Funny Jaxon-isms

This morning, I was getting Jaxon dressed for church. I buttoned his shirt and here's how the conversation went:

J: Yay! Now I am ready to get married!

M: Huh? Get married?

J: Yeah. I'm going to get married.

M: To who? Gracie? (we were just talking about her)

J: No . . . um. . . . . What's her name? . . . . . oh yeah. Georgia.

M: Georgia, huh? How do you know?

J: Carson told me. He told me Georgia is going to marry me.

M: Oh really? So, you're going to marry Georgia.

J: No! I'm not going to marry Georgia. Georgia's going to marry ME.

M: OK . . . so what do you think it means to get married?

J: I don't know.

Tonight the conversation continued:

M: So, who did you say you were going to marry?

J: I'M (emphasis) not marrying anybody. Georgia is going to marry me.

M: When do you think you're going to get married?

J: I'm 3 and Georgia's 2. So, when I turn 4, Georgia's going to turn 3. Then, when I'm 7, then Georgia will be 7 and when I'm 10, Georgia will be 10.

M: So, when do you think you're going to get married?

J: When Georgia knows all the numbers like I do.

M: You mean when Georgia can count like you?

J: Yeah. When she knows all the numbers like I do, then Georgia will marry me.

__________________________________________________________

The other night, Jaxon was playing with his Legos in the floor. He had 2 of them in his hand and he said, "Say this after me. 'With this ring, I thee wed.'". His lego then said (in a different voice, of course), "With this ring, I thee wed."

I found out that he had been watching a Calliou show where Calliou gets to be the ring bearer. :)

___________________________________________________________

Here's our conversation from tonight:

M: Jaxon, guess what we're going to do tomorrow?

J: What?

M: We're going to go to swimming lessons for you.

J: I don't want to go to swimming lessons.

M: Why not?

J: Because is he going to say (in this really hilarious voice), OK boys. Your first test will be diving from this high board. Now you'll be judged on style, form, and grace.

M: What? Where in the world did you hear that?

I can't get it to shorten, but the line is at 2:12. :)

And he said it JUST LIKE the instructor!!

Not In Kansas Anymore (Well, almost)

Sunday, May 1st about 6:30 am, Aaron and I woke up to our phones beeping. The wind outside was blowing and it was causing the electricity in the house to go on and off, which was making our phones beep. We were about to go back to sleep when the wind started blowing really hard. . . harder than I've heard in my life, I think.

All of a sudden, the roof started popping. There was a loud bang against Evan's window and what I thought was the sound of it shattering. It sounded like the basketball goal had hit his window. Aaron told me to get the kids and get in the bathroom. I told him to get Evan first. He grabbed Evan out of bed and stood him up and pushed him into the bathroom.

Poor Evan was so disoriented. He ran to the bathroom and jumped in the bath tub. When he got in the bath tub, he turned and looked at me like "Why am I in the bath tub?" I told him that he didn't have to stay in there because we weren't all going to fit! :)

We got Payton and Jaxon, a few blankets, & some couch cushions and we all sat in the bathroom floor listening to a horrible wind noise and hoping that our roof didn't blow away. There was a brief pause in the middle where we thought it was over, but then it started blowing again.

It was over within a matter of minutes, which seemed more like an eternity. When we walked out the back door, this is what we saw:

Our tree in the backyard lost probably half of it's limbs:

But the treehouse stood! I laughed and told Aaron, "OK, fine! The kids can play in the treehouse now!"

Our basketball goal was blown over. The night before, Aaron had parked his truck outside, but right before he went to bed, he decided to put his truck in the garage -- good thing! That basketball would have fell on his truck.

Our roof was missing some shingles

Our fences were blown down

This plastic chair was from the neighbor's front porch. It was really smashed into the fence!

This was our neighbor's car port. After the storm, he walked out his front door and thought, "I wonder why I didn't put my car under the carport last night?" Then he realized that his carport wasn't there anymore! It was about 50 yards from his house in a crumpled mess.

But as scary as that morning was, great things happened. The fire trucks came around within about 30 minutes making sure everyone was ok.

We were sitting on the couch and Payton said, "I'm really hungry. I wonder if the doughnut shop is open." Our electricity was off, so I was kind of wondering what we were going to do to eat. Our doorbell rang and it was our neighbors inviting us over to have eggs, bacon, & pancakes. They have a gas stove, so they were able to cook. They were so hospitable to our kids and to us! It was great talking about our own experiences and feelings. The guy from down the street came in and had some pictures of the damage from around town.

There was a trailer house that had been completely destroyed. Another house was sitting on a cinder blocks and it was shifted enough so that it fell off it's foundation. There were several huge trees that had been knocked over and uprooted.

The National Weather Service said that it was only down winds from a strong thunderstorm with winds around 100 miles per hour. I'm not sure they were right. What I heard that morning was something eery and very strong. I'm not convinced that it wasn't a tornado. But, we made it with minimal damage compared to others in town.

Thank you, Jesus, for your protection!

Hurricane Harbor?

A few weeks ago, Cornerstone had a fundraiser where they had to sell Cokes. Whoever sold at least 20 cases got their name put in a drawing for either 2 tickets to Hurricane Harbor or 2 tickets to Six Flags. We usually aren't the most fundraiser-happy people, but Evan wanted to win those tickets so bad! So, both boys decided to put their lists together and sell at least 20 cases.

Evan worked hard to sell 20 cases. It helped that Aaron bought like 12 cases for his office and Aaron's dad bought 5 more. We reached the 20 cases and turned the form in.

This week, Mrs. Benningfield e-mailed me and said that Evan was one of the winners and she asked if he would like the Six Flags tickets or the Hurricane Harbor tickets. I told her that I would prefer the Six Flags tickets (no bathing suits=what we want!), but I would try to ask Evan without him knowing that he won.

That night, Evan told me that he wanted to win the Hurricane Harbor tickets. WHAT?!?! I was not in agreement with this decision. So, I went to my room and decided to flip a coin. Heads was Six Flags and Tails was Hurricane Harbor.

First flip -- Tails

Not what I wanted, so I decided to do the best 2 out of 3.

Next flip -- Tails

AHHHHHHHH!!

So, I emailed Mrs. Benningfield back and told her that Evan wanted Hurricane Harbor, but I wanted Six Flags. I told her about the flipping coin. Then, I told her to flip and coin and see what it landed on. :)

This morning, we had chapel and everyone wanted to know WHO WON?!?!? After I did the lesson, she brought Evan and one other girl to the front. They were the only 2 who sold 20 cases. So, she let them draw.

The girl got to go first -- ladies first, of course. Guess what Evan drew?

Alright! Alright! I'll go! :)

Conversations of some 3 year olds

Yesterday, Justus & Elizabeth came over to play. We were on our way to coffee and this conversation took place:

Jaxon: Oh no! We're gonna wreck! Just kidding! Oh no! We're gonna wreck!

Me: Jaxon do you want to wreck?

Jaxon: NO!! I was just kidding mom. We're not gonna wreck. I don't want to wreck. That would not be fun.

Justus: I have a rex. It's green.

Jaxon: What?! You have a green wreck? You don't have a green wreck!

Justus: Yes I do. A green rex dinosaur!

(Few minutes later)

Jaxon: Slug bug!

Me: That's not a slug bug! It's a mini-cooper!

Jaxon: A mini-cooper?

Justus: Where's Cooper? I want to see Cooper.

Jaxon: But we're going to see Carson. Slug bug!

Me: That's not a slug bug!

Jaxon: But it's green.

Justus: I have a green rex!

The Sweetest Thing

Let me just say that my Evan is the most thoughtful gift giver! He always puts a lot of thought into a gift and he wants it to be perfect ! For example, on Emma's birthday, he bought her a pair of Sketcher Twinkle Toe shoes. She had wanted them for a while and although I usually don't spend that much on birthday gifts, Emma is his special friend, so I thought it was fine. I took him to the store and he thoughtfully looked at all his options and talked about which ones he liked and which ones Emma would like. Then, really quickly he picked a pair and took off running to the baseball aisle with Payton.

He wrapped them when we got home and he was so proud of this present! Emma came over a few days later and he couldn't stand it! He asked if he could give it to her early. They went in his room and she opened the box. She was so excited about those shoes! She put them on and they went in Evan's closet so they could watch them "twinkle". Emma was so excited and Evan was so proud!

Fast forward to this week:

On Sunday night, I was tucking Evan in bed and he was upset because he didn't have a birthday present for Payton. I told him that we had all day the next day and we would figure something out. He said he could make a card for Payton and he was going to cut things out, etc.

The next morning, when Evan's alarm went off, he jumped out of bed and started sneaking around the living room and the kitchen. I realized he was making a card for Payton and trying to get it done before he got up. (Payton decided that since it was his birthday, he could sleep in for 5 extra minutes.)

Evan got finished with his card and I heard him in his room shaking his bank. Then, he needed some tape. Then, I saw that he was thumbing through his baseball cards.

Payton was in the kitchen fixing his breakfast when Evan went running in there, threw the card next to Payton, and did a funny fast walk back into the living room and plopped down on the couch.

Evan had made Payton a card that said, "Happy Birthday, Payton" on it. On the inside, Evan taped all of his money that he had (30-something cents, but it was everything). Then, Evan had put a baseball card in there for the Arizona Diamondbacks' catcher.

SIDENOTE: Payton's baseball team this year is called the Diamondbacks and Payton plays catcher.

Payton opened the card and says, "Hey! Thanks, Evan! Someday that's going to be me!"

It made me so proud and so happy! Evan came up with that all on his own and I was amazed at how much thought he put into it! And Payton's reaction was priceless! He was so excited and proud of what Evan had done. It made me smile!

I Like to Ride My Bicycle

At the end of February, Jaxon learned how to ride his bike!! We got it for his birthday back in November, but he really hadn't had much interest in it until the boys helped him learn how to pedal by himself. Here are some pics from the exciting event:

Spring Break . . . literally a break!

We drove on Friday to Oklahoma City to see Aaron's family for spring break. We got there about 8:30 pm. The kids had been strapped in the car for the last 5 hours, so they had a lot of energy that they needed to run off! Evan and Jaxon were outside playing chase when I hear crying and in comes Nathan, Aaron's cousin, holding Jaxon.

Evan had been chasing Jaxon when they both tripped. Jaxon was crying really hard and Evan was saying it was just an accident. When things settled down, we found out that Jaxon tripped and Evan's knee fell on his leg. But, they fell funny and Evan said he heard a pop. :(

Jaxon cried for a good 45 minutes. Usually, he cries until mom knows he's hurt, then he's good. But not this time.

The guys were all outside around the fire pit, so I took Jaxon outside to tell Aaron that something was wrong. Jon, Aaron's cousin by marriage, is in medical school, so he took a look at Jaxon. His diagnosis was that Jaxon broke the small bone in his leg. Not good. . . But, we decided to wait it out and see how he was doing in the morning.

When we got up, Jaxon still wouldn't put any weight on his leg. We tried to make him walk and he just cried. Jon looked at him again and the diagnosis was the same -- broken bone. We called the minor emergency clinic to see how much it would cost -- $100 for office visit and x-ray, plus whatever happened after that.

So, we took him there. I've never been to a minor emergency clinic like that one! We got there, filled out the paperwork, and were in the room within 10 minutes! Jaxon was crying because he knew we were at the doctor. So, Aaron told him that we would get him a Dr. Pepper when we left. The doctor came in and looked over Jaxon. Jaxon was crying because he was scared (and hurting). The doctor was touching his leg and he asked Jaxon where it hurt. Jaxon pointed to his shin. Then, the doctor started pushing on his hip and he asked Jaxon if it hurt there. Jaxon said yes. The doctor took his hands off and said that it was uncommon for little kids to break their bones, but it was more common for them to do something to their hips. Since Jaxon was saying that his hip was hurting, the doctor felt like it would be best for us to go straight to an orthopedic emergency room (great!). He didn't do any x-rays so that we didn't have to pay any fees there (sweet!) and sent us on our way.

Crazy thing is that Aaron and the boys were supposed to go to an OU baseball game and they had to leave by 11:30. It was now 11 am. We get to the orthopedic emergency room and waited for the verdict. Aaron's cousin came with the boys to pick him up at the emergency room and they went on to the game. Jon (med student) stayed with me, which was really nice.

The nurses did about 6 x-rays on his leg and his hip. I was just trying to keep Jaxon calm and praying that it wasn't his hip. Jaxon started crying for his Dr. Pepper and the nurse came and said she had one if I would let him have it . . bring it on! :)

(Insert picture of x-ray that I can hopefully get to upload soon!)

The doctor came in and said Jaxon's hip was fine (whew!) but his leg was broken, but it's the big bone, not the little one. It's called a green stick fracture. Kind of like if you take a green stick and try to snap it. The top part snaps and it splinters, but it doesn't break all the way through. The little bone down Jaxon's leg was bent, but not broken. The doctor said it would straighten itself out.

So, they brought Jaxon some Tylenol with codeine (the wonder drug). I gave him my phone and the doctor got started on the cast. Seriously, within minutes they had that thing casted! While they were casting it, he kept telling the doctor that he didn't love casts and he didn't love those picture things (x-rays). I just kept having to say, "Want another drink, Jaxon? Play the game Jaxon." :)

Isn't he the cutest thing? He really has taken it like a champ!

When we got there they tried to give him this hospital bracelet, but he wouldn't wear it. After the tylenol kicked in, he decided to be silly and put it on his head. :)

Waiting on one final x-ray before we go home.

Blurry, but he's enjoying that Dr. Pepper! Funny thing is that he upped the ante on us and requested Dr. Pepper and pizza when we left the second hospital. :)

One Instagram photo. I love that smile . . . even in a cast! :)

Here he is letting Nathan sign his cast.

Next is Avery.

Avery also taught him how to army crawl to get around. :)

We did make it to the Lego store for Evan. I think he was in Lego Heaven! :)

Here's the set he bought and put together that evening -- all by himself!

We also had to stop by Bass Pro Shop and the boys had fun playing a shooting game in the back of the store.

Overall, we had fun . . . minus the break! :)

A Spoon Full of Sugar Helps the Medicine Go Down . . .

I wish Marry Poppins was right on this one! A few weeks ago, I had to take Jaxon to the doctor because he was running a high fever. Come to find out, he had an ear infection and she thought he had the flu -- great. . . So, after getting his medicine (who knew Tamiflu was $86!!), we headed home. I just knew that medicine time would be a breeze with this kid. Boy, was I wrong.

It started with Tylenol for his fever -- the purple kind.

Then, there was amoxicillin for the ear infection.

Finally, there was Tamiflu for the flu symptoms.

I got them all lined up in neat little medicine cups and told Jaxon it was time to take his medicine. He started screaming how he didn't love medicine and how he didn't want to take it. He was flopping all over the place! So, night #1, I ended up holding him down and putting it in his mouth. I was thinking this was going to be the longest 10 days of my life! :)

The next night, things started out the same -- crying, flopping, screaming, etc. Then, Aaron took Jaxon outside to calm down. When they came back in, Jaxon was ready to take his medicine like a big boy. What?!?

However, he started whining again when Aaron sat him down in front of the medicine. So, Aaron started "the timer". He started counting down from 10 and Jaxon had to drink all of one medicine cup before he got to zero. HALLELUJAH, IT WORKED!!

Jaxon was a champ with all 3 cups! We thought we had found the perfect solution until the next day . . . it all started again. Here's how my attempts at the timer worked:

Take 1: (Insert video that won't upload here). Jaxon didn't beat the timer.

Take 2: (Insert another video). Jaxon drinks some of the amoxicillin and almost throws up.

Take 3: (Insert another video). Jaxon is crying and fussing about how he can't take his medicine because he doesn't love it.

Take 4: (No video). I end up holding him down and putting it in his mouth.

The next morning, it was the same thing. But that evening, something clicked for him. He finally decided that he would take the medicine because it would make him bigger than Payton. Then, he got to where he just wanted to lay on the couch and let me drip it into his mouth. This past week when he had to take more medicine for his leg (more on that next), he wanted me to drip it in his mouth again.

So, maybe I should try the sugar next time!

#26-#36

Loving Brandi Wilson is the easiest thing to do. I mean, what is there NOT to love? So, to continue my top #100 things I love about Brandi, here are #26 through #36.

#26: She has some of the neatest children on the planet. Each one has their special-ness, but I love how Brandi encourages them to just be them. :)

#27: I love that she loves Cadburry eggs. I think they're disgusting. :)

#28: I love how she doesn't sleep in the same place every night. Like one night she sleeps with her head at the end of the bed and the next night, she'll sleep with her head at the head of the bed. She even switches which side of the bed she can sleep on. Not me! :) And how she doesn't know which way she's going to sleep until she goes to bed. Who does that?! :)

#29: I love it that she loves a good bag. :)

#30: I love that she uses reusable shopping bags, but she has a lot of different ones from different stores. That girl likes variety! :)

#31: I love that she wants to put smiley faces on her "new-to-her" van. :) OF COURSE SHE DOES! :)

#32: I love that she loves cards -- ones I've made, ones I've just given her, ones in the mail, vintage ones. She just loves cards! :)

#33: I love that I think she really could be friends with anyone. But, I feel really special to be a good friend to her! :)

#34: I love how she writes. I'm convinced that she'll write a book someday. Her sense of humor and the matter-of-factness of her writing is just amazing. :)

#35: I love that she owns a pair of Sketcher Twinkle Toe shoes. :)

#36: She's such an inspiration. She gave me some Wonder Woman cups for my birthday and I feel like I should give them back to her. She's a Wonder Woman to me. :)

I love you, Brandi!!!

So I had this idea. . .

So, over the last week, we were snowed/iced in and I was doing a little research . . . well, just aimlessly surfing the internet. Well, that isn't entirely true. I had "Liked" this Krazy Coupon Lady on Facebook and so I was checking out her stuff.

I've always been curious how coupons were worth it. I mean, if it takes me an hour to cut out some coupons from Sunday's paper and I save a couple (and I do mean only a couple) of dollars, is it worth all the time and energy?

I have done couponing and just been excited to see how much money I saved, but extreme couponers are extremely good at the game of couponing.

So, The Krazy Coupon Lady does this for a living. I'm sure she gets paid by advertisers on her website and TLC just did a pilot show with her in it called "Extreme Couponing". There was a lady on there who bought 125 jars of spaghetti sauce for pennies!! Anyway, it works like this:

* The Krazy Lady researches deals and coupons and she puts them on her website like this from today:

Share This Post:Print This PostEmail This PostShare on FacebookTweet ThisJoin the Discussion

FEB082011

Target: Cheap & Free Clorox Wipes!

Posted by the krazycouponlady // Target // Comments (15)

There is a new $1.00/1 Clorox coupon on their Facebook Page. Just “like” them and then click on the Products & Offers tab to print your coupon. Stack this coupon with the $0.75/1 Target coupon to make Clorox Wipes only $0.79. Here’s how…

Clorox Disinfecting Wipes 35 ct. $2.54
$0.75/1 – Clorox Disinfecting Wipes, Excludes 9ct Wipes, Target Coupon – (target.com)
$1.00/1 – Clorox Disinfecting Product, Any – (facebook.com)
Final Price: $0.79

Also you can get the Clorox Wipes To Go for Free! Here’s how…

Clorox Disinfecting Wipes To Go $0.97
$1.00/1 – Clorox Disinfecting Product, Any – (facebook.com)
Final Price: Free

Note: Coupon print out at the top of the page, followed by an (ink-wasting) ad. To save on paper & ink, insert just 1/3rd sheet of paper into your printer. Print limit 2, expiration date 30 days from print out.

Thanks, Totally Target

She tells you different scenarios and gives you where to find the coupon, etc. So, it got me thinking . . . what if:

* I get people to give me their coupons. People get the Sunday paper and just throw those things away. I have for a long time!

* I paid attention to the Krazy Coupon Lady's website and when I saw something that was a stock up deal, I took advantage of it. She does most of the work. I just need to kind of know my stores' (or even just 1 store) prices because prices will be different all over the US.

* Then, I can operate a food pantry based solely on couponing! Yes, it might take a little while to stock up on stuff, but I think if I got serious about it (or found someone who was), we could be stocked up in a few months / a year.

* Then, I'm able to give the food away for free or close to free. I think it would even be cheaper than shopping at the food bank!

* Then today, I was thinking, what if this gets to be so awesome and it's working and I can take people in poverty (who are wanting to transition out) and teach them how to coupon. Or even let them come in and pay a little something for the food. Or what if they just paid me what I paid for the item? Then, if they brought a coupon in for the item, I take that amount off.

Make sense? My mind is really going full speed with this thing just wondering if it could work.

Anyway, if you would like to give me those coupons that you would normally throw away, I would love to take them to practice with. I'm going to start trying to play the coupon game with every intention of starting a food pantry this way.

Wish I Was a Foodie . . .

Last night, I watched the movie, Julie & Julia. It was a cute little movie and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. But, it made me realize something about myself.

I AM A PICKY EATER!!

So, Aaron's been telling me this over the past few weeks. We went to Bonterra one night and I tried something new -- some kind of Ravioli with Rockefeller Sauce. I took one bite and knew it wasn't for me. The texture was fine and it looked delicious, but it left an after taste in my mouth that I didn't like. Now, I LOVE LOVE LOVE Bonterra and it's food. That night, I just decided to try something new and it wasn't my thing.

Then, there's other restaurants. I usually don't venture away from something that I know I'll like -- like steak. And, I always order the same thing when I find something that I do like. For example, when I go to

Chili's: Chicken Enchilada Soup & Caesar Salad. Sometimes a turkey sandwich and sometimes Quesadilla Explosion Salad. But, I think that's it.

Or how about Sharon Allen's: Medallions with loaded sweet potato & caesar salad.

Olive Garden: Pasta e Fagoli Soup & Salad

Rosa's: Nacho Salad or sometimes the Taco Plate

Chick-Fil-A: Chicken Sandwich, Fries (sometimes fruit), DP, Polynesian Sauce & Honey Mustard

Anyway, you get the point. But, after watching that movie, it made me wish I was more of a "foodie". I really don't enjoy eating. I don't savor every bite. I either like it or I don't. And sometimes, I decide whether I like it or not based on how it looks.

Here's a list of foods that I don't like . . . just for fun:

* Mushrooms -- they make me sick

* Cottage Cheese -- can't do the texture

* Fish -- just don't like it

* Any type of seafood -- although I did try calamari & octopus while I was in Cambodia

* Sushi

* Weird mixtures of things like in soups or casseroles

* Fried Chicken -- don't like pulling the meat off the bone

* Peppers

* I'm sure there's more . . . I'll try to keep thinking.

Anyway, I wish I enjoyed food more. Or was a little more adventurous with food. I wish I could go to Bonterra and let Joel feed me. Just can't do it. Or maybe I could let Joel because he might push me to try something new, but he might take it easy on me. . . probably wouldn't just walk in and say "Let the chef feed me." Nope, probably not.

On another trip to Bonterra, I ordered the salmon. I know, I'm not a fish person, but it was the only thing on there that I thought MIGHT be ok. I was pleasantly surprised. It had pesto drizzled over the top and it was really good! But, as I got to the end of it, I had had enough and started to get grossed out. But, I would probably order Joel's salmon again.

We were with a party and someone said, "This isn't really your kind of food, is it, Rachel?" My reply, "Nope." They asked what "my type of food" would be. I'm not sure. I like Chinese food (well, certain things) and I like Mexican food (again, certain things), but I don't have anything that is my absolute favorite. Then, we started talking about how we grew up. I grew up mainly on microwave food. My mom didn't like vegetables, so we didn't have them in the house. I was in high school before I ever tried broccoli, which I really liked!

Back to the movie -- I loved how Julie was determined to cook every recipe in that cookbook! She didn't look at the ingredients and decide she didn't like it before she cooked it. . . unlike me.

I'm realizing that my kids are a lot like me . . . or maybe I've become like them. Yeah, that's it!! They take one look at something and decide if they like it or not. Evan's more adventurous with his food. He will most of the time at least try a new food. He does like broccoli and cottage cheese, which are 2 things that Payton and Jaxon won't touch. I think Payton & Jaxon are the pickiest eaters on the planet. Jaxon just wants to eat waffles and chicken nuggets. Payton is just picky and he has been since he was a tiny baby. He never moved past stage 1 baby foods because he didn't like the texture. And, he would only eat sweet potatoes and apple sauce -- stage 1 foods only. Jaxon was kind of the same way, although he did move to stage 2 and stage 3 baby foods.

I want my kids to eat healthier. I want to cook healthier foods. So, I guess that all depends on me. . . oh great. Think Julie could come cook at our house for a little while? If that were the case, I would have to get much better with my facial expressions when something is put in front of me. Guess I'll have to change my eating habits and get over some of my little quirks.

Thank you Juile & Julia for proving that my husband is right -- I am a picky eater. (Sure hoping he doesn't read my blog anymore!)

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.