My Weblog

So...

...Sam's eardrum ruptured.

I guess that accounts for his screaming, though it doesn't make it easier to listen to. He's had two good bouts of screaming today - both of which left me staring at him, lying in his car seat, little tongue waving as he got the last of his air out - wondering what in the world I could do to help him. I've given him Motrin and the antibiotic, but he still screams. And screams.

In spite of that, I have seen little glimpses of the baby I've gotten used to, big old smile with his hands perched up by his chin. I love it. Even when he doesn't feel good, he reminds me how blessed I am to have him in my life. :)

In other news...

I overheard something today that made it 100% certain my children are pastor's kids. Ethan and Sophia were playing in the living room and I was cleaning up the dinner dishes when I heard Sophia say, in reference to some shape she'd just created on the floor out of pillows or blankets or something:

"Hey! Look! It's a cross!"

Ethan: Yeah! It's a cross! And I'm Jesus! And I'm dying on the cross!

Then he paused for a second and the excitement was gone, replaced by an assuredness that can only be imitated - not described in words - "But it's okay, because I rise from the dead."

I bust out laughing because seriously - what four year old plays "Jesus Dying on the Cross"?

Anyway, spring break has been a lot of fun so far. I've planned a girls' movie night for tomorrow. Sophia and I, along with my awesome mom, my sister and her little girl are going to watch a movie (Enchanted) and eat something that I've yet to decide on. I am really looking forward to it.

Most of this break, my living room has looked like this:

Sophia in her nightgown. This was taken about 1 p.m. ha. This was not a fort (how dare you make that mistake!) It's a cave. And they are bears who hibernate and play with legos. and watch "Charlie and Lola." and play "Jesus dying on the cross."

Of course, once I brought the camera out, I got the "Take pictures of us doing silly faces, Mom!"

and I had to oblige:

I think Sophia's is especially silly. (Notice how Ethan has FOUR stickers on his shirt in case you forget who he is.) Then, they decided they wanted to take picture with the three of us. I of course thought this would be a nice picture... until they tackled me:

That was probably the highlight of my day. My day has been relatively wretched. The screaming. Oh, the screaming...

But, otherwise, things are good. I'm ignoring the sore throat coming on and the fact that I've got to weigh in in the morning (fear. see my weight loss blog if you really want to hear about my scale terror).

Best get the wee ones in bed. :) 

If you're not a spiritual person...

...best not read this post.

This is a post about my latest spiritual battle, and while I am not into preaching at people, this latest revelation is something I have to share.

I think I've posted on here about how bad things have been going lately. lol - that's uplifting, isn't it? But, it's true. Things have been terrible. To recap:

• Ethan had croupe, which nearly landed us in the ER in the middle of the night. He was barking his cough was so bad and he couldn't breathe. (Thank god for antibiotics!)
• Our basement flooded. (I don't want to rehash it. It was just ugly.)
• We are knee-deep in rehearsals for the Easter service, which is absolutely awesome, but seriously stressful at the same time
• Adam is still writing curriculum for Wednesday nights (I cannot begin to explain how time consuming and awesome this is at the same time. It's just amazing what he's doing...)
• Adam gets involved in Christian Youth Theatre (Wizard of Oz, he's intern directing to help get a foot in the door so in the future we can do some directing. It's AWESOME as well, but again, time consuming!)
• Easter Egg hunt cancelled due to snow. (This actually is a positive at this point - what a load off! Kids will get bags of candy Easter morning instead. I've never been so happy for snow!)
• Ethan and Sam are both up in the middle of the night crying. Ethan complains of an ear infection. Further inspection (by our doctor) and we discover a 'nasty and very painful' ear infection and a blister on his ear drum that we can expect to burst. More antibiotics.
• Adam cannot swallow. Another doctor. Strep throat. More antibiotics.
• Courtney is in excrutiating (how do you spell that?) pain - headaches. Or rather, one headache that has lasted nine days. Go to chiropractor for adjustment which loosens my shoulders and neck but doesn't help the head. The next day, head to dentist to see about a mouth guard because of my TMJ and grinding teeth.
• Get teeth cleaned (why does this hurt so bad?) and get impressions made of my upper and lower teeth. (Okay, seriously - ew. It was so gross.)
• Can't get mouth guard for another week. (I want to cry at this point.) Instead, I go to Wal-mart and get one of those sports mouth guards you boil. I should seriously take a picture with it in my mouth. It's hysterical. I look like a monkey.
• Sam gets sick.
• Sophia gets sick.
• Ethan is acting up horribly - seriously issues with his behavior leave me feeling like a new mom all over again, wondering how in the world to handle this?

This is about Thursday of last week... and it finally dawns on me. I went to our Easter rehearsals both Tues. and Thurs. and it was the only time in over a week I didn't have a headache - when I was in those rehearsals... it's so clear. And I should've seen it before, but this whole mess was all just one big fat attack of the Enemy on our family.

See, I hate to be one of those people who gives the devil credit for every little thing that goes wrong in our lives. Very often, it's my own stupidity or whatever that leads to the messes... but all of this... this big long, bulleted list of horrible awful things that were happening all at once... No way. This was not coincidence.

When we first started in the minstry, we had a similar week and one of the other pastors at the church said, "Well, you're in ministry now, you've got a target on your back." It's so true. Others have said, "If the devil's leaving you alone, you're not doing enough."

I guess I was looking at the Easter service as work. In terms of a checklist. "Gotta get this, this and this done by such and such a time..." You know... multi-tasking every little detail to make sure nothing slipped through the cracks.... but I forgot to look at it for what it was - a chance for God to move. I had underestimated what God wanted to do in that evening.

Once I realized it, I started to really pray like crazy - to get the devil off of our back. I mean, he doesn't have the RIGHT to torment us, he can only do it if we let him. I sent out an email to several of our parents and asked them to pray for us. We were at the end of our rope and we needed help climbing back up.

Well, it was almost like I felt them lifting us up. The next day, we all started to see improvements. My headache dwindled (and it wasn't due to the monkey mask, which honestly hurt more on my teeth than my head originally hurt.) and eventually it went away. Adam's strep started to improve, Ethan started to get back to normal...

And then Sunday night.

The kids were absolutely amazing. It was sort of a service infused with theatrical elements - dance/choir/human video - lots of music. Adam preached a short (awesome) message. It went off without a hitch. People came forward for prayer. People got to see how amazing their kids were. People were ministered to and blessed and you know, we may never know the extent of how deep that night reached - we may never hear the stories of how God began to work on someone as a result of that night, and that's okay. I trust that God will take our hard work and bless it.

I guess my point is this. Sometimes you have to walk through the fire to see the blessing. You dont' have to sit in the fire. I mean, when I realized what was going on, I got rid of that mess right away. Doesn't mean the devil will automatically stop trying to mess with us, but it does mean that I'm aware of it now. It all sounds so 'out there' - the devil and all... but I believe there's a very real enemy who would love to take us out. The thing is, we have to stand up for ourselves and tell him where to go. He doesn't have the RIGHT to attack us. And he certainly didn't stop us. For all our suffering, we came through it and God was glorified in spite of him.

Be aware of the fire, but don't let it consume you. Find out how to put it out.

and now things can go back to normal!

Infomercials.

Ethan loves bananas. Every time I buy them, even though they are clearly green and not "dirty" (the brown spots make them "dirty") he asks me "Are these gripe?" (ripe)

"No Ethan, those are still green."

Well, tonight, instead of saying the typical "I don't care if they're green, can I have one?" Ethan said "You really need to get the 'Iyth-lene' green bag."

Me: Huh?

Him: You need the Iyth-lene green bag. You put your fruit in it and it doesn't get all dirty like you know, dirty... (points to the brown spot on the back of the banana) Like this...

After further research, I discovered SOMEONE saw an infomercial for a product not unlike THIS.

Ethan makes me happy. Today after church he decided the shirt was too much to handle and he stripped it off and ran around with nothing but khakis on all day. He's started reading - same way Sophia started, just recognizing words. I mostly credit Sophia with his progress so far. She needs students for her classroom and Ethan is typically a willing participant. When he ISN'T willing, it's not a pretty scene.

Friday we took Sophia to a speech meet in by Chicago. A few months ago, they did a speech meet at her school. The winners of that meet went to Chicago to compete, though it really wasn't a 'competition.' I mean, they didn't rank anyone, they just gave ribbons "Superior" - "Excellent" and "Good." We were pretty proud of our girl - she walked away with a Superior ribbon. She said, on the way home..."I am SUPER-IOR..." after her dinner we went out to lunch with her teacher and her family. The best part was just spending the day with Sophia. It's nice sometimes to just focus on one of the kids at a time.

This weekend is Easter - which means this week is stressful. We have a lot going on, but I feel like I'm prepared for it. I discovered the magic blanket - my sister-in-law makes these big old fleece blankets and when my sister's twins were babies, she wrapped them tight in the magic blanket and they slept like, well, like babies. ha. Anyway, Sam is a pretty good sleeper and since daylight savings time - seriously - he sleeps IN - like, til 6. That's HUGE.  But the naps. sigh. The naps. He is great for the most part, but he wakes up periodically needing the pacifier. So, enter the magic blanket. You better believe the little bugger is sweaty when he wakes up, but it's just so much like magic how well he sleeps all snuggly in the blanket. I love it. :)

So. I'm moving into a very busy week... I hope I can breathe by the end of it!   

Today. Quite possibly one of the worst days of my life.

Little things really. All adding up. Piling on top of each to make one big, long, cruddy day.

I'm literally heaving a sigh as I think about it. As if the flood in the basement wasn't enough. Sam woke up in a mood. Truly - ready to fight with someone. He was not having it. I took my shower and actually thought about all the things I had to do today... the list is long. We are busy - and for whatever reason, everything seems to want to pile up on the same days. Anyway, I thought to myself, "Well, Sam is always pretty easy, so I shouldn't have a problem getting everything done."

I shut the water off and I heard it. Screaming baby. I hurried up so as not to wake any sleeping corpses or call in the coyotes roaming around the back yard. And I sure didn't want him to wake the fish that have likely settled into the pool in the basement. By the time I reached him, the child was inconsolable. And it had only been minutes since he woke up. I assumed he was hungry. It was about time for him to eat. He REFUSED to take the bottle. Okay. I assumed he was tired. I mean, he HAD woken up a little earlier than I expected - I'll try and put him back to sleep. He REFUSED to go back to sleep. After about an hour of switching from rocking to feeding to laying him in his car seat, to the pacifier to the bottle I finally got a little relief when he fell asleep.

This last ten minutes. Maybe.

Back to the drawing board. This time I started with the diaper and therein I found the problem. The poor kid has a terrible diaper rash (again.) As soon as I got that taken care of, he was fine - sleeping, still not eating. The problem was, I was going to have to get Sophia soon, and I didn't want him screaming.

Oh, and his car seat now smelled like the foulest most disgusting thing you can imagine. It took me a good 15 minutes to figure out how to get the pad OFF the car seat (Adam usually does this due to my hatred for inanimate objects.) I did end up kicking the dumb thing, I'll admit it.

Get him buckled in undisturbed. Drive to the church to drop off stuff for Adam. Halfway there, I remember I forgot Sophia's registration papers for school. Back home to pick those up. Out to Starbucks because I NEED A LATTE. Off to the school which is about when Ethan fell asleep. And it hits me. I have to get these kids out of the car and into the school and they're both sleeping, and the parking is jammed with traffic. Two wrong turns and turn arounds in the midst of that mess and I was shot. I'd had it. I get to the office to drop off the forms.

Sam starts WAAAAILLLING. Seriously. The second I get in there. The kid HAS to be hungry - he's refused to eat since around 8:30 a.m. and by now, it's almost 3.

grrrr.

Off to Sophia's class. Where is Sophia's class? They aren't there... hm... standing...waiting....15 minutes go by... still no sign. Turns out they had a field trip today. (Some things just don't make it into the permanent vault of my memory.)

We rush to the church for rehearsal. It's my rehearsal today - not Adam's, but for whatever reason Adam is up in front of the kids, who seriously look at him as a goofball at this point and who are completely unfocused (Typically he has great control over them, but they were loopy today.) The rehearsal adds to my frustration. Sam is WIDE awake, refusing to eat. Thank God one of the sweet moms took him for me (usually he seriously just sits there or sleeps - I have no clue what is going on with him today.) 

And then... it ends.

I get to go home. It's 6:00 by this point - I run through McDonalds because there is NO WAY I'm cooking and now here I sit in a relatively calm environment, Sam sleeping at my side. How everything that could possibly go wrong decided to go wrong on the same day is beyond me, but such is life. At least life today.

And while I would love to go sit down and eat a big hot fudge sundae, I think I might curl up on the couch and watch The Biggest Loser instead.

You should know that none of this is what I WANTED to blog about... but I guess it's what was on my mind. So, rather than leaving on such a sour note, I'm going to find something that makes me happy, namely some pictures:

Warning: Do not use baby Bumbo seat on elevated surface. But it's awfully nice on the floor!

Ethan and his "Super Bubbles." He's sort of a bright spot in my day... except for the last hour...this last hour his spot is getting darker.   

And finally... The Scarlet Lime. I have to be honest, after doing the book and feeling slightly overwhelmed with life, scrapbooking hasn't been high on my priority list. However, I have to say, when I get my SL kit in the mail, something changes. I took my kit to my mom's this weekend and did two pages so quickly - it was awesome. Easy to transport, and such inspiring stuff. I've said this before, but since I'm terrible at putting patterns and stuff together, the kit club is totally awesome for me. Here's my layouts for this month. (The main kit is literally one of my all-time favorites.)

flood.

Does anyone ever know a time when it's a good thing to have water raining in the basement windows?

Yeah, I didn't think so.

Last night after church, we were sitting on the couch when we heard what literally sounded like rain coming out of the gutter. We checked the back yard and then the front, but we couldn't figure out where it was coming from. Then it hit me - it sounded like it was pounding on cement and it sounded like it was coming from the basement.

It was.

We went downstairs to find all this water pouring in from the window (melted snow + rain), getting sucked into our sump pump and then pumped right back into the window. It was nuts. I am so thankful we didn't have the basement finished already. I am not thankful that all of our Christmas decorations, an arm chair, a rug, a coffee table, a vacuum cleaner and several unpacked boxes were sitting contentedly, soaking up the rain at 4 a.m. when it starting pouring in the other window.

Sigh.

There is a man (Bob) outside right now, dressed in yellow overall thingies and boots, trudging through the mud trying to figure out the probme and hopefully fixing it. He's wearing a Cubs hat, so I'm sure he's a good guy, but seriously - he needs to get this taken care of. Our house is like, four months old.

Just losing the few things that we are losing makes me think of all those people who are really dealing with natural disasters - like in major proportions - the tornadoes and hurricanes and all kinds of crazy things that wipe away every shred of your life in one foul swoop. It stinks.

Today has been a nutso day and I could really use a latte, but here I sit, finally home after being gone since 9:30 a.m. I think I'll stay put and pray the rain away.

today...

Sitting amidst yet another snow dump, I'm reminded of how much I love warm weather. I could use some about now. It's been sort of a blah day. We couldn't get out of the driveway, so Sophia is home in spite of the fact that hers was one of the only schools open this morning. Truth be told, the roads are fine, but when you're buried and the snow is blowing, well, there's only so much you can do.

This leaves me with a trying day. Sometimes the kids play wonderfully together and I am in awe of their friendship. Other times they are on the verge of strangling each other and I am in awe of my lack of patience. Today is one of those lack of patience days. I am just tired I think, and giving up coffee creamer means giving up coffee which means CRABBY mommy. Does anyone else think it's perfectly sane for me to drive 20 minutes to the nearest Starbucks in spite of the snow?

Right now, Sophia is emptying her piggy bank, marveling at the fact that she has quarters from New York, Georgia AND Florida! She was, however, completely unimpressed with the French coin that found its way in the little pig. (This just in... we now have RHODE ISLAND too... and I have to tell you I'm completely disgusted by how dirty her fingers are just from going through change. ew.)

Sam is finally snoozing after putting up a good long fight. I realized he has to fuss at least a little bit before he's good and tired... which is REALLY hard for me to listen to.

Ethan is following Sophia around wearing inside-out sweatpants and I'm sure - nothing underneath. He is a master of leaving his underwear on the floor somewhere and throwing all caution to the wind. He's - at present - my easiest one.

Then there's mommy. A list of things to do as long as my arm, and I don't WANT to do any of it. I want to curl up with my latest Karen Kingsbury book (This one is called "Remember" - I LOVE it.) and read. I have officially turned into a reader. I swear. Adam thinks I'm reading trashy romance novels, but there is substance to these stories. This one (OH WAIT - BREAKING NEWS... WE NOW HAVE A QUARTER FROM CONNECTICUT TOO. IT HAS A TREE ON THE BACK.) - this novel deals with September 11th, which truthfully, I really don't like. I hate even thinking about that day, but I remember it so well. I'd just gotten to work, baby carrier in tow (Sophia was born in March of that year) and everyone was gathered outside our office watching tv. It reminded me of being in the newsroom watching the Columbine tragedy unfold.

My thoughts aren't any different, I'm sure, than anyone else's on the subject. It was sheer, utter terror. I think more than anything, I felt afraid. I remember seeing that second plane crash into the World Trade Center. I remember the building when it slammed to the ground. I remember looking at this little baby and wondering how in the world I'd managed to bring someone else into this kind of a world. Of course, now that she is older and telling me "I JUST GOT A QUARTER FROM CAL-I-FORNIA." (all syllables punctuated.) the fear of that day has waned... unless I think about it. Which is why reading about it is difficult. Even so, I love the way Karen Kingsbury's books draw me in.

A few things occurred to me after I posted my book cover. First of all, I had nothing to do with how cool this turned out - which is why I feel it's okay for me to rave about it in large decibles and for many minutes at a time. A designer at F&W named Kelly (I hope I'm right that it was Kelly) designed it. I think she is amazing because this cover rocks.

Also, if you happen to do a search for my name at Amazon, you'll find my other book and then one called "Lipstick and Thongs in the Loony Bin." This is not my book. It's written by a wonderfully talented writer who happens to have the same name as me - different middle initial. I guess in some ways I'm nervous people will confuse us because I don't think in my current position at the church I could get away with writing a book with that title without a little flack. I'm wondering if I should follow her lead and use my middle initial too.

Anyway, it was just on my mind...

and you'll be pleased to know we've secured quarters from Virginia and Illinois as well.

Isn't my life exciting?? :) 

guess what?

My editor sent me THIS link the other day.

The cover of my new book:

oh my gosh, I totally love it! It looks so amazing - like a book I would pick up and buy! I was so excited when I saw it, I had to share it!!

I have just finished a major project that I decided to tackle - mostly just to see if I could do it... so now I guess I can't avoid the housework any longer. SIGH. It's definitely daunting, I have to be honest. I'm struggling not to pity myself and give in to the girl scout cookies in my cupboard.

Today was a good day - really a great day. I went to church and just felt so in tune with everything. I'm feeling so normal again after having Sam, and though he's really incredibly heavy to lug around in the car seat, we've gotten into a pretty good routine. After church, Adam came home and i ran to Barnes and Noble to pick up a few Karen Kingsbury books. I have to be honest, I'm really not a reader - at least I've never thought of myself as a reader, but I've already read four books this year and it's only February. I think soemthing's come over me.

I enjoy these books. They're wholesome and that's always a huge plus for me because I blush at the thought of reading - you know - non-wholesome books. (Can we say Prude? It's okay - I've embraced it.) and I love the characters. I'd recommend them. And I'd also recommend HIGHLY - Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers which I believe will forever be my favorite book of all time. Also really enjoy Ted Dekker, who Adam loves.

Anyway, I got a Starbucks while I was out and came home to my house - warm and quiet, my family inside reading and drawing. Ethan had drawn pictures of Sam. There was "Baby Sam" - "Big Sam" - "Headless Sam" and "Dot to Dot Sam". We thought they were pretty clever little drawings, actually. I bought Ethan a couple of 'my first reader books' which he promptly opened with Sophia at his side and read out loud. I honestly can't believe how much he already knows.

Then it was back to church tonight for Kent Henry - a worship leader who was visiting our church this weekend. It was a good service - the fuel I needed as I feel God pulling me in. I feel like I'm sitting on the edge of something new, and while I"m still praying to find out what it is, it's exciting. It's exciting to know that God is moving and that I might be part of what he uses to make that move.

On a sad note, my grandma was admitted to the hospital this weekend. She really is doing so much better now. She has pneumonia and another infection, but these things are treatable, unlike what we all feared it might be. she's recovering, but it's just an unwelcome reminder that life is so short. I'm concentrating on grabbing onto every moment... even with all this laundry staring me in the face.

here's to another week. Thank God for another week!

Dana Nichols! I have a prize for you! (and some scrappy stuff)

I have all of my giveaway stuff boxed up here waiting to go out to my lucky winners. If anyone knows Dana Nichols, please tell her to email me! If I don't get her address this week, I'm going to have to draw another name for the big fat blog giveaway - otherwise, I'm afraid this stuff will just stay here on my desk! And I really want to send it to her!!

I got my most recent issue of Memory Makers a couple of days ago. My address is switched officially which makes me happy because it means my issue comes on time! I loved working on the 'green' issue - it was a fun challenge, and something I really enjoyed because I love taking junk mail and making stuff out of it. (I save everything. That's why my house is so messy right now!!)

One of the projects I really liked doing was the tri-fold mailer dealie. It was an advertisment for diapers. Of course, the magazine only has so much room, so they could only publish the cover of it, but here's the rest:

Someone really needs to learn how to take photos indoors. That would be me. Sorry about the weird color, but you get the point. I am going to put this on a shelf in Ethan's room when I get it back from the magazine.

The other thing I wanted to post was my Scarlet Lime layouts. I have so much fun with Christy's kits. I have them all in a basket by my desk, fully intact because I love how she puts things together. I'm not good at mixing and matching different lines, so having someone with such a great eye do it for me is awesome! I use the kits long after I've done my layouts for her website. Some of the kits I've gotten an additional five or six pages out of. It's awesome. Anyway, here are some of my pages from last month:

That's my niece, Emery. Skinny Sister's little girl.

That's my nephew, Eli. Skinny sister's little boy. They're twins. I love those circle things along the side of the photo mat. Seriously - how fun. I think they're from an Etsy shop.

Speaking of Etsy... check out THIS shop. Jeanne has some SUPER cool stuff. LOVE the fabric flowers.

Okay, one thing I'm really into right now is not completely adhering things down on my page. No clue why, but I love the messiness of it. I tried to do that a little on this page:

The journaling on that page is about Sophia's hair. God help me with Sophia's hair. I always swore my daughter would have hair that looked, you know, fixed. But nothing stays in her hair, or should I say... she won't keep anything in her hair. So this is what we get. We've since cut it, but there's still this random strand that is always in her face (or her mouth - yeah, talk about annoying.)

Love that KI Memories laser cut paper stuff. I can't remember what it's really called, but don't you think "Laser cut paper stuff" is a catchy name?

Okay, that's our first family of five photo. From Thanksgiving. Notice I have completely buried myself behind small children. Yeah, mama's always thinking!

Okay, those are my Scarlet Lime pages. I love that kit club. Highly recommend it, though you need to preorder - everything sells out fast, but it's so worth it!!

Oh, Here's a link - duh! Scarlet Lime

One more thing. American Idol. SWORE I wasn't going to watch this year. But then, the David Archeletta. I know I am not spelling his name right, but seriously. Could this kid be any cuter?? I totally want to keep him away from Hollywood though - he seems so innocent and pure. I also loved Joey Castro and Michael Johns (who, my mom has just informed me has a recording contract already?)

anyhoo... this morning, I am please to say... I boxed up all of the layouts for my book and am shipping them to Memory Makers this afternoon. (Kristin! I'm early!) :) Kristin is my fablous-o editor who is seriously awesome and I love her. I am really excited to have this book finished - mostly because crunching over my computer screen has given me a horrible neck problem. (Brought on by childbirth at the age of 31. Apparently, not wise... the body is deteriorating.)

SO. I'm finished!! And I'm excited!

And now, I need to go find a low point meal for myself because my stomach is about to turn inside out and ingest itself. I hope you're all doing well this fine Wednesday!

:)

WINNER!

Oh! Sorry I didn't post it yesterday. I got side-tracked with some fun stuff I'm working on right now. I have once again relied on my random number generator and I am happy to report that this is the winner:

Oh My...I WOULD LOVE ONE OF YOUR BOOKS! You are one of my very favorite designers in this industry and I would love to read your book. Have a duper day!

Posted by: Jennifer Haywood | February 11, 2008 at 03:22 PM

So... Jennifer Haywood... drop me an email and get me your address so I can get this book in the mail! The pile of bills is really wanting to get to the post office, so I am certain I will make it there at some point this week! :)

Thanks to everyone for playing!! That was fun! We're going to be doing some scrapbook room building in our basement, so I'm sure there will be more purging going on, which means more giveaways! yay! I love giveaways!!

I am exhausted, so I'm going to wake Sam and feed him and get to bed! Have a good week!

One more day to win...

This is the last day to put your name in the book drawing. I'll draw tomorrow. :) (Just a friendly reminder.)

DANA NICHOLS AND GINA - WINNERS OF MY LAST DRAWING - PLEASE EMAIL ME YOUR ADDRESSES!! I WANT TO SEND YOU THIS STUFF!!

I've been keeping so busy this week, but I've mostly been sitting here at the computer making my way through the nuts and bolts of writing this book. I am soooo close to being done (Dare I imagine finishing EARLY??) - but my back sure is paying the price for it. I tense up when I sit here, so all through my neck and back is shooting pain. Lovely. The mattress isn't helping either. My chiropractor said mattresses last about 7-10 years. We're right in the middle of that... and the thought of spending money on a mattress isn't appealing, but it might be necessity.

This has made me so sad. I remember years ago, sitting in the newsroom at the paper I was working for when the news about Columbine hit. We all stopped what we were doing and sat, glued to the television for the rest of the day. Completely in awe that something so gruesome - so sad - had really happened. It seems since then there's been a school shooting - maybe two - every year. This one hit really close to home.

I imagine myself sitting in Bradley Hall, listening to a professor drone on about Economics or Western Civ - one of those classes we all had to take to graduate. Never once in my time at Bradley did I worry about being shot while attending classes. It had never crossed my mind. The only things that worried me back then was whether or not my group in Communications 103 would consist of people I liked or I'd end up with people who refused to work.

I cannot stand that this kind of fear can grip our society in this kind of way. It's not fair that we, as parents, can't send our kids off to school without saying knuckle-whitening prayers every morning for their safety. I understand there have always been risks, but we're talking about senseless violence - out of everyone's control - and there's no way to stop it.

I'm so sad for the families involved in this shooting - especially for the parents of the gunman. So often it seems these parents are good, loving people - at least that's how it seems. Of course, I suppose you never really know.

I don't mean to be depressing this morning, I guess it just took me back - I never thought I'd refer to my college years as 'simpler times,' but they really were... even 10 years ago - simpler.

Anyway, we spent the better part of Wednesday making Valentine's. I made all the pieces and let Sophia cut and glue.

We had a lot of fun making them. The pencils were furry. lol Gotta love a furry pencil. Sophia picked just the right color for each classmate. I noticed the boys all got stuck with green or yellow. Not the most attractive colors in the mix.

This week, Adam called for a fast in our house. I was so glad when he came downstairs last Friday and said he felt like God really wanted us to give up video games. That meant computer games, the WII, the Leapsters - everything. This was especially important for Ethan, who, I've realized could easily become addicted. Maybe it was Sophia's dream that the Wii turned into a tornado and sucked her in that made Adam realize it was getting a little out of hand. This week has been awesome.

Ethan has rediscovered his cars, his trains and his Legos. I love hearing, "Hey Mom! Look what I built" so much more than "Hey, that guy just killed me and now I gotta start over."

Not sure what's going on with his expression there - or the pink tint to the photo, but such is life.

Tonight we are babysitting children so our church parents can go out on dates. I think it's going to be fun - we just need to go shopping and make sure we've got all of our bases covered. I'll likely leave a little early just to get the kids to bed - staying up til 10 isn't really an option around here, but I am thinking it'll be a good time. We're going to watch Underdog the last two hours to hopefully get the kids to wind down before they go home. We'll see how that goes over.

Okay, off to start my day. Sam is starting to stir - and oh, just an update... he has been sleeping in his crib! A friend of mine gave me a swaddling blanket, and while it bears a remarkable resemblance to a straight jacket, Sam loves this thing, and it almost seems like the car seat is getting uncomfortable. I am so happy. Yesterday he took a two hour nap in his crib!

So, we're off! Have a great weekend! :)