My Baby Boy is 15!

This cute baby boy who has given me so much joy...

Is turning into a man right before my eyes!

Today we celebrate Zac as he turns 15! We so proud of the fine young man he is... great citizen, hard worker, awesome student, wonderful son! We love you Zachary!!! Happy Birthday!!!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from our home to yours! What a joy to celebrate the birth of our precious Savior! Blessings!

My Husband Rocks!

Looking through my pictures, I see that I have lots and lots to share and I have no delusions of ever catching up. But here is something cute I can't resist sharing today. Pulling food out of the freezer yesterday for our meal last night reminded me!

A few weeks ago I had cooked a huge lunch of Chile Verde and homemade refried beans. We were having company after church, so I spent hours the day before prepping everything. I had my crockpot and roaster going Sunday morning so that when we arrived home, the delicious lunch was waiting for us to enjoy. 

As soon as our company left, Abbie and I wanted to head out to do a little shopping before we went to church that evening. But my dilemma was that I had a lot of food to put away (I call them "planned-overs"!). Well, Gil graciously offered to package up and freeze the food so that we could leave without delay. So sweet!!!

Well, I just had to giggle when a few days later I went to the freezer and this is what I found. He made my day with this sweetness. And each time I see these (now dwindling) containers in the freezer I smile. He loves me!!!

Thankfulness

Since our first Thanksgiving in Charlotte in 2006, we have been blessed to have friends with whom we could share the day. This year we were invited by our friends and neighbors, Sean & Julie, to have Thanksgiving with them. They had two other families coming, as well as our good friends, Alan & Jennifer. 

We all divided up the cooking -- I was assigned rolls, cranberries, and pies. But, I also had to add in our family's traditional deviled eggs and my sister's famous stuffing, as well as whipped cream for the pies. Thanksgiving day was actually pretty relaxing because I was able to get most of my preparations done the day before. {I have been asked to share my recipes, so expect some of them to appear here soon as I type them up!}

Sean getting ready to bless the meal, what a spread of food!, Julie serving her son

We gathered around 4pm. Soon, Julie's kitchen was filled with all sorts of yummy foods! We truly had a feast of flavors. Everything was so good!!!

Julie, Alan, Jennifer

Dinner was so good that I don't think any of the adults even ate any dessert! I know I couldn't. {But that's ok because pumpkin pie for breakfast is one of my favorite things about Thanksgiving!!!}

Our sweet kids shared their own table. Jacob and Julie's daughter are in the same class, and were in kindergarten together.

We enjoyed spending time with Alan and Jennifer!

Me and my sweetie! I wish I had gotten a photo of Sean and Julie together.

Abbie & Zac didn't have to sit at the kids' table! I love this picture and love these kids!!!

After dinner, my friend Yogi and her family stopped by Sean & Julie's for dessert. Yogi also brought along her sister and family. It just added to the fun!!!

I just love my friends!

We had a fun, full evening. The kids ate dessert, and roasted marshmallows at the firepit. Each family signed Julie's tablecloth, which is such a neat tradition. I feel so blessed to have my community of friends who are becoming like family. I am thankful for all the many blessings the Lord has given me!

I am still in shock!

I am so blessed with an abundance of wonderful friends, an amazing, thoughtful husband, and sweet, wonderful children. Sunday was my birthday, and I am still in shock and having a difficult time expressing myself. We enjoyed a pleasant morning at church, had a meeting after, then went to lunch to celebrate my birthday. As we headed home, I was looking forward to our relaxing Sunday afternoon. We turned onto our street and I saw a long line of parked cars... "Someone's having a party," I said. I kept looking at each house on the left as we passed by, trying to figure out just WHO was having a party {I'm nosy like that!}.

As we headed toward our cul-de-sac, Gil said, "Why are those people standing in the street?" I was so busy looking at the neighbors' houses that I didn't know what he was talking about. I looked around, but didn't see what he meant. Then as I looked more carefully, and we got closer to our house, I noticed that in the shadows of the trees, people were indeed standing in the street. With the sun shining right at us, it took a second for it to register that I knew these people! WE were having a party!

 

My husband surprised me for my birthday, big time! It is absolutely amazing to stand in the street and have your friends sing "Happy Birthday" to you! I pulled out my camera and snapped a few photos. {Even in my shocked state, I remembered the camera!!!}

I was pretty much in a daze throughout the party. I am not sure I even said more than five words. But I smiled and laughed a lot. Our home was filled with wonderful people, and the kitchen counters were overflowing with lots of yummy treats. 

My husband was very sneaky and managed to pull this party off without a hint to me! I was shocked to learn that my kids were even in on it. But my husband also utilized his resources very well. He knew he needed help, so he enlisted some of my best friends to help with food, invites, setting up, and spreading the word. I had no clue!

Gil was even sweet enough to have them all gather around me and say a few words on my behalf. Oh, how I wish someone had a video camera going.... I can't remember all the words, but I sure do recall the love that was shared. It was overwhelming. But I really needed the tissue box handy when Gil started talking, and prayed for me. What a wonderful, precious gift it is to have a husband who loves me and prays for me.

It was a fun, fun afternoon that passed much too quickly!

And even in the midst of the huge crowd that gathered to surprise me, I realized that so many others were missing and not able to attend. I am loved and so very, very blessed!

Zac got a phone!

Tuesday we finally broke down and bought Zac a cell phone. We had actually hoped to get him one two years ago when he turned 13, but it just wasn't in the budget. He has been very patient, and willing to borrow one of our phones when he needed to be out and have a phone with him.

My cell, and Gil's cell, were both very old, and the batteries were not holding a charge. So we needed new phones. We had looked at them last weekend to get an idea of what our options were. We were pretty sure that we would go ahead and get a phone for Zachary as well, but wanted to get his input so that he would have the phone he wanted.

 

It turned out that we all were happy with the exact same phone. Even better -- we were able to get all the phones for free! So we added Zac's line and texting to our plan, and entered the 21st century!

Zac was happy to come home from school on Tuesday and find his new phone waiting for him.

We are all getting used to our new ability to text. A perk I didn't expect is that now I am getting all kinds of cute texts from my husband throughout the day! He didn't think he would text at all. Instead, I think he is finding that he enjoys the instant access to me while he is at work. It's been fun!

Laundry-- I love it!

Here is a post I have been meaning to right for a long time! I actually LOVE doing my family's laundry. Over the years, I have gotten into a routine that works for us.

I do laundry two or three days a week, sometimes four. I have baskets in each of my kids' closets for their dirty clothes. Whether or not they actually get the dirty clothes off their floor and into the basket is  constant issue. I have a 3-bag laundry sorter in my closet which I love. As Gil and I take off our clothes, they go into either the "lights" or "darks". The third bin in my sorter is for (dry) towels and washcloths, as well as items with stains that need special handling.

Mondays, I do laundry for Gil and I, usually just two loads. As soon as it comes out of the dryer, I take it upstairs and fold it on our bed, hanging all our shirts and pants in the closet, and putting away all folded items. It never piles up this way! Much of our laundry is hung... only underwear & socks and nightclothes are in drawers. My husband's t-shirts, jeans and sweats are folded and on shelves in our closet. One other day a week, or two, I will do an extra load or two of our clothes, as well as towels, sheets, and dishcloths, as needed.

One day a week I do my three kids' laundry. It works best if I have a regular day for it. They each bring down their basket, and then THEY sort into two piles, lights and darks. I can usually do just 2 loads... sometimes I need to do an extra load of darks.  After school, my oldest two put away their own clothes. I either put away my youngest's or have him help me. I hang all his shirts. My oldest son also hangs all his shirts. I am about to move my daughter over to hangers, too.

I like hanging as many clothes as possible because it is less folding, and less likely to get wrinkled and they sift through their drawers. {And I do hang our clothes in rainbow-color order!}

I love that my kids sort their laundry, because even though they don't have to do the laundry themselves, they are learning a valuable life skill. If they had to do their own laundry, they would know where to start.

I fold clothes on our bed because it gives me plenty of space on which to work. Also, I WILL make sure it is all put away in a timely manner so that my bedroom is back to looking pretty. This system works because I am also striving to get the laundry out of the dryer as soon as possible after the cycle is done. It also helps that I am only doing 2-3 loads of laundry on any given day. I fold the kid's laundry on my bed upstairs, as well, but instead of putting it away between loads, I pile it up until all is washed, dryed and folded.

I have also evolved into a system where each person's clothes has a specific "zone" on the bed where I place them as I fold them. I can toss underwear, socks, jeans, and nightclothes into the respective child's zone on the bed as I empty the clean laundry basket. As I come to a shirt, I can smooth it out and lay it in either Zachary's, Abbie's, or Jacob's shirt spot. Once the laundry basket is empty, I go back and fold each child's folding laundry. Years ago, in business school, we studied about efficiency... I find that it really is faster if I fold a bunch of socks all at once, then a pile of undershirts. Truly, it takes me just about 10 minutes to fold a load of laundry.

The best part is that I think about my family as I do their laundry. I love serving them this way. And every item of clothing is a reminder for me to take time to pray for each of them, which I do as I fold their clothes. I love doing my family's laundry!

Beautiful Fall Day with my Boy!

Jacob is recovering beautifully from his teeth extraction earlier this week. Today, he went back to school, and even got to give a report on his adventure to the class. Tonight, he is not even in pain, so that is good news. Yesterday, he and I had a great day together!

Since Jacob has had to eat softer food, he has had a lot of special treats in the past few days. His day started with a yummy omelet, per his request. Later in the morning, we were headed to Costco... and Jacob couldn't wait because he was going to get a frozen yogurt there!

BUT, it was such a gorgeous, warm, wonderful fall day, that I surprised Jacob with a slight detour and a stop at the park. We enjoyed the beautiful weather, and glorious colors of autumn as we took a long walk together.

My little photographer even got a picture of me! I was having a wonderful time soaking in the beauty and enjoying time with my sweet boy.

Our walk in the park was perfect for Jacob to work off some of the excess energy he has had from being home and recovering for three days.

And Jacob thought it was especially cool to open up acorns to see what was inside! I am very thankful that my sweet boy is doing so well.

My Sweet Little Trooper!

Jacob, less 6 teeth

I am so glad that my sweet little boy is feeling better after having SIX teeth pulled this morning! This afternoon he was his sweet, happy, playful self. I was happy to hug him and get this picture taken, so thankful that he is feeling better!

Yesterday, Gil came home early from work and took us all out for pizza! He wanted to spend some extra time with Jacob before his oral surgery this morning, and give him a special meal. 

We all enjoyed the special treat and family time!

Jacob always loves having extra time with Daddy! Overall, he was feeling ok with what was coming up today.

This morning, on the way to the oral surgeon's, Jacob was feeling pretty good. He actually said he was excited, because later he would get to eat ramen noodles! My brave little guy also said that he was ok with having to get an IV, if that was required. Of course, he was relieved to learn that no IV was necessary! I was also very, very glad that Gil took today off work, so he could be with us. So was Jacob.

The doctor told Jacob he would look like a walrus after the surgery... I guess he was right! They took Jacob back at 9:28am, and at 9:57am the doctor came out to tell us that everything had went perfectly and that Jacob is a model patient! A few minutes later, a nurse came to bring us back to Jacob. He had been under general anesthesia for the extractions, so he doesn't remember anything but the "strawberry flavor" of what he inhaled and everything going black.

Jacob did remember that the doctor had "prescribed" a milkshake immediately following surgery. I asked him what flavor he would like, and the nurse asked what was his favorite flavor of milkshake... he said he didn't know because he has never had a milkshake before! I said, "Oh, you have only tasted your brother or sister's?" We were laughing so much, and the nurses were all giggling in the background. I said, "What a deprived child we have here, who has never had his very own milkshake!"

Gil brought the car around and the nurse wheeled Jacob out. Apparently, this was a big deal, because later on the phone he told Grama all about how he got to ride in a wheelchair!

It was so sweet to see Gil pick up his baby boy to put him in the car. Jacob was capable of walking, but Daddy was taking extra good care of him!!!

I just love how Gil is so tender with our kids. I love that side of him!!!

We did run through the drive-through and pick up a milkshake, but it was a little while before Jacob felt like having any. He had a rough trip home and the first couple hours were pretty tough. But he soldiered through, watching tv on the computer with Daddy, ice packs on his face, while I went to get his prescription filled.

We were told that he would pretty much sleep all day. Nope. After taking his pain medicine, he did finally nap for about 10 minutes. But once the medication took effect, he popped up, sounding chipper, and said, "I feel GREAT!" From then on he was a lot better, and enjoyed watching cartoons on the computer for a couple of hours.

And for some reason, I went on a major cooking spree while he was resting on the couch. Once Jacob was settled, I made sausage, mushroom, & pepper pasta sauce, a big pan of homemade mac & cheese, and hummus! I guess I had a lot of nervous energy to expend, and my love language is food!!!

This afternoon, Jacob actually did some of his homework and enjoyed playing with a little buddy. Jacob enjoyed snacking on his milkshake throughout the day, eating applesauce, and chowing down on mac & cheese for dinner. I am so glad he is feeling better. We have been blessed with many notes and calls of friends who have been praying for our sweet Jacob. We are so appreciative!!!