Weekends=Soccer games and a Clean House

Well, we are a few soccer games into the season now and having alot of fun. Lots of bundling being done before each game. We hope soon it will be a little warmer on Saturdays. ): It is really fun to watch them both play. Their little personalities come out in the "team" environment. Rachel is very competitive and really gets into the emotion of the game. Lots of celebrating when things go well. Lots of talking with her teammates and planning and giggling. Parker on the other hand is Mr. Stoic. As all the other boys run and TRY to fall down, he is standing still watching with this grin on his face that seems to pity their childish behavior. It's quite funny. I wish he would let his hair down a little but it is nice to not have the "crazy" boy behavior most of the time. (:

We have games back to back most of the time but 2 times this year we will have to be on seperate fields at the same time. Yuck. So far though, it is great fun. Yes, I am officially a "soccer mom". What can I say?

The weekend was also a chance for me to catch up on the house. Honestly, I cannot remember the last time my whole house was clean. YES, even with help once a week. Does that tell you anything??? I think I did 10 loads of laundry and ... I'm still not done. The house isn't perfect, but at least I know the status of every corner of this joint and I'm getting there. It really is therapeutic to have a clean house. Ahhhhhhh.

Thanks for the advice...

You know, technically, I would like to be "put under". BUT, when I had my one little wisdom tooth taken out, Dr. Cochran put me under and I was out... I mean OUT... all day and night. I COULDN'T wake up. It's funny to hear my kids talk about, but when you think about it, it's really not funny. I was obviously way overdosed for a little procedure. So... I don't think I'll do that.
I did have a consult with Dr. Stapleton who is Dr. Butler's partner and everyone raves about his work too. He seemed nice enough. We'll see. Maybe the rapture will happen before I need to do it. (:

The forbidden list and Implants?

Well, this has been a long week. First, I found out I need implants.
No, not breast implants. LOL! Although, I'm sure I could benefit from those too. (: No, the implants I'm speaking of are for my teeth! I have 2 little baby teeth that never had a grown up replacement waiting in the wings. I really need to thank them for hanging in there with me for 35 years. That IS impressive for baby teeth. They have done their job well. But, I'm quite distressed about needing to replace them. If I could, I'd just have them yanked and leave it alone, but the placement of these would mean that the rest of my teeth would start shucking and jiving their way into places they are not supposed to be, so, implants it is. Honestly, I am scared... I don't want someone screwing a metal post into my jawbone. Yikes. I plan to put it off as long as possible.

Another reason it has been a long week is because my sweet boy is so sensitive to so many foods that I eat. I really can't eat much. Let's see, the problem foods seem to be so far... milk, any thing creamy (sour cream, cream cheese, alfredo sauce, mac n cheese, velveeta, american cheese slices, gravy), butter, beans, broccoli and the latest is taquitos and the yummy sugar cookies that my SIL made with amazing frosting all over them. I keep wavering between only eating oatmeal and green tea all day every day OR... switching to formula and enjoying my food life again! (: (sigh) So far, I'll keep nursing. I really couldn't stand not nursing. Even with all the sacrifice. Only 8 more months to go...

Resurrection Day

Easter has so much more meaning than it used to for me. Don't get me wrong, I loved it.
I love family time and traditions and Easter was all of that. But, I didn't really understand
the sacrifice and victory that Easter really is for us as Christians. It has taken a long
life road for me to understand it, and even now, I'm sure I do not understand fully. But, I know
that my Savior identifies with every aspect of life, because He lived life, here, on this earth, not exempt from pain or the love that comes with family and friends. God, in the flesh, came to identify with me (US) and at the end of it, to die. That was the whole plan. In a sense, while all of us remain here... on this earth, we live in the eternal "Friday" of the Easter story. Stuck in the pain of a world that is broken and facing death all the time. But celebrating Sunday, Easter, Resurrection Day, reminds us that Jesus DID defeat the grave, and one day we will all be with Him in eternal victory over death! I have no words. Thank you Lord!


On a lighter note, here are some photos from our Family Easter. We just really aren't a serious family, so I thought a "serious" photo just wouldn't work...

Aren't they cute??

Forest with cousin Norah. (right after this, she kissed his head)
It was very cute, but I wanted you to see her cute face.

Sophie... on the hunt for eggs.

Norah finally decided she had had too much fun.

Grandma Reta holding Forest.

Man to Man

I just love that I am married to one of the most wise, amazing men around. I am so thankful that he cares about putting in time with our kids and spending time with our family. Here he is, chatting with Parker. He's pretty much always available. (Not due to an excess of time, due to MAKING himself available.)

He spends so much time giving into the lives of others. Most of which I never speak of because,
#1. He is a very private person.
#2. We want to protect others whose lives are already more public than any of us would want.
He is constantly playing a role of Father, Pastor, Friend, and financial advisor to MANY outside of our home. YET, he puts us as a priority. I'm so, so thankful.

An Eleven Year Old and a Camera

In the Cook Van Ok, so shoot me, I sing and drive. My kids don't like it.
They think it greatly impairs their listening pleasure. I say,
when they get their own mini-van with lots of little people
strapped in the back of it, they can run it how they like. For now,
I sing...LOUDLY. (:

Why would we take pictures of the vans in front of us?
She thought it was funny. Who knows.

This is one of 50 photos of the cat. I really don't even care to have
one photo of this animal that greatly annoys me.

Now, here, here is a photo. How sweet. uh, wait, did
she sneak in and take this while he was sleeping???
Hmmm....

Update...

Well, I have plenty that I need to write about but I keep not having the time to sit and do it. I also have some pictures to post. Hopefully soon!! (:

Anyway, wanted to let you know that my grandfather is home and doing well. He only had to be in for a day. Everything looked better than they expected so that was great news. Thanks so much for praying.

My sweet chubby cheeked little boy is not sleeping well anymore so I have been sleep deprived for the last 4 days or so. No clue what the deal is???? Anyway, I'm going to bed! Good night.

A couple of things

First, I wanted to tell you what my very intelligent 8 year old told me this morning. Not sure where he got this but, I answered the phone around 9 a.m. (kind of unusual but we are expecting a few important calls today.) Anyway, a nice lady on the other end said, "hello, is this the body shop?" No, I told her, just a house. You must have the wrong number. She was very sweet and said goodbye. So, Parker says "wrong number?" I said "yes". He said, " I assume it was a lady,right?" "Yes,why?"... He said, "Well, boys don't get the wrong number."


I finally finished laughing and tried to instruct him in the error of his thinking. My take on it is, women have to take care of all of the calling, so, naturally, they might get a few wrong numbers. Right??????? LOL! Anywhoooo....

On a different note, please lift up my grandfather who is going into the hospital today. His heart and kidneys aren't in the BEST shape and he is retaining fluids. Enough so to bring some concern. (Along with the other prayers that I know you are all whispering.)

Thanks.

Big Cedar

Tim and the kids went horseback riding. They loved it! Parker said his horse "wandered" a little. But, apparently they all managed to stay on the trail.

Rachel drawing at breakfast. Both of the kids love to draw. Give them a pen and paper and they're happy! Not sure where they got this from??

A little friendly miniature golf.

Parker relaxing on the porch.

This is where Forest and I spent most of our time. Believe me, I'm not complaining. It was very peaceful and fun! I can't believe how little he was!

Our favorite place to vacation is Big Cedar. It feels like our second home. One day we want to build a log cabin. We have all decided we could even live in a one room log cabin just like we do when we are there. It is so cozy and fun. I can't wait for Forest to be old enough to love it like we do!

Life Lessons #2 What I've learned from Ava

Click on the title of this post...

Life Lessons #1

This will be a running series on my blog. Interrupted by occasional meaningless ramblings and funny stories. (: At least, that's the plan. It's always good to have a plan right?

This first lesson is, don't forget to learn from your family. My grandfather is a wonderful man, full of lessons from his past. He has a great appreciation for life because I think he knows it's slipping away. He smiles so freely when he sees his great grandchildren. He called the other night and told me it had been too long since he had seen them (especially his youngest great grandchild... Forest Winston). So, how could I resist... we jumped in the car and went to have dinner with him and hang out. Those are precious, priceless memories. I love that my kids can know their great grandparents. They have 4 of them left. 2 are quite far away so they don't get to see them very often and 2 are here. We should see them more.

Scrabble

Every time my family plays scrabble, our nice, normal, fun-loving family harmony is in GRAVE peril. This arises from the fact that we have 2 EXTREMELY competitive people and 2 not even remotely competitive people (who STILL don't enjoy feeling completely incompetent at the game). ADD a little arrogance when someone is doing well and you have a recipe for tears, loud verbage and throwing scrabble tiles.

NO, really. Oh my goodness, I don't think we should EVER play that game again. Why do we keep torturing ourselves?????

Forever memories

It seems like just yesterday when I was speaking with my friend about Ava.( her little girl that hadn't been born yet.) I told her to buy a car seat. Just because, when I didn't get to buy one for Phoenix it just seemed so sad. She deliberated, then decided not to buy one. If they needed to, they could run and get one, but if they didn't get to bring her home, then she wouldn't have to stare at it and wish that Ava was sitting in it. Fair enough. That is why I didn't buy one. We talked about so many little decisions. It all just comes down to doing what you WANT to do, so you don't regret one single decision. So, now, here we are, and Ava is ALIVE and one week old. They NEEDED a car seat!

What she is realizing is, every single moment of this week, and beyond... is a chance for a "forever memory". What a gift God is giving her. Ava gets to feel their amazing love for her and be a part of the "every day family life". And, mommy gets to spend hours giving her love and making memories. So, yesterday, she made her cupcakes for her 1 week birthday! I am crying just thinking about them. Who knows if she'll get to make the one YEAR cupcakes, but for now, one week is definitely worth celebrating. Wow. It reminds me of doing Phoenix's laundry. Anything we can do for these amazing precious little babies is a HUGE gift. Those are the most important cupcakes in the world.

Finally

Well, I wanted you all to know that I have finally figured out how to add music to my blog. I have been working on this since I started the "Held" blog. I named the blog after this song. My sweet friend Rachel White introduced me to the song. It is very moving and meaningful to me. If you can, please go and listen to it. Use the time to pray for Ava. Love you all.

Quick Question

Is it OK to go on anti-depressants for someone else's struggle?

Stop the clock...

Can we please make time stand still? Right now, I know many people are praying for Ava. My prayer would be... if it could be...to stop the clock, freeze the moment. Let us enjoy the miracle that we are living in and have been living in for the last 5 days. I don't want to move forward anymore. Let us keep her. That would be my prayer.