Happy New Year

We started 2008 living in Florida. My husband had just accepted a job in New Jersey and 3 weeks into 2008 he was living in New Jersey with Chris and I staying behind in Florida in hopes of selling our home quickly. I must admit, the first 6 months of 2008 were very hard on us as a family. Steve spent 4 - 5 days living in a hotel in NJ, then he would fly home for 2-3 days where he often had to field phone calls or work remotely. It was like he was here, but sometimes he wasn't all here if that makes any sense. It was draining on him physically and emotionally and it was very hard on me to say goodbye to him each week, not to mention being mommy and daddy to Chris for all those months. We prayed for so long for the right opportunity for Steve, and we both felt confirmation from the Lord that this position in NJ was where God was leading us. It wasn't an easy transition, but it was the answer to prayer we were seeking and we are so blessed.

Once we all finally moved to NJ in June 2008, we were thrilled to finally be together as a family again and to live out God's blessings. We are ending 2008 with Steve still thriving in his job, Chris well adjusted to his new surroundings and, even though our house has not sold, we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Just not in the way we thought. (I'll talk more about that some other time).

I guess what I learned this year more than anything is that God still does answer prayers. It's not always in a quick way, it's not always painless, but it is always on-time and for our own good in the long run. One of my goals for the new year is to trust God with everything and to try to not take back control when I don't see things happening in the natural.

Wrapping Up

Hi Everyone. I'm down in North Port, FL visiting my Dad for a couple of days. We'll soon be heading back up north so I am soaking in every day down here. Sorry I have been out of touch. I don't have much time, but I want to say thanks to Lois for giving me my very first blog award!! It's very exciting.

After all my stories of practical jokes, I thought you'd like to hear the story of a customer who got the best of my mother while she was working for KLM Airlines in the Credit Division of their Accounting Department.

Angry Customer (AC): "I bought tickets on your airline, I didn't use them and I want a full refund!"

Mom (M): "I'm sorry, sir, but those were non refundable tickets and I can not issue a credit"

AC: "I want a FULL refund, no excuses"

M: "Like I said, sir, I can not offer a refund on those tickets. There is nothing I can do."

(The conversation continues like this for several minutes and my mom is doing her best to be professional but is getting more upset because this customer is yelling at her on the phone)

AC: (yelling into the phone) "Listen, lady, I DEMAND A FULL REFUND!!"

M: (raising her voice) "They are non refundable tickets. You can not get a refund."

AC: "I WANT TO SPEAK TO YOUR SUPERVISOR. WHAT IS YOUR NAME?

M: (with a "go ahead and see where that gets you attitude ) "Elizabeth Somma - S-O-M-M-A"
AC: "Well this is Stephen S-O-M-M-A and I just got you!

Much laughter ensued after that exchange. I hope I adequately described the conversation, Steve.

Happy Birthday!

Yesterday was my little boy's 5th birthday. He's growing up too quickly and I am just cherishing each day. We have been so busy down here in Florida and just soaking in all the sunshine (I know many of you wish you could enjoy 80 degree weather today!)

Chris requested that his birthday be spent in Busch Gardens. We had a great time and spent all day there with my sister and her family as well. It was crowded, but worth it. Everyone enjoyed the day, especially the birthday boy. He was so tired when we got home that he went straight to bed, so we had to have his birthday cake today instead.

Today we went to the beach and tomorrow we are heading up to visit with some dear friends in Riverview. After that we'll be at my Dads for a few days. Time is passing too quickly, so I better get out to the hot tub!! Hope to be able to do at least one more post from down south before we head up to the chilly northeast!

Merry Christmas From Florida

Well, we made it. It took us about 21 hours to drive down to my sister's house. We woke up at 3:00 am on Monday morning and were on the road by 4:00 am. I had put Chris to bed on Sunday night fully clothed for an early morning departure so he knew what to expect when Mommy woke him up in the middle of the night. He did so great! He slept a little bit in the morning, and then he and I played games, sang songs, colored and just tried to pass the time.
I have to mention that it was freezing the entire way down to Florida. Seriously, I kept watching the car temperature gauge, expecting it to creep up. It didn't get passed 40 degrees until we hit Jacksonville, Florida.

All was fine in the car until about hour 12. It was at that point Chris realized that although we were on our way to Aunt Ruth's house, we wouldn't actually be arriving there today. Now for weeks, I've been explaining to him that this trip takes two days by car. But I guess the only thing that really registered was that we were going to Aunt Ruth's and he fully expected us to drive all the way there on Monday. Well, that just wasn't going to happen. It took me about an hour to calm him down (I mean bribe him to calm down) with promises that we were going to stay at a Marriott hotel (his favorite hotel) and that perhaps there was going to be an indoor pool that he could swim in that evening. So, eventually that was the golden rod that he held on to as we continued our journey. When all was said and done, we drove 15 hours that first day. (Steve did all the driving, bless his heart). We ate dinner and then, as promised, whisked Chris off to the pool. At least it helped him get a good night's sleep.

We safely arrived at Ruth & Glen's house on Tuesday afternoon. We are so glad to be here, are enjoying the awesome sunshine and are getting ready for a wonderful Christmas celebration. Rachel and I just baked cookies and Steve, Chris & Matt are in the pool.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and God's richest blessings!!

A Rekindled Friendship

I don't know about you, but I'm guilty of letting some friendships that were very important to me ride off into the sunset. I didn't mean for it to happen, but somehow distance or a move just made it more difficult for us to stay connected.

Several years ago, I let a very important friendship in my life slip out of my hands. I don't even know the reasons why we stopped calling or trying to stay in touch, it just happened. My friend Camille and I did so much together when we were in our 20s. And then one month of no contact turned into two, which turned into three months and then into six years. Major things in my life happened during those six years where I could have reached out to her: My mom died, one of our best mutual friends died, I got married and then later had a child. Yet, through it all, we had no contact. Then one day, I found out through another mutual friend, that Camille's mother died. My heart ached so bad for her. Our mutual friend told me that Camille was still single (as was I when my mom died) and I couldn't bear the pain she was going through. I dug through my phone book and found her number. Anxiously, I dialed her number not knowing what to expect when she picked up.

All I can say is that I truly believe that God puts people in our paths during various seasons of our life. Camille and I spent a long time talking that day, catching up on our lives, grieving together over the lose of her mom and connecting so easily as it had been so many years earlier. It turns out there was no rift between us - we were just two good friends who got busy with life and didn't make time for each other. We just let a great friendship sit on the sidelines for many years. I'd give anything to go back and have had Camille a part of some of those important milestones in my life.

I'm very grateful that we now talk regularly and so happy that during this reconnection time she met the man of her dreams and will be getting married next year. Although I won't be able to go to Maui for the wedding (don't I wish I could go!!!) I feel honored and blessed because she will be wearing my veil and tiara on her wedding day.

Some friendships are worth that extra phone call... even if it has been a while. If God puts a friend on your heart today, give her a call. "A friend loveth at all times" Proverbs 17:17

Heading Out

Well, sometime in the next 24 hours or so, we will be beginning our journey down South. We hope to be dodging some of the snowstorms predicted for our area. Excitement is an understatement as we are all looking forward to warmer weather, time with family and friends, and celebrating the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, I have to admit, Christmas in Florida is a little weird. It's not like you have a roaring fire in the fireplace keeping you warm. Temperatures should be in the 70s!! Regardless, we are anxious for our vacation to start, especially my husband who has been working so hard these last few months.

While we are gone, please keep my Oma Nettie in prayer. (For those who don't know my family, "Oma" is the German word for Grandmother. Oma Nettie is my mother's step mom and she's 91). Oma Nettie has been a part of our family since I was around 4 years old (my Oma died when I was 3). Her health has deteriorated and the doctor's are not optimistic that she has much longer to live. She is at my aunt's house where she is being cared for. I've been meaning to write about this for days but, as you can imagine, it brings up all types of emotions and thoughts that are hard enough around the holidays when missing my mom.

I pray that each of you who read this blog have a blessed Christmas. Rejoice in the Savior !!

Jesus Vs. Santa

I came across this poem on the web and thought I'd share it:

Santa lives at the North Pole ... JESUS is everywhere. Santa rides in a sleigh ... JESUS rides on the wind and walks on the water. Santa comes but once a year ... JESUS is an ever present help. Santa fills your stockings with goodies ... JESUS supplies all your needs. Santa comes down your chimney uninvited ... JESUS stands at your door and knocks, and then enters your heart when invited. You have to wait in line to see Santa ... JESUS is as close as the mention of His name. Santa lets you sit on his lap ... JESUS lets you rest in His arms. Santa doesn't know your name, all he can say is "Hi little boy or girl, what's your name?" ...JESUS knew our name before we were born...Not only does He know our name,He knows our address too.He knows our history and future and He even knows how many hairs are on our heads. Santa has a belly like a bowl full of jelly ...JESUS has a heart full of love All Santa can offer is HO HO HO ...JESUS offers health, help and hope. Santa says "You better not cry" ...JESUS says "Cast all your cares on me for I care for you." Santa's little helpers make toys ...JESUS makes new life, mends wounded hearts,repairs broken homes and builds mansions. Santa may make you chuckle but ...JESUS gives you joy that is your strength. While Santa puts gifts under your tree ...JESUS became our gift and died on a tree....The cross. Put Christ Back In Christmas...Jesus Is Still The Reason For The Season!

Favorite Part

We had a super busy day yesterday. First, Christopher's birthday was celebrated in preschool (since his birthday falls over the Christmas break). He was so excited to bring in a special snack (Oreos, per his request) and especially to have all his friends sing happy birthday to him. After I picked him up from school, I whisked him away to Montclair, NJ for a Christmas luncheon that my husband was throwing for the media department at our church (Steve is the Media Director). It was a great time with lots of food. Chris decided that he was going to be the entertainer and grabbed a microphone, sang several Christmas songs and also treated us to some beautiful piano banging.. um.. I mean music. It was adorable. We were both exhausted when we left the church and I was anxious to hear what he enjoyed the most. Here is how the conversation went:

Me: So, Christopher, what was your favorite part of today?
Chris: Not yet, Mom.
Me: What do you mean, not yet?
Chris: You can't ask me that yet.
Me: Why not?
Chris: Today is not over yet and you only can ask me that when it's dark outside. It's not dark yet.

So, I had to wait to find out. Just in case you are wondering, when it got dark outside, he did tell me that his favorite part was when they celebrated his birthday in school, and he even got to blow out a candle. I'm just not sure where they would stick it on an Oreo! Trust me, I wanted to bake something, but Oreos are his favorite and I wasn't going to make him take in a treat that he wouldn't eat or enjoy.

Looking for a Few Good Ideas

I need your help!!! We have this big road trip coming up and I am the entertainer for our 4 year old. Does anyone have any good ideas on how to pass the time with a toddler on a long road trip? Thankfully our van has a DVD player so that will help for a little while. I also have a map so we can play the "license plate" game. Any thoughts or tips that have worked for you would be greatly appreciated!!

Rejoice

Chris has a morning routine that involves opening his Chocolate Advent Calendar (thank you Aunt Lou for sending the calendar each year to keep up that tradition), placing a sticker on his Christmas Calendar Countdown and having me read his morning devotion from a beautiful kid's devotional we bought him a few years ago. He takes great pleasure in finding the right month of the year and day of the week in the book.

I usually try to take a peek at what scripture they will be teaching that day and look it up in my bible to get the full context of what it's about. Today's devotional was about rejoicing at Christmas time and the verse was Habakkuk 3:18 "I will rejoice in the Lord". I was so touched by what I read in my Bible when I was researching the verse. The New King James Version stated verse 18 as "Yet I will rejoice in the Lord". Hmm... the yet, made me back track to see what was prompting that choice of word.

"Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls - Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation" (Habakkuk 3: 17 - 18) Our situations and circumstances are no different from those people from the Bible. They had their fair share of hardships and chose to rejoice in the Lord while going through them. I was really encouraged by this today and hope you will be too. REJOICE!

Christopher's Favorite Christmas Songs

Chris has been doing a lot of singing here at home as Christmas draws near. Here is a list of his favorite tunes:

1) Over the River and Through The Woods
2) Jingle Bells (from the Chipmunks album)
3) We Wish You a Merry Christmas
4) Feliz Navidad
5) Frosty The Snowman

Five (Plus Five) on Friday

Five Things I Am Looking Forward to Doing During Our Florida Christmas Vacation:

1) Spending time with my family in warm and hopefully sunny Florida
2) Swimming in the pool as much as possible!
3) Celebrating Christopher's 5th birthday at Busch Gardens in Tampa
4) Visiting with friends from our former church who we miss and love dearly
5) Playing a heated game of Scrabble with Ruth

Five Things I Am Not Looking Forward to During Our Christmas Vacation:

1) The long drive to Florida
2) The long drive back to New Jersey
3) "Are we there yet?"
4) "I've got to use the bathroom again"
5) See points 1 and 2

We are very excited and will be heading out next weekend. Please pray for us as we travel for protection on the roads.

The Ultimate Prank - My Mom's Story

As promised, this is the story of my mom's all time best heist. Everyone in my family was always on their guard when it came to my mom and her pranks. April Fools Day was always "her" day. She ALWAYS got you... it didn't matter that you knew it was April Fools Day.. she always wound up getting you. She especially enjoyed pulling a fast one on her sister, my Aunt Lou. It was so bad that every April Fool's Day my Aunt put a note on her telephone to remind her to "beware" of Liz.

One April Fools Day, mom called Aunt Lou (who was at her Florida home at the time) early in the morning (pretending to be calling from work) and had her normal chit chat with her. Being April Fools Day, my Aunt was ready for her. She was alert and on her game - determined not to let another year go by where my Mom got one over on her. So, as part of the conversation, my mom proceeded to tell Aunt Lou something that wasn't true and got her April Fools laugh out of Aunt Lou. Shortly thereafter, my mom hung up the phone and, unbeknownst to Aunt Lou, boarded a plane to Florida with my Dad.

When my parents landed in Florida just a few hours later, my mom's cousin who was in on the prank, picked them up at the airport and drove my parents to Aunt Lou's house. My poor cousin Joyce, who was staying with my Aunt & Uncle, was doing everything possible to keep them home and away from the front window so they wouldn't see my parents as they pulled up to the house. In fact, Joyce was so adamant about closing the blinds that it got my Aunt and Uncle really upset because it was a beautiful sunny day.

So, my parents arrived and rang my Aunt's door bell and as she opened the door, her jaw just dropped to the floor. She couldn't believe my mom and dad were standing there. She had just talked to her, thought she was at work in New York and there she was... not just for the day, but there for a full week of vacation. Talk about inviting yourself over! They didn't mind and had a great time.

Oh for the love of Wegmans

I'm usually a very prepared driver. By that I mean that I rarely take car trips to places I've never been without a "dry run". I always carry my cell phone, and prior to owning a GPS, I always would get a map from MapQuest to lead me to my destination.

Last week I decided to drive to a grocery store named Wegmans which, according to their website, was about 30 miles from my house. I only buy a few special items from that store because their prices are a little high for my liking. We go there basically for Christopher. They have indoor trains that ride up near the ceilings that mesmerize him and they have a Kids Club which is basically an in-house playground for kids. You sign them in and can leave your child in this supervised area for up to 2 hours (as long as you are in the store). He loves it in there and I can shop without interruptions so we are both happy.

I was planning to hit Wegmans early in the day, but Christopher was enjoying a lazy day, just lounging around in his pajamas. So, by 3:00 I figured he just didn't want to go to Wegmans and that was fine with me since it was raining and pretty dreary outside. Well, at 3:30, guess who comes dashing into the living fully clothed announcing he was ready to go to Wegmans? So, I figured we'd make the quick trip over there. I grabbed my purse and out the door we went. Since I had a general idea of where this Wegmans was, I didn't pull out my Mapquest or GPS right away. I drove about 20 minutes or so and then decided to check my map. I grabbed the papers from my purse only to find no Mapquest... and no cell phone! The two deadly sins in my book. At least I had my GPS so I pulled it out and put in a search for Wegmans. Bingo.. it pulls up a Wegmans on Route 206 which is the location the Wegmans website had given me. '

I figured the cell phone wouldn't be a big deal. Steve was working late and I'd be home before he even knew that I was gone. As is typical when taking late afternoon trips, Chris fell asleep and after a while I realized I was driving pretty far... very far... is this trip ever going to end? It was only supposed to be 30 miles... What's that up ahead?? A sign for Princeton, NJ? Are you kidding me?? The GPS took me to another Wegmans' much further away from my original destination. Between the traffic and lousy weather it took me an hour and a half just to get there. I really just wanted to turn the car around and go home, but I had to use the restroom by this time and I'm sure that Chris would need to as well. I was exhausted and in no mood to shop when I pulled into the parking lot. We got out, I put him in the Kids Club and I grabbed the few things I needed. I was really done in 5 minutes but didn't have the heart to pull him out so quickly so I just wandered around for another 40 minutes. When I went to check out, I found the Wegman's Mapquest directions in my purse.. .that figures.

Facing the long drive home, I braced myself. If I had my cell phone, I would have either called my father-in-law and crashed at his home since I was already more than half way to his house, or would have called Sue to tell her I was coming over to crash for a bit before driving back in that lousy weather. But, not having those options, I drove home. I think I was most annoyed about not having my cell phone. I knew Steve was working late so he probably didn't even realize that I had been gone for several hours. Boy was I wrong. As soon as I walked in the house, my cell phone rang. I grabbed it off the counter and it was my sister-in-law. Apparently, my husband was really worried. I had 9 messages on my cell phone, 4 messages on the house phone and 1 email that I found later. He called our neighbor to check to see if my car was home - he was really fearful that something was wrong. I felt bad he was so worried.

I told Steve a few days after this event, that I really feel that God was protecting me from something. I had the directions to the closer Wegmans in my purse the whole time and I honestly went through each piece of paper and didn't see it. I really believe that God has a way of closing our eyes to things. I may never know why he diverted me to Princeton, but I thanked him the whole way for safety and protection. I know his ways are better than mine and I'll always leave it at that!

Tag

So I've been tagged to take part in this cute little quiz so hope you enjoy. I'll tag a few of my friends at the bottom. Have a great day!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Definitely wrapping paper whenever possible. I love wrapping gifts, putting bows on it and using lots of scotch tape to make it really hard for people to get at their gifts LOL

2. Real tree or Artificial? I prefer a real tree, but we've been using an artificial one the last two years.

3. When do you put up the tree? Lately we've been doing it either the day after Thanksgiving or the 1st weekend in December.

4. When do you take the tree down? Usually the first weekend in January.

5. Do you like eggnog? No I do not, but my husband loves it.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? The year my parents surprised us with an Atari 5200.

7. Hardest person to buy for? Hmmm.. I don't have a person that's hard to buy for... I come with gift ideas pretty easily. I would say maybe this year it's Oma Nettie because she is not in good health, is living with my aunt and uncle and I am a little stuck on what to get her.

8. Easiest person to buy for? Christopher --- what doesn't a 4 year old want. He'd love anything.

9. Do You have a nativity scene? Yes...I have 3. One I had when I was single; one Steve got from his brother; and Christopher's VeggieTales Nativity set... it's very cute and he loves putting it together and taking it apart and putting it together, etc.

10.Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail... but we're not sending nearly as many cards as in years past.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I can't think of anything

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? A Charlie Brown Christmas

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? September/October... I'm not kidding and I'm usually 90 % done by Thanksgiving.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Not yet !

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? My mom's or Aunt Lou's rouladen with my mom's cream puffs for dessert. Haven't had them in a while and miss it each year.

16. Lights on the tree? Yes and lots of them.

17. Favorite Christmas song? He is Here and Breath of Heaven.

18.Travel at Christmas or stay home? Both! I love having Christmas at home, but last year and this year we will be traveling. Next year we should be home.

19. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? We've always opened gifts on Christmas Eve...especially with Christopher's birthday on Dec 26th, it's better for him to open gifts Christmas Eve.. have a day to play with it, then to get hit with more presents on his birthday.

20. Person you think will not do this? Maybe Michelle -- she's a busy gal.

Ok.. I'm going to tag Michelle and Natalie

Aww....

I can tell that Christopher has been watching Disney movies. While flipping through some old photos, Christopher came across one of our wedding photos. I guess it had been a while since he really looked at them. It was a head shot of me in my wedding gown and veil and he said to me, "Wow Mommy, you were a princess!" He just melted my heart. I hope he always sees mommy as a princess. LOL

Special Day

Today Steve & I are celebrating the anniversary of our engagement just six years ago! My photos from back then are still in a box, but wanted to post a picture of us.. this one was taken this summer. I love you Steve and thank God that he brought you back into my life all those years ago!!

Praise For A Day

I'm almost done with a Beth Moore series that I'm doing at my cousin Liz's church on Tuesdays. This is my 3rd Beth Moore series and I've really enjoyed this one as well. If you never have taken one of her bible studies, there is lots of homework (there's a workbook that accompanies each study) and it really does make you stop to think.

Anyway, Beth Moore challenged us in one of her videos to spend a full day not asking God for anything, but rather to spend the day praising Him, thanking Him and worshiping Him. It's not as easy as it sounds. I do those things daily, but do I do it more frequently than asking for Him to do things for me or to fix a situation or to heal someone or to just forgive me? Don't get me wrong... it's definitely ok to approach God with our needs. But maybe just for a day, we can put our needs aside and just praise Him for who He is.

Creative Cards

I came across the cutest "do it yourself" cards at Target yesterday. I was going to have Christopher make a card from home for each of his teachers, but when I saw this little Card Making Kit in the Dollar section, I couldn't resist. It comes with 2 cards, a full sheet of stickers, 2 envelopes, 3 ribbons and 2 other little embellishments for the cards. They had 2 different patterns available, but we picked the snowmen. Chris had so much fun decorating these cards for his teacher. It was well worth the $1.00

Pranks - Part Two

Ok.. as I mentioned in my earlier posts, I come from a family of pranksters. Today's prank I like to refer to as the "Eternal Prank".

One day while visiting my Aunt Lou in Long Island (my mom's sister and her family), we were all watching a movie in their basement. We were all comfy and having a good time, having snacks and just enjoying each other's company. My cousin John must have had to use the rest room, so he excused himself and went upstairs to the restroom. While he was gone, someone had the idea that we should all hide on him. I don't think there was much discussion about this because he wasn't gone more than 2 to 3 minutes. So, we all jumped up from where we were sitting and scattered into various nooks and crannies of their basement. My uncle has a tool shop down there and they also had a separate laundry room so there were plenty of places to hide.

Poor John comes downstairs and doesn't know what's going on. The TV is still on and he starts calling out for us. He looks around, but didn't really open doors or anything and doesn't see anyone and then runs upstairs. You can hear the concern and fear building in his voice. (He must have been around 10 or 11 or so). By that time, we realize that this really was not the wisest thing for us to do. We didn't intend to really scare him. So we called out to him and he was obviously shook up a little. The whole thing didn't last more than 2 - 3 minutes, but enough to scare the poor kid. He told us that he thought the rapture took place and he didn't make it. Maybe our prank scared him into his decision to become a pastor when he was older!

That's not a prank I think I would ever repeat on someone, but the next one I'm going to share is one of my mom's all time, best pulled off pranks of all time.

Modern Convenience

I love our new Panasonic wireless home telephones. I made the mistake last year of buying wireless telephones and they were awful. I learned my lesson to never buy the electronics for our house. Leave that to my husband who knows what he is doing in that regard. I don't know what I was thinking.

Anyway, the best feature on these phones is the Intercom feature. We live in a 3 story townhouse so we have a wireless phone on each floor of the house. So, many nights Steve will be on the lower level working on his computer and I'll be on the third floor putting Chris to bed or watching TV. If there's something I need or a burning question I have to ask, all I have to do is pick up the handset, push the intercom button and enter 1,2 or 3 for the phone closest to him. It gives a little buzz and presto --- I can voice my request or complaint without having to yell downstairs. It's wonderful!! If Chris fell and I need a band aid.. no problem.. press 1 for Steve. If I am having a snack (or ice cream) attack while laying in my warm bed and don't feel like walking downstairs.. press 1 for Steve. If dinner is ready and I don't want to yell downstairs.. press 1 for Steve. Ahh.... so nice. Really people. It has brought the noise level down a notch. Now the only time you hear a raised voice is if there is a real problem LOL

E/R

Our Thanksgiving weekend was abruptly halted last night with a trip to the local Emergency Room. My hubby had some severe pain in his lower back and side that just took him by storm around 6pm last night. We rushed him over to the E/R which is literally around the corner from us, and found out that he had a kidney stone. So, we got him some medication and he's home trying to "pass" his stone. Hopefully he'll be as good as new soon!

The day after...

Well, since I vowed not to participate in Black Friday again, today the family went bowling! We had a great time and laughed a lot. Chris insists on carrying his ball to the line and rolling it all by himself and he will tell you in no uncertain terms that he does not need your help. He did great (with the help of bumpers). After that we all went out for lunch because no one wanted to see the leftovers. It's been another great day. I'm hoping to redeem myself at Scrabble tonight.

A Thanksgiving Blessing

After we consumed our fair share of food, my sister-in-law, Shirley, and I would normally play a good game of Scrabble. We both share a love of the game and it's one of those things that we try to do each time we are together. Since moving to NJ, however, my Scrabble game is "in a box" in the garage. Tonight we felt like we might get lucky and actually be able to locate the Scrabble game in the garage. So, we headed downstairs and started tackling boxes.

Within a few minutes, believe it or not, we found the rest of my winter wardrobe!!! I was so excited I can't even begin to tell you. Then, a few minutes later the box with the Scrabble was found. So, we are extra thankful today for nice warm clothes and a good family game to play.

Seriously, we had a wonderful thanksgiving and are enjoying just spending time together. Hope you are enjoying yours as well.

"Oh Give Thanks to The Lord, For He Is Good"

Christopher learned this scripture in preschool this month. I'm so thankful for many things this year. A year ago, my husband was unemployed and now he is happily employed with a wonderful church where he serves as Media Director. We are blessed with one handsome little boy who is the joy of our lives. We are healthy and, after living apart for 6 months earlier this year (Steve started his job in NJ in January and did an "extreme commute" between NJ and Florida until June), we are all living together in NJ in a nice townhouse. We have food on our table, family and friends who love us and support us in prayer, and even though a box of clothes are missing, we are not running around town naked.

Seriously, God never ceases to amaze us and even though there are still some things that we are waiting for God to work through on our behalf, we are choosing to follow the Bible by "Considering it pure joy...whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know the testing of your faith develops perseverance." James 1: 2-3. We have no doubt that God is allowing some of these trials to strengthen our faith and also to be able to speak into the lives of other people who are suffering with similar issues. God is bigger than our biggest problem, fear, concern and worry. We are most thankful for salvation and for a God who never sleeps or slumbers.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!!

I've Been Tagged

Okay, so my friend Sue tagged me on her blog today. She asked me to go into my picture folder, and to select the fourth folder and the fourth picture in that folder. So here it is... It's a picture of Christopher riding his Jeep in our backyard in Florida. This jeep has been well used. It originally belonged to Rachel and Matthew (Christopher's cousins) and moved with them from NJ to FL in 2004. So, now it has gone full circle and has returned with us to NJ. Chris still enjoys riding it around in the nice weather. Ok, so I'm supposed to tag a few people so I'll tag Natalie and Michelle.

Holiday Tradition

With Thanksgiving and Christmas quickly approaching, I find myself thinking of Mom more often... it's just natural for people who have lost a loved one to reflect on them during these special occasions. I must admit the one tradition I miss the most was one that she and I shared every year exclusively. The day after Christmas she and I would head out right after breakfast to the Hallmark card store. All cards, holiday wrapping, bows, etc. were at least 50 - 75% off and we stocked up on all of it for the following year. (This was definitely in the pre Wal-Mart, Target years). We hit that Hallmark store rain, shine, sleet or snow. It didn't slow us down. We were going. It was such fun to shop together and hunt for the best bargains. Often our trips would end at our favorite German Bakery, Kopp's. I looked forward to that every year since as long as I can remember.

For years after mom passed away, the day after Christmas was hard for me. I missed our tradition and going by myself wasn't as fun or meaningful. I missed being joyful on that day. Isn't it just like our God to orchestrate the birth of my one and only son on the day after Christmas!? There is so much joy in my heart on that day once again and I know that it is not a coincidence that Christopher was born that day. A new tradition, a special birthday is celebrated every December 26th.

Five On Friday

Five Favorite Holiday Foods:

1) Rouladen (German dish which we usually had a Christmas when I was growing up -- Note to Liz... please, please email me your recipe!! I don't have my Mom's)

2) Baked Ham (usually for Easter)

3) Pernil - Spanish pork roast (what we are having for Thanksgiving this year... Yummy!)

4) Mashed potatoes - the creamier the better

5) Homemade Apple Pie with Vanilla Ice Cream

Black Friday

One thing I have vowed never to do again is shop on Black Friday. Two years ago, my sister-in-law and I thought we would give it a go. We are the queens of bargain shopping and would never miss a "too good to be true" sale of any kind. So, we set our alarms, got up VERY early in the morning, threw on some clothes and off we went to Kohls which was literally 5 minutes from my house in Florida. The parking lot was packed and it took us a long time to find a spot. By the time we got a spot (a pull in spot, not parallel thank God) and worked our way into the store it was already 6:00 am.

As we were pulling bargains off the shelves, I couldn't get over the fact that there were tons of little kids (5 and younger) in the store with either one or both of their parents. It's one thing to drag myself out of bed at that ungodly hour, but there is no way I would take my son - he would be miserable which would in return make me miserable. No sensible person wakes a toddler from a sound sleep unless there is an emergency... I don't count Black Friday as an emergency.

Anyway, We grabbed all kinds of bargains and, feeling quite accomplished, we headed for the cashier line. The line went back as far as the eye could see and wrapped around the corner. By the time we got to the end of the line, we were back where we started from... The approximate wait.... TWO hours!! We looked at each other... dropped all the stuff we had in our arms and headed out the door, down the street to buy bagels and were back home before the guys were even awake. The words Never Again were uttered more than once. Some bargains are just not worth that type of wasted time.

So this year, I am happy to report that 85% of my shopping is already finished so on Black Friday I can pull out my Christmas decorations, have some hot chocolate and just enjoy a nice day with my family.

Pranks

I love a clean, gentle spirited and funny practical joke, and that's a good thing considering I come from a family of practical jokers. There were a few times when the joke was on me. The one that stands out in my mind was the practical joke that awaited Steve & I when we returned from our honeymoon. Unbeknownst to us, while we were enjoying our honeymoon, Glen & Ruth and Steve & Sara and the kids were very busy back home in NJ. My first mistake was asking Glen to check on our house while we were gone. So, yes, I set myself up for a prank by giving him the house key. I honestly was so distracted with wedding stuff, I didn't think of the consequences.

You can imagine how excited we were when we got back from our trip to spend our first night at our home. We couldn't believe our eyes when we walked into our home. There was a big "Welcome Home" sign in the dining room/living room which was perched on our bed! Yes, they moved our queen size bed from the 2nd floor to the first floor. They made the bed up with clean sheets (short sheeted of course) complete with rice and saran wrap all over the inside of it. So, our first night as a married couple in our home we had to sleep on an extremely small bed in our guest room because we were too tired to try to take apart the master bed, carry it upstairs and reassemble it.

Every room we walked into had a booby trap. As soon as you closed the door, a cup full of rice would either fall on you or fall to the floor. What a mess!! Our toilets were wrapped with Saran Wrap or Vaseline, our entire CD collection was not in their proper CD case (that was Rachel and Matthew's contribution) and there was rice in every pair of socks we owned. It honestly took us months to get rid of all the rice. In fact, my brother taunted me for months telling me that I did not find all of the rice and there was one more "treat" left. Sure enough, about 3 months later, I found the cup of rice when we pulled down the stairs to go to the attic.

It was really funny at the time. The best part of the whole story was that our neighbors thought someone was robbing the house.. but then they saw pizza being delivered to the house and called my father in law to describe Glen's vehicle to make sure that it was my family and not a robber. HILARIOUS! Only my family would pull a prank and order pizza while doing it!

I have plenty more stories to share... stay tuned.

Oh Where Oh Where Can My Wardrobe Be?

I'm a little frustrated this morning. I know I shouldn't be because I am truly blessed. I just am a little annoyed because I can't find the majority of my winter wardrobe. Not that I had an extensive one because we did live in Florida for 4 years. But, I did have some nice sweaters and a cozy bathrobe that just can't be found. I've searched our house and have gone through almost every box and tub imaginable and still no luck. I'm sure it's here somewhere and I really hope we are able to locate it in the next several weeks. Like I said, I know I'm blessed and there are many people who have far less and have lost everything in fires, etc. I guess my prayer should be not to find my clothes, but to be content with what I do have.

Five on Friday

Five Things I Have Vowed Never To Do Again:

1) Shop on Black Friday (full story to follow)

2) Ask Christopher to keep a secret

3) Parallel park our minivan (see previous post)

4) Go back to school (let's just say I was done after my bachelor's degree)

5) Go to the Caribbean and think that NOT using sunblock would be a good idea (can you say sunstroke?)

Two for Two

For the last two days I have cuddled with Christopher in bed in hopes that he would take an afternoon nap. Guess which one of us took a nap. I'm 2 for 2 and he's 0 for 2.

Hiss

I don't know if you have ever had experience with Aerobeds. It's a great concept. You have an inflatable mattress so when guests come over, you get out the bed, plug the cord into an outlet, and presto... in a matter of minutes you have a twin or queen size bed ready to go. When these mattresses work, they are great and pretty comfy if you throw some comforters on them. However, if you get a leak, especially one you can't find, it can be very frustrating.

My sister-in-law, Shirley, has a queen size aerobed that she graciously uses whenever we stay at her house. It's huge.. it truly blows up to the size of a full size queen size bed and it has gotten quite a little work out since it was purchased earlier this year. These things are not cheap, so you can imagine how frustrating it is when you realize that the mattress has a slow leak in it. We were all sleeping in Shirley's room and, in the middle of the night, I would hear her with the remote, pumping more air into the mattress. The poor thing, if she didn't do that, she and Christopher (her bunk mate) would have wound up on the floor by morning. There was definitely a slow leak.. we just didn't know where.

Anyway, not long ago, we were at her house and she was getting the bed set up. She had the television on in her room and as soon as I walked in, I said to her "What's that noise?" I hear a hissing. Which honestly, with the TV on, I'm surprised I heard anything. She didn't know what I was talking about, but I walked over to the air mattress and literally within a matter of 5 seconds, I had located the small hole by the hiss it made (and then I felt the air coming out). She laughed at me and said she couldn't believe it, because she literally just prayed that God would make this air bed work because it was really frustrating that we couldn't find out where the hole was. So, how funny is that!?

God can use you in strange and unusual ways sometimes.

Quote of The Day

Chris & Steve are up in our bedroom having a little heart to heart when Chris bursts out with "Dad, you smell like a Happy Meal." Just in case you are wondering.. a cheeseburger happy meal to be precise.

Driver's Ed 101

Apparently I need a refresher course in driving... more specifically, parallel parking. I was horrified yesterday to discover that my superb parking skills had greatly diminished in the four years since I last lived in an urban setting. Most places in Florida, and where we live now, only require straight, pull-in parking. But the parking lot near our church in Montclair has only limited pull-in parking and it was full. We typically parallel park on the street, but Steve is usually the driver. Yesterday I had to park the car. I didn't even occur to me that this would be a problem. I didn't give it a second thought. I just proceeded with backing into the spot.

I don't think I had ever attempted to parallel park a minivan in my life and let me tell you, it takes a lot of precision in estimating the length of your vehicle and how close you are to the curb. Thankfully, Christopher really didn't realize mommy's total frustration about having to try four or five times before getting it right. Thankfully, the street wasn't very busy and there were no spectators to laugh at this crazy lady with Florida plates trying to park her big minivan. I'm sure it was quite the scene. Let's just say, I was a minute away from parking far away from the church in a pull-in spot and just walking it.

Let's hope they don't ask me to parallel park when I get my NJ license.

What Am I Praying For Anyway?

We just hired a new realtor and our Florida home is actively on the market again. We originally put our house on the market in January 2008. We were totally dissatisfied with Realtor #1 and did not renew our contract with her in June. We tried selling the house on our own for a few months, but that was just too difficult with us being out of state. So, we are thrilled that the Lord let us to an awesome realtor in Florida who has been giving us not only wonderful advice, but agreeing with us that God is greater than the real estate market. It's made a huge difference in our outlook and, although we have to do a short sale, we know God is still guiding this process and the house will sell in HIS timing. Not ours. (A short sale basically means that you are listing your home for less money than what you owe on your mortgage because the value of the home as plummeted beneath what it originally was worth).

So, what can YOU do to help us??? PRAY. Every time you pass a for sale sign near your home or neighborhood, maybe that will prompt you to say a prayer for us and anyone else you know trying to sell a home in this economic nightmare. Not everyone got themselves into a house they couldn't afford. People like us had to relocate for job opportunities and need to sell this house to move on with their future.

I thought I'd put a photo of the house so you can SEE what you are praying for. Thanks everyone. Praise report to follow!!

Suggestions

Earlier in our marriage, Steve would often have "suggestions" about how things could be done around the house. Some of them were good ideas and some of them... let's just say, were not always received with love. Come on ladies, you know what I mean. Everyone has their own way of doing things, especially for us couples who married later in life (in our 30s). We both came set in our way of doing things and didn't always warmly receive the other person's comments or advice.

After several such "suggestions", I came up with a Suggestion Box. That way, anytime Steve had a suggestion (that I didn't want to hear at that particular moment), there was a place for him to put it without getting a reaction (or grief) from me. I know, you are thinking "Great Idea!". The cool thing is, every house already has a suggestion box.. you were just misusing it. Here's a picture of sample suggestion boxes.

Seriously though, I had a little sign on the outside of our trash can that said, Suggestion Box. We both laughed over it and it really lightened the moment. Now we can just laugh and say... "just go ahead and put that idea in the suggestion box".

Lost and Found

Ugh.... After reading my cousin Liz's blog about how her son had wandered off at the beach this summer (and thankfully was found again), my stomach has been in knots KNOWING that this could happen to anyone, anywhere.

Sure enough, we had our own little episode with Christopher. I took him to an Autumn Fest at our old church in NJ for a night of fun because Steve had to work late. I was weary about going by myself with Chris, but now that he is older, I figured I wouldn't have to chase him down like I did in the mall that one time.

So, we were having a ball. They had an inflatable slide and a Spiderman obstacle course that hey absolutely loved. He waited so nicely in the long lines and was having a great time. We even went on a hayride.

Finally, I had reached my exhaustion limit and we still had a 50 minute ride home (and I'm not famous for my wonderful night time driving). So, I told Chris that he could go into the Spiderman obstacle (which had a slide) one last time and then we were heading home. He excitedly bounded into the obstacle and I walked around to one of the obstacles two exits to wait for him. I waited and waited and, after several minutes, he did not come out! I initially thought that maybe he went around to the other exit and perhaps I had looked away for a split second and he got by me. So I ran to the other exit and no sign of him. I spoke to both of the ride workers and no one had seen him (there were hundreds of kids so that was no surprise). I frantically ran around the gymnasium looking and searching for my little boy. There were literally hundreds of people in this place and very hard to focus so I climbed onto the platform in the gym to look all around. All I could think of was where could he have gone... did he perhaps run outside into the dark parking lot... what in the world was my husband going to say?

After my failed search from the platform, I ran over to the guy running the music and he put me in touch with the children's pastor and they started making announcements with Chris' description. Several frantic minutes passed and still nothing. I was really freaking out and just running around yelling, Jesus, Jesus help me.

At long last, one of the worker's on the Spiderman ride told me they found him. HE WAS STILL INSIDE THE OBSTACLE. My little man thought that since I said we were going home after this "last time" he would linger and make his "last time" last for as long as possible. I was so relieved to see him and yet so annoyed that he had outsmarted me. I didn't even think of looking inside the obstacle and none of the hundreds of kids who went through the course said anything about seeing a little 4 year old just hanging out at the bottom of the obstacle.

Thank God he was fine and all turned out well. Needless to say we had a long talk about the incident and I had more than enough adrenaline for the long ride home.

Tricky Tray

For the last month or so, everywhere I drive, I see signs for Tricky Trays being hosted by schools, churches, and fire houses. I have never in my life heard of this term before and every time I see the sign, I think to myself, "I've got to find out what that means." Such an odd name.

Anyway, I finally got around to doing some research and found out that it's basically another name for a silent auction. It would have so much easier for them to put Silent Auction on the sign. I would have gotten that right away. Maybe they figured they'd have a better turn out with the "tricky tray" name.

So, for anyone else who is driving around New Jersey scratching their heads when they see these advertisements, you heard it here first. It's just a silent auction.

What's That Noise?

God bless my husband. He, unfortunately, has to live with me, a very light sleeper. He has a very difficult time falling back to sleep if he wakes up in the middle of the night, which is exactly what happened last night. Around 3:00 am, I heard a noise... it was the chirping of one of our smoke detectors. The kind of chirp that reminds you that it's time to change the battery. It only beeps once every few minutes. Just a long enough interval so you think you heard something, turn over to go back to sleep, and then it beeps again just as you are drifting off to La La Land.

After the 3rd chirp, I was fully awake and irritated. Part of the problem is locating the culprit. Which one of the smoke detectors was making the noise. Steve had just changed several of the batteries during our black out last week when some of them starting chirping. So, here we are with round two, at 3:00 am. Steve hears me up and about and he got up, went all the way to the basement to grab a step stool, batteries and a screw driver and set about changing the batteries. Part of the problem in finding the right detector was that sound truly travels in our townhouse because the upstairs is sort of like a loft that overlooks the kitchen, so there's an echo. Just when we thought we got the right one, we'd hear another chirp. I think by the 3rd detector we finally got it right. So, while he was up, Steve changed the batteries on the carbon monoxide detectors too.

So, thankfully, my loving husband took care of the chirps and I drifted off to sleep and he went downstairs to watch some of his favorite shows on TiVo to help him fall back to sleep. I know he was up for a long time and he has a very long day ahead of him at work.

Thanks, honey, for all you do. We love you!! And yes, Chris did manage to sleep through the whole thing... whew!!

Trick Or Treat

Well.. you all know how I was debating about what to do about today. After much thought, I guess I came up with a compromise. We did send Christopher to school today after much explanation about what today was about and that he was dressing up to pretend to be someone else (Bob the Builder - Construction Worker). It's okay to pretend.. no harm in that. When he's older we can get into more detail over why we are not "celebrating" Halloween.

As far as the rest of it goes, we will be handing out candy if anyone comes to our door which he is totally excited about. We're not going to go around because a) I'm still not feeling good and Steve is working late and b) he doesn't eat chocolate or candy (don't know where that comes from since I love chocolate). So there's really no point of him bringing home a huge bag of candy that his mom and dad will wind up eating (and regretting every pound).

I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends

Have you ever had a day when you just needed a friend? Yesterday was one of those days for me. Just feeling under the weather and I just wanted someone to pray for me and lift my family up in prayer. As I was getting dressed in the morning, I asked the Lord to please put me on someone's heart today and have them call me. You ever feel like you just need a sign from God? God is awesome... I didn't get one call... I got three calls. Totally unprovoked, from random friends who just called to check in on me. Just another testimony to God's goodness. He doesn't forget his children and always provides just what we need when we need it.

A special thank you to those three special people (you know who you are) who took the time to call me when the Lord put me on your heart.

xoxo

Yesterday

Yesterday.....

We did not have electricity, but we did have candles burning brightly throughout the house

We did not have an oven to cook in, but we had delicious peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and lots of snacks

We did not have heat to warm our home, but we all bundled up and cuddled together under lots of blankets to keep each other warm through the night

We did not have hot water, but we did have hot chocolate thanks to our gas stove

We did not have a TV, computer, or our main telephone, but we did have family time putting together puzzles, playing board games and singing around the piano

Steve & I are still sick and the timing of this snow storm (4.5 inches) couldn't have been worse, but we were all together, and although we didn't have all our daily luxuries, we had a great time...just with each other...

Thank you God for providing for us....even in the dark

Something to Smile About

Nothing brings a smile to your face faster than seeing a sign for $2.29 a gallon for Gas. We stumbled across that low price over the weekend.

Under the Weather

We are all under the weather. Steve has been fighting something for weeks (combination of sinus pressure, bad cough, etc.) He went to the doctor on Friday and is taking an antibiotic, but honestly, he feels it is making him feel worse, not better.

Chris had pink eye and a cold. Thankfully the pink eye is cleared up, just a lingering cold/cough.

I guess in the process of caring for everyone, I picked up an achy back and cough/sore throat. So, overall we are just a tired, sick group. Please keep us in prayer for speedy recoveries!

Five on Friday

Five Things My Parents Used to Say To Me That I Now Hear Myself Saying to My Child:

1) Just wait until your father gets home

2) Eat It! - You Don't Know What You're Missing

3) What do you mean you just .... (fill in the blank with whatever he just confessed to)

4) This hurts me more than it hurts you

5) You can't always get what you want in life

Doctor's Visit

It's been a busy day around here. Chris has been fighting a cold for about a week which is normal for this time of year, but yesterday he woke up with all kinds of "gunk" around his eye and they looked a little red. At first I didn't pay too much mind to it because it really just looked like he sneezed in his sleep and rubbed it around his face near his eyes. Well, today he woke up and his little eyes were practically glued shut so of course I hauled him off the doctor this morning. He really has no fear of the doctor which is great. The biggest problem I had with him there was in the "sick waiting room". Another kid was in there and brought a toy from home which was much cooler than the toys that the doctor's office had. So, naturally, all the kids wanted to play with that kids toy -- let's just say there was much crying going on in that waiting room.

Anyway, Chris has pink eye which is contagious so thankfully he didn't have preschool today (which is probably where he picked this up anyway). So, we have medication and he's running around as if nothing is wrong. I guess all is well. I'm just hoping by some miracle he'll take a nap today.

The Bully

I'm all over the place.. Childlike Faith one day.. and the Bully the next. I guess that's how life is.

Chris encountered his first bully. A little boy a little younger than him and about half of his size. This was the most mean spirited kid I had seen in a long time. It wasn't at school that he meet this child, but at church of all places. Yesterday at Bible Study, I dropped Chris off like I normally did and as soon as Chris walked into the class, this kid started taunting him verbally and calling him names. Where in the world did this come from??? Then, when Chris went to play with some puzzles, this kid walked over to him and raised his fists and started to "pretend" swing at him. Let's just say the kid is lucky he did not strike my son. I was so shocked at this scene playing out in front of me I didn't know what to do. Chris just kept telling this boy to please stop. He was calm, cool and collected. Was he annoyed at this kid.. absolutely. The teachers were just standing around (his regular teacher wasn't there so it was the first encounter the other teacher had). One of the assistant teachers told the new teacher that this kid is like this every week, this just happened to be Chris' week to be picked on apparently.

So, I put Chris in a chair far away from the bully and told him that if this kid bothers him, to try to ignore him but if that does not work, to let the teacher know. He is just being mean and Jesus doesn't like that kind of behavior. If he gets hit, tell the teacher. I really struggled with even letting him stay in that class, but I knew my little guy was going to have to deal with these types of kids at some point and better he get it over with and learn how to deal with it. I can't shelter him forever from these social encounters.

I must say I was very pleased to find the bully sitting in time out when I picked Chris up. Chris was all smiles about how much fun he had. I'm glad this bully didn't get the best of him. Trust me... if there's anymore nonsense from this kid, I will have a talk with his parent if the teachers do not.

Childlike Faith

Today I was reminded of how precious the faith of a child is. Every Tuesday morning, Chris & I go to a Bible Study at my cousin Liz's church. Chris & Liz's son, David, attend the same 4 year old class while we attend a class (we are studying The Psalms of the Ascent by Beth Moore).

Anyway, I mentioned to Chris that David wasn't going to be at the class today because he was sick. So, without hesitation, Christopher said, "Mom... We need to pray for him". So, Chris led a simple prayer asking God to touch his body and make him better. After his heartfelt Amen, he opened his eyes and said, "Now David will feel better. God is strong and can make us feel better." He knew in his heart that because he asked Jesus to heal his friend, that he would be faithful and do it. No questions asked.. no doubt in his voice.

I don't know about you, but I am striving for more of that faith in my own life. Very precious.

Time Out

Oh boy... little guy informed me that he was put in time out in nursery school twice on Friday. That's a total of 3 times in one week. The teacher didn't say anything to me (maybe she's waiting until Parent Teacher Conferences this Friday). The offense was grabbing toys from other kids during the free play time and not listening to the teacher's instructions.

It's hard when you are not there to see what's happening and relying on a 4 year old's description of what's happening. Although he's hit this rough patch, I must say I am very proud of the fact that he is at least admitting it to me. He could easily just tell me that everything was fine and I would be none the wiser (until Parent Teacher Conference).

Part of me wanted to laugh though thinking back on my childhood. My poor brother and my cousins Rich & John would ALWAYS get in trouble every Sunday morning in Children's Church. There was not a Sunday that went by that they didn't get in trouble for talking, getting out of their seats, playing with someone's chair, grabbing a musical instrument, looking at someone the wrong way or basically just for breathing. My mom was confonted each week by the Director (Sister Stewart for those Bethlehem people that read this blog). It was always the same thing. My mom would talk to Steve but, at the end of the day, he was a little boy... (a Somma boy = LOTS OF ENERGY) and it would take a serious act of God to force him to sit still for that long of a period.

Anyway, I guess I can only keep telling little guy what is expected of him while he is at school and pray that his behavior will fall in line with that soon!

Give Me A Break

Yesterday, one of the kids in Chris' preschool showed up wearing a huge t-shirt that was hanging off his arms and went way past his knees. It wasn't the size of the shirt that bothered me, it was what was printed on it:

"I've been to more countries than Sarah Palin". Really...do you really need to broadcast your political views on a 4 year old child who has no clue as to who Sarah Palin is??

End of the Week.. Finally!

I have never been so glad to see a week end. It's been emotional to say the least. Dad is now home resting and tomorrow he will ride up to Ruth's house where he will stay for a little while to recover from surgery. Thank you all again for your love and prayers. I know he will be back on his feet and reading my blog soon.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Five On Friday

Five Things We Observed in NYC Last Weekend:

1) The Stores which had big banners 15 years ago advertising that they were "Going Out Of Business" are still open and still "Going Out of Business"

2) Having a Papa John's or Domino's in NYC just seems ridiculous!! Why go for the chain pizza when you are living in Pizza Heaven??

3) A restaurant you ate in 4 years ago and LOVED may now have new owners and a new chef. We learned that the hard way.

4) The "smells" of the city are still the same. You can use your imagination here....

5) The streets of NYC are crowded any time of the year.. winter, spring, summer and fall. It does not matter.

PS - We did have a celebrity sighting. Colin Farrell crossed the street right in front of us while we were at a red light.

Update on my Dad

Hi Everyone and thank you so much for all the love and prayers you are showering on my family today. Dad is in the recovery room. His surgery started a little late and lasted 2 1/2 hours. Ruth hasn't been allowed in to see him yet, but from what she has been told, everything went well. We hope to have some more information later. He is going to be in ICU tonight and will likely be released from the hospital sometime tomorrow late afternoon, should everything continue to go well.

In all likelihood, Dad will be allowed to travel to my sister's home on Saturday where he can further recover under her watch for a while. He won't be allowed to drive for at least 2 weeks.

That's about all I have as far as information for now. Thanks again, and please continue to pray for us all.

Special Prayer

Hi everyone... I was going to post something early tomorrow, but a change in time made me post this tonight. My father is having surgery at 7:00 am tomorrow morning (it was originally scheduled for 12:00 pm) to remove some plaque in an artery in his neck. The artery is about 90% blocked right now. Our family would greatly your prayers. We are believing for a fast and full recovery!

Thanks!!

Halloween

UGH... I hate Halloween. I hate that every store you walk into has skulls, evil looking monsters, fake cobwebs and various other demonic looking paraphernalia. I really don't like exposing Christopher to that stuff and it just seems to be everywhere...even the grocery store!

This is the first year I've had to really deal with Halloween. I've been very torn about how to handle it with Chris. He dressed up his first Halloween (he was 11 months old) and went out with his cousins (he was in a stroller) and has no recollection of this. Then, the next three years, I didn't dress him up or take him out. Last year he handed out candy to some neighbors who came by and he loved answering the door bell when it rang. That was good enough for him and just fine by me. A couple of times there were some younger teenagers "tweens" who came to the door in some scary outfits and I had to hide Christopher behind me so he wouldn't get freaked out by seeing them.

So, this year he is in preschool, a Christian preschool and, much to my disappointment, they are having a halloween parade. The plan is for the teachers to explain the difference between "pretending" (dress up) and reality. No scary costumes are allowed, no masks, no guns, etc. Still, I wonder if I should even send him to school that day. Am I opening a can of worms?

My former pastor preached a very good sermon about Halloween a few years ago. It's an evil celebration that certainly does not glorify God in any way, shape or form. Yes, I dressed up and participated in Halloween as a child, and suffered no ill-affects from it, but as my pastor pointed out, this is one of the most holy days on the satanic worshippers calendar. It seemed more innocent back then, even though it is probably just as evil. I don't want to shield Christopher in a bubble, but I'd like to teach him about Halloween from the Christian perspective.

I know many of you have struggled with this over the years as well. How do you handle Halloween with your kids?? I'm open to any and all advice. If you'd like to leave a comment you can do so by clicking on the anonymous button after writing a note in the comment box or you can email me privately at bmmalave@aol.com.

More City Pictures

We enjoyed this trip with my father-in-law, Domingo, and sister-in-law, Shirley. Can you believe the Fulton Fish Market is now a Gap? Doesn't seem right. We did all the "touristy" things including buying a $3.00 pretzel which was not very tasty (we ended up giving the pretzel to a homeless person) and snapping pictures while in Times Square as if we never saw it before. Of course, driving around NYC with Florida license plates puts a target on you. I felt like putting up a sign that said "Hey.. we are from here.. we are one of "youse" Please don't honk.. we know where we are going and how to get there"

Fun in the City

On Saturday afternoon, we made an unexpected trip into Manhattan. Our original plan was to take Chris on the Staten Island Ferry. By the time we got through the traffic on the Holland Tunnel, it was almost dusk and it was chilly! We could only imagine how cold it would be on the boat and there was no place to park. So, we headed over to the South Street Seaport and had fun just walking around watching all the weirdos...oops I mean street performers do their thing. Chris had a birds eye view from Steve's shoulders. He was taking it all in and was loving the two huge ships that are docked there. We watched the sunset above Brooklyn and people watched for a while.

Chris loves the city and cried when he knew it was time to leave. It's so much fun to see the city from a child's eye. I've been to the seaport a thousand times, but never with a child.

Here are some pictures

Lydia Rose Somma

Here is a picture of Stephen & Sara's baby girl.

Five On Friday

Top 5 Confessions Heard Around The House This Week:

1) Christopher to Mom -- "I ate ALL the popcorn"

2) "I grabbed the toy from the kid"

3) "After the teacher blew the whistle, I didn't line up with everyone.. I kept playing instead"

4) "I DID hear you tell me to clean up... I can do it later"

5) "I really like the library Mom" (at least that's a good one!)

Crazy Calendar

A few months ago, I purchased this adorable calendar in hopes it would teach Christopher the months of the year and the days of the week. It has some great magnets for special events and it also helps him learn the meaning of time. Having a visual is really helpful for this. I'm such a schedule fanatic that I guess it's only natural I pass this on to him.

He loves his calendar and he has been asking for months when December is coming. He has two purposes for wanting December to come quickly. One, he knows we are driving to Florida for Christmas and, maybe more importantly, he knows he will be turning 5 the day after Christmas. So, too huge events for him.

The other day I walked into the kitchen to find him standing on a chair (which dragged over from the kitchen), leaning over the counter. Apparantley, he had decided to make some "adjustments" to our schedule. I'm not sure if you can make out all the little buttons, but he's added Flag Day, The Fourth of July, Easter, St. Patrick's Day, Christmas, The Last Day of School and Cinco de Mayo to our calendar for October! I haven't had the heart to change it back to our actual calendar yet.

Lydia Rose

Steve & Sara have named their baby girl, Lydia Rose Somma. I still am awaiting photos so will share them as soon as I receive them. As you can imagine, with the time difference (they are in Seattle) and having 4 other children to tend to, communication is a little tough so that's why there is so much delay.

On a separate note, please keep us in prayer as we are discussing some options regarding the sale of our home (or lack thereof) in Florida.

It's A Girl !!

Just a quick post to let you know that my brother, Stephen, and his wife, Sara, had a baby girl last night at around 7:00 pm (Pacific time). Both baby and Sara are doing well. Pictures and details as to name, weight, etc. to follow hopefully today!

Pictures

Five On Friday

Five Things I Have Recently Realized:

1) It's time to pull out the winter clothes -- oh wait.. we lived in Florida for 4 years... what winter clothes????

2) Socks disappear in the laundry... where do they go??

3) One of the benefits of living in a townhouse is that you don't have to rake leaves in the Fall, shovel snow in the Winter or mow the lawn in the Spring and Summer. NICE!!

4) Climbing stairs a gazillion times a day does count for exercise.

5) It's better to leave dirty dishes in your sink and spend quality time with visitors and friends then to tackle it while they are there. The dishes aren't going anywhere -- they will be there when they leave.