Hubba Hubba

Happy BELATED Fada's day! Now what are the chances of me being able to see Hubs, my dad-in-law, and my DAD on the same day much less Fathers' Day! We had a jam packed weekend at the lake and on our way out of town were able to have lunch with my dad and mom of course. So this post will primarily be about Hubs. Why you ask??

Well I don't say much about Hubs...you see there are a few things I know Hubs doesn't like....Beasley (ha jk), weddings, soft beds, eye balls (yes it's true he can't stand it if you pull your eyelid down and roll your eye ball around, so when you see him, pull your eye lid down and roll it all around), and most of all ATTENTION to HIMSELF! I am careful in blogland to keep him a low profile guy which is exactly the way I think he probably likes it. Enough is Enough!

Who is this Hubs?

Well he loves oysters,24,The Office, Sports Center,a good steak, reading by the pool, reading in office, reading on the couch, Drudge report, Rush, a good road trip to Colorado, skiing, skiing, skiing some more, football, history, high definition, the HOGS....I could go on and on. These are the things he loves.

So what do I love about him? Ok...I've reached the mushy part, so you can check out if you are bored to tears, but I feel like on this fada's day that I need to brag a bit.

He's kind, generous, compassionate, prayerful, stable, way smarter than I ( I know he's cringing right now at the lack of parallelism on my part ), hard working, fun, wise, and the one word that I would use to describe him above all these words is CONTENT. This is a "state of being" which most people have a hard time with...including myself. Since we have been married, there have been lots of changes. He's worked in several very different environments...all with their challenges I'm sure. Whether work was good, bad, crazy, or annoying you don't hear a complaint. His sleep schedule changes more in a month than mine does in a year....and yet again.. no complaining. I think he'd find a way to be content in almost any situation. Now yes, he's always looking forward to that newest gadget, but in general, he just goes with the flow.

I'm thankful for you hubs. I'm thankful for your stability. I'm thankful that you have fun with your kids and can't wait to spend time with them. I'm thankful that your heart is about to burst with pride for them. I'm thankful for the emotionally draining work you perform everyday, yet somehow never let it get to you. I'm thankful that you'd rather be with us than anywhere on earth. I'm thankful for your giving spirit. I'm thankful that you love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. So Happy Father's day to an incredible father, husband, and friend. Sorry if all this attention made you squirm!




Wow they kindof look alike in this pic

The "White" Boys
My dad on Father's day...with Allie not cooperating for the camera! Love you dad!

Time for "summa" fun

The kids are getting browner every day...good thing they didn't get my skin! Mom gave us this GREAT patio pool that she didn't get much use out of. It's 30 in deep and 12 feet across (something like that). Wow..it is a hit with the kids. We've had a great week of outside. Below are some VERY random pics from the week.

Allie and Emma Cate have been at Pine Cove day camp. They've had a blast.

Mary in one of the only pictures where she wasn't flinching. Wonder where she got that from.

Alec came over for a "swim" in the patio pool.

....and so did the neighbor boys...as we call them. What a crew.

Garrett is not looking like he got the brown skin! He was ALL muddy from the sand box, so I gave him the water hose, and he LOVED it!

Emmy came over...and we took pics of her belly. She's 36 weeks...yep disgusting huh. I figured how to play with the colors on photoshop. Very fun.

Kicking and screaming to kicking and kicking

If you had been there, you'd understand the title of my post. I took the girls to swim lessons with the miracle swim lady that we've used the last few years. I was quite confident that Mary would not have the same experience that Allie had at 3, but I was WRONG. When we moved here, Allie hadn't been in the pool much because one didn't need to swim often in Rochester with the very nice summer temps. Mary, however, has been in the pool since she was a baby!

Allie started at the exact same age, and the first few days were BAD BAD BAD! She screamed, "I'm not doing it, I'm not doing it, I'm not...DUNK" See this lady doesn't mess around. She very politely "causes one to be submerged against his will" until he overcomes his fear of going under. (in this case HER) Some would disagree with this "method" if you will , but I've seen it work TWICE now. I could have spent a whole summer coaxing Allie and Mary to go under, but have you met a 3 year old lately who will gladly do something against his will? I haven't. For both of them, within four days they both went from crying to swimming as well as a 3 year old can! Somehow our sweet swim teacher manages to make them love her all at the same time! She's AMAZING!

So, as I was saying...Mary cried the first 2 days. For Allie it was more a battle of wills, but for Mary she was truly afraid I think. (at the end of last summer she was extremely comfortable, but every summer is new!) I am truly PROUD of the way she overcame her fear....10 Popsicles, and one barbie doll later. The last 2 days, she really tried hard to do what the teacher said and was actually smiling the last day. She has been to the pool everyday this week, and today she jumped off the side without any floaties, and swam to the step! She is so proud of herself!

Allie had another good week as well. Here are a few clips.

Back in Black

OK OK I can't stay out of blog land. The sucking sensation has been all around me this week. The truth is I thought blogging was becoming a burden, but I guess it's truly something I can't STOP! I do however need to work on that header problem. Summer is crazy! Who feels that routine is a good thing and that lack of routine is a little unsettling??? We are still figuring out how to live with each other full time, but it's going well!

So here is what I couldn't leave out!!! I was perusing through the WalMarts (as Mary calls it) when I saw some $1.97 face paint. There were three kids in the cart who looked oh so eager to give it a whirl, and for whatever reason, I thought it was a FABULOUS idea!

I did a test run and found that the sweet little heart I painted on Allie's face came off quite nicely and without much effort...SOOOOOOOOOOOOO........

AAAAHHHHHHHHHHH! What happened to my daughter??? I was only gone for 2 min to change a dirty diaper! Well not exactly. "M" was over to play and decided that she wanted to paint Allie into a cat, and Allie was going to paint "M" into a dog and they were going to chase each other around. YIKES...after I saw Allie's face, I decided to nix the doggy idea. I was afraid "M" would have to leave for camp looking like a lost puppy. ("M"'s mom you can thank me later:)

Oh and don't mention this whole incident to Allie. She was quite upset after she looked in the mirror. She became very worried and embarrassed (as she described it). She overheard me telling a friend about it and immediately started crying! So being the loving mom I am, I am sharing it with the world, but just don't tell her I did!

So what else can I blog about on this summer night? Allie ran her first race this morning. She has been training for some time for the "kids' marathon" here in town. The goal was to run 25.2 miles by today and then she would run the last mile today to complete the 26.2 miles. Well, after a valiant effort, she did not quite make the mark. She ran 16 miles (not bad for 6), but still wanted to run the race today. She did great! Mary was not so crazy about being downtown at 8 this am, but she did have a funny comment. She saw a young man with a very distinct mohawk. Very loudly she said, "Mommy, that man looks like a chicken!". Allie replied..."well Mary he sure does!" That was worth the race itself !




A special thanks to Allie's friend "D" who trained and actually completed the 25 miles. She is 12 and stayed with Allie during the race to encourage her along. What a sweet friend:)

Under Construction

Happy Summer! After 5 years of having Allie home full time sprinkled with preschool days through out , it is funny how quickly 5 day a week school became routine. The year just whizzed by, and so we are settling in to our "not so routine summer days". They LOVE it, and I'm learning to love it! It is definitely less scheduled, and way more flexible. We've spent lots of time outdoors all week, and those tan lines are a comin'! Not on me of course...I'll never be tan, but somehow we are 2 for 3 on the White family skin color genes. Garrett hasn't been out much, so we will see if he falls on the Pope side or White side. There are tan folks in my fam, but they do have to work much harder:)

What's with the title of this post??? I have decided that I need a blogging break. I do love to blog, but all things require a break now and then. My header is way out of date, and my head just simply needs a rest. I am going to work on my year book for our fam, catch up on organizing, work on a few projects, and oh yeah...keep these kiddos entertained! See ya around....and until next time...

A smoother road

Thank you thank you for all your prayers for Katie.I was just telling Mandy's other sisnlaw that Mandy wasn't exaggerating when she wrote on her blog that this has been such a roller coaster. For sure Katie has turned a corner, and although she is not out of the hospital yet, it looks like the road ahead will be much smoother. I'm aching to talk to her! For the last 3 days, we've seen nothing but PROGRESS. I know she's exhausted, still in some pain, and READY to get out of there. Just pray that she can eat more and more, so that she can get her strength back and heal more quickly. The baby is still doing well. Pray for the fam's continued endurance as they stay at the hospital with her for long nights and days.

This verse has been a constant for me this week more than any other verse. Seems like when we go through a crisis, it's that one thing that comes to you and sticks right in your head and heart to get you through.

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, ²¹to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." Ephesians 3:20-21

We were very scared this past weekend while Katie just laid there fighting off the virus. It's so hard when you can't "see" the physical evidence of improvement. God was doing immeasurably more than what we could imagine! He was healing her brain through the medicine, and for her to just almost "snap out of it" on Tuesday evening was not to be trite, but INCREDIBLE! Of course she's not completely renewed as it is a slow process to healing, but she's on the road!!!! AND I'm SO THANKFUL! I love you Katie!

Tonight

Good news. Although Katie did not have her MRI today (she'd had enough tests for one day), the hubs called to check in and their dad actually passed the phone to Katie. That would have been ridiculous the last few days! She said hi! It was a very short conversation, but the fact that she wanted to engage in ANY conversation was remarkable! She also ate some spaghetti. He said she was really tired, but I'm just THRILLED. Little progress is BIG progress compared to the last few days. Keep praying!