Conversations with Truman

One of my favorite things in the world is to have a conversation with a 3-5 year old. They say the funniest things... When I saw this meme on my cousin's FB page, I had to do it! So... here are the results of Truman & I's conversation this morning...

Kid Questionnaire/Meme:

Ask your child each of these questions & record their answers...

1. What is something mom always says to you? – "Do your chores."


2. What makes mom happy? – “If we be good."


3. What makes mom sad? – “If we be bad."


4. How does your mom make you laugh? –"tickling us"


5. What was your mom like as a child? - “Nice"


6. How old is your mom? - "62"


7. How tall is your mom? - "I do not know"


8. What is her favorite thing to do? - "Work"


9. What does your mom do when you're not around? - "Work or take a nap or something"


10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? - "No idea"


11. What is your mom really good at? - "Games"


12. What is your mom not very good at? – ...long pause... “I don’t know. Because you never did anything with us that was hard. I think you are good at everything.”


13. What does your mom do for her job? - "hmmm... work on the computer. Actually, no. You write on papers and write stuff. Words."


14. What is your mom's favorite food? - "calzones"


15. What makes you proud of your mom? - "When you win a game, like Wii Fit."


16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? - "Cartoon Mommy”


17. What do you and your mom do together? - "play games"


18. How are you and your mom the same? – “There’s nothing we’re the same with. You love kissy lips and I don’t.”


19. How are you and your mom different? - "You have long hair and I don’t and you have different eyeballs."


20. How do you know your mom loves you? - "Cause I was your baby and I was cute and you love me.”


21. What does your mom like most about your dad? - "Him. I don’t know.”


22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go? - "To fun places."

Hair Highlighting Party

Yesterday, some of my small group girls and I spontaneously decided to highlight our hair! I've only had my hair colored or highlighted about 4 times ever, so you know that I was really trusting them to not screw it up! Natalie has highlighted her own hair many times and has helped Paula before, so we figured it couldn't be too bad! We picked out a highlight & a lowlight (later to realize that the ingredients were exactly the same - it was just a marketing ploy that they were trying to sell to people with different colored hair!). We had 6 kids running around, so it took a bit longer than we thought! Tommie came home from work to find a house full of kids & girls...

Pulling the hair through the little holes in the cap is painful! I'm pretty sure those are grimaces, not smiles...

Natalie was the color expert, so she "painted" everyone's hair and told us how long to "cook" it.

Our favorite moment of the day was when Natalie & Paula were pulling my hair through the cap and Natalie looks over at Paula and says: "Holy crap! Look at Paula's hair!" She thought it was overcooked & going to turn out white blonde... This is Paula laughing at her hair while looking in the mirror.

Fortunately, everything turned out just fine!

Natalie is a little, um... vertically challenged, so she hears lots and lots of short jokes. I personally thought it was funny when she used the step stool to reach the sink better to wash out her hair.

Here we are... silly girls!

Paula, Natalie, Amy

Puppy Love Celebration

On Valentine's Day, we finally celebrated the puppies' first birthday! They were thrilled to receive new bones and new food bowls. The food bowls are really cool - they are designed to make eating a bit more challenging, so the meal will last longer. The puppies tend to scarf their food in about 15 seconds and then they get really bad gas... so we are hoping the new bowls will in turn give us the gift of fresh air! ha, ha The puppies weren't too sure about the party hats, but with enough treats to bribe them, they did sit still long enough to take a few photos!

Happy 1st Birthday, Max & Lucky!

We also had a family Valentine's party, including two crafts (heart butterflies and woven heart baskets), a special snack (fortune cookies from Family Fun magazine), a game and gifts. After a long spell of illness, it was nice to do something fun together as a family. The boys each received new socks & underwear, some candy and a photo frame. We took pics of each boy with the puppies (below) and we will frame them for the boys' rooms.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

In honor of this Day of Love, I'm posting the lyrics to one of my favorite love songs... all about the love God has for us.

I’m forgiven because You were forsaken

I’m accepted, You were condemned

I’m alive and well, Your Spirit is within me

Because You died and rose again

Amazing love, how can it be

That You, my King, should die for me?

Amazing love, I know it’s true

It’s my joy to honor You

In all I do, to honor You

You are my King

You are my King

Jesus, You are my King

You are my King

You are My King by the Newsboys

Happy 1st Birthday, Max & Lucky!!

Today is Max & Lucky's 1st Birthday! I had planned on doing something special - baking some neat-o doggie treats and showering them with love & gifts. Unfortunately, plans got changed! I came down with some sort of flu-thing yesterday morning (thankfully, it seems to have subsided in the past hour or two) and the puppies have been sick too. So... we'll have to do our celebrating this weekend. I didn't want this day to go by without making mention of their special day!

Truman holding Max at the breeder's house...

Truman snuggling with both dogs last week (one year of growth for Truman also!)...

It is so hard to believe that we have gone from two 5 pound puppies to 27 and 22 pound puppies. As I looked back through their "baby" pictures from last year, I reminisced about what they were like when we first brought them home. I'm amazed that their personalities are pretty much they same - they are just bigger! Max & Lucky started out as these cute little furry things that we fell in love with and have grown to be a true part of our family. Taking care of them has become a normal part of our day and Tommie & I enjoy puppy cuddles each night when the boys go to bed. There are definitely times when I think it would be much easier (and cheaper!) to live without pets... but then I see the joy on the boys' faces when they are playing with the puppies and it is all worthwhile! At this point, I cannot imagine life without Max & Lucky. I certainly cannot imagine one without the other. They are a pair! Happy Birthday, puppies!

Me with both puppies (Lucky on the left, Max on the right) a week or so after we brought them home...

Both puppies (Max on the left, Lucky on the right) in the snow last week...

25 Things Tag

This tag was so fun on Facebook that I thought I'd share it here. You're supposed to write 25 random things, facts, habits or goals about yourself. Then, tag your friends! If you haven't already done this, I'm tagging you. Please post a comment, so I can go to your blog & read it!

1. I love photography! My first camera was a Vivitar that I received for Christmas in Junior High.
2. I have lived in 5 different states, in 13 different towns and in 17 different locations (apartment/house/dorm) in my life – Out of the above, 3 states, 8 towns and 10 locations were after I got married. I’ll also state here that I hate moving!!
3. I’ve been married 11 years and 1 month to my college sweetheart! We got married 7 days after my college graduation and 2 days after Christmas.
4. I love the YMCA! I’ve worked for 3 different YMCAs in 3 different states – one camp and two “regular” Ys. My dream job is to be a Program Director or Director of Team Building at a YMCA camp.
5. I have a degree in Recreation, Park & Tourism, but have spent more time working as a secretary/admin than in the Recreation field. I’m still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up.
6. I’m very competitive and love games of all kinds – card games, board games, computer games, video games, etc.
7. I’m a people-person! I can do anything when I’m with a friend – even stuff I normally dislike, like cooking.
8. I’m pretty sure that I have multiple personalities (not really). Half of me is very anal and organized. The other half is slightly crazy, fun-loving and spontaneous.
9. Ice cream is my favorite food. I think I have ice cream in my blood. My parents were both raised in the Ice Cream capitol of the world and almost all of my dad’s family has worked for the dairy at one point or another.
10. I don’t like to be alone. I would rather have another human with me at all times (even if we are not interacting). The saddest I’ve ever been in my life was when I lived alone (one summer during college).
11. My favorite music artist of all times is Michael W. Smith. I got his first tape (yes, I’m old) for Christmas when I was 7. I re-dedicated my life to Christ at one of his concerts when I was 14 years old and I’ve been living for Him ever since!
12. Tommie & I once planned a spontaneous trip to Canada. He had a “real” weekend off (Saturday & Sunday), which was rare for him at the time. We left right when he got home from work on Friday and were gone nearly exactly 48 hours. We drove from central Illinois to Detroit & crossed over into Windsor, Ontario. Oh – the things you could do before kids!
13. I rarely go to see a movie in the theater (I prefer to rent them – it’s cheaper!), but I saw Twister in the theater four times! The movie I have seen the most times in my life has to be Top Gun.
14. In May 2007, I had a very large benign tumor removed from my ovary – 11 cm x 13 cm.
15. I love bargain hunting! You could call me thrifty – I love the grocery game, using coupons, getting things on clearance, etc. I rarely pay full price for anything.
16. My dream vacation is a cruise.
17. I don’t have a passport. I’ve been to Canada twice & Mexico once: the Canada side of Niagra Falls, Windsor, Ontario (see #12) and Juarez, Mexico. I have never been further west than Denver or El Paso (whichever one is further west!).
18. In high school, I participated in an abstinence drama group through our local crisis pregnancy center that performed for local youth groups. Yes, we danced around to DC Talk’s “I Don’t Want It”. Wish I had that on video…
19. My kids are named after a Presidential theme. I do not know much about Presidential history or care that much about politics. I just like the sound of their names.
20. I have had the following pets: fish, frogs, turtles and dogs. The fish, frogs & turtles were all aquatic animals. The dogs are not.
21. My favorite season is fall. I love fall colors, football season, the start of a new school year, bonfires, camping and wearing jeans with a hooded sweatshirt.
22. I dream of being on the Amazing Race. I love learning about other cultures and see #6.
23. Truman and I shared our first airplane ride together. He was 2 weeks old and I was 26 years old. We flew from St. Louis to Dallas.
24. My favorite place to be is out in the woods. Camping, hiking, reading or simply reflecting or praying. But, I don’t like creepy crawlies and I’m scared of spiders.
25. The most important thing about me is my relationship with Jesus Christ. I certainly have done nothing worthy of salvation and His love causes me to worship Him with amazement and gratitude. My biggest hope in life is that people will see Him in me and will be drawn to Him.

January Challenge: Final Update!

Photo credit: http://www.lumaxart.com/

We did it! We did it! Yeah! I survived one whole month without eating out at all! Yippee!! Now, I have two very big decisions to make...

1. What restaurant are we eating at for lunch?

2. What am I going to do for February's challenge? (Please leave suggestions as a comment!)

A few things I learned along the way...

• I can do whatever my little heart desires, with a strong dose of determination and sheer will power.
• Goals are important. If we plan for nothing, we will accomplish nothing.
• Eating at home requires a little planning & a supply of groceries, but is not that difficult.
• We have wasted a lot of money paying for someone else to prepare & serve our food out of sheer laziness or poor planning. My goal is to continue to cut back on eating out.
• My new favorite phrase is: "Ice water, with lemon, please!" No sense spending $1 or 2 on a drink at a restaurant when I can drink from my 2-liter at home.
• Better choices lead to a happier life.

Thank you to everyone who encouraged me along the way! I never would have lasted an entire month without your support & accountability. Just knowing that I had told "the world" about my challenge forced me to stick with it! You guys rock!