Life with the Livesays

Happy Sheets

2012-01-29T21:37:00.000-06:00

We've needed new sheets for our bed for awhile! So at the beginning of January we started looking for sheets. We looked at Target and Kohl's, which were busts. I didn't expect to find anything I liked at Wal-Mart, but agreed to look and we found something we liked. Ever since we got our king sized bed we've had boring sheets~ white, pale yellow, and red. I really wanted something different, something happy to coordinate with and brighten up our light gray bedroom walls. We easily agreed on two sets. I didn't think Doug with go for either set, but he surprised me by liking them. We both refer to them as our happy sheets. I can't look at them without smiling just a little.

polka dots in various greens and blues ~ very calm and serene

my favorites! bright colored stripes and orange accent pillowcases ~ so happy and cheerful!

Playroom Makeover

2012-01-29T21:17:00.000-06:00

For Christmas, Santa asked Daddy to help him give Caden's playroom a makeover. Daddy agreed to help Santa paint since Santa was so busy getting ready to deliver presents all over the world.

color scheme before; not very "boyish"

new color scheme ~ gray and lime green; playroom makeover included a new TV and stand

Daddy, Mommy, and Zoe left their mark on the playroom ~ Santa told us to!

Santa and Daddy had fun painting free form shapes

Santa and Daddy got a little silly with the painting

before the big reveal on Christmas morning

note Santa left for Caden on the door

first look! Caden was very excited to not have pink walls and a new TV and fun chair!

Caden Quoteable

2012-01-03T21:26:00.000-06:00

Explaining his odd pajama choice (yellow SpongeBob fleece pants which are too big, lime green dinosaur pajama shirt which is nearly too small, and Christmas socks), he tells me, "Yeah, mom, tonight I'm wearing mitch matched pajamas. You know like on crazy sock day when I wore mitch matched socks, except pajamas."

new header

2012-01-02T07:55:00.002-06:00

For a Christmas gift or for us, I had considered making a 2012 calendar of photos of Caden sleeping, but I never got it done. So instead, I decided to use a few of my favorite sleeping photos for a new blog header. The one on the far left is my favorite and one of my all time favorites of Caden. It was take on Thanksgiving Day 2004 when he was two weeks old. This boy of ours is a big time sleeper and we've caught him in all kinds of crazy sleeping positions and places, like under our bed and in my (opened) cedar chest

He crawled in and fell asleep even though he was way too long.
Later he told us he had laid down in the cedar chest because he thought it would be soft and comfy.

2012

2012-01-01T22:27:00.000-06:00

I'm looking forward to 2012 and all that is in store for our family! I'm sure it will be a busy year full of all kinds of unpredictable adventures. I decided I wouldn't make any formal New Year's Resolutions this year since I'm always disappointed come the end of December about how I didn't attain those lofty goals. This year my only wish is to be content with who I am each day, knowing some days I'll be better than others.

And just because there's nothing related to this post to share photographically, here are two my current favorites, taken last August by my friends Shannon Woods of Woods Photography at Kauffman Museum.

love, Love, LOVE this face

my 3 favorite little people

1st Grade

2011-09-18T20:29:00.000-05:00

I know I'm late posting, but SO much has been going on, blogging had to take back seat! Here is Caden on the first day of 1st Grade. He really likes school and loves his teacher, Mrs. Preston! He reports that recess, lunch, and computer lab are his favorite things at school in that order. He also admits to liking reading and math.

outside South Breeze; he was so excited to start we were there 20 minutes before the school even opened

he's grown so much in a year!

so happy to finally start 1st grade!

my latest craft

2011-09-18T20:19:00.001-05:00

This is the gift Caden gave is his teacher, Mrs. Preston, on the first day of 1st grade. It was fairly easy and fun to make! I love the color! I think I need one for my office.

used to be

2011-04-17T13:50:00.003-05:00

This

used to be a half full roll of perfectly good paper towels and not the cheap kind!

This

used to be the clean floor of our computer room!

This

used to be our sweet kitty girl!

Caden says

2011-03-27T21:38:00.001-05:00

Two really quick and funny Caden quoteables.

Anytime he's the first to finish something: "I'm a fast poke not a slow poke!" Really?!?!

Tonight while sitting on the toilet, he announces to us, "I'm trying to bomb it out!" Only a boy!

Introducing . . .

2011-03-27T20:24:00.000-05:00

the newest member of our family! Meet Zoe. We adopted her from Caring Hands in February. I've been wanting a pet for awhile, but adopting her was Doug's idea and I was surprised. She is an orange and white tabby and about 6 months old now. She is sweet, cuddly, wild, ADORED by Caden, playful, energetic, full of purrs and "kisses" and she is always where ever we are. Zoe cries when we go to bed (we keep her out of our bedrooms) and waits by the door for us each morning. She has two really awesome tricks ~ she plays fetch like a dog with her little stuffed toy and she jumps for her laser light toy. And by jump, I mean kitty has got some serious ups skills! We've gotten her to jump about 4 feet off the ground trying to catch the laser light. Caden is convinced she is his sister and he can't leave the house, go to bed, or pass by her without talking to her, petting her, and kissing her. For her part, Zoe is pretty tolerant of Caden's affections. She's been a welcome and wonderful addition to our family!

Zoe goes exploring

just a little R & R: she watches us come and go from this window perch on the back of our couch

flashback: monster truck show

2011-03-27T18:13:00.002-05:00

Back in early February, our family joined Doug's brother and his family for a day out. We started with lunch at Old Chicago. Then we headed to the Monster Truck Show and topped our day off with fro-yo at Orange Leaf. Fun, LOUD, and yummy!! Caden really enjoyed watching the monster trucks perform. We squealed and giggled and pointed and oohed and ahhed and asked for his ear plugs to be adjusted all afternoon!

Pre-show pictures: L to R and T to B: cousins by birth, buddies by choice; Daddy and Caden; brothers and their kids; my favorite sixes

L to R: in order of their excitement level: Caden, Tegan, Jensen

Cousins ~ The Crew

He thought this was the greatest day!

Choosing topping at our new favorite: Orange Leaf

12 for 12 in 2011 {update #3}

2011-01-24T21:55:00.000-06:00

1. I'm still working on catching up. I was further behind that I thought, but I should get caught up this week. I've learned that if I want to reach this goal in 2011, it will be far easier to stay caught up. I've also learned that I really like having a guide to read through the Bible and really want to accomplish this goal. Also, there is lots of murder, deceit, and debauchery in the book of Genesis. It's WAY more than just the simple 7 day story of creation that admittedly was the only thing I knew about Genesis until now.
2. This will get done this week, I hope.
3. I did blog 3 times last week. All with pictures, but not all about Caden, so I think that's success.
4. I did exercise last week, but only3 times and couldn't go to Zumba sine it was canceled due to bad weather. Really missed Zumba class and really wished I had Zumba DVDs at home to use.
5. I also didn't read for pleasure this week. Sadly, I'm afraid I won't get my 2 books read in January.
6. Again, Doug tried a new recipe. He created a new version of his Chicken and Noodles. Seriously yummy, but since he's a pro in the kitchen and I'm tired when I get home from work and craving some alone time, I'm going to have to work hard this week to squueze in a new recipe that I actually make.
7. While our house certainly did not see its worst this week, it also did not see its best in terms of cleanliness. It wasn't horrible, but we were lazy with chores and had to spend a couple of hours on Saturday getting caught up again. We both vowed to do better this week.
8. no movement on this front
9. took pictures of Doug on his birthday, our niece on her birthday, and of my first craft project
10. SUCCESS. See previous post. I know it was simple and I feel silly for admitting it, but this project made me feel like a crafter (I'm NOT by the way) and I felt very accomplished once it was hung on the wall
11. Not necessarily random, but I took a meal to friend who is going through some challenging health issues with her family and also surprised 3 women at work with pieces of cake this week. Kind = yes; Random = no
12. no movement here either

Well it seems I don't accomplish much on this list each week, but I'm pleased how much I think about it during the week and how I've posted updates (even though they make me sound lazy!) on my progress.

crafty {a little}

2011-01-23T20:27:00.000-06:00

Completing one adult craft each month is one of the things on my 12 for 12 in 2011 list. I asked some of my craftier friends to give websites or blogs to look at for ideas. Amy directed to be to Eighteen25 which is a delightful blog written by 3 seriously crafty, creative sisters and the place that directed me to another creative blog called The Idea Room which is where this craft idea came from. You can get the specific details for this craft here. It's such a neat site with lots of ideas I wish I was talented enough to steal. Amy also asked me to share pictures of my crafting adventures, so here is my first go. This was shockingly easy and turned out so much better than I expected.

materials gathered and yes the cup was important for creating the 3" circle template

nearly finished

completely finished

my littlest Valentine holding my first craft project


because honestly he can NOT resist getting his mug on film (or memory card in this case)

hanging on the wall

This was simple. I did most of it while watching TV. Still, I feel accomplished and a teeny tiny little bit crafty!

on being an aunt

2011-01-20T12:07:00.000-06:00

Of all my life roles, I think being an aunt is the most fun! I get hugs and kisses and sweet, "Wuv ooo's" from two really adorable little people, but I have no daily responsibility for them. I love that Caden has cousins he gets to grow up with. While, I'd love to give these two darlings another cousin some day, I'm thrilled to be their aunt forever. I can't believe my beautiful niece is going to be SIX tomorrow, but I love that she and Caden are the same age because we get to watch a boy and a girl going through the same stages, but so differently. Those two are glued at the hip when they're together. They love and fight with each other fiercely. I also love that Caden gets a younger boy cousin to love on and teach him how to be a "boy". I love watching Jensen and Caden play because they are both full of energy and love cars and sports. On one hand I'm sad because they're far enough apart in age that they'll never be on the same team together, but happy too because they will each get the chance to be in the spotlight as their name is called over the PA system at high school football games one day. Caden adores Jensen and Tegan and so do I!

TEGAN: beautiful, fearless, loves to dance, picky eater, good big sister, smart, sassy, loves clothes and fashion, 6 tomorrow

JENSEN: adorable, fearless, all boy, eats everything!, super sweet, goofy, silly, opinionated, tells you how it is, just turned 2

my favorite nephew; this totally shows his goofy side and his no non-sense attitude side

my favorite niece; one part tomboy, one part girly girl; all pretty!

I love you so much, Tegan and Jensen! I love being your aunt Sarah! I can't wait to spend Friday nights watching you play football, Jensen and Saturday afternoons shopping and listening to your stories, Tegan! Big hugs to you both!

33

2011-01-17T19:19:00.001-06:00

Doug celebrated his 33rd birthday on Saturday! I planned a night out with our friends, Jeremy and Melissa. We ate dinner at Bravo's Italiani in Valley Center. We'd never been there, but I'd heard it was very good. It was delicious and definitely some place we'll go back to. After dinner, we headed to Orange Leaf for dessert. It was also super yummy and now I'd like to franchise and own my own in Newton. Then we headed to the Loony Bin to see a comedy show. It was a fun night celebrating my favorite guy! I surprised Doug with a teeny tiny plastic toy gun in a gift card case, a gun cleaning kit, and a silicone lined gun sock. I think he was a bit disappointed since he doesn't own a gun that needs cleaning or stored in a sock, until I kept handing him the gift card box repeatedly all afternoon. Finally, he got the hint, shook it and found the money to put towards the gun he wants ~ a .50 caliber Thompson center-fire muzzle-loader. Please nobody ask me what that is, unless you want the very basic answer of a gun Doug can use hunting. I had to practice saying the name of it several times before I remembered! Apparently it's a good gun to have because it extends your hunting season or something like that. Honestly, I'm so happy Doug is getting something he really wants for his birthday and that I'm helping him get it, but I start thinking about other things when he starts drooling, I mean, talking about hunting, guns, and the length of whatever season it is.

Birthday boy! Happy 33rd, Dougie!

12 for 12 in 2011 {update #2}

2011-01-17T18:57:00.000-06:00

update installment #2 of 12 for 12 in 2011.

1. behind and need to catch up
2. also behind and need to write down my plan
3. 3 times last week, and there were funny things, so I deem that success
4. only twice on the treadmill for 50 minutes, plus hour Zumba class
5. sadly, not much got read last week that wasn't for work; need to pick up the pace or I won't finish 2 books in January
6. did try a new recipe (well Doug did, so maybe that won't count; Fideo (recipe from Melissa, yummy!)
7. did an okay job keeping our house clean; helped BIG time that Doug was off Friday and cleaned all morning!
8. zero progress
9. took some photos of Doug on his birthday, including one of us together which is very rare and some of me in my glasses try out, and of course some of Caden being well very Cadenesque
10. sadly, no progress this week on this front, but seriously need to get a move on as it is a time sensitive craft!
11. didn't do it this week, but did brainstorm a short list of possible recipients
12. way too cold to race or even think about it!

our (not so great, but best) attempt at a picture of just the 2 of us

boot juice

2011-01-16T12:00:00.000-06:00

One afternoon this week after romping around in the snow, Caden managed to drag himself inside to warm up, leaving his boots by the door that leads from our kitchen to the garage. Fast forward an hour or so when Caden comes barreling into the kitchen for dinner and steps squarely into a small puddle of melted snow from his boots and starts squealing. Doug quickly asks him what's wrong and Caden angrily protests, "I stepped in the boot juice!" Instantly a new catch phrase was born at our house and all week we've been careful to avoid the "boot juice".

Martin, green beans, directions

2011-01-11T20:37:00.000-06:00

I'm going to replay the tape of part of our family's conversation at dinner tonight.

Caden: "We sang a song about Martin today."
Mom: "You sang about Martin Luther King?"
Caden: "yeah!"
Dad: "Who is Martin Luther King?"
Caden: "a king"
Mom: "No, he wasn't a king. King is his last name, like Livesay is our last name. Do you know anything about Martin Luther King?"
Caden: "No, I forgot."
Dad: "Is he white?"
Caden: "No, he's brown."
{insert some chuckles from mom and dad}
Mom: "Well, actually he's an African-American, Do you know what Martin Luther King did?"
Caden: "died." (totally deadpan serious; sorry for the pun there!)
{insert a few more chuckles from mom and dad}
Dad: "That's right, but do you know why he's famous? Why is he special?"
Caden: "I don't know. The song didn't talk about that. And actually, Mrs. Kirtley hasn't said anything about him yet."

OK, then. End of that particular conversation. If Mrs. Kirtley hasn't talked about it, then it mustn't be so.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We had steamed green beans for dinner. They were yummy. Caden certainly thought so. He scarfed through his dinner, just so he could get seconds on green beans. As his mom, I love that he loves his veggies so much, but as a former child (and sometimes current adult) veggie hater, I also think it's kind of weird.
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After dinner, Caden got out a police car that was a Christmas gift yet to be taken from the box and used his child safety scissors to destroy the box and retrieve the car. As he freed the car, he immediately tossed me the folded up package of directions and said, "I don't need those. They're just the instructions." Doug leans over to me with a huge grin and obvious pride in his voice and says, "He's getting to be a man. Look at my boy, throwing away the directions already! Way to go, buddy!" Insert my eye roll and suppressed giggle, already recognizing how true that is. Caden has already learned so much about what it means to be a "man".

divo

2011-01-10T20:24:00.001-06:00

Caden didn't use to like the camera much at all, but now whenever we have it out all we were hear is, "Take me a picture!" Which cracks us up! And all we see is a mostly goofy, sometimes cute, sometimes very sweet little guy! Which cracks us up too! But, we oblige with his penchant for hamming it up, nonetheless, because those green eyes and smile are just too much! All this posing and goofing had Doug calling Caden a "divo" tonight!

12 in 12 {2011} update #1

2011-01-09T19:35:00.000-06:00

1. got off track, but am catching up and getting back on track
2. haven't made my list of topics with verses to match, but hope to this week.
3. posted twice this week, maybe not the best since there were no pictures, but it's something
4. yes! treadmill walked at least 45 minutes 3 times this week and did a 70 minute Zumba class
5. about halfway through my first January book, The Echo from Dealey Plaza; interesting, especially for a JFK Assassination buff and have stack of books on my nightstand to get me through March, maybe April if I only get 2 read per month
6. haven't tried any new ones yet
7. we kept our house clean this week and it was so nice not having to spend the weekend doing a marathon cleaning session!!! we'll be sticking to this chore chart we made!
8. no progress
9. no photos taken this week :(
10. bought the materials for my first craft! excited and a little nervous to start, but am hoping to get started this week
11. haven't had a good idea for this yet
12. asked my friend Melissa to join me for the Emma Creek Classic in April; baby steps on this one

long, hard week

2011-01-09T14:18:00.000-06:00

Last week was a long, hard week. Hard to get up early, especially when I didn't sleep well or at all some nights. Hard to get back into the routine of work and school after Christmas Break. Hard to get back into the routine of chores. Hard to get a certain little person out of bed every morning.

But there were some bright spots in the week: trying my first Zumba class; spontaneous Friday night with friends; a super sweet and affectionate little man; and sticking to or making progress towards many of my 12 for 12 {2011} (update coming soon); a mostly positive progress report for Caden.

Hoping for an easier week coming up, starting with a yummy beef stew dinner that is smelling delicious in the crock pot right now and a prayer for the forecasted snow to skip over us.

12 for 12 in 2011

2011-01-03T21:45:00.000-06:00

It's a new year and the time I always focus on "improving" myself my setting ridiculous (unrealistically unattainable) New Year's resolutions. While on one hand, I appreciate the opportunity and freshness that comes with the start of a new year and would certainly like to improve myself in lots of ways. BUt, on the other hand, I don't really care for New Year's resolutions much. I've found they often lead to feelings of failure, unhappiness, and self-loathing; not really they way I want to feel anytime, but especially not at the start of a brand new year filled with so much promise.

I've tried other ideas to accomplish goals I have had or do have, but again I made them so big and so unrealistic that I failed, and then felt disappointed and angry with myself for failing. I know many don't need to self-impose reasons to feel inadequate and that often we are our very own worst critics. Sadly and ashamedly, I am one of those who tends to focus more on my short-comings than on the things I do well. I judge myself more harshly than I would ever judge another mom or teacher or wife or friend or fill in the blank title or role.

All this brings me to my simpler (I hope) plan for 2011. I want to have goals. I want accomplish things. I want to be successful (in the ways I choose to define it, rather than by material trappings or others' definitions). I also know I need accountability to make the goals I have a reality in the coming year.

Thus, 12 for 12 in 2011. Twelve things I want to focus on for the twelve months of 2011.

1. Read through the Bible completely. Thanks to Kendall's blog about it, I'm also using this site as a guide.

2. Pray God's Word: One Week at a Time. Thanks to Brittney from the Poe Fam blog, I am joining in

Praying God's Word: One Week at a Time. I will continue to pray daily for the spontaneous things, but I

want to spend time intentionally praying scripture.

3. Keep our blog current. No 8 month hiatuses.

4. Exercise. I am aiming for a minimum of 4 x 45 minutes each week.

5. Read. minimum 2 books per month. I welcome suggestions!!

6. Try 2 recipes per month. Again, bring on your suggestions!

7. Keep house clean. Doug and I have created a daily/weekly chore chart for ourselves. We are challenging

ourselves to maintain this so we don't ahve to have marathon cleaning sessions on the weekends when

we'd rather be doing other things on our days off.

8. Work on organizing Doug's baseball cards. He has well over 10,000 and I'm working to get them all

sorted by first letter of player's last name and then alphabetizing them by player's last. This in an enormous

project and my goal for this year is to at least get them all sorted and into the appropriately labeled

ziploc baggie. I'll be working on this project for a few years, but I did begin last summer, so I have a start

already.

9. Take more photos. Not jsut of the big events; I usually get those, but also of the little, ordinary, daily

things of life. I'm also aiming to take a posed picture of Caden each month to track his growth and change

over the course of the year.

10. Attempt one adult craft each month. This could be interesting as I don't really see myself as crafty at all.

All you crafty types, please give me ideas!

11. Do a random act of kindness each month. Watch out this could be you.

12. Participate in at least one race. Right now, I'm planning for the Emma Creek Classic at the end of April.

Because of the need for accountability, I plan to also post updates of how it's going each week. Based on the way our household runs, I count weeks from Sunday to Saturday, so I will likely post about the week on Saturday evenings or sometime on Sunday.

I'm eager to see where 2011 takes me and my family. I'm hoping having a simpler, written plan, helps me stick to it to see my goals realized come December 31, 2011.

Happy 2011! May your 2011 year be filled with challenges that make you stronger and wiser; laughter that makes you more light-hearted; love that makes you more complete; and joy that makes you more fulfilled.

Newton . . . Kansas . . . Kansas . . . Newton and Subway

2010-12-30T19:49:00.000-06:00

Tonight our family took a rather uninteresting trip to Alco for the sole purpose of using the 30% off coupon we received in our e-mail to buy a 4-slice toaster. Nothing enlightening or exciting about that, right?

Right, until the ride home, when, as we are passing by the north Subway, our son interrupts his litany of snack suggestions once we're home (orange, apple, no, orange, no to Daddy's offer of fruit snacks because he already had some today, never mind that we had oranges for dinner, he was settled on an orange) to ask us (and I quote), "Is that the third Subway in Kansas?" I couldn't help it; I broke out laughing. We had to explain that no, in fact that with approximately 33,700 Subway restaurants world wide in 95 countries and 15 in Wichita alone, there are likely a hundred or so in Kansas. Doug dutifully tried to explain that like Wichita, El Dorado, Hesston and other Kansas cities Caden is familiar with, Newton is a city, a smaller part of the state of Kansas.

Caden listened rather attentively (for him) and then declared, "I can't believe I have to tell you this, but Newton and Kansas are the same thing!" He acted like we were certainly the dumbest people he'd ever had to ride in a car with.

Christmas

2010-12-30T08:17:00.001-06:00

We had a wonderful Christmas which included being able to attend Christmas Eve service at church with both sets of our parents. We followed Christmas Eve service with a yummy "breakfast for dinner" meal at our house. Christmas morning Doug woke up early to make us muffins and juice before opening our stocking and gifts with my parents. Then we headed to Doug's parents to open more presents and eat lunch with our entire immediate family (both sets of grandparents and Doug's brother, sister-in-law, and niece and nephew). All 3 of us were quite spoiled by Santa, each other, and our parents!

#1: our decked out tree loaded with lots of presents
#2: Caden proudly showing off his Sooner stocking
#3: my reaction to opening a gift from Doug and finding
an entire carton of my favorite peppermint chapstick
#4: our nephew, Jensen, opening a present

We got tons of wonderful gifts, but here are some of our highlights:
CADEN: tiger pillow pet; Ultimate I Spy Wii game from Santa; 40+ Hot Wheels; basketball, hockey, and boxing Wii games; cash; Wal-Mart gift card; scooter

SARAH: 2 muffin pans; Paula Deen pot set; peppermint chapstick; new headphones; necklace with Doug and Caden's names on it; books; iTunes gift cards

DOUG: hunting license; hair clippers; new headphones; iTunes gift cards; new iPod; Sooners sign; clothes

#1: our niece, Tegan, lost among the all the presents
#2: Jensen showing off his new Chiefs jammies with Mommy Melissa
#3: Caden showing off his new football jammies (he got 5 pairs of desperately needed new jammies!)
#4: Tegan showing off her new Moxie beauty salon girl

We are certainly blessed this holiday season!

2010 Mini Re-cap

2010-12-29T21:21:00.002-06:00

Since it has been 8 months since I last blogged, I thought I'd do a brief re-cap of 2010 before 2011 begins and I re-commit to keeping our blog updated. I'm just going to do the highlights for each person and our family.

CLOCKWISE: goalie during indoor soccer; visit to OKC Zoo;
Pre-K Graduation; Astronauts Doug and Caden

CADEN: lost his first tooth (and 5 more since); played indoor soccer; graduated from Pre-K in May; played t-ball; grew taller; started KINDERGARTEN!; played flag football; made new friends; grew taller and taller; has some permanent teeth growing in; had his first school field trip (big day: visited a local dairy farm; fire station; police station; and Dillons to culminate a study on community helpers); turned 6 in November and had a big swim party to celebrate; grew taller and taller and even taller (Honestly, he's VERY tall. People comment on it all the time. He got to play Joseph in his Sunday School class' Christmas program because he's the tallest boy. He has a good buddy at school who is much, much shorter and they look like the odd couple when they stand next to each other. Very funny.)

CLOCKWISE: t-ballers L-R Grayson, Tegan (our niece), Caden;
Coach Daddy Doug and his favorite player; ARRRH me cutest pirate lad on Halloween
serious during flag football game;

DOUG: continues to work for IDG (Industrial Distribution Group) in Wichita as the warehouse and facilities manager; coached Caden's t-ball team, which included our niece, Tegan, and Caden's best friend, Grayson; coached Caden's flag football team (interesting experience to say the least!); lost lots of weight; worked part-time for the Wichita Photobooth Company owned by some friends here in Newton; got to ride along with our friend Dan who is an El Dorado police officer (Doug was thrilled and texted me in the middle of it announcing he thought he'd change professions and become a cop! He got to see a lot -- signal ones and fours!)

CLOCKWISE: nerd day in Pre-K; feeding a rabbit at Tanganyika Wildlife Park;
1st day of Kindergarten; found him one morning nearly all the way under our bed

SARAH: still working for USD 373, but started a new position in August as the instructional coach for the newly configured Santa Fe 5/6 Center; watched two of my very favorite former students graduate from high school (aside from making me feel very old; it made me so proud as a teacher! Thanks Matthies and Goeverts for inviting me and especially Peter and Tyler for making me so proud!); lost some much needed weigh; continued part-time with the Wichita Photobooth Company; enjoyed watching Doug and Caden during t-ball and flag football seasons

CLOCKWISE: my favorite boys at the KU game; Caden and his new best bud, Officer Dan;
Happy 6th Birthday!; the whole gang at the KU game

FAMILY: celebrated our 10th anniversary in July; Doug's mom battled a recurrence of lung cancer with chemo and CyberKnife and is now in remission, thankfully!; Sarah's parents moved from Newton to Savannah, Missouri; visited the Oklahoma City Zoo and science museum (very fun!); Kansas State Fair fun in September (TONS of rides for Caden and Mommy and even got white-knuckled Daddy on the Ferris Wheel); twice the grown-ups participated in a mystery dinner theater in Kansas City (once for our anniversary and once with friends . . . great fun both times!); enjoyed Caden's first live college football game watching the Jayhawks (who ultimately won, though we totally missed that part) against the Buffaloes with good friends (Thanks Dan and Shannon for going with us! Caden now thinks Dan is AWESOME!); had family pictures taken by a good friend in early December (Thanks so much Shannon! We love them!! A few are featured at the top of our blog and some others were showcased on our Christmas card this year and four more our shown below)

CLOCKWISE: a smooch for Mommy; so very tempting!;
funny to us; our little family

All in all, 2010 has been a year of change for our family, but has also been one filled with lots of love and laughter. We couldn't ask for more. Looking forward to the adventure 2011 will surely bring!

Caden quotebale

2010-04-15T20:20:00.000-05:00

Mom: "Caden, how did you get so cute?"
Dad: "Tell her from Daddy!"
Caden: "From God, Jesus, and the Earth!"

Absolutely LOVE this!!

pretty cute, huh?

broken

2010-04-15T20:10:00.001-05:00

This is what greeted us yesterday when we got home from work. Thankfully, we we're a bit prepared because Doug's mom had stopped by and then called Doug to let him know. Sadly, this is the second time this tree has been damaged by the wind. This is also the second tree we've had suffer major wind damage. The other tree was in our backyard and we had to cut it down completely. Doug went to work on it straight away and got all of the limbs cut apart. Tonight he and his dad finished cutting up all the branches on the ground into manageable pieces. This weekend we will haul them to the dump. We (and by we here I mean Doug) will have to also cut down the rest of the tree because the trunk is so badly damaged that it can't really support the weight of the rest of the branches. We're very sad to lose this tree. It was a beautiful Bradford Pear that we really liked and which provided our front yard plenty of shade. The small upside is that Caden has really enjoyed "helping" with this "man" project!

blocking the view of the front porch and door

damage to the trunk

broken limb

rounded-up {officially}

2010-04-13T20:50:00.000-05:00

We now have an officially rounded-up kindergartener! We went to Kindergarten Round-Up tonight at South Breeze. Doug and I got lots of information and Caden had a blast with the teachers! He reported that they were all very nice! (which I can vouch for!) Lots of mixed emotions, but mostly really excited for him to start school, though I'm having a hard time believing he's old enough to go. We did have to explain that attending Kindergarten Round-Up doesn't in fact mean that he gets to go to Kindergarten tomorrow. But he sure wishes he could!

after being officially rounded-up

just because . . . I think it's funny!

Caden quoteable recent edition

2010-03-08T19:18:00.000-06:00

As Caden is donning my Valentine's Day socks that stretch to his knees and are coverd in pink and red hearts, "I'm a cowboy cause I've got long socks on."

While trying to turn his pajama shirt right side out this evening, "Dad, can you please inside out my bajama shirt or ouside it in?"

He makes us laugh every day which is good because he also makes us want to to wring his little neck as times!

more Caden quoteables

2010-02-28T22:06:00.000-06:00

I'm thinking of making this the title for an on-going series of posts. Caden keeps saying the funniest things, some because he doesn't know the right word for what he means, others because he confuses the correct word with a similar (often hilarious) word, and still more because the words come out if his mouth all mixed up. I blame this on his brain working faster than his mouth as he often stutters and repeats himself when he's excited which is a lot of the time.

This afternoon as we headed to get a haircut that ultimately didn't end up happening, Caden asks, "This time can I get a homawk again? I mean hohawk." Followed by a fit of giggles because he realized what he actually said. For those of you who might be CLL (Caden Language Learners) homawk and hohawk refer to the extreme mohawk hairstyle.

circa August 2009

The do has changed, but the attitude remains!

Caden quoteables

2010-02-25T20:54:00.003-06:00

Last night as I was saying good night to Little Man, totally unprompted, "Love you forever, mommy!" Oh, me too, buddy, me too!! This made me love being a mom!

Last night as I was shutting his bedroom door, "Can you shut my door open a little please?" In the same moment, I was pleased he remembered to say please and totally amused by shutting the door open!

Tonight after I let my hair out the crazy up-do I had going on today, "You don't look like you, mommy, cause your hair is crazy (it's a bit wavy/curly from being up while wet this morning, but I'm certain I still look like "me"). You look like Cinderella.” Very random character to throw out there as Caden has little experience with princesses. Also, I'm not sure if this was a huge insult to Cinderella implying she looked like me or one huge compliment to me saying I looked as pretty as Cinderella. Don't care, I'm taking it that I’m princess-like . . .at least in my little man’s eyes and that means the world to me today! :)

Can't you just see the similarities?? :)

Did He Really???

2010-02-09T16:28:00.000-06:00

So as most of you know we have been having a LOT of trouble getting Caden to go to bed and stay in bed. Last night we tried a new tactic of putting him in bed then each time he got up we took turns of picking him up and putting him back to bed without saying anything to him. Needless to say this really, really made him mad. Several times I had to ask myself..."Did he really just say that? I think he's trying to be insulting but I had to leave the room in a hurry several times!

Here are some of my favorites keeping in mind they were being sreamed at us in a wailing 5 year old voice.

"You're a stinkyhead."
"You stinky ol lady head."
"You keeping breaking my heart now I gotta fro up."
"Talk to me stinkyhead."
"I'm not loving you no more."

But what I love is that he was madder than a hornet's nest last night and got up all lovie dovie this morning like nothing had ever happened. Round 2 tonight I am sure!

bedtime bedlam

2010-02-07T21:41:00.000-06:00

Actual comments from Caden tonight as I struggled with bedtime for the 736th night in a row: At my billionth request to get back in bed . . ."You broke my heart!" at full voume AND "You're breaking my heart and my feelings!!" also at top volume AND "I feel like I'm going to throw up because you broke my heart!" AND "I don't feel good because you're yelling at me so much!" a good 5 minutes after I was done yelling at him.

I used to enjoy bedtime, but now I'd rather skip it most nights, except that leads to other undesirable problems. On the upside, we've now had 3 nights of Caden sleeping in his bed all night as opposed to our bedroom floor. One step forward, two steps back. Parenting is NOT for the faint of heart for sure!

a visit from the tooth fairy

2010-02-07T19:20:00.000-06:00

I think this visit from the tooth fairy has been on the books since way back in November when Caden had an unfortuante collision with the side of the bath tub. His tooth wasn't loose then, but it has been wiggly for the last few days. Yesterday morning as we were driving, Caden began fussing, "It's weally wiggwly. It's weally wiggwly." Then all of a sudden he cried out, "My tooth is in my hand! Take it mom!! Am I blooding? Will the tooth fairy come now?" Though he was full of anxiety and woe all week about having a wiggwly tooth, he was eagerly anticiapting a visit from the famed tooth fairy. We've never discussed the tooth fairy with Caden, but I think it's been a hot topic of discussion at preschool for the last few months. So he was looking to cash in.

After much discussion (read: disagreement) among the gap-tooth wonder's parental units about the price to be paid out by this tooth fairy, it was decided he should receive exactly $1.41. I realize this seems like an odd price to pay for a tiny little baby tooth, but perhaps if I point out that $1.41 equals 1 dollar bill, 1 quarter, 1 dime, I nickel, and 1 penny it will make it clearer. This seemed a unique amount and a good compromise of what the tooth fairy heaped upon Doug at $5.00 a tooth (pre-recession, I might add) and the quarter she shelled out for my teeth (I clearly was robbed, though I do rememebr receiving slightly more for the one tooth I swallowed!!)

Needless to say, this morning Caden was quite thrilled to find his tooth vanished and cash in its place. He's proudly shown and/or told everyone about it today. And thus, it's another milestone reached in Caden's life. I msut admit, I don't usually cry at milestones, but I welled up big time yesterday and boohooed about my baby growing up to which Caden impatiently replied, "Mom! It's just a tooth! You don't have to cry about it!"

gappy smile

Can you see the tiny hole on the bottom row of teeth?

the *tiny* hole in his mouth

February 14th

2010-02-04T22:02:00.000-06:00

Has become known at our house as "Balemtimes Day" courtesy of one adorable little man.

heart breaker

2010-02-04T21:52:00.000-06:00

That's what I am and I don't mean the super attractive, love 'em, but leave 'em kind. I mean a real heart breaker.

As has been par for the course the past few weeks, I struggled with Caden at bedtime tonight. He didn't want to go because he wanted to drink hot chocolate. Once I got him into bed, he threw a MAJOR fit because he didn't want me to go back downstairs which is his typical plea/demand at bedtime. The MAJOR fit led to me losing my cool and yelling at him. Not my finest mommy moment. Then Caden was consumed with hysterical tears and choking gasping sobs. When I tried to comfort him, he told me, "You broke my heart!" I explained I hadn't meant to upset him, but he didn't understand. He just kept repeating, "You broke my heart because you were yelling at me", in the saddest, sweetest little voice. Oh my goodness! It broke mommy's heart. Talk about laying on the guilt thick and heavy! I'm not really sure where Caden's heard about broken hearts, but I'm guessing there's been a lot of Valentine's Day discussion going on in his class at school.

identity crisis

2010-01-31T19:15:00.000-06:00

I'm quite fervently hoping that the identity crisis my blog is suffering from is not an indication of where my current or future mental state is at. I've been struggling with the look and name of our blog for some time now. I want something that reflects us as a family. I asked for Doug's input on backgrounds and colors, but his tastes, I discovered, are radically different than mine. We agreed on little . . . until we happened upon this background. We both really like the colors and the "creative without being too cute, frilly, or overdone" look of it. I think it suits us. Now, as for my identity, it could be headed for crisis too!

ZzZz says . . .

2010-01-10T20:44:00.004-06:00

Caden makes up games for us to play while we're driving in the car. One of his current games goes like this . . .mom says a letter sound (or letter noise as Caden calls it) and then Caden says a word that begins with that sound. [*side note*: All teachers who read this, I PROMISE he made up the game! He has no idea it' actually good for him!] I gave him the tricky Zz sound and he right away said zebra. I challenged him to come up with one more Z word. He was getting stumped and finally I gave him the clue, "Where do zebras live?" Caden, "in Heaven!" Precious answer and true of course, but not exactly the Z word I was thinking about. I continued to try to clue him in. Next guess, "I know, in Wichita, in the ZOO!!" Yes, exactly!

slip of the tongue

2010-01-05T22:12:00.003-06:00

WARNING: This post is not for those who are easily embarrassed or who are sensitive to the "unmentionables" of life. If this is you, you've been warned. Stop reading now. If you are a parent, or not at all fazed by what children say regardless of how shocking, then by all means, keeping reading. This little vignette had Doug and rolling on Christmas morning and our family cracking up as we retold it later.

On Christmas morning, just the 3 of us opened our stockings and gifts at home. Caden got very excited about a remote controlled car labeled "some assembly required". As Doug was assembling, Caden was waiting quite impatiently, and finally blurted out, "Daddy, Daddy, do you need the erections?" Doug got it right away, but I had to ask my parenting partner if my brain had understood correctly what my ears had just heard. Doug confirmed that indeed our delightful son had just Freudianly mispronounced the word "directions". I love this little man and wonder what his teachers might think of him (and us) one day! :)

blog makeover

2009-12-31T08:43:00.001-06:00

I had these grand ideas to give the blog a wonderful facelift and makeover during Christmas Break. I had an idea of how I wanted it to look. I love reading other people's blogs and seeing how their blog reflects their personality. I wanted that! I searched for blog backgrounds, but didn't find one that captured exactly what I wanted. I found a program called Artisteer that lets you design your own blog backgrounds and banners without having to know HTML code. I created a design I really liked and it worked wonderfully, until I went to export it to blogspot, then it displayed with the word "TRIAL" all over it because I had used the trial version. I even considered switching blogging sites to see if that gave me more options. In the end, I've only ended up really frustrated and with a blog that works, but is so far from what I want it to be. If anyone has ideas, suggestions, comments, I'd really appreciate it.

holiday goodies

2009-12-10T20:29:00.003-06:00

This week I've been making lots of holiday treats . . .3 batches of Oreo truffles, 2 batches of sugar cookies, and candy cane pie this week. Lots more to come the next week and the week after that too, including a cake for a wedding rehearsal dinner shaped like a Jayhawk head (I'm a bridesmaid in the wedding, so it's part of my gift).

Someone asked me for the candy cane pie recipe, so Sarah F. here it is. It's SUPER easy, only 4 ingredients!

1 graham cracker crust (store bought or make your own; this time I bought to save time)
8 oz. carton of whipped topping (Cool-Whip) thawed
1/2 of small bag of miniature marshmallows
6 regular caned canes crushed (4 for the pie; 2 for garnish)

Mix whipped topping, marshmallows, and 4crushed candy canes (I used my food chopper to get them pretty small) and then spread in the graham cracker crust. Sprinkle remaining 2 crushed candy canes on top for garnish. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours before serving.

*NOTE: I added a few drops of peppermint extract to mine tonight to give the peppermint flavor a boost, but you wouldn't have to, especially if you prefer a milder mint taste.

candy cane pie

tonight's batch of Oreo truffles, aren't they pretty?

sweet gobble gobble

2009-11-24T22:34:00.002-06:00

Here are the turkey cookies Doug and I made for a co-worker. Aren't they cute? We're giving some serious thought to hiring out for custom pastry orders. I think it would be so much fun. We really enjoyed making (and tasting) the cookies with homemade butter cream frosting and fruit slices for feathers. Probably the sweetest turkeys around this Thanksgiving!

The things we do.....

2009-11-14T01:31:00.010-06:00

It's late......1:30 am to be exact. Caden is asleep in his bed, all bundled up tight. Sarah is asleep downstairs in the recliner. I'm not exactly sure why I am still awake except I had to make Caden's birthday cake for his party tomorrow. It probably could have been done tomorrow but as far as he knows he's getting a plain chocolate cake. I've never tried my hand at piping the icing on a cake so I borrowed a race car cake pan from a friend and I am surprising Caden (and myself) with this cake. It's not perfect but in my eyes it's not too bad first a first try.

ouch! updated

2009-11-08T20:36:00.005-06:00

UPDATE: We saw the dentist this afternoon to make sure Caden's little mishap last night didn't cause any permanent damage. Thankfully, his teeth are all fine. One of the top front ones is pushed back a tiny bit, but not enough to worry about. Caden's gums look fine and Dr. Davidson told us this should have no effect on Caden's permanent teeth. We do have to check his gums every few days for the next few weeks to make sure he doesn't develop an abscess which could cause the tooth to die. This is very unlikely, but we don't want to take any chances with his teeth, so we'll be checking diligently. I had a similar accident when I was about Caden's age. I bit through my lip, lost a tooth, and had stitches put in my lower lip from a swing set incident with a cranky neighbor girl. On a related note, Caden got brave and took a shower tonight. Doug and I fully expected him to be too traumatized to try a shower again for awhile.

Caden survived his first big accident. He was taking a shower tonight when he slipped, fell, did the splits, and knocked his face against the side of the bathtub. Blood everywhere!! He bit through his bottom lip, but the hole on the outside is very small. We avoided the ER tonight, but we'll be making an unscheduled trip to the dentist tomorrow! We were just there last week for his regular check-up. Hopefully, his fat lip will go down before his birthday on Wednesday or at least in time for his party on Saturday! Needless to say, once we got him cleaned up and calmed down, he wanted nothing do to with finishing his shower. He did let us give him a sit down bath, though.

the damage

the look
so sad!

Birthday Wishes !!!!!!

2009-10-29T15:05:00.003-05:00

It is Sarah's birthday today so if you see her tell her Happy Birthday. She turned 3@ today!

My main squeeze is finally older than me again.....WOHOOOOOO!!!!

FYI......

2009-10-29T15:03:00.003-05:00

Sarah doesn't know it but I am about to take over her blog. I try and read it so I can try and find out what is going on in our life but she doesn't update very often. This often times leaves me a little confused.

Pumpkin Decorating........Sooner Style!!

2009-10-26T17:47:00.005-05:00

Even though Sooner Nation is down, one thing remains constant. Caden absolutely loves the Sooners. In particular Sam Bradford. Sam is leaving school and will not play for the Sooners again. Caden doesn't care, Sam is "his guy"! So when it came time to decorate a pumpkin for Pre-K this week Caden wanted Sam!

SIDELINE SOONER SAM has arrived!!!!

Complete with the cool OU shades.....

wild hair and OU football.....

coaching headset.....

Bob Stoops wanna be visor.....

and finally a Halloween twist...... vampire teeth!

mixed up words

2009-10-19T20:43:00.003-05:00

Don't you love the funny things kids say?!?! Caden has some things he simply can't make his mouth say and a few things he still calls the wrong name. It makes me smile every time he says them.

I bet you have no idea what a "trote camole" is, do you?? No guesses?? It's the shiny little machine that changes the volume and channel on your TV. That's right, Caden can not get his mouth to say remote control. It comes out "trote camole" every time. Cute for the moment, but I'm guessing not so much for the long term! :)

chores

2009-10-18T20:53:00.002-05:00

Okay, so no one really likes to do chores, right?!?!? WRONG! We've found a certain little guy who really likes doing chores, well certain ones at least. Today he wanted to vacuum his bedroom, so we let him have at it. Don't mind the surfboard print shirt with camouflage slippers in the midst of fall! It's all about your state of mind! Also, ignore the naked bed. We were washing sheets. Pray the novelty of vacuuming doesn't soon wear off. I could get used to a boy who likes to clean!

man this thing is heavy!

concentrate!

don't forget behind the door!

how does this work?!?

so happy!

so sad. . .so sweet

2009-09-30T20:22:00.003-05:00

I know many have already posted about Cora's Playground dedication ~ the overwhelming, heavy sadness and grief that weighs on our hearts and minds as we think about why this precious playground exists coupled with the tender hope and trust in the Lord as we are grateful to all those who worked tirelessly to make Cora's Playground a reality. I just wanted to remember this evening which reaffirmed that Cora's life and legacy are living on for those little people who get to play on Cora's Playground.

Caden has been begging for a week or so to play on Cora's Playground. Tonight I told him we could go early to Cubbies and play a bit before Awana started. He loves the playground, but I want him to know more and understand why he gets this really great equipment to play on at church. Here's our talk as he played tonight:

ME: Whose playground is this?
CADEN: Cora's
ME: Why does Cora have a special playground?
CADEN: She died and we want to 'member her.
ME: Was Cora big or little?
CADEN: Little like Jensen (our nephew who is 9 months old)
ME: Where is Cora now?
CADEN: In Heaven with God.

I left our conversation at that for tonight and praised and marveled that in some small way he understands that Cora's life has deep meaning for those in our community and church (and the world).

As he continued to play awhile, thrilled that I'd given him some bonus time on Cora's Playground, he constantly squealed, This is best playground! I love to play here! This is so cool! (his highest compliment).

I can't imagine what Jess and Joel and their families have endured in the past few months. I know they'd give anything to have their sweet Cora back in their arms, but I know too my experience with Caden tonight touches on the lasting meaning of Cora's Playground. I hope that in the years to come as Caden gets too big for the actual equipment, he grows in his understanding of the value of Cora's life and legacy in bringing people to know God more deeply.

hiatus . . . no more

2009-09-27T19:54:00.006-05:00

I've been gone, but hopefully not forgotten. The summer (which I thought was busy) has given way to full blown, crazy busy autumn. We're loving the great weather and enjoying trying to keep everything we've got going, well going. School is very busy for me right now with lots of projects, mentoring a first year teacher, and working on a few district level projects. Doug is busy working and keeping up with home repairs, golf, and of course Sooner football. Caden is in pre-K and talking constantly about anything and everything. He is in Cubbies (Awana) this year and doing youth league bowling on Saturday mornings. He's eager to be his beloved Sam Bradford for Halloween and looking forward to his 5th birthday in November. So our blogging hiatus is now officially over. And though the pictures below are a couple of months old and Caden has since lost his mohawk (his choice for those of you thinking I forced the issue); they are too cute not to share. Thanks to Megan for taking them back in early August!

new do

2009-07-30T03:15:00.002-05:00

I am NOT normally fond of what I like to refer to as extreme hairstyles, but Caden asked for a mohawk (and secretly I've thought it might be cute on a little boy, but certainly not so on a rebellious teenager), so Doug and I decided to let him try it once at four in hopes that this will tame his future fourteen year old self. Here he is after his shower last night without the hair spiked up. I'm a teeny bit shocked every time I see it, but I do think it's kinda cute especially when it's "done".

playing in the rain

2009-07-28T16:42:00.002-05:00

This afternoon Caden and I did something I've ALWAYS wanted to do, but never done . . .we played in the rain. Caden was reluctant at first and gave every excuse: He was cold. Our feet would get dirty (he likes to be clean). Daddy might run over us (we were in the street . . . the quiet, very dead end street with no intention of staying out long enough for Daddy or anyone else to run over us). I finally convinced him. We splashed and played barefoot in the rain and puddles. It was cold, but so much fun! So worth us both getting that experience (especially for free!)! Here's the aftermath.

dripping wet on the porch

a smooch for MommyI love how happy we both look

time for a hot shower!

oh joy! oh joy!

2009-07-21T20:49:00.002-05:00

We've got a big boy! Caden is finishing up his first independent shower right now! I couldn't be more thrilled! I tried last night to get him to take a shower, but all I got for my efforts was tears, hysterics, and protests!! Tonight, Doug tried and we now have clean boy who just this second as I write this, shouted, "I want to do that next time!" Then he came running in here and PROUDLY announced, " Mommy, I tooked a shower all by myself!!" Here's the proof of the pride he clearly feels about accomplishing this.

molars, canines, bicuspids, oh my!

2009-07-21T16:26:00.001-05:00

Now what tooth fairy, dentist, mom, grandma wouldn't love a smile this cute?!? :) Caden got these funny teeth as a joke in his Christmas stocking last year (Daddy picked them out) and just rediscovered them. He thinks they are sooo hilarious, but he's a boy and he's four, so we must forgive his humor. And if you haven't smiled yet today, hopefully now you can! :)

can you say overbite? with the teeth no he can't!

he needs a good scrubbing from the dental hygienist
beaver bucktooth boy

rub-a-dub-dub

2009-07-20T14:23:00.003-05:00

3 little people in the tub! Saturday we watched Tegan and Jensen (our niece and nephew). They had a good time playing in the bathtub all together, a rare treat for only-child Caden. Doug and I felt especially at bath time it was not always fun to be outnumbered! But we did manage to get 3 kids clean and jammied and in bed at a decent hour. We also managed to get all 3 dressed, fed, and to church on time Sunday morning. I know for some of you this is a normal occurrence, but we were impressed with ourselves.

lined up from youngest to oldest

Jensen got mad because all the water and the big kids disappeared.

9

2009-07-08T20:14:00.005-05:00

On this day, nine years ago, Doug and I said I do for better or worse. We've seen a lot of both, but we've endured together. Happy Anniversary Doug! I love you! Here are the top 9 reasons why:

1) you are such a good daddy to Caden

2) you care so much about our family

3) you can make me laugh at anything

4) you are so calm, a nice balance to my not always so calm self

5) you work hard at everything you do

6) you're always proud of everything Caden and I accomplish

7) you're an awesome cook!

8) you support me in the things I want to do or try

9) you take care of all the things I can't handle

So today on our anniversary I want you to know that you've been a part of many of the most significant moments in my life, good and bad, but what matters most to me today is not those moments, but that I got to share them with you. I look forward to all life has to offer us in our next year together. It's now official . . . we've known each other for over 1/3 our our lives. It won't be long before that creeps up to half. Can't wait!! :)

my favorite big guy with our favorite little guy

Tanganyika

2009-06-12T06:34:00.006-05:00

Yesterday morning, my friends, Melissa, Christie, and I took our 4 kiddos: Jeb, Maggie, Brock, and Caden to Tanganyika Wild Life Park in Goddard. Inc ase you're wondering Tanganyika is the longest lake in the world located in central Africa. After paying the slightly pricey admission ($12 for adults; $8 for kids 3+, plus tax), we hoped it was worth the drive and the money. We discovered in just a few minutes that it was well worth every mile and penny! Tanganyika has some interactive exhibits, where you are allowed to feed and/or pet the animals. AMAZING is the only word! God created some beautiful creatures! Some of the interactive exhibits include (as you'll see in the pictures below): feeding/petting lemurs; petting kangaroos, feeding lorakeets, feeding/petting tortoises and rabbits. We took a picnic lunch and had a wonderful visit. Tanganyika is beautifully landscaped, clean, not too large, and at least yesterday wasn't crowded at all. I highly recommend this for families with children 3+. A wonderful experience on a beautiful Kansas day with some of our really good friends, who can beat that!

white tigers; gorgeous and NOT interactive, thank goodness

ring-tailed lemur; wow! can they jump!
African penguins; they hung in this pack all day

up close with a kangaroo with a joey in its pouch

baby joey peeking out

joey looks like it will fall out

petting a kangaroo; amazingly soft fur

the group petting a kangaroo

this bunny was literally on my feet

feeding the rabbits lettuce

the rabbits loved Jeb

zebra: white with black stripes or black with white stripes??

lorakeet landed on Caden and tickled him

lorakeets loved Jeb too

Melissa being overtaken by lorakeets; they like to peck at your hair

my favorite little guy

red panda bear; not a very nice animal

shy leopard

graceful giraffes

our crew

though I don't like birds at all, photographic evidence for Doug

that I did in fact feed the lorakeets,

the most beautiful and loud birds I've ever seen or heard

buddies

tortoise was hungry and snipped at Caden's finger when going after the lettuce

made me laugh

2009-06-01T09:27:00.002-05:00

Caden got up this morning to get ready for his first day of Pre-K with Ms. Valerie. He is so excited!

As Caden's getting dressed, he tells me he needs to potty. I say go ahead. He does his business and I hear the unmistakable snap of the elastic band of his underwear against his skin. He comes running, his face concerned and pained, but with no tears, and says and he's showing me his bare hip where it stings and says, "Is it blooding (his word for bleeding)? I shot it pretty hard with my underwear!"

Through my giggles, I reassured me that in fact no blood was lost in the snapping of his underwear waistband against his flesh.

for Melissa and my mom

2009-06-01T09:26:00.002-05:00

who have been razzing me about falling behind in my blogging. I've been gone for awhile, but now I'm back in the game. I will be working on catching up and staying current with the ongoings of our busy, busy lives.

bowling #2

2009-04-12T20:41:00.002-05:00

okay, another warning . . .this too is a catch-up post from Spring Break.

Caden and I had so much fun bowling with our friends that we decided to take Daddy on Friday night of Spring Break. It was so much fun because they were getting ready for Cosmic Bowling and they turned on all the lights on the lanes and the disco balls and music. Daddy bowled pretty well, but Caden and I must have been tired from the day before because we didn't bowl as well as we had on Thursday. Daddy got lots of strikes and spares (we had bumpers!) and Caden was really excited because a Jonas Brothers song (see post about Jonas Bros. invasion) came on the radio. He was convinced the woman behind the counter played it just for him. Doug and I decided this was a fun, inexpensive way to spend an evening of family fun! We will consider having Caden jointhe kids' bowling league in the fall, so he can join a fun activity with other kids his age.

bowling #1

2009-04-12T20:36:00.003-05:00

okay, fair warning . . .this is catch-up post form almost a month ago, over Spring Break.

On the Thursday of Spring Break we ate lunch at Applebee's with our friends, Christie and Brock. After lunch Christie, our boys, and I met our other friend Melissa and her kids, Jeb and Maggie to go bowling. The 4 kids (aged 4-7) had a good time bowling and all did fairly well. Jeb and Maggie do league bowling, so they were pretty good. Caden really enjoyed himself and loved watching for people to get spares and strikes.

We had a lot of fun bowling and hanging out with our kids and mommy friends!
Thanks Melissa, Jeb, Maggie, Christie, and Brock for a great afternoon of bowling and fun with friends!

glow in the dark putt-putt

2009-03-22T19:39:00.002-05:00

On Thursday, Caden, Truck Grandma, and I drove to Wichita to have lunch with Daddy and Truck Papa. We ate at this fun restaurant called The Rowdy Beaver. It was fun to have lunch with Daddy and Papa! After lunch, I took Caden and Grandma to play putt-putt at this glow in the dark place in Towne West Mall. It was lots of fun and very cool to see how everything glows under the blacklights. Caden and I got in some good putting practice, but it was Grandma who won a prize on Hole 19. She scored Caden some glow in the dark bugs. After putt-putt, we headed to this funky new donut place, called the Donut Whole in downtown Wichita. They have some unique flavors. Caden chose a vegan donut with sprinkles and I had a thick mint, a play on words, as it tasted remarkably similar to the thin mint Girl Scout cookies, and a cherry cordial which tasted like a chocolate covered cherry. Grandma had a nutter butter and a maple. Grandma who LOVES roosters also bought a new coffee cup with the Donut Whole mascot, a large rooster. If you're in Wichita with a sweet tooth an penchant for a little funky atmospshere, check out the Donut Whole. All in all a very tasty and fun day!

Facebook

2009-03-22T18:56:00.002-05:00

I gave in to the Facebook craze and signed up this week. I'm now a bit of addict, but only in seeing what others are doing. I'm now"friends" with a people I know from teaching, Wichita, Newton, etc, and a bunch of people from high school, which is kind of nice to see what they've been up to since we graduated a few (ok, 13) years ago. Gosh, that makes me feel old! Anyway, Facebook is a fun little distraction that I guilty indulged in way too much this week! Sadly, my real life of work and business returns tomorrow morning!

couponing 101

2009-03-22T18:41:00.004-05:00

Last Sunday, my friend Shannon invited me to go with her to a Couponing Party where the host teaches you how to maximize the use of coupons to save loads of moola on your grocery bill. I went and it was very fun and interesting! Slowly, Doug and I are becoming coupon users with the hopes of saving ourselves some money. The woman who hosted the couponing party gets loads of great deals and NEVER pays more than $1 for toothpaste, deodorant, toilet paper, shampoo, conditioner, Kleenex, etc. and for the most part she uses name brands (Charmin, Crest, Pantene, etc.) AMAZING! Two days before I met Shannon to go to the party, she and her fiance, Dan, went to Wal-Mart and their bill came to $245, but thanks to coupons they only spent $130. That means they saved $115. Totally cool, if you ask me. I know Doug and I could certainly benefit from cutting our grocery bill by 30-60%, especially in the current economy. I have lots of couponing websites to look at and I need to get organized, but I'm looking forward to saving some money and using it to pay on other bills! Do any of you have sites or coupon sources you use that you'd be willing to share? Let me know!

mommy or money guilt?

2009-03-22T17:15:00.002-05:00

That was the question of the week this week of Spring Break. Doug and I have to pay for preschool whether Caden attends or not. So, my dilemma . . .do I send Caden to preschool when I'm home all week and have mommy guilt or do I keep him home with me and have money guilt because we're paying for services were not using?? It was very difficult for me to decide. Ultimately, Doug and I decided to split the week. Monday-Wednesday, Caden went to preschool; Thursday and Friday he stayed home with me and we did some special activities together! It made for the best of both worlds for this mommy!

girls night out

2009-03-22T17:11:00.002-05:00

Spring Break started with my sister-in-law Melissa inviting me to go out out with her and some of her girlfriends. I was initially a little bit hesitant. Melissa and I aren't close and hadn't really connected, which really bothered me a lot!! I'm not always comfortable meeting new people, so that combined with not really knowing Melissa that well made me nervous. But, I had a great time!! It was fun and relaxing; the perfect way to start Spring Break! I hope this is a new start for Melissa and me. Thanks for asking, Melissa! I had a lot of fun!

recapping the last 9 days

2009-03-22T17:09:00.002-05:00

I've been a bit lax about blogging lately, but plan to catch-up this evening with several mini posts about the last week or so, SPRING BREAK! Sadly, I was also lazy about carrying the camera with me and have no photos to document the week. :(

How many did you say?!?

2009-03-09T21:19:00.002-05:00

There are 777,108 people in the U.S. with the first name Sarah.
Statistically the 58th most popular first name.
More than 99.9 percent of people with the first name Sarah are female. (go figure!)

There are 4,222 people in the U.S. with the last name Livesay.
Statistically the 8088th most popular last name.

There are 11 people in the U.S. named Sarah Livesay.

Wow! I thought I was the one and only! :)

If you're now very curious to see how many other folks here in the U.S. share your wonderful (but probably not unique name), check out this site. I thought it was very cool and interesting.

Now just for fun:

There are fewer than 1,530 people in the U.S. with the first name Caden. And according to the website: There are 1 or fewer people in the U.S. named Caden Livesay. Well, I happen to know for fact there's at least one!

There are 561,415 people in the U.S. with the first name Douglas. Statistically the 94th most popular first name. More than 99.9 percent of people with the first name Douglas are male. (again, it seems a no brainer!) There are 8 people in the U.S. named Douglas Livesay. I find this slightly odd, but when I checked just "Doug Livesay" there was only 1! I'm guessing however that this is not my husband he officially a "Douglas".

pop culture invasion

2009-03-09T21:04:00.003-05:00

Doug caved! Caden got it! It being the coveted Jonas Brothers CD. I always thought I'd have to listen to Caden's "music" when he was a teenager or maybe a tweenager, but as a preschooler, I'd have never guessed! Here's what led to the pop culture invasion of our home: Caden spent some time with his beloved cousin Tegan (who is already infatuated with and plans to marry the Jonas Brothers trio) listening to her Jonas Brothers CD and decided he just had to have one of his very own. And, after negotiating quite skillfully with his daddy, Caden is the proudest new owner of a Jonas Brothers CD. Though I thought this day was at least another 6-10 years away, I have to say it's pretty funny and cute to listen to Caden sing along with his new CD! :)

For those of you not up on pop culture (mom!), you can learn more about the Jonas Brothers, here. Enjoy!

fun box

2009-02-25T20:23:00.003-06:00

Caden had about 20 minutes of good fun with this box before it was destroyed and ready for the recycling container. I love his expression in the first picture. It looks like he's thinking, "gee, Mom, Why do you have go and ruin all my fun?!?!?" Once he realized he wan't in trouble he got over it.

Jewels for Cora

2009-02-25T20:02:00.004-06:00

I haven't been able to post about the loss of Cora yet. There's so much I don't understand. But I want to spread the message, all are invited. Please come. Please invite everyone you know. A great group of women are helping an amazing woman, Amanda, with the this special event to honor Cora's life which has touched so many. This sweet, tiny baby girl from humble, God-loving, generous parents from a small town in Kansas has left a huge legacy that spreads far beyond our local community to the world at large. Please help make this event a huge success as we work through our grief, lean on the Lord and each other, and celebrate the life of sweet, sweet Cora.

(click on the image above to see it larger)

writing

2009-02-25T19:33:00.003-06:00

Caden is really working hard to learn how to spell all our family member's names and tonight he surprised us by trying to write them. I know I'm biased, but I think his writing is pretty good. I thought he only knew how to write the 5 letters in his first name, but I was shocked to see he knows how to write many more. Check it out.

In case you can't tell what it says, (going down): Caden, Sarah, Doug, daddy, Livesay, Tim, Tim, Tim, (he really likes Tim's name because he doesn't need help spelling it!), and Tegan.

hat twins

2009-02-25T19:25:00.004-06:00

For awhile Caden has been asking for an OU hat like Doug's, uncle Tim's, and Truck Papa's. We looked long and hard in November for a child size OU hat for Caden's birthday, no luck. We looked long and hard in December for Christmas, no luck. But a few weeks ago, we happened upon one and surprised Caden with it. He loves it. So here are my hat twin boys.

all boy

2009-02-24T20:36:00.004-06:00

Caden is definitely all boy as evidenced by the fact that his latest fascinations are farts and armpits. Beyond the usual boy favorite toys, like cars, balls, and making noise, Caden's new favorite toy is a whoppee cushion! He gets a huge kick out of making it do its thing. He laughs and giggles uncontrollably every time he manages to convince Doug to blow it up for him. Though I refuse to blow it up for him, I have to admit the squeals of pure laughter are sure fun to listen to! Are all little boys this enthralled with the grossest stuff? On a more pleasant note, Caden is also really into books and trying to learn how to spell all our family member's names. He's got his own and uncle Tim's mastered. He was so excited he learned to spell Tim that he had to call Truck Grandma and Cane Papa to tell them! Unfortunately, after Tim the names in our family get longer and more difficult to spell!

100 questions

2009-02-21T17:45:00.002-06:00

Though this is very similar to my previous 2 posts, I'm doing it because I just read Amy's blog and she told me to! :)

1. Do you sleep with your closet doors open or closed? closed, always closed

2. Do you take the shampoos and conditioner bottles from hotels? rarely, but I have

3. Are you afraid to fly? no, I like to fly

4. Have you ever stolen a street sign before? no

5. Do you like to use post-it notes? not particularly, but I use them almost daily

6. Do you cut out coupons but then never use them? no, but I probably should start

7. Would you rather be attacked by a big bear or a swarm of a bees? I guess a bear, I might have a chance to live. I'm allergic to bee stings.

8. Do you have freckles? maybe a couple

9. Do you always smile for pictures? I think so

10. What is your biggest pet peeve? I don't know

11. Do you ever count your steps when you walk? sometimes, and like Amy, I always count stairs if there's more than 1 or 2

12. Have you ever peed in the woods? yes, but definitely, NOT one of my favorite things

13. Do you prefer the beach or mountains? beach

14. Do you ever dance even if there's no music playing? no

15. Do you chew your pens and pencils? not now, but I did as a kid sometimes

16. Favorite reality TV show? none

17. What size is your bed? king, and I love it!

18. What is your Song of the week? oh, lots! Cheap Seats by Alabama

19. Is it okay for guys to wear pink? Yes, and I think lots of guys look good in the right shade of pink.

20. Do you still watch cartoons? No, and I can't remember watching them very regularly as a kid either.

21. What's your least favorite movie? I don't know a specific one, but there are lots I don't like.

22. Where would you bury hidden treasure if you had some? I'd tell you, but then . . . you know, I'd have to to do something awful to you!:)

23. What do you drink with dinner? water almost always. With pizza, I have soda of some type

24. What do you dip a chicken nugget in? sweet and sour sauce, BBQ sauce, honey mustard

25. What is your favorite food? Italian

26. What movies could you watch over and over and still love? Pretty Woman, Forrest Gump, Shawshank Redemption

27. Last person you kissed/kissed you? Caden

28. Were you ever a boy/girl scout? yes

29. Would you ever strip or pose nude in a magazine? NO!

30. When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper? sent a card . . .this week, but an actually full letter . . . Christmas

31. Can you change the oil on a car? doubtful

32. Ever gotten a speeding ticket? too many to count, but not for several years, knock on wood!

33. Ran out of gas? never as the driver, at least once as a passenger

34. Favorite kind of sandwich? probably turkey

35. Best thing to eat for breakfast? waffles/bacon

36. What is your usual bedtime? 10:30

37. Are you lazy? sometimes

38. When you were a kid, what did you dress up as for Halloween? fried egg, gumball machine, ghost,

39. What is your astrological sign? Scorpio

40. How many languages can you speak? English and maybe 100 words in Spanish

41. Do you have any magazine subscriptions? Family Fun

42..Which are better legos or lincoln logs? Legos

43. Are you stubborn? yes

44. Who is better...Leno or Letterman? I like them both

45. Ever watch soap operas? no

46. Afraid of heights? no

47. Sing in the car? almost always if I'm alone or just with Caden or Doug

48. Sing in the shower? nope

49. Dance in the car? no

50. Ever used a gun? no

51. Had picture taken by photographer? yes

52. Do you think musicals are cheesy? no, I was in several in high school

53. Is Christmas stressful? sometimes

54. Ever eat a pierogi? yes

55. Favorite type of fruit pie? I don't like pie much, but if I had to choose . . .cherry

56. Occupations you wanted to be when you were a kid? pediatrician, teacher

57. Do you believe in ghosts? no

58. Ever have a Deja-vu feeling? yes

58. Ever have a Deja-vu feeling? yes

59. Take a vitamin daily? no

60. Wear slippers? yes

61. Wear a bath robe? no

62. What do you wear to bed? pants or shorts and T-shirt

63. First concert? John Denver

64. Wal-Mart, Target or Kmart? Target or Wal-Mart

65. Nike or Adidas? either

66.Cheetos Or Fritos? Cheetos

67. Peanuts or Sunflower seeds? peanuts

68. Ever heard of the group Tres Bien? no

69. Ever taken dance lessons? no

70. Is there a profession you picture your significant other doing? physical therapist, chiropractor, banker

71. Can you curl your tongue? yes

72. Ever won a spelling bee? just classroom bees

73. Have you ever cried because you were so happy? yes

74. Own any record albums? no

75. Own a record player? no

76. Regularly burn incense? no, I don't like it

77. Ever been in love? yes!

78. Who would you like to see in concert? Garth Brooks, George Strait

79. What was the last concert you saw? Garth Brooks in KC

80. Hot tea or cold tea? iced

81.Tea or coffee? tea if those are the only choices . . . I hate coffee

82. Sugar cookies or snickerdoodles? I'd eat either, but chocolate chip is my favorite

83. Can you swim well? well enough

84. Can you hold your breath without plugging your nose? yes

85. Are you patient? usually

86. DJ or band, at a wedding? at my own . . .neither, but in general I think a band is best if they take requests

87.Ever won a contest? no!

88. Ever have plastic surgery? no, I haven't nor would I

89. Which are better black or green olives? black only

90 .Can you knit or crochet? no, but I wish I could

91. Best room for a fireplace? living room

92. Do you want to get married? I am already married

93. If married, how long have you been married? it will be 9 years this July

94. Who was your HS crush? names withheld

95. Do you cry and throw a fit until you get your own way? not usually, but I have

96. Do you have kids? Caden

97. Do you want kids? yes, 1 or 2 more would be great

98. What's your favorite color? purple

99. Do you miss anyone right now? yes

100. Did you watch Next Great American Band on FOX? no

If you made it this far . . . then tag, you're it!!

25 Random Facts about Sarah

2009-02-18T20:37:00.002-06:00

I've seen this on several other blogs and thought I'd give it a try. Here are 25 random things to know about me:

1. I am only child.
2. I was born in Salina.
3. My favorite color is purple.
4. I do not like my middle name at all.
5. Both my first and middle names are Biblical.
6. I met Doug on a blind date.
7. I knew by the end of our first date that Doug and I would get married.
8. Our anniversary this year: 07.08.09
9. My favorite candy is jelly beans.
10. I was in a small oven explosion when I was six.
11. I've ridden in an ambulance as a patient. (this was not connected to #10)
12. I have had numerous speeding tickets in my life. At one point in high school I was dangerously close to losing my license because of speeding tickets.
13. My parents were the caretakers of our church when I was growing up, which meant I had lots of unique experiences like riding in a cherry picker and crawling through industrial air conditioning vents.
14. I was nanny in Chicago during the summer between my freshmen and sophomore years in college.
15. One of the best and most fascinating jobs I've ever had was working for the Kansas Turnpike Authority as a toll booth operator.
16. I love to fly as long as I have the window seat.
17. I would love to ride in a hot air balloon.
18. I have a passion for ice.
19. I take lots and lots of showers.
20. I am so terrified of fire I can't light matches, or candles or start the grill without some serious panic.
21. Currently my favorite TV show is Grey's Anatomy.
22. My favorite movie is Pretty Woman.
23. I did my student teaching in kindergarten and third grade.
24. Caden's initials, C and R, are for Doug's and my'middle names; C is from Doug and R is from me. We actually did this unintentionally, but once we figured it out we thought it was pretty cool.
25. Apparently, I'm pretty boring because this was a lot harder than I thought it would be! :)

simple

2009-02-01T08:04:00.002-06:00

Thanks Amy for something simple to blog about. This week has been emotional and hard to understand.

Rules: type only one word and if you are reading this, consider yourself "tagged"...

1. Where is your cell phone?car
2. Your significant other? Doug
3. Your hair? short
4. Your mother? nurse
5. Your father? papa
6. Your favorite thing? books
7. Your dream last night? comfort
8. Your favorite drink? Pepsi
9. Your dream/goal? health
10. The room you're in? office
11. Your fear? losing
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? better
13. Where were you last night? Wichita
14. What you're not? wealthy
15. Muffins? blueberry
16. One of your wish list items? aquarium
17. Where you grew up? Wichita
18. The last thing you did? blogged
19. What are you wearing? pajamas
20. Your TV? off
21. Your computer? Dell
22.Your life? busy
23. Your mood? hopeful
24. Missing someone? yes
25. Your car? silver
26. Something you're not wearing? shoes
27. Favorite Store? none
28. Your summer? relaxed! (i hope)
29. Your favorite color? purple
30. When is the last time you laughed? yesterday
31. Last time you cried? Thursday

continue to pray for Cora

2009-02-01T07:48:00.003-06:00

I ask for renewed and continued prayers for precious Cora. She is fighting hard, but is facing many challenges and her parents and extended family are on the roller coaster of highs and lows as they too learn about how to care for a child who is ill. Each day brings a new and different challenge as they work to make Cora comfortable and give her the strength and energy she needs to continue this fight with cancer.

Jessica and Joel's faith is profound and amazing to witness. They trust the Lord so completely and are fully leaning on him to heal Cora and give them strength, guidance, and comfort. They are certainly role models in how to live one's faith and convictions, even in the most difficult of circumstances. I'm awed!

I've added the pray for Cora button the right tool bar to remind everyone who reads to pray for Cora's healing and comfort and strength, courage, and peace for Jess and Joel. Clicking on Cora's button takes you to Jess and Joel's blog where they have been giving updates about Cora and sharing praises and prayer requests so that we can be praying for the specific things they need and praising God for the blessing he's providing them.

Thank you to Jan at Rose Haven for making Cora's button and sharing it so many more prayers for Cora, Jess, and Joel can be lifted up.

prayers for Cora

2009-01-23T17:56:00.004-06:00

I ask everyone who reads this to say a prayer for this sweet blessing, Cora. Cora is the 10-month old daughter of Jessica and Joel. Jessica used to teach kindergarten at Slate Creek where I work. Jessica and Joel attend Grace church, where we also go. Cora was diagnosed with cancer today and underwent exploratory surgery to try to find out exactly what's happening in her tiny body. Please pray that Cora is healed quickly and that her parents and extended family maintain the strength they need to endure this crisis. This young family and sweet baby girl need all the prayers they can get. I know lots of you know this family and are already praying for Cora, Jessica, and Joel, but those of you who don't know this great family, I beg you to lift them up to God and ask for His belssings upon them.

sick, 31, Lecompton

2009-01-17T20:22:00.002-06:00

sick: That's what Caden is. Doug's mom had to pick Caden up from preschool Thursday afternoon because he was running 102 fever with a cough. No preschool Friday, which was extra sad because it was his scheduled poop party day at school. Caden has been coughing so much he's thrown up several times. Poor baby! He's a little better today. The fever is down, but the gagging cough remains.

31: as of Thursday that's what Doug is. Happy Birthday, babe! We spent the evening eating cold pizza and watching TV in the basement after we put our sick boy to bed. Not the greatest birthday, but SO much better than last year's. Doug's 30th birthday was spent in the hospital finding out his mom had lung cancer.

Lecompton/Lawrence: As of Thursday evening that's where I back from. I was there for the KS Coaching Academy. I'm tired because I didn't sleep well Tuesday or Wednesday night at the hotel or Thursday night because of listening for Caden to cough so hard he got sick again.

So that's what we've been doing since Thursday. Hopefully next week will be a lot better! We have Tegan's birthday and party and of course Caden's poop party at school (more on that later, I know you're curios!) to look forward to.

sweet

2009-01-10T08:24:00.003-06:00

As Caden I were snuggling and chatting in bed this morning like we usually do on Saturdays mornings, I was asking him about school. Questions like, "Do you like school?"; "Who is your favorite teacher? (He has 3.)"; and this wonderful exchange:

Mommy: "Who is your best friend at school?"

Caden: "Baby Jensen"
Mommy: "Jensen doesn't go to school with you."

Caden: "I know, but I love him!" "I love Baby Jensen and Tegan and you, Mommy!"

How sweet is he? And, how sweet and cute is this adorable bundle below?

reading edited

2009-01-04T21:20:00.003-06:00

I've been reading quite a bit lately.

I started this reading binge with The Shack. This is easily one of the best books I've ever read and would highly recommend it to anyone. It's a thought-provoking story and it might challenge your beliefs and ideas, and possibly your faith. I can not say enough about this book and its power. Eloquently written and now an all time favorite of mine.

I also read a new Nicholas Sparks' book, Change of Heart. CORRECTION: I wrote the wrong title here. Nicholas Sparks' new book is actually The Lucky One. Change of Heart is another book I got for Christmas by another one of my favorite authors, Jodi Picoult. Thanks Amy for catching my error so I could correct it. Another great novel by Mr. Sparks. I think this might be my favorite of the ones of his I've read, though I've thoroughly enjoyed them all. Thanks Tim and Melissa! It was a a wonderful Christmas present!! :)

I just finished The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King. I've always shied away from Stephen King novels because I don't like scary and gory, but this one was totally different. Very suspenseful, but not scary or gory at all. I've also been informed that Stephen King has written several novels which are not of the scare/gore genre. My friend Christie is a Stephen King addict and loaned me 3 of his non-scary novels. I'm getting ready to start Delores Claiborne tonight. Hopefully, it will be just as good. Thanks, Christie for turning me on to a new author!

Happy reading!

family

2009-01-03T08:36:00.003-06:00

Over Christmas break, we traveled to Savannah, MO to visit my grandma and some of my aunts, uncles, and cousins. My grandma is AMAZING! She has 6 children and 6 in-law children, 11 grandchildren, 1 in-law grandchild, 1 in-law grandchild to be in June, and 1 great-grandchild. She'll be 79 in February and she's helping my mom's youngest sister and her husband raise their 3 children, ages 11, 7, and 5. I think she and my mom could easily pass for sisters (for a comparison, check out their pictures below). My grandma has very little gray hair and is very active and probably in better health than some of her children and their spouses. Caden was really impressed by the new knowledge that he has 3 grandmas. He kept talking about Grandma J all the way up there and all the way home and several times since we've been back. I think she made quite an impression. And sometime will have to confuse him more and explain that in all truth he has 4 grandmas, Doug's mom's mom is still alive, too.

my mom

Grandma J

4 generations
Emma and Caden

pure orneriness

A note about the picture of Emma and Caden: Emma is Grandma J's youngest grandchild. She's 5 and looks exactly like her my mom, my aunt Elaine. Caden is Grandma J's oldest great-grandchild. He's 4 and at least 2 inches taller than Emma already. They got along fabulously. For once, Emma was the bigger . . .er, I mean, older kid.

cooking dress

2009-01-03T08:17:00.002-06:00

Caden LOVES to help us prepare dinner. So for Christmas, Doug and I were looking for some more "unique" gifts for Caden in addition to the vehicles and board games he got. We found 2 that lean a bit more toward "unique". One is this chef's dress up outfit. Caden calls it his "cooking dress" even though we've tried many, many times to explain it's not a dress of any sort. Anyway, he loves it and asks to wear it every night while he kneels on a chair next to me "helping" me cook dinner. The outfit came complete with the chef's hat, jacket, 3 plastic cookie cutters, mini skillet, and 4 cooking utensils. Caden dons the get-up each night to help us and dutifully makes us cookies for dessert, rolling them out, cutting the shapes, and baking them in the utensil drawer he uses as his oven. I love his imagination and his passion about helping in the kitchen. It's so fun to see him using his creativity, plus I think he looks really cute in his cooking dress!

101 in 1001 challenge

2008-12-31T14:42:00.003-06:00

I have been thinking a lot about the things I'd like to accomplish in my life. Now that I'm in my 30s and Caden seems to be growing up a warp speed, I want to make sure I'm living my life, not simply going through the motions. So I have challenged myself to complete my 101 things in 1,001 days (see complete list on left sidebar). I found this particular idea on this website. Wish me luck and if you're so inclined, ask me about my list and/or start your own list.

The Mission:Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria:Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

Why 1001 Days? Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple goals such as New Year's resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks.

Christmas Day

2008-12-31T09:04:00.005-06:00

We had both sets of our parents over to our house for Christmas Day. I made brunch (including a new coffee cake recipe, Thanks Lisa!). While I was making the coffee cake, Caden kept asking me if that was Jesus' birthday cake. We spent a lot of time talking to him about the real reason for the season. After brunch we opened gifts with my parents.

Caden loving up both grandmas
love this expression

very happy with his blue M&M's tin

helping Cane Papa unwrap

me and my favorite boy

making Cane Grandma proud by

sporting his new Jayhawk Jersey and hat

Chritsmas Eve

2008-12-31T08:25:00.006-06:00

We spent Christmas Eve with Doug's parents, Tim, Melissa, Tegan, and Jensen and Doug's parents' house. We had a yummy dinner and opened gifts. Caden and Tegan were quite spoiled with loads of new toys and games. The highlights of the evening included hearing Santa and his reindeer on the roof (the daddies throwing old potatoes on the roof to make it sound like hooves) and holding Jensen on his first Christmas. He is so cute and snuggly! Doug and I also got many wonderful gifts from his parents and Tim and Melissa. I know I'm loving everything I got this year!

Tim opening Jensen's first OU Sooners blanket
Caden opening a gift

sporting his new spiky hairdo

Tegan with Kerplunk (very fun game)

happy with a new 4-wheeler

pretty girl

Papa's excited!

Aunt Melissa and Tegan

our first gingerbread house

2008-12-29T16:57:00.003-06:00

A few days before Christmas Cane Papa (my dad) came over to help Caden and I decorate Caden's first gingerbread house. Papa did the icing (glue), Caden did the decorating, and I supervised (kept Caden from eating the decorations).

a messy, but very fun project

frosting on the nose ~ Caden thought Papa was hilarious for

doing this very "un-grownup" thing

happy decorators

mostly finished project ~
except for the chimney and mini candy cane sidewalk

Happy Birthday!

2008-12-19T22:00:00.003-06:00

The newest Livesay is here!!

Jensen Riley Livesay greeted the world at 5:32 p.m. today.
7 pounds 2 ounces
19 inches
LOTS of dark hair

Mommy Melissa and Baby Boy are doing great!

We are so excited he's finally here safe and sound!! CONGRATUALTIONS Tim, Melissa, and Tegan!!

Jensen came a week before his scheduled delivery date, but I'm extra glad because now I have all of Christmas break to hold and enjoy my new nephew and he'll make this Christmas even sweeter!

ADORABLE & SWEET

Caden holding Jensen for the first time.

Caden practically swooned over Jensen,

smothering him with lots of hugs and kisses.

As we were leaving the hospital, Caden says,

"Baby Jensen is nice. I love him!"

the new big sister

Tegan couldn't wait to hold Jensen, show him

the birthday card she made him, and proudly

sport her new pink T-shirt announcing,

I'm the BIG sister!

I just can't wait to hold this sweet new baby some more. You can count on lots more baby pictures in the next few days!

tagged

2008-12-18T20:20:00.003-06:00

Amy tagged me last week and I‘m just getting around to answering the questions about Doug. Life has been full and very busy lately. So here goes . . .

His full name? Douglas Charles Livesay (or when was little Doogie Poogie or Dougy Chucky when I want to bug him)

How long married? 8 years as of July 8, 2008

How long dated? We had our first date (a blind date) on May 8, 1998 and we got engaged on July 18, 1998. So about 2 ½ months, but we were engaged for 2 years then until we got married in 2000.

How old is he? 30, but quickly approaching 31 on January 15. He’s about 10 weeks younger than I am and he likes to rub that in from my birthday in late October until his birthday.

Taller? He is by a long shot, maybe 6 or 7 inches.

Who can sing the best? I would say that I enjoy singing a LOT more than he does, but he probably sounds a LOT better than I do.

Smart? I would say equal, but about different things.

Laundry? 60/40 me. He helps me quite a bit and I’m teaching him to fold. This is has been good because his help (we usually fold together) has really cut down on the time it takes, plus we have the added bonus that since Doug has been helping me, Caden has been VERY interested in helping fold laundry too. I’m hoping this will make some sweet girl a very HAPPY wife some day, but not for at least 20 years or so.

Paying bills? ALL Doug. Money, paying bills, writing checks TOTALLY freaks me out. I do constantly pester him about if he’s SURE we have enough in the bank.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Facing the bed, he does because if the bad guys come in the middle of the night I think Doug will scare them away faster than I will.

Mows lawn? He does most of the mowing, but I help some. We also mow my parents’ yard and I do their yard quite a bit. So I’d say probably 65/35 Doug.

Cooks dinner? 80/20 me now. Doug used to do most of our dinner preparations, but now I’m usually home awhile before he is. Doug is a fantastic cook and we both enjoy cooking and love to try new recipes. I will say that Doug does 97% of all the grilling we do, but that’s mostly because I’m absolutely TERRIFIED of fire and can not light matches or start the grill without having a mini panic attack.

First to admit they are wrong? Without doubt, Doug. I’m very stubborn, strong-willed, and bull-headed when I think I’m right. Perhaps that comes from being an only child. Plus I’m a lot more intense than Doug is. He’s very laid back.

Who kissed first? Doug.

Who wears the pants? My in-laws would say Doug does, but that I tell him which pair to put on. But seriously, we both make decisions for our family and we try to work major things out together.

And here he is...

Santa according to Caden

2008-12-11T20:40:00.002-06:00

In case you need to know, according to Caden, Santa keep his cell phone under his hat or in his boots. Don't you love the way children think?!? :)

Caden's questions

2008-12-11T20:36:00.003-06:00

I share with you the deep, thought provoking questions Caden asked me this afternoon as we were driving home.

1) "Mommy, do you think the Sun has a blankie when he goes to sleep?"
2) "Where's the Sun's bed?"
3) "Why don't the stars and sun and moon have eyes and faces?"

If you have answers beyond
1) Yes, I bet so and he probbaly has a teddy bear to snuggle with too.
2) I'm not sure. I've never been to the Sun's house.
3) God didn't make them that way.

Please let us know.

sigh of relief

2008-12-10T20:20:00.002-06:00

At Caden's 4 year well child check, his pediatrician recommended we take Caden to a pediatric gastroenterologist at Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City because she was concerned that the hole in his back he was born with might be interfering with the sensation to have a bowel movement. He has never been able to tell us when has to poop. That is until this evening. As we were getting ready for his bath, Caden told me he had to poop and then he did so in the toilet!! A first mini sigh of relief for Doug and me. Maybe, just maybe, this means we won't have to see the specialist in KC in January.

in case you wanted to know . . .

2008-12-10T20:19:00.003-06:00

According to Caden . . ."Pink piggies can't dive cars."

Big 12 Champs

2008-12-07T20:16:00.008-06:00

Tim and I (Doug) drove to KC yesterday to watch the Sooners claim another Big 12 Championship. Of course I'm thrilled that the Sooners will be playing Florida for a chance a national title. Here are just a few of the 73 photos I took at the game last night.

at least we were invited

the view from the not so cheap seats

play action

Boomer Sooner!!

62-21! Big 12 Champs! Make some room in the trophy case!

consecutive games with 60+ points . . .5

points scored this season so far . . .702

on the road to Miami . . .priceless

Gators, here we come!

Caden quotables

2008-12-07T20:12:00.002-06:00

When Caden tastes something he doesn't like (especially toothpaste), "That's tasty!" I think he means nasty, but it's so funny to hear him say tasty when his face is all wrinkled up in disgust.

Tonight during his bath, "Mommy, my juice is going to melt."

After a not so delicious dinner at the new Chinese restaurant in town, "Umm, that was a gooood dinner!" Doug and I beg to differ.

sweet treats

2008-11-27T08:31:00.004-06:00

This is how Caden, Doug's mom, and I spent our afternoon yesterday. Baking, baking, baking! Thankfully, we all love working in the kitchen, me especially. It's fun to see Caden developing an interest in cooking, too. Are you hungry, yet?!? :)

custard pie

pecan pie

Toll House pie

dirt cake

pumpkin pie

random picture of Caden modeling

the new scarf my mom made me;

just because he's cuter than anything

else in our house

We hope everyone has a joyous Thanksgiving!

We have so much to be thankful for!

school pictures

2008-11-23T21:12:00.003-06:00

Here are Caden's first "school" pictures. Tony, the photographer, did a great job and Caden thought he was very cool!

like it, but it seems far away

love, love, love the grin

I know I'm partial, but I think this kid is darn cute!!

I am in love with this photo.

It's so him ~ happy and full of life and orneriness!

family pictures

2008-11-23T20:58:00.002-06:00

The photographer, Tony from GS Memorymakers, who took school pictures at Caden's preschool, also offered an evening sitting for family photos. Here are family photos. I don't think they're great, but at least they're current. Sadly, Caden is the only one who looks that good.

my least favorite, but I love Caden's grin

my 2nd choice

our favorite