6 Takes...I didn't say that they would all be quick!

--- 1 ---

I turned 40 last Saturday.  I'm doing OK, thanks for asking.  In fact, I am doing great!  J and I had a chance to grab lunch together last Friday and have a mini-date.  I was talking to him about my impending birthday and I realized why this birthday was not hitting me like a ton of bricks, as I had been warned it might.  I'm exactly where I want to be in life.  I'm a happily married wife.  I'm a mom, something that was in serious question 10 years ago, and I mostly like who I am.  Perhaps at 50 I'll be able to say I totally like myself...we'll see!

--- 2 ---

Over Ivan's winter break we traveled to Disney World for a week.  It was a blast!  It was a different trip than the previous two.  Ivan is more opinionated and at times moody.  The World only exaggerates our best and worst qualities and Ivan is no exception to this truth.  However, the trip really represents a shift for me and how I look at Ivan.  That week really showed me how much he has grown up.  It's time for me to stop thinking of him as a little kid.  He is still a kid, but tween is right around the corner and I need to get prepared.  It's time for me to stop sheltering him so much.  I need to be willing to share more information about events around the world - age appropriate, of course.

--- 3 ---

My Bible Study Class concluded this week.  We will reunite in early September.  I always feel like I enter a small desert without the accountability that my Bible Study provides.  However, I did order several books that were recommended by my Moms in Prayer group at school.  I am hoping to improve my prayer life while I take a break from Bible Study this summer.  We'll see if I can be disciplined enough once school is out to get up early and have my quiet time.

--- 4 ---

I say it EVERY year, but my how time is flying!  Third grade is almost over!  Oh my, my kid will be a Fourth grader next fall.  Whoa.

--- 5 ---

J is hosting a rather lavish dinner party for me tomorrow evening.  When he first mentioned it I was less than enthusiastic, but now I am really looking forward to it.  He is serving surf and turf (Fillet Mignon and  Lobster).  Yum....

--- 6 ---

Sadly, Ivan is running a fever today.  Nothing too high like he experienced in January, but still it's hard to watch him not feel well.  Any prayers you could spare for a quick and complete recovery would be very appreciated.  Thanks!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Appreciated!

Ivan and I were working on homework yesterday afternoon and having a rather difficult time navigating through his history project.  J was sitting in the living room reading the newspaper.  Ivan and I finally got through the rough patch and went on to make the most of a difficult time.  An hour or so later, J came into the kitchen and gave me a hug and a kiss and whispered in my ear.  He told me how much he appreciated the work I was doing with Ivan on his project.  He also said that he knew that it wasn't always appreciated by Ivan, but that he appreciated the work I was doing.

I'm putting this little piece here so that I can come back to it when I am feeling UNappreciated around these parts.  Which, as the only women in this house, can be fairly frequently!

Quick Takes #1

Wow, the above was easy to add thanks to Jennifer's quick and easy template.  Thanks to Ellen for sharing that little tip with those of us who are "Blogger Challenged" like me!


 --- 1 ---
It's been way too long since I have posted here.  It's not that we haven't been busy, it's just that I want to share something important and worth remembering.  However, for the sake of memory keeping I must drop that requirement and just get on here and post sometimes.  Otherwise, I forget half of the little things that I want to remember!

--- 2 ---
Ivan is well into second grade now (the first day of school was August 15).  He is thoroughly enjoying his teachers.  I say teachers because he has a student teacher in his class for the first semester.  She has attended Liberty University and has been studying to become a teacher at a Christian School.  She has four children and honestly looks younger than me!  She seems great and Ivan likes her a lot.  His primary teacher is a little older than me and has two children who attend Ivan's school.  So far he is having a very successful year in all respects.  We'll take each week as it comes though.

--- 3 ---
Our sweet Cairn Terrier, Oliver, continues to be a sweet, little, delight for the whole family.  He has hair for days, but thankfully doesn't really shed.  I am trying to get a handle on how to hand strip his coat myself, at least partially.  To have it done by a professional is very expensive.  

--- 4 ---
I am no longer watching my wonderful niece CCB in the afternoons, as she has started kindergarten this fall.  Her school does not get out until 3:45, so there is no need for me to watch her.  I miss seeing her on a regular basis and so does Ivan.  However, it gives me some time back that I was spending in carline at preschool.  

--- 5 ---
J and Ivan visited the USS Yorktown with their Y-Guides tribe last weekend.  They had a blast from all reports.  They slept on the boat for two nights and ate all of their meals on the boat.  Ivan even brought me back a recipe for 10,000 chocolate chip cookies.  The recipe calls for 500 eggs.  It is said that when the ship was active they made this recipe at least every other day. 

--- 6 ---
While the boys were on their trip  I was here alone for 48 hours (just me and Oliver).  It was bliss.  I really needed the time to myself.  They arrived home Sunday afternoon and I felt recharged and rested.

--- 7 ---
Last, but certainly not least, J and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary this month.  I love him so much, and know that he is the man that God wanted me to partner with for this lifetime and I am so grateful.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Alone

I sit here tonight in a completely empty house for the first time in almost 13 years of marriage. J and Ivan are at J's parent's house for the night. His parents live about 2 1/2 hours from us and I sent the boys there without me for once. It's been a wonderful, busy and somewhat stressful summer and I needed a little time to myself. Dad's surgery was tough and his hospital recovery was even tougher, but thank the good Lord he is home now and on the mend. He is getting stronger by the day. Ivan participated in swim team for the first time this summer, so many of my days were filled with swim practice and Tuesday evenings were full of the swim meets themselves. Not to mention two sessions of VBS (both execellant). Now the count-down to Kindergarten has begun. Just a little over two weeks until my little man is off to "big boy school". That, however, is for a different time.

Tonight I have enjoyed the silence, the selfish TV time and a good dinner from one of my favorite resturants (and my favorite pino griogio too!). Now, I am off to bed...alone. This is the part of the evening I have not been looking forward to. Not only is J not here to snuggle with but there will be no Sherman at the side of the bed to make me feel safe. When J used to travel for business and I spent many an evening alone, I always had Sherman with me. He would typically (in the old house) stay not under our bed as he usually did when J was home, but he would sleep in his chair that sat right by the front door. Therefore making me feel safe...since no one could get to me without encountering Sherman first. I know that God is in this house protecting me and in a way Sherman is too. However, it still feels a little weird as I am about to crawl into bed knowing that I am totally alone for the first time in my entire married life.

What a great guy...

My husband rocks. He said to me last night that one of the things HE was most thankful for over the past year was that I let him take care of me during my Dad's illness. What a guy!!

An eye opening experience...

My family has always been blessed with good health, until Daddy's bout with pancreatitis. The whole ordeal of having a loved one so sick for so long is a totally new road for my family and it has proven to be eye opening in some ways.

My Mom is a very independent woman. She has had trouble allowing people to help her throughout this whole ordeal. She has shouldered far more on her own than I would like for her to have, but she won't share some of the duties with others and she never complains. My Mom is a rock...no news there, I've always known that. Usually, I would describe my Mom as an optimistic soul. She usually sees the bright side and doesn't go down pessimistic roads unless she has to. After about the second full week of Dad's illness though she has been less and less able to be her usual optimistic self. When the nurses and Dr's were trying to prepare her that Dad might not make it she lost some of her ability to "look on the bright side". Who could blame her. Here was her husband, best friend and buddy fighting the fight of his life and possibly not winning in the end. After Dad rallied a bit from that lowest time, Mom has had a very difficult time trusting that there would be a good outcome in the end. In fact, sometimes when she would start to hope again, something else would come along and knock her down. I only hope once this is all over (and I really hope to be able to say that soon) Mom will be able to trust that Dad is back with her. There will be changes, possibly dialysis for the rest of his life, certainly some lifestyle changes as far as how he eats, and their future will be effected. They had planned to have Mom retire in October and then the travelling would begin. Now, all of that is in question. Will Dad's health ever return to a level that they will feel comfortable travelling? Lord, I hope so as they have waited for this for so long.

My sister on the other hand has proven to be an eternal optimist. Always keeping her eye on when Dad would get better and not if he got better. C has only lost her hopeful spirit once during a very low weekend when the Dr's and nurses were hammering at us that they did not feel good about Dad's outcome. I honestly never knew my sister was such an optimist. She alone has believed with almost unwavering certainly that Dad would come back to us in the end. I really admire that about her, but know that it is not my way.

I have reaffirmed the knowledge that I had about myself throughout this whole thing. I go to the worst place first and work back from there. As long as I know he will come back to us, I can handle it. So the times that we were not sure that he would come back to us were utterly devastating for me. Had I not had the Lord and my wonderful husband to lean on, I don't think that I could have come out to see the light for a long, long time. That would have been a shame because I have such a bright light shinning here in my son.

My Mom and Ivan and his two cousins are also the light that has helped my Dad to fight and stay with us throughout this whole ordeal. Once he is back on his feet, I know that the one thing that he will insist does not change is his time with the grandkids. I can't wait to get back there.

There is one person who has sustained me throughout this whole ordeal; and while that support was not exactly eye opening, it has been one of the things that has kept me going. The love and total support that J has given to me throughout this time is unparallelled in my life. He has been there for me in every way imaginable. He has picked me up when I was on the floor with grief and worry, he has taken care of everything that I just couldn't handle including Ivan, cooking, cleaning and many other things. He has been my life support system throughout this time of trial and I don't know what I would have done without him. Every time that I dash out the door to the hospital he kisses me and says stay as long as you need or want to, we'll be fine. It is that complete and total freedom that has allowed me to be with my Dad as much as I felt I needed to be. J's motto throughout this whole time has been "this isn't forever, do what you need to do". I am so blessed to have such a wonderful man by my side for life. Thank you Lord for bringing him my way 14 years ago.

Insomniac...

I don't know what is going on in my house, but no one is sleeping...including Sherman. The fact that Ivan goes in "sleep phases" is nothing new, but this total wacko sleep cycle (if you can even call it a cycle) is baffling me completely. Here is what's been going on here lately:


First we moved to a our new house about three weeks ago. Ivan hasn't seemed to skip a beat since the move...everything has been normal until very recently.


We have been semi-intensely working on Potty Training the last two weeks. By semi-intensely I mean we talk about using the potty ALL the time, Ivan sits on the potty several times throughout the day, he has pee peed in the potty on some occasions and he has worn his "big boy pants" a few times with only one accident (and it was a huge mess - thankfully on the kitchen floor and no where else).


To add to all that Ivan has finally bitten a hole into his final bah bah (pacifier). When we moved he had four bahs left and when he would hand me one that had been bitten through I would inform him that when he bit through the last one, there would be no more. The other night he handed me the final bah (with a tiny hole bitten through the tip) and said "No!". Ivan has only been using his bah bahs at nap and night night for about a year and half now, but they are somewhat of a security item for him so we will see how the "loss" of them affects him and his sleep.

Funny, when I write all of this out it seems somewhat obvious why he hasn't been sleeping too well. The little guy's world is changing so fast.

*****Edited to add*****
J put Ivan to bed last night at 7:15 and we never heard a peep. J put me to bed at 9:45 and never heard a peep. It is currently 7:50 AM Tuesday morning and Ivan is still asleep...hopefully this will put him back on track and the rest of us as well. We shall see!

What a man, what a man, what a mighty good man...

J is an awesome Daddy. Some of my favorite moments are spent watching J and Ivan interact. They love to play tickle games, jump out and get you games and so much more. They both light me up inside and I love them so much.

J is teaching Ivan how to be a good man. He sets a wonderful example of how to be in charge, while remaining lovable, soft and reachable. J is firm when necessary and tender when that is what is called for too.

He is also great at balancing his work and home life. Not an easy task in today's work, work, work world. However, J is home in time to kiss Ivan goodnight every night and we eat dinner together at least 6 days a week.

He is the man I want my son to grow up to be some day.

J, I love and respect you more than words can express.

Ten Years Ago Today....

It was ten years ago today that J and I were married. Where has the time gone? It's been one wonderful, love filled ride and I can't wait to see what the next ten years bring our way.

Thank you Lord for giving me this man to build my life with...he is nothing short of perfect for me.