Big Changes

So here I sit, lonely and lacking in adult conversation today. It is 11:29 and the only personal adult conversation I have had is with my friend Kelley for about 15 minutes today. It is killing me! I love my boys to death and we have had a big day today, but it just does not compare to the "grown-up time" I have with Bill when they are not around. I feel so selfish when I complain so please do not be offended, I just like to talk to grown-ups sometimes. I think that is a good thing!
Today we dove head first into our BIG "Daddy's-gone-now-what Project!" Tyler has decided that he is too big to share a room with his little brother anymore. He wants out, he wants independence, and freedom! Personally I can not blame him, I loved all of those things growing up (still do, kinda). I knew that Bill would want us to wait until he got home, so it became our big secret. I needed to clean out the playroom anyway so it seemed as good of a time as any. I took the boys to Art and Worship Camp this morning and headed back to begin purging the playroom! Can I just say that Mc Donald's should be sued for giving away so many useless toys that junk up my house! I got to the point that if it even looked like a happy meal toy I was throwing it away. Not even Goodwill needs that! So for about three hours I worked my way through dress-up clothes (old Halloween costumes), Rescue Heroes (only had 1 billion of those), and of course the countless little toys from who knows where. None of which my boys have even touched in two years. It was a bit emotional at times, but I quickly got over that. By the time I picked up the boys I was knee deep in garbage bags. They were amazed and could never imagine that Tyler would even be able to sleep in there tonight. So work we did, Travis is the best little worker man God has ever made!!! He would carry shelves out and lug bags to the hallway without complaint. Tyler on the other hand will make a great boss someday! He would check in periodically move a few things around and then disappear. Now keep in mind this is all being done for him! That's my boy! By 9:00pm a mere 12 hours after I got my start I loaded the last bag into Bill's truck and could finally walk down my hallway. Success! or maybe not!

The true test came when bedtime approached. You see Travis had been showing signs of being nervous all day. He has never slept in his room alone, EVER! I was just planning on crossing that bridge when I came to it. Here I am!! Tyler needed an extra hug and kiss and he was fine. Travis is asleep on Bill's pillow right now and has begged me not to take him back in there tonight. He is planning on trying it again tomorrow. (grin) I guess I have until Saturday to either get Travis in his own bed or put the playroom back as it was, because Daddy is coming home! I am sure we have not heard the last of this!!!

Prayers for Bill

Mile High Mission Trip

My wonderful husband left this morning for Colorado with the youth group from our church. They will be leading a VBS and working on various service projects throughout the Denver area. If you know Bill at all you know that this is one of his most favorite things to do. He looks forward to it all year long! He has such a heart for these kids and loves hanging out with them. He also thinks Colorado is where heaven and earth meet. I might agree if it wasn't for the fact that they measure snow in feet and not inches there! However, there is a better than even chance we will some day end up living there. Please pray that God will work in the lives of the people that they come in contact with as much as He works in the lives of the youth and adults that are on the trip. I also ask for your prayers for safe travel. They have called and said that the first flat tire came in Witchita Falls, only three hours away from home on a 16 hour trip! They are on their way now, again!

God Speed My Love, come home soon! I miss you already!!

Welcome Home!

Yesterday, we drove to Irving to welcome home Bill's cousin Christopher from Afghanistan. This was an awesome day! The neighborhood association had put flags up and down the street and a few of their neighbors placed signs in their front yard welcoming Chris home. I had a lump in my throat as we drove down the street. How AWESOME! As Chris and his wife Brandi drove up we all walked out and greeted them. The kids jumped in the back of his truck and held the flag as they drove down the street looking at the signs. I'm telling you I could not contain the pride I had in him for serving our country so bravely and in the people that do not even know him showing their support as well. We can disagree on a lot of things as Americans, but we all rally around when the "boys" come home safe. That is what being an American is! I am glad that my boys got to be a part of this, too.

After Chris came in and took a breath he dropped another surprise on us. He has been awarded the Purple Heart! Tears again! Chris has not lead the easiest life, and that is putting it mildly, but to see him get honored in service for a job well done is great. A lot of people have prayed for God's will to be done in Chris and yesterday I felt those prayers had been answered.

Thank you friends for all that you do to keep us "sometimes thankless" Americans safe! I love ya'll!

Fitting Room Frustration

Yesterday, I had the brilliant idea to go buy a new bra. I had seen the new style from VS that has the see through straps and that seemed like a great idea. I had a $10 off coupon so off I went. You know me, I never pay full price for anything, especially at Victoria Secret. So why you ask am I blogging about buying a bra? The fun started when I mentioned to Bill what my plan was and he agreed to come along, remember from previous post that we were kidless. Bra shopping with your husband...he has a completely different image of this than I do! I hate bra shopping! So off we go to the mall. I am thinking that this is not going to be too bad. I know my size and I know what style I am looking for. The only thing I need to do is choose a color and try it on. Bill is somewhat uncomfortable in VS, but he is getting better, so I know I need to hurry. I find what I want and make it to the fitting room. All sounds very normal, right?

25 minutes later I come out sweating and completely frustrated, no bra in hand.

You see as soon as the VS worker closed the door the war began. In one corner the bra with plastic straps and in the other corner me! I begin by replacing the regular straps with the clear straps. This immediately started my frustration. You see two rubber bands laced through a plastic loop tend to stick together when you adjust them. Stick like SUPER GLUE! After finally getting the straps adjusted and teetering on the edge of a mental breakdown I put the bra on. Only to have strap number one fly off and hit the mirror in front of me. Holy Cow! That is not going to be good in public! I take yet another deep breath, and put the strap back on and begin to readjust the bra, SNAP the strap on the other side flies off. OK, where are the cameras because surely I am on some sick TV show that just wants to watch women going completely nuts and throw things. As I am taking the bra off the straps stick together and pull my hair. GRR! I get it off, throw it on the floor, and put my clothes back on. As I am walking out, I see Bill. He is amazed at how long it took me in there and now I am empty handed. He tries to calm me down and says surely there was just a malfunction and goes to get another bra. Oh No, Mister! I am not going back in there with that thing alone! You do it! We take the bra to the nice VS worker and have her put the straps on for me. This takes her about 10 minutes. Now it is the principal of the matter, I am getting a new bra by golly! Bill is just giggling because he can not imagine that this is that difficult. This time he comes in there with me. It does not take as long, but still more that the usual bra buying. After we paid I was able to laugh, only because I knew I could blog about it and you all would get a kick out of my evening!

Sleepovers

We have entered the age of sleepovers in the Lambert House. These are days I remember very well! The boys have only slept at home 3 times in the last week, and one time was with another boy. I must say I love this! Bill and I lay in bed, after telling them to stay quiet for the 5th time, and just listen to them giggle. How many nights did my parents do this same thing?
The other side, the best side if you ask me, is the fact that Bill and I have been able to spend time together that is not necessarily considered a date. You see I never even knew such a time existed. Prior to this our dates would have to be carefully scheduled and compact. Those of you with small children understan. You must accomplish as much as you can until the kids come back. These "sleep overs" create a whole new date night, the unplanned date night. Sunday night the boys were gone and Bill and I sat around staring at reruns on the TV. Finally I said I am going to go get the mail, he jumped up and said he would come with me. WHAT?!?! Remember I said it was Sunday? We went outside anyway! HA! You can see we are still new at this.
We have learned, yet again, that our boys are growing up. So far I am enjoying every stage just a little more than the last. Bill and I are looking forward to being bored together again tonight!

Dreams

I have not added a post in a long time. Trust me it is not because there have been a lack of things to blog about, just a lack of time to gather my thoughts and add them, without interruption. Emphasis on the interruption part!
Moving on...
Have you ever had one of those dreams that last all night and you wake up thinking about it? Well, last night I dreamt that Bill had a girlfriend. WHAT!!??!! It was so vivid and lasted what seemed to be all night long. This morning when I heard him get out of bed I was so mad at him. I am having to fight off the anger right now. Isn't that crazy? The poor guy has done nothing wrong and I can not shake this bad mood. Dreams are crazy like that! I am sure that some of you can analyze the meaning of my dream, if it is not good don't tell me! I do not need any other reasons to be upset! HA!
Love you guys!

Rainy Summer Days

Today was the second rainy day of the week. This really hurts the Lambert Family Motto for the summer (see earlier blog). Today they decided to entertain themselves by preparing a puppet show for Bill and I to watch after dinner. Of course I loved this idea, it occupied about two hours of their time. AMAZING! They made posters to advertise, tickets, seat names and numbers, props, and play money. The only thing they forgot was to write their lines to the play! (LOL) Regardless, it was a hoot! I have tried to summarize it with a photo show. I wonder if this is how Scorsese got his start!?!

Fort Worth Zoo

We had such a blast at the zoo yesterday! My original plan did not work out, but the day turned out awesome all the same. I had planned to ride the train to Fort Worth and the transfer to the zoo. Apparently that is not a very popular route, because after all of the transfers it would have taken us 3 hours to get to the zoo and 3 hours to get home. (never mind!) My attempt to save gas and go green was trumped by my ADD and need to get there and more importantly get home when I am tired! So we packed a picnic lunch and headed out in my car to Fort Worth, it only took us an hour to get there. (much better) However, we almost got a speeding ticket on the way. Did I tell you Bill went with us! Yes, the cop had his radar gun out and the car in front of us slammed on his brakes, Bill sped up to pass him and then saw the cop. OOPS! You know that feeling??? The cop immediately put the radar gun away and got in his car. GREAT! I am thinking three hours on the bus will be less that a speeding ticket on the highway. So we slow down and move to the far right lane, knowing that the cop will surely pull up right behind us. No Cop! We go ahead and pull off the freeway, still convinced that he will pull up behind us. As we pull into the nearest gas station I see the cop coming down the ramp. GREAT! He comes down to the light and I am thinking...Go Go Gadget Invisibility! He turns, away from us! WOO HOO! I think we effectively evaded the law! I am sure our picture is posted in Grand Prairie somewhere as a most wanted, but really how often do we go there? The boys were asking 900 questions as all of this happened. Travis is terrified of the police so he was shaking in the backseat. Tyler reached over and held his hand! HA! We had a good nervous giggle as we drove the speed limit to the zoo!

Summer in Full Swing

The boys and I are 5 days into this summer and so far so good. I created a list of chores and expectations (rules) that Super Nanny would be proud of. I think these have saved me! The boys are trying very hard to stay "green" (yes, we have a color chart at home, too). We have set a summer motto that we are living by : SWIM AND GYM! I said that in passing one night and both of the boys are holding me to it! They told me on Monday if we did not go to the gym we would be breaking one of our rules. HA! We also have a song for the summer, any guesses??? It is from my favorite movie HSM2 the song is What Time is It? Of course it talks about summer vacation!
I have always said that I have the best of both worlds, I get to go to work 190 days and stay home for 2 months. I have always thought the 2 months is harder than the 190 days. That is, until this year. We have been able to move and groove as much as we want to. I think I could get used to this...Unfortunately, my bank account suffers greatly when I am on summer vacation. There are just so many great places to spend your money at! (Shhh! don't tell Bill!)
This is a boring blog, I know, but I wanted to have it on record that the system we set up worked for at least 5 days. It could all change in an instant!
Tomorrow we are going on the train to the Fort Worth Zoo! Yep, riding the real train to Fort Worth! I am sure there will be lots to share after that!

10 Years of Wedded Bliss

Bill and I have been married for 10 years today. This seems like a long time to be married, but it has gone by so fast! When I think about all of the things that have happened in the last 10 years, it amazes me. I thought I would share some pictures of our life together. We have been married 10 years, but have actually been together for 17 years. Looking through these pictures made me laugh. I have found notes that I wrote him in high school and letters that we exchanged in college. Tyler was amazed that we actually wrote to each other. In his mind he thought e-mail would be so much easier.

This is our first picture together. We were on a Mission Trip to Colorado. He was my Missions Leader. That is a Hyper-Color shirt he has on, remember those??

In this picture I am 15 years old. Oh-My!

Bill proposed after Christmas Eve Candlelight Service in 1997.

We were married in El Paso surrounded by all of our friends on June 6, 1998. It was an absolutely amazing night!

Our life together has been tremendously blessed. I knew I had found a treasure the moment I met him. He is the best Daddy and my very best friend!

I got this in an e-mail yesterday and just had to share it with you!

Live your life in such a way

that when your feet hit the floor in the morning,

satan shudders & says...

"Oh no....she's awake!!"

Proud Momma

Yesterday we attended a small awards ceremony for Tyler's 2nd grade. Each kid was honored by their teacher for something, the awards varied from best smile to best athlete, best reader to class clown. Being a teacher I know the struggles that go through picking an award for each kid. There are some that come easy, and others that I would agonize over for days. How do you give an award for making it to the principals office more than any other 4th grader in a way that sounds politically correct? As the teachers called out awards I fretted over what type of award he would deserve this year. Best Handwritting, NOT, Most Athletic, NOT, Class Clown, Not really, Best Smile, maybe (cop out award if you ask me!) Well, he received Most Caring Student in his 2nd grade class. I was filled with joy! He recieved an award last year for the same thing. I would love for Tyler to make straight A's, be at school every day, win at every sport he played, and have the best smile, but really I would trade all of that for him to be considered a caring person. That my friends is something that will help him be a better MAN and that is my goal as a parent! So it is with tears in my eyes that I say, I am so proud of the young man I have in my house. Tomorrow he ends the 2nd grade, where has the time gone!

Casualties of Field Day

Today was the big day that the kids look forward to all year... Field Day! I will admit as a teacher I also looked forward to it. It was a time to just play and be a big kid and it was ok. It also allowed for my competitive personality to come out just a bit. (LeRay?) This year I was not able to go play with my boys, but that did not slow them down. As you can tell from the pictures, Field Day was a success!

I am sure they have great stories to tell, but they fell asleep so fast I have not even heard any of them. More to come with this story I am sure!

Funny Things

Happy Memorial Day!
I wish we could say that we have spent this weekend doing all of the fun "summer" things that you are supposed to do on Memorial Day. Not so much! This year we are remembering the fact that we started school late in August and therefore still have 8 more days of school. This year seems to be dragging on. Will summer ever get here?
Ok, enough whining!
We have had a great weekend with family and friends!
Yesterday was Sunday so we were off to church. The boys are at an age now where we have tried to get them to pay attention to the sermon, rather than coloring and just being quiet. I will say this is a struggle each week, but we are making progress. Our pastor uses an outline for each sermon and the points are projected on the big screen. (I am sure most of you know the drill.) Bill and I use this outline to help the boys stay focused on the sermon. Each boy picks their favorite pen and listens/watches for the next phrase or word to be mentioned. Well, being the good Baptist preacher that he is, he normally has three points with some sort of alliteration or rhyme to start with. Tyler has picked up on this and can sometimes predict what the next point will be. It is a bit of a game. Hey, at least he is paying attention! What we did not know is how close Travis has paid attention to the pattern of the outline. Yesterday, we hand each boy a sermon outline and Travis says, "WHAT?! There are four points on this outline!" HA! The people behind us giggled and Bill and I could hardly contain it! How could a good baptist preacher add four points to his outline? Doesn't he know we need to be out of church before the Methodists or the lines will be too long at Luby's?
Needless to say we had a good laugh, thanks to Travis, AGAIN!

Needed: New Recipes

Do you ever go through a slump where you feel like you are making the same seven things for dinner every week? Not that I cook seven times a week, lordy no! I just feel like I am in a cooking slump. I make tacos, spaghetti, chicken, pork chops, etc... over and over again. Tyler asked me yesterday if we were going to have chicken and broccoli or chicken and corn. WOW! What a variety I provide!
I need some new ideas, and this is where my blog buddies come in. Please share your favorite recipe with me. I will then post my favorites, too.
My family will thank you!

Happy Mother's Day

Dear Lord, it's such a hectic day,

With little time to stop and pray,

For life's been anything but calm,

Since you called on me to be a mom.

Running errands, matching socks,

Building dreams with building blocks.

Cooking, cleaning, and finding shoes,

And other stuff that children lose.

Fitting lids on bottled bugs,

Wiping tears and giving hugs.

A stack of last week's mail to read,

So where's the quiet time I need?

Yet when I steal a minute Lord,

Just at the sink or ironing board,

To ask the blessings of your grace,

I see them in my small one's face,
That you have blessed me all the while,

As I stop to kiss that precious smile.

Pictures

Absolutely Amazing Weekend!

Well, it is official I am "30 something!" Don't get me wrong it really does not bother me too much. Turning 30 was a milestone, 31 not so much! I have realized lately that I am getting older. You see I always hung out with older people, therefore making me the one that know one could believe I was only... I was also one of the young teachers, young moms, and young married couple. Just recently I noticed that I am a "seasoned teacher" a "school-aged mom" and an "over the hump married couple." Where does time go?
Ok to the point!
Bill planned a wonderful weekend for just the two of us to celebrate my birthday. If you do not know me I like to celebrate in "weekends" not "days." It is all about stretching it out if you ask me!
Our weekend started off with dropping the boys off at his mom's house on Saturday afternoon. We spent the next few hours walking around the mall enjoying the beautiful day. (one of my most favorite things to do!) We then headed off to Downtown Dallas where we would stay for the evening. Bill had booked a room at the Magnolia hotel. For those of you familiar with the Dallas skyline it is the building with the Pegasus on top. It was built in 1905 and had amazing architecture. Bill and I ate dinner on the 3rd floor balcony of a restaurant called the Iron Cactus. Mexican food of course! They had New Mexican green chilies and not poblano peppers, hot dog, felt like home!! We had a great time watching the locals walk their dogs around the "concrete park" and then sit down to dinner with the dog in the chair. : ) not kidding! We had to be sure and be back at our hotel before 10, not because we are old, but because our hotel offered a cookies and milk bar from 8-10. Yummo!
Sunday morning we were off and running. We walked around the Farmers Market, which we planned another trip back to very soon! No time to linger too long we had reservations for Brunch at the House of Blues. They have a gospel brunch every Sunday. I would highly recommend this to everyone, it was so much fun!
Bill and I then took in more shopping and movie! I told you it was the best weekend ever! And I am still not done.
After our movie we had tickets to the Stars Game 6 Playoff Game! I was so excited for this game. The Stars had won 3 games and only needed one more win to move on to round two. I had not so secretly wished for them to lose game 4 and 5 so that I could get a chance to go to game 6. It worked! We had seats on row 7, awesome! The game ended up going into 4 overtimes! Yes, I said 4 over times! It finally ended at 1:30 AM! After the weekend we had, I was so exhausted! We picked the boys up and fell into bed at almost 3 AM! Guess I am not that old after all!
As I laid in bed preparing for a good night's sleep I thanked God for the best friend He has given me in Bill! Thanks, Honey!

When I was Younger...

As I walked through a classroom today I observed a teacher who was doing a writing lesson on the topic. "When I was younger..." This did make me laugh because none of the kids in our building are older than 10. However, it got me thinking about the past 30 years of my life and I can not get it out of my head. Which to all you bloggers out there you know what that means...I must blog about it. This is my therapy!
So here goes...
When I was younger I could run to my friend's house two blocks away to see if she could play outside. Now I call my friend to see if we can plan a "play day" so we can talk, and it might happen in the next two weeks.
When I was younger I could talk on the phone to my boyfriend for hours, now we are lucky to talk to each other over dinner. (I hear that changes when the kids grow up, still waiting!)
When I was younger I could wear what I wanted, eat what I wanted, and not worry about a thing! Now...not so much! I am at the point where shopping must answer these questions does it make me look too young? does it make me look to old? does it make me look fat? is it on sale? does is it so on sale everyone has it? BLAH!!
When I was younger I thought I knew it all! NOT!!
When I was younger I could sleep until noon! I miss those days!
BUT...
When I was younger I did not know what true friends were, I do now!! Thanks for being my friends!

"I'm Two Hands Now!"

Yes, it is official we are no longer one-handed in this house. confused yet? None of us can count our age on one hand. Travis is now six! Where does time go? I remember being a new mom and people saying to cherish these moments because they do not last long. At the time I thought, are you sure each day drags on forever. : ) Now I am the person saying, "I remember those days..." Travis has become such a little man since starting school. He is very responsible and has more common sense then a lot of the 4th graders I taught. He has a huge heart and is tough as nails! Travis is the kid that wants everyone to get along so that we can all play together. The key is to play and he doesn't care if it is with girls or boys, just together. I am so proud of both my big guys! Here are some pictures of the first few days of Travis. He was named after the strong most God center man Bill and I have ever know, Travis "Grandy" Sykes. Travis is now 90 1/2! He has beat many illnesses and stared death in the face more than once. God is not finished with him yet! I can not wait for my Travis to understand what an awesome namesake he has. This picture is to show exactly how HUGE this kid was. This picture is taken the first night in the hospital. He is not even one day old! Notice the cheeks...my word!

Happy Birthday my little man!