It is November already and I can’t even get close to getting over how quickly this past year has flooowwnn by.  Blows my mind actually.

The boys are doing fantastic!  Tob enjoys school so very much . . . Sam is huge.  Huge, I tell you!  Yeah, he wears size 5.  5. Size 5.  Tob and Sam wear the same size in clothes and are about size apart in shoes. They are 17 months apart, right?

Just checking.

I hate rain . . . hate it.  I went out into it anyway today . . . walking and jogging (jogging used lightly) for Byron’s sake, really. Poor puppy dog, I think he misses summertime more than me . . . thats pretty bad.

I put his rain coat on . . . thats why I bought it.  A bright yellow rain coat made for Byron’s size.  We get home, I take it off and the underside of the “raincoat” was damp.  Whats the point if its not waterproof?

Anyhow . . . then my loverly friend, Jalaine, brought Taebo Kick-My-Butt over and, well, kicked my abs really.  Buns are tomorrow . . . I know you’re thrilled. Maybe I’ll actually start making a dent in the 10 or so pounds I put on through the past 6 months . . . grr.

We did get a membership to the Kroc Center, thanks to Tob’s preschool, its a brand new fitness club, pool and community center not a mile from my house.  That has been the biggest blessing!  And in the nic of time, this stinkin’ cold winter weather limits the old outdoor time, for sure. The pool is super cute, made for kids and the boys have loved every second.  Mom loves the workout facility and daycare so I can actually USE the workout facility.  Nice!

Justin is in the thick of the Paramedic Program . . . he has started clinicals, about 2 weeks ago, and next week that ups to clinicals three times a week, plus school, plus studying, etc.

Holy Crud . . . and thank ya, Lord . . . all at the same time.

We do get to make the trip to Washington for Thanksgiving with my parents . . . yeah, they are currently residing in the Trij-Cities, if you didn’t know.  Much closer than Vegas. Justin has the weekend and I’m so looking forward to the family time!!

Tob has taken to calling us different kinds of animals.  He has settled on me being a rabbit, Justin being an elephant, Sam being a turtle and himself being a frog.  Its been this way for a month . . . he reminds me of our animal kingdom names every few days.

Myron . . . that is what Tob decided Byron’s name was today and there was no telling him otherwise!  Myron, kinda cuter than Byron.  Hmm.

The imagination of a 4 year old boy. I won’t talk about the smartelic remarks that come from the same beautiful face.

So, here’s to living . . . my life is really not very exciting so I haven’t written very much lately.  Just wanted to pop in here and let ya’ll know we still exist . . . our hearts are still oxygenating blood and pumping away . . . though Justin has informed me after the billionth time of listening to my heartbeat over the course of the last few months that I have an irregular rythm every once in awhile.  I asked if I was going to die, he said no, so I think no more of it. The heart has its own electricity . . . I love learning this stuff and making it my very own . . . how freakin awesome is that?  And I’m not tested and graded . . . much funner!

My wisdom teeth were pulled out, all four of them, on Friday.  Awesome, cuz the two bottom ones were rotting.  Painful, it has been . . . but apparently very normal healing process. They feel like giant holes in my head . . . my friend informed me the grow together, in other words the holes go away over about a month’s span of time.

Cool . . . hurry up about it!  I love almonds and almonds are IMPOSSIBLE to eat without getting the little almond crumbs in those gosh darn holes.  grr.

The hardships of life.

Justin was at school all day . . . now he’s at the gym . . . he’ll be back anytime now.  I better go for now, I suppose. I might need to go to bed as well.

Huh.

Well . . . have a loverly week!  Happy Veterans day, for Wed., I surely appreciate whats been done for me and mine, including my country!!

Just cuz their low cal/low fat does NOT mean eat the whole box.

Oops.

Life keeps going.  Actually it keeps getting busier but, hey, isn’t that how it roles.

Justin came home a tad early . . . 7, instead of 9pm . . . and we made dinner, hung out, laughed, and talked . . . then he went off to study drug cards.

I feel like all I hear about is medical this and medical that . . . Justin eats, sleeps and breathes it.  Geez, I had no idea the intensity of the program . . . and geez, I thought the Fire program was intense.  I was wrong.

But we are doing good.  Daily recognizing the sheer miracle of us being able to ride this ride and to see it through . . . financially, spiritually, emotionally, and all other ways.  Hard to do with two youngins at home and bills to pay.

Tobias, we are finding, is a very active child . . . information I was already aware of and now is being confirmed by his preschool teacher(s). But such a good kid.  I didn’t realize sending him to preschool would increase the love and understanding I already had for him . . . crazy, I didn’t know it could increase anymore.  And he is smart . . . I had no idea how much I was underestimating him. Hmmm.

Nothing really all that new to report, really.

Samuel’s current favorite movie: Finding Nemo . . . it came back out of the “Tucker Vault”.  :) One of those we wrote off as destroyed after I found it, sans case, buried in a toy bin.

I’m here, with my boys, constantly.  It amazes me what the get away with that I never see.  I don’t go to sleep while they are up playing . . . I don’t zone out into tv, you gotta have tv to do that . . . where was I when the permanent marker was liberally scribbled onto the bedroom door? Huh? Where?

Anyway . . . Finding Nemo, it skips really bad in two spots but otherwise plays great.

Great.

Tobias can’t get enough Shaun the Sheep.  If you haven’t seen those cartoons, haha, you gotta . . . too cute!

Yeah, Shaun the Sheep is still new to the household, so I still find it cute and funny and non-obnoxious.

Today we . . . that would be my friend, Jalaine, her son, Jordan, myself and Samuel . . . went on a walk after our two eldest boys went to preschool.

Um . . . rain or shine . . . pick one!! . . . just don’t change your mind in the middle of our walk/jog! For heaven’s sakes!

Beautiful patchy blue sky on our way out . . . half way, downpour.

AWESOME

Strawberry milk tastes like Pepto Bismal . . . or vise versa.

It was for the kids anyway.

The strawberry milk, that is.

We found out this past week that Justin’s aunt and uncle recently moved not 2 miles from us, here in Keizer.  Thats exciting . . . and random.  And thats all I gotta say about that. Random

I think its time for me to go snuggle up to my hot hot hubby in the other room . . . in other words, go to bed, get some sleep, so I feel refreshed and ready to hit the day with all I’ve got.

Did I mention I have a head cold . . . I have for 3 days now.  It is zapping all energy cells from my body. Help me, Rhonda, would ya?

Alright . . . taking myself to bed now.

And, no, I’m not drunk . . . just chatty.

Blessings on your week!

Actually it was a really mellow and sorta boring Sunday.

I found time to do some cleaning that I’ve put off for some time.  Organization . . . NOT my strong suite.

I finally rinsed . . . well, actually cleaned the stringy pumpkin guts . . . from the many many many seeds and roasted them (the seeds) up.  We had carved pumpkins a bit early, as in last week, and the seeds were waiting for me.  They turned out fine, I suppose . . . it was more for Justin than myself.  He likes them.  They’re suppose to be good for you . . . ok, I looked it up, cuz I was curious.  They are much like nuts in their nutritional content . . . not that shocking considering nuts are seeds, just bigger. Well, in my tiny little world they are. hehe  Anyhoo . . . for a cup they are almost 300 calories and 12 grams of fat . . . though a cup would be A LOT of seeds! 12% Iron . . . not shabby.  The texture and taste remind me of roasted soy nuts.  Good but super filling.

I’m not sure why I needed to rattle all that off on here.  Thats what 2 hours of my afternoon consisted of, perhaps thats why.

Quit laughing at me.

I picked the last of the squash, beans and tomatoes from my plants today.  I nearly cried.  Surely gardening isn’t suppose to last until mid-October but it did.  I also cut the last of my sunflowers to decorate my house. So uplifting to have them about.

The boys and I walked to the grocery store . . . a whole .7 miles from my house.  That is POINT 7 miles . . . as in less than a mile. I think its 1.4 miles, round trip.  :) I packed what I could and came home.  I really do enjoy walking to accomplish stuff, like grocery shopping.  I loathe when the weather turns rainy for months on end . . . makes it a bit more of task to get outside.

Other than school engulfing Justin to the max . . . 7 days a week . . . and my rather irritating adjustment into that world again . . . everything is as it has been.  But less than a year!! . . . thats consolation to me. That and the grace of my God, good friends and family.  Clinicals, for Justin start this week too.

To pay back all the people that have been so so generous through this season . . . I can’t wait!!

Anyhoooooooo . . . off to bed I go.

Blessings on your week!

One of the fiercely BEAUTIFUL Sunflowers from me garden.  Uh, yeah, they just grow that way.

There’s a lot of just downright depressing stuff in this world.

I was searching, intronet style, yesterday for something regarding USA History . . . just reading and looking at photographs and came across a blog . . . which I’m sure I could go find again, if need be . . . with poignant photographs, national and international, of starving children in the face of famine, immigrant mothers struggling as a field workers, wars and the effects regarding.

Harsh to look at . . . I ended that blog post crying and feeling the starkness of humanity . . . the fragility of mankind. But also to look at where I am, who I am and all that I’ve been blessed with.  If I could, in my tiny little sphere of living, create a positive influence . . . from the simple smile to the passerby to buying groceries for someone who needs it to just choosing grace above judging my fellow man.

Do everything readily and cheerfully—no bickering, no second-guessing allowed! Go out into the world uncorrupted, a breath of fresh air in this squalid and polluted society. Provide people with a glimpse of good living and of the living God. Carry the light-giving Message into the night so I’ll have good cause to be proud of you on the day that Christ returns. You’ll be living proof that I didn’t go to all this work for nothing. ~Philippians 2:14 (Message Bible)

Perhaps, there will be a time, later in life, that I can give . . . do more, in God’s will and grace.  But, instead of getting depressed by the overwhelming awareness of human fragility and cruelty . . . I want to love extravagantly the people in my life, forgive easily, be in love with my Savior, the very pureness of truth, love and light.

He said, “That you love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and muscle and intelligence—and that you love your neighbor as well as you do yourself.” ~Luke 10:27 (Message Bible)

My neighbor is more than just my physical neighbor . . . more than my friends . . . my family . . . or people that I can identify with and like instantly.  Pretty sure the Bible is referring to anyone put in our path.  If we get our feathers ruffled with a person or circumstance its because that person or situation has violated our rights . . . has gone against our image of ourselves, our identity . . . playing on our self-esteem perhaps. Or the person just does not add up to what we would desire in a human being, as a friend or acquaintance.

“Here is a simple rule of thumb for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you; then grab the initiative and do it for them! If you only love the lovable, do you expect a pat on the back? Run-of-the-mill sinners do that. If you only help those who help you, do you expect a medal? Garden-variety sinners do that. If you only give for what you hope to get out of it, do you think that’s charity? The stingiest of pawnbrokers does that. ~Luke 6:31 (Message Bible)

Hey . . . I’m just sharing thoughts regarding myself and how I think . . . stuff I’m pretty convicted on this week.  I’ve been disappointed in how I’ve reacted to a few circumstances/people this week . . . even in my own family unit.  My humanity just makes me wanna get closer to God . . . rest my head on His chest, arms around his neck; like a child. I’m tired of not getting it right . . . I’m tired of trying, in my own strength to be Christ-like. It isn’t possible.  Fake it for awhile, but in reality . . . it ain’t happenin’ unless I’m letting Him into all those areas . . . trusting, like a child to a Father, Him to be that close . . . to heal, to deliver, to walk with me even when I don’t see Him, feel Him or hear Him.

Those who think they can do it on their own end up obsessed with measuring their own moral muscle but never get around to exercising it in real life. Those who trust God’s action in them find that God’s Spirit is in them—living and breathing God! Obsession with self in these matters is a dead end; attention to God leads us out into the open, into a spacious, free life. Focusing on the self is the opposite of focusing on God. Anyone completely absorbed in self ignores God, ends up thinking more about self than God. That person ignores who God is and what he is doing. And God isn’t pleased at being ignored. ~Romans 8:5 (Message Bible)

So thats the random thoughts floating through my brain today . . . that and the coffee I brewed today tastes so so good!

mmm . . . coffee!

Learning to show grace in every circumstance . . .

We all have, constructed in our brains, social norms and what is acceptable and unacceptable.  I’m not talking about whats harmful and not harmful . . . I’m talking mostly on appearances and first impressions.  I have a set of my own, buried in there.

An instance at the park this morning reminded me how insecure I can be in the face of judgement . . . and how that effects my response.  Without thinking I said some things to my friend, that I walk with on a regular basis, regarding the people involved.  I’ve been thinking about it since and why the people and their actions had badgered out such a response from me.

It wasn’t even that dramatic of an event . . . I was more disturbed by how much it bothered me than anything.

I think we have a choice before responding or having ill feelings take hold . . . choice before words are spoken and ideas and opinions are set that alter how people around you shade your character. Is Jesus being glorified in my words? My actions?

I asked Justin about it after telling him the story and he simply said “grace” . . . you either choose grace or you choose to judge right back.

I am regretful that I didn’t choose the grace bit . . . I truly am.

How do I treat people that don’t look desirable to me?  It should be the same way Jesus treated the lowly tax collectors and prostitutes. With love and grace.

How about people that we think are looking down on us . . .  ?  The same.  There is always more there than meets the eye.

I wanna learn to choose grace!

Have a blessed weekend!!!!

I grew a garden this year.  I didn’t do so hot at it . . . Man, that is the hardest thing I’ve had to admit in some time.

We planted really late, like mid-July . . . in hopes that an Indian Summer would save us of our folly.  But, alas, no Indian summer lasts until November . . . not that I’m aware anyway.

There’s other stuff I could’ve done right . . . and you seasoned gardeners are going to be laughing at me.

I did small raised beds and some stuff just planted in tilled up good soil/regular soil mixed.  The soil was fine, so I will say no more about that.  What I screwed up on were these things . . . planting WAY to many seeds (hard for me to picture a full grown garden when we planted from seed) in too small of areas.  And with Squash that causes all kinds of problems . . . apparently.  I didn’t get much from any of my 4 kinds of Squash.

Ok, lesson learned on that . . . read, yes great . . . but actually FOLLOW the directions for planting on the package.  Not enough info given, look it up . . . intronet style.

I kind of like to provide a lot of water.  I don’t know what my problem is. I’m thirsty more than once a day, surely my plants are too if its 98 degrees out. Not sure that was a problem but definitely didn’t help in the mildew department.

Ok, there’s other minor things . . . I’m babbling.  What I’m getting at is it was still worth it.  It was the first time I had ever gardened . . . I enjoyed the few good Squash from the plants . . . the Radishes were freaking awesome! . . . but most of all . . .

The Sunflowers!  Oh my goodness.  They were fun to watch grow . . . pretty sure inches a day for the past few months . . . and then just bloom, all at once! Gorgeous.  I’m gonna do all kinds of Sunflowers next year.  This year I just did one kind but a mixture of colors. I’m a bit of a flower feign . . . but these were exceptional . . . me likey!

Next year . . . the veggie garden (and flowers) will be much much better!!

Happy Fall!

This has been the summer of tons of time outdoors, playing with the boys and lots and lots of walks . . . waiting for the old knee to completely heal up from Tendonitis. Lovely.

But sometimes through the tightness of finances and time restraints . . . not to mention the pressure to get through school and land the perfect job for Justin . . . there’s times of just complete realization of our inadequacies.  If we recognize that for what it is . . . look to God and say “oh yeah, thats what we depend on you for, thats what we praise and glorify you for . . . we couldn’t do it without ya, God!” it turns out good.  Peace, joy and hope reign.

Lord, help me to look to you in this season and as school revs back up for Justin! I need you more than ever!!

God bless you . . . through the seasons of life.

No power on earth or heaven can separate us from God’s love. Not our sin, not any authority, not any spiritual force. God’s love is unshakable and can always be relied upon. ~Romans 8:38

. . . Then I walk in the bathroom after Justin, and find this getup.  Hmm.

I also bake the cookies for the kids . . .

Sunflowers are finally blooming in my veggie garden.  I haven’t edited any of them for this post . . . so they are in the raw.  I lover the Sunflowers!!

Have a blessed day!!

I never thought I’d say that . . . or even consider that statement.

My first dog was a Rottweiler.  My second dog was a Neopolitan Mastiff.  My Neo died of old age/pneumonia.

Never buy a puppy when you’re 7 months pregnant.  With your first baby.

Take my word for it.

Pat those nurturing hormones down a little and save’em for baby.

Samuel loves to play with Byron . . . or taunt him, one.

Byron, the dog pictured above, lived through . . . not just one, but both my pregnancies.  He gets high marks for the amazing long-suffering and insufferable joy of life he seems to possess.

So, in this case . . . now Byron is leaning into his 5th year of life . . . it all worked out.  If it weren’t for Justin refusing to give Byron up, he would have found a new home about 123.5 times over that first two years.  Not because he was a bad dog but because I was overwhelmed and Justin was working a lot  . . . not good news for the attention-hog types that Jacks seem to be.

We’ve been told that Jack Russells, generally, do not take to water.  ”Hate” is the word we use regarding Jacks and water.

I have exactly 5000 shots of this dog swimming and fetching and just plain cooling off.  My favorite, which I do not have a photo of, is him cooling himself off in the water features at the park.  He plays fetch in the hot sun, for about 10 minutes . . . goes up to the sprinkler style feature, drops his ball, drinks a little water, drenches himself and then brings the ball back to me . . .  to the amusement (and I’m sure annoyance to some) of toddler-chasing parents.

Someday I’ll have a Mastiff again . . . Monti was so dear to me . . . but I wouldn’t trade Byron.