4 months old!

Griffin has hit yet another milestone...he's 4 months old!

What a little ham! Here are a few of the shots from his 4 month picture trip (I heart Target!).







He doesn't go for his 4 month check up for a week or so (since i screwed up and forgot to schedule early;-)...so I weighed him here at home. I ht ought he was quite the chunk but my beloved growth charts show him staying right on track with his weight (small but mighty;-) in the 10th percentile...with a jammie and dry diaper on he weighed 13 pounds even! Now for the length...I wouldn't of guessed it but unless my measuring tape is whacked, he is only 23 inches which make shim a real shorty in the ZERO percentile...so either I stink at measuring or he's not staying on track with his length growth...no worries-no plans for the NBA anyway.

He's busting outta 3 month clothes and as soon as we finish off this pack of size one diapers, he'll graduate to size 2's. He's become more vocal and makes the cutest (at least right now) whiny sounds. He rolls to his side and looks for us and scootches in circles (slowly but surely). He's still on 6 oz of formula around every 3 hours, except at night which he sleeps through pretty well.

That's about it for the lil' stinker right now. I'll update when he has his check-up if my measurements were off.

Jake's birthday list:

Jake's 6th birthday is nearing (9-27). He's been working on a list for sometime now.

Today his list was wiped clean and we got him an early birthday present:


Yep, a new shiny gas meter!


I'll let the pictorial walk you through this unbelieveable tale:

The evidence-a couple basketballs and a golf club:



The only suspect-Jake with a verbal confession to his mother

The emergency phone call to vectren: "HI, my son hit the gas thingy outside of our house and now there is a strong gas smell and hissing noise".



What I'm told (after confirming my address)- "Ma'am do not turn anything in your home off or on. DO not close nor open any windows, do not start your vehicles. Do not make any calls including with your cell phone. Do not hang up, I will disconnect this call."

Me-"Uh, so should we leave the house"

Vectren-"yes, you should get a safe distance from the home but watch for the response truck".

Great.What.fun.

So, I get Owen outta bed, and grab Griffin in his carrier and stick him in his stroller to go stand on the street corner. I did take my cell with me and call Tim who was already near our house coming back from a meeting. He asked me what I brought with me...I said "nothing but our children!"

The neighbor let the boys go inside since it's so hot out and we sat on her porch in the shade and waited. We could smell gas even at her house.

Finally, Vectren shows up. He explained due to the nature of the situation, he'd have to "write it up"...so we asked if that meant $$$. He said "yeah".




So, enjoy your shiny new gas meter Jake!



Oh, and no more golf for you 'Tiger'.

Kids are expensive!

That's not really the point...read on-best $24.24/day x's 4 I've ever spent!

With my "back to work post just out, thought I'd post this bit I got from my BIL Jason...love it!



The Price of Children (don't know who the author was):

This is just too good not to pass on to all. Here is something absolutely positive for a change. I have repeatedly seen the breakdown of the cost of raising a child, but this is the first time I have seen the rewards listed this way. It's nice.

The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up with $160,140.00 for a middle income family. Talk about sticker shock! That doesn't even touch college tuition...

But $160,140.00 isn't so bad if you break it down. It translates into:


* $8,896.66 a year,
* $741.38 a month,
* $171.08 a week.
* A mere $24.24 a day!
* Just over a dollar an hour.

Still, you might think the best financial advice is: don't have children if you want to be 'rich.' Actually, it is just the opposite.

What do you get for your $160,140.00?

* Naming rights . First, middle, and last!
* Glimpses of God every day.
* Giggles under the covers

* More love than your heart can hold.
* Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.
* Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies.
* A hand to hold usually covered with jelly or chocolate.
* A partner for blowing bubbles and flying kites.
* Someone to laugh yourself silly with, no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day.

For $160,140.00, you never have to grow up. You get to:

* finger-paint,
* carve pumpkins,
* play hide-and-seek,
* catch lightning bugs,
* never stop believing in Santa Claus .

You have an excuse to:

* keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh,
* watch Saturday morning cartoons,
* go to Disney movies, and
* wish on stars.

You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator magnets and collect spray painted noodle wreaths for Christmas , hand prints set in clay for Mother's Day , and cards with backward letters for Father's Day .


For a mere $24.24 a day, there is no greater bang for your buck. You get to be a hero just for:

* retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof,
* taking the training wheels off a bike,
* removing a splinter,
* filling a wading pool ,
* coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs, and
* coaching a baseball team that never wins but always gets treated to ice cream regardless.


You get a front row seat in history to witness the:


* First step,
* First word,
* First bra (ok, maybe no tfor the Valiant's),
* First time behind the wheel.
* First date,

You get to be immortal. You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you're lucky, a long list of limbs in your obituary called grandchildren and great grandchildren. You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice, communications, and human sexuality that no college can match..

In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there under God. You have all the power to heal a boo-boo, scare away the monsters under the bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them forever (I've done this already), and love them without limits, so one day they will, like you, love without counting the cost. That is quite a deal for the price!!!!!!!

Love & enjoy your children & grandchildren & great-grandchildren!!!!!!! It's the best investment you'll ever make!!!!!!!!!


Hug them extra tight today...especially when they are "bad";-)

Hi-ho, hi-ho...

It's back to work I go!

You may remember way back in the early summer when we (myself, Tim, and my L&D boss Julie) decided I'd return to work in L&D in August-working likely Monday nights...

Well, if you haven't noticed, August is almost over and I've yet to go back...so here's the scoop.

I found out that there were not going to be "guaranteed hours" for me to work Mondays, nor possibly at all, so about a month ago, I began looking at other options. I thought about being a flu shot nurse or learning (ugh-yes, learning) a new area of nursing.

However, my heart is to stay at home with our boys-especially with Griffin being so young. But, since that would not align with our family's financial goals, a SAHM I can not be-right now at least. Yet, learning something altogether new would be very unlikely with me desiring to be VERY part-time.

So, I called up my wonderful L&D boss Julie and surprisingly, she had another option for me to think about. Tim and I tossed it around, I searched around for reliable childcare and decided to apply for the position. I had an interview about 2 weeks ago and FINALLY heard back---

Yep! You guessed it, I got the job;-). So here are the specs: I'll be working as a phone triage nurse (though the duties are much greater than chattin' on the phone all day-bummer) at the Cascada OBGYN office...isn't that ironic-the office that I cried gallons of tears over while pregnant I'll be working at;-) He, he. I think it's funny (and embarrassing). I will work Mondays and Tuesdays and the amazing part is, all the childcare worked out PERFECTLY! TJ will of course be at school all day. He'll just need to head to aftercare those 2 days. Jake will go to all day kindergarten those 2 days only (and they gave us super reasonable rates). Finally, Owen and Griffin will be heading off to their own little kid school-a great child care and preschool ministry of Elston Family Church (where I attend some women's ministry events, including Heart to Heart on Wednesday nights).

Are you ready for the BEST part? I have to train/orient for 2 weeks and during that time-they will POTTY train Owen! Woot-woot! *Jumping up and down*! That is priceless!

Seriously though, I'm actually very sad and apprehensive about going back to work, but I believe that the Lord has opened this door for a reason and worked everything out for us so, that does give me great peace.

With this, we are embarking on super busy times...I start next Thursday and then will work solid through the 15th of September before settling into my Monday Tuesday routine. This coupled with TJ beginning on a swim team (that's if he makes the team) that practices every night (but we'll only attend 3 or so nights (*only-rolling eyes*) and Jake starting Soccer.

B-U-S-Y-T-I-M-E-S-!-!-!

In other news, Griffin will be 4 months old Monday (tears falling). Owen went pee-pee on the potty today (cheering...pee-pee in the pott-y!). I am getting over the stomach flu (thank you TIM) AND we are still not unpacked/settled back in from a recent trip to Wisconsin we took (post coming soon). Oh and Griffin still has a cold (yuck-y!).

So, that's the scoop-pretty lengthy, I know. Pray for us;-)

TJ & Jake 1st day of school 2009

Whew! Glad that is over...I'm back home and settled in from getting TJ to his first day of FOURTH grade and Jake settled in to his first day of KINDERGARTEN.

I fought back the tears (a few times) as the first day always fills me with mixed emotions of happiness for my healthy kiddos and the bittersweetness of knowing they are a year older and have new adventures and challenges ahead.

Ok, on to the photo journey...hang with me here:

Jake eating from the Celebration plate-his "K" shaped pancake and snowman shaped pancake. The celebration plate saw it's first use ever at the Valiant home for TJ's first day of kindergarten-since then we've pulled it out for b-days, and other special firsts.



TJ with his "4" shaped cake:



All 4 boys at breakfast:



Handsome TJ:






Cuteykins Jake:






Other fun first day pics:

My 4 sweet boys ready to load into the van:


At school-it was a drearyish day:


TJ with his 4th grade teacher Miss Hicks:


Jake with his kindergarten teacher Mrs. McQueen:

Jake at his desk:

Owen loving on Jake (he didn't want to leave Jake and was confused as to where his seat was;-):


Other thoughts about the morning: Where to begin? Geesh-it is hard getting up 4 boys, getting them breakfast, myself ready, them ready, a packed lunch for TJ, backpacks, and safely loaded into the van in order to be to the school around 7:50am. Just an observation. Oh, and before I forget-HUGE praises to God for arranging it that Griffin is sleeping soundly in his carrier (even though overdue to eat) and Owen is watching Scooby so I can even compose and post this. Also, I am so thankful that we have been blessed with the resources to send our boys to FCS...how awesome to get to see Jake start the day in prayer with his class (the prayer was led by his teacher). The school also had a great mini-pep session to get the students excited including a great game of Simon Says (Jake was clueless;-) and then some fun roller board relays...so thankful for no injuries;-) The school administrator prayed for the school year, and then the teachers and kids joined in a fun FCS cheer. It was during the pep time in the gym that I fought back the tears as I realized in just moments, I'd be leaving without kisses or hugs or even waves goodbye.

I did walk with Jake's class to his room to get pictures. He was very subdued and quiet. He was all slouched over and uninterested looking. Owen kept saying in a sweet voice "Hi Jake". I finally let him go over to Jake's desk and give him a kiss and hug good bye. Me, Owen, and Griffin left just after attendance was taken. Jake has 19 in his class and there are 2 sections of k-garteners (the other section has 18). TJ has just 23 kids in his class and his class does not have a second section-he is in the smallest class in K-6th grades at FCS but, it is the first year he has attended with this large of a class as they've always had enough for 2 sections-ussually around 18 or so in each section-so many classmates could not re-enroll this year-thanks economy.

I pick Jake up from half day K at 11:30 and TJ at 3:30. I'm sure the day with go fast-but not fast enough for Owen who already misses his bros. I better end to get some stuff done around here before 11:30 rolls around. Yay for another first day of school gone by!

PS blogger is mean and spell check isn't working so I'm going to post knowing that there are some typos, etc but Griffin calls

Oh and a cute blast from the past-oh where has the past 4 years gone???:

Stuff and I'm just wondering...

Griffin is in full-blown cooing mode. *Precious*
He also sat and smacked his lips while we ate dinner tonight. *Hilarious*

Tim had some minor surgery today. *Pathetic*
I was asking him if I could get him anything and he said "you could take a sugar pill so you would be sweeter". *Seriously nervy*
I hid his pain medicine for that. *giggle*

I owe TJ $10.00 because he loaaded (and unloaded) a bucket (sand castle size) 100 times (at 10 cents a trip) and took it back and forth to relocate landscape rocks. *Devoted*

Owen dances around while singing like Stevie Wonder. *Beautiful*

Jacob informed us that he would like to change his name when he grows up. What?
Yep, and for now, he would like to no longer be called Jacob, but only Jake. *Okey Dokey*


Now on to me wondering...what blogs do you read? Seriously, I want to know. I think I'm missing a lot of amazing writers and what God has for them to share because I'm in my own little rut or 10 or so blogs. Most of the blogs I read are about people and their lives...a few on frugal spending and couponing and such-but I'm looking for MEATY, seriously daily life transforming words right now...

Know of any such blogs? Please share in my comments section. Thank you.