True Believer

Psp Reunion

2009-08-08T10:34:00.000-07:00

We did it! We finally took a vacation. It was awesome. We got to spend time with our cherished friends from Portland that we miss so much. We were unable to see everyone that we wanted to see, but such is the price we pay for such a short journey. We love to spend time with our friends the Sibley's, the Martin's and Hershell. We also had a wonderful feeling of going home when we got to go to Pump Sunday morning and to spend time with our long lost Pump family. The Psp reunion was awesome, thanks for putting that together! We were glad there were so many people we could see at the awesome functions that were planned for us. It is always a mixed blessing, because it is so wonderful to see everyone and spend time with them, but it makes me so sad to have to leave them again. I am always reminded how much I miss my Portland home and family. I will continue to trust in God that he has a plan for my family and I will continue to try to follow where he leads, no matter what. I will be going with the flow for a while longer! We didn't take as many pics as I thought, but here are a few.

Vacation

2009-06-13T20:54:00.001-07:00

No, we don't have plans for one, but I sure need one. I feel like I have been working hard for a while now. Obviously school was a big challenge, but I was able to barely squeak out all A's. Then after school let out I almost immediately started working at the church office. Our secretary no longer works there and I am filling in until a permanent replacement is found. Also, a week or so ago our church held VBS. It was exhausting. I felt like I was working double shifts all week long. Oh, and did I mention we have put in an offer on a house? We are trying to by a 3 bedroom house. It is a short sale, so it will be a few months until we hear, but we are just waiting for the bank approval! We are really excited. Our real estate agent has told us that she is sure the deal will go through without any major problems, we just have to wait. So, things are pretty crazy right now and boy do I need a vacation!

2009-02-28T13:21:00.000-08:00

There are a few updates. The first one is we are replacing our camera battery charger for the second time. We keep losing them, and then are unable to take picture of our Bambinos. It is terrible, we had to borrow a camera to take pics at Jacob's fourth birthday celebration. We opted to forgo a party and just go out to John's Incredible Pizza (its like Chuck E. Cheese with better food). We had a fun time and he got to go someplace special. Plus it was a lot cheaper than hosting a big hoopla.

Jayda finally got her first tooth this month. It is weird when she bites my fingers it actually hurts. I will have to keep an eye on that one!

School is not so fun this semester. I am taking two classes, Anatomy and Physiology and Microbiology. Micro is hard because my teacher sucks. More then half the class is failing. I have a B, but I was expecting an A so I am upset about it. A&P is easy and I am getting an A in that one. I will be eligible to apply for the nursing program for a fall start, but since I am still "in progress" I don't think I will get in until January (hopefully). School keeps me busier this time around since I am spending almost 20 hours at school with classes and labs. I will be sooooo happy when this semester is over. 10 weeks to go.

Four wod dynamo

2009-02-13T10:19:00.000-08:00

Jayda can now say four words. It is somewhat unclear what word came first, she said Mama and Dada about the same time. Now she has added No and Bye bye. She does not perform on cue, though, so we have to wait for her to grace us with her vocab. She is very funny and loves to laugh when she hears other people laugh. She is moving right along these days. There are no teeth yet, and she is not walking, but we are ok with that.

It has been a while since I had the opportunity to blog since my weekly schedule is ridiculous. I am in school 4 days a week and we of course, go to all the activities at church. I am already looking forward to the end of this semester! Only 12 weeks to go.

sibling love

2009-01-30T18:34:00.000-08:00

Even though Jacob loves his baby sis he has recently started to count the reasons why we should not have had another baby. The first time he said it was when Jayda was bothering him while he was playing on the computer. He stood up and said "See, that's why you shouldn't have another baby!" He likes to say that whenever she gets on his nerves. It is kind of cute and disturbing all at the same time! What a character.

McKenzie Christmas 2008

2009-01-16T21:10:00.000-08:00

I couldn't resist adding that one, it would be funny if my poor baby hadn't had two ear infections and a cold!

First Biter buscuit

2008-12-30T16:32:00.001-08:00

It was very well received!

Semicharmed Kind of LIfe

2008-12-09T13:49:00.000-08:00

When we were preparing to move to Bakersfield Billy's mother encouraged us to sell Billy's truck. She offered us Billy's Dad's truck since it was just sitting in the garage not being used. We were happy to get out from under the car payment so we did that. Up until recently we had the two vehicles, the Honda and the Ford F150. This morning I wanted to Christmas shop and Billy had to work so we were going to drive separate vehicles. Billy started toward the truck and stopped in his tracks. You've got it folks, the truck was GONE! Another vehicle stolen! Not even three months have gone by since the Honda was taken and now this. Just a few weeks from Christmas our second vehicle was stolen (probably by the same criminals who took the Honda).

Sorry FPU fans, I just am not sure that this stuff works, every time we get going on paying down our debt something happens and we are set back in a major way. How are people supposed to get ahead of the bills when more keep stacking up? We are probably going to have to make it work with just one car. I have school next semester again and it is going to be a huge headache, but we will have to make due with what we have. PS, the neighborhood here is not bad! We feel like it is a relatively safe place. It certainly feels safer than our Portland digs, but it turns out that we were very wrong where auto theft is concerned. Unfortunately we will not be able to move since we have been given a break on the rent by a church member and are unlikely to find another deal like this one.

Little Photographer

2008-12-03T23:30:00.000-08:00

Jacob took this picture all by himself! He is so much fun sometimes (and surprising). Too bad he couldn't be in the picture, that would have been cute.

Tis the Season

2008-12-02T09:58:00.000-08:00

I have been having a rough go of things lately. Stressed from school, the kids have been ill and I have been missing my family for the holidays. Things are beginning to look up. Finals are upon me and will be over soon. The best news of all? My parents are going to come to Bakersfield and whisk us away for a few days down near Palm Springs. I am very happy to be with them and at the same time to be getting away! Yes, things are definitely looking up! Now all we need is for Jayda to ditch this hacking cough and we will be awesome.

check me out!

2008-11-12T10:33:00.000-08:00

She started crawling last week (I think). She turned 7 months a few days ago. What a strong baby girl. I hope you enjoy the video Grammy!

Sibling Love

2008-11-05T16:29:00.000-08:00

Jacob loves Jayda so much that he can't stand to be away from her even for a little while. He is always asking where she is and he usually wants to play with, or near her. Today he decided he couldn't be without her at nap time. She was fast asleep in her crib and he decided to join her, but of course he couldn't do that without a few books and toys. He threw a few things up in there before climbing in himself. Long story short, I think he beaned her with a book because she woke up screaming. I am not sure what to do about this, he just wants to be with her but there have to be boundaries. I know this will continue to be an issue so we will see what happens.

Also, Jayda started crawling a few feet this week. She isn't cruising yet, but at least she can get to her destination faster! I am wondering how Jake will feel about this when she starts to bother him unexpectedly. I love all the changes, they make life more fun and interesting. What a blessing children are.

2008-10-30T15:23:00.000-07:00

I have been waiting for Jayda to crawl so I can come on here and post that she is crawling, but it is taking forever! She has been swimming her way around the floor for weeks now, but can't seem to get those arms working for her. She is up on all fours and launches herself face-first to get around. Hopefully soon we will have the real deal. Can't wait to post Halloween pics! Jake is sooooo excited! We are going to try trick-or-treating this year and then hand out candy at Nanna's house.

In with the new out with the old

2008-10-10T22:06:00.000-07:00

Going from that picture of the Honda to this makes me feel better, more at ease. I did feel a little violated after we saw our poor Accord, but that feeling is subsiding now that we are more settled with our new car. Here she is...

For all you FPU kids we got a great deal $3000 below blue book. We are feeling really great about it. Everything is back to normal, if there is such a thing.

1000 words

2008-10-03T16:16:00.000-07:00

Bet you didn't REALLY know what a stripped car looks like!

auto oh no!

2008-09-29T16:47:00.001-07:00

This morning I was setting out to go to school and I rounded the corner to get into our car. Nope, think again, the car was gone! Some wako stole that thing right out of our garage. There was also another condo in the complex that was broken into. Hopefully this rash of criminal activity will end soon. We have a rental and are hoping for the recovery of our special little Honda.

On a happoer note, Billy went to the freezer to get something out for lunch and discovered that it was not on! Jacob or the girl I watch turned the switch to off the other day. Billy was sure right, when it rains it pours. Good thing we are above worrying about all these rediculous material possesions or we might have some problems.

2008-09-24T17:53:00.000-07:00

More McKenzie Milestones

2008-09-07T21:29:00.000-07:00

Jayda's first cereal (not very well received). Hopefully she will warm up to it soon.

Jacob's first public urination. We were standing near the back of the church with friends after we left the restaurant next door. Jacob asked our friend to hold his toys and wandered off toward the back of the church. He then dropped his pants and relieved himself! There is a very busy road just to the right of the property providing plenty of witnesses. He just did his business and came back to the adults like nothing funny had happened. We, of course, laughed like crazy. Good thing there were no cops around, we might have had a situation on our hands!

Is it my turn?

2008-08-20T17:10:00.001-07:00

Almost every day Jacob has taken to asking me if it is his trun to go to Heaven. It started a few months ago and I can't remember why. He is extremely excited to go to Heaven and be with "God and Jesus". He has named all the people that he knows that we have told him are in Heaven and is glad he will see them there. He also asked me if Heaven is red and I asked if he wanted it to be red and he said yes. I can tell that he has really put some good, three-year-old thought into it. This is such a good example of how I need to be like a child, not afraid of the unknown, but looking foreward to what has been promised as a wonderous place. I am glad I have this great reminder of where I need to lay up my treasures. It is also a reminder of who my children really belong to, they are wonderful loaners that I was blessed with, but they will be called back home just like every other child of God.

I tell him that it is not his turn yet and that he won't need me to tell him when Jesus calls his name. You may be wondering why he really wants to go to Heaven; Daddy told him that he wouldn't have to take naps there!

Working woman

2008-08-15T12:23:00.000-07:00

Billy and I decided that it was time for me to start contributing to our debt snowball to get out of debt sooner (and into homeownership faster). So, it was my first week to work since Jayda was born. Although, some might not think of my new job as "work". I have started taking care of a little girl named Mia. She is about 18 months old and is very cute. I am only keeping her for a few hours two days a week and the time has been flying by. She is not very verbal yet, so that poses a few problems. There has only been one meltdown on her part and it didn't last long. She might be in a honeymoon phase, so I will not get my hopes up too much. I start 3 classes on the 25th and will not be able to sleep as much as I do right now (thats laughable). I just hope I can get all my homework done! 3 cheers to all the mothers who do everything they can for their families! Hip hip hooray; hip hip hooray; hip hip hooray!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jacob-ism of the day

2008-08-09T15:35:00.000-07:00

Mommy: What do you want to be when you grow up?

Jacob: A soldier.

Mommy: Why?

Jacob: I want to fight.

Mommy: Who do you want to fight?

Jacob: Tim.

Mommy: Tim who?

Jacob: Tim and Kristy. (Sibley)

Mommy: Why do you want to fight Tim?

Jacob: So I could go to his house and fight him!

No offense Tim, he just wants to play with you

Jayda Mae

2008-07-30T22:07:00.001-07:00

The other day I took little Jayda for her seriously overdue 2 month doctor visit. She had to collect her shots. She got three shots and an oral something or other. She had a negative reaction (meaning she cried a lot). The appointment was at 1:15 and it was bed time before she was really able to relax and stop crying. When we got home we discovered that we were locked out of the house! We eventually got in after waiting in 95 degree weather for Billy to get home to help us. We were only stranded for an hour or so. That was a great day! I am not sure if it was because of the shot, or the energy she used crying so much, but Jayda slept great that night. It was wonderful, she ate at 9:40 and slept until 3am. She had trouble getting back to sleep, but when se did I didn't have to feed her again until 8:30! It was like heaven in my bedroom! I am happy just thinking about all the sleep I got that night. I hope it means a lot more sleep in my future. Especially because I am starting classes at the end of August. I love my kids even when they are acting crazy. I am glad I am not God, with billions of crazy kids to love and look after. Two seems like I am one or two away from my limit! I am very happy to let God be God, I will live happily just following directions and not worrying about anything else! Its great to be a kid, letting someone else worry about your needs. Please forgive the rambling, I am tired.

2008-07-23T22:32:00.000-07:00

McKenzie Milestones

2008-07-02T14:59:00.000-07:00

Jacob is finally potty-trained! It took a long time, but he turned a corner while we were on vacation and is now officially out of diapers. Now I just have to remember to bring extra pants and underwear for him wherever we go just in case.

Jayda is holding her head up very nicely and has had her first playtime in the super saucer. She can't do anything in it yet besides look at all the colors. She is enjoying learning about her surroundings.

We are finally caught up on sleep and are readjusting to Bakersfield heat slowly. Cooking is an issue. I normally use the oven a lot and of course I will avoid that at all costs. It is so hot outside that Billy doesn't enjoy grilling during the summer. I am trying to find some good slow-cooker recipes to try out. Have any suggestions?

Portland Vacation

2008-06-27T14:59:00.000-07:00

Despite a questionable start to our big NW vacation we had a wonderful time. The best part of any vacation we take nowadays is the time we get to spend with some of our favorite people! We did not have as much time as we needed to visit with everyone on our list due to our vehicle problems, but we made the most of it. We got to visit our Pump family and some of my family and our good friends the Sibleys and Hershell and the Millers. We wish that list was a little longer, but maybe next time we will have more time. It is difficult, I feel pulled in a hundred different directions whenever we come into town. Here are a few pics documenting this occasion.

The McKenzie Family Trip

2008-06-17T10:21:00.000-07:00

We decided to leave Bakersfield at 5 pm for our nice, easy 12 hr drive up to Eugene. The plan was to have Jacob watch DVDs on a portable player plugged into the cigarette lighter (power outlet). I would pump between movies and give fresh bottles to Jayda so we wouldn't have to pull over every 2hrs. Then when Jake went to sleep we were going to plug in the computer and listen to music saved on there. We were driving for about an hour when we went to put on a movie and the power outlet didn't work! After freaking for a little bit we pulled into a truck stop for about a half hour and bought some fuses and got the power outlet working (and I nursed Jayda). We were driving along and Billy was listening to the Laker game on the radio and after it was finished he said "I don't think we are on I5 anymore." We took the next exit and found a map and asked where we were and the kid said Castor Rock (or something). We looked it up and we were almost to Oakland! After we drove back to I5 and started our way north again we passed through Sacramento and Woodland and needed to stop for gas. We got some gas and in the station Billy heard dome people talking about a police officer that had been shot in the chest. He eaves dropped more to find out that I5 NB was closed just north of our exit! He hooked up with some guy who was from the area who agreed to lead us and another car to another northern on-ramp hoping to bypass the closure. Every time we turned to look for a road going NB we were stopped by roadblocks. The Police were not letting anyone travel north at all in the vicinity of the situation. There was a hostage negotiation and the FBI was involved and I think they were looking for someone because they were checking our IDs and looking in all the trunks.

Since we couldn't go north we went south to woodland and then north again on 99 up and then over to I5. I was driving and we decided to switch and let Billy drive at about 5 am, just as we were getting past the pass. About a half an hour later I woke up to Billy making an AHH sound and slamming on the brakes. The next thing I see is this deer going flying off the passenger side hood! He totally hit the back end of that deer and the thing went flying off to the side of the road, the poor deer looked like his back had been broken. After the shock wore off we started laughing an talking about how absurd this whole drive had been.

The pros: we made it safely to Eugene, gas was cheaper and cheaper as we drove north (we paid 4.45 in Bako before we left), there was no damage to the car from the deer, the baby took three bottles successfully, Jacob slept almost through the night and did not whine at all, we finally made it home.

The cons: shoot, besides the poor police officer and deer, and the fact that the 12 hr drive took us 16 hours to do in my opinion there were no cons. We made it safely and for the most part the drive was really pleasant! Thank God for small miracles.

BTW, we tried 5 hr energy and boy did it work for me, I only took a 30 minute cat nap before we killed the deer. Then I took a one hr nap when we arrived at my parent's house. I felt good for it being such a long trip.

Coming Home (for a visit)

2008-06-09T10:59:00.000-07:00

It's as official as it can be before we get into the car and head for the freeway, we are coming to Portland. We are planning on leaving Bako on Monday the 16th and returning on the 28th. We will be spending a lot of time taking the baby around and introducing her to family and friends and of course will be spending a lot of time in Eugene with my parents. To be honest there are a lot of other things we could be doing with the extra moola (like paying hospital bills), but I am aching to see my home. It has been a year since we moved down here and about 9 months since we last made it up there. I am so excited we planned this trip just last Saturday! It is a fast turn around since we just got back from camp last friday and there will just be one week in between, but it is worth it!!

SEE YOU SOON!

The Joys of Motherhood

2008-05-16T12:50:00.001-07:00

This was the scene at the McKenzie household last Saturday night. Poor Jacob was sick with a cold and was wanting to be close to his mommy. Any of you with more than one child knows that if one is sick everyone else will get it as well, so my little baby girl got it as well. It is a nasty cold with chest congestion coughing and sneezing. After a few days I could no longer avoid getting it myself.

Yesterday after a few nights of bad congestion in Jayda and little sleep for us Billy wanted to call the advice nurse to see what we could do. After answering a few questions she advised that we take the babe to the emergency room to be checked out. We arrived there at 9pm and after a mere 4 hours we were seen by the doctor who said it was probably just a cold but it could be meningitis and if she has a fever they would have to do a spinal tap and blood draw. Her temperature would be taken a few times to make sure. After another 2 hrs her temperature returned to normal without spiking too high and we were sent home at the wee hour of 3am. Thankfully Jacob had been picked up to stay at his Nana's house. We were alone to endure the 6 hour visit. It would not have been too bad if I wasn't sick myself. That is just one of the things a mother has to put aside to take care of her babies, but if you couldn't tell from the picture I wouldn't change it for anything! If I could spend every Saturday night with my kids content with me like that I would be happy (as long as I could have Friday night to relax)! Here's to hoping that we never have to go the the emergency room ever again.

2008-05-06T17:02:00.000-07:00

This morning was a big morning at our house! I laid Jayda on her tummy for a little tummy time while I had some cereal. What should I look over to see? Little miss rolled over. She is so funny, she was fussing not wanting to be on her tummy any longer and she sure did something about it. Then for the rest of the day she proceeded to fuss and refuse to let me put her down. What a great day for Billy to work late! My plan for the rest of the evening is to relax as much as possible and go to bed early. I hope I will realize my high-flying goals!

82

2008-04-28T11:57:00.001-07:00

This morning after Billy left for a meeting and I had balanced the checkbook and finished writing a few thank you cards I decided to take both kids for a walk. It was about 10 am and I started getting the clothes together for the children when I realized I had to nurse Jayda. After I got that done and everyone dressed and ready to go I got out the stroller and baby carrier that I made and we set out. We went to a small "park" (grassy area) almost a mile from our house. Jacob saw a bunch of prairie dogs and chased them. We had a nice time and started to head back. It felt really hot to me and we were out in the blazing sun the whole time. Billy got back while we were still out and came looking for us and asked me if it was a little too hot to be taking a walk. We finally got home and I checked the weather and it is 82 outside. It feels like 92 (and it was forcasted to get up to 97 yesterday). How am I supposed to whip myself back into shape if I can't go out at 11am? This is ridiculous! Hopefully when I get my energy back up to normal we can get up earlier before it gets super hot. It will still be about 80, but that sure beats 100!

day 12

2008-04-22T16:05:00.000-07:00

We are doing very well after 12 days. I have healed very well and a lot faster than I did when I delivered Jacob (there was a lot less tearing this time). Jayda is doing alright, she had an appointment with her pediatrician on her 4th day out of the womb. The doc said that she had lost too much weight (8oz) and wanted to do a weight check the following week. We went in yesterday and she has not yet regained her birth weight even though she has gained 5oz. We were instructed to make another appointment for 3 weeks out so the doc can keep her eye on the baby's weight. It is funny because she nurses all the time! I know she is sucking it down because I have already dropped 20lbs. I am just hoping not to regain any of it in the near future and for her to keep on this behavior of eating a lot (and hopefully gaining some more weight). I am not too concerned about it because Jacob was so little it would stand to reason that she will be on the small side as well.

I must go now, the babe is crying and the toddler is yelling and asking for a special treat even though he did not put his poo poo into the toilet.

Introducing Jayda Mae

2008-04-12T15:56:00.000-07:00

Jayda was born on Thursday morning at 3:35. She weighed 8lbs 3oz and was 20 inches long.

On Wednesday night I decided to try some Castor oil. I heard it works, so I read the directions and mixed 1 tablespoon in a small glass of juice at 9:30 pm. I thought that it would work over night and maybe it wouldn't be as uncomfortable for me. I woke up at 1 am with cramps. Really a lot more intense than I was expecting them to be. The cramps were coming every 4 minutes or so, but they were coming in twos. One right after another followed by a 4 minute break. I wanted to wait for them to get into a pattern to be sure it was labor before I called the hospital. I woke Billy up at about 2:45 and asked him to call the hospital, I was contracting every minute or so and knew I couldn't carry on a conversation with the nurse. She got after me for taking the Castor oil and told us to come in and they would send me home if it was not labor. I went upstairs to change my pants and had a strong contraction. I laid down on the bed to get off my feet and rocked back and forth. It hurt like nothing else and I started screaming like you see those crazy labors on TV. While I was screaming my water broke (yup, on the bed). I yelled for Billy because I didn't really know what else to do. I almost told him to call 911 because I knew at that point that this baby was coming very very soon. Billy was on his way to put Jacob in the car and said he would be right back to help me to the car (he was totally freaked out). I decided not to wait for him and got my pants on and went downstairs. I had a contraction and Billy came back in and held me up because my legs were going to buckle. He said he had to back to car out of the garage so that I could get in and left me there to go do that. I had another contraction that brought me to my hands and knees and he came back and told me to stop pushing. If you don't know, it is almost impossible to control the reaction of your body when you are that far along in the process. Billy helped me to the car and raced to the hospital. On the way with every contraction I screamed and moaned and every time Jacob told me "feel better Mommy". We kept reassuring him that I was OK and that Jayda was trying to come out. Also, with every contraction more and more water came on out(yup, in the car. Was I sitting on a towel? Nope). I was also pushing, I couldn't help it. When I would realize that I was pushing I would stop and breath, but that sure took a lot of effort. I told Billy between contractions that no cop better pull us over because they would really regret it! We made it to the hospital in about 7 minutes and Billy got a wheel chair. The security guard had to do the pushing and ran us to the labor and delivery floor. When we pulled up the nurses at the station were just standing there, non-chalantly handed Billy the paperwork for me to sign. Billy says that he put the pen in my hand and held it there trying to sign my name, but I was having another contraction and I started screaming again and boy did those nurses hop to it! Like 6 of them ran from behind the big desk and were yelling and running me into the room. Two of them stood me up and took my pants down and put a gown over my shirt and helped me into the bed. I remember seeing two nurses at the end of the table and Billy at my left side. I looked over to my right and there was Jacob looking so small sitting by himself on the couch watching everything with his eyes all wide. Then I pushed her out in 2, one for the head, one for the shoulders. Then the doc came in and delivered the afterbirth and gave me local anesthetic and gave me a few stitches. The only words the doc uttered were "that is the biggest umbilical cord I have ever seen!" I got a shot of pitocin after that to keep the contractions going so that I wouldn't bleed to death. Jacob had been taken out by a nurse and was given juice and chocolate until Billy's mom came to watch him. And that is it! It was all done between the hrs of 1am and 3:35 am, the shortest labor I hope I will ever have. Jayda had a perfectly shaped head and is nursing like a pro. I am feeling great and the only pain I am really having is uterine contractions when I am nursing (and they are no punk). Jacob has seemed to forget he has a mother and goes straight for Jayda all the time. He loves to hold her and touch her and is already trying to take care of her.

Yay for progress!

2008-04-09T13:13:00.000-07:00

I should have been more specific in my post yesterday. A large part of why I want to get this baby out asap is my whole family is coming for a visit this week. They will be here from this Friday until the next Saturday. I have one sister coming from Alaska that we don't get to see very often (usually once a year). She didn't meet Jacob until he was 3 months old. Needless to say with such strict visit parameters I am feeling the pressure to make sure that this baby is at least on time so they can have as much quality time with the baby as possible. With my history (I think one time counts as history) Jacob was late, so I am concerned that Jayda won't come until after they have all gone home. It is a weight I will have to carry until she is born. Of course everyone in my family reassures me saying a I shouldn't worry about it and just let it happen, but I am very talented at placing a lot of pressure on myself (as I believe a lot of women are).

I had another appointment this morning and the NP stripped my membranes and said she got me to 3 cm and I was 80%. She said that it should be soon, so there is hope after all. I came home from the appointment and did the dishes and mopped the floors just to stay on my feet a little while so that I wouldn't slow anything down.

I am posting a lot because once she comes all this will seem like a distant memory and then I will never report what happened before hand! Nevertheless, I hope that the next post I put up will be the story of a very short and uncomplicated delivery with lots of pictures. I appreciate all of your support and willingness to go through this with me! I sure miss all my Northwest pals and wish we could better share these experiences. I am very thankful for the blogging community!

Still Pregnant?

2008-04-08T15:27:00.000-07:00

I know it has only been a week and all, but I have tried a few things to naturally induce labor and I wanted to share what I have learned doesn't work! We have walked, eaten spicy food and been intimate. I also heard from a few sources (including my midwife when I was pregnant with Jacob) to try evening of primrose dietary supplement. I tried the pills in the same day as all those other things and yes I am sitting here blogging instead of holding a little girlie. There have been a few fruits, I have been having contractions and have been trying to encourage them, but no results have been had. Actually, that is not true, the primrose pills totally gave me issues in the bathroom, but I am feeling better from that little challenge. My next appointment is in the morning and I am going to be really disappointed if I have not progressed from last time. We shall see what happens.

If you couldn't tell I really need to work on gaining a little patience!

38 weeks

2008-04-01T19:33:00.000-07:00

Today I had an appointment and the Nurse Practitioner checked me for dialation for the first time. I am 1cm dialated and 50% effaced. Hopefully I can skip my next appointment due to delivery, but we will see!

oops

2008-03-27T13:33:00.000-07:00

Last night as Jacob and I were playing hookie from church I made a not-so-great discovery. I went to our chest freezer (which I had recently cleaned all the junk off of) to get Jake a kid cuisine for dinner. I opened up that 7 cubic foot brand new freezer and everything on the top was luke warm and there was a wierd smell! The thing had come unplugged and ruined almost everything in there. I had been working diligently for more than a month trying to get meals made in advance so that all we would have to do is pull them out and cook them. Almost everything had to be trashed. Probably a good ten meals worth of food and that is not counting all of the other items like popscicles and frozen pizzas. I just decided to save what I could, so pretty much the stuff with no meat was ok to leave in there and thank goodness there were 2 whole frozen chickens in there right next to eachother and they were the only things still frozen. Since the chickens survived I had to clean out the freezer right away so I could restart it. I was bending myself into it trying to mop up the popscicle juice before it froze again and I got a cramp in both my shoulders!

That is certainly what I get for trying to get everything done in advance! I cried so hard poor Jacob walked over to it and said "I'll fix it mommy". I wish we had not been alone, but I couldn't help my reaction, it came flooding out. This is kind of funny to me that I cried over our ruined food, but not my wedding ring being destroyed. I think things just piled up on me last night. I just kept thinking if it were any other project that I had done that didn't work out I would have just scrapped it and moved on, but the food I was counting on to make my life a little easier when Jayda arrives. I am ok today. I haven't shed anymore tears. The only reason I am even blogging about it is so that I won't forget that it happened. All this drama already surrounding our daughter. I hope that isn't a sign that she is going to be a drama queen!

Two lessons I learned:
1) Look at the little orange light on the front bottom of the freezer to make sure that it is still on every day! (who knows, Jacob could have unplugged it on purpose)
2) Don't skip church!

Easter 2008

2008-03-24T09:37:00.000-07:00

1 all day party
1 potluck
2 egg hunts
1 kids choir performance
1 ham consumed
1 Daddy who worked a lot of hours planning the church service
1 very tired Mommy
1 extremely happy/content little boy who is the proud owner of a very full Easter basket!

I need a nap

Nesting

2008-03-18T13:58:00.001-07:00

I have decided that I kind of like nesting. I feel a sense of accomplishment when I get a task done that I have on my mental list. I hate nesting, however, when I work myself to the bone and get stressed out when I am not sure if I will ever be finished of all the blasted things on my stupid list! I have, indeed, been able to cross a few things off and wanted to share them with you. Many of you know that I am not the most creative individual on the planet and am not too fond of artsy projects, but for some reason a lot of the things I have been doing are along those lines.

Here is the list:
Weed the garden
Prep the soil
plant a garden
make letters of the kids' names for their respective sides of the room
make a baby sling carrier (my old one was eaten by battery acid)
Make curtains to tie in the kids' room
organize their small closet for best efficiency
Make meals to freeze
clean out the car
maintain a clean house for when visitors come over

The garden took forever, even though the space is not that big, the weeds were very thick and I had to weed by hand, then hoe, then dig trenches so that I could add in compost to liven the soil. I then bought all the plants and planted them. My back was killing me at the end of each day, thank goodness we had some warm, breezy weather I could work in. I would have included a picture, but as you remember from my last post I have a very destructive child and most of the flowers I planted are laying beside their stems on the ground (it is apparently fun to hit flowers with toys).

Next I went to Michael's for the letter stuff. If you buy the cutsie letters from the baby stores they are 20 bucks each, so I said forget that, I will buy plain ones and paint them myself (they ended up being about 2 bucks each). I was wanting to make the room not-too-girlie since poor Jake has to share it as well, so I went with brown and pink and so I had to make curtains to tie in the colors a little more. I am extremely proud of my effort. I didn't even use a pattern and the curtains took a long time to do, but I like how they turned out.

I have organized the closet three times now, but I think I have finally settled on a configuration. I ordered a double hanger from Bed Bath and Beyond. It is a second bar that hangs from the top bar to pretty much double your hanging capacity. There are just so many dresses for a little girl and I want to make sure they are all hung up nicely. Hopefully Destructo can keep his hands off them so I am not constantly cleaning up clothes from the floor of their room.

Now entering the home stretch I can relax (somewhat) and just try to keep up with the daily grind. Last time I had a baby our house looked like we hadn't cleaned it in months! I am determined not to let it get that way again this time. Now all I have to do is make sure Billy keeps up with the dishes (without a dishwasher I have asked him to be the lead on that one, it is difficult for me to stand there with the hot water on for so long. The dishes kept piling up on me). I also have requested that he cleans the carpets before Jayda arrives, but I am not going to hold my breath on that one! Boy, I can't wait until she comes so that I can finally take a break (yeah right). Nesting is a cruel mistress.

Ode to Motherhood

2008-03-13T18:03:00.000-07:00

So...after I posted that wonderful blog about my darling boy he went and did a horrible thing. What kind of horrible thing can a 3 yr old do, you may be asking yourself. Well, During his nap time today Billy came home from work feeling a little sick and walked up to our door and found Jacob hanging his head out of the broken screen just hanging out there. He came in the house and after a little while we decided to let Jake get up since he was obviously not going to sleep. I went up to have him clean up his mess and make sure there was nothing else he was doing that was naughty (as if haning out a second story window is no big deal)and I found a little surprise on the floor. No, not that kind of surprise, I would have preferred that believe me. I found my wedding ring on the floor in front of the bathroom totally demolished. I have not been wearing it lately due to swelling in my fingers and leave it in the bathroom on top of the medicine cabinet. I knew he could get to it, but he knows he is not supposed to touch it. He put that sucker in his mouth and bit it flat as a pancake. He bent the side of it and four diamonds fell out (or were swallowed, but I am not going to go digging to find the answer to that one). I am reasonably sure that it is beyond repair and we couldn't afford to get it fixed even if it could be. He said Mommy go buy a new one. To which I replied, they are very expensive, would you like to go to college? He said no, I could have all the money. I said you are going to college, I am just not sure if you will get any money from mommy to pay for it! He ran away playing and came back a little while later and said mommy, I am sorry for breaking your ring. I said I am very mad that you broke it, but I love you very much. I just keep telling myself it is just a possession, it is just a possession (yeah, an expensive one that I might not be able to replace to the same caliber) it is just a possession. You can't take it with you, right?

Jacob

2008-03-08T13:45:00.001-08:00

I cannot believe that my little baby boy is three years old. It seems like just yesterday he was barely able to speak. What a difference a few years makes! He is so inquisitive and eager to learn. He asks questions about everything and will usually be able to repeat it back to you the next time that subject comes up. He is very sensitive to other people. He tells me he loves me and kisses my tummy when I am not feeling well and tries to protect me when Daddy playfully sits on my lap. Jake notices when people are upset and his immediate reaction is to give them a hug and snuggle with them for the minute that he can spare from his playing. He is very strong-willed and independent just like any other toddler, but does not want to be called a big boy and cries to put on a diaper when I want him to practice using the potty. He loves, loves, loves other kids and thrives on going to visit his friends and playing enthusiastically with them. He loves it when they run around chasing each other and of course never seems to get tired at all. He is a busy bee and I wouldn't change him in for anything (no matter what I might say in the heat of the moment). I remember one time Kaelea told me that she loved every stage that her kids went through, she missed the previous stages, but the changes in them were exciting and new and it was a blessing to see them grow and change and develop. I was skeptical when she said it, but I believe it now. I love watching Jacob turning into his own independent person with thoughts and feelings and ideas of his own. I greatly look foreword to getting to know him better as he matures and changes into a wonderful godly man. He is a wonderful blessing in our lives and we love him very much.

I've Been Tagged

2008-02-21T09:35:00.000-08:00

8 Things I'm passionate about:
1. My marriage
2. My boy
3. My girl (she is 3rd since I haven't met her yet)
4. Getting organized
5. Saving money
6. Planning ahead
7. Reading
8. wow I'm a geek and ok with it

8 Things I want to Do before I Die:
1. See my children grow up and get married
2. Be a Grandmother
3. Become a nurse
4. Help others in a more tangible way
5. Travel all over the US
6. Travel around the world
7. Make sure those I care about know how I feel about them
8. Become more adventurous

8 Shows I Watch:
1. The Sarah Connor Chronicles
2. Heroes
3. Stargate Atlantis
4. The Unit
5. Lost
6. Backyardigans
7. Go, Diego, Go
8. Dora the Explorer

8 Things that Attract Me to My Friends:
1. They are Funny
2. They are more outgoing then me
3. They are Honest and Open
4. They are Loyal
5. We share Common Faith
6. They like my kid(s)
7. They are easy to talk to
8. They love to laugh

8 Things I Say Often:
1. What is it baby?
2. Follow directions!!
3. What do you want for snack?
4. No computer today (how sad is that)
5. I'm feeling fine today
6. Mommy is resting right now
7. My feet hurt
8. Sorry, I'm gassy

8 Artist I Never Tire Of:
1. The Beatles
2. Nora Jones
3. India Arie
4. Sara McLachlan
5. Good Charlotte
6. Casting Crowns

8 Things I Learned in '07:
1. The heat is not that bad in Bakersfield
2. My friends are very very imporant to me, even if I am bad at staying in touch
3. I am pregnant
4. It's a girl
5. Second pregancy is not as fun (or easy)
6. Jacob is very sensitive to missing his best friends
7. Jacob loves to talk about and look at anatomy
8. I am more nervous than I thought I would be for baby #2

I tag: Kristi B, Kelli and Robert, and Sarah

a very busy time of year

2008-02-20T15:53:00.000-08:00

Sarah's shower Feb 2nd (she is about 9 months)

Chef Jacob hard at work (don't worry the stove was not on yet)

My 28th birthday. We celebrated at a tapenyaki place called Shogun. It was expensive, but delicious. Jacob really liked it when the chef made the fire volcano. I had steak and Billy had chicken. It is now one of my favorite places (for a special occasion)

Here is Jacob literally 2 days ago playing on our patio with water. It was 69 outside and I was wearing a tank top! Way too warm for Feb weather if you ask me.

We have had a very busy past four weeks. There are some milestones not pictured above including Billy's 30th birthday. We just went to dinner, nothing fancy. Then we went to a conference out of town. We also had a baby shower for Jayda and celebrated Valentines Day Of course we neglected to get a picture of the two of us with our camara, but we went to the Sweetheart dinner at church looking all spiffed up. Now we are looking ahead to Jacob's third birthday party. It will be held at our church on Saturday in conjunction with another child here. He is the big number 3. I can't believe how fast the time has gone (especially since we moved here). Things don't appear to be slowing down anytime soon...

2008-02-12T09:40:00.000-08:00

So, you know how you get great news and it makes you feel all giddy inside? Like the Christmas morning feeling when you were a kid? Well, I got that kind of news yesturday. I have to admit my doc scared me at my last visit saying that if I kept gaining a bunch of weight that he would send me to a nutritionist. It freaked me out, so I have been stressing about it for 3 weeks. Not stressing enough to change a lot about how I eat, though. So, I had another appointment yesturday morning and I stepped on that scale with my little heart pounding. Of course I had memorised my previous weight, so that I wouldn't have to ask. That digital number only went up 2 lbs!!! I was so excited I could hardly keep from jumping up and down! I am happy about my 19 lb total weight gain so far. This pregnancy has been a lot better in that area than my last. Who knows maybe girls will be easier after all?

After my stellar appointment where the doc said everything is looking great, I treated myself to a shopping spree (with giftcards we had received at a shower). I picked out a cute bedding set for Jayda and brought it home. It was a great day. By the way, at that shower we just invited a few of the young families from church and got a few large packages of diapers and a few gift cards. We didn't get very many clothes because it was a couples shower and we didn't want it to be too girlie for the men. It was a lot of fun, and I am not worried about the clothes. My sister-in-law and with another friend who has a few connections are contacting friends to hook me up. So that is what is going on with us right now. I will be posting more pics soon of Jayda's space when it all comes together.

Get This

2008-01-23T13:47:00.000-08:00

I cannot believe that I neglected to blog about a very auspicious day in the life of one little Jacob McKenzie! A few weeks ago Billy called to me from upstairs and said that I needed to join the two of them in the bathroom. That did scare me a little bit, but after ascertaining that it was no emergency I went up to find my little prince on the toilet after having put his poo poo in the right place for the first time! It was a very exciting day, one filled with hope and anticipation for all the future bowel movements placed in the potty by my little guy. I should have known not to expect too much out of him because later that same evening he pooped in his diaper and has; to this day; yet to repeat this sudden, and wonderful symbol of his growing older. Who before you had children that you would celebrate so whole-heartedly the simple act of a toddler pooping in a place where you don't have to clean it up! I felt like a million bucks! I just wish that feeling never had to end. Here's to hoping that once this baby comes I will only be changing the baby diapers instead of the baby and the toddler pull-ups!

Right Now

2008-01-22T13:46:00.001-08:00

What am I doing right now (besides blogging, because we all multitask). I am watching The Incredibles. Big surprise, I know. The funny thing is Jacob is not here right now. Just kidding, like I would sit and watch this without him! I hope you are doing something a lot more exciting than me.

almost 7 months!

2008-01-15T18:52:00.000-08:00

Here I am at 6.5 months. I know, I am getting bigger (all over). I added the other picture of Jacob because it is really cute! I will keep adding pics as I can get Billy to take them.

My God is So Big

2008-01-09T12:05:00.000-08:00

A few days ago I discovered that Jacob had forgotten a lot of the songs he used to sing to us all the time. He used to be able to sing to us two songs that we have on video: My God is So Big and Who Made the Big Round Sun. I tried to get him to sing the Sun song and he couldn't remember it. When I sang it to him he acted like he had never heard it before! So today I was re-teaching him the God is Big song and he was laughing and laughing and saying big over and over. When I was finished he had this to say:

"Well, if God is so big He must be really scary."

I replied:

"He is big and wonderful, he loves you and and wants to take good care of you."

He seemed to be satisfied with that answer and was ready to move onto the next topic of conversation (visiting Gma).

BTW, I tried for a long time to upload the video, but was unsuccessful, sorry.

Christmas Pictures

2008-01-04T11:27:00.000-08:00

Mommy:Jacob What was your favorite present?
Jacob:Cars set (It had 8 race cars and a race track/carrying case

Runners-up:Trains mat with trains, leggos, Finding Nemo, Shrek 1&2, mini dvd player, playdoh, moon sand and more!

Mommy's favorite memory (besides my parents comming for a few days):Making Christmas cookies to leave out for Santa. The mixer scared Jacob a little, but he did great and asked if Santa ate his cookies when he got up on Christmas morning. I hope your Christmas was fun as well!

scaterbrained messages

2008-01-04T10:56:00.000-08:00

The sleeping thing is still a thing, but I have been trying new solutions. I have been rocking Jake to sleep. I have decided I would rather deal with the rocking thing than the no sleep thing, plus we get some quality cuddle time in the afternoons. We will see how long this train chug along.

On another Jacob note, it really amazes me how quickly a room can be completely demolished and then take soooo long to clean up! I literally have to tell him each toy to pick up and where to put it. Boy, that gets old after like the third toy and then I look around and there are like fifty more to go. I wish I had a toy room where I could just close the door to the mess and forget about it, but as it is the only play area there is is the living room. I have banished toys from the bedroom so that he won't get used to playing in there since he will be sharing with his sibling.

The last thing on my super weird, hodge-podge blog for today; I have gotten a reminder about our 10 year high school reunion! I am so old. I can't believe it has been 10 years since I lived at home and went to school on the same schedule every day! This time reminds me that I never want to be that old person who wears clothes that are too young for them and says slang embarrassing their children. It is a fine line because I also don't want to be all frumpy and unkempt. We will see how I evolve in the years to come.

2007-12-28T16:50:00.000-08:00

Is it really that bad if I wring Jacob's neck? Here I am sitting on the couch in the dark. Billy is not home from work yet (late yet again, yes I did mean to make that sound like he is home late more days than not). It is about 5pm and Jacob has pretty much not napped in months. I am really really sick of having to go upstairs and spank him for getting out of bed and playing with his toys. If that is not what he is doing he is pulling ALL the clothes out of the dresser, getting on the counter in the bathroom and into the medicine cabinet, or in our room playing with any number of things that he shouldn't be. He is 2 years old and goes down to bed and nap at the same times as always and just will play with himself or sing until it is too late to let him fall asleep and we get him out. I think I am especially frustrated with him because last night (no exaggeration) he stayed up until midnight in his bedroom in the dark just keeping himself awake. Is it possible for a 2 year old to have insomnia? I am really at my wits end. I am tired of spanking him and I don't really want to for something like this, but if I don't get some down time during the day I am going to do something crazy. Tonight for example, I put a childproof lock on his door so he can't get out and I am refusing to make dinner. When Billy gets home I am locking myself in my room and not opening it until I am ready to sleep so that Billy won't wake me trying to get in. I might even go on strike for the weekend, who knows. All I can say is this little sleep issue better be figured out before this baby comes because I can hardly handle it now!

Ouch!

2007-12-22T12:24:00.000-08:00

So, I am sure that you all are reading every single blog I ever post and all, but remember my last blog (if not refer below). I have that not so smallish to-do list to work on with small windows of opportunity to get all of it done... Well, I fell down the stairs yesterday! It was not a pleasant experience. Thank goodness Billy had taken Jacob shopping and to work with him. I was just walking on down the stairs minding my own business after cleaning the upstairs and my slipper slipped (big surprise) and the left side of my body fell down about 5 steps while the right side of my body stayed on that oh so high fifth step. I rested for a while and called my mom. I was blessed to have landed into a wall and had the presence of mind to brace myself with my left arm and leg so I would not hit with my belly. The baby is still doing great, thankfully. However, since I braced with my left arm and leg I woke up this morning and my wrist, knee and ankle are throbbing and hurt when I move them. My right ankle and knee and shoulder all hurt from being twisted and over-extended. My gluteus mazimus feels like I ran a marathon yesterday and my neck and back are both a little tender! Wow, I am really glad my parents are coming now, if they weren't I would be so far down in the dumps! This will be a Christmas for the record books. I just hope that I can get everything done, my type A personality won't let me rest until everything is done. I have a Doctors appointment the day after Christmas I should be fine, but I will mention it just to be on the safe side. We'll see what happens. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!!

Done

2007-12-20T13:15:00.000-08:00

For all you shopping procrastinators I just wanted to give a note saying that I am officially finished with my Christmas shopping. I had to do a few final things at the mall (that weren't even really for Christmas, but still had a timeline). And now I can say that I don't have to go to anymore stores until January including the gocery store.

Now the only things on my to-do list now are:

cleaning the house for the arrival of my parents
Birthday party tonight
Christmas party tomorrow night
finishing the stocking I am making as a present for someone
baking christmas cookies for Santa
Baking 2 apple pies
Making mashed potatos for the family Christmas gathering

Who ever said that the Holidays were a nice relaxing time for families? Maybe if you are the husband and you let your wife do most of the work (not that I would really want to eat cookies that Billy makes). But the shopping and wrapping of gifts would go a lot faster with four hands instead of two. I can't wait until my parents get here and they can get that whiney little Jacob out from under my feet for a few days! It will be relaxing not having to worry about much. Can you tell that I am a little excited??

It's True

2007-12-16T20:08:00.000-08:00

OK People, Ok, It's true, there is a new Narnia movie coming out. Prince Caspian. I plan to re-read the book and then go thouroughly enjoy this movie. The preview looked awesome to me. We saw it when we went to see I Am Legend. That was a pretty cool movie, but it gave me nightmares (which I am susceptible to anyway). This week I also saw August Rush, that movie was amazing. I totally loved it, love love loved it. It is one of my new favs. The soundtrack is awesome, too. I totally recommend that one to any music lover man or woman. GO SEE IT!

Don't think that we see a lot of movies. This week was special, but I was talking to some girls here and I think we are going to start a movie club (in leu of a book club). So we can all go see those chick flicks that so many husbands refuse to lower themselves to go see. We will keep the number of movies to a bare minimum, one or two a month (depending on what is coming out of course).

Go Watch August Rush!!!! Especially if you can go on down to the Kennedy School and enjoy a personal pizza at the same time!

Oh Happy Day

2007-12-15T16:10:00.000-08:00

I have the second best news I have had since moving here. My parents have decided to come down and spend Christmas with us! I am so unimaginably happy about it. I thought I was going to be having a kind of a rough holiday season. It's funny the things that change when you hear your mom is coming to town. My heart is definitely lighter in spite of all the difficult things going on right now!

My friends

2007-12-11T10:35:00.000-08:00

All I can say about my dear dear friends leaving is... How Could You? Just kidding (kind of) This is a short message I didn't want anyone getting the mistaken impression that I had no opinion of this transition. The blog I wrote 2 days ago I had to erase because it was infinitly sad, I cried the whole time I wrote it and then couldn't sleep that night I didn't think that would be a nice thing to do to my beautiful friends. I love you like members of my own family (maybe red-headed step children) but more likely a brother and sister and niece who love God more than me which is the way it is supposed to be. I pray for you all the time (even while I should be sleeping comfortably in my bed). I love you more than words can say.

Happy Thanksgiving

2007-11-23T15:51:00.000-08:00

Here I am after we got home after Thanksgiving with Billy's family (I am almost 5 months along). We were able to have Jacob go home with Nana and we had a nice relaxing evening watching movies and just vegging out. This is the night before we found out (with a 60% accuracy) that we are having a baby girl. She is going to be called Jayda Mae if, in fact, she turns out to be a girl! I hope you have had a blessed holiday weekend just like us. Tomorrow we are going to go out to get a Christmas tree (no big deal that there are no presents to go under it yet).

My Mozart

2007-11-07T15:01:00.000-08:00

I love music school, and more importantly, Jacob loves to go to school! He has a great time every week when we go to have fun with other toddlers and music. I think he is the oldest kid in the class and as per his personality he is the loudest one of all. He loves to sing along with the teacher (Miss Becca, also the Youth Minister at our church). He even will request songs and since Becca adores him she will sometimes give in to his requests. He loves this class so much! Here, see for yourself:

I'm The Dash

2007-11-02T13:20:00.000-07:00

Hay Ride

Jacob and Zack

Jacob, Kaitlyn and Courtney

2007-10-31T09:39:00.000-07:00

This is what I saw when I went to brush my teeth after eating my toast this morning. (not this actual cockroach, but one just like it) I really and truely started to hyperventilate and almost screamed. This was the first time in my life I have ever seen anything so vile. It was disgusting. I really miss Oregon on a whole new level now because it is too cold there to support such a horrible insect.

I closed the door and went upstairs to tell Billy the good news. I told him there was a huge roach sitting on the toothpaste, exploring his toothbrush with it's feelers (I couldn't bring myself to brush my teeth). I neglected to ask him to do anything about it because I naturally assumed he would go down there when he got up and look for it. He didn't. Now I get to go home early to clean up our messy kitchen (because they love the crumbs and dirty dishes) and I get to buy spray and a roach motel to try to kill and/or catch the nasty creature on my own and to see if there are others. This particular kind of roach can lay 14 eggs at a time! Yay!

You know how when you see something gross like that and you start thinking about it you then start to feel like the bugs are crawling all over you? I am feeling that sensation right now, (only I think I could proabably have some sort of break down if I pictured it being a roach). I have decided that this is not something that I want to deal with while knowing that my 2 year old is upstairs sleeping and that I am going to be having an even more helpless baby in a few short months. Just another one of those perks of living in sunny southern California (where the weather is still int he 80's.

Thanks a lot Target

2007-10-25T09:01:00.000-07:00

So here I am wandering through Target with my trusty list of things we needed for the new condo, things like TP and a few hand towels and a dish drainer, etc. I didn't have a copy of the house keys yet, so I thought I would take my time and peruse the store before taking off to wait for Billy to let me into the house. Big Mistake. I ended up getting a few things that were not on the list and went over my budget for the trip by about 60 bucks! One of the culprits was a nice new book that was on sale that I had no idea was coming out. I was on my way to the check out stands and of course I walked right by a display of the new Nicholas Sparks book The Choice. If you were not aware I love his books and I buy them all in hardback when they come out, and they were on sale. So, I picked one up without much hesitation. Then, by the way, I got home and had to sit in my car (I think the temp was in the 80's) and waited for Billy for a half an hour because he got stuck in traffic on his way home.

I was already reading a different book (The Scarlet Thread by Francine Rivers) and so I couldn't get started on my new pick up until yesterday. I started it at work and then I finished it at work. I know what you are thinking and yes, I do have a kick back job where I can read all day. I really liked the book. It was slightly different than his other books and I liked that. I am going to start loaning it out right away (sorry Aimee Jo, I would love to loan it to you, but I know things are a little crazy for you).

Lesson learned: Don't go to Target if you have a lot of time to "peruse", especially if you don't want to end up spending a bit of extra money.

New zip code!

2007-10-22T08:51:00.000-07:00

YES! We have finally moved out. After weeks of waiting and the date being pushed back for remodelling and cleaning we are in our own place. It is a 2 bedroom 1.5 bathroom condo in a nice neighborhood. It is closer to the church, winco and target and very close to costco. It has a pantry and a garage and a patio big enough for Jacob to play in and it is secure so he can go in and out at his leisure. It has decent storage and when we are all finished unpacking I will be able to tell you if all of our stuff fits in it.

We spent our first night in the condo on Saturday and Jacob kind of freaked out. He was scared and had to come into our room and sleep on his little fold out couch for the night. Last night we made sure his room was all squared away so that it would not feel so creepy to him (with things leaning up against the wall and whatnot). We put him to bed and after a little crying and a little manipulation (Mommy I have to go putty, or I need my water, or the monsters are going to get me) He finally went to sleep. He did wake up much earlier than usual and we let him come in and lay on his couch bed again this morning, but you never know, maybe tomorrow he will be able to sleep in his own room all night and get up at a reasonable hour like normal! of course last night I kept thinking that someone was going to come into the house somehow and kill us all in our sleep and I kept my eye on the bedroom door for a while, but I suspect that will get easier once all the boxes are put away and we are more used to the new digs.

One thing I realized while we were moving in was how much baby boy stuff we really have! Now I am more cerain than ever, I want a boy! Just for the convenience of not having to worry about the volume of stuff we have and what I am going to do with it if we do have a girl, because of course then we will have just as much, if not more, girl crap to deal with for our third baby (if there will be one). I, of course, will be very happy and love this baby no matter what gender he/she is, but as far as convenience goes, come on boys!

Really!? Are you kidding me!?!?

2007-10-17T09:45:00.000-07:00

OK, so last week was probably the worst I have had since being pregnant. First off it was like attack of the killer stink bombs! I really had the worst gas. I know all of you women out there who have been pregnant can sympathize with the uncontrollable, inaudible, silent but deadly gas attack. I ran myself out of a room it got so bad. Then the next thing I knew I had gotten this heinous stomach flu virus that has been going around (I have really been feeling better, not having much nausea due to the bun in the oven situation, so I am sure it is somewhat unrelated to the baby). I tossed my cookies on the way to work and then had a very unpleasant day running for my life to the bathroom. I have not tossed anything else (including cookies) since that day, but have still been plagued by the running to the bathroom thing that is too graphic, even for me to write about. That is not even the worst part, you know about how you are really happy to eat anything and everything when you are pregnant? Everything that passes those lips just tastes so good and you want another helping? Well, I haven't been able to enjoy a good meal in what seems like forever! My feelings have really been hurt by my stupid body. I sure hope that this little bug I have will go away soon. I finally found out that my last day of full time work will be the 31st and I have big plans for all that time I will have available for cooking nice, delicious, hearty meals that I haven't had time for lately.

2007-10-02T15:10:00.000-07:00

The other day my friend Sarah came for a visit and to say hello to Jacob and Billy. She is about 6 weeks more pregnant than I am and is showing already. I was wondering what Jacob thought about it so we were asking him if he thought Sarah and I are going to have girls or boys. He was pretty shy about labeling Sarah's baby, but was all opinion when it came to me. He said that he thought we were going to have a little girl and that her name could be "Screwdriver"! I asked him why he picked that name and he said "so that he could fix da TV." That makes total sense to me.

Back to the Grindstone

2007-09-24T08:58:00.001-07:00

We had a whirlwind trip these past few weeks. It was a difficult beginning when I thought I would not be able to take Jacob's terrible twos anymore Billy came and was a great relief. Then Jacob got sick and was vomitting! Yay! No, It wasn't that bad and only lasted for a few days. Then we got to go to the beach to spend some quality time with my family. We haven't seen my oldest sister since Thanksgiving (she lives in Alaska). Then it was a 14hr drive on Saturday to get back to Bako for church on Sunday.

Here are a few highlights from the trip:

Seeing Anaiah being born into our large family and spending a lot of time with Aimee Jo and Andrew

Spending quality time with good friends the Tuckers

Going to Pump for 2 Sundays in a row and seeing our family

Seeing my Grandmother and eating her delicious cooking

Picking Billy up at the airport

Eating at my favorite places in Oregon

Having dinner with Cascade friends

Jacob vomitting on me

Being cold a lot of the time

Being with family

Every time I go back up for a visit it gets a little easiser, but still reminds me of everything that I love and miss about LBB (life before Bako). I have definitely been more emotional thanks to this new bun in the oven, and I am sure that amplified a lot of my feelings. Never-the-less, I am glad to be back and on a normal routine again, sleeping in my own bed and having all of my clothes to choose from, not a small contingient of things to wear! Back to Bako and back to work, at least for the time being...

2007-09-04T14:02:00.000-07:00

I had the most wonderful day yesturday! I made it up to Oregon in time to see my very best friend in the whole world have her baby. Aimee Jo was so strong and did a marvelous job. Little Aniah wasn't so little, but Aimee really showed her who was boss! I always learn a lot from my friend and yesturday was no exception. I want to be just like her when I grow up. Strong as an ox, yet calm under pressure, and always thankful through everything for wonderful blessings.

Aniah is perfect (just like a tiny sumo wrestler). What a blessing she is. I am glad she is finally here and that I was able to meet her right away. I love her already.

Oh Baby!

2007-08-29T08:39:00.000-07:00

This is the first picture of baby number 2. He/She will hopefully be coming along around April 20th 2008! We are very excited for this little development in our family and for poor Jacob to finally have a playmate.

I have already started feeling ill, but hopefully since those feelings came on early maybe they will go away early as well!

Too Young?

2007-07-20T10:27:00.000-07:00

Every night we help Jacob to say his prayers, the oh so famous "now I lay me down to sleep". He used to say it very well and at the end pray a blessing over his friends and family by name. We, of course bring him to church whenever there is a children's program available and they have started learning memory verses. "Worship the Lord with your whole heart". Now when he prays his prayers he gets confused and always ends up saying "now I lay me down to sleep I ask the Lord, with my whole heart". Then he laughs because I think he knows that is wrong, but he can't seem to say the prayer without help! I think his little brain has been in overload lately, either that, or he is extra smart and is messing with me every night. Either one is a viable explanation.

Another One Bites the Dust

2007-07-13T12:22:00.000-07:00

Yay for paying off credit cards. We are one giant step closer to being debt free! I am very excited to be paying these things off. We should be able to pay everything off before next spring (not including student loans, I wish!). I will keep ya'll posted on our progress.

Thanks, Financial Peace University. Anyone else from our class still going strong?

Working Stiff

2007-07-11T14:57:00.001-07:00

I am now covering the maternity leave of the church secretary where Billy works. I started yesturday and it is pretty kick back. I strted a book at the office yesturday afternoon and i finished it already (around 1 pm the next day). I am really going to be able to get caught up on my reading while earning a paycheck to answer the phone and door. So far my only other responsibiliy (besides making coffee) is to put together the program for church every week. That little project isn't really that time consuming and I have to wait on the ministers to give me the information to include in it. We are really going to be able to line our savings account for tax season next year! The best part is I come in about 8am and leave at 4, so I am not here all day long. It is going to be a good few months that are peppered lightly with lovely trips to the land in my heart; the Pacific NW. See you soon!

camp skit

2007-06-25T20:46:00.000-07:00

Summer Camp

2007-06-11T09:15:00.000-07:00

We went to summer camp a few weeks and had a lot of hard-earned fun. Billy was so busy with his duties that he almost never came to our cabin until 10:30 each night. This was a 3-6th grade camp, but they encourange you children to come as precampers, so there were lots of kids for Jacob to play with and he had a blast. We did end up missing breakfast almost every morning because the bell never woke us up, but we had a helper in the kitchen who helped us out a lot (Eva). We really enjoyed ourselves and best of all the weather was like Oregon! It was cool and everyone needed their jackets! That part was really nice for me. We have a lot of sleep to catch up on, but it was worth it. We were able to get to know a lot of the kids from our church and now it is a good way to get to know their parents as well. I am already looking foreward to camp next year.

Here are a few pictures from that week for you to enojoy:

We Got a Pool Ya'll!

2007-06-10T21:08:00.000-07:00

That is our big news, so whenever you want to come on through to visit us you can cool off with us. The pool in 12 feet in diameter and 3 feet deep. It is not huge, and you can't swim laps, but it will do a great job of cooling you off on a hot day. Yay for pools! By the way, this is our actual pool in our actual back yard! I love it!

Last Saturday night

2007-05-25T18:31:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, we have been getting invitations to dine with church members at their homes. One such occasion happened last Saturday night at Billy's Aunt and Uncle's house. We arrived and the only thing that Eva brought were two pies and Billy's sister Nicole brought a green salad and the rest of the menu went as follows:

Ham (with an apricot glaze)
Chicken (with the same glaze)
macaroni and cheese
green beans with white potatos
potato salad
green salad
corn bread
and texas toast

And the pies Eva brought were peach and custard.

It was a delicious meal and we thoroughly enjoyed it. I have been loving the dinners that we have been sharing with family and new friends. I have not had one that was not wonderful! Just one more thing to put on my list of the good things here in Bakersfield. Stay tuned for some exciting news...

We're in Bakersfield (and so is Ando)!

2007-05-17T22:12:00.000-07:00

Ok, so for all of you Heros fans out there we were driving down the street going to someone's house for dinner and I look over at this car we were passing and I saw, no kidding, the guy that plays Ando (Hiro's friend). I told Billy to slow down so he could verify and he also thought it was him! I am not sure that you could call him famous, but I really like that show, so I think it was really cool.

So, on to the real info. I have finished unpacking our stuff and we are done taking everything over to our storage unit. We still have a lot to do including getting our AC fixed in the Honda, getting our driver's liscences and opening a bank account. Billy has already started to do some office hours and has participated in all the church events possible since we have been here. It has been stressful so far, especially before I got us all unpacked, but hopefully that will wear off quickly. I am now expecting everything to kick in, that I have left my family and most of my friends, my job and church family behind. I have been having dreams about my friends and have been kind of emotional about it, but I am doing my best to make Bakersfield my new home and to appreciate all the new things here and the new opportunities that arise.

Jacob has been asking to go and visit his friends and has been having some separation anxiety, wanting to be near me or Billy all the time. Otherwise he is doing well, he is browning up well and loves all the freedom to go outside whenever he wants to. He has made a few new friends. Not to worry, he still remembers his old pals at prayer time and I am in process of making a collage of pictures (piscures as Jake would say) for his bedroom.

We love you all! And miss you all the time.

2007-04-29T16:39:00.000-07:00

We are now in the home stretch. I have one more week left of work before the big move and not a lot of time afterwards to take care of business. We have a week and a half before we leave for Bakersfield and about half of the house packed up (we are still using most everything). All of our evenings are already spoken for by those who want to have one last chance to say goodbye and our days are slated to be spent packing our final belongings. We have already sold the truck, given away a tv, desk, matress, night stand and love seat. We traded our washer and dryer for rent the 1-10th of may. We still need to get rid of a chair, an espresso machine, a set of golf clubs and a small side table with a glass top. If any of that sounds interesting to you let me know and it is yours, otherwise, I am hoping to get it posted on craigslist soon.

I have become horrible (as someone pointed out) about posting and putting picture on, so here are a few of us relaxing at home.

Jacob loves being a monster and scaring us, he will roar and then say "I scare you Mommy?"

I am not creepy, I promise, this picture is just really funny to me! Hopefully it is also funny to you.

2007-03-24T10:02:00.000-07:00

My cousin Angela just had twin babies this week at OHSU. They are both boys who are under 3lbs. Billy and I have not had a chance to go visit yet, but we are going out there today to see her and the new tiny ones. They could be in the hospital for a few months, but they are both breathing on their own, so that is great for such little babies!

Also on my agenda today:
going to the bank
the dry cleaners
the book store
and then I will probably squeeze in a nap!

(Jacob is with my parents for the weekend and we had to get the house all cleaned up for bookclub that met here last night, we miss you Aimee)

2007-03-11T19:39:00.000-07:00

So much has happened in the recent past! The most immediate thing being the passing of Billy's father. He passed very peacefully on February 9Th. We flew down to Bakersfield that day and were able to stay there until the next Sunday. It was a blessing that we were able to stay with family so long and give/take comfort from them. Bill was only 62 years old, he had a stroke and was very ill toward the end. Billy was able to go down to California just the weekend before to say goodbye and to spend some final time with him. This is obviously a huge event in our lives and is mixed with both sorrow and joy.

The next event was the birthday of our little Jacob. He turned 2 and we had a little party for him. He is growing into a very polite and sweet young man (except when he throws a temper tantrum). A few of his favorite things to say are:

"I Love Jacob!"

"I watch Incredibles?"

"That's funny"

"I go see Kezia"

"You want to watch Incredibles?"

"You look preddy Mommy"
(he really says that, but it is more of my favorite thing he says)

He can count to 20 and he puts 4-5 words together to make sentences. This sounds like a cool thing, but I miss the time when I was not asked to put in the Incredibles 50 times a day. He actually can put in the DVD and turn the thing on himself, but he scratches them. Since I am working full time I don't get to see him as often as I would like to, but it sure helps me to appreciate the time I have with him all the more. But please excuse me if I still am hard on him, he is still a toddler after all! One other shortfall, we forgot to take pictures at his birthday party! We do have some video, but you probably won't be seeing any of that any time soon.

2007-01-17T22:45:00.000-08:00

There is snow on the ground right now and it is constantly making me think of newness and freshness, but with so many things going on right now it is difficult to think of things as new and fresh. I woke up this morning to the terrible news of a missionary who passed away in Uganda. I knew him only slightly and know his family only slightly better, but his loss still affects and there will be no shortage of prayers of intercession for his family and teammates. I have recently taken to reading about the Lord's protection in Psalms 121. It is a difficult thing to understand under these circumstances, but I, as well as you, I pray will not be leaning on our own understanding through circumstances such as these.

I raise my eyes toward the mountains.
Where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not allow your foot to slip; your Protector will not slumber.
Indeed, the Protector of Israel does not slumber or sleep.

The Lord protects you.
The Lord is a shelter right by your side.
The sun will not strike you by day, or the moon by night.
The Lord will protect you from all harm; He will protect your life.
The Lord will protect your coming and going, both now and forever.

2006-12-26T23:25:00.000-08:00

check out uganda survey for pics from our trip!

2006-12-14T17:42:00.000-08:00

I am at work right now and it is a little slow, so I am taking a few moments to post an update. There is really nothing to post! I really like my new job, it isn't that difficult, but the people I work with are fun to be around. I am really going to like getting a paycheck (the last day of the month). My hours aren't the best, I don't get off work until 6pm and that doesn't leave me much time with Jacob, but we have the weekends. My bosses are going to talk about Suzy taking my friday shift so that I can work 4 days a week and spend a little extra time with him. The owners here have provided lunch for us all three times since I have been here (about 3 weeks)! That is a nice little perk. Everything is going very well for us, I just wish I could be back in bliss in Uganda! I miss you guys!

2006-11-25T19:57:00.000-08:00

I have a new job! Thanks in large part to Suzy Tucker, I got the job as receptionist at the physical therapy office where she works part time. I am really excited about it the pay and benefits are great and it is full time monday through friday. The extra money is going to pay our rent at our new place and to help pay our bills down. I start this monday and I have high hopes that I will enjoy it and love to come home in the evenings to enjoy my family. My Grandmother is going to care for Jacob teusday through friday and Billy has mondays off. This is a great opportunity for our family and we are very excited about this new development. We really have been blessed and I feel like God has been working things out for us lately to give us a better situation than the one we were in before.

Slight Complication

2006-09-22T13:25:00.000-07:00

Here is the same post I put on UgandaSurvey for those of you who just read this one. It is kind of important for our lives all around right now.

Back when we first decided to go to Uganda for a survey trip we had a few hurdles to overcome. One was clearing the amount of leave with both of Billy's jobs. His full time job said we could take up to 6 weeks of unpaid vacation and the apartment he manages said it was no problem. Then his boss moved on to other work and it took Cascadia a few months to replace him and then another month before Billy's new boss came along to introduce himself. Billy again mentioned the trip to make sure that everything was taken care of as the previous boss had indicated. We found out last night that Cascadia decided to deny his request for a leave of absense saying that the amount of time was too much. They are giving us two weeks after we get back to be out. We are praying that this knowledge is not going to cause us to worry while we are on our trip. The situation has potential to be irritating because we were originally going to only take 2 weeks for this trip, but since both jobs gave the go ahead we planned it for a month, and they told us about the problem when we are supposed to leave in a little over a week.

There are a few blessings that can come out of this: we have two weeks after we come back, we don't have to get out right now. We have no washer and dryer right now, so maybe our new place will come with them. I was planning on getting a part time job when we came back to help more with bills anyway.

We are determined not to let Satan bring us down, we are ok with this decision and the new posiblities that lay ahead. Please keep our living situation in your prayers.

2006-09-15T13:04:00.000-07:00

Today I should be inducted into "the stupid things parents do" hall of fame. I know a lot of parents are guilty of this, but in the day and age of cell phones it should not be that big of a deal anymore. So I take Jacob with me to Winco today to get a few thing like milk and such. We get to the truck (the car window is broken and will not roll up, so we have been using the truck on rainy days) I strap Jake in first as always. He sees the keys jingling and says "keys!" so I hand them over while I unload the groceries at his feet.I finish putting the groceries in and lock and close the door. "Oh my goodness! I just locked Jacob in the truck with the keys!" I stand there for a minute hoping that I had forgotten to lock his door before I closed it, no such luck. I had nothing in my pockets except for a buck and the reciept (if a bum came up asking for money he would have been in luck!). A couple was sitting in their car a few spots away and I ask them if they have a cell I can use to call Billy. I make the call and realize I have the only set of keys that you can use for the Honda. Billy has to walk to the Pump house hoping that he can borrow someones vehicle to come open our door for us. Meanwhile Jacob realizes something is wrong, he is hungry and tired and I am just staring at him through the window, he starts sobbing and screaming. As I am standing here next to the truck singing to Jacob through the closed window several people walked by me, including the guy who gathers the carts, and not a single person stops to ask me if everything is alright! There was really nothing that could have been done at that point, I had already made my phone call, but not a single person even noticed that I was obviously stranded in the parking lot. I was so upset, standing there listening to my baby crying his little guts out and not a single person cared enough to stop what they were doing to offer assistance. It was an emotional time for me and it certainly would have been nice if someone would have shown a little empathy. Aside from the people I borrowed a call from no one cared. Billy eventually came driving up in the church van and unlocked the door (about 40 minutes after I locked it in the first place). Jacob was so worn out by the crying that he laid down and hasn't got up yet (he's napping at home right now).

Ok, moral of the story: don't lock your kid in the car with the keys. More importantly, I hope that if someone looks as though they need some help, and it is a public place where you are in a position to help them, please do! I know I will. I have faith that probably most people I know would be the sort to stop as well, too bad there aren't more people like that around here!

This tragic story happend only a few weeks after Jacob ran out into the street and almost got hit by a car. I really need to brush up on some parenting skills or something my child aparently isn't all that safe with me!

The Alphabet According to Jacob

2006-09-05T11:03:00.000-07:00

A
B
C
E
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
blahblahblah
coo
R
SSSSSSSSS
T
OO
B
dub
XSSSS
Y
Z

Now I know my ABC lalala with me!

Baffle Me

2006-08-16T23:19:00.000-07:00

Jacob is 17 months old. Every day he says something crazy and funny and I think to myself "is he smart or is it just me being proud" because I have no idea. Just the other day we were all sitting in our bedroom and Billy was on the computer. We were watching football moments online (I really don't know how I got sucked into that) and some poor schmo got hit really badly. We, of course, reacted in laughter. There we were all three of us laughing at this poor guy who probably is still feeling that hit, while Billy is playing the clip over and over agian. Finally when we were all settling down Jacob says "Ah, thats funny!" I kid you not! Billy turned around and asked me if he really said that and I said he has been saying it for a while now. The wierd thing is he uses it appropriately! He is the smartest kid I have ever raised!

Jacob's shots

2006-08-03T09:27:00.000-07:00

We were really grearing up for Jacobs "week-o-shots" We had no idea how many he was going to have to get on Teusday, then he was getting one on Wednesday. Needless to say, we were nervous! It turned out that he only needed 2 shots at the travel clinic (which he handled rather well only crying for a few minutes). Wednesday's shot, however, was the easiest one he had ever gotten, he didn't even cry! He fussed for like 30 seconds and then went on looking at the nurse with his little evil eye. I told him to say "thank you" which he did then promptly forgot what we had been doing there in the first place! He ran down the hall as we were leaving like nothing had ever happened. Don't you just love kids? I hope travelling with him will be the same way. We are expecting a nightmare, maybe we will get a pleasant suprise, and maybe not.

photos

2006-08-01T14:22:00.000-07:00

You know how you go in to get your license (or passport) and you have to get a picture taken in front of the least flattering backdrop they could find? I wish I would have thought about scanning my passport photo to my blog, I actually like my picture! I wish I could use it for more things than just my passport! I would have it as my picture for my blog, my myspace I would have it on flickr...

I have only one other time been happy with the outcome of an identification picture. My first license had a cute pic, but of course I was young and had great skin, and then I lost it like six months later and started the apparent lifetime of horrible license photos. My most recent picture (the picture wasn't the only habbit I picked up at that time, I also loose my license every couple of years) makes me look like I have the flu, I am wearing a lime-green shirt, I don't know why, and I am standing against a light blue background! I am rediculous. Please, tell me about your horrbile, or not-so-horrible ID pictures! I know you've got em!

Six whole days!

2006-07-26T09:40:00.000-07:00

Jacob has been with my parents for 5 days now. It is always great for the first day that he is with family. It gives Billy and me the chance to do things we enjoy that are more difficult with Jacob. On Saturday we went to see Pirates 2 and then I was able to go out for a friend's birthday celebration. It was really great to have a little freedom, but it is getting a little sad. I am finding myself staring at his pictures just to look at him. His Grammy has been great about calling and letting us talk to him on the phone and also getting him to give us messages like "hi mama, love you & miss you" it is both great and makes me sad all at the same time. I know my folks are having a great time, but I don't think I will be letting him go away for such a long time again (apparently I am the one with separation anxiety). My mother keeps bringing up that our survey trip to Uganda would be a lot easier and cheaper if we just left him here with them and we actually considered it (if we were only able to go for a few weeks) things didn't work out the way they wanted and we are taking him with us. I am so glad it worked out this way because I am having a difficult time leaving him for 6 days! And I am still getting phone calls, I can't imagine how I would feel being in a different country where the calls are really expensive not being able to see my child for 2 weeks! It really is an eternity in the life of a 1 year old, trust me. The countdown has begun, 27 hours until I get to hold my baby again!

Uganda!

2006-07-10T15:17:00.000-07:00

We have started the planning process for our Uganda Survey trip. For those of you who are unaware, we are going to visit Uganda to see if we would like to move there to be missionaries. It is a very exciting and stressfil time. We need to raise $8000 to cover all of the costs involved. And then do all of the planning neccessary for an international trip (with a toddler). If you would like more information about our progress for our trip please check out the Uganda Survey blogspot, the link is on the right.

My baby!

2006-07-01T22:53:00.000-07:00

It can be a sad occasion for a parent to give their child his first haircut. It certainly was for me. Take a look at our little angel...

Before:

After:

My cute little baby has been replaced by a crazy buz-cut busy body! He's cute on the outside, but ladies watch out!

You just gotta love that smile.

26? old?

2006-06-28T14:10:00.000-07:00

Do you remember the moment when you realized that you are not as young as you think you are? For some people never reach this realization. You might be able to spot them wearing clothes that are much too hip for them, or using language they think is still cool when in fact it hasn't been unleashed since disco.

I have come to this ugly conclusion recently. I was on a retreat with our interns a few weeks ago. I felt comfortable, like you do when you are amongst your peers who have a mutual opinion about life in general. My first incling that something was amis was when they were being sort of polite to me, the way I used to be polite to my "elders". Then the moment of truth, I was involved in a task with the group and one of them (who shall remain nameless) sort of stepped around me to be closer to the others who were on the other side, totally giving me the cold shoulder and leaving me out to dry by myself at the end of the line! I realized I was no longer considered "in the group", but I had become an outsider!

It is a shocking, yet important realization in my opinion. I am no longer a carefree young person. I am a real adult with real responsibilities. You will hopefully never see me wearing too-hip clothes for my age or using dated slang to fit in with people who consider me an outsider. I will stop caring what I wear in public (maybe mumus will fill my closet). Sweat pants and t-shirts are the end of the line for a geezer like me! J/K! There are lots of great things about being in charge of myself (and my family). For example, we are going to Uganda this fall. I am really excited about it as we are in the full swing of planning, but don't you worry, I will take care not to break a hip!!

Neuro Virus

2006-06-14T22:21:00.000-07:00

It is very possible that a lot of people you know have been infected with the neuro virus. It is not as scary as it sounds and people are not always going to the doctor to be diagnosed with it. It just so happens that I think Jacob got it a few weeks ago. He was throwing up for four days. I sopke to a nurse and she is the one that suggested the neuro virus and made sure he was getting enough fluids. Other than that there was nothing that could be done. He drank a lot of pedialite and had the frozen pops. He was so weak from not eatingand vommiting that he could barely hold his head up for the first two days. It was very sad, his little eyes were droopy and exhausted. In the midst of all this illness he never cried once! He moaned and whined a little, but I think he was so weak that he didn't have the energy to cry.

Thank God he is back to his old self again! The first day he laughed was music to my ears and made me more emotional than I thought it would. Relief can be an overwhelming feeling sometimes. Everyone in the Mckenzie household is doing well now everything is back to normal (whatever that means).

hot days, summer in the city

2006-05-17T11:20:00.000-07:00

Yesturday I got an unexpected call to babysit a friends children and had more fun then I thought! They have a new kiddie pool in the back yard and I thought it would be fun for Jacob to try his hand at wading on his own. The water was cold, not cool, but cold and as soon as he set his feet into the water he started crying and then he tried to make his way to the edge to get out and he fell (not being accustumed to walking in water and all). He fell on his face! So of course he started to wail until I took him out. The other two children, mind you were both staring at him playing contently in the water. I refused to change his soggy diaper because I wanted him to really try to like it, so I kept putting him in there. While I was dipping his feet in the water so he could splash (and get used to the cold at the same time) I briefly thought about the news story about people getting hypothermia because they swim in cold water around this time of year, but I put him in anyway. He splashed for a while and then proceeded to play with intermittant whining and shivering. After he fell on his face, again, I took him out for good and changed his diaper and put his shoes on letting him warm in the sun. He then went over to their small kiddie slide, climbed up it on his own and slid down! He is such a climber. He made that clear yet again when I went inside to get drinks for the kids from the fridge and came back out to find him standing on the patio table just looking at nothing.

It was so warm yesturday I wanted to get in that pool, it was big enough, but I thought the sight of me in there by myself with all of my clothes on would have been too much for anyone to handle!

I geuss I will have to find another way to stay cool up here in this 86 degree heat! Man, I just don't know what I am going to do with myself!

MERRY CHRISTMAS (to me!)

2005-12-25T13:23:00.000-08:00

Hey, I just wanted to let all of you out there in cyberspace that I, Brenda, have received a KitchenAid Stand Mixer for Christmas. This might not be such a big deal to some of you others out there, but to me it takes that cake. I am very excited to get that baby home and see what that bad boy can do!

On another note, I am making a side dish for the big in-law family gathering, it is my cooking debut to the entire family, I hope everything goes well! They are pretty accepting, and understanding, so even if it sucks they will tell me its great!

A little update on Jacob, he is still sick, yesturday I called the advice line of our pediatrician's office and they instructed me to nurse every 45 minutes to prevent dehydration from the vomitting and diarhea. It was really time consuming, but he looks like he is feeling much better. I think it is because Papa laid hands on him last night and prayed that he be better for Christmas. The Lord heard his prayers!

Merry Christmas!! I hope yours is and was a great as mine turned out to be.

Vacations

2005-12-22T11:59:00.000-08:00

There is no such thing as a vacation for a parent (unless children are not present). I have yet to relax anymore than I do at my own house, and I can at least sleep in my own bed there. I have a whole new love of those commercials where the people are on holiday and something happens like "aunt mole" or the married couple who has to sleep in bunk beds. I know they are just trying to sell airline tickets, but they really speak to me on a whole new level. sleeping on a sofa sleeper for 3 weeks isn't exactly my idea of a fun time. I guess my blogs have become somewhat less "happy". Hopefully that will change as time goes on and the vacation gets better. I just hope I get a little more rest while we are here. Somehow I really think that is just wishful thinking on my part.

My Poor Baby

2005-12-21T14:27:00.000-08:00

Last night we were all still sitting around the table after dinner chatting when Jacob began getting a little fussy. I took him out of his chair and not five minutes later the kid threw up so much food! It projectiled all over me and the floor and the tablecloth. There was bits of lunch as well as dinner. The poor little guy had been feeling sick all day, sleeping a lot and cuddling when awake. He had a temp of 101, so we adminitered tylenol and he cuddled some more. He slept all night and still seemed to feel sick when he woke up, so in went more tylenol. He seems to be feeling better this afternoon after eating only bland foods (I did not want a repeat of last night! It almost made me sick).

We have so much stuff still to do for my home business, I hope he gets to feeling better very soon. The majority of people down here think he is teething, so he might even come back with another tooth! Not walking yet....

We're Here!

2005-12-16T19:41:00.000-08:00

Don't you all just love flying on an airplane in the very last row next to guy-who-is-way-to-close-for-comfort, near guy-with-BO and guy-who-smells-a-lot-like-stale-cigarettes? The only thing that makes it even more enjoyable is when you have a fussy 9 month old! YAY!!!! Needless to say the trip kind of sucked and we almost were diverted to LA due to fog in Bakersfield, but we made it. I am getting less sleep these days since like a nuckle head I forgot the baby monitor and the other room I could sleep in is too far away, so I have to bunk with Jacob (who likes to wake up at 3 to cry for a while).

Even with all of these complaints I am really glad to be here and to have brought Jacob to spend time with Nana and Papa and Auntie Cole. They are having a blast with him. By the way, he has not walked any more than he was doing before (Aimee). Never fear! I hope to post some pics soon so we can truely share our trip with you.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!

2005-12-06T19:32:00.000-08:00

Wow, I am really not used to this blogging thing. I think every time I post something (twice now) I push the "back" icon and lose my entire blog that I totally just spent minutes on! I have a grabby little one on my lap at this very moment who is blowing raspberries on my arm and then trying to type a few words of his own. I just love having drool run down my arm, I really think babies might be the ultimate natural moisturizer!

In my accidentally deleated previous blog I discussed a recent trip to grammy's house, but I am too bored with it to type it twice. However, while we were down in Eugene we had two (or three) great pleasures, besides the wonderful Thanksgiving meal. Since our family is not going to be together for Christmas, we decided to exchange gifts at Thanksgiving. Instead of buying our gifts in advance we planned on getting up early for the awesome day after sales. So, the Monday before Thanksgiving we got into our car to go play poker with my Dad and our car wouldn't start. We were running a little late, so we vowed to look into it in the moring and we took my Dad's car. The next day we called a mechanic and had the car towed in, and to our delight and extreme pleasure we were allowed to pay $1000 to fix the timing belt that had slipped. We still went shopping the day after Thanksgiving and we had to stiff my family with $10 gifts, but they didn't mind. It seems like we are having to stiff my family on gifts every year (last year I was pregnant and Billy was unemployed). Now that I have a child of my own I finally truely understand the fun and importance if gift giving as opposed to gift getting. I wish I could do more for them, but they know I love them and that is really the most important thing.

Something that semi-relates, in Sunday school Allan talked about the reality of Jesus' birth and we all discussed what we thought it was actually like. The King of Kings was born into the dirties, most smelly place there was, and here I am complaining about not giving very expensive gifts. I definitely needed a little perspective, thanks Allan!

Next stop, travelling by plane alone with a nine-month old...

2005-11-08T19:27:00.000-08:00

This is little Jacob in his first ever Halloween costume. His daddy picked out the lion. I wanted him to be a flower,but daddy thought that was too girly for him. He learned to roar when he wore it (mostly in response to others roaring at him) and now he roars all the time. He is a very happy, noisy baby who only sits still when he wants to cuddle after a nap. He is already mischievious and likes to do what you tell him not to. He makes friends quickly and has about a hundred girlfriends. If he knows you well enough he lights up screaming when you come into the room and crawls to greet you. I love being a wife and mom, even though when I was young I didn't want to have children. He is definitely worth the chunky thighs, mommy tummy and stretch marks that came along with him!

I was put to shame the other day by a 5 year old who has her own blogspot and does all the typing herself (you go Trin!) and I thought, if she can do it so can I. So this is my official first entry on my blog and it is already all about this little lion, but don't you fret, soon something really amazing will happen and I won't be able to avoid posting it on my wonderful and amazing blogspot!

Test

2005-11-07T21:32:00.000-08:00