The Whatsoevers (thank you Jeni B.!)

Maybe my sisters remember. Dad told us to think about the Whatsoevers. I didn't know when I was 10 years old that he was teaching me how to control my thought life. It's in Philippians 4:8 where it tells us how to choose our thoughts.

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true,
whatever is noble,
whatever is right,
whatever is lovely,
whatever is pure,
whatever is admirable
--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--
think on these things."

In the NIV it isn't whatsoever like in the King James I memorized as a child. These are the whatevers for my kids. What an awesome tool to protect heart and mind! Choose to think about good things. Should I replay the insults someone shouted at me in anger? Should I dwell on the gossip about a friend? Should I see the horror movie? Should I choose that computer game? Should I let my mind wander to the worrying uncertainties of my future? We can make a choice if we want to.

More than ever kids are bombarded with choices of what to see and listen to. Cell phones and iPods, internet and computer games, 24 hours of TV available every day with LOTS of channels! I had 5 channels as a kid. FIVE. No computer games with any moral content... remember the many variations of ball games on an old "Odessey" TV game? Ping-pong or handball... white paddles on a black screen with a ball bouncing between them? Uh, not much of a moral intrusion there Music was available on cassette tapes or records. If you wanted to see a movie, you went to the kid's flick at the cinema... once a year, with Grandma for a special day. Life is different now. Technology that is making it possible for me to send this message from Mozambique to whoever wants to read it anywhere in the world also makes it possible for me to CHOOSE anything to read or see or hear for better or for worse.

You know it is true. If you don't see bad stuff or hear bad stuff, it just isn't going to run through your head, is it? If you constantly play songs with edgy lyrics and watch whatever is on TV and see questionable movies and stuff your head with THAT. What is going to go through your head later? What pops out of your mouth before you can stop it? Images can be so powerful... and once they are seen, they stick, like it or not. It is hard to forget what your eye has seen. Protect yourself. Choose good things. They also stick!

In Bible Club at Zambezi Junior School we are studying the Fruit of the Spirit this year. We've come to the end of the Fruit lessons and have just a few weeks before starting to practice for a Christmas celebration. We have some time for "how to live a Christian life." My first choice for the additional memory verse was the whatsoevers. Kids need guidelines. Many parents aren't giving them. So, I have a unique opportunity to mold the conscience of a few kids. I have a chance to give them a choice. I memorized that verse about 30 years ago. How many times since then has God prompted me to choose right thoughts? Without even trying to remember, it pops into my head giving me a guideline for a choice. I can still choose to go against the guideline, but I KNOW what is right. I can choose what is right because I know I have a choice.

Another thing Dad said was, "Depression comes from believing a lie." How true is that? It fits right in with the whatsoevers. I can believe I will always fail or believe people are going to think bad things about me or believe I'm going to be taken by aliens. I can feel ugly and boring. I can imagine terrible things that could happen. Is any of that really true or right or lovely? No. So, I remember what Mom told us every night when she tucked us in, "Think good thoughts instead of bad thoughts." My Dad and Mom were a pretty good team, weren't they?

Just Stuff

A couple of week ago, I had the unexpected opportunity to hear Chris Tomlin on the beach in Panama City. Wow! It was amazing! I have wanted to see him for years, so to get to do it finally, and for free--what a blessing. My friend Bonnie and I went, and we had a great time.

We had a great day yesterday. We set out to visit the Ocheesee Creamery in Calhoun County. We didn't have an address, and they didn't have a very big sign, so we ended up driving all the way to Blountstown. That turned out great though because there's a little park there that is a tribute to the M & B Railroad--Marianna and Blountstown. It was the shortest railway in Florida in its time. It had a real engine and a caboose, and the boys, as well as Benjamin and I, had a great time climbing around on it. After that, we went back and found the dairy. The boys got to pet calves to their hearts' content. We capped the day off with a stop by Grammy and Grand's for a short visit. It was a great day!

I am grateful for my life and for my family. Thank you Father.

I have to say (again) how sad it makes me that I have almost completely quit blogging since I started "facebooking." I really enjoy looking back at the entries about the boys. Oh well. All I can do is try to do better. :)

I am a busy girl these days:

I am volunteering with bereavement services with Emerald Coast Hospice. I make phone calls to the bereaved families to see how they are coping with loss. I love doing it. I feel like I've been able to make a real difference for some of the people I've talked to. I also do the monthly mail-outs for the chaplains. I wish I had about one full day a month that I could devote to it, but it's completely hit and miss right now with everything else that's going on....

I have a part-time, mostly at-home job with a tutoring company. The No Child Left Behind Act provides tutoring services for students who need it and can't afford it, and I am the liaison between my company's corporate office and the teachers who are actually doing the tutoring in the schools. It's been an okay job so far, but we're gearing up for our busy time for about the next eight weeks, so I'll know after that how I really feel. :)

I clean house for two sisters on alternating Mondays still, and I really enjoy that work. I've been a little spoiled all summer though in that I haven't had to take the boys with me. They started back with me last Monday, and it's so hard! I wish I could hire a sitter, but that make me be cleaning almost for free--and I don't enjoy it quite that much!

Benjamin is back in school this fall, working on his bachelor's degree. He's juggling three part-time jobs in addition to being a full-time dad and going to school full-time. He handles it beautifully though, and once we get used to his new schedule, it will be fine.

I still try to drive a bus now and then, and I may be driving some for Venture this year. That remains to be seen, but I hope I get to. I really enjoy that, and it's a little extra money too.

Oh, did I mention that I have a 2 1/2- and a 4 1/2-year-old who keep me HOPPING?! They are so much fun! David is completely potty-trained, and we are so thrilled. Honestly, some days it seemed like it would never happen! He is so grown-up, and some of the things that come out of his mouth just amaze me. Of course, right now, I can't think of any of them, but I will. I'm amazed that this time next year, he will be in school. And I'm determined to make the most of this last year where I am his primary influence in life. :) It's been interesting to watch David gravitate more and more toward his dad this summer too. He asks about him when he first gets up in the morning and can't wait for him to get home in the evenings. It's very sweet.

Sam. Sam. Sam. What can I say about that little rascal? He is so mischievous! He talks up a storm and does his best to keep up with David in all things. Except potty-training. He's showing no interest in that! But I'm not stressing; it will come in time!

We've done some fun things this summer--two trips to the beach, one to Wilder's World or "the bouncy house" as Sam calls it. We've been swimming at the Oliver's several times. We took lots of pictures, and eventually those will make it off my computer and into scrapbooks.

Okay. I think I'm done for now. I intended to have more anecdotes, but the power actually went off in the middle of this (thank goodness for auto-save), and it's getting late. I will do this again before the month of September is out!!!!! I will. Seriously. :)

It's About Time

I wrote this back in June and never got back to it. I will do a real update before I go to bed tonight! I am determined!

I wrote a LONG post a couple of months ago and lost the entire thing somehow. It made me very sad because I just didn't have it in me to start over!

I will attempt now to update this chronicle. We'll see how it goes.

We have had an great spring. Neither of the boys has been to the doctor in several months. It's been a record year for pollen, but they've had doses of local honey in their oatmeal several times a week, and there hasn't been even a runny nose. It's been so great not to have any ear infections this year!

David has made great strides in potty training finally. Have I learned my lesson? Don't stress over things you cannot control. They will fall into place in the right time. I have seen that time and time again with David. He's not completely done with the PT, but he's well on his way.

I was trying to think how I would describe him to someone who doesn't know him. He's got a great imagination and a fun sense of humor. He's polite most of the time, and sometime he's shy. I have a hard time sometimes getting him to greet people at church, but he's getting better about that, and there are days that he will chat with anyone who will talk to him. He and Sam are getting better every day about playing together, and it's really fun to watch on the good days. :)

Sam Update

We are going through an unusual (to me) trial with Sam right now. He just cries for no apparent reason. I really believe it's teething, but Anbesol nor pain relief (Tylenol/Motrin) helps at all. He will walk across the floor, start crying and reach his arms out to you. If you reach toward him, he will lie down in the floor and scream. If you don't do anything, he will lie down in the floor and scream. If you pick him up, he arches his back and screams. It's not pretty. You can tell him he will go to bed if he doesn't stop crying, and he'll shake his head no that he doesn't want to go, but he won't stop crying but for about 15 seconds. If you go ahead and put him in the bed, he will scream (not cry) until you get him out. Twenty minutes is my record so far. (If it were a going-to-sleep issue, I know to let him cry it out, but that's not what this is, and we usually don't have any trouble getting him to go to bed either at nap-time or bed-time.) So, I'm praying a lot and just trying to muddle through. We did have a couple of days respite from this, but it started again today. The first round lasted about ten days, at the end of which he had two new molars, so it must be teething (three two-year molars down, one to go), but his not responding to pain medication or numbing medication puzzles me.

I cut off all of Sam's curls a couple of weeks ago. It was a tough decision because I loved them, but his dad was ready for a little boy haircut instead of a baby one. It looks like the curls are going to come back though, and I'm glad. I'll just keep it shorter than I had let it get before.

Sam wants to mimic anything and everything that David does. He wants to sit in David's chair at the dining table--which is part of the reason he mashed his finger so badly in May. He loves to play with David, and he's getting big enough that they roll around on the floor some. They have a great time playing with their Dad, and I love to listen too all the craziness when they get going.

I am so blessed with my five guys--husband, two sons, two cats! :)

David Update

David's speech is just amazing. To think that less than a year ago, he had only a handful of words in his vocabulary.... God told me in August of 2007 that David would talk when he had something to say. Well let me tell you that he has plenty to say these days. It's so interesting too, to listen to him try out new phrases that you know he must have heard somewhere. On the way to school yesterday, he just started saying, "Of course I am," with different inflections and volume. He had heard it somewhere and was trying it out.

I'm having a hard time with his hair. It has thickened up, but it is somewhat unruly. We went ahead and buzzed it for the summer, but that's not the most attractive look for him, so we'll have to figure out what to do next when it grows back out.

Last summer, we had no luck with him and swimming in that we couldn't get him to close his mouth when he was playing in the pool. He swallowed what seemed like gallons of water. He started out that way the first time we went swimming this year (in May). We had a friend give him a "swimming lesson" which amounted really to working with him on closing his mouth. It didn't feel like we made much progress, but several days later while at Mom's he got brave about stepping off into water over his head and going under. He would flounder around back to the pool steps and come out with no choking and sputtering. I'm so glad we've reached that milestone! We haven't been able to do our weekly outing at Janice's this year because she has had some pool problems, but we should be able to start those after the Fourth. We did go to Blue Springs last Friday, and after a pretty tentative start, the boys had a good time.

We went to Orange Beach while we were at Mom's last week and had a great visit with Cherry. She is so precious and loves my boys so much. God has blessed me in the sister department! While we were in Orange Beach we rode the "Perris Wheel" at the Wharf, and the boys loved it.

David is enjoying "school" very much, and we're trying to figure out how to let him go two days a week beginning in August. I need to pick up another cleaning day in order to do that; we'll see what God does there.

I guess that about catches us up on my eldest. He is a rascal, but I love him dearly.

Facebook....

I am amazed at how using Facebook keeps me from "needing" to blog. That's not a good thing. I do this blog for me, and I like knowing I have a chronicle of our life. The things I put on FB disappear, so there's no record of life there.... I'm going to have to do better about blogging.

Hmmmm, almost four months since I blogged.

We got a new kitten. After many tries, the name Mokey finally stuck. It's how David used to say monkey (and sometimes still does), and this kitty definitely reminds us of a monkey with his antics. He has been a perfect addtion to the household. He and Pinx play together like two kittens in spite of the size difference, and Pinx has really gotten more affectionate with us human family members too. They both let the boys lie on them and squeeze them and pick them up. It's been great!

Benjamin made all A's again spring semester. He loves going to school! He's changed his major to English Education. I see him teaching college one day. In the meantime, we're not sure yet where he'll finish school He'll complete he AA next spring, but right now CC is not offering the English degree. They are thinking about it, so we are praying that that will come to pass in the next year.

We are so blessed that Garry and Joey work with Benjamin on his work schedule so he is able to work around his classes and therefore go to school full-time.

I'm in a learning phase of a different kind right now while God teaches me my place in this world. It's an odd one sometimes since most of my "peers" have older children, and some of them even have grandchildren. God is helping me to figure it all out though. Another blog for another time I guess.

David B is Three

What a week our boy has had! He is still red on the top of his nose from falling a couple of weeks ago. Wednesday, Bam fell with him and he scraped the left side of his nose on the driveway, and Friday, he tripped in the yard and hit the slide with his face. He had a busted lip and bruising on his face.  Bam felt sorry for him and played with him in the yard after that, and he got REALLY dirty--see photo. 

David spent the day of his birthday with his dad--up until naptime. They went to the grocery store and then went to play at Wal-Mart. That sounds kind of funny, but they love to go to Wal-Mart together, and they have a good time. 

When he woke up from his nap, we had the cupcake tree set up and the Mickey Mouse banner and wall decorations up. He was so excited!

On Saturday evening, the Basfords (including Dallas and Jade) and Becki F. along with Bam, Grammy, and Grand, were all here for supper and birthday cake. We had so much fun. 
David is talking up a storm, and I fully expect him to be dismissed from speech at his next evaulation. He just doesn't seem to have any problem saying anything he wants to these days. Praise God! We'll miss Miss Jennifer, but we'll just have to make arrangements to see her somewhere else. :)

He is so adventurous yet so careful. He wants to climb everything and try anything he sees us doing, i.e. cooking, cleaning, writing.  We decided to let him try pre-school one day a week, and tomorrow is his first day. He was very excited when we went to register last week and cried when we left. He wanted to stay and check out his new classroom even though it was naptime and rather dark in the room. I'm looking at this more-or-less as an experiment. If he loves it, we'll see about adding more days.

I love this boy. He is so gentle in nature and has the best sense of humor. He continues to add joy to our lives every single day. He has really begun to play with Sam, and if Sam cries, David will often pat him and say, "Don't cry" or "It's alright." We are so blessed.

Sam I Am

Our little punkin turned a year old a couple of weeks ago. He was so cute in his little red high tops, but this is the best picture we got of them.

Friends of ours let us have his birthday party at their house. They love our boys, and they love to open their home, so it was a natural thing to have the party there. I didn't think about the fact that if you need to have big birthday (i.e. first birthday) parties in the winter, you need more inside space than we have, so Ron and Amy's house was perfect. And Ron and Amy are so great! Their home exudes love and welcome for everyone who comes in, and it made the party a great success.

Curly Mommy made the most delicious birthday cake, and it was so cute. Everyone was very impressed with her talent. I, of course, ate cake for the next week at home and had to work hard to get rid of the extra pounds--well worth every bite though. Yum yum!

Because of crazy schedules, we didn't actually get to do the smash cake until the following Wednesday, but Sam didn't mind waiting, and he had a blast digging in to that cake. It was yummy too. :)

I'm just so grateful for friends. 

Sam is very interested in walking. He gets so excited though, that he doesn't get very far usually. He did take about eight steps at once yesterday though, so it won't be long. His teeth are coming in slowly, but surely. Right now, he's got two on bottom and four on top; one of the top ones is a one-year-molar though.  His curls are beautiful if the weather is not ultra-dry. I'll wait as long as I can to cut his hair.

He wants to do anything and everything that David does. We saw this very early when he wanted to eat "big people" food. He wants to climb on everything, and although (perhaps because) he has had a couple of minor spills, he is very, very careful.

He is a joy, and we are loving every minute of life with our little Samuel Crockett Griffin.

A New Year

Just another "diary" entry of what has been going on in our house over the last few weeks....

Christmas was perfect.  First we went to Tuscaloosa and spent a few days with the Reddochs. One of those days we spent at their 100-year-old house in Eutaw. We had a great time and got some fun pictures. I really want to go back in the spring. David can just have so much freedom to run around outside there. It was a lot of fun to watch him exploring.

Joy and Earl came home the weekend after Christmas, and we had a great visit with them. I miss them. They came over New Year's Eve, along with Becki and Jesse, and we had a great time. Joy and Earl didn't leave until about 3:00 A.M.  It was so nice to just sit and visit.

Sam is still teething and taking his time about walking. I'm not in any hurry really, and apparently, neither is he.  All in good time.  He has a birthday coming up in a week. I can hardly believe it. He is eating like a horse lately and has gained a couple of pounds. It will be time to change his car seat out soon.

David has been sick for the last couple of days. He has only had colds before, so this has been a different experience. He has been super sweet though. I wiped his face after he was sick yesterday, and he looked up at me with those beautiful blue eyes, and said, "Thank you, Momma."  It was so sweet. He was playing with Sam some tonight though, and he wanted his dad to play "Getchu" (which involves chasing him down the hall and tickling him), so he is definitely feeling better.

Benjamin made the Dean's List last semester. I'm so PROUD of him. Most people have a hard time going back to school after being out for a while, but he is just thriving. There's a lot to be said for doing things in God's timing instead of our own!

I'll add pictures to this soon. Right now, I've got to get headed to bed--still have to shower and do dishes.

I can't believe it's been almost two months since I blogged. Where do the days go?

The ladies in our church went to see Joyce Meyer and Darlene Zschech in Tampa in October. It was a life-changing conference dealing with "The Mouth."  There will be more on that once I get the CD's and can listen to it again. 

We took David to the circus the week before Thanksgiving. He was in awe. We sat ring-side, and the elephants were so close that it was a little scary. His souvenir was a plastic horn that he "plays" every time there's music on.

We spent four days at Seaside with Kym, Jim, and Amy Kathryn, and it was glorious! Jim rented bikes and David and I rode a couple of times. He didn't want his picture taken (too early and too cold),  but he  did love riding the bike. Benjamin and I walked through the town and just enjoyed being away. 

David is growing so tall! He's 36 inches and 29 pounds. He outgrows his jeans about as fast as I can get them. He is also talking more and more all the time. Some days he repeats everything we say. It's so cute, and so amazing to hear him.  He has also learned how to climb out of his crib! It's been so nice having him still in a crib because once he wakes up, I can get up and kind of get my day started before I get him out of bed. The routine has been that once I hear that one or both boys are awake, I get up and fix their breakfast, then go get them out of the bed. I'm afraid those days are over. I haven't seen him climb out yet, so I don't know how he's doing it, and I know it's no simple feat, but the boy loves a challenge!  His new favorite movie is Mary Poppins. He's curled up in the recliner watching it right now with three blankets, one under him, one for a pillow, and one on top of him. He's a snuggle bug. He also met Frosty the Snowman this week, and asks to watch that each night. I don't know why he doesn't ask in the daytime, but I guess maybe he associates it with the whole family, Dad included, being here to watch.

Sam is trying to talk too. He astounds us with some of the sounds he repeats already. Benjamin was an early talker, and I guess Sam could be too. We'll see. He has learned to climb and loves to climb up in a little blue chair that we have. He just chatters away and grins so big when he gets up there.   He still doesn't have those to top front teeth, but they're getting closer all the time. He is loving table food and growing like crazy. He's 22 pounds now. His hair is growing too, and it sure makes some funny pictures sometimes. 

We did put the boys in the same room a few weeks ago, and it's working out pretty well. They like it anyway. :)

 We love this season and are so thankful for its reason, Jesus. We have decided to have a quiet Christmas celebration at home the weekend before Christmas and then travel to Tuscaloosa to be with Kym and her family for Christmas day.  Joy, Earl, and Toby will be home the weekend after Christmas, so we'll have celebration number three when they get here. God just continues to bless us.

More Milestones

Sam has a tooth! I'm so happy for him--and for me. He is not a good teether, and I have no experience with that at all. He's been waking up a couple of times a night for two weeks, and he's not been eating well (still taking plenty of bottles though). He has settled down a little since the tooth broke through. 

In general, he is a very sweet, happy baby. He'll smile at just about anything, and he's a little bit of a snuggler. He wants to eat everything we're eating and will just have a fit if he thinks he's missing out on something. He has tried to take steps from the couch to a chair and from one toy to another. I don't know how long before he learns to walk, but the process is fascinating to watch--for his mom anyway. :) 

 

I still haven't put the boys in a room together, and now I may wait until Sam's done teething if the waking up at all hours continues with the rest of his teeth. I can't imagine David waking up every time he does.  Still, I'm looking forward to the change. We need the space where Sam's bed is to set up a desk for Benjamin's school stuff. Plus, a couple of weeks ago while we were at Mom's, we had them in Pack-n-Plays next to each other (for the first time) and they had so much fun. I woke up one night and heard them both giggling in the other room. It was 3:00 A.M.!!!!! They eventually went back to sleep though. When I told Benjamin about that when I got home, he was all for moving Sam that day. Really the main reason I'm not ready for it though is that they wake up at different times in the morning (Sam is stirring now, and David is likely to sleep another hour). I enjoy having time to feed Sam and dress him, then get David's breakfast ready before David wakes up. I think that we'll make the change over the Christmas holidays if not before. That way, when Benjamin starts the new semester, he'll have his space set up and organized. 

Sometimes being a mom is really frustrating--not knowing if the fussiness and not sleeping is ears or teeth, that sort of thing--but it's an adventure I dearly love. I always wanted lots of children, but I am so blessed to have the two I have with the love of my life. God is truly faithful and good.

Portraits and Milestones

We usually get our family portraits done at JCPenney. They are very inexpensive and the quality is outstanding.  Due to circumstances beyond my control, however, we went to Sears last week to have the boys' portraits done.  David didn't have a formal baby picture at all before he was a year old, and I was determined that Sam would have one before then.

The time the photographer actually spent with the boys was great. He was very patient with two boys who were very cranky.

However, he took a long phone call while we were waiting for him to get set up for us. He disappeared for 30 minutes after the photo session, and when I finally went to find him to ask how much longer it would be, he said he was editing the photos and it would be five more minutes--did we want to go grab something to eat.  Well, why didn't he tell us BEFORE he began the editing that we had time to go somewhere. Fifteen minutes later, he showed us the photos. There were only three that were worth having--did I mention the boys were cranky? 

As we were checking out, he asked if we wanted to pay $3 per sheet extra and have them printed while we waited. I asked how he could do that, and he said oh, he just prints them on the computer, JUST LIKE THEY DO AT THE LAB.  WHAT????!!!!

I did not just spend two hours (all day if you count the crazy time we had getting to the studio in the first place) and lots of stress to have computer-printed pictures, which are not the quality of lab-processed photos. Well, apparently I did. It never occurred to me that a portrait studio of any kind would produce computer-printed pictures.

Then, I noticed as I was checking out that a brochure said that I could have free on-line access to my photos. When I asked about it, the photographer said, "Oh, I was going to tell you about that in a minute."  After he got my money so I wouldn't put off my purchase.  He didn't give me any information for accessing my photos except that they would be available in 48 hours.  I assumed the log-in information was somewhere in the paperwork he had given me.  When I tried to get the pictures yesterday, I discovered that I didn't have the information I needed, so I called.  They gave me the log-in info, but I still couldn't get anything. I have to call back today when my photographer (who is also the manager--what?!) is in and find out what the problem is.

This definitely goes in the Live and Learn file.

On a happier note....Sam figured out how to get his feet moving yesterday. He's been pulling up on everything for about three weeks now, but he hasn't shown any interest in moving around once he got up.  Yesterday, the phone was on the sofa, and he WANTED it, so he figured out how to make those feet cooperate.  He was so proud! 

I am always amazed when he learns something physical so quickly.  As I'm sure I've mentioned here before, David rolled over at 13 months and walked at 20--he only just started walking this time last year, so Sam's progress is supersonic by comparison.  The funny thing about David though was that he didn't seem slow, even though we knew he was way behind, and we never, ever worried. I got frustrated when he didn't walk sooner, but I was never afraid that he wouldn't.  God is good.

Ugh!

I am so sick of being fat I don't know what to do.  I had lost about ten pounds, but I feel like I've gained it back (I'm afraid to get on the scales.)

I am so frustrated with ME!

Palin and other things....

As always, I'm amazed at how long it's been since I've posted....

I'm here at the moment to complain about myself, so you may want to stop reading now.

I feel very strongly about the things I feel strongly about:  God, family, country, stupidity, etc But when given the opportunity to voice my opinion, I can't say what I mean, so I say nothing. It's one of my least favorite things about myself, and so often, it makes me look like I don't feel strongly because I'm quiet.

I have had mixed feelings about John McCain for President. Until he chose Sarah Palin for his VP. I like her. I like her  a lot.  I think she believes in the same things I do. Her confidence in McCain has increased mine. 

As aggravated as I get with the liberals for bashing Sarah Palin, I get equally aggravated with Christians for acting like she's the answer to all our problems. I recently heard a teaching about how we don't truly live in a Christian nation any more.  It's not Muslim, but it's not Christian. The point was that we need to get proactive about bringing people into the Kingdom and not expect our government or anyone else to do the job for us.  There was  a lot more to that, and it was good, but I've got to cut this short. I may have to come back and do some explaining....not sure if I made myself clear.  Big surprise. :)

Termites and Rubbing Alcohol

A friend of ours told us a story the other day about my brother, who I have mentioned before.

Garry and Vince were building a porch for Allan, and as they went through the lumber stacked in the yard, they discovered that it had termites in it. Vince went inside and came back out with a bottle of rubbing alcohol and poured it into the furrow made by the termites. When Garry asked him if that would kill the bugs, Vince commented that he didn't know, but it would sure make every scratch they had sting like crazy.

He was always clowning.

Summer Fun

It's been a great summer. We've gone to Janice's pool every week with Khrystal, Marci, and all the kids. Smiley Boy likes to stay on the steps and play; being where his feet don't touch makes him nervous, even if I'm holding him. We're going to the beach next week, though, and the pool where we're staying has a great shallow place for him to play. I can't wait. Baby brother, however, will float around the pool all day if we let him--that is, until he gets hungry or sleepy. He loves his float though!

Our trip next week should be interesting. Two of my sisters, my mom, and I will be staying together in the same town where my other two sisters live. While we're there, we will be getting together with my dad's brother's family.

Dad had five girls and a boy, and his brother had five boys and a girl. Of Uncle Bert's family, there are only three boys left; my aunt and my cousin Angela both went to heaven this last year. I didn't get to go to Aunt Dot's funeral because we had a baby that day. Anyway, all of the cousins and my mom will be gathering next Saturday. It should be a fun time.

I am really looking forward to getting away with the boys, and Drason will join us later in the week.

Catching Up

Wow. It's been a while since I've been here....

Just a quick re-cap of the last four months because both of my guys are awake and waiting for me to get them up; I do try to leave them in bed until 7:00 at least though.


The baby, who has no pseudonym yet, (Drason suggested Spew because he spits up a LOT) will be five months old on Thursday. He is rolling over both ways and is quite a little chatterer. He has also turned into quite a snuggle bug these last weeks. We're really having a lot of fun with him. He's finally sleeping through the night, not the eleven hours that are every mother's dream, but seven or eight, and we are very happy to get that. He is sitting up with some assistance and eating solid foods. He weighed 14 and a half pounds at his last doctor's appointment three weeks ago, so he is right on track. How odd to have a baby doing things on a normal schedule! It sure seems fast!


Smiley Boy is Smiley Boy. He's going through a very whiney stage, partly due to Bam (my mother) having lived with us for five months and his being accustomed to her catering to him a bit. His last speech evaluation, about two months ago, showed him at 18 months, about eight months behind. He has really added a lot of words to his vocabulary in the last month though, and as our friend and his speech therapist, Miss Jennifer, says, he has really taken off. He loves to play outside, but if he has to stay in, he will occupy himself "cooking" with cups, bowls, and spoons. He loves to play with Pinx and will following him around the house all day long; that is if Pinx doesn't get tired of it and disappear outside. Oh, and SB put on his shoes (blue crocs) by himself yesterday for the first time--he really wanted to go outside. :)


Our beloved Tip disappeared about two months ago. He was the greatest cat for kids because he never got upset no matter how much they poked and pulled at him. We have some great memories, and a few pictures, of him and Smiley Boy. We inherited Pinx from my mom (she didn't want him to readjust to condo living after being able to roam outdoors here), and he's a pretty good cat, but we miss our Tip.

Drason is plugging along at his job. They plan to move into their new facility in the next couple of weeks, and hopefully that will bring about some needed organizational changes. That's what we're praying for anyway.

I am trying to lose weight. Not baby weight anymore, because I am finally where I was when I got pregnant, but I needed to lose weight then too, so I'm working at it slowly but surely and making some progress. "At my age," I really need to get to an optimum weight just so I'll feel better, so I plod along....

I guess that updates us for now. The main reason I keep this blog is for a record for me, so I've got to do a better job of updating it, even if I don't feel particularly creative....

PS--note to self, blog SOON about Smiley Boy's relationship with his little brother!

Busy, Busy

Only when I friend asked about my blog did I realize I haven't posted in three months. Wow! What a busy three months it's been.

Nursing our new baby did not go very well. I had to stop after eight weeks. I didn't mind in a way because nursing was never the amazing bonding experience that I had heard so much about, but, I know it was good for the baby, so for his sake, I wish I could have continued. I'll spare the details of the difficulty, but I don't think I'll forget any time soon. :)

Smiley Boy loves his little brother. It really upsets him for the baby to cry, and he tries to hurry us into action to get it stopped. I think he'll be glad when he's old enough to play with.

Mom continues to improve and is a big help in keeping SB entertained while I tend to the baby. She plans to return to her home at the end of next month. We will all miss her, but especially Smiley Boy.

Well, short and sweet, but duty calls.