A Prayer for New Year's Eve

Going forward into a new year, I want to stop to thank You for the special people who walk through the triumphs and trials of life with me. Thank You for my friends. Amen

(this is a play-doh creation Tristan and I made, earlier this week)

Fun and Happy

Last night was our annual community group Christmas party. We had a blast! Shane & Anna hosted this year, at their beautifully decked out home. Anna made taco soup, and for dessert we had brownie sundaes. I won't tell you how much I ate, but it was pretty shameful! After dinner, we played games. The highlight of the evening was when the gals beat the guys at Trivial Pursuit. But don't worry... we did let them get some wedges before we beat them... we wouldn't want to crush those fragile egos entirely! =)

I meant to take lots of pictures, but I forgot. Here's the only one I got, of some of the gals...

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This morning, Miss Anna Banana called to ask if she could drop something off to me. Of course, it was 9:00, and we're all still in our pajamas, but Anna wouldn't care. She showed up 20 minutes later with "some happy" for me. That's what she called it... "I brought you some happy." Boy, did she ever! Check this out... a vanilla latte, fluffy house slippers, and a festive Christmas hand towel. Just what I needed to get going this morning! I'm wearing my slippers & sipping my latte as I type. I love you, girl! You hit the nail on the head! Well, I'm off to clean my kitchen now. Gotta break in my new towel. =)

He'll be home for Christmas...

Matt just called... he's back on US soil again. He'll arrive at Camp Shelby sometime tonight, spend 3-5 days there, then hop a bus for home.

Woo-hoo! Come on back to me, baby!

The Mom Song

A friend of mine posted this on Facebook today, and I just have to share it! It's everything a mom says in 24 hours, sung to the William Tell Overture. Just try to keep a straight face.. I dare ya!

Sick

Sunday afternoon, Logan lay down for his nap feeling fine. When he woke up, he had a 101.5 temperature. He was sick for about 24 hours, with fever and stomach complications. Yesterday, Tristan's preschool called me at 11 am. When I got there to pick him up, he was laying down on the couch in their lobby, just limp. I got him home, and his fever was almost 102. I tried to give him some medicine, but he refused anything. He kept telling me over and over that he didn't want to eat or drink anything, or do anything. I could tell that he really felt horrible. He just lay on the couch all day, sleeping off and on, mumbling at times. It was really scary. I've never seen him like that before. He threw up once, about 5:00, but besides that it was just fever and listlessness. Stephanie went to the store at 5:30, and got some tylenol suppositories for him, since I couldn't get him to take medicine any other way (and he usually LOVES taking medicine!) He agreed to the suppository, and finally started feeling better. But then he went downhill again. Even with the medicine, he still felt just awful last night. He finally collapsed in exhaustion at 3:45 am. He doesn't seem to have a fever this morning, and he is still sleeping soundly, so maybe the worst is over. I just hope I'm not next!! And I hope that I can catch a nap sometime today. I'm really, really tired.

No thanks, mom

Tonight at 7:30, Tristan and I were sitting in the living room, looking at the kitchen clock. I was showing him when it would be bedtime. "When the big hand is on the 12, then it's your bedtime." He tried arguing with me. He told me that after the hand went past the 12, then he could play some more. So I told him that no, that would still be bedtime, and that if he talked back or argued with me again, he could go straight to bed. That's when he looked at me and said, "When the big hand is on the 12, then it's your bedtime." I asked him if he was talking back to me. "No, I'm just giving the words back to you, because I don't want them." I had to leave the room, I was laughing so hard!

Almost Four??

I can't believe that my baby is almost four years old! Preschool is out next week for Thanksgiving, so they decided to celebrate Tristan's birthday today. (His birthday is Nov. 28th, and he only attends preschool on Tue & Thur.) They had asked me to supply cupcakes for 20, but then Tristan asked me this morning if the kids in his class would be getting presents, too. He wanted everyone to get a present for his birthday. I've really tried to teach him about the joys of giving, so I was delighted when he asked what he could give the other kids. I went to Wal-Mart and bought some small cellophane gift bags ($1.39 for 20), and filled them with gum, candy, stickers, etc. then dropped them & the cupcakes off at school this morning.

This afternoon, Logan woke up from his nap with 103 fever & congestion. Dad was nice enough to pick Tristan up from school for me. When Tristan got home, he told me that his party was great, because the cupcakes were "yummy", and because the gift bags were "a surprise, the really good kind!" Then he opened his gift bag, and the first thing he did was ask me which sticker I woule like to have. I love this child so much!

And by the way, I did call the doctor's office about Logan. They said to keep him dosed on Tylenol & Motrin today & tonight. If the fever is still as high tomorrow morning, they'll see him then.

I Love My Soldier!!

So today, for Veteran's Day, I thought I'd send a shout out to my favorite soldier... my husband, Matt! Thank you, Matt. I love, respect and honor you for all that you do... whether you're at home or deployed. You're definitely my favorite soldier! We can't wait until you're back home!

I love, love, love, love, love, love, love you!!!

MOST--The Bridge

very touching...

"Will you be my lovey?"

Jonah

At church recently, we taught the preschoolers the story of Jonah and the whale. This was Tristan's artistic rendition of the story.

Halloween Pictures

OK, sorry it's taken me so long to get these posted. Here are my adorable sons, dressed as a fireman and a lion. Tristan loved his costume, complete with smoke smudges on his face & arms. Logan hated his costume. He wanted to eat it, not wear it! :-)

I'm Jana Perciful, and I approved this message

Last night, I needed some groceries, so I packed the kids up and headed to Kroger. I loaded the kids into a race cart and headed into the store.

I was surprised to find out that they were having a Halloween celebration. As we neared the middle of the store, smiling employees wearing costumes offered my kids free bags of candy. Unfortunately, the candy was all chocolate. I told them thanks, but that my kids have peanut allergies and can't eat chocolate. Then I continued on, only to be chased down a minute later. They had looked around and found alternate gifts for my peanut-free children. They gave Tristan a really cool pumpkin necklace, which he loved. Logan got a small orange thing of bubble blowing solution with a wand. He was delighted when I blew bubbles for him throughout the store.

On the other end of the store, a really sweet woman was doing face painting and giving away balloons. Tristan got a pumpkin on one cheek, and a red balloon. They took his picture, and then a picture of him standing next to Logan, and told me I could pick up the pics in a few days. This woman also had candy to give away, but this time it was all peanut-free, so Tristan got a bag.

At checkout, I was telling the checker lady what a nice time we'd had. I wasn't paying any attention to the guy bagging up the groceries. He'd loaded all my groceries into another cart. Now I had a problem... babies in the race cart, groceries in another cart. Nope, no problem. My checker happily moved everything into the race cart for me.

On the way out of the store, I asked for the manager. They called him over, and I thanked him for our great experience in his store. Every employee we'd encountered was helpful & smiling. They went out of their way to make sure we were happy. What great customer service!

These days, you run into so many people who are just doing as little as possible. I've dealt with lots of employees who are rude, in bad moods, and not at all helpful. Some even act as if you're putting them out just asking them to do their job! The guys and gals at Kroger last night were so wonderful, I just had to share.

And no, this is not a paid endorsement. But if someone from Kroger happens to be reading this, and wants to mail me some coupons, or give me a discount on future shopping trips, that would be just fine with me! :-)

Wordless Wednesday

My Little Angel

Here is a conversation that occurred at my house this morning...

Me: Tristan, can you come over here for a minute so Mommy can talk to you?

Tristan: OK

Me: I just wanted to let you know that Mommy is having a hard day... (Mommy starts crying now) I just really miss Daddy since he left, and I'm so sorry that I yelled at you earlier.

Tristan: (climbing into the chair & hugging Mommy) Well, that's ok. I'm here. I'll make you happy while Daddy's gone.

Me: You will? (Mommy starts crying harder) Thank you, honey. You're so sweet.

Tristan: I will make you happy by having chocolate for breakfast. See? (Tristan goes and gets the bag of Hershey's Bliss chocolate.) I will climb up in the chair with you, and we will have chocolate for breakfast, to make you happy.

Me: Tristan, do you know how much I love you?

Tristan: I love you, too. (hugging Mommy again & then feeding her a piece of chocolate)

Photo Shoot

As promised, here are some more pics from our photo shoot yesterday. I had trouble picking my favorites... there were so many good ones! Matt's mom spent a few days with us this week, so we asked her to sit in on some of the pictures. I think they turned out great. We love you, Mom!

Thanks again, Becke'!

Thank You, Becke'

This morning, our family had a wonderful opportunity! Becke' Stuart offered to take some photos of us before Matt heads back to Iraq. We met at a beautiful chapel in town, and Becke' started shooting. I'm so delighted with the results! I have a CD of all the pics, and will post lots of my favorites on the blog sometime tonight or tomorrow. In the meantime, check out Becke's blog, http://moopandsaba.blogspot.com, to check out some of the pics she posted today. If Becke' ever wants to start a career (besides super mom), I think she'd make a great professional family photographer!

Thank you so much, Becke'!!!

Date Night

Love shortens time, charms the hours. Love is invincible. Many waters cannot quench it, nor the floods drown. The supreme happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved.

7 Things

OK, I've been officially tagged by Casie. So here are 7 weird/interesting things about me...

1. Whenever possible, I like to have something to read while I'm eating. I've had this quirk since I was a child. I remember reading the same cereal box so many times that I almost had it memorized!

2. I'm a stickler for correct grammar. My mom was an elementary school teacher, and dad was a newspaper reporter, so they both really stressed the importance of speaking well. As my sister says, I am the grammar snob about whom your mother warned.

3. I'm allergic to metal. For years I haven't been able to wear any jewelry except silver & gold. I'm finding now that I can wear most jewelry made by Premier Designs (thanks Anna!), but not all. Right now, I have an ugly rash with blisters on my left wrist from my watch. Ugh!

4. I once tried to open a tube of superglue with my teeth, and the tube exploded. The only reason I didn't end up in the ER was because I quickly gargled some nail polish remover.

5. I dropped out of high school in my senior year, later received my GED, then attended the UCA Honors College on a full scholarship, before dropping out of college also. Lesson learned: being "book smart" doesn't get you anywhere in life if you're lacking common sense & a willingness to work hard .

6. I love eating frosted strawberry pop tarts with butter on top.

7. During our very first date, I told Matt that I knew we would end up married. Everyone (including Matt, probably) thought I was crazy. Ten years later, we're still going strong! :-)


***I tag any of my blogging friends who haven't completed this yet.***

Bubbles

Yesterday afternoon, Matt was kind enough to let me take a bubble bath... by myself! He was watching the kids in the living room when Logan made a break for it. Within seconds, he was happily splashing in my bath and eating the bubbles. I don't know when I've laughed so hard!!

Together Again

Last night at 8:14 pm I was reunited with Matt. (Not that I was anxiously watching the time or anything!) His flight was scheduled to arrive at 8:00, but was a little bit late. Mom kept the boys while I went to the airport. I was so excited to see him walking down those steps. I think I may have injured his neck when I hugged him!

On the way home from the airport, we stopped and picked up a bottle of champagne. Once home (the kids were both asleep already), we laid out a blanket and had a candlelit picnic on the floor of the living room... cheese, summer sausage, crackers, strawberries, grapes, etc. It was wonderful to be able to reconnect and just enjoy being together again. I knew our time alone wouldn't last long!

Sure enough, Tristan woke up at 3:30 am, and climbed into bed beside me. "Is Dad home?" he asked me. Then, he looked past me & spotted Matt. At that point, he was wide awake! I told him that Daddy was very sleepy, and we would need to let him sleep at least a little bit longer. But not Tristan. There was no way he could go back to sleep, so I set him up in the living room with his own little picnic... raisins, graham crackers & juice. I turned on the Cars movie for him, and went back to bed.

Finally, at 6:30, I told Tristan we could wake Daddy up. I shook Daddy gently, and told him that his big boy had been waiting to see him for 3 hours. Matt sat up, and Tristan told him excitedly, "Dad, you're home! Guess what? I'm big and strong like you, and I'm brave like you, and I have short hair like you, and I'm funny like you, and......... You're home!!!"

So far, Logan isn't clinging to Daddy, like Tristan is. He's just smiling at him a lot. He definitely knows that it's Daddy, and he knows that he likes Daddy, but he seems kinda confused. Like, why is Daddy here and not on the computer screen. I predict that by tonight, Daddy will have two boys all over him. I'm really glad that we got some alone time first!

So, he's here for 2 weeks. What are our plans? Well, Mama B (Matt's mom) is driving up on Thursday, and one of his best friends, Pierce, is flying in for the weekend. Then there are all of our local friends & family. So we'll be spending lots of time hanging out with the people we love the most, and just enjoying having our family back together again, if only for a couple of weeks.

For everyone who helped me get ready for his visit, for everyone who prayed for his safe arrival, and for everyone who put up with me talking nonstop about my husband for the past 2 weeks, thank you! We love & appreciate you all!

All Done

Brothers

Being a mother to two boys can be exhausting. But it is also FUN! Tristan wasn't very interested in Logan when we first brought him home. (To be fair, Logan wasn't very interesting... eat, sleep, eat, sleep, etc.) Now that Logan is older, Tristan is quick to tell you that Logan is his best friend. It is so much fun to see how they interact these days. Interestingly enough, Logan is usually the leader in activities. He doesn't normally join Tristan in play. He does his own thing, and Tristan follows his lead. If Logan wants to play on the couch, so does Tristan. If Logan wants to rock in the chair (see previous post!), Tristan wants to help him. If Logan gets on his "bike", Tristan goes to find his too. They obviously love each other very much, and this mommy thinks it's a joy to watch them together!