Yay it's back!!

Sci-Port Birthday

Last Saturday, we had Seth's friend birthday party at Sci-Port (he calls it his fake birthday!). We had a great time...I love their birthday parties because they are organized and the kids get to do fun science experiments that are hands on.

Making liquid nitrogen ice cream!

Must have a Batman cake!

Seth and his friend Aidan.

Seth with his friend Ethan.

Seth and his friend Nicholas.

This is so neat!

Seth with his friend Courtney and her mom Camille.

Surgery Day

Just after arriving in the surgery waiting area. Jonathan was so tired! We got there at 5:45 so no wonder!

Here are a few more pictures of Jonathan from the morning he had surgery. He's doing so well. He was extremely sore the day after, but has improved each day after that. On Friday, he started standing up and walking straight, but we still kept him out of school all day. I stayed home the day of the surgery as well as 1/2 a day on Wednesday. Nathan was able to be with him here at home the rest of the time. My mother in law came and helped on Friday. Yesterday he was able to play around at Sci Port and today he even ran a little outside (made me nervous!) and went to church this morning and choir tonight.

Waiting for his anesthesia before going to surgery. He was so calm with a little help from his Nintendo DS!

Jonathan has had this little dog since he was 9 months old. His name is Chris. My cousins Nancy and Chris who lived in Boulder, CO brought it to Jonathan when they came to Cheyenne for a visit. That was when he was 9 months old and he hasn't been without Chris since! It was funny too...when I asked Jonathan what the dog's name was, after he'd had it a few days, he said, "Chr" hence his name...and it was so suiting since Chris brought it to him! Isn't it cute how they masked him?!

Right after coming 'to'. Poor guy had just thrown up...he was so sick!

Coming home!

When we got home, there were some of the sweetest gifts waiting for us. Courtney, Jonathan's good friend and our next door neighbor had given him a balloon, some markers, and a card. His other good friends, Geoffery and Matthew had give him a bag of his favorite treats (Doritos, Fruit Roll Ups, Reese's cups, and Little Debbie football brownies) and a neat big Star Wars coloring book. That Geoffery is so smart and attentive! He noticed what Jonathan brought in his lunch each day so he knew exactly what he loved! Thanks also to our sweet friends who prayed, called, visited, and emailed. Our sweet neighbor, Chrissy brought us dinner...twice! Our other sweet neighbor Alicia gave us Baskin Robbins certificates. Thanks so much!

Tomorrow

We'll be heading for the hospital early tomorrow morning, 5:45AM for Jonathan's hernia repair surgery. Please keep us in your prayers.

Edited to say: Jonathan's home doing well since about 11AM today. His surgery was a success. The hernia was bulging quite a bit and had made a rather large tear (Dr. Banda's words) so I'm glad we got it taken care of now. Jonathan's such a tough kid...Dr. Banda wondered why he wasn't in more pain. He's got about an inch and a half incision in his little groin area...breaks my heart to look at it. Jonathan's had a rough go with the anesthesia, but he's got his appetite now so hopefully he can keep some food down. He's sore, but nothing a little Darvocet can't fix...it's time for another one.

Thanks for the thoughts and prayers.

Will update with pictures after we all get some rest. I didn't have a great sleeping night last night and had to get up at 4AM.

Flashback Friday

Three years ago this week, our family moved from Oklahoma City to Boston. We couldn't wait to take the kids sight-seeing around such a fabulous city. One of the stops we were sure to make was the famous Duck Pond in Boston Common. This famous pond was the setting and inspiration for Robert McCloskey's children's book, "Make Way for Ducklings" . After the book was published and made famous, bronze ducks (like the one Seth is riding on) were constructed outside the pond in the garden area. The first few pictures are of us riding the duck ride on the pond a few months later.

We had such fun times in Boston, both times (with and without our kiddos). Don't get me wrong, I like being stationed so close to home/family now, where we grew up, but it's been amazing being able to live in other parts of the country. It's cultured us and our kids in ways we never could have imagined. It's not totally out of the question for us to move again, in fact, the more Nathan talks to his Commander, the more we know it's sure to happen (probably in 2-3 years). I almost wish we could go overseas...just for the opportunity. I think Nathan is going to update his dream sheet and instead of putting Barksdale, Tinker (OKC), Barksdale, Tinker, San Antonio, Barksdale, and Tinker :), he'll put Washington State, Northern California, Florida, Georgia, or Colorado.

Sitting on the edge of my recliner over here!!!!!!! GO SOONERS!!!!!

Edited to say: My 8 year old son is screaming over here,

"Take that Tebow!"...

"Stuff his butt!"...

"What's Stoops thinking going for it on 4th down, go for the easy points!"...

we've raised him right. ;)

Edited again to say: Ok, that's at least 6 more points we could've had...we're playing risky!

I need someone to talk to over here...Jonathan couldn't hang and had to go to bed and Nathan's gone...this is torture! For all you that could care less about this, please disregard.

And finally...Edited again to say: there's 2:26 left, we are 10 points behind, it's over. I had high hopes of that 8th National Championship, but it's over. And I'm ok. I'm really ok...sniff-sniff! ;)

More Layouts

The title says, "Yes it snows in Louisiana...sordof"

The title says, "So this is what's at the bottom of Muddy Mountain" (those tiny stickers make it hard to see the whole thing.)

I might take off the "shots" title. It just doesn't flow with that big BRAVE word...or maybe I'll take the BRAVE off???? But I hate to, because Jonathan IS so brave!

Newest Guilty Pleasure

Yes I watch it. Yes this is my favorite Batchelor ever. No, I don't know which girl I'm cheering for yet.

What about you?

This was funny to do.

I copied this from a blog. It was fun...both the boys and I enjoyed doing it. Suprising how much they know me. :) Most of the time. Do this with your kid(s). I'm thinking about printing it out and putting it into a scrapbook.

Jonathan
1. What is something mom always says to you? I love you.
2. What makes mom happy? Me.
3. What makes mom sad? When Seth and I are bad.
4. How does your mom make you laugh? She tickles me.
5. What was your mom like as a child? Good girl (he's right!).
6. How old is your mom? 35
7. How tall is your mom? 5 feet 6 inches (thanks!)
8. What is her favorite thing to do? play with me.
9. What does your mom do when you're not around? buys stuff (boy does he have me pegged!)
10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? love (is this good or bad?!)
11. What is your mom good at? scrapbooking.
12. What is your mom not very good at? playing video games.
13. What does your mom do for her job? subs at my school and being our mom. :)
14. What is your mom's favorite food? macaroni and cheese.
15. What makes you proud of your mom? how you love me.
16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? Jennifer Lane, like Harley Quinn (chick from Batman).
17. What do you and your mom do together? eat (boy is that right!).
18. How are you and your mom the same? We are both humans.
19. How are you and your mom different? She's female and I'm male.
20. How do you know your mom loves you? She does my stuff and tells me all the time.
21. What does your mom like most about your dad? that dad loves us.
22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go? Hobby Lobby.


Seth
1. What is something mom always says to you? I love you.
2. What makes mom happy? Kissing me.
3. What makes mom sad? When I'm ugly in a store.
4. How does your mom make you laugh? Tells me jokes (I don't ever remember telling him a joke?!).
5. What was your mom like as a child? She played with barbie dolls.
6. How old is your mom? 35
7. How tall is your mom? like 50lbs (ha!).
8. What is her favorite thing to do? scrapbook.
9. What does your mom do when you're not around? have some time alone.
10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? me, put seth.
11. What is your mom good at? scrapbooking.
12. What is your mom not very good at? turning the Wii on.
13. What does your mom do for her job? nothing (UGH!).
14. What is your mom's favorite food? chicken salad.
15. What makes you proud of your mom? being sweet to me.
16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? Super Mommy.
17. What do you and your mom do together? hug and kiss.
18. How are you and your mom the same? eat and drink.
19. How are you and your mom different? I play and mommy scrapbooks upstairs.
20. How do you know your mom loves you? because she's sweet to me.
21. What does your mom like most about your dad? because he's the oldest one.
22. Where is your moms favorite place to go? McAlister's.

A few layouts

I've been meaning to post these for a while. I'll probably be sharing quite a few layouts in the next few days since I'm behind on it! I'm hoping to get the kids in bed early so I can go upstairs and scrapbook. Jonathan's already grouchy since coming home from school and Seth's sick (asthma is bad) so I have good reasons for them to be in bed at 7 tonight. Plus, Nathan is gone to San Antonio (my favorite city ever, I'm jealous) this week.

I loved doing this layout of the John Mayer concert my friend Kathy and I went to in Manchester, NH last year. I hardly ever do layouts that aren't 'kid' related. I chose that title because it was perfect for me (not necessarily John Mayer!). When I would tell certain friends/family that I had gone to his concert, they couldn't believe *I* liked John Mayer, I guess it seems out of the ordinary for me??? I'm a total music lover though and John Mayer is my favorite.

Christmas 2008 Recap (lots of photos!)

We had a great Christmas. We started Christmas Eve morning...Santa came to our house early. Did you know that you can email him and make all kinds of requests? :) Then later that day, we went to my parent's home and then to my Uncle's for the extended family get-together. Then on Christmas day, we went to Nathan's parent's home and celebrated with them.

Seth got: a Polar Express electric train, some Batman stuff, some Transformers, a board game, a sword that makes noise (fun), a Nerf gun, some pjs and a Super Mario shirt. Jonathan got: a bunch of legos, some board games, a light up Nerf football, a remote control car, a neat computerized globe, lots of books, some pjs and some clothes. They both got some DVD movies, DS and Wii games, a year pass to Sci-Port as well as Wal-Mart, Target, McDonald's and Sonic gift cards.

We were so tired from all the running around and going here and there and adhering to everyone else's schedules. Don't get me wrong, we had a good time, but the general consensus here is that we'll go on a cruise next year for Christmas!



Seth with our cousin, Taylor. He and Seth are just a few months apart in age and they play so well together. He lives with my aunt and uncle just outside of Little Rock.

My cousin's kids...Kara and Reese.

Seth with my mom...he had just climbed and jumped all over her!

We draw names and my grandfather's wife got Seth a neat Batman car and a Speed Racer radio controlled car. He was so happy! He's my action figure/super hero guy.

My cousin Elizabeth, with her son Rhett who will be 1 later this month. He is SO sweet!

This is my cousin Emily and her boyfriend, Travis. They are so cute. He's such a nice guy...he'll be going into the Navy and he hopes to try to be a Navy Seal. Of course Nathan was at work trying to get him to switch to the Air Force. ;) Either way, I'm going to have a sad cousin come this July.

Last year, Jonathan accompanied my grandfather with his guitar, this year Taylor did the honors. We always sing Christmas songs while my grandfather plays the guitar and my mom plays the piano.

Jonathan was SO excited to sing can't you tell???

My sweet grandfather (mom's dad and only grandparent I have left) is 84 and doing so well. He takes no medicine whatsoever, he can hear, he can see, and he's sharp as a tack. He doesn't forget anything or anyone. He's still a pastor too.

I think my step-dad, Tim and Jonathan had the same feelings right about then.

Before opening gifts at my in-law's, we always read the Christmas story from Luke. This year, Jonathan read it to us and he did great!

This was my favorite new Christmas decoration this year! Thank you Destiny! You did such a great job. I've received so many compliments on it! Destiny paints beautiful canvases, click on her name and you can see some of her work.