The Funnies Just Kept Coming

...That night continued to get better ;-) Jamie's parents offered to babysit Micah so that he and I could have a date night. Jamie is always telling me how dangerous the city is, so when we had to stop for gas after dark, I got a little nervous. We found a well-lit station in a good part of town and pulled in. Jamie had just stepped out of the car when four teenage girls ran up. From inside the car I couldn't hear what was being said, but I distinctly remember thinking, "Crap, we are being robbed by Taylor Swift fans." A few seconds later, one of the girls was pumping our gas! I kept trying to catch Jamie's eye, but he wouldn't look my way. After pumping our gas for a few minutes, the girl and her friends left. Jamie was smirking when he got back into the car, so I knew everything was cool. He said the girls were on a scavenger hunt, and one of the items on their list was to pump a stranger's gas. Random.

So next we headed to a restaurant recommended by Jamie's dad. The wait was about 30 minutes, so we found a spot to sit up near the hostess stand. Soon after, a black woman and her mother came in to inquire about the wait time. They were not satisfied with what they heard and began to debate whether it was worth staying. At that point, the younger black woman claimed she heard someone back in the kitchen say to her, "Well then take your @$$ back to the city!" This was all happening right in front of us, and we did not hear this comment, but both the woman and her mother claimed they did. They asked to speak to a manager, but it turned out the person they accused of making this comment was the manager. So they waited around to speak to his manager. Awkward. They got a bunch of apologies but no free meal. Our food was good though.

A Funny Thing Happened in Baltimore

This is a funny story that I just have to share. We are in Baltimore this weekend visiting Jamie's dad and stepmom ( having a great time so far ;-). Earlier tonight, I decided to wash some of our clothes. The (senior) Orrs have a very fancy washing machine, so I asked if they would show me how to use it. Michelle patiently walks me through all the steps, and when it's time to pour in the detergent, she reaches for a bottle of Snuggle. "Oh, we don't use fabric softener on our clothes," I told her. She said, "We don't either." I'm a little puzzled, but I let her continue to load the detergent dispenser with whatever is in this Snuggle bottle. It sure looks like Snuggle. Smells like it too. After she finishes and leaves the room, I examine the bottle closely. It's definitely Snuggle fabric softener. They have several bottles. And absolutely no real detergent to speak of.

As soon as Jamie and I are alone, I tell him this story. We both get a good laugh. We decide that one of us needs to tell them that their clothes really aren't clean. Haha. So right now I'm drying dirty clothes that I'll just wash again when we return home. Good times :-)

Planning For Christmas

A quick pre-holiday post as I scrape dried food off my space bar. This is what happens when I leave my laptop at the kitchen table.

I'm in the middle of Christmas shopping. Normally I'd be done or nearly done, but not this year. I've pledged not to get all stressed out about it - I have great gifts already for Jamie and Micah - and the rest are falling into place. This year Micah's big gift from us/Santa is an "early engineers" train set. He's also getting a neat puzzle/train toy I found at the Holiday Show and some crayons. We're only doing three gifts this year (it was good enough for Baby Jesus ;-). Plus, with 7 grandparents, we have to actively engage in toy control.


We also like to get Micah a Christmas book every year. My goal was to always select a book that tells the real meaning of Christmas. We did that last year with What Is Christmas? by Michelle Adams, but this year I could not resist Llama Llama Holiday Drama by Anna Dewdney. We are in love with this series and all things llama. In fact, Nana Santa told me Micah might be getting the stuffed llama toy from the series.

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One thing I've learned through my Motherwise Bible study this semester is the power and importance of praying for my children. I've always prayed for Micah, but not in the ways this study has challenged me. It never occurred to me to pray that he would become a Christian early in life; that he would desire the right kind of friends and be protected from the wrong friends; that he would be protected from evil - spiritually, physically and emotionally; that he would be kept for the right mate and saved from the wrong one. There are so many things to pray for, and I just love doing it! It's a humbling reminder to me who he really belongs to, and it's also such a simple thing I can do for him that makes an eternal difference.

First Year Book

This is Micah's Christmas gift to all the grandparents. I'm so proud of how this book turned out. I'm not a scrapbooker, and I don't take as many pictures as I'd like. But, thanks to our wonderful friends and family who DO take lots of pictures, we got some really great ones of Micah's first year. I hope to make him a book every year...we'll see ;-)

Click here to view this photo book larger

Pumpkin Patch 2010

We planned several trips to Briley's before we actually made it. We originally planned to go last Tuesday during Jamie's fall break, but then we found out "the patch" is only open to the public on weekends. We had a great time when we finally made it yesterday - in addition to pumpkins, they also have hayrides, farm animals and lots of outdoor toys. I know it'll be even more fun next year when Micah's running around (hint, hint kid ;-).

We let him choose his own pumpkin

Daddy and Micah

He knows what he's supposed to do when Mom pulls out her camera ;-)

Micah is a friendly ghost :-)

Family photo...with Micah sticking out his tongue

It's the Climb! #notamileycyrusfan

I entered into a valley experience around the time Micah was six months old, and I finally feel I'm heading back up the mountain! My everyday experiences haven't changed - no big news or changes to share - but mentally I feel refreshed and renewed. I started feeling this way over a week ago. I feared it would only last a few hours, but here I am now, continuing to feel better every day. I don't think my "valley" was particularly unique - I've found that many first time moms hit a wall after the newness of the baby wore off. I will just say that nearly everything felt out of whack - my marriage, my decision to stay at home after working full time, my parenting skills - just everything. But then I read this blog post, and a light bulb went off. I know that Satan hates marriage (among other things) and that he tells us lies to steer us off course. But never had this become so real to me as it did in the last six months. Once I realized what was happening - DUH! - and called the sucker out, my life changed, or at least my perspective on my life. True story.

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I don't scrapbook and rarely take pictures (although I have good intentions). But thanks to the photographers in our life, we have some really good images of Micah's first year. So I decided to put together a "First Year" book for him on Shutterfly. I'm so excited with how it's coming together and can't wait to give these as Christmas gifts. The book includes lots of pictures, some of my favorite quotes, and a special letter to him from me and Jamie. This is all part of my clever plan to re-invent Christmas this year: I'm aiming for personal, meaningful, and for many people, hand-made gifts over the usual expensive and meaningless crap.

Micah Turns 1

This post is almost 2 weeks late...I was waiting on my father-in-law to mail me the CD of pictures.

Weight: 19 pounds, 6 ounces
Height: 31 inches
Diapers: Size 3
Clothes: 12-18 months
Sleep: 7pm-6:30 am, 1 nap
1 Year Checkup: Doctor has no concerns about his development!

At 1 year, Micah enjoys:
bathtime
swinging
exploring the kitchen cabinets and dishwasher
waving
dancing (rocking back and forth)
strolling
playing with ball popper and balls in general
playing in the grass
feeding himself and drinking from a cup
playing with mom's cell phone

At 1 year, Micah does NOT enjoy:
diaper changes
being separated from mom (church nursery, Mother's Day Out, etc.)
two naps
being told "no"
mom taking her cell phone back
getting out of the bath
wearing shoes
letting mom and dad eat a meal in peace

Modeling Grandpa Orr's hat

Sitting in my new recliner

Enjoying one of my favorite birthday gifts, a new swingset!

Everybody but me thought this cake was so YUMMY!

Happy birthday to me!

Not a fan of cake :-( By this point I was ready for a bath and bed.