Kindergarten

Today we found out Judah didn't get into the charter school we were looking at. There were 16 spots and then a waiting list of 101. He's number 73.

There are so many choices to be made. Should I homeschool? Put him on the waiting list for next year? Do we start him this year or next for kindergarten? (His birthday is October 20th, so he could either be young or old for his grade.) Big decisions to be made.

I think the thing that stresses me out is the decisions seem so final. I guess I need to remind myself if I try something and don't like it we can always try something different. I'm not stuck with this until he turns 18.

I'd love to hear from other moms. How did you make your school decisions?

To Change My Mind

Sometimes you have those days where you need to focus on what you're thankful for. Today I'm having one of those days and I'm choosing to focus on what is and not on what is not. So, for anyone else out there that's have one of those days, want to join me in doing a 10 things I'm thankful for list?

1. My God. A God who is not limited by our human minds, emotions, or comprehension. A God of faith who destroys discouragement and fear inside of me. A God who loves me passionately, without restraint.

2. My pastor. I'm thankful for a man who loves God, who I can call and vent to, and is pretty funny, too. A man who is willing to give his life to love people and see this city transformed.

3. H&M. I visited for the first time on Eric's birthday trip. It's replaced Forever 21 for my favorite out of town store.

4. My beautiful, beautiful family.

5. My Beco. I love holding my little baby close. I'm so thankful for this precious baby time. I want to cherish every second of it.

6. Toddler/preschooler imaginations. Full of pretend adventures and hilarious conversations.

7. Our church family. I love these people so incredibly much. It fills my heart with so much love to see them hold Silas, play with Judah and Samuel, invite us over, offer to babysit, pray with us, hang out. They truly are our family.

8. Laughing. Friday night the ladies of the church had 80s karaoke night. It was so much fun to dress up and sing silly songs (not with Larry). I told Brooke that we had to go up and sing our song (Like a Virgin by Madonna) totally serious, without laughing. Unfortunately all we did was laugh. Or, maybe that was fortunate.

9. My real life friends who read my blog. I told Melissa I'd do a little shout to to her. I have to, she's the marketing department of Mama Loves Papa.

10. Hot and Sour Soup from Costco. I'm eating it right now.

That definitely changed my mood. Isn't it amazing how powerful thankfulness is?

Back and So Much Better

I'm glad to announce that I am back online. We took our computer into the repair shop after it had been having problems turning on. Like, we'd have to turn the power off and on several times, it'd turn on half way (power was on, but the screen wasn't), so we'd have to start over the whole process again. This could take hours sometimes just to turn the darn thing on. So, we took it in and they told us it would be a ridiculous amount to fix it and it'd be better to just buy a new one.

And, buy a new one we did. We are now the proud owners of a Macbook Pro (and that's all the info I have, I'm not exactly the techiest of persons). We'd excited to have our new computer! Regular blogging will resume tomorrow.

Cooking with the Kiddos

Yesterday was a quiet day at home. I'm really starting to enjoy the days that we stay home and relax. I'm thinking this year I will schedule more of those days.

These are the days when I get to do the things with the boys that I want to do more often- play games, read lots of books, crafts, and now cooking. We had so much fun making pita pizzas together and they both ate their entire pizza. There's nothing like making a meal with your own two hands.

We started with whole wheat pitas from Trader Joe's.

Then, spooned on tomato sauce and smeared it around.

Cheddar cheese was added next (Because it's what we always have. We buy it in bulk at Costco. Sometime we might try mozarella.)

Then, the toppings. Judah put mushrooms and olives on his. Samuel olives and broccoli. I ate all three.

Then we put them in the oven at 350 degrees until the cheese was melting and bubbly. So easy. So fun. Perfect for toddlers/preschoolers.

We will definitely be doing this again!


(Please excuse the funny expression on Judah's face and Samuel not even looking at the camera. They didn't want to take a picture. They wanted to eat. This is the best we could do.)

Dreaming of a Vacation

This weekend Eric and Silas and I are going to go on a little trip. We're going to a city about a hour and a half away with no agenda other than shopping, eating out, and relaxing. This city isn't particularly exciting or anything, but I am particularly excited myself. It will be really fun to get away and do something different for a few days.

I really love trips. I love staying somewhere new and doing something different and, most of all, I love taking a little break from all of the day to day things like laundry, and dishes, and such.

This year I'd really like to take a big vacation. I've been thinking a lot about it and can't decide what I want to do or where I want to go. We have the choice or whether it's just Eric and I, us with the boys, or all of us and extended family. Then, we have to decide where to go. Our (or, I guess I should say "my," because I don't think my husband really has a strong opinion about it) top choices are Hawaii, Mexican resort, Mexican cruise, Disneyland, San Diego (and Legoland), or Sunriver, OR.

Almost as much as I like taking actual trips I really enjoy the dreaming and planning and excitement of looking forward to it. So, if you have any suggestions about those please, by all means, let me know! ;)



Also, did you know that it's National Delurking Week? It's a time for all of you visitors of a blog to come out of the woodwork and leave a comment to let me know you're here. I'd love to know that you're reading!

In your comment I'd love to know, where do you plan to take your next vacation?

One Man

Every woman wants to be unconditionally loved.

To be pursued.

To be taken care of

and protected.

To have every need met.

Every emotional,

physical,

spiritual need.

To be considered.

To be held.

To be loved passionately

and loved simply.

But, life goes on.

And, men let us down.

Our fathers abandon us.

Our boyfriends abuse us.

Our husbands disappoint us.

And, we're left hurt,

and broken,

and disillusioned.

And angry.

Girls with daydreams

of their prince charming

become bitter

and hurting women.

Then, one man comes in.

A man like no other.

A real man.

Selfless.

Strong.

Warrior

and lover.

And, He lays His life down.

For His bride.

He gives her everything.

He holds nothing back.

His whole heart.

Without restraint.

He meets every need.

She has been waiting

for someone to love her.

She's used to be the pursuer

and the reconciler.

But, He dries her tears.

And, pulls her close

and strokes His fingers through her hair.

He calls her His beloved.

And, I am my Beloved's

and He is mine.

All Mama All the Time

Silas is going through a Mama's Boy stage right now. All Mama all the time. Most of the time he wants me holding him and all of the time he wants me in his line of sight. There are times where he'll play happily on the ground of the room I'm in, but as soon as I walk out he'll start crying. Same with people holding him; if he sees me he's usually ok.



There is an exception. Edgar.



Edgar is our friend and employee. I'm not sure who loves who more: Silas or Edgar. It's so cute to see this big man love a little baby so much. Silas lets Edgar happily hold and play with him and we happily pass him over to Edgar. Like we did tonight. So sweet!

Kicking off '09

First family picture of 2009


We've had a very fun start to 2009. New Year's Eve we went out to dinner with two of our friends, Peter and Brooke, to one of my favorite restaurants, Sierra Nevada. I had the meatloaf with veggies and mashed potatoes. I decided to get out of my rut (of getting the chicken sandwich or the portobello burger every time) and order something new. I'm glad I did because it was delicious.



Then, they headed to their parents and we went to a party with some friends. It was really low key, but fun, and silly. The girls were all doing temporary tattoos. I now have one on my lower back and shoulder (which I forgot about and showed off the rose on my shoulder at the gym! sexy!). We headed home early (for New Year's, but late for us), put the kids to bed, and rang in the New Year by watching Four Little Girls. It was such a great documentary about racism in Birmingham in the early 60s. I highly recommend it!



The next morning we woke up and went to breakfast at my other favorite restaurant, Sin of Cortez. I knew this was going to be a great year- my two favorite restaurants in two days! I ordered my old standby (two days of adventurous eating is too much) and ordered the artichoke scramble.



After a quick stop at Barnes and Noble we went to watch our friend, Alberto, do the Polar Bear Swim. He swam across the One Mile in freezing cold water. And, you know what? Being there made me want to do it. We're really proud of Alberto and stay tuned next year. I just might do it...



Which, off the topic of what I did to celebrate the New Year, but good none the less, is something I read on facebook. One of the G12 pastors in Miami wrote, "this is going to be the best year of my life," or something like that. And, I thought, I really like that. I'm choosing for this year to be the best year of my life. In Jesus, we don't have to be, "tossed to and fro by the waves of the sea," or by the things that happen in our lives. We can make the choice and decide that 2009 in the best year ever. This is the year of intimacy for me. The year of faith. The year of prosperity, of multiplication, of prosperity. What year is this going to be for you?