Uncle Jesse

A few weeks ago my brother, Jesse, came to visit. It was so wonderful to have him here. Jesse has gone through a lot in the last year and it has changed him for the better. I felt like we, his family, were his priority. In the past I never saw Jesse much when he came to visit. But this time I saw him a lot.
He came for dinner one night at my house. It was great having him be there and just visit while we watched the kids play outside. Then we went inside and Michael showed Jesse his motorized Thomas the train engines. Jesse hooked two of the engines up back to back and they had a tug of war. I laughed so hard listening to Jesse commentate the competition between the engines.
Jesse also told Lorenne about me being his "little brother" when I was younger. She got a big kick out of that story. As I watched Jesse play with my kids I experienced the same hero worship I had for him as a little girl.
I am so sorry for all the heartache that Jesse has gone through lately, but I will forever be grateful that it gave me back my brother. That is something I wouldn't trade the world for.

This time it was lip gloss!

It is all your fault, Charity. You asked where the pictures were of Michael's escapades, so he decided to accommodate your request.
I sent Michael to the front room to take a nap on the couch. In the thirty seconds that it took for me to grab my book to read while I sat with him while he fell asleep, he found the lip gloss and smeared it all over himself and had started painting the wall.
I seriously don't know what I am going to do with him. I turn my back for an instant and he finds something to get into. Tonight he found the toothpaste. Fortunately I was right there to take it from him.
And since I started this post....he found the soap bottle.
Big sigh!

Vicks, Hand Sanitizer, and Skin So Soft Lotion

Vicks, Hand Sanitizer, and Skin So Soft Lotion...
You may ask, "what do these things have in common?" Well they would be Michael's choice of medium for expressing his artistic side.
Yesterday I came upstairs and could smell a strong menthol odor. As I investigated I found an empty container of Vick's on Michael's floor next to the book that he had painted with it. There were also big spots on the floor where he had rubbed it into the carpet. How the heck do you get Vick's out of carpet?
Later in the evening I walked past Michael's door to find him sitting on the floor with a pump bottle of hand sanitzer. He was happily squirting it into his hand and creating a nice puddle on the floor beneath him.
And now....Lorenne just came downstairs to tell me that Michael had used a whole bottle of baby lotion on himself. She said it was in his hair and on his body and phone....you get the picture. So I ran upstairs to find him and sure enough, he was covered in lotion from head to toe. Plus he had found a bar of soap and was hiding it in his shirt.
I thought maybe Lorenne was exaggerating the whole bottle thing...but no, he used a whole bottle of Skin So Soft lotion.
What am I going to do with this kid? I think I am going to have to invest in some good locks.

A Father's Day Shirt

Here is a video tutorial of how to make a cute origami shirt for Father's Day.

Level 3

I am so proud of Alex.
He has been with Bluehost for two years now. In December he was promoted to a Level 2 technician in the abuse department. It was a new position with undefined responsibilities. They have given him stuff as it has come up. And he has done really well with it.
Yesterday he had his annual review and today he got the results. They promoted him to a Level 3 technician! They realized that the work that Alex has been doing was beyond the responsibilities of a Level 2 tech. I am so excited for Alex. He has worked hard to get this position.
I love my computer nerd! It is always so exciting to me when someone brings their computer to Alex to have him look at it. They are usually on the verge of smashing it with a hammer. Then Alex does his thing and they go home with a computer that is running the way it should. I love to see the look on the person's face when he tells them that their computer is working and they don't have to buy a new one. That look is priceless.
I am so grateful for the job that Alex has at Bluehost. It is an awesome company that really cares about their employees. Because of his job I am able to fulfill my lifelong dream of being a stay-at-home mom. That means more to me than words can express.

Seven Years Down....Eternity to Go.

Yesterday was Alex and my 7 year anniversary. In so many ways it feels like we have been married for so much longer than that. But on the other hand it feels like we are still newly weds.
I am so grateful for the man that I married. Alex is exactly what I need in a husband. He loves me just the way I am with all my "baggage" and everything. And he has loved me like that since the day we met.
Aren't the roses he gave me for our anniversary gorgeous. When I was arranging them in the vase Lorenne kept asking me if she could have one. She was so jealous. It wasn't until I went out and picked her some roses from our yard and put them in a vase for her that she quit bugging me.
I am thrilled that I have had seven wonderful and challenging years with Alex. It is through our challenges that we grow closer together. If you are wondering if I love Alex as much as I did the day I married him, the answer is, "no." I love him infitely more. I look forward to many more years and the rest of eternity with him.

Lorenne's Top 5 Memories of Kindergarten

1-Learning to read.
2-Going to P.E.
3-Playing on the monkey bars at recess.
4-Learning all her letters.
5-Rainbow writing her words.

Last Day of Kindergarten

Thursday was Lorenne's last day of Kindergarten. I can't believe that my baby girl is old enough to have finished kindergarten. It was a wonderful year with an amazing teacher.
I'll admit that I was nervous when I found out that Mrs. Tingey was a first year teacher. But as it turned out there was nothing to worry about. Mrs. Tingey was an amazing teacher! The first time I went to her class and watched the kids transition from one center to the next I was thoroughly impressed. They were so quiet and did exactly as they were supposed to. That was when I knew that Lorenne was in good hands at school.
The growth that I have seen in Lorenne is so incredible to me. She went from knowing a lot of her letters and a few of their sounds to knowing the whole alphabet and their sounds and being able to read incredibly well. I'll take my credit in that I have read to Lorenne almost every day since she was born, but it was Mrs. Tingey who gave Lorenne the skills that she would need to read.
Lorenne has really come out of her shell and made some great friends at school. She even had her first "boyfriend" this year. That definitely caught me off guard. I loved when she got invited to birthday parties. It was a chance for her to be with her friends outside of school.
I am so proud of Lorenne and all that she has learned this year. Kindergarten is over and she is definitely ready to enter the world of First Grade.