Gerlt House

Very Christmas, Everybody!

2010-11-27T23:50:00.001-06:00

We put up our trees tonight and started the season with dinner next to the tree and Rudolph the Red-Noses Reindeer. Jake kept saying over and over, "Very Christmas, everybody!"

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

This is a test.

2010-05-25T00:02:00.001-05:00

Testing, testing, 1,2,3
Might I blog more if I can do this from my phone? It's possible. I love technology. (yes, I realize I'm late catching the mobile blogging boat.)
Here's a test picture, too. CrossFit kids are pretty dang cute.

- Posted from my iPhone

This made us pee in our pants a little bit.

2010-04-29T00:04:00.003-05:00

Erin and the kids are currently learning about the Persians. No lie.

My Girl and a Chicken

2010-02-28T14:58:00.004-06:00

How can you not just love this picture. It is the girl of my dreams holding the thing that will pay for our kids to go to college.

Hooray Erin!

Hooray chickens!

How our family has changed!

2010-01-31T11:00:00.005-06:00

Okay, so since the last time one of us blogged we have had a few major life changing events. Erin and I have both discovered facebook, and we've totally neglected this blog here. But as I looked back upon this blog I realized what a great record of how our family has changed. The best stuff is clearly the pictures, videos, and even recordings. e.i. three year old Anna Kate singing "My Jesus, I love thee...". Priceless.

So, here is baby Macy. Just for the record books.

And here is a picture of Jake with the cow outside of the dedication dinner for the opening or our new Chick-fil-A. Mustangs are in the background because the theme was "all roads lead to chicken" (thank you Kerrie Carter). By the way, Route 66 runs right through Yukon.

The Last Day of Being Two

2009-09-02T13:14:00.000-05:00

Today, I'm savoring Jake's last day to be two. I'm loving every bit of his two-ness. From the way he carries a car in each hand everywhere he goes all the way to how he prefers to go potty outside in the grass. He's so much fun!
Tomorrow he'll be three. Wow. I could just get way too sentimental about it all. The time just flies by, doesn't it?
This has been such a fun year with him and I can't wait to see what the next year holds.

Little Growing Girl

2009-07-15T10:00:00.000-05:00

Because I've had sort of a rough pregnancy history, my doctor has been wonderful and done lots of ultrasounds. He said, "I realize that I have this machine and I can put Moms at ease and give them peace of mind just by showing them a little glimpse of their baby." He's the best.
So here are the pictures of our girl so far. She's grown a lot! I go back to the perinatologist on July 30th, so we'll have more then!

Cousins Camp, Day 2

2009-07-14T14:55:00.002-05:00

Cousins Camp is something that my parents do each year for their grandkids. They get them all together for a week each summer for a week of fun and memory-making. Momma D and Papa work SO hard preparing for the week and planing lots of fun things to do. They are also careful to schedule lots of free time for the Cousins to just be together. We look forward to Cousins Camp all year long and we are so thankful for this true gift from Momma D and Papa. Each year we think it can't get any better than the last and it always does! I'm so thankful that my kids will always have these memories and I look forward to doing this for my own grandkids...a long way down the road!

Cousins Camp, Day 1

2009-07-12T11:45:00.008-05:00

Here is a little slide show of the first day of Cousins Camp!

It's Official!

2009-07-07T14:11:00.000-05:00

Many of you have been praying with us throughout our Chick-fil-A journey. Most recently we have been praying that the Lord would grant Chad the opportunity to operate the new Chick-fil-A that is being built in our town. Well, yesterday we got word that it's official! Chad is the new Chick-fil-A operator of the Yukon freestanding unit. We are thrilled.
Our friends, Rey and Heather, called us last week and wanted to get together this Monday and give us some books that they had for Anna Kate and grab an early lunch together. Rey is a Chick-fil-A operator here in OKC and they wanted to see the land that the new store will be built on. We headed that way and got out of the car to look around at the site. As we were talking about it, we see Bill McPeters (Chad's business consultant) walk out from behind a wall with a big grin on his face and a sign saying, "Congratulations Chad and Erin!" We could not have been more shocked to see Bill there! They made it so special for us and it was so fun to be able to be with Rey, Heather and Bill to celebrate!

Got good news today

2009-07-06T17:55:00.002-05:00

Chick-fil-A is building a new freestanding unit in Yukon, Oklahoma two miles from our house. Today, they asked me to operate the store.

Whoop!

We're At Cousins Camp!!

2009-07-02T22:58:00.000-05:00

It's Cousins Camp '09 and we're loving it! Yesterday we all arrived and there was lots of hugging going on. All of the cousins were weighed and measured and the results were marked on the growth chart. Each kid grew at least 3 inches since last year. Most grew even more! It is so fun to see how much they grow from year to year. Then we moved out to Papa's shop where we put all of the kids' handprints in concrete stepping stones. Momma D and Papa have a nice collection of stepping stones going because we make one each year. After our handprints, Momma D brought out the new Cousins Camp shirts. They are a hit this year, as they are every year! We always look forward to seeing what color they will be and what design they will have on them. This year's design was thought of by Logan and he did a great job. We quickly posed for a picture and then headed out for more fun. More pictures will come soon!

It's a....

2009-06-18T18:25:00.000-05:00

GIRL!!!!
We had our big ultrasound today. It was so fun. We all cheered! My sweet friend, Jamie is in town and she got to go with Chad and me, along with Anna Kate. Jamie is a week further along in her pregnancy than I am and she and Dustin are not going to find out what they are having! It was so special to have her with us at this appointment.
The doctor says everything looks great. All the parts are there and everything is working great. We are so, so thankful. I loved the doctor who did my ultrasound. He was so informative and patiently answered all of my questions. Such a fun day!
Here are some of the pictures that we got. It was just so amazing to sit and watch that baby wiggle, seeing every toe, finger, both ears, tiny knees and elbows, arm and leg bones...just amazing. I don't think as many kids as I have that I will ever get over it.

Here's her sweet face. Her tiny arm is up next to her ear.

Here's a profile shot.

Here's another little view of the face.

And a tiny foot. So sweet.

Ten Years

2009-06-11T21:22:00.000-05:00

Ten years ago Chad and I were married. Wow. Has it been that long? Some days it seems like it's only been a few years. Other days it feels like I could ask, "Has it only been 10 years?"

We've packed a lot into 10 years. They've been filled with overwhelming joy and overwhelming grief. Through all of it God has been oh-so gracious to us and I'm blessed to have been by Chad's side the whole way.

StarWars at the Library

2009-05-30T22:17:00.002-05:00

We have a fantastic library here in our city and we are excited about the events that they have coming up this summer. Last week the kids got dressed up in their StarWars duds and we joined other enthusiasts at the library for a showing of Return of the Jedi. We met Kristal and her boys out front and then headed up the elevator to the movie. As we stepped off the elevator Darth Vader and his crew were there to meet us. He shook hands with all of the kids. We were all a little star-struck. He immediately won Anna Kate's heart when he shook her hand and said, "Well, Princess Leia, it's so nice to see you again." Smitten. And you can tell by the admiring expression on her face in the picture (you can click on the image to enlarge it). Before the movie started, all the kids got to say who their favorite character was. Guess who got her vote? Yep. Darth. Later she explained, "Well Leia has always been my favorite...but Darth Vader was just SO nice that I HAD to vote for him. But I should have voted for Luke Skywalker because no one else did. I bet he was sad." That girl is always thinking.

More Pictures

2009-05-18T21:50:00.000-05:00

The Fam

2009-05-16T11:11:00.004-05:00

We just got back from spending the week in Lubbock with my family. My middle sister, Brigitte, and her family are about to head back to Asia for a few years. So the rest of us got together to spend a little time together while we still have the chance.

Here's a picture of us all as we were.

Bottom row: Max, Anna Kate, Alayna. Middle row: Chad holding Jake, Granna holding Trinity, Papa holding Ava, Grace, Angela holding Caleb. Top row: Erin, Brigitte, Kevin, Chris.

Chris and Angela have Alayna, Caleb, and Ava. They live in Tennessee.

Kevin and Brigitte have Grace and Trinity. They have been in Lubbock for the better part of a year, and are heading back overseas soon.

We have Max, Anna Kate, Jake, and a little Chick-n-Mini on the way. We live in Oklahoma City.

Papa and Granna live in Lubbock.

My Talented Friend

2009-04-15T17:55:00.002-05:00

I have this talented friend named Kristal. And she happens to be giving away some of the fruit of her talent and labor. Go check it out and put your name in the hat!

Dusting off the ol' Blog

2009-04-07T13:32:00.004-05:00

There are a few ways to look at yesterday's post. One could say that Chad is a dirty dog for posting only one sentence. On the other hand, you could say at least he posted something! Chad broke the news so I'll try to fill in the details.

We are so excited! We found out a little over a month ago that we are having baby #4! I am due on November 18th which seems like a long way away. Tomorrow I'll be 8 weeks along and so far everything is going well. Since I have a history of miscarriage (I've had 5 so far), the doctor put me on progesterone to help sustain the pregnancy until the baby starts producing progesterone on its own. That usually happens between week 10 and 12. I've had bloodwork done several times and everything looks perfect. On Friday we had an appointment with my new doctor and we were able to have an ultrasound and see a tiny heartbeat. It was amazing. Every single time it's amazing. And it was such a relief. I didn't realize how worried I had been about the well-being of this baby until I saw the heartbeat and knew that everything was okay. The doctor said that the baby measures perfectly for how far along I am. The doctor also gave me some medicine to help with my "every-minute-of-the-day" sickness. I'm very thankful for that because I have been feeling pretty terrible for the last month or so.

So, there's the scoop. Thanks for being excited with us! We are thrilled and feel so blessed.

Yep, it's true.

2009-04-06T21:24:00.001-05:00

We're having a baby.

Teeth, Tornados, and Travel

2009-02-10T17:20:00.002-06:00

Anna Kate lost another tooth Monday, she wrote the tooth fairy another note, and she made more cash money. That makes three teeth since Jan 29th. Funny thing is, she had one more very loose tooth that should come out any day now. Soon she'll be able to clinch her jaw and stick out her tongue at the same time.

Today has been full of Tornados. One lady in my store said "there's tornados everywhere, the Xerox plant has been hit, there's a tornado devastating Yukon, and there's one coming right for us! I'm getting out of here." She gave us an update every two minutes. Oh, and the Xerox plant did not get hit. Oh, and one did not even come close to where we were. Oh, and she was crazy. But they did do quite a bit of damage to the drive through of one of our Chick-fil-A's, and ripped the roof off of a Target and several homes.

Erin and I are about to travel to California for a week. We're going whale watching in the Long Beach area. Be jealous, be very jealous.

When it rains it pours

2009-02-01T21:18:00.008-06:00

Yep, Anna Kate has done it again. She lost another tooth. I think this might be a trend for the next several days because she has three more loose teeth. She was eating dinner tonight and asked me to pull her tooth because she was having a difficult time eating. So...I pulled it. It took a little tugging, so she is definitely tougher than me. We'll give you mouth updates as she loses teeth.

Here's the most recent mouth update.

Anna Kate is getting to know the tooth fairy pretty well, so she wrote her a letter this time.

She is not going to put her tooth under the pillow tonight, so she gave her a scavenger hunt of sorts. (*Hey fairy: It's in the steps next to her bed)

Anna Kate'th Looth Tooth

2009-01-29T21:23:00.005-06:00

Every night after all the teeth are brushed, all the rooms are clean, and all the chores are done, our children prolong lights out by hugging each other, Mom and Dad, and each other some more. It is a routine that is sweet to dear old Dad. Well, tonight it generated some excitement. Max man got a little wild and crazy and knocked out one of Anna Kate's teeth with his upper arm in an excited "bedtime detracting" hug of his dear little sister. I was going through my routine with Jake when AK came in with her bloody mouth crying saying Max hugged her too hard, and Max signing away rapidly in the background trying to explain his side of the story.

Fret not folks. Anna Kate said not a half hour later "this is one of the best nights of my life."

Here's the pics. Enjoy.

Oh, and she wanted to make sure everyone saw the bloody side of the tooth.

Merry Christmas

2009-01-18T16:59:00.006-06:00

The Stare-Down

2009-01-03T09:05:00.004-06:00

Shortly after Christmas the kids and I headed to Sunfish to visit my parents. We got to spend time with Mark, Teresia, Landry and Reid. We were also joined by Aunt Carol. We had a great time just being together.
Just before we headed home, Papa took a few pictures of the kids. Jake was sitting in a tall barstool-type chair that has a back rest and arms. Max stood by the chair and posed by propping his elbow up on the arm of the chair. Jake pushed it off. Max put it back on. Jake pushed it off, again. And then there was a stare-down. Mom and Carol and I just died laughing and Papa caught it on camera!

Lest you think that Jake cannot hold his own with his big brother--those eyes say it all!

HoHoHo!

2008-12-16T07:00:00.000-06:00

Seconds before this picture was taken, Jake was lying on the floor screaming because he didn't want his picture made. I sat him in Max's lap and told Max to hang on and told them both to smile no matter what Jake did. I stepped back, figuring we'd get a picture of Max holding a Jake-sized blur. But Jake sat up and smiled instead. I could not have been more surprised! I don't know what made him change his mind but he did! He's so funny.

Jake and His Jacket

2008-12-15T13:07:00.000-06:00

Jake has learned to put his coat on all by himself. His head may get chilly but his backside will be warm!

Timberdoodle

2008-12-06T07:00:00.003-06:00

One of my favorite homeschool resources is Timberdoodle. It is an amazing company and they have a catalog full of real toys. Toys that actually encourage your child to use their brain--not toys that just blink at them or play obnoxious songs. I look forward to each catalog to see what they've come up with this time, and I subscribe to their newsletter because I always enjoy reading what they have to say.

December's newsletter was no different. The Christmas season has arrived in full force. Every family celebrates differently and this newsletter addressed the differences and encouraged families to recognize the opportunities that the season presents to teach our kids. Here is the letter:

Dear Friends,
When it comes to celebrating Christmas, Christ-followers are all over the map. On one end you have the families so horrified at its pagan roots that they refuse to attend church during December. At the other end are the families that embrace it all, even to the point of displaying Santa bowing at a manger on their front lawn. Regardless of where your family's convictions put you on this spectrum, don't overlook one of the easiest opportunities you will have to talk about deep spiritual truths this season: Christmas songs.

Encourage others to chew on these lines: "Adam's likeness, now efface, / Stamp Thine image in its place: / Second Adam from above, / Reinstate us in Thy love." (Hark, the Herald Angels Sing)

Help them to sense the wonder in "Long lay the world in sin and error pining, / Till He appear'd and the soul felt its worth. / A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices, / For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn." (O Holy Night)

And is there a more significant tiding of comfort and joy than to "Remember Christ our Savior / Was born on Christmas Day; / To save us all from Satan's power / When we were gone astray"? (God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen)

But don't neglect to see the value of discussing those songs you may prefer to ignore. Unless your plan is to keep your children sequestered in your home for the month, they will be bombarded with Santa anthems; talk about them!

Talk about the belief system that proposes as a solution to the taunts of others the superpower of a glow-in-the-dark nose. (Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer)

Discuss a more God-glorifying reason that they better not cry or pout than that "Santa Claus is coming to town."

And laugh over the bewildering message of "Hang your stocking and say your prayers, / 'Cause Santa Claus comes tonight!" (Here Comes Santa Claus)

The birth of our Savior is worthy of a celebration so great that it can only be accomplished in heaven.
Until then: "Now to the Lord sing praises, / All you within this place, / And with true love and brotherhood / Each other now embrace; / This holy tide of Christmas / Doth bring redeeming grace." (God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen)

Tidings of comfort and joy from our family to yours,
Timberdoodle Co
Dan & Deb, Joy, Hope, Grace, Abel, Pearl

www.timberdoodle.com

If you have some kiddos that you need gifts for, I encourage you to check out Timberdoodle! It is a company that is worth supporting and you are certain to find a perfect gift that will thrill your child (and their parents!).

Ornaments

2008-12-05T07:00:00.002-06:00

We have several Christmas traditions. I hope to blog about them at some point. One of our favorites is letting the kids pick out their own ornament each year. The kids love having the freedom to pick whatever they choose. I love it because we have a tangible record of what captivated their interest in previous years. For example, Anna Kate has a Dora and Boots ornament from her Dora Days. Of course she has a princess ornament, as well. She also has a Bride and Groom ornament from the year that our dear friends, Kevin and Becky, got married. Anna Kate was their flower girl in their January wedding. She picked a bride and groom because that is what she was thinking about and anticipating that Christmas.
This year was Jake's first opportunity to really show his style. His first Christmas he was just 3 months old. I chose a picture frame ornament and put his picture in it. Last year we were in Pennsylvania and we made salt dough ornaments with our names painted on them. So this year was his big debut. What did he choose? Why, a big orange fish with a purple hat and big, red lips, of course. And he wasn't wishy-washy about it. He wanted that fish and no other ornament would do. I think it's quite funny.

Anna Kate chose a little ballerina set with toe-shoes, a tutu and a tiara, which perfectly suits her little dancing-self. She spins everywhere she goes.

Max chose his 3rd Darth Vader in a row. We now have a Darth Vader with his hands on his hips, a Darth Vader with one hand up in the air and a teeny-tiny Darth Vader that came in a set. He's a devoted fan.

We (wisely) took their pictures with their ornaments as soon as we got home from the store. Approximately 3 minutes after the pictures were taken Jake dropped his fish and broke the big, red lips right off. So sad.

It's a bit more tricky to get Jake to pose by his ornament.

And a close-up of the now lip-less fish...

Thanksgiving at the GerltHouse

2008-12-04T09:00:00.004-06:00

Thanksgiving this year was extra special. It marked the first holiday in 5 years that the entire Gerlt family has been together. We had Papa and Granna from Lubbock. Chris, Angela, Alayna, Caleb and Baby Ava drove in from Tennessee. But Kevin, Brigitte and Grace got the award for traveling the farthest to be with us. They are in from East Asia! It was so fun to all be together at last.
We had plenty of food, lots of grandkids, football, Wii, swinging outside, dress-up, coffee, and conversation. It was perfect.

Our family motto (brought to us by Kevin) is: "Eat through the pain." We should make shirts.
The great thing about November in the south is that it is warm enough to enjoy your meal outside!
The weekend before Thanksgiving our sweet Mindy came for a visit. Mindy and I love to craft together so we came up with a project to work on while she was here. We came up with these little pumpkins and napkin rings. We love you, Mindy!
Grace made Chad's day by climbing up in the chair and sitting with him for a long time. It was so fun to get to spend time with her and get to know her better. Sweet, sweet girl!
Baby Ava provided the snuggles for the weekend. She is such a sweet, content baby. She just sat with us and sang us songs and smiled. Precious.
Our two year olds did so good together. Jake is crazy about Grace and he loved having her here to play with for several days.

See? Isn't she adorable?
Jake and Papa talked and played cards and ate pistachios. It was a good time.

We gave thanks for many things during Thanksgiving, but I think we were most thankful for time together. We are blessed.

A Real Live Max Update

2008-11-17T18:41:00.007-06:00

This is Chad. I have a real Max update for you.

Earlier this evening I was sitting at the computer paying some bills for work when I heard Erin in the kitchen say "bummer" about something. Almost immediately I heard Jake in his 2 year old voice mimic her and say "bummer" in the exact same inflection. It made me laugh out loud. Max, who was near me, saw me laugh and asked why I laughed. As I told him I signed and voiced at the same time (this is what we do now), and then he tried to say "bummer" himself.

Holy Mackerel!

People, Max said "bummer" very, very well. I mean, he definitely sounds like he was deaf for the first 9 years of his life, but it was an example to me of how far he had come in such a short time. I mean, Max is at the bottom of a very big hill to climb, but in such a short time he has already come so far. He mimicked a word that he heard me say two times very well. I have heard him do this, but for some reason it just hit me that he has developed a skill set of recognizing and vocalizing words with certain sounds.

Not sure how to sum up this post other than to say it again, Holy Mackerel!!! Definitely not a bummer!

Max Update

2008-11-12T23:11:00.002-06:00

He can still hear.

More updates to come from Erin.

A year ago today

2008-10-10T21:59:00.003-05:00

I've been thinking a lot lately about where we were this time last year. Our setting was so different. We had only been in Pennsylvania for a short time and we were drinking in the beautiful Autumn weather and color. A year ago today the kids and I were at Weaver's Orchard. There were pumpkins and apples galore. A quaint little shop held crate after crate of winter squash and any variety of apple you could think of. The kids carefully chose the perfect pumpkin and I filled bags with types of apples that I had never even heard of. We had them fill up a little box of homemade fudge for us to take home to Daddy. While the lady weighed our apples and figured my bill Jake reached for the homemade chocolate chip cookies and took a big bite out of one. So we added a few of those to our basket, as well.
It was such a fun morning. When we got back to our apartment we carefully arranged all of our loot and the big kids painted pictures of it all and I snapped a few photos in the natural light. So fun.

Eventually the kids finished their paintings and moved on to different things. I got to work doing laundry. I went back into the living room to check on Jake and found him in the middle of our "posed" produce...taking tiny bites out of all the apples. Every single apple had a tiny bite out of it. He was so proud!

Sweet, sweet memories.

Let's Go Fly A Kite

2008-10-02T10:10:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I walked outside and found Max flying his kite (up to the highest height). His roll of string was empty and it was, literally, as high as it could go. Max is an interesting little guy. He will diligently work on a project until he conquers it. Kite flying is no different. He worked and worked and ran and ran...up and down the street. There was very little wind, really. Then he figured out that he could hop up on the mailbox and flick his wrist and get just enough wind to get the kite off the ground (without having to run up and down the street). He worked until he perfected his technique and, before we knew it, the kite was flying up to the highest height! I was so impressed and he was flying as high as the kite was.
Unfortunately, a few minutes after I took this picture the kite took a nose dive and landed on our neighbors house and the string got tangled in a tree. So sad.

We're alive. Promise.

2008-10-01T01:52:00.000-05:00

A Giveaway!!

2008-09-24T10:25:00.002-05:00

My friend, Kristal, is having a fun giveaway over on her blog. All of you sweet people with little girls are going to want in on this one. Head on over to The Varela Voyage and enter your bad self.

Something Different

2008-09-23T10:13:00.004-05:00

I know you guys are looking for updates on Max and how he is doing (which will come soon), but Erin and I got a laugh from some extended family that I think would become fast friends if they just lived closer. These people are crazy funny. And all 5 of us Gerlts gathered around the computer to watch this video post over a year after it was posted because I remembered it making me laugh and we have imitated it many times.

Here's the link. Either you will get it or you won't.

Enjoy

Well, this is a first.

2008-09-19T22:41:00.000-05:00

Here's Max watching Little House on the Prairie. Holding his ears. It was TOO LOUD.

Another fun video

2008-09-19T14:57:00.002-05:00

Yesterday we had so much fun introducing Max to new sounds. We had a great time teaching him to respond to his name. He did a GREAT job and is trying so hard. We are so proud of him and his motivation to learn to hear.
Here is a video of one of the "games" we were playing. We had him turn away from us. One of us would say his name and he would turn when he heard our voice. Enjoy!

Video, at long last.

2008-09-19T00:41:00.004-05:00

My sweet husband worked all evening on a nicely edited video. It's great. I wish you could see it...but it is stranded on our laptop and we can't get it up onto our blog.

Since that won't work out I went ahead and just uploaded the unedited version. This video is almost 8 minutes long. Most of you probably will not want to watch the entire video and we completely understand. It will be most interesting, say, if you're one of Max's grandparents. But the best part of the video is in the first few minutes.

We have had a very fun day experimenting with Max's new hearing. He is loving being able to hear some things. He still cannot hear much. We go back in the morning to have it programmed again. The fear is that he would be completely overwhelmed by all the new noises around him so they generally take it very slowly. However, there is just no overwhelming Max Gerlt. I don't think it can be done. He has been asking for more, more, more sound all day and we will ask for that tomorrow.

So far he has enjoyed hearing our voices and hearing his Wii. He went to the restroom at Dr. Kopke's office and thought it was fascinating that the lid made a noise when you put it down and slammed it twice. He was "wow-ed" by the toilet flushing, as well.

When we ask if he can hear us he pauses and listens. When he hears the noise that we are making, his face lights up and he raises his hand like Kela told him to do in the office today. It's so funny.

Funny story. Chad and I just finished watching the Rush Hour movies with Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker. We thought they were great. Well, tonight as we cooked dinner, I decided to be all Chris Tucker and I leaned over to Max and said, "Do YOU understand the WORDS that are coming out of my mouth?" (in my best Chris Tucker voice). Max paused...and then his little hand went up in the air!! Chad and I thought it was hillarious.

All silliness aside though, we are SO thrilled with how things are going at this point. We know that we have a very large hill to climb and it will be tough but we are excited about what awaits us.

More video coming tomorrow. I'm going to bed.

Activation Day!

2008-09-18T14:35:00.005-05:00

Well, it went beautifully! We got to the Cochlear Implant Clinic around 9:00 and they got started right away. Kelah Miller is our audiologist and she is amazing. She is also deaf and functions beautifully with her implant. She has been so helpful throughout this whole process.
Here is what our appointment consisted of today:

1.) She played a series of beeps for Max, each set was in a different pitch. She started the beeps very loud and then worked down to the lowest volume that Max could hear.
Initially, Max didn't respond much. After a few beeps he got a very thoughtful look on his face, like he was trying to figure out what that sensation was. After a little bit he said he felt something. He was instructed to raise his hand if he heard or felt anything. Soon he was raising that hand over and over! It was so exciting!

2.) Using the beeps at the lowest possible volume, she created a program for his processor. His processor holds 4 programs. That first was P1. From there she made
P2, P3 and P4. P2 was louder than P1 and P3 was louder than P2. She made P4 very quiet, though, in case he was feeling overwhelmed. Well, not much overwhelms Max and we are already at P3 (the loudest) at the loudest possible volume--and he is asking for MORE!

3.) When the programming was complete it was time to hear "real" sounds. He put on the processor and she turned it on. The first real sounds he heard were our voices. Of course, they don't really sound like our voices just yet--everything sounds sort of jumbly. But he heard us! Kelah gave him a box of instruments to play with. He hit sticks together, rang jingle bells and shook maracas. Each time he heard the noise just a split second after it began. It takes his brain just a little bit to process what's happening.

All in all we are THRILLED with how today went. We walked outside and he heard cars and trucks. He is dying to hear a fire truck or police siren. Our next door neighbor is a police officer. I think I'll go over this afternoon and ask if he would turn on his siren for Max. That would send Max over the moon!

Of course, I have all of this on video. I will spare you the 20+ minutes of footage and edit it to include only the good parts. And since I'm no computer genius it may be this evening before I get it up. But I know lots of you have been praying for us and wondering what our day has been like! I wanted to give a quick report before I did the videos.

Thank you ALL for your love and your prayers. We are so blessed to have you walking through this with us! We are so grateful.

One more thing. If you are just joining us in the process and want to learn more about Max's cochlear implant you can read about it in several previous posts. Click on the links of your choice to read more about:

Making the decision to get an implant
Our first appointment
Surgery Day, part 1
Surgery Day, part 2
Surgery Day, part 3
Surgery Day, part 4
Max's scar and surgery details

All of these will tell you how we got to this point.

I'll be posting videos as soon as I get them up and running!

The Big Day

2008-09-17T23:04:00.002-05:00

Well, today's the BIG DAY. September 18th has finally arrived. Our appointment at the Cochlear Implant Clinic is at 9:00am. We'll have our beloved Flip with us and will hopefully catch Max's first few moments of "hearing" on video.

Red Hill

2008-09-17T10:28:00.010-05:00

We visited Red Hill yesterday, the home of our dear friends, Larry and Rita. It was wonderful! They moved into the house just two weeks ago. Prior to that they lived in their travel trailer behind the house for 4 months while they remodeled. They took down walls and pulled up floors, scraped the popcorn ceilings and retextured. They moved closets and cabinets and just worked hard. Hard. It is just beautiful and oh, so cozy. A perfect spot for big people to sit and visit and little people to play. We instantly felt at home.

There was coffee, of course, and homemade cookies. There was a play house, big boxes to crawl through and a closet full of toys and cuddly quilts. There were perfect little details everywhere and they all worked together beautifully. Have a look...

Where are our kids?

2008-09-13T09:59:00.004-05:00

Max, Anna Kate and Jake are on vacation. They are having the time of their life at Momma D and Papa's house.

Mom and Dad offered to keep them for a few days while I try to get some things done here at home. What a gift! Thanks, Mom and Dad!

Last night we got pictures in our inbox showing what a fun time they are having. They have fished and fished and fished. Evidently, Max is quite the fisherman! He caught 12-15 fish yesterday and had the biggest catch of the day! What a guy. Sweet Anna Kate caught 2 but just didn't want to stay with it as long as Max. They helped Papa clean all of the fish and had a fish fry for dinner. They got to see the entire process of their food coming from water to table, which is rare these days, and loved every minute of it.

Recipe for Fun

2008-09-10T22:41:00.007-05:00

On Saturday we got together with our friends, the Varela's, and did some cookin'. Kristal and I wanted to get a few meals in the freezer, as well as provide some meals for a family that we know.

Our day started early. I mean early . We had planned for them to be here at 9:00am. I got an email from Kristal at 6:00 and she had already been up half an hour. Her son, Ari, was so excited about our day that he just couldn't stay asleep. Her Noah woke up soon after that. Anna Kate, who will sleep until 10:30 or 11:00 if I let her, woke up at 6:45ish and Jake followed suit. At 7:30 I called Kristal and told her to just come on over.

Here's our recipe for fun:

You'll need some friends...

And a bunch of pots and pans...

Lots of grapes to snack on...
A sweet little girl to fold all your clean dish towels and napkins...
And a couple of large diet cokes to keep the Mommas going...
You'll also need several hours. Mix all of this together and you will end up with a great day and a freezer full of goodness. We came away with 3 chicken spaghetti, 3 chicken and wild rice casseroles, 3 creamy taco dips, 3 bags full of chocolate chip cookie dough balls, and 3 bags of homemade chicken nuggets! And with a friend by your side, it hardly even feels like work! Thanks, Kristal!

First Day of School

2008-09-03T08:29:00.003-05:00

Our first day of school was Monday and it went well! The kids were so excited and so ready to start things up. I was, too, aside from all the nervous feelings. I'm always so nervous before we start. I'm so excited about all that we are learning this year! We'll be posting pictures of our projects soon.
All is going smoothly. Jake is the biggest challenge because he's very hard to keep busy. He wants to be right in the middle of the action--like ON the kitchen table. When my parents were here for Max's surgery we worked hard getting activities together for Jake to do. I have a big tub full of ziploc bags of activities for him to work on. It's WORKING so far! He loves having something new to play with while we do school work. In this picture he is putting his pretend money in a Pringles can that my Dad painted. He cut a slit in the top and Jake has a ball putting in all his spare change.
I realize that we are only a few days in and we will probably be feeling differently in a few weeks. The newness will wear off and it will be hard to make ourselves to what we need to do each day. For now, I'm just enjoying it all...from the newly sharpened pencils to the kids' enthusiasm for each new subject.

A New Look

2008-08-27T10:08:00.002-05:00

I've been blogging almost 3 years and figured its about time for a change. Do you like the new look? If you find it obnoxious or difficult to look at, please leave a comment and I'll change it back. I was just a bit tired of that boring green-ish color.
So, while I have better things to do, I had a good time clicking around and copying and pasting, pretending I actually know something about HTML. Yeah, right.
While I'm at it I'm going to update my links list which has not been updated since 2005 or something.
I hope you like the changes that I will slowly be making. I'll probably change things again because I'm not sure I really like this background. Who knows, but please stick with me!

War Wounds

2008-08-26T09:42:00.007-05:00

So as not to alarm you, I'm letting you know that there are pictures below of Max's incision. I didn't want you to just open this up and be surprised by a semi-icky photo.

Here is what Max is looking like these days...

And a side view...

And a close-up of the side view...

You can see that the incision went up the back of his ear and into his hair. The bulge that you see is swelling surrounding the device that they implanted. It looks like this:

The round, flat part lies just beneath his skin. The long wire parts were slipped through a small hole in his skull. The wire with the spiral was inserted into his cochlea. The straight wire is to ground it, I believe.

This will be allowed to heal for 4 weeks. Max's "activation" is scheduled for September 18th. We are so excited. On the 18th we will go to the audiologist and he will receive his processor. It looks like this:

The processor attaches to the head by a magnet in the implanted device. Here's a diagram of how they fit together:

Because it attaches by magnet, it is very important that the incision be completely healed and the device to be held in place and not able to move.

To the best of my understanding, the processor will take in sounds from Max's world and transfer them by radio waves to part lying just beneath his skin. The sound will then travel down the wire and into his cochlea. There is one electrode with 22 channels that will stimulate the auditory nerve directly. The implant completely by-passes the damaged part of the ears and gets right to work inside the brain. In a sense, Max will not "hear" with his ears. The sound will be inside his head. All of this blows my mind! I cannot believe that someone figured this out.

There is lots more to write about. People have asked what the results of this surgery will be. How "successful" will this be? Will Max learn to talk? Will he understand words, hear music, talk on the phone? I'll do my best to answer these questions soon. To be honest, NO ONE knows the answer. No one. Not the doctor, not us, not even people who have been through this exact process. There is no way to tell. We are so excited to see what awaits Max as he travels down this path.

We're Home!!

2008-08-20T21:56:00.003-05:00

We're home and Max is doing great. He was released about 3:30. Is that unbelievable or what?

He was pretty groggy as we left the hospital but on the way home he asked if he could watch Star Wars. Of course we said yes! That seemed to perk him up.

When we got home we put him to bed and let him watch as much Star Wars as he wanted. He watched all afternoon and never fell asleep. He even joined us at the table for dinner.

The whole day went beautifully. The only thing that went wrong was our entire bottle of Tylenol with Codeine was poured on the carpet by Jake. Yuck.

We are so thankful for all of your prayers. We are so blessed.

Tomorrow we will go check in with Dr. Kopke. He will re-bandage Max's head. From there it will just be lots of rest and relaxation. We'll take it pretty easy for the next week.

I'm sure most of you know this, but Max will not be able to "hear" just yet. The doctor likes to let the incision heal for at leat 4 weeks before putting on the processor. Even though he "heard" his first sound today, it was only a test run. We'll let you know when his activation is scheduled. That's when it will get exciting.

Again, thank you all for the calls, emails, comments and prayers.

Surgery Day, Part 3

2008-08-20T13:38:00.000-05:00

Max is out of surgery and doing well!!! Dr. Kopke said the surgery was longer than expected because when he was taking the implant out of the package it broke, so he had to get a new one. Only the second time that has happened in four years (Glad we're not paying for that.) But the surgery was very successful. They used to do x-rays after the surgery to see how it looks, but now they go one step farther and actually test the implant. Everything works properly, and Max's nerve even responded to sound, which is EXCELLENT news. He was sleeping, but he already heard his first sound.

Erin is at the pharmacy and getting some lunch while I stay with Max. He is groggy from the medicine, and he is in quite a bit of pain. Nausia will be a problem for a few days and he has already complained of that. But the pain in his head is only on the side of the implant and not around his whole head, so that is good news as well. Bottom line, we have had nothing but good news today (though Max may not agree.)

Max looks silly with that HUGE bandage packed around his head, but if you're going to make fun of him you better do it pretty quick, because he'll be able to hear you in another month or so.

Just thought I'd keep you in the loop. Erin will probably post more later.

Chad

Surgery Day, Part 2

2008-08-20T11:37:00.001-05:00

Well, here we are. We are just waiting and waiting...

Me, Chad, R2-D2 and the Storm Trooper...just waiting.

Here's our gear in my cute basket that Holly gave me. Thanks, Holly!

Here's what Chad should be doing...

Here's what Chad is actually doing...

Here are the snacks I packed for us to eat...

Here is the snack we actually ate...

We got a call from the OR and everything is going well. The surgery is taking longer than they expected. Evidently the first implant had a defect so they had to get a new one which was no problem. As soon as device is implanted the audiologist will perform a test to make sure all of the electrodes are working. Then they'll sew him up and send him to recovery. We can't wait to see him!

We'll keep you posted. Thanks for checking in!

Surgery Day Part 1

2008-08-20T08:05:00.000-05:00

We just watch Max march off to surgery in his little yellow socks, blue hat and backless gown! He is so excited--not a bit scared. When we got here we explained that he would need an IV to help him sleep. He was really worried about that, but when we visited with the anesthesiologist he explained that he could give him a mask to put over his face with medicine that smells like candy. He told Max that all he needed to do was breathe in and smell the candy and he would drift off to sleep. No needles needed!! Max was thrilled to pieces and shook the doctor's hand to seal the deal.

To keep his mind off things we got him a few Star Wars figures and the Star Wars trilogy for him to watch while he recovers. He played and played while he waited to go back. He also clung tightly to his beautiful prayer shawl that Momma D knitted. Momma D worked so hard knitting it and then they passed it around at church while praying for Max. It's so special and Max loves it! He slept with it wrapped around him last night and wanted to make sure that it came to the hospital with him. And when it was time to go back for surgery he wanted to take it with him. Thanks, Momma D, for the tangible comfort and love.

We are all cozied up in a corner of the waiting room. They will update us throughout the surgery. Feel free to give us a call or send an email! And thanks again for all the prayers. We love you all!

Wednesday is Surgery Day

2008-08-19T22:20:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow (or today, depending on when you are reading this) is Max's big day. It's time for his cochlear implant surgery. It was originally scheduled for October 1st but has been moved up. We are so excited!
We will check in to Baptist Medical Center at 6:00am and the surgery will begin at 7:30. Our doctor says that it will last about 4 hours. If all goes well and he is able to eat and keep fluids down we will be able to come home later in the day.
Please be in prayer for our guy tomorrow. It's such a big day for him and he is just beside himself with excitement!
We are really hoping that the hospital has wireless. If so we will be able to post updates throughout the day. If not we will post when we get home.
Thanks for all of your prayers!

I've been tagged

2008-08-04T22:30:00.001-05:00

My Mom tagged me via email. I always enjoy these sorts of things...

Two Things:

Two names you go by:
1. Momma
2. Erin

Two things you are wearing right now:
1. gray shorts
2. ratty t-shirt (shocked?)

Two of your favorite things to do:
1. sew
2. spend the evening with Chad

Two things you want very badly at the moment:
1. To be done with school planning
2. To meet a friend in the area

Two favorite pets you have had/have:
1. Princess (my cat who lived 18 years...until that fateful day)
2. Oliver, no wait, Simon, no wait Millie. Okay, it's a tie.

Two things you did yesterday
l. Had Chad's Chick-fil-A employees over for a party
2. Collapsed after it was all over

Two things you ate today:
1. sugar snap peas
2. peanut butter cookies

Two people you last talked to:
1. My Momma
2. Kristen (long-time friend)

Two things you plan on doing tomorrow:
1. School planning
2. School planning

Two longest trips taken in the last five years:
1. Spent almost 4 weeks in Ukraine
2. Does a 6 month stay in Pennsylvania count?

Two favorite holidays:
1. Thanksgiving
2. Christmas, I suppose.

Two favorite beverages:
1. Water
2. Diet Dr. Pepper

So, there you go. A quick little post. Now I get to tag someone...hmmm...Kelli, Kristen and Sarah!
Love you girls!

Where are we???

2008-07-24T00:16:00.000-05:00

Here are a few hints...

Can you guess where we are? The park? Africa? At home? No, no, no!

Keep guessing! I'll post again soon!

Riley Day 2008

2008-07-04T09:28:00.000-05:00

July 1st marked 6 years since we lost Riley May. Each year we celebrate her little life by releasing balloons. This year we headed to the park with our balloons and found a quiet spot to release them. We had a special time together thinking about her and enjoying the children that God gave us to hold here on earth.

Big Ol' Six Year Old!

2008-06-30T23:30:00.001-05:00

Yesterday was Anna Kate's 6th birthday. It's hard to believe that we've had 6 years with her already. Six amazing years. Here are 6 of my favorite things about Anna Kate:

1.) That laugh of hers. It is the best sound on earth. From the first time we heard it in the church office in Crane, we were hooked and have been doing silly things ever since just to hear it one more time.

2.) Her ever-optimistic little personality. For example, she saved up her money for months and finally decided she was ready to spend it. She had $6 and we headed for the toy store. She finally decided on this very affordable (read: cheap-o) doll that came with a brush, an extra outfit and some hair clips. We got home and she unwrapped it. She read the sticker on the box and says, "Made in China...wow, Momma. They make GREAT stuff over there!" Then she began to brush her baby's hair and the brush part pulled off of the handle and stayed in the baby's hair. "Look, Momma!! It comes apart! I love this brush."

3.) Her songs. She makes up songs all day everyday. Our personal favorite is her tornado song, which goes like this: "We were all playing outside one day and it was bright and sunny. Then along came a tornado! Oh, no. And we all died...but that's okay because now we're all in Heaven praising our King." Of course, it's set to a catchy tune. It's one of her greatest hits. Her dancing would also fit in this category. She literally spins everywhere she goes.

4.) Her inquisitiveness. Questions, lots and lots of questions. And not questions that I would have ever thought of. She asks things like, "Momma, what does it feel like to be a momma?" "Momma, where did all of these words that we speak come from? Who thought of them all?" "Momma, why doesn't that word have a silent 'e' at the end. It needs a silent 'e'." Everyday she asks something that stumps us.

5.) Her willingness to help our family everyday. Whether it's me needing help getting the house picked up or dinner ready, or Max needs help while they're playing with their friends, or Jake needs someone to play puzzles with or read with, she cheerfully (well, most of the time) helps as much as she can.

6.) Her affection. She is so affectionate. It shows in the way she snuggles up with us or the way she looks at the people she loves with absolute admiration. It shows in the way she cares for her babies or her big brother or her little brother. She voices affection for her sister that she doesn't remember and talks about her/grieves her openly. It's beautiful to see.

Yes, we're crazy about her. Those are just a few of the reasons why.

We had a little party for her yesterday. We invited the neighborhood kids over for cake and ice cream and some bicycle fun. (The party idea came straight out of Family Fun magazine so don't think I just dreamed all this up). Anna Kate and I made a fun bicycle cake together. At the party, each kid made a name plate for their handle bars and put "motors" on their wheels like we used to when we were kids. Chad made a huge obstacle course in our cul de sac and they had a ball doing the challenges and having races. We had bubble wands for party favors and we ended the evening with seven kids twirling and whirling to make the most bubbles they possibly could. It was simple and cheery and a fun way to ring in Big Six!

Max Man Update

2008-06-30T10:39:00.000-05:00

So, I blogged about Max and his ears weeks ago and never updated. What a bum of a Momma. Thank you all for your emails and prayers. We are so blessed to have such amazing friends.

Our visit with Dr. Kopke went well. Here's a rundown of what we learned:

1. Max is definitely a candidate for cochlear implants. Everything is formed properly and Max is scheduled for surgery on October 1st. He is very sad that he has to wait such a long time but it is a great opportunity to teach about patience and the Lord's perfect timing.

2. The doctor says that Max has an enlarged vestibular aqueduct which is common in kids with this type of deafness. He says that this means Max possibly had hearing until around the age of two. If this is true it will certainly benefit Max as he "learns to hear" with his implant.

3. Max will need to see a retina specialist to rule out Usher's Syndrome. This syndrome affects hearing and eyesight.

4. He will also need to see a throat specialist. Max's glands are enlarged in his throat and Dr. Kopke is not sure why. He is sending us to one of his collegues to see if we can figure that one out. One possibility here is Pendred's Syndrome, which affects hearing and thyroid. (Understand that I have only done a small amount of research on Pendred's and Usher's and know very little about them.)

5. So far there is no explanation for the tongue weakness. This is most often caused by stroke or tumor and neither of those showed up on the MRI (and we are so grateful).

6. And finally, he talked about Max's balance problems. He showed us a diagram of a healthy ear and it looked something like this:

You can see all the parts of the inner and outer ear. You can see the snail shaped cochlea. Look just above the cochlea and you will see several blue loops (well, they are blue on the diagram anyway). These are your balance center. Next, Dr. Kopke showed us Max's MRI and pointed to where those loops should be on Max. Turns out he doesn't have any. They are missing. You can see the start and end of them, but the actual loops are missing. The doctor has never seen this and has no explanation for us. He is going to be doing some research and hopes to be able to explain it at our next visit. But it helped explain why Max is a bit awkward. The doctor said, "Fortunately, God created our bodies with more than one way of controlling balance." We are grateful that Max is able to do all of the stuff nine-year-olds like to do.

So, that's the rundown. Again, thanks for all of your prayers. The next few months hold lots more doctor visits and lots of adjustments for Max and our family. Please keep praying!

The Scoop

2008-06-09T00:02:00.000-05:00

Most of you who read this blog know Max's story. You walked with our family through our adoption journey and encouraged us as we welcomed him into our family. In August we will have had him four years. It is hard to believe that he has been with us that long! Four years ago he got a Dad, a Mom, a little sister, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends. Four years ago he also got language. We have seen him go from an extremely frustrated 5 year old boy living in a quiet world with no way to communicate to a lively, communicative 9 year old, whose hands are always busy "speaking" American Sign Language.

When we adopted Max we were bombarded by...well, by everything. During the adoption process we did the best we could to prepare for what was ahead of us. We knew that we needed to make decisions about his education and language. Where would he go to school? Would our family use ASL or Signed Exact English? And what about cochlear Implants? If you have never heard of a cochlear implant, click here to read a little bit about them. For us, having never been around a deaf person, cochlear implants seemed like a no-brainer. I mean, why wouldn't we take him to the doctor and have a device implanted into his brain that could make him hear. Then he would be like us.

Then the research started. We were swept into a sea of varying opinions. Implants are very, very controversial. The doctors, of course, recommended that we have the surgery as soon as possible. But the people who we met through Max's school, other Deaf people, strongly advised against it. They talked about the impact this would have on Max as a person. They told us that he would be stuck in between worlds. He would no longer be a part of the Deaf Community. Cochlear implants are rejected strongly by the Deaf Community. He would not be accepted by them...but neither would he be a hearing person. He would lie somewhere in between the two worlds.

We considered both sides. We built a pro/con list. We prayed and deliberated and talked it to death. We finally decided against it. Our main reason for deciding against implants was the therapy involved. Max would have had to spend hours in therapy each week. The doctors told us that we would have to completely QUIT signing with Max to "teach" him to rely fully on his "ears". At that point we had only had Max about 6 months, which means Max had only had language for 6 months. We felt like he would have really resented us if we had taken his language away and put him back in his quiet world. So we laid the issue to rest.

Fast forward 3 years. Max has decided that he wants to revisit the issue. He wants implants. He decided while Chad was in Atlanta and the kids and I were staying at Sunfish (my parents' house). He told us that he wants to hear. He wants to hear the fish flop in the water and he wants to hear the four-wheeler when he rides. So...we are starting all over again. We have been researching and reading and talking to people about it all. Wow. We don't really know how to feel about it all. At this point we are trying to be as honest as we can with Max and with ourselves. This will not be a quick fix. It will not "cure" his deafness, and we don't want his deafness cured. It is part of what makes Max who he is. We don't want him to think that he will instantly hear just like we do. We want him to understand that this is a LONG process and it could end with him hearing as much as he does now. But we also want him to know that we care about him and what he desires. We want him to know that we support him and will help him in anyway we can.

So, here's the scoop. We had our first doctor visit about a month ago. We went to the Hough Ear Institute here in Oklahoma City. Max had several hours of hearing testing and then got to look at an actual implant and pick out what colors he wanted on his processor. He was very disappointed that he didn't get to take them home that day. Next, we went to see our Otolaryngologist, Dr. Kopke. He was wonderful. He was very, very thorough and examined Max well. He was interested in Max's history and possible causes for his deafness. We visited about Max's deafness quite a bit, but we also visited about some other things. Max has terrible eyesight. He also has balance problems, which we always assumed were a result of the deafness. Dr. Kopke also pointed out that Max has tongue weakness. When he sticks out his tongue it goes to the right. All of these things (deafness, bad eyesight, balance problems and tongue weakness) can sometimes indicate some type of neurological disorder. The doctor ordered a CAT-Scan and MRI, which we had done last week. These tests will tell us several things. One, they will tell the doctor if everything in Max's inner ear is formed correctly. Everything must be formed correctly for the implant to fit in his ear. Two, it will tell the doctor if there is anything more significant going on neurologically. We are very eager to know what the doctor finds in both of those areas.

Our appointment is in the morning at 8:30. By the time most of you read this post we will probably be done. Will you please pray for our family as we go through this process. It could be that we go see Dr. Kopke in the morning and he tells us that it is physically impossible for Max to get the implants. In that case, Max would be terribly disappointed. It could be that we go tomorrow and schedule the surgery. If Max does end up getting the implants there will be lots of adjustments for all of us. It will be a long, hard journey. Of course, we will write about the journey here and keep you posted on what is going on. If you have questions about any of this or have any wisdom to share, please comment or send me an email.

(And I must say this: There's always a chance that some sort of Google search led you to this post and you don't know Max or our family. If you have something rude or discouraging to say about our decision to pursue cochlear implants, please keep it to yourself. We are done with trying to be politically correct or culturally accepted. We are, above all, Max's parents. You may not agree with our decision, but please respect us and our right to decide.)

Confessions of an Uptight Momma

2008-06-05T07:43:00.000-05:00

Okay, here it is. I hate kid paint. Hate it. I am wound far too tight to enjoy letting my kids paint. It's ridiculous, I know, but I'm controlling and weird like that. BUT--I acknowledge it and I'm working on it. I mean, really, what kind of Mom won't let her kids paint (or play playdoh or use glitter or, or, or...) just because of the mess that results?

Well, I've been working at "getting over it". I must get over it. Do I really want our kids to grow up and remember how Momma never let them paint? So yesterday morning when Anna Kate told me she wanted to paint here's what I did:
1.)I told her yes! She was so excited. I told her that we would paint later in the day. This gave me time to mentally prepare myself.
2.)I preached to myself and prepared myself that there would, indeed, be a mess. A big mess. I told myself that it would be okay. Messes clean up.
3.) I prepared for the mess. I put a plastic table cloth down. I put paint smocks on the kids and got out lots of wash clothes for them to wipe their little paint-y hands on.
4.) I sat down and painted with them. I figured that, if I was involved in a project of my own, I would be less likely to notice the mess going on around me.
5.) I timed myself on the clean-up. This is my favorite trick. If there is a task that I dislike or put off (like emptying the dishwasher, watering the houseplants, etc.) I get out my timer and see how long it actually takes me from start to finish. Do you know how long it took me to completely clean up the paint mess? Three and a half minutes. Really. I stuck the paint plate and utensils in the dishwasher. Took of the smocks, wiped down the kids, wadded the tablecloth, smocks and wash rags up and put it all in the washer. Then I wiped down the chairs and cabinets that Jake had run his fingers down. And it was done. Over. Completely cleaned up in 3 1/2 minutes. I spent way more than 3 1/2 minutes dreading the painting.

And we had a blast. We painted picture after picture after picture. Here are a few shots from our day:

Summertime Toes

2008-06-02T09:10:00.000-05:00

It's Summertime. It's the time of year when we run barefoot everywhere. Shoes? No way.
All summer we subject our feet to abuse--hot sidewalks, sticker patches, tree trunks and, worst of all, we stump them on the sidewalk. Ouch.
This happened to Anna Kate a few weeks ago. I heard her crying in the back yard. I found her sitting on the back porch cradling her toe in one hand and holding a little piece of skin in the other. It was so sad. When I told my Dad about it on the phone, he sent Anna Kate this sweet email.

Dear Anna Kate,

When your Mommy told me about you stumping your toe it made me sad. The reason it made me sad is because when I was a little boy I stumped my toe and I remember how it hurt and how sore it was for about a week. So, I am sorry about your toe------ I wrote you a poem about your toe:

AK's Toe ---by Papa Joe

A little girl I know

stumped her big toe

and you might know

it hurt her so

and now you know

about her toe

That's all--Papa Joe

I love you little princess, hope you get to felling better---tell Max and Jake and Mommy and Daddy Hi ----Papa

Strawberry Fields Forever

2008-05-28T15:05:00.000-05:00

The man who lived in our house before us owned a landscaping business and left our yard and flower beds in beautiful shape. It has been a treat this Spring to see everything bloom out. Among our favorites is Strawberries!! We were playing in the backyard one day and were thrilled to find tiny green strawberries growing out of white blooms. The kids have been waiting so patiently and checking on them everyday. All of their waiting and care paid off on Saturday. We finally decided that they were ripe enough to pick and eat. We had fresh strawberries for breakfast and they were delicious. Our crop was teeny-tiny, but it was fun nonetheless. I felt like some sort of Gardener Extraordinaire, even though all I did was turn on the sprinkler.

There are some other great things going on in our flower beds. MY favorite (yes, even more so than the strawberries) is the Hydrangea. It has the most beautiful pink blooms coming out. Hooray! Oh, and the kids planted beans in school. Hasn't every good kid sprouted a bean in a ziploc? Well, we're seeing how long ours last. If all goes well we should have some green beans in about 40 more days. We'll see about that. I'm not holding my breath. But--if we do--I'll really feel like a Gardener Extraordinaire! Here are a few pictures:

Family Affair

2008-05-20T11:35:00.000-05:00

The day to day tasks at Chick-fil-A have kept Chad so busy that he has not had time to do "extra" things--like organize his inherited mess of an office so that he can walk to his desk instead of climbing over boxes. You know, little things like that that would make his life a little easier.
So we loaded up on Sunday and took our family to the store for a little work day. We had a bag of cars and balls for Jake, the kids road bags with all their special gear that they only get to play with on special occasions (read: anytime we need them to sit and play quietly) and movies for the laptop. We got them all set up and we got to work. They played great together for a while and then it was time for Jake's nap. The only place quiet enough for a nap was the bathroom hallway--so that is where he slept. So shoot us. He took a nap (a long, peaceful nap) in the bathroom area.
After his nap they played again and we continued to work. We decided that we should call it quits and head home when Chad found Jake (20 months) at the TOP of an 8ft. ladder, reaching for the plush cow on the top of the coffee maker. No kidding.
All in all it was a super productive day. We were so proud of the kids. They did great and were very patient throughout the day. Chad will spend less time searching for things and more time working on what counts. Mission accomplished.

I Heart NKOTB

2008-05-16T09:02:00.000-05:00

Yes, I was a New Kids on the Block fan. And so were you if you were a kid in the late 80's. We all were. We had weird hats with their logo and posters in our rooms. Some people had bedspreads and pillow cases with their pictures all over it (and still do, right Cliff?). Everyone had picked a favorite. My favorite was Jordan. I had an over-sized button that I wore on my jacket to show my devotion. We knew the songs by heart and knew the dances that went with every song. Embarrassing, I know.

Then it was over. They broke up. We were disappointed but got over it quickly and we have spent the last 15 to 20 years making fun of ourselves for acting that crazy about anything. I mean, really, it was ridiculous.

Well, they've reunited. They had their first performance in 15 years this morning on the Today Show. Did I tune in? You bet. I've been waiting all week for this. They danced and sang. I watched and laughed. I still knew all the words. The audience was full of women on the brink of turning 30 who probably drove their mini-vans to Rockefeller Plaza. They screamed their hearts out and held up signs that said things like, "30 Year Old Moms in California Still Love You!!" Dead serious.

After "Please Don't Go Girl" it went downhill. They brought out scantily clad girls that danced and they sang new songs (which means they are taking this reunion thing seriously). Ug. They should have stopped after the old stuff. I don't recall then singing that badly in the 80's but I'm sure they did. No matter how bad it was or how rusty their dances, it was still fun to watch. I'll be singing "Step by Step" all week, I'm sure.

Here's to the olden days--and here's to being DONE with them.

(For more thoughts on going back a decade see Michael's post.)

Happy Birthday!!

2008-05-13T15:07:00.001-05:00

Rad Bad Chad turns 30 today! Happy Birthday!!

By the way, this is his official Chick-fil-A Photo. You know as you walk into a Chick-fil-A you always see a picture of the Operator. Well, this is the picture you see if you walk into Chad's store. It's pretty cool.

Speaking of Chick-fil-A, all of you should know that they are rolling out some new products on Monday the 19th. There will be new chicken strips, new chicken salad sandwiches and new salads. We tried the new strips today at lunch and they are AMAZING. They've definitely got the Erin Gerlt Seal of Approval. Go try them out Monday.

A Return To Blogging (hopefully)

2008-05-12T17:43:00.000-05:00

We are now settled into our new home and we are thrilled to be (hopefully) finished with this period of upheaval for at least a little while. Our blog has been unusually quiet during this time. It has not been quiet because of lack of blog-worthy material. No, there is always something "bloggable" going on here. Honestly, blogging has just been very, very low on my list. My list from the past two months has looked something like this:
1. Send Chad to Atlanta for interview
2. Go to Atlanta with Chad for second interview
3. Pack up house
4. Drive to Texas
5. Send Chad to Atlanta for 5 weeks
6. Enjoy time with family at Sunfish
7. Load moving truck and move to Yukon
8. Unload truck
9. Survive
10. Make sure everyone has food to eat and clean clothes to wear
11. Get through Chad's first few weeks at new Chick-fil-A (80+ hour work week)

Anyway, you get the picture. It has just been a bit busy around here and we're finally keeping our head above water. Now that everything is in its spot and we are seeing a routine emerge (which thrills me to no end) I am hoping to pick up where I left off here on our blog. I have TONS to blog about (a trip to New York City, Hershey's Chocolate factory, our drive home, Chick-fil-A home office, Lubbock, our new house, just to name a few).
So, if anyone still reads our blog, keep checking. I'll be posting more often.

We've been Abducted (more to follow)

2008-04-21T18:05:00.000-05:00

I've just escaped for only a moment. I am sending out proof of our abduction. They're nothing but aliens here in Oklahoma City. We'll tell you more when we escape, if we escape.

Max's First Shave

2008-03-26T17:43:00.000-05:00

What posessed Max? I do not know.
But notice that half of each eye brow is gone.
And my pink Gillette is full of mystery hair.

Winner Winner, Chicken Dinner

2008-03-14T22:44:00.000-05:00

Momma B and Kristen win a chicken dinner.............in Oklahoma City. That's right, we are moving to Oklahoma City! The Sonic's owner is from OKC and wants to move them there since Seattle doesn't want to renovate Key Arena, or build a new arena. So I assume they will follow us very soon. (Anna Kate and Max are franchise players, you don't trade MJ and Kobe).

I leave on St. Patrick's Day for five weeks of training in Atlanta, and then will take over the Chick-fil-A at the Crossroads Mall in late April or early May. Erin and the kiddos will be in Comanche with Momma D and Papa (Erin's parents). She'll be updating you in the coming weeks.

Thanks for playing.

2008-03-09T18:56:00.000-05:00

What do the Gerlt Family

and the Seattle SuperSonics

have in common?

The first one to guess correctly

will win an all expense paid trip for

two to a luxurious all-inclusive resort in the Bahamas.

(Umm. That was a joke, except for the

part about us having something

in common with the Sonics.)

Max the Creative

2008-02-18T20:29:00.000-06:00

I hope that Max never loses the ability that he has to imagine and create. It's amazing. He builds for hours with his Lego's, creating elaborate scenes and then tells us all about them. He has a box that holds an old pair of overalls, my purple graduation gown, a policeman uniform, a few hats, Chad's old soccer jersey, a sweat band, and a sleeve from an old sweat-shirt. Using the "tools" from this box he can become anything he wants to be--a pirate, a cowboy, a sorcerer, a prince, just to name a few. He makes swords out of his Hotwheels tracks, guns out of his K'nex, and canons from his Lego's. There is no end to his creativity.
Last Thursday when Anna Kate left for dance class, Max immediately set to work on a new project. He set up a library/thrift store in our reading corner. He carefully stacked the reading pillows out of the way and began gathering toys and books. He created toy displays and laid out the books so you could see all the titles that he had to offer. Then Max invited me to come for a visit. This is when he explained to me that he was the owner of the library and that it was also a store where you could buy old toys and old books for a little bit of money. Thrift store was my best guess. We love thrift stores!
When Anna Kate got home he showed her his library and she selected the books that she was interested it and took them to the circulation desk/coffee table. Max carefully located each bar code and scanned them with his scanner/can of Play-Doh and Anna Kate went on her way.
Here are a few pictures of Max's Library Thrift Store (And, of course, Max is dressed in proper Library Thrift Store owner attire!)

And here is a picture of his solution to a too-much-trash-not-enough-hands situation. I mean, really, why make two trips?

Yes, Alayna, there is a Truett Cathy.

2008-02-09T19:43:00.000-06:00

My sister Angela called me to ask how the interviews went (They went well, by the way). Her daughter wanted to talk to me and ask me a quick question. She said, "Uncle Chad, is Mr. S. Truett Cathy still alive?"

Here's the answer.

This was taken yesterday afternoon in his office, which he affectionately calls his treehouse. He gave me a book and signed it for me, and we took this picture together. He'll be 87 next month.

Off He Goes!

2008-02-07T14:34:00.000-06:00

Chad left just a few minutes ago for Atlanta. I wanted to take pictures and document the whole thing. He thought that was dorky--so, alas, a pictureless post.
For those of you who do not know, Chad has been invited to Chick-fil-A Home Office for an interview. Actually, it's a series of interviews. He starts in the morning at 8:30 and will be there until 4:00. This is a huge step towards his goal of operating his own Chick-fil-A. We are so excited! If you think about Chad tomorrow, please say a prayer for him.
Speaking of Chick-fil-A, if you have never read about the founder, Truett Cathy, you really should. He is an amazing man. He loves the Lord and serves Him faithfully. You can go here to learn a little about Truett.

Mischievous Jake

2008-01-30T22:35:00.001-06:00

Notes from the white board

2008-01-28T16:16:00.000-06:00

We recently purchased two little white boards to use for school. Anna Kate has found that they are handy for writing "notes" to me. She writes down her little desires or thoughts and places the white board on my pillow for me to find. Creative, huh? Here are a few of the best:

"Remember to get the princess Wii please." (She found out that they have a Disney Princess Wii game and she really wants it!)

"I'm sorry for that Mom and Dad and I mean that." (She accidentally wrote on our sheets with her pen during rest time and felt the need to apologize.)

During school last week one of Max's new reading words was climb. He had the hardest time remebering how to spell it. We practiced and practiced and worked and worked and he finally got it! Later that day he drew me this picture and wrote climb to show that he really knew it. Way to go, Max!

Our new favorite book

2008-01-15T22:13:00.000-06:00

Anna Kate and I are deeply involved in a new book. It is called The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, written by Kate DiCamillo. Ms. DiCamillo is the author of Because of Winn-Dixie and several other novels that we are eager to read. We discovered her by chance when we checked out one of her early chapter books at the library for Anna Kate to read for school. It is the first of a four book series about a pig named Mercy Watson. Terrific! We are huge Kate DiCamillo fans now. The stories are precious and Anna Kate's vocabulary increases with every chapter. Check them out!

What do Pennsylvanians like to do for fun?

2008-01-03T22:23:00.001-06:00

What do people here in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania like to do for a good time?

I'll give you a hint. It involves butter.

Click here to find out.

Mmmm...mmm...mmm!

2007-12-24T22:34:00.000-06:00

We found out last night that Jake likes Cheesy Meat. I mean really likes Cheesy Meat. Cheesy Meat (a.k.a. Alta's Creamy Tacos) is one of our family's favorite meals. It's a cheesy dip that you eat with chips. As you can tell from the pictures, Jake loves it just as much as the rest of us. He fits right in. However, he found the chip dipping part a bit frustrating...so he just ate it by face diving. Here's the recipe. Hope you enjoy it as much as Jake did. Oh, and it's really healthy (she said sarcastically).

Cheesy Meat

1 pound velveeta
1 can chili
1 can ranch-style beans
2 pounds ground beef
1 can Rotel
1 cup whipping cream (small carton)
tortilla chips

Brown ground beef. Drain.
Add chili, velveeta, Rotel and beans. Stir well.
Add cream and stir. Serve with toritlla chips.

Christmas Eve Gift

2007-12-24T22:20:00.000-06:00

It's a tradition in our house, passed down from my Grandmother, to try to be the first one to say "Christmas Eve Gift!" on Christmas Eve.
Even though it's late we'll say it anyway! Christmas Eve Gift!!

Merry Christmas from the Gerlt House!

Christmas Cheer From the Great State of Texas

2007-12-21T20:58:00.000-06:00

This marks our first Christmas to be completely on our own as a family, with out a visit to family or friends. We are actually looking forward to the simplicity of it all but, if I think about it too long, I get to feeling pretty homesick.
This morning a package arrived from Scott and Dede, my brother and sister-in-law, that cheered us up! A Texas-shaped basket full of Texas goodies from Susie's South 40 Confections in Midland, Texas. Yummmm! You better believe it made our day and made them feel not so far away. Thank you!

And a few days ago, we got a box from Adam and Mandy Barker, our dear friends since college. Mandy is so creative and this ornament shows it! Isn't it cute? What love, friends. Thanks-

What a difference a year makes--

2007-12-21T20:42:00.000-06:00

I was thinking earlier today about this time last year. Jake was tiny-tiny and would lay on a blanket quietly and look at the lights on our tree. Not so this year! He is up and at 'em all the time, constantly on go.
Here's a little glimpse into the past:

And here he is in his Santa hat this year, ready for action:

Handmade Christmas

2007-12-20T08:50:00.000-06:00

The kids have worked hard decorating our home for Christmas. We have had so much fun! Here are are few pictures of their handi-work...

Here's our little tree-

We made paper lanterns and dough ornaments-

Stockings made from thrifted corduroy and wool coats-

Our Nativity made from a clementine box and a popsicle stick manger. Yes, there are four Baby Jesus babies in there. And that's Mary in the green. Our neighbors, Kayla and Chloe came over and helped. They plan is to make each baby Jesus a manger of his own-

And finally, Max's interpretation of Santa. Medium: Poster paint on typing paper-

It's the most wonderful tiiiiiiiiime of the yeeeeeeeeeeeeear!

For Papa, so you don't starve while Momma D is away

2007-12-01T19:44:00.000-06:00

Momma D is on a fun trip this weekend with Teresia and Landry. They are doing some Christmas shopping in Dallas. How I wish I could be there, too! Have fun, you three!

Now, when Momma D goes away, Papa is left to find his own food. Momma D always leaves stuff in the fridge, but often he just snacks on little things around the house and supplements with burritos from Juan's (yum!). While Momma D was here visiting us, he survived on Tootsie Rolls and animal crackers. When she met the Momma Yaya's for a weekend, he shared his recipe for hot dogs that he developed. It's tasty, for sure!

Anna Kate wanted to share her recipe for tiny pizzas so that Papa would have something new to add to his repoitoire. Papa, this tutorial is for you with love from Anna Kate.

First, assemble your fine ingredients:

Biscuits, cheese, pizza sauce and pepperonis

Next, lay the biscuit dough out on a cookie sheet and flatten with the bottom of a glass:

Next, top the biscuit dough with pizza sauce, cheese and pepperonis:

Then, stick them into a preheated 400 degree oven and let them cook for 10-12 minutes:

Finally, Enjoy!

We love you, Papa! Don't dry up and blow away!

A little fun

2007-11-26T08:05:00.001-06:00

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

Mmmmmmmm!!!

2007-11-22T22:44:00.000-06:00

Well surprise, surprise!!

2007-11-19T07:21:00.000-06:00

Look what we woke up to find this morning! We are so excited! Snow? In November? Wow, we must live in Pennsylvania or something.

Nolde Forest

2007-11-16T19:04:00.000-06:00

What's my favorite thing about Friday and Saturday? Chad is home with us in the morning. He closes every Friday and Saturday so he gets to stay home a little bit in the mornings, which is a nice change of pace. This morning we had pancakes for breakfast and headed out to Nolde Forest. It was a bit chilly so we didn't stay too long, but we had such a good time. We will definitely go back soon. And this time we'll take our hats and gloves and big winter coats!

Here are a few more pictures of our morning--

The Robot, Dorothy and a Fighter Pilot

2007-11-07T14:56:00.000-06:00

Here are a few pictures from Halloween. We had such a good time. Man, the Pennsylvanians take Halloween seriously. Jake rode politely in his stroller while the big kids collected goodies. Anna Kate almost froze because she would not put on her long sleeved shirt or jacket because Dorothy doesn't wear a long sleeved shirt or jacket. Max bit the dust a few times because of his robot gear. His "front panels" were beat to death by the time we got home. The two girls in the last picture are our neighbors, Kayla and Chloe. We joined their family for the evening.

Big News!

2007-11-06T16:14:00.000-06:00

Anna Kate lost her first tooth!

Tagged.

2007-11-06T15:33:00.000-06:00

I've never been tagged before. I've read lots blogs written by people who have been tagged. My friend, Felicia, over at The Zoo I Call Home has tagged me and I am supposed to write about what we do on rainy days. I will say that I am glad it's not one of those tags where I'm supposed to come up with 8 random things about myself. That would be tough.
Anyway, rainy days. Hmmm. Being truthful, rainy days look a lot like our other days except that we're in our Jammies. On a typical day we get up, eat breakfast and get dressed. On rainy days we just skip that last step. Why get dressed if you're just going to be inside all day? When it comes time for free time when the kids would normally go outside and play, I wish I could say that I get out a fun craft that I've had planned for just such an occasion. But, alas, I typically let them watch a movie. Or two. I think that's okay. They think I'm the best mom in the world.
The other thing that changes in our house on rainy days is our menu. We eat food that suits a rainy day like Cheesy Meat or Stuffed Potatoes or Corn Chowder. Yum. Come on, rain!
This little system has worked well for us since rainy days are few and far between in Texas. As the cooler temperatures arrive here in Pennsylvania, I am realizing that I'm going to have to exercise my creativity to keep them occupied during the snowy months ahead. Ideas, anyone?

And just for the heck of it, I'm tagging Momma B, Mandy and Kristen. Love you girls!

Ketchup, ketchup, ketchup

2007-11-03T08:04:00.000-05:00

Perhaps this will be the longest blog in Gerlthouse history. Perhaps I'll run out of steam and cut it short. We shall see. It has been an eventful few weeks and it doesn't look like it will be slowing down anytime soon. At any rate, I have loads of pictures to post beginning with pictures from my Mom's visit a few weeks ago.

We started our week with a train ride on the Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway. We left Port Clinton, PA early in the morning and rode about 2 and a half hours to Jim Thorpe, PA. The city is named after Jim Thorpe, a famous Native American who won a gold in the Olympics in 1912. Google him. It's a very interesting story. We spent three hours in Jim Thorpe. It was a beautiful town, surrounded hills and filled with quaint little shops and a few tourist traps. While all of the other passengers were content to stay on the "beaten path", Mom and I decided to try out a little restaurant that we heard about. By the time we realized how FAR away it was, we were already committed. We walked completely to the other side of town, up hills, across highways, over bridges, through alleys, all the way chanting, "This better be delicious!" And it was. It was well worth the hike. Click below to see a few shots of our trip.

Jim Thorpe, PA

The next day we visited Amish Country. We live just north of Lancaster County. There are approximately 8,000 Older Order Amish who live here. That doesn't count all of the other types of Amish and Mennonites who live there, as well. We saw beautiful farms and horses and buggies. It was fascinating. Here are a few pictures of the things that we saw.

Amish Country

On Monday we headed to Washington, DC. We drove to Greenbelt, MD and rode the Metro in, which I highly recommend. We didn't have to mess with traffic or parking or anything. It worked out perfectly. Monday afternoon we saw the National Archives and the Sculpture Garden. We went back early to miss commuter traffic. We got an AMAZING deal on Priceline for our hotel. Our room was swanky and we got to go to a special lounge to eat. We felt so important. The next morning we headed into DC and saw Arlington Cemetery. It was incredible. The morning was a little damp and chilly and the leaves were falling. The mood was solemn. A funeral was taking place. I wonder what his story was. We saw men stop and salute. We heard the 21 Gun Salute.
Next we headed to the Washington Monument. The big kids and I went to the top while Mom and Jake stayed at the bottom. We met a family there from San Diego. They were on vacation and had learned that their neighborhood had been evacuated due to the fires. Can you imagine? Their neighbor had taken all of their photos and their dog to safety and they were just waiting for news. While we were at the top, she received a call that their home was safe! It was fun to celebrate with them.
From the Washington Monument we went to the Natural History Museum and then to the Air and Space Museum. Both museums were wonderful! While walking to the Air and Space Museum we got an incredible surprise! STEVE ABLE!!!! He is a friend of ours from college. He and his wife and son live about 15 minutes from DC. He found out we were in town and came to find us! We had such a great time. He took Max to see all of his favorite exhibits in the A&S Museum. Max had the time of his life. While they studied the planets, Mom, Anna Kate and I went to the American Treasuries exhibit. I think it was my favorite part of the trip. They have treasures of all sorts from American History, from Abraham Lincolns' top hat (the one he was wearing the night he was assasinated) all the way to Seinfeld's Puffy shirt. It was strange to have such things all grouped into one room. We saw the Ruby Slippers (AK's favorite) and Lewis and Clark's compass. George Washington's suit and the Fireside Chat microphone. John Phillip Sousa's baton and Mary Todd Lincoln's dress. Mr. Roger's sweater and Irving Berlin's piano. It was wild.
We wished for two more weeks to explore, but we still wouldn't have seen everything we wanted to see. Again, click below to see pictures.

Washington DC

More news to come, but I must get to work now. I am going on a RETREAT today!!! I am meeting Jamie in Wheeling, West Virginia for the weekend. I'm so excited I can hardly stand it. So there's lots to get done before I leave. I've never left the kids for this long. And I've never been away from Jake. I'm a little anxious about that. I leave this afternoon and will be back Monday morning. I love my husband.

We'll show this one to his wife in a few decades.

2007-10-26T22:57:00.000-05:00

We have company!!

2007-10-21T23:53:00.000-05:00

Friday evening Momma D got to our house. She flew into Philadelphia and we picked her up at the airport. We love having her here with us. It's been a fun-packed visit so far with even more fun to come. Saturday morning we woke up early and drove to Port Clinton, PA and caught a train to Jim Thorpe, PA. It was beautiful. The colors were amazing. Love the Fall. Today we had a lazy day. We had Jamie's Pumpkin Pancakes for breakfast. You should give them a try. Twelve very enthusiastic thumbs up from the Gerlt House and Momma D. You can find the recipe here. Yum. After breakfast we drove to Lancaster to visit the Amish Country. It was incredible to see their farms and ponder living as simply as they do. This evening Chad and I got to go on a date for the first time in months and it was so nice. We knew that the kids were in good hands and having a wonderful time getting "The Momma D Treatment". That freed us up to enjoy a movie and coffee. Aaahhh. In the morning Momma D, the kids and I are heading for Washington, DC to see all that we can see. We're making the most out of our time together!
I promise to post pictures when all the excitement dies down.

Quote of the Day

2007-10-17T08:41:00.000-05:00

Anna Kate (after wondering around in the living room after I asked her to pick up some of the clutter on the living room floor): I'm a ballerina. Ballerinas can't bend over.

Huh. Nice try.

Dr. Pepper Head

2007-10-08T18:51:00.000-05:00

Jake was helping me clean out the fridge last night. To brighten up an otherwise dull task, we decided to have some fun. He was a good sport. Chad and I were laughing on the floor.

Just one drop?

2007-10-06T22:11:00.000-05:00

Turns out I'm not the only one who likes iced coffee. Jake worked at least 20 minutes today trying to get something out of this empty cup. He knows it's yummy. He drank about a third of mine the other day when I wasn't looking.

Aaahhhhh...

2007-10-06T21:03:00.000-05:00

Kids in bed,
warm shower,
fuzzy pants on.
Sitting down
in the silence
for a treat.

Thoughts swirling in my head (in no particular order of importance)

2007-10-06T14:53:00.000-05:00

1.) I like Pennsylvania.
2.) I really like naptime. Especially this afternoon.
3.) McDonald's has redeemed themselves by introducing Iced Coffee.
4.) I just ranted to Chad last week about what a waste of time iced coffee is and how much I hate it.
5.) Hmmmm. I rant too much.
6.) Chad and I have discovered all sorts of good music lately, thanks to his fancy rental car having Sirius satellite radio. (Hooray for Coffee House)
7.) Prior to this month I've never really listened to music radio, just talk. I don't like wading through the terrible music to get to a good song. I would rather listen to the silence.
8.) I'm glad I brought my sewing machine to PA.
9.) Pick-Up-Sticks is crazy fun. The kids and I play all the time now.
10.) We have tried for 4 weeks to go to church and have not made it yet. (1st week we got hopelessly lost, 2nd week Anna Kate was covered from head to toe in hives, 3rd week our car died on the way and had to be towed home, 4th week I was sick)
11.) We are craving fellowship with other Believers and, Lord willing, we will be at Trinity Church in Allentown tomorrow morning.
12.) We now own a Magellan GPS and a Honda Odyssey due to the events mentioned in #10.
13.) My love for John Denver and Willie Nelson has been rekindled.
14.) Jake says lots of words now. He says his own little version of bite, thank you, peek-a-boo, Daddy, Momma, ball and tweet-tweet. The boy loves birds. And balls. And he can eat an entire grilled cheese sandwich.
15.) My mom is coming in two weeks. Papa and Granna are coming in November and Jamie and Dustin are coming for Thanksgiving. We are SOOOO excited.
16.) The leaves are starting to change. It's gorgeous.
17.) The Atlantic Ocean is the most amazing color.

Lest you think that I left my camera in Texas, here are some pictures of what we've been up to lately:

We went to New Jersey to car shop (I know, it's crazy) and while we were there we went to the Shore. It was incredible. The kids had never seen the ocean before and they loved it.

And here are a few pictures of our new surroundings.

Tiny Dancer

2007-10-01T21:26:00.000-05:00

Anna Kate now lives for Thursdays. It's her very special day. Chad found a dance class for her to attend and it just happens to be in the mall where he works. Each Thursday morning she wakes up early and puts on her dancing clothes. She rides to work next to Daddy and they have breakfast together in his office. A little before 9:30 Daddy walks her over to her class where she dances her heart out. At 10:30 Daddy picks her up and learns all her new moves and then the boys and I join them for lunch. We love Thursdays...or "Thursdates" as we call them.

The Cows Won

2007-09-27T23:34:00.000-05:00

The Chick-fil-A cows, along with Orville Redenbacher, beat out the Burger King King, the Geico Cavemen, and other big time ad icons with much higher ad budgets. There's just something about those cows. Check it out here and here.