Scrappy Jami

Snowboots

2009-07-05T21:33:00.000-06:00

This is a journal entry after my visit to the Mathare slum...

Snowboots

It takes a lot for me to emotionally connect with something or someone outside of my sphere of influence. It takes alot for me to shed tears. But God has made my heart tender because I now have children of my own. I saw a boy today while in the Mathare slum. He was wearing snowboots. In his school uniform made up of a button up shirt, V-neck sweater, knee length shorts and probably a belt, he had on his feet black, mid-calf high, zip up, muddied snowboots. It was June in Kenya. While many others wore flip-flops, sneakers, plastic sandals or no shoes at all, these were his boots that day---everyday.

In my house we have all sorts of shoes. Shoes for summer, fall, winter, even spring shoes. Sneakers for school in the fall, Crocs for summer play, Wellies for springtime rain and mud, and snowboots for cold and snow. My four year old son has all of these shoes. Many of each kind to choose from daily. He may even change shoes four or five times a day! He has the same snowboots as the boy in Kenya. Lately his shoes of choice have been snowboots. It is June in Colorado. While most people have unearthed their flip-flops from last summer or bought new ones from Old Navy, and women, including myself, are showing off their pedicures, my son chooses to put on his snowboots. Wearing a tank top and shorts he traipses through our backyard hunting dinosaurs or picking dandelions...all the while LOVING his snowboots.

Today, God put his hands on my shoulders, turned me around to peek my head inside a small, dark school room in order to open my eyes to find a little boy wearing his snowboots. I didn't talk to the boy. I don't know his name, but I think he was proud of his boots. They are his only pair of shoes but they keep his feet dry from the rain and clean from the sewage and mud in the alleys of the slum. My son is proud of his boots too. They don't serve much of a purpose to him in June, they actually make his feet all sweaty. But he doesn't care, he loves his boots.

God brought me half-way around the world to the slums of Nairobi to see those snowboots. I now realize we really are all the same. My son loves his boots in the same way that boy in the slum loves his. When we stand before our Lord at judgment it will not matter if you died in the slum or in a penthouse--death is the ultimate equalizer. All that matters is did you love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind and body and did you love your neighbor as yourself? Love is universal. Love can happen anywhere. I hope I loved well during my time in Kenya. Those boys of Fountain of Life have lived more life than I ever will. They came from the slums. But through Love they have been saved in body and eternally. I KNOW God is Love. And when we love God is there.

Trip of a Lifetime

2009-06-30T15:20:00.000-06:00

Jambo from Africa!!! That means Hi in Kswahili

Our Kenya team returned Wednesday afternoon safe and sound. Stace and I want to thank everyone for praying throughout this entire journey process. For those of you who don't know, we went to Kenya in co-operation with a fabulous non-profit organization called World Orphans. This group believes in the local church: both here and around the world. Thy believe that churches working in partnership are the most strategic and long-term way to accomplish (ec)3: strengthening churches, rescuing children, and reaching communities with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Our team served with three Nairobi churches: Fountain of Life Nairobi, Fountain of Hope Church, and Fountain of Life Juja. Stace and I visited Mathare slum in the heart of Nairobi. During this morning we visited 6 homes that Fountain of Life ministers to on a weekly basis; either with prayer, money for daily living, or medicine. Through the Home Based Care program, these churches are keeping children vulnerable to orphaning under the care of their mother, father or extended family. We were able to bless the HBC families with our presence and listening ears, praying for them and giving each family a Bible.
On Thursday Stace and I traveled with some of our team to the outskirts of Nairobi to Fountain of Hope church and girls home. While there we visited widows who are part of a Micro Finance program designed to give these women small ($20-40 US dollars), interest-free loans, to start or strengthen their small businesses, empowering their capacity to care for themselves and their children. With minimal capital investments, this church is truly making a difference in the lives of these widows and children.
In addition, our Journey team split into three sub-teams to help provide two community outreach events at three different church locations: church-based children's sports outreach events and free church-based medical camps. Between the three churches, there were 175 children who got to participate in an afternoon of fun and games. I had a great time seeing all the kids show up from miles around!
The free medical camps held on-site at the three churches were a major success! In 3 ½ days, over 1500 women and children came to the three churches to receive free medical care and 150 people took advantage of free HIV/AIDS testing and counseling. I was involved in two of these medical camps; one at Fountain of Hope on Friday and one with Fountain of Life in Nairobi on Saturday where almost 600 people were seen by the doctors! Most of the ailments seen were: malaria, dysentery, cough, flu-like respiratory problems (most likely because this is the coldest part of the year for Kenya). I also got to help out in the pharmacy actually filling prescriptions!
These church-based outreach events are a great way to heighten the visibility of the local church. Connecting the HIV issue to the local church sends a wonderful message of acceptance and grace. The most important ministry that occurred during these events was the sharing of the Gospel through one on one prayer. All three churches experienced people coming to faith in Christ. The tangible love showed through these outreach events provided an opportunity for the church to reach the community with the Gospel. Praise God! The impact of church based outreach within communities was evident on Sunday at the first ever service held at the new Fountain of Life church in Nairobi when, in addition to the existing 70 members, 200 new adults attended the service.Stace and I could tell many, many stories of how children were blessed by the presence and love of our team members. The team ministered to orphaned and vulnerable children by spending time with them; praying with them; playing with them; holding their hands and listening to their stories. Perhaps the biggest blessing to the kids was simply our presence with them. They loved seeing their picture in our cameras and touching our 'hairy' arms! The children within the different communities really enjoyed the sports outreach events. These kids are soccer (football) fanatics!!! And they are good! It was amazing to see them playing barefoot on rough ground playing all day long! Many children were provided with much needed medical attention as well. The junior high kids at our church were able to raise money to provide the boys at Fountain of Life new shoes and another youth group provided each boy a new toothbrush and toothpaste. It was a real blessing to watch children be ministered to in so many different ways.
The three communities in proximity to the local churches were truly blessed throughout the week. All churches experienced new attendees this past Sunday and as I stated above, Fountain of Life had 200 new adult visitors to their service. Our teams truly blessed some of the most impoverished communities through the home visits into the Mathare, Kyole, and other slums. Throughout the week many people came to faith in Christ whether on a home visit into the slums, visiting widows, at a medical camp or at the Sunday worship services. The Spirit of God was redeeming people from all tongues, tribes, and nations. What a blessing to see the hand of God at work and, to be a part of it. There is nothing more encouraging then seeing a local church making a difference in the communities they serve.
This short wrap-up doesn't even begin to tell all our stories; there were many more amazing things that God did during our Journey to Kenya. It was a true blessing to see God work in and through the lives of our team and we pray that the Journey in our hearts will continue as we passionately pursue Christ and his Kingdom. I will never be the same.

Still mulling things over

2009-06-26T17:43:00.002-06:00

I'm busily getting my thoughts together and editing my pictures (a couple thousand) but some of our team members have gathered their thoughts already. Here's a couple of blogs from them: http://fallenscales.blogspot.com/ (our team leader) and http://www.dougsfoggiestideas.com/ (my pastor)

Weather excitement...

2008-08-24T21:07:00.005-06:00

If you live in the Denver area, you might know that we had some tornado warnings and watches late this afternoon. We well were in the thick of it here in Castle Rock. This is a picture from the back porch!

Tonight on the news we found out that 3 tornadoes actually touched down in a 30 minute period all with 15-20 miles of us.

The long awaited photos..........

2008-07-20T17:28:00.000-06:00

Photo session

2008-07-12T20:51:00.001-06:00

I've posted a small sampling of our photo shoot at the Stanley Hotel. The pictures in the blog title are from our day.

Someone hasn't blogged in awhile....

2008-07-07T12:53:00.011-06:00

Sorry for the lack of updates... summer has hit and we're going in all directions. Here's the very abbreviated lowdown... Right after school ended, we had a great gathering of friends for Memorial Day, Jack potty trained in a week right after Memorial Day (this was my choice because I found out that his next pre-school class is a potty trained class, so I thus had a deadline... he's doing GREAT by the way), we had a quick but very fun visit from baby cousin Riley and Nana and Papa Riley from Montana, Nana Sherry came home from NYC for a quick 2 week visit, Connor finally started walking on Father's Day, Jack had swim lessons for the month of June and did OK, much more playing and splashing than actually learning, then the big BOMB of the month....JURY duty. I knew I had to go on June 17th but didn't expect to get picked for a criminal trial that lasted the rest of the week! Uck! Short wrap-up of that....we found the defendant NOT Guilty (unfortunately) of sexual assault on a child because there was a lack of evidence and we had slight doubts that something happened. This was not an easy decision for the 12 of us but according to the law we had to go with a not guilty decision. Thank Goodness that my mom was still home and helped take care of the boys. Jack did get a couple of fun-filled days at work with Daddy, though. He was very proud to go to "work" with Daddy--so grown up. Jack also had his first dentist appointment that week and did amazingly well, says Stace. As Stace says, "he just sat there and opened his mouth and got his teeth cleaned and polished!" I still can't believe he didn't put up a fight. Now he LOVES brushing his teeth! And THAT was June...........

July started off with a fun-filled trip to Loveland Heights Cottages in Estes Park for the 4th of July weekend. We had a blast and got great pictures of the boys. Jack learned to fish by a fairly non-fisherman (Stace) and now he's a pro. I am so amazed by that kid. He can cast better than me. Here's a clip of him fishing.

We also went up to the Stanley Hotel and did a photo shoot for Jack's 3rd birthday and Connor's 18month pictures. GREAT location, and perfect weather for shooting (overcast but warm). WAY better than Sears and cheaper too! I took about 600 pictures that morning so needless to say, I'm still going through them and I'll get some on here as soon as I pick some out.

Boy...am I tired!!!!!! July won't slow down, as Jack starts day camp at his pre-school next Monday for two weeks! Then we leave less than a week later for the big event of the summer....Auntie Casidee's wedding in Montana! The invites are done (I designed them), Stace and I are singing at the ceremony and the reception AND Jack is the ring-bearer! Holy Cow! So, don't be surprised if I don't post again until Fall!

Last day of school

2008-05-22T14:55:00.005-06:00

Today was Jack's last day of school for the year! I can't believe that he's been going strong since last August! He's learned SOOOOOOO much! He comes home all the time with new information in that brain of his! My biggest shock of the year was when he (out of nowhere) started reciting "The Pledge of Allegiance"! Crazy! Here's some pictures from Aug 07 and today, he's grown alot and a little movie clip from the little program the kids did for all the parents.

NYC wrap-up

2008-05-12T13:55:00.003-06:00

Wow, what a trip!!!! Tons of fun but very busy!!! I need a vacation from my vacation!!! I won't bore you with every waking detail of our trip but here's our list of favorites!

Jack's favorite thing in You Nork: "the bath"
Connor's favorite thing in New York: Central Park - it really seemed to bring out his talkative side
Stace's favorite thing(s) in New York: the Yankees game & Gray's Papaya hot dogs
Jami's favorite thing(s) in New York: being on the "Today show" on Tuesday morning, walking along 5th Ave everyday, PIZZA!, Build-A-Dino at the HUGE Build-A-Bear workshop on 5th Ave.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

This is ridiculous...

2008-04-27T13:09:00.004-06:00

OK...we leave for NYC next Saturday and I needed another umbrella/travel stroller for the trip. I had one but both boys need strollers and I didn't want to bring along the huge double stroller or my Peg Perego fearing they would get lost or damaged. So, I now have FOUR strollers. Now, I know other people have multiple strollers but I have four that look strickingly similar. I don't have a jogging stroller or a fancy bike trailer/stroller, they are just your basic everyday strollers. Why??? At least the all match, right??

Dinner Party

2008-04-27T12:34:00.010-06:00

Last Saturday, Stace and I attended another fabulous dinner party hosted by our good friends, Troy and Corinne Lettau. As a follow-up to our trip to Cabo we gathered again to reminisce about the good time we had and give Troy an excuse (a very good one, I might add) to prepare a dinner inspired by C, restaurant we dined at while in Cabo. I decided to bring along my camera and take pictures of the dishes as Troy plated them in the kitchen just before we indulged in them (this is in preparation of Troy's first cookbook, wink, wink!). I wanted to practice my food photography and I think they turned out pretty good.

More Birthday Fun

2008-04-22T22:03:00.011-06:00

Jack's birthday weekend (Thurs-Tues) has finally come to an end with our very first trip to Chuck E Cheese's. He had a great time with his tee ball set and big wheel on Saturday morning but probably the fav gift of the day were two free sets of western shoot-'em-up guns, complete with holsters and a sheriff's badge! Jack looked pretty cool! Our visit to White Fence Farm was fun as well. Jack got a carriage ride from "Sampson" who is supposedly the largest Belgium draft horse in the country at 2400 lbs and 19 hands high. He also enjoyed feeding the goats and sheep in the petting zoo. The weather was good and I got some good shots of Connor, Jack was much too busy on the 'digger' on the playground for any formal picture taking. Tonight's visit to Chuck E Cheese's was exciting with so much to see and do and even a visit from the big Cheese himself. I spent the day making individual car cakes for our party. They ended up being a pain in the rear but I had fun decorating them even if it took me way longer than expected! So, after all this partying, I'm beginning to think having a party for him would have been much less time intensive and probably cheaper than all this going out! Well....lesson learned!

Three is Terrific!

2008-04-18T22:09:00.011-06:00

My eldest is three....can't believe it! Jack had a fun start to his birthday weekend with a celebration at school on Thursday with homemade cupcakes (decorated by him, of course!), and today he got to open some of his presents and had a special treat at Coldstone! Tomorrow we'll continue the celebration with 'big' presents (aka a big wheel and a tee ball set) and a pancake breakfast. Then, Sunday we're off to White Fence Farm. A fun family restaurant/farm/petting zoo for dinner! The birthday celebrating will finally end on Tuesday with a fun evening at Chuck E. Cheese's with bff Gabriel! Oh my!!!!! I guess we're making up for not throwing him a party this year! I'll post more pictures throughout the weekend but here's some from Thursday and today.

Glimpse of summer

2008-04-14T14:21:00.003-06:00

Is it really here??? Probably not...we're supposed to have snow again on Wednesday. But, that doesn't mean that we won't enjoy this sneak preview of summer while it's here! Yesterday we enjoyed the warm sun and today we enjoyed it even more! We even unearthed the grill from snow AND made a pie in anticipation of warmer times! YUMMM! Margarita Pie! Can't you just taste it??? (btw, it was yummy!)

Sleepy boy...

2008-04-10T12:12:00.005-06:00

This morning after I dropped off Jack at school, I came home and got on the treadmill. Connor was more interested in trying to get on the treadmill with me than playing with toys so I ended up putting him in the jumperoo (that's he's way too big for) just to keep him from under foot while I finished my last 10 minutes of running. After I got off the treadmill, he was having a fine time just hanging out, so I left him in there. Well, next time I looked over at him, he was nodding off. So Cute! Here's some shots of him and a short video!

31 is better than 30...

2008-04-08T14:49:00.007-06:00

so far! My 30th was such as disaster (Jack puking on me right before we were supposed to leave for a nice dinner and starting the sick bug in the house, Connor was in the hospital about 10 days later w/ RSV #2, ugh). Anyway, 31 is better thus far. I think I'm getting used to being thirty-something but if you ask my husband, I'm 28.

We took in a Rockies game to ring in my b-day and I'm happy to report that we were good luck charms for the Rox because they WON their 1st game since opening day on March 31st! Finally! It was a cold night and Connor was a tad bit cranky but we stayed for the whole game. Jack was bundled up and had a GREAT time and could not stop saying "I had fun!!!!!!!!" the entire walk back to our car! This picture of Jack is after way too much hot dog, fries, dino nuggets, peanuts, coke, powerade and granola bar! Yes, he ate all that last night. Oh, AND a small Dairy Queen cup of vanilla ice cream at 10 o'clock! The perfect diet for an almost 3 year old.

in case you didn't know...

2008-03-31T13:57:00.003-06:00

it's a holiday here in Castle Rock....Rockies opening day! Stace just got home and the boys are in their finest Rockies outfits and Stace is proudly wearing his very own personalized Rockies jersey! More to come later but here's a picture of the boys.

Happy Easter

2008-03-23T18:53:00.008-06:00

Waking up to snow this Easter morning was a bit surprising but by noon it quite a nice day. We had a great Easter, starting with cinnamon rolls before church and a quick (and I mean 5 minutes long) family picture session, an awesome Easter service at our church, happy boys and their Easter baskets after church and a fabulous (if I don't say) Easter dinner of brown sugar and pineapple glazed ham, scalloped potatoes (made from scratch), roasted asparagus, cherry salad, crescent rolls (you know you love the ones out of a can!) and pink grapefruit spritzers! Wow! what a day we've had. All ending with a lynx or bobcat (we're not sure) walking right across the back yard up the side yard, across our driveway and into the neighbors yard!!!! But sorry to say, he was gone by the time I got the camera :( Anyway, here's some pictures of our day.

Train Show

2008-02-26T14:44:00.006-07:00

This past Saturday, we took Jack and Connor to a HUGE train show and they had a blast. Jack probably had a little more fun, but Connor liked looking at all the trains going in circles. Here's some pics of the day and a video of Jack on the KidSteam train. He was beaming!

At last....Cabo trip wrap up

2008-02-20T14:25:00.005-07:00

Make a scrapbook - it's easy!

Here's a little scrapbook of the trip, it doesn't do justice to the beautiful sunsets and ocean views we had but it'll give you a good idea! Our resort was fabulous and exceeded all expectations! The wedding was very special and I must say the sunset that night was probably the most beautiful of the whole week. It was held next door to our resort. If you'd like a more detailed, day by day, account of our trip, Stace's blog is worth checking out.

Zoo fun

2008-02-11T17:09:00.000-07:00

We were so fortunate to get to go to the zoo this past Saturday. The weather was in the 50's and we made a break to get outside. It was a good time. Jack, of course, had a blast and Connor seemed to enjoy the larger animals that moved around. Here's some pictures and some fantastic video of Jack.

Here's Reggae Jack on the drums

Video clips

2008-02-05T14:55:00.000-07:00

Here's Jack's rendition of "Happy Birthday"...very cute

Connor eating his birthday cake and lovin' it!

Connor is 1

2008-02-03T11:34:00.001-07:00

I can't believe it....the little munchkin turns one today. What a year it has been...RSV, RSV #2, functional constipation, severe dehydration, what else could we have????? One ray of sunshine is that we have not had any sickness during this rough flu season in Colorado. So, I have to be thankful for that.
Anyway...Connor had his par-tay yesterday with some of his closest friends! He did good, pretty mellow and observant during the whole thing. Didn't much like getting his hands all messy with cake icing. My little neat and tidy baby. I got his cake from my favorite cake shop, Mulberries and it met all expectations! Stace also worked VERY hard for the last two weeks on his 1st year DVD and it exceeded expectations! Everyone was very impressed by his production skills and the music in the video isn't too bad either...I picked it out :) For those of you who were not there, Stace will be publishing it on the web soon. I'll be sure to post the link.
Today, his real b-day...we'll be having a very small and quiet SuperBowl party. I'm not sure who he's rooting for, probably the Patriots though.

P.S. 9 days til paradise!!!!

Countdown...

2008-02-01T06:00:00.000-07:00

I'm letting the cat out of the bag.....12 days and counting until hot sun, white sandy beaches, a cool breeze by the pool and NO KIDS FOR SIX DAYS, in MEXICO!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes, you heard it right, Stace and I are off to Cabo for 6 days, 5 nights on Feb 12th. We will be joining our friends in their renewal of wedding vows on Valentine's Day. So, the countdown begins, here's a little preview of our accommodations (just to make you drool).

progress...

2008-01-30T22:25:00.000-07:00

feeling a little better about my picture-taking abilities. We ventured up to the mountains on Saturday to see the Breckenridge International Snow Sculpting Competition and had ample opportunities to practice with the camera. It was also WAY fun to actually get up into the high country with the boys. We got up super early (5:30am) to try to beat the ski traffic, left the house at 7:30am and arrived in Breck at 10am!!!!! I was amazed and we had no traffic problems becuase we went the back way (Hwy285). The weather, sunny and not too cold. Connor stayed in the backpack carrier all day and loved the view from atop and Jack had a blast in full snow gear playing in all the snow. So, here's some of the pictures I took. I'm happy with the way they turned out especially with full sun and snow...tricky for picture taking. Also, I'm really working on composing my pictures better and I think I made some progress in that subject too.

frustration...

2008-01-22T22:38:00.000-07:00

so frustrated right now...received our new fancy-dancy camera yesterday...sony cybershot DSC-H7. not an slr but close enough for me right now. i sooooo want to be able to take cool pictures but i have no photography genes in me. trying so hard to be artistic...just don't have the 'eye' yet. i'll get there though...just need to find the time to take a photography class and read the camera manual.

2008-01-03T16:18:00.001-07:00

Make a scrapbook - it's easy!

The Riley's have been ELFED!

2007-12-09T15:37:00.000-07:00

This is just about the funniest thing I've seen all year! Good Times.

New layouts

2007-12-06T12:23:00.000-07:00

Here's some of my handi work...the boys Fall pages and our family pic.

An alligator and a cow were walking down the street...

2007-11-04T19:53:00.000-07:00

Pretty cute, huh??

Jack's costume is actually a dragon but he thought it was an alligator so we went with that. He had a great time "trick or treating" at all the stores at Aspen Grove. He even went so far as to start asking strangers on the sidewalk for candy!!!! Connor was just happy to sit in the stroller and take notes for next year's Halloween. At the end of the night, Jack's pumpkin was full and so was his stomach!!! No belly aches though.....thank goodness!

Fun while it lasted...

2007-10-30T14:57:00.000-06:00

Well, as many of you may know by now, we got tickets to the World Series games here in Denver. Until now I was scared to tell people that I actually got 4 tickets to EACH game! There was just a little bitterness about the whole online only ticket sales down here in Denver and we didn't know anyone else who actually got on to buy tickets. So, we sold game 3 and kept games 4&5. Selling the 4 tix to game 3 actually paid for all 12 tickets, so we actually went to the game for free.
Anyway...game 4, even though they lost in a magnificent battle, was AWESOME. My dad flew in just for the game so we took my parents AND Jack and Connor to the game. It was crowded to say the least but just the experience of going to a World Series game gave me goosebumps. You may say that taking a 2 1/2 year old and a 9 month old would be crazy but how cool will it be to tell the boys that they were actually there when they're older?!!!

We're moving on around here, taking the Rockies magnet off the car, putting the gear (which we spent WAY too much moola on!!) away until next year which isn't too far off and I put the game 5 tickets in the mail back to Coors Field so I can get my bittersweet refund.

Happy to You!

2007-10-03T15:32:00.000-06:00

Happy to you Connor! This is how Jack says Happy Birthday! Connor turns 8 months old today! I can't believe it. Here are some pictures of him in his full Rockies regalia. The Rox are playing and winning as we speak!I don't think I posted this but Connor has also been seen by a Pediatric Gastroentrologist and was diagnosed with functional constipation. I am way too pre-occupied with this kid's poop! He started having problems back in July and after many trips to our regular pediatrician and all the home remedies you can think of, we were referred to the GI doc. We saw him on Sept 25th and Connor was put on laxative twice a day. But the surprising thing is that the doctor says that this is a very common problem in kids and is the #1 reason people see a gastro doctor. Also, Connor will probably be on this laxative for at least a year maybe more! Well, if I've learned anything about Connor, if it's not one thing it's another. Just one more thing to add to his medical history! It's practically a novel already!

Life according to Jack

2007-09-23T17:58:00.001-06:00

Here we go with some more vocabulary words from Jack:

bulla=butter
Honey Boats=Honey Bunches of Oats cereal (he eats this each & every morning)
Nogourk=yogurt (this was a tough one to spell)
kyert=tiger (we thought he was saying coyote for the longest time!)
marcellos=marshmellows
"oh, blankie doe?"=Where did my blanket go? (oh, is the word for where, so he says this all day long, oh, nana go?, oh, mommy go?, oh, connor go?
"wha doing hereh?" =What are you doing over here?

And yet another conversation with Jack...

Jack--"Hang like monkey."
Mommy-- "No Jack, it's probably not a good idea to hang like a monkey off the oven door."

and that was my week...here's a few pics.

Misson...aborted

2007-08-27T15:24:00.000-06:00

Just as soon as it began, it's over. PT is OVER...at least for now. After a VERY long and tiring weekend of bargaining and pleading with Jack to go to the potty we have decided that it would be better f0r everyone involved to stop and start again when Jack is ready. I came to this realization this morning after he'd woke up with a completely dry diaper and asked him if he'd like to go potty upstairs or downstairs on his very own potty. His response was to scream and yell and run from me...not exactly the response I was looking for. After chasing him all over the upstairs and cornering him in the bathroom downstairs-- I jumped ship. Within 10 minutes of waking up he was back in a diaper and potty training was all but a bad dream...for him and me.

Spiderman, Thomas the train, Cars and Diego

2007-08-24T21:06:00.000-06:00

What do all these have in common, you ask??? These are all Jack's big boy underwear choices. PT has started. Potty Training. Just shoot me now. Why does this feel like I'm re-inventing the wheel? Doesn't anyone have a good, fool-proof method for potty training??? I mean, is it too much to ask that if you give a 2 1/2 yr old a pair of big boy pants and tell him in order to keep those pants dry he must go in the potty just like mommy and daddy, he'll say, "Sounds like a great idea, Mom, I'll go do that right now!" and Poof! it's done. I have given so many positive, affirming words to Jack today, I can't think straight...even telling him that Spiderman, Elmo and Barney will be SOOOO proud of him when he pees in the potty doesn't seem to be sinking into his soft and squishy little brain. I tried the Potty Training in Less than a Day method...maybe that's where I went wrong. But I'm a strong-willed mommy, and I'm not ready to throw out all the potties in the house just yet; we'll see how Stace and my mom do tomorrow while I'm at work....hee hee hee! Say a little prayer for them.

Life at Two

2007-08-14T11:08:00.000-06:00

OK, I promise this post will be worth your time. I haven't fallen off the face of the earth, but I know I've been absent for quite awhile and I'll try to make up for it.

I have two kids. Enough said. Life is beyond crazy. But there are a few times when it's actually a hoot to have a two year old and a 6 month old. I have been chronicling Jack's quips and quotes over the past three months and here's a sampling:

On our vacation to Montana...
We are stopped at McDonald's to eat (where else would we go??) and I'm in charge of Jack and Connor while Stace is getting food. I am busy cleaning off the table and as I turn around to put Jack in his highchair, he's eating the OLD food out of the chair including a fry and God knows what other crumbs he's found!!!!!!!!!!!!! I almost puked on him.

He also has quite the vocabulary:
walla= water
didu= dinosaur OR diaper (you must listen carefully to the context in order to know which
word he's trying to say)
mile= smile
cruck=truck
grilla=gorilla
creppies= Rice Crispies cereal

When you have a two year old, you also look back on things that come out of YOUR mouth and think, "what did I just say? who says that?" But, again, I have a 2 year old, weird things come out of your mouth without so much as a pause.

"Jack, don't put your apple juice in your hair"

"Don't put the cheetoh up your nose."

"Jack don't take your bread in the pool."

Jack also has some fantastic things to say...

while at McDonald's drive thru to get me some much needed coffee (again), I hear from the back seat, "um...ice cream, hot dog, fries, chicken." Apparently this is Jack's standing McDonald's order.

as I was getting him up one morning, his first words to me were, "Good Nap!"

Had to add a picture of Connor, no funny stories from him as of yet, but I'm sure they'll come soon enough.

I'm keeping a journal of Jack/Connor stories and promise to add them as they happen.

Memorial Day Hike

2007-05-29T16:35:00.000-06:00

On Monday, we celebrated the first hike of the summer! Yea! My dad was in town for the weekend and we just had to get out and enjoy the perfect Colorado weather. We hit the Palmer Lake area and hiked up to the two lakes that are up the mountain. Not necessarily a hard hike, but with a 15lb baby on your front and a 30lb toddler on your back, it was quite the workout.

Cautiously Optimistic

2007-05-15T14:14:00.000-06:00

If you've already read my husband's blog, you know the big news....our house is under contract. But I'm having a hard time getting all jazzed up about it because we've had buyers pull out of contracts before. So, until we're sitting at the closing table (which isn't until July 16th) I can't quite celebrate.

This is still a major answer to prayer. After a year (actually over a year) of having the house on and off the market, this contract feels good. We'll still be in limbo for awhile after we close on this house but I guess it's upward motion.

In other happenings...we took in a Rockies game on Friday night. It met my requirements of being warm weather and Jack had his own seat so we went :) Jack had a blast. We had the mile high row all to ourselves and Jack made it a point to meet all the people around us. The young couple at the end of the row and their family in the row in front were his first acquaintances. He had to high five EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THEM, more than once. Then he introduced himself to the old folks behind us and charmed every one of them! Here's a cute pic of all my boys in their baseball hats.

Scrap, scrap, scrappin' away...

2007-05-08T15:05:00.000-06:00

Here are some of my latest creations. I'm a bit behind on Connor, but then again, he's ONLY 3 months old! (gotta give myself a break every now and then)

2007-05-01T20:25:00.000-06:00

Wow, I haven't blogged in a while...

Well, I'm not in a hospital somewhere in the Denver Metro area, so that's a plus, and Connor's off oxygen. Overall we're healthy, let's just hope we pass the 6 week mark and not have to go to the ER again this year!

Jack had his 2nd birthday party on the 21st. It didn't exactly go as planned (having it at the park) because the weather turned really windy and cold but I think the kids had a good time, eating pizza and cake and then helping Jack open all his cool presents! Even Stace has enjoyed the toys! All the kids decorated foam sunglasses to take home and they looked awesome!

Here we go again...

2007-04-17T11:11:00.000-06:00

Well, many of you know that Connor was sent to the ER on Saturday night for a high fever (101.0), and admitted to the hospital that same night. After doing a bunch of tests, including a spinal tap :(, to see if he had a bacterial or viral infection, all the cultures point to a viral infection. He had to stay at least 48 hours for the labs to have time to grow anything. Now we've been released by his doctor but we'll have to go home on oxygen again because his airways are very congested and he just isn't getting enough O2. His lungs sound clear, so it's just in his nose and head right now. Hopefully he'll recoup fast at home and we'll be off the O2 by his follow up doctor appointment on Friday.
Connor is definitely feeling better, as you can see in this picture. Boy, oh boy, he sure has had an exciting 2 months of life! This better not be an indication of how the rest of his life will be!!!! I think I might have a little dare devil on my hands! Loves attention!

Connor 2 months!

2007-04-04T12:57:00.000-06:00

I can't believe it, but the little one is already 2 months old! Everyday he gets a little bigger and he shows us more of his personality (which seems to be pretty happy).

We had a busy Tuesday. In the morning we went over to Jack's friend's house, Gabriel to play and have lunch and then that evening we met Stace at The Children's Museum for FREE night. Jack had a great time dressing up like a fireman, playing with the train tables and shopping in the mini grocery store. Connor had a fun time lounging on a 'leaf' and looking at a bug mobile above him :)

Tough stuff...

2007-04-03T15:26:00.000-06:00

We gave our dog away on Sunday.......I still can't believe he's gone...I expect him to come around the corner any minute.

Cooper went to live with a family in Greeley who have another pug and already love him dearly. They met us at a park in Northglenn and that's where we said our goodbye's. This picture is from the last moments we had with him.

Coming to the decision to give away your dog that you've had since he was 8 weeks old is not easy by a long shot. But when we weighed the positives and the negatives--the positives of keeping him just didn't add up. Having two kids, putting the house on market (again) and life in general pointed to us giving Cooper a new home where he wasn't ignored and taken for granted. I never thought I'd give up a pet, I had dogs all growing up and we had them until death. My guilt is getting the best of me right now. I'm sure it'll pass with time, but I can't stop feeling horrible for doing what we did.

Da Dah!

2007-03-29T13:58:00.000-06:00

It's DONE! WhooRay! The kitchen is back to normal and lookin' good! It just got a little face lift and looks much brighter now. For all those interested, we painted and then did a dark brown glaze over the paint then wiped off the excess and let the glaze stay in the corners and low points in the wood to create an antique effect. It's not professional but it looks good.

With the completion of the kitchen and a ton of other small jobs around the house... WE ARE BACK ON THE MARKET...Tell everyone you know. I'm not sure how excited I am since this is the 3rd time it's been on the market. Hopefully this is it and we can get on with our lives. Ugh!

Can I tell you how NOT excited I was this morning when I woke up to find my car covered in snow!!!!!!! After quite a few weeks of springlike weather around here, it's very easy to forget all about cold weather and get used to having the heat off and the windows and doors open. So, on went the heat and we're all closed up and cozy in here! Unfortunately for me, I had to go to Costco this morning in all the snow and slush. I was down to about 5 diapers for Connor. But we're back now and boys are sleeping :) Ah...little victories.....

Oh, in health news...my glucose test came back within normal limits!!!!!!! No lingering diabetes for me!

DIY gone way to far...

2007-03-21T13:32:00.000-06:00

I'm usually not one to shy away from home projects or things having to do with decorating, but I will never redo my kitchen cabinets again myself. We are getting ready to put the house on the market...again and we're pulling out all the stops! This is what my kitchen looks like as we speak...

No cabinet doors or drawer fronts, saw horses in the middle of the kitchen lined with the doors and painting paraphenalia scattered everywhere. I have been promised by my partner in crime (my mom) that we will be done by this weekend!

Last night, Jack's preschool had an open house for all the parents. Stace and I went while my mom stayed with the boys. We were pleased to find out that Jack hadn't been cutting classes or playing hooky from school. His teachers said he's a sweet boy and loves to dance and actually keeps the beat and has a girlfriend. So good to know my son likes the ladies...ugh!

Connor is getting less and less newborn and more and more little baby. He actually sat in the bouncy seat today looking at the toys in front of him for a long while and I got some cute shots of him smiling.

Fun in the sun

2007-03-15T14:39:00.000-06:00

Tuesday was a banner day for us. We actually got to go outside and have a picnic in the park. We had a blast...it was almost 80 degrees, Jack got to feed the ducks at Clement Lake, I got some exercise by walking around the lake and Connor, well, he got some fresh air for the first time in his life! Now, I remember why Colorado is just the perfect place, I was in heaven soaking up the sun.

It is kinda wierd not having sick kids, I was so used to wiping noses and worrying about Connor turning blue that I forgot how much fun it can be to play with them (well, Connor doesn't play around too much, yet, you get the idea).

I have my follow up doctor's appointment tomorrow and a 2 hour glucose test. They want me to take the test just to make sure the gestational diabetes are all gone. I think it's gone but you never know. Let's pray for the best. While I'm there, my mom is taking the boys...let's pray for her too! Tomorrow I'm also going by Pottery Barn to give them my available hours...I can't wait to get out of the house for a few hours a week AND get my awesome discount back (40% can't beat that)!

No more O2

2007-03-07T13:32:00.000-07:00

Yea!!!! Connor is officially off oxygen! At the doctor yesterday he kept his room air levels above 90% so the doctor felt comfortable taking him off. We're keeping the tanks in the house for another week just in case he starts having trouble breathing but we're looking good so far.

It's amazing how different he looks without the tubes in his nose--like a real baby, not sick baby. He's growing so fast though, already 10lbs 13oz!

Jack's visit to the doctor wasn't as fun. His cough is pretty serious. He's wheezing now. So, the doctor had him do a nebulizer treatment in the office to see if it made any difference in how his lungs sounded. ...I have never seen Jack so upset and terrified in my life. Having to keep the mask on his face for 10 minutes was like wrestling a wild animal. Thank goodness my mom was there because I could have never held him myself and kept the mask on him. 10 minutes after the treatment the doc listened to his lungs again and decided that nebulizer treatment wouldn't do anything for him. As happy as I am about not having to do nebulizer treatment on Jack, it's frustrating because there's nothing we can do for him except let the virus run it's course.

Kids Expo

2007-03-05T16:50:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, Jack got to have a day out with Daddy at the All About Kids Expo. He had a fun time looking at a kids size fire truck and meeting a fireman, playing with a huge Thomas the train table and even riding a pony.

He really needed a day out since we'd been couped up at my parents' house since Connor came home from Children's.

Life happens...

2007-03-05T16:35:00.000-07:00

Connor on oxygen, Day 10. It's hard to believe that it's been a week and a half already since Connor was rushed to the ER in an ambulance for labored breathing. We're at home now still on the oxygen but hopefully doing better each day. As of last Wednesday, his "Room Air Challenge" was 84-86% and he needs to be at 90% or above to be taken off oxygen. We have another follow up doc appointment tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed. Nasty viruses...

Unfortunately, now Jack seems to have something more than just a cold. He's had a cough for going on 3 weeks and last night was up most of the night coughing and had a low fever and today I had to pick him up early from preschool because he had 3 nasty runny diapers in the span of 3 hours. So, I've added him to the Dr. appointment for tomorrow. Maybe it's the plague??? Ugh!!!!!!!!

If you'd like the full story of Connor's hospital stay, you can go to Stace's blog for the story and pictures.

I'd like to thank all the people who have called/emailed/prayed for us. Also, all the meals have been awesome! It really helps to have great friends and family when times are tough.

The picture is of Connor at one month old (Sat, Mar 3rd).

Love this kid...

2007-02-22T14:33:00.000-07:00

Jack was in the bath the other night (his Dad was in charge) and having a grand ole time. Here he is telling Stace something VERY important to be sure!

We are all slowly getting better around here. Jack has his appetite back, Stace is starting to feel like his old self but I guess Connor needs to get worse before he gets better, he now has a cough that's just so pitiful to hear coming from a newborn and I ending up catching the head cold too. Ugh! Is this what it's like with 2 kids????

My sister is coming this weekend to see baby Connor. We plan on having a relaxing weekend in Castle Rock...again :) AND having a belated Mardi Gras party with King Cake and everything! YUM!

Sorry for not having any new pictures of Connor, Stace needs to get them off the camera before I can get to them.

I'M BACK!

2007-02-13T13:13:00.000-07:00

So....long time no blogging...not that anyone's going to read this because I've been AWOL for a month and a half but I'm blogging nevertheless!

In case you've been under a rock...I had a baby on Feb 3rd. Connor James Riley was born at 3pm, weighing in at a solid 8lbs 7oz and 21 1/2 inches in length. I was induced that AM around 9am so I labored for a mere 6 hours, and pushed for a whopping 10 minutes...super fast compared to Jack who took his sweet time coming out (12 hr labor and 2 hrs of pushing). We came home on the 5th (his actual due date) and we've been adjusting to life with two kids this past week. Stace stayed home all week, which was GREAT, but now he's back to work and I'm at home with two munchkins!!!!!!!!!!

Stace has set up a lovely online photo album of Connor for all to see. Click here to go there!

I have had one moment of panic since Connor's birth. Ironically, it was on the way home from the hospital, we had Connor in the car, Jack was still with Nana and Pops, but I couldn't help thinking to myself, "What were we thinking???????????? Two kids, I must be crazy."
I haven't had that feeling again, but I do feel a little claustrophobic in the car with the backseat full of children. So far the house doesn't feel too small, so we're good in that department thus far.

Connor seems to be fulfilling his duties as the second child so far. He's pretty mellow, only cries if he's hungry and is letting us sleep for extended periods of time at night. I know this will change, but for now I'm happy with the schedule he's put himself on! As I blog now, I have two kids sleeping in their beds....I'm amazing!

More to come in the days ahead, I promise to update on a semi regular basis! :)

Christmas Blizzard

2006-12-22T22:07:00.000-07:00

Well for the first time in I don't know how many years, we will have a VERY white Christmas! Today we finally got out and did some much needed errands but for the past two days (Wed and Thurs.) we just sat around looking at all the snow. Yesterday Stace was home (couldn't exactly go anywhere) and he and Jack played out in the almost 26 inches of snow that we have. I even scrapped a page to commemorate the day!

I made snow ice cream for the 1st time since I was probably 10 years old. Wow that stuff is good! Just a huge pile of snow (no yellow please), 1 can condensed milk, a splash of vanilla and a pinch of salt, mix together and you've got a great treat!

Our ventures out into the public today were fun at first but then I decided I just had to go to Costco. Yeah, I know....stupid. Even if there hadn't been a blizzard, going to Costco the Friday before Christmas would be crazy. It did not dissapoint...crazy psycho place...snow everywhere, people parking in the wierdest of places and long lines. But we survived, got our stuff and high tailed it out of there.

Here's some pictures of the snow:

New page!

2006-12-07T14:30:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I actually did a scrapbook page of Jack. I've been working on other scrapbooking projects lately and haven't had any time to devote to Jack's pictures. This is a scraplift of someone else's work but I've wanted to do it for a long time. Enjoy!

Organized chaos

2006-12-06T14:14:00.000-07:00

On Sunday night, we hosted all the kiddos from our small group to a cookie decorating extravaganza! While all the other adults were off doing serious things, Stace, Brittany (our savior and hired babysitter) and myself wrangled 3 infants and 7 other kids! While the babies slept or played in bouncy seats, we had the others at the table decorating sugar cookies for their family.

Between piling up the icing (Owen), using all the red and green sprinkles on one small cookie (Katie), eating more icing than actually putting on the cookies (all of them), and licking the knives and putting them back into the icing bowls (all of them again), the cookies turned out pretty cute. I hope all the parents enjoyed them! I think I'm going to be finding sprinkles in my house forever. Cooper (the dog) enjoyed the treats on the floor, though.

After all the sprinkles and icing were gone the kids watched Toy Story and believe it or not we had all of them sitting on the couch together watchingthe movie! Unbelievable! ............until all the sugar from the icing hit their systems and they went crazy again........oh well it was nice while it lasted!

Busy weekend

2006-12-06T14:03:00.000-07:00

We had a super busy weekend of Dec 2nd & 3rd. On Saturday we got up early and went to the mountains to be with some friends who were cutting down their Christmas tree. We decided not to cut one down this year because of the house being on the market and my being almost 8mos pregnant, I just wasn't into all the pine needles on the floor and in the carpet and having to keep a tree watered. Bah humbug! Anyway, Jack did get to play in the snow and had fun for the most part. This picture I took of Stace and Jack is one of the best!

Then, later that night we hit downtown Denver for the annual Parade of Lights. It was probably 19 degrees when the parade started but Jack absolutely loved it! He was dancing up a storm to all the marching bands and was in awe of the huge balloons. Keeping him entertained and all bundled up before the parade was the hard part. Have you ever tried to put kids' mittens or gloves on?? It's like attempting to put a wet noodle into a fleece pouch with one hand. NOT EASY!

Snow Day

2006-11-30T14:43:00.000-07:00

We had a big snow storm Tues into Wednesday and Jack got to go to the 'country house' (my parent's house in Castle Rock) to play all day because I had to work at Pottery Barn. From this picture, it looks like he had a great time sledding with Pops.

Updates to Favorite Links

2006-11-27T14:53:00.000-07:00

For all you who are now thinking about digital scrapbooking, please see my favorite links section. I've updated it with a bunch of new sites. This list is a combination of sites that I look to just for inspiration for layouts and some are for freebies. For example, I use RAK scraps for inspiration AND freebies. Just register and get into the Message Boards, look for RAKs for ALL and Blog RAKS for the freebies. Atomic Cupcake also has freebies in their action gallery. This site is for Photoshop Elements users.

Home again, Home again...

2006-11-27T14:15:00.000-07:00

Well we made it back! We had a great time in Billings for Thanksgiving and the few days after. The ride up to Billings was good, Jack didn't sleep much but movies kept him in good spirits. He did develop a bad cough on the ride up there and just as we pulled into Stace's sister's house he had a coughing fit and ended up throwing up a few times. Very upsetting! :( But with regular doses of Robitussin all weekend, he seems to be better.

There were about 35 people at our Thanksgiving dinner. Food was aplenty and everyone had a great time. I ended up being the life of the party by breaking a wooden chair and falling right on my tush in the middle of dinner! What a jolt to my tummy! My wrist hurt for a little while but there don't seem to be any lingering effects from the fall. Everyone was quite concerned about me though!

I was pretty nervous about my blood sugar levels while we were gone but I only had a few times in the past week that have been higher than my docs want. The good news is that I didn't even have any high numbers after Thanksgiving dinner! Yea!

So now it's time to focus on all the Christmas stuff there is to do! Cookie exchanges, parties, shopping, decorating....how to fit it all on the calendar in the next three weeks! I love this time of year, so it'll be fun.

Gettin' outta dodge

2006-11-21T11:43:00.000-07:00

Well, we're off to Montana for Thanksgiving. Not too excited about the 8-10 hours in the car but it'll be fun to see all the family up there. Let's pray for good driving weather today and on Sunday when we come home. We'll be traveling in style in Stace's new car. You can also read about his new car on his blog.

Things are going pretty well with my blood sugar levels. I had a good weekend of numbers but twice yesterday I had numbers higher than I am supposed to. I've been testing my diet a little so I guess the peanut butter and jelly and milk I had the night before explains things and I probably should not have had rice AND acorn squash for dinner last night. Oh well, hopefully my drs won't hold it against me.

Cooper has gone to 'fat camp' as I call it. He plays so much with all the other dogs and doesn't eat much when he's away from home that he does loose weight when he's there! The actual name of the place is Camp Bow Wow and it's a great place when we're away. It's a bit pricey but he can play all day inside and out and doesn't have to be kenneled all day like at other kennels so we think it's worth the extra money. Plus the caretakers just love him and think he's the funniest dog. If you want to watch him on their doggy webcams you can click on the like above and find the Littleton, CO location and you can see him playing with all the other doggies!

Happy Thanksgiving! Eat a ton of food for me!

Feeling better

2006-11-17T22:13:00.000-07:00

First of all, thanks to all the people who have left their comments, reading them has really lifted my spirits. Keep 'em comin'!

So, I've had a few days to let all the Ges. Diabetes stuff sink in and I had my meeting with the diabetes counselor this afternoon. She was very helpful. I learned how to use the "evil machine" as I call it and got my meal plan with my carb limits.

I had a little hiccup back here at home when I had to test for my 2hr after dinner numbers. I got a little nervous and ended up wasting 4 test strips before I got enough blood to fill up the teeny tiny strip!!! So, now I've pricked myself 4 times all for one test! Ugh.

But the good news is that my score was 113 for after dinner! Yeah! I passed! ( I have to stay under 120).

Anyway...enough 'bout all that...

Stace bought a new car yesterday, in between work and taking his class final, he meets with the auto broker and buys a '05 Chrysler Sebring. It's a nice car, nothing fancy. The good thing is that it has very low mileage and is still under factory warranty! I'll post a picture when I can get one.

Night, night all...

Bad news....

2006-11-15T15:32:00.000-07:00

For everyone that knew that I had a 3 hour glucose test last Friday, my results came back yesterday....I have Gestational Diabetes. I'm still trying to see thru all the fog in my head right now so I'm not exactly thinking clearly about everything.

I don't even know much at this point, I have to meet with a Diabetic Counselor on Friday to get the low down on what my diet will be and how to use the meter. I do know that I'll be testing my blood glucose levels 4 TIMES a day, keeping a log of the results and calling them in to my Dr's office on Mondays and Thursdays. Ugh...............

I'll be testing right when I wake up (the fasting test), and 2hrs after breakfast, lunch and dinner. I have to keep my numbers for the fasting test below 90 and the other 3 levels for the day below 120. If I don't do that...I get to go on some sort of medication (hopefully oral) to regulate things. Lucky me.

What a time to find this out.........a week before Thanksgiving and all thru Christmas....great timing!

Anyway....things will find a way to work themselves out. I just hope that I don't faint every time I have to poke my finger :( I'm not one for blood, needles, or anything that gives me any pain whatsoever!

Welcome!

2006-11-13T15:49:00.000-07:00

Well, I finally did it...a blog. I figured since I do so much digi scrapbooking these days and have so much family that's out of state, that a blog would be a great way for people to keep up with the Riley's. I'm not sure just how much 'blogging' I'll actually do on here, but when big happenings occur I probably will.

Here's a pic of Jack in his cute little Lion costume. He had a great time at Aspen Grove gettin' candy from all the stores.