Weekend Blurb

We had a productive weekend- lots of company is headed our way in the next few weeks, so we are trying to spruce things up a bit.

**Cleaned house
**Put up pantry shelves
**New lights under kitchen cabinets
**Food Lion
**Mike bowled Sat./Sun. AM
**Lunch at Mama Kwans (fish tacos!!)
**Carried around a teething Little Man
**Watched way too much DIY (Do It Yourself) Network
**Replaced lightbulbs throughout house-even the microwave lights
**Worked on new picture frames display
**Homemade French Onion Soup (Food Network)

A day for Prayer-

Michelle's friend/colleague, Suzie, has leukemia. She is in Seattle for treatment.



Mom sent this email this morning:


I just talked to Michelle, and today is the day for Suzie’s transplant.
I pray that the procedure will still be on schedule.
They have told her if this doesn’t work, there is nothing else they can do!

Suzie was so excited.
She thought she was hallucinating the other day.
Someone walked by her room that looked like Randy Blankenship, her pastor.
Guess what – it was Randy.
He had flown all the way to Seattle just to be with Suzie for a
couple of days. I believe he is flying back today.

We need to pray for his safety also, especially since the weather is
going to be a mess.

We just have to remember that:

God is who He says He is
God can do what He says he can do
I am who God says I am
I can do all things through Christ
God’s word is alive and active in me.


Linda



P.S. I found out my great friend, Heather, is pregnant. Say a little prayer for her and the baby! She has been praying for another little one for quite some time. I'm so excited for her!

The Missing Wallet Part 2

My favorite spot
view from our room
notice the dog on the boat
Callum and Nacho
Art around town

While Mike was cleaning our cars, a hot blond pulls up and hands him a few credit cards and his driver's license. Apparently, she found them scattered on the road in our neighborhood when she was walking her dog. So, the story Mike gives me is...he must have dropped his wallet in the driveway and Parker, the notorious neighborhood dog, must have grabbed it. I guess the rest of it is buried. hmmm....

Callum's 430AM Antics

It is 430AM-

Why are they sleeping?

Let's see...What can I do?

Practice my Owl sounds-whoooo whooo

Practice my octave changes-

Make popping noises

Stick my feet straight in the air

Kick, Kick, Kick

Oh Yeah, perfect my roll over

Find my binky, that makes great noise

How cool is that to bang it on the headboard

Pull my mommy's hair-

There are her eyes-

I'll give her a big heart warming smile

I'm so glad she it up too-

My biggest feat...fart like an elephant

Let's go back to sleep-

I am my daddy's boy!

Valentine's Day Recap

So, yesterday was really nice. Callum and I hit up the coffee shop first thing. He was quite a hit with the locals. Then we went perusing around town. Although I'm not much on shopping, I did check out a few of the stores. One of the highlights of the morning was finding patagonia and columbia stuff more than half off. I'm soo glad I didn't cancel the CC yet! Speaking of which, there has not been any suspicious activity yet, so we are still hoping it will reappear.



Callum took two 90min naps. What a super V-day gift for mommy! I caught up on some reading and played on the computer. A big part of Callum's day was tracking down Nacho, the town dog. Mike came and took us to lunch at the local pizza pub where he brought up the evening plans. He suggested him and I go out to dinner and let "the guys" watch Callum. Uhhh, for some reason, I wasn't very keen on that idea. I'm pretty sure "the guys" have not passed Babysitting 101. I would be a nervous wreck! So, Callum went to dinner with us.



The plans, as of this morning, are to stay another night. Some of Mike's deliveries were late yesterday, which put him a little behind. I'm actually enjoying myself. There are no errands to run or house chores to do!!! Maybe I can finish my book today.

The Missing Wallet

I was so proud of myself this morning. Mike asked me to really try and be ready to leave the house by 10AM. Callum went down for his morning nap and I was on the move getting us all packed up. I was actually going to be on time. Mike had a few errands to run-one being Home Depot. Out the door he goes then I hear him come back frantically looking for his wallet. Well, around 11:30, and still no wallet, we hit the road. I was going to cancel our cards, but then we would only have cash to use for the next couple days. Ugh! So, I'm really hoping his wallet has been "misplaced" somewhere around the house. To add to our day, a rock hits Mike's windshield and cracks it.



We are all settled in our room. The hotel is on the waterfront marina. It is a quaint sailing/fishing town. The coffee shop is right across the street from our hotel which makes me very happy. I'm excited to walk around tomorrow and check out all the shops. I made sure to pack the camera to post some pix and realized I left the USB cord at home. I'm almost positive I won't find one around here.



We went to dinner tonight at one of the local restaurants. It was all you can eat rib night. I settled for the crab cake and a piece of strawberry pie. I'm really hoping my addiction to sweets goes away when I stop nursing!! Callum had fun trying to drink water from a straw.



Earlier today Mike showed me around the new development he is working on. The area looks desolate at this point, but lots of potential.

Seafood Gumbo

It was delicious!


1 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 can (14.5 ounces) stewed tomatoes
1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
1 can hot and spicy style tomato juice, (6 oz)
1 cup celery
1/2 pound shrimp, scallops, and tuna
**worcestershire sauce, thyme, basil, oregano, sage, cayenne, parsley, hot sauce

In a large saucepan or Dutch oven cook sweet pepper and onion in hot oil till tender; stir in cornstarch. Add undrained tomatoes, seasoning, and tomato juice . Cook and stir till bubbly;

Bring mixture to boil; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
Stir in seafood; simmer until it is cooked through. Remove from heat. Cover and let stand about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve over rice. Makes 4 servings.

Soup Night and Stuff

It is freezing here (about 36) and windy. I'm thinking tonight will be a good soup night. I'm trying to find a recipe that does not have 40 ingredients and about 30 of which you can't find around here. Let me know if you have any good ideas.

Yesterday, we went to Babies R Us to purchase a new car seat. Mike's mom got us a great deal on one at Sears. I was so excited to save some money, however, the car straps are enough to drive me mad. Callum has the same opinion. Anything I can do to prevent a car seat meltdown is well worth the money. After Callum demoed about 15, we found the ideal one with a push button release and tangle free straps. Perfect!! The insane strappy one is going in Mike's truck.

So, I got a Victoria's Secret catalog in the mail. I can NOT even tell you the last time I got one of those. Is this a hidden message? Is someone trying to tell me something??? Ugh! It made me realize how much I am enjoying being in my sweats all day if I want. I'm going to take full advantage of this year off from school! One of the perks of teaching online.

Callum and I walked over to the beach few times last week. Every time, I forgot my camera. I've gotta get better at taking my camera with me. If it warms up some later on in the week, I plan on getting some pix. I'm so excited for summer! Mike was looking at big tonka trucks yesterday. Perfect for the sand. BTW, can you believe they are $30?

So this week, I'm going to get back on the taxes. After finishing end of the year payroll, I needed a break. And we only have a few employees! All this stuff really shouldn't take me this long. I just over analyze (in between Callum's naps). I'm a bit of a procrastinator too. Then on Thursday, we are going with Mike on his out of town trip.

Happy Birthday!! Colton David Ward

Congratulations Matt & Waverly!!!

Callum's cousin arrived this afternoon.

We can't wait to meet him!

I've seen pictures. He is absolutely adorable!





A little bit of heaven

Drifted down from above -

A handful of happiness,

A heartful of love.

The mystery of life,

So sacred and sweet

The giver of joy

So deep and complete.

Precious and priceless,

So lovable, too

The world's sweetest miracle,

A new baby boy.

What do you do when you don't like shots?

Callum had his 6month check-up today. He checked in at 17lbs. and 30" long. We are now moving toward 12 month pants to avoid the highwater look.

So, the Dr. proceeds to take off his diaper and Callum peed all over her. I could not stop laughing. It was as if he was out to get the evil woman who hurts his legs. He has yet to pee on us.

6 Month Birthday

Zonked after I entertained too many people.

Grandma and Grandpa bought Cal a new toy for his 6month b-day.

12 Layers and a Tooth

Since it was pretty nasty outside, I convinced Mom to try out a new cake recipe. This is our 12 layer cake with homemade choc. icing. You will probably gain a pound looking at this. As you can see we put to much batter in our layers, but it was still delicious! Mom is still sticking to the poundcake.

While putting the little man down to bed last night, I was rubbing his gums...and I felt his first tooth popping up!!!