Child Dedication -- FINALLY!

Today was "Sanctity of Human Life" Day at our church. It was a very moving service for many, and as part of it, they had a "Baby Dedication." Neither of our children had ever been dedicated before. Not for lack of desire on our part, but because we had never found a church that we really considered "home." We had, of course, dedicated them to the Lord when we found out we were pregnant with both of them but had never stood up in front of the body of Christ asking them to partner with us in our endeavor to lead our children in the ways of the Lord. So now that we have found a church family, we were definitely ready to have them both dedicated in the church setting. Before going to church, we took them to the gazebo in the parking lot and took a few pictures. Grant was surprisingly the picture taker today. Mason was a bit grumpy, but they both did great in the service. We were so proud of them. Aren't they quite the lookers? If I would have to pick, I'd say my two little men definitely stole the show today...I just think they're so cute!

Grant was wearing a sport coat that was navy with white pinstriping. He begged to wear it, even though it was a bit too big for him. He calls it, for some reason, his pirate ship. The first thing he said this morning was, "Mommy, can I wear my pirate ship??" And just how can you resist that, I ask??

Isn't he just quite the cool little dude??

Yes, he put his hands in his pockets...how he learned that, I don't know, but I thought it was awfully cute!

And sweet Baby Mason. Isn't he just the best?

How can you resist that face - runny nose and all??

Why is it that's it's always when he's on call???

Some say I'm a baby, maybe a scaredy-cat...but I hate it when Chris is on call! I have to force myself not to watch any TV whenever these days come, because late at night all they play are CSI-type shows, and I really freak myself out before bedtime. As it is, I sleep with my cell phone in the bed with me so I can grab it quickly - just in case. Tonight, as I was driving home, there were two police cars that had pulled one vehicle over on my road. I don't live on a main road. I'm back in a neighborhood. Police cars really don't frequent our road for any reason...so why would they be pulling one car over with multiple vehicles. Okay, Okay, I know - it's really not that big of deal...they're just police cars...at least they're keeping us safe, right? It's 4:30 in the morning right now. Never before have I had anything like this happen, and of course, they only visit when Chris is away. I was just awoken by my doorbell ringing twice and someone pounding on the door. I laid in bed for a little while, thinking there was no way I was answering the door, but by the pounding, I thought perhaps there was an emergency and a neighbor needed assistance or something, so I threw on my robe and ran to the door. I looked out the peep hole and saw a single bright light shining in my eyes, so I hollered through the door, "Who is it??" I felt like my neighbors who at Christmas time would not open the door for our family who was merely delivering Christmas cookies before knowing who it was, which often necessitated a conversation through a closed door. How unneighborly and unfriendly! Well, I was greeted with "The Sherriff's Office, ma'am." He was shining a flashlight towards the door, so I couldn't see anything. I turned the outside light on and saw that it was indeed a police officer and I could see his car behind him. So I had Emma Lou with me, opened the door a crack to verify, and sure enough, a gruff looking man was standing there. I must admit, I was shaking. Why did the Sherriff's office need to knock on my door at 4:30 in the morning? Was something wrong?? Was Chris okay? He began barraging me with questions about my neighbors - who are they, how well do you know them, what is the make and model of their vehicles, how many children do they have and what are their ages, do I know if they're out of town, and do I have any way of getting ahold of them? Well, I do know my neighbors by name. I have talked with them on several occassions and really find myself enjoying their company. But we're not great friends, nor have we ever exchanged information. I'd never even thought about it. Perhaps it's a good idea for us all to exchange such pertinent information in case of an emergency. So after all the questions, he left. I came to the computer, still shaking, thinking that I needed to kill some time before going back to bed, because I was too key-ed up. Minutes later, there's another knock at the door. Another round of questions by another police man. And they told me they might be back again. I can't help but wonder what is going on outside. There are lots of police cars, lots of flashing lights, and while I was talking with both officers, I could hear their radios going off like crazy! But you'd better believe, there's no way I'm going outside to see. Evidentally, my neighbors are not home, so it makes me wonder - robbery??? fire??? what in the world??? Why do they need to know if their son who goes to college lives at home, or away? Is everything okay? But I think I'll wait for Chris to come home, and I guess I'll ask my neighbors myself. I certainly didn't feel like it was my place to ask the police officers to explain the situation to little-old-me. So here I am - 4:30 in the morning, wide awake, praying for my neighbors and wishing that my Chris were here in situations like these!!! ***01/25/09 Update*** I called the non-emergency number for the sheriff's office this evening after talking with my "neighbors in question" who were home the whole time and were unaware of any strange events...the police never even knocked on their door! It seemed to me that the police would not knock on my door so persistently at 4:30 in the morning unless it were an emergency, so I found it all very bizarre. After talking with the dispatcher on the phone this evening, she informed me that there was a window open at their house, and someone had called about a suspicious vehicle in their driveway. It happened to be my neighbor's personal truck. Not sure why the concern, or why they bothered me at 4:30 in the morning, but the mystery is solved...no emergency afterall. Hopefully next time they'll wait until a decent hour to wake the neighbors up. Or at least ring the doorbell of the house in question first!

January 10, 2009

Our last afternoon in Cancun, Chris' parents had purchased us all Cancun T-Shirts. So we all put them on and went out to take a few pictures. Aren't the boys cute? I sure like my little family.

The next day we took a couple pics of the whole group.

A few Random Pictures

Somehow the settings on my camera were switched, so the pictures I took of the last few days of vacation did not turn out well at all. Bummer! Obviously, I still have a lot to learn about my camera.

Friday morning dawned bright and early. The boys were up, and Chris took them out to the hammock on our balcony and had some snuggle time for a while. It was too cute to pass up. , Chris' mom had a gift certificate to the spa, so she took me with her to get a massage and a facial. I had never been to a spa before...quite the treatment! So we had a nice time while the guys kept the boys and took them to the pool. Later that evening, we went back to the pool and poor Mason fell asleep there. It was so cute I had to take a picture.

Saturday, Chris and I had a manicure and pedicure done. Don't you love the pictures of Chris? I must admit, I laughed when I took them. :-)

January 8, 2009 - Happy Birthday to Me!

Well, today was my birthday. It was a hard birthday for me - 28! For some reason, this one really hit me hard, and I was not excited to turn 28 in the least. How very OLD! I was, however, very excited about this day because we were taking our first excursion with the boys today. We were going to Tulum and Xpu-ha. So we were at our bus stop by 8:00 AM ready and raring to go. They did great on the bus ride there. We did decide, however, that as much as we complain about car seats in the US, they're really wonderful things...legal restraints for your kids! Grant and Mason both were wallering all over us the entire trip, making it rather uncomfortable and frustrating. Waiting for our bus to Tulum

The boys playing together on the bus. Isn't Grandpa's face priceless??

We had to stop at a little flea market for a while for people to shop. I was outside taking some pictures of Grant and this little dog came up to him. I wouldn't let him touch it, but he adored the doggy and enjoyed being right down on her level. Tulum was fun...but VERY hot. I always enjoy historical sites. Chris and I had come here on our honeymoon and I enjoyed it immensely then, and did again, despite everyone being cranky. I wore Mason in the Baby Bjorn which turned out to be quite easy. My shoulders were tired by the end, but Mason was a happy boy the whole time, and it made it much easier not to have to hold him in my arms. We couldn't take the stroller here, so Grant had to walk. It was hot, and he's only 2, and he didn't want to walk. The problem was, everyone else was hot, too, so they didn't want to carry him. So there was much whining, resulting in daddy getting very frustrated, resulting in mommy getting very frustrated...and you see the pattern. :-) It really didn't go very well. But I enjoyed the sites anyway.

See the iguana in front??

After Tulum, we went to Xpu-ha, another one of the palace resorts. It's very cool. It's like an ecological park. Sometime when we go back, I would love to stay here. You stay in little huts on stilts, and it's like a little zoo - monkeys, crocodiles, flamingoes, deer, etc. We went for lunch (where Grant wouldn't eat a thing and he and Chris fought about it the whole time) and after about 45 minutes, we went out to the kiddie pool and at last everyone had fun! The two boys were having a ball, and we actually were, too. It was nice. Neither boy had napped all day, so once we finally got back on the bus, they both konked out for the rest of the trip. When we got back to the hotel, we walked into the room, and the maids had turned our beds back, turned on soft music and had a birthday cake waiting for me. It was so nice of them. After cleaning everyone up, Chris and I had our complimentary massages at 7:00. We grabbed a little something to eat afterwards while his parents put the kids to bed, and then we went to The Fire Show. Wow, was it something! A group from Brazil had come and they danced around the stage while doing various stunts with fire. It was very cool. After that, we went and sat down by the ocean for a while and talked. We decided that we were not going to take the kids on any more excursions...they just weren't kid friendly. At least not little kids. I was disappointed, but it really wasn't worth the frustration. So that, in a nutshell, was my birthday. It turned out to be a good day, but it certainly had a rocky start!