Grace's First Beauty Salon Haircut

Today Grace got her first beauty salon haircut. She always goes with daddy and Luke to get their haircuts. Today was her day. They were have a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. All the money today benefited the ACS. When I scheduled it 2 months ago I had know idea how much more it would mean to me today. Grace loved her haircut was very cooperative and they even braided it for her. What a fun day. Oh, and of course Luke talked the beauticians ear off (my friend Jennette).

Our Surprise Trip

It all started with this great idea and the intent to surprise our two little peanuts with a trip to "Great Wolf Lodge." They have been begging us to take them back. Fortunately, the two of them, with their great scheming abilities, came up with a plan to out do ours. They got together on the (DL) down low and schemed surprises for both mom and dad.

The parents' plans were going flawlessly...it started with a special surprise breakfast of mini boxes of cereal. I remember as a kid, anytime we took a trip we got the mini boxes of cereal. Frosted flakes were my favorite. The kiddos loved the boxes of cereal since they were sugared (we only eat WIC cereals which you add your own sugar).



I managed to pack everything without them knowing...hehehe.... We were in the van and I handed the kids special envelopes. They opened the envelopes and there was a piece of paper that said "Surprise...We are going to Great Wolf Lodge" and then some pictures so that they would know. I got out the picnic lunch and settled back to enjoy the 1.5 hour trip to Grand Mound, Washington. I was relaxed and happy. They were thrilled with the "bacation" as Luke called it. Once I let my guard down the kids knew it was their signal to break out their own surprises.

An hour into the trip, I hear a tiny voice from the very back of the van say, "Mommy, I have paper in my ear." "You have what in your ear?" I asked. "Paper in my ear" she repeats. Fabulous. I scale into the back of the van which is really no problem after all our "bacations" to Disneyland. Yep..sure enough...paper in the ear. Mark pulled over the van where we attempted to pull the paper out with some tiny tweezers. No luck. I called her ENT, good ole Dr. Wilson, to see what we should do. Their reply, "Normally we would say leave it and we will get out when you get back, but since you are going to a water park better to have it checked out." Great. Centralia ER here we come. By now, I am not a very happy mommy and Luke sensing my frustration is nearly in tears saying "Grace, why did you do that. Why did you have to ruin my bacation."


We pull up to the Centralia ER and fortunately we didn't wait too long. It was wonderful recounting the events several times to many people. They finally call us back. All I am thinking about is I cannot believe this is happening. Grace thinks it is great and makes herself at home watching TV. Why not? This is after all her "bacation".



It takes nearly an hour to flush her ear out. They couldn't reach it with the scoop. Finally large amounts of paper come out. What kind of paper was it? Oh, only the envelope of my surprise note that I gave the kids. Fabulous. We are walking to the car and hear her little voice. She looks up at me and says, "Mommy, I have fun at hospital." Wonderful. At least the kids had a good time. After all they brought them Popsicles. Who wouldn't like the hospital?



Back on the road, nearly two hours later. We make it to the lodge and are starving. We go down to one the restaurants to eat. Luke is very excited and decides to inhale his hot dog. I almost had to do the Heimlich maneuver. I rushed him out of the restaurant because he is sobbing. It scared him very badly. By now I am exhausted and think what did I get myself into. But, I still went to the water park and the arcade. What good parents we are.

The Graduate

Luke graduated from Kindergarten last Thursday night. He was so precious. The did a big presentation for the families. Luke sang is little heart out to the point of choking and coughing. The kids all had caps and gowns and tassels. Luke even had a small speaking part. He did great!

Mimi and Papa came. Grace enjoyed being at the graduation. They made a slide show presentation about their year in kindergarten. Grace kept saying, "Look, there's Lukey....there's Lukey again. OH, there's me, Gracie." It was too cute. I can't believe that he is a big first grader now.

Updates

I know it has been too long since I last update everyone. It is scary how fast time goes by. Let me see if I can recap....

Mark ended up getting furloughed at his work. We kind of knew this was going to happen. We are sure that he will be going back to work soon as soon as things pick up.

I took Luke to an eye appointment. He probably needs vision therapy and we are going to have an assessment for that later this month. Poor kid, I just wish we could get a break somewhere. He also has risk factors for glaucoma. The doctors will have to watch this closely as it runs in the family history.

I turned 30. Scary. It is hard to believe. We had a nice little quiet birthday at the house. The kids got me some presents and an ice cream cake from Cold Stone. Later I want to take the kids to Bennihana to celebrate.

We booked a trip to Disneyland for September.

Kids are finished with school. Yippeee!!!

Waiting...

I feel like all I am doing is waiting....
Waiting for warmer weather...
Waiting for school to be out...
Waiting for Mark to be laid off from work...
Waiting for meds to work...
Waiting for appointments...
Waiting for teacher contracts...
Waiting for news...
Waiting for vacation...
Waiting to hear from God...
Just waiting...

Did I mention I am not patient?

Tulip Festival

We took the kids to the Woodburn Tulip Festival this year. It was really beautiful. We had no idea what to expect, but we were very impressed. It is amazing to see so many tulips. Enjoy the pictures.

What are You Celebrating?

Ok, I admit it... I am a Disney freak. I found this and I had to share. It is getting close to my birthday (the big 3-0). I would love to celebrate it this way! (hehe). Pause my music player to hear the video. It is worth it. Want one for you? Go to disneyland.com and scroll down on the right hand side. Look for the title that invites you to make a video.

Luke Turns 6

My baby is 6. Hard to believe. He had a great birthday last week. I guess it is the birthday that keeps on going. We had a small party for him at home with just us. I took cupcakes to his classroom on Monday with goody bags. Luke was very adamant about the goody bags. He had a great time. He is still into sports, guns and now skateboards. He is life and love and everything happy. Luke is so smart and doing well learning to read. His handwriting is coming along nicely too. His favorite color is still black and he amazes me with the things he says.

The Car Accident

Well.....it happened.....the kids and I were in a car accident on I-5. I had taken a Friday off work to take Grace to an assessment at the Early Childhood Center and then I was planning to take the kids to the zoo. We had crossed over the 1-5 bridge and were working our way through Delta Park when we were hit by a driver in a dodge ram 2500. The police showed up. The kids were scared and so was I. Luke keeps informing me that if we happen to get in another car accident that I don't need to cry. It has been quite the process of getting things back in order. Once car seats are in an accident they no longer can be used. The seats might be compromised and therefore would not do their job in another accident. The van had the expensive seats in them and it has cost nearly 500 dollars to replace them. Thankfully the insurance paid for them. The van is fixed now and the kids and I are very relieved. We had a small rental car (which we were thankful for) but it was nothing like our van. We are very grateful that no one was hurt (I had minor whiplash) and that God protected us that day.

Grace Turns 4

I know it has been forever since I blogged last, but I am going to try and play catch up with the major events of March for our family (and yes there have been quite a few). Grace started out the month turning 4, even though she promised me she wouldn't :) We had a small celebration on the day because we were having a big party at the end of the month. She had a small cake and a couple of gifts. Grace is quite the character these days. If there is ever anything you need to know about a Disney princess she is the gal for you. She loves them all and talks a lot about going to see 'her' castle at Disneyland. I think her favorite princess is a toss up between Belle and Sleeping Beauty. Her favorite color is still pink and she is growing like a weed. We love you Gracie Girl!!!

Faith

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." Hebrews 11:1

I was explaining faith to my almost 6 year old tonight as we said good night and I was reminded of the verse in Hebrews. His response, "what do we not see?" Faith is so necessary in our relationship with God. It is a driving force. So much of what we do requires faith and a belief in the in "unseen".

God has been speaking to our hearts some things that require a lot of faith. At times I think that it might require too much faith. But can a person really have too much faith? And I am reminded of what the bible says about faith in James chapter 2, "As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead." I continue to pray for clarity regarding issues that require large amounts of faith. I know that I never want to come to a place in my life where I no longer give God authority to speak to me about my life.

This year I organized the 30 hour famine for our youth group. It has been a completely life changing experience. I guess I didn't expect it to have the profound impact on my life that it has had. I have been challenged in several different ways especially to examine my selfishness. My eyes have been open to the hurt/death/poverty/disease and famine that is occurring all around the United States. The statistics are staggering. We have been blessed as a nation with so much. I think sometimes we don't stop and appreciate and are truly thankful for what we have been given.