settle down

Merry Christmas 2010!

2010-12-10T14:55:00.002-06:00

Here is our family photo from October 2010 taken by Emily Potts Photography. In this picture, Jack is one month shy of eleven, Claire is eight, and Brookie is four.

I thought that the railroad tracks were aesthetically pleasing as a background, but they are also very symbolic for our family.

We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Correction: things I love and things I hate

2010-10-20T14:09:00.002-05:00

Oops -- I realized that primarily because of the dichotomy that I set up here that I misspoke (how's that for "politician-ese"?). I don't hate teachers who abuse kids -- I hate WHEN teachers abuse kids or another way, I hate the ABUSIVE BEHAVIOR, not the person. The abusive teacher of whom I was speaking professes to be a Christian and so I pray for the Holy Spirit to convict him.

Also, I meant to include these two things and somehow, I did not get them on the list.

One thing I hate: when a single strand of hair lands on my shirt and feels like a spider on my arm and then I look around to see what it is and it takes me about 10 times to finally find the single strand of hair.

One thing I love: the soup cans that have a flip-top lid so you don't have to use a can-opener.

Things I Love and Things I Hate

2010-10-18T17:51:00.004-05:00

Something I hate: AT&T. I hate them so much that I decided against an iPhone simply because I did not want to have to deal with them. Now, I am hoping and praying in the next 5 years that someone else will be added on as a provider for iPhone.

Something I love: books. I once read that Charles M. Schultz (creator of Peanuts strip) felt that the best part of his success was that it enabled him to buy any book he wanted. Sigh -- that sounds dreamy to me.

Something I hate: the fact that I let a couple of people talk me out of getting built-in bookshelves in our new home. In my fantasy world, I would be able to buy any book I want and would have floor-to-ceiling bookshelves that have one of those ladders that slide across a bar so that you can reach the books that are too high (which would be most of them since I am staturally-challenged).

Something I love: The new Incredible Bra by Victoria's Secret. It really is incredible. Supposedly, it can add up to two cup sizes, but that's not why I love it. This is why: the underwire is enclosed inside foam and it is perfect with t-shirts because there are no clasps on the straps and somehow it doesn't show back fat. I am serious, this bra is some sort of scientific wonder.

Something I hate: The Incredible Bra's price.

Something I love: hearing my kids laugh together when I am in a different room.

Something I hate: being almost 40 and still dealing with acne.

Something I hate even more than that: the fact that my insurance company has decided to only cover acne medication until age 26. Uhh -- for me that was like, more than 10 years ago, and believe me, I wish that acne magically disappeared at age 26!

Something I love: rye bread.

Something I hate: divorce. I feel like it's the reason that I don't know a lot of my family very well. Divorce makes family gatherings awkward and divorce causes people to move far away from each other.

Something I love: being in the country and exploring nature.

Something I hate: teachers who abuse kids. Hasn't happened to me or my kids, but I know about it happening here in Bville and the person is still working in an elementary school.

Something I love: studying the Bible.

Something I love more than that: teaching kids about what I have learned when I study the Bible.

Something I hate: having to count calories.

Something I love: my husband's hair when he lets it grow out a bit. Can you say McDreamy? I especially like it when he doesn't have to go to work for a few days and he doesn't shave.

Something I hate: when the person I'm on the phone with tells me they need to go because they have another call. How rude is that? If it's a doctor or an emergency, that's one thing. Otherwise, it is just rude, rude, rude.

Something I love: tortilla soup, but most of you (if anyone is even reading this) already know that.

Something I hate: smoke detectors that malfunction in the middle of the night.

Something I love: cooking dinner.

Something I hate: cleaning up after cooking dinner.

Something I hate more than that: cooking dinner, having kids complain about dinner, then having to clean up after said dinner. Makes me just want to feed them McDonald's and let them deal with their atherosclerosis later.

Something I love: my kids -- so I will keep trying to get them to eat healthy.

Something I hate: the idea that someday I will leave this wonderful world behind. I do so much love grass, trees, blue skies, leaves, the moon, stars, and enjoying a rainbow with my kids.

Something I love: the idea that when I do leave this earth behind, I will get to see my dad (step-dad) again.

That's all for now. My sweet Brookie wants to play.

Brookie's "2nd" birthday

2010-09-29T22:34:00.007-05:00

Tonight, was a rough night. As I posted on FB, Jack and Claire needed only to look at each other for there to be trouble. My goal tonight was to get everyone in bed ASAP -- and that meant no later than 8:30 pm.

By 8 pm, I was finished bathing Brookie, finished brushing her teeth, and finished combing out the mammoth knots in her hair. I was on the home stretch of getting her off to dreamland.

It was time to pray and she prayed one of her sweet meandering prayers. Things like, "'aynk you for us not to be frustrated. [Even she, at four, knew I had had a frustrating night!] Aynk you that we have good food so we can exercise and stretch. Aynk you for my 'flam-lee' to be 'spectable.'"

Unfortunately, due to the random nature of her prayers and my frazzled brain, tonight (like most nights) I can't remember exactly what she prayed, but whatever she prayed about, the prayers were especially sweet and earnest. So when she was finished I told her, "Oh, Brookie, that pleases God and Jesus when you talk to them. When you pray, you're talking to them and they can hear you."

"How do they do that?" she asked with awe and wonder.

"I don't know, but they really do hear your prayers up in heaven," I told her. (The word omniscient would have meant nothing to her and I was trying to join in her awe-struck appraisal of God and Jesus.)

"I think I know how they hear them," she piped up.

"Really? What do you think?" I added, thinking that this was going to be really interesting.

"It's because they're in our heart," she explained to me. "So, since they are there, they can hear us." She placed one of her dimpled little hands over the center of her chest.

"Maybe you're right, Brookie. If they're in your heart, they would definitely hear your prayers." (I have to note here that the phrase "Jesus is in my heart" is not the phrase that I prefer to use. Kids are so concrete and I think some of them think that Jesus is really physically living in there in one of the four chambers in the heart. But anyway, I just followed her lead and went with it tonight.)

Then she said, with a teenager-esque, sassy look, "Some of my friends think their heart is here [placing her hand over the left side of her chest] , but it's not. It's here [placing her hand on the center of her chest again]."

"Do you feel it beating?" I asked her.

Her eyes got big and round, and she said, "Oh! Whoaaa!" and even altered her breathing a little as she focused on her heart rate.

Then I said, "You know what? God and Jesus can't live in your heart unless you ask them to come there and ask Jesus to be your Savior."

"Hmm," Brookie said. This is one of her regular expressions and it always is so endearing because she says it in such a grown up manner; it sometimes seems a bit unnatural coming from someone so young. But it usually means that the wheels are really turning up there in her little brain.

"We can talk about this more and you can do it later," I said as I kissed her forehead. Honestly, I had not broached this subject with Brookie in a LONG time because the approach I took with Jack and Claire really caused Brookie some anxiety. Saying something like, "If you ask Jesus to save you, then when you die, you will get to live in heaven forever with him and God," caused her to respond with something like this, "I don't want to die," or "I want to still be with you and Daddy." So I just dropped the subject and decided to wait until she was a bit more mature, which I had unconsciously, automatically decided couldn't possibly be tonight (not on the first night in over a year that we had talked about salvation.) And I have to be completely honest, I was still on a mission to get everyone to bed by 8:30 and it was 8:15.

But Brookie surprised me and said, "How 'bout I do it now?"

"Ok . . . Are you sure you want to?" I asked. I hadn't gone through all of the "stuff" with her, but I did not want to stop her or stop something that God was trying to do. At that moment, it seemed clear to me that God had been preparing her and drawing her near to Him. The last week and a half or so, she had initiated lots of conversations about God and her meandering prayers had become really heartfelt.

"Father, God . . ." I started to lead her through the "ABC prayer" like I had done with Jack and Claire.

But, Little Miss Independent would have none of that; she took the reins.

"Fodder, God and Jesus, please come live in my heart and be my Savior. And help "M" be happy and 'aynk you dat her nose is better. In Jesus' Name, Amen." (That part about "M" seems random, but it is actually an acknowledgment of her sin. "M" is one of Brookie's good friends in her PreK class. Two days ago, "M" tried to cut in line in front of Brookie and Brookie evidently pushed "M" and made "M" fall and hurt her nose. Brookie came home and her conscience was very disturbed by what she had done. She slowly told me the story and when she got to the very end, she said (all on her own), "I'm sorry, God." I loved how she did this because she wasn't on her knees in some sort of "religious pose"; we were just walking inside from the garage and she said it just like she was talking to me, as if it was the most natural thing to her.)

Back to tonight . . . when she finished praying, I hugged her and called for Jack and Claire to share the news with them. It was amazing how the little monsters became angels instantly and my heart burst as they listened to Brookie tell them what she had done and celebrated with her. I didn't think my joy could be more complete than when Jack, squatted down to be eye level with Brookie and told her, "Now you will get to live in heaven with God and Jesus some day." (Good boy, Jack -- thanks for not mentioning anything about dying.) Then Brookie added, "And when I am in heaven, they won't be in my heart anymore because they will be in heaven and I will be in heaven. We'll be together." Jack gave her a big hug and said, "Wow! You are so smart!"

Then Claire decided Brookie should call David (he was still at work).

Claire grabbed the phone, dialed David's cell, and said, "Dad, Brookie's got something to tell you," and then she handed the phone to Brookie, who said, "Daddy? I asked God and Jesus into my heart and to be my savior and that "M" is happy and to 'aynk thank them that her nose is better [to thank them that her nose is better]".

What a faith-building experience as a parent! A parent's job is important, but this was a reminder to me that I don't have to do it all -- salvation is God's gift to us, after all -- and even though I am their parent, my children's salvation does not rest entirely on my shoulders. I have a part in it, but tonight it was evident that God had done the work; He had made all of the preparations and readied Brookie's heart and I just had to be willing to let my 8:30 bedtime plans go. A good example of the common Celebrate Recovery saying, "Let Go and Let God".

Epilogue: That all happened last night (Wed. September 29, 2010) and this morning, I kept calling and calling Brooke to come down for breakfast. She never answered and so I finally went up to her room and I found her completely dressed for school sitting in a corner in her room looking very solemn. She was listening to her "Jesus Songs" -- a CD called "Hide 'Em In Your Heart" (scriptures put to music for children). She absolutely did not want to come down, so I just left her there all morning. When it was time for me to take her to school, I went back upstairs and found her in exactly the same position. She turned the CD player off and said, "Can I listen to this again today after my nap?" Wow!

Claire's Belated 7th Birthday Post

2009-09-06T13:55:00.005-05:00

Claire's 7th birthday was 2 1/2 months ago. I just realized that I never made a post about her because we celebrated her birthday and then went on our summer vacation. When we returned, we had one thing after another until school started . . .

Claire read the book Pinkalicious months before her birthday and decided she wanted a Pinkalicious party for her birthday. The book is about a girl who eats too many pink cupcakes and develops a case of pinkatitus and turns pink. For Claire's party, each of her friends got to decorate two cupcakes (pink of course). Then we gave each girl her own copy of Pinkalicious and my mom read it to the group. Afterwards, we had cake and ice cream. The giant cupcake was made by Connie Easterwood; I was so surprised and impressed because she made it look exactly like the cupcakes in the book!

What can I say about Claire? She is interesting because she is simultaneously introverted and very social. On the one hand, she keeps her thoughts and emotions to herself and it often takes a little work to get her to open up about how she truly feels about things. (The one exception to this is when Jack is annoying or bothering her; I WISH I could get her to keep those thoughts and emotions to herself!). Once I get her to open up, though, I am often so impressed with her insight and perception about people and the things happening in her life.

And in spite of being introverted, she is, as I said, very social. To say that Claire doesn't want to do anything unless someone is doing it with her is a pretty fair summation of her. She will sit for 45 minutes while I read to her, but finds no joy in reading the same book if she has to read it by herself. T.V. and movies aren't as fun unless she has someone to sit on the couch with her and laugh or cry with her. Church is fun -- if she can bring friends. Even chores are actually fun for her if she is doing them with someone else.

We call Claire our monkey because if something can be climbed, she will climb it. She really wants to get into rock climbing/repelling and has begged us to build her a climbing wall. Once she scaled the outside of the tall slide at Sonic and then jumped off of the top of it. (I am glad that I was helping Brookie with something at that exact moment because had I seen it, I might have died from a heart attack right there on the spot!)

Claire has a tender heart. Last year a little pre-kindergartener was crying on the bus. Prior to that point, Claire had only seen her. Claire invited the little girl to sit with her and then helped her stop crying by making her laugh. Claire is the same sort of tender comforter for Brookie when Brookie is upset (usually because she has been denied something that she wants to play with).

She is also the most generous little girl I know. She has a very tight budget ($2/week allowance=$1.80 after tithe). At the end of August, she had Jack figure up how much money she would have from then until December so that she could start planning to buy presents for Jack and me for our birthdays in November and December. Most of the time she spends her money on sweet treats that she shares with whoever is with her. Again, this is probably because even a sweet treat is a better experience for her if someone else is sharing it with her.

Here are her answers to the following questions:
Favorite Restaurant: IHOP
Favorite food: peanut butter and jelly sandwich (she only gets to eat this when she is at a friend's house or at school because of Jack's allergy and I think this has increased its value to Claire)
Favorite Color: light blue
Favorite song: The Climb by Hannah Montana
Favorite book: All about Sam
Favorite snack: butterfinger mix from Braum's
Favorite activity: cooking and climbing
Favorite game: mouse trap
What she wants to do when she grows up: hairdresser
One thing that makes her happy: ice cream

Happy Belated Birthday, Claire!

Our Little Lady Turned Three

2009-06-08T11:39:00.015-05:00

Brooke celebrated her third birthday on May 28th. I want to take this opportunity to write down as many things about her and what she is like at three. Sorry for the randomness, but I have to do this quickly and things probably won't segue smoothly.

When Jack was her age, he would open up a sandwich take the meat off and just eat the bread. Claire would open up a sandwich, eat the meat, and leave the bread. I wondered which one Brookie would do, but in this area, like so many others, she is not like either one, but is her own little self. Brookie LOVES fruits and vegetables. She will leave the sandwich and instead eat 3-4 helpings of broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots. She likes salads, too. A salad where she can dip the individual components of the salad in salad dressing (usually ranch for her) is as good as dipping french fries in ketchup.

Her speech is a constant source of entertainment for all of us. She loves the "jooper jumper" at Kiddie Park. She likes to eat holly hops (lolly pops). She uses a unique sentence structure. Instead of saying, "Jack has a book," she will say, "Jacks have a book". She also has the cutest trouble when L's are in words. Elephant becomes Ephelant. Hobby Lobby is Hobbly Lobbly. "All of it" is "Ov-uh-lit". "Probably" is "Plob-aby". She often orders her sentences backwards getting cause and effect reversed. Once she said, "I'm sick because I want tylenol". She was trying to say, "I want tylenol because I am sick" but the reverse (the way she said it) was actually the real truth! She just wanted tylenol because she likes the chewable bubble gum flavored pills.

She likes to imitate phrases and things that she hears. One day, she was on her cell phone (toy) all day and she kept telling people, "I pri-she-ate-it [I appreciate it]". The older kids say, "Oh, snap!" when something goes wrong and one day, that was her phrase on her cell phone, "Oh snap, I have to go!" Sometimes when Jack or Claire are disobeying and I want to get their attention, I will say, "Jack Settle . . ." or "Claire Settle . . .". So when Brookie wants to get my attention, she will say, "Mommy Settle you need to listen!"

Her favorite Bible story for the past few months has been about Jacob and Esau. Last night at bed time she told me she was going to hold Jacob's hand so he would not be afraid about Esau wanting to kill him. Then she wanted me to "pray about that to God" (that God would protect Jacob). Then she told me she was someday going to have a rock for a pillow (like Jacob slept on when he dreamed his famous dream). (This is all from her little preschoolers Bible that we read together each morning).

Last night she also told me that when she grows up she is going to be the teacher and not Miss Nadine (her teacher at mother's day out). This is interesting because Miss Nadine says that Brookie is her "helper" at school -- giving directions like "listen to Miss Nadine", "Time to line up", "put your finger on the wall" (the way they help the little ones stay in line when they walk down the hall), "no, not that wall, the other wall". At home, she plays school and will often do circle time with imaginary friends, calling on them to answer questions and gently correcting someone who speaks out of turn.

She has been daytime potty trained for quite a while, meaning that she only needs a pull-up at bedtime (she does not even need one for naptime). She was the by far the easiest child to train out of all three and I am so proud of her and also thankful that she has been easy since we are so busy. I am still trying to figure out what to do for night time though. How can I not remember what I did with Jack and Claire to help them stay dry through the night?

Brookie is in the beginning phases of recognizing letters. One night she wanted to "read" Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See? to David and me. She opened the book and paused on the title page and then pointed and said, "B!" Then she pointed to two b's and said, "Two B's!" She can almost count to 20 but for some reason she usually leaves out the number 15. Her favorite books right now are It's not easy being big", "Just me and my Dad", "Wait for me said Maggie MacGee" and "Good Night Moon". In Good Night Moon, she told me that someday that would be her room. As you can tell, she likes to talk about what will happen "someday".

In the car, she wants to listen to "Jesus Songs" -- what she calls a CD entitled, "Hide Them in Your Heart". She also seems to have an amazing spatial awareness. She is like a map. Once we went to the Red Cross to drop Jack off for Cub Scouts. The next day when we went past the turn to go there, she asked, "Are we going to the Wed Cwoss?"

She has decided that she likes our dog Murphy, but not our new, teething puppy Cherry because, "Cherrys bite" (again her cute little sentence structure).

I seem to be her favorite person, which is so special to me. One night, she put her arm around my neck and pulled me to her and said, "You're my mommy." She has never cried for me when I drop her off at school, but when I pick her up, she often says, "I missed you. Did you miss me?" One day while she was napping, Claire and I left to go around the neighborhood to gather signatures for a petition to protest the jail. When she woke up, David snuggled her for a bit, and then took her outside to play. At some point she went back inside and when she did not come out again for about 5 minutes David went in to check on her. He found her curled up under her desk crying, "I want my mommy". It was not a loud, temper tantrum sort of episode, he said, just a very sad cry like her heart was broken. When I arrived home she was happily playing again, but she gave me big hugs.

Here she got distracted while in the process of getting ready to swim. This little desk was one of her favorite new gifts -- as you can tell. Being three must be fun -- clothes are optional!

She is my sunshine -- Not a roller coaster of emotions, just a happy little girl almost all of the time. A joy . . .

Vote No on June 9th

2009-05-26T14:13:00.003-05:00

There is no question that a new jail is a legitimate need for our community. However, the County’s current plans for the jail site involve meeting that legitimate need in an illegitimate way.

Imagine if the county decided to put the jail next to your church or your child’s school; you would not agree with that decision or vote for that site. Now imagine that the county decided to put the jail next to your home. You certainly would have a problem with that site and you would hope and pray that your fellow citizens would support your opposition to such an inappropriate and incompatible addition to your neighborhood.

If Washington County voters approve the new taxes for the jail on June 9th, they will also be approving a jail site that is in the middle of a neighborhood. One family on Oak will literally walk out of their front door, walk across the street, and be on the jail campus. When they sit on their front porch, they will be looking at a jail. May it never be!

If Washington County voters approve the new taxes for the jail on June 9th, what will history say about that decision? Will it be a flagrant example of maltreatment of the poor? Will it be viewed as a discriminatory act against the African-American community? Will it a brazen illustration of the powerful taking advantage of the weak?

I urge Washington County voters to exercise the Golden Rule when you step into the voting booth on June 9th; do to others what you would have them do to you.

Come Support the Neighbors Tomorrow Night

2009-05-03T22:32:00.002-05:00

I want to invite Bartians who support Neighbors for Justice and/or who oppose the proposed jail site to come to the city council meeting tomorrow night and speak in favor of agenda item #17; if you can't come, please pray!! (401 S. Johnstone, 7pm)

17. Discuss and take possible action on obtaining a legal opinion from a contracted legal service on the City
Council’s August 25, 2008 action of rezoning the 5.4 acre tract of land located at the southeast corner of
Adams Boulevard and Oak Avenue for the location of a new jail facility

This legal opinion could provide an opportunity to have the vote in favor of rezoning to allow the jail to be OVERTURNED. If it is overturned the county would not be able to build a jail in the middle of a neighborhood.

Here I Come to Save the Day!

2009-04-22T23:20:00.003-05:00

I have been going through every photo, every piece of paper --

Here is a note from my sweet Claire that I saved from last year:

FroM Claire To MoMmY

I LoVe you MOM
You SaveD Me FrOM
ThroiNg uP iN FruT
oF The PeePL iN
the DoCTrsoFis.

First of all, I was so touched by this note because she wrote this a few days after the incident (so it was quite important to her).

Second, it gave me some perspective into Claire's world. Sometimes from my own adult perspective I forget things that I knew as a kid. On that day when Claire told me that she thought she was going to be sick, I ushered her swiftly and urgently to the bathroom mainly to avoid making a mess. It never occurred to me that getting sick in front of all of those people would embarrass my sweet (then) kindergartner. My adult perspective: Children go to the doctor when they are sick and sick kids often throw up -- so not a big deal to see a kid throwing up in a doctor's office. But when I remember what I was like in kindergarten, I know that I too would have been mortified to throw up in front of a waiting room full of people. So glad that God used me to "save" her from a public humiliation!

Jack Rocks!

2009-04-17T23:01:00.004-05:00

Jack has started a private blog and if you or your children would like to read it, please email me or leave a comment here and we will send you invitation.

This is what Jack did during the ice days in January when school was cancelled: compose his first songs!

Final Thoughts about 5934 Cornell Drive

2009-04-12T21:11:00.008-05:00

I have not had the energy to post for a while because of the move. Now I feel like we are beginning to see a light at the end of the unpacking-and-organizing-endless-stuff tunnel. Don't get me wrong -- we have a long way to go, but I can see that little pinpoint of light and it is so encouraging!

We closed on our former house 2 days ago, and we drove by tonight to see if the new owners had moved in yet. It was so weird to see different cars parked in the driveway and unfamiliar furniture on the front porch. When he saw the cars, Jack said, "It looks like we have guests."

On Thursday, I did my final walk-through, and the children's rooms were the ones that struck an emotional chord.

Here is Claire's empty room -- it was the first room we painted when we moved in the house. I was pregnant with Claire and the color was called "Lauren's Lullaby"; it reminded me of pink frosting.

Here is Jack's room -- he selected the red; with all of his stuff it was a red, white and blue room because he loved the American flag and the Pledge of Allegiance when we decorated his room.

For the first 5-6 years of Jack's life, if he was awake, I was playing with him (and Claire, once she joined us). (I cleaned when they were napping and after they went to bed at night.) Therefore, we spent hours and hours in their bedrooms building with Legos and Lincoln logs, doing puzzles, playing board games, pretending to be in outer space (Jack had a space ship tent), pretending to be royalty (Claire had a castle tent), dancing, making music with a little Wal-Mart percussion set and kazoos and recorders, playing indoor hide-n-seek, having tea parties, cooking in the Little Tikes kitchen, reading wonderful books, singing, talking, and laughing. Those rooms were also where I taught both children to read and where I had the privilege to lead Jack and Claire through the ABC prayer (what some people call the "sinner's prayer). It's hard to think about never being able to go back there again and just peek in.

When I look back, I remember often feeling that those days would NEVER end (similar to the "Ground Hog Day" sort of phenomenon), and now I am sorry that they have . . . "how fleeting are the days of childhood, like sand slipping through an hour glass" (my paraphrase of a quote from Bert in Mary Poppins).

5934 Cornell Drive was a blessing from God that served us well.

Welcome to the neighborhood

2009-02-01T13:10:00.004-06:00

This morning when we were getting ready for church, the doorbell rang and when David opened it, it was one of our new neighbors whom we had not personally met yet. She had a gift bag for us that held a pretty plant and a card that made me cry. Both David and I felt that God knew exactly what we were needing today -- encouragement. Here are the inspiring words from the card:

Welcome to our neighborhood!

What a wonderful thing you and your family have done in building such a beautiful home in our neighborhood. Although you may have received much criticism, I feel you must have a dream of developing this area back to the family neighborhood it once was.

I was raised in this neighborhood, and have fond memories of it being full of happy families and businesses. I was born during the time of segregation. Because of that situation, we had our own doctor, churches, school (now ARC), beauty shop, grocery stores, and even a hat maker! For family entertainment, we would go Window Shopping. My Dad would drive us down town and we would walk around, looking in the store windows at the window displays, and dream. :-)

As kids, we didn't have bowling alleys, skating rinks, etc that we were allowed to go to, so we would meet on the corners and sing, dance, and tell ghost stories. In fact, my aunt lived right across the street from your house. We use to visit the family that lived where your house now stands and tell stories, sing, and have fun!

You and your family have taken a big step and will receive positive and negative comments. If and when you receive negative ones, just look at this plant and remember your dreams; also, remember that you are fulfilling your neighbor's dreams that we will once again live in an area full of happy families. I hope and pray that I will live to see how your dreams for this area will develop.

Wow -- humbling, inspiring and exciting!

Visiting Wompville But Don't Wanna Live Here

2009-01-31T23:42:00.007-06:00

Okay, if I can't boohoo on my blog, where can I do it? I have been really struggling with the detrimental effects that my last pregnancy had on my body. It has been almost three years now, and I just don't know how to deal with this body that I have been left with. My hip/pelvic girdle/SI joint are unstable and I have a host of problems because of this, including hip bursitis, periodic painful tingling down my leg, and sometimes sudden-drop-me-to-my-knees pain. After I had Jack, I ran, did personal training, and taught aerobics. Same with Claire.

Now, after Brooke, I am limited to mall walking with senior citizens; I was shocked to discover that just walking will also flare up the bursitis and make my SI joint slip out of place.

I think one of the saddest things is how it also limits me with the children. Tennis is out. Jumping rope is out. Playing tag/soccer/"Mother May I?" are out. Skiing in Colorado? Out. (the last time we went I was pregnant and so I did not get to ski and we made a plan to go back when Brooke is 4) Giving Brookie piggy back rides? Out. Okay sometimes I still do those, but I really shouldn't. Frankly, if I was doing what was good for me, I also would not pick Brooke up and hold her while I am standing.

Ever working in my field of study again? Out. As my sister Nat would say, "This womps".

Okay, now here comes the Holy Spirit to convict me. A: I have three wonderful children, and was Brookie worth the sacrifice? Absolutely! B: I can still walk without a walker or a cane and I am not confined to a wheelchair C: I should give thanks no matter the circumstance because God has a good and perfect plan for me.

That is good to remember.

New Phone Number

2009-01-06T23:59:00.002-06:00

One of my resolutions is to try to limit my time online this year although I have had NO TIME to post anything anyway!

After 10+ hours on the phone with AT&T to move our service across town -- that is NOT an exaggeration! can you say exasperation? -- here is our new phone number:

918-336-0293

Merry Christmas, again!

2008-12-18T23:35:00.002-06:00

I had not intended to add to my already numerous Christmas posts, but I ran across something while reading an autobiography that made me see the Gospels in a different light and it was so delightful to me to find it now at Christmas time; it renewed my sense of awe and wonder about Jesus' birth -- and so I wanted to share it. Most Christians know that "Gospel" means good news and indeed this is what the angel told the shepherds in Luke, " . . . behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all people". Imagine the "good news" only in an intellectual way, from the point of view of a former atheist turned theist who is wondering since he now believes in a god, which god is it that he has come to believe in?

Here in his own words is C.S. Lewis considering the Gospels (the first four books of the New Testament):
"I was by now too experienced in literary criticism to regard the Gospels as myths. They had not the mythical taste. And yet the very matter which they set down in their artless, historical fashion -- those narrow, unattractive Jews, too blind to the mythical wealth of the Pagan world around them -- was precisely the matter of great myths. If ever a myth had become fact, had been incarnated, it would be just like this. And nothing else in all literature was just like this. Myths were like it in one way. Histories were like it in another. But nothing was simply like it."

Go tell it on the mountain that "Jesus Christ is born!"

Merry Christmas!

2008-11-28T14:39:00.000-06:00

This post is the first in what I am calling my Christmas series. The last post in my Christmas series is entitled, “My Year in Six Words”. Grab some hot coco and enjoy!

I hope this letter finds you and your family well and enjoying this wonderful season.
We are finally in our new home, but there is no time to relax yet. We are unpacking and organizing here on Hickory and cleaning and updating at our previous home in order to sell it; I am so thankful for FlyLady! (If you want help with household responsibilities, check out www.flylady.com) The kids are learning some new rules (no touching the walls and how to clean their own sinks); I am learning how to cook and clean with our new appliances.

I love our new home for so many reasons but I have been surprised at how much I LOVE the location. Besides having wonderful new neighbors and being close to Jane Phillips Elementary, we are now within five minutes (and/or within walking distance) of David’s office, the bank, the library, the post office, the recycling center, two city parks, two community centers, a grocery store, and the new recreational aquatic facility (when it is completed). I should probably also include City Hall and the County Offices as well; it is nice to be close to them since I visited them more this past year than I did during the previous 11 years combined! (LOL!) The only thing that would make the location better would be for our friends who have property over here to be residing here as well.

We have all adjusted well to the move. I was most worried about our dog Murphy and about Brooke. In dog years, Murphy is in his 70’s and we thought the move might be very traumatic for him. So far he seems very happy here; he loves watching us through the back door, which is glass, and when the clothes dryer is on, he likes to rest by the dryer vent because of the warm air. Brookie is in her own room for the first time in her life and she has done so well! I think all of the daily trips over here to look at the construction progress helped her to become comfortable; moving here has been a very natural thing to her.

The last two years have been an exciting adventure and I feel so blessed by everything that God has given to us – a wonderful family, marriage, home, friends, purpose, and of course, our salvation!

Well, I need to go find a box to unpack! Keep reading to see the Top Ten Settle Quotes from 2008.

I hope you have a Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year!

Top Ten Settle Quotes from 2008

2008-11-28T14:23:00.003-06:00

10. “ . . . or a mullet.”
Claire, finishing my sentence when I was telling her how much I love her hair because we can put it in pigtails or in two braids, or one bun, or two buns, or a high ponytail or a low ponytail . . .”
9. “I love me. You love me.”
Brookie, singing the Barney song, which is supposed to be, “I love you. You love me.”
8. “Stop! Whining!”
Brooke (my 2 ½ year old) to Claire (my 6 ½ year old).
7. “Or you could do something really bad.”
Claire’s thoughts about what the President of the USA could do if he no longer wanted to be president but he had not served his four years yet.
6. “Take Love-Love and boot-tase (suitcase). Stay in hotel?”
Brooke, talking about going to heaven.
5. “No! Chocolate!”
Brookie, a few days after Halloween, objecting to getting her regular two Skittles as a reward for using the potty.
4. “Jee-us, Nice Boy.”
Brookie’s description of Jesus.
3. “I am thankfool for a house and food.”
Claire, on a paper turkey feather at school. Two years ago, she said she was thankful for all of her toys (which is fine, but I think her response this year shows that she is learning not to take some of the basic things for granted).
2. “Miss . . . duh . . . paci.” (I miss the pacifier)
Brooke, we weaned her from her pacifier months ago, but just this week (November 16th) she started telling me that she misses it. It really breaks my heart because although she is not crying when she says it, she is just on the edge of falling asleep and they are usually her last words before she falls asleep; so it is very pathetic. Poor little thing.
1. “I think it would be cooler to be Warren Buffet.”
Jack, in answer to my question about if they (the children) thought it would be cool to be a prince or a princess. It was my lead-in about being adopted into God’s family – not quite the response I was expecting. (Incidentally, Jack knows who Warren Buffet is because he is enamored with a book about World Records -- biggest spider, fastest bird, richest man, etc.)

Please continue to scroll down and you can see our year in pictures. Or at least, March 2008-November 2008. Jan 2008 and Feb 2008 were still on an old-fashioned camera using film and I can’t find those photos in the middle of our current chaos.

In March 2008 . . .

2008-11-16T00:40:00.000-06:00

We made puddle jumpers. Who would have thought two recycled cans could be so much fun? (cub scouts)

We celebrated Easter. Can you tell who just loves to get his picture taken? (Easter 2008: personal training studio on Cornell)

I tried to take more pictures of Jack. This is not him posing, this is him refusing to look at me.

I took pictures of my two little hams.

Jack did his first science fair project. "Will an ice cube melt faster in a glass of water or on a plate?" (Can you tell he is tired? We had the poor kid tested for everything and we think it was just allergies.)

In April 2008 . . .

2008-11-16T00:30:00.000-06:00

We had Jack's first allergy test; I was actually surprised that there were some things that he was NOT allergic too.

Claire participated in her first "Rise and Shine" ceremony at Jane Phillips elementary with her kindergarten class.

Brooke planted her first tree with Daddy on the Hickory property before the construction had ever began.

In May 2008 . . .

2008-11-16T00:20:00.000-06:00

I took pictures of my girls in our favorite picture spot (our front porch provides the best light in our current home but makes for rather boring photos). I think I took this picture because it was one of the first times I was able (with some work) to get Brooke's hair into a ponytail.

Brookie had to clean up after her party in the bathroom. Ever heard the saying, "You start out laughing and end up crying"?

Our cub scout den did a park clean up at Douglas park. A car stereo is quite a find; this was one of the few times that Jack was excited for me to take his picture!

We took pictures of the line of trees down the middle of our lot on Hickory.

Claire graduated from kindergarten (white t-shirts and jeans were her required outfit for the day)

The line of trees down the middle of our lot on Hickory were removed..

We said good-bye to the "lovies" that Jack had slept with since he was about 6 months old.

Brookie celebrated her 2nd birthday -- she was trying so hard to resist the temptation to scoop icing off of the cake. You'll have to read the post from her birthday to see how she did.

Neena (Sonja's mom) came to celebrate Brookie's birthday with her; at that time, Brooke had just learned how to say "Neena" and so we were so thrilled for Neena to get to hear her say it in person.

In June 2008 . . .

2008-11-16T00:15:00.000-06:00

Brookie posed in her swimming suit on the day we went swimming for the first time in the summer of 08. When you are two years old, a flat chest and round tummy are adorable!

Claire posed in her new swim suit.

Mr. Universe (lol!) posed in his swim trunks.

Jack got his first pair of eyeglasses. The poor boy's vision was 20/100 and he could not see the board at school.

Jack actually shot a balloon with a bow and arrow at Camp McClintock! Those glasses must be working!

Jack had his first mud bath. You may have to click on this actual photo in order to see just how much mud he had on him. This was out at summer camp when the firemen came and turned the hose on the boys. Muddy Mayhem ensued.

Brooke got her first stitches (3) and I had my first experience having to hold a child while the child is getting stitches (and not numb). Hope neither of us has to go through that again! And it is like that spot on her head is a magnet; if she hits her head, that is the spot that gets it. Because of that, she still has a knot on that place and it is now 5 months later.

We celebrated Claire's sixth birthday.

We took her and her best friend to Build-A-Bear workshop. Big brother decided at the last minute that he was not "too old" to build a bear after all.

We collected wildflowers for our homemade flower presses. This spot was only about two minutes from our home.

There was some progress on the lot.

In July 2008 . . .

2008-11-16T00:10:00.000-06:00

We played and relaxed in Neena's Pool.

The children ate gourmet ice cream in their jammies. (Claire with David's adopted sister, Lily in Dallas.)

We took "glamour shots" of the girls in Dallas with their new matching dresses.

We rode a real trolley to the Dallas Hard Rock Cafe (only to find out that it closed a few months prior to our visit). Brookie STILL talks about the "Cholley".

The girls dug for dinosaur bones at the Children's Science museum.

The girls were serenaded by Prince Charming. (L to R: Jasmine, Claire, Lily, Brooke with Prince Charming in the back.)

We ate at the Dallas House of Blues (since the Hard Rock was closed). I had, as my regular blog readers will know, tortilla soup, that was okay but it came with this awesome Honey Rosemary cornbread that I absolutely loved. (Here we are with David's parents and their two daughters.)

We went to Six Flags over Texas (I don't know what we were thinking by doing that in July!) and Jack rode his first real roller coaster, Claire had fun buying candy and desserts, and Brookie had the best time playing in the water misters that are provided to cool people off. Here they are riding the same carousel that I had my picture taken on when I was around 6. My sister told me I was on a replica Martha Washington's horse and I believed her.

We got to hang with my sister N's family. It is amazing to me how much all of the kids look like each other. I especially think N's daughter (sitting between Claire and Brooke) looks very similar to Brooke (minus the goose egg on her forehead). Here they are taking a "goofy" picture.

We watched the progress of the framers for our house.

The kids goofed around with their Uncle Scott (my brother in from Colorado). L to R: Claire, Scott, Abby (my sister Dawn's daughter) and Jack.

We were amazed at the progress of the framers in just one month.

Claire lost her first tooth.

In August 2008 . . .

2008-11-16T00:06:00.000-06:00

We had some fun in the sun in Independence, Kansas at the water park (sure would be nice to have one in Bartlesville!)

Claire and Brooke drew pictures with sidewalk chalk on the wet sidewalk during a warm summer rain. Claire's kindergarten teacher had shared about doing this when she was a girl and so the moment we had rain with no lightning, Claire was ready to go!

Jack joined Claire and Brooke to play in the rain on one of the last days of summer vacation.

We had a quick photo op with Mr. Copeland, the principal of Jane Phillips Elementary; it was the first day of 3rd grade for Jack and the first day of 1st grade for Claire.

The children looked for fossils in the gravel at the construction site -- and actually found several!!

In September 2008 . . .

2008-11-16T00:04:00.000-06:00

Brookie got her first "tair-tut" [hair cut].

Brookie had school picture day at her Mother's Day Out program and she got to wear a special dress from Aunt Raima and Cousin Glory.

We said good-bye to my Grandpa Donnelley.

We got closer to moving day.

David took a rare picture of me that I don't hate. However, if you enlarge the picture, you can see that I have lipstick on my teeth. Typical. :)

In October 2008 . . .

2008-11-15T00:02:00.000-06:00

Claire tried to kiss Brooke while Brooke was trying to blow Claire a kiss.

Jack worked on his family tree for scouts.

We camped out at Osage Hills.

Claire and Brooke posed with some of our future neighbors for a political ad to protest a jail being placed in a neighborhood full of children. You can see the ad at www.neighborsforjustice.com.

Princess Leia and Yoda made a couple of appearances, but Luke Skywalker was home sick in bed.

In November 2008 . . .

2008-11-15T00:00:00.000-06:00

Our family participated in our first real picket line to protest the county jail. The picket line made the front page of the paper.

I captured one of those "Peter Pan" moments of childhood. When we go to Lowe's, Brooke says, "See Kissmis?" [Can we look at the Christmas decorations?] Here she is looking at animated stuffed animals that sing "Baby It's Cold Outside". Can't you see the look of wonder in her eyes? I have a picture very similar to this of Jack looking at the moon.

We celebrated Jack's 9th birthday with an Ipod Birthday party at The Rock. Jack saved his money to buy an iPod, but had none left over to put songs on it. So we asked everyone to give him a buck (in essence buy a song from iTunes) and a recommendation for a song that they thought Jack would like. It was so much fun going through the suggestions: they ranged from "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything" by Relient K to "Smoke on the Water" by Deep Purple.

Jack (guitar shirt) with friends near the skate ramps at The Rock.

The party at the eating area at The Rock. We invited 35 kids and had about 14. It would have been fun either way, but 14 was much easier to manage than 35!

We moved! Here are the kids eating the first meal I made with my new appliances (bacon and eggs) at our new bar!

My Year in Six Words

2008-11-14T14:00:00.000-06:00

I heard about a book where people (famous and obscure) wrote their memoirs in 6 words. The book was called Not exactly what I was planning. I would like to invite you to do something a bit easier: write about your year (2008) in 6 words. You can leave it here as a comment or you can email me (Sonjasett@sbcglobal.net) and I will include all the responses in a blog post at some point in January.

Here is My Year in Six Words:

Protested Jail. Built House. Loved Neighbors.

Forgot to Tag Someone

2008-11-14T12:53:00.001-06:00

Oops! I forgot to tag someone: I tag Kylie and Ruth and Nat.

Tagged! Seven Random Things

2008-11-14T11:17:00.002-06:00

1. I met David in a History of Science class at OU. On the first day of the Spring semester, our professor “randomly” threw us into a discussion group together that we were in for the rest of the semester. We did not have a our first real date until that summer.

2. I almost died from Legionnaire’s disease when I was in 7th grade.

3. I listen to NPR almost every day.

4. I have never colored my hair. (we'll see what happens when I go gray)

5. I am a tortilla soup connoisseur -- #1 best on my list: On The Border’s tortilla soup (really fresh, topped with slivers of avocado and it heats up well the next day). The worst I have ever had: Garfield’s (it was gross with what seemed like congealed fat globs floating in it).

6. As a child, I pulled weeds in our garden until my hands bled. (My kids have it so easy!)

7. In an Emerging Leaders class at TU, I discovered through a personality profile that I find a great deal of satisfaction from influencing/persuading people. For those of you who know me, you know this can be a good thing, but it can also be an annoying thing!

Election Thoughts

2008-11-05T09:48:00.002-06:00

I was so surprised by my mixed emotions last night when they announced that Obama had won the election. On the one hand, I felt sad and disappointed. I was a McCain supporter and I have real concerns now about future Supreme Court appointees and what it means for unborn babies in this country (among other serious concerns). On the other hand, I was proud of our country because we seem to be traveling away from our racist past. Honestly, I was moved by the emotional response of the African-Americans in the audience in Chicago; I was happy for them. Now it is time for us as Christians to pray for Obama . . .

Locally, I was THRILLED to see that the citizens of Bartlesville said "no" to funding the jail. Thank you to everyone who voted against the jail! Just want everyone to know that the fight to keep the jail out of our neighborhood is still not over. Most of us expect that the county will create a so-called "new and improved" plan and still try to build it at the same residential site. So we need prayer and for any supporters who feel led to please donate to the legal fund. Lawyers charge by the hour and it ain't cheap! Go to www.neighborsforjustice.com for more information.

You know you're getting old . . .

2008-11-02T22:12:00.004-06:00

Wouldn't you know that the one year I decide to do a theme for Halloween costumes, Jack was still too sick to be Luke Skywalker on Friday? Princess Leia and Yoda had to go without him again like they did on Monday at the school's Fall Festival. It was a bummer on so many different levels. (A tangent: I tried to get Brookie to say, "Yoda, I am", but all she could do was "I, Oda" [I'm Yoda])

Speaking of the Fall Festival, Claire said that all of the adults knew who she was, but none of the children did. And, even when she told them she was Princess Leia, they did not know who Princess Leia was. What's the world coming to when kids don't know who Princess Leia is? It made me feel ancient.

Actually, that did not make me feel as old as this next example. One day I was telling my kids about how when I was a kid, often on Friday afternoons my whole elementary school would watch films in the auditorium. My kids looked at me and said, "Films?" They had no idea what I was talking about. No. Idea.

So, if you know who Princess Leia is and have ever watched films at school, you are . . . OLD. If you know who Messy Marvin is, if you ever wore parachute pants and danced to Footloose, if you spent Saturdays at roller rinks skating to Another One Bites The Dust, if you know what a "couples skate" is, if you ever had an Izod shirt that you wore with the collar flipped up, if you can sing the Big Mac song (2 All Beef Patties Special Sauce Lettuce Cheese Pickles Onions on a Sesame Seed Bun), if you have ever shopped at a TG&Y, if you know who Hurdle the Attack Turtle was (had to live in Ardmore for that one), if you had a stereo with a record player and tape cassette player, if you remember getting your first CD, if you remember the first VCR your family bought, if you remember when chewing gum was a major offense in school, if you know who Smurfette was (LAH-LAH-la-la-la-LAH . . .), if you ever watched Hee Haw, if you ever cried when you watched E.T. in a movie theater, if you remember what it means to "get licks" at school (when all teachers had paddles and used them), if you remember when they still had "Christmas" parties at school (instead of Winter parties), if you know what a WalkMan is, if you ever wore Jams and O.P. shirts, if you ever called flip-flops, "thongs", if you know what a typewriter is, if you remember when the "PG-13" rating was introduced, if you know who the" stay-puft" marshmallow man is, if you know "We Are The World" by heart (there's a choice we're making, we're saving our own lives, it's true we make a brighter day, just you and me), if you ever wanted suspenders like Mork's, if you know who the Karate Kid is, if you remember when pagers were a big deal (Beepers, baby), if the Beastie Boys ever helped you "fight for your right to paaarrrrr-teh", if you remember when they made after-school specials about mono, if you know what an after-school special is, if you remember when kids played with Rubix Cubes (sp?) at recess, if you remember when it was cool to have a mullet, if you can do the moonwalk, the Bobby Brown, and the Roger Rabbit, if you remember when the word "text" was usually used as a noun (not a verb), if you remember the original, "Help, I've Fallen and I can't get up" commercial, if you ever wondered who shot J.R., if you remember when floppy disks were the size of a sandwich (come to think of it, do floppy disks even exist anymore?), if you remember Air-Jordans, if you ever had a collection of twist-a-beads, if you remember where you were when the Challenger blew up (Mrs. Piersons science class), if you ever used "Stiff Stuff" to achieve great bangs, if you ever listened to Prince and thought 1999 was a long time away . . .

okay, if you understood most of that paragraph then you are definitely OLD.

Settle Family Open House

2008-10-31T13:06:00.003-05:00

If you are reading this, you are invited to the Settle Family Open House.

When: Saturday, November 8 from 4-7 pm (come and go)
Where: 610 S. Hickory, Bartlesville
(corner of Adams and Hickory, 3 blocks west of downtown)

Your presence is requested, but no presents please.

We do not want to inadvertently leave someone out, so if you know of someone who might be interested in walking through our new home, please feel free to extend this invitation to them as well.

Princess Leia and Yoda

2008-10-27T18:24:00.002-05:00

Tonight is the Fall Festival at Jane Phillips Elementary. Princess Leia and Yoda are going to make an appearance but Luke Skywalker will be noticeably absent from their entourage. He is having phase two of whatever has plagued our family since two Sundays ago. I am very sympathetic because 7Up, saltine crackers, and pepto-bismol have been my three best friends today. Hopefully, by Friday all will be well again just in time for everyone to chow down Aunt Dawn's chili and give themselves a tummyache the old-fashioned way -- from eating too much Halloween candy.

High School Musical 3 & Trailers

2008-10-27T12:55:00.003-05:00

Jack and Claire and I went to see HSM 3 and we all loved it! I loved the first one; I thought the second one was forgettable and have no desire to see it again; and I can't wait to see the third again even though I just saw it yesterday! The choreography was awesome! There were a few times that "I felt a song coming on" and was a little annoyed because it seemed there had only been a few lines of dialogue since the last song had ended -- but then the sets and costumes were so dazzling and fantastic and the choreography was awesome (did I already say that?) that I quickly forgot about being annoyed and was swept away with the glitz or the grit, depending on the song.

I was really upset about two movie trailers that came on before the movie. First, was a trailer for Twilight. If you are not aware, Twilight is a book series about teenage vampires. It was a really scary trailer and I was upset that they would show a trailer for a PG-13 horror movie to an audience of primarily children who were there to see a rated G movie. And it was tucked in between some more appropriate trailers so it hits you by surprise.

Second, and I am so sad to say this, but we saw the trailer for The Tale of Despereaux. It is a highly anticipated movie at our house because we love, love, love the Newbery Award winning book of the same name. We think the artists did a good job rendering what Despereaux would look like (so, so adorable) but the first few seconds of the preview were the only thing true to the book. It was so obviously different that my children were puzzled. I guess I can't give a true review of the movie until I see it all, but I would highly recommend reading the book before you see the movie.

We finally have color!

2008-10-13T11:23:00.004-05:00

They finally started painting the walls in the house last week. Thank you to Jennifer Keener and Tracie Newcomb for helping me pick out colors that I love!

This is the upstairs rec room. The color is the main color for the house -- it is called "Blonde".

This is the blue that Jack chose for his room and bathroom.

This is Brooke's room. She and Claire both have this pink in their bedrooms.

Unbelievable!

2008-10-13T10:50:00.003-05:00

The other day I cleaned out the floor in the MDX and this is what I had when I was finished.

What makes it so unbelievable is that we accumulated that much junk in my car in just FIVE days. Five. Days. Now I am making the kids get everything out of the car every time we get out of the car. In spite of some whining, it seems to be working well.

Dirty Mouth? Clean it up!

2008-10-09T12:51:00.004-05:00

Brooke has definitely broken the "Settle" mold -- she is just her own little person, who does things that my other two NEVER did. Like eating poop. Of unknown origin. Being the daughter of a nurse who used to talk about surgeries in detail at the dinner table, and now, the mother of three children -- it takes a LOT to gross me out, but this did it:

We were in line ordering ice cream at Braum's and Jack said, "Mom, Brooke has something in her mouth". I looked to see Brooke spitting and sputtering, and so I bent down to just try to take out whatever was in her mouth. Out of her mouth came the undeniable stench of well, feces. She had actually chewed it because it was in the grooves of her teeth on the top and the bottom. I took her to the bathroom and tried to wash her mouth out with soap, which made her cry. Then I tried to clean her teeth with a toothpick. The whole time I was giving her a lecture about not eating stuff off of the floor because it could make her sick. She came out of the bathroom saying, "Poop, nassy" [nasty].

When we got home, I brushed her teeth and threw away the toothbrush. And then I waited to see if she would get sick. She didn't, but I was still worried -- what about hepatitis? or worms? -- so I called our pediatrician who told me that as long as she wasn't showing any signs of sickness that she was probably okay. "It's not much different than when children play in the dirt and then put their hands in their mouths and get traces of feces." It made me feel better, but in my book, chewing up a mouthful of poop is different than traces of feces!

Jack's evaluation of the situation was funny and probably accurate. He said, "Mom, I think she thought it was chocolate."

Neighbors for Justice Support a New Jail: But not in our back yard

2008-09-29T21:26:00.002-05:00

Lastest release from Neighbors for Justice:

In what at first appears to be a contradiction of the lawsuit it filed against the City of Bartlesville and the Bartlesville City Council, Neighbors for Justice (NfJ) issued a statement proclaiming its support for a new jail in Washington County.

“We absolutely believe that a new jail must be built. However, we also believe there should be some conditions regarding where it is built,” said Luwana Brewster, co-spokesperson of the new citizen group in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. “The new jail should not be across the street from our homes and play areas. Currently, the proposed jail site is surrounded by residential neighborhoods on the north, west, and south sides.”

NfJ recently launched its new website, www.neighborsforjustice.com, in order to educate the public about its cause and its stance regarding the jail. On the site, NfJ clarifies its mission in the following four statements:

*We believe that a jail should be built, but only if it is built in a non-residential area.

*We believe that a jail should be built, but only if it will not detrimentally affect the growth and financial condition of the area where it is built.

*We believe that a jail should be built, but only if the City and County follow proper zoning regulations and standard procedures for zoning changes and zoning appeals.

*We believe that a jail should be built, but only if the City and County attribute equal amounts of respect and dignity to all citizens of Bartlesville.

Brewster expressed the group’s appreciation for the City Council members and their service to the Bartlesville community. “However, we believe the action taken by the Council on August 25, 2008 was unacceptable. We also believe that the only way to correct the Council’s mistake on August 25th is, regretfully, to seek legal action.”

The NfJ suit was filed with Washington County District Court on Tuesday, September 23, 2008 by Tulsa law firm, Gibbs, Armstrong, Borochoff, Mullican and Hart. This firm also successfully represented the South Tulsa Citizens Coalition (STCC) in a three-year battle to stop the construction of a privately owned toll bridge. In January 2008, the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled unanimously in favor of STCC.

NfJ has also created a legal fund to help pay legal fees that will be incurred during the legal battle, which may be long and arduous. Interested parties can donate through the group’s website, www.neighborsforjustice.com.

Progress on the House

2008-09-23T13:30:00.004-05:00

Several people have asked for an update of the house so here it is! We think that it might be possible for us to be "moving" in 3-4 weeks. The reason I put that in quotation marks is because we will move some of our furniture and belongings, but we will be leaving some of it here to "stage" this house in hopes of increasing our chances of selling our home more quickly.

We have columns and sidewalks outside now and although this picture does not show it, we have sod now too. Also, they are painting the outside this week -- all of the trim will be white (including the dormer siding) and the front door and shutters (not on yet) will be black.

This is the living room floor before being they stained the concrete.

This is the floor yesterday where they taped the floor to show the pattern that they are going to make when they score the floor. It is also stained here, but it is hard to tell because of all of the dust from tile and wood being cut.

This is our shower in the master bath -- white subway tile (my favorite!). We used it in the kitchen, and all of the baths.

Here is the kitchen and this is not current either. They have the cabinet doors on now. The countertops were the only selection that stressed me a bit. Granite is standard in Brent Taylor Homes, but I did not want granite because it is porous (soaks up stains and germs) and so I had decided on black Corian. However, when I went to make my selection the saleswoman told me that that was not a good selection if I planned to "use my kitchen"; it seems that black Corian shows scratches really badly. Therefore, I went with old-fashioned formica and although I was a little bummed at first, when I came home and saw how easy it was to take permanent marker off of formica (about 2 days after I made my selection, Brooke did some art in our current kitchen), I was happy with my choice!

Neighbors For Justice Seeks Legal Remedy

2008-09-23T13:03:00.001-05:00

Below is a post from a blog by Neighbors for Justice, which is a coalition formed by our future neighbors in West Bartlesville.

Attorneys Have Been Secured

Neighbors for Justice recognizes that the Bartlesville City Council has been faced with controversial situations and challenging times in recent months and years. The neighbors appreciate the service of each of the council members to the community of Bartlesville and the vital function that this council provides to the health and growth of this city.

However, the neighbors believe the action taken by the council on August 25, 2008 was uacceptable. This vote overturned a previous denial for zoning to allow a jail in a residential neighborhood. The neighbors do not see any opportunity at this time to correct that mistake other than via legal action.

With that being said, Neighbors For Justice would like to announce that they have secured the law firm Gibbs, Armstrong, Borochoff, Mullican & Hart to defend their cause.

This firm also represented the South Tulsa Citizens Coalition who fought against having a toll bridge built and was victorious this year at the Supreme Court.

If you would like to be better informed about this issue, the NFJ blog has a brief chronological history of the plans for the county jail as well as a history as read through the Bartlesville Examiner Enterprise. In addition, there is a map of the area showing that the proposed jail site is surrounded on the north, west, and south by residential neighborhoods.

Finally, if you have an interest or feel lead to do so, there is a place where you can donate to the NFJ legal fund.

Here is the blog address: www.neighborsforjustice.com

Sincerely,

Sonja Settle

In Memory of Stanley Donnelley (Oct. 18, 1927-September 16, 2008)

2008-09-16T22:38:00.003-05:00

My grandpa, Stanley Donnelley, died this morning at approximately 4 am. Last Monday he was put in the hospital for what at first I understood to be kidney stones, but on Thursday the diagnosis was bone cancer and kidney cancer that had metastasized to his spine. My sister, Dawn, and I drove to Enid to see him late Thursday night and it was such a shock to see him lying so helplessly in the hospital bed in agonizing pain. Just a few months ago, Grandpa's doctor had told him that he was the "healthiest 80-year-old" that he knew. Grandpa still worked a little job that he went to every day. About 2 1/2 weeks ago, he and his neighbor had cleared out brush in the back yard. In short, Grandpa was still living an active, busy life. I expected him to live until he was 100 years old.

I have been so grateful that last year the family had a party to celebrate Grandpa's 80th birthday. It was a wonderful time where everyone wrote letters to him about their favorite memories with him and what he meant to them. It was truly a celebration of who he was as a person and a way to thank him for how he had served our family over the years. During the party, he was more talkative than I ever remember him being in a large group, regaling us with tales of meeting Will Rogers and Andy Griffith (whom he said was the only man he ever met who had bigger ears than he did!).

What a testimony of love this last week has been -- my aunts and uncles and cousins have flown in from all over the country to be at grandpa's side, to hold his hand, and to pray for him. This is amazing because none of us are blood relatives to Grandpa. He was my mother's (and aunts' and uncles') step-father. To most of us in my generation, though, he was the only grandpa we ever knew and therefore not our "step-grandfather" but our grandpa.

He snored louder than almost anyone I have heard (with the exception of my late Uncle Bo). He had this weird, quirky idea that you needed to put butter on every sandwich that you ate in order to aid digestion. In the summer when we visited, my sisters and I would try to sneak in and make our sandwiches without him knowing so that we would not have to put butter on our bologna and cheese sandwiches. I am not sure how, but usually he caught us and so I have eaten more bologna, cheese, mustard, and butter sandwiches than anyone should have to endure!

He searched for and found me my first car (a cute little yellow Kharmen Ghia). He made the best pancakes that he served with warm syrup. Probably everyone in the family has a least one time when Grandpa dropped everything to come diagnose and fix an automotive problem. He loved my Grandma more than anyone else ever loved her and took better care of her than anyone else in the world. He was a kind, gentle, patient man with a servant's heart whom I never heard complain.

The only comfort in his passing is that he is no longer in pain and he did not linger like this for a long period of time -- he would have hated not being able to go to work or to be on dialysis or to be dependent on someone else to take care of him. I also can rest in the fact that I know I will see him in heaven some day. Until then, I will think of him often and hope to serve my family as well as he did.

Do you speak Brookie?

2008-09-10T22:03:00.004-05:00

We have been so excited and relieved as Brooke learns more words and has finally started putting words together for 2-3 word sentences. She seems to have to work much harder on her words than other children do (in order to perfect them). It is interesting to me that some words, which I would normally think would be difficult, seem easy for her and she says them clearly. For instance, she can say, "Luke" perfectly -- ie, she doesn't say "wuke." However, some of her other words are so adorable I wanted to write them down.

Here is a quiz to see how well you speak "Brookie". Select the word that is the correct translation. Answers are at the bottom.

1. Dod
a. God
b. Dog
c. Dad

2. Nonk (with a long "o" sound)
a. Nose
b. Milk
c. Not

3. Lucky
a. Yucky
b. Lick
c. Sticky

4. Fuffy
a. Stuffing
b. Fluffy
c. Murphy

5. Habit
a. Rabbit
b. Have it
c. Stop it

6. Dum
a. Gum
b. Some
c. Fun

7. Fart
a. Cart
b. Start
c. Heart

8. Boe-ditch or Boe-shif
a. a bad word in "Brookie"
b. Goldfish
c. Toe itch

9. Bitchy
a. Bitty
b. Betsy
c. Bitsy

Answers:
1: If you ask Brooke who we learn about at church, her answer will be "Dod" (a)
2: In "Brookie", water is "dink" and milk is "nonk". (b)
3: Chunky milk left in the van for days, is "lucky". (a)
4: When Brooke tells our dog, Murphy, to stop barking, she says, "Hush, Fuffy" (c)
5: If you have something and Brooke wants it, she will ask, "Habit?" [Can I have it?] (b)
6: If "Brookie" was spoken in the movie, "Night at the Museum", the statue would say, "Dumb-Dumb, give me dum-dum!"(a)
7: This was a trick question. We still have not figured out what Brooke wants when she says "fart". Unfortunately she says it perfectly and it sends Jack and Claire into hysterical fits of laughter and so if she says it once, she ends up saying it 20 times. If we ever get it translated, you will be the first to know.
8: Brooke can say "gold" and "fish", but put them together and she sounds like she is attempting to say a "cuss" word (as we say in the south). (b)
9: Hasn't everyone heard of the "Itchy-Bitchy Spider"?(c)

One final cute thing that she said (but which I could not create a question for) was this: "Chock-ee-it Tandy?" -- as in "chocolate candy". She was referring to a round brown mole on my arm. :)

County Jail

2008-09-03T22:35:00.002-05:00

Several times, I have sat down in order to write about the jail issue since the council reversed its decision on August 25th. But so far I have been unable to do it -- I sit down and then feel drained just thinking about it. However, I think we are on the verge of watching a miracle unfold and so it is not as depressing to write about.

My friend's recent post is better than anything I would have written so I asked her if I could put it on my blog as well. (Sorry to those of you who read both of our blogs! ) I also want to encourage you to send this post to whomever you want to send it. The more people who know about what it going on, the better. After all, the citizens of Bartlesville will ultimately decide the fate of the jail.

So here it is:

SUNDAY, AUGUST 31, 2008

Selflessness and an Apology to the West Bartlesville Residents
Jesus committed the most extreme act of selflessness when he chose to humble himself to become man, to be beaten by man and then die on the cross for man.

Acts of selflessness are hard and that is why I am always in awe when I see these genuine acts. A genuine act is one that personally gains you nothing and many times, in fact, costs you everything. I have recently witnessed one such act of selflessness and wanted to share.

An east Bartlesville resident has written an amazing letter to the editor expressing his apologies to the west side residents for the great injustice that has occured over the jail rezoning. This man has spent much of his own personal time fighting for the rights of west Bartlesville residents. He has been at the council meetings standing up and speaking eloquently against this injustice. He has stepped across the tracks from where he lives to fight for the rights of the people who are being taken advantage of. Even though this issue does not affect him personally, he has chosen to do something that goes against the cultural norm- - - to fight an injustice for someone else. He will gain NOTHING from this- - -other than ugly remarks and possible threats from those who disagree with him. You may be thinking, "Threats?" Yes, I know it is happening because my husband has received them as well. This man has put himself and his name on the line by speaking out against the jail, the jail that so many may think needs to be built on the west side of town.

I wanted to get his permission before printing this on my blog so I sent him an email. I loved the response he gave me, so I wanted to post that as well. His response:

"Yes, you have my permission. There are times when I do not recognize or act like the guy you want to blog about. However, those are the times I remember that I am only human and any goodness or righteousness I may have is not my own but from my Father alone. Who knows, maybe this is the spot I have spent my entire life getting to? If any good comes from it, it will be from Him and not from me."

Here is his letter:

An Apology to the West Side Residents of Bartlesville

After sitting through last Monday’s City Council meeting, I feel compelled to offer an apology to the residents of the West Side.

I apologize for the City Council riding over all sound objections to do whatever they want. I thought there might have been hope for this council but now it seems I was wrong.

I apologize for Councilman Vic Holcomb changing his vote. He stated, “no one got to him.” Well, of course they did. His constituents got to him. They probably told him he was being an obstructionist and needed to call for a do-over

I also apologize for Councilman Vic Holcomb not being able to look you in the eye when he voted “yes”.

I apologize for Mr. Maddux saying that Robert’s Rules of Order trumps an Oklahoma Supreme Court decision and the Council could revote the issue if they wanted to.

I apologize for Mrs. Daniels smiling as Lisa Strickland walked away from the podium, crying and holding a picture of her 4 year old daughter.

I apologize for Mr. Mason just sitting there like the old lump on a log. Wait. No, I don’t!

I apologize to the gentleman who attempted to speak after the citizen comment time was closed. Was he out of line? Yes. Was he confused? Who wouldn’t be after sitting through that Council meeting? Did you notice that three very large Bartlesville police officers moved on this gentleman very quickly to grab him and remove him? If he had stood there a few more seconds, we would have seen Bartlesville’s finest in action. All the Mayor had to do was say, one more time, “Sir, if you do not sit down, I will have you escorted to your seat.”

I apologize for Mayor Gorman’s hypocrisy. LuWana Brewster said she found it hard to believe that council members “could look us in the eye and tell us you’re representing us. We feel like we’ve been stabbed in the back,” she said. There’s no first aid for that, is there? She also added, "What part of 'we don't want a jail here' do you not understand?

I apologize because Mr. Gorman’s, “I love you guys” didn’t last one whole week.

I apologize for the county commissioners who just sat there looking at the floor. Did you notice the backs of their necks got red from time to time? They appeared as if they were embarrassed to be there. But they got what they wanted, didn’t they?

I apologize that the very morning the county commissioners discussed paying for 50% of a West Bartlesville Master Plan – with a one tenth of a cent tax increase on you and me. This will most likely be on the November ballot also. You remember that ballot, right? It’s the one where we will be asked to pay for the new jail that was rammed down our throats! That’s like…well, you know what it’s like.

I apologize because our City Council appears to some, to be elitist with some racism thrown in for good measure. They can scream from the roof tops that this is about a zoning question, "rule of law" I believe Mrs. Daniels said. I hope that lets them sleep at night. They can shout all day long, “Some of my best friends are _________ (fill in the blank: black, brown, poor).” But folks all over town, whether they want the jail there or not, suspect this is a smoke screen so the Council can step all over the wishes of most West Side residents. They feel they are better than us and being better than us, know what is best for us. Especially the black and poor residents who will be impacted the most.

I apologize because the City Council has convinced themselves this is all about zoning regulations. Politics, at its heart, is all about people. People of different color, people of different races, people of different levels of education, people of different income levels and people of all ages. People who vote! The City Council would do well to remember this.

I do not lightly say that our City Council appears to be elitist and, at times appears to be racist also. Deny it all you want, call me whatever names you want, Call me a troublemaker, a cry baby, slash my tires, kick my dog but there it is, right in our faces. It’s the 800 pound gorilla in the room no one wants to talk about.

I apologize for Mayor Gorman’s parting shot: “Let’s all go from here in the spirit of unity and progress.” Decency will not allow the Examiner-Enterprise to print my reply to that remark.

Last but not least, I think they should drop the opening prayer at all City Council meetings. From the way the City Council does whatever they want--ignore the Oklahoma Supreme Court, ignore their own zoning regulations, ignore the desires of the people they represent—it seems obvious to me that God is most definitely not in the house!

George Henshaw

Bartlesville

(Of course, Mr. Henshaw's last statement is not to be taken literally.)

The Hardest Questions

2008-08-20T22:57:00.003-05:00

It's politics . . . it's ugly . . . and sometimes it just makes you want to throw-up.

A very savvy politician told me that recently. At the time I did not understand completely -- but now I do, and I do want to throw-up. (if you are confused, look at the post that was published right before this one).

For the last few weeks, I have been going through my house, room-by-room, cleaning out junk and clutter to get ready for our move in a few months. When I was going through the drawer in my bedside table, I discovered something dated September 24, 2001. At that time I had just finished re-reading for the third time, Corrie Ten Boon's (can't remember how to spell her last name) book, The Hiding Place. (For those of you unfamiliar with Corrie, she hid Jews during WWII and ended up in a concentration camp). At the back of that particular edition of the book was a section entitled, "Six ways to put this book to work into your life". The first way was to:

Discover for yourself that God governs all things, even those that appear senseless and cruel. As an experiment, list your 'hardest questions'-- vexing personal questions: an illness, an automobile accident, a business failure. Then one by one transfer these loads from your own care to God's. Pray, 'Lord, because I do not have the answers to these things I do not therefore conclude that there are no answers. You know why, Lord, and when I am strong enough -- wise enough, loving enough -- You will show me too.'"

Back in 2001, I had listed 8 vexing personal questions. When I found these papers after almost 7 years, I was amazed because 7 of the questions (which in all honesty, I highly doubted I would ever know the answer to (this side of heaven), had been answered. I think when I read through that list, and saw that I knew the "why" of 7 of those very hard questions, my jaw actually dropped. What a blessing and a faith-building experience.

I have been creating a new list of questions, and tonight, as I recall the roller coaster of the last three days, I realized that I need to transfer this jail issue back over to God. I am sad. I am angry. I want to throw-up. This is all so wrong -- why does God allow it? I don't know, but He does.

'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways, my ways,' declares the Lord. Isaiah 55:8

Oops! Did I say "no"? I meant "yes" . . .

2008-08-20T22:23:00.003-05:00

Item 8 on the agenda for next Monday's city council meeting:

Discuss and take action to reconsider the decision of the City Council on August 18, 2008 to deny the Washington County Correctional Facility Trust Authority’s appeal of the decision of the Metropolitan Area Planning Commission (MAPC) to deny a rezoning request of a 5.4 acre tract of land located at the southeast corner of Adams Boulevard and Oak Avenue for the location of a new jail facility (Case No. PC-08-09-RZ/PUD/SDP), and possible adoption of ordinance granting rezoning and PUD Outline Development Plan approval. Presented by Vic Holcomb, Councilmember.

Miracles Do Happen!

2008-08-19T06:53:00.002-05:00

If you have not heard, the County's rezoning effort failed last night: 3-2! A.maz.ing!

We need to pray for the city leaders and about this situation however because the County's plan will be to take this to district court.

Thanks to all of you who showed up to support the neighbors -- we know for some of you that it was a total inconvenience and we appreciate it very much!

The Golden Rule in Real Life

2008-08-15T20:12:00.004-05:00

Friends in Bartlesville --
Many of you know that the county is in desperate need of a new jail. No one can deny that it is a legitimate need. However, the current plan to put the jail in a residential area is an illegitimate way to fill that need.

The City Council and the County regularly must make choices -- one thing versus another, where there is not necessarily a right or a wrong, just two different choices. The current jail plan however is nothing but WRONG, a tangible example of injustice. You may ask how I can be so certain and so "black and white" on this issue. When God's word is used as a plumb line, it is easy!

Love your neighbor as you love yourself. Matthew 22:40
Treat people the same way you want them to treat you. Matthew 7:12

I can say with 100% certainty, that there is NOT ONE city council member who would vote to put a jail in his/her own neighborhood. I can say with 100% certainty that there is NOT ONE county commissioner who would vote to put a jail in his/her own neighborhood. If they obey God's command to love their (west side) neighbors as themselves, then they should NOT vote to put it in this west side neighborhood either.

However, the County obviously expects the City Council to vote in favor of re-zoning because they proceeded to purchase the land even though the Metropolitan Area Planning Committee voted AGAINST rezoning. If the rezoning measure passes in the City Council, then the future of the jail will eventually be in the hands of Bartlesville residents. We will have the opportunity to vote yes or no.

One hundred years from now, what will historians say about the leaders of Bartlesville and the residents of Bartlesville if we all voted in favor of this plan? One hundred years from now, will it be a blantant example of exploitation of the poor? Of mistreatment of African-Americans? Of the powerful taking advantage of the weak? Of a double standard?

So, what about you? Would you want a jail in your neighborhood? I am pretty sure I know your answer and if you treat your west side neighbors the same way you would want to be treated regarding this issue, then ACTION is required. At the very least, vote NO when this issue comes up and let our leaders know WHY you voted against the jail.

If you want to be more involved, here is an email that my husband sent out:

This public hearing at city council (7pm Mon 08/18/2008) is the last chance to meaningfully contribute to the process of giving a voice to the neighbors (overwhelming majority oppose the jail). Please consider showing up in person to the meeting as a show of support for the neighbors. You can sign up to speak if you prefer, but the mere presence of large numbers of individuals in the room will convey a strong message:

These people are important (no less important than any other neighbors in our city)...their concerns are valid....and they will not be ignored.

We need you Monday night!

P.S. A disclaimer, in case anyone was wondering . . . before we purchased our property on Hickory, we knew that it would be within 300 feet of the possible future jail site. However, we strongly believed that this was the right place for us and that there was real hope for revitalization in this area, so we went forward with our plans. And, incidentally, although I am obviously passionately against the jail being there, God has already used this issue for good because it has enabled us to get to know all of our future neighbors and to join them in a shared cause.

Please Pray

2008-08-15T19:56:00.003-05:00

Six weeks ago my sister-in-law, Ruth, was put on bed rest when she was only 19 weeks along in her pregnancy. She ended up delivering her baby girl, Olivia Kate, yesterday, at only 25 weeks, 2 days old (gestational age). Here is the email that Eric sent out.
6:03 pm Thursday (August 14th). 1 pound 15 ounces.

She caught everyone by surprise when she came. No doctor was present - she came too quickly... Just 1 resident and 5-7 nurses were present. Ruth was in agony - she came too quickly for Ruth to receive a shot of pain medicine, and they were unable to remove the stitches before she delivered. Ruth though seems to be doing relatively well now... She's resting finally.

Olivia also seems to be doing well considering she was only at 25 weeks when born. They say her color is good and her breathing has been good as well to the point they don't even have her hooked up to the full ventilator. Of course at this stage that's about all they know - they will know a lot more about everything else in 10-14 days.

The "stitches" that Eric is referring to were sewn into Ruth's cervix at 19 weeks to keep it shut (called a cerclage -- not sure I spelled that correctly) so you can imagine the pain that Ruth was in. Please pray for Ruth and Eric, little Olivia, and little Caleb.

this is home

2008-08-13T00:01:00.004-05:00

This weekend David and I noticed how we have very quickly changed our label for the property we bought on Hickory. At first, we would tell the kids, "Time to go to 'the lot'". Then it became, "Time to go to 'the construction site'". Just in the last few days, it has changed to, "Time to go to 'the house'".

On our way over to 'the house' tonight, I could barely hold back tears when a song from the Prince Caspian soundtrack came on the radio. It is called, "This is Home". The lyrics are very relevant to me and our situation.

I've got my memories
They're always
Inside of me
But I can't go back
Back to how it was
I believe now
I've seen too much
But I can't go back
Back to how it was
Created for a place
I've never known

Chorus:
This is home
Now I'm finally
Where I belong
Where I belong
Yeah, this is home
I've been searching
For a place of my own
Now I've found it
Maybe this is home
Yeah, this is home

Belief over misery
I've seen the enemy
And I won't go back
Back to how it was
And I got my heart
Set on
What happens next
I got my eyes wide
It's not over yet
We are miracles
And we're not alone

(Chorus)

And now after all
My searching
After all my questions
I'm gonna call it home
I got a brand new mindset
I can finally see
The sunset
I'm gonna call it home

(Chorus)

Now I know
Yeah, this is home

I've come too far
Now I won't go back
This is home

In consecutive order, this is "The Lot" (May 19, 2008), and "The Construction Site" (July 11, 2008), and "The House" (August 12, 2008). Stay tuned for a photo with the caption "This is Home"!

Roof completed, masonry begun

2008-08-07T22:22:00.002-05:00

No time to really blog now, but here are the latest images of Hickory!

July 23, 2008

August 3, 2008

August 6, 2008

August 7, 2008

Views from Hickory

2008-07-22T22:50:00.003-05:00

Just some more pics of the construction site. In consecutive order they are from Saturday (July 19, 2008), Monday (July 21, 2008), and Tuesday (July 22, 2008).

Amazing Progress!

2008-07-17T22:47:00.003-05:00

These are pictures taken one week apart. The first one is from last Thursday (July 10th) and the last is from tonight (Thursday, July 17th).

The Tale of Despereaux

2008-07-02T13:42:00.004-05:00

Dear Friends, I have just gotten wonderful news. Revealing this news will tell you simultaneously what a nerd I am and also, how little it takes to create excitement in the life of this stay-at-home mom. :)

The news that has been the cause of great joy for me (like the drama, David?) is this: my favorite, favorite, favorite Newbery winning book, The Tale of Despereaux, has been made into a movie!! It will be in theatres around Christmas this year -- I can hardly wait!

Let me try to persuade you to read the book before you see the movie. The full name of the book is: The Tale of Despereaux being the story of a mouse, a princess, some soup and a spool of thread. You are just dying to read it now, aren't you? It is written by Kate DiCamillo, the author of Because of Winn-Dixie and more recently, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane.

I loved this book and then read it aloud to Jack and Claire who, with no exaggerration, begged me to read "just one more chapter" EVERY night. I understood completely because the chapters are short and almost always end with a cliff-hanger.

The book is so beautifully written and has all of the dichotomies that I love: love and hate, good and evil, dark and light, forgiveness and revenge. It is incredible and I PROMISE will capture adults and children alike!

It is a great summer read (winter, fall, spring read) for anyone!

Summer Thursdays

2008-06-26T14:06:00.005-05:00

This summer we put Brookie in Mother's Day Out just on Thursdays so that Jack, Claire, and I could do some activities that we can't do when she is with us. On our first Thursday, we did papier mache projects; Claire made her pinata and Jack made a mask.

Last Thursday was the best so far! We went to see a performance of Stellaluna by the StoneLion Puppet Theatre. It was incredible! After lunch, we went back and the kids participated in a puppet-making workshop where they made sock puppet caterpillars that turn into butterflies. It was an amazingly simple craft, but quite a novelty for Jack and Claire.

Today, we made flower presses and then collected wild flowers to press. Jack and Claire really enjoyed themselves and so did their science geek mom! Jack is planning to get online to try to identify the flowers that we found -- a worthy exercise since he has decided (at least for now) that he wants to be a landscape architect when he grows up. Plus, studying God's creation is a wonderful way for them to learn about our Creator!

Footer Dug: June 24, 2008

2008-06-26T13:47:00.003-05:00

On Claire's birthday, we closed on our new home! They began working again immediately the next day. Here, the trenches are for the footer and they were putting in the Re-Bar.

Final Thoughts

2008-06-25T20:32:00.004-05:00

To follow-up on a few of my other posts:

1. Not only did Jack decide to quit sleeping with his lovies and to refuse good night kisses, now he has decided to call me "mom" instead of "mommy" and David is "dad" instead of "daddy". Every time he says "mom" it actually annoys me because it sounds so WRONG. It feels wrong the way it would feel if someone repeatedly called me Sondra instead of Sonja. I am trying to get used to it, but it makes me sad (and did I say it annoys me?).

2. Several people asked me what was under the swinging bridge that made it so frightening. In the picture, it looks like it is just hanging over a grassy area, but it actually crossed a very swollen, swiftly-moving river.

3. I ended my post about Billy Miller saying that his death seemed like such a waste. Even when I wrote that I felt something was wrong about that statement and after praying (for his family, etc.), I came to recognize what was wrong. In God's sovereignty, nothing is a waste -- and pain especially is often useful to turn hearts toward God and to change lives. (I am a Christian today because of the death of another classmate when I was 10.) That became my prayer for Billy's family and closest friends -- that good things would come from his death.

Happy Birthday, Claire!

2008-06-24T12:44:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, June 23, 2008 was Claire's 6th birthday. In lieu of a "regular" birthday party, Claire chose to take her best friend, Amelia, to Build-A-Bear Workshop in Tulsa.

David took the afternoon off and we started the celebration at our house, with a bear cake, presents and a pinata. Claire made the pinata almost completely by herself and she chose the candy she wanted in it -- actual packages of Orbit cinnamint gum, Worther's Original candies, and candy bracelets. (Unique choices, I thought, but that is my Claire Bear!)

Then we left for Tulsa for Build-A-Bear, which was so much fun for them. Being a Monday afternoon, we were the only people in there when we arrived! It was awesome! Claire made a stuffed dog, which she named Ashley. She dressed Ashley in a High School Musical shirt and a denim skort with a sequined belt. Jack made a dog, which he named Rex and dressed him in a police uniform. Amelia made a sweet bear which she named Carrie; she dressed Carrie in a little tank top that was red with white polka dots and white leggings. Brooke probably did not know what in the world we were doing, but we helped her make a little bear which we named Cutie because we dressed it in a little shirt with the word "cutie" sequined on it.

After Build-A-Bear we went to IHOP for dinner -- what kid doesn't like having breakfast foods for dinner?! Although Claire was excited about having pancakes for dinner, she was probably more excited about getting to have a real, caffeinated, coke since it was her birthday. (Their birthdays are the only time that we let Jack and Claire have cokes.) Amelia and Claire were pretending that they were "mommies" since they were drinking real cokes -- very telling, I am sad to say!!

Aside from having to pull over on the way home to move Claire so she would quit kicking Jack's seatbelt, it was a very pleasant day!

Here are Claire's 6-year-old stats:

Favorite color: Blue
Favorite food: Peanut butter and jelly -- since we can't have this at home because of Jack's allergy, she eats it at friends' houses. I think the forbidden nature of PB its status in her eye! However, she is my daughter, and I loved peanut butter and jelly so much that I ate it probably every day as a kid (for a meal or a snack).
Favorite activity: swimming at the pool
Favorite book(s): Junie B. Jones books
Favorite toy: Paints
Favorite song: Rhyme and Move (a song they did at school)
Number of children she wants when she grows up: 6
Best thing about being 6: Getting presents
Favorite presents: Jack's and Amelia's. Jack bought her a Hannah Montana watch with his allowance. Amelia gave Claire a little stuffed puppy in a carrier.
What she wants to be when she grows up: Doesn't know

My observations of Claire right now are:

She likes to mix things up and have variety. She is the only person I know who likes to mix her cereal in the morning -- it is typical for her to have LIFE, yogurt burst cheerios, and Oh's in the same bowl. She changed all of the lids on her markers, so for instance, the green lid is on the blue marker and she likes to wear a black flip flop on one foot and a white one on the other foot.

She is very bright and insightful -- both academically and socially. She is developing a sense of propriety and what it means to be a lady. I have been impressed a few times when we have talked about different social experiences to hear the maturity of her interpretation of inappropriate versus appropriate behaviors.

She is athletic -- although we have not found the right outlet for that athleticism yet. Right now, I am just trying to keep Brooke safe as Claire knocks around the house attempting different feats.

Claire is very compassionate, considerate, and generous. She wants things to be fair and everyone to be taken care of, even if that means sharing her last bite of brownie.

Happy Birthday, Claire Bear!

(I am so frustrated because I can't get the photos to upload. I will try again later! Also, is anyone else having trouble getting your vertical photos to upload without being rotated sideways?)

settles gone wild?

2008-06-18T00:21:00.004-05:00

As in, wild bird. Wild bird stuck in our fireplace all day. Wild bird with a very long, pointy, sharp beak crashing against the glass doors of our fireplace and pooping in our fireplace all day.

I was really concerned about the poor thing, because I did not know how long birds can go without food or water. So, at one point, I decided I would try to catch it in a mesh bag and then take it outside and let it go.

Then I thought better of that idea. I had a picture in my mind where it did not end up in my mesh bag, but instead ended up flying around the rest of my house, pooping, breaking my decorative plates, and terrorizing me and the kids.

I waited until David got home. Which was after 10, so you can bet that he was overjoyed at the prospect of fishing a bird out of our fireplace.

He had a better idea than my mesh bag. We took a long since forgotten stroller mosquito net (I think it was purchased when Jack was a baby during a West Nile virus scare -- I think it was actually the first time West Nile had been in Oklahoma) and draped it over the opening to the fireplace. Then we slowly opened the fireplace doors. And waited. And waited. The bird was hiding behind the gas logs.

Then David got a mop handle and tried to scare it/ shoo it out of the back of fireplace. No good. David was tired, I was tired and we did not want to wait hours for this bird to decide to come out. We, tongue-in-cheek, briefly discusssed poisoning it or turning the fireplace on, but we finally decided to see if we could lure it with some bird seed. It was past 10pm, and I found myself seriously discussing whether or not birds can smell the seeds. I did not know, but at that point, I NEEDED that bird to be able to smell the seeds (because he would not be able to see them) -- and I really wanted him to come out already!

Well, to make this long story shorter, it seems that birds can indeed smell bird seed because he came and started eating it pretty quickly and then noticed the doors were open and then flew into our mosquito net, and then flew out of the mosquito net, which prompted me to duck and run and scream like a crazy person! It flew onto the kitchen light fixture, then eventually into the laundry room, then eventually into the garage and finally, FINALLY out of the garage. A couple of our neighbors drove by while we were standing outside just staring into our garage (waiting for the bird to leave) and I am sure that we looked rather odd!

When it was all said and done, I felt good about getting him out of our home alive. But, the whole experience left me with a question -- why is a flying bird so beautiful, cute, interesting when it is outside -- but when it inside, it is terrifying? And I mean, crazy, frenzy, terrifying. Not swinging bridge scary -- I could still think and reason on the bridge. This was heart pounding, run-for-your-life-or-the-door-craziness. Now that it is over, it is really funny. Actually, David and I were laughing most of the way through because the entire scenario was ridiculous. But, I KNOW without a doubt, that if I ever have a bird flying around in my house again, that I did not "learn" anything today that would help me calmly handle the situation. I would turn into the crazy person I was tonight -- in essence, a Settle gone wild . . .crazy, hysterical, you can insert your choice adjective . . .

Chronicles of Father's Day 2008

2008-06-17T13:27:00.007-05:00

A few of the Newbery books that I have read recently were historical fiction. I particularly have enjoyed reading about how people in the past have celebrated certain holidays -- what they ate, what kind of gifts they gave to each other, and their traditions. Therefore, I have decided to chronicle this most recent Father's Day. If it is boring for you, I apologize in advance, but I do think it will be interesting to my children someday and who knows -- maybe my grandchildren and great-grandchildren! So here it is . . . how the Settles spent Father's Day 2008.

Ever since the fish eluded him at camp, Jack has been pining to go fishing again. David decided to play "hooky" from church on Father's Day to give Jack another chance to catch the big one. The night before, David bought Jack a "real" fishing rod and reel (to replace the Mickey Mouse one that he is obviously too old for now) and a little tackle box kit. In spite of all of the anticipation and preparation, poor Jack still did not catch anything. They fished for about three hours though and then finally came home.

While they had lunch, I had business to take care of -- getting Brookie's stitches removed. I had been dreading it because getting the stitches was so tramatic. By the way, Dr. Doyle told me that if Brooke was screaming everytime they stuck the needle in, that she was not numb. She said that with wounds on the face, there is so much blood that it removes the anesthesia too quickly. She showed me where part of her nose (Dr. Doyle's nose) was missing and how when she was sewn up as a child, she felt every single thing that they did. Anyway, the five days had passed and it was time to get the stitches out. The people at Physician's Immediate Care told me to not let Brooke eat anything for an hour before because she was likely to be so upset that she might make herself sick if she had food in her tummy. Nice, huh? Well, it actually turned out just fine. Brooke did not cry at all and was very cooperative. What an amazing little baby!

When we got back, David took Claire to play tennis. Claire is our little athlete. She has such a strong, healthy little body. Since she was about three, friends have asked me if she was in gymnastics or anything because she is so muscular. The main answer to that is that God just made her that way, but ballet did help too, I am sure. She was so excited to have her time alone with her Daddy.

While she and David were out sweating in the hot sun, Brooke and I took a nap. Jack played on Millsberry.com.

I cut my nap short to start our special Father's Day dinner. I decided to try two new recipes, both of which turned out relatively okay. Here was our menu: Grilled Steak (marinated overnight mainly in A-1 sauce and balsamic vinegar: a recipe I got from the A-1 website), potatoes au gratin (from food network website), green salad with basil balsalmic vinegar and grilled vidalia onions (Oprah's 12-year-old cookbook), french bread with rosemary (Wal-Mart) and chocolate chunk brownies (mix).

After I started preparing dinner, David got home from playing tennis and decided to take all three of the children swimming. This was great because it meant that I was able to finish dinner without any interruptions. It is amazing how enjoyable cooking can be when I don't have to be referee and entertain three busy little bodies at the same time!

While the potatoes were baking and the steak was grilling, I decided to make the table look pretty. I put 18 votive candles in a circle in the center of the table as a pseudo-centerpience and got out the table linens that I have had for 13 years -- it is amazing how pretty it can still look with the candles. (I think in our new house, it will be time to get something new though!)

When Jack came in after swimming and saw the table, he said, "Wow! It looks like Christmas or Thanksgiving!", which made me feel great. I said, "Well, it's Father's Day!" Then he said, "Why didn't we do this for Mother's Day?" I had to smile at that -- and then I told him that Mommies don't like to cook on Mother's Day and that is why we went out to eat instead.

After dinner, we gave David some gifts. Nothing big or expensive -- I got him a few t-shirts and Brooke had made him a little potholder at Mother's Day Out, and Jack and Claire had spent a long time making special cards for him. The "big" present was a new black swim bag to put sunscreen and beach towels in to take to the pool. The reason this was the "big" present is because prior to receiving this new bag, when David took the kids swimming without me, he was toting everything in my hot pink bag -- which he hate, hate, hated! (The picture of Brooke with multiple purses and a cell phone is how she came to us when we called her to watch Daddy open presents.)

Well, that was our Father's Day. I think it was a good one.

3 Stitches

2008-06-10T22:25:00.008-05:00

When Brooke woke from her nap yesterday, it was time for Jack and Claire and their two friends, John and Amelia to clean-up and then I was going to drive John and Amelia to their homes. We were about two minutes into clean-up time in the upstairs hall when an accident happened.

I was right there (within an arm's reach of Brooke) but I saw nothing. In fact, I can guess that I was only looking away from Brooke for a second or two at the most. Then I heard the bang of something into the wall. When I looked I saw a blur go into Claire's room and Brooke was looking at me in pain but not yet screaming. I could only guess that the large sound I heard was Brooke's head hitting the wall -- it was horrific to think about her head making that sound! Within a second she was screaming. I picked her up and saw a bruise quickly forming on her forehead. When I looked again, it was gushing blood. Jack started yelling, "I saw you push her! I saw you push her!" to Claire and Claire was shouting, "I didn't mean to, I didn't mean to!" At that point, I did not have time to investigate what had happened.

Brooke probably screamed for a solid 4-5 minutes and the whole time I kept trying to see the wound through all of the blood. Thankfully it started to slow down and I could see that it was not deep but rather wide -- what you think of when you hear that someone "busted their head open".

We got her to Physician's Immediate Care where they gave her 3 stitches -- which was not pleasant, to say the least. I don't care what they say, she was not numb. She could not see what they were doing but she started screaming and crying every time they stuck the needle in her forehead. I am not sure I could have handled more than three stitches with her so obviously being able to feel everything that they were doing to her.

They told me to watch her for signs of concussion -- but I was not really worried about that at the time. Later when we got home, I heard Jack upstairs having Claire re-inact the accident. He was just like a real investigator -- stopping her and clarifying and finally having her show him exactly what happened. Then he called me upstairs so that they could show me.

Evidently, Claire had been standing on a stool that was upside down. She was balancing on its sides and then fell (or jumped) off but lost her balance and basically landed with her full body weight, and whatever speed she was traveling at, right on top of Brooke, thrusting Brooke forward and causing her to crash with alot of force into the corner of the wall. When they re-enacted it, I felt queasy because Brooke is so tiny and is so floppy anyway because of her hypotonia; she might as well have been thrown into the wall. I will definitely be watching her for signs of a head injury. I am praising God, though, because although she is hurting (she says "hurwt" [hurt] and "oach" [ouch]), so far she seems fine. (Again, I am having problems uploading her picture but I will keep trying)

Thank you Jennifer and Mitzi for taking Jack and Claire off of my hands while I was getting Brooke stitched up!

I have been tagged!

2008-06-10T13:39:00.003-05:00

I have been "tagged" and so here is my response. First . . .

The inquisition...

1. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.
2. Each player answers the questions about themselves
3. At the end of the post, the player tags 5-6 people, posts their names, then leaves a comment in their respective blogs to let them know they've been tagged.
4. Let the person who tagged you know that you posted your answers.

Questions...

1. What were you doing 10 years ago?
Ten years ago was pre-parenthood. Can I even remember life, pre-parenthood? I was busy working on the ninth floor of the Bartlesville hospital in the fitness center called the Wellness Connection. I was probably in the best shape of my life because I regularly exercised 3-4 hours a day between my job and my personal workouts (and somehow, like with Bible studies or spending quality time with my kids -- I felt like I should exercise more. Now I would love to have just one solid hour per day to do it!) David and I were three years into our marriage and two years into paying off our student loans. My spending allowance each week was only $10 and I used that to buy birthday and Christmas presents -- how, I don't know!!

2. What are 5 things on your to-do list today? 1. Laundry 2. Sweep 3. Order one last thing for Claire's birthday. 4. Plan out the rest of the summer (that has been on my list for the last two weeks!). 5. Play with the children.

3. What are some snacks you enjoy? Well, if I did not have to worry about health and calories, my snack choice would be a candy bar and a coke! Other snacks I like right now are watermelon and hard-boiled eggs (they are my "it" food right now because they are only 75 calories and are loaded with protein and nutrients. I learned in nutrition in college that eating cholesterol does not raise your cholesterol level. Eating fat (especially saturated fat) DOES raise your blood cholesterol, so I am okay with eating eggs).

4. What would you do if you were a billionaire? Like Marci, I would share a lot of the money. I see things on the West side of town where I wish we had more money so that I could help. But aside from charitable uses, I would love to have the financial ability to travel with the children so that they could learn history and see the places firsthand where things happened. I would also love to visit my dear friend Caroline in France and meet her family and introduce her to mine.

5. What are 3 of your bad habits? 1. Saying yes, when I should say no. 2. Second-guessing myself. 3. Not making my exercise time sacred.

6. What are 5 places you have lived? 1. Bartlesville, OK 2. Oklahoma City, OK 3. Norman, OK 4. Tulsa, OK 5. Ardmore, OK (hometown)

7. What are 5 jobs you've had? 1. YMCA Camp Counselor 2. YMCA Concession stand worker (at the basketball games) 3. Greenhouse worker (at University of Tulsa) 4. Wal-Mart cashier and customer service 5. Personal Fitness Trainer/Aerobic Instructor

8. What is currently playing on your IPOD? I don't have an iPod yet.

9. What are the last 5-6 books you've read? I am working through the Newbery Award winners (the award for outstanding fiction for children) so a lot of these are going to be children's books. 1. The Tale of Despereaux (I HIGHLY recommend this as a read-aloud book -- it has a princess, her rescuer, the dichotomies of good/evil, light/dark, revenge/forgiveness and it is just beautifully written, short chapters and a cliff-hanger at the end of each chapter --it is a delight for kids and adults.) 2. All the King's Men (about politics, power, corruption) 3. A Gathering of Days 4. The Witch of Blackbird Pond (historical fiction -- also one of my FAVORITES) 5. Bridges Out of Poverty

10. Who do you want to tag?
Sorry, ladies, but I am tagging . . .
1. Kylie
2. Becky
3. Nat
4. Ruth

Cub Scout Camp Week

2008-06-09T13:13:00.009-05:00

Well, I know this is going to be a long post, so grab a cup of coffee and get comfortable!

Last week was a busy, but really fun week. Jack had his cub scout day camp on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. David took off work to be home with the girls so that I could go with Jack to camp all three days.

Wednesday was hotter than a jalepeno. We got a break from the heat on Thursday because the wind cooled things off. However, there were wind gusts of 40-50 miles per hour so that creates new problems. Drinks being spilled, tents being blown down, and people’s voices being drowned out so that even if they are shouting you might not be able to make out everything. At camp there is also a unique issue – the SWINGING BRIDGE! (You can see the bridge behind the boy holding the large bass.) In order to go fishing, we had to cross the bridge.

There is a sign at the entrance of the bridge that says do not use in high wind. If Thursday’s winds were not high winds, I do not know what would be. I am usually more cautious than other people and so I second-guessed myself and just thought I was being over-cautious like normal. I thought that surely the camp directors (many of whom have worked out there for 12-15 years) would make a decision not to go on the bridge if it were really dangerous. Well, the trip across to the pond was bad, but I was terrified on the way back. It felt as if someone was jumping up and down on it and making it shake and ripple. If fact, I thought one of the dads was doing just that, and when I turned around and saw that there was no one doing that, I felt like I was going to be sick.

Again, I thought I was just being a wimp because no one said anything. However, when I got home and told David about it, he could not believe that we had crossed the bridge in the windy conditions and told me not to do it on Friday if it was still so windy.

Thankfully, Friday was not as windy but it was so muggy and humid that we felt like we had to move the air out of our way just to walk through it – we were wishing for a breeze. Friday was especially fun for the boys, though, because a fire truck came out and sprayed them with the water hose. Jack said it was beautiful because there was a rainbow in the mist that was in the shape of a complete circle, not just an arc. He said he and the other boys were having fun running around and watching it because appeared to move with them.

The boys went from looking up to the rainbow to looking down at the mud puddles that were quickly forming in the grass. Boys being boys, they could not resist the mud. Several of them started running and splashing in them and then some boys had to top that by doing “mud angels”. I was sitting back, confident that my son who has a history of hating to get dirty, would stay clear of the mud. But, my son is now a real cub scout because when I saw him next he was covered in mud. I am not sure why you can’t see it very much in the pictures but he had mud from his head to his toes. At least it was not in his ears and mouth like the other little boy in the picture!

Some highlights of camp:
*Jack made a shot in the innermost ring of the bulls eye on the BB gun range.
*Jack popped two balloons at the archery range (I never hit one balloon the entire week).
*Jack never caught a fish although he got bites every time he put his line in the pond. He was very frustrated, especially because once he reeled his line in and the fish was on it, but it let go.
*Seeing a film about the Blue Angels (the theme this year was “Take Flight”). Jack was watching so intently and later I realized that he was paying close attention to the engineering details of the planes so that he could know how to draw his airplanes and space ships.
*Learning “I'm A Little Teapot” to the tune of “We Will Rock You”. (What will they think of next?!)
*Seeing a real centipede!

While we were out at camp, David was playing Mr. Mom at home. He took Claire and Brooke to visit one of his sweet elderly patients who fed them ice cream and chocolates, he took them swimming, and on bike rides and he and Claire tried to play tennis on Thursday but the wind prevented them from doing so. By Saturday, Brooke was very attached to her Daddy and it was really sweet for me to see her cling to his leg and say, “Daddy, Daddy” when she wanted something.

On Friday night, Jack and David camped out in a tent at the scout campgrounds. When they were putting up the tent, Brooke kept saying, “Brella? Brella?’ She thought all the tents were big umbrellas.

Billy Miller

2008-06-01T22:58:00.004-05:00

Today my sister Natalie called to tell me that Billy Miller had been killed in a boat accident last night.

It is hard for someone who went to a huge high school (ie, Nat's husband and mine :) ) to understand why the news of the death of a person whom you have not seen for the last 15 years (in my case, probably less time for Nat) can be so devastating. But Plainview was a small school where the elementary, middle school and high school campuses were all within walking distance of each other. I had 65 people in my graduating class and many of those I graduated with, I had started out in class with in kindergarten.

Billy Miller was in Nat's grade (two years behind me) and we grew up with him -- from elementary all the way through high school. He went on all of the Young Astronaut trips with us in middle school (you get to know a guy pretty well when you travel via bus from Oklahoma to Florida). He was at almost every social gathering that I can remember in high school (school dances, "parties" at the Coach Thompson's house after the home football games, and parties at friends' houses). The thing that I remember most about Billy is that he was SO nice -- just one of the nicest guys that you would ever meet. He was gentle and calm but had a great sense of humor -- like a comedian, you could look in his eyes and look at the little smirk on his face and see that there was a lot of mischief going on inside his head.

The hardest thing about his death for me is that it was so pointless and ridiculous -- an inexperienced 21-year-old girl tried to drive the boat he was in and was going about 80 miles per hour when she hit an enbankment and flipped the boat. It is such a waste.

Happy Birthday, Brooke!

2008-05-29T13:10:00.008-05:00

Yesterday was Brooke's second birthday. Having gotten tired of waiting to eat her cake, she simply crawled up onto the table and started scooping icing off of the cake with her finger. This is an example of what a different parent I am now with our third child. I NEVER would have sat by and watched Jack or Claire eat the icing off of their birthday cakes. I would have seized the moment as a teaching moment to help them learn what is appropriate. However, Brooke was SO CUTE and enjoying herself so much, I just had to take advantage of the wonderful photo op.

Brooke has been our little miracle baby. As I reflect on the two short years of her life, I am so thankful to God for healing her and helping her. Her epulis "disappeared" without having to be surgically removed, she can walk and run, she is finally learning to talk, and her personality is a joy. She has a great sense of humor already which makes it difficult to discipline her because she just thinks that life is fun and games. Often when she disobeys, she is "teasing" me and trying to make me laugh. Even if I have self-control and don't laugh, Jack and Claire usually crack-up because she is genuinely funny and so adorable.

Right now, Brooke likes:
Purses-- taking things in and out of them
Babies and Baby dolls
Swinging in every swing at the park -- we can't leave until she has sat in all of them
Drinking out of every water fountain she sees -- if there are three in a row, she must sample each one
Tea sets and tea parties -- she got two new sets for her birthday and last night when I was making dinner, I had our plates lined up, assembly-line style. She brought four saucers in and lined them up and started putting food on them like I was doing.
Shoes -- she can entertain herself for a long time in a closet full of shoes
New clothes -- I had to struggle with her this morning (to put all of her new outfits in the laundry) because she wanted to snuggle with them and look at them and touch them.
Playing outside and going to parks -- once we were on Adams and we turned onto Silver Lake Road, she immediately started squealing and shouting "Play" even though she could not even see the park yet.
Jack and Claire -- she is so happy to have them here during the day again (since school is out)

Progress on the Lot

2008-05-27T23:41:00.005-05:00

The first photo shows the lot leveled after a line of trees was bulldozed. The second photo shows what the lot looked like before the trees were bulldozed. I know it should be in the opposite order, but I am still having difficulty uploading photos. I don't know if it is me or the site. We'll see.

13th Anniversary and Politics

2008-05-27T23:12:00.004-05:00

Tonight David and I celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary. Sort of. :) We ate a meal together and had an uninterrupted conversation (save the wait staff), which was really nice. Then we were off to a public hearing about the rezoning of property that would allow for the placement of the Washington County jail inside a residential area. We spoke as did many of our future neighbors and the rezoning effort failed with MAPC (metropolitan area planning commission). I don't know if what we said influenced the decision or not. Next it will go to the City Council -- we'll see what happens . . .

One other really great thing that happened was that we had the most awesome sitter tonight. How awesome was she? Let me tell you . . . The dishwasher was full of clean dishes so the kids were unable to load up their dirty dishes after they ate dinner. Instead of leaving them in the sink or on the table or on the counter, our sitter WASHED them, DRIED them, and put them AWAY. Notice I am not telling you her name because I want to keep her all to ourselves!! :)

I hope to be able to post pictures again soon. The site has not allowed me to upload any for the last few days. If anyone knows why, let me know.

No More Lovies

2008-05-25T22:51:00.006-05:00

My children are growing up too fast! Last Tuesday, May 20th, when I went in to tuck Jack into bed, he had Homer, Car Blankie, and Car-Star Pillow next to his bed. Homer was his first lovie that I gave to him when he was just months old to help him keep from scratching his face when he would flail his arms. Slowly his quilt, Car Blankie, also became a security item (a lovie). Later, Jack and I did a sewing project and the pillow we made, now known as Car-Star pillow, also became a required lovie at bedtime. On Tuesday, Jack put away these "childish things" forever (as Paul says in the Bible). He told me that he was growing up and that he did not want to sleep with them anymore. It's a strange feeling to have my 8-year-old announce that he is "growing up". I was definitely more upset about him weaning himself from his lovies than he was. I teased him a little to make light of the situation, pretending to cry so that I would not actually do it. He thought it was funny and he made a joke about someone being in college and still sleeping with their lovies.

Little did I know, while I was pretending to cry and whine about my baby boy growing up, that the real tear jerker was coming. After I prayed with him, he told me that he did not want me to kiss him good-night anymore. "Not even on the forehead? " I asked. Not even on the forehead.

(In the picture, you can see that Homer has been "loved" so much that his leg is hanging on by a mere thread. Pretty amazing that he is in such pitiful condition because I have performed "surgery" on Homer more times than I can remember.)

Hello

2008-05-25T01:14:00.003-05:00

I am starting this blog hoping that it will be a convenient way for me to share the events of our lives and to have a written record for the future. Happy reading! (I hope!)