You Are Invited!

Weston is turning two on Tuesday the 24th. I haven't been up to planning a big party, but I thought it would be great fun to have a little get together at the park! So, for those of you who live in Las Vegas, I would love you to join us for Weston's special day - this coming Tuesday.
We'll be meeting at 10:00 at the Aliante Nature Discovery Park (also known as the Dinasaur Park) where the kids can play and we can visit! It is a beautiful park, with a big play area. I don't know yet what I'm bringing by the way of food (it depends on how I feel), but at the least there will be cake. :) Let me know if you plan on coming, and if you have any questions about how to get there, just give me a call!

One Tender Moment

I have been reading to Weston practically since he was born. He only recently started to take a keen interest in the stories, I think because he is finally starting to understand enough to make it interesting.
Well, a couple days ago I told him to pick a book and we would read it together before bed (per our usual ritual.) He grabbed the Velveteen Rabbit, which is one of my favorites. Usually he wants to turn the pages faster than I read the story, and only partially pays attention.

This time he sat quietly, looking intently at each and every picture. When we got to the part in the story where the velveteen rabbit is so sad that he sheds a real tear, Weston wouldn't let me turn the page. He just kept rubbing the face of the bunny on the page, and touching that big juicy teardrop. Every time I tried to turn the page, he would turn it back and softly touch the bunny face while quitely jabbering in the same tone I use when comforting him. He understood that the rabbit was sad, and he was trying to make him feel better! Jason came over and asked, "do you love the rabbit? do you want to give him kisses?"
Weston immediately put the page up to his face and kissed it. At that point, I think he was convinced that he had sufficiently consoled the poor little rabbit, and we were able to finish the story.
It was a sweet moment. I hope that moments like these will help Weston grow to love reading the way his parents do!

What a charmer

The other day I made a yummy, healthy fruit smoothie for Weston and me. Usually I have to sit there and help him drink it since it is too thick to put in a sippie. I decided this time, maybe he was old enough to handle drinking it on his own if I just put it in a little cup... well, I guess he wasn't quite ready after all. What made the otherwise typical mess-making incident so comical was his reaction. He was so stunned that he just sat there, completely still, without so much as a sound. Poor little guy. So much for the intention to save myself a little effort! Here are some other things that my favorite little guy has been up to lately:
Playing the piano...Playing in grandma's yard...Sitting at the table like a big boy...Taking a snooze on the couch while mom and dad watch American Idol... Cracker eating...And cracker pouring... Pretending to go pottie, then flushing the toilet and waving "bye-bye" to the pee. (that is only even there on rare occasions) I try to only let him flush when he actually "goes," but sometimes he does it anyway...Posing for the camera... really, who can resist that sweet little face?

Do you believe?

Do you believe that America is great? Do you believe in capitalism? Do you believe in self-reliance? Do you believe that the entrepreneurial spirit is one of this country's most powerful assets? Do you believe in taking action, and not just waiting around for someone to make your life better? Do you believe in being generous, but not trust the government to most effectively use your money to help others? Do you believe that the government belongs to the people, and thus must answer to the people?

Do you love your freedoms? Do you love America? Do you admire the wisdom, courage, and independence of those who risked all to create and preserve her?

If you feel as I do, then please check out my new blog: For the Love of Liberty. I just posted something on there that I think is a neat idea, and I know not that many people have checked out the blog yet. Also, please feel free to tell other like-minded individuals about it - I don't care if I know them. If they are a friend of yours, they are a friend of mine!

The PERFECT Excuse and more GOOD NEWS!!

Yes, I have the PERFECT excuse for:

* Being a *slight* flake the last couple months - skipping a few church meetings and regularly forgetting stuff I am supposed to do.

* Letting Weston watch way too many cartoons (mostly while I lie listless on the couch)

* Tearing up while watching the swearing in of our new Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton - someone that I strongly dislike! (I was watching the loving, proud gaze of both her mother and daughter. It was momentarily touching. I am ridiculous, I know.)

* Swearing that my bottle of stevia (an herbal sweetener) smelled like cumin, and being disgusted by it even though I normally enjoy cooking with cumin.

* Feeling like all the energy just got shop-vac'd right out of me - moments after waking up from a nice long sleep.

* Not being very amused by Weston's shenanigans (like today when he stuffed toiled paper down the bathroom sink and then filled it up with scorching hot water)

* Living almost exclusively on string cheese, popcorn, fruit, cereal, and other random snacks.

* Not cooking a real dinner for my family in almost 7 weeks... this one has to be the worst to admit.

* Buying like 50 newborn onesies at the Children's Orchard closeout sale last weekend! Okay, so some of them were for 3-6 months, but you get the idea.

Yes, you guessed it, I'M PREGNANT! 13 weeks along, and longing for the morning/all day sickness phase to pass! So feel free to pile on the sympathy. :)

Sweet, wild little Weston will be a big brother in 6 months... the question is, will he have a little brother, or a little sister?

You may be wondering, if I don't yet know the gender of the baby, why did I buy so many clothes? Are they all unisex onesies? That was actually my plan at first. But do you know how few unisex baby clothes are actually in existence? Not many. Since Jason would bet his small intestine that it's a boy, I first went for the boy clothes. But then I thought, what the heck, I'm paying next to nothing for this stuff! So I picked up some girlie items too.

On to the second item of good news. I started a new blog entitled

FOR THE LOVE OF LIBERTY

This is something I have been wanting to do for awhile. I wanted a place to write all of my many political ideas, and to share thoughts on ways to defend our freedom. I also love to read the wise words of scholars both past and present (including our founding fathers) and share tidbits from them. It should be interesting, and I would love you to check it out!

Oh, and if you are Amy, Angie, Julie, Megan, Courtnie, Lynette, or Lisa - you may want to read my last blog entry if you haven't already. :)