Friday, July 17, 2009

Alarming

Monday night was an exciting time here at the Jordan house. We had hosted our first night of Backyard Bible Club, so the kids were up a little later than normal. Adaryll and I were wound up from the evening and stayed up until around 11:30. Needless to say, we were dead tired by the end of the night!
I was awakened at 12:30 to something beeping. As I sat up in a stupor, trying to figure out what that sound was, I realized there was also a child screaming in terror- "Moooooommmmmmmmmyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!!" I got out of bed and walked out of our room to quickly realize that beeping was in Elias' room, and the child screaming was Elias. As I opened his door and turned on his light, the beeping suddenly stopped. Still not fully awake, I went over to his alarm clock to check and see if it could have accidentally been set to go off in the middle of the night. Even though I fully knew that was NOT the sound his alarm clock makes. Nope- still set for 8am. I then began to awaken and asked my crying curled-up-into-a-little-ball child, "Was that your smoke alarm???" He didn't know. But that HAD to be what it was, right? What else would possibly be so friggin' loud and obnoxious??! So I told him I needed to check the house. (meanwhile, Adaryll is still fast asleep)
I walked the entire house, sniffing deeply for any sign of smoke. I had a hard time discerning between real smoke and the bacon smell that was left over from dinner, but I didn't see any fire anywhere. When I went back to his room and sat in his chair to think, the alarm started again. Seriously, these things are like the loudest, highest pitch, ear-piecing sound I have ever heard. Elias begins to scream and cry again- I think he thinks the house must be burning down??? After a couple of minutes, it stops again. I realize I am not equipped to handle this on my own (ceilings are too high!), so I go get Adaryll.
We go together to Elias' room with a step ladder and proceed to try to disassemble/destroy the alarm. Meanwhile, it continues to alarm off and on as it darn well pleases. Finally, I give up and go downstairs to call the fire department and ask them how the heck to make it STOP!!!! Noone answers. (Obviously, I did NOT dial the emergency number!) So I call the police non-emergency number and tell them what's up, and they transfer me to the fire department. Pretty quickly, the guy on the phone asks me how many people are in the house and tells me that we all need to evacuate immediately. He says there is already a truck on the way. WHAT?! "No, no, no", I say. There is no fire! He then explains that there can be fire in the attic or inside a wall, and we would not even know it. So, I hand the phone to Adaryll and go wake Elena up to take everyone outside.
Minutes later, a GIANT fire truck, 4 fully decked-out firemen, and all their gear/tools arrive. They go into the house with heat detectors, axes, etc. And then ANOTHER GIANT firetruck arrives. They turned off the sirens at the neighborhood entrance, but the lights are enough to wake the dead. Needless to say, neighbors began to emerge to see what was going on. We told them it was nothing. And 15 minutes or so later, that was confirmed. A faulty alarm, they said. Still, the kids thought it was the coolest thing ever.
We came back in (an hour has passed now since the alarm first started), and we put the kids back to bed. Elias gets a pallet on our floor because I seriously think he may have a heart attack if this alarm wakes him again. Adaryll and I vacuum out that smoke alarm in case it has dust inside (which it thinks is smoke) making it go off. Finally, we head back to bed. Which is where I lay awake for the next TWO HOURS. ARGH!!!
Then- you will not believe this- the alarm in OUR room begins to "chirp". Are you kidding me?!?!?! I throw back the covers and wake up Adaryll to tell him our alarm needs a new battery. Seriously, is this really happening?! I go get the big ladder from the garage (our ceilings are even higher than Elias'), march it up the stairs, get a battery, and switch it out. (note: Elias slept through this whole drama)
We decided to take cookies to the firemen who came to our house, since we probably woke them up too. And I can't even fathom the amount of needless paperwork we created for them. Poor guys. So we went to Costco and bought cookies (because those of you who know me well know that had I actually baked cookies, there might have really been a need for the fire department). The kids carried the box of cookies in together, and they were invited in to see the trucks, tools, kitchen, bedrooms, etc. It was such a neat experience for them, and I am grateful for how friendly the firemen were. Overall, the while ordeal turned out to be a very positive thing for the kids. They got to experience real-life fire response in a completely safe environment. They got to see the guys in all their gear, which can look pretty scary, and realize that they are here to help us. Plus they got to do something nice for their local firemen. :)

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

1, 2, 3, Goooooo Redwings!

Elena decided she wanted to play t-ball this summer (like brother, like sister!). She is playing on a 3-year-old team through the YMCA, and she is the only girl on her team. Since she didn't actually turn 3 until the 2nd or 3rd week of the season, she is also the littlest one out there. Does she know that? Doubtful. She LOVES playing with "my boys", and she also loves being the representative-of-pink of the team. In fact, when we talked about signing her up, we dug out Elias' first glove for her to use. She quickly pushed it away and said confidently, "Ummmm, I think I need a PINK one. And a PINK hat." After a quick trip to Academy, she was set to go. (aren't you proud, Kirsten?!)
Her team is the Redwings, which is pretty cool considering her fascination with birds! Here are some pics from the most recent game...

Saying the YMCA pledge


Bow-head

"Hi Mommy!"

C'mon, ball!

Got milk?

All the moms thought it was great that she gave me a little pose before her swing.

BAM!

This is FUN!

Running to 1st base

Made it to 2nd base!

Waiting on 3rd

Run HOME!

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Are You Transformed?

This week kicks of The Great Adventure 2009. The Great Adventure is a month-long summer focus on loving and serving people all over the world. We start tonight with the Concert of Prayer, where we will pray for all the teams traveling on GO (global outreach) Trips, the work they will do, the people they will get to meet and work alongside, the Backyard Bible Clubs that will be happening all over Austin this week, the families who will attend them, the Extreme Adventure camp for 5th-7th graders, the Summerfest street party this Friday, etc. At the end of The Great Adventure (5 weeks from now), we will close the season with the Concert of Praise, thanking God for all the work He has done, for how He has grown us closer to Him, and for the lives He has changed.
The theme this year is "Transformed- More than Meets the Eye". And, yes, if you hear my cellphone ring in the next month, you will hear that my ringer has been changed to the theme song from Transformers. Elias thinks I am the coolest mom alive. :)
To illustrate how we can be transformed by God, Elias was given one of these at Sunday school today...




It's a mealworm. Thankfully, the nice teachers gave it oatmeal and a slice of potato, so there is nothing else we have to do for it. We don't even have to open the jar. Ever. :) Elias decided it is a girl, and he named it "Sarah". Not to be confused with "Sara", who is a friend from Kindergarten. Over the next 5 weeks, this is what it will become...



Yep, it's a beetle. Gross? Yes! Am I gonna touch it? No way! Is something gross transforming into something grosser (I know- not a word) going to help teach my son about the way God works in our lives? Absolutely!!! Am I excited about it? YAH-HOO!!!!

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Mommy, What year were you born in?

Conversation in the kitchen as I prepared dinner yesterday:
Elias: *runs in out of breath* Mom! I was born in 2002! What year were you born in?
Me: 1976. (that never sounded like a LONG time ago until i JUST said it)
Elias: WOW!!!! That was a looooooooooong time ago!!!!!!
Me: MmHmm.
Elias: What did they have back then?
Me: (thinking- "back then??? really???")
Elias: Did they have houses?
Me: *laughing hysterically now* YES WE HAD HOUSES!
Elias: What else did you have?
Me: Well, we had t.v. But no DVD. We got VCR's when I was a little girl though. (didn't even try to explain BETA vs VHS)
Elias: Did you have a phone?
Me: (how old does this kid think I am????) YES WE HAD PHONES!!!! Only for the house though. We didn't have phones for the car. Actually, we got one when I was a little girl and it was bigger than this house phone.
Elias: What about video games?
Me: We did have a video game. I was probably about your age when we got it. It was an Atari. And then we got a Nintendo a few years later.
Elias: Nintendo DS or Nintendo Wii?
Me: Nope. Just Nintendo. The ORIGINAL.
Elias: Hmm. What games did you play on it?
Me: Super Mario Brothers.
Elias: Oh yeah! Like Mario Cart?
Me: Nope. Just Super Mario Brothers.
Elias: What did the controls look like?
Me: OLD.