Slug Bug!

I haven't forgotten to finish the top 100 things I love about Brandi list, but I just had to blog about this before I forget about it.

SLUG BUG!!

This phrase is heard in our car ALL THE TIME!! I guess a few weeks ago, Aaron started playing it with the kids on the way to school and it's become a pretty fierce game! The kids have memorized where they will see one on the way to school.

There's a yellow one at the RV park in Clyde. There's a green one sometimes parked at the intermediate school by the cafeteria. There's a blue one at Judge Ely & North 1st. There's a bright yellow one at the car lot on North 1st & Sayles (or nearby & sometimes there's 2 of them!). There's a yellow one next door to the school. Those are the only ones I can remember.

Of course, there are random ones that we sometimes see driving to school. But, as we get close to one of these spots, the kids start getting really competitive! They start leaning forward in the car so they are sure to see it first. They might use their arm to hold the person sitting next to them back in the seat so they can't see. Or sometimes they try to cover their eyes so they can't see at all!

There are also these little games they play. For instance, if you say, "Slug Bug" and there isn't one, you lose a point. So, sometimes you'll hear one of them say, "Slud Bud" or "SSSSSSLLLLL" or "Slug Bu". They do this to try to get someone else to just blurt out "Slug Bug" without there being an actual car there.

Then, there's Jaxon. Jaxon doesn't quite understand what a Slug Bug looks like. He thinks this is a slug bug:

Or this:

Or this:

He would even think this is one!!

But, Jaxon is funny about it. He'll say, "Slug Bug! Ha ha! I got it! I called it! Ha ha!" When we point out that it isn't a slug bug, he'll say, "I know but I called it. I got it! Ha ha!" Sometimes the boys will "give" Jaxon a slug bug that they see. He gets so excited and says, "Yay! I'm going to beat my record, Mom!"

I think Payton's record is almost 20. I think Evan's record is about 9. Jaxon's record is always 1, so if he sees 2, he can beat his record. For some reason, his record never goes up -- it's always 1. My record is 8, but I was by myself when I saw all of them, so the boys say that doesn't count. :(

You've Got A Friend In Me

This is one of Jaxon's favorite songs from the Toy Story movies.

You've got a friend in me.

You've got a friend in me.

When the road looks rough ahead

and you're miles and miles from your nice warm bed

Just remember what your old pal said

Oh you've got a friend in me.

This past weekend (and last few weeks, honestly) I've been reflecting on my good friend, Brandi Wilson. I was wondering if I should blog about it or just send her a letter, but I decided that someday when my kids are older (or maybe when I have grandkids), they'll ask me about my friends and I'll have my blog book (the one I hope to print) to show them and to remember all of these little things.

Even yesterday, I was sitting in my office crying like a baby to Kelly telling her how amazing my friend is. Talking about how blessed that I am that I have found a friend like her in my lifetime. You know, the ones who just know you . . . and I mean KNOW YOU. There are so many things that I love about Brandi. I'm going to try to go old-school and come up with a list of 100 things I love about Brandi (or stories about us). So, here it goes:

1. I love how I feel like I can just sit in a room with Brandi and she knows what I'm thinking.

2. I love how we've joked about being married to each other's husband. We have laughed about how if Randy & I were married, we would always be remodeling or changing something. If her and Aaron were married, they would never do any of that stuff!

3. I love that her family came to church this past Sunday because they thought it was my last Sunday as the children's pastor. And, they came to cheer us (KLF) on. I almost started crying when I saw them walking up the sidewalk.

4. I love that as I'm crying to Kelly telling her what an amazing friend that Brandi is, I get a text -- from Brandi -- telling me that she knows I'll have an emotional week and she'll be here for me. :)

5. I love it that Brandi tells me that even when she's facing the hardest time of her life. Selfish is never a word used to describe her.

6. I love that sometimes I know the inside scoop to things that nobody else knows. Sometimes that's good things and sometimes that's bad things.

7. I love that I met her 9 years ago and when she asked me if I scrapbooked, I knew I had a found a friend in this new place!

8. I love Wednesdays with Brandi!! We started a few years ago having coffee at Brandi's house and we've moved it to Wednesday afternoons at Chick-Fil-A. It seems like every time we meet, one of us has something we need to talk about. But sometimes we have just random things to talk about.

9. One of my favorite coffee times was the day of (or after) picture day. Oh the stories!! Fighting over hair. Fighting over clothes. Oh the funny stories!! :)

10. My birthday buddy!! We were born 3 days apart and I LOVE IT! I love having someone that loves birthdays and presents as much as me (and we aren't ashamed of it)!! :)

11. She is the prefect gift giver!! Like my Cake Pops book or my Wonder Woman cups. Or . . . gosh! There's been so many and so many perfect ones!! Oh! Like my container of Chick-Fil-A mints to take to Cambodia because they are my favorite "candy".

12. Or like my 30th birthday. I wanted to go to NYC for my birthday, but I was 30 weeks pregnant with Jaxon and I was strongly advised against going. But, she threw me the bestest birthday party ever!! She painted a giant mural and we each had our own stores. We had special dancers (still makes me turn red) and it was so much fun!!!

13. I remember sitting at her kitchen table and pulling a pregnancy test out of my purse after I found out I was pregnant with Jaxon. :)

14. I loved all of our scrapbooking nights at various scrapbook stores.

15. I love that we've been able to stay friends over the last 9 years through changes.

16. I remember her little house on Burger Street and how amazed I was that she had 5 kids in that little house!

17. And how excited I was when she got her house on Poplar Street. It was perfect!!

18. I remember how she didn't want to have Miles at home, but they wanted Randy to deliver him. And how it really happened that way.

19. I remember our first BFW. Enough said about that one. :)

20. I remember sharing November 15th with Brandi -- the birthday of the boy I put of for adoption. She's probably didn't remember the date, but when I needed to talk about it, she always listened.

21. Oh how I remember mommy group! Brandi was always there!! In the beginning, she was my safe place. I would go just knowing that she would be there and if nothing else, I could talk with her.

22. As I'm trying to go down memory lane, I remember times where she's just listened to me complain. . . about lots of things. Never once has she said, "Just shut up and stop complaining!" even when she probably should have! :)

23. Cornerstone. We probably wouldn't have gone without her!

24. Watching her be the most amazing mom that I know. Her relationship with her kids is something that every parent longs for! I am almost jealous of this one.

25. I almost forgot! Our WOW Christmas Party table decorating contests! We are the reigning champions and I believe we have been the ONLY winners! The first year, we made everything out of paper. Even the plates had paper underneath! The second year, we decided to try to win back to back and came up with the Feliz Navidad idea in the parking lot of the school! We won up against tables that were really decked out and fancy!! But, we were original! :)

OK, so I only have 25 at the current moment in time, but I know more will come to me. I have 3 kids sitting here telling me that they're hungry, so I guess I better go feed them. :) Don't worry! I'll be adding more!

I love you, Brandi!!!

How Could I Forget?

How in the world could I forget this? Painting the classroom hallways!! I have more pictures, but can't find them on my computer for some reason. I am sad that I won't see this completed before I step out. But, I'm continuing to believe that someday soon, it will be finished!

Launching into Destiny

In February, I will be launched into something I love. It's not that I'm leaving something that I don't love, but it's just time and it's good.

In February, I will no longer be the children's pastor at KLF. I've been in children's ministry for almost the last 12 years! So, my emotions are all over the place about this deal. However, I am very excited about Encompass Kids and what it means for me.

There are already rumors floating around, so let me clear those up. Brandon and I talked it out and decided that my passion is Encompass Kids. That's what is exploding for me right now and I love it! My passion for kids has evolved into something outside the church walls and that's ok. I didn't get mad at Brandon and quit. I wasn't laid off. I didn't decide that I've had enough of KLF. The truth is that I don't have any plans to leave KLF at all! I love where I'm at!

So, here are a few pictures from over the years:

The LOGO:

A few years ago

Oh, the ketchup day! And, I'm pretty sure that's Jocie Wilson!

And one of my own son squirting me with ketchup. I remember that that

day he didn't like everyone doing that to his mommy.

I learned a hard lesson that day. I had planned on hosing off right outside the gym with a spicket that was easy access. After I was completely covered in ketchup, we realized that it didn't work. It was hooked up to the classrooms (which we did not own) and the water was not turned on. I had to ride home in the back of our Aztek dripping ketchup. We drove by the Baptist Church right as church was letting out. I just smiled and waved. :) And, if I remember correctly, it was very cold that day!

Minute to Win It

Last year on Super Bowl Sunday

Ice Cream Sundae Day!

And Tar & Feather day . . .

I had learned my lesson with the ketchup and decided that now we owned the building, I could shower at church that day in the dressing rooms! Little did I know, we didn't have any hot water!! So, I rode home in the back of Aaron's truck in the FREEZING RAIN and had to hose off outside in my backyard with the FREEZING water hose!! It was awful!!!

Then, there's the Easter Egg Hunts:

And the Hallelujah Nights:

And the it-sounded-great-at-the-time-but-it-made-a-giant-mess craft projects! Yep, that's birdseed ALL OVER THE FLOOR! And, we didn't have a vacuum!! And, it wasn't the only one I ever did! :)

Gosh! There are so many more! I'll just have to look through my external hard drive and see what I can dig up.

My Tattoo

I've wanted a tattoo forever! Aaron has always been against them, though. Plus, I've never had any idea on what I would want. I had this idea a few months ago and found a picture online. I love it!

We'll see . . . . .

P.S. Aaron says it's ugly. . . again, we'll see. . . . .

Jaxon's Funny Sayings

Jaxon talks . . . and talks. . . and talks. . . and talks. I mean, he talks probably 80-90% of the day. He talks about all kinds of random things!

Yesterday he was playing his "DS" and the batteries went dead and the machine started acting funny. I told him that I would take it and charge the batteries. He said, "Oh good. It was really freaking me out."

Today we went to Abilene and ran some errands. Everywhere we went, he would tell people:

"When my dad was a kid, he got runned over by a car cause he wasn't paying tension." The cashier at Wal-Mart, the guy on the bench at Wal-Mart, the lady in line behind us at Academy, a random lady in Ross. . . everyone heard the story!! Then, when we would leave the store, he would stop as we're crossing the parking lot and say, "We can go mommy. But we want to pay tension so we don't get smashed by a car."

He's also stuck on this game that Payton & Evan play at school. Jaxon says your name and if you say "What?" that means you're it. You have to get someone else to say "What?". The game has been going on at our house since before Christmas. The older boys have gone on to other things, but not Jaxon. He loves it when people say "What?"

So, I'm constantly hearing,

Jaxon: Hey mom

Me: Yes?

Jaxon: Oh mom, you're supposed to say W-H-T.

(a few minutes later . . . or maybe even seconds later)

Jaxon: Hey mom.

Me: What?

Jaxon: You're it!

Most of the time I say What? just to see if he'll stop doing it!! Then, I get him:

Me: Hey Jaxon:

Jaxon: Wha. . .

Me: Oh . . .

Jaxon: Hey mom. I didn't say W-H-T.

Me: I know.

(a few seconds later)

Me: Hey Jaxon

Jaxon: What?

Me: You're it!

Jaxon: UGH!!! I said W-H-T!!

Last week, Evan was looking at the school calendar and he noticed that Pre-K is getting to go to the Grace Museum this month. Evan said, "Oh man! They're lucky!" and pointed to the calendar. Now, Jaxon walks up to the calendar and points and says, "Oh man, they're going to lucky!"

Backpack Roof

I mainly want to blog about this so that I don't forget about how it all happened. Someday when Encompass Kids is really big and things are going all around me, I want to remember how God put the roof on the building.

In August 2010, I started a remodel on the CCRC building (306 North 1st). It started out as remodeling 1/2 of the building.

The front room

The Backpack Room & Clothes Closet. This area will have a washer & dryer so that we can wash the clothes that come into the clothes closet before they are hung up on the racks.

The wooden wall in the backpack part. I love this wall!!

Standing in the clothes closet and looking into the backpack part.

Standing in the backpack part and looking back into the clothes closet.

The process was going well until September 24th -- the big rain! We got so much rain in such a little time!! I knew the roof had leaked before, but Cole had worked on it. I needed to go make sure it was holding. This is what I drove up on:

And a lot of water inside the building. The parapet wall (roofing term) leaked all the way down the side of my building! The back doors were leaking! Water was everywhere!! (I also want to say that Cole did a great job repairing the roof. We knew it was a patch job and it just rained so much so soon that the rain got in. Just wanted to clarify that I thought he did a great job!)

I was trying to figure out where I was going to get enough money to re-do the entire roof?!? I was thinking that it could cost up to $20,000! I had this idea of asking about our insurance on the building. We researched it out and found that we had an insurance policy with State Farm with a $5000 deductible, plus once we filed a claim that big, our premium would go up. I also didn't have $5000 for the deductible!

To make a long story short . . . wait! I don't want to do that. . . on to the details. . .

One afternoon, a man called and asked if he could come by because he had something for me. I of course, said yes and he brought me a check for $1000! I thought it was a great start to my $5000.

I had a meeting with a bank in town about partnering with me. It was a pretty awesome meeting and so I stopped by the church to let everyone know how awesome it went! Kelly came in and said, "Want to know some more good news? We have 2 insurance policies on that building. One we didn't know about, but have been paying on and it only has $1000 deductible!"

I was so excited, but with $1000 deductible, it couldn't be very good insurance. But, I gave them a call and scheduled an adjuster to come out.

When he came out and looked at the building, he said he could replace my ceiling tiles that had been ruined and he would pay to have the light cleaned, but the rest of the problem was due to the building next to me, so he couldn't cover that. And, I didn't have $1000 worth of ceiling tiles to be replaced!

While he was there, I had him look at the CCRC side of the building where the water had come through the roof. Pretty much, it is 2 pieces of sheetrock and probably a little insulation.

It didn't look like he was going to do much. He said he would go back to the office and see how long we've had the policy, etc. Then, he asked me what I did. I told him that we are feeding kids in our community that are not guaranteed a meal on the weekends. I didn't know that statement would change the whole thing.

The next week, I gave Mike a call to see what the verdict was. He said, "Well, I looked at your policy and everything looks good, so I'll be sending you a check today for $13,000 blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah.. . . . "

That's all I heard! $13,000?!?! When I got the papers, I saw that in total, I will receive almost $19,000 to fix the roof and fix those 2 pieces of sheetrock. And, I'm talking this adjuster went above and beyond! He gave me $150 to clean the floor where the water had stained the floor. Where the ceiling sheetrock is located, there is some shelving underneath. He gave me $650 to have the shelving removed and put back on the walls!!

Crazy?!? I think YES!

The roofing company got started and found that about 15 feet of my bricks had places where the mortar had blown away just because of time. They had to have that fixed in order to repair the roof. I asked the roofing company who to call. Bryce took care of all of it for me! He called the insurance company to make sure they would pay for it. He called someone to come and fix it. He even paid the masonry and put it into my bill with him so I didn't have to pay it until all the insurance money had come in. Barr Roofing is amazing!

So, now the roof is fixed and we are ready to move forward with the remodel. Here are some pictures of some stuff that we got done before the roof leaked.

The walls are going up for dressing rooms in the clothes closet.

Ira is painting in the clothes closet area.

The front room getting a new coat of some awesome purple paint (& Jaxon making sure that we had all the right tools.

The front room after it got it's first coat of paint. We will replace those plywood doors with french doors that will lead to the other side. And, we have to paint the trim.

Because of the Christmas Project, I hadn't had time to go over and look inside the building since they finished the roof. I went over on Thursday and took a look around. Little dusty, but not bad. . . that is, until I opened the door to the clothes closet! This is what I found:

Good news is that at least it can be swept up. There are a few puddles of tar . . . and I mean puddles with a string of tar going from floor to ceiling. But today I went down there and I think it can be cleaned up pretty easily.

New Year

My new year's resolution? Blog more.

Sometimes I hate Facebook. I type little one or two line sentences about what I'm doing and go on. I don't get to always tell the story behind it and most of the time, I forget the whole story after a while.

So, I was thinking about that awesome book that Pam got Brandi for her birthday a few years ago (great idea, by the way)! I thought it was a great way to keep up with all the stories of our life.

So, here's to a new year and more blog posts! :)