Exhausted

Sorry about the lack of posts. I have so many cute things to upload and have just not had the motivation to do it. I am thoroughly exhausted! I had a primary program in November, my birthday tomorrow, Jakie's b-day on the 14th, Fly to El Paso TX. on the 15th for a wedding I planned for the 20th, Christmas to shop for in El Paso, and then we come home to have the holidays that remain with family here and celebrate my Anniversary. AGGGH! The problem is that I love all of those things! I enjoy each of them and would not forgo anything if I could. I think I just need like 36 hours in a day! I would love that. Oh well, I am just run down I think. Looks like another New Years goal of hitting the gym will be in order this year. I always say I wont do that, but then I am so tired in Dec that I am reminded that I need to work out and get more stamina for the stuff that comes. Well, in the time it took to complain I could have posted cute videos of Jakie and Rick. I will get to that tonight.

Question: Anyone ever want to just run away for a few hours and just go to a movie alone? Maybe Julie and Julia? I think that is what I want for Christmas!

Love you guys. Real posts to follow soon!

Thanksgiving Day Feast

Don't you just love this video? Jakie sang this in Preschool and shared it at home for the first time after thanksgiving. Silly boy. I just love him! I think it says it all:

So, this was the first year that I attempted to make a Turkey, all of the sides and still have guests come. We were able to have our friends Dan and Sarah Linfesty come to stay with us for a few days and enjoy the holiday. The cooking started at about 8pm Wednesday night and went until about 4pm on Thurs (with about a 4 hour break for me to get some rest). The menu consisted of a 12lb turkey rubbed with sage, thyme, butter and garlic, thyme garlic potatoes augrautain, sweet and savory butternut, cranberry and sourdough stuffing, fresh green bean casserole, corn on the cob, home made chive and thyme dinner rolls, Waldorf salad with glazed pecans and poppy seed dressing, home made cranberry sauce, whipped red skin potatoes, home made pumpkin pie, home made cranberry meringue pie and home made vanilla bean ice cream. (things in red were done by Dan and Sarah and were exceptional!!!!) All for 4 adults and 1 kid! Talk about a feast! It was a beast of a meal to prepare, but I really enjoyed it. I like cooking and I like people but if I add them together, I LOVE it. I guess i just love to entertain! Cant wait to get a house one day so that everyone can be invited. Only thing I did really wrong was forget to get pictures!! I was so exhausted after it was all served that I just completely forgot. Oh well, maybe I can get Sarah to send me a few of hers. We ate, relaxed, cleaned up and then played catchphrase until about midnight. I love catchphrase! Probably because I am actually good at that one and I love seeing Rick turn red when my team beats his team. He, he. It is still fun even when he beats mine though.

Well, there is much to be thankful for. I think about this every day, but I guess this season is the appropriate time to say it. I compiled a list of my most grateful things below. I am sure that Rick would have much more to add, but since he is making the bacon he is not here to comment. I think he would say "dido" on most of them though.

1. Rick. I am grateful for Rick and all that he intales. He is his own man but a product of a truly amazing home. He is a product of a Father and Mother that taught him perfectly what is right and wrong. I truly feel lucky to have him!

2. Beautiful children as wonderful inside as they are outside. I smile every time I see them and love every interaction we have (even when they are naughty). They give me a chance to grow and learn in a way that only a mother could. They are truly my greatest gifts.

3. A Home. It is just an apartment, but we feel happiness and togetherness here every day. We are so grateful to be safe, secure, warm and clean. That is so much more than many have and we are grateful for it.

4. Family that loves us! We have never had to ask, but if we needed something, I know we would not have to hesitate to ask. Our parents are so generous, concerned and close to us both. He with his, and I with mine and because they love us, each with each others. This is truly a wonderful blessing as it makes our happy family bigger and happier. Love you guys!

5. A Job. That is especially appreciated in a time when there are not plenty to go around. Rick has made very good career choices that have sustained us thus far. It has been with work on both of our parts to make things happen, but I sure am glad that Rick is willing to work everyday to sustain us and allow me to be home.

6. Faith in our Savior And Heavenly Father! Where would we be with out this? Everything we do, every reaction we have in our lives revolves around our faith. So much that would be tragic is bearable,those things that are hard are made easier, and things that are happy are even happier because of that knowledge that God lives and that there is a plan. We are forever grateful for that. It means that we are never permanently apart, it means that we are loved, it means that we are not alone, it means that there is more than what we can see. How grateful we are for that knowledge.

7. For our friends. You are amazing friends. We always wish we could spend time and talk more with each of you, but we are so grateful even for the comments, texts, and shout outs on facebook. We miss you all. We are grateful that we are here, but wish we were there too. Love you all!

Peter, James and Johnson

Yes, we all know the story. Do you know it the way Jacob knows it? For family home evening we were talking about Jesus and the fishermen (Peter, James, John and Andrew). For those heathens (Just kidding) that dont know it: Jesus comes to the fishermen and tells them to cast their nets once more after they have a fruitless day. They obey him and they pull up their nets full to the bim.

This was the story that we shared with Jacob and Ricky for FHE tonight, and out of habit we asked him to repeat the names of the future apostles that obeyed Jesus. Jacob replied with surety, "oh, it was Peter, James and Johnson, and Andrew". It remeinded me of they years when he asked for his bennannee (bananna), his moogie (movie), his caw (car), his daddee (daddy), etc. I love when he says things that let me know what he is hearing in his little mind when we teach him. It makes me laugh that even after we corrected him and said that it was John that he said, "no, no, it is Johnson momma. He listened to Jesus too".

Also, It has been fun to hear about having a feast. Jacob learned that word in Pre-school and now any time that Jakie gets lots of food it is a feast! His eyes get huge and he smiles after ward each time. It makes me laugh every time!

So much happens in a day. I love getting this stuff down because I forget all of the time. Ricky is getting huge so there should be lots of video of Ricky and Jakie to come soon!

Dad's Birthday Today

It is Dad's birthday today. Rick was up at 6am today and as I drove him to work he reminded me (along with my phone alarm, my planner and my callender) that it is Dad's birthday today.

In the Shumway family it is tradition for everyone to say something to the person having the birthday. We say something funny, sweet, or just something unique to that person. I knew that Dads birthday was coming and of course, even though he is no longer here, I still think of things I would say. I would say first to him that I love him. I always felt like a part of things in the family and I loved his sweet smile telling me that I belonged. I miss his funny stories and the humor that he had. We often laugh at things and say that is dad's kind of funny. I miss his dinners that he used to spoil us with. We were grown up but any chance to spoil us he took. Especially with Jacob. I think that as I thing about him this is one of the things I miss most. His love for Jacob was inspiring at times. Dad was kind, gentle and stable for Jake and I loved that. Jacob always knew that if we were visiting and he was near Grandpa, he could get away with a little more. (I remember that feeling with my Grandpa Bratton (my moms dad). He would sneak me some candy when mom said no. He would let us throw a fit a little longer than mom would (though with him, there was nothing to cry about. He gave us anything we wanted). That is the way that Grandpa Shumway was for Jakie. I miss that for Ricky. He will not have grandpa to smile when he squawks, to laugh when Ricky plays or to read to him the same story for the 100th time. Grandma will have to do double time and fill that void for the Shumway side.

Rick and I will often say" Grandpa would have let him do that" when we realize that we have been too harsh on Jake. It reminds us to have a soft heart and be more understanding of things that maybe we are a little too stringent on. That is so often a gift to me as a mother because I make amends for times I feel I was too tough.

I miss the many lessons I learned daily with dad. We love him so much. More than he could have known! I know he is no longer here to hear it but, Happy birthday Dad! Time here does not limit you, but I know that you are near on your day as we miss you and honor you with out thoughts as you did for us each year.

What We Are Up To

Hey all. Sorry about the lapse in blogs. We have been up to the busy business of life. Nothing too special has gone on in the past few weeks, just daily stuff. So, I use this blog as a daily (or whoever I enter it) blog and I love just adding little pieces of our days. I thought I would blog about nothing really to anyone else, but just things to remember and mark where we are at times. Hope no one gets too bored.

Ricky: He is not 5 months and a week. He is long, long, long! About 28 inches last measure. He is about 18lbs, not fat, but chunky. I love his tiny roles! Ricky loves to sit up, play in his Johnny Jumper (I will get pics/video of that sometime), but is so over laying on the floor. Tummy time is fun for him for about 10 minutes and then he has had it. He is too big for his swing now because his weight slows the swing and stops, so of course he is done there. Problem is that I cook, clean, do projects, do bills, etc. all day and I need a place for him to just be for a bit so my idea was the exerciser. I got it for 20$ on Craig's list and it was in perfect condition. I will sell it the day he is done with it too. I sure love it for the short while he loves it though. Here he is playing and enjoying his new toy. Other than that, we have all been hit with sickness. Ricky has had croup hit 2 times in just the last month so we have been home bound most of our fall/winter so far. He just woke up one morning and barked at me. Anyone that has ever heard croup cough knows what I mean. It literally sounds like a dog barking at you. We are all but recovered since we got medical treatment right away. Cant wait till spring!

Jakie: He is doing great in school, when he is there. Jake also got croup and had to be home for a week or so. His teacher Mrs. Patterson is fantastic and loves Jake so much. Even when he says the work "poop" and laughs about it in a naughty way. (It is hard to stop that one though. It is just built into our DNA to think poop is funny!) She reprimands him kindly, but lets it slide. She is kind, generous, understanding but firm with him and I love it. He really loves being in school and thus far, cant wait to go each morning. Jakie finished his first season of Soccer and loved it. He was thrilled when his coach came by after his last game (because he missed it when he was sick) with a trophy with D.C. United Soccer 2009 on it. Jake was sure he won MVP! I am so glad that he has things he loves and it makes me happy to see him learn new things. Jake has entered a really creative phase where he wants to learn about things, loves to paint, tell stories, watch shows on dinosaurs, play games and just loves being with mommy. I sure love this stage!

Sarah: I too have been sick a few times. I spend my days running the kids to things, doing play dates, Dr. appointments, cleaning the house, doing the bills, groceries, and getting Rick to and from work. I am exhausted most evenings but I absolutely love it. I have dong many jobs, worked a lot of hours in my life but I am so happy to be at home with the kids and running the home. I am truly happiest when things run well. No more cursing because I cant find socks, undies, or church clothes at the bottom of the hamper! Okay, maybe on Sundays, but only on occasion. My only really eciting news is that I CUT MY HAIR. I cut off about 6 inches so it now goes to my collar bone and I love it! I am able to do it every day and it looks nice all...well, most of the time. It still looks long enough and will grow out awesome. I will get pics up after I get them taken. Other than that ..I have been planning my brother Jonathan's wedding in TX. from PA.and that has been time consuming but fun. I love helping when I can and I have really enjoyed it. I get to go back and see him at Christmas for the wedding and spend Christmas Day with my family and Rick and the kids for the first time. I am excited. Our primary program is on the 22nd and we have been busy with that in church, but with councilors like mine, I don't worry much. I figure with the Kate, Barb, and that lord on my side, I cant mess much up! Wish us luck.

Rick: Rick has been busting his rear at work. He gets up every morning, commutes into work, supports the family and then comes home and plays Mr. mom. He is a one of a kind, hands on dad. I love him so much. He has had a few perks with work and friends and been to see a few College and pro games for football, baseball and hockey. He is actually at the Pitt/ Notre Dame game tonight and having a ball.

Like I said, nothing super new, but it sure exhausts us! We wish you were all here to hang out, maybe play some catch phrase, have some dinner and let our kids play together. We sure love you guys!

Fall Pictures With The Boys

Well, I tried...I swear I did! I swore a lot!!! (under my breath to myself.. Just kidding.) These pics were the hardest to get ever! I took tons of them yesteday afternoon and there was too much sun but I still managed to get some super cute ones. We changed locations 3 times between Ricky crying, Jake complaining, etc. Then I got home and accidentally deleted them
all :(

I went throught the trash bin of the computer and only the ones I deleted individually prior to deleting the whole folder could be restored. Total bummer! So, I have the rejects of yesterdays shoot and the ones that I did today too. So, you guessed it. I dragged them back out and shot until I saw tears-only 30 frames later. They were not having it! So, I gave up! Here are the best fruits of my labors...reject shots and all. They are not as cute as the ones I got yesterday, but they are still pretty cute. These kids are so photogenic! Jakie is trained by now but Ricky is not a fan of being photographed. I will have to train him up like his big brother and always have candy in my pocket to bribe him.

Enjoy:

Here are a few others that turned out pretty cute:

My Conversation With Jake

I thought I would share this conversation with everyone so that I don't ever forget what a funny boy I have, and so you can all see how sweet his little mind is. Here was our conversation as we watched the show Dinosaur Train on PBS.

Jakie: Mom, do you know what a carnivores and a herbivores are?
Me: well sure honey, it is when an animal eats meat, and when an animal eats plants.
Jakie: yeah mom, when a dinosaur eats meat or plants.
Me: well, not just a dinosaur honey, anything that eats meat is a carnivore and anything that eats plants is a herbivore.
Jakie: Oh, really, okay.
Jakie: (4 minutes later after he learns about omnivores) Mom, do you know what an omnivore is?
Me: Sure, it is when something eats both meat and vegetables.
Jakie: Yep, you sure are right mommy. You are really smart.
Me: Thanks honey, you sure are too.
Jakie: Well, I watch dinosaur train and they know a lot. I just learn it.
Me: I sure am glad that you learn it honey.

Jakie: (4 minutes later while mommy is nursing Ricky) Mom, I am an omnivore and so are you.
Me: Yep honey, you sure are.
Jakie: Yeah, and Ricky, he must be a Milk-ivore right?
Me: (after a few chuckles) Sure is honey. You are a smart one.
Jakie: Thanks mom, you sure are lovely and I love you.