Quick on the Draw

Warning to all potential babysitters . . . Canaan can color like nobody's business. He colors without discrimination. See? Walls . . . Bunk beds . . .
Doors . . .
Non-painted archways . . . (maybe a good reason to FINALLY paint them?)
And oh, my baby - my sweet leather couch . . .
Seriously . . .
Daddy? Just in case you ever forget where to charge your cell phone, I have drawn you a fine path . . .
Lord help us!

Seeking Family Portrait-Taker

We haven't had a family portrait done in a while, and I saw these inspirational ideas in Romantic Homes magazine . . . See how we could rig up Christian and Canaan like the babies on the top left and they would not be at all scared or worried up there? Surely they would also not pee or poop on us at any point. And my Mom would sit with a headpiece on reading to Kate, and Jason and Alif would definitely love wearing togas from the waist down only. I know that Malachi, Caris and Graham would willingly don cherub wings and recline in the front there, and Rod would be the doting Grandfather kissing Kate's little foot. What about Megan and I, though?

Here we go! It's all complete!

And if you need a serious laugh, grab your Mom and a copy of Romantic Homes and go hog wild making fun of the decorating in there. One warning, though: you will likely be seriously tired when you're finished.

Stupid PEANUTS!!

So we're going to a class on Wednesday nights at a church in town, not the church we normally attend. The first night I talked to the person in charge of Caris' age group to let them know she is allergic to nuts, and they assured me that they were already a peanut-free zone. Awesome!

Last week Alif picked her up after class and when we met up, he told me that there had been a peanut "incident". Apparently her age group had done a craft including peanuts, and Caris saw the peanuts and asked her leader if they were real. When she was told that they were real, she left the craft room and went back to her own room. Her face was broken out a bit but nothing terrible.

Well. Yesterday she woke up with hives all over her tummy and back, and the rest of her body was so extremely broken out. I asked her again to tell me the whole story and come to find out, the kids had brought their peanut crafts back to the classroom with them. So. My peanut-allergic daughter was breathing in peanuts for a good portion of the class.

Today I noticed that a couple of the open sores had (cover your eyes if you're squeamish) pus in them. As the day went by, more and more little blisters were popping up with pus inside. Off to the urgent care, where they said she was infected (really? LOL) and tested her for MRSA and put her on oral and topical antibiotics.

Oh Lord please, please, please heal my precious daughter. PLEASE.

my eyes! MY EYYYYEEEESS!!!!!

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Philippians 4:8

I have a problem. It isn't a cute problem, like "I'm addicted to conversation hearts" (though I am) or "I jog too much" (I don't). It's a real, serious, ugly problem.

Fear. I really struggle with fear. You know that Jeremy Camp song that's popular right now? "There will be a day with no more fear, no more pain, no more tears" That song touches me. I love my life but the thought of living with Jesus someday and suffering no more? Pretty cool.
Though I won't describe it just in case anyone reading also has a fear problem, there is one particular image that has haunted me as long as I can remember. It just shows up in my mind sometimes and makes me quiver with fear inside. I hate it.
So I was watching TV last night and nothing was really on, so I was watching America's Next Top Model, a decidedly ridiculous but un-scary show. Imagine my horror, then, when a commercial came on for some awful show or movie and the very image, the one from my imagination, showed up on my screen. I turned my head quickly but it was too late. The image was already cemented in my mind. "I hate this stupid TV" I thought, "Why do we have to have this? Why do I sit here and allow my mind to be assaulted night after night?"

Indeed. Why DO I do this to myself? Why don't I just GO TO BED or play cards with Alif or cozy up and read or sew or meditate or play Wii or ANYTHING but allow the assault of my mind and morals, night after night after night?

"Because in the midst of the yuck, there's good stuff!" Oh really? GOOD stuff? Or ENTERTAINING stuff?

If my kids asked to go to a keg party and assured me there would be good punch there, fun games, nice kids . . . would I say, oh yeah, go for it! There's a lot of good in that keg party, my precious child! Have at it!

But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 1 Timothy 6:11-12

I don't know what my conclusion is. There are things I really like to watch on TV, and very rarely, there ARE good things on. But at what cost? We don't even have cable - the commercials that cause me grief are on regular network TV channels. I guess it's time to seek the Lord on this one.

Iron-ons and other fun

My kitchen had been seriously out of control lately, and this past weekend Alif went to Mexico with our church to build a house, so while he was gone I tackled that kitchen whole-heartedly. I went through every cupboard, cleared off the top of the fridge and just really sorted it out. It is AWESOME to go in and have room to work!! Now if we could just remodel it . . . ;-)

This is a verrrry common scene in my home. Canaan and Malachi share some serious brotherly love and they cuddle up like this several times a day.

I love personalized shirts. My favorites are the darling embroidered types, but as I told Lisa today when I ran into her at Target, four kids times 2-3 (or more) shirts means that iron-ons are more often the way to go. I nab pictures from anywhere I want online and hope I don't ever offend anyone. They're just for my own personal use so I think it's probably ok. If you are gonna do this, make sure that when you print you click "mirror image" so that any words in your design print properly.

These are all for Canaan. My favorite is the "Yes, I'm still nursing" one and hey - I created that design all by my OWN self. Yay me! I also love the Robot one that says "For today I am a robot". Cute!

Do you get Everyday Food magazine? I loooove it and seriously I make probably 5 or more recipes out of every copy. Today I made this cocoa popcorn as an afternoon snack and it was a huge hit. Pop up some popcorn (10 cups popped), drizzle with a couple tablespoons of melted butter (or smart heart fakey stuff, which is what I used). Stir it up and then sprinkle on a mixture of 2 tablespoons sugar and 2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder. Stir up again and - mmmmm.

The Escapee

At first I thought it was a fluke. There was a big cardboard car next to the crib, so I thought it emboldened him and that it wouldn't happen again. Even after 2 or 3 times of him joining me after his nap, just coming on downstairs . . . I still thought it wasn't really happening. Maybe. Then I thought I'd put him in and TELL him to get out. Here's what I saw:

He's my first crib-climber-outer. I guess it's time to move him into a twin bed. WAH! My baby's growing up!!

The One Thing

Last night was a very silly night at AWANA - Potato Head night. The kids, as you can see, all decorated a potato and brought it to club. Caris did hers as Daddy, and it's 2-sided - a happy side and a mad side. How hard did I laugh at Alif? Ha! Caris assured him that he displays the happy side much more than the angry one. (Still laughing.) Malachi carved his like a pumpkin and didn't like it, so Graham came to the rescue, decorating a red potato for him. Malachi was thrilled when his friend Daniel declared red potatoes the most delicious potatoes in the world. Graham's top-hat-with-rock-hair potato wins the prize in my mind. LOVE it.

I'm the T&T Girls Director in our club, and last night was my night to teach. I was excited about the lesson and hoping my enthusiasm would shine through my tiredness. I was praying for this when we started worship. The first two songs were active and fun - perfect! The last song was a slow, beautiful one, and I thought - uh oh, energy's gonna go doooooowwwwwnnn . . .

Then I heard the kids' voices. Amazing grace . . . how sweet the sound . . . amazing love . . . comes flowing down . . . I saw their eyes closed, focusing away from each other and the potatoes and everything else and zoning in on their Lord. From hands and feet . . . that were nailed to the tree . . . your grace flows down and covers me . . .

I'll admit it. I had a moment. A Mom moment. And you know what? I didn't even keep it private. Worship ended and I took my place in front of the kids, and I just let my mushy moment rip.

I told the kids that when a Christian Mom or Dad (or Grandma or Grandpa) finds out they're going to be a parent, there's one thing they think of more than anything else. Yes, we daydream about their tiny little fingernails and soft hair and sweet, tiny noses. We can't wait to snuggle their bitty tummies and tickle their toes. But there's something so much bigger than all of that: we want them to know Jesus.

We long for the day they will ask what it means to trust in Him. To hear their voices acknowledge Him, seek Him, love him.

Let me tell you, there isn't a lot that can move a Mama to tears quicker than hearing her babies praising the Lord. Those voices that aren't even fully developed, totally abandoned to loving their Maker - oh, it touches a place deep, deep inside.

I am so, so blessed!

Friday

I didn't want to go to Weight Watchers this morning. Really really didn't want to go. I knew I'd gained, and I was right: 3.4 pounds. Why is it so much easier to pack it on than to take it off?? I'm still down overall by about 13 pounds but dang, I could be nearing 30 by now if I'd get on the ball and quit this back & forth stuff. I just told Alif about it and he said, "That's ok, we've been eating vigorously this week." Ha!

About a month ago, maybe 5 weeks, I brought my Bible downstairs during quiet time with the intention of doing a Bible study while the kids napped. I didn't, and also I never took it back upstairs where I read before falling asleep at night. I have noticed that I'm really missing my nightly Bible reading, and I also think it's having a big impact on my daily living. God tells us in that His Word is living, that it's good for all sorts of things, and clearly one of them is keeping me on the right track.

In other divulging-too-much-info news, Alif & I are facing some real parenting dilemmas. We are glad to be on the Dave Ramsey plan, to be turning our financial life into a successful one. Note that I say we're glad about it and not that we find it easy. There are things we have totally taken for granted over the years that we are now having to really think about. Two of those things are the kids' sports and camps.

There are four sports/activities coming up: baseball, indoor soccer, swimming lessons and outdoor soccer. How much would it cost to enroll all three big kids in all of these activities? Let me bust out the calculator and do a little guesstimate . . . ok, around $1750. Camp will cost around $900, not including fundraisers but including things like spending money and supplies. This is a lot of money!

Tonight we're going to have a little pow-wow with the family, get their input, get God's input, and then hammer out what we think we should actually try to fit into our budget and what will just have to wait. I can see how we have gotten into debt to begin with - all these things feel so important that they don't seem optional. Well, they're just going to have to be, or we're going to have to figure out a way that we can pay our bills and still afford all the extras - in cash. Wish us luck!!

Today's blah-blah

Let's see if I can fill you in on what all has happened since yesterday.

We went to FPU, and Alif wasn't running late for once so we all rode together. Yippee! How many of you drive the car when the whole family's in it? Our family car used to be MY Toyota Corolla, and I guess since it was mine long before we got married, it was just habit that I always drove it. Except when we would go out of town, and then Alif usually drove. Suddenly when we bought my van, he became the family driver probably 75% of the time. How strange, isn't that?

FPU was most excellent as always. Have I told you the drama surrounding Canaan and FPU? I don't really want to go back through old posts so I will tell you the very short story just in case I haven't.
Week 1: Little mister literally RAN right in, had a ball, didn't cry a bit.
Week 2: He cried the entire time. I didn't know this until I picked him up. They were too busy to page me. I wasn't super happy about that but they held him and he was being loved so I wasn't too traumatized.
Week 3: He cried when I dropped him off so I peeked back in a few minutes later to see how it was going, and my 2-year-old-literally-on-that-day was walking around the room sobbing, and the workers were not tending to him. My blood pressure went up and I got him out immediately. The children's director ended up taking care of him personally that night.
Week 4: He cried on and off and they held him and loved him.

Last night he seemed pretty excited about class. "Puzzles, toys, HI MOMMY! HI DADDY!" We were practicing how it would all go and he seemed ok. This church has a fancy drop-off system that involves printing off a paper with photos on it to prove who you are and everything, and he was holding his little paper as we approached his classroom. I cheerfully asked if he'd like to give the teacher his paper and he did - with his arm stretched waaaaay out and his body as far around the corner as it would go. Ha! He cried as I nudged him in, but settled quickly. His favorite teacher said he shadowed her all night but didn't cry. When I picked him up he was coloring a puppet. Someone had drawn big, brown eyes on it. I can relax. A little.

So I guess that's about the biggest thing that's happened since we spoke last. Have a great Thursday!

Wait, I almost forgot! Alif and I are going to cut up our credit cards! Can you imagine? We have tons of them. Tons. We are still on baby step #1, which is to save up a baby emergency fund of $1,000, and we're not gonna cut our cards until that is established. Once it is though, adios credit cards! We will need to keep the Home Depot and Lowe's cards until we save up some money for Alif's construction business, and once we do that those will be gone too. No credit cards - REVOLUTIONARY!! I did our debt snowball (debt repayment) plan and it has us paid completely out of debt, including the truck (my van is paid for) in 3 years. That's not including any extra payments above & beyond what we currently pay on our debt. There's hope! There's light at the end of this tunnel!!

Nothing to write about

I've had blogger's block lately - had you noticed? I think of things I'd like to say, but by the time I get in front of the computer whatever was on my mind has vanished. I'm just gonna do a little rambling today, if you don't mind.

A couple nights ago Canaan was sleeping with Alif and I. He woke up at 5:45 and asked to nurse, but said it was ok for me to go potty first (ha). When I came back to the bed, I started to climb in and he said, "ahh, thank you!" :-D

We women all love our labor stories. They're so much a part of who we are that we can't help telling them over and over to anyone who will listen (or pretend to). I'm surprised how much I feel this way about the births of my two nieces in the last week! I could write a whole blog entry about each of them, but I feel kind of weird doing so since that's THEIR mommy's story. If I'm going to be a birth photographer, I'm certainly going to have to learn how to integrate others' birth stories into my own life without it throwing me for an emotional loop each time! I almost feel like my own hormones are going through a shift similar to when I had my own kids. I guess it's the huge buildup and letdown of waiting and waiting and waiting, then attending (!) each birth, and then leaving them to live in my own home with my own life. It doesn't make a lot of sense to feel this way but since when did feelings make any sense anyway?

So Olivia and Kate are both doing so well. Olivia is a major sleeper which is new to John & Lynette. I dare say they are enjoying it. Kate has changed so much even since I last saw her on Sunday. My Mom texted me a picture of her yesterday and she was looking like the spitting image of my gorgeous sister.

Oh, I love babies!! I saw someone pregnant last week and told Alif, "Oh look, she's pregnant! Lucky!" He didn't respond.

Caris and the Missing Tooth, and Babies galore

As dictated by Caris:

I was at Grandma and Grandpa's house, and I was eating a hamburger. And I was like, "what is that in my mouth?" and then I felt it, and then I tried to pull it out, and I thought it was something stuck between the tooth. And I finally pulled it out and dropped it out of my finger. And then I finally knew it was a tooth. And I thought, that's cool! Then we put it in a baggie. Later I told Grandma that I didn't have anything to do and she said, "go play with your tooth!"

So there it is - my baby girl lost her first tooth! And she did it while I was out of town, the little stinker!! I warned her before I left that I would be mad at her if she lost it while I was gone, and she wasn't sure if I was kidding or not so she said, "Will you really be mad, or will you just be sad?" LOL I assured her all would be well if she lost it while I was gone. ;-)

Pictures to come when I FIND MY CAMERA. How does one LOSE a camera??

Also? I have not one but TWO new nieces.

Olivia Katherine was born to Lynette and John on 2/10, and she's not my bio niece but close enough.

Katherine "Kate" Rebecca was born to Megan and Jason on 2/14.

Both girls are gorgeous!!

Meltdowns & Miracles

Every year as my kids' birthdays approach, I prepare myself. More than a month ago I began to rehearse in my mind that Canaan would be turning two. A couple times I even referred to him as a 2-year-old. Just to try it on for size, you know? Ease in?
That's all fine until the actual day comes. February 4, 2009. My baby is two. Two! Can't I remember so clearly calling those needed to come to my home and attend my labor? Wasn't it only moments ago that LaMonica laid my 10 pound, 2 ounce son in my arms, insisting that yes I could hold him even though I was exhausted and my hands were numb from propping myself up in my bathtub?
We have celebrated this boy every day of his life. How very special each of his milestones have been with not only a doting mother and a proud father, but the biggest cheerleaders of all - his siblings - applauding him! How we've adored him and his sparkling eyes, his easy grin, his cute little sayings!

We have spent countless hours on the floor with him, seeing the world through his eyes. We've knelt in the sand and really felt it between our toes. We've seen the little birds hopping to and fro and appreciated their delicate nature.
I couldn't begin to calculate the number of hours I have spent nursing this little one, holding him as tightly as wiggly toddlerhood allows, kissing his rosy lips, smoothing the silkiest hair, caressing the softest little legs.

I have remembered the weeks of early pregnancy when we weren't sure at all that this baby was going to stay put. The months we spent searching for the right medical practitioner for my pregnancy and delivery. The peace and joy we felt when we finally decided to have him at home. The unbelievable experience it actually was, far surpassing my wildest expectations of how wonderful a labor and delivery could be.

We have, in short, fallen absolutely, head-over-heels, completely in love with our magical little son. Alif spoke correctly this morning when he came upon our smiling boy: "It doesn't matter what day it is, you're just happy!" Happy indeed, and oh - we are so, so blessed.

In case you weren't sure, Canaan, we love you. So very much.

Friday Randomness

Yes, I weighed in today. I gained 1.2 pounds. That's not the direction I'm going for! Oops! I was sick all week and definitely did not make good food choices, and didn't track what I was eating. On to a new week and a weight LOSS next Friday.

Yesterday Caris said, "I'm so lucky!" I asked why and she said, "I don't know, I just feel so lucky. I have a nice mom, I got to be in that play . . . " I forget what else she listed but man, how's that for gratitude? Would that we would all feel so lucky over the little things in life! This is a girl who literally suffers every day with itchy, broken skin and lately her tummy hurts every day, and she feels lucky anyway. Lord, please heal my sweet daughter!

My husband was so sweet today. He called to check on me when I'd been gone longer than he expected, and when I got home he had to explain some paperwork to me (not my favorite thing). He asked why I looked stressed out and I told him I had too much to do. He asked how he could help, and would I like him to drop off some paperwork for me? HECK YEAH! Then, even better, he offered to take the boys to guitar so I wouldn't have to wake Caris & Canaan from their naps. Praise the Lord!

That Financial Peace University class we started last week? I can't even tell you how great it is. It is boosting our marriage in a way I could never have seen coming. I don't want to speak for Alif too much, but I'll just say that for him, it has made him think of our finances in a totally different way, and beyond finances, I see him stepping up in our marriage in such confidence. It's amazing to see him so empowered! I prayed for years that God would make him the spiritual leader of our home, but during those years I think I felt like I was the tool God would use to make Alif the way I wanted him to be. It was once I shut up and let God take over that He was able to start really working on Alif's heart, and watching him grow in this way has been such an adventure. I can only hope that he is seeing the same growth in me as a wife!

As for my heart and FPU, well, God is already doing some major construction there too. I was driving around the other day and suddenly had this overwhelming feeling of being a team with Alif. For our entire marriage I have not been trustworthy with money. I have spent without asking Alif, spent money we didn't have, charged things he specifically told me not to - you get the picture. I felt like it was me against him all the time. Every purchase I wanted to make felt like a competition between he & I, and every time he bought something that wasn't completely necessary I begrudged him for it. I'm sure I still have a lot of learning and growing to do, but feeling like - dude, we're on the SAME SIDE here - that's huge for me AND for Alif. What a gift!

Sick isn't all bad

Well, Tuesday night I got a sore throat before going to bed. Alif and I joked about which one of us got it first but no matter, we were both sick and that was that. We had a busy few days coming up so we just went to sleep hoping for a miraculous recovery overnight. Well, Alif did more than hope - he took Nyquil, which he swears is a cure-all. I did not feel well when I woke up. He was feeling pretty fine.

Wednesday night we were scheduled to start a class at a local church and there was no way I was going to miss it. I have been looking forward to this class for months and we were going to be there. The church had arranged for my kids to take part in their Awana program, which was really nice of them since my kids are already active in our own church's program. The commander let me know that it was stack-a-t-shirt night, which meant that the kids could wear as many t-shirts as they'd like, layered.

Can I give you some unsolicited advice? If you have two pre-teen boys, do not send them into their room alone to get ready for stack-a-t-shirt night. Malachi wanted no part in this madness so he donated all of his t-shirts to Graham's cause, and when they came out Graham couldn't even lower his arms to his sides, he had so many shirts on. Over 35 of them, in fact. Just as we were leaving he looked a little flushed and said, "I can't get a deep breath." I realized that he had so many shirts on that they were crushing him, even if only slightly, and he literally couldn't breathe properly. I removed about 5 shirts and he seemed a lot better.

It took some doing to get him buckled into the car and I have to admit that I was nervous. He was being way too quiet in the back seat and about halfway there I asked how he was doing and he said it was getting harder to breathe. I pulled over and stripped about 12 more shirts off and he was fine. I was thinking of suggesting this cute idea for our own church's Awana theme nights but that experience was too scary for me. No kids suffocating on my watch, please!

The class was so great. Dave Ramsey is smart, funny (!) and inspiring. The first video was an overview of the program and despite my sitting there feeling absolutely miserable, I was really glad we went. Alif & I are both excited about making some very positive financial changes.

Today was my weigh-in, and I lost THREE POUNDS!! Ya-hoo babuy! I'm now down 19.8 total and I can really feel it. As a matter of fact, I went right after my weigh-in to buy a size smaller jeans, because the ones I'm wearing today are so baggy they literally fall down as I walk. Major yay!

I'm going to wash those jeans and put them on eBay. I loved them for the few times I wore them, but I'm very happy to be moving down to the same jeans in a smaller size!!

And finally, a portrait taken by Canaan the other night. He kept saying, "smile mommy! cheese! picture!" He took like 20 pictures of me, Caris, the floor, his toys . . . kinda fun to see the world through his "eyes". Oh, and he's such an ego-booster - after each picture he'd say, "cute!" LOL

Sleepy Day

On January 5 Graham had an appointment with a neurologist. I went into this appointment knowing that Graham has Tourette Syndrome, but wanting to avoid leading the doctor in that direction, just in case I was wrong and something else was going on. I wasn't wrong. The doctor kept us waiting for over 2 hours, but he was so lovely that within a minute of meeting him my anger melted away. He was great with Graham and listened carefully, asked lots of questions and spent his time examining him. Then, as if announcing that he prefers butter over margarine, he declared that my son has Tourette Syndrome. Just like that. We discussed some testing, medication, scheduling a follow-up appointment and he was on his way. He had a doctor shadowing him that day. I gathered my children and belongings and as I opened the door, I heard our doctor telling his shadow that Graham is textbook Tourette's - classical.

I didn't have a good day that day. Like I said, I knew going in that we were dealing with TS. It didn't come as a surprise to hear him officially diagnosed - it just came as a big, fat punch in the gut. My son is textbook, classical Tourette's. There's no doubt in the doctor's mind. Since I started suspecting this in Graham, and doing research, and discussing it openly, I have heard countless friends say that they never noticed that I have TS. You can't even imagine how this shocks me. Since I was around 7 years old, I remember feeling like an oddball, trying desperately to hide my tics and often failing. I had a frog sound that annoyed my family. I had a lip-curling tic that the clarinet section noticed in band. I had so many tics that I tried to disguise, which I now learn is a great coping mechanism for TS sufferers.

So when I heard that doctor pronounce my son's official diagnosis, years of discomfort built up in me. Parents want better for their kids. We don't want our kids to suffer. We don't want them to feel weird. We want them to be comfortable in their own skin, to be well-liked, to excel.

I've done fine with TS, I really have. According to others. Many of my tics are what we call "internal", meaning that they require me to tense my muscles over and over. It isn't comfortable. I still have tics that make me feel that I appear odd to others, whether or not they actually notice. The mental energy that goes into TS for me is indescribable to someone who doesn't deal with this.

Ohhhhh, I hate this for Graham. He, however, doesn't seem terribly upset . . . on the surface. When I talk to him about TS he seems pretty open about it. He asks questions, talks pretty openly. I'm worried, though. I've noticed a few things that are cause for concern that I want to talk to the doctor about when we reconvene to discuss the results of his testing.

Speaking of testing, he had an EEG today. That means that last night Alif kept him up until 11, he got to sleep from 11-3, I got up with him from 3-5 and Alif took over from 5-7. His test was at 8. I couldn't imagine that he would be able to sleep in that office, sitting in a recliner, with an electrode-filled cap strapped on, plus electrodes on his arms and earlobes, with a technician and me both staring at him. Well, he did. I couldn't believe it. He did just great! I think this test was just to rule out seizures.

So - his next appointment is next month. We'll see where we go from there.

Happy Day to You!

Canaan, all big-boy-ed out in his car seat on our way to church.

Alif started a soccer season with our friends from church last week. OMGosh how cute is he in his soccer gear?? And do you see how he is sucking air big-time? As our friend Mike noted, skinny apparently does not mean fit. I hope this means Alif will start walking with me!!

We inherited this headboard from my Grandma and Grandpa, and I love it so very, very much. It's just so - them.

Daddy does not like it when I do Canaan's hair this way.

About my outfit . . . I'm so, so sorry. And I'm even sorrier to tell you that I went to Target like this. Oh my gosh, someone help me with a major wardrobe makeover! But I lost 1.2 pounds last week, which brings the grand total to 16.8 pounds. Weee!

After we made brunch on Sunday, Alif and I sat at the table and talked while the kids played outside. I looked out there and said, "oh my gosh, the kids totally match! I have to take a picture!" I tried taking a little video too but within like 3 seconds someone said something rude and I gave up and came inside to chat with my husband.

One day Caris was sleeping a little too long at naptime so I went in to wake her up. She woke up cheerful and she was so pink and giggly and I was lying on my bed looking up at her sitting next to me, and I fell just a little more in love with her. She is my tiniest little best girlfriend and I adore her.

My 2 Favorite People!

My bloggy friends obviously know I'm losing weight. My family and a few IRL friends know. Everyone who knows has been SO super supportive and encouraging!

But yesterday, TWO people who don't know that I'm on Weight Watchers noticed that I have lost weight!! Sunday morning at church, S asked if I have lost weight, and oh I got so excited! LOL I told her that she was the first person to notice and she was so happy with me. She said she can see it in my face, and she was really encouraging about my losing the rest.

At Awana, A said that she can tell that I have lost weight. Wait a minute, I actually think I did tell A that first week that I was going to try WW. So hmm I guess only one person who didn't know a thing about it - but anyway, A said I look narrower all over. HOORAY FOR THAT!!

Another girl made a comment too about seeing my pics on my blog (thank you K!!) and made my evening!

God knew I needed some heavy-duty encouragement and boy did he send it!!

Photo credit: http://www.lisavictoria.net/Images/Fantasy/Full/toothfairy.jpg

In totally non-related news, Caris has her first loose tooth!! She woke up from her nap two days ago and came bounding down the stairs, wiggling that tooth for all it's worth. My big boys were a full year older than this when they first lost teeth so it was a big surprise to hear this big announcement from Caris! She keeps saying, "I am SO EXCITED that I have a loose tooth!" and then she will glance at me and add hastily: "but a little bit sad too, because I'm growing up so quickly." LOL My girl knows her Mama's heart!

For your laughing pleasure

Malachi and Graham take my weekly weight-loss-documentation photos, and they do a good job! Thanks, little guys! This week though, Mommy was just not at ALL photogenic. It was so bright outside (yippee!) and apparently I couldn't keep my eyes open for more than a millisecond. Also? I wondered what do I look like sitting down these days. Yeah. I'll be doing more standing. And sucking in that belly. Geez. And one more thing: maybe I should have done this BEFORE I wore this Frumps 'R' Us outfit IN PUBLIC. :-X

BUT - I lost 1.8 pounds this week, and unlike last week, I am THRILLED with that this week. My Mom and I went out of town last week and I didn't do very well with point-counting. We had a blast together though, and I did eat pretty well. It just goes to show how bad my eating was before, that even on a "bad eating" week I am losing weight! I can't wait to see what next Friday holds! I'm down 15.6 total now. Still lots to go.

It always comes back

I love to watch Biggest Loser, and I am so excited that it's coming back for another season next week! It's a great motivator for me mid-week, and then I have my WW meetings on Fridays. Good timing! When I watch Biggest Loser, I always roll my eyes a little at the contestants who lose 2 or 3 pounds and act like they are total failures. Give me a break, I think, you lost a great amount of weight! Well, guess what? I only lost 1.8 pounds this week. I weighed this morning on my scale, which I thought was totally the same as the WW scale, and according to my scale I was down four pounds, so to see 1.8 at the meeting was kind of depressing. Depressing - geez, I'm rolling my own eyes at myself. 1.8 is great! 1-2 pounds a week is the Weight Watchers standard, and if I lose at that rate I will reach my goal weight around the end of summer. I'm gonna have to just keep plugging along, be patient and celebrate along the way. I exercised almost every day last week and stayed within my points for the week and those are great things. So - moving onward!

One of our New Year's Eve traditions is to let the kids bang pots and pans at 9:00. This year we pulled some party poppers too. It was especially fun when my father-in-law wandered over from across the street to see what all the commotion was about. :-)

We also make s'mores for NYE. We don't normally make them using mini marshmallows and chocolate chips. LOL It was fun to change it up a bit, though.

We also like to do a craft in the evening. This year we started a pocket book about the four seasons. Here's Graham's cover.