Current & Future Bloggers...

We had a wonderful time last night with our friends Jason & Heather & Luke, Brooke (Heather's sister), and Tammy (church friend).

To catch you up, we all have been keeping up with one anothers blogs and some of us had never met. The short version is this: I knew Heather & Brooke back in my middle school days. We went to church together. Brooke & my brother had a memorable mission trip experience. (Do you remenber the van ride, Mark?). Brian knew Jason during his high-school years, and Tammy is a friend of Brian & Sharon's from church.

So, with that being said we enjoyed pizza, dessert and good fellowship catching up and getting to know one another. The kids had a great time playing together. ( I was suprised none of them lost there dinner with all the kid tossing going on). We said good-night at about 9:30 p.m. and little did I know my night was just beginning.

Will blog on that a little later.... let me just say that I am writing this at 12:35 p.m. and I still haven't been to bed yet from last night...

Friendship

"Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken" Ecclesiastes 4: 9-12

TRAINS, puff puff, toot toot...

Just thought these were cute pics of the kids and their engineer hats.

If you don't know it my kids LOVE trains!!!!

Noah received his first train set when he was 1 month old. It didn't get put into use until he was about 1 year old. Camden has followed right behind and LOVES it just as much. They have learned their numbers and colors from trains as well as hand-eye coordination and a little bit about sharing. Good old fashioned trains - doesn't get much better for little boys!

F.Y.I., Noah's favorites are Gordon and Spencer. Camden's favorite is Percy. (Whew, glad they are different!)

Update on "Scary Moment"

I called the police. Yes, it is a day late but my dad convinced me that it is better for the police to know about it, in case it ever happens again.

I learned that it is imperative that you get a license plate number, even if it is only partial. They really can't do anything without the number, including filing a complaint.

The officer said that if this person really wanted to hurt me or take the kids he would of done it the first time he stopped beside me. He also said my neighborhood is pretty "tight" and that he rarely answers a call here. (That is good to know!)

Always carry a cell phone with you even if you don't have it activated because you can still call 911.

I am still a little nervous about walking alone but I know the good lord is watching over me.

"...for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones" Proverb 2:8

SCARY MOMENT!

Just took the kids and a dog out for a walk around the block and was followed. A man pulled up and stopped right beside us and just looked. I looked back and kept walking. He then drove very slowly beside us and stopped again. At this point I was starting to panic! I kept walking, we were only two house from ours but I did not want him to know where I lived. As I got to my neighbors house and she just happens to come out to check the mail, he drove off up the street and stopped again. He finally turned down the alley. I put the boys in the house and the neighbor drove down the alley to see if she could find the car. NO CAR! Never seen the man or car before in our neighborhood.

What has happened to our society that we can't even go for a walk around our block without being scared.

P.S. ... after I finished writing this blog, I walked in the living room to find that Gracie had been tied up like she was in bondage with her leash and harness and the boys had been playing with electrical appliances. So.... off to time-out. Isn't it a great mug shot, unfortunately only one looks guilty.

Doing his own thing...

Camden is ageless. What I mean by that is he has no idea how old he is and what is appropriate for his age.

At 13 months he was hitting a baseball off of a batting tee with a golf club, at 14 months he was a pretty accurate right and left handed ball thrower, at 20 months he insisted on roller skating (he was not pleased that nana wanted to help him, he would of preferred to do it on his own), last week he climbed aboard Noah's big bike (with training wheels and tried to go for a ride), at 21 months we are seriously considering potty trainging, not because mom is ready but because Camden is ready. (What 21 month old boy wants to use the potty!) He has never really played with his age appropriate toys. For Christmas, his big gift was for 3 and up!

Camden may try things sooner because he has an older brother. I like to believe that Camden is a unique individual who has no fear and is willing to try the unknown. I could learn alot from Camden. I need to step outside of my box (comfort zone) more often and enjoy the unexpected. He truly is a blessing!

PLAY DATE!

Noah & Camden's two best friends Courtney and Hunter came over this morning to play and have fun. Their mom brought over a Crayola pretzel making kit. They all had loads of fun mixing, kneading and rolling out the dough. Each one made a pretzel... Courtney made a heart, Noah made a Christmas tree, Hunter and Camden had a little help making the first letter of their names. After baking, it was on to decorating with ranch, cheese or pizza sauce. Then the tasting began. YUM!

If you are going to have good food you must have music to go with it. So.... they all tried their hand at the piano, singing in the microphone, playing the guitar and harmonicas. It was quite impressive, they have talent. Then they moved on to playdough, trains, cars, basketball, car riding, etc. You get the picture. This all took place in only two hours. I think mom needs a nap.

Crock Pot Cooking...

That is what I am doing today.

Brian would be proud. I can not stand crock pot cooking. Why? I don't know. Maybe because it is to easy, to difficult to clean up (it sticks like glue to the pot and then what pot fits in the dishwasher, so you have to hand wash, YUCK!), or takes to long to cook.

Anyway, I find myself doing the big no-no about every 15 minutes. Lifting the lid and stirring. I feel this magnetic pull to do this. It's like I'm O.C.D. I just HAVE to! Does anyone else out there find themselves addicted to lifting off the lid and checking the food?

Congrats are in order!

I am so proud to tell you that Brian has been chosen as a Murphy PTA honoree for the Texas PTA's Life Membership.

The Texas PTA's Life Membership is one of the highest honors given to individuals who have given special service to children and youths. Brian as well as two other colleagues will be honored at the Texas PTA's Life Membership Banquet held at Southfork Ranch on Feb. 23rd.

Congratulations on your outstanding dedication and service!

OUCH!!!!!

We had one of those moments this morning.

Camden was a very naughty boy at church.

The nursery worker bent over and Camden...

BIT HER IN THE REAR! OUCH!!

Enough said!

not motivated...

I don't know what it is, but I am just not motivated to do anything these last few days. I looked around the house and realized I don't think it's been clean in about 3 weeks. Thats bad! Somedays I am doing good if I get everyone dressed, feed and medicated. That may be part of my problem, I have been giving the kids breathing treatments for 4 days and I am breathing the med. in as well. It makes me feel loopy, I can't imagine how the kids feel breathing it straight. Yes, yes, I also know that I need exercise. It is just hard to get motivated right now.

I am pysched about a couple of things though. On Monday, I am finally going to be able to sit down and scrapbook uninterrupted for a couple of hours. Poor Camden's baby book only goes through the first 4 months of his life. If anyone is interested in joining me on Monday, email me for the details. The second is a girl's night out coming up in a few weeks. I am looking forward to meeting some new people, learning a new game and just getting out of the house (Thanks Heather!)

Hope everyone's week is going well. God bless!

NO!

I never thought a word would be so sweet to hear! Camden said NO for the first time in his 20 1/2 months of life. He took a little longer than most to say it, but I am proud just the same. We are making progress, Betty (the therapist will be proud). He also has a word for his drink/cup... it is "pa". He usually takes the first or last consanent of the word he knows. So, cup is "pa". Milk cup is "mmm pa".

We are starting to communicate!

MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU

I just thought this was a cute pic of Noah and his light saver. Not much to blog this weekend. Brian and John carted off about half our tree in the back yard on Saturday. It remains to be seen if the tree will survive. It is a 20 year old Bradford Pear tree that was very weak and had to be cut back. Church on Sunday in the A.M. and church on Sunday in the P.M. Brian plays the bass in the contemporary service on Sunday nights. He dons his blue sunglasses and plays with mystic! Come out and see for yourself. Camden has started a cough that doesn't sound great. So, the nebulizer is at work again. THE END.

Daily Life

With sadness, the boys and I said goodbye to Brian on Wednesday as he headed back to work. We really enjoy spending time with him when he is on vacation. He makes my daily job easier. He is the parent who rough-houses, gives in way to easily and lets the kids eat candy for a snack or yogurt for every meal. We are very thankful that he has a good steady job, but miss him when he is there.

We are back to the daily grind. Noah has returned to Mother's-Day-Out and was so excited to see all of his freinds. Camden has returned to Gymboree and loves going wild on all the equipment. Camden had his 2nd speech therapy session today, and it went amazingly well. He said LOTS of new words as well as using the therapist's name spontaneously. She was shocked to say the least! He also put two words together... "I tuck" (translation, I stuck) and "I got" (he was showing me what he had in his wagon when he said this). Today was the first day I have heard him refer to himself in the first person. He still will not say any "S" or "T" words, he feels comfortable with "B, M, & D" words. The therapist told me that he does not have a physical problem ( his mouth, etc. works properly), but she honestly does not know what the problem is. Very Frustrating!!!

Everyone is posting New Year's Resolutions. I have never been one to make any resolutions for whatever reason. I would like to throw out there, that I would like to strive to be a better Christian by being more like Christ. Being compassionate and understanding instead of quick to judge, being a better friend by listening and giving words of encouragement, being a more patient person, and giving my time to volunteer. Several ways I can accomplish these things are through Christian friends who will hold me accountable and continuing to be open to and faithful in the bible study I attend. And of course, I would like to lose about 20 pounds. However, if I am realistic that resolution will not begin until August when I will finally have a few hours to myself.

NEW YEARS EVE 2005 CELEBRATION...

We spent a very nice New Year's Eve with our families this year. Sharon (a.k.a. Tutu), John & Bonlee and my Aunt Wendy joined us to celebrate. We munched on some yummy appetizers and ice cream sundaes until we were stuffed. We played the games Baloon Lagoon and Buckaroo with Noah and had a great time. (Tutu, are you having frog jumping nightmares?) Some of us, (and I won't mention who, rang in the New Year at 12:00 p.m. New York time with a glass of champagne. While the younger crowd made it to midnight Texas time to ring in the New Year. As you can see, Gracie didn't make it much past 11:00 p.m. herself. (This was due to lots of stress brought upon herself after causing a LARGE MESS in our room, but that is a story for another day)

Brian's mom has been here visiting for the past five days, and we really enjoyed seeing her. She kept us busy shopping at the malls for two days. We literally shopped until we dropped on Thursday. There were so many bargains to be had after Christmas. We also caught up on watching movies that we didn't have time to see this past year (Madagascar, The Polar Express, Cinderella Man, and Million Dollar Baby) We said goodbye to Tutu on New Year's Day and we are looking forward to seeing her again in April.

Hope everyone had a safe and fun New Year's Eve.