The right kind of guy for me

Many people will say that, "They are the luckiest girl in the world cause they married the best guy ever." Well, I am not here to say that, but what I am here to say is I married the right guy for me and here are some reasons why......

I am a sensitive person, and Michael is highly in tune to my feelings both good and bad, happy or sad. I need that and I love that about him!

He wants me to be happy and 99.9% of the time, he gives up what he wants for the good of the family or our relationship. (Not because I force him, or that he is a push over, it is just he is wanting to do good for others, especially those he loves and cares about).

To illustrate his sensitivity, the other night I was complaining about how it took me a half an hour or so to warm up in bed so that I could fall asleep. It was looking like it was going to be another cold night. I went to grab another blanket, and came back to find him under the covers on my side of the bed. When I asked what he was doing, he said, "I am warming up your side of the bed." I climbed into bed as he scooted over, and instead of lying on cold sheets I was wrapped in warmth! I just love my Honey! Then we laughed as he vocalized how cold his side of the bed was :)

I love when he combs my hair. This morning he grabbed my comb and stood in front of me and combed my hair. Such a tender moment!

I struggle a lot with my self confidence on MANY levels. He hasn't cured me, but I am little by little starting to believe more in myself and in divine qualities I do possess, because of his tenderness, consistency, even firmness when I don't believe in myself or let the children "walk all over me". I find myself counseling with him more, which is helping me to believe in myself, not live in "mommy guilt land" and when to "draw the line" in parenting. I am slowly starting to say and do things that will hopefully make a difference in our home. Things I really struggle with doing on my own cause I am figuratively stuck in my ways, some of which are doing more harm than good. This has been with a lot of trial and error, since we both have come into this with weaknesses. But, now I am really learning HOW much I need him, and love him. Looking back on this week and these past 7 years I am starting to learn what the scripture means, "Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord." How refining this experience has been. He is really helping me with my weaknesses in a way that no one or thing could ever do. Together with the Lord's help, we are on this journey facing whatever life throws our way, both good and bad. No gift Michael could ever compare to the gift he is currently providing by truly being my Helpmeet.

A Good Friday!

Friday we celebrated Easter at my parent's house. Mike bar-b-qued some tri-tips on his new bar-b-que and we headed on over for some good ol' fashioned Easter fun. The pictures are a bit of order so bear with me.

We had an Easter egg hunt. We counted the eggs prior so we didn't leave any behind for the lawn mower (not that it has ever happened before..........wink wink). We counted 96 candy filled eggs!

Jesse checking out what he got.

In the end, Damien got 35, Max 31 and Jesse 30.

In this picture Max didn't want to be in it, instead he wanted to sit and count his eggs.

Max proud of what he found.

Giving some clues to my VERY competitive boys

We let Katelynn start first and boy that was not a popular arrangement for Max and Jesse. They were certain that Katelynn was going to get ALL the eggs. We held them back as long as possible and then they were off......No worries Katelynn was no competition for these boys, she found her few and sat and ate the candy while all the mayhem was going on around her.

We tried to hide the eggs in "hard" places. But, Damien has been doing this for about 12 years now and knows ALL the hiding places in Grandma's backyard. The trampoline and swing set added a change of pace...

Tried out some bubble making.

Egg dying.....of course

EWWW......

Learning from the Master.....

This year we tried a new technique, we used a rubber band and wrapped it around the egg....it added a cool affect.

Freshly done!

See that full cup of yellow egg dye? Yeah, it got knocked over.....

Mark carefully observing his Uncle, wishing he could be apart of the Easter fun!

Upon prior approval, I ditched the traditional bunny cake for these....same idea and fun to make.

Happy Easter!

I wanna GREEN thumb!

Yesterday we got to work around here and we got our garden started, among other things. Below is our garden (obviously). But per a Sister's request, I will label the squares.

From top left to right we have: Watermelon, empty, cantaloupe, and cucumber.

Middle row: Jalapeno, cilantro, and maybe something else?? ((oops)) we'll find out later :)

Final row: Cherry tomatoes, radishes, empty, and Big Boy tomatoes!

We have our viney plants growing along the back row so that they can grow up our "lattice" worked pretty good last year. Hoping for a watermelon this year. Last year it got as big as a cantaloupe then cracked along the bottom before it ripened :(

Here is my first potted plant :) and transplant. My friend gave me some berry plants that she brought from her parent's house. (Need to ask her again what type she gave me). I took them home, put them in my garden until we got a new home for it. While there, it grew pretty good. When I got the plant, it was just twigs, since February it has gotten leaves and a lot taller. We are hoping to get some berries off it someday. Never grew one of these before, so we'll see how it goes. So far...looks good!

In the front of the house, we planted some flowers. Hopefully they survive! Among our flowers we planted two strawberry plants. Again, this is new for us. So, we'll see how they turn out.

Strawberry!

We are novices at this whole gardening thing. We have had successes, and some major fails. But it is fun!

We seeded the grass and spread some manure.

It is nice to finally have grass in the front after having rock hard dirt there!

Let's Go Fly A Kite

After we had our Lucky Charms for breakfast on St. Patrick's Day, Dad said, "Today is a perfect day to fly a kite, too bad we don't have one." Well he got the idea stuck in my head and as I looked at my kids huddled around the Xbox since it had been cold and rainy in the morning, I knew we needed to get out. So I said, "Get your coats, we're going to fly some kites!"

It's a bird...it's a plane.....it's our kite on a very cold, windy St. Patrick's Day!

After what seemed like FOREVER, Mike finally got the airplane kite in the air. He was bound and determined to get it to fly!

Our Green Lantern kite was a great flyer!

We hadn't gone kite flying since Max and Jesse were about 2 years old. So this time they were actually able to run and fly their kite. It also helped that we had kites that actually worked. We were not going to buy dollar store ones like last time. We ended up throwing them away as we left the park. This time, we actually brought our kites home in one piece, and hope to be able to take them to the beach someday. We all had fun. The wind chill ended our play rather quickly, but we pushed through as long as we could. We got in the car, warmed up, went home and bar-b-qued some hamburgers! We finished off the night eating ice cream and watching the movie The Adventures of Tin Tin. Cute movie, great animation!

Veteran

Found this in the Sunday paper......pretty much says it all......

I think I am highly decorated...and I am only 2 months into it........I might medal a few times in Second Guessmanship, Meritorious Homework Checking, Legion of Worry, and It's-All-My-Faultsmanship.

Student of the Month

The other day I went to help in Jesse's class, and as I was walking towards his class I see him with two of his classmates walking down the hall. I knew this walk, as I had seen it since the beginning of the school year. Students who are selected for Student Of the Month in their class get to have their picture taken and put up in the front office. Sure enough Jesse had the coveted blue ribbon pinned to his shirt. I am so proud of my Jesse Boy!

I've had a few talks with his teacher this year as she would inform me about Jesse's behavior and progress. She would tell me that at the beginning of the school year Jesse was quiet and had no problems, however as the year has progressed, he has become quite the talker. He isn't rude or mean, he just couldn't wait to talk to his friends until it was recess time. So to get his attention (since she knew Jesse was a good boy) she would have him "flip a card" (part of the behavior/consequences system the teacher has in place). Everyone starts on Green, and when you go to the next color, that means you aren't having a good day. Jesse hates to flip a card. He would even cry and say he didn't want to go to school cause he didn't want to flip a card. The teacher says when she say his name, to warn him, immediately he will say sorry, knowing what he is doing is wrong. I loved that he received this award (other than the fact that he is my son) but hopefully it teaches him that good things come your way when you do your best, and choose the right.

And on a side note, Jesse continues the long legacy of Students of the Month in our family, from Mom, to Damien. I know soon, Max will join the ranks. With three energetic boys I never knew what to expect when they got into Elementary School. But, so far I have been pleasantly surprised by how well rounded, and loved by their teachers they have been. Damien had a reputation by all his teachers even Principal at his Elementary School. When it came time to organize classes for the upcoming year all his former teachers would say, "Oh you have Damien in your class, he is such a great boy." What a good feeling that is as a parent. I love my boys!

Purchasing Time

Today I made a stop in at Goodwill to see what was in, as I tend to enjoy doing when I am nearby a thrift store. As I was wandering around I stopped and looked at a rack of purses (cause I needed one). I found one for $5 that I liked! Sweet! I looked around to see where I should head to next and I spotted this:

Immediately, my mind was taken back about 10 years to when Damien had this exact, same toy. I stood and stared, and my mind replayed the Christmas Damien received this toy, and how much he loved his Rescue Hero Command Center. The only things we have left from those days are the 20 or so Rescue Heroes, accessories, and a few VHS movies that he watched and watched til a blue line ran through the middle. He really LOVED Rescue Heroes. So, right in the middle of Goodwill, strangely enough, I found myself almost tearing up. I went over to see how much it was, and it too was $5. I walked away, then walked back. Got a shopping cart, walked back, put it in, and proceeded to wonder if I really needed to purchase this, and why? So I called Mike at work. I told him what I found, and asked if I should get it. I needed a second opinion since I found myself for the first time ever wanting to purchase something based on sentimental value, and maybe even trying to buy back time, a piece of time that I think may have been a happier time for Damien and I. He said, "Sure."

More times than I care to count, I have found myself in tense, emotional conversations with Damien over seemingly small matters, but nevertheless, they mattered at the time, in a big way. It seems no book or trip to the counselor seems to smooth out those moments with him, they are painful, frustrating and seem to leave a scar that I hope will diminish with time. I love Damien soo much as I do all my boys. I just wish I could get it right. He's had it rough, gone through lots of changes and still endures dual lifestyles. He does well, but I wonder now that he is in these dreaded teen years if it's weighing on him. I'm sure it is. And so I just pray for any insight I can get to help Damien along, and hopefully, send the message that I do love him and forgive him. I know I am supposed to cherish my children in the moment and not hope for days gone by, or wish for them to "grow up", but depending on the day, I am guilty of both.

Update: His reaction to my purchase when he got home from school was priceless! Made my compulsive purchase worth it. He couldn't believe what I had found! He even said, "I'm gonna play with it too." I loved, for that brief moment, listening to him talk about how much he loved these toys, the innocence it brought out of him and reliving those times with him. The feeling was indescribable.