Month 8

(I know two posts in one day, but I almost forgot to post about Hadley)

This month involved Hadley's first Christmas and New Years. It was busy, just as we had anticipated, but Hadley was such a trooper, having such a great attitude during all of the gatherings. She absolutely loved opening the presents...well let me rephrase that...she absolutely loved ripping off the wrapping and immediately sticking it in her mouth. She got lots of toys and clothes.

New Years was very low key which was nice. We all stayed home, Hadley went to bed at 8 and Jon and I watched Wall-E. When 10:30 rolled around Jon and I hit the sack but due to all the fireworks and guns being shot off we didn't fall asleep for a while, then Hadley woke up at 12 anyways so I got up and fed her. Finally asleep at 12:30!

Hadley still has just one tooth but we think that other front bottom one is sooo very close to breaking through. We've been trying to give her finger foods and it is the most hilarious thing. She loves to put absolutely everything in her mouth, except her finger foods! I tried giving it to her so she would know that it was ok to eat and as soon as it touched her lips she made a disgusted face. We keep trying but she's still not interested. We've also introduced the sippy cup. Obviously she doesn't do well with the lid on so we're just getting her used to the idea that there is something (water for now) inside the cup that she would want.

On other milestones, still no crawling, although she is definitely trying to move more so she just kind of rolls back and forth until she gets what she wants. She has figured out that she might be able to pull herself up on our coffee table but she doesn't quite have the strength and coordination yet. My insecure mommy voice sometimes pops up in my head and I start wondering if I'm doing enough to help her develop her gross motor skills but I know it'll come. She does love to dance (bouncing up and down while sitting).

The church nursery.....was getting better but last week was pretty bad. I guess she cried for like an hour and our pager didn't go off. They ended up paging us on the big screen when communion started so I ran over to get her and by then they had gotten her to sleep. Of course when they tested the pager in the room it worked fine. I felt really bad for the nursery workers and for Hadley. Jon and I are at a loss of what to do so she'll have a better time in there. It's right around her nap time but I can usually keep her up when I have her at home so I know she can last that long without a nap. And for a few weeks she was doing fine with new people. This week we're going to put a bottle in the diaper bag and see if that will help her calm down if she gets upset. I know hunger's not an issue because I usually feed her right before we leave for church, but at least it might be comforting. Any moms out there have any other suggestions? I know we'll get it figured out, just one of the many decisions to make as a parent.

Home is where the heart is...and lots of work too!

When we were looking for houses (Dec. 2004-Jan 2005) we had few items on our list that we were looking for, after all, it was our first house and we didn't know what we really wanted. We were looking for an older house that had some need to be fixed up, although we really didn't want to have to do any kind of structural re-building. We also DID NOT want a homeowners association or a pool (too much maintenance and money). We also knew we wanted to live somewhere on the eastside, like east of Wilmot. Aside from those three items we were game for just about anything.

We had just been approved for a loan and were casually looking at houses. And by looking I mean on the Internet and driving around. We did not go inside one single house. We didn't even have Realtors that were helping us, although we knew of a couple that went to our church and we figured they had helped some friends of ours so we'd ask them for help when we were getting more serious. We drove by a few houses we had found on the Internet that were within our price range but they were all pretty dilapidated.

Then one night I was perusing the MLS website and found a house off of Harrison that had a neat looking backyard, a nice front yard and was within our price range. The next day or two we decided to go look at it, we called the sellers realtor and set up a time to meet in the evening. Jon and I met with her and looked inside. Despite the light blue tile and matching carpet we decided later that night to make an offer on it. So the very next morning we called the realtor couple from church, told them we wanted to put an offer down on a house and needed their help. From then on things moved pretty quickly, this was at the beginning of the housing market boom. This particular house had been on the market for about a week. Our offer was accepted within just a few short days and the rest is history!

We knew there was a lot of "fix up" we wanted to do, remove the canopy and koi pond in the backyard, scrap the gold chandeliers for more modern fixtures, painting, lots of cosmetic work. We also knew that the roof needed to be replaced at some point as well as the furnace and water heater but we were hoping to spread those out and make them last as long as possible. Of course our time line for all these projects was very short, but I think our time line was horribly misguided by our "high" of buying a new house. As usual, things did not pan out like we had planned, and we quickly lost motivation.

We've done lots of work on this house in the 5 years we've lived in it, the biggest project by far was replacing the roof but we did it ourselves (with lots of fantastic friends and family the weekend it snowed in 2006). It seems there is always a project going on and I think we've come to the realization that once we get things the way we want, we'll be needing to move out.

All this to say...our kitchen remodel may be the most expensive job yet, yes even more than our roof. And it may happen sooner than we had planned. I noticed our sink leaking inside the cabinet. As I looked towards the back wall to see if I could tell where the water was coming from I saw a nice large patch of mold!!! Yuck! I was tempted to post pictures but it's kind of embarrassing, maybe once we have remodeled, I will share. The plan for now is to replace the faucet and take out the drywall under the sink and we'll just have have bricks showing under there. Then when Jon finishes school in July we will start working on a remodel.

At times it's fun to design it and pick out stuff you like but it's also overwhelming. If you've been to our house you know how small the area is, including the dining room, so our options are limited when it comes to change. It's also overwhelming to think of the cost. Not to mention the thought that our kitchen may be torn apart for a week or more. What do we do for cooking, dishes, etc? This isn't like our other projects where we can close the door and do without it for months or step over the mess.

We are blessed and I certainly do not take it for granted. These things sometimes make me think about our next house, this time we'll be able to say "no, we don't want to replace another roof again if we can avoid it", or "we don't mind having to re-do the backyard, we're experts now!"

We can't all be winners

In order for there to be winners there has to be losers right? And what makes some people so lucky that they get to win all the time while there are those who just lose all the time? Can't they share the joy of being a winner? Can't they, for once, just not try so the rest of the people get even a chance to win?

I had randomly entered this book give-away contest on a blog. I didn't even know the person and just happened upon their blog and liked some of the books they were giving away. I figured it was worth a shot. All you had to do was write a poem about the book you wanted and then they were going to announce the winners. I entered my measly poem that I had thought of in about 5 minutes. I really didn't expect to win. However, for some reason looking at the winners it was a little disappointing to not see my name. I actually kind of wondered what it was about my poem that didn't stand out among the some 130 other poems. Was it because this person didn't know me? Did she not think my poem was "deep" enough? She is, after all, a publishing agent!!!

Here are some other venues (that I can remember) I've worked to be a winner at and the results:

-Radio contest for Third Day tickets - I WON!!

-Lots of other radio contests that I lost when I was younger

-Scratcher tickets that I got for Christmas - I think the most I got was like $5

-Volleyball games - For the most part, we lost. In fact our entire sports program at our school was not well known.

-Raffle ticket giveaways - lost them all

-Random drawing at Vail Pride Day (for work) - I won the year I was student teaching and got a gift certificate to somewhere.

It makes me think of random things such as hunting and fishing, two things of which my family members do a fair amount of. I have one uncle who does both and he is always extremely successful. However, my dad on the other hand, puts so much effort into hunting, would be the best employee if he could get paid to hunt but I can only remember him getting an animal once. I don't get it, they seem to approach the sports using the same strategies, in fact I think my dad takes more time to prepare.

Another example, this week on the news there was a couple that won the Powerball, I can't remember in which state. It was to the sum of $128 million. What kind of life will they have now because of their winnings? And what about all the losers? It seems that most stories you hear of lottery winners end up with their lives in ruin.

What's the deal with wanting to "win"? Why do we feel so disappointed when we didn't get something that we didn't have beforehand? Is it a sense of entitlement? I often wonder why people pray for their team to win, like God is worried about the winners and he can't decide who to let win. I don't join many contests because I know the odds are usually against me and I don't really like to give out my information as most contests require of you, besides then you avoid the disappointment.

I'd like to take a slightly different perspective on this situation, if it weren't for those of us who lose more often than not, those winners wouldn't be able to bask in the glory of their celebration. To all those losers out there, you make the winners look good, without you, they'd have nothing. Here's to losers!

*Disclaimer - no humans or animals were hurt emotionally or physically during this post.

Deep Thoughts

"If you ever drop your keys into a river of molten lava, let'em go, because, man, they're gone." - Jack Handy.

I thoroughly enjoy the deep thoughts by Jack Handy, look them up if you are looking for a good laugh. But I digress...

For some silly reason I've gotten caught up in making goals and desiring change in myself this new year, thus my deep thoughts. I usually am not one for "new year's resolutions" but I guess with the holidays over I think...no wait, I will (be optimistic right?) have time to make some changes. I know the underlying theme here is discipline so my first priority is to set realistic goals, small goals. Sadly, but realistically, I need to make it as easy as possible on myself, otherwise I know I won't do it, not even for a month. Maybe that's a "duh" factor for most people, but I always feel like if I'm really going to change, it should be a difficult process. Really, I don't know where that comes from.

So here goes, my goals and some action steps (in no particular order):

1. Studying the bible. Cliche I know but I really want to study it. I feel like if I study it like a history book I may be able to stick with it because I get frustrated with "looking for application". Action Steps: reading at least 3 times a week, journaling notes as I go, 1 chapter a sitting, and a friend or two asking me about it.

2. Getting more organized: with grocery shopping, daily chores around the house, storing stuff (i.e. cleaning up our office) so those daily chores are easier. This is a big one, I know. Action steps: grocery shopping will be made easier by planning out our dinners for a month, January is already done. Daily chores: well getting organized and putting things away (like in our office, did I mention that already?) will help, but I also want to plan to do specific chores like laundry on a certain day every week.

3. Making more time for nurturing our marriage. It's certainly not in any kind of danger but with a kid in the mix I've discovered you have to be a lot more intentional about it. Action Steps: More constant date nights with Jon, asking Jon how I can pray for him more often, and of course my time studying the bible should help that.

4. Reading and writing more. I've mentioned before I'd like to write books in the future and I don't want to put that on the back burner. Action steps: I know to be a good writer it would behoove me to read all types of books and literature. I'd also like to start the writer's guild program at some point this next year so I can pursue that.

I think that's enough for now. If you'd like to bug me about how I'm doing on any of these, feel free, I'm sure I could use the encouragement.

Happy New Year to you and may God bless you beyond your wildest imagination....or deepest thoughts.

"Let me see that casserole!"

Jon and I always sing (to the tune of "Let me see that Tootsee Roll") this to each other whenever I make this delicious enchilada casserole. Enjoy!

2 cans cream of chicken/cream of mushroom soup

1-2 Bell Pepper chopped

1/2 Onion chopped

2 small cans of diced green chilies

1 pkg of tortillas (you'll probably only use about 5 or 6)

1 pkg of Shredded cheese

2-3 cubed/shredded chicken breasts, cooked (you can use the cubed chicken in the can, about 2 cans will work. I like to grill two chicken breasts and then shred.)

1 can sliced black olives (optional)

Saute the bell peppers, onion, and green chilies (with juice) in sauce pan. Add creamed soup and chicken pieces. Heat through. Layer casserole dish with torn tortilla pieces, then casserole mixture, and top with cheese. Repeat layers until all casserole mixture is used. The more cheese you use the better! Bake at 350 for 45 min to 1 hour.

Now let me see your casserole!! To the left, to the left......now dip baby, dip.....with tortilla chips!

Month 7

Wow! Lots seems to have happened. Current stats for baby girl are as follows: 13lbs 15oz, 26.5 in long, and finally fitting into 6 month clothes! She is maintaining her 5% growth so the doctor is happy. She received her final round of the flu shots and later that day developed a very runny nose. The next day her nose was even worse and had a bit of a temp, however after one dose of Tylenol she was fine. She was a little cranky but mainly just sleepy. Day 3.....a tooth had broken through! The left bottom incisor. The right one seems to be close behind. Here we go, down the road of teething.

Hadley's sitting up by herself, which now gives us the freedom to put her in high chairs in the restaurant or the shopping cart. She's not real interested in tummy time anymore since she can sit on her own. This prevents her from practicing her crawling. Although, while on her tummy she does show signs of trying to move to get stuff but her interest quickly wanes and she's on to something easier.

We tried the nursery at church for the first time this past weekend. It didn't go well, as was expected. In our unsureness (if that's a word) of how to do this whole thing we handed her over too quickly and walked out the door. She was screaming by the time we walked out the door. About 10 mins. later someone came and got us out of church to tend to her. Our dear friend Kacy was working hard to calm her down and almost had her calm by the time I got there. I ended up staying in there for a while with her so she could get used to all the other babies and adults in the room. She played fine for about 30 mins. so I decided I'd try to leave again. I guess she lasted for a few minutes more and then started crying again. Kacy took her outside and she calmed down and actually slept for a few minutes. Poor girl! It's hard because she usually naps during this time but I know there's too much going on for her to do that. We're going to keep trying but I think we'll gradually leave her this next time instead of rushing out.

Jon and I did ok with it. Yeah right....we were pretty anxious. We have a lot of work to do ourselves. We will keep trying though.

She's still a good eater. I need to figure out what foods come next and if I want to take the time to make them myself or just start buying commercial made food. Big thing about making my own baby food is the meats are a little involved so she hasn't had a taste of any of those. I'm sure it's not a big deal but I want her to at least try them out. She loves our Christmas tree and anything she can get in her mouth, most notably technological devices. She's into saying "mamamama" or "dadadada" a lot but of course doesn't know what they mean. That about does it for this month. I know these next few months are going to be busy for her and we look forward to it all!

Her cute little hat!

She likes to sit up in her bouncer now, and lean over the side. It might be time to put it away!

Asking new questions

This thought came to me as I thought about those around me who are going through personal struggles. I'm sure it's not a new idea by any means but one I hope to keep close at hand. Sub-conscientiously when I go through a tough time my initial reaction is: "what did I do to deserve this? I must have done something wrong, where did I mess up?" I take a lot of time to figure out why I'm receiving a "consequence".

I suppose there's a lot of theology/philosophy around whether God gives us trials to endure, etc. I'm not quite sure where I stand on that. I don't believe God punishes us, but I do believe there are natural consequences for our actions. These consequences can manifest themselves physically, mentally, or emotionally.

However, this rephrasing of my question comes in those situations that are just hard to explain why they're happening, except that we are imperfect humans living in an imperfect world.

Drum roll please......

Instead of asking, "Why is this happening?" What if we started asking, "God what do you want me to do as a result of this situation?"

I believe for me and maybe other people, this would take the victim role out of the situation, like we are entitled to have a great, easy life, as well as help us rise up out of the hurt, sadness, anger, etc. We start to focus on what we can learn and perhaps that's what God wants out of that situation. Maybe we're not receiving a consequence for the past maybe God is preparing us for something else in the future.

Your thoughts, experiences?