What I Love About Winter

1.  Throwing snow balls at Andy

2.  A great excuse to turn on the oven and bake yummy treats - every day!

3.  Cute winter clothes

4.  Warm dinner meals, such as beef  and veggie stew

5.  The comforting feeling of a warm home

6.  "Seeing" my breath outside.  And even cuter, "seeing" Aiden's breath!

7.  Cute winter boots

8.  Feeding the squirrels table scraps

9.  Peeking out the window at night to see freshly falling snow

10.  Using the weather as an excuse to spend a ton of time with friends

11.  Putting the Yota into 4 wheel drive

12.  Super appreciation for the warmth of the sun

13.  Oranges are in season!

Under (or should I say, Out Of) the Weather

Zib (Aiden's most popular nickname) and I are suffering from colds.  Sore throats and achy bodies have rendered us pretty much useless these past few days.  Besides going to church service, we definitely took today as a day of rest.  I am just praying that he will sleep a bit more soundly than the last 2 nights: Friday he woke up 9 times, and Saturday was only 6.  But with Andy working nights, I really could use a solid 2 hours of sleep at a time!  Praise the Lord that I am a stay at home mom and can nap in the afternoons and take it easy during the day whenever a rough night occurs.  I knew Zib wasn't feeling well at all today when he didn't even want to "pay cars" but instead insisted "Mommy, hold you!" all afternoon and evening.  And even when he was sitting on my lap on the couch and we were watching figure skating, he kept insisting that I hold him.  Poor guy, he just wanted as much love and affection as I could possibly give him.  You got it, my little boy! 

P.S.  I don't have enough patience right now to figure out the new picture program on Mac, so for now, please just be placated with knowing that I AM taking pics, and will hopefully be posting some within the week!  

Resolutions

I have been thinking about a new year's resolution for over a month now, but I couldn't nail just one thought down.  Then I began to analyze my ideas and break them down according to motives.  I realized that my only true motive should be to glorify God, and anything else was a selfish endeavor.  But that still did not aid in me coming up with a solid resolution.  Finally on January 22nd, as I was driving down the interstate, engaging cruise control (which Andy JUST taught me how to use on Tuesday!), it hit me!  What was my reason for choosing my speed?  Was it to get to my destination early?  Keep up with the speed of traffic but try and avoid getting a ticket?  Or go the exact speed limit because that is the law and the right thing to do?  I began to realize the answer is none of the above!  My reason for going the speed limit should be to glorify the Lord in all my actions.  God's Word says to obey the laws of the land, therefore by abiding by the law, I am worshipping my heavenly Father.  I also realized that I could just choose to do the right thing and have the same physical outcome of safety and no tickets on my record, but that my heart would remain unchanged.  So in too many words, I have finally figured out my New Year's Resolution: to glorify the Lord in all my actions.  I know I won't be perfect at it, but growing closer in my faith walk with Jesus in 2009 is what it's all about!

I'm back ... with a Mac!

Our pc decided it didn't want to live another day, so it went to comp heaven, which forced us to designate Inauguration Day as Computer Shopping Day.  Sweet Andy asked for my input, and I "coerced" him (aka: a cunning smile and batting of eyelashes) to consider a simple laptop.  Andy read that as getting a Mac.  It's been a slight adjustment and I am sure will continue to be for some time, but I am thoroughly impressed with the "Apple Compuder," as Aiden calls it.  Best Buy is still trying to recover our hard drive, so no pictures for now.  But I'll work on figuring that out.  Besides that, I'm loving the laptop, especially since I am writing this as I lounge on Rick and Sharon's old couch from the 80's in the basement, watching Aiden play with his plethora of toys and listening to "I've got a home in glory land that outshines the sun."  Ah, such a rough life, this stay-at-home-mom business!  LOL

5 Years, 7 Months, & 8 Days Ago ...

. . . Hello! I was 30 pounds lighter, too young to drink or rent a car, and having the time of my life on my honeymoon in Maui with the man of my dreams. Only one of those things hasn't changed, and thank goodness it's the man! I love him more dearly than I ever did back then, but boy, it sure would be nice to be back there for a day!

I Didn't Know But Now I Do

I had a dr appt early this morning. Thankfully Andy pulled his zombie body out of bed to watch Aiden. As I pulled out of the driveway, I glanced over all my control panels in the Yota (routine check - yes, I AM the daughter of a pilot!). What do I see?! Yep, that's definitely a negative sign in front of the single digit 8 on the outside temperature gage. Hmmm. Interesting. I thought it felt a bit cold. Shoot, running late! Really could use a hot Starbucks right about now!


















P.S. I looked it up and the words "gage" and "gauge" are formally used interchangeably in the American language. Betcha didn't know, but now ya do!

It's Not All a Fairytale

I hear phrases like this all the time: "Oh! You look so good. You MUST be feeling great!" Or, "Your life is just so wonderful, everything just works out perfectly." Let me start out by saying that I can't deny that the later is definitely true, but it's not because I made it that way, or that I have good luck, but that the Lord has immeasurably chosen to bless me in a positively physical way so far in my life. And even if He chose to take it all away (like Job), that wouldn't change the fact that my God is SO good. Ok, so that all being said, it's time to stop lying thru my teeth (perfectly straight from braces - thanks, Dad!) and say that I am NOT ok!!!! Actually, I feel ick! And since Andy has been working 16 hour days, you all get to hear about!

I am exhausted, but can't fall asleep because my pelvic bones are still realigning and they throb in pain. And falling asleep sitting up is out of the question because that kills my back and brings on the leg cramps. Then there's the omnipresent heartburn. And if I do manage to fall asleep, there are the crazy dreams. Like the one last night. Before I went to bed, I wound-down with a bowl of fruit salad (slight variation of Gigi's, but still super yummy!) and watched a special on the travel channel about the 10 largest bridges in the world. It appealed to my drop-out civil engineering mind, but I forgot one thing: my biggest fear in life is water; coming in a close 2nd are bridges! Combined with the hour of news I had watched about the plane that emergency landed in the Hudson River and that documentary, I dreamt of being forced to jump off a bridge into the Hudson. That somehow spiraled into having to take swimming lessons. Which, yes, you guessed it, was the most traumatic thing I had to endure as a child (followed closely by 6 years of piano lessons! Sorry to disappoint, Mom and Dad )-: )

And that's just in the evening! During the day it's my sciatic nerve acting up, hip pain, and the innevitable waddling! Did I mention the heartburn?! Even a glass of water brings it on! Braxton Hicks contractions (fake contractions) are cramping my style (so to speak!) and they make me feel nauseous. This sweet little bundle inside of me is quite active - always moving and kicking! So much so, in fact, that I can't tell if I have a tummy ache or just have feet stuck in my ribs! Little dude, do you ever sleep?!?!

And I am not even going to touch on all the things that I don't get done each day that just eats away at me. I hate not being perfect!

Well, I think that about covers it! If you made it thru all that - thanks! I feel better. And yeah, that really is ALL that is wrong with me. Andy is loving and supportive as ever, Aiden is sweet and honest, I get to stay home and choose how much or how little I "work" each day, and the economic crisis hasn't affected us one bit. So, I might not feel as good as I look or sound, but I am still SO blessed! I hope you can relate, if even just a little!

Too Busy

I am WAY too busy watching American Idol and eating Ben & Jerry's ice cream to make a new post! So, what's up with the 4th judge ... ?

"Pay" Cars

Because it has been so cold lately, poor Aiden has been stuck indoors quite a bit. But he has adapted well - creating a new obsession with his cars and car track/garage (which I found at a garage sale last spring, for only $10, thank you very much!). In the video, you will hear him say he is "pay"ing cars, which is his equivalent to playing with his toys.

Snow Bundled

Yes, it's cold here. To deal with that, we layer on the clothes (probably a bit more than the locals, but hey, we're from Arizona!). Aiden is so used to wearing "jam pants" under his normal pants, that he automatically lists them off as I dress him in the morning. He's going to be quite confused when spring arrives (sometime in June!).

Squirrel-ey Business

Let me just start out by saying that yes, I DO realize that squirrels are wild animals. However ... they are just so cute, and since they don't hibernate, and they look so pitiful, cold, and hungry ... ... ... Ok, so the reality is that I have been feeding our neighborhood squirrels our scrap bread and fruits since the summer. What began out on the back fence posts has now moved to the deck table, since it is within throwing distance from the glass sliding door. Visits from our furry friends have become a daily routine, and Aiden even insists that his leftovers go to the squirrels. See, I'm teaching compassion for the poor! LOL

Yep, that's a WHOLE apple that the squirrel is trying very carefully to take back to his little den (or whatever his clump of leaves is called). Needless to say, right after I snapped these pics, gravity won!

Play-Doh

Play-doh was one of Aiden's stocking-stuffers. After days of begging and pleading, I finally gave in, taped down the waxed paper, and let him have at it! He was most impressed that I gave him a knife to "play" with. He also enjoyed pretending the play-doh was different foods and "sqweeshing" it in between his fingers!

Happy New Year!

The Lord has blessed us with another year in which to serve Him and discover more of His great love and mercy for us! (And by "us", I mean you too!!)

Aiden running out some energy at the mall playplace

Lunching at our favorite sports bar (which is surprisingly family-friendly!)

Happy 25th Birthday, Andy!

My darling husband turned 25 just before the new year. Although he received many practical gifts (Babe, you really DID need new work shirts!), he "gifted" himself an XBox 360! Aiden enjoyed helping make the cake and unwrapping presents. Anz, you've completed a quarter of a century! I pray God will make the next 25 even better! I love you!


Aiden hopping on "pops" (aka: shipping packing filler)

Presents!

Cake!

A Few More Christmas Pictures

Merrry Christmas!

We celebrated the memory of our Savior's birth low-key style this year. We had a dinner celebration with Aunt Lauren and Uncle Nathan (Aiden's "adopted" aunt and uncle!), Xmas Eve with our realtor Jessica and her family, and then Xmas morning just the 3.5 of us at our house. Such a blessed time!

Dinos

Just like his dad, Aiden is into dinosaurs (actually, they are the SAME dinos from Andy's boyhood!). I don't get the obsession, but I do find it adorable!

Regarding Aiden's outfit: we had just come in from playing outside in the snow, hence the longjohns that don't match. No, we do not normally dress sloppy, even in the middle of winter!