Pictures... I have Pictures

So, apparently it is great to live somewhere other than where I live. The Verizon network card I use gets so-so signal strength at home. Super strength at work... and super strength where Matthew and I are spending New Year's Eve. Since this is the case, I thought I would go ahead and play with my pictures. It has been a while since I even bothered to download from the camera to the laptop.

Here is a slide show with pictures of some of our activities over the past few months. I hope you enjoy.





(Final note... If I can swing it, I'll get some of the pictures and video that my dad took at our various celebrations and post those up here sometime in January.)

I thought I was getting my act together

So, I have gone through a transformation over the past couple of months. Most of it was because I want to make sure I am doing all I can to be there for Matthew over the years to come... and to provide a better groundwork for him now to build some skills upon.

What does this mean? I have been working to get myself in shape, and get our house into some semblance of order. (Then keep it that way once I got it there.) I have been working to create a routine and then stick to it consistently.

Things were going really good. Invitations for his birthday party were sent out with a couple weeks notice. Christmas pictures and cards were taken/bought weeks in advance. I have been cleaning/sorting/trashing things from the house. The kitchen counters are cleared/clean. I wash up after any cooking session. Dishes are staying done. Clothes are washed every couple of days as we have a load ready to go. Getting ready for bed meant a bath, teeth brush, pajamas, story/song time, tuck in and good night completed by 9pm (sometimes even completed by 8pm!).

Yes... it sounds as though I am patting myself on the back. But for any of you that were admitted into the inner sanctum, you know this is not normal. It is NOW, but it most definitely has not been so for many, many, many years.

Then we hit the week before Christmas. Schedules got out of whack, and the routines I had developed with Matthew are now out the window. He hasn't gone to bed before 10pm yet since December 22nd. (I am still keeping things picked up, cleaned up, etc... so there is a silver lining to this cloud!) Last year's (2006) Christmas cards didn't go out until mid-January of 2007. This year's cards were all addressed a couple weeks in advance... and they are still sitting on my kitchen table. I think I am going to give up on trying to get Matthew interested in signing his name this year. I am hoping to get pictures cut out and labeled over the rest of this weekend, and still have the postmark on our envelopes read 2007, rather than 2008. (I even have the stamps ready to go!!!)

For all of that belly-aching however... we had a wonderful Christmas with our family. Instead of running from house to house to house to house, we celebrated over three days with only one trip per day. The amount of time, quality time, with our extended family was wonderful. Paul was home, and it was great to see/spend so much time with him, too.

I hope that all of you had a wonderful Christmas and are looking forward to a very Happy New Year! We will be ringing in the New Year with my friend Sheri. I might even post a picture of us having fallen asleep before midnight on New Year's Eve. Thanks to the new(old) routine being in place, I am sure Matthew will still be awake to take the picture for me! ;-)

Love to all of you! And look for that Christmas card to come from us before too much more time passes. (I hope!)

He's 5 Now!

Yup - my little boy is no longer little. He is 5 years old.

Last night we celebrated with a dinner out at Applebee's. Grandpa took him out to dinner. The waitresses sang to him (loud - so he plugged his ears). And he had a birthday sundae for his dessert.

On Tuesday night, when I was putting him to bed, I had said good night my four year old. I was told to not call him four, he was five. (This is the night before his birthday, mind you.) I compromised... good night my almost five year old. No Mama, call me FIVE!!!

So Wednesday morning I woke him up with kisses all over his cheeks, and the "Happy Birthday" song. He is very happy to be 5. Saturday we will have friends over to celebrate in style. Bring on the cupcakes and ice cream!!

Have you seen... ??

Anyone who talks to me on a fairly regular basis (for those that do, you know who you are) knows that I don't watch much regular tv anymore. If we ARE are at home, and the tv IS on, then it is usually tuned into a children's program, or we have a DVD playing. (No more video tapes in the living room - broke the VCR!) And for the most part - I am okay with this. I have things to do around the house, or a good book that needs to be read, or something. Isn't that the way life is supposed to go? So what this all boils down to is that Matthew can pretty much watch whatever he wants. I don't really spoil him with lots of things, I don't indulge him with candies all the time, and I even make him go to bed at a decent hour. So if he wants to watch a program that will teach him a lesson, then I'm usually all for it. Occasionally I will put my foot down - then it is NO tv at all, go find a book to look at! Or it is time for bed (even if it is an hour earlier than normal) because he is just too tired and cranky for me to cope anymore! :)

Well, this is NOT the way things work when we are in the car. It is here where I truly rule the roost. For the whole of my high school life I abhorred country music. Somehow or other that changed a few years out of high school - and everything was about country music. At this time, the mornings were ruled by "The Bob & Tom Show," and all other times were ruled by the local country station. The PM drive time DJ even got to know me over the phone when I would call in a traffic update. Lately, however, I have been on a different kick... more of the swooners, if you will. Michael Buble owns the majority of slots in my car's cd player. Frank Sinatra has a slot, too. Matthew does have one of the slots with a children's cd... and let's face it - I have a blast singing along to "Shortnin' Bread." And soon the Christmas CD's will take their rightful place among the mix of music.

But that fact aside, I have been singing along to all those great songs from Buble and Sinatra. There is one pop cd in my car right now, too. And Matthew has found his new "favorite song" - and it is called Pretty Green. I have no idea why he likes this song. I think it may have something to do with the beat, and the instrumentation is pretty good to. But I have to admit, I get a great chuckle out of hearing his little voice coming to me from the backseat singing along... "I've got a pocket full of pretty green.... I'm gonna put it in the fruit machine." But the biggest surprise came this morning on the way to church. The song "Me and Mrs. Jones" was starting, and before we heard the first words of the song, Matthew pipes up from the back... "Hey mama, is this Mrs. Jones?" Of course, it was, and I told him so. "Oh, that's good, this is my other favorite song!"

So please... don't ask if I have seen fill-in-the-blank-here. I haven't... I'm not likely to anytime in the near future. But if you want to know about any of my CD's... let the questions roll in! And hey - heads up... I just may have Christmas cards sent out on time this year. Here is to hoping...

Happy Halloween!!

We are looking forward to going to a few houses tonight. And even though I borrowed a Supergirl outfit from my favorite supergirl... I have decided that tonight I am just going out as Superman's Mom. (Don't have leggings to keep from freezing, and the outfit really doesn't fit too well anyway. No need for me to deliberately embarrass myself - I do well enough without stepping into it on purpose!)

Last night he did a Trunk or Treat at his preschool - raves about that place. He had a great time. And thanks go to Mom for taking him. (We were competing with Dentist appointments last night. - Oh yeah - clean bill of health! Yeah!!!)

So have fun tonight if you're going out. Here is my Superman!

You don't take care of me...

Yep - those were the exact words out of my son's mouth last night! Can you believe it? I thought this stuff didn't start happening until much, much later in life. Granted, I had been gone for nearly a week because of travel for work. (Had a GREAT time... I love my job! Adult time is so precious, and aside from the fact that I worked a whole bunch of hours, I still got to be me for four days, not me/mama. Plus, I was in Albuquerque, so I got to see Uncle Joe and Aunt Barb.)

I dropped him off on Friday night, and returned late Wednesday, so he didn't see me again until Thursday morning. He stayed with a friend since Mom and Dad had taken a trip to Virginia. The guest bedroom is where he slept, and so Wednesday night, that is where I slept, too. Let me tell you, after having been in a king size bed for four days, switching to a twin size bed with an almost five year old was quite the experience. However - it provided a wonderful morning Thursday. When Matthew woke up, he saw me there, got this great, soft smile on his face, and threw an arm around me. He was glad I was home. The whole day, if it appeared I wasn't going to be right there with him, he would wrap his arms around a leg. This had the affect of shackling me, really. I mean how easy is it to move with 45 extra pounds strapped onto one leg?

Well, apparently the honeymoon of my return is over. Last night, after work, we went shopping. We are going to a birthday party, and needed to get a gift. I had told Matthew before we left about the plans for the night, which included returning to Grandpa and Grandma's for him to sleep. (I had to be at work very early today.) On the way home from shopping, I told Matthew how it was late, we were going to go home, get cleaned up & ready for bed, and then go to Grandpa & Grandma's for him to go night-night. (Don't you just LOVE my kid-speak?) His response... I just want to go to Grandpa and Grandma's, mama. They take care of me. You don't take care of me.

WHAT do you say to that??? I was speechless. But hey, I held it together. No crying here. I hate crying, really makes me mad if I do. So I drove back to my house, gathered up his PJs, drove to Mom and Dad's, got him cleaned up, dressed for bed, and into bed. (Mom & Dad's anniversary was yesterday, so they were still out at dinner when we got back to their house.)

Okay, I have that off my chest now, so I can move on. I haven't done too good at taking pictures lately, and it is about time for us to have the annual pictures taken. Here are a few that have been taken in the past few months or so. Enjoy, and I'll keep you updated as to my status as a Mom! :>

Chef Matthew

Chef Matthew - creating his masterpiece dinner for me. He was so cute this night. I had a hard time staying serious for him. He is such a sweetie. Enjoy this clip.

Note of Caution to dial-up users... the file size is 6.8M. If you have the time/patience for the download, it is a cute file.

Please excuse the grainy picture... I am working on learning how to use my real video camera software to capture/edit/upload/share. Maybe by Christmas time I'll have it down!

Up North

Quick note - this is the first time I have put pictures in a slide show for viewing. There are some options that let you turn captions on/off, etc... Move your pointer over the picture and the options pop-up. If you click on the picture you can view the album where I store these pictures - and see them full size. (I think!)

I have been told that Michiganders have a unique way of describing directions. Up north, down south, out west, back east… If you grew up here, you know this is true. That is how we talk about going somewhere. We go DOWN south for the winter. (Okay – I don’t do that yet, and honestly don’t know if I ever will.) One of my brothers moved OUT west, and I hardly ever go BACK east. But now Matthew can say he went UP north for vacation.

It was cute, really… explaining to a 4 and a ½ year old what vacation means. And then the questions start. “Are we at vacation yet mama?” “If I be bad, is vacation over?” “Is Grandpa going to vacation with us?” “When do we go camping mama?”

So in August, we went up north, more specifically to Empire, Michigan. We camped at a wonderful place called Sleepy Bear Campgrounds on a rustic site that had a ton of tree cover. Our site was near the facilities as well, so it wasn’t too far for us to walk in the mornings or evenings as we were starting and ending our days. I managed, with help from Matthew, to get the tent up, and the canopy w/ screen cover for our sleeping and food storage needs. (And he really did help… he has seen dad put up the canopy a few times, and I had to ask him what each step was. There were not any directions in the bag!) Matthew helped to inflate the air mattress and I never had a back problem from sleeping on the hard ground. He was in his element because he just loves camping. I think it will be a regular thing for us to do as a vacation getaway from now on.

The first couple of days we were up there we spent time in Traverse City. It was the weekend of the annual M.E.S.S. Softball Tournament. This is an event I used to participate in regularly (5 or 6 years in a row) but have not played for the last two. It was great to see the guys again, and watch some softball. Sheri and family were there, so we got to spend time with them, too. Matthew had fun with Sami, enjoyed the hotel swimming pool, and like the views of the Grand Traverse Bay. (Of which I have no pictures… I was driving every time we passed it.)

The second and third nights of camping we spent the evenings at our campsite. Matthew had a blast playing in the dirt and cooking up some food for me. Thank goodness the camp store had fire logs to help get a fire going. (Otherwise we never would have had a campfire.) And the weather was very agreeable while we were on vacation. No bugs to speak of, rain the first night only, and a light load of people in the sites around ours.

Day three was spent in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park. We stopped at the Visitor Center, did the dune climb, visited Glen Haven, and took the scenic drive. I remembered the Dune Climb with a child’s memories. Yeah, well a few years have passed between those memories and this past August. Boy, I am OUT of SHAPE! However, the work was worth it. The views you get from the top of the first hill, and then when you go a little further… the views of Lake Michigan are fantastic. Matthew thought the all of that sand was the best thing in the world. He did a really good job on the climb. Thank goodness that going down is easier than the climb up, though. By the time we were heading back to the car, Matthew was starting to feel the effects, and I knew there was no way I would be able to carry him.

In Glen Haven, we visited the blacksmith shop, the general store, and the boat museum. (Yeah – not too keen on the general store.) The blacksmith shop was really neat. We were the only folks in there when we first arrived, so Matthew was able to ask a lot of questions. The gentleman running the shop that day was very patient and answered questions to the best of his ability. It was really pretty cool. Everything in the shop was created by the various blacksmiths that spend time there. And the items are all available for a donation, which helps stock the supplies needed to keep the shop going. The general store really left a lot to be desired. Didn’t fit my mental picture (or the one created by Little House on the Prairie) in any way, shape, or form. The store didn’t really have items that I would consider to be a necessity for life, just items that are the normal tourist trap. I had a bit of a time trying to get Matthew out of there without buying anything, and still having a happy child. Fortunately, we had the boat museum to look forward to. The boat museum had all different size boats that were used around Glen Haven and the Manitou Islands. We saw canoes, sailboats, small motor craft, and what I would consider a fishing trawler. After we finished looking at all the different vessels, we walked out to the beach area. We didn’t really go too far along the beach however, because it was getting to be time to start heading back toward Empire. Along the drive back, we took time for the scenic drive.

The Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive was really neat. It provided a couple of opportunities: for viewing the Sleeping Bear Dune and for Matthew to see how big Lake Michigan really is. There were 12 different stopping points along the drive, and we did most of them. (Had to skip the last two… the activity of the previous two days, plus the dune climb were catching up to us.) Not a lot of descriptive words here, I think the pictures speak well for themselves.


The fourth day was our final day up north. We started with a pack-up of the campsite. Then we went to the public beach in Empire. There was a really cool play area for kids, and Matthew had a great time climbing, running, sliding, etc while I did some catch-up on my work email accounts. I got even though… I sent my coworkers a picture of the view I had while working that day! :> When I was done with the computer we changed into swimsuits, and went onto the beach. The waves were a lot of fun, but the wind was just too much. The sand kept whipping into our eyes, and the breeze was kinda chilly. So we packed up from the public beach, and went to North Bar Lake. This is located just north of Empire, and is part of the National Park. You drive a ways back on some nice dirt roads (okay, not really that nice – lots of washboards) and then park. From there you walk, partially on pavement, partially on hard, packed ground, and a lot on sand. We made it somewhere between ½ and 2/3 of the way around to where the lake is separated by a bar from Lake Michigan. Here, Matthew was able to play with all of his sand toys and enjoy the sand and water without the harsh breeze.

Once the sun really started to disappear behind clouds, and look as if it were not going to come out again, we walked back to the car and started back down south. I happened to check my cell phone, and found a message from my friend Karin. Fortunately we had not gone too far south, and so we back-tracked a little and then headed east to Traverse City one last time. We met up with Karin at the Grand Traverse Mall and got a little visit in. Karin even got Matthew and me a ride on the Grand Carousel they have in the food court area. Matthew took a picture of us at the cars as we were getting ready to head in a homeward direction for the second time.

And that was pretty much our vacation. I hope you enjoy the pictures, and I’ll try to post again soon, before too much time goes by.

Call me crazy...

But I saw this on a friend's blog and thought I should take this "test!" Then... because some of the questions had answers that were hard to choose between, I thought I would answer the quiz a couple times and see how split my personality really is! Here are the results...

Which Peanuts Character Are You?
	You are Snoopy. You have a vivid imagination and lead a rich inner life. Everyone likes you, but some don't understand that you may just be of another species.

and...

	You are Charlie Brown. You are always optimistic and persistent, and everyone appreciates your simple sweetness. Sometimes, however, your anxieties get the best of you, and life's mysteries can confuse you.
Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com

A long time ago...

I used to update on a fairly regular basis... okay, at least once a month, sometimes more. Then something happened and I haven't posted for 3 months! What in the world is going on??? I haven't been going anywhere outside of the normal routine, Matthew isn't in any sports activities yet, no major milestones have been reached. So what was it? I finally figured it out. I haven't been working weekends. I used to do tech support once or twice a month, working 10 hour days just waiting for something to break down, or for someone to push the wrong button and not know how to get back to where they started from. I haven't been doing that for the past few months. So here it is, August 5th, and I am finally stopping to say a few words, and provide some new pictures.

Mother's Day was great! Matthew wanted to get me a flower, so Mom took him with her the day before to get that and a card... he decided that we would celebrate "Boys' Day" as well as Mother's Day, so he got two flowers. Mine is the one on the left, and his is on the right. I asked if I could have the one on the right and the answer was no... he liked that one, so it was his, I had the other one. What a hoot! Still though, this is the first year where he thought it would be nice to get his momma something, and I got a very happy heart from it all. We also had a dinner at Croitori's that day, so he got to tell everyone else about the fact that it was Mother's Day and Boys' Day. Oh, but it was funny to see the looks on the faces of the aunts and cousins when he told them about it all. After dinner all the kids went down the street to the park for some playtime. I grabbed a whole bunch of pictures that day and put a few of them together.

We've had a fun filled summer so far! Paul came back for Jon's graduation, and an early 4th of July party. (Hence the fireworks picture above.) We visited Scott & Deb to see them (Scott was out!) and the new calves. Matthew really liked to see them, but when they were eating and butting their heads around... he wasn't too sure about them. He like to feed them as long as Deb was helping, and he was even brave enough at one point to pet one of them!

We had a great 4th of July weekend, too. I managed to make it a 5 day weekend, because I took off Thursday and Friday. We spent time with Uncle Dale, Aunt Lee and Alex. Grandpa & Grandma W. (Matthew's Great-) were also there. Matthew had a great time playing in the lake, and fishing with Uncle Dale. He got a boat ride, too! He even sat up and ate his meals without too much of a fuss. Imagine, peace at the dinner table. (Of course, it is now a month later, and that peace really is only a memory! :>) Matthew even got to wear Uncle Dale's shirt for a while, and he found some snail shells in the lake as well. He truly enjoyed his time with family, and I was very happy to spend some time with them, too. My cousin Alex is growing up so fast!













More recently, we took a day to go to Michigan's Adventure in Muskegon. Of course, I wouldn't imagine doing that with just Matthew and I, so we tagged along with my friend Sheri and her family. A full day of fun in the sun. I didn't take too many pictures, but here are a couple that I took near the end of the day. Matthew wasn't too sure about several of the rides at first, but some of them he really liked by the end of the day. The "kiddie" rides were great, except for the roller coaters... he is NOT a fan of those. And while he liked playing in the water, the slides were definitely a no-go. The train was a HUGE success, and he liked the cars, too. (Of course, I thought the cars were much better when you had control of the gas pedal... now it is all controlled by the ride operator... very BORING!) All in all, though, a great day away from work and taking Matthew on a new adventure. I believe we will do it again next year. Maybe when he is another year older, he will be ready for the kiddie roller coasters, and able to go down a water slide.

A few other odd bits of news... I have a vacation coming up, so that previous post that mentioned the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park??? Yeah - we're gonna see it. We will also be seeing some old friends over the weekend during the M.E.S.S. softball tournament. Karin - are you reading this??? I am going to be in your area the 11th though the 14th (maybe even the 15th) - so let's plan a get together!! Dad taught me how to swing a golf club last week, so this past Thursday I was able to partake in a scrambles golf outing with some partners at work. The team I was on actually used a couple of my hits (one drive and one chip) and we came in 2nd place. I had a TON of fun on the golf course, and plan to continue improving my game. (And on an 18 hole course, with lots of water and woods, I only lost 6 balls!) I think that is about all for now. I'm pretty sure I will be back to weekend work again in the fall, so you should be able to see an update soon about how vacation was. Take care, and God bless! ~ Valerie

Jolly Gee

Okay – time for a hilarious story. I was laughing so hard at the end of this conversation it’s a wonder my vehicle stayed on the road! I really do love my son, and his thinking process is amazing.

Almost two weeks ago, Matthew and I ordered pizza from Jon’s place of employment. We lived too far out for delivery so we needed to drive into town and pick it up. When we arrived, Matthew saw Uncle Jon’s car and was excited. Then we saw Uncle Jon as he was getting ready to head out for a delivery. Matthew thought this was all grand. We get inside and I let Matthew pay the cashier. He gets the change, hands it to me and is ready to go. We get settled back into the car and pull out of the parking space.

I should probably pause here to explain… the pizza store is in a strip mall that also contains a grocery store, video store, etc… your typical small town one-stop shopping area. At the front of the property is a separate building, which has a dental office. This happens to be the office where Matthew and I have our teeth cleaned. And now, back to the story…

As we drive by our dental office the conversation starts…
“Mama, that’s where we go to the dentist, to get our teeth cleaned! We were just there this week, mama!”
“You’re right – that’s our dentist office. But we were there last week, sweetie, we were there last Wednesday, not this week.”
“Yeah – I like going to the dentist. Can we go again this day?”
“Well, we go to the dentist office every six months. So it will be October before we go back again to get our teeth cleaned. In fact, it will be the day before Halloween.”
“Halloween, AGAIN!?!?!?”
“Yup, we have one every year, pretty cool, huh?”
“Well, Jolly Gee, mama!” (This was said in a drawn out manner, with a quick “mama” on the end of it.)

At this point I am ready to laugh myself into fits of crying. Matthew was just so excited to see the dentist office, and then really, really excited to learn that we were going to have another Halloween. And where he came up with jolly gee I have NO idea. Especially since you would usually see/hear “golly jeez.”

Hope that all of you are doing well. Matthew and I are enjoying the spring time – and Matthew is really glad to be able to spend time outside again. Now if I can just get an evening devoted to yard work all will be right in the world… Until next time, peace, joy and God’s blessings to you all.

Hopity, hop, hop!

This year was the first year that Matthew understood anything about the Easter Bunny. While it is not strictly the exact message I want him to have about Easter, it was a fun experience all the same. It all started the week before, when he brought a K-Mart ad over to me and said the Easter bunny could bring him this Scooby-Doo Easter basket. Well I looked at it and said I would let the Easter bunny know what he was asking for. Later in the week I went to K-Mart and found a basket that had a super-soaker-esq water gun, a couple of water splash balls, and this spinner gun thing (Matthew’s words for it – yet pretty much right on!). The Easter bunny was okay with delivering it to the house and, with the addition of the Robin Hood movie, we were good to go.

Skip to Easter morning… we had been experiencing a cold snap in the lovely Michigan weather and so Matthew had been sleeping in the living room on the couch… much easier than heating the upstairs. (I really don’t feel like more gas bills for our heat this year! :>) The Easter bunny left his basket on the love seat. I woke up to Matthew’s voice right next to my head… “Mama, mama, look what the Easter bunny brought me!!!!! The Easter bunny came, mama, and he brought me something! We gotta open it mama!” He was holding his Easter basket up so I could see it… right there in my bedroom… at 7:30 in the morning. Yeah… Okay, so it was really cute, and my heart just swelled with love and joy because of the pure enjoyment in Matthew’s voice and on his face. So I got up, we moved to the living room, and I grabbed my camera. Here is Matthew posing with his basket from the Easter bunny.

The big holidays are really busy for us, especially when they fall on a Sunday. We ended up not making it to church, which was a bit of a disappointment for me… but I think we still managed to have a nice day. We spent time at both sets of great-grandparents. Matthew was very excited to be able to see all of his cousins and his great-grandpas and great-grandmas and aunts and uncles. At our first stop there was an Easter egg hunt (inside – cold weather, remember?) and Matthew kept looking for the egg with his name on it. I think on Palm Sunday, his Sunday school class had an egg hunt, and each child in the class had an egg, noted with their name. So he was looking for the same thing this time. Then we spent some time at the second stop. There he got to build houses with the American Builders plastic bricks. Plus, he was able to talk both great-grandparents into reading to him.

It was a fun day, but exhausting at the same time. When we finally reached home, I was ready for bed. And Matthew was right there with me! We truly enjoyed the time with family and I am treasuring God’s blessing in my life by rediscovering the wonder of His world.

~ What Matthew has taught me of late ~

Mama, when I grow up, I’m going to…
• Be a firefighter, and ride the big fire truck, and you can ride the other truck, okay?? Then we’ll go to the house and put out the fire!
• Be big, BIG, BIG. And then I can reach up there, right mama?
• Drive really, really fast! Go faster, mama!!
• Play the piano, and your trumpet. (He means clarinet.) Listen mama, it’s the Pink Panther song! (Goes to the piano and plays the song!)
• Be the Conductor, just like on Thomas. Do you want to be Junior??

And the phone… oh my goodness! I know all children love using the phone. It is imitation, it is learning, it is developing communication skills, it is (or rather – was) grabbing the phone cord and wrapping it around your finger so you could see it change color. In our house, we have two phones: one is a cell phone for work and the other is my personal cell phone. (We do not have a land line. Why pay all that money plus the cell phone bill?) The other day Matthew and I had a phone conversation while we were both in the living room at Mom and Dad’s house. He had one cell phone, I had the other, and he got to call me. (Mom helped him dial the right numbers.) Since both phones have the same provider of services it was all “free” time. We both had so much fun, and the laughter was great!

Click picture for artist nod. Another development in my poor child’s twisted sense of humor… Animaniacs. Do you remember this animated series from the early to late ‘90’s? (Music) “It’s time for Animaniacs, and we’re zany to the max, so just sit back and relax, you’ll laugh ‘till you collapse, we’re Animaniacs!” We now own volumes 1 & 2 of this series… and the third volume will be out later this year. I loved it when I was a kid… and now Matthew loves it too! He has decided that he will be Wakko, Uncle Paul is Yakko, and I am Dot. He will even wear his hat backwards like Wakko does. It is just too cute!

Matthew has taught me that life is good. I have begun planning a trip to the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore for our summer vacation. We are going to camp, and hike, and swim. I wonder sometimes, as I look at different websites, am I crazy? It will be a 4.5 year old boy with his mom out camping for 3 or 4 days. Do I really want to do this? And the answer is… YES! I am feeling like a kid again myself just thinking about it. (No comments necessary from the peanut gang who would remind me I am still a kid, thank you very much!) We’ll borrow a tent, air mattress, sleeping bags, and cooler. And the campsite fees are next to nothing!! I think this is one vacation that will be very easy to swing. If I can keep the sand out of the cameras, I should be able to get some good pictures to share also.

One final piece of news… Sassy has a new home! She moved to a farm last Saturday, and I am sure she is enjoying the new lifestyle. I came to the realization that we were just not home enough to adequately meet her needs… so I spread the word that I was looking for a good home. One came forward and we have lived through the last week without our beloved girl. It is really different. I think Matthew is handling it better than I am! I miss her greeting me when I walk into the house, and staring at you with those pleading eyes to throw her the tennis ball just one more time!! On the flip side, there has been an amazing release: I don’t worry about how long I will be gone from the house. I don’t worry if plans suddenly change and I don’t have the opportunity to provide her some exercise. I don’t worry that Matthew will pull on her coat and Sassy will retaliate. (Really – I wouldn’t blame her either – Matthew is a strong little stinker and I have difficulty at times… just imagine how it would be for a dog!)

That’s all for now, folks. With Easter right around the corner, I am sure the next posting will have pictures of all the things we did with the extended family that day. (Unless I post between now and then; which is highly unlikely!) Until then, God Bless each and every one of you!

May the Luck o' the Irish...

Bring us SPRING!!! Happy St. Patrick's Day to all - and happy birthday to those special family members celebrating today, too!!

Maybe it's just me... but turning the clocks forward three weeks earlier than "normal" (couldn't they just pick a time and stick to it?!?!?!) and seeing the daylight doing its thing, makes my body think the warmer weather should be here too. And it is most decidedly NOT.

Okay... so we are in Michigan, in March. I get that, just like everyone reading this gets it. (Yes, yes, we know Val - get on with it! Okay - getting on with it...) I know that we go from severe cold to insanely warm and back again in the span of a few hours. I know that our winter this year has really been nothing to complain about. (Unless, of course, you want to complain about the lack of snow!) But Thursday morning, and this morning, when I let the dog out, there it was on the ground... snow. Now that we are getting into the days of longer light (or is it just later light - because it is now pitch black when I get up in the mornings??) I look for warmer weather to come along too.

I even think that Matthew is in the same boat. Thursday morning, as we were leaving the house, he stops on the step (I almost knock him over!) and says "Mama... winter came back. There's snow!" When we got to Mom and Dad's, I told Dad about what Matthew said, and then Matthew asked why it was winter again. So the lessons about seasons has now started. He knows that winter means snow, and that spring comes after winter. Now he knows that spring means rain and mud. Soon enough it will be time to teach him about summer and fall.

Everyone is continuing to do well. It appears we have gotten over all the drama of the past few weeks and things are settling into a new pattern. (At least I hope so!!) I am working to find some freeware that will allow me to do video editing and such so I can post more "live" Matthew action here for all to see. I think that is about everything for now. Enjoy the new pictures (they were taken just last week!) And if there is anything you want to hear about that I'm not posting, take a few minutes, leave a comment to let me know! Happy March and warm Spring feelings are sent your way from us!! ~ Valerie & Matthew

Oh... the DRAMA!!!!!

I used to joke around that I never had any drama in my life. It was in the lives of my friends and I lived vicariously through that. Well wouldn't you know it?? The moment I get to a place where I've resolved that life is good, the drama begins!! (Side note - picture is Matthew with his cousins at a recent family dinner.)

• I was seeing a guy - that's over.
• Work staffing was getting sorted out - it's confused again.
• Everyone with colds was on the mend - family is in the hospital. (And now everything is fine again.)
• Have plans for a quiet weekend - life gets in the way.
  

Are we in some type of zero-sum game here? There is a set amount of drama in the world and the total sum never changes... just who has what amount of it?? I've decided I am just going to laugh about it, and remember the blessings that God has granted to me in my life! (One of those blessings is the ability to laugh - even when I want to cry instead.)

Biggest blessing - Matthew of course! I was at Mom and Dad's last night for dinner, getting there after the meal had already started. It is so wonderful to hear my little boy's voice ringing out "Is that you mama?" And when I answer yes, to hear him tell Grandpa and Grandma, "My mama is here!" Then it was time to receive the directions for going into the dining room to sit down and eat, because it is dinner time. What a riot!!

So one of the things that I have really been wanting to do is get some video of Matthew on the site. I can tell stories here, and post pictures... but I thought it would be really cool to actually let you see him in action. I have been looking into it for a while now and finally took the time to figure out how it all works. (Without having to use You Tube!!! Big bonus here!!!)

I have a digital camera that also captures video - the quality is not exactly the best in the world... but it IS good enough to get the point across. We finally celebrated Christmas with my friend Sheri and her family just after mid-February. While we thought we were taking pictures the camera was actually set to video capture - so what you see is really candid. Click on the picture and you will be linked to my web album where the video is actually posted. (You just need to hit the back arrow after the video is over to get back to this site. - Or close a window... not sure how it will open in your individual web browser!)

"When I was 6 years old..."

Yes, this has been the start to a lot of Matthew's conversations lately. We will be in the car, driving home at the end of the day, and I'll hear something along the lines of "Mama, when I was 6 years old I drove a big, BIG tractor!" or "Mama, when I was 6 years old I climbed up, up, up, up and then JUMPED!!" My response is usually "Wow, that's pretty cool!" However, in the interests of education, I will sometimes ask him when he was how old?? Have you been 6 years old yet??

Side note: I decided after looking at the last posting that my page looks really boring without pictures to go with the update... so I will work to have pictures near the top of each posting to liven things up... Back to the update.

I'm not sure why he has taken this huge fascination with the age of 6, but he has it. It may be needless to say, but I'll say it anyway, his imagination is running rampant these days. He carries on whole conversations with I don't know who (too many different characters to keep straight really). And then there are the times when those conversations are with me... or at least some version of me. It seems like we are always changing characters... he is David and I'm Goliath; he is Tweety and I am Sylvester; he is Ariel and I am Ursula; he is Aladdin and I am Abu; he is Jane and I am Dragon; I am Tuffy and he is Jerry... do you get the picture yet?? And have you caught a theme in there? Sometimes I wonder if God isn't using Matthew to teach me a lesson. Lord knows I need those lessons - but they can be really hard to take from a "6" year old. Seriously - is there a reason that my son has me be the "bad" character??

I am sure most of you reading this are saying I'm over-reacting. But - since this is my first stint at being a parent - I really have to wonder if I am getting it right. I tell myself it is normal for a child to listen to anyone but their parents - so it makes sense that he behaves better when I am not the one keeping him in line. He just spent the last three days with my friend Kate. She does such a wonderful job with children - it is a blessing in my eyes. Matthew will actually stop and change his actions when Kate just sends him a look. Oh for that kind of power!! Or maybe I am looking for that kind of response... shows a genuine respect don't you think?

The posting was started in the morning and throughout the day I have added a sentence or two as time allows. Most of these postings are done while I am at work. You think it sounds bad, but today my work consists of making sure the client is happy and waiting for something to go wrong... so far nothing has! (And it should remain that way - I love these easy gigs!!) I may whine at times about working a weekend, but I can be so productive at the same time. I get to update all of you about Matthew ~ I was able to send out updated schedules for the next two weeks of activity in the conference center ~ I was even able to update some web stuff in preparation for the trip I have coming up to Toronto. I know there was a point when I first started this paragraph, but now for the life of me I can't think where it was supposed to go.

Hey!!! I remembered... since this post is being done throughout the day - I can add more things as I think of them. I happened to talk with Mom and Matthew and learned that Matthew was eating lunch... pretending he was a moose... bending over to eat, not using his fork or even his hands... I did say something earlier about his imagination, right??

(And yes, I realize I am using Matthew's name now... despite all of the weirdos out there, I got tired of always writing the little one, little guy, big guy, whatever... too impersonal, ya know?)

That's all for this time... hope everyone is doing well. Feel free to post a comment anytime... I'd love to hear from you.

It's Christmas Time!!

Well - I know this is getting posted after the Christmas season... but at least something is going to get put up on the site this month!!

Hopefully my Christmas cards will be mailed out soon. They have a new picture of Matthew in them... and all my grand ideas of how he would help this year. I believe the line in the letter went something like "Some of his favorite things to do these days are coloring, reading books (okay – having them read to him), and licking envelopes. We have been working to write his name also. So I decided that he could really help this year with our cards. While the text might be the same on all the letters we send out, I can guarantee an original by him. He colored the pictures at the top of the letter, and signed his own name on the cards."

The name signing he did - - the coloring of the letters... not so much. Apparently coloring doesn't apply to anything other than his two favorite coloring books right now. So it means I will still be hand writing into all the cards something about good intentions and all.

More recently however - I can remember how great it was to talk on the phone as a child. Some would say I still love talking on the phone - and yes, I can talk through a cell phone battery in one call. It takes a little over an hour for it to happen. (In case any of you really wanted to know.) And apparently - I have passed this joy to onto the little one. He will pull out a one of my old phones and have me tell him the phone number of whomever he wants to talk to. Then he has the conversation. It is so funny to hear him tell Grandpa about what he is doing at home, or Uncle Paul about something in a Scooby Doo movie.

To end - We had a good time, seeing family and friends during the season. I put some pictures in here that have been taken over the past month or so. Enjoy...