Being Open

I thought I'd take a moment and practice what I wrote about in my previous post...being open.

When I saw my son's eyes this evening and watched them get worse over the hours, I wanted to lay down on the floor and throw a complete and total tantrum, as if I was two years old.

Why?

Because I just wanted to be done with eye infections and forcing eye drops into my children's eyes.
I was already frustrated at the doctors for not giving me enough of the damn drops in the first place (I ran out two days early with BOTH boys). And then having them tell me, "it should be okay, but if not bring him back in" as if my entire life can just pause in waiting to see.

Now, tomorrow morning, I have to call the doctor and bring my husband to work so I can take David to the doctor. I just hope they are not butts about seeing him because if they are, I may go over the edge....I am so close right now.

I also just spent so much time cleaning everything in my house, but the questioning doubt lingers. Did I get everything? Will his eyes just keep getting infected over and over? Will Liam get it again? Will Jon or I get it this time around? Pessimism screams that it will never end.

I am trying to trust the Lord in this. My friend said tonight, "maybe He's letting him get eye infections so he doesn't get something worse." I am trying to trust that the Lord does indeed know what He is doing. He's never failed yet, so why shouldn't I trust Him?

Oh, but it is so tempting to throw that tantrum...

ABC Wednesdays---O

O is for Open. Open has such a vast array of meanings hosted inside of a small word.

Open literally means “not shut or shut up. Not secret or hidden. Not enclosed or covered. Not protected. Free to be entered or used. Easy to get through or see. Spread out; extended. Not decided. Readily accessible and cooperative. Generous. Having openings, interruptions or spaces. Ready to operate. Free from restraints or controls.”

Most of these meanings are ways in which I’d like my own life to be “open”. Nothing secret: vulnerable and honest. Free to be entered or used: An open heart to those around me. Readily accessible and cooperative, Generous: willing to give myself to those around me.

Most importantly, I want to be Open to the Lord. Let Him work in me in whatever way He wants. Be Open to His leading, and to His instructions.

Yes, “Open” is an amazing word with amazing meaning.

(image found here)


Now, go see what my fellow ABCer’s have posted for their “O”!

The Same, But Different...Outside Edition!

Here's another installment of "the Same but Different." Enjoy!

The boys' first encounters (or shortly thereafter) with snow:

Playing in the front yard at my parents house:

Oh, these comparisons sure are fun. I hope you are enjoying them too!

dreaming of dreaming

I was thinking about going to bed somewhat early tonight, seen as I have to be up at 11:15, 3:15 and 7:15 to put drops in Davids eyes.....(seems the boy got himself a double-eye infection and has to have antibiotic drops put in his eyes every four hours. Does that sounds like torture? Because it is, for both of us!)
Well, apparently, David had other ideas because the little stinker WILL NOT GO TO SLEEP! I put him to bed at 8:30, which is pretty normal for him and he went to sleep fine. I put Liam to bed around 9, 9:20 and soon after that David woke up and has stayed up. It is now 11. Almost time for some more drops. I am hoping he'll go to sleep after the drops.

Anyhow, so I jumped online to kill some time while he sat on my lap or played in the living room. I was reading Faith's blog when I saw her picture of her tea cup and that made me want to have some tea. so, I made some...decaf of course and settled down to have some:
David seemed to think it looked pretty nummy too, but I didn't let him have any. Not that I was being selfish, but it was hot for one and had honey in it for another (a no-no for babies!).

Well, I was trying to get some other pictures of the cup of tea, trying to be all artistic and such when I noticed David was at the couch looking at a book. I thought I'd get a picture to show you all how he "reads". Well, he kept looking at me and the camera instead of the book, so I got a picture to show you something he started doing lately, pointing:

(mom, doesn't this picture remind you of some of the ones of me?!?)

Well, David's getting cranky and it's just about time for his drops, so I will say good night.

Visiting the Tulips

For YEARS we've talked about going up north and seeing the tulips farms during April. And for years we've procrastinated through the month and not been able to go.
This year we went and we had a lot of fun. Take a look:

ABC Wednesdays---N

N is for Naps. I loves naps. I need naps. I crave naps. There are days I don’t think I would survive without naps.
Here’s some pictures of my boys taking a snooze...

There are so many others who join in for ABC Wednesdays every week! Check them out!

Make Me Laugh Monday

So, I get these wonderful weekly update emails from babycenter.com and there's always a "make you laugh" comic featured at the end. This was from this last week's email and I thought it so hilarious, I just HAD to share!
(now run on over to Jenny's page and check out the rest of the contributors for MMLM!)

A Happy Easter Day...

Just thought I'd take a moment and share with you a few of the pictures I took last Sunday for Easter.

Liam was all smiles for the camera before church (he didn't wear the tie to church, though):
David, however, was really NOT cooperating. Not that I blame him, he was not feeling good after having a fever for almost twenty-four hours:

He really rather liked his Easter basket from Grandma and Grandpa though:

He made a mess of his and then headed over to Liam's basket:

We had a good Easter! Good Sunday service at church, good visits with family, delicious Easter dinner!

Feet Friday---Silly Footwear, Silly Boy

The Same, But Different

I've been having fun looking through all my pictures and seeing ones of the boys in which they are doing the same thing. I thought I would share. Here is my first installment...

Playing in the basket of the stroller:

Playing in the dryer:

Playing in the tunnel:

Check in again soon for another installment of "the Same, but Different"!!!!!

ABC Wednesdays---M

M is for Mom.

My mom is quite literally one of my best friends. I love talking with her on the phone, I LOVE visiting her or having her visit. She is the best mom ever and she's making one heck of a Nana now too!

I love you Momma!

Going along with the "mom" theme, I have to share with you this cool web page... LTDChix (living the dream). A couple of ladies have created a t-shirt line with hilarious pictures depicting life as a mom! They are hilarious! You've got to check it out!

Also be sure to check out the other ABC Wednesday posts too!

a room to share

I think I failed to mention the fact (probably cuz it happened during the fast) that my boys are now room mates! That's right, after 5 years (if you count pregnancies!) we are kid-less in our bedroom, and it's quite nice if I do say so myself!

at the arboretum

Tucked away in northern Everett is a lovely little spot called The Everett Arboretum, nestled at the opposite end of the parking lot from Legion Park. We discovered this place a couple years ago, sadly in the winter. A couple weeks ago, the boys and I went back...
It is a pleasantly quiet and quaint bit of earth, full of northwest native plants and trees, and also sculptures and fountains and even a gazebo. It is beautiful.

I think it will become one of our favorite haunts in the days to come.

Happy Easter

Hurrah for Resurrection Day!
And yay for colored eggs and candy too. What a sweet way to celebrate, ha ha.

drawing people

I was teaching Liam how to draw stick people the other day. Mine is the one on the left. I think Liam did rather well for his first try!

ABC Wednesdays---L

ABC Wednesdays....it's good to be back (I was off the internet for two weeks)

So, we are on "L" I'm glad I'm back for L. Wouldn't have wanted to miss it.
So, here we go:
L is for Liam. My firstborn son. The boy who has blown up all my pre-conceived ideas of what it was to be a mom. And I love him for it.

Here are five pictures of my sweet boy, along with five facts:

1---He likes to be silly and crazy:
2---He loves being outside:

3---He has to have a hug, kiss, high-five and pound-it every night before he goes to bed, and whenever he says goodbye to me or Jon:

4---He loves to sing. And sing LOUD:

5---He likes to cook with anyone who will let him help:

So, there you have it. L is for Liam.

See other ABC Wednesday posts by visiting the ABC Wednesdays Main Page!

RIP beautiful gloves.

I don't know how I didn't notice the hole while I was doing dishes, but I didn't. I only saw it when I went back to rinse a few more. I guess I'll be getting a new pair of gloves when I go to the store next. Boo hoo, these were my Christmas gloves from my mom.

The Infamous Box

So, round about two years ago, we decided to get our stuff out of the storage shed my inlaws' rent. We had a bunch of reasons for doing so, the biggest for me was that I didn't want my stuff in a place that I couldn't breath in (it's an old chicken barn and for some reason, I get sick every time I go in that place. NOT COOL).
Anyway, we got most of our stuff loaded into the car and brought home (our apartment here has a storage unit). However, one of my boxes and a bin of Jon's was left.

I was upset about the box at the time, because it had my newborn size baby clothes in it. But, Jon said he'd come back for it in a week or two.
Fast forward about a year or so. I was pregnant with David and trying to get things put together for him. I really wanted that box. I couldn't go get it myself....I don't have keys and I wasn't about to put my pregnant self if a building I can't breath in.
Well, there was a billion excuses (not all bad ones either) why no one could go get it for me, and I resigned myself to the fact that my new baby wasn't going to get to wear ANY of the newborn clothes Liam wore.

But, I still really wanted the box. At this point, it was just a principle thing.
So, last weekend when my husband mentioned he was going to the shed to get something, I went along and made sure the box got in our car.
And now I have it.
I opened it up that evening to see just what was in it. I knew about the baby clothes, and pillow case, but I was pleasantly surprised with what else was in the box.......

The infamous box, newly re-opened:

The extra-large (two pillows fit in it) pillow-case that Miss Rhonda made for me:

A beautiful decorative plate my Grandma Edie made me:

My husband's wet suit and fins:

The newborn baby clothes:

There was also the letters Jonathan had writen me while we were dating/engaged/newly married. And a special journal my mom had filled out for me when I was a baby And a few other odds and ends.

All in all, I am super stoked to have this stuff back.

School and Milestones.

Like I mentioned in my previous post, Liam and I have been doing "school." Mostly simple stuff. I found online a cool place that has printouts of all sorts of things, but the best are alphabet tracer pages. I printed one for each letter and Liam's been doing one a day, more or less.
But, the BEST thing is this:

Liam is counting! 1-10 but that's not all!

I noticed a couple weeks back that every time I gave David some cheerioes while we were eating breakfast, Liam would say, "David has __ cheerioes" and he'd be right! So, I decided to try something. After he said that, I added a cheerio and said, "Now how many?" I kept adding, and sometimes I would take some away and up to 6, he was right! I am so thrilled and proud of him! He is getting to be such a big boy and he is so darn smart too!

I'm Back. Get Ready For A Novel...

Two weeks of fasting are behind me. To be honest, the first three days were torture, and then I kind of got used to it.
I had originially planned on fasting for a week. But when week one was over, I felt so strongly that I was to go another week that I did just that. Even looking at my mom's blog and picassa album at her house felt a little like cheating.
Well, I went to bed last night and woke up this morning feeling just as strongly that the fast was over.
I don't know exactly if anything was decided...I haven't come right out and asked, but from the snippets of things Jon has said, I think an answer may have been figured out, at the very least we are closer to an answer than we were two weeks ago.
It all has to do with the future and whether or not Jon goes back to school. And whether or not he travels across the country to do so (can I just admit I went into a kind of panic mode when he mentioned THAT possibility!) Since I don't know what the verdict is yet, I will have to leave you hanging, although I will venture to say that I don't think we're moving across the country.

That being said, I am sure you are all wondering how I have spent my last two weeks, as I have not been online to blog about it.
Well, be in suspense no longer!

The first weekend, I got up on Saturday morning…picked up my brother from the ferry and took my in-laws’ massive pickup truck and went up north to my grandparents house to pick up a couch and other odds and ends. Because they are moving. To Texas. I will be kind and simply state that this sucks (because I know my grandma reads this and I don’t want her to feel badly that she and grandpa are moving away from two precious little boys who will only get to see them once in a great while……am I painting on enough guilt to make you stay here, GGMA? No? Darn.) and I will miss them greatly. I was ecstatic when they moved here from Hawaii, so I think my emotions are pretty much the same about this, only on the opposite end of the spectrum. I can see their side of things and be understanding, but it can still stink for me.
Anyway, we had a lovely visit, and I got a new couch out of it, and a new chair, both of which I am very very grateful for. They look great in my living room.
But more importantly, I got to see my grandparents again and my grandma got to meet David, as she had been out of town the last time we made it up there. That was sweet for me. It was fun to spend the rides up and back with my brother too. I don’t get nearly enough time with him.
My new couch! It actually has a gold-colored cover that is on it now (had to be washed), but I don't have a picture of it with the cover:

Sunday of that weekend was spent at my in-laws, celebrating St Patricks Day with their annual Feast, which included all the things you might associate with St Patricks Day; corned beef, potatoes, cabbage as well as other incredible goodies. It was fun, there were a ton of people there (30-something I think the count was, not the biggest ST Patrick’s Feast to date, but still a rather large one) and I think it’s the one time a year I actually enjoy being crammed in a relatively small space with that many people.

That week was pretty much a normal week for me. Liam and I did school through out the week. I will post a blog a bit later about how school is going for him, because honestly, it’s too cool to have hiding in the midst of this post, which is getting very long already and I am only half-way done. I also spent much of the week chasing David around, and pulling him out or off of various items, as he has learned to open the cupboard doors, and has a spot between our new couch and the wall (under the side table too), that he loves to climb into. Since the spot also houses one of our floor lamps, I have stuffed a pillow into the opening to try and keep him out of there. So far it’s working.

Wednesday of that week (the 25th of March), my nephew Pierce, turned ONE and on the following Saturday had his birthday party. It was tons of fun. Nicole is amazing and made bug cupcakes. They were great. All the one-year birthday party musts were done, helping him open his presents because seriously, the bow on the first present far outweighed everything else, and getting cake all over himself! It was FUN!
Saturday night after the party, we escaped Everett and went to my parents house. Can I just say that I love going over there?!? It’s like a breath of fresh air. Sunday we played at Nana’s house until the afternoon, when the boys and I went over to Pam’s parents house for Wesley’s birthday party. Serious blast from the past time. I haven’t been over there in such a long time and Pam and I spent most of the time in the kitchen, cooking and talking and laughing over foibles (don’t you believe her when she says the burnt chocolate chips was my fault. Don’t do it. Because she is a L-I-A-R. lol). Getting to see her parents, grandma and brothers was great fun too. Liam definitely had fun with his friends and Wesley’s rice krispie treats cake with fudge icing (again, the chocolate chips burning was not my fault!) were a huge hit.
So, it was definitely birthday party weekend for us, but we had a great time!

Another week, not so normal. Tuesday we had to take the bus into town to get the car and go get the tabs for it. Since I had the car, I finally went to Bed, Bath and Beyond to spend the 25 dollars gift card my aunt and uncle sent me for Christmas. I got a beautiful shower curtain and a ROLLING PIN! I am so excited about the rolling pin, as I haven’t had one since living on my own. How have I rolled things out? With a cup. Not the easiest way to do things and I’m loving the fact that not only do I have a rolling pin now, but I have the kind I wanted too!

And on Friday, we went with my good friend Cindy H, to help her work on a mural she’s painting for a community center in north Everett. We ended up spending the whole day with her and having serious fun.
Friday night was when things went south. I was finishing up at work when Jon called, saying his debit card had been denied three times at the gas station. I was incredulous, “I just checked the account and there’s 450 in there.” I called the bank to check and see what was up and the automated service said I had NEGATIVE 130! I think I stopped breathing. Turns out, my husbands work check has bounced. Seriously NOT OKAY! Thankfully, I had a check from the church that had not been put in yet, so I rushed that to the bank to get the balance back in the plus side and Jon’s going there tomorrow to make sure everything is okay and stuff. But that was some stress I did not need, that’s for sure!
Yesterday, I took my husband lunch and ended up going to the mall with my mom in-law to help her get her phone fixed. I got Starbucks out of it, so even though it took 3 hours, I’m not complaining! Last night we had friends over for dinner and today I finally got my box out of the shed! Glory hallelujah, it’s only been two years that I’ve been trying to get that dumb thing out of the shed! (I will blog about this another time too)

So, now you are caught up. No more wondering. I had a good two weeks but I am very glad to be back and to have caught up on all of you loveys.

Good night.