Hi mom.

Hey there mom. I love that I can shout this to you from the other room for two weeks. And that Nicole doesn't have to play I spy from far away in her mind to see you. She can just come and hug you and bug you - which she is totally doing all day long! I love you - thanks for having us all here even though your house is busting at the seams. It's so good to be with family.

Forever your 'baby'-
cv

I Spy

Nicole: I spy with my little eye, something so far away that I can't  even see it.  And I love it.

Me: Well then, it would be hard for me to spy it too, if it's so far   away that we can't see it!  What is it?

Nicole:  My Grandma

Welcome Owen Joseph Gleason!!!

I'm so excited and proud I could just about burst!!

I am now the proud Auntie to Owen Joseph Gleason, born to my AMAZING sister Dayna over in Swaziland, Africa!  

Dayna and her husband are over there as missionaries for our Great God, and she just delivered her firstborn this morning.  To say that I am proud of her and impressed beyond measure would not quite be cutting it.  That woman is - well - just amazing.  I am honored to be her sister, and now honored to be Owen's aunt.  

I can't believe I'm going to have to wait 4 months to meet this little guy, when they come to the states to visit.  I'm still trying to devise a plan to get over there to meet him before that...but I'll need a passport...and a place for my kids for at least a week...and a bunch of money for the plane ticket...so I'll probably just have to be patient.  But that's not my best virtue.  

I'll be back with more another time - I'm so exhausted from being up all night praying for them and wondering how things were going halfway across the globe that I can't think straight.  At least the kids and I all have clean clothes on today. 

Congratulations Dayna & Jonathan!  I love you all so much and am so excited for you!

Auntie Crystal =)

Yum, yum, yum!!!

So, I hit the farmer's market this morning.  Oh, how I LOVE summer fruit!  Of course, the selection you get out here in Tennessee is nothing like I had in California, but the FM is as good as it gets.

I rounded up for us some fresh blackberries, awesome tomatoes and some beautiful flowers.  I would have bought some blueberries too, if the kids and I hadn't just gone to the patch to pick some ourselves the other day.  I've been eating so many of them I'm thinking I'm going to get the runs....

And is there anyone else out there but me that loses track of what day it is?  I'm not talking about Monday, Tuesday, etc...but the actual NUMBER day it is?  Since I haven't been in an office (that was 4 years ago!!!) I have the hardest time remembering/knowing what number day it is.  I almost missed the birthday today of one of my dearest friends growing up just from not knowing.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LORI!!!

Well - off to scrub the kitchen floor, which is so absolutely desperate for me to clean it I think it's creaking "scrub me, scrub me" every time I walk over it. 

enjoy your weekend-

cv

I'm back!

So...apparently I'm not very good at this blogging thing.  

I really enjoy reading other blogs - it's actually how I start my days most of the time, with a cup of coffee and a few quick checks on certain blogs while Kyle is eating breakfast (that kid is NOT kidding around when he wakes up.  He wants his milk and breakfast - NOW.  And he's up so early...that's why the coffee is necessary.).

I'm just not very good at keeping up with my own.

I think it might stem from the fact that it's hard to spend more than 2 minutes on anything with undivided attention, having two preschoolers in the house and all.  And I'm not good enough with this blogger thing to know how to work all of the tricks that most other bloggers do.  And it takes a while to upload those pictures!!!

Sorry to ramble...just felt bad that I'd been gone so long.  So now I'm back.  And I really do intend to make it a more regular thing.  

Thanks for bearing with me.  

She's 4...

Okay, so it's been a while - again - since I've been here.  It's still crazy living in transition and out of boxes & suitcases.  And it's been a crazy, up & down week.  More than I can go into right here, right now.  My heart is full and heavy at the same time - and I just don't have the mindset to begin to share where I've been the last few days in the midst of tragedy.

But, why I'm here...my little girl is not so little any more.  She's 4!!!  I almost can't believe it - it seems like it was just a few months ago that I was holding her teeny tiny little body in my arms, trying not to break her little legs as I put them into footed sleepers that were meant to fit dolls.  That less-than-5-pound little miracle is now a beautiful, smart, 'big' girl of 4.  Someone pinch me...

I've spent the last few days hugging my kids a little tighter, holding them a little longer, and dropping whatever I'm doing just to love them a little better.  I encourage you to do the same - it shouldn't take tragedy in our lives to make us realize that these are the things that matter.  

Standing in the firm grip of my God-

cv

Sorry mom...

Okay, so it's been more than a month since I've been here.  Since my mom is probably the only one that reads this, I'm sorry mom....

We've been a little preoccupied with the move and our 'adventure' house.  Just to update you - we moved out of the old house with anticipation of what lies ahead, mingled with sadness of leaving a place we loved.  My kids came home from the hospital to that house.  My husband built the swingset in the back yard single-handedly.  We celebrated half of the years we've been married in that house.  We welcomed so many friends and family there....it's weird to think that we might never set foot in that house again.  

I left good good friends in that neighborhood.  I know, they are still good friends no matter where we are, but it was SO easy to run across the street to grab some chocolate chips or children's motrin - and to have the same requested of me.  To watch each other's kids on a whim, and gather in one backyard after the next on summer afternoons as the kids ran around.  

Good memories there.  Great memories.

Now, on to new memories...

The first of which has been the past few weeks in our 'adventure' house!  We are staying in a house that God provided in an amazing way - the thought of staying in a hotel room for a month with all 4 of us sharing a room makes me break out in a sweat.  We are blessed to be staying in an actual house - 3 bedrooms, a kitchen, and a laundry room!  Nicole gets it and thinks it's a fun adventure.  I think Kyle just thinks we're on vacation.  He's a little confused when we head back over to the old neighborhood to play with friends, then have to get back in the car to get 'home'.  We're looking forward to the new house being done and ready for us at the very end of May.

I have a few pictures coming your way as soon as I can load them into the computer - some fun things that we've met and found around this house - it's in an old neighborhood with an awesome yard - which means all kinds of critters.  So stay tuned...

cv

My Favorite Box

So, Nicole really wanted to help us pack this morning.  She took it upon herself to pack up Kyle's toys that were lying around the house and his room (funny how she picked HIS toys to put away, instead of HERS...)

Rusty carried this into the kitchen to show me.  

Melted my heart.  I actually thought that I just might have to save this tag of tape when all is said and done.  But I'm really trying to break the generational sin of my family - packrat-itis - so maybe this picture will have to do. 

Back to more boxes-

cv

Time

Me:  Nicole, what time does the clock say it is?

Nicole: ummm...nine, two polka dots, zero, one.   =)

Don't you just love how the world looks through the eyes of children???  That one line conversation has brought a smile to my face over and over today.

cv

Oh yeah-

The haircut was, as expected, a disaster.  And I laughed through a lot of it!  Even the part where he was sitting my lap as I tried to hold him down (he's VERY strong) and his little hairs that they were shaving off landed in my mouth.  Forget the stylish haircut, we had to go straight for the shaved head.  Which kinda made it even funnier.  Imagine the host saying, "and moms, here's what you do when your child doesn't like to get their hair cut.  Have dad hold them pinned on his lap and just shave it!"  

If I get any video of it I'll put it on here.  Has to be good for a few laughs.  His dad doesn't care for the shaved head.  I think he's still pretty darn cute.

Here's to getting more than 6 hours of sleep tonight-

cv

Baby G!

I'm so excited!  

I spent much of the day yesterday thinking of my sister, and the growing baby boy in her tummy.  I'm so excited for her!  She's one of those people that was born to be a mother - the ones that are SO gentle, and SO loving, and SO tender, and SO compassionate.  The kind that you wish you could rent and have parent your kids some days so they turn out ok.  That little boy has NO idea how lucky he really is, but I intend to let him know and plan to remind him of it every time he acts up.  

I'm sure you'll hear more about my sister on here later- she's one of my heroes.  And I can't wait to meet this sweet little guy that's already stealing my heart.  I mean, he's part of my family - so he's going to be pretty amazing!  

Here's to a good Thursday - 

cv

Sneaky, sneaky...

So I've started sneaking vegetables and protein powder into my kids food.  Mostly to get my youngest to eat them at all - if he had it his way, a daily diet would consist of carbs, fruit, and soy milk.  My 3 year old is doing so much better at eating what I give her - at least a bite of it - but veggies are tricky.  

I mean, she ate fish last night.  Herself.  And asked for more.  

After I got up off the floor, I gave her more and made a big deal out of it.  She told me that she could see her muscles getting stronger while she ate it.  I wholeheartedly agreed.  

I started with a recipe for zucchini muffins.  So far, my son has eaten two of them, and that's more green vegetables than he's had in the last 6 months actually make it down his esophagus.  And stay there.  I made a batch like the recipe called for, but it still had a decent amount of oil and brown sugar in there, so I did another one with applesauce instead of most of the oil, less B sugar, and some protein powder.  They are almost as good!  

I'm thinking of picking up one of those books that has a bunch of recipes for sneaking veggies into food.  If you've had success with any of these, please let me know.

Now I'm off to take my son for a haircut.  He hates them when I do them, so we'll see how this goes.  It's an 'example' video for moms on how to cut their child's hair themselves to save money.  I'm thinking it might end up being more of a outtakes reel - "Cutting your own kids hair when your kid doesn't think it's as great of an idea as you do".

We shall see...

cv 

Something to think about...

Our sermon in church this morning was good - good for me right where I am, right now.  We are going through the book of Nehemiah and are in chapter 5.  It's one of those "get out there and do it" books of the bible, and as a church we've been challenged in many ways already to implement it into our lives.

Today's point that rang loud and clear in my crowded brain was this:

Jesus didn't die for projects, He died for people.  Emphasis added by me.  Where I need it.  

I love projects.  I love checking things off of a list.  I find great satisfaction in accomplishment (this is no surprise to my family that might be reading this...).  Don't get me wrong, I don't finish them all - in fact, I have so many more intentions to do things for myself, my family, and others that don't even get past the "I need to do that today..." stage than I ever get done.  

I have been realizing lately that I could use a little more connection with people - I'm not sure what that looks like for me, but I know that God wants me to be in relationship, and in community, sharing my life with others, and being a part of their lives.  This is a place that I'm not raring to jump into at this stage in my life, but I'm feeling the prodding, so I'm trying.  

Today's message reminded me that no matter how many things I do while I'm here on earth, if they had no impact for His glory & kingdom, therefore affecting other people, they could very well have been just a waste of time.  Just a check mark on a list on a piece of paper that ends up in the trash.  

I don't want my legacy to have been a check mark in the trash.  

On a journey-

cv

Anyone???

So I've decided that I'm also officially a stress eater.  Like all I want to put in my mouth when I'm stressed are things high in carbs and sugar.  And not the kinds that are 'good' for you.  And after I put them in my mouth, they immediately jump down my torso and hang out on that roll just above my belt line.  

Do I hear an "Amen" out there?  Anyone????

cv

So I'm totally one of those moms...

I've finally admitted to myself that I'm one of those moms. 

You know, the ones that find themselves researching, making a special trip to the store, and then assembling cheeky little snacks for their kids' preschool (yes, I said PREschool) class when it's their turn to bring snack on a 'special' day.  Turns out this year I've had two of these 'special' days assigned to me (I'm beginning to wonder if it's sabotage...): Ugly Bug Ball day and tomorrow, Dr. Seuss day.

For ugly bug ball day they actually provided recipes for what I could bring.  Did I just follow them?  No...of course not!  I had to raise the bar a little!  I made chocolate-covered marshmallow spiders with licorice legs and mini m&m eyes, and 'trail' mix of bugs, beetles, worms, ants, etc... as well as good old ants on a log.  No pictures of those amazing efforts though.

However, it's your lucky day for Dr. Seuss day tomorrow.  After spending some time on the web trying to find cute ideas (since I really don't remember many of the books and only have 2) I didn't find much.  So, I settled for this one:  the famous cat's hat.

Better yet, 14 of them. 

Aren't they cute?  Not quite obvious, I know, but hey - we are talking about PREschool, remember?  

Hope your day tomorrow is as fun as I think my daughters is going to be.

Later-

cv

The New House Blahs...

Okay, so I obviously haven't been here in a while - I think it's still a little overwhelming for me to decide what's even worth writing sometimes.  I told you I'm not a journal-er...

I feel like my brain is this stream of random thoughts lately - so much so that I can't get to sleep at night without falling asleep in front of some no-thought-necessary kind of show until my eyes just close on their own since my brain is SO bored.  Shows that I'm too embarrassed to even mention I've seen - mostly ones on Bravo or E!.  Enough said.

We are in process of building a house through a company that I'll refrain from naming - and to say it has been challenging & disappointing is putting it mildly.  I've vowed to never build again unless we are the contractors ourselves!  I have this personality trait that sometimes serves me well, and other times not so much, but I have a true drive towards justice.  Things should just be fair!  That's not too much to ask, now is it?  Apparently it is.  I'm not someone that likes to make trouble for anyone, and now find myself in a place where I'm having to pick and then fight battles - and I'm not a fighter!!!  To say I'm feeling icky about the whole thing is another understatement.  So I'm vowing not to let it bring me down....and that's where I've been living this week.

Enough blah.  I promise to be back next time with something a lot more fun and interesting.  It's just nice to get the blahs off my chest a little.  

On a journey-

cv

Here we go...

Well - I've done it.  I'm entering the world of blogging.  I'm not sure exactly why.  I'm almost certain that nobody will want to read the things that I find interesting, or a part of my day, but I'm thinking it might be a little teeny bit therapeutic and make me feel like a part of the bigger world out there - the one that I used to live in before I stayed home with my 2 amazing kids.  Don't get me wrong - I absolutely love being with them, and really do love being a stay-at-home-mom.  It just kinda made me feel like I fell off the cliff of 'current events' and 'what's going on outside my 10 mile circle' once I had been home for about 4 months, and I've found that identifying a few spots where I can get a handhold back on that mountain feel pretty good to me.  

I'm also NOT a journal-er (which my community group could totally confirm), so the fact that I'm here is probably surprising not only me, but them as well.  But hey, you have to try it before you say you don't like it (or at least that's what I tell my 3 year old over...and over...and over...)!

So, here goes.  Post #1 is done.  I'm sure I'll be back soon.  With some ridiculous observation about life in general.  

Hope your weekend is amazing-

cv