A wedding and babies

So, about a month ago we found out that Jeff's younger brother and fiance were having a baby. Then a few weeks later we found out it was two babies. Tonight they asked us to be in their wedding, which has been moved up from sometime next year to August 16, 2008 (yep, in 7 short weeks). I'm feeling a little deja vu with a couple of exceptions.
Rewind to January 2003 and Jeff and I are finding out that we are miscarrying one baby, but still pregnant with another. We kept the wedding date we had already planned and paid for (no sense in trying to hide the obvious). But the process of both events is what brought Jeff and me to God. So now I wonder, where in this process for Jason and Monique, does God stand? Jason has accepted Christ. He did it in our living room. Now I'm praying he will actually seek a relationship with Christ.

Potty Talk

Aaah, potty talk. As in poop. Yep, poop, as in the one thing in my life I know to be a daily guaruntee. The sun might not come out, but the poop sure will. So why am I blogging about poop? Well my wonderful friend, Ann Moore, brought me this great magazine called Wondertime an d wouldn't you just know it, they had an article about kids and poop. Not your typical "How to get your kid to poop in the toilet" kind of article. More of a "Why your kid thinks poop is so funny" kind of an article. Here is an excerpt from the beginning of the article:

"Hey, Daddy, guess what?" my 4 year old said from his car seat one day, a beautiful fall afternoon in New England.
"What, Jack?" I asked over my shoulder.
"You have poop on your head."

Does this conversation sound framiliar to anyone besides myself? I think I have this conversation with my boys a dozen times a day! You want to crack up my boys? Tell them you have a secret then whisper to them that somebody (anybody in the room will do) has pooped. It sends them into a fit of giggles. The same if you say someone is naked. And if someone is naked and pooping? Then you have two of my little guys rolling on the floor in fits of hysteria with the third trying to follow suit.

You might be wondering why I allow my three boys to indulge in "Potty Talk". For one thing, they're boys. They will always be fascinated by gross stuff. My dad is still fascinated by gross stuff. They are naturally wired to think gross=cool, funny,awesome, etc; Secondly, I remember growing up with cousins who had true "potty mouths". Thirdly, if I have to be surrounded by it, it might as well be funny.

That being said, a poop joke for the grown-ups:

Abe, Gus, and Joe, all in their 90's, are in a nursing home, talking. Abe says, "Every morning I wake up at 8 and I stand in front of the toilet. I'm there until 9 o'clock, trying to pee."

"I get up at 7 and I sit on the toilet trying to move my bowels," Gus says. "I'm lucky if I can move them by 10."

"Not me," Joe says. "Every day by 8, I'm crapping like a bear in the woods, and by 9, I'm peeing like a racehorse."

"So what are you complaining about?" Abe asks him.

"Well," Joe says, "I don't get out of bed until 11."

See? Poop is even funny when your in your 90's!

a pouring out of blessings

Have you ever read the Nancy Drew mystery The Secret of Shadow Ranch? In it, the treasure that Nancy and her friends find a treasure box full of heart shaped gold. That is such a great symbol for what God has been doing for me/us. I feel like God has us standing under a waterfall of little gold shaped hearts (i.e; the blessings of my life).

Some of the gold hearts that He has poured out for us:

1) Jeff's job--the fact that he was hired in the first place was a huge blessing, the fact that he was signed on a second time during a budget crisis was ginormous.

2) Free Trip to Magic Mountain--sign me up to chaperon next year! The day was perfect, Jeff and I had the morning to ourselves. After a free lunch at an all-you-can-eat buffet, we enjoyed the rest of the afternoon bonding with a few of his students.

3) Jeff and I enjoyed a free night at the Apple Farm in SLO, with a free dinner for two. That was a room with a king size bed, cable television, and no children. And the dinner? ANYTHING on the menu. It was a great night!

4) Sunday at church, someone approached me about a family trip we've been wanting to take to Disneyland. We finally set a date and have been praying for God to provide the funds. Lo and behold, the person who approached me let me know that they felt God was telling them to match us dollar for dollar for the trip!

5) I have had the privilege of opening my home to about 10 wonderful women every Monday night for a fun small group. And I love it!

Lots of gold hearts, being showered on us! God is so awesome!

Oh the Life on Lincoln Street!

Oh, so many things that have been going on! So many pictures, yet not on a digital so I can't post them yet! Lets see where to begin....

Last Thursday Jeff and I had a free trip to Magic Mountain. Woo Hoo! I love Magic Mountain, but I haven't been able to go in 8 years. Because you know. Life. But we got to go. And did I mention it was FREE? Actually, Jeff was paid to go. Okay, so we were chaperoning a bunch of 8th graders, but it was fine. It actually worked out very nicely for us. The morning was just the two of us going on rides, and after lunch (Mr. Muller, the principal, had arranged an all-you-can-eat buffet for the El Camino students and staff) there were about 4 students who asked if they could go on rides with us. It was really great.

So because of this Magic Mountain trip, I was able to make a connection with one of the girls, Yasmin. She came over to our house on Saturday and we spent the day making cupcakes. She's coming over again this Saturday. I have a feeling she is just the tip of an El Camino iceberg. Actually, having her at our house had me dreaming. It had me dreaming for the kids that are less recognized (it was nothing to do with her personally, it was more on how my brain operates in a wandering way). And I was thinking, all the "A" students get recognized. And all of those weird kids who never miss a day of school in their life. And that's great. But what about those kids who really struggle? What about those ones who have an "F" and really work hard to pull it up to a "C" or even a "D". I'm talking about those kids who genuinely struggle with concepts and applications. Or who lack the necessary support system at home. The ones who have to fight to keep their heads above water.

According to Jeff, he averages about 7 students a quarter that pull their grade up by at least one full grade. So why can't we recognize the hard work they do? So now we are praying about opening our home once a quarter to those students for a special dinner and game night. Wouldn't that be fun? And encouraging?

And to add to life on linconln street...Stanley decided to show up last night (Stanley is the rat who has taken up residence in our garage, and who I niavely thought had moved on with his life). And a beehive is forming under the eave of the roof right above my boys' bedroom. Or at least a honeycomb is now forming. I must say, it does look kind of cool, not that I want to keep it!

Monday Madness

Aaah, the madness of Mondays. I love it. I spend the day cleaning, cooking and worrying. Will everyone feel comfortable? Will the goodies taste good? Will I start the coffee on time? Will I remember how I want to lead the discussions? Will anyone show up? Is my house big enough?

Before I know it, my house is filled with women (somehow we all fit) who are enjoying their beverages and goodies. Sharing lives and feelings and experiences. I love it. All the Monday Madness is worth it.

Wisdom Teeth...What's the Point???

Okay, what the heck is the point of making me go through the painful process of growing teeth that I don't need anyway? Not only are they not necessary for my survival, they actually cause problems. Like I need more problems. Yeah, turns out what I thought was a chip in my tooth was in fact a hole caused by a cavity. The cavity was there because my mouth is almost big enough to house these wise teeth, but not quite. Therefor my toothbrush could not reach an upper wise tooth causing decay. Lovely, lovely. So Dr. Gomez, (my awesome dentist) recommends all the wise teeth come out asap to save myself from unnecessary pain. Because that is what unnecessary teeth do, they cause unnecessary pain.

Luckily for me, Miss Mandi Pettit was willing to babysit me on the Big Day (and she was a great babysitter too!). And lucky me, my God is an awesome God and answered my prayer of no bruising and very minimal swelling! Now, what to do with all that Vicodin...

May's Mom of the Month

Amy Hiser is my May Mom of the Month. She is incredible. And inspiring. Not only will she be beginning to homeschool her oldest, John, but she will be doing so while taking care of her daughter who is about pre-school age and her twin boys. Her twin boys that will be mobile by the time the new school year starts.

I love watching Amy at church with all of her children. Twins in the stroller, John and Gracie following behind her like little duckies. So sweet. Amy also oversees the nursery at church. So not only is she taking care of her babies, but she also makes sure all of our babies are well cared for. And she does this with twins (sorry, but the thought of having to do double-duty of everything myself is overwhelming-I just love watching her! If I ever do happen to have twins I will be hiring here for 9 months of training). Amy organizes and executes successful garage sales, has just had the experience of being a T-ball mom, and is always great about finding mind stimulating activities for her children.

Amy is a wonderful mother, her children will surely rise up and call her blessed!

**oh, the only pictures I have of Amy are on the computer that I can not access anything from, so if you have a great picture of Amy, please feel free to e-mail it to me so I can add it to this post!