Monday, January 28, 2008

And The Winner Is...

Remember this post? The one where I asked you guys to vote for my friend Teresa's cousin Parker to win the Gap Casting Call? Well, follow this link because the winners were announced today:

Meet The Winners!

Then watch the Rachael Ray show this afternoon on Channel 11 at 2pm!

Congratulations Parker!!

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Quote For The Day

"Madithon, I know our baby brother ith a gift."

-Malachi

Friday, January 11, 2008

MRIs and a Merry Christmas

Yesterday was (hopefully) our final specialty appointment for Mathias. He had an MRI at Children's in the Cities. It all went very smoothly (he didn't, however, like the medicine they gave him to help him sleep through the testing). We were required not to feed him or let him sleep for 3 1/2 hours before the test, and I was so worried that he'd be irritable, but he was just great! We should know the results of the MRI next week sometime.

Mat & Daddy: waiting to be sedated

To squelch criticism that there aren't enough "me" pics on here...

Chloral Hydrate- Not. Pleasant.


Do your thing. Just let me sleep!


In other news. Seth and I decided to forego the traditional exchanging of gifts this year and instead, take a night away. Since we had to keep Mat awake the 3 1/2 hours prior to his appointment, and that's difficult to do on a long car ride, we thought this would be a great time to do it. So we booked ourselves a nice suite and headed for the Cities a night early. We had a relaxing time together, free from stress and responsibility...who knows, maybe this will become an annual tradition?!

Wednesday, January 09, 2008

What Do You Do All Day?

Okay, I know I haven't posted a lot of original stuff on my blog lately, but this one I just couldn't resist. Thanks Teresa!

What Do You Do All Day?

A man came home from work and found his three children outside, still in their pajamas, playing in the mud, with empty food boxes and wrappers strewn all around the front yard.

The door of his wife's car was open, as was the front door to the house and there was no sign of the dog.

Proceeding into the entry, he found an even bigger mess. A lamp had been knocked over, and the throw rug was wadded against one wall. In the front room the TV was loudly blaring a cartoon channel, and the family room was strewn with toys and various items of clothing.

In the kitchen, dishes filled the sink, breakfast food was spilled on the counter, the fridge door was open wide, dog food was spilled on the floor, a broken glass lay under the table, and a small pile of sand was spread by the back door.

He quickly headed up the stairs, stepping over toys and more piles of clothes, looking for his wife. He was worried she might be ill, or that something serious had happened.

He was met with a small trickle of water as it made its way out the bathroom door. As he peered inside he found wet towels, scummy soap and more toys strewn over the floor. Miles of toilet paper lay in a heap and toothpaste had been smeared over the mirror and walls.

As he rushed to the bedroom, he found his wife still curled up in the bed in her pajamas, reading a novel.

She looked up at him, smiled, and asked how his day went. He looked at her bewildered and asked,"What happened here today?"

She again smiled and answered, "You know every day when you come home from work and you ask me what in the world I do all day?" "Yes," was his incredulous reply.

She answered,"Well, today I didn't do it."

Friday, December 21, 2007

Monday, December 10, 2007

All You Gotta Do...

Is Ask:

Our church hired a photography company to come in and take pictures for the new directory. Of course, once they take the perfect picture(s) you're always tempted to buy, right? Right. But what if all you had to buy was the copyright, and a copy of your favorite picture? Is that an option?

We asked.

We received.

Friday, December 07, 2007

Sunday, December 02, 2007

What?!?

I'm not sure where she got it...this sudden need to have her hand kissed. But I have to admit I thought it a bit bizarre when she asked me, in the grocery store, if "those two guys" could kiss her hand if they wanted...two random guys I'd never seen before. Not gonna lie: kinda freaked me out a little.

I mentioned to Seth that I thought he should offer to kiss her hand, and maybe this wierd little fettish of hers would dissipate...and he went above and beyond.

Friday after work, Seth stopped by the flower shop to pick up the above...because he not only wanted to be the first to kiss her hand, but also the first to bring her real flowers...roses, no less.

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Vote for Parker!

You've all read about my friend Teresa, and again here, and once more here. Well, Teresa's cousin Abby's son Parker needs your help!

You see, Parker has been chosen, out of over 800,000 entrants, as a babyGAP finalist!

"Parker was part of a photo shoot in mid-November in San Francisco, and his photo is now online as part of the contest to be decided by the public. The contest to find the children to be the next babyGap and GapKids models is now open to online voters...four children will be chosen: a boy and a girl from two age groups. People can log onto www.gap.com/castingcall to view the finalists and vote. Voting ends December 15. Each winner will be featured in the windows of babyGap and GapKids stores nationwide early next year. They'll also receive other prizes, including an appearance on the Rachael Ray show January 28 when Ray will help unveil the winners as part of her show."-West Central Tribune

(The paper said it better than I ever could.)

Please vote! You can vote once a day with your e-mail address, but please don't enter with more than one, as that will disqualify both of your entries!

If you want to know more about Parker's SanFran experience from his mommy's perspective, check out Abby's Blog.

Get voting!

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

BFFs

Madison has this friend at school, a boy. His name is Brett. Brett and Madison are, as Brett's mom and I have been finding out, best friends. Let me share with you some of the cute conversations these two best friends have been having:

One morning when Syna was picking up Brett and his cousin Daniel from school, Madison poked her head toward the open car door and said, "Good bye Daniel. Good bye Brett, I love you." Without missing a beat, Brett replied, "good bye Madison, I love you." So after pulling her car away from the curb, Syna asked, "What was that you said to Madison, Brett?" To which Brett replied, "Yea, we're best friends."

On Halloween morning when I was getting Madison dressed for school, I noticed that her black boots were getting a little scuffed. She watched as I colored in the scuff marks with black Magic Marker. While at school, Madison showed Brett her doctored footwear and said, "I'm worried my friends will laugh at me because my boots are colored on." So Brett reasurred her: "If they do, I'll kick their butts!"

The fact that Madison has chosen Brett to be her best friend, is alright with me. As parents, I know we often worry about the company our children keep. But in this case, I know that Brett's parents have a lot of our same values, so this relationship is one I condone. Besides that, I think you'll agree that their conversations give Syna and I lots to chuckle about!

Monday, November 19, 2007

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Today is Madison's 5th birthday! Here are some birthday party pictures for your enjoyment:





Thursday, November 15, 2007

Smitten

Do you ever just find yourself so full of love for someone that you could just pop?

Sometimes I am stricken with the realization of how much love I feel for my husband. It just takes my breath away. How could I be so lucky to have found the man of my dreams at such a young age? The more I ponder and reflect on the many great qualities of my husband, I realize that there really aren't enough men like him in the world.

How blessed am I to have found one of the few?

And how doubley blessed that he loves me?

And then I look at our three gorgeous children, and I think, "we did that", and my heart swells again. And then I watch him with them: how he jokes with them incessantly, how he whistles while he tirelessly performs the mundane tasks of bathing them, and dressing them, and feeding them. How he takes them outside to play with them, or to take them to a park. How he loves them.

I often wonder what great thing I must've done to deserve such an awesome man. And then I realize that I don't. I don't deserve any of it. I don't deserve my kids, I don't deserve my husband, I don't deserve God.

*Sigh* What love is this? If I feel this much love for my husband, how much more so must God love us. He sent his son to die. For me. Maybe this feeling I have is a gift from God, to show me just a sliver of the love he has for us.

Monday, November 12, 2007

Big Boy...and other miscellaneous news

Last Wednesday was Mathias' 2 month check up. He weighed in at 14.5 pounds and 24 inches long! That puts him in the 95th percentile for height and 100th percentile for weight! He's HUGE! He's going to be a football player like his daddy. He also got three shots. Naturally, he didn't like that. He let us know.




We spent Friday night at Saturday visiting my brother and sister-in-law in Mankato. We went to the mall and the kids rode on their indoor carousel! They loved that, as I'm sure you can imagine!
Yesterday morning we skipped our regular Sunday School to attend a special Child Dedication class instead. You see, we've decided to dedicate Mathias to the Lord, and to publicly dedicate our lives to raising him (and, of course, his big brother and sister, who were also dedicated as infants) in a home that loves and honors God. The dedication ceremony will take place next Sunday.

Thursday, November 08, 2007

Enter Title Here

Well, I'm back to work. But the good news is, I get to do it from home! I'm working for the same company, but now I work with a different boss than before as the "Purchasing Assistant".

Now, instead having to commute 10 minutes each way everyday, I can get my work done in the comfort of my jammies in my own home. I get the best of both worlds!

It does, however, have it's drawbacks. I had a processor call me back today...and I was scared to death my kids would start fighting, or screaming or something while I was on the phone. Luckily, that didn't happen...this time. I guess Mommy will really have to try HARD to teach her kids proper etiquette while she's on the phone.

So my day has gone a little like this:

7:30 Up and at 'em. The whole family was up and picking up bedrooms. Mommy put the first load of laundry in, and took two loads upstairs. (One from yesterday.) I put them away, all the while picking up things from where they DON'T belong and puting them where they DO.

8:00 I check my e-mail.

8:30 Breakfast! At this point, the kids were sick of picking up their room and entertaining themselves and they're hungry. I feed them and the baby, wash up the dishes and clean the kitchen.

9:00 Time to advance that laundry again.

10:30 Our first Lesson. I explain to the kids that there's to be NO talking while Mommy's on the phone. I need to make a few phone calls. But just in case the message doesn't sink in, I lock myself in a separate part of the house to make the calls. I get a hold of two of the processors and the third I leave a message to call me back. I also order long distance phone service because calling cards aren't the most convenient.

11:00 That darned laundry.

11:30 I make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and give the kids small cookie cutters to make their own sandwich shapes. This goes over pretty well, so I take the stove apart to wash it.

12:30 Just after Daddy leaves to go back to work, the phone rings...it's the processor calling me back! I run into the dining room, making signals for the kids to be really quiet. They did, and I made a big deal to praise them for it, hoping they'll remember the positive reinforcement next time.

1:00 I herd the kids upstairs to go potty, wash up, and take their naps. Then I put away some more laundry.

1:30 I check my e-mail again, and for the first time this week, take a minute to blog :D

Friday, November 02, 2007

Bye Bye Brittany

For the past several months, my parents have fostered a girl named Brittany. So I guess technically, that's what she is: my foster sister. But Brittany has become more than that in those few short months. She's definitely more like a sister to me, and an auntie to my kids. We certainly love her as such.

Yesterday, my folks threw her a surprise going away party, because after this weekend, she's going to live with her grandmother an hour away. It was a great party, but all the while I was wishing it was for something else. Anything else. My parents have had many foster kids over the years, and we have loved each of them in a different way, but Brittany found her way into the deepest parts of our hearts.

We'll really miss you Brittany!
Liz, Me and Brittany

Halloween 2007

My two big Halloweenies


Kitty Kat and Batman

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Locks I Love

Well, I finally did it...I cut a little over a foot off my head this morning. No, I did not have a foot growing on my head. A FOOT of HAIR! That's a lot of hair. And thankfully, it was enough to donate to Locks of Love.
I'm really happy with the results, and I can't wait to try different styles with it.I'll post a pic later. I'm not sure what Seth will think, since he liked my long hair so much. I want to see his reaction in person.

Two days later:



Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Smile!

So we finally captured the adorable-ness that is Mathias' smile. It took two of us, but here it is:



Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Indian Summer

Last night, we took advantage of the higher-than-average temperatures and went for a walk.

Our packing list:

6 PB&J sandwiches
5 Spring Jackets/Vests
4 Capri Suns
3 Kids
2 Blankets
1 Double stroller
1 Bike with training wheels
1 Bag of Doritos
and Good Attitudes!





A good-natured game of Tag
She's totally got me beat!

Monday, October 22, 2007

School Pictures

When ordering school pictures for Madison this year, we opted to forego the traditional prints we've all ordered as kids, and instead only buy the cd and copyright to the photo. Now, we can print as many different sizes of her photo as we'd like, as well as e-mail and scrapbook...





And post to my blog!