I love my blue-eyed babies. And what about Kaiya's haircut! :) I don't think I had posted a picture of that yet. She has a friend that she wanted her hair to be like so we made the big cut. She was pretty cute about -- very concerned about what Daddy would think, since she knows that Daddy likes his girls to have long hair. And then the day after it was cut she looked in the mirror with a very serious expression and asked if I thought it grew any overnight. It's been a good summer cut and she loves that I don't make her pull it back much.

Back to Blogging. Serious this time.

I've said it before... but I have really let this blogging thing go. My main excuse is that my digital camera has been broken for nearly a year. And after my most recent call to Canon technical services support line I decided to bury the camera. Minimum service charge for the camera is $150. Now... we used some Christmas bonus money from back in the day to purchase the camera five years ago -- and it wasn't cheap. But $150 minimum to get it fixed! Not a chance. They don't even manufacture the camera anymore. Less than a week after I made the decision to start shopping for a new camera, I saw an ad in a Staples ad for a Kodak Easy Share w/ a 10x optical zoom for $99. I had kissed all my dreams of a zoom over 4-5x goodbye because they just weren't in my price range. So I ordered it right away.Let's be honest -- a picture-less blog is just no fun. So I'm ba-a-ack!

Good night. Sleep Tight.

Last night I went in to check on the kids before I went to bed and noticed that Kaiya was practically falling off of the bed. When I looked closer, this is what I saw. :)

I assure you... this is not how we put them to bed. Sneaky little boogers.

Wordless Wednesday - Pouting

July 4th

We got a great tip from one of our patients about a rodeo in the area. We decided to head out to it on Saturday, the 3rd. It was so much fun -- loads of bull ridin' and muttin bustin'. And the infamous "Ring of Fire" that Tony said he would have done if he hadn't been wearing flip flops. It goes something like this: 10 foot chalk circle drawn in the ring, whoever wants to volunteer gets a chest guard and stands in the middle of the ring. And then they turn a bull loose. Last person standing in the ring wins $200. Let's just be honest. There is no way in heck I would allow him to participate in that. The bull picked one guy up with his horns and tossed him out of the ring. They shot off some fireworks at the end, and they were just good enough that we were able to pass them off to the kids as the "real deal." Which meant that we got to stay home on the 4th. We bought some small stuff to shoot off for the kids... I love the expressions of my dad and Kaleb in the picture below! Wonder what they are looking at.

Captivating by John & Stasi Eldredge

Captivating by John and Stasi Eldredge is subtitled "Unveiling the Mystery of a Woman's Soul." That subtitle is a great way to summarize the book. John and Stasi candidly tackle all of the intricate aspects that collectively make up a woman. They teach how women long to be romanced, women long to play a role in a shared adventure and women have a beauty to unveil.

I think this book is a must-read for every woman. Personally, I was excited about how I could apply what I was reading to the raising of my daughter. While I was in the process of reading Captivating, Kaiya decided she wanted her hair cut. It was the first time we went shorter than the shoulders and it was such a drastic change for her. The one thing that she kept saying over and over was, “Does Daddy like it?” Just as the book says… every woman has a Question. “Am I lovely?” “Are you captivated by what you find in me?” As a little girl, she longed to know that Daddy still finds her beautiful – even with a different hair style.

If you haven’t had the chance to read it, pick it up!

I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Wrapping up the trip to Indiana

Some pictures from our time w/ Tony's mom. The kids had fun playing in the pool and blowing bubbles! And lots of snuggles from Nannie!

Meeting Brayden

Another special thing from this trip to Indiana was getting to meet Brayden. Brayden belongs to good friends of ours, Austin & Kristina. Each of the kids loved to hold him. And Brayden got his first adjustment!

Aunt Bekah and Uncle Brent came up to visit on Friday too. They were able to sneak in a couple hours with the kids and brought silly bands!!

Friday we spent the day swimming in Nannie's pool. My friend Connie came up to visit with her kids and we had a great time. Kaleb was a little shy about getting in the pool (he fell in Thursday night and had to be rescued by Daddy) but he had lots of fun "pushing" the big girls into the pool. He cracked up every time thinking he had sent them into the cold water.

Sarah's Garden by Kelly Long

I love summer because the TV is off more, the days are longer and it just feels right to read a book. My latest read is Sarah's Garden by Kelly Long. Sarah is a young Amish woman who loves to work in the garden -- it's been her gift from early on -- she was born in the garden! Her older sister marries and she is given the job of working at the family's roadside stand. During the first week of working, she meets Dr. Grant Williams, her new Englisch neighbor and veterinarian. There is an immediate connection and before long, Sarah realizes that she has fallen in love. It’s a forbidden love and could result in Sarah losing her family and community.

I have to admit I was a bit skeptical picking up an Amish fiction novel. I wondered if it would be like other Amish novels I have read. Author Kelly Long really surprised me! While the Amish theme was very present in the book, she intertwined several other themes throughout the book. There was the theme of forgiveness, the theme of choice (choosing to grow old in bitterness or gentleness), the theme of honor.

The author did an good job at developing the main characters in the book. There were other characters that didn’t present in this story as main characters, but I found very likeable. I particularly enjoyed Sarah’s relationship with her brother Luke. And at the end of the book there was a sneak peek of the cover of the next book in the Patch of Heaven series. I was happy to see that some of these characters I got to know in this book would reappear later in the series.

Disclosure: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

We had fun playing hide 'n' seek in Great Grandma & Grandpa Cook's house! She has beautiful gardens and lots of fun places to hide in the backyard.

The kids with Grandpa Tim. We had such a good time!

Indiana

During the first weekend of June we headed back to Indiana to see family and friends. It was a quick weekend, but flying helped tremendously to extend our time a bit. The kids have flown before, but this was the first time that they were aware of being on a plane.

By the second flight, we had figured out a handy little trick to making better time changing planes. The kids loved riding on our suitcases and everyone got a real kick out of it.
More posts from the trip coming this week...

Mother's Day... a few weeks behind.

Just got this picture back and my present (The Food Network Magazine subscription) came in the mail this weekend, so thought it would be a good time for a post. Had a great Mother's Day. We ventured Uptown for church - we usually go nearby the house to Providence, but it wasn't Tony's volunteer week and we decided to mix it up. It was fun to see a different campus. Church was great -- yummy hand painted chocolates (thanks Elevation!), 5-minute massages, and family pictures. We got to have our picture taken by Cheyenne Schultz.


After church we had brunch at the Original Pancake House (yummy). Then we headed home, threw the kids in the car and went to Carowinds for the day. Topped the evening off with Mexican food for dinner. And that made for one happy mama!

Happy Memorial Day!

This picture is a good summary of life right now. I'm really enjoying it.

Trip

We're taking a trip back to Indiana this coming weekend for Tony's high school reunion. Fun times. :) We decided not to tell the kids (hoping to avoid the every-10-minutes-asking-how-many-more-days-til-we-leave business). Tony did tell them this weekend that there is a big surprise coming up later this week. Kaiya's had a few days to think about what it could be so I asked her today and this was her response:

Kaiya's guesses:

1) Chuck E. Cheese
2) Monkey Joe's
3) Carowinds
4) Disney World
5) Go Camping
6) Get on an airplane and go camping.

Kaleb's guess:

1) Chuck E. Cheese

The suspense is getting pretty exciting around here!!

Kaleb

Kaleb is getting bigger and was in quite the ornery mood last night. Here's a little glimpse into his personality.



We have started potty training around here. Our count of potties in the potty are pretty good... so its gonna get intense around here I think. Just want to have it conquered.

Save-a-lot Giveaway

Thought it was time for a fun giveaway!! You can read about the fun I had at the Save-a-lot grand opening here.

Win a $15 gift card to Save-A-Lot!

For those of you who live near a Save-A-Lot store -- leave me a comment with your favorite thing about the store and I'll pick a random winner on Tuesday -- comment entries need to be in by 11:59 p.m. on Monday, May 10th. If I don't know you... leave me your e-mail address so that I can contact the winner!

An old elderly neighbor couple passed away and the daughter gave us loads of their belongings (most of which were sold last weekend at a yard sale). She said we could sell or keep whatever we wanted. Here are a few interesting things among them:

This bag says Christian Dior -- but I can't find anything to authenticate it -- I've submitted it to a purse forum for some help... it is definitely old -- but who knows!

Then these toy boxers are interesting. They are probably from the 60s? They are similar to the Rock'Em Sock'Em Robots, but very different too -- as they are real people. I can't find a manufacturer or anything on them. I've been researching them w/ out much luck.This is the other thing she gave us...

9 bottles of old old whiskey and bourbon. This stuff is ancient.

A not-so-serious conversation

On the way home from small group last night I was listening to a worship CD from our church. The song was Jesus Paid It All. The line came: Praise the one who paid my debt and raised this life up from the dead. Kaiya asked me what debt was and why I was singing about it.

I'm thinking -- perfect opportunity to plant a few little seeds in her heart. So I start explaining to her that a debt is something that you owe someone. And I went on to say:

Me: You know how you learned that we all sin sometimes?

Kaiya: Uh mama. I need to tell you something. Remember that time that I rode my bike in the driveway?

Me: Yeah.

Kaiya: That was fun.

Me: You're right. That was fun.

Ahhh... maybe another time. :) Such a brief little window of opportunity and then her little 4 year old mind goes in a completely different direction. I had to smile to myself.

I wonder what God thinks of my 28 year old mind. Sometimes, my spiritual attention span isn't all that much better.

The Bradford Store

A few weeks ago (nearly a month now!) we went with friends up to The Bradford Store in Huntersville. It is a neat little family owned farm and store that has a variety of organic produce, milk, cheeses and grass-fed beef. We picked out some goodies to purchase and then roamed around the farm a little bit. The kids loved looking at the chickens.

Spookeo

I'm not a major conspiracy theorist or anything (although watching 24 has made me a little curious as to how much goes on behind the scenes in our country).

But I saw this website posted and had to check it out for my self. www.spokeo.com You put in your first & last name and it tells you lots of interesting stuff about you. It new that I like listening to Christian music. :) And it new that my mother-in-law is a nurse and that she has a swimming pool. And that we had kids. And that 4 people live in my house. Weird.

Check yourself out. :)

You can remove yourself too. You have to pull up your profile, copy the url address for your specific profile, and then click on the Privacy link at the bottom. It has instructions from there.

Red Robin

Thanks to Nannie for a night on the town with the kids! We had strict orders to take the kids to Red Robin for dinner a few weeks ago. It's hands-down the kids favorite place to eat. Here are a few pictures from the night.




He was covered in macaroni & cheese. And loved every minute of it. Thanks Nannie!

Sometimes it sucks.

Kaleb's reaction when he realized it wasn't his birthday we were celebrating...

Wordless Wednesday - Badger Hat

Photos by Ruthie

Wurkin'

Last week when I went to get Kaleb up in the morning he stood up in his crib and said: Wurkin' and shook his head. I asked him again what he said and he repeats: Wurkin' nose. And it dawned on me. He was telling me that his nose was not working. A little stuffy in the morning, I guess. :)

Imagination at work!

Save-a-Lot Grand Opening

I had the opportunity to attend the Grand Opening of Save-A-Lot here in Charlotte, NC. I received the invitation to attend the event with other local bloggers -- and if I'm being honest, I had to run the invitation past this fantastic blogger to make sure it was legit. :) Sure enough -- they found my blog -- probably because I post pretty frequently about saving money. It is something I really love. And that's really the hallmark of Save-A-Lot Stores -- they have figured out a way to put quality in the hands of the consumer and save them 40-60% off their normal grocery bill.

Save-A-Lot is headquartered in St. Louis -- a familiar place for me! It was great to meet several employees from headquarters at the event. I was impressed with the donations that Save-A-Lot made to local food banks -- $25,000 in gift cards was given to North Carolina organizations that fight hunger. I love that they not only donated to the Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina (very big in Charlotte), but also some smaller town churches that operate food pantries.

I was able to try a variety of the fresh produce and my kids are loving the box of Cheerios from Save-A-Lot. I was so glad I attended the event! It was also a great opportunity to meet some professional bloggers (I felt so amateur compared to the crowd I was with!). One of the ladies writes for Paula Deen. Another's husband does this for fun! I had a great time chatting and learning more about how these ladies took blogging to another level.

Even more exciting... for the North Carolina readers... here is a coupon for $5 off at Save-A-Lot! So start saving money!

No Nap = Tired = Sassy

I always have high hopes for the days I am off work. The kids have missed me all week -- in fact, the other morning Kaleb chucked a spoonful of oatmeal across the room when I told him I had to get ready for work. So you would think that they would be perfect angels, enjoying every wonderful moment of our time together. Negative. It was a terrible day. Kaleb cried incessantly from about 1:30 p.m. - 6:45 p.m. Kaiya did not nap and negotiated for an early bedtime instead of trying to nap. Not surprisingly, our evening ended with her being smart-mouthed with Tony and I. As I was tucking her into bed the conversation went like this:

Me: Why were you having such ugly words tonight?
Kaiya: Is because... I am sassy.
Me: Why were you being sassy tonight?
Kaiya: Is because... I am tired... and sleepy... and just a bit sassy.

At least she gets it. And I was quite proud of myself. I didn't even crack a smile when the "sassy" word came out of her mouth in that cute little ornery voice.

Weekend Videos

Easy post this weekend with some videos of the kids. I need to do something about my broken digital camera, but for now -- short videos will have to do. Here is one of each of the kiddos. Nothing too exciting, but entertainment for far away family.

A few thoughts on anxiety

We all have issues. One of mine happens to be anxiety. I worry, fret, pull my hair out, freak out over things that I can't control. It possibly categorizes me as a control freak as well, but saying I have a bit of anxiety just sounds better.

One of the most helpful tools that I have used to deal with the anxiety is by remembering that I have the choice of what to do with the anxious thoughts when they begin to creep in. I can choose to allow the anxiety to brood, or I can choose to replace the anxious thoughts with God's promises. A few months ago, our church did a series called Give Me Faith. During that series we were given a list of Faith Confessions.

I have these on my fridge and on my desk at work. When I feel it creeping up, I immediately start speaking these and replacing the anxious thoughts with thoughts that I know to be true. A few of them I have memorized in case I'm away from the list.

Here they are:

• I am fully forgiven and free from all shame and condemnation.
• I act in audacious faith to change the world for my generation.
• I have no fear or anxiety; I trust in the Lord with all my heart.
• I am able to fulfill the calling God has placed on my life.
• I am fully funded to do everything God has called me to do.
• I have no insecurity because I see myself the way God sees me.
• I am a faithful spouse and a godly parent; our family is blessed.
• I am completely whole physically, mental and emotionally.
• I am increasing in influence and favor for the kingdom of God.
• I am enabled to walk in the sacrificial love of Christ.
• I have the wisdom of the Lord concerning every decision I make.
• I am protected from all harm and evil in Jesus' name.

Just in case you were wondering... it is quite possible to pull your tongue muscle while eating peanut butter off a spoon.

Oops...I sure tried.

Well... currently tanking in the area of resolutions, but I am getting back on track. I have been blogging like crazy for our office at: yourhealingdiet.wordpress.com. And as a result neglected this blog a bit. My other excuse is that my digital camera has been acting up. And I'm not allowed to bring the office digital camera home anymore. :) I might have broken it once. Thank goodness we still had a warranty on it.

I do have a snazzy little "faux" Flip camera that takes videos. Got one of the kids playing in the snow today. We had a few inches last night! And this afternoon, half of it was gone. But we got out to the side of the house where the sun doesn't shine and got a little playing done. Here's the video. Mainly for family who misses these cute kids. The rest of the world probably won't be too interested.

New Thru 30

We've been reading the New Testament in 30 days with our church. I experienced one of the coolest moments in parenthood this week. I was sitting on the floor Wednesday night before putting the kids to bed reading my Bible. Kaiya runs to get her Bible and sits down next to me. She sits just like me and opens her Bible. My dad asked her what she was doing and she said: I'm reading my Bible just like Mama.

She sat with me the whole time flipping through her Bible while I finished my reading for the day. It was a good reminder that these are the things I want her to see. I'm modeling for her every minute of the day. I hope she sees more good than bad.

Can't forget it!

Kaiya has been coming up with some cute ones lately. So bear with my record-keeping posting. This is my journal/scrapbook for the time being.

I was heading both kids upstairs for bed and when we got to the top of the stairs Kaiya says: Mama, can I have H.L.P.E?

Me: What?

Kaiya: You know, H.L.P.E. (change to whisper) That means popcorn!

She was trying to spell since Kaleb was listening.

Hmmm... She's figured out one of the biggest tools of parenting. She'll have it mastered once she can actually spell. :)

Kaiya-ism

Kaiya said something I don't want to forget. Went like this:

My mom: Kaiya, did mommy & daddy get a new patient at the office this morning?

Kaiya: I don't know, I'm just a child!

**********

She's also been calling me "Honey" a lot lately. In a really endearing, sweet way. She knows it is a term of endearment and is using it totally correctly, it is just so funny to hear her calling me that.

Groupon

We were given information on Groupon, as a marketing tool for our office. I checked it out and it's actually a really great concept. We're pursuing it for the office, but being the bargain shopper I am, I decided to subscribe to the deal e-mails as well.

The way it works is this: Each day they post a deal online for something in your city. If enough people are interested and take the deal, everyone gets it. So today, a spa was featured in my city. $25 gets you a $50 certificate at the spa. When you buy the deal, you do an online purchase with your credit card. The card is not run unless enough people sign up for the deal. Enough sign up, the card is run and you get a certificate e-mailed to you.

Kind of an interesting concept. I was impressed. And... thought you might be too. We all could use a deal! Here's the link: http://www.groupon.com/r/uu824688.

The link is unique to me -- they give Groupon bucks for referrals. So... go get your Groupon! :)

P.S. Just in case anyone is wondering... I have changed the litter box every other day since my resolution post. Not too bad, right?

Wordless Wednesday - Bringing Sexy Back

New Year's Resolutions

I NEVER do this. The idea of setting myself up for failure does not appeal to me in the slightest. But... I'm aware that a mindset like that is not going to get me anywhere either. So, for the first year in my life I am going to make a few resolutions. And document them for the blogosphere to see.

-Remember our patients' birthdays. I have a whiteboard that is going up and weekly I am going to put birthdays on it.

-Establish an end-of-day procedure list and do it. Almost every day. (Gotta give myself a little slack.)

-New Thru 30. Our church is reading the New Testament in 30 days. I'm gonna do it too. While this resolution is only for 30 days, I'm hoping the habit will stick and I'll establish daily routine of reading.

-I so badly want to make a resolution about cleaning but I'm scared to. Hmm... So I'm sort of going to make one. I want to clean out the litter box every other day. I know some people clean theirs daily. I really want to, but trust me, every other day will be an improvement. Once upon a time I was determined to potty train my cat cause I saw this book said it was possible. Wish I had been more successful at that. :)

-Last but not least -- get back into blogging! Not gonna let more than a week go in between posts.

Gotta be grateful

It dawned on Kaiya the other day that we do not have a chimney (gasp!). We told her that we would leave the door open for Santa. That seemed to be okay with her. Then a conversation with Kaiya in the car yesterday went something like this:

Kaiya: Mama, I see a lot of houses with chimneys!
Me: A lot of these houses do have chimneys.
Kaiya: Yeah, but you just have to be grateful for what you got on top.
Me: Giggle. That's right Kaiya.
Kaiya: Yep, just gotta be grateful.

Sounds like she is listening to us occasionally afterall. :) And I was glad I remembered Tony's mom has a fireplace and chimney. We had to call Nannie right away and make sure Santa would be able to use her chimney. Nannie assured Kaiya that she was going to clean the chimney out.

da Grinch

This is Kaiya, 3 years ago with the Grinch. Kaleb is terrified of this particular Grinch. We've had to keep it up in Kaiya's closet because it brings him to tears just seeing it. But the kids watched it on TV the other night and really liked it. So it has come down from the closet for a little while. Kaleb still starts backing up and saying, "no, no, no..." whenever he sees it. Kaiya's been sleeping with it this week.

Last night her bedtime prayer went like this: "Dear God, Help da Grinch not to do naughty things tonight. Like take our tree down and put it on the sleigh that he made. And keep me awake. In Jesus name, Amen."

Found a couple cute pictures of my kids on their Uncle Aaron's facebook page. The pictures are from earlier this summer and especially Kaleb has changed, but fun for a Monday post!

Mmmm... those eyes.

A Rarity

The Wednesday before Thanksgiving I was able to spend the afternoon and evening with one of my best friends! Her parents live in Raleigh (about 4 hrs away) and so we met halfway and spent 6 hours together. It had been a year since I'd seen her and one of the first times that I was kid-free doing what I wanted to be doing (i.e. not working). Ahhhh... it was wonderful. Catching up, shopping, eating. Here is our token picture in Old Navy. The cashier probably thought we were nuts, but I looked in my purse, saw my camera and had to take it before the day went by and I had forgotten.

Thanks B for a great day!