Class of 2008 June 7, 2008

Kids grow up so fast- quite the cliche saying, but it never felt so true as last night.
Last night my baby girl ‘graduated’ from pre-school and in the fall, I’ll have to send her off to the big bad world that is kindergarten. OK…it’s not really so big, or so bad…in fact, it’s not even a different school (she attends the private school at our church), but to a mom, something about the word “kindergarten” just sounds so… grown up.
And grown up is just fine with Jaidin – she’s ready! Being a “big girl” is of utmost importance these days. Just the other night we played “spa” and both got pedicures and manicures. (Yes, I doubled as a patron AND nail technician ) While I was doing her nails, she talked to me as if I was really a cosmetoligist in a salon providing her service. I got to hear all about her friends at school and her crush on Gavin, how she broke her arm, her upcoming graduation, and even how she feels about her mom and dad no longer living together. I was highly amused watching her animatedly share her world with me compete with facial expressions like rolled eyes and dramatic hand gestures ( I suppose she is her mother’s daugter ). But part of me was sad too, because I realized just how big she’d become, how aware she was of the world around here, and how independent she was becoming.
Hard to believe it was 6 years ago this month that I stood in the small downstairs bathroom of our College Hills condo, staring at a pregnancy test and thinking ” OMG…how did this happen??”. Well….I knew “how” it happened, but since the doctors had told me from the time I was 16 that I’d never have a baby, I was confused and even scared. But God watched over my “impossible” pregnancy and has taken care of Jaidin every day since then. And I know, when I send her off to the big bad kindergarten world in 3 short months, He’ll take care of her then too.

Careful where you hide the Santa get-up November 28, 2007

Momma’s little swashbuckler October 31, 2007

Happy Halloween!

You’ll date who your daddy says you’ll date… September 15, 2007

Today was amusement park day. I, along with Jon, took two VERY ENERGETIC 4 year olds to Geauga Lake.

It was a beautiful day. A pristine blue sky cluttered with fluffy gray autumn clouds, about 60 degrees, and a crisp fall breeze. Definitely my kind of weather!

The girls rode all the kiddie rides, and we all rode the ferris wheel and the carousel. No roller coasters…the girls aren’t tall enough…and of course we grown ups couldn’t leave the girls unattended to ride. We did, however, ride the Escape from Dino Island ride. It’s one of those IMAX rides that displays the screen and then the theater seats move so you feel like you’re in the movie. The girls were terrified (although once we left the ride they swore up and down that it was “the coolest ride EVER”), and all the “movement” screwed with my equilibrium to the point where I thought I was going to lose my lunch. I guess I am getting old

On the way home we ate at CiCi’s, and then took the girls to the dollar store to go “shopping”. They each picked out five items (exactly the same… because that’s what BFF’s do… a doll, a notebook, princess makeup, a mermaid toy, cellphone).

We played Barbies and dollhouse when we got home, and now they’re in Jaidin’s room watching Barbie Swan Lake. And I’m ready to crash! Can you say “tired mommy”? There is a reason I only have one kid…

Cute side note:

Jon told me that when we were crossing the bridge from one side of the lake to the other the girls were talking about ‘who they were going to date’ when they got older. LOL Jaidin very matter of factly said “I’m dating Dylan”. ( Dylan is the poor unsuspecting 3rd grade boy she’s had a crush on for about a year). Juliea said “You can’t date him..he’s old”. So Jon interrupted and asked about all the boys in her preschool class. He was naming them off, one by one. When he got to Gavin, Juliea said “Yeah, Gavin..he’s a good choice!”. Jaidin replied “I don’t like boys who are 4, I like older boys”. Then Juliea looks Jaidin right in the eye and says sternly, “Jaidin, you’ll date who your daddy says you’ll date!”

Jon hopes Jaidin and Juliea will be friends as teenagers……

A Child-like Conscience July 17, 2007

For the past week or so, we’ve been talking with Jaidin about the fall and going back to school. She seemed excited because her cousin Evan is going to be in her class this coming year.

Then a few days ago, out of the blue, she announces she doesn’t want to go back to Mrs. Zinni’s class. Strange, right? Any of you who remotely know our family, or read my blog, know that she LOVES Mrs. Zinni! I just laughed at her and blew off her little “announcement”. Then last night she says the same thing, to me and Jon. We asked her why, and she said it was because she didn’t want Evan to be in her class. Even weirder, since we all know how much she ADORES Evan.

This morning, on the way to Amber’s, she was awfully quiet. Usually she’s singing at the top of her lungs, or talking non-stop. I stopped at a redlight and turned around to check on her, and she was crying quietly. I asked her what was the matter and she said “One day, I took a toy from Mrs. Zinni’s class.”

No big deal, I thought. Why’s she crying about that? Mrs. Zinni was always giving them little toys and trinkets from her “treasure box”. Almost everyday Jaidin came home with some new something or other. Then it dawned on me…

She had “stolen” a toy from Mrs. Zinni’s class.

No wonder she didn’t want to go back to school. My baby girl felt so bad about her “crime” that she was crying about it.

I told her that it was ok, and to stop crying. When we got to Amber’s, I crawled in the back seat and sat by her. I told her that I was proud of her for telling the truth, that she could return the toy to Mrs. Zinni and apologize at church on Sunday, and that I was sure Mrs. Zinni would forgive her. “You not mad?” she said. ” Not mad…disappointed that you made a bad choice, but very happy that you decided to tell the truth.” I said. I gave her a big hug, and we went in to Amber’s, all forgiven.

When I got back in the car, I started thinking about how her little conscience must have been so troubled. Then I started thinking about my life, lies I’ve told, corners I’ve cut, compromises I’ve made, instead of doing the right thing. We all do it. It’s not right, but we do. No wonder God said we’d have to become like little children to enter the kingdom of heaven.

Lord, give me a conscience like my daughter’s, and the grace to humble myself and tell the truth when I’ve screwed up.

Good childcare is hard to find July 3, 2007

I just had to share this! This email was waiting for me this morning when I got up. It’s from Amber (Jaidin’s amazing babysitter).

I’m still laughing…

Hi Moms!

So, it’s like 11:15 at night and I’m getting ready to go to bed, but I wanted to share my interesting night with you all. This is a great story! So, everyone knows that we have such a fun pool and it was only $30 and blah blah blah…well, one small problem we’ve encountered is it seems we need to fill it with air every hour. The kids love it, but half the time, it’s deflated and certain pieces don’t work right. I have had my fits on the phone trying to negotiate with the manufacturer about replacing it or some of the parts, and it’s just not worth it. We all love the pool, but it’s just really hard to maintain and we’re all getting fed up with having to wait to blow it up every time we want to swim…I was just talking to the kids today about getting a new pool.

Well, Aaron and I go out to get some mulch for our yard…(we are in the process of re-doing it all…plug your nose!!!) I “accidentally” saw a cute little pool that has a built in slide/staircase/railing that was big enough for the kids, better material…that normal blue plasticy stuff…(nothing inflatable!) so I decided I’d buy it. I tend to be a little impulsive and on the positive side of things, so I haven’t really thought about HOW we’re going to get this home, but I have to have it…”the kids NEED it, honey.” Aaron’s mom was meeting us anyway so we could use her SUV to load all the mulch, so Aaron and I figure we’ll tie this big pool on the top or something. The cashier gives us this sad, frail looking “twine” that we attempt to use to tie the pool to the Blazer. Yeah…..okay…you know where this is going…

So, Aaron drives the Blazer while his mom and I follow behind in Aaron’s car. Ummmm, yeah. I don’t know what the point of us following behind is…like, am I going to catch the pool if it falls off or what? Anyway…it’s just what you do right? You follow the car that has something attached to it…so we’re taking the long, slow way home and we are on 615…yeah, the one with 4 lanes. Okay, you with me? So, I notice that my husband is speeding way ahead like usual, as though he doesn’t have a 20 foot blue pool attached with string to the top of his car…and I see the pool start flying a little too loose on top. I speed up and try honking to get his attention, and of course, the pool flies off the top of the car and into the other lane of oncoming traffic…right before a pick up truck is going to come up on it.

Now, don’t you know you have the best child care provider around? (ha ha) I need that pool for my kids! So, I slam on the brakes, flip my hazards on and run down 615, cross into the oncoming lane, grab the pool and drag it back to the car and kind of just hook it up under the front of the car so it stops blowing away. My mother in law is shouting “the pieces, the pieces”…up ahead, I see that 2 sets of pieces to the pool are laying in the road, so I run down, grab those, grab something that looks like it goes to the pool, not sure if it’s mine or not, but just grab it…get in the car…now what? People are zooming all around, looking at this poor girl in the middle of the road with a death grip on my kid’s new blue pool with a cool slide! Umm, so by the way, my car was in the inside lane, so I’m not even pulled over…I just stopped in the middle of the road…yeah, ummm, safe. So, I drag the pool over to the side and wait for my knight in shining armor (um Aaron) to come running down 615 after he had parked the SUV up ahead and he tells me he’ll walk it down.

I go park a few miles up ahead where he did and wait, while, can you picture this? Aaron walks down 615, with a huge blue pool on top of his head, his shoulders, his back…okay, so it’s a walking blue pool…can’t get a visual? Well well well, I just happen to have my camera handy and have a nice picture of my ever-cheerful husband always willing to help out…so I’ll just copy that picture right on to here so you can share in the joy.

We got the pool home…our new idea was Aaron and I took his car and just hung out the windows holding on with our bare, frozen cracked hands to my kids new pool with the cool slide. Yeah, um, everyone and their mother and their brother and sister pointed and laughed and looked and Aaron just kept saying “yep, it’s a pool….a pool..yep, we’re holding a pool on top of the car…” By the time we got to Antoinette, I tried to convince Aaron to just put it on it’s side and roll it down the street. LOL. Yeah…so um, next time you’re over…appreciate the blue pool. Can we have some respect for the pool, please?

~Amber

PS. It’s not a super fantastic pool…you probably have one like it too…but it’s big enough to swim, it has a little slide, and it’s easy to keep clean..we can keep a tarp on it, which will keep it safer, cleaner and warmer! Enjoy the picture of happy Aaron! Not every day you see this walking down Rt. 615…

PRICELESS!!!!

Chi-Town, Mom and Me, and Memorial Day June 2, 2007

I’ve been wanting to post these pictures for a week now…but time keeps slipping by. So here’s a quick lowdown and I’ll let the pics speak for themselves.I survived my trip to Chicago. We had a good conference planning/board meeting and I feel like I have a much better handle on the “big picture” regarding the conference. I’m very detail oriented and sometimes get caught up in the little stuff and overwhelm myself. But I’m very blessed to working with an awesome group of people who are faithful to follow through on responsibilities. And they’re so kind to keep encouraging me in my new responsibilities. And…I’m very lucky to have a family and friends who are supportive of my traveling all over the map, helping us with Jaidin, etc. And…I’m very blessed to have a husband who sends me flowers while I’m out of town

The Monday after I got home from Chicago, I got to spend the evening with Jaidin at FunTime, an indoor “inflatables” funpark. The women’s ministries at our church meets once month and this month was Mom and Me night out. Jaidin had a great time, and I enjoyed spending the evening with her since I had been gone for 4 days.

Memorial Day weekend was hectic but fun. Our friends Mitch and Heather were in town visiting and we got to spend some time with them.They used to be part of RedHeart with us and Mitch played in Jon’s band, but they moved home to Lancaster, PA about 2 years ago. So good to see them…and find out they’re expecting a baby!
We also got to go to Miss Kelly’s birthday party. Miss Kelly is one of Jaidin’s preeschool teachers, and also the sister of my brother’s fiance. Fun times hanging out with all the RedHeart and church crew.
We had a fun time with family too. Sunday afternoon we spent time at Jon’s parent’s house. They were still in Maui, but Jon’s aunt Vicki was in town to stay with his grandma while mom and dad were gone. I’m so glad I finally got to meet Vicki. Then we headed to my grandparents house. My mom’s stepsister MaryLue was in town, so we went to visit with her. And we had fun teaching Jaidin to play Cornhole…the hokiest midwestern yard game ever!

We spent Memorial Day at Steve and Lindsey’s. Family cookout, t-ball, football, S’mores…what else do you need on a holiday?

School’s Out for Summer June 2, 2007

My baby’s growing up…she “graduated” last night from the 3 year old preschool program to the 4 year olds.

School picnic and graduation photos:

Happy Mother’s Day to Me! May 15, 2007

I had a very nice Mother’s Day weekend. Thanks to all of you who sent comments and messages (Sorry I didn’t have time to return the love!). Friday night we met Kevin and Bethany at Red Robin for dinner, then came home and retired early in preparation for our big days on Saturday.

Saturday, Jon got up and headed to the studio to record, and Jaidin and I got ready for our day out with my mom, grandma, and aunt. Mom picked up Jaidin and I, and we headed to get grandma. From there, we were off to Unionville, OH for the Unionville Flea Market. Every year they have a a day long flea market and antique show that is city-wide. There’s a park where outside vendors set-up, and people also rent out their front yards to peddlers (or they set up their own wares and antiques to sell). I’d never been there for this event, and I’ve never seen anything like it! We walked around for about 2 hours, until Jaidin got tired and hungry. I saw a few things I would liked to have purchased, but they were bigger (wicker furniture) and I had no room to get them home. So in the end, I bought Jaidin a doll set for $1, and myself some cinnamom roasted cashews. YUMMY! The highlight of the trip for me was seeing the historic homes lining Rt. 84, and the antique car we came across. Long story short, the gentleman that owns the car was inspired by a Grey Poupon advertisement and re-did the finish of his car with red and white checked tablecloth. It took him over a year to line up the checks in the fabric and finish it. He used varnish as the overlay. It really was an amazing site…it reminded me of a huge picnic table!
We left the flea market and headed to Geneva on the Lake, which in the 50’s and 60’s was a quaint little vacation town right on Lake Erie. People used to rent out the little lakefront cottages and escape from all over the Northeast. There’s a strip with arcades, diners, bars and shops that sell knick knacks and other “junk”. Over the years it’s gotten run down, but I remember going there every summer as a kid and riding the rides, eating at the diner, and spending time at the cottage my aunt rented every 4th of July. Fun memories! And my aunt, grandma, and Mom have memories that go back many more years! We had lunch at Eddie’s Grill, which is an authentic 50’s diner. All the cooks wear white tshirts, aprons, and little paper hats. So fun! This was Jaidin’s first time there…now 4 generations of our family will have memories there.
Saturday night we went to Steve and Lindsey’s for Jessica’s surprise birthday party. We had a good time, but I was the oldest person there (this is happening to me ALOT lately, especially at RedHeart events…hmmmm), and really felt it when they started playing Church of God camp games! Big Booty, anyone? And once again, Jeff tried to ruin all my pictures!

Sunday we headed to church, then to Jon’s parents to celebrate Mother’s Day. We had a nice dinner and some good laughs, then I headed out for some R & R ( translation: manicure and pedicure). It was a relaxing day for the most part. Sunday evening, Jon helped me fix a snafu at work by stuffing about 250 envelopes (THANKS!)
On Monday, I left work early so I could attend the Mother’s Tea at Jaidin’s school. It was fun, and the kids were all so excited to have mom there. Jaidin made me a really cute apron with her handprints on it (is Mrs. Zinni implying I don’t cook enough??). When we got home we played outside in the beautiful weather. Anyone else perplexed by this Ohio weather? It’s actually been SUNNY… The icecream truck came by and Jaidin convinced me to buy treats for her, Jon and myself, and Uncle Kevin. Can you believe I spent $8 on a Dora popsicle, 2 Nascar bars, and a SpongeBob treat? $2 a piece! I remember paying $.50 for a popsicle as a kid. Oh lord…I sound like my grandma….

Tomorrow I am off to Chicago for a conference planning/board meeting. Wish me luck…as of today I am not quite prepared and I’m a bit nervous about the whole thing.

Weekend Update May 1, 2007

Friday: Wanted to go to Seeker’s Coffeehouse to see Al play, but couldn’t find a babysitter, so…. We settled for dinner at CiCi’s, followed by shopping at Old Navy. I am extremely proud of myself, as I resisted the flip flop temptation (Cheryl, I know you know what I’m talking about ), but I did get a bunch of new tanks and shirts and some new cargo capri’s. Jon and Jaidin got new outfits too, and I think Jon actually ENJOYED shopping. ( Don’t worry honey…I don’t think you’ll lose your MAN card.)

Saturday: I headed to Border’s to get some UOAA work done. I have been overwhelmed with work and UOAA stuff lately, and I really needed to catch up…or at least get organized. And I knew if I stayed home, I’d be distracted by other stuff ( like dirty bathrooms, unfolded laundry, and a needy 4 year old). So I packed up my briefcase and trusty laptop and headed to the bookstore coffeehouse to get some real work done. And I did. 3 hours worth…undistracted, except for the occasional exchange of conversation with Paul ( P. Miller was there studying for RedHeart Equipping school…see what a dedicated teacher we have?) I surprised myself. Bookstores are a big deal for me…I can spend hours there…not working, but perusing the aisles, reading snippets, looking at magazines. If you know me well, you know I’m a bibliophile. So to be in a bookstore for 3 WHOLE HOURS and not pick up a book was a milestone for me. (*pats self on back*)
Saturday night I had to work…sort of. CCFA held an event at The Boneyard (which is similar to a Dave & Buster’s aka Chuck E. Cheese for adults) It was a fun social event, designed to try and get some younger adults more involved with our organization. We had dinner, a short intro to CCFA, then turned everyone loose to play games. I think everyone had fun…I know I did. I beat Jon at skeeball (just like I said I would!), but I got owned on the airhockey table. Oh well…I can’t be perfect at everything.

Sunday: Pastor’s Appreciation Sunday. We had a special speaker at Sunday morning’s service, so Jon’s dad could have the day “off”. I find that funny, because if you have a minister in your family, you know that they never truly ever have a day off. You can leave the country with no forwarding address and SOMEBODY from the church will track you down. Anyway, I digress…
After church we had lunch with Bill and Jenel, and Jeremy. Lots of laughs! Then off to Target and back to Old Navy for some more shopping.

That night was the pastor’s appreciation dinner, which had a luau theme. Yep, that’s right…everyone at Christian Life Church got leid on Sunday night. (I hope my father in law’s not reading this )
Very cool story behind the Hawaiian theme: About a year ago, a couple in our church (that wants to remain anonymous) approached Jon’s parents and said they felt like God was laying it on their hearts to send them to Hawaii. Mom and Dad were skeptical at first, but as time went on, this couple began making arrangements to send mom and dad to Hawaii. The trip almost fell through a few times, and it really looked bleak when mom was diagnosed with cancer this past winter. We had no idea if she’d be well enough to travel, etc. Long story short…she is now cancer free, and this vacation has turned into a victory trip for them. All expenses paid for 2 weeks in Maui…an absolute dream come true for Jon’s Mom and Dad. And the coolest part is that God orchestrated all of it before mom was even diagnosed. He knew that after all they would go through over the past 9 or so months, they’d need this time away to recoup and celebrate.
So the luau theme was kind of a send off for them, and a celebration of all they (and our church) had overcome this year. God is so good! Can I get an AMEN?

Super Woman I am not! April 19, 2007

It was 7:51 am this morning, and I was putting the finishing touches on my makeup. My Blackberry started chirping, so I looked and saw an email from Jaidin’s babysitter Amber.

This is what it said:

This is really funny…if you have a family picture, can you let us have one? I have a wall down here where all the kids have their family pictures and I was bugging you for awhile…I know it’s hard with Jaidin going to 2 different schools and all the things you have to remember…anyways…Jaidin wanted her picture up there, so one day I took a picture of just her and she asked me if she could stand by the turtles so they could be her family. LOL. I was laughing so hard. Next time you’re downstairs, you’ll have to see on our Family Wall, I have a picture of Jaidin (really cute) standing on the stool proudly next to the turtles. LOL. If you think of it, send us a “real” family picture! (although the other kids are very jealous that Jaidin gets a picture with the turtles) Very funny girl.

Amber

She HAD been asking me to bring in a picture of our family ( um…for like the last 3 months ),but I just kept forgetting. How bad did I feel? My poor daughter having to pose with the turtles because her mommy can’t remember to take in a family picture. A few months ago, I would have really beat myself up for being a “bad mom”. In fact, I cried all the way to work one day about 6 months ago because I forgot it was Show and Tell day ( for like the 3rd week in a row) and Jaidin didn’t pack anything to show to her class. Talk about working mom condemnation!

But I’ve gotten over that. I’ve gotten over myself. I’m not Super Mom, and I’m not Super Woman. And if the worst disappointment my daughter experiences at age 4 is that I forget to take a family picture to the babysitter’s, then in actuality, I guess I’m doing pretty good. But I doubt she was even disappointed…I bet she thought her “turtle family” was pretty cool…and I think she’s pretty ingenious for thinking that one up!

So today, I was able to laugh this one off…with thoughts of a little girl with a crazy imagination, and a mom who is finally learning to give herself a break.

Not to mention…red spandex is a real fashion faux pas….

Ear "pinching" April 16, 2007

It all started with the toy “beauty set” that Jaidin won at the IX Amusement Park. It had clip on earrings in it. When we got home, she wanted to put them on. They were made of cheap plastic, and if I opened the clip far enough to actually get it on her ear, I would have broken them. Of course, she had a melt down when she couldn’t wear them. So I foolishly said, “Well, if you want to wear earrings bad enough, we’ll just have to get your ears pierced.”How do I get myself into these things? <img src=”http://x.myspace.com/images/blog/smileys/nervous.gif”

I really thought she’d say “No way..that’ll hurt.” Instead she said, “Yeah! Can we do it tomorrow? Before church?”. We agreed that we’d do it…after church…and, for the rest of Saturday night, I talked to her about the fact that it was going to hurt a little bit to have them pierced. “Will it hurt ALOT? What does it feel like?”, she said. “Like a pinch” was my reply.

Sunday morning, we get to church and she tells EVERYBODY we see ” I’m getting my ears pinched today!” LOL…everyone was perplexed, until I explained she meant pierced. Too funny!
After lunch at the inlaw’s, we headed to the mall for the “pinching”. Jaidin marched right up to the kiosk, picked out the MOST expensive piercing studs (they HAD to be pink, of course) and told the lady she was ready to have her ears pinched. She hopped up in the chair, let them mark her ears, and remained calm…until they actually “pinched” her. Then the waterworks started. She pulled it together quite nicely though when we ( ok..I...I’m such a softy) promised a trip to the Disney store. (She picked out the Peter Pan movie…talk about an expensive ear “pinching”!)
She did great once we got home, letting me take pictures, and clean her ears before bedtime. This morning, she kept looking at her ears in the mirror and saying “Pretty!” She marched into pre-school, raced to her classroom and proudly proclaimed, “Look Mrs. Zinni…I got my ears pinched!”

4 year old practicality April 5, 2007

This morning on the way to the babysitter’s house, there was a commercial on the radio for Malley’s chocolates ( YUM! Somebody get me some of their chocolate covered strawberries and grapes for Easter…hint …hint…). The last line of the advertisement said to bring the kids down to the store to meet the Easter bunny.
Innocent enough… until my daughter asks ” Mom, where does the Easter bunny live?”
Hmmmm…good question. Never thought about it before. I mean, he doesn’t really have a domain, right? Santa has the North Pole, Batman has Gotham City, the Tooth Fairy…well..I don’t know where she lives either, but you get the point.
So, instead of making up some dumb answer, I just said “Ya know Jaidin, Mommy doesn’t know”. And do you know what my genius of a 4 year old said?

“That’s ok, Mom…we can look it up online when we get home”.

California, A high School Musical, Spaghetti with balls, and a beautiful day March 26, 2007

The title of this blog pretty much sums up our weekend!

Friday night Jaidin’s best friend Juliea spent the night with us. I picked the girls up from school and we went to Starbucks (I got coffee, they got strawberry frappucinos), and we headed to the library. I had my iPod playing in the car, and the O.C theme song came on. Jaidin LOVES the OC, even though she’s only seen a few scenes here and there, and will make me play this song OVER and OVER again in the car. She sings it at the top of her lungs. Well…Juliea’s a quick learner, because the second time around, both girls were belting it out. Too cute!
That night,we took the girls to Denny’s for dinner (definitely NOT my choice of restaurant, although I’ll admit that it wasn’t SO bad since Ohio is now smoke free), and I don’t think either one of us realized how loud two 4 year old girls can be.We must have said “use your inside voice” 20 times in our one hour in the restaurant. The good news was I only had to take them to the ‘potty’ twice.
After Denny’s we headed to the grocery store. All I have to say is that as we walked out of the store, Jon and I were both in agreement that we are happy only having one child! We got them home, put them in bed, put a movie on (Mary Poppins), then went downstairs to put the groceries away. 3 hours later ( 11pm), Mary Poppins was still singing and the girls were STILL awake. They passed out around midnight, and Jon and I headed to bed. At 3:30 am, I awoke to the sounds of uncontrollable sobs coming from Jaidin’s room. Juliea was on the top bunka bed (that’s what Jaidin calls them ), and was very much in need of her mommy and daddy I held her for a while, and finally convinced her to go back to sleep, after promising her she could sleep on the floor in Jaidin’s sleeping bag. Whew! Crisis diverted! The girls got up around 9am, and decided they did not want to go to their ballet class. Instead they wanted to make a ‘craft’ for Dylan, the sweet, unsuspecting 2nd grade boy they both have a crush on. Hilarious!

Saturday night, Jon and I went on a date for our anniversary (7 years!). We saw “Something Funny Happened on the Way to the Forum” at a local highschool, and it was really good ( for a high school musical )! Our friend Chris teaches art at the school, and he was the production’s technical director, so we went to support him…and ended up really enjoying ourselves. When we got back from dinner, Jon gave me my final anniversary gift…a really cool DVD that my brother helped him with. They took our wedding video and edited it to DVD, and then Jon recorded himself playing and singing our wedding song as the audio. They did a great job, and it was the most heartfelt and thought out gift I think Jon’s ever gotten me.
Sunday morning was a special church service. Our church is finally paid for! We had a special ceremony where we burnt the mortgage papers. There was a a DVD of pictures playing during the service…pictures from years ago, when they first bought our church property, began building, etc. It was nostalgic. I wasnt around back then ( at least on the church scene), and Jon’s dad was not yet the pastor. Many of the people from the video have passed away, but a few of the men from the pastor’s council back then, and the old pastor were present this Sunday for the service. All of this reminded me of God’s faithfulness to us. These people some 20 years ago had a dream and a vision of building this church ministry, and it was heartwarming to witness them reminiscing about God’s goodness through the years.
After church, Lindsey and I went on our bi-weekly date for manicures and coffee. Jon inquired if this was going to become a regular occurence. I said yes, as it is cheaper than psychotherapy! Lindsey is a great date! She brings me smaller jeans so I don’t have to get dressed and come out of the fitting room…AND she listens to me blab about my crazy life. And then…. she invited us over for dinner so I didn’t have to cook on my anniversary! Who could ask for a better sis-in-law?
Oh…and she makes terrific balls….meatballs, that is!
Today it was back to work, but at least the sun was shining! Spring has sprung in NE Ohio…at least for the week. I even busted out the flip flops! Those of you who know me well know that it is a sad day in the Knipp house when the flip flops are retired for the winter. So, today was a joyous day! When Jon got home from work, we took Jaidin to the park and she had a blast! My mouthy kid told me to quit ‘aggravating’ her by following her around with the camera. I have NO idea where she gets her sassiness from…

Pics are below. Enjoy!

So Cool March 9, 2007

I love days like yesterday, when I am completely reminded why I have such a passion for my job. I want you to meet Joey. Yesterday was Joey’s 14th birthday. Instead of holding a big party,getting gifts, and having the day be all about himself, Joey chose to hold a fundraiser for CCFA (Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America). See, Joey was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease two years ago. He approached our CCFA chapter last year about holding a fundraiser in conjunction with his birthday party. Last year’s “Joey’s Crohn’s Fighting Fundraiser and Birthday Bowling Bash” raised a bit over $4000 for CCFA. Boy, were we impressed with the efforts of a 13 year old! This year’s event was an even bigger success! Joey invited the whole middle school, and almost the entire 8th grade showed up. For a $5 donation, the kids got to come, bowl for 2 hours, eat donated pizza and pop, and have their name entered into a raffle for some great prizes Joey and his family had solicited. For additional donations, the kids were entered into another raffle for some really cool “big ticket” items, like a video iPod, an electric guitar and amp, a Nintendo Wii, and Cavs tickets so close to the court “LeBron will sweat on you”, as one eighth grader put it .
All this stuff was donated by the community or CCFA board members! And…are you ready for this? This year Joey raised over $9300, and the total is still climbing! As a fundraiser by “trade”, I’m very impressed by that total…but the money is not what moves me…or motivates me to continue what I do. No, it was watching Joey, all smiles, as all his buddy’s came through the doors of the bowling alley to support him. It was watching Joey’s little sister Sarah and her friends yell ” We love you, Joey”, then burst into a fit of laughter, as Joey’s was trying to raffle off prizes. It’s seeing the tears of joy and pride in the eyes of a mom who wants more than anything for her son just to be “normal”, and the pats on the back by a father to a son. It was watching Joey talk to a reporter about his struggles with Crohn’s, and I thinking that one day, this kid is going to Capitol Hill to tell his story. Joey’s gonna change the world…he already has. He’s not being a victim, he’s putting a face on a pair of diseases that no one wants to talk about. He’s educating his friends and the community. And in the process, he’s taking control of his destiny and empowering himself. He’s learning that there is, in fact, life after Crohn’s disease… and that’s what my job is all about.
Here are some pics from the event:

The whole gang

Joey and his mom

Birthday cake

Sister Sarah “has guts”

Go Bay Village!

I got to present Joey with a $1000 check from one of our major donors!