We're moving, AZ vacation, and some extra....

WOW!  It's been one crazy month since I last posted on here.

First of all, in case you haven't heard, we're moving.  Ben received a call from 1st Reformed in Lansing, IL to be pastor there and accepted it.  We will be sad to leave Baileyville but we are both confident that this is where the Lord is calling us, and are excited to go where He is sending us.  Everything has worked out perfectly so far (including finding and buying a perfect house for us!), so we have even more confidence in our decision.  We continue to pray for Baileyville-- that he will provide them with a gospel preaching pastor!  It's hard to think about leaving since there's soooo much to do before then and each week I'm getting more pregnant....

Everytime I think about packing, I start freaking out.  Ok, not really.... but I remember how much work it was last time and I start dreading the process.  Being pregnant again and packing is bringing back A LOT of memories =).   Ben and I decided that while his last Sunday here will be May 26, I'll be moving out sooner than that (probably mid-May).   If this baby comes as early as Caleb did, I can't move as late as the 26th or I'll have a new baby and boxes EVERYWHERE.  THAT would be horrible.  So, I plan to get a little head start but will still come back to Baileyville on weekends in order to be with the church for our last bit here!

That's our biggest news I'd say.

In other news, we took a vacation to AZ with my mom, dad, and sister.  It was AMAZING.  It was totally relaxing and beautiful.  You've probably seen pictures on facebook, but I'll put a few on here for those of you who don't have facebook....

Isn't this Red Rock AMAZING!?  Praise God!

 And, I picked this picture because of the scenery (BEAUTIFUL!-- look at that sky!)... and then I noticed my dad was climbing up the rock, and now THAT's why I like this picture.  He's the best, and for some reason I laugh when I look at this.

And here's a nice little family photo.

I actually felt the best I have felt this entire pregnancy on this trip.  I think it's because we were walking a lot and getting outside.  I was thankful =). 

 Hey, remember how two days ago it was Spring, and now it's Winter again?  

Caleb not only cried when Ben made this face but cries every time he sees a picture of Ben making this face......  I think it's scary too.  

In other news, I decided last week to start potty training Caleb on Monday.  I had BIG plans.  I bought amazing treats, I told him what an exciting time we had ahead of us,... I cleared the schedule ALL day Monday so we would have one focus....  Please check out the supplies I had.  

Doesn't the bear look cute with underwear on? HA!  I was going to try Potty Training 1-2-3.  It's a book I read through, and it focuses on rewarding your child when they're dry.  I thought that made sense.. you know, I don't care how many times he goes to the bathroom, I just don't want him to have wet pants!  

Anyway..... potty training was a TOTAL bomb.  I stopped by.... 9 am?  The last straw was when I looked over at Caleb in his underwear, and he was peeing right through the little hole in his underwear and had NO idea what was happening even after I announced it to him...... after he finished, he ran up to my back since I was kneeling and said "backpack?"... that means he wants a horsey back ride. REALLY?!  I asked Ben to go put a diaper on him, and we had a nice day after that =) .

So, we'll have to try again in a few months.  They say not to do potty training when

1. You're moving

2. Job transition

3. New baby.

UM.... I guess he won't be potty trained for a while then.....

Later in the day I asked Caleb to go throw his undershirt in the laundry chute.  It sounded like he did it, and he came back with something in his hand. I thought it was a diaper.  SO, I said "let's go take care of that!"  We started throwing diapers out the bathroom window upstairs and they land on the patio.  Ben originally came up with this idea (to keep our upstairs from smelling), and I was absolutely horrified at the idea (probably like you are now).  Eventually, I came around, and now I think it's the most brilliant idea ever.  Plus, Caleb loves throwing them out the window... who wouldn't?

After I said, "Let's go take care of that" Caleb ran to the laundry shoot... to which I said "NOO! We don't throw that in the laundry shoot, we throw it out the window."  So, I held him up to the window and he threw it out...... ANNNND his undershirt landed in the gutter. BHAHAHHAHAHHAHH.  

I am such a moron. 

And then I burst out laughing and said "crap" which he may or may not have repeated.....  that was not a good moment.

So, currently there's an undershirt wet and nasty in our gutter outside since it's been raining A LOT lately.  Hopefully he doesn't start trying to throw his clothes out the window when they're dirty...

 I got a hat and some hairbows from a friend the other day, and Caleb enjoyed playing in the bag.   Doesn't he look pretty?

And here he is wearing his glasses and Ben's gloves.

Caleb's latest is going inside his toybox and playing.  I actually really enjoy it.  He gets stuck in there and just starts playing.  Eventually he calls for me, but it's nice and quiet while he's stuck.....  in fact, I was able to make dinner yesterday while he played in there.

I think that's about all the news on this end! 

-Melanie

Non vacation, Iowa vacation, and wisdom teeth...

WOW, what a long title huh?

This should be a "our cruise was so awesome check out all our neat pics" kind of a post... but alas, the Carnival Triumph let us down....and left us stranded in Houston, TX.  So, instead, I will post our hotel room.

This is where we moped about and sat on hold with Carnival for over an hour.  The room was kind of a junky artsy...  Ben's side of the blanket had holes in it apparently.  He wasn't too happy with the room.  I could really care less... (well, it would help if my pillow hadn't been flat).  But, that's what happens when you pay FORTY bucks for a hotel, right?  I was kicking myself for a while for being such a cheapskate since it turns out Carnival covered the hotel room for the night.  (boy did they get lucky!).  The man I sat next to on the airplane was from Houston and told me that it was a rough neighborhood and that we should probably not venture out too much once we got there.  He asked where we were staying after naming hotels that would be "safe" (such as Holiday Inn, Hyatt etc.)   I told him it was a Motel Six and he laughed out loud..... it worked out fine though.  We flew back the next day and were very crabby at my parents' house for a few days.  (they were very good to us despite our pathetic attitudes).


In the last couple of weeks, I have been drinking a KILLER smoothie.  Prepare to be amazed.

This picture shows what's in it.... KALE, Flax Seed (just pretend it's seed from the fruit :)), frozen strawberries and peaches, part of an apple (WITH the skin on), Greek yogurt (shown is Strawberry, but I've since moved on to plain), and a TINY piece of lemon with the peel on.  This guy at Sam's club once told me this BRILLIANT secret.  He said if you put spinach in your smoothie... you have to put half a slice of lemon in and it will eliminate the spinach flavor.  SO, I thought since it worked for spinach, it must work for kale.  AND IT TOTALLY DOES!  I feel so healthy drinking this...you know, since Kale is a super food and all?  ;)

**This was mixed with my Vitamix by the way.  That's why I can throw in apple chunks with the skin on and a lemon with the peel.  I'm not sure if that would work in a regular blender...? 

AND, here's Caleb drinking it up.  It's like a TOTAL treat for him.... bhahhahaha... and there's KALE in it.  Seriously. I feel like a genius.  And, Ben FINALLY tried it the other day and approved.  That was a huge step.... because the smoothie looks like mashed peas....  

In other news, my cousin Heather just had a BABY!  I decided to make the trek to Northwest Iowa to go see him and try to help.  Caleb came with me, and he really did ok in the car.  (Thankfully!)

Here are some pictures from our trip...

Caleb and Haylee did some coloring together.  Caleb wasn't content there for very long ... don't let the picture fool you. ;)  (Haylee was though-- she loved to color!) Also note the coffee cup on the table.  I was able to use their Keurig for the few days I was there, and it was AMAZING. (I was skeptical until I had it all the time at their house.)

Here they are acting like they like being on the chair together... haha!!  Isn't it CUTE?!  It looks like they're talking.  It was probably something like this... 

Caleb: "Um, Haylee, I was actually here first" 

                    Haylee: Well... we should both fit. I can't help it you weigh a ton" Or something like that.  Or maybe it was

Caleb: I love you and love that you came to sit by me.

            Haylee: I love you too and I'm glad you're using all my toys while you're here. 

buuuut..... probably not ;)  

They ate their grapes and muffins for breakfast at the little table. 

Doesn't THAT look like fun? Caleb loved all of the play dishes and food, and I'm sure Paul (heather's husband) loved coming home to the mess on the floor.  (it's hard to clean up when they KEEP playing with it...) 

And THIS is sweet baby Evan.  Isn't he precious?!?!?!  He was only 6 pounds, 10 ounces when he was born. (I think...)  He seemed SO TINY!  AND, it made me SO excited for my sweet baby girl to arrive in June! WOO HOO!! 

And lastly.  Ben got his wisdom teeth pulled on Monday.  He was in a GREAT mood following the surgery... can you say valium and happy gas?!?  BUT, by the afternoon he was miserable. =(   Yesterday he did much better and even was able to look at puppies on the ipad with Caleb.  Here they are snuggling together. (notice Caleb's sock says 4T-5T... yes, his feet may be as big as your preschoolers....)

Oh, the green thing?  That's a circle scarf that Lisa Kuper made for me.  It's actually worked wonderfully for Ben in keeping the ice on his face.  It's much better when you don't have to hold the ice on your cheeks.  I highly recommend getting one if you are going to get your wisdom teeth pulled =)

I think that's about all that's new in our house.... until next time!

-Melanie

DC trip and more!

I thought I'd do a number post again to save time to update you on what's happened between the last post and this one....

In no particular order... (at least I don't think there will be)

1. I went to Washington D.C. for the Right to Life March!  It was GREAT.  Well, mostly. I mean, the bus ride was a little long... and uncomfortable, and it was freezing cold out.. BUT, I'm happy to have a little discomfort when standing up against abortion.  And, I got my own seat on the bus!!!

2. We went sight seeing all day Saturday and part of the day Friday.  I think I exercised more in those two days than I have in the last year...  Auntie Pat is hard to keep up with.  I'm soooo glad I borrowed my mom's coat....and wore sweatpants under my pants... and had about a million shirts on... and had my warm boots..  I think I looked incredible and so did some others apparently.  While we were out and about, I almost walked into a picture that someone else was taking.  I quickly stopped to avoid ruining their picture, when the man taking the picture said... "Hey, would you mind taking a picture with these guys?"  (they were mid thirties or older I would guess)  Anyway, he said he was joking because they had wives and their wives wouldn't be too pleased if they had a picture with a woman.  I laughed outloud and said I didn't think I was too big of a threat....  I mean really, their wives probaby would have laughed at them saying, "THAT's what you picked up!?"

Please look at this picture of me.  Would anyone consider me a threat to their marriage?!?! I'm the babe on the far right.... the one with the visor on the hood. .....

3.  Caleb still goes to bed at 7, so Ben and I have plenty of time to hang out just the two of us.  Sometimes we have trouble figuring out what to do.  The other day we balanced our cell phones on our heads and tried to see who could balance theirs the longest.  We even tried up the stairs.  It was thrilling.  Truly.

4. I just got the bill from the emergency room visit with Caleb back when he knocked his tooth back up.  I'm regretting our decision to take him there..... ;)  Speaking of his tooth, it doesn't seem to be coming down too quickly. (DOGS!)

5. Ben and I are going on a CRUISE on Monday.  Yeah, I can't believe it either.  We found a great deal and thought... why not book it?!  So, we did.  Caleb is not invited.  It's going to be a celebration of our 4 year anniversary... you know, that was a big one.. (?)   Who needs a reason anyway?  Caleb will be spending the week (it's a 5 night cruise) at my parents house, and I'm sure he'll have a wonderful time with Grammy and Papa.  It makes it easier to leave him when I know he'll be having a great time.

6. Caleb did a puzzle a couple weeks ago all by himself.  I think he's a genius... or something.

7.  I found an AMAZING website.  Cooksillustrated.com.  Everything I've made on their is completely delicious.  Unfortunately, you can only get a free 2 week trial and you have to pay to continue... SO, I no longer have access.  I tried to get a bunch of recipes before my trial ended though.  In a few weeks, Ben might have to try it out ;).....

8.  I LOVE finding my C-dizzle (Caleb) reading books quietly in the corner.  I found him like this the other day.  He sits on the exercise mat to read.

He looks at me like... "Um... can I help you?"

9.  The other day I said to him.. "UUMmmmm no" to which he replied... "Ummm, no."  Whoops.

10. I didn't watch the super bowl..... again. Does that make me a total loser?  Yeah... well, I've been one my whole life.. why stop now? ;)    I actually had a pretty heavy heart yesterday after I read an article about how the super bowl is the biggest human trafficking incident in the U.S.  You can read it here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/03/super-bowl-sex-trafficking_n_2607871.html.  And then I saw on facebook how "awesome" the half time show was.  I watched the first bit and was overwhelmed by how ungodly it was.  I thought it was far from awesome.  It was completely worldly in every way, and I think it's embarrassing that women (christian women!) think that kind of dress and dancing is somehow appropriate...or great or whatever....  And, I think Beyonce should be embarrassed that her shirt had a huge rip right down the middle of it!  BAHA.  Just kidding. But really, was it really necessary for her to dress like a hooker?  

11. My in-laws have been here this weekend.  Currently the men are playing a game.... that they've been playing since yesterday afternoon.  I'm glad I declined....  I'd take their picture and show you, but they all have bed head, and I'm too nice.  

Tootaloo (I'm trying to teach Caleb to say that... it's pretty funny)

-Melanie

A regular-ole pictureless update!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year....a bit late!  The holidays were wonderful seeing friends and family-- but it included A LOT of traveling, so I'm kind of glad it's over.  The drives aren't even that long.  It's just that my sweet son will not sleep in the car.  It's fine because he's not terribly fussy..... he just won't sleep... and that's a problem when you decide to leave at 8:30 at night.... twice.  Why? Oh, because then your 20 month old who normally goes to bed at 7 goes to bed at 11.  My child needs sleep.  I mean, truly, he NEEDS it desperately.. he's a Kappers after all ;) (for example, he still takes two naps at TWENTY months... that's a sleepy kid).  It all worked out fine though, so it was silly to worry.  But then again, it's always silly to worry.  Isn't that in the Bible somewhere? ;)

OH, speaking of the Bible.  My brilliant friend Lisa who I posted about last post who is my hero and has a blog you can fine HERE, told me about a singer while I was visiting.  His name is Jamie Soles, and his cds are FANTASTIC.  I mean, he's not the greatest singer.. in fact, his voice is a little bit whiny.. or nasal-ey? if you ask me... BUT, the songs are catchy, very kid-friendly, AND full of WONDERFUL Bible facts.  HERE is the website where you can order them.  I ordered Fun and Prophets, The Way my Story Goes, and Up From Here.  I chose those because they are the ones Lisa had, and I'm a HUGE copycat.  The songs aren't about your typical stories like... Zacchaeus who was a wee little man.  Instead, they are songs with all the kings of Israel in order, or when Korah, Dathan, and Abiram were swallowed up by the earth, or when Abraham lied to Abimelech and said Sarah was his sister and all the wombs were closed until he gave her back, or when the Benjamites went and found wives by just hauling them off... and tons and tons of other songs.  Seriously.  I'm learning tons, and soon so will Caleb Schmaleb.  And you could too.  =)

I'd love to post some pictures, but I can't find my camera at the moment.... and couldn't before Christmas either, so it's not like I have any Christmas pictures to post anyway.  DRAT.  Welp, there's always next year.  I tried to steal my mother and mother-in-law's cameras over the holidays, so hopefully I can get some pictures off their cameras!

Last night I went to bed at 8.  It was completely amazing.... until around 10 when this wretched dog started barking his head off and wouldn't quit.  This has happened before.  I used to think my friend Amanda was nuts (hi Amanda!) when she told me she wanted to give her neighbor dog some Tylenol 3 to kill the dog because she was so sick of the barking... but now, I'm totally on board.

As I laid there awake last night I was going through all the ways I could get the dog to stop barking.

How can I kill thee?  Let me count the ways.... (is that how that line goes?)

1. Blow its head off.  This seemed like the best idea to me because it was a permanent solution.  But then I remember that I don't have a gun... and then I remembered that I live in IL, so I can't have a gun, and then I remembered why liberals should never be in charge of anything.

2.  Give the dog some medicine... but then I remembered that this dog is ferocious, and I do not want to be within 10 feet of it let alone reaching my hand out to its mouth!

3. Call the police..... it seemed too reasonable and not permanent.

4.  Drive onto the neighbor's lawn and run over the dog.  But, then I though maybe it would wreck my car... Ben would not be pleased.

5. Give the dog King sized Hershey bars... like 100.  (it's a huge dog) ..but then I have the problem of having to get near the dog again... and it's not like it would FOR SURE kill him. Or her.  Actually, I think it might be a her.

I mentioned some of these to Ben and was laughing about how I could picture myself trying some of this and he responded.... "I'm picturing me having to raise Caleb by myself because you're in jail for murdering someone's pet"

So, I guess I won't do anything crazy.  But, it's hard not to think that way when all you want to do is sleep.

 OH big news!  In case you're not on facebook and your mom, or your mom's friend's sister, or your second cousin once removed didn't tell you (that's how these things work)... we're having another baby!  I thought of that because Ben would have to raise TWO children by himself not just one.  I'm 15 weeks and am looking about the same this time as I did at 22 weeks.  I guess that happens the second time around..  We are SO very excited about it, and I can't wait until June when I can meet the little peanut!

And finally, something new about Caleb.  Caleb has discovered the laundry shoot.  It started out as a problem... he was throwing dirty diapers, clean diapers, and clean clothes down... and anything else he could find.  BUT, now that he's been redirected, he throws dirty clothes (and sometimes clean clothes that are on the floor...) down!  It's very fun.  Like yesterday, he threw his pajamas down after I changed him.  And, Ben had him put all his dirty clothes down too.  We've got a good thing going.

I suppose that's all for now.  Hopefully next time I can have some great pictures to show =)
Melanie

Vacation and Caleb's accident....

I know, I know.  It's been FOREVER since I've updated.  I have a million excuses.  Well, mostly just three.  1. I was on vacation for three weeks... no blogging while on vacation, that's like an unspoken rule.  2. Our computer cord was broken so our computer had no power.... 3. My camera was at my mom's house.  Satisfied?

Now I have to do an update that covers A LOT of weeks.  So, beware of a long post!

I'll start with vacation.  We had a GREAT time seeing friends!  We first stopped in Memphis for a day and saw some friends, and then we headed to Jackson, MS.  Highlights of the trip were seeing people from the church we used to go to, staying with a good friend the whole time, and seeing the family I used to nanny for.

Here are the girls I used to nanny for.  We went to their house for dinner.

Getting Caleb and Presley to look at the camera was quite a chore.  This was the best one we had....  

And here is Ben fixing our headlight that was out.  Caleb enjoyed watching him and grocery shopping in the driveway.

My friend Meredith (where we stayed) had this little table and chairs that Caleb LOVED sitting in

And a broom that he loved "sweeping" with..... 

Next, we went to Augusta, GA!  We saw our friends THE GLEASONS!  They have 10 kids.  *gasp* (I'll just do it for you.)  Anyway they are a family we met while Ben was in seminary in Jackson, and they changed our lives .  Forever.  And ever. Amen.  They are totally amazing.  Do you think if you had 10 kids, you'd want THREE more people invading your space for a week and a half?  They did!  We played games every night and ate tons of food.  I seriously gained weight...  and want to know the AMAZING thing?  Caleb slept in till like.... 9am the ENTIRE time!!    It. was. awesome.  Maybe it's because we put him in the closet and it was pitch black...  (does that make me sound like a bad mom?)

Caleb was a bit overwhelemed with all the kids, but I think he started liking it towards the end.

I made pajama pants for Caleb while I was there.  I was so excited to make them and never whined about it at all...  or... something like that.  Anyway, Lisa (the mother) is my hero.  I'll post her blog on here once I figure out what it is.  She is an excellent seamstress...all of the sudden.  She is good at everything--  yep, one of those.

She's the one who taught me how to garage sale.... and nurse my child.... and make him sleep... and how to have people over and be hospitable... and she knows everything about everything.  It's because she homeschools....

I'm considering homeschooling because then I'll learn all the stuff I didn't learn while I was in school.  I found old report cards recently... and I'm pretty sure my gradeschool and high school life are summed up in this comment from a teacher in 8th grade.

"Melanie cares more about her social life than her school work"

And, that's why I didn't learn a honking thing.  DRAT.  After showing Ben some of my report cards and comments he said, "Maybe you should go to homeschool"  OUCH.

One day while we were there, we went to Charleston with the oldest Gleason girls.  Rachel and Lakey poo.  Laken is weird, but Rachel is really nice. HAHAHHAHA.  I only said that because I'm sure they'll read this.

We had a GREAT time together.
        
 Here we are just outside the restaurant we went to for lunch where all three girls ordered the same thing..... I can't help that they copied me.

Ok... fine, we copied Laken...

Enough about the trip!  Less than a week after we got home we were just relaxing on the couch.  C-dog (Caleb) was getting dangerously close to touching the nativity set we have on our TV stand.  So, we suggested that he go play in his playroom.  C-dog thought it was SUCH a great idea (mom and dad are SO smart) that he starting excitedly moving towards the playroom.  He tripped over a couch pillow and absolutly NAILED his mouth on the coffee table.

It was HORRIBLE.

Seriously, I thought he was going to have a MAJOR injury.  Basically, he hit his left front tooth and bumped it BACK into his gum!  No, I also didn't know that could even happen.  So, we went to the ER and had them take a look at it.  Ben and I were both full of blood when we got there.  We were actually thinking they were going to question us or something, but they didn't.  Anyway, that was a Friday night, so we had to wait until Monday to go to the dentist since that's what the doc. suggested.

Apparently in 90% of cases, the tooth will come back down.  BUT, if it doesn't.... drum roll please... THEY'LL HAVE TO PULL IT!

THAT would be completely awful....because he's not even 2, and you don't lose your tooth until you're like... 7.  On the way to the hospital I was quoting scripture to Caleb.  "beauty is fleeting"  The Proverbs 31 woman is always a useful illustration...

Here is a picture of my toothless child.  Still cute?? I think so, but I usually start moaning when I see (or should I say, don't see) the tooth..

Hopefully I'll update a bit more regularly... you know, it's so easy around the holidays...
-Melanie

My newest addiction and Caleb's vacation....

The numbering my blog for a title didn't go over so well.

THIS is a juicy title isn't it?  YES, I have a new addiction, and it's called yahoo answers.  Have you ever done it?  I was asking a question on there (you know, medical advice), and then I got carried away answering questions.  I reached my limit yesterday...  seriously, they wouldn't allow to me answer anymore...

Here are some of my experiences so far on yahoo....

1. I've been surprised by the questions people ask.... there have just been some things where I'm disturbed they are seeking counsel from yahoo... like.. "My 2 year old son is currently choking, what should I do?"  OR "I cut my arm with a saw, and it's just hanging there, should I call the doctor?"  

2. I  LOVE answering the questions dealing with pregnancy/parenting.  It's just VERY interesting... and slightly frustrating.  Basically, I keep commenting on ones where people are asking everyone on yahoo if they should have an abortion or not.  There are surprisingly a lot of pro-life people on there.... I do this because you know, I'm a pro-life activist--even on yahoo answers!  =)

3. I answered a question on when to let your baby cry-- like a 6 week old.... and I gave a VERY reasonable answer from my beloved Babywise book... and SO many people hated it, that the comment was removed.

HAHAHHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHHA.

Seriously, I cannot get over it.  It's like.... why do people hate babywise so much?  Most of them have not read the book, I'm convinced.  It's almost as if people WANT to have a hard time putting their babies down.  Other answers were like this...

"It can be really unnerving for a baby to go to sleep safely in mommy's arms and then wake up in a strange place all by themselves.  They have no way of knowing that the strange place is a bassinet lovingly selected by mommy to be their very own bed."

awwwww....but not really.....

Or, my personal favorite

"Read about safe co-sleeping and during the day, nap with the baby"  

WHAT?!

4.  I answered a question written by a girl asking why people hate Christians (she is one herself) and my response was that the gospel is offensive because there's only ONE way to heaven and you NEED Jesus to get there!  We have an ABSOLUTE truth and that goes completely against our current culture.  Anyway, so far 3 people have disliked my comment.  (Am I surprised? No.)  But don't worry, someone liked the comment that answered the question this way... 

"Because religion has done bad things." 

Enough about yahoo answers.

Let's talk about.... CALEB-- My big boy who I can hardly carry anymore!  Seriously, he's huge.  He doesn't look as heavy as he is. =)  Caleb, went to Grandpa and Grandma DY's house for FIVE days.  It was nice to have a break, but I was glad to get him back.

Ben and I went out on a few dates together while he was gone, and I was able to get more done around the house.  When we picked Caleb up last Thursday, we decided to go to Lincoln Park Zoo.

I forgot to take pictures the whole time until the very end when we went to the little kid part of the zoo... figures huh?

Here's Caleb playing with Grammy and the fake corn.

 He LOVED going up in the tractor! Or... whatever we were sitting in.  (I'm not a farm girl....)

And last, but CERTAINLY not least, and completely irrelevant to everything else in this post..... here is the AMAZING pumpkin that Dean Kuper, the brilliant artist made for Ben.

Isn't that incredible?!  Do you know who it is?  =)

It's John Calvin of course!

We leave for a THREE honking week vacation on Sunday after church (Lord willing).  It's going to be AMAZING-- 1 week in Jackson, and 2 weeks in Augusta.  I am so excited, I can hardly stand it! 

-Melanie

 

2

My cousin encouraged me to start numbering my titles so I don't hate them as much.  We'll see how it goes.

I wrote a blog post a few days ago.... and then DELETED the whole honking thing.  That post was number 1....  It was terrible (not the post... the deleting experience.),  so I had to give it a few days before I was ready to try again.

I'm ready now.

Bible Trivia! BT-- What is the phrase that is repeated in Song of Solomon?!  (answer at the bottom)

Yesterday Ben and I hit up the Monroe, WI city-wide garage sales.  I saw a SUPER cute looking monkey book.  So, I grabbed it... without reading it.

BIG mistake.

Sit back, and enjoy the first few pages of the wretched book I purchased.

"Welcome! I'm orangutan... hello and how do you do?  We are both a kind of ape, so I look a bit like you!  Our cousins are the chimps they like to talk a lot, but I take things slowly, especially when it's hot.  I love lying back and relaxing on a tree, but people are chopping down the trees... it's so sad for me"

No. I'm not kidding. UM?  Can something be so horrendous it's funny?  Because, I'm laughing and am horrified at the same time...  Let's just say, I'll be reading the books before I buy them no matter how cute or innocent they look....

Moving on,

Caleb has been on the phone a lot lately.  He uses whatever he can get his hands on for a phone-- dish towels, my hands, his hands, his foot, the remote control, a brush, curling iron, banana... you name it..

Here he is on a very important phone call with the remote control.  He's finding out some interesting news I'm sure.

A few weeks ago, my mom and I went to the True woman conference in Indianapolis, Indiana.  It was.... FANTASTIC!

 Check out this room full of women (and there was a whole other side)!!!

Mom and I got to spend some quality time together =)  I would highly recommend that EVERYONE (well, all females) go the next time they have it... in 2 years?  If you feel crummy because you missed it, you can click here to view all the sessions for free!!  

 We have sooo many leaves in our yard right now.  Here is Caleb playing in them.  It was maybe more like... I put him in there, and tried to take his picture while he was desperately trying to get out.  He didn't really like it.  It was scary, but I let him take his baseball bat with him.

And, just for kicks, here's a picture of my sweet boy who wouldn't smile for any picture no matter how hilarious I was being.  He sneezed just before I snapped this....  apparently sneezing is funnier than mom- what?!

and, I have to leave you with a hilarious joke. 

What does a nosey pepper do?

Get's jalenpeno business.'

BHAHA!  (I got that from the Pioneer woman's website.)

Melanie

BIBLE TRIVA ANSWER! -- "I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, that you not stir up or awaken love until it pleases"