California Adventure: Part 2

We have been in California for a week and a half and are finally adjusting.  I'm not gonna lie, the first few days were rough.  The kids were getting over being sick and I was trying to set a new routine in a strange place.  Add missing my bed and house into it all and yeah, it wasn't easy.  But I feel like we are getting used to it all now.  

Last week, Tom worked normal hours, even late a few days, but we managed to squeeze in some family time and the kids and I wondered around the neighborhood each day.  We have found several great parks within a few minutes of us and even a library close by that has family story time each Tuesday night and the kids absolutely loved it.  We will definitely be going back. 

We have been attending church in San Francisco at Bro. Mark Morgan's church, Abounding Grace.  The church family has been very hospitable and we have enjoyed meeting new people and had a great dinner out after Sunday's service with several from the church.  Thank you AG for being so kind to us.

Tom had Labor Day off, so we drove down to Santa Cruz for a family day.  The boardwalk and beach there are a big attraction.  It was a warm day and we enjoyed about 5 hours there.  The kids LOVED riding all the kid rides and rode most of them twice :)  Then Carter and Tom had fun jumping in the water while Shae' and I were content to bury our feet in the sand.  It was a long day (2 hour drive each way) but tons of fun and memories.

We are leaving Friday morning and flying down to Anaheim.  We will be at Disneyland/California Adventure on Saturday and Sunday, then flying back Monday.  I'm pretty sure I'm more excited than the kids :)   I'll blog about our adventure next week!  

Here are a few pics from our time here so far :)

                                           At the paint place making mugs :)

                                     

                                          Carter hard at work :)

                                          Shae' and I painting away

                                          With our finished mugs

                                                    Heading out to find a park :)

                                                   Walking to the boardwalk in Santa Cruz

                                          Having a blast on the kid rides

   

                                          Carter had SO much fun in the water!

California Adventure

WARNING:  Long post ahead!


Life is full of surprises, but this year we have had more than our fair share.  One thing you must know about me (if you don't already) is that I am a very planned person.  To a fault, really.  I want to know what is going to happen every minute of every day...and I want it on the calendar months in advance.  It's a disease, I think.  I've learned to embrace it, and it makes me good at many things, but it can be a nuisance  too.  My husband never wants to surprise me with any special plans because he's afraid that it will upset something I've already planned.  I sometimes worry that I'm not a good Mommy because I'm not spontaneous enough with the kids, easily going with the flow.  I can get very upset when plans are disrupted.  It's something I'm working on. 

  Ok, so now you have more than you wanted of a description of me.  Back to where I started.......

  This year has been crazy.  I've been married to Tom for almost 10 years and in that time, he has never worked out of town that I can remember.  Starting in March of this year, he had a few weeks of working the night shift for a job they landed.  It was a crazy few weeks of him being home during the day sleeping and gone through the night working.  I did not like it at all.  Our family schedule was thrown out the window and I got a taste of single parenting.  Then in April, they landed a job in eastern WA. About a 7 hour drive.  Tom went over off and on for 2 months, and when he did he was gone from Sunday to Friday night.  He was rarely gone two weeks in a row, but it did happen a few times.  During this time, they also started a job in California.  The plan was that he would only go down every few weeks for 1-2 days to check in on the job.  Well, that worked well at first.  We had a great July of him being home and a normal schedule.   Then toward the end of July, he broke the news that he was going to have to be going down to the California job more often.  "How often?" was my question.  "Every week until the job is over." was the response.  ugh.  Major pity party on my end! :/   The job will last until the end of the year, possibly even into January.  I'm praying it's over in November.  Only time will tell.   At first, Tom would fly down to the  job on Sunday and back on Thursday nights....giving us a few days of the weekend together.   But that gets expensive fast and was really tough on him working 15 hour days and then traveling home for a few hours of family time.  So, he asked me to move to California til the job was over.  I didn't hesitate in saying, "NO".  I am a homebody, I don't like traveling for long periods of time...especially with the kids.  They need their beds, routine, etc. (so do I!) And besides, that did not fit into my plans. (remember, I've got our entire year planned out already) But after a few weeks to think it over, I did agree to coming down for an extended time.  I figured it was worth the sacrifice to be together as a family.....single parenting was getting old fast.  I actually started getting excited about our little adventure.  You see,  I've really been working on changing that whole 'planned personality' thing about myself.  Not that I don't want to be a planner, I just want to be more adventurous.  I want to be 'fun' for my kids AND my husbands sake.  I want to learn to go with the flow a little more when surprises pop up, rather than getting bent out of shape over them.  SO, this has been on my mind since the beginning of this year......and then all of these things started happening.  You think the Lord maybe heard my prayers?  Wow, what a response!  And an opportunity.   4-5 weeks is what I agreed to and that brings us to the present.  Here we are, living in California........

  We drove down over the weekend and arrived Sunday night.  Tom started back to work Monday morning, so it's been the kids and I during the day, getting settled, establishing a routine, etc.  They started preschool this week, which has given us something to do.  We've enjoyed our family time in the evenings, something we've been without for a long time it seems.  AND the best part, we got to attend church together as a family last night.  First mid week service we've been to as a family in a pretty long time.  It felt wonderful!  

So a bit about where we are staying.  We are in a town called Alameda, right across the bay from SF.   We had looked into renting a house for the time we were here, but could not find the right thing (a place furnished, that would rent for only a month)  So we actually ended up in a hotel.  It's an extended stay type of place, 1 bedroom, full kitchen, etc.  It's okay.....older furnishings and all, but livable.  You can't really afford the ritz when you are paying for a month of hotel.  yikes!  The best part about it, and the reason we chose it, is LOCATION.  It is right across the street from a shopping center:  Safeway, Trader Joe's, Panera, Walgreens, Ross, TJ Maxx, Starbucks, Jamba Juice, and a whole bunch of other stores and restaurants.  So I can walk across the street and buy groceries, etc.  And the beach is also right across the street.  It's working out well.   

I will keep updating throughout our month here.  There will be lots of pics to come and hopefully some fun stories of our 'adventure'!  We hit Disneyland next weekend, so we are all really excited about that!  We also are going to be involved in a fall photo shoot in a few weeks....more to come on that later.  I'd say things are off to a good start and I'm quickly learning to 'go with the flow' :)

  

Carter's 4!!!

My sweet baby boy turned 4 on Saturday....FOUR!  I just can't believe it!  It really does feel like yesterday that we welcomed him into this world.  I can say without hesitation that it has been the best 4 years of my life.  He has been an absolute JOY to have in our family.  And the older he gets, the more I love him.  This is such a fun age! 


 I love all of the cute things he says and wonder where in the world he gets some of it.  HA.  And I love, love, LOVE the fact that he voluntarily (and often!) tells us all how much he loves us.  He has such a tender heart (which I credit to being like his daddy).   Our favorite saying of his?  "mama (or dada), do you know what I love?"  Our reply, "What?"  His answer, "You!".  (yeah...melt, melt, melt!)


 I love how super smart he is.  Really, he amazes me with all he knows and how quickly he learns. (which is a good thing, because we will be homeschooling).  And he LOVES learning.  I hope that lasts forever!  ;)


 I love how much he loves his baby sister.  It's so sweet to hear them playing together.  Their newest game to play is a memory game he got for his birthday....they play it like 'go fish'.  It is ADORABLE to hear Carter say, "Baby Shae', do you have chuggington?" And her reply, "uh huh", and they proceed through the cards this way.  Ahhh...melts my heart! 


I could go on and on, but you get the idea.  Carter Thomas Lyman is a sweetheart and we are so blessed to have him in our family!  


We celebrated big on Saturday.  The day started with blue cinnamon rolls, his request.  He had asked for them earlier in the week when we were discussing his bday breakfast.  He had forgotten about it and was really surprised (and excited) to see them when he woke up. :)

BTW, the monkey...that's Buddy.  He was Carter's Build a Bear creation last year on his 3rd birthday and he has been Carter's sidekick every since.  He's pretty much part of the family now and we all love him :)  Getting way off track here, but sometimes I'll hear Carter talking to Buddy....it is so cute!  He will say something to Buddy, ask him a question, and then press Buddy's paw (which results in a monkey sound) as if that's Buddy answering him.  Really the cutest thing!


Back to Saturday, after breakfast, Carter got to see 2 of his presents.  One was a basketball goal from my parents and the other was his Lightening McQueen Power Wheels car from us.  He had been asking for this for weeks and was SO excited to see it in the driveway!

After lunch, we headed to The Little Gym for Carter's birthday party.  We LOVE The Little Gym!  Both kids are enrolled in classes there weekly and they love it.  The staff is amazing too :)  They did a fabulous job on the party.  All I had to do was bring the stuff and they did all the set up and clean up...it was the easiest party ever!  Not to mention they entertained 12 kids for and hour and a half.  That in itself is amazing. :)  Here are a few pics from his party.....

 His cake was amazing!  Thanks Valerie!!!

 Blowing out the candles.....

Posing with all his presents.  He got some great stuff!




We wrapped up the day with some play time at home, dinner out on the deck (the weather was amazing!) and a family bike ride around the neighborhood.  It was a fabulous, fun-filled day!


Happy Birthday to my sweet boy!  Each year you get cuter and sweeter.....I'm sad to see you getting so big. I wish you could stay this little forever, but I know you are going grow up to be an amazing person!  Mommy loves you, now and forever! xoxoxo

2011 Review.....

Another year has gone by.  It is SO crazy how fast this year flew!  I have BIG plans for New Year's Eve (tonight).....I'm in my pj's, kids are in bed asleep, hubby is running out the door for a massage (spoiled rotten) and I plan on watching "It's A Wonderful Life".  December was so busy and by the time the kids were in bed most nights, I just didn't have the energy to stay up and watch it.  I cannot let this year end without seeing it. (it's my favorite!)  So, yeah, big plans.  ugh.  Life as a parent is so glam, right?  HA.


Anyway, I digress.  2011 review.  It was a great year in some ways, and not so great in others.  I can honestly say that it was the toughest year of my life.  For several reasons.  Mainly trying to adjust to having two kids was the toughest part for me.  Tom and I both still struggle with this at times.  Seems so pathetic...I mean, lots of people have more than one kid, right?  And they do it and make it look so easy sometimes.  Why is it still so hard for us sometimes?  Don't get me wrong...we LOVE our kids....it's just that parenting is by far the toughest job EVER!  I guess the fact that Shae' is still waking up most nights doesn't help.  I don't know why it seems so hard, I just know that it is and that I am totally exhausted the majority of the time.  I hate that feeling.   On the flip side of that, we have never known more joy that the joy our children bring us.  Really.  Isn't that amazing?  How your kids can drive you nuts one minute and then melt your heart the next?  That part I love!  My kids are great.  I love them madly and believe with all my heart 2012 will be a bit easier in this area.  Here's hoping anyway! :)

Aren't they the cutest? :)

I guess for every negative, there really is a positive.  Our family has faced some spiritual battles like we've never seen before this year.  It's been hard.  REALLY hard.  But the positive is that we've learned (and are learning) to trust God more.  Knowing that He really does hold our world in His hands and has it all under control is the best feeling.  (I love that song, have you heard it?  "You Hold My World" by Israel?  It has brought me much comfort in the last few months)  My favorite line: "I'm not afraid, my world is safe in Your hands".


So I guess, to keep from going into tons of details about the year, I can sum 2011 up by saying:  I've learned a lot.  I've grown as a person.  I'm learning more patience (thanks Carter and Shae') and I'm learning to trust in God more than ever before.  I've been blessed beyond measure this year and the good ALWAYS outweighs the bad.   I've grown closer to some friends and farther apart from others, made new friends and had the privilege of seeing some friends whom I haven't seen for years. I've learned more about myself and am thankful that God is still working on me.  I've laughed and I've cried, but looking back, I don't know that I would change much.  Even if I would like to, I refuse to live in regret.  Instead, I'll shift my focus toward 2012 and all that is in store.  I'm believing for an amazing year!  

"Let's watch the old year die, with a fond goodbye

and our hopes as high as a kite....."

Happy New Year!  Thank you to all of my family and  friends, close or even just 'FB close' (HA!) for making 2011 so wonderful!  I pray blessings for you all in 2012! xoxo

Christmas Recap

Another Christmas has come and gone.  It's hard to believe we're already at the end of the year, but  I guess I shouldn't be surprised at how fast time flies....each year seems to go faster than the one before. 


We had a wonderful Christmas!  This was our 3rd really FUN Christmas with Carter and Shae's 1st fun one.   The kids got some wonderful gifts and we've been enjoying great quality time with family.  We chose to go south to visit my family for Thanksgiving this year and stay home for the month of December.  It's the first time since we've been married that we haven't visited my family for Christmas.  So, it's been different, but we've enjoyed it.  Tom's sister and her family have been visiting so we've been busy with them.  Plus, we've enjoyed creating our own traditions as a family.  What kind of traditions do you have?  Anything unusual?  I'm always looking for ideas since we are just getting going with our family.  I want to start things now that we can continue throughout the kids growing up.  A few things we do now are:


*Advent Calendar
    We have a little people hanging advent calendar.  If you've never seen it and have small kids, you really should check them out.   You spend the month of December creating the manger scene and on Christmas morning get to put baby Jesus in the manger.  It is SO darling!  Carter looks forward to it each day in December.
*Elf on the Shelf
     If you have never heard of this, you should check it out.  It is such a cute idea.  However, we do not do Santa at all, so instead of Elf on the Shelf, I bought a Zebra that has bendable arms/legs and we named him and call him our hide-and-seek Zebra.  No magical powers, or visits to the North Pole....just a fun animal that we can play a game with at Christmas time.  Every night we would hide him in different spots (just like Elf on the Shelf) and the first thing the kids wanted to do in the morning is look for him.  Shae' especially got really good at finding him, often times before Carter even would. 
*Joy Stocking
    This is one of my favorites.  We start right after Thanksgiving.  I leave blank paper and pen on the kitchen counter and throughout the month of December, we write joy notes to each other and place them in a special stocking we have hanging on our fireplace.  These notes start with....."you bring me joy when....." and can be filled in however.  It's just our way of saying what we are thankful for in each other.  On Christmas Eve, we read the notes aloud.  This was our 3rd year of doing this.  We actually were so busy Christmas Eve with family over, that we ended up reading them at the breakfast table Christmas morning and I really liked that too.  I can't wait until the kids are old enough to write their own notes.  It will be so fun to see what they come up with!
*Christmas Carols
   Call me old fashioned, but I LOVE singing Christmas Carols!  We do this on Christmas Eve before bedtime.  We just gather around the piano and sing as many songs as possible before the kids lose interest. HA.  Everything from Jingle Bells to Silent Night.  It's a blast.  I look forward to future Christmases when the kids can play an instrument and we can have our own little band while we sing :)
*The Christmas Story
    The last, but certainly not least, thing I'll mention is our reading of the Christmas Story.  A rule in our house is no presents are opened Christmas morning before we read the Christmas Story found in Luke 2.  This year was really sweet because Carter was SO excited to read about baby Jesus.


These are just some of our traditions.  I look forward to making many more as our family grows and the years pass.  I want traditions that my children can pass on to their children.


I'll close with some pictures from our Christmas.  I'm including some pics of my Christmas decor too.  I LOVE to deck my house out with Christmas stuff.  There's not many a corner in my home that goes untouched. :-)  

The centerpiece in our living room, that's our joy stocking hanging :)                                                     

My living room tree, yes, not much green showing I know ;)

My cozy living room.  LOVE this room.  That's my new furniture that was part of my Christmas present :)

I love to display my Christmas cards....these are just randomly stuck in this decor piece in my kitchen....I get to look at them every morning while I make my coffee :)

Our family room.  I love doing the bright colors..SO fun!  This is where we open gifts :)

The stockings are hung with care :)

Shae' on Christmas Eve

Carter on Christmas Eve

Christmas Morning :)

Caught in the act ;-)

She thought it was funny :)

The best I could get of them together

All the kids went in together and got these throws for the grandparents.  It has all the grandkids photos on it. (great-grandkids for Grandma Mim, pictured here)  Grandma Mim said she laid it across her bed and every time she walks into her room, it's like all the great grandkids are there looking at her.  How sweet! :)

Here's the grandparents with their throw.  My MIL cried like a baby when she opened it.  I would call that a successful Christmas present :) (I just realized that the bottom of the throws aren't showing in the pics...but I promise all the kids are pictured.  The throws are huge)

I pray you all had a blessed Christmas as well!  xoxo

Happy Birthday Shae'!!!

Shae' Shae'!!!  I can't believe you are turning ONE tomorrow!  Wow...this year has really flown by.  I'm excited and sad all at the same time.  Excited for all the new things you are learning and doing, but sad that you are growing so fast. :/  Please slow down, just a little please?


I can say without hesitation that you have made this last year very interesting for our family.  You started out by coming into this world in the middle of the night (4:08a.m.) and you have kept us up at night ever since.  You are definitely one tough kid to figure out.  Even as your mommy, whose supposed to 'know' what you need/want at all times, I have been at a loss countless times.  I think you are ready to change the world and just can't sleep due to all the plans running through that pretty head of yours.  It's obvious you have big plans and can't wait to start implementing them......I mean that's clear from the fact that you are so 'busy'....from walking at 10 months (and practically running now!) to always being on the go and looking for something else to do.....I can't wait to see how you change your world!


You are such a sweetheart.  I love how you are always eager to give love to your family and how you are quick to hug and kiss Carter when he's upset.  You love your brother so much!  You two will be best friends through life and I love watching the relationship between you grow. 
It's so sweet to see you light up when you see Daddy for the first time at the end of a work day, or when I come into your room first thing in the morning.  You smile with your eyes and it is so beautiful!  


You have taught me so much in the last year.  You have taught me patience that I didn't  know I was capable of.  You have taught me how to slow down and appreciate the simple things.  I've learned that those hand prints on the coffee tables can wait a little longer to be wiped off (they're actually kinda cute)...that the nose prints on the windows can stay until tomorrow (after all, you'll just put more on there tomorrow when you're watching for daddy to come home) and that sleep isn't nearly as important as I once thought (well, it's important, but I can function on far less than I once thought!  And besides, the sunrise sure is beautiful).  You've caused me to say 'no' to others far more than I ever have....and you know, that's ok.  I've learned that this is a 'season of life' that we are in.....we won't be as involved in other things as we once were.....not at this time anyway...and I'm ok with that. If I can teach you what's right, show you how to live and love and instill a love for God in your heart, then I will be more fulfilled than I've ever been doing anything else.


 Thank you baby girl for teaching me all of this.   You are going to do great things, I just know it.  And you will keep our family very interesting in the process, I'm sure.  You are beautiful inside and out and I can't imagine our family without you!


Happy Birthday Baby Shae'.  Mommy loves you!

When you were just a few hours old

a few days old here....

3 months....

8 months....

last week at church....almost 1!

at the pumpkin patch with mommy....

your 1 year pictures

Decisions....

I am in the midst of decision time and am desperately looking for some advice!  Here goes......

We have had our dog, Schroeder for 7 years now.  I love this dog.  I begged Tom for over a year to get him for me and he was like a first child for us.  He went everywhere with us, vacations, etc. and we spoiled him rotten.  Fast forward a bit.....having kids in our lives now, Schroeder has definitely become more of a 'dog' to us.  We still love him (well, I do anyway), but he is no longer the 'child' to us he once was.  I mean, we are busy with two little ones now.  And Tom is dying to get rid of him.  Sad, I know.  My husband has never been a dog lover and has only 'tolerated' the dog because of my love for him.  Since Shae' has come along and we've had such a rough go with her, Schroeder has become more and more difficult to handle.  He's not a bad dog, but he's just extra money and energy....and I'm running out of both! :/  We have had to spend quite a bit this last month on him too because of some issues he's had.  

So, I'm actually considering finding another home for him.  Now, after all of this, in my heart I just don't think I can do it, but I'm putting my feelers out there and keeping an open mind to the idea at least.  I know it would make my husband happy and make for a little more peace in our home.....I just don't know if I can part with him after 7 years!  It would be less stress in my life, but not sure if I can handle the guilt that would undoubtedly follow.  If you are reading this and not a pet owner, you will not understand, but if you are a pet owner, I need to hear from you!  Have you ever had to do anything like this?  What was the experience like for you?  

Again, I don't think I'm gonna be able to do it (sorry Tom if you're reading!)  But I'm at least considering it which is more than I've ever done.   I just want to hear some thoughts from my friends.  Comment on the blog itself rather than FB if you don't mind :)