Too Many To Choose From!

Seriously!! See for yourself...

(I will say this: this is part of my trip to Kansas...it is my pleasure to introduce to you Sidney Christine Perez)

More to come...

One Woman's Threat Is Another Woman's Compliment

A tale related by Tara Hiester:

The other day Tara was running around town (well, a couple of towns, actually) with multiple children in tow, some of which did not belong to her, when she received a phone call inquiring about her whereabouts. It was the mother of a birthday-child who had arrived at Tara's home to pick Sydney up and escort her to said birthday-child's party. Realizing her faux pas, Tara scrambled to purchase a gift (as she had forgotten about the party completely), raced home, readied Sydney, threw her back in the car and dragged her to the party... late. Upon seeing the chaos and upheaval the Forgotten Party created in his home, Chad proclaimed, "That's it! I'm calling Marianne! You need help; she's so organized... you need a system!" (or something to that effect)

Nobody tell Chad I forget things all the time. I prefer the pristine image he currently has of me :)

Locked and Loaded

And we are back up and running... still too slowly, I might add. We are still with the same broadband company for now, but believe me, we are shopping!

I just wanted to let you know that we're back in action and I'll be adding the promised pictures in the very-near future. Now is not the best time, as the little man is still at-large in the living room... my best opportunities to communicate with the outside world come after bedtime :)

Let me just put something out there, while I have you. Why is it that an ultra-smart 2-year-old who can successfully pick out a "slug bug" on the road and sing such lyrics as "Savior, he can move the mountains. My God is mighty to save, he conquered the grave. Forever author of salvation, he rose and conquered the grave..." okay, so he has a few lines backwards, but come on!!!... why does a genius of this caliber NOT understand the concept of getting on the potty before the pee is running down his leg?? Why? I'm not sure whose accomplishment will be more celebrated when he finally gets it: his or mine?!

Technical Difficulties

I am currently experiencing a serious blogging snafu... I have no internet! No, really. I feel so responsible to my Few Faithful Followers that I have actually trekked my butt down to the library to get online to deliver this S.O.S.! (Well, I had to come to recheck our pirate books, but that is so beside the point.)

Our internet provider, who will remain unnamed, apparently has no live humans working for them. We have automatic payments, but the credit card they have on file was stolen and therefore cancelled, so they've shut off our service. I've tried repeatedly to reach them to resolve this issue, but each time I try to get a customer service representative with an actual pulse, the computer guy tells me, in a very polite tone, I might add: "I'm sorry, I didn't understand that. Please try back at a later time." And he hangs up on me!!!

Remember Max Headroom? I wonder if he is the guy on the phone? Hmm.

Anyhoo, we are giving up on this insect-inspired cellular/broadband company and looking into something else. Maybe a company that employs homo sapiens. You can imagine the difficulty of this endeavor, given we have no internet connection!! In any case, I'll post as soon as we're back up and running, because I have some incredible photos of Baby Sidney to share with you :)

That was the teaser...

On Location

Coming to you live from Larned, Kansas...

Robben and I are here in Kansas, visiting our good friends, Lyndsay & Luis and their new baby girl, Sidney. Being the social bug that he is, he stopped to tell each person that we were going to "fly way up high in the 'ky!" as we boarded the plane. On the second flight he actually fell asleep during take-off (MIRACLE!) and didn't wake up till we were making our final descent. Hallelujah :)

Robben is very interested in Baby Sidney. He offers her his trucks when she fusses and tries to soothe her with kisses :) After all, who doesn't want a Robben kiss? What I find to be hilarious is what Robben calls Luis: "Halloweece" :) For some reason, "Luis" just seems like a not-enough word to him.

Sidney is a precious, beautiful little thing. She will be 6 weeks old on Wednesday. When she's sleeping, she looks just like her mama, but when those big eyes open, she's transformed into her own little person. I will be taking LOTS of pictures of her while I'm here, so those will be posted soon and you can all comment on what a beautiful little angel my friends made :)

Today Lyndsay and I took the babes for a walk and let Robben play on a playground for a long time (at least an hour). He had lots of fun and then willingly went down for his nap. On the walk to the park he got to see a crop-dusting plane fly back and forth a bunch of times, which elicited squeals of delight. Poor Lyndsay, a simple walk on a sunny afternoon is quite an endeavor with a newborn, but I think they both enjoyed getting out of the house and getting some fresh air.

Tomorrow its off to Hays, the thriving metropolis of this part of Kansas (almost big enough to have a Starbucks...but not quite). There are a few things she wants to take us to do, but mostly I'm just hoping she gets a little relief from the new-mommy thing and a chance to have some fun. I'm perfectly fine with doing not-a-whole-lot for a week :) It's like a sick-day without having to feel yucky!

Well, I'll get back to my reading before my little man wakes up. I'll check in again soon. Hope everyone in Blogland is doing well...

Pet Portrait

I like the way this one turned out. This is one of our super-lovable outside kitties Chocolate Chip. As you can imagine she was named by children. We call her CC. (Again my apologies for the lack of commas...it drives me crazy!)

Sweet Sixteen

This past Saturday we had Ally's birthday party: Her Sweet Sixteen. Hence the "sweet" theme :) Anyone who's ever been to one of my parties knows they must have a theme...

Check out these super cute cupcakes. I made about 70 of them...each with the utmost attention to detail :)

...And my candies...

...Strawberries 3 ways: whole with whipped cream; sliced and sugared; and chocolate-dipped...

...The favors: styrofoam cupcakes filled with candy... even the flowers are sweetpeas...

...Grandma Alice made the cake :) It was an oversized cupcake (as you can see) which is why I made mass quantities of cupcakes for all to enjoy (that cake would not feed 50!)

Happy Birthday Ally! I'm glad you had a great time with all of your friends and family :) (I'm also glad it's over...that was a lot of work for me!!)

Motivating Factors

We all have goals and dreams. Whether we know what they are or not, there are always motivating factors behind those desired accomplishments...to be wealthy, to have, to be loved, to be admired, to be envied, to glorify ourselves, to glorify God...these are only a few of the possibilities. Here is Robben's motivating factor:

"I be pole paulter (pole-vaulter) when I'm big. I be pole paulter when I'm big and old. When I get older, I be pole paulter. And Mommy take a picture of me. And go, 'WOOHOO Robben!!!"

Praise and adoration, please. Thank you very much!

Every Thorn Has Its Rose

(Well every thorn that happens to be on a rosebush anyway)

That's My Girl

Last weekend Ally went to sixteenth birthday party for one of her girlfriends from school. (Forgive me please...my laptop is without a "comma" key :( ) It was quite an elaborate party (with over 200 people including friends and family) and Ally reported that she had a great time. One of the guys that the birthday-girl invited brought an uninvited guest. He was a boy Ally has known since elementary school and has never had a very good relationship with (think principal's office). Well this boy showed up high and proceeded to smoke pot right there at Ally's table. He told her "what's the big deal? It's not even bad for you." To which she replied: "Well I don't see any POSITIVE effects." She did her best to keep her distance as much as possible but when this young man actually tried to get her to smoke with him she'd had enough. She called us for a ride almost a whole hour before the party ended.

It's always good to see your kids' values actually lived out in difficult or trying situations. I'm very proud of Ally for her decision that night :)

Quotes of a 2-year-old Hiester

"Mommy! Get off the computer and come play with me!"

"Mickey Mouse is in the car. He's driving to dance!"

"Oh my goss... my God is mighty to save!"

What did Adam and Eve do? "They ate the fruit. God said NOOOOO!"

A Random Sampling

I'm so sorry. I've been told (by multiply people) that my "Photos of the Day" have been missed (as well as my quick wit and unmatched charm, no doubt). I have had bloggers-block...as well as no time and no desire to sit at the computer. Here are some pictures to make up for the days without photos. And just remember: if you COMMENT, I'll know you are enjoying my efforts!!!

Chillin' with my daddy

That's my Chubby Bunny!

Jonas Logan Heasley (my best bud's baby boy)

Tea Layelle Heasley (Jonas' twin sister)

Not One Of Those Days

There are days when I truly LOVE my life. Days where my heart is filled with joy, almost to the bursting point; days where I am so thankful for the abundance I have been blessed with; days where I feel honored and privileged to lead my life.


Today is NOT one of those days.


There are days that my little Robben is a model of obedience and kindness; days where I feel like I am doing a good job as his mommy; days that I feel like I can do this.

Unfortunately, today is NOT one of those days.



There are days when I am glad I got out of bed; days where I feel like I've accomplished something (sometimes great, sometimes small); days where I feel like I am the luckiest woman alive.

Sadly, today is NOT one of those days.



There are days that, though I am frustrated, I remember to call on God to keep me in check; days where I can exhibit extreme patience in the face of naughtiness and disobedience; days that I can remain focused on what is truly important.

I'm sorry to report that today was NOT one of those days.



There are days that my girls are not very understanding about my frustration; days that they are not very willing to help me with Robben; days that they are not very sensitive to my precariously balanced sanity.

Thank God today was NOT one of THOSE days!!!

Photo Of The Day

Takin' Back the Land

Photo Of The Day

We've always said he should be a model :)

Photo Of The Day

Snow Flowers

Photo Of The Day

Missing Mommy

After her turn at Carrie's grave, Elissa needed some time with Daddy.

Happy Birthday, Carrie!

Today is the day that Carrie (Todd's late wife & Tyler, Kurstin & Elissa's natural mommy) would be 32. Our tradition is to go to the cemetery, then to her favorite restaurant, DiCicco's. At the cemetery, each of us (youngest to oldest) takes a few minutes alone with our thoughts/prayers at the grave. We usually take flowers (we each pick our own, so they seldom go together) to replace the old ones, but today we were ill prepared. Luckily, someone (probably Alice, Carrie's mom) had already been there, replaced the flowers and added a couple of Happy Birthday balloons.

Happy Birthday, Carrie! I hope you're having a rockin' party with the heavenly hosts :)

Photo Of The Day

Longing

Robben saw a kitty outside and wanted to share the sight with the bear...