Missy's Moments

  The first picture I scanned is the both Rick and Eric. Any guesses on who's who?? There is a hint in one of the pictures. They are 1 year old. The second one is Rick at 5 years and the third is Eric at 4.5 years. Pretty amazing.  

  Sam is A CONSTANT form of entertainment. He's been so funny at night when we do our prayers and I'm really trying to figure out a way to set up the video camera so that he doesn't know it. He won't perform so a sneak attack is the only way to capture this. We read Devotions for Preschoolers at night, last night the reading was entitled "With Jesus". The little girl Zoe had a goldfish that lives in water (duh?), anyway it said "the water is exactly what Zoe's goldfish needs to live. The bible says that people need Jesus to live. When you have Jesus in your heart, he is with you to help you in everything you do." Then at the end is says " Aren't you happy your not a goldfish? You don't need a bowl of water. You need Jesus!"                                           ...

Some friends of mine have a list of 101 random things so to go with the flow I've been convinced to post one for me. So here's mine. Lets see if I can come up this on my own or if I have to enlist help from my kiddos. It may be fun to hear their thoughts....then again maybe not! LOL 1. My husband will hate this list! 2. I have 4 children- Kayla, Jordan , Eric and Sam 3. We have one dog that would have to leave if she became high maintenance or annoying! 4. I lived in San Jose, Ca from July 1990 until Dec. 1992 5. I was born in Rochester, MN at St. Mary's Hospital Feb 1st, 1972 at 11:55pm. 6. I moved 19 times before my 18th birthday. 7. My family was.... well shall we say..... dysfunctional. 8. I can't spell and would be helpless without spell check. 9. My kids make fun of the fact I can't spell. 10. My first job was at Burger King. 11. I have always wanted to be a nurse. 12. I have wanted to be a peds or NICU nurse for about 3 years now. 13. I am not a nurse. 14....

I was looking back through some of the entries I've made and not that I don't think about it but I became painfully aware that poor Jordan doesn't have much written about him. There are a few different factors that contribute to that.  The first being that that some days he doesn't exhibit a whole lot of "cute" behavior, he's a almost 13 year old boy that is really more concerned about making my hair gray these days.  Kayla gets space as she's the only girl. Eric and Sam are a constant form of entertainment or a constant challenge.  I was thinking about 10 years from now and wondering what I would remember about this age for Jordan. There are a lot of memories over the last year or so that have tested about every weakness and every strength we have. I guess I want Jordan to know is that my motives are driven by my love for him.  I feel as though I'm so tough on him but I feel so strongly that in today's world we're called to so many differe...

  I just started the book Bringing Up Boys by JaBrmes Dobson. I was listening to his radio show and there were a few excerpts taken from this book that really caught my attention. There is a poem in the first chapter that really touched me. That Little Boy of Mine Two eyes that shine so bright. Two lips that kiss goodnight. Two arms that hold me tight.                                                                                                          ...

  " Mommy I need some lip chap, that cause my lips is chapped"   Love this line. Sam calls chap-stick "lipchap" And when he puts it on it is nowhere close to his mouth is in danger of being chapped! His lips on the other hand are still in danger! Yesterday the Dash shirt came off. It's been through the wash and is at the bottom of his drawer in hopes he won't think of it for a day or two!

  Today Kayla had a orthro appointment. I picked her up with the camera in hand convinced today was the day. Since early February they've talked about taking her braces off and at every appointment the last three times there's been the possibility. I have tons of pictures of her with braces but I was hoping to mark the last day a bit. Kayla decided that she can take better self portraits so she had a little photo shoot right then and there in the truck! Here are some more of the before pictures. You’ll have to wait for after pictures-I won't have any for you here because we go BACK AGAIN IN TWO WEEKS!  Bummer......  She's taking it better than I  am

  Not much happening in Eric's world this week. He's been fighting off a cold and cough. It really hasn't been that bad but enough that he's looking even more pale and a little tired. We decided to rent a playstation game on Wednesday, I figured that would keep him at bay so his little body would re-group.  I found a race game that I thought he and Rick would love and as we were leaving he spotted a Hot Wheels Stunt Challenge. He picked it up and hugged it. I said "Eric remember we can only keep it 5 days" He relied with "Can we just keep it 100 days, I really love it"     I guess we'll see what Monday brings when I have to return it. Could be a birthday idea.... ( hint hint ) Last week  it was so nice here. And when I say nice I mean about 45 degrees and sunny.  To any Minnesotan that's tropic. Anyway, Eric pulled out the T-Ball set, which in itself surprised me. He's never really showed interest in anything but race tracks and riding hi...

This is how Sam has looked for a few days now. With the exception of clean underwear and socks he has worn this outfit for 3 days now. Oh he did change into PJ's last night which was an improvement from the night before. His latest is The Incredibles and of course his favorite character is Dash. I was out shopping on Tuesday and ran across this sweatshirt on clearance, well needless to say we'll get all our money out of it! Sam is so funny how he gets so passionate about his loves and superheros is one of them. Buzz still holds a important place in Sam's world, although he doesn't travel everywhere with us anymore, Dash has taken over some of Buzz's responsibilities. In fact right now as I type Dash and Sam are repairing the "bubble machine" (aka, the elliptical machine) The bubble machine comes equipped with  seats for Dash and Bob, a back seat for books and a built in computer. The wheels are constantly going flat and needing repairs. Last night while h...

Yesterday I went in to wake Eric for preschool. I said "hey there sleepy boy", he responded by pulling the covers over his head. I teased and poked and started getting some giggles out of him, still under the covers.  I went over to his dresser and asked him what he was going to wear. He pulled the covers off his face, looked at me and said "I'm sick... (cough, cough) " The fakest cough you've ever heard and then he laughed and pulled the covers back over his head! What a stinker. It was very cute. I have to throw in a note about his 'soft pants'. Can I just say I can't wait until it's shorts season. All winter long Eric has been wearing soft pants aka sweat pants. He used to wear a combination of clothes and somewhere around Christmas time he started refusing anything but sweatpants and sweatshirts. I guess on a good day I can talk him out of the sweatshirt but not the 'soft pants'. OH NO. We now own every color of soft pants possi...

  I feel like I've said this to Sam so much this week. He's very quick to jump into scream fits and it's DRIVING ME CRAZY! He jumps up and down and waves his hands in the air while screaming at the top of his lungs what he's so upset about. I'm trying very hard to tell him if he screams I won't help him. I've even gone as far as to tell him if he screams I'll throw in the garbage whatever it is that he's screaming about. We do time outs in his room until he's done, only his tongue is way out of line while in his room. He's sassy and very stubborn. This morning we were outside and after about the 3 temper-tam-tum Rick said, "man what's his deal" I said welcome to my life this week! He did have one really good day and I sucked in every part of it. On Thursday he was screaming and I finally put him on my lap and told him to clam down and before I knew it he was quiet and fast asleep on my chest. I let him stay sleeping while cudd...

  Kayla has become quite the social butterfly. Her schedule is such that I'm beginning to wonder when or if I'll get penciled in! I worry about this. I worry when I hear her talking about when to schedule in her homework, or going to bed at 8:00 because she's exhausted from her day. I could worry or I could look at it and think about how she's learning to take care of herself when she's tired, how she's not overlooking the priorities that need to be done. Stepping back to let her go is a little is tricky. It's one of the greatest challenges of parenting a teen. I watch for clues, hope I catch them and then either pull in a little or let go a little more.  We're getting ready for a few milestones. Braces should be coming off in the next few weeks. Wow has it been 2 1/2 years already? I can't wait to see that beautiful metal-free smile! Another thing that we'll be talking about soon is ... oh dare I say it.. driver's ed. Yep, driver's ed....

  Jordan seems to be on a roll. He's really had some down times since middle school has started and we just ended week 3 of what I would call really normal boy stuff. Before this our normal was not would most would agree with and there have been a lot of things put in place both with Jordan and within our home that we felt were necessary. It gets wearing and being Jordan's mom has proved to be somewhat of a sprint race at times. Just go as fast as you can to keep up. It can be very exhausting. I see Jordan is really trying. I've watched something in him light up. He's growing a desire to submit to his Heavenly Father and not trying so hard to get that control. So as I type this I can't help but think... oh but will it last? , will I write this down only to have next week be the big plunge? . I want so badly for him to not have to learn all of his lessons the hard way. Something I read some where this week reminded me that instead of taking Jordan so personally and ...

Last weekend Rick and I attended a dinner that our MOPS group put on. It's was called Puttin on the Giltz and I actually put on make-up AND curled my hair. I might add I burned myself with my curling iron! Ouch. I felt so out of sorts and kept saying I couldn't wait to get my sweats back and have at least one short person hanging off of me! Isn't that funny,  I guess I know where I'm most comfortable. Maybe someday my world will be different but right now it's just right. The dinner and entertainment was really good. Oh and we won some door prizes. Those are always good.  

  So last night while getting the boys ready for bed I discovered that someone felt the need to decorate one of the walls with some black crayon. I really wasn't feeling well and didn't really want to deal with it right then. So this morning Eric was playing next to the spot where the offense took place. Here's how it goes. Me: " Eric, what's this on the wall."   ( I point to the art work ) Eric: "It's a ghost mom." ( which by the way it did resemble a ghost ) Me: "Well how did that ghost get on the wall?" Eric "I don't know, maybe Sam put it there." So I called Sam over to the crime scene.  " Sam come here please" Sam- "What?" Me: "Sam what's this?" (pointing to the offense) Sam: "Nothing" Me: "Sam how did this nothing get there?" Sam: "I don't know, Eric did it" Eric: "I didn't do it" Me: "Well someone did it." Eric: ...

  I tell ya, when Sammy boy is not causing trouble he is about the cutest little guy I've ever encountered. He's got a wit about him that really sets he and his siblings apart. This morning at breakfast he was explaining to me that he didn't want to be 4 on his birthday. He has his reasons the most important being that he wants to be " tix hundred five seven " That's not a spelling error on six that's how he says it. He then was telling me about how berry good his cereal was and how berry special it is! ( foot loops ). He's very expressive about everything. Today has been just a perfect example of the many moods he displays in a day. When he woke up he very quickly told me he might need a bucket... (thankfully he never filled it) then he threw his head back in distress and sent me for his glasses "I CAN'T SEE MAMA" Don't worry it's not quite that bad. Sammy I could just squeeze you all day. I love it when you decide your not...

  My wonderful husband was all distressed because I don't have a picture of the two of us on here yet. Well I'm not sure if you noticed but I'm also missing albums for Kayla and Jordan. Now if Kayla and Jordan see this they will surely accuse me of having my favorites on here ... No truth whatsoever to that. I just simply haven't gotten everything loaded...to my honey, I unlike you only sit at this computer part of my day. Although I'm sure I'd find enough projects to keep me here I do manage to get others things done. And NO your laundry's not put away! I'm to busy getting a picture on here for you! Love you... Missy  ( he he )   This was taken New Year's 2004... I'm think I lost the recent ones of us in my little computer ventures this weekend. I have to put this other one up just because I ran into it and it's such a favorite.

  Well now we all know how I got so cute, I look just like my dad! That's him with our new/used car.  I called him to let him know that Rick would be in the market for a car soon. I should know better, all Dad needs is about an hour and he's got it handled. He took this car in on trade last night and tonight it's in our garage. It's a 99 Olds Eighty-Eight. Not quite as "old manish" as Rick's beige Buick but close!  I really like it and I love the color. We went on a little adventure over to "Grandpa's work" to get a new "daddy car". The boys were super, it's about 3 hours in the car there and back. We had a picnic in the truck and only had to make three potty stops and oh lets not forget mommy's coffee stop. That's pretty good for us. So Dad, we made it home safe and sound, Thanks a ton for helping us find a reliable vehicle. Love you!