it's a wonderful life...: March 2009

Saturday, March 28, 2009

i'm alive....

ahhhh yes....i heard some people are sick of looking at my moon boots, so i thought i should post!! i've kinda been waiting for something to write about...or to feel creative...or motivated. i am thankful that march is done....

if i could, i would jet off to some warm beach for spring break...feeling hot sand squish between my toes sounds soooooooo good!! but instead, i will anticipate the 3-6 inches of snow they are calling for on monday?! yuck.

my favorite verse for my cabin fever is this:

"See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come." Song of Songs 2:11

yes, i do believe that verse was cheaper than round-trip airfare to cabo!!!

i have been a little busy these past few weeks...my grandpa has an infection in his foot and has been in the hospital - now nursing home for rehab...i am not a huge fan of nursing homes...i used to work in one and i just feel it is totally crucial family is around A LOT. typically, those residents get better care, are less likely to slip into depression, and it is easier to stay on top of things - with meds, therapy and plan of care in general.

so, i have been starting weekday mornings with grandpa les. he called me "a lovely thing" the other day...if you knew him, thats just plain funny coming out of his mouth ;)

also, in my wanderings of life...i feel quite reassured that working in a nursing home is NOT my calling....i'm quite sure i have been labeled by the staff at grandpa's place as the "grand-daughter that is always nosin' around, asking questions".

i've also started a little something with some girlfriends...every first friday of the month, we hang out. i hope it to become more than hanging out...i want it to be a safe place to talk - absolutely NO husband bashing, gossiping, or the like. i want it to be a time to get support, prayer, advice and just a deepening relationship with each other - make sense?

tomorrow will be only our second time doing this...and i am so looking forward to it!! doug is awesome at taking the kids...i think he knows i need a little time with girlfriends...it benefits him too!

so, that is just a quick little glance at my life right now....hope to post sooner next time!

have a great day, rach

Monday, March 9, 2009

moon boots...

i took dawson shopping this past week. he is growing like a weed, not to mention he is all boy...needless to say, he needed jeans and tennis shoes. old navy had jeans on sale - i was so excited...dawson happily tried them on...he is my little shopper. some day, he can tell daddy & dodge what the mall looks like on the inside! ;)

well, the shoe part was not so easy. every store we went into, he would go to the "skate" shoes..."vans" or "DC's". he has wanted a pair of these since last fall...i refuse to buy them cuz i don't think they're practical. they look uncomfortable and they are ugly to boot! i know i'm sounding old & grouchy...stay with me.

we left the mall WITHOUT shoes. that day the boys and i stopped at my mom's work to wish her a happy birthday...and i told her the shoe dilemma (under my breath). being the grandma that she is, she slipped me some money to "get that sweet little honey the shoes he wants". (dad, if you're reading this, it came out of your "fun money", so you might have a boring month! - kidding ;))

well, doug took the boys up north...and i went on a mission to find the shoes. when he came home, i surprised him...the look on his face was priceless! he called grandma right away, to tell her all about them. and get this...he SLEPT with them next to his pillow!!! it was really too cute...and suddenly, i remembered moon boots. they were big in the 70's/early 80's. i wanted a pair sooooo bad. i can describe them to a "T"...royal blue with red & white stripes around the middle...anyway, i remember walking around on the playground - just looking at what my feet looked like with them on!! also, if memory serves me right, they weren't the warmest things in the world...and i eventually went back to the ol' fashioned snowmobile boot :)

so, sometimes i need to remember...what is ONE pair of shoes in the big scheme of things?

speaking of shoes & boots...i had a bad mom moment this morning. we were rushing out the door for the school bus, when dawson said, "mom, cant i wear my tennis shoes...NOBODY else is wearing boots to school anymore." i say, "no, dawson it's still cold out, and the playground might be muddy." we were in a rush, and i hurried the boys out the door to the bus stop. i could tell he was crushed...after getting him on the bus, i came back home and called my mom & cried. why do i have to be so anal sometimes?! i hate that about myself...if you haven't figured it out - i tend to be a "play it by the book" kind of person...not exactly an easy-going free spirit!

anyway, i was telling my mom how it took me back to grade school, when i had to wear my boots and all the "georgetown kids" got to wear their tennis shoes. i was soooo self-conscious...and she told me how grandma wood dressed them like it was winter all year long...boots over the shoes & leggings...it gave me a laugh, but i still cried. he just wanted to wear his new shoes to school...geez, rach!! don't worry, y'all...he'll be wearing his new tennies to school tomorrow!!

we celebrated birthdays with the vruggink side this past weekend, too. here are some pics...

levi is a HUGE football fan, aunt stace & uncle tim & boys got this jersey for dawson...he loves!

happy birthday!! dawson is 7, nash is 1 and samantha is 17!!!! it seems like yesterday samantha was just a little peanut...not to mention the ONLY grandkid for quite a while! now the house gets pretty crowded with all the grandkids!!

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

cold teeth, white van, 20 yards...

i've got ya thinkin dont i? the women folk in my family have decided it would be fun to run the riverbank this year. i have thought about doing it for the last several years, but ALWAYS found an excuse. my kids are too young, i dont have time, i'm not in shape, and truly...i dont like to set a big goal like that, and then tell people. i feel like i wont finish what i started - so why even start?

well, if my mom (who is 20 years older), my sister-in-law (who has 3 kids under age 4), and my other sister-in-law (who works full-time & goes to school) can do it...then i think i better. ;)

so, i dropped off my littlest buddy at pre-school...and bundled up - cuz it was a frigid 15 degrees, and started down the road. this would be impossible without an mp3 player. as i'm walking, i realize my teeth are so cold, they hurt. i then notice a white van, slowly moving down the road - why do white vans set off some sort of "that must be a drifter/criminal" alarm? i just dont like white vans & ice cream trucks...they give me the creeps.

this is when i decide to pick up my pace and start to jog. HA. my body thought otherwise. i went maybe 20 yards, and decided my knee hurt too much, and i better just walk. good governor, i hope i can do this race pain-free, let alone finish!

however, as i'm walking (fast, mind you), i feel a little better about myself, cuz i'm working towards something. it may have been a "bugger" today, but it can only get better. kind of like the weather...cold, but the sun was out...and spring does manage to come every year.

so, i'm tired of thinking about things & not doing them...this is a good day - i know there will be plenty of days i'm not motivated - but i started, and thats what matters!!

Monday, March 2, 2009

not my baby...

it was a cold, snowy day....almost as cold as today...ok, that's for you, mom!

really, i CANT believe the sweet baby in this picture is seven!! it just sounds so old to me! it was one of the most incredible days in my life...march 2, 2002. nothing ever felt so exciting, so natural, so miraculous than having dawson and bringing him home. i thought he was for sure the most beautiful baby anyone ever laid eyes on. he literally came into the world pretty. and i dont say that about every baby...stay tuned for dodge's story in december! :)

here's my little buddy splashing through the water at cran-hill ranch.
i believe he is 16 months here.

thumb sucker...

3 months old...at grandma & grandpa beld's house.
my mom & i's first attempt at a "photo shoot"...i did not like the
j.c. penny-look. in fact, i don't own a single, professional picture...unless you count those lovely school pics!