Friends

I was thinking tonight about one of my friends who has a birthday coming up. I want to do something really special for her, and I was trying to nail it all down in my mind. As my thoughts wandered, I began to think back on our friendship and how it has grown over the last 10 years. I started thinking about all the amazing things this friend has done for me and how nothing I could possibly buy her for her birthday could measure up to the friendship and love she has shown me. I actually began making a mental list of all the things she has done, and many of them go WAY beyond the typical role of friend. As I did this, I realized that I have had LOTS of women like this in my life since college. It was really kind of cool to think back through memories of how God has encouraged me and provided for me through my friends. I thought I would make a list. If you are reading and recognize something, know that I am truly grateful for you and am thinking about what a great friend you are!

- Cleaned a crock pot that had been sitting on my counter (full of food) for over 10 days when I was in the hospital pregnant with Elias. This was in New Orleans. Think HOT. Think GROSS!!! If I were ever asked to do this for anyone, I would throw it in the trash and go buy her a new one. It was THAT BAD!!!!
- Washed my hair when I was pregnant with Elias and couldn't even lift my head without puking.
- Drove with me, my dog, and her baby boy from New Orleans to Indianapolis when we moved. (our husbands drove the moving truck). Then helped us unpack and get settled. We were both pregnant.
- Gave me one of the best laughs I can ever remember by doing the Yahtzee Dance in our living room in Indiana. This was really funny because we had only known this couple for a month or so, but they are some of our very best friends now!
- Asked me to go walking on one of the first "warm" (meaning 50's!) days in the spring after Elias was born. Her son was 3 months younger than Elias. Our boys are now lifelong friends.
- Helped me clean my house more times than I can count. Seriously, she may have cleaned my bathrooms in Avon, IN more times than I did! And she can fold laundry like nobody's business!
- Loves Elias more than anyone else unrelated that I can think of. Would call and ask "Can I come over and put Elias to bed tonight?" when she had a free evening. She would spend extra time reading and praying with him, and I would get the night off!
- Taught me how to read a sewing pattern and how to smock. Elena has many an outfit because of this "mom" I had in Indiana!
- Came to visit us from TN twice while we lived in IN. Left us incredibly encouraged and enriched by their friendship and conversations.
- Took care of Elias when I was pregnant and in bedrest with Elena. Some of these ladies even brought fun recipes and cooked with him while I laid semi-conscious on the couch being fed through I.V.
- Took me to get my PICC line put in when I was pregnant with Elena. I can't imagine being with anyone else that day!
- Flew in from out of town to spend a week with me before Elena was born.
- Rocked Elena and rubbed her tummy on McC's front porch for her "7pm nap". (This applies to 3 of you!)
- Came running from her house when I called and said Elena had puked all over me and I couldn't move without getting it everywhere.
- Drove me, Elias, and Elena to library time every week at a time when Elena HATED riding in the car!!!! Discovered that Elena liked country music.
- Drove me, Elias, and Elena to church every Sunday morning for months when we only had one car.
- Went with me to have the kids' first allergy testing.
- Spent a week taking care of me and both kids after my foot surgery last December while Adaryll came here to look for a house.
- Packed up my ENTIRE house in boxes to move to TX after my surgery. Most days they even brought lunch and started dinner cooking!
- Flew down to TX to help me get settled once we got moved in.
- Drove down from IN for Spring Break and let our kids have another week together!
- Coming next week from IN and is going to get to come to Elias' birthday party!

There are so many more times like those that I could go on and on forever! I am glad I have this written record of these now, so I can look back in years to come and remember these sweet times. Thanks, friends, for all you do! And thanks even more for who you are!

Mystery Solved

The 2-day fever mystery has been solved. Elena puked all over her carseat, the floor, herself, etc. on the way home from a t-ball game tonight. I am pretty sure this is our first exposure to car puking. Or I have blocked a previous experience out of my mind completely because of the trauma! Have I mentioned how bad her puke stinks?? And to be stuck in a minivan with it??? Ugh! Poor baby. After it was all over, she said in a pitiful, puny, sweet voice from the backseat, "I need a towel. I need a towel."
The carseat pad, belts, etc have already been through the washer and dryer and is put back together. I am hoping there is no round 2 because I just put clean sheets on her bed yesterday! I mean, really, if you are gonna have to change pukie sheets, it would be nice if they were due to be changed anyway, right?!

So Pretty!

Elena woke up with a fever yesterday, and has obviously not felt like herself for a couple of days. This morning her temp was still 102, so I stayed home from Bible Study. Since Adaryll was able to take Elias to school, Elena and I don't have to leave the house until we pick him up this afternoon! Ahhhh, the bliss!

We laid in bed and watched Barney until about 9:30. Then we decided we would have a real "girls' day". So, we took a bubble bath and painted her toenails pink. Then (while watching more Barney!) I braided her whole head in diagonal cornrows. After seeing herself in the mirror, she exclaimed, "So Pretty!" At least if she feels crappy she still knows that she looks good! And I have reached my Barney quota for the whole rest of 2008.

Tooth For Sale

Elias lost his first tooth tonight!!! Actually, I pulled it. And I can't even begin to tell you how proud I am of myself, because I said before I ever had kids that wiggly teeth would be my nemesis as a parent. It really was worse watching him wiggle it the past week than it was to pull it out!

He was in the bath and I told him to wiggle it 20 times. Then I wiggled it 20 times. Then I had him try to pull it. It was too slippery so I got him a baby wipe to grab it with. I kept having him push it back because it would go all the way forward but still wouldn't come out. Finally, I asked him if he wanted me to try. He said yes, so I got the baby wipe and- bingo!- it pretty much came right out!

We called Adaryll into the bathroom and showed it to him, which is where the real fun begins. We had told Elias when his tooth became loose that there was something special about losing a tooth. Once it comes out, you get to sell it to your mom and dad! We had decided a long time ago not to do the tooth-fairy, but we didn't want him to miss out on getting money for teeth like his friends. So, tonight, Adaryll took the tooth in his hand and asked Elias, "Will you sell this tooth to me?" Elias got really excited and said yes. I asked him how much the tooth would cost, and he said 5 dollars. A bit steep, but it is the first one and all. Next time, we may have to negotiate a better price!

Elias then went and got an envelope and wrote "Tooth for sale. 5 dollars" and placed it under his pillow. Sometime during the night, it will be bought and he will find money instead of the tooth in the envelope.

Wordless Wednesday

It's that time of the week again! I post the photo, you leave the caption in the comments. Note: you do not have to have a blogger account to leave a comment, so go ahead and click "comments" and share your thoughts...

Ther-monitor

Tonight after reading time, Elias got up in bed and told me he needed a thermometer. I asked him why, thinking that maybe he wasn't feeling well. This would make sense because his good friend Christina (who he was with yesterday at church and at AWANA) stayed home today and her doctor thinks she has strep. So, as the feelings of "what is this night going to bring" started to come, I asked Elias why he needed a thermometer. I was surprised by his answer.
"So that you can hear me if I make noise", he said.
Hmmm, I thought, what IS he talking about??
He started pointing to the camera monitor and explained again that he wanted me to hear him if he made noise.
Then I realized he meant monitor. As in baby monitor. Which is no longer in his room. (but we do still have the camera one set up, even though the receiving end is almost always on Elena's channel) So I said to him, "OH! A monitor. Mon-It-Or."
"Yes," he said, "a thermometer".
I then explained that a thermometer is what you put in your mouth when you are sick and it checks your temperature. A mon-it-tor is what he is talking about.
"Right, a therm-monitor" he said.
"No, no. Mon-It-Tor"
"Therm-mon-it-tor"
"No, listen. Mon-it-tor"
"Therm-mon-it-tor"
"No! There is no Therm! It is just mon-it-tor!"
"Mon-It-Tor?"
"Yes!"
"Monitor!" (laughs hysterically at his mistake)

Creation Play

A couple of weeks ago, Elias came home with a sheet in his folder explaining that the Kindergarten classes would be putting on a play. It would be about creation and Elias was supposed to dress up as the Stars. I was a little bit at a loss for how we would make him "the Stars", but he was all fired-up about it! I asked him how the teachers decided who would dress up as what (I was selfishly wishing he had been assigned to be a fish or a tree!), and he told me that they each got to choose. He told me he wanted to be the stars because it would be the most fun to be the stars! (funny side note: my sister suggested that I dress him up in Hollywood garb and fancy shades and have him walk all swanky on the stage like a movie star. That would have been hilarious, but none of the 5 year olds would have gotten the joke!)

As you can see from the pictures, we went with simple for his costume. He loved making it and wearing it. All the kids did a great job "being" God's creation and acting out earth's first 7 days. Once again, I was just overwhelmed with gratefulness and joy about where he is in school and what he is learning there.

God created "The Stars"

This is Elias' class dressed as God's creation. You can see the darkness, light, sun, moon, stars, water, trees, birds, fish, and animals. Adam and Eve were in another class.

"He's got the whole world in His hands"

"My God is so great, so strong and so mighty, there's nothing my God can not do!"

(another side note: This is the song I blogged about last Spring that Elias was singing "The mountains are His, the rivers are His, the stars are in San Diego too" instead of "the stars are His handiwork too". I guess his music teacher corrected him...)

Wordless Wednesday Winner

Pic #1: Adaryll- "Aflac"

Pic #2: Brent- ""Really? You think you have problems ... you ought to check out what is brewing in my diapers - then come talk to me."

Slide

Sometime during the Spring season of t-ball, I asked a parent what age they teach the boys to slide. This particular dad really knew his stuff. He had played baseball all the way through college and into the minor leagues. To answer my question, he looked me square in the eye and laughed. "Boys don't have to be taught to slide", he said. "They just figure it out on their own."

Elias figured it out tonight. Both of his at-bats ended with sliding into first base. It was careful, tentative, I-don't-want-to-hurt-myself sliding. But sliding it was, nonetheless! Watch these 2 videos to see for yourself.

First At-Bat

Second At-Bat

Tonight we played at 6:00, which is the first gametime of the night. It's always neat to play the first game of the night because they play the national anthem over the loudspeaker. For Elias, this part is as good as the actual game.

5000?

I think my blog counter will hit 5000 today or tomorrow. You people are amazing!