3 hour blackout

There's nothing like the silence of a house to be your alarm clock. Just as my alarm was about to go off, my fan stopped blowing. And then I knew we were in for trouble. Our power was OUT!

Now, I've been known to say a time or two how much fun I think it would be to be powerless for a day or so. Be creative with food, play games by candlelight, bundle up all in one room, etc... But not when it's 11 degrees outside! That's just plain dangerous!

So this morning the girls and I got ready with only the glow of the candles as our light. It was kind of fun. They were in an exceptionally good mood (seeing as this was all new) and we found ourselves ready in record time. I mean, how much can you really do in the dark?! Since cooking breakfast wasn't an option and I refused to ope the refrigerator for milk, it was off to McDonald's before school. Wow! What a treat!! And a fantastic way to start our Friday!

It wasn't until we loaded up in the van and I looked in the rearview mirror did I notice how kind of pitiful we all looked. At first I was sad I forgot my camera - you know, got to document all of life's adventures! But when I saw what we looked like in daylight I realized we were better off not having this in the history books of our lives. ;)

Ear loaf

See this simple hair cut? Yes, it's cute and Baylee looks crazy old, but it sparked one hilarious conversation the other day.

You see, Bran took the girls for a much needed hair cut last week. And this cut requires a little bit of work for it to look it's best. Nothing major, just blown dry and a little help from the flat iron. So the other night I grabbed the straightener to smooth some hair around Bay's face. I'm sure she could feel the heat of it when I heard her say, "Mom, be careful. You're going to burn my ear loaf". Huh?! Her what?! Bless Baylee's heart she's apparently been calling her earlobe an ear loaf all of these years. And I'm just now catching on! Needless to say we had ourselves a good laugh that evening! :)

To my sister

Hey, Brenna -

Remember when I was just a wee tot and I pestered you all day. I was that annoying little sister and wouldn't leave you alone? And just when you thought the coast was clear and we were out of mom and dad's sight, you turned around and slapped me? Too bad your slap was a good one, dad heard it from across the house. And we both got spankings.

Or what about James Knott? Yeah, you were probably jealous when he gave ME the orange Tootsie Roll Pop at Chouteau instead of you. I think he only hung around you so he could really be around me - even though I was only 6.

Oh, I know! Remember when we went to Washington, D.C. the first time and you HATED having to share a room with your 13 year old sister? Yeah, as a 23 year old you were too cool for that.

And remember on that same trip when you watched me give money to the Hare Krishna's? And then told me I had given money to some cult? And then I cried? But being the nice sister you were you gave me a dollar to make me feel better? I mean, without that dollar I couldn't have bought that souvenir patriotic flag shirt to wear at the capitol on the 4th!

Remember our matching Coca-Cola gowns? We were cute.

Remember when we drove cross country to visit the Welch clan and you and Benny sang "Head to Toe" loud and proud while touching my head and toes at every mention of the words? I still hate that song.

Remember when you moved to Baltimore and for graduation you flew me up to stay with you?

Remember we recreated our Washington, D.C. trip and liked each other that time? And we went to Ford's theater and thought we were going to get kicked out because we kept reenacting the sound of the gunshot?

Remember when you taught me how to make muenster chicken and revealed to me that mom had been making it out to be more difficult than it really is? And we laughed until we cried because she had tricked us all of those years?

Remember when you found that pregnancy test in my car? That was a shocker, huh?

Remember when we turned a corner and stopped being sisters and started being best friends?

Oh, Sister, I love you. I could play the "Remember when" game all day long. I wish you were still here so we could celebrate your 37th birthday. I would cook that easy-peasy muenster chicken for you and I'd have your favorite cinnamon streusel cake ready for dessert. Today, when I feel myself getting sad and the tears well up in my eyes, I'll think of all the wonderful memories and I'll hold them extra close to my heart. I love you, dear Sister.

~ Cari

October Rocktober!

Wow! November 3 already?! (Ironically, when I went to type November, I typed out September. :/ Hmmm.... What does that say?) Where oh where did this year go?! October flew by before I could even get the Halloween decorations out. But I didn't forget to make those memories and carry on some traditions!! Let's take a quick look at some October highlights...

Grandparent's Day! 10/1/09

Molly turned 2! 10/12/09

Caylee got glasses! 10/13/09

Picture Day! 10/14/09

Baylee's last doctor appointment with Dr. Matthias for three months! 10/14/09

(This picture was taken in September when all casts/splints were removed. She got the official "all clear" on October 14.)

80's Cake (only a highlight b/c I had to start all over and was up until 4 a.m. Ugh!) 10/17/09

Halloween cookies! 10/26/09

Baylee was proud of her cheerleader ghost with a bra. Oh, that girl! ;)

Fall festival at the school! 10/30/09

Pumpkin carving! 10/30/09

And the fiasco....

Nothing Brandon couldn't fix though!

Halloween night!!!! 10/31/09

Halloween was so HUGE this year, it's going to require it's own post. So fun.

And somehow in the middle of that crazy October month.....

*Baylee was sick.

*Caylee was sick.

*I was sick.

*I started my three month jury duty service.

*I went to a Women's conference.

*I began a three year term on our church's Women's Ministry team.

*Brandon and I celebrated a decade together!

*And more!

Wow!! No wonder I'm tired! ;) What a great month!

Oh, and I might've forgotten to put out Halloween decorations, but I proudly have my Pilgrims, Indians, and cornucopia on my entry table already! Woo-hoo! :)

Growing up

Sometimes it takes my breath away when I think about how old my girls are. Eight. Really? Can they really be that old? Weren't they just toddling around in their onesies yesterday? Didn't Baylee have that wild hair only a week ago? Wasn't it just last month when Caylee stuttered at the beginning of every sentence? I am amazed at how time as FLOWN by. They are almost half way through third grade. And then after that, they'll only have one year left of elementary school.

WHAT?!! And that's where I begin to tear up.

See, there are those moments in the day when I see glimpses of my "babies". You know, when Baylee refers to a magazine as a "mazagine". Or when one of them will ask for "chatchige" pizza. Or when it's time to add extra "washmellows" to the hot chocolate. It's those precious moments I'm holding on to, because I know the age of innocence is near.

Before long we will be talking about boys, dealing with girlfriend drama, shopping for make-up, and having "the talk". Oh, my heart aches when I think about those times. I didn't realize just how fast our itty-bitty babies would grow up.

Jury Duty

A couple of weeks ago I opened my mailbox and found this very odd and strange looking letter. I skimmed right over it at first and as I was pilfering through the other mail I notice the bright red letters.

"Report for jury duty".

What?! Oh dears!

Mom was with me and I immediately said over and over, "Mom, I can't do this. I can't do this. I won't do this. I won't do this".

In between laughter and hysteria I tried to realize it was my civic duty. I should be a proud American citizen. It's patriotic to be summoned, right? Well, if you take a good look at my chin right now, it's broke out in pimples from stress. I don't feel very patriotic.

I woke up this morning, THE morning, to report. Stomach in knots and a trip to the bathroom later and I was off. I was nervous for a few reasons. First, I don't particularly like new things. I want to know all the details about a situation before I go in. And for this, I had nothing. I had a time and I place and that was it. Second, what about the girls? Brandon is swamped at work and all my friends have young kids too; who in the world is going to pick them up from school if I'm stuck in a courthouse? I was afraid of all sorts of little things.

Thankfully, Brandon's best friend was also summoned so there was a familiar face in the room with me. If there was an emergency, I wasn't alone. But then something I wasn't expecting happened. When the circuit judges walked out, I knew two of them! What?!

I had myself a quiet chuckle to myself for freaking out and listened to the rules and watched the orientation video. Before we were finished for the day I approached the judge and stated my reasons for excusal -- stay at home mom, in Bible study core group with one of the judges -- but he didn't excuse me. He was super friendly and told me to stick with them and we'd work things out.

I know to some people being nervous about jury duty sounds silly. But to me, it was dreadful. All of the unknowns freak me out. And I'm still not finished with my duty. I must serve for the next three months. This is going to be exhausting. But this is what I'm going to cling to...

"For God has not given us a spirit of fearfulness, but of power, love, and sound judgement". 2 Timothy 1:7

When I pick up the phone to call in next month, I will not be afraid.

When I report to the courthouse, I will not be afraid.

When I'm not personally able to pick up the girls from school, I will not be afraid.

Because He is with me. Even in jury duty.

9/11

I woke up late that morning. Late, being sometime after 8 a.m. The girls had decided to sleep in and that, thankfully, gave me a few extra moments of rest. They were nine days shy of being five months old. I had only been married a little over a month. But I will never forget that morning.

As was the custom, I walked through the tiny hallway in our apartment and went to turn on the t.v. It was time for Good Morning America and I needed my time with Charlie and Diane before the girls woke up. Still in a haze I clicked the power button on the remote and turned to the kitchen. It took a few minutes before I realized the voice I was hearing wasn't Charlie or Diane, but it was Peter.

Peter? Peter Jennings in the early morning? That couldn't be right. Could it?

I proceeded preparing my toast and I'm sure I grabbed a caffeinated drink. Most definitely soda, not coffee. It wasn't until I saw the t.v. did I realize what was going on. Though, I know I wasn't able to fully comprehend it, because it's still hard for me to wrap my head around it even today.

I watched the coverage of the twin towers with my mouth wide open. I cried. And I was afraid. Did this really just happen? I sat on my couch all day. I could not turn away from the coverage. I called my sister in Baltimore because there was a World Trade Center there. I called Brandon numerous times during the day for reassurance.

I'm not sure how I took care of the girls that day. I think I was in robot mode. I had enough sense, though, to take a picture of them that day. I knew one day I would have to talk about what happened that September morning because our country would not be the same again.

For us, it was pretty easy to move on with our lives. Brandon works in the aviation business and his company took a hit. We knew at any time he could be laid off. But praise God for his provision! We live in a military town now, just a few miles from an Air Force base. Many of the girls' classmates have mothers or fathers that have served or are serving in Iraq. We have C-130's flying overhead night and day. It's a constant reminder for us to never take living here in America for granted.