Oh the romance...

Have you ever gone on a dinner cruise? I hadn't. It's something Kris and I have talked about doing, but have never done. So we heard about the GREAT dinner cruise in Fort Lauderdale, on the Jungle Queen. Beautiful scenery, great dinner on a private island, entertainment. Sounded good to us. Sounded like a wonderful way to celebrate our 10 year wedding anniversary yesterday. We got a little more (or less perhaps) than we bargained for. The tickets were about $40/person, and it was cheaper than most of the ones we've seen advertised in the past, so don't get me wrong. I wasn't expecting to go sailing on a yacht and feast on lobster. However, I also wasn't expecting it to be as bad as it actually was. Are you ready for the story of our anniversary adventure last night?

It started out pleasant enough. The storms we had yesterday were just in Miami, and they were not predicting anything more than cloudy skies in Ft. Lauderdale. As we drove to Ft. Lauderdale, sure enough, the rain died down and the sky cleared up. We were told to get to the boat at 5:15 to get our tickets; the cruise didn't actually start until 6:00pm. Because we weren't sure how long it would take to get there, we left early and ended up getting there by 5pm. We parked the car at the marina and walked around until we found the Jungle Queen (see below).



Once we got seated on the boat and surveyed our surroundings, this is what we saw. In case you are wondering, YES THOSE ARE LAWN CHAIRS!!! Oh and we have NO clue why there were rolls of paper towel on the fake steering wheel.




I do have to admit that while they looked tacky and the boat itself seemed 'run down' those lawn chairs were actually pretty comfortable.

And then it started to rain. Actually, it started sprinkling. No big deal, of course. The boat was covered and while open on the sides, we weren't getting wet. But there was this couple behind us. I think based on their thick accents, they were from Texas, or somewhere else where you can hear that distinct Southern drawl. Kris and I had trouble containing our laughter, before the boat ever set off. The couple was two rows behind us. And when it started sprinkling (I must emphasize that it is BARELY raining at this point!) the woman starts talking to the man. They are two rows back, so we can hear their conversation. The woman says "It's really raining. I'm sopping wet!" At this point, she proceeds to pull out an umbrella and utilize it to shield herself from the torrential downpour that was actually just a very mild sprinkling. It was quite amusing. We tried to pretend like we were taking a picture of ourselves, which is why our faces are cut off; we really wanted to get a picture of this woman holding her umbrella up for what apparently she felt was heavy rain (sorry for the poor quality-we took this one from Kris' phone).



The cruise got underway just after 6pm. The 'captain' was this older gentleman, who kept telling all these ridiculously stupid jokes. As we 'cruised' along, making our way to the private island where we would have dinner, he pointed out what we were looking at along the way.








So, after about 45 minutes of this beautiful scenery, we made it to the private island for dinner. Here is where we ate:



So it wasn't quite what we had expected, at all! But we had a great time with one another, laughing at how the evening turned out. For those of you who don't know, on our wedding night, after we left the reception, we took a trip to the Martinsville Walmart because one of Kris' friends had gone back to St. Louis early and had Kris' tennis shoes and toothbrush, etc...so the limo driver took us to Walmart, then waited outside for us, while we went in (wedding clothes and all) and picked up the essentials! This dinner cruise kind of reminded us of that. What classy people Kris and I are!

Seriously though, it was not actually quite as bad as I made it out to be. Well, it was. But the area we went through on the cruise actually had some really nice houses and yachts. The guy who started Waste Management owns this HUGE house on the water. Here are some pictures of the nice things we did actually get to see on the trip. Dad, you could buy one of these houses. Some of them were on sale. Granted, they cost upwards of $$5.7 MILLION, but we'd come visit you with the kids ALL the time!







Oh yeah. We spent about 3 hours out in the Miami sun yesterday and burned worse...myself included. So in addition to all the craziness of the cruise, we were SO sore last night it was ridiculous. We stopped at Walgreens on our way back to the resort to get some Solarcaine to help take some of the burn away. We were a miserable pair. We were laughing at ourselves for how 'old' we've gotten in just 10 years and how we are falling apart at the seams. Can't wait to see what the next 10 years have in store for us!!

More FL pictures

Miami in the morning.





Miami by night.

Only three more days...

...until we get back home. Only one more day here at the resort in Miami. Saturday morning we will head back to Atlanta, GA for the night, then Sunday we will get up and drive the rest of the way home.

We got to talk to the kids tonight. We talked to them last on Monday or Tuesday night. It was good to hear their voices. I really miss them. Not so much that I want to rush home now. I can wait until Sunday! ;)

Kris and I managed to burn today for the first time. Well, Kris has a little redness on his shoulders yesterday but his chest and back are red as lobsters now! I managed to get some sun on my face and forearms, but that was it. I think the tanning I did for two weeks before we left really helped!

Here are a couple pictures of our lovely sunburns.





Just for the record, Florida drivers LOVE to honk their horns!! They don't scream and drive crazy. They just honk their horns, ALL THE TIME!

Here is a picture of Kris and I pretending to sleep in the hammock.

Seems like a good day for contacts

The day started out like any ordinary day. Except we didn't have kids, and we slept in, and we are in, oh that's right, Miami Beach! We went to Dunkin Donuts for breakfast, which was NOT as good as I remember it before it 'left' St. Louis. Then we went to Sports Authority to get Boogie Boards for some ocean fun. And of course, like any other day, there was some arguing that went on and more than a little anxiety on my part due to someone doing a u-turn (I won't mention who) after someone else (again I won't mention who)asked the first someone not to. A long silence ensued, things calmed down and we headed down to the ocean. We were there for about, I don't know, 20 minutes if that. Suddenly I hear someone calling my name. It's Kris, just a short distance from me. I realized right away what had happened when I saw him without those all too familiar glasses. A wave had come and knocked them off. Now I am not going to say anything else beyond that-we're going to keep this friendly. So of course we couldn't find his glasses. And I'm thinking, how am I going to drive back 20+ hours all by myself? Unlike me (who needs glasses but can see just fine without them-yes it makes sense), Kris can basically ONLY see shapes and colors without his glasses.

Suddenly I have an idea. I happened to grab my cell phone at the last minute and stick it in the backpack we were taking down to the beach. So I decided to look up local eye doctors and find out if there was any way to get glasses done ASAP. I found a place but they didn't accept our vision insurance (which THANK GOD just went into affect on June 1!). We found another place and they said there was no way they could get glasses, but they could do the exam and get him a pair of temporary contacts. At this point, I'm secretly thanking the Atlantic Ocean for swallowing up Kristopher's glasses.

You see, when Kris was in high school he wore contacts all the time. I guess he was trying to impress all those high school girls. In college, I barely remember a time when he wore anything BUT glasses. But for our wedding, he got contacts, at my request. And he looked great! Don't get me wrong...he was attractive with the glasses but man did he look good without them! He has really nice eyes and the glasses seem to hide that fact. But after about two weeks, the contacts started bothering his eyes and so he went back to his glasses. And has worn glasses for the last 10 years. He has wanted to get Lasik for quite some time; we just haven't been able to afford the payments. But I think he figured, 10 years ago, that once he snagged me, he didn't have to impress me anymore by wearing contacts. I don't really think that, but it's fun to tease him about it.

So we spent the afternoon at the eye doctor's and Kris is now wearing contacts. I think he looks great!! I'm pretty excited about it, even though it's a silly thing to get excited about I suppose. It's just that he looks so sexy with his head and face shaved and contacts in! I can say sexy. It's my blog. I can say whatever I want. ;-) Anyway, here are a couple of pictures from our excursion today.



WOW he looks good!

I finally got a tattoo!

JUST KIDDING MOM!

I did see this picture though and really liked it and thought I'd be silly with my blog title.

No tattoos for me.

Day 2 in Miami

We started out the day by sleeping in past 9am. It was lovely. We ventured out to the beach today. The weather was great. Well, it wasn't raining. It was overcast mostly but not too bad. And it was warm enough that we weren't cold. It was a lot of fun waiting for the waves, and also very relaxing. We spent more time out there than I thought we would; we did decide though that we would like to buy boogie boards so I think tomorrow we are going to Sports Authority to get a couple. We looked at Target, but I wasn't sure the small Spongebob and Spiderman ones made for children would really work the way we wanted them to. ;)

Tonight we went to the Hard Rock Cafe/Casino in Hollywood, FL. It was really great. We had a lot of fun. Something I recommend to anyone who likes to go to the casino: anytime you are in a new city that has a casino, GO. Sign up. You usually always get something free. When we went to PA, we got $5 free I think. Every time we have gone to a new casino out of state we get something. This one was the best by far though. Because we were new, we each got $20 to play on. In addition to that, we got a credit for $7.50 to be used for food within the casino. And for giving an email address we got an additional $5 for food. So together we ended up playing on $40 of the casino's money and got dinner for free. It was great! I have a lot of pictures I am going to post on Facebook, but I will post a couple here too.

The Hard Rock Cafe/Casino/Hotel was pretty cool. It was like the Landing in Branson, combined with West Port Plaza in St. Louis, but so much better than both of them combined. It was beautiful there and there were a ton of shops and restaurants. There was a Brookstone there and of course Kris wanted to go in. In the past the only things I have cared about are the massage chairs they always have. I had THE BEST massage tonight. I WANT and believe that I NEED this chair! After 15 minutes, I was pain-free (back/neck/shoulders) for the first time in 2 months. I'm just now starting to feel the pain creep back in, but I went about 4 hours feeling great! Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that it 'only' costs $1800! However, if you got massages regularly, that's roughly 18 massages.

After the massage, I tried out the bed they have in there. I didn't care for it too much, but I found my pillow. Finally. I go through pillows too fast. I can never find a good one and if I do find a good one, within a month it's lost its shape. But Brookstone has this pillow called the Bella or something like that and it was perfect. The let me lay down on it on the bed to test it out. Problem is, it costs $130. But here's the thing. We have spent a lot more than that on pillows in the past (combined-not on ONE pillow) and this particular pillow has a 4 year warranty. So if it wore out in 2 months, they would replace it. And if it wore out again, they would replace. Key thing is that it is not suppose to wear out! I WANT that pillow. Kris agrees that if we should get it for me. I'm sure that's at least half of my neck problems right there, not to mention my troubles falling and staying asleep. He said that if we can set aside about $20 each paycheck that in 3 months we could get it.

Hurricane?

So Kris just asked me "Wouldn't it suck if there was a hurricane and we had to evacuate?" And I looked horrified and said "Why would you even say something like that?" I mean, the man has been married to me for 10 years (almost). He KNOWS how my paranoid mind works. He knows that if he says something like that I will most likely obsess about it and freak out for just a little while wondering if there really will be a hurricane and we really will have to evacuate. His explanation/rational for telling that to begin with was something about seeing a hurricane evacuation sign. I'm not exactly sure because I started obsessing and stopped listening and decided to write it down.

Now let's talk about tolls and the Florida turnpike. From the beginning I had looked up directions on Google Maps. And I knew from the start that there was a turnpike in Florida. Kris and I discussed our options. Did we want to get cash out and pay whatever crazy amount they wanted to charge us to take this toll all the way down to Miami? Or did we want to find an alternate route that avoided the toll altogether? We checked the additional time it would add and found that we could add 1/2 an hour and avoid the toll, and it seemed worth it to us, as we would have probably spent more on the tolls than on the gas to avoid the toll. SO...once we got past the exit that took us to the turnpike, and continued on I-95, we decided we would check the GPS in our phones to make sure it would readjust itself and match the route we had on Google Maps. You can probably guess, since I am writing about it, that they did not match up. The GPS told us to go about 60 miles, then turn and take a different road, then get back on the turnpike and it was 'only' going to add an extra hour or so!! Are you kidding me? FINALLY at our last stop (mind you we were only 2 hours away from the resort at this point) the GPS FINALLY matched the directions on Google Maps and stopped trying to put us back on that stupid turnpike! It was kind of amusing. Oh, and there was another 'adult store' at the same exit to get back on the turnpike. So, my theory is that the porn industry, the State of FL, and GPS creators are all working together in some sort of lucrative money-making scheme. Just a theory.

And just to continue with adding a picture to this post because I like pictures and because I can (you know, because it's MY blog), here is a picture of a palm tree. I know, settle down. It's a little exciting but try to contain yourself.

Georgia Hotel Signs

I like signs. Especially strange/funny signs. We didn't get murdered or anything at our cheaper hotel that we stayed at in Valdosta, GA. I say that because I have a nervousness about staying in hotels/motels where the doors open to the outside, not because I have anything against Valdosta, GA. The hotel we stayed at was a Quality Inn and it was nice enough, and better still, the price was 'right'. But you can tell by the signs they have posted around the hotel rooms and lobby that perhaps they've had some problems in the past. Take a look for yourself.

Wash cloths weren't on the list here, so Kris and I contemplated taking one, but decided against it!

This next picture is a sign we saw down in the lobby, where the free continental breakfast was.



And the biggest reason I took this next picture is because due to the sign (which happened to be directly above the bagels), I couldn't help but laugh and think that at some point, they USED to offer full-size bagels, as opposed to these miniature, baby bagels.

More random pictures

Here we are getting ready to leave the hotel in GA for Miami. Also, a couple pictures of our pretty nice rental car.

Day Two

We are about 5 hours away from the Solara Surfside Resort, and starting to see palm trees. I'm getting excited. I've never been on this side of Florida before. I was born in St. Petersburg and can't remember how many times (more than a handful I think) I went back there as a kid. And I think that one year for Bible Bowl we went to Orlando. But I've never been to Miami. I don't remember the trips to Disney (Mom, did we go more than once?), and I barely remember that Bible Bowl tournament. So this is going to be a good chance to create a new memory, doing something I've wanted to do since before we got married-take a vacation, on the beach! Here are some pictures of our resort - though they don't always give you a real idea of what it will actually look like once you get there.

An interesting dinner choice

We wanted to go to Chik-fil-a for dinner. We ALWAYS forget they are closed on Sundays. And it seems that we always want to go on SUNDAYS! So across the street there is a Taco Bell, a KFC, or a Chinese restaurant. From across the street, we can see that the Chinese restaurant is called Hong Kong Buffet. We decide to give the Hong Kong Buffet a try. So we park. And we look up and see all the windows. They have decals on them 'announcing' the different foods they offer. I edited the picture (you may have to click on it to enlarge it to see it clearly) because I wanted you to see these windows. Kris and I were amused.



What I didn't get a picture of was the side of the building that also said they have PIES. Yeah...they basically just had Chinese food. Guess they didn't want to go to the expense of removing the words from the windows.

Also, here is the fortune cookie I got tonight. I'm not sure what to think about this. There's not much left to 'enhance'!

Boneman's Daughters

Kris and I are listening to Ted Dekker's newest book, "Boneman's Daughters". We're about 4 hours in (total of 10 or so). It's really good. Thank you Ted Dekker for writing another book that IS the great work I am used to from you! Of course, I have no idea how it will end, but I hope that it will not disappoint. It seems like the last few books ("Adam", "Skin" and "Sinner" in particular) haven't lived up to my expectations for Ted Dekker's brilliance in writing. "Kiss" was pretty good, and this new book is along the same lines, as far as the genre, but so far I like it better than "Kiss".

You should see all the wires we have in the car. Ooh, maybe I should take a picture of our electronic set up here. Ok...I decided to show you what big geeks Kris and I are. There's no denying it. I even edited one picture and put text on it to show what everything is!

This is Kris' phone/speaker set up that is providing our GPS:


Here is a picture of me, blogging (shocker!):


And this, this is the picture that labels what everything is that is keeping us occupied and enjoying our long drive:


And now, now it's time to take some medication because the roads are getting curvy and we're getting into the mountains, and I am REALLY anxious. And the medication is NOT for car sickness, which I am fortunate enough NOT to suffer from.

Vacation has begun!!

As usual, I waited until the last minute to pack. I didn't get started until about 10pm and finally finished up the laundry and final packing around 11:30pm. Kris went to bed early so that he could make it through the long day of driving we had planned for today. I finally went to sleep around midnight after finishing "Click" for the second time. I was up and alert at 5am, which normally would be astonishing. But I always did get so eager before any kind of trip that it wasn't difficult to get up. I can remember every year when we would go to King's Island I had so much trouble falling asleep that night before, and NEVER had a problem getting up. I like trips. I especially like carefree, KID-free trips. It was sad saying goodbye to my kids-I think this is the longest we have left them, though the week they have spent with my parents a couple of times came close. Kaleb had no interest at all in saying bye to me, as he was all to eager to get back to his video game, but the girls were sweet and gave me hugs. So, while it was sad to say goodbye, I was ready!

I started out the driving (we left at 6:15am-only 15 minutes later than we had hoped!). I figured that would give Kris some time to wake up, since I didn't wake him up until 5:45am. We are in Missouri somewhere. Oh the excitement...

If you are reading this, just to warn you, now that I am not working and have more time, I will probably have quite a few posts with pictures. So to start us off, here are some pictures we took this morning to start off our journey. Oh yeah, and once again, because I can, I am blogging while Kris drives, connected to the internet through my Instinct!

Here is my handsome husband, still loving me, excited to be finally leaving for Florida:


Here is me, after Kris told me to 'look like you're annoyed with me' (even though I wasn't really annoyed):


Here we are, both very happy and excited about this vacation/10 year anniversary celebration:


There will be more to come. Stay tuned!

It's a busy day for blogging...

The kids LOVED Night at the Museum 2. Kris and I really enjoyed it as well. The older kids thought it was one of the best movies they have seen. Livvy on the other hand said she didn't like it. And then she said she DID like it-there were just two parts, then there were three parts she didn't like (her words): the octopus, the dinosaur and when that guy opened that lamp and put the little man in it. The lamp, by the way, was not actually a lamp, but an hourglass. It was so cute hearing her describe it though!

We were not able to get our family pictures taken today, due to the rain, which was incredibly frustrating since it is 9pm and it still has not actually rained where we're at!!! However, it did get pretty dark and pretended like it was going to rain, so waiting until the sun is out a little more and the wind isn't blowing so much will probably just make our pictures turn out that much better. Hopefully we can get them done Thursday evening. The most annoying part was getting the kids all bathed and dressed and doing all of the girls' hair, including my own. I like to try to look nice...but I HATE the work involved. I'm not one of those people that just loves to spend an hour on my hair and another 20 minutes on my makeup. I used to never wear makeup to begin with. Now, the only reason I put it on before work most days is because I leave it in my car and do it before I go in. It's just never been a priority. But I worked HARD today to get all of us 'perfect' (well, as perfect as we are going to get physically!). And everyone had their new picture outfits on...and then we just had to come home and take them off and put them away so that they aren't ruined by the time we actually get to our pictures taken!

Kat's baptism

Here is the video of Katherine's baptism this morning. It's a little shaky, and the quality isn't as great as I would have liked-I took this video on my digital camera and wasn't close enough to see their faces clearly. But if you are interested...here is Kris baptizing Katherine. :)

A new life

Katherine is getting baptized this morning. It's exciting! I told her to go tell Daddy it was her birthday. Then I stopped her and asked if she knew what I meant by that. She told me that it meant she was going to start a new life with Jesus. If we want nothing else for our children. we want them to know God, to REALLY know God. Not just believe in Him. Not just believe that Jesus died for their sins. But to have a personal relationship with Him. Katherine is starting that journey and it thrills us.

First Impressions of EA Sports Active for the Wii

Some of you have read/heard me talking recently about EA Sports Active for the Wii. It was released on May 19th and Kris and I decided we would go ahead and purchase it, after watching many videos on it and reading reviews-actually, we learned this game was coming out back in January or so and talked at that time about whether or not we would end up getting it. It is normally $58.99 but we signed up at www.buy.com and got a $30 credit AND FREE shipping! So we got it (in just two days) for $28.99 and it includes a resistance band and a pouch for the nunchuck to monitor leg activies (for running, lunges, etc...).

My first impression: SO SO SO much more sophisticated and advanced than Wii Fit. The amount of different custom/pre-made workouts is almost overwhelming. There is a 30 day challenge that combines all of the different activities available, and it is compatible with the Wii Fit Balance Board-in fact if you use the balance board WITH Sports Active it should give you an even harder workout. From what I was reading, rather than using the balance board all the time, some days will specifically be 'balance board days'.

In addition to the 30 day challenge are pre-made workouts as I mentioned above. I knew that I didn't want to try anything that would really strain my entire body, so rather than doing something that encompassed all the activities in the 'game', I scrolled down until I found the one I wanted. Like I said-there were a LOT of pre-made ones. Kris, for instance is doing a sports lover type workout right now. He's done some volleyball moves, basketball moves, baseball, lunges, squats and who knows what else to come. Probably tennis and the inline skating that is available within the 'game' as well. I keep saying 'game' but it's really NOT a game. If you want a great workout program THIS is it. I'm 100% convinced...and I have barely seen everything that is available.

Ok, back to me. As some of you know, I have had a lot of problems lately with my back/neck and shoulder. Medication doesn't help, at all, and I've gone back to physical therapy but so far still haven't had much relief. In PT, she is having me do some weight/strength training to strengthen my back muscles. So, this Sports Active actually has a couple of different workouts specifically targeted for toning/strengthening the back and shoulders! So I chose a 19 minute workout and about 6 minutes in I was already sweating. Most of my activities used the resistance band and in between these activities, I had to do some boxing as well. By the end of the 19 minutes (25 with the videos showing me how to do the 'moves') I was tired and sweaty and really felt like I had gotten a workout. And while I feel some stiffness now in the middle of my back, the awful pain I've had in my right shoulder and neck is actually MUCH better. Hopefully between this and physical therapy I will be back to normal sooner. I am not going to do any of the other workouts at this point because I really want to get my back/neck back under control so that I can handle the other activities. Once I get myself back to normal, I plan to start the 30 day challenge and go from there.

Oh yeah, another great feature of this 'game' is that you input your daily habits, such as how much you sleep, how many veggies you eat, how long you sit during the day, how much water you drink, your height and weight, etc... It takes this information and calculates how many calories you should burn over the course of the week, how many hours you should work out in the next 30 days and how many workouts you should do in the next week. Before your work out, it gives you a projection of how many calories that particular workout should burn. So, for instance, the one I chose projected I would burn 117 calories, but by the time I was done, I had burned 128. Kris' said he should burn 168, I think. He's already burned 161 and still has a couple of activities left-and he's REALLY sweating!

I'm pretty excited about it and for anyone who has wondered whether or not it is worth it, if you want a GREAT workout program that you can do from the comfort of your own home, this is well worth the money, and cheaper than the P90X or the Chuck Norris Total Gym. As I do more of the workouts, I will post some more information about what all they include, but for now I am focusing on getting my neck/back/shoulder better.

Hope this helps anyone who was interested in this but wasn't sure if it was worth it. IT IS!!!

The $10 'gold' shirt

I want to start out by saying that Livvy's school has been SO convenient this last school year, because it is within walking distance of our house and was affordable. And I am truly thankful for that. However, Kris and I have never felt 100% comfortable with the school. We weren't concerned about Livvy's safety, or the curriculum. Nothing like that. In fact, we both really like the new teacher Livvy got halfway through the year. But there is just something 'off' about the school and we've never had a great feeling about it. Throughout the year there have been a handful of 'political' type things that we have found to be incredibly ridiculous. I believe that today's incident, however, has topped the list.

I was worried when I saw I missed a call from her school both at work and on my cell phone. I thought that something was wrong with Olivia. Once I finally got through, I found out what they were calling for. Now, Kris came home yesterday and said that Livvy was going on a field trip today and her teacher said she had to wear red or yellow (you know so they can keep track of the kids). Earlier in the school year we paid more money than we wanted to for a MANDATORY red polo with her school's logo on it, in gold. Well, we figured we couldn't go wrong putting her in THAT shirt today. The teacher said red or yellow and so we put her in RED. Her RED 'official' uniform shirt.

So I get this phone call and have no clue who I am talking to; it might have been the principal or a secretary-that part doesn't matter really. This person proceeded to tell me that Livvy wasn't dressed appropriately and that she was supposed to be in a GOLD shirt. First of all, who has gold shirts???? Apparently her school does. And though Livvy's teacher told Kris red or yellow for the field trip, there was apparently a note that came home last night saying she had to be in gold. Well, it should be no surprise that we didn't see the note. I asked Kris yesterday morning if he had gone through her backpack, and he had but both of us forgot about it last night/this morning. Regardless, though, even if we had seen the note, we didn't have a gold uniform shirt.

Bottom line, we have to PAY for a gold shirt, because neither one of us can leave work today just to pick her up because she has the wrong shirt on and can't go on her field trip. It better have some actual gold in it!! The lady told me they had a few extras, and I'm thinking (HOPING) that they will just put her in one and then change her back after the field trip. Nope. She told me that we could pay for it when we picked her up. She asked if I wanted to do that and I asked her what other choice I had. She said 'ok' and that they would put one of those gold shirts on her. She has worn her red 'official' school uniform less than 5 times-the only time it was REQUIRED was a class/school picture (this is the ONLY reason we bought it-because it was required) and one program she was in. So we paid for that shirt and barely got our money's worth. Now, we are stuck paying for a gold shirt and TODAY is the only day she will wear it. I am tempted to send her to school in it for the next five days she has left at school. Yes, perhaps that is what I will do...

Needless to say, Kris and I are not too happy about it and are SO ready to get her out of there and send the kids back to Grace. We are, by the way, sending the kids back to Grace next year (all four of them in one place!), and while we don't have our finances lined up yet, we know that God will provide what we need.

I was sitting here trying to remember what made us so mad about her school last time. Kris was tempted to pull her out then for the rest of the year. And then I remembered...it was a few weeks ago when Livvy had the swine flu. That's right... *rolling my eyes*

Potty mouth

Twice now Kaleb has chosen to yell 'f*** you' at Katherine when he was mad. The first time, I wasn't home. Kris talked to him about it and hoped he had nipped it in the bud. Well...he didn't. Mad about something, Kaleb chose to say it again this afternoon to Katherine.

Unsure of how to proceed from there, we took a trip to the library and Kris and I discussed briefly, via text, how to handle the situation. We decided that he would lose electronics (computer, Wii, TV) until Friday. In addition, we found some Bible verses that talk about the tongue and harmful talk. He is currently looking up the 7 passages in his Bible and then copying them down. He will do this for the next three days. Thursday he is going to write a 'report' of sorts about what he has learned.

Kris bought me two new Bibles for Mother's Day. Since he spilled anti-freeze on my other one, we've talked about me getting a new one. I found one I like, but it was NIV and I really wanted New Living Translation. As I kept looking, I found another Bible I liked-it's the One Year Bible. It's pretty cool. Instead of being arranged in order (Genesis-Revelation) it's arranged by date. It's broken up so that in the course of a year, you will have read through the whole Bible. So you go to whatever day it is, and read the selected chapters. It has a passage from the Old Testament, something from the New Testament, part of Psalms and part of Proverbs. It's really an interesting concept. But then I had this dilemma. When I am at church or need to look something up, how am I going to do it? So I found a smaller Bible (NIV) that I can carry with me. Both of them together cost about $20 LESS than the original one I had found. I really like having some direction, some sort of 'format' for reading the Bible.

It's interesting too. Kris and I had gotten away from really sitting down and purposefully reading the Bible. We have started doing it now though after the kids go to bed, and have been really trying to do it consistently. So rather than hearing the TV as they go to sleep, they are now hearing us discuss what we are reading. If you ever think your kids aren't watching you, you're wrong. Tonight, Katherine asked if she could use my Bible 'with the dates'. She got her journal and my Bible and went to the table with it. I am not sure yet what all she did (I plan to ask her) but this simple act of getting back into the Word is being watched by my children. It's one of those things that we should have been doing all along. It's something that is obviously having an impact on the kids. The other night, Kaleb got his Bible and was looking up the passages he needs to memorize for church. It was cute and it showed me how important it is for Kris and I to set this example for the kids.

A good night

Tonight was a good night. Katherine has talked to us before about getting baptized. She told me a month or so ago that she was ready, but she wanted to wait until she was 9 (which will be in October). I asked her why. She just very matter-of-fact-like told me that's just when she wanted to be baptized. So I said ok. Well, this past Sunday during communion Kris was talking to Katherine, I assume about Christ's death and the symbolism in communion. Then, after church she told 'Pastor Jeff' that she wanted to be baptized, when she was 9. Apparently (I just learned this tonight) she filled out some sort of questionnaire on Sunday about Jesus I guess, though I am a little unsure of the details of said questionnaire.

They gave me an envelope tonight with Katherine's name on it, and I looked at it and it had instructions for her baptism, and the date listed was May 10-Mother's Day. I asked her if she was planning to be baptized Sunday and she said yes. I asked her about her plans to wait until she was 9, and she said she told Jeff she wanted to be baptized sometime this month. Well, there are apparently going to be a couple of other baptisms on Mother's Day and so she could be baptized then if she was ready.

While this is extremely exciting, I'm not actually writing this to share Katherine's decision to be baptized. She's Katherine...it should be no surprise to anyone who knows her well that she would make this decision.

What I want to share is what happened in the van shortly after this conversation about Katherine being baptized on Mother's Day. I am almost 100% sure that neither Kris nor myself said anything about her baptism being a gift for Mother's Day, but I could be wrong. Anyway, we get to the van, and I look back at Kaleb and he's struggling to maintain his composure. I could tell he was upset and there were tears welling up in his eyes. While we were walking out, Kaleb informed us that he too wanted to be baptized. So when I saw him crying, I went on and on about how he shouldn't get baptized just because Katherine was, or just because he felt left out. I was trying to be really understanding but let him know at the same time that being baptized wasn't a decision to take lightly. He starts crying even more.

And then he said "That's not why." As in, that's not why he was crying. He continued, with desperation in his little voice, to tell me that all he had was gifts made of paper, and Katherine was going to give me the best gift for Mother's Day. I almost burst into tears myself. He was already buckled so I told him to unbuckle and come up to me. I held him in my arms and was just filled with love for him.

At the end of it all, we decided that in fairness to everyone, Katherine could get baptized this month if she wants (though at our church they may only do it on a monthly basis-I'm not sure), BUT she was not going to be baptized ON Mother's Day. Everyone was satisfied with this outcome.

Even with the trouble he gives me...I truly love my son and think he is brilliant and wise beyond his years. Just to clarify, even though I didn't say I love my girls here...it should be assumed that I do!