From Trash to Treasure

Two problems. Hopefully some solutions are out there.

Problem 1 is the trash. Maggie, who's always been a really good dog, has suddenly taken an interest in the trash. If we don't lock her up when we leave, there's usually trash on the floor when we return. We started locking her up again, and she's turned into an escape artist. And, then it's up to the trash. What caused this sudden bad behavior? How do we get it so that we can leave her out when we're gone without putting the trash under lock and key?

Problem 2 is the treasure. I noticed today that the center stone in my engagement ring is loose. I have no clue how or why it happened. I'm not quite sure what to do about it. Obviously a jeweler is needed, but John Reynolds, who we got it from, is in St. Louis. I don't want to just take it to just anyone. Is it a bad thing to wear it until I get it fixed? I assume so. Anyone know a reputable jeweler here?

Update

Brrrr! It sure is cold here! There's nothing like going from a high of 70s one day to 20s and 30s the rest of the week. (And we all know how much appreciation I have for winter and cold weather.)

We had a good Thanksgiving with Brad's family. We headed to the farm Thursday morning and stayed the night to watch football on Friday. Brad and his dad had a fun time on the four wheelers scouting out possible Christmas trees. We also played several rounds of Apples to Apples. I was lucky enough to win a round! Yay me! (Brad won twice of course.) Football was a super low and super high on Friday. Go Hogs!!!

Today was Christmas decorating day. We accomplished quite a bit while Nate was napping. We were able to get the tree up, lit, and decorated. It was challenging this year to make sure that only things Nate could touch ended up within his reach. He got a huge grin on his face and kept saying "tree" when we got him up. It was too cute. He's found a lot of the bells that we put within his reach and thinks they're great. I'm just going to have to keep a close eye on him.

I didn't take any pictures all weekend. I'll see what I can do tomorrow. Brad is preaching two different sermons at two different services, but after that the day should be pretty relaxed.

Hope your turkey day was thankful!

Playing in a Winter Wonderland (kind of)

So those flurries they predicted and I was watching earlier . . . . Well, it's now been snowing for several hours. Not quite what I expected today, but how can you complain too much about the first snow of the season. (After a few more though, I do retain the right to complain as much as I feel necessary.)

why me?

Just a quick note to say that life is not fair. While my little sister is in Hawaii today, I'm staring out the window at snow flurries. So not fair!

Momma told me there'd be days like this . . .

He is my son, and I love him. He is my son, and I love him. He is my son, and I love him. We are having a day where I have to keep reminding myself of this. I should have known what kind of day it would be when I couldn't sleep last night, and then Maggie was threw up three times before 6:30 this morning. I've heard several people say that you always love your children, but you also have days where you just don't like them very much. Nate's mood is definitely leading me to believe fully in this statement for today. He is my son and I love him. He is my son, and I love him. Who am I kidding? He's Brad's son today. (All of you with children will understand this post completely. No kids yet, just wait. . . )

Is it just me or is anyone else thinking that November is flying by?

A new way to do pictures

Make a slide show, scrapbook or ecard

Here's a new little thing that I found out about. It's a quick attempt at just trying to figure out how it works. I'll play with it some more and hopefully come up with something that's a little better.

I'll start by updating on the pacifier issue. Thursday was go day. I chicken out and only poked a pin-size hole in two of them. He didn't seem to notice one bit. (Not that it was noticable enough to be noticed.) Friday I decided I'd better make things a bit more noticable. I cut a slit in the tip of the two I was giving him. At naptime it took quite a while and some tears before he finally fell asleep. Nighttime was much better. Starting Saturday he happily took them and acted as if they'd always been this way. He just doesn't seem phased. I have a feeling he'll be a bit like Leslie, a family friend who I've known since she was born, and hang onto it until there's nothing left to hang onto. I'm not quite sure when I'll snip the actual tip off, but it makes me nervous to think about. I dread the tears and sadness he'll have. There was a point before he was a year where I really thought I could break him of it easily. I just felt like he was too young. Now he's so much more attached to it. Oops. . .

The girl I spoke about a couple of posts back passed away on Friday. It's made me really reflect on how I am around Nate. I want to make sure that I cherish and truly give him my best each day. The truth of the matter is that we don't have a guarantee on how long life is. Sometimes it can get rather tiring to play the same games over and over again with him, but when I stop to notice how much it means to him . . . it's worth it. (Even if we already read But Not the Hippopotumus 9 time in a row, and he wants to hear it again.) We have had a ton of fun together over the past few days. He continues to learn new words all the time. Yesterday he started saying "flower" although he usually leaves off the "-er", and it sounds a bit slurred. Tonight he went to the computer and said "sic". He wanted us to turn on his Nick Jr. Radio "music". I love it!!!! He's also become quite a helper around the house. He will go get most anything you ask him to. He is also great at throwing things in the trashcan, including sippy cups when they're empty. I also have found him to be quite helpful, slow but helpful none the less, when unloading the dishwasher. He'll hand you the silverware one at a time. He's also a champ and unloading anything else that's non-breakable. Tonight he even got to put two pots away in their drawer. He felt like big stuff! I know I will look back in a few year and realize how quickly time went by, but I can also say I enjoyed the small things along the way.

Nate was up at 5:30 this morning. This girl is going to bed shortly.

from "uh" to "oh"

It is truly amazing to both Brad and I just how much our Nate has grown up in recent months. Just today in all of his constant talking, I noticed he now is saying "uh-oh" instead of "uh-uh". It may sound small, but I always loved the way he use to say it. Just another indicator that he's growing and learning every day.

With all of this growing up, we, fine, I have made the decision that it's time for the pacifier to go. Brad would happily let him walk to kindergarten with it, but I don't quite feel the same way. I'm sick of carting it around all over the place and dreading what might happen when it's forgotten. Just yesterday I had to pull over on the side of the road because his diaper bag which had his pacifier was in the trunk. Arghhhh! Starting tomorrow the process begins. The tricky part is that he likes to have not just the one in his mouth, he also likes one in each hand, kind of like a security blanket. I'm going to go about it by snipping the tip off which I've known several people to do, including Nate's pediatrician who has twins which are a couple months older than Nate. I think I'll attempt it at naptime tomorrow and see what happens. I am really dreading it. The car will be the worst though since he won't sit in his carseat quietly without it. Help! Someone please . . . I need help!

Notice not only the three pacifiers but also the lovely bedhead! :)

the great pumpkin

Here's our little pumpkin. He looked quite adorable last week. As you can tell from the pictures, he wasn't too big on the hood part. He visited our neighbors on either side of us, but that was it. He was actually so tired that he was in bed by his normal 7:30. We were excited to have 34 trick or treaters compared to the 4 we had last year. As more houses are built around us, it should only grow to more and more. We're one holiday closer to Christmas! (Not that I'm one to overlook Thanksgiving. I love the holiday season!)

see you in st. louis

It's been another busy one around here.

Brad and I (along with 2 others from the SE staff) left Thursday for the National Youth Workers Convention in St. Louis. We've been looking forward to this trip since finding out about the St. Louis location in October 06. There are so many things we both miss about StL since moving away.

The convention was great. We got to see a lot of great bands (David Crowder, Leeland, Starfield, we missed Jars of Clay, boo) All of the free stuff they give out is wonderful. It's like Christmas; everytime there's a general session there's more free goodies waiting on your seat. There were also some good sectionals that I enjoyed. I was given quite a hunger for learning more about teen girls and many of the issues they deal with. I'm currently ready the book Queen Bees and Wannabes which led to the movie Mean Girls (which I've not seen, but will now). I've never been so entralled with a non-fiction book! I also really appreciated Doug and Cathy Fields's Q&A session on Marriage, Family, and Ministry. I agree so strongly with their thoughts on the balance between the them. We ate waaaaaaay too much good food. We had Jack Stack in KC on the way down. We hit Seamus McDaniel's, Favazza's, Joanie's Pizzaria, and of course got some good ol' Chikfila! We made sure to spend some time wandering around both Seminary campus and at Galleria. It was also great to see some great friends that are missed a lot.
Worship time with David Crowder Band.Who doesn't want a free foam hammer hat? I'm sure Adam and I will cherish ours forever! :)

It was a challenge to be away from Nate from Thursday afternoon until today. I've never let the little guy be away from me for so long. It was good though. He did great and had a blast! Dave and Kay sent me pictures which was wonderful. I called last night on our way home and got to talk to Nate on the phone. He said, "mama" on the phone and brought me to tears. I was ready to head directly towards him. It's amazing how he can melt me. It's nice to have him home. He seems to have grown a ton in the few days apart!

Complete change of subject.

A family at our church was involved in a car accident this weekend. It's a very serious situation for their oldest girl. She is suffering from life-threatening injuries. I would ask that you remember the family in your prayers and ask for complete healing for this 12 year old. They have set up a Caring Bridge site where you can keep up with things: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/ashleywooden . God IS good and answers prayers.