Happy Cookieversary to Us!

It's that time of year again.  The time of year when I bemoan the fact that I just don't make chocolate chip cookies like I used to.  But I'm thankful for Chloe who has taken up the joy of cookie-making, and while I was away, made a lovely batch with the babysitter.  So this evening Chris and I will enjoy some homemade cookies together, and remember our first romantic encounter in Grandma's kitchen .  Who would have thought on that day, that thirteen years later, we would have a daughter who was baking for us?

A day to remember

It began like any other day.  After enjoying one of my final days with Mom before she went home to Texas, I picked up the kids from school & they all settled down for snacks and naps.  Within 15 minutes of our arrival home, I heard the most terrified scream ever coming from Gideon.   He came back to my bedroom, screaming  that he'd cut himself.  In my usual unconcerned manner, I got up slowly and nonchalantly told him to go rinse the cut off in the sink while I got him a bandaid.  As I watched him rinse off of his hand, I noticed that the blood didn't seem to wash away.  It just kept coming.  And coming...  And coming.  Then it occured to me that a bandaid was not going to contain all of that blood.  A hint of panic struck me, and as I went back to my medicine closet to search for gauze, I pondered what my next step of action should be.  This didn't seem quite serious enough for me to call 911.  On the other hand, I just couldn't figure out what to do about all the red stuff that seemed to be flowing endlessly out of his thumb. 

Adrenaline is a funny thing.  It heightens your heart rate, and makes your mind do all sorts of crazy things.  Some people get panicky& start yelling, and running in aimless circles.  Others get into a zone of clarity, & work super-efficiently.  Me, I freeze. (this was a moment of self discovery for me, as I've never been in such a split second emergency type of situation before).  All I could do, was let my mind wander in circles as to the best course of action:  bandaid?  too much blood.  911?  they would laugh at me.  Call chris?  he's working - and besides, what would he do?  He can't see it to tell me what to do, and it'd take forever before he got here.  By then Gideon will bleed to death.  Maybe I *should* call 911.  WHERE IS THAT GAUZE!?  what on earth am I going to do once i find the gauze?  I wonder if his blood is spurting with his heart beats like it does in the movies?  911?  Call chris?  Call mom?  That's it!  I'll call mom!  She'll know what I should do! 

And so I called mom, who was visitng a friend just down the street, and in my calmest voice - choking back tears (because apparently, extreme adrenaline surges make me want to cry), I said, "mom.  I need you.  NOW.  Gideon's cut himself."
Mom: "is that Gideon screaming in the background?  I'll be right over"

While waiting for Mom to arrive, I wrapped the gauze around Gideon's thumb, and asked the other kids how this had happened.  "He was cutting a frozen orange."  what??  

Within the few minutes it too mom to get here, the blood had soaked all the way through the bandage.  After a quick examination, she said that I should take Gideon to the local med center.  So i shoved a bunch of toilet paper into his hand to catch any more blood that may be spewing, and we got in the car to drive to the med center.  As we drove, I called chris to tell him to come meet me, and Gideon occaisionally interrupted his nonstop screaming to ask questions about what the doctor was going to do to him and how much it would hurt.   I could tell that he was beginning to go into shock because his speech was getting slurred and he was shivering like crazy.  We parked in front of the office & i carried him to the door.  It was then that i noticed that I hadn't bothered to bring any shoes for him.  Oh well.  Who need shoes in an emergency?  I walked in the door and told the receptionist that my son had cut his finger.  She took one look at the bloody wrappings and sent us straight back to and exam room.

By this time Gideon had stopped screaming and put on his brave face.  The nurse who examined him asked if he would be having pizza and video games that night - and then informed me that it was standard practice for all mothers to pamper their traumatized children with pizza and video games once the ordeal was over.  Good to know.

10 minutes later, the doctor came in.  10 minutes!!  didn't anyone tell him my son was bleeding to death!?  He was very casual about the ordeal.  Took a quick look, and then informed Gideon that he would be giving him a shot to take away the pain.  "It's going to hurt when I give you the shot.  But only for about 5 seconds and then it won't hurt anymore.  I never lie to children.  Only adults."   After the pain was gone, and Gideon had a groggy smile, the doctor took a closer look at the wound.  "Well, the skin is still attached, so that's good."  He looked at me, "If he were to cut off the whole thing, you would need to be sure to bring it in with you, so we could sew it back on."  Mentally noted.  Then he turned to the trainee who had come in with him.  "usually when this happens, they cut through the fingernail, too."  USUALLY?!  how often does this sort of thing happen!?

As the doctor stiched up Gideon's finger, Chris came in to join the fun.  We nervously chatted while Gideon's flesh was mended.  Then it occured to me that this was the first time that Gideon had ever had stiches!  A momentous occasion!  Of course, it needed to be doccumented with photos.  The doctor loved this idea, and covered Gideon's hand in red iodine to help make it look more gruesome. 

When everything was done, Gideon decided that he didn't want pizza for dinner.  He wanted pancakes.  So we went home, and I made pancakes for my brave little boy.  And Chris was very kind to take all the kids out shopping with him while I cooked.  This was greatly apreciated by me, because i really needed some time to come down from my adrenaline high & recover from my traumatic experience.  I think it was harder on me than it was on Gideon. 

And of course, we had to take one more picture, for Gideon to show off to his friends, while the bandaid conceals his "battle wound."

Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas to you all! May your new year be filled with new discoveries of God's love for you!

Bippity Boppity Boo! - or something like that.

okay... it looks like my blog is in desperate need of an update, so i thought i'd share a few pictures from halloween.

normally, i don't dress up, but since my in-laws were going to be enjoying halloween with us, my very creative mother-in-law, & sister-in-law thought it'd be fun to do a group costume, and since they did all the work how could i resist? :)

We were the 3 fairies from sleeping beauty. I think i was flora - but i've never seen the movie, so i'm not really sure.

Didn't they do a great job on the costumes!?

People *loved* seeing the three fairies & everyone gushed over how wonderful it was & asked to take pictures. What a strange feeling to be a celebrity. :)


Chris was a MasterCard commercial. :)

Chloe was a waitress

The Boys were bees. It's truly impossible to get a good picture of those boys. they just can't hold a decent smile for more than half a second! I finally gave up. This is my best one of about 5.

Evy was a Ballerina Butterfly

Happy Halloween!

Happy halloween everybody. :) my in laws are coming into town soon, & we'll all go to a church carnival together. what are *you* doing?

we had no time to do the pumpkin thing this month, so we ran to the "pumpkin patch" & got some pumpkins last night. Thank goodness for K-mart, because we didn't have time to carve them, either. :)

A busy week

Gideon is SIX years old today!!! no time to post fun pictures of him, b/c i'm running around, trying to pack for our trip to Legoland!

When we get back on Saturday, it will be our 11th anniversary... we'll leave the kids w/some friends & go out alone to stay in a hotel for the night.

Looking forward to having lots of fun!!

a serendipitous misfourtune

You would think, that because I live in a beach town, I go to the beach all the time. But the unfortuante thing about *living* in a vacation area is that you're not vacationing. In the ten and a half years that I've lived here, I've probably been to the beach less than twenty times. Mainly because it's a pain to deal with four kids & all their stuff & all the sand they come home with. Again, not a big deal when you're vacationing, but a very big deal when you have a day's worth of To Do's, to do. I *have* decided, however that *this* summer, i'll actually spend some time at the beach. Now that my kids are a little older & can take care of themselves a little more, I think it will be easier to venture out.

So anyway.... yesterday, just as I was sitting down to do school with the kids, when my mom (who's in town for awhile) called to tell me that she was at the beach & had locked her keys in the car. So I loaded up all the kids & we ran out the door, in whatever we were wearing, to pick her up. Instead of going home, she decided to have a tow truck come unlock the car. As she was talking to them on the phone, we drove to starbucks & picked up some yummy drinks, & then drove back to the beach to wait for the tow-guy, who was about an hour away.

While we waited, kids went and splashed in the waves, - zachy & evy stripped down to their undies, & Chloe wearing a very serious black dress with fur trim - what a sight! And Mom and I forgot about all of the many things we had to do that day, and relished the moment. What a special time, for us, being forced to sip starbucks on the beach, & enjoy eachother's company. :)

I definately need to make it a point to go to the beach more often.

Happy Easter!

I hope you all had a happy Easter. :)

Instead of dying eggs, i spend 6 hours on Saturday, dipping 300 strawberries in chocolate for the church service on sunday. But they tasted way better than eggs would have. :)

After church on Sunday, we drove up to my Mother-in-law's house, where we met the family for Easter festivities. We enjoyed having an easter egg hunt & a fun diner w/everyone. :)

Got some cute pictures. hope to have them up soon.

a happy birthday, and other things

what a crazy busy month we've had! sorry i haven't been posting much. i've started several posts, but never had the opportunity to finish them. Last Thrs. was Chris' birthday. He worked part of the morning & then took us to Diseneyland w/some friends. Came home late that night. lots of fun, but tiring. Sunday evening, we left right after chruch, for a track day. we brought our same friends with us and enjoyed a nice mini-trip with each other. here's a photo of chris:

Mom's been in town for the last few weeks. My grandma was recently diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease. The doctor doesn't expect her to live more than a year. But Grandma's praying that God will heal her. Mom canceled her flight home last Monday to stay an extra week with Grandma.

In addition to all that, we've had a few very fun game nights; lot's of VERY late night talks with our new friends; lots of prayer and seeking God for his call on our life; and lots of time serving at church (those of you who know us well, understand what a miracle that is, in itself!).

I could probably write a novel just about what's been going on with us in the last month, but that's a very brief summary in a VERY small nutshell. feel free to call or email if you'd like more details. :)

a lovely evening

I had SO much fun last night!!! it was just wonderful! The restaurant was amazing. it's a small dark room, lined with couches, & tables where you eat your food. After i arrived, the waiter came & washed our hands with the most wonderful smelling water. (rose oil maybe?) The owner (Chef Karim) was so friendly & kept checking on us. We talked with him awhile and he told us all about Morocco & its history, language & culture. He served us a beautiful four-course meal, which we ate mostly with our fingers. Fantastic! Then the belly-dancer came out... and of course, my cruel girlfriends had to tell her that we were celebrating my birthday. *sigh* so.... i got up and had a little belly-dancing lesson.. but not before making all my friends join me. it was *so* fun! even though i'm terrible at it. :) Afterward the belly dancer sat down and talked with us for awhile. What a beautiful woman! She's been married for 25 years , & started belly dancing when her 2 kids were 2 & 5.... and still does it 20 years later! then she ran off to dance upstairs for a bachelor party. :)

and in the midst of experiencing the fun of the restaurant, it was so nice to spend time with my girlfriends. . it's such a great group of women who know each other well, & can talk on all levels from superficial to heavy. i just love them! ... such a wonderful night!

they took a few pictures... don't know when they'll be sharing, but i'll try to post some if they do.

Cultural education

Every year around this time, our city has a huge film festival. I never know it's going on, until i hear the news about all the movies stars who were in town. And I think, "i never do anything 'cultured.' I should go to these film festivals & see all these 'cool' films." Well this year, i got my big break. Chris has a basketball friend who is an up and coming movie producer, who wrote a short film. So, Chris & another buddy decided they should go see it, to show their support--which meant that I got go, too! :)

This film was only about 20 minutes long, so the way it worked was, the official people picked out about 7 short films (10-20 minutes), & showed them all in one sitting. Our show was second to last, so we had to watch all the others first. Oh My Gosh!!! They were terrible!! --all for different reasons. some had terrible acting. some had terrible videography. some had terrible plots. some had all of the above. There were a couple that i actually thought were decent, but then they had sudden endings that left you hanging. Anyway... the one we went to see (Looking Up Dresses) was actually pretty good --well written & humorous. we really liked it. :) but When all the shows were done, we came out laughing at how terrible they were & said we would never do it again.

At least now, i can pretend to be cultured & say i've been to a film festival. :) AND, if "Looking up dresses" makes it big (which is the only one that should, IMHO) , i can say i was at the premier. :)

For Heidi

I made this video for Heidi's birthday, but i'm only just now getting it onto the computer. Happy very late birthday, Heidi. :)

my day

well, yesterday we ended up doing a light school load, because I kept getting interrupted with birthday phone calls and visits. So fun! thanks everyone!

When chris got home from work, he took the kids out to buy me presents. Then, we went out to a lovely dinner (and some delicious cake!). Afterward, we went home & i opened my presents. The kids were so cute & excited! they got me some of my favorite candies (mounds & peanut butter M&M's), a sweet little card, a mother's day balloon, a birthday balloon, and a congratulations balloon. :). Chris also gave me a beautiful card (he's such a good card-writer!) and....

A new flash for my camera!!! i'm so excited! can't wait to use it. :)

Christmas Theme

This year, to add a little twist to the joy of gift-giving, Chris' family decided to try a "body" theme. So instead of just drawing names, we drew a name and a body part. I got Daniel's hands. :) It's been a lot of fun to find fun creative gifts. I can't mention anything now, but maybe after christmas, i'll talk about everything we did.

anyway... all that to say, i haven't been posting much, because i've been spending all my time wrapping & organizing christmas presents. Next week, we'll be going to Texas to celebrate christmas with my family. I always look forward to this time. So sorry neither of my brothers will be there. :(

so, if i'm not able to get back on the computer before the holidays, i'd just Merry Christmas to everyone! I hope you all enjoy your time. And I can't wait to see some of you very soon!

Getting ready for christmas

Every year, chris' company helps a church get ready for their big Christmas tree sale fundraiser. And every year, Chris' business partner gets a free tree as a thank you. This year, Chris playfully asked where *his* tree was.

Friday afternoon, chris calls me up and says, "one of the guys from work is bringing us a tree. you need to look at it & tell him if you like it." --like i would say no to a free tree! So the guy rings the doorbell, & i answer the door to see a 10foot tall tree!!!

usually we get a skinny home depot $20 ft tall tree & stick it in the corner of the dining room. This one is worth $150!!! And there's no way it would fit in our dining room. so we had to get rid of one of the chairs in our living room & put it there --good thing we have vaulted ceilings! :)

So Chris set up the tree on Sat. evening, & we spend sunday evening keeping with our decorating tradition: i serve eggnog & hot apple cider & we invite a friend to come join us in the festivities. Then I get mad at Chris for not helping while the rest of us decorate the tree. This year, Evelyn added a nice little twist by throwing up three times. I just have to say that my absolute least favorite thing about motherhood is throw up.

The Dance!

okay... i know you've all been sitting on the edge of your seats, wondering how my little dance went. So I'm here to ease your troubled minds. In the unlikely event that you actually have your own life, and don't keep track of every little thing that's happening in mine, I'll remind you: Sunday was the big day for the dance that i was teaching the kids! eek!

after three short practices with some not-so-thrilled kids, we had an awesome dance on Sunday morning!! YAY! i got to really connect with some of the kids that i worked with, & was able to pray with them about their fears, etc. And through the weeks, i prayed for them that God would break any pride or fear in their lives; that they would worship from sincere, joyful hearts; and that when they did, they would have breakthrough-- so that when they're grown, they would be able to look back on that day & remember it as a day that God touched their lives & changed their hearts, & gave them victory where they needed it. And it's so cool, because i actually saw that happen in some of the kids! one of the boys had terrible stage fright, but went through the whole dance without any fear. And one of the more troublesome boys came away saying that he wanted to be a pastor when he grows up.

It was just *so* cool to see God work in these kids lives, because they were willing to push through & worship Him. And it was so fun to see the adults touched because of their dance, too. And I'm so glad to have a relationship w/these kids that i didn't even know before. Now i remember why i love working with children so much!!

isn't it just like Satan to try to discourage you & make you feel hopeless & frustrated when you're trying to do something good? And isn't it just like our Father to take all those bad thoughts & feelings & turn them into something wonderful!?

And now the children's leader has asked me to consider teaching another dance in January... EEEK!

Picture Day!

Every year, we go to The Picture People to get our photos done. They're not the best in the world, but they have cute poses & they're cheap. I get a membership every year which gives me lots of discounts. Well, our membership was going to expire in a couple weeks, so i called to make an appointment, & found out that they closed down! Well, i've got no clue where else to go, so we decided that just for the year, we'd drive an hour & a half away, to the nearest picture people, so we could use up our discounts.

anway... thought you'd like to see the pictures.

These are from last year:

And this year:

Zachy was very shy. Every time the camera people got him to smile or laugh, he would turn his head & hide. Finally, i told him that I'd give him a penny if he smiled. :)

Me & Chris pretending to love each other. :) They told us to kiss. I held it for about 3 seconds & then burst out laughing. I mean, really. How long could *you* sit there & pretend to kiss with a camera in your face? made a cute picture, though. --way better than the kissing one.

And Evy finally smiles!

For Heather

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday dear Heeeaaather!

Haaaaaaaaaaapppy Biiiiiirrrrthdaaaaay toooooo yoooooouuuu!

{{Flowerpot!!}}

Happy Birthday Josh!

A little something fun for you. :)

10 years

Next Thursday, August 23rd, Chris and I celebrate our TENTH anniversary!! We'll be celebrating by going to Florida for the weekend. While we're there, we plan to go to Discovery Cove where we'll get to SWIM WITH DOLPHINS!!! I'm looking forward to having time alone with Chris to do whatever we want. And I'm looking forward to crossing something off of my life's to-do list for the first time!