I am so happy for Chuck and Sara today! They are finally getting to go home to Tampa for at least a week break. I am not sure how long it has been but I know it's been months. I can't even imagine being away from my house for that long, let alone my dogs! I know they are eager to get back. I'm not sure if Chuck is going to try and get out on the boat, but I hope he is able to!
The latest they have heard is that they are going to be participating in a clinical trial starting either 5 days before Christmas (Boooo) or 5 days after Christmas (yeah!). They will be injecting chemo drugs straight into Chuck's liver. Sounds crazy, doesn't it? I am sure they would still appreciate your thoughts and prayers for them during this time!
Have a great time Chuck and Sara!!
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Our world in black and white!
This is Preston at his Thanksgiving Luncheon at school. They do such cute things at the school. He has loved it. In his hand is a picture frame that says what he's thankful for. Wes and I were glad that we made the list along with not just dogs, but also puppies!! And then he made sure to tell the teacher he was thankful for watching tv and playing video games. Sigh. I was trying to hide that!! ;)
Here's a snapshot of me and the big 'ol belly. Tuesday I will be 30 weeks. I feel like I've been pregnant forever, but for also a very short time. How is this possible? I have no idea. I will be glad to get my old body back though. I am sick of getting stuck in tight spaces!
Yes, this is our Owie. His new job around the house is flushing toilets non-stop and now he has decided it's more fun when you put stuff in there and then flush it! He has dumped a whole trash can full of trash in the toilet (luckily, he got distracted before he tried to flush it!), a teddy bear, Preston's shoes and then today his own shoes! Wes has already had to take a part the toilet once to dig stuff out of it, I don't know how many more times he will do it for this kid. His dimples are the only reason he still has a roof over his head.
Now, you just can't get any cuter than brother bonding time!! They fight a lot but they also like to play together too. This was one of those moments.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Thankfulness Even Through Hard Times
This isn't going to be your typical thankfulness post about how I am so thankful that I have a dog named Fido who loves to lick my face all of the time. This one is going to be a little bit deeper than that. So, hold on to your bonnets, folks.
This year has been a tough year for a lot of people I know. It has been a tough year for our family as well.
It's been a year of crossing our fingers, hoping that God knows what He's doing.
It's been a year of figuring out that I don't have things all figured out.
It's been a year of finding out how little control I have over my life.
It's been a year of being broken before God, saying "Why is this happening?"
It's been a year of saying "Well, things will be okay and God will do what I want if I just do X, Y and Z."
It's been a year of finding out that I can't control things that God is in control of.
It's been a year of losing loved ones who are close to us and wondering why.
You know the one thing that has affected me the most as I've dealt with difficult things? I wish I could say it was a Bible verse, but it's a song by Chris Tomlin "Our God is Greater." This song makes me cry almost everytime I hear it because it does two things for me:
1. First, it humbles me because I realize how I am nothing without MY GOD. I do not know how things are going to turn out, but that doesn't change the fact that my God is still there. Even if you want to deny the fact that God is in this world, it doesn't change the fact that HE IS. But what a great comfort to know that He is there!! Why would you want to ignore the existence of a God who holds the world in His hands??
2. I have been able to find comfort in the lyrics of the song that say "And if our God is for us, than who could ever stop us? And if our God is with us, than what can stand against?" Those words are so powerful to me because it reminds me I AM NOT ALONE. I don't have to go through trials feeling like the world is on my shoulders. God has planned everything that was going to happen to Stacy Cook before I was even born. What a great comfort it is to know that! Now this doesn't mean bad things aren't going to happen. It just means that when they do happen, I don't have to collapse under the pressure. I can say "God, this burden is too heavy. Please take it from me."
If you are struggling today with things like a broken marriage, an illness, loss of a loved one, financial problems, loss of a job, (sadly I can name at least 15 of you right off the top of my head) I hope and pray that you will lay your burdens down at God's feet. You can't do it alone. And God doesn't want you to. He wants to carry you and be "a Great God to you."
So, that's what I'm thankful for this Thanksgiving; that I have a God that is Greater than any other!!!
I have posted the video of the Chris Tomlin song so you can hear it! It should be in the post below.
This year has been a tough year for a lot of people I know. It has been a tough year for our family as well.
It's been a year of crossing our fingers, hoping that God knows what He's doing.
It's been a year of figuring out that I don't have things all figured out.
It's been a year of finding out how little control I have over my life.
It's been a year of being broken before God, saying "Why is this happening?"
It's been a year of saying "Well, things will be okay and God will do what I want if I just do X, Y and Z."
It's been a year of finding out that I can't control things that God is in control of.
It's been a year of losing loved ones who are close to us and wondering why.
You know the one thing that has affected me the most as I've dealt with difficult things? I wish I could say it was a Bible verse, but it's a song by Chris Tomlin "Our God is Greater." This song makes me cry almost everytime I hear it because it does two things for me:
1. First, it humbles me because I realize how I am nothing without MY GOD. I do not know how things are going to turn out, but that doesn't change the fact that my God is still there. Even if you want to deny the fact that God is in this world, it doesn't change the fact that HE IS. But what a great comfort to know that He is there!! Why would you want to ignore the existence of a God who holds the world in His hands??
2. I have been able to find comfort in the lyrics of the song that say "And if our God is for us, than who could ever stop us? And if our God is with us, than what can stand against?" Those words are so powerful to me because it reminds me I AM NOT ALONE. I don't have to go through trials feeling like the world is on my shoulders. God has planned everything that was going to happen to Stacy Cook before I was even born. What a great comfort it is to know that! Now this doesn't mean bad things aren't going to happen. It just means that when they do happen, I don't have to collapse under the pressure. I can say "God, this burden is too heavy. Please take it from me."
If you are struggling today with things like a broken marriage, an illness, loss of a loved one, financial problems, loss of a job, (sadly I can name at least 15 of you right off the top of my head) I hope and pray that you will lay your burdens down at God's feet. You can't do it alone. And God doesn't want you to. He wants to carry you and be "a Great God to you."
So, that's what I'm thankful for this Thanksgiving; that I have a God that is Greater than any other!!!
I have posted the video of the Chris Tomlin song so you can hear it! It should be in the post below.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
A little cleaning goes a long way
I'm not sure what happened to me this weekend, but my inner "Jim Laning" came out! For those who don't know him, that is my dad. I have vivid memories of waking up on Saturday mornings and the first thing we had to do was our chores. Now, I know I have nothing over Laura Ingalls, but I hated doing chores! The reason was because of what chore Lindsay and I were selected to do:
Clean the Basement!
Now you Hoosiers might not be able to relate as much because you guys don't normally have basements, but this would be the equivalent of having to clean out your garage (that you don't park in, btw) or your attic. My parents had turned half of our basement into a playroom which was wonderful during the week because we could mess that thing up sooo bad, but then Saturday would eventually come. It was judgement day for all of our messiness.
Lindsay and I would spend from about 8am to noon down there. Thinking back on it now, I'm sure we could have done things a little bit quicker but here's how the schedule looked:
8am: Talk about how cruel our parents were.
8:30am: Start crying about how unfair it was that we were made to do this slave labor.
8:45am: Vow we would never become like our parents when we got older.
9am: Decided we weren't going to let Jim the tyrannt tell us what to do so we would start playing Barbies.
9:45am: We would have a fight over who got the favorite dress or skirt and Lindsay would inevitably say "I quit!"
10am: We decided we needed to work together to get the basement clean and we hatched a plan to throw all of the toys in the play area that was built in under the stairs.
10:15am: We would call down Jim the Tyrrant and have him check to see how clean the basement was.
10:16am: He would always check under those stairs! "Nope, you girls aren't done. Call me when you have really cleaned it up."
10:17am: Hysterical screaming and crying would come from Lindsay and I (why was I sad that I wasn't pregnant for a girl again???) until we realized he probably didn't care that we were crying.
10:18am: We decided our parents just didn't love us. We would have to run away once we made it out of the basement.
10:45am: We finally decided that we should clean up so we could get out of the basement before it was dark out.
11:30am: Basement was cleaned up the "right way."
11:45am: The vaccum would inevitably start eating the carpet and smoking.
12pm: Dad would come down and free the carpet and tell us that we had done a great job.
You would think that we would have straigtened up and not gone through this drama every Saturday, but we never did! I think it was a good thing we moved from that house when we did! I might still be down there!
Anyway, I have gone off track terribly. My whole point of this blog was to tell you that I corralled my inner Jim Laning and put my boys to work this Saturday!! I had chores for everyone except for Owen and we were done cleaning the whole house top and bottom by noon!! And there was no drama!!! And I was able to get all of the laundry done. What a wonderful thing.
And now that the house is clean, I am a happy camper. It is amazing how not having something like a messy house to look at can totally alter your mood. I was even able to read a whole book in 3 days because of all of my extra time. Now this is the life........and I know it won't last long because in February, Baby #3 is going to drop us on our heads and make life hectic again so I need to enjoy it while I can. But hey, that's what life is all about, right???
Clean the Basement!
Now you Hoosiers might not be able to relate as much because you guys don't normally have basements, but this would be the equivalent of having to clean out your garage (that you don't park in, btw) or your attic. My parents had turned half of our basement into a playroom which was wonderful during the week because we could mess that thing up sooo bad, but then Saturday would eventually come. It was judgement day for all of our messiness.
Lindsay and I would spend from about 8am to noon down there. Thinking back on it now, I'm sure we could have done things a little bit quicker but here's how the schedule looked:
8am: Talk about how cruel our parents were.
8:30am: Start crying about how unfair it was that we were made to do this slave labor.
8:45am: Vow we would never become like our parents when we got older.
9am: Decided we weren't going to let Jim the tyrannt tell us what to do so we would start playing Barbies.
9:45am: We would have a fight over who got the favorite dress or skirt and Lindsay would inevitably say "I quit!"
10am: We decided we needed to work together to get the basement clean and we hatched a plan to throw all of the toys in the play area that was built in under the stairs.
10:15am: We would call down Jim the Tyrrant and have him check to see how clean the basement was.
10:16am: He would always check under those stairs! "Nope, you girls aren't done. Call me when you have really cleaned it up."
10:17am: Hysterical screaming and crying would come from Lindsay and I (why was I sad that I wasn't pregnant for a girl again???) until we realized he probably didn't care that we were crying.
10:18am: We decided our parents just didn't love us. We would have to run away once we made it out of the basement.
10:45am: We finally decided that we should clean up so we could get out of the basement before it was dark out.
11:30am: Basement was cleaned up the "right way."
11:45am: The vaccum would inevitably start eating the carpet and smoking.
12pm: Dad would come down and free the carpet and tell us that we had done a great job.
You would think that we would have straigtened up and not gone through this drama every Saturday, but we never did! I think it was a good thing we moved from that house when we did! I might still be down there!
Anyway, I have gone off track terribly. My whole point of this blog was to tell you that I corralled my inner Jim Laning and put my boys to work this Saturday!! I had chores for everyone except for Owen and we were done cleaning the whole house top and bottom by noon!! And there was no drama!!! And I was able to get all of the laundry done. What a wonderful thing.
And now that the house is clean, I am a happy camper. It is amazing how not having something like a messy house to look at can totally alter your mood. I was even able to read a whole book in 3 days because of all of my extra time. Now this is the life........and I know it won't last long because in February, Baby #3 is going to drop us on our heads and make life hectic again so I need to enjoy it while I can. But hey, that's what life is all about, right???
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
I'm still here.....barely.
If you have followed the blog for any period of time, you will notice that I haven't really posted what's going on with us for a while. Sure, I have put up pictures but that's about it!
Here's the deal. The children have concocted a plan to take over the house and drive their parents to insanity, and it worked! I am just a shell of the person I once was. (Sidenote: can you believe my dad had to deal with 3 girls who were this dramatic? And I'm lower drama than one sister that will remain nameless. Her name does happen to rhyme with Chinsay.)
Anyway! I haven't had such a difficult "season" of parenting to date. I don't like feeling out of control when it comes to parenting, but at times lately, that's exactly what I have been. It has been humbling to say the least. All of the book knowledge I have from reading parenting books still hasn't been able to save me. They haven't been able to save me from.......
THE SHRILL
If you have been around Owen for any period of time, you know exactly what I'm talking about. He has perfected this blood-curdling, ear-piercing scream that just makes you wince. It is so loud, everytime I hear it, I want to run for cover. And so does everyone else who hears it. This scream has seriously altered our lives the last few months. We go through the drive thru now instead of eating in, we get babysitters for him if we are doing anything remotely quiet, we don't do our grocery shopping with him, we really give a second thought to anything that involves taking him out the front door.
The Shrill can come at anytime. There is no warning. It could be due to Preston stealing a toy, Owen being hungry, Owen seeing a plane, train or automobile...you name it! Most days when I drop off Preston to preschool, Owen shrills the whole way home. Luckily it is only a 3 minute drive.
I hate it. I hate that I am held hostage by this little person. I hate what it is doing to my patience! I can't do what I want to do or need to do because of him. It's seriously cramping my style!! Because he is so young, we have really had a hard time disciplining him. We have tried smacking his hand, his mouth, his butt...you name it! Nothing works. He just screams louder. We have now started to put him in time out away from the rest of the family and that seems to have helped a little bit because he likes being around everyone. But I know in my heart of hearts that this is one of those problems where the solution is TIME. Boo. I hate that answer, but I know as he develops better language skills, he will be able to communicate better without feeling like he has to scream to get what he wants.
I don't like not being able to fix this problem. I don't like looking like I don't know what I'm doing. I don't like thinking that people are judging me. I don't like thinking that I might have to deal with this problem on top of having a new infant.
The only silver lining in this situation has been that it has brought Wes and I closer. I really love knowing that he is my partner in this (if anything just because Owen is half his DNA!) and that we can just look at each other and understand how annoyed we are. He knows when I need a break from "The Siren" and I know when he needs a break as well. I joked with Wes recently that Owen has colic and it just hasn't shown itself until now!
So, if you are with us anytime in the next few weeks or months, be gracious. Please don't judge us. Just understand that this is something new we are trying to deal with and we are doing the best we can. And know we love our Owen very much.
Ahhhh....that feels good to get that rant off my chest! Hopefully someone who reads this can be encouraged that these "seasons" of life happen to everyone. I hope we can love and encourage each other to get through the hard times!! I know I will be a lot more understanding next time I see a toddler screaming in the shopping cart!!
Here's the deal. The children have concocted a plan to take over the house and drive their parents to insanity, and it worked! I am just a shell of the person I once was. (Sidenote: can you believe my dad had to deal with 3 girls who were this dramatic? And I'm lower drama than one sister that will remain nameless. Her name does happen to rhyme with Chinsay.)
Anyway! I haven't had such a difficult "season" of parenting to date. I don't like feeling out of control when it comes to parenting, but at times lately, that's exactly what I have been. It has been humbling to say the least. All of the book knowledge I have from reading parenting books still hasn't been able to save me. They haven't been able to save me from.......
THE SHRILL
If you have been around Owen for any period of time, you know exactly what I'm talking about. He has perfected this blood-curdling, ear-piercing scream that just makes you wince. It is so loud, everytime I hear it, I want to run for cover. And so does everyone else who hears it. This scream has seriously altered our lives the last few months. We go through the drive thru now instead of eating in, we get babysitters for him if we are doing anything remotely quiet, we don't do our grocery shopping with him, we really give a second thought to anything that involves taking him out the front door.
The Shrill can come at anytime. There is no warning. It could be due to Preston stealing a toy, Owen being hungry, Owen seeing a plane, train or automobile...you name it! Most days when I drop off Preston to preschool, Owen shrills the whole way home. Luckily it is only a 3 minute drive.
I hate it. I hate that I am held hostage by this little person. I hate what it is doing to my patience! I can't do what I want to do or need to do because of him. It's seriously cramping my style!! Because he is so young, we have really had a hard time disciplining him. We have tried smacking his hand, his mouth, his butt...you name it! Nothing works. He just screams louder. We have now started to put him in time out away from the rest of the family and that seems to have helped a little bit because he likes being around everyone. But I know in my heart of hearts that this is one of those problems where the solution is TIME. Boo. I hate that answer, but I know as he develops better language skills, he will be able to communicate better without feeling like he has to scream to get what he wants.
I don't like not being able to fix this problem. I don't like looking like I don't know what I'm doing. I don't like thinking that people are judging me. I don't like thinking that I might have to deal with this problem on top of having a new infant.
The only silver lining in this situation has been that it has brought Wes and I closer. I really love knowing that he is my partner in this (if anything just because Owen is half his DNA!) and that we can just look at each other and understand how annoyed we are. He knows when I need a break from "The Siren" and I know when he needs a break as well. I joked with Wes recently that Owen has colic and it just hasn't shown itself until now!
So, if you are with us anytime in the next few weeks or months, be gracious. Please don't judge us. Just understand that this is something new we are trying to deal with and we are doing the best we can. And know we love our Owen very much.
Ahhhh....that feels good to get that rant off my chest! Hopefully someone who reads this can be encouraged that these "seasons" of life happen to everyone. I hope we can love and encourage each other to get through the hard times!! I know I will be a lot more understanding next time I see a toddler screaming in the shopping cart!!
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Halloween Pictures
Thought it might be time to post the Halloween pictures before it gets to be Christmas!!
Because Halloween isn't just for the kids......
And Wes needed another reason to show off his chest hair.
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