It's Official!!

I am now an Uppercase Living Demonstrator! Oh the excitement! I really am excited about the prospect of this new chapter in my life. I've never done anything like this before, so I'm a little nervous and excited! Here's a link to my personal web page. Feel free to look around, browse the catalog (a new catalog will be released after the first of the year), and let me know if you see something you like! Online ordering is not available yet. That is something that may come in time, but right now... I'm being a little more cautious than ambitious. :)

Thanks for letting me share my excitement with you. If you are interested in hosting an open house or a book party, please let me know!
~jen

Happy Birthday, Dad

Today is my Dad's birthday.

Happy Birthday Dad. I hope you have a wonderful day. I wish we could be there to celebrate today with you. I love you and miss you very much. Sending you a great big {{hug}}.

Love always~
jen

PS... Merry Christmas, too. :)

Merry Christmas Eve

It's quiet in my house now.

We've had a great Christmas Eve together. We attended a candlelight service at our church. It was probably one of the most beautiful events I've ever attended. The church we attend has several hundred members and the auditorium was packed this evening. Towards the end of the service, the lights were turned completely off. The only light in the auditorium came from several candles burning from the pulpit. Displayed above us on the ceiling were special effect lights that resembled a star-filled sky. Slowly, one by one, we all lit our candles and sang Silent Night. It was beautiful. What a blessing it was to attend this service. What a reminder of what Christmas is all about.

Right now is probably one of my favorite moments of the evening. It's quiet. Everyone is asleep. It took well over an hour to get Caden to bed and asleep. He's one excited little boy.

Everything has been prepared. Everything is laying in it's proper, planned out place... just waiting for 2 special boys to wake up in the morning and enter the living room. What excitement awaits. I almost want to sleep on the couch so I can catch their first reactions.

I hope they will be excited.

Merry Christmas Eve to you all...
~jen

Random Thoughts

I've let too many days go by without cleaning. Today's the day it all gets done. But... as you can see I am on my computer not getting much done right now! The computer could be my problem with cleaning!

I've had this product for several months now and I love it! I would totally recommend it! It has made cleaning this afternoon a little easier.

I'm ready for this week to be over. This has not been the best Christmas season for me. I'm ready for it to be behind me. I'm ready for the New Year. There is something exciting about the prospect of starting over. Bring on the resolutions.

I spent the day yesterday posting old photos of friends from high school to our youth group alumni page on Facebook. So many memories. Here's two of my most favorite senior year pictures (I may have posted these before):

What I'd give to (1) go back and relive this night again, (2) have that hair again, (3) be able to fit into that dress again. I still have it hanging in my closet. Every once in a while I'll take it out and dream of yesterday. Such wonderful memories. What's scary (and quickly bringing me back to reality) is that Cody is 3 years away from being where I was when this picture was taken.

We've had an opportunity to experience a "pay-it-forward" moment this past week. It helped to turn a sad moment into a feel-good moment for Mike and I.

I've spent the last couple nights playing with Cody's Christmas gift. It's going to be hard to turn this one over to Cody. :) (To be safe, I'd better keep it a secret until after Christmas. You know... just in case he gets on my blog and reads it between now and Christmas. I hope you are catching the sarcasm.)

I can't believe that the school year is half-way over. I'm half a year away from being a mom to a sophomore and first grader.

I have one more Christmas present to buy and then I'm done. Stick-a-fork-in-me done. Thank goodness.

Tomorrow is baking day. Lots planned to do. Fudge, mom's toffee bars, this cookie recipe, and a cake or two. Maybe even a decorated sugar cookie or two or twenty. I'm trying to skip this yearly tradition. Not sure that will go over well with Caden. :)

It is bitter cold here today. My thoughts... if it's going to be this cold, then it at least should be snowing. I've never been more ready for spring than I am now. I am ready to be able to open my front door and windows. I'm ready to feel the warmth of the sun on my face. It's amazing how a little sunshine can brighten your mood. I seriously believe there is a link between winter and depression.

Even though Caden is six and Cody is 14, I still can't seem to go the bathroom by myself. There must be a signal that goes off and causes one or both boys to need me at the very moment I step into my bathroom.

Cody will start driving in 98 days (give or take a few days). Mercy me. :)

I'd better get off this computer and get back to the cleaning. Hope your day is fabulous.

~jen

Yucky Strep

We caught the strep bug. Caden woke up this morning complaining of a sore throat and his tummy hurting. My thought was ding, ding, ding... we have a winner for strep! Off we went to the clinic I work at (nursing at a clinic has it's advantages!), in through the back door and straight to a room. I swabbed his throat (he wasn't too happy to have me do that to him) and sure enough it was positive. 3 prescriptions later (one for me (my strep was negative, but I've got the same symptoms as Caden), one for Cody (just in case), and one for Caden... again... another advantage to working in a clinic!) Caden and Mike were on their way home. I stayed and worked a few hours and now I am at home with Caden so Mike could go to work. We are juggling the stay-at-home-with-our-sick-child duties today.

It's amazing how these words ... we are going to Granny's this weekend... will suddenly bring on an illness! It happens 90% of the time we plan a trip anywhere. It's really quite comical!

Anyways, say a little prayer for little Caden. His tonsils are quite enlarged and yucky. Hopefully he will feel better soon (just in time for his class Christmas party tomorrow!).
~jen

Thank You

To our Secret Angel,

I have no idea who you are. I want to know who you are, but I understand why you have remained anonymous.

I don’t know what words to say right now. I’m basically speechless. I’ve cried. I’ve called Mike and cried some more. I’ve reread your letter to us over and over.

The same questions keep running through my mind… how, why, who. How did you do this? Who are you (because I desperately need to know)? And more importantly why? We are not deserving of this. There are so many more who don’t have the blessings that we have been given. There are so many more who are more deserving of this gift.

Please know that we are shocked, surprised, overwhelmed, but most importantly grateful. The word “thank you” does not seem enough to describe how grateful and humbled I am at this moment.

You have made a difference in our lives that will never be forgotten. I promise that this will be one of those pay-it-forward moments that we will pay to someone else. We will bless someone else’s lives the way you have blessed ours. I don’t know when that moment will come, but I promise you that we will bless someone else the way you have blessed us.

Thank you. To who ever you are, please know that we are very grateful. One day, I hope to know who you are so I can personally thank you for this blessing.

With the upmost sincerity and love,
Michael and Jennifer

(To everyone else reading this, we received an anonymous letter in our mail today revealing an anonymous deposit into our checking account. The only hint I received in the letter is that this person reads my blog. This is my thank you letter to our secret angel.)

My Sandie

Here's a pretty rough video of Cody at today's game. I took this video on my digital camera, so the quality is not the best. Cody is #32. He's the one shooting at the beginning of the video.

~jen

12 days 'til Christmas?!?

Oh me, oh my. Only 12 days left? Where has time gone? So much to do, so much to do! :)

~jen

Weather Report

Here's a weather report for all you non-Texas Panhandle people....
-Current Conditions: Blowing snow
-Current Temperature: 27 degrees
-Wind Speed: 33 mph
-Wind Chill: 10 degrees

I wonder if it is too early to be wishing for spring?

Hope the weather is lovely where you are!
~jen

Latest Pictures

Here's some of our latest pictures:

My new window decal on my Pilot. I was so proud to stand back and see this on my window.

Meet the Basketball Team Night. Cody is under the "A" in the white shirt and khaki pants. Again, another proud moment.

Caden watching The Polar Express and holding Bevo.

Our "homemade" Christmas tree in our den. Caden and I made all the ornaments for this tree.

I loved how Caden's ornaments turned out.

Our living room Christmas tree.

My new Uppercase Living products.

(I will start selling these products in January! Parties, anyone?)

Caden watching the Electric Light Christmas Parade last night.

~jen

A Small Piece of Advice

Last night I decided that I would like a bag of popcorn to munch on while reading some new library books. (FYI... I will finally be updating the "What I'm reading now/finished reading" section of my blog... I know... the suspense... you can't wait to find out, can you!?!)

Anyway... back to the popcorn. For whatever reason I also decided at that very moment I started the microwave that I needed to go look quickly (quickly is the key word) for something to wear for tonight's holiday office parties (we have mine and Mike's this evening!). Apparently, I wasn't quick enough. I should have known that I could have spent a good 20 minutes searching my closet for something to wear and still come out empty handed. I entered the kitchen to find a horrible, back-grey cloud of smoke escaping my microwave. I debated. Open the door, grab the bag of popcorn, run it outside. OR... grab the microwave, run it outside. Well, during these stressful, economic times... it is much cheaper, economical... to replace a bag of burnt popcorn tossed outside, than hurling a smoking microwave outside! And believe me, I was so mad at myself that I really wanted to throw that microwave out the back door! Instead, sanity won. I took a deep breath, opened the microwave door, grabbed the HOT bag of smoking popcorn, tried to seal it up as best as I could... but remember, it was HOT... and then run as quickly as I could to the garage. I come back in to hear both my children and my husband yelling, What's burning? Is there a fire? What's burning? I calmly screamed... I BURNT THE POPCORN! The response from my husband.... "why did you do that... why didn't you just use the "popcorn" button on the microwave, then you wouldn't have burnt the popcorn". He didn't get a reply. He got a look.

I opened the kitchen window, grabbed another bag of popcorn, started the microwave, stood firmly in place in front of the microwave, counted seconds between every little pop, filled my bowl, grabbed my library books, and settled into my bed. 45 minutes later, Mike opens the door to our bedroom and yells.... "The whole house stinks like burnt popcorn! If you had only used the popcorn button on the microwave!". No reply... only a look.

12 hours later... my house still smells like burnt popcorn! Ughh.

My advice... use the popcorn button on your microwave!

~jen

Thinking Out Loud

I've thought about changing the title of my blog for a while now. When I first started blogging I couldn't come up with a fun, catchy title. All I could come up with was A Steelers Family. Well... not all of us are huge fans of the Steelers, but you kind-of have to take all the bad with the good when you get married. (The Steelers are not bad... that's not what I'm saying!)

I've used Thinking Out Loud for the title of a couple of posts lately. I've started realizing that this is what this blog is about. I'm thinking out loud. These are my thoughts, my dreams, my sorrows, my worries, my joys, my pictures, my day in the life of, my everything... out loud.

Nothing else has changed. The web address is the same, I've just edited the title section of the blog to Thinking Out Loud.

I hope you are enjoying this blog. It's been a great journal for me. It's just another day in the life of Jennifer.

~jen

A Conversation with Caden

A few days ago, Caden and I had a heart-to-heart. Lately he’s had a terrible case of the “I wants”. As in “ohh… I want that”, “mom, mom… come here… (pointing to the TV)… I want that”. He also has a case of the “Can I have that?” and “Let’s put this on my Christmas list”.

Back to our heart-to-heart… While searching through the plethora of Black Friday ads for Christmas gift ideas, he started the ohhs and ahhs; and before long came the “I want thats”. It had been a long day. I was tired. I was calculating in my mind the bills that were still left to pay, and on top of that, adding up the endless Christmas list that was evolving. I was upset that I wouldn’t be able to go on the black Friday shopping spree that I so desperately wanted to do this year. I was beginning to not like “Santa”. Santa has been all the talk of our home lately. Santa this, Santa that. How many more days until Santa comes? Where will Santa put our gifts? How will Santa come down our chimney? Enough. Enough. Enough.

I was sitting in the floor across from Caden who was creating giant black circles around his “I wants”. I took his hands in mine and said, Caden… you need to know that you will not get everything that you want this year. OK?” His response, “Why?”. I tried to explain as simply as I could that we could not afford to buy everything that he wanted. That daddy and I would try and get a few of his most favorite things. He replied with, “that’s ok… Santa will bring me what I want”. Deep breath, thoughts of “I hate Santa” formed in my mind. I explained that Santa would not be bringing everything that he wanted this year, either.

This is where our heart-to-heart ended with my heart breaking apart. He looked up at me and said, “but, mom… I’ve tried to be so good this year”. (Give me a second because the tears are flowing once again.) How does a parent even begin to respond to that? I just wrapped him up in my arms and hugged and kissed him and told him that he had been a very good boy, that he is always a good boy and that I was sorry.

I tried to explain that Santa was very, very busy this year… making extra special toys for all the good boys and girls, but not everyone would get everything that they wanted. That there were some little boys and girls who did not have Wii’s, or Playstations, or Xbox’s, or a closet full of toys, that there were some little boys and girls who did not have anything… so Santa needed to give them extra special toys and that the little boys and girls who had so many things would get less this year.

His six-year old little mind seemed to grasp what I had just said. He was not upset or mad. He simply said ok.

I am beginning to resent this commercial Christmas. I am beginning to resent the pressure of Santa. In our home, Santa will get 90% of the credit of the boys’ Christmas presents. Cody understands. He knows who Santa is. He understands that Mike’s income fluctuates based on car sales. It always has. It’s just harder this year. I am so fearful that my children will be disappointed Christmas morning. That Mike, myself, and most importantly… Santa... will have let them down. I am not sure they see the blessings that they (and me… I have to remind myself that) have everyday.

I'm trying to have the happy, jolly, holiday spirit. I am trying to be happy for my kids, especially Caden. Like any child, he's been counting down the days 'til Christmas since Halloween. He loves Christmas. He loves the idea of Santa. We watched The Polar Express last week. He wanted to know if everything he saw from that movie was real. I lied and said, of course it is. What else was I supposed to say?

This is one of those "for me" posts. This is one to look back on months from now and know that I survived (at least I hope) another day in the life of Jennifer. Say a prayer for us. If you have suggestions, have been through similar experiences, take a moment and post a comment. Let me know I'm not alone.

~jen

With a Thankful Heart 2008

~~BE THANKFUL~~

Be thankful that you don't already have everything you desire.

If you did, what would there be to look forward to?

Be thankful when you don't know something,

for it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be thankful for the difficult times.

During those times you grow.

Be thankful for your limitations,

because they give you opportunities for improvement.

Be thankful for each new challenge,

because it will build your strength and character.

Be thankful for your mistakes.

They will teach you valuable lessons.

Be thankful when you're tired and weary,

because it means you've made a difference.

It's easy to be thankful for the good things.

A life of rich fulfillment comes to those

who are also thankful for the setbacks.

Gratitude can turn a negative into a positive.

Find a way to be thankful for your troubles,

and they can become your blessings.

~~Author Unknown.~~

May you each have a blessed Thanksgiving.

Love,
~jen

Cody's Golf Picture

Tagged

I've been tagged by Tara. It's been a while since I was last tagged. This one's a little different than the last one.

Here are the rules:

*Share 7 random/weird facts about yourself.

*Tag 7 other people and link to them at the end of your blog.

*Let each person know they've been tagged by leaving a comment.

(Some of these will be a little more deep than others.)

1. I struggle with jealousy. It's not a serious issue in my life, just something that I struggle with. I'm working on it, though. I know that I have been given the life I have for a reason. I know that I am a good person. I know that I am blessed. I know that I have more than some will ever have. But... I still struggle with jealousy.

2. I want to adopt a little girl. Yes, I know it's crazy. I am busier than ever with my 2 boys. Life will only get busier as they get older. I think I am just having a hard time dealing with the fact that in 3 years, it will just be Mike, Caden, and I. (Yes, Cody will still be around, too... but if he leaves for college, then it's just the 3 of us.) I really want a little girl. Maybe I just need my nieces to come over so I can get my little girl fix. :)

3. My favorite drink lately is a Peppermint Mocha from Roasters. It's so good, especially with a Grasshopper Biscotti (a mint chocolate cookie). I'm wishing I had one right now.

4. I plan on meeting with a WTAMU advisor on Monday. I want to go back to school. Yes... I know I have said numerous times... "I have no desire to go back to school... I am so done with school... I will never go back to school". Yes... I am eating those words right now. I haven't made up my mind yet... I'm just in the beginning stages of planning this all out right now. I love being a nurse, but I really want to be a teacher. I have loved getting back to teaching the Worth the Wait lessons these past few weeks. I didn't realize how much I missed presenting the lessons to the students. I don't know yet what exactly I want to do. Nothing may come of all of this. I am just thinking. But, it doesn't hurt to look at my options.

5. This week I realized the power of forgiveness... how we all deserve to make mistakes, learn from them, and move on. It was a humbling experience.

6. These are my favorite bedtime bath products:

7. My prom dress is hanging in my closet, even after all these years. I sure did look good in that dress! :)

I now tag:

Becky

Renay

Sara

(That's all I have. Everyone else I know has been tagged already!)

~jen

What I'm Thankful For

Parenting 101

I wish there was a parenting 101 class that was available, complete with a handbook. And in that handbook there would be chapters on basic childcare, how to handle throw-up, potty-training basics for toddlers to teenagers (really all the way to grown men, too), the first lie, important life lessons, how to handle your son's first break-up, and sooooo many more. One chapter that I need right now is how to handle disappointment... how to accept that your child's poor choices can have serious consequences, to witness your child understanding the seriousness of the consequences and living with them, and more importantly... as a parent to forgive and move on.
~jen

Prayers Needed

We as a family are struggling with a number of issues right now. Please say a prayer for us.

Please pray that we will have faith that we will make it through the trials that we are facing right now.

~jen

The Gold Team

Cody made the Gold team! He's been moved to a post position.

As I've said before... my cup runneth over.

~jen

Prayer Request

~Updated 11/17/08 7:15 PM~
My grandfather is doing well this evening. I've spoken with my grandmother and she is home safely after a very long day. She assures me Papa is doing well, that he has some good nurses that are taking care of him. I am sure he will be giving them a hard time before long! (He's a little cantankerous at times!) Thank you for your prayers.



My grandfather (Papa) will be having back surgery in Fort Worth tomorrow to repair a fracture in his spine and to decompress some nerves. I ask for your prayers for him, my grandmother (Granny), and our entire family.

I also ask for your prayers for those in our family who cannot be there with my grandparents during this difficult time. It is so hard to be separated by so many miles, especially during something as stressful as a surgery.

~jen

My Text Message

Cody just sent me a text message a little over an hour ago. Here's what it said:

Just in case you were wondering what this meant.... this is how my oldest son let me know that he is now a member of the Sandie Freshman Basketball Team!

I can't even begin to tell you how proud I am of him. He's worked so hard these past few days. It all paid off today.

Blow, Sand, Blow!

~jen

Cadenism

I just heard Caden yell to Cody after a good 3 minutes of these 2 boys wrestling:

"YOU WANT ME TO CRACK YOUR NUTS?!?"

I'm pretty sure Caden wasn't talking about pecans.

~jen

New Blogs

Here are some great new blogs to check out:

Rebecca's (Mike's sister)

Tara's (Mike's cousin)

Becky's (My friend)

Jen & Renay's Holiday Recipes (Renay and I have created a blog together! This one will be full of great holiday recipes, gift ideas, our favorite holiday websites, and lots of great holiday fun! Be sure to check back often!)

~jen

How to Unspoil a Brat

Let's face it we all know a spoiled brat or two. We may even have one or two in our family. We see a spoiled brat when we are at Wal-Mart. That 5 year old having a serious meltdown in aisle 2 because his mom said "no" only to watch her a few seconds later... dying of embarrassment... quickly change that "no" to "yes" so that her 5 year old will stop wailing in the middle of Wal-Mart!

Been there, done that. Hello... my name is Jennifer and I am a mother to 2 spoiled brats. Yes, those are very harsh words... let me preface spoiled brats with... 2 loving, wonderful, beautiful, athletic, funny, smart (the adjectives could go on and on, but I'll stop here).... spoiled brats.

I've never really outed my children as I am doing now on the world wide web... but let me be the first to say my children are spoiled. They are not always brats, but I will be the first to admit that they are spoiled. Now, how they are spoiled varies. They are spoiled with kind words, hugs and kisses (well, at least Caden is... I have to practically force Cody to receive a hug), love, understanding, forgiveness... this list could go on and on. But they are also spoiled with luxuries. Numerous luxuries. Too many luxuries to count! I will not list everything that my boys have, but let's just say it is probably 10 times the stuff I had growing up! (Now, don't feel sorry for me... my parent's did their fair share of spoiling my brother and I... it's just half the stuff my boys have didn't even exist when I was their age!)

Today while doing a little web-surfing (while working... but that's just between me and you) I came across a wonderful article titled, Unspoil Your Child. It's like it was just there for me. A giant, big, red sign was flashing: READ THIS... READ THIS...! So, I did. I even printed it. Marked big stars on it. Highlighted the very important parts. Handed it out to my co-workers who were also suffering from spoiled brat syndrome!

I encourage you to read this article if you are suffering from a spoiled brat. Take special consideration to Step 1 (this is a seven step process): Acknowledge Where the Problem Starts. Oh that's right... the problem started with me. Ouch. That stings a little.

But you know what it can end with me, too. I hope you find the article useful. I know I did.

As Christmas approaches... I hope I can unspoil my children just a little so that they (and I) will realize just how spoiled we truly are. We have a roof over our head, a warm home, clothes, food, all the needed necessities, and most importantly the love of family and friends.

~jen

1 down, 3 to go

Cody's first day of basketball try-outs is over. He has 3 more to go. He should know Wednesday afternoon what team he made.
This means for me, one day of nausea down, 3 more to go. Try-outs are nerve-wracking (and I'm not even the one trying out!). I am completely confident in Cody and know he is doing his absolute best. It's still hard to wait it out though.
Updates to come...
~jen

Brotherly Love

My two boys have their good moments and they have their bad moments. Lucky for me (and them) the good moments out-number the bad. They are boys and they are brothers and they are going to act like boys and not always get along. There is also a large age gap between the 2 of them that makes getting along difficult. I've had numerous conversations with the both of them about the importance of getting along and loving each other no matter how much you may not like each other at certain times! (How else do you think I've stayed married to Mike all these years! Just kidding!) :)

With all that said... here's an example of how these 2 brothers really feel about each other.

This morning after gathering 2 sets of books, backpacks, and boys we loaded up into the car to make our way to 2 different schools (the morning routine is crazy!). I pulled over to the side of Caden's school said my goodbye to him and out he hopped from the car. As he passed the passenger side of the car he gave a great big wave to Cody who was sitting in the front seat. Cody didn't respond to Caden. He basically just ignored Caden. Well, I saw the whole thing, so I immediately got onto Cody and told him that he should have waved goodbye to his brother. He rolled down his window and whistled at Caden. Cody said, "Bye, Caden" and gave him a wave (all the while rolling his eyes that he was having to communicate with his twerpy little brother in front of all the other little twerpy kids making their way into the school building). Without missing a beat... Caden stopped, turned towards the car, waved, and yelled.... "Bye, Meanie" and skipped his way into the front entrance of the school.

Cody turned and looked at me with eyebrows raised and said, "See... even when I'm nice to him he calls me meanie". All I could do was let out a deep, long sigh, realizing that there is much work to be done with these 2 boys. Then a few little giggles escaped as I replayed in my mind the whole scene again.

May these 2 boys always have brotherly love even when one of them is a meanie!

80's Movie Trivia

Can you name the movie? (Turn your speakers on)

Things I've Learned (part 2)

The trees in our neighborhood are gorgeous right now.

Watching your 14 year old son experience a break-up is hard.

Making Caden's costume (2nd year in a row!) was really a lot of fun for him and me.

Taking 3 different "Who should I vote for" quizzes and getting a result I wasn't expecting is quite shocking.

It's really November.

None of my blog buddies took my Yearbook Yourself dare!

Top Gun is still as good today as it was years ago.

Things will probably get worse before they get better.

Cody has basketball try-outs on Friday.

That Mike doesn't like the color brown. As in... he doesn't like the blue and brown bedroom comforter set I just got... or the brown shirt he had to wear today for family pictures!

Getting mad doesn't do any good.

There are actually people in my neighborhood who have their Christmas lights and decorations on their houses already. And yes, they are on at night.

A night of a good ole rivalry (Tech vs Texas) spent with family is quite fun.

Only one of Cody's classes changed when he made the switch from golf to basketball. (His counselor had basketball in a different period than when it actually is. This made a huge difference.)

Mike can actually give up part of Sunday afternoon football for family pictures.

Birthdays after a certain age are not as much fun as when you were younger.

Waking up at 5:10 in the morning makes you very tired by 9:15. I'm going to bed! :)

~jen

Better Use of My Time

There is something that I could be doing at this moment.... sleeping! I woke up at 6:10 this morning, only to realize that I didn't set my clock back before falling asleep last night. I had every intention of doing it, but after a little Saturday Night Live (loved the opening skit!) I was falling asleep fast! So, after realizing that it was actually 5:10 in the morning and the fact that not only was I wide awake, Caden was also wide awake playing his Wii. No use in either of us trying to go back to bed! So, after an hour of Internet searching, I decided to make good use of my time this morning and upload the Halloween pictures.

THE MAKING OF MR. BONES

1 black sweatsuit

Various bones, skeleton gloves, a hat, and Halloween make-up

1 freshly bathed, spiked hair Caden wearing black sweatsuit

The chest

The arms

Halloween makeup (a first for Caden and me)

The final product

Photo-op out in front yard

Notice Caden's handy-work on those pumpkins!

Such a cute Mr. Bones

Waiting on Trick-or-Treaters

Realizing that his sucker is all gone

One more, Mom?

The loot. Yes, it is a small loot. (No, we had not pilfered through our child's candy and this was what was left.) Actually, I think this is the perfect amount of candy for a 6 year old!

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween to each of you. Hope you have a wonderful day filled with lots of treats and no tricks!!!

~jen

Stressful Times

Things seem to be on a downward spiral here in our home. Everything seems to just pile up on top of everything else and after a while it can really bring you down.

Cody's getting ready for a major schedule change in 2 weeks that has him seriously contemplating not playing basketball. I can't tell you how hard that is to hear. In order for him to play basketball, we knew his schedule would change somewhat because golf is during 8th period and basketball is during 4th period. We had hoped that he might be able to switch his current 4th period class to 8th period once the golf season ended. It's not quite that simple. Basically once he switches from golf to basketball, every class but one will change. Completely change... as in different teachers and he will possibly have to move to Advanced Art. Cody hates art. He is doing all that he can to just make it through his regular art class. He was frustrated about it last night; he made the comment that maybe it's not worth it... maybe he shouldn't play basketball. It's his choice to make, but I would be devastated if he gave up basketball now. He has a second meeting with his counselor this morning before school. Hopefully she will have better news for him.

Caden's doing well. He had his permanent repair to his broken front tooth on Monday. The dentist took off the temporary bond and placed the permanent bond to the tooth. The procedure took 2 hours to complete. That was a long 2 hours for both Caden and I. Caden's dentist does not allow parents to go back with their children. By "not allow", I'm sure that under special circumstances or demanding parents, some parents are allowed back in the treatment areas. I chose not to be a demanding parent that day and took my seat in the waiting area... watching Fox News. It was a l-o-n-g 2 hours of Fox News!

Mike's ok. Things at work are not good. With the poor economy (however, Amarillo was rated one of the best economies within our population group recently), times are tough at his office. I can't give more details at this time. Mike has a challenging rest of the week ahead of him. Please remember him in your prayers as he makes some tough decisions. (His job is ok. No worries there for now.)

As for me... things haven't been great. I have been having some foot pain for about a week. It has been increasing each day. After a night of tears and being unable to walk, Mike convinced me to go to the doctor Tuesday. I have a heel spur. Basically I have what looks like a fish hook coming out of the bottom of my heel bone (I am sure there is a technical word that I could use for heel bone... but honestly, I don't know what it is called!). My whole foot, ankle, and calf muscle aches. It doesn't help that I am constantly moving at work for 13 hours straight. It doesn't help that on my days off I am constantly moving to and from schools, activities, cleaning, grocery shopping, ect. I wish I had the time to just prop my feet up in the recliner and catch up on some movie watching. Not sure when that will happen as we are blowing and going all the time! I'm trying some special inserts in my shoes to see if that will lessen the pain. No luck yet. It's just going to take some time to heal. Things at work are at an all time low. I can't go into specific details, we as a clinic as just struggling with a number of issues and it is wearing on all of us.

Anyways, this isn't a "feel sorry for us" post. It's just a journal of our everyday life. I'm just thinking outloud (I really like that saying... maybe I should change the title of this blog to that!).

Please remember us in your prayers....
~jen

Thinking Outloud

Have you ever wanted to go back in time? Maybe it was to a special time in your life, like a favorite birthday. Or maybe to hear a loved one's voice just one more time. Maybe to make a different choice, to take back an ugly comment. Maybe to relive a special memory just once more. For me, lately I wish to go back to 1992. I wish to be 18 just once more. I don't know what it is that has got me thinking about high school. Maybe it's having a teenager who is just beginning to experience high school life. Maybe it's reconnecting through Facebook with so many friends from my high school days. Maybe another birthday is approaching, another reminder that my youth is escaping me. Maybe that's what has brought on this deluge of memories.

Just once I wish I could take a ride through the drag that is (was?) 45th street and Bell through Southwest Park (it's now called John Stiff Park). To ride in the car with the windows rolled down, wind blowing in my hair, singing at the top of my lungs joy ride. Of course there's no one stopping me from doing that now... it would just look a little odd to see a not-quite middle aged woman riding through the streets at night with her windows rolled down singing at the top of her lungs to Cyndi Lauper's Girls Just Want to Have Fun! People would be looking at me thinking (A) she's just escaped from the psych ward; (B) she's crazy... see choice A; or (C) she's having a nervous breakdown, going through an early mid-life crisis! So which is it? Am I crazy? Is this the beginning of a pre-mid life crisis? Does anyone else wish just for a little reprieve from their life now?

I long to be young again. I wish for that smooth, pretty skin that once existed on my hands and face. I wish for the clothes size that I was once able to fit into! I wish for freedom. I miss that fearlessness that I once owned. I miss the friends that I had. It's hard to reconnect with someone after 15 years. You picture them in your mind the way they were when you last saw them. But they've grown up just like you have. They've gotten married, had babies, maybe gained a few pounds, too. I just wonder if they think about yesterday. If they ever wish to go back. Are their lives perfect, or do they struggle with the day to day ...for lack of a better word... crap as I do? Are they content? Do they ever wish to drag along Bell, windows rolled down, singing at the top of their lungs... Girls Just Want to Have Fun... or the song of their choice?

Who knows what's wrong with me. Who knows why the sentimental feelings have hit so hard lately. Who knows the reason behind the longing to go back. Maybe because I missed so much of the late teen to early-20 years. Maybe I grew up too fast and now I want to go back. Maybe I am realizing what I missed and want it back. I know I can't have it back. There's nothing I can do to get it back.

So if one if these nights you happen to be driving down Bell street, don't be surprised if you see a pre-middle aged, overweight woman ...with a humiliated teenager crouched down in the front seat, a 6 year old in the back grinning from ear to ear because he loves to sing along with mom... windows rolled down, singing at the top of her lungs... Girls... they wanna have fun-un... oh girls just wanna have fun.

~jen

Balloon Rally

Last night Caden and I attended one event of this weekend's balloon rally. We got to watch the balloons light up the sky and see the balloons up close. This morning we woke up super early (6:45), got dressed, and braved the cold to watch the balloon's take off for their race. Caden even got to ride in a tethered balloon! He had a blast. Here's some pictures of the event.

~jen