Labor Day Weekend 2009

What a long, fantastic weekend! As usual, I can’t believe how fast it went!

It started Thursday when John and I got up and ready to head to Cedar Point. Jen came as usual to watch the kids, and I have to admit it was weird leaving to go have fun and everything else staying on the same routine. But we made ourselves leave and got up to Cedar Point in about 2 hours and 15 minutes. When we pulled in there weren’t even any parking-people telling us where to park…that’s how not-crowded the park was! We walked right in and started with our favorite ride, Millennium Force. We ended up riding that roller coaster about 5 times. We rode some other roller coasters, and John didn’t feel well after one of them, and then I felt not-so-great after another ride…just a slap in the face as to how old we are getting :) We did ride the Top Thrill Dragster, which was so scary for me…but I made it! And then we actually left the park an hour before it closed…we were so beat!

Friday I got up and got Kylie off to school and then Josh and I played outside for a little bit. Then we went to lunch with Kylie. I always have so much fun going to lunch with her! It was pizza day (which, by the way, is brought in from a pizza place…no nasty cafeteria pizza for these kids!) and Ryan ate a ton of pizza!

After that we headed home to pack up and get ready to leave for our fun weekend away! Our car was stuffed! And I had already sent some of the stuff with my mom! It was only about 1 ¼ hours away and the “cabin” (which actually was a beautiful double-wide trailer with a gourmet kitchen) was wonderful! It had 4 large bedrooms, two family rooms, 3 bathrooms, and was set back in the woods. It had a hot tub, fire pit, and a nice size yard that the kids had a blast playing in. Shortly after we arrived, my sister and Big Josh got there, and then a while after that my other sister arrived.

Saturday morning we woke up and had breakfast, and then my sister took the kids hiking while I stayed back with Ryan. He had been somewhat of a pistol as he did not like sleeping in the pack ‘n play. Then I took a nap, and then we headed into Athens for the OU game. We walked around the campus a bit and then went to the game – the kids all looked adorable in their OU gear!

Sunday morning Cindy, Big Josh, John and I went zip lining. This was the other part of our present. I had a blast! It was so fun zipping through the trees! If you ever have a chance to do it, go for it…you won’t be disappointed!

The rest of Sunday we just hung out – another nap, playing with the kids, eating (we did a TON of that the whole weekend). We ended the day with a fire and the kids watching The Bee movie.

Monday we got up and packed and headed out. I really couldn’t believe how fast the weekend went…I felt like we had all just gotten there. We ended up getting home around 1:30, and Suzie stayed with us the rest of the day before making the rest of her drive home. We had a bar-b-q and some of the local police officers came over for dinner (really, what would a holiday be without the local police enjoying a meal at our house?). Then we played some baseball with the kids, and then Suzie had to leave :(

We ended the day with Front Porch Monday, where, for the first time, it was raining…hard! It was so neat to sit out there and watch/listen to the rain while we talked.

I hope you all had as great of a weekend as we did…we talked about making a trip like this a yearly tradition…I really hope we do…it was so much fun!

Kylie, Carson and Joshie:


Joshie and Carson:

Ryan and Grandma:

Mya was so cute...I couldn't help but get cute pictures of her!

Aunt Suzie and Ryan:

Ryan and me:

Kylie did our hair and gave massages the whole weekend! It was wonderful :)

Zip Lining:

Cindy and Big Josh:

A Review of Fearless

The wonderful people over at Thomas Nelson Inc. sent me Max Lucado’s new book Fearless to read and review. The book is available to the public today and I would encourage everyone to buy it and read it…it was that good!

I’ve never read anything by Max Lucado, although I’ve heard a lot about him. He is the minister of writing and teaching for a church in Texas, and he has written a number of books. So I was very excited to get this opportunity to read one of his books, especially since I never seem to have time to read anything.

Fearless talks about how our life can be seriously hindered by fear. And how as Christians, we should never have fear (except the fear of God, which is a good fear) because fear corrodes our confidence in God’s goodness (1). We should remember that all fear should be placed with Christ, and with him, there is nothing to fear. Max Lucado discusses 13 fears in great detail, and how to relinquish those fears and live a fearless life. The 13 fears he talks about are: 1.) The fear of not mattering; 2.) the fear of disappointing God; 3.) the fear of running out; 4.) the fear of not protecting my kids; 5.) the fear of overwhelming challenges; 6.) the fear of worst-case scenarios; 7.) the fear of violence; 8.) the fear of the coming winter; 9.) the fear of life’s final moments; 10.) the fear of what’s next; 11.) the fear that God is not real; 12.) the fear of global calamity; and 13.) the fear of God getting out of my box. If you wrestle with any of these fears, read the book.

In the Fear of Running Out, Max points out a wonderful analogy that can be used with any worry – P-E-A-C-E-F-U-L (Pray first, Easy now, Act on it, Compile a worry list, Evaluate your worry categories, Focus on today, Unleash a worry army, and Let God be enough (2).

I was able to put the concepts I learned in this book to good use last Thursday when John and I went to Cedar Point. I’m afraid of heights, but I love roller coasters. I HATE the ride up the big hill…the fact that you are so high up, and with all that time riding up to the top, my mind starts thinking about what a horrible death it would be if I were to fall out of my car…I really get myself worked up both waiting in line and riding up that first hill. But last week I remember the book, and I remember various different points including the fact that when it’s my time to go, God will take me, and I shouldn’t be afraid because I would be going to a much better place. Now I know this is a little deep for a day at an amusement park, but I felt so much better, and by the third time I was looking out and enjoying the beautiful scenery going up that gigantic first hill. I couldn’t believe what I had been missing all those times I was so scared and never looked out. I realized that life as a whole is that way…how much are you missing because you have fear?

There are so many other points in this book that really got to me…too many to list out here. Trust me, if you have fear, read this book. And I mean really read it…soak it in and meditate on it. It’s amazing how much more free you feel when you really are fearless.

(1) Fearless, page 9
(2) Fearless, page 51

Ready For The Weekend!!!

One more day of work and then I get a nice long weekend! Tomorrow, John and I are headed up to Cedar Point…by ourselves! I can’t wait to ride big roller coasters and wait in line without having to entertain anyone and eat my own food without having to share and to spend some great time with John. It will be fun to jump back in time…we had season passes to King’s Island when we were in college, and I miss how we would get to spend so much time talking to each other waiting in the 2+ hour lines :)

Then on Friday, we are headed to a cabin in Hocking Hills for our birthday present. My family booked a weekend in the Hills for my whole family. Both sisters will be there, my parents and my sister’s fiancé. I’ve already started cooking the food for it…I can’t wait!

In other miscellaneous news, Kylie is doing really well with school…her teacher is so nice and Kylie really loves going everyday. The only bad thing is that she now has to be in bed by 8:30, and I hate missing time with her and she hates hearing everyone downstairs having fun without her…but she always falls asleep within minutes of lying down!

I love hearing her tell me about her day! Yesterday she was telling me all about the story that her teacher read her, and I love that she stills says “Libary” most of the time (instead of “Library”)…her little voice is so adorable!

Josh is really enjoying the extra attention during the day with Kylie gone…Jen is able to watch all hockey games, play baseball, and anything else that Josh wants. And I was really worried about this spoiling him, but he does fine when we’re all together in the evenings or on the weekends…he doesn’t expect anything! He’s also now into Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which is so cute! He and John fall asleep on the couch many nights watching old episodes.

Ryan has crawled forward a few “steps” lately…but you can’t clap for him if he does, because otherwise he looks at you, smiles, pushes himself back to his butt and starts clapping for himself. It’s so adorable! He is such a happy baby…he whines when he’s getting bored, but it takes a lot for him to full-blown cry. He always has a smile on his face! I believe he is starting to repeat “no” back to us by shaking his head. There have been about 5 times I have told him to do something (“say goodnight to Grandma”) or told him I’m going to change his diaper, and he sakes his head “no” at me! It appears to be very deliberate!

I think that’s it for the updates…I’m sure I’ll have a huge update post next week after our wonderful weekend! And keep your eyes out for a book review…it will be posted next Tuesday!

Have a great Labor Day Weekend!

A Memorable Weekend!

This past weekend started off kind of blah, but it ended with a bang :)

Friday I took a ½ day and went home at lunch. I played with Josh and Ryan, we ate lunch, and then John surprised us and came home for the day! He and Josh played Wii while I did some work around the house. Later that afternoon we went and picked Kylie up from school, and then we hung out outside.

We ate dinner and hung out with the neighbors and then a big thunderstorm came in and gave us some much needed rain. The kids went over to my parents’ to play trains, and John and I went down and played James Bond and The Price is Right on the Wii. My sister was coming to visit this weekend and got in around 11:00.

Saturday morning we tried to play outside but it was cold! For me anyway…I can’t believe we have fall temperatures and it’s still August! Anyway…then we headed to the baby shower of my sister’s good friend from high school, who also happens to be the daughter of John’s Dad’s boss when he was working – so basically she was known by all of us, and because of that, my sister, Kylie, my mom, my mother-in-law and I all went to the shower. After the shower I was beat. I was so worn out and I couldn’t figure out why. My sister and my mom ran to the store to get some stuff for dinner and they cooked up one heck of a feast! We head steak, sea bass, veggies, caprese salad, and other stuff I forget…it was great!

Aunt Suzie, Meredith and Kylie:

Aunt Suzie and Kylie:

Aunt Suzie and Ry-Ry:

Sunday was church and then a huge family brunch! We had pancakes, sausage, wonderful omelets and John made some great donuts by frying up some crescent rolls! My other sister and her *significant other* joined us…the table was full!

But the best news of the whole weekend was that my little sister got engaged!!! Big Josh took her down to Athens and they went in a hot air balloon ride and he asked her up there! I’m so excited for them and they were so happy yesterday! They’re hoping to have the wedding next August.

All Three Playing Together...

Kylie got through her first real rough day...school all day immediately followed by a long gymnastics practice. So after we got home, ate dinner, and got baths, the kids played cars on the kitchen floor. My heart was melting watching all of them play something together*!

Have a great weekend!

Kids Playing Cars #3 from Debbie on Vimeo.

Untitled from Debbie on Vimeo.

*This is how loud our house is all the time...I don't know why they feel the need to talk so loudly...I think it's because they are always trying to talk over each other

He's Getting So Big!!

It’s amazing how my little man (and that’s what I call him all the time now) can emphatically tell me he’s a big boy, not a baby, when he can only say 2 words.

My little Ry-Ry is done with bottles and nursing (unless it’s the middle of the night, which unfortunately, we are still dealing with). He gave up on both about 2 weeks ago, although he has been slowly disliking both for a while now. He will scream if you try to give him a bottle…but give him a sippy cup (with a straw only right now) he will smile and drink. Try to nurse him? He will do it for about 2 minutes and then he’s trying to sit himself up and watch TV, or play, or talk.

I’m sad, but I’m also happy. I’m sad because I’m the one that is supposed to be the one to decide when we’re done…not him! I’m happy because I’m really not a fan of pumping and nursing all the time (that’s an understatement), and I don’t have to worry about the weaning process…he’s done and he’s not looking back. The only hard part will be getting him to sleep through the night now.

He’s also getting a little closer to crawling forwards…he’ll move one hand or knee, but then he either goes backwards or collapses or just pushes back to his butt and sits. But I do now have to watch where I put him and make sure I watch him since he could potentially get down the stairs.

He says “dadda” a ton, and sometimes says “momma” (in their correct context). Other than those words, it’s all just babble – but there’s a ton of it! He is constantly “talking.”

He waves on cue now (he’s waved for a few months now) – whenever he hears “bye-bye” he waves, when he hears a door close, he waves, and sometimes he waves for no apparent reason (I ask him if he sees dead people).

He understands so much of what we say – if I say “take out paci” he’ll take it out, if I say “rub your bald head” he rubs it, if we say “what’s a fan do?” he’ll look up, point his finger, move it in a circular motion and make a whoowhoo sound. He knows what “cheerios” means, and he knows what a “book” is.

I can’t believe he’ll be 1 soon…I feel like I just had him! But he is so much fun now…he is happy all the time and he eats so much real food now, which makes taking him places so easy. He is such a good and easy baby! I absolutely melt every time he smiles at me :)

First Day of School...

Today is Kylie’s first day of 1st grade. Seriously? Didn’t I just register her for Kindergarten? Or better than that, I feel like I just brought her home from the hospital!

She’s adorable and super grown-up. We went shoe shopping last night, and after about 10 stores, we finally found 2 pairs of shoes for her (she’s SUPER picky about her shoes)…and you know what? They gave her blisters on the walk over to school and Jen had to take her tennis shoes over for her to change into. But I digress…

She went to bed fairly early last night after a long day of playing at the park and then gymnastics and no nap. John and I both went into work late today so that we could take her to school this morning. All the kids came into our bathroom as we were finishing getting ready. Kylie showered and I did her hair and I just couldn’t believe how grown-up she looked!

She eats lunch at 10:45 AM, and with school starting at 9:05, there’s no point in her eating breakfast (she hates breakfast anyway). So we packed her a huge lunch, and then took a ton of pictures!

Jen got there (Ryan had gone back to bed for a while, so she stayed back when him while we took Kylie), and then our neighbors behind us came over…Tony was starting Kindergarten today! So we all walked over to the school together. It was so nice to see even more walkers this year (with the school in our neighborhood there are tons of kids that walk). We took Kylie all the way into her classroom and got her settled. I LOVE her teacher! She was so nice to everyone (and even gave us a bunch of band-aids in hope of fixing Kylie’s shoe problem) and we found out she actually lives in our neighborhood. I kissed Kylie good-bye and we headed out. That’s when the tears started for Joshie. The whole walk home he just kept saying “sissy…I miss my sissy. I love you sissy.” It was cute and endearing at first, but as we got closer to home it was just annoying! We pointed out that Jen can now spend all day playing with him, and Tony only goes a couple of days a week, so he will be home some days, and Ryan is still there!

I can’t wait to get home today and find out how Kylie’s first day was. I can’t wait to hear about her new friends, and what she learned today and how gym was. I just can’t believe she’s so big…

A Weekend Being a Single Mom...

What a weekend…and I’m not exactly sure how I mean that :)

John left to go down to Bristol, TN with some friends for the NASCAR race, and I stayed home with the kids. I’m so glad that he got to go because I go scrapbooking twice a year and he hasn’t gone anywhere fun by himself in a while.

So Friday I got home a little early and my dad was there. The kids went down for nap and I cleaned up. Then we all headed over to Fazolli’s for dinner and then went to the train store. Joshie is back into trains and I think my dad is ecstatic about that! That night Joshie went over to my dad’s to sleep, and Kylie stayed with me. She was coloring a huge picture for John, so she worked on that while I finished laundry and picked up and cleaned up the kitchen. She and I finally went up to bed around 11:30. She slept in my bed with me and I was a nice treat to be able to snuggle with her.

Saturday morning we woke up and made pancakes and sausage. After that we headed outside where it was really overcast and kind of chilly. As we were out with the neighbors (her husband had been out of town as well), it got so chilly that I had to put pants on and the kids all got jackets. Then it started drizzling. The kids didn’t mind playing in it, but I was mad because it’s August, and it was not supposed to be this cold!

Kylie had a friend come over to spend the night, so when she got there we all went inside (the rain had started coming down harder). They went off to play and Joshie and Ryan took a nap. I made some really good cookies :) We had pizza for dinner, and then I set up the tent in the playroom so the kids could lay in it and watch a movie. Joshie went back over to my dad’s to sleep and the girls finally fell asleep around 10:30.

Sunday we went to church and then came home, ate lunch and the kids all went down for a nap. Unfortunately, Ryan fell asleep in the car, so within ½ hour of Kylie and Josh going down for a nap, he was up and ready to eat and play.

That evening we went over to my uncle’s house because my aunt from NY was in town. We had a great dinner, and John was able to meet us over there. I had two very full glasses of wine :) My uncle said I looked like I desperately needed them :)

At first I was feeling really bad all weekend because I was so exhausted. But then I realized it was not the kids tiring me out…it was the fact that I was taking care of the kids, including heavy Ryan, and doing all the chores that are normally split between John and I. I realized I was doing the dishes and mopping the floor (which John always does) along with laundry and cooking (which I normally do). The kids were great all weekend, so my exhaustion is in no way because of them.

I also had a revelation that wasn’t too pretty…I hate to hear my kids yelled at or talked sternly to by anyone but us…it really bothers me. And as I was getting angry at them one time, I stopped and realized that each time I yelled or got upset, God heard me, and these are His kids. He must hate it when we get angry and yell when it’s not necessary…I would if I heard it! Unfortunately this thought did not stop the yelling or frustration at times, but when I did remember it, it made me take a step back and take a breath, which I needed.

It Has Started...

Yesterday was a big day in our school district. It was the day that you could logon and see who your teacher for this upcoming year was (as in, whose class you will be in next Wednesday…there’s nothing like leaving it to the last minute here people). I forgot to bring our login information with me to work, and then last evening completely forgot about it. Around 8:30 Kylie gets a call from one of her friends. I jump up and find her stuff and login (which was interesting since I had never done this before).

Kylie was going crazy…she just kept saying “please let me be in Mrs. So and so’s class, please!” I couldn’t believe my first grader was like this…I didn’t think it would happen until like 3rd grade. As soon as I got into the website I screamed and said “Kylie, you’re in Isabella’s class!” So then she had to call Isabella back and tell her, and then she had to call her friend Jordyn and she found out that Jordyn is in her class too! And then she found out that a few more of her friends are in her class too!

I was so happy that she was in class with her friends. Last year she was in Jordyn’s class but not Isabella’s (who she met at recess since both classes had recess together). But I wasn’t super worried because I knew that she would meet friends…heck, all the kids from the MW Kindergarten class would be there with her now, and she had never met any of these kids! But I’m glad that the first day she will have friends to talk to, and have lunch with, and play with at recess (on the big playground now!).

I’m so excited about this year…two of our neighbors/good friends have boys that Kylie plays with going into Kindergarten, so she’ll see them in school sometimes. And Kylie is so excited about starting school! I hope first grade is everything she hopes it will be!

A Night of School Work...

Last night I saw a glimpse of what our nights might look like in the upcoming year. We had a quick dinner, and played outside for about 20 minutes. Then it started raining, so we headed inside. Kylie has a reading calendar and “brain games” that have to be completed over the summer in order to win prizes when she goes back to school. So we pulled them out and started working on them (she has been working on them the whole summer, we just haven’t been pushing her to finish them).

And when Josh saw Kylie working on homework, he had to go and get his workbook too. That kid amazes me! So many people assume that since he’s a boy, and has a late June birthday that we’ll be holding him back next year. No way! He can write all his letters and knows all of their sounds. I even pulled out Kylie’s Kindergarten workbook and did a page with him. He was doing great! And Kylie was flying through her pages (which included drawing clock faces based on what time it said, addition problems, patterns (or as the kindergarteners call them “patterens”), and coloring.

After that the kids got ready for bed and we sat down to watch Letter Factory. This video is by Leap Frog, and I attribute Josh’s knowledge of letters to it (with a little help from me). During my maternity leave we watched this video together so many times! And surprisingly, Kylie likes it too. So if you need a great way for kids to learn the sounds of the letters, I really suggest this video (and really anything by Leap Frog, because they really know how to teach kids).

After that it was bed time. Even though I LOVE summer and playing outside, it was nice to have a break last night…it seemed calmer and more relaxed.

Hard Decisions...

A couple of years ago we decided to start Kylie in gymnastics. And not at just any gym, but at Buckeye Gymnastics, which has a great program and trains everyone from preschoolers to boys to competitive trampoline to girls in the super high levels. Being a former gymnast myself, I was so excited!

And I was super happy when she loved it. She was doing cartwheels and handstands all over the place, and at gymnastics she was flying through the classes. In the preschool gym the classes are set up by age. So when our little 3 year old was too good for the classes for her age, they moved her up with the 5 year olds. And then when she was too good for that, they made the decision to move her over to the “big gym” where the beginning class started at age 7. Only she wasn’t in the beginning class…she skipped over two classes.

She was nervous at first, but she had Ms. Laura, who held her hand on the beam for an entire 8 week session because Kylie had never been on a high beam before. She made friends…there was a girl in her class that was in second grade at her school, so they were fast friends. Kylie was doing great. After a while we decided to put her in two classes a week, because she loved it so much! Then, last year, the pulled her out and had her join a special class called “mini stars,” which were kids that they were getting ready to join team. They worked a little harder on form and actually did a little bit of conditioning and flexibility.

Then in July we got the letter stating that she was being asked to join team. Competitive team. She would start at level 2 and probably move up to level 3 by Christmas. I was so excited for her! However, the downsides starting pouring in…she has to practice at the other gym, which is 20 – 25 minutes away instead of 5 like we were used to; it was more expensive; the practices were 1 ½ hours 2 days per week. When she moved up to level 3 it would be 2 hours 2 days per week.

It’s like we hit a brick wall. All of a sudden we were faced with wondering if this was the wise thing for us to do for her. She would be giving up 2 weeknights to gymnastics. She’s in first grade this year…there will probably be some homework. And school is now all day everyday…that in itself will be a huge adjustment for her. Will she be pushed too hard? She is only 6…

But…gymnastics is a sport that is much, much easier the younger and smaller you are. So would we be doing her a disservice if we didn’t do this right away? Would she resent us holding off if she does continue the sport because she would know that she could have been so much better? There’s no doubt that she will get much better training and coaching on team because of the intensity and length of the practices. Is this a good thing or a bad thing?

Buckeye does have a recreational team…not as high stress, only for fun, don’t work on techniques and form quite as hard…but again, if she wants to do competitive gymnastics in the future, this would not help her.

We went and looked at another gym that is closer to our house…she really liked the girls and the coaches, but John and I didn’t feel that they were as adequate as Buckeye. And if we’re going to be paying the same amount of money, we want the best coaches. This other gym actually even practices longer than Buckeye, so in the end, I think it would be harder on her.

It’s so hard. I’ve said it over and over again…physically taking care of kids (changing diapers, sleep deprivation, potty training, etc.) is not hard. But worrying about their direction in life, making sure they are on the right path, worrying about childcare and school…those are the things that make being a parent so difficult! I just wish someone would come and tell me what to do. Kylie’s not old enough to understand what she would be giving up if she joins team. All she knows is that she loves gymnastics, and she really doesn’t understand why this is such a hard decision.

As of now, I think we’re going to start her on team at Buckeye, and then keep a close eye on her and if it’s too much, pull her out. But that plan may change tomorrow :)

Suzie's Birthday Weekend...

What a weekend! It felt like one of the longest weekends we’ve had in a long time!

Friday night we played with the kids (new Wii game – Birthday Bash or something like that – they loved it!) and then after they were in bed, we sat out by the fire with our neighbors. Around 11:00 PM my sister finally made it in…she started driving Friday morning from Iowa and made a stop in Chicago and then hit some bad traffic, so it was a long day for her! We stayed up talking until about 1:00 AM – it was good to catch up with her…I hadn’t seen her in 7 weeks.

Saturday morning we got up and went on a bike ride. It was an adventure to say the least! The problem was we went on some of the bike paths, but our city hasn’t finished them all, so we were crossing streets, getting hit by sprinkler systems, and falling off our bikes (poor Kylie!). The cute thing was Ryan fell asleep on Joshie’s shoulder in the carrier-thing.

After that us girls (my sister, Kylie and me) headed over to my other sister’s apartment and spent the day by the pool. Kylie learned to swim! I’ve always been so worried about her because she did not know how to swim, but my sister worked with her, and now she is able to swim from one side of the pool to the other without putting her feet down! This weekend was so extremely hot and it felt so good to be in the water.

After swimming we headed home and got ready for the Clippers game. We had 4 tickets already from John’s sister, so we needed to buy 4 more. The problem was they only had standing room only left. However, we were lucky, and found a table up on the Rooster’s floor of the AEP tower. So at the start of the game, my mom, sisters, Kylie and Ryan and I hung out up there and ate dinner. A few innings into the game we all headed down by John, Josh and my dad because there were so many empty seats down there. When the sun went down it was gorgeous! We stayed through the 6th inning, which was around 9:30 – Ryan did so much better than I thought he would…I thought I would be leaving at 8:00!



Sunday was my sister Suzie’s birthday! We all went to church and then headed to the Morgan House for lunch. It is a local restaurant that also has this incredible shop that is huge! Any kind of cute little gift you could want, they have. It’s definitely a girly restaurant, but even little Joshie found something for Aunt Cindy to buy him (some Ohio State paper). Kylie got another Webkinz (a cute little green dinosaur), I believe she now has 15 webkinz. Lunch was wonderful, and again, Ryan really did great considering he normally has a morning nap and didn’t get one. It really helps now that he’s eating real food along with his baby food.

After lunch we headed back to our house and got out the baby pool. We were a funny site – we all had our chairs around it and had our feet in it…the temperature was over 90 degrees and humid! It was such a relaxing afternoon.

We then did my sister’s present, and had cake and ice cream. Then it was time for both of my sisters and my dad to go home :(
The kids kept playing outside, and our neighbors came out and played in the pool with the kids. The kids didn’t play in it too much earlier, with their bathing suits on, but around 6:30, after they had taken their bathing suits off, they asked if they could put their feet in the pool. Then they just put everything in the pool! What is it about getting your clothes wet? They had a ball running and jumping into the pool though!

The only downside to the weekend was around 7:30 Kylie all of a sudden had a cold strike her. She wouldn’t stop sneezing and was absolutely miserable! She sat on the couch the rest of the night with a box of Kleenex close by her side. She was still not feeling well this morning when I left :(

It was a great weekend! It felt so nice having my whole family together again and hanging out. I’m excited because we’re all going to a cabin together over Labor Day weekend, so we’ll get to do it again!

My two boys dressed alike for church:

Clippers Game 8-15-09 from Debbie on Vimeo.

Untitled from Debbie on Vimeo.

Gymnastics, Smashed Finger, Crawling (sort of)...

It has been forever since I have taken pictures of Kylie at gymnastics. And with this potentially being her last practice at this gym (she may be joining team, more on that another day), I decided I should get some pictures. She has come so far! She has a gorgeous back hip circle with a big cast, she is so close to her mill circle, she can do her backbend kickover from the floor, she has gorgeous roundoffs, and she has finally figured out how to run and jump on the springboard! She will probably never have Ms. Laura again, and she was really sad about that last night. Ms. Laura was her first teacher in the big gym and held Kylie's hand on the high beam for so long until Kylie was finally brave enough to do everything up there herself!

Ryan has finally started to show some interest in moving! He crawls (but more often pushes himself) backwards! He still won't go forward yet, but watch out! He's now mobile!

The bad thing that happened last night was Joshie smashed his finger in the door from the house to the garage. He was getting a juice box, and when he came out all of a sudden he started crying really loud (but not screaming, so it wasn't super bad). The top of his nail is purple, and his nail will probably fall off, but John has him convinced that would be cool if it happened (another instance I'm so glad that I have John around, but I couldn't be that calm about a nail falling off and would never utter the word "cool" about it). After about an hour he was fine, and this morning before I left he was doing really well...I swear having boys is going to give me a heart attack some day!

A Special Day...

John and I have always had a very honest, real relationship. Because of that, and because we are both very stubborn, hard-headed people, we have always had a lot of arguments…starting way back in the beginning. Most of the time they were over stupid things, but sometimes there are important things that need to be argued over*.

Anyway, back in college (I think it may have been our freshman year, so we had been dating less than a year), I remember being in some type of an argument with him (over I have no idea what), and sitting in his old red Chevy S10 in the parking lot by Morton Hall. It was cold out, so the windows were fogging up with our heated discussion. I remember him pausing and drawing the infinity symbol on his window. That had always been “our” sign…we knew we’d be together forever. He then told me that there was a song that he thought should be our song. It was a country song, so I had never heard it because I didn’t listen to country music at that time. He said one of the lines in the song was “There’s no way I could ever let you go, even if I wanted to…” He told me that was exactly how he felt about our relationship. No matter how hard things might get or how frustrated he was, there was no way he could live without me. Those are some powerful words from an 18 year-old!

Today John and I have been married 9 years. I feel like the time has passed by so quickly, and yet when I look back at everything we have accomplished together in those nine years, it seems like a lifetime has passed. I was talking to John the other day about how crazy it was that we made such a life changing decision at the young age of 21. Of course we would never change anything, and we knew that we were the ones for each other, but to think about what a big choice was made at such a naïve time in our lives is humbling. We both know that God gave us to each other, and we are so blessed to have each other and to have such a happy life together.

Happy anniversary Johnny! We’re down to 21 years left with each other**, and I hope the next 9 are as happy as the past nine have been :)

Now please go listen to our song…it describes us perfectly!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPwH6Fkd-90

*Amazingly, we argue much less now than we did a couple of years ago. Proof that working on your marriage, even when it’s not “broken” is worth it!

**See blog post here for details on our 30 year contract