Jesus Reads My Blog

...I know because he answered my prayer from my last blog! Rusten has had a fever, but no more vomiting. He is actually fever-free today. Reed is starting to get better also. I believe that on the kid-front, we are finally on the mend. I wish I could say the same for Rich....he now has a fabulous sounding cough! When it rains it pours!

Jesus Give Us Grace

Today, coupled with a very emotionally charged weekend, was a LONG day! It was supposed to be my day off, when I can clean the house and grocery shop, you know, all the motherly/wifely things of life. Today, it was not meant to be.

After fighting with ants all weekend long, I was ready to give my house a good scrubbin' and get all that Raid out. I hate that it's everywhere and Reed crawls around....it scares me! We went to our swim lessons - which by the way, Rusten is a little independent fish - and came home to eat lunch. I put the boys down for naps and commenced Operation Scrub-a-dub-dub. Moments into my mission, I discovered another battalion of ants, and I immediately called the manager here who informed me that the ant-man (not related to the sandman) was going to come out this afternoon and spray....YEAH!! So I stopped cleaning my bathroom to make sure that he had all the access he needed to all the nooks and crannies which were in dire need of extermination services. So he comes and literally leaves puddles EVERYWHERE of the stuff. I asked how long it took to dry, "I don't know, about 15 minutes." Three and a half hours later, we still had standing ant juice. What should have taken no more than a half hour to clean the bathroom was three and a half hours. Then I had to hold Reed the rest of the afternoon because he couldn't crawl around until everything was dry. Therefore, my menu planning, grocery shopping, sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, etc. were all on hold.

So without doing the grocery shopping, what do you suppose we eat?? Mom's food! We went over to my parents house and had some chicken - yum! We wanted to see my dad's new motorcycle anyway. Soon after dinner, Rusten walks up to Rich and pukes everywhere! Ugh! Now we're cleaning carpets at Mimi's house!

So all that to say, I have dirty floors, no food, no road map of the food that needs to be bought, a baby on antibiotics, a toddler with a fever and a slight case of the up-chucks, an ungodly pile of laundry on my bed, my clean sheets next to my bed and begging to be put in place, and two tired parents! It's been a long past week, weekend and day. Jesus give us grace!

Oh, Those Ears

Reed and I had another bonding experience last night - this one not quite as sentimental. Maybe it was because I was in a dead sleep, maybe because I didn't understand his pain, who knows.

We didn't get home last night until almost 11 and the boys went to bed. I got Reed up to nurse him and put him back down and he was out! Then we went to bed and around 1ish, Reed woke up screaming. I let him cry for awhile thinking he'd settle back down.....nope! So I gave him some Tylenol and rocked myself....I mean him....to sleep.

Not wanting too many more sleepless nights, we took him to the doctor this morning. He does in fact own one red ear and one infected ear and two infected eyes. But NOW, we're on the mend! He has antibiotics and eye drops and we are well on our way to good health. Yeah! His doctor thinks maybe he has a problem with allergies and that could be why he's just not kicking this thing. We shall see.

On another note, we are fighting ants with no reserve. The only problem is when you have a baby, you can't use good weapons! So...if anyone has any baby-safe remedies, I would like my dining room and kitchen back!

And One More Thing...

I forgot to mention my firstborn. I had a precious moment with him this morning as well. He got up around 7 and was still tired from his late night, and he climbed in bed with me. He put his head on my pillow and we were face to face. Then we both fell asleep again. These are the best moments and I know I will miss them tremendously!

And That's When I Knew

My poor baby Reed has been fighting something for weeks now. I've taken him to the doctor and the treatment prescribed hasn't really helped all of the symptoms. He breaks my heart! Last night we got home real late and I laid the boys down. Then I got him up for his last nursing, and when I went to lay him back down, he cried and cried. He usually just lays right back down and goes to sleep, but not last night! Even while I was holding him, he was screaming. It was already so late, I just chose to sleep in the living room so Rich could get some sleep before work. I took Reed out to the living room and just rocked him in the recliner. It was some of the most peaceful time I've had lately. There is nothing like that bonding time with your baby, when you're able to calm them down enough to fall asleep. I used the time to pray over him, his brother, our family. I cried and basked in the presence of my Father. It was such a beautiful time - no matter how late it was! I love being a mommy and, Rich, that's when I knew I'm not done having kids! That's all I'm gonna say, won't push the issue, but I revel in moments like last night!

Not Much Here

Not much has been happening around here.....we're just super busy - go figure! We had dinner with a couple Tuesday night (babysitter), a dinner meeting last night (babysitter) and I have a Biblestudy tonight and Rich has a meeting (babysitter), all this after Sunday night youth group (babysitter). Aye! Anyone who knows me knows that this is KILLING me! I know that I am with them turkeys all day long, but I HATE it when they aren't with me - for any reason! So the fact that they've been with a babysitter four out of five nights this week, is totally unacceptable. Friday and Saturday nights must be about them.....because Sunday they go back to the babysitting mode for youth group!

So, in order to liven up my post a bit, I looked to my trusty camera! Apparently, turkey #1 got a hold of it.....

Those are just a few of the pictures he took!

Anyway, the other day, I did take a picture! After I rearranged the house, as if there wasn't enough seating in the front room, Rusten did a bit more arranging....you know, so HE was comfortable!

Alas, maybe tomorrow will be more lively!

"All I Need is a Miracle..."

Sorry I've been silent the last few days - I've been rearranging and reorganizing my whole apartment. For me, if I go through and clean everything out and rearrange a few things, it'll feel like a whole new place for a while. Now, I don't mind being here.....which might be a good thing....

A brief synopsis of our story goes like this: We lived in Northern California and God told us to move back here. We put our house up for sale and moved. We lived with my parents for about 6 months and then felt that God gave us the green light to move out into this apartment. God totally provided and we made our house payment each month until recently. Our renters moved out. We got approved to do a short sale and got an offer on the house. Unfortunately, our lender drug their feet, and our buyers went and bought another home. SO FRUSTRATING. We would call our lender several times a week to get updates, and it just doesn't matter - they don't care. I suppose they would rather foreclose on us and not get nearly as much money. As a side note, the offer was only a few thousand less than what we owe.....a smashing deal for our lender!

That brings us to today. I'm searching for God in this. He gave me a promise before we moved, because I was afraid of this very situation. It was in Psalm 22:

My God, my God! Why have you forsaken me? Why do you remain so distant? Why do you ignore my cries for help? Every day I call to you, my God, but you do not answer. Every night you hear my voice, but I find no relief. Yet you are holy. The praises of Israel surround your throne. Our ancestors trusted in you, and you rescued them. You heard their cries for help and saved them. They put their trust in you and were never disappointed.

So.....did you catch the "never disappointed" part? Yeah, me too. That was MY promise from God. That's what I clung to when I moved here in faith. That's the promise that I need fulfilled. We have worked so hard at keeping our credit perfect all our married life, and here we head to foreclosure. I mean....we're at repo's doorstep.

Okay, I know it sounds like I'm complaining. I'm not. I want more than anything in the world to leave a legacy of faith for my children. That means more to me than a house or anything. Where I struggle is on the fulfillment of the promise not being what I thought it would be - shocker, huh?! I mean, I must be the first person EVER that God didn't fulfill a promise like they thought he would! Ha!

At my last Bible study meeting (a ladies group at our church that's going through Beth Moore's "Believing God" - highly recommend!), Beth Moore said something that struck me:

"For children of God, a perfect setup for catastrophic defeat is also the perfect setup for miraculous victory."

So, when you think of my family this week and the weeks to come, please pray for our miraculous victory that we so desperately need. We're hoping to move out at the end of our lease in September/October, and we REALLY want to see that become reality! I promise I won't blog crazy like this again (today) and I'll get back to my normally lighthearted chatter.

Date Night

Last night we want on a double date with our long-time friends, Darrell and Mandy. The plan was to go to dinner and a movie. Someone anonymously gave us a $50 gift card to Chili's and two movie tickets, so we were excited to go on a date for free! We all wanted to see Indiana Jones, but guess what? Between the time we decided to see it on Thursday and the time we went to buy the tickets on Friday, it stopped showing! Nothing else looked worth seeing. So we improvised!

When we checked into Chili's to get our table, we made sure to emphasize that we only needed FOUR seats, no highchairs, no boosters, no car seat slings....nada! What a relief! No "stop hitting him", "please don't throw your food", "get off the floor", "sit still", "if I have to tell you again....", you get the idea!

Afterwards, we acted like we were 13 again and went to Camelot and played a round of miniature golf. There were plenty of people there, but there was one family in particular that caught my attention. It was a mom and dad and twin little girls, probably a little younger than Rusten and Luke. Every so often, we would hear them scream or cry and Mandy and I would just smile because WE didn't have to take care of it! Then we tried to go to Dewars, but missed them closing by a hair. We ended up at Baskin Robbins for a cool treat after our golf game.

Incidentally, the score of the game was a lock. Rich and Darrell got the same winning score and Mandy and I got the same second place score, some 20 strokes behind the boys. Oh well! It was fun!

Seriously? Again?!

So I was taking my shower today while Mr. Trouble-By-The-Minute was (again) SUPPOSED to be watching Caillou. Reed was peacefully sleeping in his crib. I got out of the shower and Rusten peeks his head into the room and gives me a mischievous smile. I thought nothing of it because SURELY the trouble we were in before for the toothpaste infraction and the great makeover catastrophe has deterred him from doing any such things ever again! HA! Here was the scene of the crime...

I'm not confident as to the extent of messy things which transpired here at the sink, but I'm sure the victim, whoever or whatever it was, has pearly whites and a beautiful complexion. Can you see that towel?! That's Rusten's new favorite thing to do - find a mess and get a towel to clean it up. I suppose I should be flattered that he had to make a mess to clean up? Anyway, the sink is clean now and the toiletries are properly stowed. Until next mess...

A Musical Evening

No, we didn't eat beans, silly! Today was just another crazy-busy day for our family. It was full of preschool, work, dishes, family, strange calls, more work, Walmart, China Bistro, music and friends. Okay, good night!

Just kidding, I'll bore you with the details. We went to preschool and had a great time. Then we went out to meet Mimi, Papa, Uncle Faniel and Kyle for lunch. Then we came home for nap time. We then had to go have Rusten's TB test read at the Doctor's office. He had to have the test for preschool. Have you ever had to hold down a herculean child during a shot? Not so much fun, really. I literally had to lay on him and the nurse still had to do it twice. Two days later, he'll still show you how he had to hold the gauze over the injection site......"I hold it like 'dis mommy."

When daddy got home, we left to run some errands (because we hadn't been in the car enough today) and then went out to the Marketplace to enjoy the summer concerts and some China Bistro - yum! Cream Cheese Wontons, I know I'm married, but my love for you flows deep!

Afterwards, we went over to the Champion's house to celebrate John's Bday. What a blessing to have him around for another birthday! If you get a chance, I encourage you to read about the story of their family's journey through cancer on their blog. We had some Marie Calendar's pies...another yum for the evening!

Now the boys are in bed and we wind down for the night.........see you tomorrow!

Something to Talk About

Our trip to the beach was so exciting, it surely gave Rich something to talk about! He NEVER likes talking on the phone, and if he's getting into such a comfortable position to talk on the phone, something big must have happened!

So here's the haps, peeps! We went over to Pismo on Friday night and camped until Sunday. It truly was a fun weekend. On Saturday, we drove to Avila Farms and enjoyed some ice cream and fed the animals. I love that place! I have many (some not-so) fond memories of Avila Farms when I was a kid. We used to go there every year and pick flats (yes, plural) of blackberries. We'd wear gloves and pick our little hearts out. One year, as we were waiting for the hay ride to the fields, an employee came skipping out of the store towards the tractor. As she was merrily skipping with her arms flailing straight out, she exclaimed (in the most annoying, high-pitched, valley-girl style voice you can imagine) "Does anyone want to go pick blackberries?" I can still see the look on my dad's face, "Did she really just say it like that?!" It has since been a long-standing joke in our family.....good times!

Anyway, back to the weekend! After the farm, we headed into Pismo for lunch at Splash...mmmm! We took the boys back to the tent for a nap. Unfortunately, our tent was in the sun, and I think the inside temperature was around 246 degrees. Needless to say, they didn't really nap! Then, while Rich went to go pick up firewood with his dad and his brother, I took the boys down on the beach. We played in the waves. They both LOVED it! We had a blast and ended up chasing two sets of flip-flops and a pair of sunglasses into the ocean. What a hoot! That night, we had steaks for dinner. Mmmm! It was Rich's father's day dinner, since this was his father's day gift.

On Sunday, we went to the Old West Cinnamon Roll place for breakfast. The BEST cinnamon rolls ever, if I do say so myself! Then we went back and packed up camp....ugh! When we were done, we met everyone down on the beach and played in the sand and waves. A big group played beach volleyball......Rich is still sore! Once we were done, we headed back to camp, had some lunch and headed home.

It was a great beach trip weekend. The boys did so good! Reed had one rough night, but he's been so sick lately, we're sure it was just that.....especially after our trip to the doctor yesterday. I told Rich I want to go camping again before summer is over. Camping at the beach is a blast! I'm used to mountain camping, but I now enjoy beach camping much better! We are going to try to buy a bigger tent and head out soon!

Reed enjoying the animals at Avila Farms.
Rich and Rusten looking at the "kites" (goats).
They give you a bag of food for the animals....it was fun to watch the boys feed them!
Reed trying his hand at feeding a sheep.
First of all, this is the freakiest looking cow...ever! Big bulging eyes, enormous tongue, ew! But, he enjoyed the flavor of my son!
Boys v. Girls
Rusten's throwing dirt while Milena just plays nicely!
Papa taking good care of Reed and Rusten has to give brother a (sandy, I'm sure) kiss!
Miss Becca was trying to get Rusten to fill the bucket and take it back to what they were building......not so much cooperation on his part! He'd rather fill it, dump it, fill it, dump it..... Daddy and Reed having fun in the waves!
Uncle Nate wanted to take Rusten out in the water. Rusten loves the ocean and loves to see how far out Mommy will let him go!
Somewhere behind the splash is Auntie Sherah.....look out!

Okay, turn your monitor over....This is Rusten in a sand car that I built him. He LOVED it and didn't want to leave the beach because of it.
Cruisin' with his feet up on the dash!
"Go away, mom! And put the camera away! I'll never pick up any beach chicks like this!" "Low-Ri-Der"

A Camping We Will Go...

There hasn't been much happening around here. We've just been super busy with the every day things. But today! Today, we pack!

We pulled out all of our camping stuff last night and today I go through it and get it all organized and ready to go. I have a lot on my plate today to get ready. We are going camping over at the beach just for the weekend. Rich's dad's wife's family goes over there every year for a week, and we're going to join his dad for the weekend. We're looking forward to a relaxing and fun weekend.

I'll have plenty of fun-in-the-sun pictures when we get back and I'll be sure to share them!

I Touched That?!

I'll start by saying "I HATE SPIDERS"...and pretty much anything else that can jump, crawl or walk on me. But today.....oh, I shudder! I was putting the kids in the car and noticed something white near the a/c controls. I had started the car and turned the air on and brushed it away. I THOUGHT it was that little piece of annoying dangling white plastic that is inevitably attached to every plastic bag you get from any store (unless you've gone green and use the eco-friendly bag...kudos to you!). So I just brushed it away. I put the kids in their seats and sat down in the car and got ready to leave. I looked down, and realized that it was a white...

...SPIDER! I'm sure you never saw that coming, with that big build-up and all! Blah! I touched it! I shudder just thinking back. I wish I could have flicked it onto that picture of the seat-warmer and fried the sucker! Back here in reality though, I used a piece of junk mail to smash it and then left it to get out later when I could get a better grip. When I went to get it.....it was gone. That creepy thing is still loose in my car! I think we'll be home the next coupla days!

Rise and Shiner (and burns, oh my!)

Not much happening here today....nice! We are going to go have lunch with Mimi and Papa to see their new home improvements. Then it's time to work, work, work here!

I did want to share with you, though, all of our injuries around here. Of course, there's Rusten's burnt finger. But then yesterday, I discovered that Reed had a shiner. Not sure how that one happened, but I'm pretty sure it probably had something to do with his brother.

So, please feel free to peruse our injuries, and then have yourself a nice and safe day!

Here we have a nice size blister, about the size of a fingernail.
And here's a nice bruise on our left eye.
But, doggonit, here's a smile!

I'm Sorry WinCo...

Yesterday we went to Winco with Mimi to get some grocery shopping done. I didn't have much to get because we're in the middle of a pay period and I've got it covered, but I did need a few groceries for camping this weekend.

Anyway, I had Reed sleeping in his car seat in my cart, and my mom had Rusten, not so asleep, in her cart. As we were discussing refried beans on the ethnic foods aisle, there was suddenly a crash, and the pungent aroma of Tapatio filled the air. Yes, my son, who had already been told several times not to touch, smashed the largest bottle, glass mind you, of the stuff. So, we marched straight up to the front to let the people know about the spill and straight into the bathroom for a much-deserved spanking.

We got back and apologized to the people cleaning it. They were laughing at how mortified I felt, assuring me that there's never just one spill in a day. So.....we keep shopping.

Now it's time to check out and I have both kids in my cart. As I'm unloading the apple juice, yep, you guessed it, I dropped it on the floor. The lid popped off and apple juice was everywhere! So, out comes the floor cleaning lady....again! She laughed when she saw it was me. I assured her that I didn't want her to be a liar and wanted her to have more than one spill that day. She told me that they were going to have to ban me from the store. Ugh! She was a very nice lady!!

To top it off, though I didn't see it, my mom says that the checker took a big swig out of the lidless apple juice off of the floor. Blah! Winco is no Albertsons! If it weren't for the drastic difference in pricing between Winco and Albertsons, I would be all about the Albertsons. Sort of like the Walmart v. Target debate.....only pricing makes this one easy for me!

Our Un-churched Sunday

Yikes - two weeks without church....such heathens! And, next week we'll be camping. It'll be almost a month that I've missed church. I have some serious making-up to do, eh?!

Anyway, we just kinda had a downer day here. We just rested for awhile then we picked up around the house. Then, when daddy got home from church, we made some lunch....hot dogs (Rusten's new favorite). Then it happened! Rusten learned why we don't touch the burner while it's on! He now sports a nice, big blister on his right pointer finger. Rich and I thought he was throwing a fit, then we saw the finger....ouch! He ran it under cold water FOREVER....literally, about 45 minutes. Then we bandaged it up and sent him to bed for a nap. He and brother slept over 3 hours! I was able to nap and get in a session for my Beth Moore Bible study that I'm ferociously attempting to catch-up on.

Then when they got up, we ran some errands and ended up eating pizza over at Mimi and Papa's house. All in all, a not-too-bad Sunday. However, I am going to bore you with pictures and movies. Reed blows raspberries all the time, but every time I turn on the camera, he stops. Argh! I can't get him to do it for you all....maybe today's the day. But here's some fun stuff anyway!

Reed had woken up during his nap and decided to go back to sleep....apparently without laying back down!
We went to Sam's Club and Reed was just chillin' in the cart with his credit card.
Sweet baby was playing in a playpen while we all ate in the living room.

Rusten was having fun singing "Little Joe" over and over. He does it well.....until I turn the camera on. Enjoy what you can!

Here's a cute video of Reed crawling. I was going to try to get a raspberry out of him, but couldn't, he juked me at the couch!

Again, trying for a raspberry, ended up with a bye-bye wave!

Our (Belated) 4th of July Fun!

It has taken me several days to upload our 4th of July photos.....slacker, I know. We were supposed to go spend the afternoon and evening with our friends, have steaks, light fireworks...it was all planned out. Then our kids had to go and get sick. I'm not sure that they are contagious, it could just be allergies with this nice, brown, smokey valley air, but I didn't want to take the chance of infecting their kids. So, we went to Plan B (which was a welcomed alternative).

We headed over to my parents house. Their whole block got together for a block party with a huge blow-up waterslide and kiddie pool. They have quite an ethnic array of neighbors, and the food reflected that. It was delicious and fun! Although, I had to keep my eye on a little neighboring thief. A little boy stole Rusten's shoes and insisted (in Spanish, mind you) that they were his. As a team, our family just kept our eyes open for when he took them off and we just stole them puppies right back!

We stayed for some fireworks, but for the first time in his life, Rusten wasn't a big fan. This was his 3rd 4th of July celebration, and the first time he cried. It probably didn't help that we were the only people on the block who had legal fireworks. Everyone else had fun and pretty fireworks, that were a touch on the loud side. It was a wonderful celebration with family and friends with some neat ministry opportunities sprinkled in!

Rusten playing in the kiddie pool. He really enjoyed this pool!
Reed playing with the neighbor's dog. I kid you not, that dog took Reed's pacifier later and was sucking on it, just like a baby. It was hilarious! I couldn't get my camera fast enough. (Don't worry, I trashed the paci.....no amount of soap in the world would clean that good enough for me!)
Reed enjoying the festivities!
Rusten mad because he's getting his picture taken!
We found out the little neighbor girl is a bit protective of her toys!
Rusten and daddy playing with a sparkler.

Church in a School

Let me tell you the downside to your church meeting in a school. As a mommy, when your kids get sick, you don't get to go to church. Where my kids would normally go to nursery, they can't because they're sick. Where I would be able to sit in a cry room in a normal church building, I can't. I can go to church and stand outside during the meeting....that sounds hot and boring.

Alas, I am doomed to spend another Sunday at home. I know it's only Saturday and I'm already lamenting, but I missed church last week too. Our church only meets on Sunday mornings, so if you miss one, you miss for the week.

I suppose, such is the life of a mommy!

A New Feature Here In The Cupboard...

I really wanted to add some music to complete the chaotic ambiance here in the cupboard....so I did. I also really wanted it to play automatically, but I didn't want to run you off. So, I thought I'd take you on a quick journey through each of these songs, as they each have a special meaning to our family. I hope that sometime, maybe, you'll turn on the music and enjoy it too!

It all began as I was loving my Jesus and serving Him....I mean, really, HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD! As I was serving him, I fell in love and got married. Now, AIN'T THAT A KICK IN THE HEAD!! As we lived blissfully in love and enjoyed every bit of it, he one day said "Katie, I CAN'T STOP LOVING YOU!" This is a good thing, because I believe marriage is for life.

We began the routine of life and learned to truly cherish the company of each other. We learned the value of friendship and how valuable it is to come HOME TO YOU, day in and day out.

As our lives continued, we moved, changed, and our family expanded. How we have relished every one of those LITTLE MOMENTS.

Now, even as I write this blog and look back at previous posts, I tell myself "YOU'RE GONNA MISS THIS". And with a tear in my eye, I smile!

A Bubbling Adventure

After an emotionally charged and tough day, Wednesday evening I took the boys and headed over to Mimi's house for bubble therapy. It truly is therapeutic.....I assure you it's true. Sometimes it does a heart good to sit with your kids and blow bubbles!

I love this picture of his concerned little face!
Big Momma shootin' the bubbles at Rusten.
Either Rusten is really thirsty, or life has just gotten to be too much and he's resorted to the [water] gun.
Sweet baby Reed enjoying the feel of the grass on his intensely sensitive skin. Oops on Mommy's part! (But in my defense, the child won't stay on a blanket!)
Mimi blowing bubbles.
The moment before the pain.......
........begins!
"Jake, I told you to come! You WILL follow me!"
"Okay, wait a minute! I'M supposed to be leading heeeerrreee...."
We learned Jake is one great soccer player!

An Oreo Earned is an Oreo Enjoyed!

Okay, sorry for the silence. I've been busier than a one-armed paper hanger with hives. Between church activities, work, maintaining our house (kinda), etc., etc., I just haven't had time to blog. But today, I got a funny picture that I had to share. It's not the best, but I was driving when I took it. I figured that if I can no longer (as of today, stupid California) talk on my cell while driving (without bluetooth, but who has extra money for that?!), then I probably shouldn't take too much time to take pictures either.

Here's the story....Once upon a time, about 15 minutes before this picture, Rusten had put up a HUGE 30+ minute fight to poop in the potty. Mommy won - yeah! So Rusten got a cookie, an Oreo to be exact. As soon as he got his cookie, which he was SUCKING in order to savor it, we packed up and got in the car. Unfortunately, he had pooped (love the pun) himself out, and did not get to finish enjoying the cookie he worked so hard to earn....