what was i thinking?

of making a mess, i guess. i decided to file all my power castle stuff today. the only problem was i did it at naptime and then until 11:00 p.m.

it took all day. tomorrow i am going to get in the attic and tackle the papers up there. i love the feeling of being organized but i am tired! i know you found this so interesting. maybe now i can begin my summer of scrapbooking. that was the plan but now it is july and i have not started one single page!

Hobby Lobby

i love hobby lobby, usually most everything in there. but today, i went there on a search and found almost nothing. i saw 1,967 things i would have loved but they were not needs not that what i was searching for was a need. however, the entire place was decorated with grapes, every single display of pottery, metal or pictures, etc had fake grapes & ivy all over it. what is the deal? i found it annoying b/c i was on a search to fill my metal stand.


i wanted ceramic fruit. they only had faux plastic fruit and it was not on sale. i did not love it so i did not buy it. i am open to ideas of all 2.5 of you on filling my stand.


i did buy these deco balls since my darling' kid has the habit of biting faux fruit. but, now i do not know if i like them. darn things are expensive, i may take them back. (the decor balls not the kids.)

check out hobby lobby and the grapes, maybe it is just my hobby lobby.

tomatoes

yummy, home grown tomatoes are a way to a man's heart, at least my man's stomach heart. actually, they are quite good for my heart too. i like them. i like them a lot. a nice man at craig's office gave them to us - 2 days in a row! we feel rich.

they remind me of my childhood: red, juicy ripe tomatoes decked with salt & pepper cut up on a corelle plate, trips in the car with tomatoes under my feet, discussion between aunts & dad over who had the best tomatoes, summer suppers at calder, tomatoes all over sheets on the dining room floor. (we really liked fresh veges and you have not heard my squash or splitting bean stories.)

i really appreciate them especially since i do not have to grow them b/c we did that one year , make that 3 years and we just were not so productive. but, HEB cannot hold a candle to home-grown tomatoes. (how many times can i type tomato?)

it was a bit of a failure and it hurt my pride. I AM A PEARSON FOR PETE'S SAKE! what pearson, frank=william pearson, that is, does not know how to grow a tomato. maybe the pearson that marries a larson? technically, i did put an ounce of energy in the previous gardens, maybe i should start. . . next year.

my love for this fruit (? i have never understood that) is kinda funny b/c as a child i thought my parents were nuts b/c they loved home-grown stuff so much. I USED TO DESIRE TO EAT CAN VEGES! there, i said it. disgusting thought, ungrateful child. this admission is probably why i am garden failed.

i did just spend 20 minutes posting about tomatoes. who do i think i am - i know - pioneer woman, she is my sister adrienne's "best friend". :)

for the love of grapefruit

on our trip to HEB yesterday, chatter box faith wondered about grapefruit, she said she had heard of it. is it good? yes, i said. i eat it but i guess i never thought of letting you try it.
the entire afternoon, she reminded me that she was eating grapefruit for breakfast. i felt guilty like i kept her from a major life altering notion.

today, at breakfast, her life changed into a love for grapefruit. she found the grapefruit spoon an exciting challenge. i am sure i knew what a grapefruit spoon was when i was at least. . .25 and registering for flatware.

after breakfast, she asked me if i would buy more at the store tomorrow, if they were not to "extensive." laughing, i said yes, i will buy you more grapefruit.

sure beats sonic. :)

speaking of sonic, we did not make a run today, swim rained out for both lessons. want to guess which darling threw a party and which one derailed?

because i need to get it out

you (all 3 of you) must hear about my day.

it is swimming lesson week.

it is supposed to be fun.

it is for some, it is not for others.

upon claire's return from vbs this morning, she had a stomach ache. i fed her lunch. her tummy still was aching so bad!

me: are you sick claire?

c: yes mommy, very bad.

me: why? (feeling her forehead) you do not have fever, go put your suit on, you have swim lessons.

c: but, i caaaannnn'tttt!

me: (very patiently) why?

c: b/c i am sick, i feel terr-i-ble!

me: i will help you get ready. (reluctantly she gets ready)

as we are loading up in the car, we hear thunder.

c: what will we do if it rains?

me: if is lightning, you will have to sit on the porch or they will cancel your lesson if it does not pass.

c: i still am sick, i caaaannn'tttt swim!

i carry her in on my hip into her swim class, while my toddler walks in mumbling about some preschooler's lightning mcqueen shirt. everyone is under the porch, i feel her spirits lift. her teacher says, "we will make up class at 9:00 on friday, the storm may take a while to pass."

immediately, my sick child jumps out of my arms and starts jumping up & down!!

c: yeah, we do not have swim today! can we go to dunkin donuts or sonic to celebrate?

me: i thought you were sick?

c: (walking ahead of me out of the gate) i am healed, i just did not want to swim.

no, really, i never guessed.

as we get in the car, i squelch the idea of dunkin or sonic and we head to H-E-B, because what else does beaumont have to offer? we shop for chicken, fruit, breakfast bars, ice cream & AA batteries b/c what else do i buy? will is already late for nap and we have one more swim lesson to attend or cancel.

faith's lesson is on b/c the storm passed. she is sooo excited and jumps in the water without even a good-bye! claire waves to her teacher and says, "see you tomorrow miss stacey, i cannot wait to swim & kick & kick." yeah right, who is she fooling?

will, nuk in tow, is quite unpleasant about our departure, he was sure he was getting a swim invite. as i carry him back to the car screaming about water, the idea of a cherry limeade is not a bad idea.

thank goodness happy hour is from 2-4. i may drive through the next 9 days of swim.

i figured it out

i read big mama's blog. sometimes daily. she makes me laugh and she loves Jesus so i like to hear what she says.

one day, i saw a post on her blog that contained her picture. i thought she looked familar. however, i am related to people who think they see people while on vacation touring an indian reservation. i decided i was just nuts.

then, i read another post today on boo mama (another blogger - not the same mama) and she had a pic of big mama - who is not big, on her blog. once again, i decided i know her - big not boo.

i stalked her blog. guess what? she moved to the ol' beaumont in the 7th grade, graduated from WBHS, class of '89, one year ahead of me.

she's a fellow bruin. read on. we had the same hair and love for boone's strawberry wine, i hate to admit both of those things. no offense to her. my admissions could be worse.

her maiden name is on the tip of my tongue. i know i will think of it. . . .

at 3:00 a.m. and no one will care..but me.

it's a small world after all. :)

i am almost afraid to post it

but i do not believe in a jinx. i got a new ticket to nashville, july 24th. no drama please, i must go! i cannot afford another cancellation. :)

Summer randomness

I feel like summer has officially started, now that we are back from our trip! However, I feel like it is 1/2 over since it is July 18th.


Faith is enjoying VBS this week at Westgate Baptist.


We start swimming lessons next week.


I worked all day Monday trying to find a financial mistake in the ministry books. I found it. No, it was not in our favor and it was a big mess. God is good though, at least he opened my peon brain & eyes to find it. It just took 6 hours! Wonder if the accountant would have charged vs. the unpaid momof3? (Not complaining. . . :)


Claire and I have been having control issues, I know all of you are shocked. I won. Finally. Yesterday, around 5:30 p.m. We are having a swell day as I type. Parenting in the Spirit is refreshing, sin-free and joyous. I hope I can stick to that each moment of each day.


I started a new bible study, going solo, which I really need. It is called No other Gods, by K. Minter. You can read about here, if you care.


Craig is working furiously on summer outreaches. He just called. Diesel is $4.62 a gallon, it cost $170 to fill up the bus. Nice, my chest continues to tighten. I doubt his does, either one is up and the other is down. God is so good to allow us to encourage one another. I guess this is his week, not mine.


I am still planning a trip to visit Paula, maybe late July, maybe August, maybe September. As you can tell, I.do. not. know. when. but. I. need. to. go!


Tomorrow at this time, I will be holding Baby Zach, who has been home for 2 weeks and is growing like a weed, pics to come soon.


Oh yes, and I am having a heart procedure July 15th, just simple, to stop svt. It is called ablation, some hot shot doctor in Houston is doing it. He does them all day long, hope he shocks the right currents. My fam is coming to visit while Craig & I hang out in Hstn for a couple of days. It will be our 10 year anniversary, I wanted diamonds but instead, I need heart repair! Ha!


This is one of my Estes Park purchases. I am going to put it on the kitchen table and change out the decor, that I have yet to buy. When I saw it in the store, it had ceramic apples on it. I loved them but they were $9.95 each, I repeat...$9.95 each, they like them just like Estes likes gas and groceries.
See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil. The kids love them, we will not guess which child favors which bird. I need all 3. Neat lesson for the fam and another fantastic find.


I have others things I could continue to share, but I will keep them to myself for the moment. After this random post, I bet you are all glad!

Colorado

entering beautiful rocky mtn national park
the 3 big kids - getting ready for the hayride at the YMCA of the rockiesMa tried to contain the nuk king & queen as we roasted marshmallows after the hayride.
the guys & girls at sprague lake - this was our most beautiful day, not hot but not freezing!

Big Thompson River - the kids loved climbing into the caves.Did I mention it was chilly? It snowed one day, we could not make it up Trailridge Road but it did not stop us from picnic-ing. It takes a blizzard for Larsons to not eat. We were so blessed that Aunt Laura shared her home with us, the kids learned a lot and we made great memories. God is sooo good!

Happy Father's Day

to a wonderful daddy and husband. Craig, thank you for always loving God first and leading us to do the same.

Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their enemies in the gate. Ps 127:4-5

What is your favorite thing about daddy?

Faith: I like him b/c he teaches me stuff and he is nice when we are playing bow & arrow.

Claire: He really really loves me. I know he loves me b/c he hugs me.

Will: Dada bye-bye (we think he likes to play outside with daddy.)

Me: His heart, his laugh, his sacrifices and love he has for me....Also, thanks for those precious babies!

Happy Father's Day to my daddy, father-in-law & brother- in-laws - none of who read the blog!

**Also, happy late b-day to my fave middle sis! I could not blog that day but I did call! Love you Mere!

amarillo by morning

we are in amarillo and staying at a drury inn, very nice, we are enjoying ourselves. i think we may believe we are on vacation or something. last week was wonderful, i will post pics soon but first i must post a convo between claire & luke at sprague lake.

Claire & Luke are walking on a trail around the lake.

L: claire, let's count to 7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7!

C: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

L: now, let's count backwards from 7. 7 6 5 4 3 2 1!

Claire keeps walking.

L: claire, now you count back from 7. come on claire!

C: (turning to walking backwards) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7!

priceless, can we call that higher order thinking?!?!?

sleeping woes

why is it some children cannot sleep anywhere but their own bed? will hates his pack-n-play in estes park,co. however, it is sooooo beautiful, that makes up for it.

as i type, i am looking out a huge window into the snow capped rocky mountains. we went to the ymca of the rockies today and the kids fished. we signed up the older 3 for 1/2 day camp tomorrow. we plan to travel up trailridge road but it is closed due to 2 feet of snowdrift, maybe wednesday.

it is was 42 degrees this a.m. when i went to the store. brrr. it would be really tolerable if not for the wind. tonight, we are going on a hayride that concludes with roasting marshmallows & hot cocoa. the kids are so excited, hope will makes it on no nap! well, gotta go look out the window. just thought i would blog a bit since i know all 3 of my readers are dying to know any details.

Going Green

Beaumont has started a pilot program to recycle again. Faith is really excited about it because the schools have been pushing it as well as studying it. I think she played a factor in our family cooperation.We chose a laundry basket to dump our recyclables in and then we take it few times a week to Market Basket, the designated area at this point. We are the only city, of our size, in Texas that does not have a program. One nice perk to it is you can put all items in one container, no separating.
Just to set things straight, I am not so green that I am resorting to cloth diapers. :)

Off to bed, traveling to wichita, ks in the a.m.

dar-ling!

paula made these dresses for my girls. i believe they are blogworthy!
they are almost alike but claire would not take hers off to get a pic. i guess i could have waited until they were asleep, but i could not. :)

will is just in the pic, one shoe on, one off. he is sportin' his new crocs. (yes, they are character but it beats lightnin' that are red & blue.)

other news: will has been limping for a week now, even got an x-ray of his leg, it is fine. must be picking up a new habit so i bought new shoes just too make sure his foot was wide enough. we are going to estes park in 2 days, i hope his hikers fit. it.is. snowing. there.today. (no sundresses needed.)


off topic, if i could get anymore off....according to my sis-in-law and gas buddy, estes park's gas is $4.25 a gallon. nice.

went blueberry pickin' this morning with faith & claire at 7:30 a.m. will slept in. i took a pic on my cell but i cannot get it to the computer. claire was quite the picker, she loved it. faith was glad to be late for the next to last day of school (june 5th!) it was very relaxing, nice breeze for 85 degree weather. tomorrow faith only has a 1/2 day of class. i would hope so. i remind you: it.is.june.6th. however, she has had a very eventful week, i am glad it is over. she is wearing her sundress tomorrow. ex-citing days!

Up, up & away...

and a few tears. Faith decided to climb a tree and continue to climb and climb. Craig was in the backyard with her and he could not believe how high she climbed. By the time I got outside, I got her picture but then Craig scared her b/c he got nervous about the strength of the limbs.
He had to climb up and get her so she was crying by the time he got her down. Maybe b/c he had to help or b/c she began to panic, I don't know?!

the dish washers

This past week, Faith decided she wanted to learn how to do the dishes. So, we have been learning what is dirty, clean, unloading, etc. Today, Claire decided she wanted to wash. There were a few dirty things in the sink so I let her wash. I went to check on her in about 5 minutes and I noticed she had a lot more dishes. She had unloaded the clean ones out of the dishwasher and just re-washed them. Oh well, they are now really clean.

This is a plus situation, it is a job I dislike. Nothing like training them early... chores are so fun!