Thomas 1st Tooth Cleaning Was A Blast!

Today I had to get my 6 month cleaning and decided to take Thomas in with me for his first cleaning. I was a little sceptical as to how well he would do. As we were on our way out the door Joseph thought it helpful to tell Thomas the there is a t.v. in the Dentists office (as if that was all we were going for :) I find it very helpful to treat it like it's no big deal, like we're just going to the store. I will say though, that Thomas enjoys all his Dr.'s visits and has even been known to not even whimper through shots. Tough guy you say? No not really, he can get pretty upset over little bumps and bruises. Also, to add, it may have helped that I always take the boys to my teeth cleanings and have fond memories of Thomas as an infant, resting happily on my lap while I was getting my teeth poked and prodded. So today, they called us back and he walked right in front of me with no hesitation, plopped up in that big 'ole chair and went right along with everything. I had expected that they do the usual first visit routine of counting and flossing his teeth and calling it a day. But nope, Mrs. Annette did it all! And my favorite part was when they were sitting the chair upright and Thomas remained still until his body weight slid him down the chair. He even got to get the run of the place while I got my teeth looked at. How did mine go? Well, I nearly cried when they told me that a tooth that has been dead since...uh...3rd grade, is due for a root canal to save it. What happened in third grade? The county decided to repave our neighborhood streets and after pouring the gravel, they decided to stop there. I was riding a friends bike that was way too small for me and hit a larger rock just as I was turning into their driveway. I then proceeded to flip completely over the handle bars and my top lip landed firmly onto the corner of their cement driveway. It was pretty gruesome. Needless to say it was only a week or so later that the county decided they needed to finish the job (boy is my Dad convincing!). Here are the pictures of Thomas' fun day at the Dentist:


This was his demeanor through the whole thing.


Mrs. Annette is Dr. Lambert's sister. We live in such a small town that they both live just a block away from our house. She has been a great friend and hygienist :)


Dr. Lambert checkin' out all those little teeth. Lookin' Good!!!

It's moments like these that remind me that they are growing up so fast. I can't believe I don't have my little babies anymore!

The Dream to Clean

Ever since I have had a house and husband of my own I have nearly everyday dreamed and envisioned Ryan coming home to a immaculate house and having everything in its place. Come on, admit it, I'm not the only one to dream up such nonsense. I know that this can't been done day after day, but I hope to at least have my home guest ready. So that on a whim I can call up a dear friend and say hey, come on over for a meal. Well, I have never managed to make that dream reality, at least not completely. I usually only get it partially done and get too worn out to go on. The only times I have managed to get my house in such order are when I have stayed up nearly and sometimes all night to get it done. Well I am hoping that in posting this, I will have motivation to do it. That's right You all get to hold me accountable as to whether or not I fulfilled my word. There seems to be no better time than during the spring cleaning. And who knows maybe my efforts will help pull in some warmer temperatures into our area. I can't take much more of these beautifully sunny days that are miserably cold. That's just not nice. So please, hold me accountable!

Update...not so up.

Well I just got the call from Ryan. His last day before the layoff is next Thursday. I thought I was taking it all pretty well and trusting in the Lord, but somehow it all just hit me. Wow! I don't know if I was hanging on to the hope that maybe they would decide he is just too good an employee to let go or something like that, LOL. I also kinda thought he would have had a lot more offers, but still not one interview. Let me tell you all, it is bad out there. I am amazed at how devoted and hardworking Ryan is with his job search. After working 8 hours, he comes home around midnight and will be up till at least 3 am searching over the internet and sending out resumes. He can't even find jobs making half of what he used to. We loose our vision benefits by the end of the month, but thankfully get to keep our health and dental benefits for three months. I've rushed to make all the Dr.'s appointments to make sure everyone has their bodies, eyes and teeth checked out before the insurance elapses. Most all the Dr.'s have been flexible and understanding. Unfortunately our general Dr. will be gone nearly the whole month of April on a mission trip so we will have to wait till he gets back to get Thomas in for his 3 year old check up. Please pray for us and the Lord's provision for our home. As Christians there is often the misconception that we are strong enough to handle anything, but the truth is we have struggles and heartaches just like the rest. Will we let it consume us? Well I hope not. I hope that even in our despair we will look to the Lord. Could we have planned better for this? Probably not. We actually had savings when we got married, but it was washed out when we were both laid off, got pregnant and totaled our only reliable car in the first two months of marriage. From then on we began paying debt and rebuilding everything. We were actually just beginning to get a foothold when all this came about. It's easy to say, quit spending, but we still need food, clothing and shelter. My husband even is astonished at how thrifty I can be. I have never met a Goodwill or sales rack that weren't my friend :). I know we will get through all this and one day look back at this tiny glimpse of time and think, man that was nothing, but for now while we are going through it, it hurts. Hurt is good though, because it means we are living. It is only the dead who don't feel hurt.

Going Outback and Back-Home for Valentine's Day

Well actually it was more the day before Valentine's Day, but who's counting. It has again been forever (like more than 6 months) since Ryan and I have had a night out without the kiddies in tow and I don't care what anyone else says, sometimes we parents need a night to remember that we are married and have a lot to share with one another. I coaxed my parents into taking the boys for the night on Friday just so we didn't have to eat and rush back to get them. We couldn't get into some of the nicer venues, but settled happily for Outback Steakhouse. We both enjoyed a nice steak dinner. Even though we were at a busy restraunt, it seemed so quiet and still to not have two little ones to entertain and feed. We even took advantage of the time and did a little shopping and also picked up a nice bottle of wine and a box of chocolates and then headed home. It's funny that although we enjoyed our night out we were almost sad that our little boys were not to be found sleeping still in their own beds. We find that these alone times are not only good for our marriage, but also for reminding us how dear our children are to us. It was such a joyful reunion as we walked in to my parent's house to pick up the kiddies and Joseph was ready to come home (of course as soon as we got home he told us he wants to spend the night again at Mamu and Papu's real soon :) ). It was such a great time with the man I married and vowed to spend the rest of my life with through the good and the BAD!

This Is What We Expected

The day after we found out about Ryan's upcoming layoff I texted my brother to tell him the news. His response, "so did I"! Yep you heard it. They both found out the same day that they were being laid off. My brother has a Bachelor's Degree in something computers so he shouldn't have too hard a time finding work. We all knew this year would be rough and really God has been good even through all of these trials. Ryan and I are somewhat relieved that he is getting laid off because we know that all those who aren't laid off face a bumpy road ahead with a company not doing so well. It is a little disappointed that they are going to be bringing them back to 40 hrs., but we just have to look ahead for what the Lord has in store. As of right now Ryan has not been called for one interview and he was shocked. I explained that it's not him it's that fact that there are so many people looking for work. We'll keep plugging away and hope for some improvement.

Kremey and Krispy...Yum Yum!

We took our boys to Krispy Kreme (one of our favorite past time hang outs) and got to enjoy our donuts while watching more being made. Of course Daddy finishes his first and begins begging for bites of everyone elses donuts. Second best thing to the donuts were the nifty little hats the boys got.

The ultimate guy spot!



Joseph chose the first donut he saw, lemon creme filled.



Thomas chose sprinkles after Mommy and Daddy talked him out of anything filled. His name is To-mess after all :)



Joseph checking out the process and hoping he can hand pick one coming off the line.



This is the after-affects of all that yummy Krispy Kreme:






So would you hire this man?...I'm pretty sure he will work for donuts :)

In Need of Prayers

Well it wasn't that many posts ago that I was wondering what the year would bring with all the economic hardships. I thought things would drag on the way they were for awhile, but again I didn't know God's plan. Ryan's work has announced a layoff of 150 workers. Ryan is number 70-something unless they have enough volunteers or early retirements. It is looking like Ryan will be in the cut and we will know for sure on the 16th and from there the layoff will happen 2-4 weeks later. This is a testing time for us. We kind of have experience with this sort of thing, so there is one side of me that knows we can get through it, but there is still the sinful worrying side that wonders how? In the meantime we have to put our trust upon the Lord and wait for Him. Please pray for us as we are weak and in the flesh. I know these things can put strains on marriages and can be a way for the devil to drive a wedge between us. Please pray that, that won't happen and the Lord will use this for His good. I will keep you all posted on what happens (unless we have to cut out the internet). We will contirue to lift up our friends and family who are experiencing the same struggles.