Random Questions #6 -- RetroPost

The Random Questions process
~Choose one or all of the questions to answer.
~Either respond with a comment to this post with your answer or put up a post on your own blog for a full response.
~Don't forget to include any funny or interesting story to illustrate your answer in action.
~Be sure to leave a comment on this post to let us know where to find your post so we can come check it out!

Round 6-- Truly random!! I've just got some weird stuff bouncing around in my head today, so enjoy!

1. How's your closet? Do you use all the same kind of hangers? Wire, plastic, or wood? Do you hang everything in the same direction, like all shirts facing the same way?

2. Are you a channel flipper or a commercial watcher? OR do you get up and do a quick task during commercials? OR are you a DVR addict who never watches a commercial because you never watch shows as they actually air?

3. Have you ever looked at your house after a holiday and truly debated just packing a suitcase and walking away?

4. How do you keep your kids, especially the under 2 crowd, calm during long road trips? Ever considered a "travel nanny"?

5. Do you notice typos in other blogs, articles, or even handwritten notes or cards? Or let your brain skim the text for the concept and skip the details of spelling and grammar?
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1 - The hangers in our closet are quite the assortment. When we purchase hangers we buy white plastic, but we do have some wire from the dry cleaners and are constantly weeding them out. Clothes are hung in sections, shirts, jackets, pants, skirts, etc., with summer stuff in a separate section, all clothes are facing the same way. The worst part is the floor. Adam -- quit reading this part.... I have TOO many shoes. I straighten them frequently but they get messed up easily and are strewn about. Of course, I need them all. =)

2 - We are DVR addicts so mostly we ff through commercials. I find it difficult to watch a 'real-time' show because I dislike commercials so much. Kabe, on the other hand, really likes commercials, and even when DVR'd will play & replay them. Total pop-culture kid.

3 - Totally had thoughts about walking away both before and after decorations go up. I have a really hard time decorating my house for it's day-to-day use, so when Holiday decorations comeout it's totally painful for me. Not because I'm against decorating or dislike it -- I adore all those gorgeous houses and am in awe of people who can create those looks - I'm just not good at it. What I do doesn't look good and it actually hurts my insides and makes my stomach hurt. Ugh - typing this is giving me indigestion.

4 - I don't remember having a problem with Kabe traveling when he was under two. He's always been what we consider an easy traveler.

5 - I am by no means a copy editor, however, I do consider myself a decent speller so it drives me crazy to see spelling errors, especially common ones (there/their) and in spite of my best efforts find myself picking them out in my head. I don't go through the church bulletin or anything like that though. =)

RetroPost

We had a really fun time with Grandma Gene here spoiling us all week! Kabe is really missing here already.


After a full week of puzzles, walks, games, Lego's and much, much more (like shopping with our GoodWill coupons! -- yeah! shoes for Grandma Gene!!), she headed for home yesterday. We miss her already. In addition to hanging out with Kabe during his spring break, she doesn't like to sit around and took her 'spare' time, to assist with daily chores around the house like laundry, ironing, dishes, and making dinner. Our own 'Alice' of sorts! She ROCKS!


Doesn't get much better than this -- fun with Grandma and shopping!

Craziness!

Okay - so I've been an inactive blogger this week. Sorry! Adam's mom has been here and despite attempts, it's been crazy -- both at home and at work. We've been running around like crazy at night trying to get everything done that needs to get done with the little 'extra' time we have which cuts in to my blogging time.
Now for work...being employed by the state definitely has it's perks. I've enjoyed many of them. =) To fill you in on the not-so-fun short version of our current situation, my agency is going to be absorbed into the university at the beginning of the next fiscal year, which is a good move for us, however, our state budget is current half a million (yes, million) dollars in deficit (yes, that negative). What does this mean, you ask? Well, most likely, layoffs -- if approved by the governor, in meetings taking place this afternoon.
Now that I've told you all this, let me tell you why I told you all this. I just keep praying that God will give me peace about it. That if I'm one of the few that are to be relieved of their position, then so be it. From my view, I'm not sure how things will go on, but that's part of the peace and giving it over to God. This isn't easy for me...I'm a planner, a list-maker -- I like to be in control. But maybe that's part of this lesson too. If I'm in control....God isn't.

Easter Day

Our Easter Day was filled with activities. Once we finished our morning egg hunt at home, we got all spiffed up and headed out to breakfast at our favorite pancake house. After we all enjoyed a hearty breakfast, we took off for church. Service was amazing!

We took pictures as a family (left picture), Kabe and Grandma Gene (middle picture), Connie (aka Grandma Gene) and our friend Kevin (bottom).



Easter evening we headed to our friend's Kevin and Debbie's for Easter Dinner. Let me say, they had quite the spread! Lots of fun was had by all.

One of the three tables of people at Kevin & Debbie's (top), Gabe (middle), Kevin & his oldest daughter Aubrey (bottom).



And the best dessert ever! This pictures doesn't come close to doing this dessert the justice it deserves! It's called Bishop's Chocolate Pie....but let me tell you - it's WAY better than the real Bishop's Chocolate Pie.



They even had a very well planned egg hunt for kids and young-at-heart.

(L-R) Brianna, Kay, Braylon, & Kabe


By the time bedtime rolled around, we were more than ready to snuggle in!

WEE Hours ... Easter Morning

Happy Easter! He is Risen ... He is Risen Indeed!

Our darling child woke us up at the crack of dawn, before the rooster crows....literally. No, really. At 4:00am. See, my beautiful, tender-hearted, gentle-spirited boy had this deranged idea that the beloved, furry Easter Bunny wasn't going to come for several reasons ... mostly because of his negligent parents.
1) We recycle our eggs and basket and the EB refills it each year. This tormented Kabe when he had gone to bed Saturday night and Adam hadn't gotten Kabe's basket down from the attic.

2) Kabe was worried he hadn't been good enough because we've (mainly me...) lead him to believe the EB runs like Santa Claus 'you better be good for goodness sake'.

Quite the neurotic little boy we've created. Ugh...Now we have to undo this...any ideas???

Well, after the early start, we tried to get him back to bed & finally gave up at 6am.








Kabe had a lot of fun hunting for all the eggs left around our house by the Easter Bunny. That old bunny was pretty tricky too!



Here he is with all his loot!

Fun at the Park!!

Saturday morning we were on target to head out and get Grandma Gene (her name is actually Connie -- story for another time) so Kabe would be missing all the Easter Egg hunt action that morning. Turns out, the local park district actually has a night time egg hunt on Friday night so we decided to give it a try ... rearranged all scheduled plans, okay - dinner, and headed to the park to play while waiting for the 7pm scheduled start time.
Kabe had fun playing and we realized what a master he's become at hanging by his hands...something that's been very difficult for him in the past.



He had a lot of fun doing it and was pretty happy about it.



There were a few moments of panic, when he wasn't sure he was going to make it and fear overtook him.



But then he would gather himself and get back on track, successfully to completion.



We never made it to the Easter Egg hunt, but as you can see, we had a great time at the park and headed off to dinner afterwards....we were starving from all the exertion!

Beautiful

Have you ever heard a song and known it was written just for you? The song below is that song for me. From the time we're little we hear the words 'beauty is only skin-deep' but as a society we don't live by those words -- what a mixed up message we send to ourselves and to our kids! If you haven't heard this song by Bethany Dillon, check out this link of her acoustic version of the song (the other version is my preference, but this is the link I found...)... lyrics below.

"Beautiful" by Bethany Dillon

I was so unique
Now I feel skin deep
I count on the make-up to cover it all
Crying myself to sleep cause I cannot keep their attention
I thought I could be strong
But it's killing me

Does someone hear my cry?
I'm dying for new life

[Chorus]
I want to be beautiful
Make you stand in awe
Look inside my heart,
and be amazed
I want to hear you say
Who I am is quite enough
Just want to be worthy of love
And beautiful

Sometimes I wish I was someone other than me
Fighting to make the mirror happy
Trying to find whatever is missing
Won't you help me back to glory

[Chorus]

You make me beautiful
You make me stand in awe
You step inside my heart, and I am amazed
I love to hear You say
Who I am is quite enough
You make me worthy of love and beautiful

Eggs?

I don't remember making Easter eggs every year as a child. I'm sure we made them, it's just not a memory I recall. Likewise, this isn't an event we've chosen to recreate in our home. I think maybe once since Kabe was born we've made Easter eggs and he was too young to remember. Well this year, we decided to decorate eggs. This morning when I told Kabe about it, he was confused to say the least. He didn't quite understand what I was talking about. Sad, I know. Well, let me say....we have been missing out! We had a blast decorating eggs last night and even this morning (vacation today -- woo hoo!) Kabe got them back out to continue stickering (is that a word?) them.

What's a boy to do?

This afternoon was gorgeous! When Kabe & I got home I helped Kabe dig his bike out and sent him outside to play, then headed in to begin dinner preparations. After getting dinner started, I headed outside to see what he was up to. Evidently, he didn't feel like riding his bike. He had baseball on his mind.



Bat in hand, he was ready to play. But playing a solo game of baseball just isn't that fun and it's a little difficult, so he invented his own game.

Morning View

Gotta love this face!

Another Blessing

My guy is one of the best out there ... for LOTS of reasons. One of the biggest being that he puts up with me and my many moods. =) We both work outside the home. At day's end it can be tiring to get things done, but he is my helpmate. Unlike many of my friend's homes, Adam is right beside me assisting with dinner, dishes, laundry, Kabe's homework or whatever it is that needs to get done at the end of the day. If I am being totally honest here, I would have to admit that many times, I am the one assisting him. Adam - You know I love you, but I don't tell you enough how grateful I am for all you do. You ROCK!

Oh yeah -- AND -- he irons!!

Thoughts

Matthew 26:41
Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!” (New Living Translation).

My devotion this morning centered around this verse and to be honest, I didn't think it was going to be a very good devotion -- or at least be what I needed today. I've heard this verse many times and this morning, it just wasn't speaking to me. But as I read on in the devotion, here are the words I read:

John Bunyan wrote, "Pray often, for prayer is a shield to the soul, a sacrifice to God, and a scourge for Satan."

How many of us have left our cell phone charger in a hotel somewhere or at the home of relatives? Without constant charging, the battery grows weak and the signal dies out. The same is true for our spiritual connection. It's great to be willing in spirit, but we have to remain "charged up" through the discipline of watchfulness and prayer.

Watching means we don't let ourselves drift into sin. Often when we're tired or we've worked for a long stretch without a break, we're more vulnerable to evil thoughts or inappropriate reactions. We should know ourselves well enough to think ahead and avoid unhealthy responses.

Praying means we have definite patterns and plans every day to talk with our Father without hurry or rush, and that we obey every impulse to pray throughout the day.

It's great when the spirit is willing, but the flesh requires the disciplines of watching and praying.

Always respond to every impulse to pray . . . . I would make an absolute law of this--always obey such an impulse. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

We're all busy, right? We work, we have fun, we find time for friends, shopping, reading, knitting, blogging, email, facebook, myspace, or whatever it is on the internet that takes all our time, but setting aside time daily not only to read His word, but to pray keeps a healthy connection which may enable me to respond instead of react. I don't know about you, but I find myself sending up bullet prayers all day long whether they're requests or praises and although God likes to have a quick conversation, I'm sure he would prefer for me to actually carve out some time regularly to show him what is important to me -- even if it means sacrificing something else I enjoy. Do any of you struggle with this? Any suggestions? Guess I have some thinking to do.

Blessings

I have a lot to be thankful for in my life and I know I don't take time regularly enough to count those blessings. I am married to my best friend -- a Godly Man and a great dad -- for almost 11 years now! I have a wonderful son who has a tender heart full of compassion. I have parents, siblings, friends and family who love me, whom I love. I have a roof over my head and food to eat. I have a good, merciful, and loving Jesus who loves me, despite all my faults and failures. That's a lot to be thankful for!

Yesterday we celebrated Palm Sunday at church, saying "Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Blessed is HE who comes in the Name of the Lord!" Can you even imagine what it would have been like to be in Jerusalem with Jesus as He came riding through on a donkey amid shouts of praise and adoration?

Then, by week's end, Jesus will have made the ultimate sacrifice, taking my sins--your sins, being crucified on a cross for you and for me. Do you know His Blessings?

Shutterbug

I was lamenting that Adam & I don't get many photo ops together, in fact, I'm usually the one behind the camera, so we decided to let Kabe have a try behind the lens. Not too shabby.



Saturday afternoon was a really fun day. The Illini played in the quarter-final of the Big-Ten Men's BB Tournament against the Minnesota Gopher's. Now to all you non-IL, people or non-fans, this won't mean anything, but this was big. We weren't expected to do anything in this tournament. MN wasn't expected to do anything in this tournament and so far, we had beaten both Penn State and Purdue. Technically, everyone thought this game today should have been Indiana and Purdue - HA! But it wasn't, it was the Illini at Tubby Time (Tubby Smith -- MN head coach) and guess what? WE WON! So guess what? Tomorrow at 2:30pm we play the Wisconsin Badgers in the Final!! Why do we care? Cause we love our team, we love basketball and we'd love a chance to go to the Division 1 NCAA tournament.

We ended our afternoon by a trip to the bowling alley. Adam won both games. He's fierce. Then we went home and watched one of Adam's birthday present videos -- Harry Potter, Year 1. What a great way to spend a Saturday! What did you do?

A New Look

I know you're all just dying to find out how Kabe's room looks with the new shelves in it. The suspense has been killing you, right? Well, it's been a strange week around here. Let me give a little recap:
Last weekend we were in Chicago all weekend and had a fun time shopping, swimming, shopping, eating steak, shopping, oh, and did I mention shopping? I felt a little off all weekend though, and came back home to get sick with the same bug Kabe had last week. Meanwhile, Adam & Kabe got the shelves together for Kabe's room, but I wasn't really up to organizing them on Monday or Tuesday. By Wednesday I was finally back to normal, but that's small group night & we're not home, Thursday was Adam's birthday - not home - Friday night, we went to hang with friends to watch the Illini BEAT PURDUE in the Big 10 Conference Tournament (more on that later!!) and now finally (yeah, you're like -- 'Spit it out already!') Saturday morning dawned bright & early with Adam working and Kabe & finally setting to work on unloading the bunk bed room and organizing his room. Kabe & I were pretty pleased with our work -- and very glad to get the bunk bed back in order!



Technically, it's a work in progress, as five of the canvas basket things (the green things in the boxes in the picture) and were back-ordered.

Random Questions - Round 5

The Random Questions process

~Choose one or all of the questions to answer.

~Either respond with a comment to this post with your answer or put up a post on your own blog for a full response.

~Don't forget to include any funny or interesting story to illustrate your answer in action.

~Be sure to leave a comment on this post to let us know where to find your post so we can come check it out!

Round 5--Travel! It's almost springtime, and we're all thinking about where we'd like to go for a little R & R.

1. Do you prefer traveling by car, train, plane, or boat?

2. Are family vacations or yearly vacations of some kind a part of your regular schedule? Where are some places you've gone?

3. What's your favorite travel memory? Maybe a trip as a kid, road trip in college, honeymoon? Could be good OR bad...

4. Have you ever traveled in the back seat of a station wagon, like the old kind that faced backward?

5. Where to you hope to go this year or the next chance you get?
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1. I prefer to travel by plane, but we usually travel by car as most of our time away involves trips to to see family, to meet family or get family and air travel just isn't conducive to that. I've traveled by commuter train to NYC from Connecticut and also the NYC subway. My little guy loves trains so I do see a short train ride (probably just commuter to Chicago) in my future.

2. Regularly scheduled vacations are not in our schedule -- yet. We live a ways from our family and use all our time off to see them at Holidays and in-between.

3. When Kabe was 6 months old we went on a vacation with another family to North Carolina for about a week. It was a crazy, fun week. It's probably one of my favorites because it's the only real vacation the three of us have taken that didn't involve family and it was the first time Adam saw the ocean.

4. We didn't have a station wagon, just a car, but I always had to sit in the middle in between my two siblings who tended to fight a lot.

5. We're thinking this is the year we use some of our time to get to Florida to Disney/Epcot and start doing some other vacations as well as seeing family. There are lots of places I'd like to go, spending time together with my guys is the key.

Where to Go...

A while back my friend Kelli gave me this list and I've been meaning to share it with all of you, but it got lost in the craziness of my life (and laptop!) until today when I found it again. It's just good to have around, 'cuz lets face it -- we've all had days when we've felt at least one of these things, right? I know that when I'm having those times, if I'll just slow down and talk to God, my situation may not change, but my perspective definitely does.



WHERE DO I GO WHEN I AM FEELING…

ANGRY – Ephesians 4:26,27,31,32; Colossians 3:7-8;12-17; Matthew 7:1-5; Psalm 37:8

BACKSLIDDEN – Psalm 51; 1 John 1:4-9; Revelation 2:4-5; Revelation 3:15-20; Psalm 80:1-19; Deuteronomy 4:9; Isaiah 29:24

BITTER – 1 Corinthians 13, Hebrews 12:14-15; Ephesians 4:31-32; Psalm 34:1

BORED – 1 Thess. 5:16-18; Philippians 4:8; Ephesians 5:15-16; Psalm 34:1

COMPROMISING – John 12:43; Romans 12:2; 1 Corinthians 15:33
CONCEITED – Luke 18:09-14; Proverbs 16:15; Proverbs 27:2; 1 Corinthians 5:2,6; Galatians 5:22-26; Romans 12:15-17

CRITICAL – Matthew 7:1-5; Romans 1:32; Romans 2:1; James 4:11-12

DEFEATED – Romans 8:31-39; Philippians 4:13; 1 Peter 1:6-7; 1 Peter 5:7

DEPRESSED – Psalm 34; Psalm 37; 2 Corinthians 4:7-10, 16-18; Matthew 11:28

DISAPPOINTED – Psalm 16:11; Jeremiah 29:11-13; Philippians 4:19; John 14:1

DISCOURAGED – Psalm 23; Psalm 42:6-11; Psalm 55:22; Matthew 5:11,12

DISHONEST – Proverbs 12:22; Jeremiah 7:8-10; 1 Thess. 4:6; John 8:32; Job 27:6; Leviticus 6:2-7

DOUBT – Numbers 23:19; Matthew 10:28; 2 Timothy 1:7; Hebrews 13:5-6

EMBARRASSED – Psalm 27:1-3; Psalm 34; Psalm 35; Colossians 3:1-2; Psalm 23

FEARFUL – Psalm 34:4; Matthew 10:28; 2 Timothy 1:7; Hebrews 13:5,6; Proverbs 28:1

FOUL-MOUTHES – Ephesians 4:29; Ephesians 5:3-4; Colossians 3:8,17; 1 John 3:18

GOSSIP – Psalm 15:1-3; Proverbs 26:20-22; Titus 3:2; Matthew 7:1-5

GUILTY – 1 John 1:9; Psalm 51; Psalm 103; Hebrews 10:17; Romans 8:1

HATRED – Proverbs 10:12; 1 John 2:9-11; 1 John 3:10-15; 1 John 4:20; Leviticus 19:17
HYPOCRITICAL – Luke 6:46; Titus 1:16; 1 Peter 2:1; Ephesians 4:1; James 1:26

IMMORAL – 1 Peter 2:11; Galatians 5:16; 2 Timothy 2:22; Psalm 51

IMPATIENT – Psalm 25:5; Psalm 27:14; Habakkuk 2:3; Psalm 37:7,34; Psalm 46:10

IMPURE THOUGHTS – Philippians 4;8; Romans 8:5-8; Romans 12:2; James 1:12-15
INGRATITUDE – Psalm 69:30; Ephesians 5:20; 1 Thess. 5:18; 1 Timothy 2:1; 1 Timothy 1:12; Psalm 106:1

JEALOUS – Proverbs 6:34; Proverbs 27:4; Ecclesiastes 4:4; Song of Solomon 8:6

LONELY – Psalm 23; Psalm 188; Hebrews 13:5-6; Jeremiah 23:23; Matthew 28:20

LAZY – Romans 12:11; Ephesians 5:15-16; Hebrews 6:12; Proverbs 6:6-11

MIXED UP – Psalm 23:2-3; Isaiah 42:16; 1 Corinthians 14:33; Proverbs 3:5-6: Psalm 46:10

NO DIRECTION – Psalm 32; Psalm 73:24; James 1:5-8; Psalm 119:105

OVERWHELMED – Psalm 46:1, 10; Psalm 50:15; Proverbs 11:8; James 1:2-3; Psalm 4:8

PERSECUTED – 2 Timothy 3:12; John 15:20; Acts 14:22; Hebrews 12:3; Philippians 1:12-14

PRESSURED – Isaiah 26:3; 2 Chronicles 16:9; Philippians 4:13; 2 Timothy 1:7; Psalm 46:10

PRIDE – Proverbs 16:18; 1 Corinthians 10:12; Philippians 2:3; James 4:6; Psalm 37:11; Psalm 149:4

REVENGEFUL – Proverbs 17:13; Romans 12:16-19; 1 Peter 2:23; Leviticus 19:18

RESENT AUTHORITY – Ephesians 6:1-3; Romans 13:1-2; Colossians 3:23-25

SLANDERED – Psalm 15:1-3; Matthew 5:11-12; Matthew 12:36; 1 Corinthians 4:13; 1 Peter 3:15-16

SORROWFUL – Isaiah 14:3; Romans 8:28; Revelation 21:4; Isaiah 35:10

SUICIDAL – Luke 4:9-11; Genesis 28:15; 2 Peter 2:9; Psalm 23

UNBELIEVING – Mark 9:24; 2 Timothy 2:13; Hebrews 11:6; John 14:1

UNLOVED – Jeremiah 31:3; Romans 5:8; 1 John 4:8-19; Lamentations 3:22-23

WEAK – Isaiah 40:29-31; 2 Corinthians 12:9; 2 Timothy 1:7; Philippians 4:13

WORLDLY – James 4:4; Titus 3:2; Colossians 3:2; 1 John 2:15-17

WORRY – Matthew 6:19-34; Luke 12:25-26; Philippians 4:6-7; Psalm 23; Psalm 46:10

WORTHLESS – 1 Samuel 16:7; Psalm 139:13-15; John 10:3; Jeremiah 31:3

Happy Birthday Adam!

Happy Birthday to Adam! He turns the big 36 today! He started his day with a card and gift from Kabe.



Kabe signed the card himself and wrote on the outside as well. Look closely (click on the picture above) to see what he wrote.

Kabe also made the decision as to what gifts he wanted to give Adam. It's something they like to watch together.



To end the day, we ate dinner at Olive Garden and then headed home to watch Survivor, of course!

Team Work

So once we got home from our weekend trip, I was done in. I think Kabe passed on to me whatever it was he had last week. I was not physically able to help Adam put together the shelving unit we purchased for Kabe's room, but of course, Kabe was more than willing to be daddy's helper....and he is a GREAT helper!



Not only can he assist, he is able to work steadily on his own.



Now we just have to work on getting them full and properly organized!

Weekend update.

Last weekend we headed to Chicago. We really enjoy going to the city and living less than 180 miles give or take, you'd think we would go there more often, but for various reasons, we don't get there nearly as much as we'd like. Adam had to work until noon on Saturday so we headed out once he got off. We had specific goals in mind for this trip at different areas of the city of course so we started off headed for Ikea (large shopping center in the northwest suburbs). We've been wanting to purchase a shelving unit for Kabe's room and even though it comes unassembled, it wouldn't fit in the car. We borrowed a mini-van from some friends, which worked out great.



We found what we needed right away at Ikea and decided to drive around the area a little to see what other stores were around. Low and behold this is what we found.



Those of you who know us well know that the closest we got was what you see in these pictures! =) Actually it looked like a fun place, the there were several little car things out front (like the picture I took) and it looked like there might have been a restaurant attached or part of it too. We thought it was kind of neat, just not neat enought ot go inside. =)
Next it was to the hotel which was next to the mall where we spent all of Sunday. We checked in and then headed out to find some dinner. Dinner was at J. Alexander's. Evidently we've been living under a rock because we had never heard of this place. It was fabulous! Then we headed back to the hotel for some hot-tubbin'.

Sunday we ran to Land of Nod to pick up Kabe's bedding and then head home. Oh yeah, but we had to stop & get our evening snack first -- at the Cheesecake Factory! Here is Kabe enjoying his slice of Orea Pie.

It was a great weekend had by all!

Random Questions - Round 4

The Random Questions process
~Choose one or all of the questions to answer.
~Either respond with a comment to this post with your answer or put up a post on your own blog for a full response.
~Don't forget to include any funny or interesting story to illustrate your answer in action.
~Be sure to leave a comment on this post to let us know where to find your post so we can come check it out!

Round 4--Media--How reliant are we? Make sure you don't miss #6.

1. How many TVs are in your home? All hooked up to cable/dish/etc? Have you gone HD?

2. Do you have any VCRs in your house still or are you full DVD?

3. How many computers are in your house? All hooked up to the internet? How many video game systems (i.e. XBOX, Wii, etc.)?

4. What age is ok to have a TV/computer/game system in the child's bedroom?

5. Do you have DVD players in the car?

6. The big one.... Would you be able to take a media/technology break, like a day without? How long could you do it?
_______________________________________
1 and 2) We have three tv's. One in the living room that has cable with a drv and dvd hooked up. One in our bedroom with cable (no DVR) and both a DVD and VCR hooked up, and one in the spare room that just this week was hooked up to cable that has only a VCR. The only tv that is actually HD compatible is the one in our bedroom. The other two need the hd converter or HD/DVR converter box. We do not currently subscribe to HD service.

3) We have one laptop at home and I bring my work laptop home almost every night. We have internet through our cable company (broadband) and it's wireless, connected through the spare room. We only have one gaming system -- a v-smile -- HA! and two plug and play games, all are in the spare room. Kabe also has a Nintendo DS (handheld game system).

4) At this point, we have decided that Kabe will not have a tv or computer in his room before he's out of high school: tv because we want to spend time together watching/listening to shows as a family, computer because surfing or chatting online should take place in a public area.

5) We own a portable DVD, but it does not remain in the car. We live 20 minutes from the town we travel to daily for work, church, shopping. The DVD player only comes to the car for trips that are longer than two hours and then, not always.

6) We have taken trips with no media usage (Like Christmas this year at my parents with no cable AND no internet....we watched some fun vcr tapes) and a couple weeks ago was on vaca and didn't turn the tv on even once before 5pm (for 4 days straight!). For me, the tv thing wouldn't be as hard as the internet thing...for Adam and Kabe, take away the internet, BUT DON'T TAKE THEIR CABLE!! =) Even though we wouldn't like it, and we might be chewing our nails, I think we'd survive. (Did I type that in my outloud voice?!?)

Sleep Deprived

Kabe was sick today so I stayed home with him. Here is how Adam found us.



That was it for Kabe for the day -- bed time at 4pm.

Random Questions - Round Three

In case you're joining in late, I'm taking part in 'Random Questions' put out by my friend Randa Kay. I find this found of questions by far the most interesting and of course, they are very timely. I almost posted about parts of this very topic this morning. Thanks RK!

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This round is focused on home life. I always find myself very interested in what others do when they're not "doing" anything. Weird? Maybe...but there's a reason reality shows are so darn popular!

1. What happens at your house in a given weekday evening? Who’s doing what? (Mom, Dad, and kids--together or separate.)

On a typical evening I get off work first so I go pick up Kabe and head home, begin dinner (of figure out what's for dinner...), homework, trying to get everything done before any of our reality/favorite shows start at 7pm. I am frequently reading and/or online, helping Kabe with homework, reading, snuggling, pushing him through night routines (bath, picking up etc). Kabe is usually playing with some sort of toy (Knex/Legos) or his Gameboy DS, puzzles, or coloring -- he's usually always doing something. Once Adam is down for the day, he's just vegging, most likely just reading the paper.

2. How are the chores divided up in your house? Who does what when it comes to laundry, cooking, cleaning, yard work?

Cooking - Jen
Weekly Cleaning - Adam (floors/toilets/vacuum/dust)
Laundry - Jen
Loading dishwasher - both
Unloading dishwasher - Jen (side note: he strongly dislikes doing this. I'm definitely not complaining about this, but I am doing a little experiment. =) As it stands right now it's been clean and full for one week now and every night / morning we've both been doing dishes by hand rather than emptying the dishwasher. We'll see how long this goes on. I don't mind emptying the dishwasher and actually love our arrangement. I simply find this humorous.)

3. How often do you have time with you just you and a spouse, even just a little time here or there? What do you do with that time--talk, work, plan, read, etc? (PG rated, please. HA!)

Kabe goes to bed around 8 - 8:30pm on school nights and we go to bed a little after 10pm, so realistically, we should have 1 1/2 - 2 hours most nights give-or-take. There are nights when we use it productively and have a good conversation or snuggle and watch a show or each read something, but sadly, more often than naught, he is in the recliner watching tv (the tv is on way too much) and I am on the computer (I am on it way more than I should be) or reading or knitting.

4. Compared to what you thought it would be like 10 years ago, would you say life in your home is...
~Nothing like you thought it would be.
~Kind of like you thought it would be.
~Exactly like you thought it would be.
~Better than you thought it would be.
Our relationship seems to go through periods where we're really connected and communication is great, life is easy -- in other words ~ better than I ever thought marriage could ever be (or at least a bit like the dream we thought marriage was supposed to be when we were planning to be married!!). In reality, right now, we're in this place where every situation, every communication we come to is from different angles where we strive to understand what the other is truly saying and frequently get it all confused. I know from experience that much of this would be alleviated by turning the tv off more and spending time together just talking, hanging out, dates, etc. I also know that even with all this, sometimes, it just takes time and as we are growing and changing, so is our relationship. It will all iron out and be better for it in the end as long as we both keep trying -- and we are. I guess my answer for this exact moment in time is ~~ Kind of like I thought it would be.

A Big Process

I have been blessed to be a part of the women's ministry team at church off and on for several years. Most recently, I was asked to be a part of a retreat planning team that will plan and develop a weekend getaway for about 30 women. I can't fully divulge the events of this weekend as some readers will likely be a part of this event, however, I can say that this is not going to be your typical women's weekend. Oh, I'm sure there will be a lot of fun as it's a 1 1/2-2 hour trip and when women are together there is talking and laughter. But what started out as a skeleton in our planning meetings now has flesh and meat.
For some time, I've been struggling in my relationship with God. What defines me? Where does my significance come from? Who am I in Christ? These are overall big questions, especially when thought about in context to my relationship with God. I'm still working on this process in my life, but through the process of preparing for this retreat, I have begun to find some of these answers and I'm so excited about the weekend in April when we'll be going deeper with other women. Figuring things out is really hard, it even hurts sometimes. But I can see through this process that if I just persist, it's worth it.

Hats and Tails

Do you ever feel like you're chasing your tail? Lately my life has been like that. Or maybe more like one of those clowns at the circus...you know, the one you see who keep chasing his hat and kicking it before he can grab it. Yep, that's our life these days. Chasing tails and kicking hats.
It's not all bad: it does have it's progress, other people benefit. On the downside, it does come slowly.

Let me take you back a few days. When I took time off a week or so ago, I did some major organization around the house. One humongous task was to delve into the bunk bed room (it's actually a day bed with a trundle, but Kabe named the room when he was three & it stuck) and get it back into a state that could be identified and even presentable. Prior to that, we had ordered Kabe a new bed & mattress. On Saturday his new bed was delivered and he is SO excited about it. His room has now been been cleaned out (do you see where this is headed, yet??) and this is his new bed -- bedding isn't available yet.



This is the newly organized bunk bed room once Kabe's room was cleaned out.



Needless to say, it's not too organized anymore! The bed will be delivered to a local charity this week -- right now the weather isn't cooperating with our open-bed truck.
Now to figure out how to decorate....something I definitely could use some help with!