It's cold...in Texas...in October...hmmm

The weather here has been fabulous!! The leaves are even turning various shades of brown. :) This week is dragging by. I'm not really sure why. Lots of little fires to put out, lots of driving. I am counting down the days until Ben and I head to visit my sister. I'm taking...wait for it...an ENTIRE WEEK OFF. Not a half day to sleep in or a Monday just because...an entire week.

Doesn't Ben look precious in his little shirt? A kid at daycare said he looked like an old man. HAHA. Kids are so great. Here's something funny that my Ben did/said...He's in love with Oreos ever since we bribed him with one. So he gets one as a special treat every once in awhile. I thought he was eating the entire cookie...until I started finding the chocolate cookies with the icing scraped off in random places. I've found them in the garage, car seat, door of the car...ok, no more eating in the car. But the funny part was this morning on our way to daycare he started saying "poop, poop." I turn around and see that he has found an Oreo and was in the process of eating it. He had gotten some chewed up cookie (aren't kids great??) on his finger and was telling me it was poop. I reassured him it was not poop, but he was convinced. So then he ate it and again stated that it was poop.

Yes, mom he isn't wearing shoes...we were only out there for a little while.

Ghosts?? Really??

Ben has a little bed time routine...bath, cartoons, books, bed. Brian and I hear Ben start to cry as he watches his cartoons. Usually, I have no issues with Noggin or Wonder Pets. What could possibly go wrong when he's watching a hamster, a turtle, and a duck with a slight speech impediment? Well, tonight was the Halloween special. For 30 minutes, my son has been talking/crying about the "ghosts." It took me a while to even figure out what he was saying. So, my two year-old is now afraid of ghosts...or scary ghost, as he calls them.

The "Farm"

We've been looking forward to a little get-away this weekend for about a month now. Our friends' were offered the use of one of their church member's "farm house." We packed up our two year-olds and headed to a little place called Edge, TX. We really didn't know what to expect. I just hoped and prayed it had electricity and a bathroom. :)

I now have a new definition for "farm house."


Living room...yes, there was cable. AND the new Martha Stewart mag. :) I must've said 'don't touch that' a MILLION times.


Our room...looking at this picture, I realized that Brian didn't put the pillows back like they had it before. Oops!

Sweet Elisa and Ben. She pretty much runs the show...Ben would follow her anywhere, as long as she doesn't ask him to share. We're having sharing issues.

We're in a "rocks are toys" stage.

The kids did great. We are blessed to have great friends and some new sweet memories!

Not into elephants...

My mom bought Ben the CUTEST Halloween costume. It's an elephant. We love it - he hates it. Tonight, I am slightly ashamed to admit that I bribed my son with a cookie to put on his elephant costume. And it worked...sort of. He did not realize when he agreed to our little deal that he had to eat his cookie while wearing the costume. This did not go over very well. He was finally able to wriggle out of it and run for freedom. I think we'll have to dress him up in his sleep to get any pictures of him NOT crying while wearing his costume.

The elephant and the cookie.

Don't judge me... :)

Here are some happy pictures of Ben. He's so much fun! Not much else going on really. :) I guess that can sometimes be a good thing!

Happy Columbus Day!

I took today off b/c the daycare is closed today. State employees don't get the day off, but my daycare lady does. :) We've had a great day...just a few bumps along the way. We went to the park and after about 10 minutes, these weird little kids came ( I know that's awful to say, but I'm being honest). They were about 4 and 6. The little boy got two inches from Ben's face to "talk" to him. His talking consisted of yelling about bubbles and slides. I was annoyed. Then they went to play in the "sand box" which is really a sand volley ball court. I could only imagine how many stray cats had done their business in that thing. I finally pulled Ben away from the litter box, kicking and screaming. I go over to the play ground, only to be greeted by someone from a past job (worst job in my life!). She said hello, of course she couldn't remember my name. I said hello and ignored her. Luckily Ben was content to play by himself for the rest of the time.

Now I'm trying to finish up the laundry and other loose ends before it's time to start dinner. I really do enjoy my days off with my little Benjamin. We've only had one time-out all day...pretty good I thought. Granted it was for smacking me on the head when he was told no, but I guess it's all relative. One time out is still one time out.

Am I a bad mom b/c I took a picture of him in time-out? He was wearing an intertube, I really had no choice.


"I be good, mommy."


All day he has played with a laundry basket (filled with his blankies) and the intertube. He has not gotten out a single toy.

Blah...

I've been really blah this week so I haven't really taken the time to blog that much. Here's a few fun things Ben did this week...I made us all a great dinner and Ben said his chicken was "nasty." HAHAHAHAHA. Of course we had to redirect him but come on, that is funny. This afternoon in the car, Brian and I started him on his counting. He usually says 1, 2, 3, 90. :) Today he counted all the way to SEVEN! We just kind of stared at him. It was awesome. Of course, when I had the camera out, he refused to do it again.

Weekend in Big D

Ben and I went to see my parents this weekend. We had a great time. Grammy and Papa spoiled Ben rotten! I think dad and Cliff were excited that Ben could finally rough house. :) I'm not sure the daycare lady is going to be very excited about Ben's new "hit, run, and giggle" move he picked up this weekend.

Mom, Dad, and Ben went to get some pumpkins. Ben had a blast. They bought him one that was just his size. Where was I during this outing?? Taking a NAP! I will gladly admit that I didn't get of my pajamas all day Saturday. :) So between pumpkins, naps, and home cooked meals, I'd say the weekend was a success.

I'm pretty sure they came home with that one.

Um....not too sure about the scarecrow.

Who is that big boy???

Rocks and water...doesn't get much better than that!

The Mountain Tops

I love "My Utmost for His Highest" by Oswald Chambers. I've been reading it for years, but God continues to use it no matter how many times I have gone over the same passage. The entry for 10/1 is about the mountain tops in life.

"Jesus leadeth them up into a high mountain apart by themselves." Mark 9:2

We have all had times on the mount, when we have seen things from God's standpoint and have wanted to stay there; but God will never allow us to stay there. The test of our spiritual life is the power to descend; if we have power to rise only, something is wrong. It is a great thing to be on the mount with God, but a man only gets there in order that afterwards he may get down among the devil-possessed and lift them up. We are not built for the mountains and the dawns and aesthetic affinities, those are for moments of inspiration, that is all. We are built for the valley, for the ordinary stuff we are in, and that is where we have to prove our mettle. Spiritual selfishness always wants repeated moments on the mount. We feel we could talk like angels and live like angels, if only we could stay on the mount. The times of exaltation are exceptional, they have their meaning in our life with God, but we must beware lest our spiritual selfishness wants to make them the only time.

We are apt to think that everything that happens is to be turned into useful teaching, it is to be turned into something better than teaching, viz., into character. The mount is not meant to teach us anything, it is meant to make us something. There is a great snare in asking - What is the use of it? In spiritual matters we can never calculate on that line. The moments on the mountain tops are rare moments, and they are meant for something in God's purpose.

I had a "mountain top" moment today. Let me preface it by asking the moms out there to remember that exact moment when your brand new baby was placed in your arms. The amazing journey you had traveled in those short nine months was over, and you had your perfect little one and a life time ahead to look forward to. You would get to experience his first smile, his first laugh, first tooth, first everything.

Today, I was able to be a part of a mother and father's firsts. I have been looking for a family for a perfect little toddler boy. I had already gone through two families who were unable to commit to the placement. Family #3 agreed and we began the process. This morning, we met to discuss the child and plan placement, etc. Then we walked down the hallway where the child was asleep in a co-worker's arms. As my co-worker handed the sleeping little boy over to his new mommy and daddy, I was overwhelmed by this "first." The proud new dad looked at me and said "We've been waiting for so long." Not for nine months, or even a year...over a dozen years. I have only known them a short time, but I am convinced that their faith has carried them through their journey. They may have missed the child's first smile, first laugh, first steps, but they didn't feel cheated. As they spent the morning with him, they had their firsts...first time to hold him, to play with him, to feed him, to kiss his chubby little cheeks. I stood there watching, with tears in my eyes, wondering why I get to do what I do. My job is hard; there are constantly people pulling me every way, telling me I'm not doing enough or I'm not good enough. I'll be honest, I have checked the want ads in the last few weeks. But this mountain top has shown me not to run when things get hard or when people are cruel and questioning. I must stand strong as I descend back into my daily tasks of ordinary life. Even if the mountain tops are few and far between, in the end, it is all worth it.