Play Date

Sara & Allison had a play date with our good friend Christy Reyes & her daughter Jaeda. Jaeda is exactly one week older then Allison. They had a great time playing together. Allison is a big girl compared to Jaeda in terms of size. I'm still hoping for 6'4".

Allison could sit up all by herself during this play date. She was facinated with Jaeda & stared intently at her.

Here are the girls just chilling on the blanket.

Allison missed the "pose for the camera" memo. The girls seemed to enjoy each other. Hopefully we can do more play dates more often as it was fun letting Allison play with someone her own age as well as talk with someone who is going through the same stuff we are.

Perspective

I was asked last week to give my testimony in our weekly staff meetings. When preparing for it I really didn't know what to say. I feel like my story isn't that interesting. I feel like I don't have this story that grips your heart & makes you ponder the meaning of life afterwards. It's just me. After giving my story to our staff, I was met with so much praise & amazement it blew me away. So many people said I moved them to tears in my story. Many said they couldn't believe I had been through so much. I was simply shocked when I stopped & thought about it how much I really have accomplished in my life & what I have been through. Seeing your life is a thing of perspective. It's what you put into it that you will get out. It's what you expect that you will have opportunities for. It's what you seek that you will find. Many people have called me a "complex" man in my life. Many have said I have way too many layers for a man. You know what though? At the end of the day all I can be is....well, ME! So I thought I would write out a few highlights of my story that I shared with the staff:

• I was born into a loving family with 2 present parents & 4 older sisters.
• Basketball was, is, & will continue to be a huge driving passion in life.
• I had numerous scholarships to play college basketball prior to ruining my playing career by fully tearing almost every major ligament & cartilage in my left knee.
• I ran a multi-million dollar company at the age of 19 & hired/fired people twice my age. I successfully completed a sell & consolidation of two corporations as well as provide for my parents during my Father's lengthy cancer fighting treatment.
• I was married at the age of 22 & had my first child at the age of 24.

My name is Robby David Gilliam. No one can take who I am away from me. Everything that I have gone through has made me who I am. I am who I am today through the many ups & downs that life has thrown my way. I am many things to many people. I carry a title of Husband, Friend, Brother, Son, Grandson, Dad, Coach, Sir, Director, Worship Leader, Colleague, & most of all Robby. Life is a thing of perspective. It is good if you choose to see the positive & stretching going on in your life. It is bad if you choose to look at the negative & have pity on yourself. It is boring if you choose to let life come to you instead or going after life.

What is your perspective? Where do you find your joy? If someone were to look at your life through your eyes...what would they see?

I leave this with 2 comments:

If you do not look at things on a large scale, it will be difficult to master strategy.

Leaders don't wait. They shape their own frontiers. The bigger the challenge, the greater the opportunity.

As many of you may know I have been struggling with massive ear infections for over 2 years now. They start as your typical "swimmers ear" & by the time they are done transform into the most painful inner ear infection where my ear drum feels as if it is bursting. With many at home remedies & antibiotics the infection subsides only long enough to jump to my other ear. This cycle has happened on & off for 2 years now & I finally had about enough. I went to the doctor 2 weeks ago & she was shocked & rather amazed at how my ears looked. Most people have a protective lining before your ear drum that is white & round shaped on the outside (see picture above). Mine, however, was red & purple as well as many crater looking gaps in it. My doctor was rather conserned & her assessment was either I have a degenerate disease where I will eventually lose my hearing or there is some sort of tumor there based on what she saw. She was not guessing, she was rather mater of fact & shocked I was living with this pain.

I went to see an ear specialist yesterday. I had many, many people praying for me before & during the whole appointment. Sara & I were expecting the worst & hoping for the best. After carefully looking & many "hmmm's" later, the doctor told me my ear drum is still not perfect but appears to be healing itself. It is starting to go back to normal & gave me some medication to complete the process. Whether natural or divine healing, I completely feel blessed to have escaped what could have been here. It was a painful journey & as little as a week ago the pain was almost unbearable at moments. Now...no pain. I haven't had a flair up in 7 days now & I am looking forward to a normal hearing life now!

Allison is growing so big. She is changing everyday & becoming so much fun. She is starting to talk often & wants to play whenever she is awake. She is making her Mom & Dad very proud every day!

Her precious little feet are quiet now, but soon will be walking everywhere. It changes your perspective as a parent when you think about making where you child walks a little easier then you had it. Trying to have your ceiling be their floor. Sara & I are trying to give Allison the very best & let her experience every possibility that comes to her.

Have a great weekend everyone!

See You At The Pole

Today was our annual "See you at the Pole" prayer event. This is an event that really took root about 19 years ago, encouraging our youth to arrive early to school or whatever "flag pole" they could find to pray for their school, their city, their city churches, & they nation. We meet around our fountain in the center of our quad and pray. I run our Student Council here at Western & my Council is in charge of planning all events like these. I was proud & amazed when I looked outside this morning & saw a large crowd simply praying. Students getting up early & getting to school at 7:30 opposed to 8:00 to take 30 minutes out of their morning to pray for blessings. Last year we had 30. This morning I counted 57 people in the prayer circle or standing close by joining in the prayer. Of that 57, only 2 were adults. I am blessed to be in such a great environment & I love being around kids that don't wait for change, but simply expect & demand it. Carpe Diam!

My sister, Tracy, was down last week for a visit. She currently lives in Virginia & works at a hospital back there. Thankfully she is moving back to Oregon in the next few weeks. I always enjoy my visits with Tracy & to hear all of her stories. She is definitely my most entertaining & crazy sister. I keep telling her we could make millions if we sold her story to a reality TV show. I mean you can't write the kinda stuff that happens to her. Trac is also a great Aunt & loves her nieces & nephews. She held & fed Allison for over 2 hours. It was a nice visit.

Our little stink-weed, as Sara & I affectionately call Ally, is growing so fast. She is such a happy baby & loves to be close to Mom or Dad. She is starting to learn how to play as well. She loves her little rattles & is starting to "talk" to herself. It's such an amazing journey to see your own child grow up right before your eyes. It seems like yesterday we were waiting on pins & needles for her to come.

We have compared Allison to numerous babies we have seen in the doctors office, at the grocery store, at a restaurant, or yesterday our good friend Christy Reyes stopped by with her daughter Jaeda. Jaeda is exactly a week older than Allison. It is amazing as we see Allison compared to these other babies, how big she is. Her head is double the size of all of theirs. She is much longer. Her feet are twice as big. She weighs more. As our doctor put it so eloquently: "When you have a average sized woman & a 'freakishly' large man, you never know what type of baby you will get out. It appears you have a really cute baby, but boy is she big!" I'm hoping for a 6' 5" girl. That would work for Volleyball, Golf, Basketball, or Modelling. Either way I figure my retirement is set!

Amazed

Sara & I find ourselves just staring at Allison Faith & standing in amazement at her life. It is absolutely amazing how God can take part of Sara & part of me & breath life into the joining of the cells. When we stop from the hectic pace that is our life, we can't believe that we both aided in creating such a magnificent & gorgeous girl!

Ally has become such a happy baby. She smiles often and loves to have her picture taken. I have taken so many good shots of her over the past month. I'm sure she's destined for paparatzi some day. Whether modeling or basketball I figure my retirement is set either way!

This is Master (Masterpiece). He a new addition to our family as well. He is a new addition to our family's Labradoodle business. He became part of our family as Promise is off at Aunt Terrie & Uncle Gene's house having puppies & we would have missed having a dog around. Master has become my little buddy. He follows me to work everyday & has a blast walking around the dorm & meeting all of the kids. He loves interacting with the student's & is my cuddle buddy. Between Promise & Master I could cuddle with a dog all day. However, it would only last so long as Allison & Sara get most of the snuggle time. Thus, Master is regulated to cuddling with my feet.

I took this picture last week while watching the Seahawks play a pre-season game. She watched the game for a good 10 minutes. Don't worry...I'm raising her right. She also enjoyed the Beavs game on Saturday.

Things are going extremely well for Sara, Allison & I. School has started, we have a full dorm, & things are extremely busy. However, we love all of our students & are very excited to spend the year surrounded by them. All the students love Allison & we have more babysitters then we know what to do with. Hopefully Sara & I can escape for another date soon as we are missing our married time. "Mom & Dad" time is fun, but every once in a while you have to get a much deserved break & we are looking for opportunities. This weekend we are escaping for the weekend to Sisters to see Promise & her puppies. We are then travelling to Lebanon for our sisters birthday & to spend some time with "Mouse" our Grandpa. He has recently been re-diagnosed with cancer. He beat it 4 years ago & it has now come back. We have not seen him since he has been diagnosed & we really want to spend time with him & let him & Grams see Allison. It should be a fun weekend!

Finally I just want to say...I love my wife more now then ever before. I am so blessed to get the privelage of sharing my life with such an incredible woman & my best friend.

Our world

Allison is our world right now. It's amazing how everything you do & every decision we make is wrapped around our little bundle of joy. Choices of when to run to the store, when to have guests over, when to sleep, when to work, when to travel, & when to have some "Sara & Robby" time. Every decision we make is surrounded by questions of "what is best for Allison." She is everything we hoped for in a child & more. I can't begin to express how blessed we feel as a family!

Sara & I were turned onto a schedule for infants that has worked wonderful for us! We feed every 2 hours on the dot. We try to push it to two if she's hungry before & we don't wait anymore then two even if she's sleeping. The plan also says to not let them sleep during a feeding so cold wash clothes & tickling are our friends. We enforce 10 minutes on each side for a minimum of 20 minutes. Sometimes she will feed for 30 sometimes it's a struggle to get 20. When you are ready for bed, you feed her for the last time & put her to bed. When we do this we let her sleep until she wakes up.

With this method, Ally is sleeping a solid 4-5 hours straight at a time. We wake up about 3 or 4 AM to feed her & then she is asleep again until 8 AM. We are sleeping great & she is sleeping great. For anyone who knows babies, we are happy parents with that schedule! The plan has been perfect for our family & been a blessing since we started her on it from day one of her life. Every baby is different, but they also are creatures of habit. Whatever cycle you let them slip into is what you will live with for a good 2 years. We are very dilberate & cautious with what we allow her to do. We also are very contientous of how we let her act. Sara & I believe parenting is about boundries & limits (yes even for infants). Ally is no saint. She cries when she needs something & let's us know when she's not happy. Overall thought...she has been fantastic. The one common theme we hear from everyone is, "She never cries" or "What a good baby. You two are blessed!" Sara & I know we are new parents & are going to make PLENTY of mistakes. However, we want to not be satisfied with the status quo. We don't want to have the typical baby. We want Allison Faith to be her own person. To strive for uniquness & individuality, yet know her boundries & always behave herself. Parenting is a huge responsibility & we hold the privelage with the utmost care. Parenting isn't a right, it is a privelage. If you don't believe me, ask someone who can't have children.

We don't want to figure things out with Allison & then perfect it with our second child. We want to make this effort the best we can give. So far we have been astounded at how well things have gone & feel blessed to have been given such an even tempered daughter that is so willing to learn what we want. We love her to death & I now know what our parents meant when they said they would do anything for us. I would do anything for her & I find myself staring at her & marvelling at the miracle God created just for us. I am a humbled & very thankful father.

More Allison

Our little girl is growing up so fast! She is 12 days old today & appears to be growing each day. She shows us more about her character everyday & we are absolutely astounded & blessed at what a wonderful baby we have.Allison sleeps at night extremely well! We feed her about midnight & she sleeps until about 4am. After that she's good until about 8am. We are getting a good 7 or 8 hours of sleep everynight. It has been wonderful! Everyone keeps saying "just wait until that is over." I just don't believe in that. I know Allison will have her bad days & moments where I want to pull my hair out, but I believe a child is a total example of their environment. Allison is in a balanced & calm home, & in my opinion we have a very "balanced" child because of it. All I know is we have an amazing daughter & she is such a blessing. I know I'm a bit biased, but I think she is the most adorable baby I have ever seen!

Promise is absoultely addicted to Allison. She checks on her all of the time & any time Ally cries, Promise is there to "solve the problem." She is quite fond of her & incredibly gentle with her. Above you see Ally even making faces back at Promise.

Here is Promise watching over Allison while her & mama take a nap. She stayed in this position for almost an hour.

Here is Promise trying to "save the day" when Ally was crying. She would lick Ally & snuggle her all day if we would let her. However, we prefer a clean & healthy baby so Promise can only get so close.

Allison Faith Gilliam

On August 5, 2009 Sara & I were woke up to the surprise of her water breaking at 2:00 AM. We weren't convinced it was officially her water so we cleaned everything up & went back to bed. At 2:20 AM we were woke up again to more water & then contractions follwed shortly after. We arrived at the hospital at 4:30 AM & Sara was in very active labor. She went from 3 centimeters dialated to 10 centimeters dialated in 4 1/2 hours. At 9:30 Sara started to push & it appeared this labor process was going to go extremely fast. However, our little girl had some plans of her own. Our Doctor found that Allison was "sunny-side up". Every push that Sara gave was moving Allison to the brink of delivery & then she would get sucked back inside. It was an unbelievable 3 1/2 hours of pushing. The most amazing thing is that Sara did all of this with no medication whatsoever. No IV, no pitocin, no epideral, etc. She really wanted to give her best shot at having this baby natural & amazingly she did! Sara by far amazed me in this whole process. She was brave, strong, & took everything in stride that was thrown her way. I can say without a shadow of a doubt that Sara was my hero that day. I was so incredibly proud of her & the effort that she gave.

After 3 1/2 hours of pushing our Doctor realized that Sara wasn't going to be able to get this baby out. Little Allison was lodged in Sara's birth canal & had decided not to move anymore. Everyone decided (including Sara & I) that in the best interest of the baby it was time to get her out. The whole C-section process was a fantastic success & Sara did a great job in surgery. I actually had the privelage of cleaning Allison off and showing her to her Mama for the first time. Allison was stuck in the canal since week 36 & all the pushing for 3 1/2 hours caused Allison to have what one nurse said "the worst cone head she had seen in 33 years of delivering babies." It added a good 2 inches to her heighth. The above picture shows it a little bit, but really doesn't due it justice as to how big it really was.

Sara & Allison did such a fantastic job. Allison was born at 1:01 PM. She was 7 lbs 01 ounce & 20 inches long. Every Nurse & Doctor in the birthing center praised Sara & the effort that she gave for the 3 days we were there. Our Doctor was in awe at how great Sara did, especially considering the lack of medication. She made me so proud that day & I am so blessed to have the wife & mother of my child that I do. Both Sara & Allison have been doing great. Allison has been only waking up once every night & hardly cries. She is such a fantastic baby & is by far the cutest baby I have ever seen! Of course I'm just a little biased.

I'm as proud of a Dad as I could ever be & have two fantastic & beautiful women in my life. God has blessed our family & we are so excited to see Allison Faith grow! She has changed so much in the past 6 days & everyday we are amazed at the blessing she is to us.

AMOUR

Love is a funny thing. Life was created by it as will life as we know it end by it. It is what consumers the human soul & drives the faint of heart. It is what compells us to strive for our dreams & brings the anguish when we fail. Love...what a simple yet astoundingly deep word. I learned a long time ago that there are two types of love. The word eros meaning "what is it it for me?" & the word agape meaning "I love you/it no matter what happens or what outcome!" Yet, love goes so much deeper than that. Without love we have no passion to strive for the dreams that are burning deep within us. Without love we have no reason to move on or even live for that matter. Love is easily the single most essential characteristic that we must pocess, entrust, learn, seek, & grow in to be content.

I am about ready to become a father. I have been around many great men & women in my lifetime & have learned from so many, but yet I sit here on the eve of fatherhood & wonder why we don't love. I plan to love my daughter with more love than I know I pocess. I already adore this little girl & I have yet to see her face outside of a 3D ultrasound. I wonder though about this world I am bringing her into. Why do I see so many crying or angry in desolate marriages? Why do I see so many people angry because they are looking at their lives' & they are not content with where it is at. Why do I see the bitterness in people because of how people have "done them wrong?"

All this thinking of my daughter has brought me to a simple conclusion....our world has no idea how to love. This is how God explains love:

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. . .And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. - excerpts from 1 Corinthians 13:4-13

Now ask youself how patient you are? How kind are you? Do you envy other peoples things or boast about what you have? Is everything in your life about you? How easily angered are you? How often do you keep track of every way you were wronged or every way someone has screwed you over? Do you delight when the truth comes out & someone goes down in flames or are you saddened for their fate, but thankful for the truth?

How can you answer these questions? Well check your lifestyle. If you truly know how to love you will portect others & their feelings at all costs. You will trust even when betrayed because at some point you needed that second, third, or even ninth chance. You will press on no matter the circumstance because "quit" is not in your vocabulary. No matter how bad something gets, love will get you through it.

Whether you are a Bible believing person or not, you can't mistake Jesus' life in history as a wise, teaching man with many followers. That being said, how could this man claim that the most important thing of anything he taught was love or to love? Pretty incredible if you ask me.

Imagine if every marriage dared to love trully? If they refused to give up & follow the love that Jesus describes? What if every person that is angy with their life started to love everyone in it? What if we loved our circle of influence & did not expect or demand anything out of them? I have learned that anyone from your family to your friends to a stranger just wants to be respected & loved no matter where they are in life. I will never reach anyone on a soap box or claiming "you know better!" However, I will reach them by saying "I understand where your at & I respect you for who you are." I can't change anyone, but I can love everyone!

Sara & I recently went through 40 days of a book called The Love Dare. Our marriage was in great shape when we started the book, but I understand my wife so much better now & would encourage any marraige to go through it. It can strengthen any marraige & repair even the worst marriages.

So I'm left with this thought...why do we not love? It is vital to our survival, yet we run from it when we aren't happy. We need it to succeed, yet when we fail we forget about it. We need it to find joy, yet in the sorrow we forsake it. We need it most when we are alone, yet we blame it as the reason for our aloneness.

I can't control who my daughter comes in contact. In fact I gaurentee she will get hurt & come in contact with people that not only do not love, but actually hate. Although, I can do one thing...I can teach my little girl to love. I can teach her to infect others. So how about you? Are you brave enough to love? How powerful do you really think love is & can be? You may think I am an idiot who is babbling, but I challenge you to test the power of love on your spouse, on your family, on your circle of influence, & on your community. See the change people will see in you & the impact you will have on them as you simply...love!

I will leave you with this thought. Love is not a feeling. It is not a sought after emotion. Love is not something that someone else makes you feel. It is not even something that can be gained through something. Love is simply this...a choice! You have to choose to be joyful instead of bitter, to be thankful instead of needy, & choose to love no matter the cost. My favorite description of love is from the movie Captain Corelli's Mandolin:

"Love is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion. That is just being "in love" which any of us can convince ourselves we are. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. Your mother and I had it, we had roots that grew towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossom had fallen from our branches we found that we were one tree and not two."
-St. Augustine

& that is indeed the type of love I hope to daily posess. That is the love I hope Sara & I exemplify to our daughter. That is the one thing I hope to give to my daughter as she enters this world!

The Waiting Game

We have made it through 9 months of labor. Each month being a different milestone; it has been quite a journey growing right along with our baby in terms of being ready to be parents.

Two weeks ago Sara & I went to our weekly OB appointment. Our OB told us that she was a centimeter dilated & 80% effaced already. We were shocked as Sara still had 4 weeks to go. Our baby was also head down & extremely low in Sara's pelvis.

This week at our appointment we found out Sara is 3 centimeters dilated & 100% effaced. The Doctor is actually amazed Sara hasn't had the baby yet & is walking around the way she is. We have been walking at least a mile everyday if not 2 miles.

We are extremely anxious to have this baby. A Doctor only has their best "guess" as to when a child will arrive. They can go off of your babies signs but if that child isn't ready yet it won't happen.

There are many ways to have a baby & many methods that certain women swear by. When it comes down to it, you have to do what you think is right for you & your baby. No method is technically "wrong," but more a difference of personality & personal choice. Sara & I have decided to try a delivery with no medication. We feel pretty confident about this choice & believe it is the right choice for us & the baby. We also feel pretty strongly that we don't want to be enduced. We want our little bundle of joy to come when she wants. If enducing or medication during labor becomes necessary we are totally ok with it, however we want it as a last option.

Because of our choice for no enducement our OB is patiently waiting. She is extremely excited for us & wants us to have our child soon, but has been extremely supportive as well. Sara & I are extremely anxious for this child to arrive. After the 9 months of waiting & seeing the baby grow, we are extremely anxious to see her gorgeous face, hold her, & be able to interact with her on the outside opposed to through the uterine walls.

It has been a trying & challenging two weeks for Sara & I. She has been contracting pretty good, but nothing to go to the hospital about. She has been "sitting" on our baby for 3 weeks now. It is an anxious & exciting time as well as a frustrating & challenging time. We are hopeful we are close & are prepared for her to come any day. The bags are packed, the nursury is ready, & Mom & Dad have been ready for 4 weeks now! One thing is for sure, I don't think there is any question who the parents of this baby are. The way she is holding out & choosing when to make her grand entrance.....she is just as obstinate & independent as her Mom & Dad!

Hopefully the next post will be pictures of our little one!

Busy Summer

It has been a whirlwind to the end of this school year & beginning of summer. We ended a crazy end of the year with a series of trips with some students that led to some fun adventures for us. We travelled everywhere from the beach to the beautiful Columbia Rier Gorge (pictured above).

We made it through the end of the year & succesfully sent all of our kids home for the summer. Graduation also went great! Sara & I played "mom & dad" to 4 students. Above is one of our students, Jae Sung, right after graduation. He is a great kid and we will miss him next year. Luckily he will be attending college in Portland next year so we will see him some.

Here is a final picture of my dorm staff for this 2008-2009 school year. They were an amzing staff that took our dorm from a style that we have used for a long time to a new style that I created when I took the job. They did an amazing job all year & they will be missed going into next year. "Trailblazers" or "forerunners" are always given a daunting & seemingly impossible task, but seem to always trudge through until they find breakthrough. I am very grateful for their work over the past 9 months & I have gained great friendships as they worked for me.

Sara & I have been busy with international paper work, cleaning, doctors appointments, basketball, & a wedding. It has been a crazy few weeks which has led me to many nights crashing on he couch once the work day is over. Promise has become my snuggle dog when I come home. She has been spending a lot of time with Sara when I'm at work so when I get home she usually wants my attention. Sara snapped this picture one night after a 9am to 9pm day of basketball coaching/reffing. I was beat & got in my favorite position with my cuddle buddy. Promise actually finally came into her heat & is being bred this weekend. Her puppies will be here around the start of September. We are looking forward to our little girl coming into the world as well as Promise becommig a mom. It should be an eventful end to our summer.

Sara & I are in Bend for our 2 year anniversary. We are staying at a wonderful resort right off the Deschutes River called the Riverhouse. It is a beautiful resort & we are enjoying our get-away. Sometimes it is so refreshing to simply get away from the craziness of life & to just spend some time with your best friend. I am dropping Sara off at her Aunt & Uncles this weekend to help them with the litter the four of us delivered last night. If you want to hear about our delivery, check out our blog from last night here. I, however, will be heading to the secluded town of La Grande, Oregon. We are taking 4 teams to NBC Team Camps. It should be a fun week of basketball with the guys. After next week it is pure relaxation at home with Sara while we wait for out little one to arrive. She has been so active lately & feeling her move has been a thirll. I'll hopefully get some video of it soon.

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY EVERYONE!

Mini-Term

Sara & I are working with our "mini-term" group this week. At Western Mennonite we finish the year off with a 7-day long event that teaches the students something educational or focuses on service. We spent our first day painting the dorm & then took the weekend off. Today led us to the beautiful Oregon coast. We started out at the Oregon Coast Aquarium which was the first time I had ever been there. It was fun to see all of the exotic fish and the shark tank. This is a picture of our mini-term group.

Would this not be a great AT&T commercial?

I am absolutely facinated by these creatures, especially after I saw the movie 7 pounds this past week featuring Will Smith. It's amazing to me that a creature can look so beaautiful yet be so deadly. A true wolf in sheeps clothing...

Sometimes you just need to look at an animal like this to know how unique & creative our God truly is!

After the marine life viewing, we went to Mo's for lunch. The students enjoyed the good food & then spent the rest of the afternoon at the beach. They had fun playing in the water & burrying each other. All in all it was a fantastic day & we were blessed with terrfic weather.

Tomorrow we are heading to Portland for a Portland Beavers baseball game & then off to the Oregon Zoo. It should be a jam packed day but also a lot of fun as the kids will have to navigate their way through the zoo while trying to finish a scavengar hunt.

Funny Quotes About Parenting

I Came across these quotes today & I got a good laugh. Sometimes I wonder why parenting 40 kids is hard? Well I just need quotes like this to remind me to laugh. 

"Raising kids is part joy and part guerilla warfare." - Ed Asner 

“Having a child is surely the most beautifully irrational act that two people in love can commit." -- Bill Cosby 

“Oh, Marge don't you know kids today? Bad means good and shake your booty means wiggle your butt.”--Homer Simpson 

"Think of stretch marks as pregnancy service stripes." Joyce Armor 

"Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing." -- Phyllis Diller 

"Laughter is like changing a baby's diaper. It doesn't permanently solve any problems, but it makes things more acceptable for a while" - Unknown 

"I don't know why they say "you have a baby." The baby has you." -Gallagher 

"People who say they sleep like babies usually don't have them". - Leo J. Burke 

"First you have to teach a child to talk, then you have to teach it to be quiet." - Prochnow 

"A truly appreciative child will break, lose, spoil, or fondle to death any really successful gift within a matter of minutes." - Russell Lynes 

"A baby is an alimentary canal with a loud voice at one end a no responsibility at the other." - Ronald Reagan

"A child is a curly, dimpled lunatic." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Any child can tell you that the sole purpose of a middle name is so he can tell when he's in trouble." - Dennis Fakes 

"Even when freshly washed and relieved of all obvious confections, children tend to be sticky." - Fran Lebowitz 

"A three year old child is a being who gets almost as much fun out of a fifty-six dollar set of swings as it does out of finding a small green worm." -Bill Vaughan

"Children are supposed to help hold a marriage together. They do this in a number of ways. For instance, they demand so much attention that a husband and wife, concentrating on their children, fail to notice each other's faults." - Richard Armour

"If your baby is "beautiful and perfect, never cries or fusses, sleeps on schedule and burps on demand, an angel all the time," you're the grandma." - Theresa Bloomingdale 

"No animal is so inexhaustible as an excited infant." -Amy Leslie 

"Always be nice to your children because they are the ones who will choose your rest home." - Phyllis Diller 

"Everyone is in awe of the lion tamer in a cage with half a dozen lions - everyone but a school bus driver." - Unknown

"Pretty much all the honest truth telling in the world is done by children." - Oliver Wendell Holmes 

"Even very young children need to be informed about dying. Explain the concept of death very carefully to your child. This will make threatening him with it much more effective." - P. J. O'Rourke 

"There's no point in being grown up if you can't be childish sometimes." - Dr. Who 

"The thing that impresses me most about America is the way parents obey their children." - Edward, Duke of Windsor 

"A baby is an inestimable blessing and bother." - Mark Twain 

"Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them." - James Baldwin

"There never was a child so lovely but his mother was glad to get him asleep." - Ralph Waldo Emerson 

"The best way to keep children at home is to make the home atmosphere pleasant - and let the air out of their tires." - Dorothy Parker 

"Human beings are the only creatures on Earth that allow their children to come back home." - Bill Cosby 

"You know your children are growing up when they stop asking you where they came from and refuse to tell you where they're going." - P.J. O'Rourke 

"A baby is God's opinion that the world should go on." - Carl Sandburg

Memorial Day Weekend

We had a fantastic time this weekend. Sara & I were able to get away from Western for a few days & travel to our Aunt & Uncle's house in Sisters, Oregon. This is the view from their front porch. It is breathtaking, but after a few days you find yourself taking for granted the beauty of the creation around you. It was nice to escape the "end of the year" stresses that have been tugging at our minds. 

They are also the ones that run Mountain View Labradoodles. This is a picture of some of their dogs that were there. (From left to right) Rose which is a beautiful, red labradoodle. Baily which is one of the original Labradors that started the business. Mazi which is a first cross Labradoodle & is a very smart dog. She knows many tricks & loves to "show off". Chip which is a recently acquired male from Austrailia. He is in the process of being trained to be used in the business. Last but not least, our bundle of joy...Promise. She is quite the character & loves running with her "pack". She seems to come to life when we take her to their house. She loves to interact with other dogs that she knows. 

Mouse & Grams came over on Saturday for lunch & to visit. We had a good time talking, playing games & going for a walk. It was a realaxing time, & Sara & I even got a little sun in the process!

They gave us a baby gift while we were there. It is a 5' giraffe that goes in the nusury. It is positioned right next to the crib & will watch over our little girl while she sleeps. It is the perfect addition to our Safari themed nursury. 

This is Chloe their bird. She is quite funny & loves to talk. I don't know if I would ever have the guts to have a bird of my own, but I definetly admire them & appreciate them when I'm around them. 

All in all we had a fantastic weekend & enjoyed the much needed R&R. We finished off the 4-day weekend with a birthday party yesterday to celebrate Brandon & I's birthday. I remember when him & I would have joint birthday parties when we were 4 & 5. My how time flies. On Saturday I will be turning 24. I feel like my life is only beginining, however. I feel like all the things that I want to do & accomplish are still within my grasp. I am completely satisfied where my life has taken me thus far in my short 24 years on Earth & I am expectant what will happen over my next 24 years. God has blessed me emensly to the point where I understand the verse whole heartedly "...be content in all things." 

Little League

Sara & I went to my nephew, Kaenan's little league game yesterday. It was fun to see him play. This is his first year playing sports. He played Soccer in the fall & now basbeall in the Spring. He is by far the biggest kid out there & in my opinion the best bat. Here he is after he belted a pitch into the outfield for a double. 

Check out his stance! Elbow high, weight on the back foot & a smile on his face just knowing he's about ready to connect with this one...

He's a little goof ball on the bench, but he sure has fun with his firends. 

He took his base running very seriously. He was always watching what was going on so he could go home. Scoring is important to these little tykes! 

Kaenan was 3 for 4 with two singles & a double. He scored all 3 times he got on base & they don't "officially" keep score but his team slaughtered the other team. The best part about it is Kaenan is having a blast. That's really what you want out of youth sports. Currently for the year he is 11 for 12. After seeing him play yesterday, I'm starting to think Baseball is his sport. Move over juiced up Barry Bonds...there's a slugger coming for your record & he's in 1st grade!

If your child isn't in organized sports, I would highly encourage it. Studies have shown that it fight early obecity that is running ramped through the kids of this generation. It also increases brain flow, keeps your kid healthy, teaches them the lost art of teamwork, & teaches them responsibility. I would encourage every child to try at least one year of each sport & see how it goes. If nothing else, your kid can say they have played it once.