IT'S OFFICIAL!

Praise the Lord we got confirmation today Gavin will be attending Westview right down the road from us. Whew! Now we can sit back a little bit and take breather there. We're excited for him and he'll be attending with the neighbor girl and another student from his preschool. :o)

Toothless Wonder

It's official! Gavin was brushing his teeth this morning and the bottom tooth finally popped out! How exciting. He told me the going rate from the tooth fairy is $1 per tooth. Boy, who would have thunk it? I later took him to school where he showed his teachers and friends. As we were speaking to them, he said that if we leave a note beside his pillow with the right words on it, the tooth fairy will not take the tooth. She'll let him keep it. Boy am I glad we had that conversation. Ha! Our baby's growing up . . .

A Dedication to the Wagner's

Not sure how they decided to this, but since they did, thought we'd better dedicate these pics to the Wagner's since they just moved to Akron. Brad and Gavin were looking in the mirror. So don't let the spelling confuse you all. Anyway, these pics are for you, Curt, Sara, and Ali. Enjoy!!

Book Review "The Glass Castle"

I was talking to my mom the other day saying how I felt I was a failure at parenting and for the life of me could not figure out what was wrong with Taten, if there was anything I can do, etc., etc. Previously, she had loaned me a book called "The Glass Castle" and had asked if I read it yet. Of course, I said no. Who's got time? Anyway, she reassured me I needed to read it and it would change my whole outlook on life. Boy was she right. I picked it up and read it within 5 days time.

The book is by Jeannette Walls and is classified as a memoir. She recounts her dysfunctional life growing up with parents: her Dad a drunk and her Mother who had no maternal instincts. Their lives are constantly on the move with her Dad's obscure ideas about life and her mother's views that everything is an adventure and new opportunities. They find themselves living in shacks with, not only cockroaches and other "bugs", but large river rats, stray animals, etc. The ironic thing throughout the whole book is that her parents had several opportunities before them to get them out of their destitute situation, but they don't. Jeannette and her older sister and younger brother evolve from children going along with the ride to becoming parents to their own parents. You all have to read this book. You'll love it. If you do pick up a copy, I'd love to discuss it with you.

This book does have language in it, but it's straight forward and is an easy read. It's better than TV. :o)

Our Boys . . . The saga continues :o)

Our dear Taten boy. What can you say about him? He's going through the fun-loving stage of the "Terrific Two's" as I'm trying to put a positive spin on it. I have dedicated a verse to him (1 Samuel 16:7) which says ". . . Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." NIV. He's throwing temper tantrums daily, everyday. In my impatience and frustration, I look at him and see this unruly child going crazy, but I realize that God knows his heart and know what's happening with him. That thought gets me through the day when Brad is at work and when we're all winding down for the night. Bedtime has been a struggle lately but it's slowly getting better. It's not great, but getting better. I've been using different tactics and trying hard to share them with Brad. Since Taten has a strong threshold for pain, we're finding spanking and smacking his hands really doesn't work. On to the next! Ignoring him as he cries and reassuring him brother is there when it's bedtime seems to be helping. He's definitely finding his independence and trying hard to show us as best as he can. He says more words these days, too: Blankie, Paci (Pacifier), Poopie, Puppy, Movie, and so-forth.

We are also excited to report Gavin has a loose tooth. Won't be long and the tooth fairy should be stopping by within the next week or so. He's pretty excited and knows it's a sign of him growing up. We'll be looking forward to reporting it.

We hope you all are having a great week. Brad is preparing to move into high gear with the mowing season and I've told some others, I'm preparing for single parent-life. Brad gets so busy with work we're going to be working in some lunch dates here and there in order for him to get to see the boys and likewise. Whew! You all have a good one . . .

Speaking Spanish

Last night we had a funny experience. As I say, never a boring moment. Ever since Brad has had his "Mexican help", he comes home speaking new words, phrases, etc. So, Gavin knows the word "Hola." Well, now Taten knows it. Brad and I listened as Taten repeated the word over and over again, laughing hysterically. I guess our family is becoming "bilingual." Ha! :o)

Gavin absolutely needed his goggles and so here are some fun pics. I had to edit to make them "family friendly." Ha!

"I'm swimming for my life!!"

Saturday, we went to Junior Sports 101 and Taten was good as gold. It was a Christmas Miracle!!

Gavin and Ethan are hanging out. They're best buds!

More Photos from Indy

Had to show more photos. Gavin, Taten, and Ethan climbed a tree house, searched for more fossils, and hung out long enough to give us a pose for the camera. You all have to get there. The "Dinosphere" exhibit is amazing! :0) They were worn out when we got back and so were the moms. We're recuperating today. Hope you all had a wonderful Easter. I know we did.

Day at the Museum

Just hangin' out with George. We had a blast at the Children's Museum in Indianapolis. What a day. There were 5 floors of amazing exhibits, places for kids to play, and places to wind down.
One of the favorites was the huge train exhibit on the lower level. We spent at least an hour on that level alone.










Blastin' off in George's rocket!!

Catching Up

I took Gavin to the dentist yesterday to have not 1, not 2, but 3 cavities filled. Poor kid. He did really good, though. The dentist was impressed that he didn't have to fight him to get the job done. If you notice in the picture, Gavin's face is "asleep." Ha ha. He had 2 cavities on the left and a bad one on the right. He was very lop-sided. What a brave kid, though and this morning told me his mouth finally woke up.

On another note, Brad came home this past weekend and surprised me w/3 white roses! At first, I didn't know what was up but it turned out to be my belated birthday present. White roses are my favorite. My husband is the BEST!!

The weather is shaping up outside and we're looking forward to spring. Can't wait to plant flowers and shrubs. Hope you all are having a great week! :O)

Happy Monday All!

Hope everyone is starting out on the right foot today. This past weekend was good, busy, of course. After attending school carnivals, Brad and I went to RED LOBSTER. It was awesome! Thanks Kleinmans' for backing us up on the babysitting. My Dad came to visit yesterday and we've had a good time. Gavin, our neighbor girl Brie, and Brad decided to climb up the tree in our front yard (Gavin did need a little help). Check out the pics provided by my Dad. The weather was amazing yesterday, too. And now, we're on our way back to snow. Bummer. But next week is Day Light Savings and I know Spring is just around the corner. Praise God!

We are heading towards Easter. Be encouraged in Jesus' death and resurrection. I love the verse from Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." I hold tight to this verse even at Christmastime. Have a great week! :o)

Revision

Meant to say at the end there: Got you faded Randy. :o) My bad.

Adding a New Link

I've never been good about checking blogs. Everyone knows that. Not because I don't want to, I just never thought about it. So, a lot of our friends have blogs and I just found this week or TODAY what the sites were. Please check our "favorite links." We've added a new one there (not to offend our friends, of course). :o) Go your faded "Randy."

February 28,2008

I'm making our first posting. We're joining the bloggers' bandwagon :o) with a gentle nudge from our friends. We love them all. February is drawing to a close and it's amazing how time just seems to fly by. Brad's birthday was Feb. 18th and we had a long weekend of celebrating with family and friends. Gavin continues to attend preschool at St. John's. On March 3rd, I will go in to register him for kindergarten for the '08-'09 school year. Because of the school-of-choice system, we have to get his name in now. Can't wait until this part is over. He is looking forward to eating lunch there. Funny. My birthday is March 1st. I told my Dad I don't mind each passing year because when I get to 40, I'm going to make it look G -O-O-D . . . Ha! Looking forward to submitting future posting as I'm sure Brad is.