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"

Latest Happenings...

I think I stole that blog title from someone.  Having to come up with a blog title is ALMOST enough to make me not want to blog.... I'm going to start stealing other people's titles-- that way, I never have to think of my own.

Bible trivia: What was Naomi's husband's name?  (answer found at the end)

Latley, Caleb has been LOVING Ben's camelback.  He figured out how to get water out of it.  Sometimes it gets out of hand....   Here he is, drinking away.

This is one of Caleb's faces that we need to get rid of ASAP.  He looks at people like this.  UM, can you say OFFENSIVE?!  

This last week I made Zucchini bread.  Ok... it wasn't just ANY zucchini bread.  It was WHOLE food bread.  A friend of mine told me that she was on a whole food diet, and gave me the website www.100daysofrealfood.com.  I was reading and feeling inspired,  SO, I decided to give the zucchini bread a shot.  It came out looking a bit... weird, so I decided to ask Ben to give it a try.

Here is Ben inspecting it....

Ben:  "It looks like salad with bread in it"

"No... it looks like STUFFING!" 

and here he is smelling it....

I had to agree... it did look a bit like stuffing.  But, naturally, I acted like it hurt my feelings.

No, he didn't like it.  Neither did I.  It was... BLAH.  I think it's because it didn't have sugar in it.  Eating whole foods is a nice idea, and sometimes I convince myself we should do it.... but then I go to the grocery store and buy milky way candy bars......DRAT.    

By the way, tonight for dinner we are having Spicy Bean burritos (very yummy!).  You can find them here.  I mentioned that-- because it's healthy.... and we're talking about whole foods.   

Last night I went to Menards and got a great deal on hair stuff!! I know, Menards sells hair stuff?  Yes, Menards sells pretty much everything.... well, except for desk lamps, which is what we went there for in the first place.

Anyway, they had buy one get one free (making it 1.00 each) on hair ties, bobby pins, headbands, clips ... and

ROLLERS!!

It was EXTREMELY cheap.... which, after trying them, I'm beginning to understand why.  But, don't the curlers LOOK like they are going to work?  And, they don't have pins, which makes them easy to put in... just hard to take out since your hair is kind of stuck to them. HA!  I think they have potential-- I just need to keep trying.  Plus, Ben likes how they look........ NOT!

I've been experimenting with my hair lately. I found this website on Pinterest www.thesmallthingsblog.com.  I LOVE how she does her hair.  It's inspired me to get a bit more creative.  Too bad I have WAY less hair.... and talent....and my hair can't even stay curled while I'm still curling it...

This morning I tried her "chic" updo or whatever it's called.... Ben told me I could fit a lot of eggs in it. UM.... Bascuse ME?!

Then he said something REALLY sweet.. "Melanie, I don't care how much hair you have... I'm just glad it's not ratty.."

AWWW....

 hahahhahah =)

Answer to Bible trivia, or as I often call it BT.....

Elimelech!

That's all for now.
-Melanie

An overview of the last few weeks

WOW.  A lot has happened since my last post.

Since I don't want to overwhelm everyone with all the details (including myself), I decided to give a brief overview of the last few weeks' events.

1. I am currently eating a chocolate bar that was sitting in my cabinet with all my baking ingredients, and it tastes funny...like baking ingredients.  Blast.

2. Ben was on a mission trip for a LONG time (as in 10 honking days).  Caleb and I had visits from my dad, Auntie Becky (Ben's sister), Ben's mom, and Uncle Jim & Tailor.

3. Mom K (my mother-in-law) came for a few days and blames me for HER going through a red light.  Can someone ever MAKE you go through a red light if they are in a seperate car? I think not. She also claimed that I was the worst person to follow ever.  All I can say is... RUDE!  (I'm trying to get a rise out of her... =) )

4. We did a lot of scrapbooking. ....and laughing together.  Also, I tried to make annoucements like this... "Caleb, you have a dirty diaper.  I think grandma wants to change you".

5. I went to my parent's house for the rest of the week while Ben was gone and saw Uncle Alan!  We painted.  I'm a professional now.  Let me know if you need help-- although, due to all my experience, I charge high.

6. After Ben came home from the mission trip, we went to my parents house (Ben had a board meeting).

7.  I told an amazing joke at coffee time.

    Me: spell SHOP
 Them: (carefully) ..... S.....H......O....P
    Me: What do you do when you get a green light
 Them: *long pause* ...STOP
   Me: NO!!! A GREEN light.

Ah, it's the most beautiful joke ever.

8. We went to Wisconsin this past weekend because the whole Kappers fam would be there.  It was fun!  Although, we played a horrible game where I spent the majority of the time in jail....  You can't win when you're in jail, and games aren't fun if you can't win.  No, I'm not competitive, why?

This is Ben and Caleb hanging out on the patio at the Kappers' house.  Don't I have a good looking family?! =)

9. In Wisconsin, Ben claimed that he knew "everything" (well, Jim said he did, and Ben agreed).  I then asked him to name Job's three friends. He couldn't.   Then, I told another awesome joke to try and give him a hint. -- Who is the shortest man in the Bible?  Bildad, the SHOEhite.  (get it? Thanks, Auntie Pat)  Anyway, that's one of the friend's names.  See the book of Job for the other 2. Fine, I'll just tell you.  Eliphaz the Temanite, and Zophar the Naamathite.

10. I'm teaching our women's Bible study come October and want ideas of good books to study.  I'm considering using Jerry Bridges' book, "Growing your Faith", but am not sure I want to go with it. This is for older women with high school aged children (for the most part), or with children out of the house, and some widows.  Keep that in mind.  Seriously, I would like suggestions.

11. I'm currently reading "Entrusted with a Child's Heart" by Betsy Corning.  It's pretty good so far.  It's only like 500 pages.  I know, it seems crazy, but I need all the help I can get =)

12. Why is Caleb playing in his crib right now?  I need sound proof walls.

That's all I've got.

-Melanie

Single issue voting...

Single issue voting when it comes to being pro-life is good.

*gasp*

Wait! Don't shoot!  Keep reading.

I must first clarify before I go on.  I am not saying that other issues aren't important.  They are.  I AM saying that no other issue is as important as this one.  It's not even close.

Some of you may have this mentality:  "I am against abortion, but I look at all the issues.  Besides, most political offices have nothing to do with abortion."

Here is a reply from prolifeamerica.com:  "For people who believe that abortion is murder, a candidate's position on other issues is irrelevant.  The slaughter of children cannot be equated to any other social, cultural or political issue.  It is also irrelevant that most political offices have no impact on abortion.  If a candidate is a member of the Ku Klux Klan, voters will not ignore that just because the office he is seeking has no impact on racial issues.  That dynamic also applies in this case.  People who support legalized abortion are not morally qualified to serve in any public office." 

Or, you may say, "I am pro-choice, but I personally wouldn't have an abortion"

Randy Alcorn, aka, my hero, has something to say to you.

"The only good reason to oppose abortion is a reason that compels us to oppose others doing it-- it's child killing.  Being personally against abortion but favoring another's right to abortion is self-contradictory.  It's exactly like saying, "I'm personally against child abuse, but I defend my neighbor's right to abuse his child if that's his choice."

Oh, snap.

And finally, from Randy Alcorn's book "Why Pro-life" he says,

"The pro-choice position always overlooks the victim's right to choose.  Blacks didn't choose slavery.  Jews didn't choose the ovens.  Women don't choose rape.  And babies don't choose abortion."

But you can choose life....

every. time.

-Melanie

A pro-life post....

On behalf of 180 day (you can like 180movie on facebook!), I'm writing a pro-life post.  When you see the word abortion I am going to post a link for the 180 video... so beware =).   Lately I've been consumed with the topic.  Just ask Ben.  It actually ruined both of our days on Monday.  It's a hard topic to handle.

On Sunday night I was introduced (via internet...) to Katie Stack.  I came across Katie by accident while watching youtube videos on modesty.  Somehow "5 Questions About My Abortion" popped up in the corner, and I clicked on it (I know...completely unrelated to modesty....).   I THOUGHT it was going be a Christian video like...." I got an abortion and I'm sorry" etc.  It wasn't.  It was Katie Stack telling everyone that her abortion was "the most ethical and humane decision for all parties involved"  She said it was painless, she has no regrets, and that if she got pregnant again, she would highly consider having another one.

Naturally, I had to do some research on this girl.  First, I found her blog where she says she is a "voice for reproductive justice".... yuck. Anyway, I also found out she was contacted to be in a show on MTV called "No Easy Decision"--a show featuring women who not only had abortions but were willing to talk about them on TV. (are you as disgusted as I am???)  There was an MTV extended interview with her and two other ladies who also had abortions on the internet.  Below is the link for the interview.  It's about 12 minutes long... and is a bit painful to watch. *Feel free to skip it and instead watch the 180 video, which is much more edifying*

http://www.mtv.com/videos/misc/609575/no-easy-decision-special-extended-interview.jhtml

The saddest part of the video, I thought, was when Katie said... "I acknowledged it as a baby and for me it was a parenting choice."  She vaccum suctioned her baby and thought THAT was the best parenting choice she could make??  I could go on and on picking apart the video, but I won't.

Instead, since I'm becoming the Kappers family pro-life activist, I'll include a website full of ideas on what to do about abortion!  It's http://prolifeaction.org/activism.php.  So there you go, some helpful tips.  I'll keep you updated on what I do.  It's perfect.  I need some accountibility.

And finally, don't forget to watch this amazing video.  It's absolutely worth 33 minutes of your time.

Oh, and I put a poll on the side that I'd like for you to answer!

-Melanie, PLA (pro-life activist-- what do you think of the letters?? I thought they looked pretty professional =))

Psalm 139: 13-16
"For you formed my inward parts;
    you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
¹⁴ I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
  Wonderful are your works;
    my soul knows it very well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
    intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
    the days that were formed for me,
    when as yet there was none of them."