Noah

At our church picnic the other day, we were playing a game called, "Stay standing if..." It runs through the gammit of ...if you ever blog (*smile*), been stung by a wasp, gone camping, etc. Anyway, during one game, Dave was already sitting down when they said, "Stay standing if you ever sing in the shower." All of a sudden Noah yells, "Daddy! You DO that!!" It was so funny. Everyone around us started laughing and Dave said, "uh, thanks buddy."

Gotta love kids.

Love it!

So, this morning we had our free garage sale at church...and it was a HUGE success. We didn't advertise, but our church is located in more of a low-income neighborhood with the bus-stop right in front of our building. At first we were worried that no one would stop, but then we started having a decent amount of people who came through.

There were lots of cool stories. One of the women that I talked to had lost her job due to the company she worked for shutting down (with some bad dealings). She and her young son are now homeless and she is trying to find work. When she got to the shelter where she is staying at, they found one outfit for her son, but nothing for her. We were able to find a bunch of things in her size, a few things for her son, and I had the opportunity to pray with her. Her son loved playing at the church, and she talked about coming back.

Another woman was riding the bus and when she saw the sign saying, "Free Sale", she dinged to get off (even though it wasn't her actual stop). She was super nice too and was so appreciative.

One woman needed clothes for her son who was starting a new job. She ended up getting him 5 pairs of work pants and some dress shirts.

Another man filled up some bags and then chatted with me about wanting to bring his kids up in a church, the way that he had been. I showed him around our kids area and the regular area. As he was leaving, we said, "Maybe we'll see you around." He responded adamently, "Oh I am definitely coming back!"

Honestly, it was eye-opening, exciting, and a lot of fun to be able to give to people in such a tangible manner. Meeting needs right then and there. For me, I was just so happy to be able to part of something bigger than myself. It's hard for me to find ways to serve my community with two kids in tow. With doing it at the church, the kids were able to play, and we had enough other people to keep an eye on the kids as we rotated in and out, helping others.

Thank you Jesus!

Daddy/Noah bonding with a Toad

So, I think this is the CUTEST picture. Dave and Noah had a great day bonding yesterday. It was pretty cute to watch. At the end of the day, they found this toad near our front stoop. So, they got the flashlight and caught it. I used the moment for a photo op. I love Noah's grin on his cute little face. Good day!

Clothing Exchange

So, every year, we do this event called the clothing exchange. It's super fun, and it get's a lot of girls involved. Essentially, we all clean out our closets of anything and everything that we don't wear...put it in piles and sort through it...try new stuff on...and go home with a new bag of fun stuff.

This year was a record year for how many girls came. It had to be between 30-35 in my little house...with all those clothes. It was a great way for people to get to know one another and a lot of new people came. It was wonderful!!





At the end of it, we had well over 17 bags/boxes left over! This morning we are doing a free garage sale in front of our church to minister to the people in our church's neighborhood. I can't wait. Hopefully the rain will hold off and we will be able to give some more clothes away. :-) It should be fun!

Gym Fever

So, I am finally tackling the extra 5-10 pounds left over from Callie. Really, I'm tackling the squish that I still feel around my middle (and a few other places). I'm really not overly hung-up about weight. I'm pretty happy being average. I have no aspirations to be a super-model. However, a toned average would be nice. So today, as I am working out at the gym, feeling intimidated by the physical trainers who I feel are constantly scrutinzing me and my form (they probably aren't...but that's why they call it intimidation I guess)...I decided to quit fighting it and signed up to meet with one of them. I'm not committing to anything yet...but I'm at least going to talk to one and see what's up. Because frankly, I don't know what I'm doing in there and I'd like a game plan. I figure if I actually talk to one, maybe I won't be so scared and intimidated when they see me in there. By then, they will have actually helped me plan out my routine. Right? That's my hope anyway. So, here's to firming up.

Noahisms

When did he become a little man?!

Noah (walking into the living room): That's disgusting!
Me: What's disgusting?
Noah: The dog sneezed on me and it is SO disgusting!

Noah (walking up the stairs): These are steep!

(How does he even KNOW this word??)

I had to wake him up from his nap today to get Callie to the doctor:

Noah: You woke me up from my nap. I was sleeping all the time in my bed. You don't wake kids up from nap. It's not good. (It was the funniest conversation. I was trying so hard not to laugh as he was matter-of-factly saying all of this)

BTW: Callie has a minor ear infection in her right ear. Glad we went in.

Latest Family Pic

Preschool

I meant to post on Tuesday, but alas, time crept away. Noah started preschool this past Tuesday. Aside from a grumpy morning on Tuesday, he LOVES it. I'm so excited for him. He comes home with all these projects and is really excited about his teacher. He's doing great. As for me, I'm using the structured time to hit the gym. Next week, Callie and I might make a library program on Tuesday geared for 0-24month olds. We're all adjusting well.

Callie is doing FANTASTIC in her big girl bed. Can it really be this easy? Aside from her playing the first day during nap, she has not gotten out of the bed once after we stick her in it. What's better. She's sleeping LONGER these days (12-13 hours at night) and 2-3 hour naps. It's great!

We're going to a high school football game tonight. A friend of ours is a coach so it actually gives us a reason to go (We've been wanting to go to any high school football game for awhile now). It should be a lot of fun. Hopefully the kids will do well. Fingers crossed.

Enjoy your weekend!

Callie bed update

Well, Dave dismantled the crib yesterday. I was a little nervous, she had only done the bed for one day, but OK here we go. We had a date last night. I felt bad for our babysitter, who we said, "Uh, this is only her second day in a big girl bed. I hope that you don't have too many problems." We came home and asked how the night went. Apparently, Callie put herself to bed. She had grabbed her blanket, walked into her room, and laid on the bed. Jesse just turned the light off later. Now, I can handle that! I doubt it will be an every night occurence, but I'm glad that she now has the choice of when she goes to bed if she wants to go earlier.

Callie's big girl bed

Well, we've been on and off about when to put Callie in her big girl bed. Last night, Dave just randomly decided to put her toddler bed together. Callie was really interested in it, so we thought, we can just try this for the night and see how it goes. We stole her crib mattress and put the bed next to the crib in her room...and she did great. She at least stayed in bed when we put her there. Dave checked on her this morning however, and I think she was asleep next to her bed...I wonder if she fell out. He stuck her back in and she slept until 7:30. We'll see how nap time goes today. Perhaps we may be taking the crib down soon.