End of an Era

Have you ever felt that a change in someone else's life inevitably means a change in your own life?  For example, when a friend decides to look for a new church home or a coworker makes a job change?

I have been experiencing this feeling lately.  The change is good.  The change is necessary.  I have been spoiled by the way things were.

My little sister is moving out of Waco, her home for the last seven years (excluding the time she spent in Thailand).  She's not moving far.  And I adore her new roommate.  I LOVE her new roommate (Hi, Mom!).  

I'm excited for her internship opportunity as she will be working to resettle refugees from foreign countries right here in North Texas.  It's a great combination of two things she loves: Texas and people from diverse cultures.  I'm just feeling the weight of the change it means for me.  No more weekly sister time for me.  No more weekly Aunt Kristin time for Caleb.  No more excuses to drive down to Baylor for some much needed Common Grounds refreshment.  No more extra help when shopping with two kids.

On the bright side, I will have that much stronger of a reason to drive to Ft. Worth to visit Mom (and now Kristin).  I will cherish the sister time even more.  I will be forced to use the phone more often, which I'm known to avoid.

SIGH...Life will go on.  And life will continue to afford us many opportunities to make wonderful memories.  And I'll be seeing her next weekend for Caleb's birthday party.  We can't possibly be separated because of distance!  Love you, sister!

Quote of the Day

I think Mommy should get a present every time it's your birthday for pushing out that big head of yours.
~Jadie

4 years old!

Happy Birthday to my Silly Willy!

(He hates this nickname.  Well, he hates just about any nickname.)

Mommy's Top 5 Things to LOVE About Caleb

1. Hearing you say, "I love you."

2. Hearing you talk about your Granddaddy Ray.

3. Seeing you make crazy faces by manipulating your eyebrows.

4. Your night-night kisses.  Cheek, cheek, lips, head, hug.

5. The way you say you "really, really, really" want something.

Not In The Mood

There have been several fun happenings lately that would have made fun blog posts all on their own, but I have not been in a blogging mood.  So, I'll fall back on my trusty bullets to fill you in.

• Sarah played baby Jesus in our church Christmas Musical.
• We went to the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine to see ICE! featuring The Grinch Who Stole Christmas.
• We celebrated Christmas with Jadie's mom, sister, and nephews on Wednesday.
• We attended the Christmas Eve service at church.

Diary of a Nursing Mother

Tonight I had a major freak out.  I went out without either of the kiddos and the last thing I said to Jadie before leaving the house was this: "Call me if Sarah wakes up, 'cause you got nuthin'"  Meaning that he had no thawed milk to feed her if she awoke hungry.  I had just put her down before I left, but her last meal had been about two and a half hours prior.  So, I assumed she'd wake up after only about thirty or so minutes.

After being gone for an hour and a half, I was ready to head home.  I decided to call and ask Jadie if he wanted me to pick up a Redbox movie.  I searched my purse for my cell phone.  Then the freak out began. I did NOT have my phone.  All the way home I wavered back and forth between praying and panicking.  I was praying that she was still asleep or that she would calm down until I got home if she had been awake and screaming.  Scenarios were racing through my head of Jadie pulling his hair out (not really possible anyway with such short hair) or playing in the backyard with Caleb and leaving Sarah to cry it out.

I walked in to a quiet house.  Where were Jadie and Caleb?  Where was Sarah?

What I found was a scenario I could hardly believe.  Sarah was still asleep in her bassinet.  Jadie was hiding behind our chair in the living room.  Caleb was asleep in bed.  What a wonderfully faithful God and what a wonderfully sweet (and quirky) husband!

Sarah Is 4 Months Old!

Here are the stats:

• 4 months old!!!
• 1 oral vaccine
• 2 shots (4 vaccines)
• 12lbs, 10 oz/2 lbs gained (48th percentile)
  
• 23.75 in long/1 inch growth (26th percentile)
• 16 in head circumference/0.75 inch growth (48th percentile)

Praying for:

• My blood pressure, currently running about 120/80 (still)
• Sarah's continued health and weight gain
• Jadie's cough.  He was sick over Thanksgiving and his cough is still lingering...

Swagbucks

So I've been hooked on Swagbucks for a while now.  I earn Swagbucks for searching on the Swagbucks site.  After stockpiling said Swagbucks, I can redeem them for prizes...giftcards in my case.

My total has slowly climbed to above 300 and I finally redeemed some Swagbucks for a giftcard.  A $10 Starbucks gift card, actually.

I have always thought Swagbucks was a good concept...I can get something (cash, practically) just for doing something I use Google for anyway.  Why not?

I finally realized that I could be earning Swagbucks much faster!

If Swagbucks sounds like something you might like to do, please use my link to the right (or at the top of this post) to sign yourself up.  I will earn a Swagbuck for you signing up and then I'll also earn one every time you win by searching (up to 100 Swagbucks).  Pretty, please do me this favor!

After you sign up, invite your friends and you can earn when they join!

Baylor's Christmas on 5th Street

300th Post

Seriously?

Yes, 300 posts since August 2007.  Things have changed quite a bit since then!