Category Archives: joy found

8 of No-Longer-40: Breaking News

Posted in Eucharisteo, grace, joy found, laughter, my boy, my girl, parenting (aint for sissies) by

So, you may have noticed I didn’t make it to my 40 days of Faith, Family, and Funnies (and Friends, which I added later.) Or maybe you didn’t notice because you hid me on Facebook after I posted a link to my blog each day for 7 days.

Either way, here I am, attempting Day 8…3 Days Late.

The actual “Day 8” was Monday. Monday is a day off for me. I never got around to writing, though, because on this particular “day off,” I:

  • Corrected the last of my math and science assessments, which were on my to-do list from Saturday but didn’t get touched because of some unforeseen circumstances Saturday and a jam-packed-but-fun Sunday
  • Entered grades into 28 report cards
  • Met with my job-share partner and attempted report card comments
  • Did laundry and other household chores
  • Took the dog to the vet for a check-up/immunizations and to be groomed
  • And last but not least, taught my adorable children why it’s not okay to tell each other angry phrases using inappropriate language.

That last one wasn’t on my original to-do list, but sometimes circumstances require adjusting our plans. You can only imagine the circumstances that led to that addition to my list…

In summary: one learned from a friend all about hell, taught the other, and then they both felt the need to use their new found knowledge in discerning whether the behaviors of their sibling were going to lead them there or not. I quickly interrupted the conversation and used it as an opportunity to teach important life lessons. i.e. You should not say things like, “If you don’t stop standing on my box, you’ll go to hell.” Which lead to replies like, “I am NOT going to hell. YOU go to hell.”

The discussion was overheard in the monitor (yes, we still have one, for moments such as this), and initiated a conversation I didn’t think I’d ever have with a 2 and 5-year old. Our conversation included phrases from Annalise like, “Jacob, I’m sorry I said you need to go to hell for stepping on my box.” Followed by Jacob, “(GASP) MOMMY! Leesie just said to me to go to hell! I do not want to go to that hot place!” The Phrase came out of my little angels’ mouths far too often as I talked with them, as though they liked it even better once they realized it wasn’t appropriate. And although this was not a conversation I ever envisioned having with them, it did lead to a great discussion about Jesus’ sacrifice and God’s grace. Those are two things I am super thankful for, because you know what? I do not want to go to that hot place, either!

Later that night, after giving the kids a bath, I was telling Jacob about when he was a teeny-tiny baby ginormous nearly 10-pound newborn and had to spend 4 nights in the hospital just a few weeks later because he was very very sick. I told him that even though I knew him for just a few weeks, I loved him so so much that I wouldn’t leave his side. (I didn’t mention that I actually did step away for a short time while long needles were being poked into his spine. Daddy was with him then. I figured I wouldn’t be much help sobbing hysterically right next to him, so instead I just cried all alone in the corner of another room.)

And I told him that even though he was a very big little baby, he wore the teeniest-tiniest hospital gown I’d ever seen. It was so teeny-tiny that it made me cry when they gave it to me. I told him about the medicine they needed to give him every day, and how he had a needle in his arm where they could give him the medicine, and because he was just so little, his arm was tied to a board so he wouldn’t pull out the very-important-medicine-needle.

I told him that the medicine had to go into his body for 14 days, and he was only barely that old already. And that after a few days, they took the medicine needle out of his arm, and they poked a big hole in his ankle and made a tube run up, up, up his leg, then up, up, up his chest all the way to his heart. We touched the scar on his ankle and thanked Jesus for making him better, and we thanked Him for making doctors. And we thanked Him for medicine that helps us get better. I told him that his scar could always remind him to be thankful to God for providing all these things, and for healing.

And as I whispered the story in the silent room to my wide-eyed boy, I tickled the path on his leg and chest where the tube ran. And I told him that even though I was scared each and every time, Mommy put that medicine in the tube that stuck out of his ankle every few hours for 10 days. And I prayed each and every time I did it. And that medicine went up, up, up the tube in his leg, and up, up, up, his chest, and then it came out right where the tube stopped: at his heart. I whispered it again. “The medicine had to go to your heart.”

Annalise, doll now tossed aside so she could listen to the story and touch Jacob’s scar and watch where the medicine ran up his body, suddenly blurted out, “POOR JESUS!”

“Poor Jesus?” I asked, confused and startled from the loud noise in the quiet.

“Yeah!” She replied. “He was probably covered in medicine. You just kept squirting it into Jacob’s heart. It was probably all over him!”

Jacob looked at me and said with a hint of irritation and surprise, “Yeah, Mommy. Jesus is in my heart. And you just squirted medicine on Him!”

End of story. But I can see I have more to explain…
Oh yes. And the breaking news:

That’s right, folks. I made it on the tree. Never mind that she wanted to put Izzy on again (the dog has been a suggestion numerous nights). Never mind the pink tree made it on last week. Never mind that I was beat out – by one day – by the dog’s scarf that she got after getting groomed. Yes, that’s right, Annalise was thankful for “Izzy’s Scarf” before she was thankful for her own mother. The important thing is, I MADE IT ON THE TREE! Aaaannnndd…. I made it in the first half of the month. Never mind it was the last day of the first half of the month. Because it’s not like I’m counting or anything…  The fact is SHE IS THANKFUL FOR MOMMY!

Or even just “mom.” Whatever. I’ll take it. I even got a portrait. Even Izzy didn’t get a portrait.

7 of 40 – Well, aren’t we adorable

Posted in Eucharisteo, family outings, joy found, laughter, my boy, my girl, my husband, parenting (aint for sissies) by

Day 7 Topic: Funnies. Annalise this time. I’ll be brief.

While we were having brunch at a restaurant, a couple walked by and smiled. The lady leaned over to Matt and whispered, “Just so you know, you have the most adorable children!”

As she walked away, Annalise asked what they said. Matt told her. Annalise asked if it was the man that said it. “No,” Matt replied, “just the lady said it.”

Her response: “Oh. He must not have seen us then!”

Atta girl. I like the confidence.

P.S. A couple of updates…

  1. I will be investing in a pair of long johns/long underwear for the boy. I still say tights work better – because of the feet and all. But all you guys that were concerned for my son, rest easy.
  2. I still have not made it on Annalise’s “Thanks Giving” leaves. Only 19 more chances. Not that I’m counting, or anything…

40 Days of Faith, Family, and Funnies

Posted in blogging, Eucharisteo, family outings, holidays, joy found, my boy, my girl, my husband by

I sorta have a love-hate relationship with October.

Love the rain… hate the rain. Love that my girl has a birthday this month, hate that she’s growing up so quickly. Love the fall colors, hate the mud and muddy wet dog. Love feeling in the groove at school, hate feeling like conferences are too soon… how can it be time to prepare already?

And while one of the things I absolutely love about October is the fun family festivities: (going to the pumpkin patch, carving pumpkins, cozy family nights with hot cocoa, and decorating pumpkin cookies), October ends up being the month I hate the. very. most. for several reasons: the horrific TV previews, creepy disgusting evil things in stores, and political propaganda (which is generally deceitful and/or hateful) everywhere you look. From all the outcry on Facebook posts, I take it I’m not the only one who has had enough.

But ahhhh…. November. The month of thanksgiving. I’m sure thankful this peaceful, filled-with-thanks-and-joy month follows the creepy, filled-with-evil-and-hatred month. It’s certainly refreshing for the soul. And again, from all the Facebook posts of thanks, I take it I’m not the only one who finds the change much needed.

Even so, I decided not to do the “Thirty Days of Thanks” this year. I love reading the posts from others. I did the challenge last year, but I wasn’t good at keeping up at it, and mostly, I’m just not so good at being brief. (Matt just said, “Really? YOU? I never thought of you as someone who has a hard time being brief.” Do you hear his sarcasm even in writing??? Brat.)

But back to the thankful posts. I was inspired by them, and also by a friend who blogged a summary of her day-to-day life each day for 7 days. (She says her life is “average,” but I looked forward to her blog post each and every day.) So I decided to give myself a challenge: Instead of 30 days of Thanks, I will write (or will attempt to write) a brief post each day around the topics that I am most thankful for: Faith, Family, and Funnies (a.k.a. kid antics.) For 40 days. Or until I run out of things to say…

So why 40, you ask? Well, partly because in exactly 40 days, I will be officially on Christmas Break, so the posts will – in a sense – be a count down (or up, rather) to vacation. But honestly, it is mostly because of the alliteration. Yes, I’m that nerdy.

Well… I guess here we go.
Today’s post topic: Family. I was a little behind on my October posts, so this first one is easy.

Pumpkin Carving…

Matt ran to get pizza while the kids and I formed a plan and prepared the pumpkin carving area.

(Super excited kids = not looking at camera and blurry in pic.)

I sliced off the tops while Leesie began to scoop out the innards. She isn’t very thorough, but her hands did get inside each pumpkin (4 large, 5 small). Definitely a good effort.Jacob decided he didn’t like the looks of it and didn’t touch a single pumpkin. (Hmmm. Sounds like another male Priestman I know.) Eventually, I was facing the rest of the family fun task alone. Just me.

Just me and my Christmas music, that is.

Jacob wanted a Mickey Mouse pumpkin (fitting, since he picked out the pumpkin while at the patch with you, Auntie Jill.) The Mickey pattern seemed easy enough. It wasn’t. Or I’m not that good at it. But at least it’s recognizable.

Annalise wanted Rapunzel. A little more detail than Mickey, and the pattern was too large for the pumpkin. She got over the fact that I was cutting length off Rapunzel’s hair, which is really her only identifiable feature in a carving, and settled for the chin-length-hair-generic-princess look. Upon viewing my final product she said with surprise, “Well, it’s better than I thought at least. Thanks, Mom.” Then went back to playing in the other room. I decided against a close-up of this one.

I wasn’t sure what I wanted my pumpkin to be yet, but I had done this with the little pumpkins last year:

I wanted to do something similar this year. I carved out my letters:

By the way, that doesn’t spell HOPET. It is a cross at the end. It was suggested I add some space in between the E and the cross to make it easier to read. Noted.

Two large pumpkins left. I still wasn’t sure what to do with them. The UW logo wasn’t printing for me. The face I drew looked stupid. I decided to do a camera for Matt. The template didn’t work because it made the entire picture come out, leaving a gaping hole. (Don’t they know they have to leave parts connected to the rest of the pumpkin so a picture emerges?) So, I created a masterpiece with the chunk that fell out using my own imagination and about 50 toothpicks to piece it all together. When I was done, I called the family in to look. Matt wasn’t sure what it was. Annalise said, “It’s supposed to be a camera.” Jacob was clearly not impressed. I decided against a close-up of this one, too. And then I decided not to carve the last pumpkin.

The final product was ridiculously awesome, just as long as you squint your eyes and stand at least 20 feet away. But even this close, I think it didn’t turn out too bad, wouldn’t you say? And yes, there is a space between HOPE and the cross.

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What gender is YOUR food?

Posted in family outings, Food Stuff, joy found, laughter, my boy, my girl by

Jacob has made it known – without actually saying it – that he is a vegetarian. There is not a single meat he will eat, except maybe McDonald’s chicken nuggets, which you can’t really count as meat… or even food. So we avoid those. Which means then that yeah, he eats ZERO meat. I can’t even sneak it into stuff, because he won’t eat something that resembles a casserole or has an ingredient he can’t see. (Neither will his dad, but that’s another story.)

There are very few things Jacob will eat. I’m going to list what I’ve tried so you all know and can give me suggestions, which are welcome. Encouraged, actually:

  • PB sandwiches, plain or with jam usually works. PB with honey? Nope. Unless he’s at Grandma’s.
  • Beans? Sometimes. Re-fried with cheese and sour cream is a success about 50% of the time. Which, let’s face it, 50% of the time is a success. Green beans no more. Whole beans (kidney, black, other) about 10% of the time.
  • Noodles? Never with a capital N.
  • Fruit? Usually – because it’s sweet and sugary.
  • Veggies? Only red, orange, or yellow bell peppers. Not green. The others are sweeter. (But technically, they’re a fruit, too. I won’t get into that, though, since it will likely result in my husband calling me a nerd.)
  • Cheese? If it’s string cheese or Havarti slices from Costco packs. Yes, he’s that picky. Or orange Tillamook cheese on a grilled cheese sandwich.
  • Bagels? Sometimes. With cream cheese usually, but then he sometimes just licks the cream cheese off.
  • Oatmeal? With brown sugar and blueberries. (a.k.a. “Bare-boobies.” For those of you that don’t know that special story, I’ll post it below.)
  • Yogurt? Usually. But not plain greek, which is about the only kind not full of sugary stuff or other junk. (Let me know if you know of a good idea there.)
  • Chips, crackers, fruit snacks and any other processed garbage full of sugar? OF COURSE! Only, we don’t like to buy that stuff, so…

That’s it! Other than that, I’m out of luck. Most of his meals include a PB sandwich and a cheese stick, with hopefully some fruit or bell peppers (not green.)

Today’s lunch menu was a grilled cheese sandwich, a banana, and a glass of milk. I need to go grocery shopping. It was either that or PB, which I get tired of watching him eat.

Annalise and I sat eating ours, while Jacob sat with a scowl. Something like this face he gave to my cousin after being asked to eat a hot dog. (I forgot to inform Andy that Jacob doesn’t eat meat… even hot dogs):a

Yep, that’s my strong-willed little boy. I have no idea where he gets it from.

“Jacob, you need to eat your grilled cheese sandwich, please.” I started gently.

“NOPE! I. NOT. GONNA.” He was a little more firm in his reply.

“But you like grilled-cheese sandwiches! Mommy made you something special that I know you like!”

“Nope, I DO NOT LIKE THEM!”

Annalise, observing the forming struggle turned to me and whispered, “Mommy, you’re calling it a girl–cheese sandwich! No wonder he doesn’t like it!” She turned to her brother, “Jacob! Silly mommy just forgot. MINE is a girl-cheese sandwich. YOURS is a boy-cheese sandwich. Will you eat it now?”

Jacob paused, looked at it for a bit, his furrowed brow softened. And then he laughed, “Silly mommy! I am not a gew-wohl. I will eat my boy-cheese sandwich.”

And he did. Silly me. Dogs eat dog food. Of course boys eat boy food and girls eat girl food. Duh.

 

And now, the blueberry story. In case you didn’t already know:

Jacob loves, loves, LOVES, blueberries. Last year, he asked for them all the time. Only he called them “bare-boobies.” I found it utterly hilarious and laughed every time (like an 8-year old boy… remember? My husband found me awfully immature,) until I found myself in the produce section of Costco with my 1 year old in the cart screaming with excitement while waving his arms, “BARE-BOOBIES!!!!!!!!!!!”  Then I just wanted to crawl under the bananas and die. The end.

Summery Summary

Posted in joy found, laughter, my boy, my girl, my husband, parenting (aint for sissies), the relatives by

I am a list girl.

I make ’em. I categorize ’em. I stick to ’em. I stress when they aren’t getting crossed off quickly enough. When I defer from them and accomplish something else, I add it to the list just so I can cross it off. When I begin tasks without a list and later make one, I always, always include everything I’ve already done so I can remind myself I haven’t wasted my time.

And just between you and me, sometimes, when I need a victory – a bit of motivation and feeling of accomplishment for having actually gotten something done other than referee pre-school fights – I add this to my list: Make to-do list. It’s an automatic win.

…I just had a thought. I should add that to my lists, too. Referee pre-school fights. Another guaranteed success. And while I’m at it, I may as well include change a thousand diapers and feed bottomless pit children…

So at the start of this summer, when I usually make my long list of things to accomplish before school starts back up, I had a thought. I need to stop. The lists, while they just feel so good to cross off, seriously make me crazy when they sit, staring at me void of lines. A list of 27 items not crossed off is a list of 27 ways I’ve failed. 27 reasons to stress out – no, to panic – and start acting like a crazy woman because nothing else matters but those 27 stupid things. So, at the start of THIS summer, I decided to not make a list.

I decided that, then I made one anyway. It was 2 pages, 2 columns per page, typed in 12 point font. C’mon, what did you think? Addicts don’t often quit cold-turkey.

So yes, I made the list, but then I folded it up and set it aside. Available, but not in my face.

And then I made a new summer to do list:

  1. Live slowly
  2. Love deeply
  3. Laugh often.

Aaaand I stuck to it! Yay, ME!

Ok, so maybe I didn’t exactly live slowly, but I did attempt to live in the moment. I did live fully, enjoying the right now. And I loved and laughed. A lot.

What I didn’t do is write about it all. (Because I was living fully in the moment, remember?) So now I will attempt to summarize. Our 2012 summer and first few weeks of September:

  • July: Play hard. Beach, berry-picking, VBS, play-dates, walks, bike rides, Edaleen Dairy, slip ‘n’ slide, campfires at Grandma & Grandpa’s, and lots more.
  • August: Family. Long lost sisters! Cousins, cousins, and more cousins.
  • September: Back to routine. School/work, ballet & tap, Kids’ Bible Class, new (and also awesome) babysitter.

Our family’s personal highlights:

  • Annalise: Definitely not when she sprained her finger. Definitely moments spent playing with her long lost cousin, Ellia.
  • Jacob: Definitely not riding the dragon roller coaster at the fair. (They let him off – sobbing – after one lap.) His summer favorite is a tie between: 1) Getting a new dog. (Dog loves him. He loves her. Best friends for life… which (hers) may not be long if Matt has something to say about it.) and 2) Playing at the park with the new love of his life, Julianne. Too bad she’s about 17 years older than him.
  • Matt: Not sure he really had a summer. It was more like 2 full time jobs. But his highs were when we were around and he had time to be with us. Lows were when we spent a week in Nevada without him. 😦
  • Me: Hmmm… How do I choose? What’s not to love about spending 8 weeks not working and enjoying every moment with people I love? I know, lame. But seriously the truth.

Summer/September notables:

  1. Annalise went from a size 11 1/2 shoe to a size 13. And she is officially wearing clothing sizes that I remember wearing. Ack!
  2. Jacob didn’t learn his lesson and stuck a raisin waaayyyy up his nose. 24 hours of forced nose-blowing, pepper-induced sneezes, and flashlight shining up nostrils later, the long lost raising was recovered out of his crib.
  3. Matt shot 15 weddings and about 5,000 other shoots and spent every spare second of summer editing. If he wasn’t drinking all the coffee around here, I mighta thought he had fallen off the planet.
  4. I lost some weight before summer started. Good thing, because what once was lost now has been found. UGH. While I could blame my poor summer diet or seriously lacking summer exercise “routine,” I’d rather just blame my mom and sisters. Because really, I pretty much gain weight any time I am with them or when I stay at my mom’s. Clearly, it’s their fault.
  5. Izzy. She’s the new dog. a.k.a. “Dizzy.” She’s cute (part Yorkie), but I am embarrassed to admit that she is also part chihuahua. Just call me Paris Hilton. Yes, I do own doggie sweaters for her, but they were inherited with the mutt. A package deal. You can really start worrying if you see me carrying her in a bag. (She’d fit nicely in my current purse.) As my older sister says when she looks at her, “Yo quiero Taco Bell.”
  6. Minnie. She’s the new van. A mini-van. Love her. More than the new dog who may or may not have just peed on my couch.
  7. We *might* have alerted the staff in the polar bear section of the Point Defiance Zoo that there was a reindeer walking past our car in the parking lot. And the zoo staff *might* have gotten on the walkie-talkie to the keepers at the reindeer/bison exhibit to warn them of a potential escape. And that reindeer *might* have just turned out to be a regular old deer with velvety antlers. Who knew? (Not us, clearly.)
  8. While Jacob is great at spotting chewed gum on the ground in public locations (must be his closer proximity), only TWICE did he pick it up and chew it. But no worries… he put it back right where he found it both times.
  9. If you’re ever going to get pulled over for a driving a stolen vehicle, make sure you have several adults, 4 kids, and a dog with you, not to mention a trunk full of suitcases. You’ll look less suspicious. Oh, and make sure the vehicle isn’t actually stolen.
  10. Every minute of August was a notable. Lots of memory making with family. I am so grateful.

And this:

Thanks, Ann Voskamp. I feel better about #4 now.

To all, LOVES.