October 18th is a date that will always be close to my heart; it's the date that I became a Mom! Today my son, Logan, turned four year's old. Today is also the first time that his Birthday hit close to my heart. I felt a sense of loss in the sense that he will soon be attending school full-time. I won't have the luxury of having him all day during the week. My little boy really isn't so little anymore. He's maturing so much I can hardly stand it.
I love Logan's heart. He has such a tender side to him. I love that at dinner he needs to stop and take hug breaks or still loves to give me extra kisses. I love that he's so sweet to his brother and can't wait to share a bedroom with him. I love that he thinks our next child will be a girl. He tells me that when Shane gets a little bit older then I'll have a girl baby. That's all he wants--one brother and one sister. (I'm secretly praying for two girls, but don't tell Josh!) I love that he calls me out on things like if I forget to put my seat belt on right away in the car or I don't follow through with a promise right away (good or bad). I love that he sleeps in his underwear (and dance, wrestle, eat, etc). I love the joy that fills his heart and his laugh that makes his nose crinkle up. I love that he still prays for his armpit, thanks to his daycare buddies teaching him how to make noises out of it. I love that he calls his bike with training wheels his "trick" bike and that he loves to be rough and tough with his daddy. I love how he make's sure that I'm OK since the passing of my dad. Weekly he's asking me if I"m still sad and then we are able to talk about Papa Mike.
Being Logan's MOM is truly an honor. I can't wait to see the plans that the Lord has in store for his life.
"Be strong and courageous, (Logan), for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you."
Dueteronomy 31:6
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Happy Thursday! So this morning I thought it would be fun for the kids and I to attend story hour at the library...the emphasis on this post will be "thought." I am easily excited, sort like the daycare kids, but this morning I should have just stayed home.
The first problem was getting all 9 kiddos to the library, transportation wasn't working out like I had thought, but in the end I was able to make something work. The first incident that threw the kids and I into chaos was our ride showed up 15 minutes early. I was still packing a sack lunch for two of the kids that had to get to pre-school right after story hour. No one was ready! We all scramble to get our things on. I asked the big kids to help the little kids, but the little kids didn't want the big kids help...grrr! We managed to get everyone ready and out the door.
As we arrived to the library the turn to the main access was blocked off due to construction. I had no idea how to get around, but we unloaded everyone and headed out to find a way in. Thankfully another mom was bringing her child to story hour and told me how to get in. During this time, the wind seriously could not have blustered (if that's even a word) any worse that it was. Dirt was flying into the kids and I's faces and it was chilly. We managed to walk around to the other side only to be confronted with stairs. I had my two year old's in the stroller and was not about to attempt this task alone. I put on my assertive pants and asked the first person I saw to help me and to get directions to the library from the DMV office. The other 7 kids were getting pretty rowdy and definitely didn't have their listening ears on. Down the hallways we went, up the elevator, down another hallway, through the doorway and we were there. We arrived to the library at 10:50AM (story hour began at 10:30AM) only to find that it was canceled due to the construction! Our ride was coming to pick us back up at 11:15AM, so we had some time to spare to check out books.
At about 11:10AM we headed out to find our way back to the parking lot. I managed to get us to the elevator, of course with kids fighting to push the button and running off so they could hide from me. We were on the Lower Level and needed to go up, assuming that meant we went to the Upper Level. After two failed attempts to the Upper Level, yes loading and unloading everyone out of the elevator, this sweet lady came to my aide. When we arrived to the Upper Level there was no way to get out and the area didn't look familiar. I failed to remember what level we were on when we first boarded the elevator to go to story hour. After one more trip "up" she enlightened me with the "M" button for Main Floor. As we got off and the surroundings looked familiar I began to sing Hallelujahs at the top of my lungs and even jumped up and clicked my heels together. No, actually I didn't do that, but that would have been funny! The kind lady helped me carry the stroller down the flight of stairs and we were all off again to our ride, not to mention running 10 minutes. I forgot another important detail, it had begun raining too.
We did make it back to our ride, $20 later, wet hair and clothes, with no story hour made for one disappointing outing! Advertisers say that Red Bull gives you wings well Soy Lattes at Caribou makes you think you're Super Mom... and I'm not.
If you can learn anything from this blog post please call the library before you plan an outing to story hour with nine kids, it will save you some stress and disappointed children.
The first problem was getting all 9 kiddos to the library, transportation wasn't working out like I had thought, but in the end I was able to make something work. The first incident that threw the kids and I into chaos was our ride showed up 15 minutes early. I was still packing a sack lunch for two of the kids that had to get to pre-school right after story hour. No one was ready! We all scramble to get our things on. I asked the big kids to help the little kids, but the little kids didn't want the big kids help...grrr! We managed to get everyone ready and out the door.
As we arrived to the library the turn to the main access was blocked off due to construction. I had no idea how to get around, but we unloaded everyone and headed out to find a way in. Thankfully another mom was bringing her child to story hour and told me how to get in. During this time, the wind seriously could not have blustered (if that's even a word) any worse that it was. Dirt was flying into the kids and I's faces and it was chilly. We managed to walk around to the other side only to be confronted with stairs. I had my two year old's in the stroller and was not about to attempt this task alone. I put on my assertive pants and asked the first person I saw to help me and to get directions to the library from the DMV office. The other 7 kids were getting pretty rowdy and definitely didn't have their listening ears on. Down the hallways we went, up the elevator, down another hallway, through the doorway and we were there. We arrived to the library at 10:50AM (story hour began at 10:30AM) only to find that it was canceled due to the construction! Our ride was coming to pick us back up at 11:15AM, so we had some time to spare to check out books.
At about 11:10AM we headed out to find our way back to the parking lot. I managed to get us to the elevator, of course with kids fighting to push the button and running off so they could hide from me. We were on the Lower Level and needed to go up, assuming that meant we went to the Upper Level. After two failed attempts to the Upper Level, yes loading and unloading everyone out of the elevator, this sweet lady came to my aide. When we arrived to the Upper Level there was no way to get out and the area didn't look familiar. I failed to remember what level we were on when we first boarded the elevator to go to story hour. After one more trip "up" she enlightened me with the "M" button for Main Floor. As we got off and the surroundings looked familiar I began to sing Hallelujahs at the top of my lungs and even jumped up and clicked my heels together. No, actually I didn't do that, but that would have been funny! The kind lady helped me carry the stroller down the flight of stairs and we were all off again to our ride, not to mention running 10 minutes. I forgot another important detail, it had begun raining too.
We did make it back to our ride, $20 later, wet hair and clothes, with no story hour made for one disappointing outing! Advertisers say that Red Bull gives you wings well Soy Lattes at Caribou makes you think you're Super Mom... and I'm not.
If you can learn anything from this blog post please call the library before you plan an outing to story hour with nine kids, it will save you some stress and disappointed children.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Season of Change...
The past month and a half has brought a lot of change to my life. I think it's safe to say that Summer in Minnesota is officially over and Fall is in full force. As much as I love Summer there is something about the crisp air, the leaves changing to stunning colors of red, gold & orange, layering clothes, going for a run without sweating profusely, pumpkin patches, apples with carmel and cozy comfort food that brings joy to my heart. I wish Fall would last until December, but that's not how it works here. I was reminiscing about what my life looked like last year at this time. I had just had Shane Taylor and my dad, Mike, and step-mom, Ruth, where visiting us, my brother, Lucas, and sister, Eva, had come to Minnesota to meet Shane as well. I wasn't working and Twyla was doing daycare for me at the house. We had taken a family trip to the North Shore which we planned to make a family tradition, but some life events this year has caused us to post-pone until next Fall.
Monday, August 15th is a day I will never forget. It's the first time in my life that I have truly experienced heartache. It's the day that my dad, Mike, died. I received a call around 1:30AM from my step-mom, Ruth, that my dad had just passed away from a heart attack in his sleep. It literally felt like a bad dream. I was inconsolable, I shook as I cried in Josh's arms. It didn't seem possible. He was supposed to be coming next month to see us, Shane's Birthday was 10 days away and I had just spend the day playing phone tag with him. So many emotions rushed through me at the thought of not hearing my dad's voice again or being able to touch him. Through this experience of loss and heartache I'm able to rejoice knowing that my dad is the presence of the Almighty God. He finally has a perfect body--eyes to see Heaven's greatness. I'm so thankful that our time on Earth isn't the end and that I will get to spend eternity in heaven with my dad. I still go to call my dad on a weekly basis, but then remember he's not going to answer. There are so many moments through out my day that I wish I could share with him. Words Logan says or new milestones Shane has reached. I want to call him to vent about life knowing that he will lift my spirits up and tell me that he's praying for me. I miss hearing about his weekends, singing in the church choir and going to Sunday Karaoke. I miss hearing him call me "Keekers" and telling me how much he loves me. I don't know if time will make any of this any easier, but for right now it hurts. I am thankful that I don't have any regrets with my relationship with my dad. We both did the best we could and gave it 100%. His funeral was two Friday's ago, September 16th, in Columbus, OH. It was a perfect celebration of his life. I was able to share some thoughts at his funeral that I would like to share with you. We don't know how much time on Earth we will have and I want everyone to be able to be confident to know where you are going when you die.
Below is my speech...
My name is Kelsi Timm, and I am Michael’s daughter. Today you will hear about how great of a man my dad was, people will share sweet memories that they had with him, funny stories about dad, his love for music & sports and how he loved his family and friends, but I am going to tell you about my dad’s most important relationship in life.
My dad has had a lot of relationships in his life. Relationships with friends, family, wives, alcohol, music, work, sports, exercise, but none had ever completely fulfilled him until he met Jesus.
I began to pray for my dad when I was in middle school that he would come to know Jesus as his personal savior. After eight years of prayer, my prayer finally was answered. I will never forget the phone call when dad told me he had entered into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. You see it was not by my dad’s good works or by him being a good person, it was that my dad surrendered himself to Jesus. Ephesians 2:8-9 reads, “For it is by grace we are saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” Dad had tried to do life on his own for too long and realized that it wasn’t working. He needed something else and that something else was Jesus. Dad learned that Jesus loved him so much that he died on the cross for his sins; despite his shortcomings and poor choices. Jesus’ grace redeemed him and now dad gets to spend eternity in Heaven.
The last 10 years I have so enjoyed talking to him about what Jesus was doing in his life. He would challenge me in my walk with the Lord and would hold me accountable when I wasn’t living my life accordingly to the Bible. He became a prayer warrior for my family and I. Dad just wasn’t a dad anymore, he became a spiritual mentor to me. Dad has shared with me countless times that his greatest desire is for his family & friends to know Jesus as their personal savior. He wants us we all to spend eternity together. So on behalf of my father, I challenge all of you to think about where would you go if you died tonight. Are you confident that you would get to spend eternity in Heaven? The Bible says, “God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may KNOW that you have eternal life,” 1 John 5:11-13.
Dad has left his legacy of living his life for Jesus for his children and grandchildren. He is dancing and singing with the angels. He finally gets to see with perfect vision and is in presence of the Almighty God! I miss my dad so much. I’ll never get to hear him call me Keeker’s, say that I love’s me, that he’s proud of me or that he’s praying for me. I know that one day I will be re-united with him in Heaven and we will get to spend eternity together.
Monday, August 15th is a day I will never forget. It's the first time in my life that I have truly experienced heartache. It's the day that my dad, Mike, died. I received a call around 1:30AM from my step-mom, Ruth, that my dad had just passed away from a heart attack in his sleep. It literally felt like a bad dream. I was inconsolable, I shook as I cried in Josh's arms. It didn't seem possible. He was supposed to be coming next month to see us, Shane's Birthday was 10 days away and I had just spend the day playing phone tag with him. So many emotions rushed through me at the thought of not hearing my dad's voice again or being able to touch him. Through this experience of loss and heartache I'm able to rejoice knowing that my dad is the presence of the Almighty God. He finally has a perfect body--eyes to see Heaven's greatness. I'm so thankful that our time on Earth isn't the end and that I will get to spend eternity in heaven with my dad. I still go to call my dad on a weekly basis, but then remember he's not going to answer. There are so many moments through out my day that I wish I could share with him. Words Logan says or new milestones Shane has reached. I want to call him to vent about life knowing that he will lift my spirits up and tell me that he's praying for me. I miss hearing about his weekends, singing in the church choir and going to Sunday Karaoke. I miss hearing him call me "Keekers" and telling me how much he loves me. I don't know if time will make any of this any easier, but for right now it hurts. I am thankful that I don't have any regrets with my relationship with my dad. We both did the best we could and gave it 100%. His funeral was two Friday's ago, September 16th, in Columbus, OH. It was a perfect celebration of his life. I was able to share some thoughts at his funeral that I would like to share with you. We don't know how much time on Earth we will have and I want everyone to be able to be confident to know where you are going when you die.
Below is my speech...
My name is Kelsi Timm, and I am Michael’s daughter. Today you will hear about how great of a man my dad was, people will share sweet memories that they had with him, funny stories about dad, his love for music & sports and how he loved his family and friends, but I am going to tell you about my dad’s most important relationship in life.
My dad has had a lot of relationships in his life. Relationships with friends, family, wives, alcohol, music, work, sports, exercise, but none had ever completely fulfilled him until he met Jesus.
I began to pray for my dad when I was in middle school that he would come to know Jesus as his personal savior. After eight years of prayer, my prayer finally was answered. I will never forget the phone call when dad told me he had entered into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. You see it was not by my dad’s good works or by him being a good person, it was that my dad surrendered himself to Jesus. Ephesians 2:8-9 reads, “For it is by grace we are saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” Dad had tried to do life on his own for too long and realized that it wasn’t working. He needed something else and that something else was Jesus. Dad learned that Jesus loved him so much that he died on the cross for his sins; despite his shortcomings and poor choices. Jesus’ grace redeemed him and now dad gets to spend eternity in Heaven.
The last 10 years I have so enjoyed talking to him about what Jesus was doing in his life. He would challenge me in my walk with the Lord and would hold me accountable when I wasn’t living my life accordingly to the Bible. He became a prayer warrior for my family and I. Dad just wasn’t a dad anymore, he became a spiritual mentor to me. Dad has shared with me countless times that his greatest desire is for his family & friends to know Jesus as their personal savior. He wants us we all to spend eternity together. So on behalf of my father, I challenge all of you to think about where would you go if you died tonight. Are you confident that you would get to spend eternity in Heaven? The Bible says, “God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may KNOW that you have eternal life,” 1 John 5:11-13.
Dad has left his legacy of living his life for Jesus for his children and grandchildren. He is dancing and singing with the angels. He finally gets to see with perfect vision and is in presence of the Almighty God! I miss my dad so much. I’ll never get to hear him call me Keeker’s, say that I love’s me, that he’s proud of me or that he’s praying for me. I know that one day I will be re-united with him in Heaven and we will get to spend eternity together.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Attack of the mosquitos and a mouse
We, my family & I, just returned home from what was supposed to be a leisure hike at Carlos State Park, but instead turned into an attack of the mosquitos. (sounds like a movie title) Our adventure went a little something like this...
It's a beautiful sunny day in Alexandria, low 70s with a slight breeze. A perfect day to take in Carlos State Park. We loaded up the boys along with some snacks and drinks and the double stroller. We began our journey with not a care in the world--didn't even check the time nor grab a map. We were just excited to have some family time and take in the lushness of the park. The trail started out great, we were admiring the lake, and the landscape and Logan was collecting sticks. Logan instructed me to take pictures of any animals that we see. As we got further into the trail, the shadier and moist it became. As you know, certain annoying critters love this type environment. (This is the part where the mosquitos begin to attack.) We start to walk faster and are trying to keep the mosquitos off of the boys. Did I mention that we neglected to bring bug spray with? Walking and swatting flies was not working. Thankfully we had brought a blanket with for Shane, so Logan draped the blanket across Shane and his legs to keep the flies out. Josh and I decided that we should start to run. We honestly had no ideas how far it was to the end, but all we knew was that we wanted out.
By this time I really had to use the bathroom, if the bugs weren't so bad I would have stopped and gone on the trail. I, however, didn't want the bug bites and Josh said he wouldn't wait. As Josh is running with the jogging stroller and I'm carrying our camera I can't help but start to laugh. Up we went, down we went, things were falling out of the stroller because of the rough terrain. I could feel my bladder a swishing' and a sloshing' and I envisioned myself not making it to the bathroom. Finally we came to the road and we knew it wouldn't be long to a bug free zone.
I hurried to the bathroom and just barely made it, but I made it! I was dripping in sweat and was relieved that our time at the park had come to an end. As I walked towards the vehicle with no more worries a mouse ran out in front of me and almost touched my foot. I jumped and screamed for my life and then took off running (again). My heart was pounding and I felt like I had the he-be-jeebies crawling all over me. Josh was laughing and couldn't believe I was that scared of a mouse. So needless to say I went out with a bang!
So there it is folks, our adventure at Carlos State Park! We are now safe and sound at our house and the boys are sound asleep in their beds. Learn from our mistakes, apply bug spray before hitting the trails!
It's a beautiful sunny day in Alexandria, low 70s with a slight breeze. A perfect day to take in Carlos State Park. We loaded up the boys along with some snacks and drinks and the double stroller. We began our journey with not a care in the world--didn't even check the time nor grab a map. We were just excited to have some family time and take in the lushness of the park. The trail started out great, we were admiring the lake, and the landscape and Logan was collecting sticks. Logan instructed me to take pictures of any animals that we see. As we got further into the trail, the shadier and moist it became. As you know, certain annoying critters love this type environment. (This is the part where the mosquitos begin to attack.) We start to walk faster and are trying to keep the mosquitos off of the boys. Did I mention that we neglected to bring bug spray with? Walking and swatting flies was not working. Thankfully we had brought a blanket with for Shane, so Logan draped the blanket across Shane and his legs to keep the flies out. Josh and I decided that we should start to run. We honestly had no ideas how far it was to the end, but all we knew was that we wanted out.
By this time I really had to use the bathroom, if the bugs weren't so bad I would have stopped and gone on the trail. I, however, didn't want the bug bites and Josh said he wouldn't wait. As Josh is running with the jogging stroller and I'm carrying our camera I can't help but start to laugh. Up we went, down we went, things were falling out of the stroller because of the rough terrain. I could feel my bladder a swishing' and a sloshing' and I envisioned myself not making it to the bathroom. Finally we came to the road and we knew it wouldn't be long to a bug free zone.
I hurried to the bathroom and just barely made it, but I made it! I was dripping in sweat and was relieved that our time at the park had come to an end. As I walked towards the vehicle with no more worries a mouse ran out in front of me and almost touched my foot. I jumped and screamed for my life and then took off running (again). My heart was pounding and I felt like I had the he-be-jeebies crawling all over me. Josh was laughing and couldn't believe I was that scared of a mouse. So needless to say I went out with a bang!
So there it is folks, our adventure at Carlos State Park! We are now safe and sound at our house and the boys are sound asleep in their beds. Learn from our mistakes, apply bug spray before hitting the trails!
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Lucky in Love
I've always wondered why I was so lucky to the meet the man of my dreams at the young age of 19 and to be married a month after my 22 birthday. I've wondered why I was so blessed to be able to conceive so easily and to have two healthy boys. I am forever grateful to the Lord that he has blessed my life. I've pondered these questions because I have dear friends who's hearts desire to be married and to have a family, but haven't met "the one" yet. These women love the Lord and life their lives for HIM; just like myself. I know that the Lord has different paths for each of us and that his timing is perfect, but it doesn't always seem fair.
Tonight, however, my heart is rejoicing for a couple of my single friends. The past couple of weeks they both have gone on dates with quality guys. I am so excited that they have met good men. I was at a wedding a few weeks back and the father-of-the bride gave a speech and said that he has prayed that his daughter would find a man that was good, godly and a gentleman. I now pray these things for my single friends and that my boys can be those three things for their future girlfriends and one day wife. I'm excited that the Lord is giving them a glimpse of hope that there are still "good" guys out there. I can't wait to share in their excitement of meeting someone new.
So if you, like my sweet single friends, are still waiting for "Mr. or Mrs. Right" keep trusting in the Lord with all of your heart. The Lord may just catch you off guard and surprise you with someone interesting. Remember, God is good all of the time and He gives us the desires of our heart!
Tonight, however, my heart is rejoicing for a couple of my single friends. The past couple of weeks they both have gone on dates with quality guys. I am so excited that they have met good men. I was at a wedding a few weeks back and the father-of-the bride gave a speech and said that he has prayed that his daughter would find a man that was good, godly and a gentleman. I now pray these things for my single friends and that my boys can be those three things for their future girlfriends and one day wife. I'm excited that the Lord is giving them a glimpse of hope that there are still "good" guys out there. I can't wait to share in their excitement of meeting someone new.
So if you, like my sweet single friends, are still waiting for "Mr. or Mrs. Right" keep trusting in the Lord with all of your heart. The Lord may just catch you off guard and surprise you with someone interesting. Remember, God is good all of the time and He gives us the desires of our heart!
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
sub-ur-ban: a vehicle used to carry people or cargo
Today marked a major milestone in my life. We bought a vehicle today! It's sad to say, but I have never had to buy a vehicle before. I feel very fortunate and blessed that I have been surrounded by generous family. So here is the story...
I have been dragging my feet at the thought of purchasing a new vehicle. I have loved that we have had no car payments for a very long time, but "DD" (my 2000 Dodge Durango) is on it's way out. It has gotten to the point where I don't trust to drive it out of town. I have dreamed of owning a suburban, but every time we look it's always out of our price range. We have definitely out grown the Durango and Josh's truck.
We found a different Durango for sale and we're interested in buying it, but Josh did a little research and found out that the engine wasn't good for the year that it was made. He then decided to check out Alexandria Motors. Little did he know that he would find me a suburban; within our price range, plus all of the bells and whistles for the inside. I have a thing for moon roofs-- it'll probably be the closest thing I get to a convertible-- I love to feel the sun beat down on me as I drive off into the distance. I also dreamed of leather seats that are heated-- to help comfort my freezing body in the winter. Now since we are parents of two we really wanted a DVD player for longer road trips (ex. 8 hr road trip to Canada in July) and bucket seats with a third row bench for convenience and later on to strategically place the kids where they can fight the least amount. I thought a navigation system would be pretty awesome too, especially since I'm horrible with directions. This diamond in the rough has it all!
I was sad to say good-bye to "DD," it had been my wheels since Josh and I got married (almost 7 years!). I had worn it well. It provided me with transportation for numerous daycare outings and I grew to love the rust spots over the wheel wells. The rust soon became my trademark when friends were trying to identify which Durango was mine. However, I'm ready to start the next chapter with this vehicle. As I drove it tonight I suddenly felt like a 'real' mom. A van or a large SUV is such a mom vehicle. It enables us to haul all of our precious cargo around. I can't help but to give God all the credit on this awesome find. I have been praying about our next vehicle and he answered my prayer to a "T."
My husband is simply adorable! He has literally spent the entire night in the garage with our new buy. He has tested out almost every feature on the vehicle to make sure it works properly. He adjusted the tennis ball so I know where to stop when pulling into the garage. He made sure that there is enough room in the front to still open the fridge door and enough room in the back to throw garbage away. He saved my seat adjustment (and his too), tested the headphones to the DVD, made sure the CD player works, windshield wipers work (front and back) and so on and so on. I love that he is so detail oriented. I just get caught up in the moment and forget about the little stuff. He is such a great provider and protector.
Now that I have blogged about my new experience, it's official--We own a Suburban!
I have been dragging my feet at the thought of purchasing a new vehicle. I have loved that we have had no car payments for a very long time, but "DD" (my 2000 Dodge Durango) is on it's way out. It has gotten to the point where I don't trust to drive it out of town. I have dreamed of owning a suburban, but every time we look it's always out of our price range. We have definitely out grown the Durango and Josh's truck.
We found a different Durango for sale and we're interested in buying it, but Josh did a little research and found out that the engine wasn't good for the year that it was made. He then decided to check out Alexandria Motors. Little did he know that he would find me a suburban; within our price range, plus all of the bells and whistles for the inside. I have a thing for moon roofs-- it'll probably be the closest thing I get to a convertible-- I love to feel the sun beat down on me as I drive off into the distance. I also dreamed of leather seats that are heated-- to help comfort my freezing body in the winter. Now since we are parents of two we really wanted a DVD player for longer road trips (ex. 8 hr road trip to Canada in July) and bucket seats with a third row bench for convenience and later on to strategically place the kids where they can fight the least amount. I thought a navigation system would be pretty awesome too, especially since I'm horrible with directions. This diamond in the rough has it all!
I was sad to say good-bye to "DD," it had been my wheels since Josh and I got married (almost 7 years!). I had worn it well. It provided me with transportation for numerous daycare outings and I grew to love the rust spots over the wheel wells. The rust soon became my trademark when friends were trying to identify which Durango was mine. However, I'm ready to start the next chapter with this vehicle. As I drove it tonight I suddenly felt like a 'real' mom. A van or a large SUV is such a mom vehicle. It enables us to haul all of our precious cargo around. I can't help but to give God all the credit on this awesome find. I have been praying about our next vehicle and he answered my prayer to a "T."
My husband is simply adorable! He has literally spent the entire night in the garage with our new buy. He has tested out almost every feature on the vehicle to make sure it works properly. He adjusted the tennis ball so I know where to stop when pulling into the garage. He made sure that there is enough room in the front to still open the fridge door and enough room in the back to throw garbage away. He saved my seat adjustment (and his too), tested the headphones to the DVD, made sure the CD player works, windshield wipers work (front and back) and so on and so on. I love that he is so detail oriented. I just get caught up in the moment and forget about the little stuff. He is such a great provider and protector.
Now that I have blogged about my new experience, it's official--We own a Suburban!
Monday, June 27, 2011
A Four Letter Word...
My son Logan has really grown to love baseball. This past winter he discovered the movie, "The Sandlot" after his dad brought it home. It was one of Josh's favorite movies growing up. This movie has been around for a long time. I hadn't watched it in years and didn't think twice about letting my three year old watch it. ( I remembered it was about a group of buddies that played baseball all summer and were afraid of the dog that lived behind the fence.) "The Sandlot" soon became his favorite movie. He loved the huge dog, the "Big Bambino," and all of the baseball action. On the weekends he watched it, on long road trips he watched it, while making dinner he watched and the list goes on.
After it was already too late, I became aware of some of the language that was used in the movie. A couple of times the phrase, "Oh S***!" was used and I think H***. I was not impressed. I didn't think it was a good idea for Logan to be watching a movie with that kind of language. Now, not to throw my hubby under the bus, but he didn't think it was a big deal. He really didn't believe that Logan would pick up on the words since he doesn't hear it at home. Well, this weekend that theory was proved incorrect.
On Sunday when I got home from being away since Friday, Josh brought to my attention that while Logan was watching "The Sandlot" he repeated the "Oh, S***!" phrase after hearing it on the screen. He immediately told him that he wasn't allowed to use that word and that if he or I heard it again there would be a harsher punishment.
This evening we were saying good-bye to some friends at the front door and I realized that Logan hadn't put our science experiment away, (we put water in a bag and recorded the water level, and then froze it to see if the level changed). The ice was starting to melt and leaking all over the table. I handed it to him and asked him to put it in the sink. As he took the bag from me, he quietly said, "Oh S***, that's cold!" At first, I didn't want to believe what I just heard come out of his mouth, but Josh had heard it too. My first reaction was to laugh (of course, not so he could see) and then realized that "The Sandlot" will have to be put away until my son knows better. After our friends left, we had a "teaching moment" and let him know that he won't be able to watch the movie anymore because of the phrase that he had learned. We told him that not even adults should say those words and that our words need to honor Jesus. He was really sad, and once again gave me those big brown puppy dog eyes. He apologized and followed up with some kisses and hugs.
There are a couple of lessons here: 1) Always pre-screen the "oldie, but goodie" movies before you let your 3 year old watch it. 2) Go with your mommy intuition and after hearing about naughty words on a movie, don't continue letting your child watch it. 3) Brace yourself for many more "teaching" moments to come!
After it was already too late, I became aware of some of the language that was used in the movie. A couple of times the phrase, "Oh S***!" was used and I think H***. I was not impressed. I didn't think it was a good idea for Logan to be watching a movie with that kind of language. Now, not to throw my hubby under the bus, but he didn't think it was a big deal. He really didn't believe that Logan would pick up on the words since he doesn't hear it at home. Well, this weekend that theory was proved incorrect.
On Sunday when I got home from being away since Friday, Josh brought to my attention that while Logan was watching "The Sandlot" he repeated the "Oh, S***!" phrase after hearing it on the screen. He immediately told him that he wasn't allowed to use that word and that if he or I heard it again there would be a harsher punishment.
This evening we were saying good-bye to some friends at the front door and I realized that Logan hadn't put our science experiment away, (we put water in a bag and recorded the water level, and then froze it to see if the level changed). The ice was starting to melt and leaking all over the table. I handed it to him and asked him to put it in the sink. As he took the bag from me, he quietly said, "Oh S***, that's cold!" At first, I didn't want to believe what I just heard come out of his mouth, but Josh had heard it too. My first reaction was to laugh (of course, not so he could see) and then realized that "The Sandlot" will have to be put away until my son knows better. After our friends left, we had a "teaching moment" and let him know that he won't be able to watch the movie anymore because of the phrase that he had learned. We told him that not even adults should say those words and that our words need to honor Jesus. He was really sad, and once again gave me those big brown puppy dog eyes. He apologized and followed up with some kisses and hugs.
There are a couple of lessons here: 1) Always pre-screen the "oldie, but goodie" movies before you let your 3 year old watch it. 2) Go with your mommy intuition and after hearing about naughty words on a movie, don't continue letting your child watch it. 3) Brace yourself for many more "teaching" moments to come!
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