking maybe he should be a dairy farmer someday!)

*I learn more about myself with each passing day & have been trying to figure out how this might translate into blog posts or a series of blog posts in the future.

*Yesterday, I was thinking "I've still got it!" after running 7 miles first thing in the morning and then helping with 4 hours of a volleyball open gym.  A half hour of which I particpated in a full out scrimmage.  I hadn't done that for years & it was so much fun.  Plus, I kept thinking...I've already ran 7 miles today & now I'm playing volleyball (& pretty well at that ;)  I was joking that it was my "8th" mile for the day (interestingly enough I did burn about the same amount of calories as I would have running that mile...)  I felt so good by the time I was heading home.  Then I got home & got SO TIRED!  In fact, I'm still tired today and just a little sore, but I did get out there for 3 more miles this evening so we'll see what I feel like in the morning...maybe I am getting older after all :)

*Finally, my apologies to my dad for "wasting" his time.  The poor guy was asking me about this blog & why I haven't been posting...he stated that I've been "wasting people's time when they check it and there is nothing new to read" (& yes, I told him that it was quite possible that he would be quoted here)...so MY APOLOGIES :)

For those of you checking in, I hope you enjoyed seeing something new! ;)

Lesson Learned!

For just about the better part of/slightly more than/maybe slightly less than/not exactly sure, but I do know it was sometime before school started/you get the point :)/just about a month now, I have been religiously getting up about anywhere from 5 to 5:30 a.m. every single day (including weekends) to exercise.  I started a new training/running schedule and the mornings were the only time that I knew that I could consistently find the time to run while leaving the rest of our days' schedules fairly intact.  So, I have been making the sacrifice to go to bed religiously between 9-9:30 each night too so that I am able to function on this schedule ;)  There are still several kinks that I am working out (finding the best times to complete chores, trying to cope with a big lack of "down" time on my part since I am basically going to bed within 1/2 an hour of when Luke has finally called it a night most evenings, and still getting adjusted to my family's new routines as a whole with school having started.

 

Well, this morning, it was just a bit chilly in our bedroom (sleeping with the windows open does that!) and the warm blankets just felt soo good.  I hit the snooze once...then I talked myself into just staying in bed since I knew it would take me about an hour to run the 5 miles that I was due to run and I'd be "late" getting back at that point...and I could always run that 5 miles after Scott got home in the evening...and that's how I talked myself into staying put!

 

Lesson NOT learned quite yet...

 

I stayed put and enjoyed sleeping in until 6 a.m. when I was joined by Luke.  Then I enjoyed snuggling with him for about 10-15 minutes!  And then it was time to get ready for the day and nothing "felt" right...I continued to be "off" as I got ready for school...and ALL DAY LONG while at school (we have been testing this week and NOTHING went smoothly today)...and then I was still "off" while we waited at the doctor's office for almost 2 1/2 hours just for Luke's physical...and then Luke and I finally made it home almost 12 hours after we had left this morning, but...

 

it was cloudy, cold and looking like it might rain....should I run or wait until tomorrow?

 

RUN!

 

I dragged my butt out the door and ran those 5 miles (the fastest that I have ever run them, I think) and felt, afterwards, like what I had "wished" I would have felt ALL DAY LONG!

 

Lesson LEARNED!

 

I will drag my butt out of bed tomorrow morning even if it is only to do 1 or 2-10 minute videos and even if I am getting to bed "late" tonight, especially if it means avoiding another day of feeling like I did today! :)

Four Years Ago Today...

our world was changed forever, our dreams came true & our hearts were opened up to a whole new love that we had never known before!

Happy 4th Birthday to my "little man", Luke!

We love you to pieces & you make each day a bit brighter just by being in it!

Enjoy your special day!

Happy Birthday to You!

To my niece, Megan!

We hope that your special day was very special! :)

Happy 4th Birthday!

My Baby...

starts Preschool today!

He's nervous, which in turn makes me a little nervous...but I think he will like it once he gets in there.

My fears are everyone's fears...will he make friends, will he listen to his teacher, will he have any potty "accidents" (we've been working hard on this one over the summer, but still struggling at times...which adds to my anxiety for him...), and just basically will he be okay?!

As a person who works in a school, I know the answer to all of these questions is yes (and to the potty question-probably at some point), but as a parent who knows all of these things...it doesn't make me worry any less!

Here's to Day 1... :)

Back to Work Monday

It had to come to an end sometime...summer is over & I'm quite okay with that!

I'm ready for some routine to be put back in our lives. I enjoy the free "do whatever we want" ability of summer, but much like a toddler...I thrive on routine! :)

I'm ready & I'm ready to see my school "kids" again...not so sure that those same kids will all be ready to go back again though ;)

Going for my first day today and then I have one last reprieve tomorrow (due to a last minute change that I don't have to go tomorrow.) Luke and I have plans to enjoy the day, but after that BRING IT ON! Let school begin!

Happy Birthday to You!

Happy Birthday to my mom!

We hope your day was very special even if you did have to spend it at the fair! ;)

Thanks for all you do! We love you!

A New Adventure...Part 2

I wrote this awhile back & have yet to mention it again (shocking, I know! :)

We did complete all of the classes and have learned a lot about the children we will be working with and ourselves along the way.

We do know that this will be one of the hardest jobs we have ever done (but who doesn't say that as a parent.)

We will give the children in our care all of the love and support that they need (as we do with our own son) and we hope that those around us will do the same for them.

We do have hopes that we can add a child/children to our "permanent" family through the system via adoption if it happens, but we also realize that is NOT the main priority of the system and will do all we can to work in the best interest of these children and their families.

We have NO IDEA in which ways our family will change and how many ways/times it will change as we proceed with this adventure.

I believe that no child ever really belongs to us (How can I really? My son has another whole biological family out there! Plus, biological children do eventually grow up and start their "own" lives too.), but are ours to love and care for while we've got them and we just have to do the best we can while we've got them!

We wish that this system wasn't needed because it means that there are parents out there who are struggling with doing that which I just mentioned above, but we are glad that we can do something to help and we hope that our son will learn from us what it means to give of yourself for others.

We are eager to begin this journey, but as always there are the "waits." Currently, we are waiting on the license to arrive and then we will wait for the call.

I just read these quotes in an email I received from a volunteer thing I will be helping with this weekend and they struck me as being quite fitting of my feelings about this adventure and just why we are doing it!

"Don't just pretend to love others, really love them. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection and take delight in honoring others. When God's people are in need be ready to help them." Romans 12:9

and...

"Jesus said, Anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf welcomes me." Luke 9:48

The Race

The night before: I "signed in" and got body marked (they wrote my bib number on both of my arms and both of my legs with a permanent marker and they wrote my swim time on my hand), packed up my stuff for the next day, and actually got some rest ;)

The morning of: I was freaking out about the 6 minute swim time that I had told them (I was having visions of all the swimmers behind me passing me!) So, I scrubbed off the 6 and changed it to a 7! I got to the park, got my stuff unloaded and to the transition area...waited with my friend for everything to start...and got more and more nervous as I waited!

The Swim: Because I had changed my swim time, there were quite a few people between my friend and I in line so I had to meet some new people (definitely not one of the things in my comfort zone :) We women had to wait for the men, the coed teams, and the other teams to start before we could so it was about 45 minutes from the official start until I actually touched the water. I jumped in and swam my little heart out AND even passed 2 people in the process. My official time was 5 minutes and 41.25 seconds! AWESOME! I guess I should have left the number on my hand alone :)

The Bike: I was feeling great after my swim and felt confident going into the bike ride. That is UNTIL...like 20 people passed me during the 11.3 mile ride! :( I watched them as they passed me and I was pedaling just as fast as they were, yet they kept pulling away from me. The problem...my bike chain was stuck on the two smallest sprockets of my bike! It worked great everytime I got to a hill, but most of the race was on fairly flat land and it was just impossible for me to cover the same amount of ground as everyone else. I stopped once (after someone who was pedaling much slower than I was passed me and pulled away from me!) I tried to change the chain, but it immediately changed itself back down to the smallest sprocket as soon as I started pedaling. Yes, I have been training on this bike, this way, the entire time and most of that training was done by myself so NO I did not realize what a difference it would make in a race! LESSON LEARNED!!! :)
I was proud to say that I did make it back to the park :) (also despite some very weird clicking noises that was coming from my bike too the entire ride!) and also knew that I had probably exerted WAY TOO MUCH and way more effort than many of the other participants for this part of the event I was also quite sure that I had to be the VERY LAST person still on a bike, which was quite humbling :( My time was 1 hour 10 minutes and 21.95 seconds~Not so awesome.

The Run: After my experience on the bike, I was still feeling pretty good physically and started out on the run. Quite quickly, though, I could feel my internal body temperature rising too much so I ended up doing this part as a run/walk. Lo and behold, about 2 miles into it I saw another participant coming TOWARDS me! I was not last! Alleluia :) I actually ended up meeting a couple of people, which perked me up as I actually got to cheer them on towards the finish line like others had been doing for me! I also ended up actually catching and passing one person and almost caught up to another! Of course, you have to run across the finish line and I saved up just enough energy to do just that :) I finished my run/walk in 41 minutes and 7.05 seconds-okay with this after the bike!

My official time was 2 hours 1 minute and 39.5 seconds! (transition times are included in this time)

I had kind of forgotten that it didn't really matter when you finished (and REALLY all that did matter was that we all finished!) because each of us had a timing chip so technically, you could be the "last" one, but also the fastest one. I remembered this once I found out my times...definitely not the slowest, but definitely better than I thought it would be, especially after that terrible bike ride!

My rank was 161/165 (better than I thought it would be), my swim time was ranked 113, my bike was ranked 165 (but I saw one person ranked as 166 with a time about 15 seconds slower...not really sure where the extra biker came from), and my run/walk was ranked 147. For my age group, I was ranked 15 out of 17.

So, I am very pleased with myself that I finished my first mini-triathlon, but I am not so pleased with how my race itself went. BUT, I know what needs fixing and I know how to fix it AND I will compete again to prove to myself that I can do it and do it better! :)

I DID NOT DIE! :)

More on the triathlon later.

Right now I have places (bible school at church) to be and can't wait to share my experience with all of you! ;)

Animal House

We have been "blessed with babies" all around us this week.

We have two female cats (along with a male & two old grouchy cats as well). Neither of these cats has been very fertile up to this point, in fact, the lone male cat has been the only "kitten" from those two females to survive to adulthood around here.

We live in the country (coyotes, farm equipment during harvest, etc) & along a bit of a heavily traveled road, so oftentimes, kittens have not had much success around here.

Let's just say, our cats have decided to be fertile now...

*one of the females has 2 kittens (which isn't actually that fertile, but just wait until you get to the end of the story) that could go to a new home at any time (any takers?! :)

Luke & I were playing outside one day this week and discovered a new little kitten outside...it belonged to our beloved cat, Sassy (who keep in mind has only ever had ONE kitten at a time!)...a little while later we were back outside and much to our surprise there was the kitten again only it was a completely different color (oh yay, she actually had TWO kittens!)...yet a little bit later we were once again outside (are you sensing a theme here? :) and we saw the two little kittens together only neither of these two kittens looked anything like the two kittens we had already seen and played with (OMG FOUR KITTENS!)

The hunt began and soon enough we found where the litter was staying, just off our porch in the forest of weeds! FIVE kittens!!!!!

Anyone going to be needing a mouser for the winter months? :)

P.S. After several unsuccessful attempts much to Scott's chagrin, we were also blessed with baby bunnies yesterday too! (I don't think that I have ever posted about Scott's dreams of being a rabbit farmer...I sense a post in his future ;) Let the rabbit farmin' begin...finally! :)

Build Me Up!

Luke sure is "buttering" me up over the past few days.

Over the weekend, I kept hearing "Mom, you're the best mom I ever had!"

and then...

Yesterday, I kept hearing "Mom, I just think you may be a genius!" and "Yeah, I think that might be a GREAT idea!"

I'll take it while I can get it!

What have I been doing to earn such incredible compliments?

Nothing out of the ordinary-he has just been getting really excited about some of the things that we do every.single.day. and that happen while we are doing those same things every.single.day. (playing trains, baking treats, playing outside, etc.)

If he was a teenager, I'd be wondering what in the world he was wanting! :)

This Saturday...

is an event that I eluded to in an earlier post.

My friend & I signed up for a mini triatholon a few weeks ago and I have been attempting to train for it ever since.

The swimming...has been kicking me in the butt!

The biking...has been making my butt hurt!

The running...would be okay if not for the gruesome heat that has been July!

So, Saturday is coming quite quickly & I am [please insert loads of sarcasm here] ready! :)

The only thing I do feel confident of is picturing myself crossing the finish line (& hopefully not dying before I do so! ;)

Happy Belated Birthdays To You!

To my mother-in-law, Debra, on the 18th of June! (I know we talked to you, but I still missed your "blog birthday greeting"~Sorry!) We're glad you enjoyed your travels during your birthday weekend!

To Dan, the "uncle", on July 9th! We hope your day was very special!

To my brother-in-law, Pete, on July 13th! We hope you enjoyed your special day yesterday!

Sorry to have missed all of these posts on your days!

Phewww! I think I'm safe now until August hits! :)

Under a Rock...

is where it seems I've been living in the last month! Seriously, I've been quite "unplugged" from the computer for most of the last 2-3 weeks, possibly even (dare I say it...) a whole MONTH!

I've, basically, checked my email (just barely) 2-3 times a week and done some "word processing"ish type activities (those don't even require internet! Shocking, I know! :) I seemed to have popped by here about twice since the middle of last month and Facebook has been nonexsistent in my world. The good news (or bad news depending on how you look at it) is that I really haven't missed any of it all that much.

It's like living in the old times :)

If someone hasn't called or texted (well I have still enjoyed this aspect of technology!) or seen me in person (which I haven't been doing a ton of around here either for the last month or so for really no apparent reason) :(, then sorry to say I have no clue as to what is going on in the world with, well, everybody.

Life has pretty well centered on Scott's work schedule (which has been varying tremendously from week to week-last week he was literally not home but a few hours all week & this week he's been home for supper, well at least some of the nights. :)Add in random weekend events that have popped up, Luke's babysitter days/swimming lessons, and trying to fit in training on these same days for an upcoming event in the midst of the lovely July heat and/or trying to train on other days with a 3 year old in tow!

So...I've/we've been fairly "us" focused lately & with that comes much less focus on anything "plugged" in :) It's actually been kind of nice living in our own little world for awhile, but I need to start stepping back out into the world again because I've lost total sense of time! It won't be long now before school is starting again...4 weeks! I need to at least figure out what day it is...it makes it quite difficult to write a check when you actually have NO IDEA what day it is!!! (Which you, my very smart readers, probably have guessed happened today and has happened several times over the last few weeks.) I have tended to do better with knowing the weekend dates (probably because of my training schedule), but I definitely lose track once Monday rolls around!

Since I've been away for awhile, I've also missed some birthdays too! YIKES!
So coming soon to a computer near you, belated birthday greetings! :)

It's nice to be back, well, at least blogging anyway...not sure about "plugging" totally back in just yet! ;)

Power Trip

If you want to see what having full control and full power over others does to a kid, just hand a 3 1/2 year old a garden hose!

The fits of giggles & squeals of delight that you will hear, come quite quickly once he has "hosed down" everything & EVERYONE in sight!

Good thing he has such a good sport (and a very wet one at that!) for a mom :)

Dear Me, Dear Me!

I leave town for just a couple days...last week...and I completely lost touch with my dear little ole blog!

And I was doing so well there for a bit :)

I know, I know, I kind of left everything hanging there for awhile, but no worries, I did not fall off of the planet maybe just my 'rocker'. hehe
And now that I remember that my poor ole blog is being neglected...I'll try my best to make up for it ;)

Which "Brown" Are You?

Lately, I've been finding myself using several different nicknames around here.

The three top ones:

"Charlie"

"Buster" and...

"Leroy"

Usually, I only use the first name, but yesterday I realized that with all three of these names I could add the word "Brown" after them ("Charlie Brown," "Buster Brown," and "Leroy Brown") and they would all three make sense/reference something else. Plus, I have actually added the "brown" on occasion.

Hmmm...not sure what it's all about, but I did find the connection interesting :)

How Observant Are You? :)

Notice anything different?

I've done a bit of "tweaking" and will probably be doing some more over the next few weeks.

It feels like it's time to "change" things up around here~the blog is about as close as I can get to 'interior decorating' ;) Things don't/can't get changed up around my own house nearly as often! ;)

Happy Anniversary!

Today marks 8 years of marriage for Scott and me! It's been crazy at times, but a wonderful ride overall :)

Happy Anniversary! I love you, Scott!

I heard this song by my by man, George :), the other day & it definitely reminded me of Scott and his love for me! Enjoy!

I'm Back!

We made it home from vacation on Saturday and I've got several blog posts in the works :)

Stay tuned for an upcoming post about the "highlights" of our recent trip!

Bon Voyage!

Only momentarily ;)

Don't expect posts for a few more days while I enjoy some more summertime "fun in the sun!"

I'll try to post an update sometime over the weekend!

The Good Thing About a Mess

Is that messes hide those things that one would rather leave hidden...

I've been working on cleaning up & out our bedroom today. Some friends & I are holding a garage sale this weekend & I've been trying to "sort out" what needs to be gone from our house :)

Anyway, it has amazed me what type of stuff has been dumped in our bedroom, especially on my side of the room.

It has also completely caught me off guard.

Among the things I've found: an old planner, a pacifier, a diaper & feelings that overwhelmed me so quickly that I was taken quite by surprise.

The planner was from 2008-2009 & I thought it was neat to flip through the pages and remember what things were important that year, trying to remember what some of the references were referring too, realizing how much life really does change in 2 years, and then I got to the last page or so & read "[name omitted] Due Date!"

Baby E's mom.

Realizing that Saturday is his birthday & that if things had been different, I would be planning a birthday party for a 2 year old right now...but I'm not. I flipped another page in the planner and saw "Tutoring Meeting 9 a.m." and remembered how I went ahead and attended that meeting and how it was one of the hardest things I ever made myself do. It was less than 24 hours after we had returned Baby E to his mother and no one at school had heard yet that it had all fallen apart. It was difficult, awkward at times & very sad for me, but I was determined to go on with things 'as normal.'

I was still okay at this point in the cleaning process, they were, after all, just memories...sad ones, but memories. Then I found the diaper and pacifier buried in a basket. Both of them were "his." I was still okay, until I threw them away...

the physical act of letting those two items go, unexpectedly, tapped into that well & the tears just started flowing.

I was dumbstruck. How could I be crying? Really?

I tried to make myself stop, but my body was determined to get it out so I let it.

Now none of these things has been just sitting in our bedroom for 2 years straight, they've each kind of 'flowed' from place to place and their most recent landing spot was our bedroom. It was finally time to let them go.

I do still think and wonder about Baby E, probably quite a bit more often than many people would ever realize...wondering how he is, what mischief he might be getting into, what milestones he has reached, and I know that I always will. He was my son, my child, if only for a brief moment. That is a loss that I will always carry with me & it is a loss that will never be evident to most. I am also aware that it is a loss that some will never be able to understand or how it may have affected each of us here in this house.

How can it be that memories can sometimes feel as "fresh" as the moment they originally happened? So, the mess is cleaned up & those memories that were "buried" deep in the piles are now at the surface once again, for the moment anyway. And as I did then, I'm just going to keep moving on (& hopefully, won't find anymore "buried treasures" :) and keep on cleaning!

This is It!

I made it..."A Post a Day in the Month of May!"

Now, it wasn't exactly how I imagined it. My number of posts do correlate with the number of days in May, but they weren't all posted on time (partly due to computer problems for a week or so & partly due to a few days of just not being anywhere near my house/computer causing several to have to be "backdated"), however, this post will make number 31 for May & I am proud of that. (Especially considering how inconsistent my blogging has been for quite awhile!)

Even though I am proud of the fact that I "met" the number goals, I do not really feel like my writing has been very "inspired" (thus the inconsistent blogging over the past year...) & I was hoping that by "forcing" myself to write more consistently that my creative juices would get flowing again. After a month, I still feel like I am "forcing" it a bit & still feel that I am lacking that 'creative spark' that once flowed so easily.

I'm fairly certain that my lack of scrapbooking, card making, picture taking, crocheting, &/or any other "creative task" that I used to partake in consistently goes hand in hand with this development. I'm not really sure what has triggered this 'rut', but I am sure that I am ready to be on the other side of it! I have lots of things I'd like to do/create, but just no desire to actually do them...

I'm going to keep trying though, and hopefully one of these days, those creative juices will be free flowing once again & my writing will come more 'naturally' along with all of those other things that I have enjoyed so much too that are mentioned above. Until then, thanks for sticking along for the ride!

Happy Memorial Day!

Thanks for all those who remember and make the day special!

Thanks to everyone who made/makes this day possible!

Thanks for all you do & the service you provide and especially...

to all of those who have died doing so!

Tied Up...

with family...

(not literally :)...

the whole weekend...

sorry for the delayed "nonpost" post!

Hope you all enjoyed your weekends!

Happy Birthday to You!

To my brother-in-law, Eric!

We hope that all of your girls (my sister included ;) are treating you well today!

Happy Birthday!

"That which we call a rose..."

"by any other name would smell as sweet."

This is a very famous quote from Romeo and Juliet.

It also makes me think of Luke. Of course, I love his name and think it suits him perfectly...I am his mother and I was one of the people that gave it to him! Recently, he has also developed a very special fondness of his name. In fact, if he could, every animal/pet we own would also have this very special name. I, however, do not believe that his name is perfectly suited for every bunny (oh yeah, I've never mentioned that Scott has now added bunnies to our "family" :) every new cat and any other pet that we may gain. Luke, however, seems to think that it does.

When Scott decided to get bunnies, he started with two. When Luke was asked what to name the bunnies, he replied "Big Lukies". Scott refused (I know can you believe it!) to name both bunnies "Lukie" and compromised allowing the buck to remain "Big Lukie." The female got named "Elsie" (which was a name that I loved that we had used for our kitten who died over the winter) :(
Scott then decided to pick up a smaller, easier to handle bunny (to be more of a pet for Luke) who was immediately named "Little Lukie" by, you guessed it, Luke!

Why am I telling you all of this? Well, yesterday, Luke & I discovered two (of the cutest little) kittens just off of our porch. One of our momma cats decided that it was time to bring them forward. They were quite friendly & we played with them quite awhile. My brain started working on the question of what to name them. Immediately, "Max" and "Sam" came to my mind because they could be either girl or boy names. Why is that important? (Here comes another back story~boy, I'm beginning to feel like my husband when he tells a story ;)

Last spring, our beloved cat, Sassy aka Sassafras aka Miss Sass, brought forth her couple of weeks old kitten. Luke loved it immediately. I checked, saw that it was a girl & we named her "Mabel" aka "Miss Mabes". Mabel became almost as beloved to Luke as Sassy, not quite as beloved, just almost as beloved. You get the idea, Mabel is important. We talk about her & the things she does a lot. Fast forward to this spring, we have noticed that two of our momma cats are expecting and are wondering about Mabel, but then just at a glance, it became quite apparent that she is a he. Well, we began making a few adjustments...instead of "Miss Mabes" it's "Mister Mabes" and instead of "she" we try to remember to say "he", but we are completely stuck with "Mabel" and a 3 1/2 year old who refers to this cat with every pronoun and every name because we got it wrong & kept it wrong for so long.

Anyway, back to the two kitties. "Max" and "Sam" would be perfect (I think) because they could both go either direction if we mess it up again. I'm fairly certain after today that one is a boy and one is a girl, so I asked Luke about naming the kitties. I asked, "What would you like to name these kitties? I think "Sam" and "Maxine" are cute!" He replies, "No! I want to call them 'Lukies'!"

I should have known that would be his answer...but I think I am going to push for Sam and Maxine. Only out of fear that I may have a little "TRUMP" wannabe on my hands and in my future~who'll want to see his name on EVERYTHING he touches! Yikes! :)

Did you know?

That bubbles blown into the rain don't necessarily pop right away?
I didn't until I tried it today.

That my child would rather stay "little and weak" so he doesn't need a nap?
I didn't until I was told today. :)

Freak out!

Today Luke went to the sitter (as he will continue to do a couple days during the week throughout the summer) & I got a lot accomplished. This is the first time in a long time where I have had a good chunck of a day at home by myself (with neither guy home with me! ;) It was fantastic! :)

Now, I love both of my guys, but neither one of them helps me very much with increasing my productivity level, so these summer days are a godsend in that respect!

I got the counters & table cleaned off & I got our back entry room/laundry room area tidied up (which it had been needing very badly!)

It was thrilling to walk back there into a clean area, until...

Luke & I came back home from the sitter's house...

he FREAKED OUT!!!

He was mad because he "didn't get to help!"

I am truly glad that he likes to help as much as he does & most of the time I do find him to be helpful, but I was a bit surpised by this reaction to 'not getting to help' with it. (If only his father would have the same reaction ;) hehe

Anyway, he calmed down within a few minutes & then...

he saw the kitchen table!

Repeat above ;)

Let summertime begin,...

but I always can't help thinking...

"Is there someplace that I'm supposed to be?" :)

The residual feeling that lingers for a week or so after school is out of thinking that maybe I should be at work instead. Thoughts like, "Did I mistake the schedule?" "Is everyone at work and I forgot to go in?" and "Is school really out?"

Of course, the answers to these questions are obvious, but that doesn't mean that I won't have to keep answering them to myself for just a bit longer yet! ;)

Out with a Bang!

Today was the last day of school for the kids (& me! :) It was a typical last day of school...excitement that the end was here, sadness that the end was here, kids WOUND up! Pretty typical, until...

15 minutes before the last bell would ring & the kids could begin summer!

A huge storm blew up & a wind drill (for real!) had to be done. Everything went smoothly, everyone stayed safe, and the kids remained calm. When all was said and done, everything was okay. Thank Goodness!

Reportedly, there was a small tornado just outside a nearby town-no injuries, little damage, good news, except for...

the 20-30 extra minutes of school for everyone on this, the last day of school!
(Which is every kids' dream come true! ;)

Gnats!

That's all many people are talking about around here and for good reason!

The super wet spring weather has helped to bring them out in full force! Luke, my dad and several other people I know are just covered in bites from these pesky creatures. Luke also loves to swing on his swingset, but I have had to cut his time short because of these d*#% bugs. They fly up my nose, in both ears (at the same time!) & just anywhere else they please...I'm afraid of what the doc will find the next time she has to clean out my earwax...maybe they'll be fossilized! :)

Anyway, supposedly, they'll only be around for another week or two, which would be fantastic, if it happens.

But, I know what comes next...these!

At least, they'd have a harder time flying up my nose! ;)

Weekend Agenda Lowdown

The last (foster care) class.

An overnight sitter.

A weekend getaway to the St. Louis area.

A full night's sleep.

Sleeping in (if I even remember what that is!)

Enjoying some free time.

Being excited to be away and...

just as excited to get back home too!

I Did It!

I ran again tonight! :)

It's been a good 2 weeks since I last ran...

so I started out with less mileage (only a mile), but I attempted to kick up the pace...

not really sure how successful that whole "kicking up the pace" thing really was, but...

it sure felt GOOD!

Happy Birthday to You!

To our nephew & godson, Wyatt!

We can't believe that you're 6 years old already & we wish you the happiest of birthdays! :)

Springtime Recognition

It's that time of year again...spring sports awards/recognition night.

And in our district, middle school volleyball is considered one of those sports. This means I get the chance to talk about the team, our season & most importantly the girls get recognized for being part of the team.

I'm a little nervous about it, but not too much...I'll probably just speak in the moment & go with whatever comes naturally. I did make up a card for each girl & have considered saying something about each one, but I'm not sure that I'll actually do this once everything gets going. I'll probably follow the lead of whatever the other coaches choose to do, but at least the girls can still have the cards as a keepsake of their 7th grade volleyball season.

Our record wasn't great at all, we had sooo many close games that just almost went our way, but then didn't & which would have resulted in a much better record, however, the girls are super athletic, oozing with talent, & learned quite a lot about the game of volleyball, which are all wonderful things! And, hopefully, the fruits of their labor this year will pay off for them next year! It was a good season~here's to the next one!

Running? Oh where have you gone?

It's been almost a week & a half since I have run anything at all! I could give you a list of excuses, but I'm not going to do that either.

I am disappointed in myself that I have not made time for this activity & I definitely don't want to let myself fall back so far that I can't even run at all anymore, but this little "break" has been good in a one way.

I was starting to get to the "I guess I'll go out & run" point...meaning I was having to force myself to do something that I was really enjoying a lot at one point. I also know & realize that this happens with any kind of exercise & that I was in desperate need of adding some variety to my routine.

So...I've started looking for some different things to throw into the mix & as of this Friday (because my 'free' time is very limited between now & then), I'll run again! And after my slight "hiatus", I am looking forward to lacing up my running shoes & hitting the road again! :)

One week to go...

until school's officially out (for me anyway! :)

It's only been within the last week or so that it has even really sunk in for me though. Many others have been in countdown mode for far longer than I have been, but I've officially caught "summer fever" & am ready to be off for a while!

Instead of counting down days, I've been counting down all of the duties I have left to do. With lunch recess duty every.single.day plus 3 other before/after school duties, this number is actually quite large still. As of tomorrow, I still have 8 duties (5 days) left to go, but by the end of the day Friday...I'll be down to only ONE glorious recess duty left (and if you have ever experienced one of these, then you know that they're not always so "glorious"! :)

Anyway, I'm pretty excited about it! Bring on the summertime! ;)

Worn out Sundays

May has been a crazy month up to this point. Besides the computer breaking down, we also had to replace the water pump in our van earlier this month too, which meant borrowing a car from the in-laws for almost a week (Thanks!) We have also gotten to continue our foster care classes again (finally!)

Classes have been going well, but they are on Saturdays & they take pretty much the whole day. 2-3 hour sessions a day along with a 1-1 1/2 hour drive each way (sometimes 2 hours if you allow for the time it takes us to get from our house to whoever's house is babysitting for us that day.) This leaves one nice day off before getting back into the swing of things for the week.

It may be selfish, but I'm not always that super excited about having to "share" my ONE day off with anyone & many times would much rather be holed up at home with Scott & Luke just relaxing. I always seem to have a big "to-do" list for the weekend too, which never gets completely accomplished because, of course, I have planned waaayyyy too much to be able to do all of it in just one day.

All in all, though, it has been a good thing & we have learned quite a bit. It has also been a good thing for Luke too. He has gotten in loads of play time with plenty of friends & cousins, however, come Sunday...he is one worn out kid! It's tough going from being the only kid with adults all week long to having 2, 3, or 4 other playmates for a whole day to romp around with~it wears a kid out! So, Sundays have been somewhat relaxing around here during the month of May, but, boy oh boy, are we all tired too! ;)

Happy Birthday to You!

To our niece,

Carly!

We hope your 2nd birthday is very special!

P.S. Enjoy being 2! Eat lots of cake & cause lots of mischief! ;)

Friday the 13th!!!

Actually, I'm not really very superstitious at all, so this date has never bothered me. In fact, I didn't even realize that this would occur in the month of May this year until I overheard someone mention it at school the other day.

Oh well, I guess that even if it doesn't bother me, at least, it can make an appearance here for a very not-so-noteworthy blog post idea ;)

What's in your foture?

I was assisting a 2nd grader with her spelling words today. We were working on a list of "-tion" and "-ture" words. We talked about the endings and the sounds that they each make. We talked about how, for the most part, you could hear all of the sounds of the letters that come before the endings too. So, basically, once you knew how to spell the ending, you should be able to figure out the other letters in the word by listening for their sounds. Here is the conversation that followed...

Me: "Spell 'future'.../f/ /yoo/ /chur/...remember that you can hear the 2 letters in front of the ending../f/ /yoo/.../chur/."

The student proceeded to write f-o-t-u-r-e.

Me: "Good job, you got the ending! Now let's look, remember I said that you can hear each letter before the ending. You wrote 'foture.' What letter needs to change to make it 'future?'"

Student: (smiles) "Oh Yeah! Well, at least I smelled foture right!"

Me: (hesitantly) "Umm...yes, you did."

Student: "Oh wait, foture isn't a word, is it?"

She smiled again and then changed "foture" to "future" :)

Classroom Help Rocks! :)

"(insert name of helper here) makes me rock!"

A couple of the kindergartners that I work with wrote this line in the class book that they gave to the student helper on her last day of working with the class this year. It was cute, but a bit confusing to all of us adults in the room, until she read a little further and some of the other students had written,...

"(insert same name here) Rocks!"

It was definitely a cute twist on that phrase, although, the meanings are just a tad bit different ;)

What the Heck Happened?!

If anyone has been following along, then you know that I promised "A Post a Day in the Month of May!"

Sorry! Fate decided to intervene and...the power supply component of our computer went bad/broke down just minutes after I published the "Go to bed" post. Apparently, my computer decided it needed to rest as well ;)

So, being without a computer (& not willing to trek all the way across the yard/barnyard area to my in-laws to use their computer every.single.day~I thought it would seem silly to do that just for this purpose), I decided to write down my posts with "old fashioned" pen & paper :) I will be backdating posts & posting them here for you all to read, but it may take several days.

Therefore, I am hoping to be able to keep my original promise, but your just may be getting a whole lot of them "caught up" all at once here over the next few days!

Go to Bed!!!

That's all I have to say to anyone who is still waiting up for the post of the day, including myself! :)

Good Night!

"M" Day

Warning: If reading about children, mothers, anything related to parenting is upsetting, especially on a day like today, please do not continue. All of you still out there "waiting" please know that you are in my thoughts big time today & my hope for you is that you will have all that you are hoping for by this time next year! *HUGS*

Dear Luke,

Thank you for being my son! I love you more than you will ever know. Your entrance into my life brought an end to many years of despair. I know that you had no control over this fact...it was a bunch of us grownups making those decisions for you, but I do remember sitting in that hospital room holding you & just how much joy I felt in that moment. It was unreal! I hope that you will always know that my love for you is just as strong as the love I felt for you in those first moments...in fact, it is even stronger now.

Life will not always be easy for you & it hasn't always been easy for you even in the few short years that you have had. I want you to know that up to this point in your life & as you grow, even when others don't understand you, even when others don't understand your choices, even when others don't understand your actions, please know that your mother always will (or will at the very least being doing her very best to do so! :) You are a great kid & I just love you for being you!

I love your sweetness, I love your hugs, I love your kisses, I love your enthusiasm, I love your humor, I even love your orneriness (although, at times, it has made me crazy! :) I love you!

Thank you for giving me the gift of motherhood~it is something that I cherish EACH & EVERY day!

Love,

Mom

Missed a Day! :(

Blame it on being away from my house & computer from 6:45 a.m til 9:30/10:00 p.m.

Long Day+Feeling extremely tired=missed day yesterday...now on to today's post.

Reading...

has not been high on my priority list lately. I've been reading books here & there...and I actually have several 1/2 started (that will get finished eventually), but I just can't seem to pick up a book and just read it until it is done AND do so in a reasonable timeframe.

I'm tracking my books for a future post & have somewhat been tracking my page totals, but I hesitate to list a book until it is completely finished, thus the "1/2 started" books issue.

I did actually finish reading a book today~bonus! :) It was a Nicholas Sparks book & everyone who saw me reading said the same thing, "Oh, that is a good book!" It was....not great...not fabulous...just good. That's really all I have to say about it...my opinion is that all of his books are pretty much the same. Girl & guy meet...fall in love...crisis occurs that could devastate that love...one of them or someone close to them dies. This book did not disappoint in that regards & stuck to this same tried & true formula. In fact, everytime I heard the statement mentioned above, I would respond with the same question/statement, "Who dies? Someone always dies & I now read them like a detective novel just trying to figure out who is going to die." Sometimes I'm too cynical for my own good I think ;)

Sorry folks!

I know I need a post for today...

only because I promised a post a day in May...

but I am completely lacking inspiration at the moment...

and it is getting late...

and I should have been in bed awhile ago already...

because I've had one too many late nights this week...

which is my own fault...

but I'm tired...

and suffering from a major case of "blogger's block"...

and did I mention that it's getting late...

thus I am apologizing...

for just how lame this post has turned out to be...

and for completely wasting your time with it!

(Here's hoping tomorrow will bring something better :)

In 3 Weeks...

School will be out for summer!!!!!
I'm not sure yet just exactly how Luke & I will spend the summer & what things we will be doing, but it's summer...so who cares! :) I'm not one for attempting to overly plan/lay things out, but I do know of a few things that I would like to do & get accomplished. We'll see what actually gets done though ;)

On a different note, we will also have just finished up our last (foster care) Saturday class at that point too. I'll be glad to have them done~that's A LOT of babysitters to have to find & you all know just how much I enjoy finding sitters ;)-5 "whole day" Saturdays (BIG THANKS going out to all of you who have helped us out thus far, who have signed on to help out in the next few weeks, or who were willing but plans/class dates changed and you couldn't! It means A LOT & I know Luke has really enjoyed hanging out with all of you too & your kiddos (oh, the stories he likes to tell~just kidding! ;)

Isn't it odd?

I don't really have much to say on this matter, except that I find it to be very odd.

What am I talking about?

On one hand, news reports/articles about the death of Bin Laden and on the other hand, news reports/articles about the royal wedding or items connected to the wedding. I find it intriguing that both items sit right "beside" each other & both are considered "top" news items. I'm not trying to diminish the importance of either here, but I just find it ironic that two such different events can share so much space together! One seems so frivolous (& is just the type of stuff I enjoy to no end~just ask Scott who gets to enjoy it with me :) & the other seems so important to our country & humanity in general.

At least, I know one thing they share in common & may just be why they can share so much space together...both have brought happiness & hope to many people!

Rain, Rain...

Will thou ever go away???????????????

I swear that I saw a forecast at the end of last week that had 1 day with a chance of rain and all of the other days were sunshine, sunshine, sunshine! I remember because the previous week had a forecast that stated the exact opposite (& it came true), thus I was soooo looking forward to a little bit more sunshine coming back into our world here.

Unfortunately, Mother Nature seems to feel otherwise & that wonderful forecast disappeared just to be replaced with more of the same from last week.

RAIN!!!

I'm going to get me a pair of boots just so I can make it through all of the mud, that is our yard, to the boat that I am going to be needing to build here very soon! ;)

A Post a Day in the Month of May!

I have a friend who works at a radio station and I have totally "ripped off" this title from the contest that the station holds each May. Sorry radio station contest! I'm going to blame it on laziness ;)

I have not been a very good blogger lately...I just backdated a post for a birthday that I "missed" because I've not even been to my poor little blog since the last time I posted (April 19th!) I'm pretty sure that I've even missed my blogoversary-I need to check the date, but I think that should have been right around or on Easter-YIKES!!!

So...in an attempt to be a better blogger and to get those ole blogger "juices" flowing again, I'm going to attempt bringing you "A Post a Day in the Month of May!" We'll see how this turns out! :)

Happy Birthday to You!

Mary!

We hope that your birthday is very special & we're so glad to be able to spend it with you in person this year!

BTW...Happy Earth Day too! ;)

(Sorry for the lateness of this post Mary!)

Happy Birthday to You!

Happy Birthday Wishes going out to my brother-in-law, Neil, today!!!

Welcome to 30! :)

We hope it's a great one!

P.S. Maybe we won't celebrate with bowling, but I may still come up with a "Team Neil" shirt anyways! ;)

Good Motivation...

(I intended to type this post last week so please pardon the lateness of it all! It is mostly for my own memories :)

"You need this high five!" (somewhere between miles 8&9)

"That's not sweat...it's your fat cells crying!" (on a sign around mile 10-11)

"Your feet hurt because you're kicking ass!" (somewhere between miles 8&9)

Watching actual marathoners pass me on Mile 11, knowing that they had already run 24-25 miles!

Not wanting to let my younger sis show me up...by too much anyway ;) (She finished about 6 minutes ahead of me)

Knowing that there were several of us doing the race together & that we'd all cross that finish line...

And then having several other supporters waiting there at the end cheering us on as we finished.

Not wanting all of those weeks of training to have been for NOTHING!

Now I think I am in need of more motivation to keep on running...it's much harder without a goal in sight...I think I'd better be signing up for something else soon! :)

Official Results!!! :)

I finished my 1/2 marathon in 2 hours 40 minutes 1 second :)

I was very pleased with this & the fact that I was able to finish it on a day that included high humidity & the 1st 90 degree temp of the year (definitely not the conditions all of us had been training under!) I'm also fairly confident that I had a touch of heat stress when it was all over & done with, but am feeling much better now :)

No, I didn't run the whole thing, but I'm sure that I ran at least 90% of it (& did I mention that I finished-that's really all I truly cared about somewhere about mile 6&7 :)

I placed 8,332 overall; 4,590 among females; & 822 in my age group of 30-34. That may not sound that impressive, but I was never more proud to have that medal hanging around my neck! :)

Now...when's the next race? Just kidding...I'm not quite ready for that...yet, anyway! ;)

Happy Birthday to You!

Happy Birthday Wishes going out today to my brother-in-law, Brad!

Enjoy the beginning of the end of your 20's!!! :)

One week to go...

til the big race day!!!

I'm glad that this last week of training is an "easy" one, but those 13.1 miles are approaching quickly~only 7 more days!

I know I can go the whole distance, my hope is to be able to run all of it, I believe it is quite doable (as long as this crazy, freaking wind stays away!!! It is definitely my downfall-give me cold, hot, rain, whatever, but high winds make for high difficulty in my running attempts! :)

I'll try to update on here as soon as I can next weekend with how it goes!!!

Happy Birthday to You!

To my niece & goddaughter, Melissa!!!

Happy 5th Birthday!

(I can't believe you are 5 years old already~we hope your day is very special!)

A New Adventure...Part 1

When I wrote this & said "Scott & I will, hopefully, be towards the end of the beginning stages of a new journey that we have decided to embark on with our family...", I had no idea that those plans would be postponed. I had planned on writing about them by now because I thought we'd be almost 1/2 way through the process & that I would have more of an idea of what we are getting ourselves into, but "the best laid plans..."

Confused?

Well, here's the deal, Scott & I have decided to pursue foster care parenting. We were to start classes 2 weekends ago, which we did, but they were cancelled before we could attend our next set of classes due to low numbers. No big deal really, we just had to reschedule, but it's kind of like when you're right in the middle of a great show/movie & then, for some reason, you have to wait several more weeks before you can see the ending~it's annoying :)

Our classes will resume towards the end of April & our journey will continue then, but until that time I guess I'll just have to post some posts about the various thoughts that have been going on in my head about this new adventure, what it means, how it feels, etc until we can see "the end." ;)

To be continued...

"Here" "This"

Recent Conversations heard around our house...

Saturday morning after he had disappeared during our cinnamon roll making...

Me: "Luke what are you doing in there?"
Luke: "I'm doing this."
Me: "What are you doing?"
Luke: "I"m doing this."
Me: "What 'this' are you doing?"
Luke: "THIS!"

Later that day after Scott had returned from grocery shopping...

Scott: "Luke, where are you?"
Luke: "I'm in here daddy."
Scott: "Where are you?"
Luke: "In here."
Scott: "Where's here?"
Luke: "HERE, daddy!"
Me (having listened to this conversation, after having had the previous conversation, & feeling just a bit ornery): "He's 'here,' daddy, doing 'this!'" :)

3 1/2 year olds are sooo forthcoming with details when being asked for them ;)

Happy Birthday to You!

Happy Birthday wishes going out to my little niece, Lucy!!!

We all here at Faith, Hope & Poop hope that this your 1st birthday is very special! :)

In 4 weeks...

*Volleyball will have been over for at least 2 weeks already...

*It will "officially" have been spring for several weeks & hopefully, will feel like it too...

*I will be in St. Louis preparing to finally participate in that 1/2 marathon that several of us have been training for...

*Scott & I will, hopefully, be towards the end of the beginning stages of a new journey that we have decided to embark on with our family (more on this in future posts)...

It all leaves me thinking...what will I be doing with all of my "free" time 5 weeks from now?! :)

Bedtime Conversations...

Mommy...what if a monster is in here?

No monster would come in here, they're too scared of your bears...plus I don't let monsters in the house.

But Mommy...what if a crocodile comes in?

Crocodiles need lots of water...there isn't lots of water here so crocodiles won't come in here either.

Mommy...can Maggie (grandpa's dog) come in here?

Nope, sorry, I think Grandpa would miss her too much.

Mommy...can you stay in here and sleep with me?

No, I have my own bed to sleep in.

But, why not? It is fun to sleep in here.

I'm sure it would be, but I need to sleep in my bed.

Okay, but can you sing me one more song?

Sure! [song is sung] Now, goodnight Lukey...sweet dreams & I'll see you in the morning.

I'm loving this age right now [even more so once he finally decides to use the potty all of the time, but that's a topic for another day ;)], especially at bedtime. He seems to finally have settled into what his bedtime routine should be & for the most part, doesn't have to get up 1,000+ times in the process anymore. He's just always looking for one more reason to keep us in there with him, yet still goes with the flow of the reasons why we won't/can't. He's definitely growing into a sweet little guy. :)

That's his argument...really?

The other week we were headed off to somewhere...really, I can't remember where at this point, as it seems I am always going somewhere these days. I digress. Let me pick up where I left off...

We were headed on our way to somewhere. I believe I may have been driving, but again I'm going to apologize to you the poor reader for all of these overwhelming details :)

Anyway, at some point, I said to my dear husband..."Well, aren't you a cranky, old man!"
(I know, I know, my sweetness is sometimes overwhelming...please don't gag on the overall sweetness of my endearments!)

Without even hesitating, my dear husband says, "Hey! I'm not cranky!"

To which I replied, "Really? That's all you have to say to that? 'I'm not cranky!' You don't even care that I called you 'old' too?"

He states, "Well...I am old, but I'm not cranky!"

All I could say was "Well, that's good to know...I'll keep in mind that you're an old man at the age of 34!"

As this conversation took place somewhere closer to Valentine's Day~Aren't we just the "picture" of all of that mushy, gushy love stuff !!!
He makes it extra difficult to harass him when he picks the wrong adjective to focus on at times ;)

Odd Math

Student: "Mrs. S how old are you?"
Me: "Well, how old do you think I am?"
Student: "I don't know...28?"
Me: "Oh I like that, Thank You!"
Student: "How old then?"
Me: "I just turned 30 last year."
Student: "Wow! You're tall for 30!"
Me: "I know I am."
Student: "My mom is like twice as old as you."

(Now I know his mother & she is NOWHERE near being twice as old as me :)

Me: (laughing) "Oh, I am going to have to talk to your mother!"
Student: "Well, she is like 44!"

Maybe I should try to throw in some math lessons along with my reading lessons sometimes ;)

I May Be Crazy!

Remember that goal that I had to run a 5K...remember how I was working on just trying to run 3 miles at a time...remember when I thought I would never run farther than that...remember when I thought people who did (or even those who ran at all) were crazy...well I do & now I am one of them!

You will all be happy to know that I can now run 3 miles at a time without much trouble! It took awhile, but I wouldn't even hesitate at the thought of having to go out and run 3 miles now. Have I done an official 5K yet...no...but I'm sure I will at some point.

What have I done instead, you may be asking yourself?

Have I mentioned that I may be crazy?

3 miles, no problem, why not go out and try to run 13?!?!

Yeah, that's right, crazy ole me signed up for a 1/2 marathon!

The training has begun...I am proud to report that I have gotten up to 4-5 miles at a time on different occasions, but I still have a long way to go.

2 months from today is the day and I am taking some comfort in the fact that I have a couple of aunts, several cousins and at least 1 sister who are planning on participating in the event too!

At least if I'm crazy (ahem...or all of us for that matter), we'll have plenty of moral support along for the ride (or should I say run/walk)! ;)

Happy Birthday to You!

Happy Birthday today to my niece, Rachel!!!

All I can say is that you are most definitely one little miracle & we all feel so blessed to have you as part of our lives, especially your mom & dad! :)

You've already had more than your fair share of struggles just to make it to age 2, but your sweet smiles (which you share so generously) would make people think otherwise.

Enjoy your special day & don't let those sisters of yours get all the cake! :)

Love,

Aunt Anita

P.S. Please watch this to learn more about Rachel's start in life-there are at least 2 very special faces for us here at Faith, Hope & Poop? in this video, Rachel's & our friends' little boy too. It's great to see them both doing so well these days!