JMonster's Christmas Piano Recital

JMonster and his 3 cousins had their Christmas recital recently.

My sister was sitting next to me and her youngest played right before JMonster.  

In the middle of her performance my sister's phone memory was filled.

OH NO!!!!

So here you will see Flower and JMonster.

Can you tell he was VERY nervous?  

Made a few mistakes, but recovered admirably!

WAY TO GO JMONSTER!!!

Dinner Group

Quick update:

It's funny, we were SO healthy there for awhile.  Only one illness worth mentioning, and then...it hit us!

In the past few weeks (feels like months!) we have endured several colds, pink eye, a UTI, a horrible stomach bug (JMonster) and now The Rev sounds like his lung might come out when he coughs.  

I am getting better now, it seems, and will be taking Emergen-C like my life depends on it. 

I don't think I've told you about our dinner group.  

Have I?

Some of our neighbors banded together a few months ago to have dinner together 5 nights a week.

(I know!  Some people say they would hate it, but we love it!)

One person cooks and we all go there for dinner.

Imagine, cooking and cleaning only ONE NIGHT A WEEK!
(We eat out on Fridays, or get pizza, and our church meets Saturday evenings and we do a potluck.  Thus the cooking only once a week.)

We didn't join initially because of JMonster's food allergies.

And my corn intolerance.

But after we were asked again to join and reassured everyone was willing to put up with our unique needs, we joined!

6 families were rotating for the 5 nights.

The 6th week you didn't have to cook at all!

We have wonderful community, extra time for our families, and it is even saving money.

Are there downsides?

Sure.

For us the downsides are that most nights dinner is ready around 5:30 or 5:45...The Rev gets home around 5:30 and that is typically when we would go run.  On our own we usually eat dinner around 6:30 or so.

The other downside is that, as a family we have chosen to go organic, but we are the only ones in the group pretty much who do.

When we cook for everyone, we try and choose organic, free trade, free range, grass fed, etc...

When we are NOT cooking we aren't eating that way.

It's definitely something I think about, especially for JMonster and his longterm health!

But for now the positives far outweigh the negatives and we are LOVING our dinner group!

Do any of you do this?  Do you think you would like to?

Halloween 2012...in Pics!

The twins were the only parents with costumes!

The others...not so much.

JMonster Power Ranger, Red Galaxy to be exact!

Trick or Treating by "Hayride"!

The Bride of Death...when asked why she chose this costume, 

her serious reply was, "It's what I had."

JMonster and his cousins...and Anna Sophia (AKA Trouble!)

Tried a second time...still not good!

Cousin "A" and Megan, the beautiful butterfly

He couldn't be any cuter missing those 2 front teeth!

I'm waiting....I'm waiting...I'm waiting...

JMonster's Power Ranger buddy Colt!

Don't take a picture...okay, cheese!

When Dads get lazy passing out candy, they congregate on the cul de sac.

What a great night!  Happy Halloween from the Power Rangers!

Doubting Swizz

Disclaimer:  If you are looking for a blog post which is full of spiritual truths and sounds like it was written by Mother Theresa, I can give you some links to a few other blogs.  If you, like me, live life day to day and question what is real, what you think and believe, what others say...then this is the post for you.

I often wonder if I am the only person who does this:

I will be reading the Bible, which I believe to be the infallible Word of God, I do...

And will find myself wondering how they did it.

How did Jesus make it look like he was taken up to Heaven and hidden by a cloud?

How did they make it look like they did all of the miracles?

How much planning went into pulling off all of these Houdini style magic tricks?

I can picture a room full of men planning and scheming.

Coming up with ways to pull off hoax after hoax.

"One of us can pretend we are dying.  Or dead."

"I can act like I'm blind!"

And then it will hit me.

Why?

Why would they do this?

What benefit would there be for them?

Money?

(um, really?  my mind goes there?  when they were poor?)

Persecution?

Prison?

To be beheaded?

I will shake my head as I sit reading and realize just where my thoughts have taken me.

And be so glad that the God of the universe understands.

And. Still. Loves. Me.

Still waiting...

The young lady cancelled the appointment with the agency.

No reason was given, so we don't know if she will call back.

Please, please, please

keep praying for HER and for her SON and for the UNBORN BABY!

Our God is bigger than any doubt or struggle we go through.

We just need to trust and obey.

And Believe.

A Possible Child? Or two?

If you are new here and have no idea the roller coaster of our Infertility Journey go click on the tab at the top of this page.  Go ahead!  Grab a box of tissues, read through our journey, then come back and read our latest news!  

I have to admit a certain amount of unbelief.

Did I mishear God when He promised He would increase our family?

Is He going back on His promise?

(I know!  I know!  HE KEEPS HIS PROMISES!  It is ME who has an issue here, NOT GOD!)

He keeps reminding me of Noah.

Who prepared in the face of others thinking he was crazy.

I've often wondered if Noah kind of thought he was crazy, too?

A few days ago a friend approached me and said her Mom works at an adoption agency and there is an 18 month old little boy who might possibly be placed soon.

His mom is pregnant again as well.

HER mom just passed away, and she had been the person caring for the child.

Were we interested?

Are we interested!?!

OF COURSE WE ARE INTERESTED!

So right now we are asking for prayers.

Prayers for this child whose world is possibly about to be turned upside down, that God would place him where he NEEDS to be not where we desire him to be.

For the unborn child.

For us to have peace through this process.

And for financial blessing if God wants us to have one or both of these children!

I find it amusing that, like Noah, our blessing might come in a pair!

I PROMISE TO UPDATE EVERYONE AS SOON AS WE KNOW SOMETHING!  

In the meantime please, please leave a comment, message, or something letting us know you are praying!  It means a lot!

Flu Season

JMonster and I just had a conversation about an illness I had recently.

"Mommy, I know why you felt bad!"

"Why is that buddy?"

"It's flu season."

"Where did you learn that?"

"I saw a sign saying 'Power to stop the Flu' and Aunt Bambi said it is because it is flu season."

"So you need to get a flu shot Mommy!"

"Except, shouldn't it be a STOP the flu shot?"

Have you had your 

STOP THE FLU 

shot?

(JMonster took this of himself...I think it is HILARIOUS!)

Things I learned from my hairdesser...

For my 40th (Yes, it happened.  No, I didn't post.  Sorry!) The Rev and Doc gave my twin sister and I a spa day.

This was in preparation for our SURPRISE PARTY!

We had our nails done, and we got to have whatever we wanted done to our hair.

I had mine straightened.

LOVE IT!

However, she didn't have enough time to cut it so I had to go back.

Oh darn!

Another shampoo.  Another blowdry.  So sad.

This woman is smart.

VERY smart.

She remembered every. single. detail. of our conversation 2 weeks later!

And then she taught me a wonderful lesson.

"Do you know what worship means?" she asked.

"No..."

"It means to bring war against"

(or something like that...who can remember exactly!?!)

"Hmmm..."

"And if you are ever at a time when you are feeling attacked, WORSHIP!  The Bible says that God inhabits the praises of His people.  If HE is there, evil cannot be.  So worship!  Give halleluia!  Praise his name!  It will send evil running."

I've never thought of that.  Worship as a way of fighting evil.  

Makes sense!

Next time I find myself under "attack"...and we all have been there...I plan to worship!

Our President (According to JMonster)

At dinner this evening the following conversation might (or might not) have taken place:

"JMonster, who do you think will be our next President?

Mitt Romney or Barack Obama?"

"It doesn't matter right now, the vote isn't for a long time!"

"But who do you think will win?"

"I think Arock Obottom"

Yep, folks, we have hit Rock Bottom.

Arock Obottom to be specific.

And THAT is our President according to JMonster.

40 Days to 40!

In forty days I will be forty.

Yep, FORTY!

Fabulous, fantastic, fulfilled forty!

And to honor this, I am going to be "preparing" for my big FOUR OH.

How, you ask?

Well, let me share!

For the next forty days I will be making some changes.

1.  Getting up 40 minutes earlier.

(Why?  Because of discipline.  God is working on discipline with me!)

2.  Going to bed 40 minutes earlier.

(This goes hand in hand with #1!)

3.  40 minutes of prayer and reading Bible each day.

(I already do both of these things, but not for this long.)

4.  Do something uplifting for someone else each day.

(More of others, less of me!  See a trend here?)

5.  Do something active for 40 minutes each day.

(Not necessarily working out, can be playing outside, swimming, etc...)

I am SO excited to be ramping up for my big day!

Wanna join me?

Share what changes YOU are willing to make for 40 days!

THAT should be on YouTube!

During a visit by Grammy, JMonster spent quite a bit of time chasing her around with his new camera taking pictures of her hiney.

In the following video she thinks he is trying to, yet again, take a picture of her backside.  

Only he is videoing.

It. Is. Hilarious!

He even starts the video by saying, "This is a video of Grammy's hiney."

Listen carefully.

And don't you DARE tell her we posted this!

She would KILL me!

But it is too funny not to share.

So go ahead, laugh, but do it quietly so no one will hear you.

Especially Grammy!

Skiing Park City

Yes, yes this post is months late!

But better late than never, right?

(Oh, HOW did I get this far behind?  Homeschooling.  That's right!)

We met up with our friends, the Baloneys.

It was a fabulous trip...friendships were forged, strengthened, and all around solidified.  

I couldn't have asked for better!

Our trip, in pics & videos:

Swizz and JMonster on the lift

JMonster JUMPING!

Tired and Hungry after a morning of skiing!  Time for lunch!

A video of JMonster skiing.  Sorry for the quality!  Most of our pics early in the trip are blue.  Go figure.  I was trying to keep it smooth in the beginning which got me behind so then I had to "skate" to catch up. :o)  And for some reason the audio isn't working on my computer.  Maybe it is on yours?

Michael, The Doc (not OUR doc, but Baloney's), The Rev, Jeremy, Swizz, and Baloney!

Hanging out in "Downtown" Park City

I know you didn't!  (Don't worry, I got The Rev back!)

Baloney thought this was HILARIOUS!  Notice I have my skis with me.

 

 

Swizz and JMonster build an igloo!  (Notice the look in my eyes...THAT is altitude sickness!)

 

Somehow I think the mic was off for most of our videos on the trip.  Dang it!

THANKS TO BALONEY FOR THE PICS I "BORROWED"!

CIRCUS!

We went to the circus!

What may not seem like a big deal to most families, was a HUGE deal to the Swizz family.

Peanut allergies can keep you from SO many of these types of events!

Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus came to town.

(Not bad for Bryan/College Station!)

I called ahead to get "special" seats...no PEANUTS!

That means we sat up one section higher than everyone else!

We basically had an entire LEVEL to ourselves!

Here is the event, in pics:

Swizz, The Rev, and JMonster!

Swizz's twin, "Flower", and "Bean"

"A" wearing G-ma's sweater.  Didn't manage to capture G-ma on film!

Yes, that IS a man under that board!

A favorite...and kinda scary!

These 2 were the running act...the MC kept trying to kick this guy out of the ring!

One of my favorite parts...the ELEPHANTS!

3 beautiful, happy ladies!

BIG FINALE!

IT WAS A FABULOUS AFTERNOON!

(And no peanut issues, whew!)

Does the Presidential campaign REALLY matter?

Before you blow your top at me, hear me out.

I do NOT mean

Does the Presidential ELECTION really matter.

What I mean is...

Can either candidate say or do anything between now and the election that will TRULY sway the final decision?

My opinion?

I think NOT.

Conservatives will vote conservatively, whether Romney is outed for something big, or not.

Liberals will vote for Obama, whether his tenure shows true progress, or not.

And those who say they are undecided?

They're big. fat. liars.

IMHO.

What do YOU think?

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

To all who are Mommy's,

Long to be Mommy, 

or wish they were still called Mommy.

May today be a day filled with family, friends, and lots of love!

Heard at Dinner...

As we were sitting down at the dinner table tonight

(to a bison steak over organic pasta with homemade organic pasta sauce...did I mention the herbs were home grown? and side salad, entirely organic of course!)

The Rev asked from the kitchen:

"What would you like to drink?"

To which I answered,

"Water would be great!"

Followed by JMonster saying,

"WINE would be great!"

To which I responded,

"I would LOVE some wine, but I have a meeting and I am driving...probably not a good idea."

To which JMonster responded,

"Not for YOU.  A glass of wine for ME!"

To which The Rev and I laughed and said,

"Not until you are 21!  Which is 15 more years!"

To which JMonster responded,

"15 more years!?!  

MAN, I wish we lived in England or someplace where they let kids drink wine!"

And that is at the age of 6.

borrowed from another blog...but too cute to pass up since he's drinking our favorite wine!  can you guess why it's our favorite?

 

 

Surgery!

Well, folks...

my shoulder surgery is complete!

Last Friday my amazing ortho surgeon removed the end of my acromion bone.

The amazing anesthesiologist inserted a 3 day nerve block 

which my sweet sister removed yesterday.

And now I am loopy on the good stuff.

Here are some pics from the surgery:

Sorry for the quality!  Scanner isn't hooked up so I took a pic...

Tomorrow is my follow up appointment.

I should hear about physical therapy, etc...

In the meantime I intend to go enjoy these meds!

(How's my one-handed typing?)

We interrupt this break...

I know, I know!

Where have you been, Swizz?

Sitting on my tush eating bon-bons.

(I wish!)

So, a little update for all of you:

I got my scopes done.

Check!

(I'll have to show you the pics someday soon.  

They're cool!  

And tell you how funny my sister thinks I was after anesthesia!)

Biopsies came back normal.

Check!

Had a follow up appointment with shoulder doc.

Check!

Scheduled surgery.

???

Yep, I am having shoulder surgery Friday morning to get rid of the tip of my acromion bone.

You see, it rubs on my rotator cuff.

This causes tendonitis.

Ouch!

We finished our Classical Conversations last week...thank goodness for homeschooling!

So I will try my best to post about:

Our ski vacation,

Cool pics of my insides,
EASTER "camping" trip,

Homeschooling updates,

and my general thoughts and feelings on the political state of our country.

In the meantime...

Please PRAY for my surgery!

I'm skeered of pain!

Santorum Stops Campaign and...

Santorum stopped his campaign and...

it made me (pull my head out of the sand and ) go look him up

to figure out who he is and why he needed to drop his campaign for his sweet little girl.

And DANG IT!

I like the guy!

I read his stances on the issues, and from what I can see I agree with him.

What!?!

I finally find a candidate I think I can truly stand behind

and now he isn't a candidate anymore.

You may resume your regularly scheduled activities...

Catching up with Swizz...

Sometime in the last decade I started having what I lovingly refer to as my "Intestinal Issues".

Don't ask.

You do NOT want to know.

I saw doctor after doctor.

Was told time and time again to "eat more fiber."

Really?!?  

I CANNOT PHYSICALLY EAT MORE FIBER!

Whew.  That felt good!

So I have FINALLY seen a doctor who is going to try and figure out what is going on.

He is going to check the top end for my reflux.

Unfortunately it is NOT getting better despite being on uber high doses of meds.

He is going to check the bottom end.

(Thank goodness he's knocking me completely out!)

And hopefully (no not hopefully, PRAYERFULLY) he will figure out what is going on.

What HAS been going on.

FOR OVER 10 years!

And then maybe we can fix the reflux!

And maybe we can fix the other!

Oh, and I forgot to mention...I FINALLY went to a doc for my shoulder.  I mean an orthopod. 

And I have impingement of my shoulder.

And maybe a little cervical involvement thrown in for good measure.

I've been doing physical therapy.

And getting ultrasound and massage while I'm there.

(Do you think I can take the therapist home with me?  Pretty please!?!)

And my shoulder is getting better! 

And I'm going to put it to the test...this weekend...when we go skiing in Park City!

We'll be meeting my friend Baloney there.

I'm sure we'll have all sorts of fun stories to share!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JMONSTER!

HAPPY 6th BIRTHDAY JMONSTER!

6 years old today.

Our little penguin...

Penguin "cake"!

Face he did make!

Ice skating with friends is GREAT!

JMonster and I spent hours making his "cake".  We had an absolute blast!

Feel free to wish him a Happy Birthday in the comments!