I’ve not posted in quite a while but with good cause – I’ve had my attention on the dozen or so guests we’ve hosted in the last two weeks.
First off some very good friends came by; Brandy, her two kids Reuben and Anna, and her sister Bekah. They spent a wonderful day and night with us talking, playing games and going to the park. We caught up on life, each others kids and rekindled a friendship that I’ve cherished for years.
The day after our first guests left I watched four kids for a few hours. We had a great time making play dough and making sure Lance didn’t eat any.
My sisters came for a whole weekend so Stacie could get Lasik eye surgery. We had so much fun that I didn’t even get any pictures! The highlight of the visit for Lance was going to Petsmart where he watched the fish, petted the dogs and laughed at the birds – what fun!
After a few days to get the house back in order, we welcomed our most recent guests – Brian’s sister Kim and her “friend” Rick. Kim was with us Thursday through Monday (when an impending ice storm hurried her home). Rick drove in from Arkansas on Friday and we spent the weekend getting to know him. My parents also showed up for a brief visit on Thursday on their way to a conference.
This weekend a friend of Brian’s will be coming and staying with us for a while.
We are so blessed to have the resources that allow us to do extensive entertaining for family and friends. If you’re ever in the area let us know – we’d love to have you over!
Seest thou a man diligent in his business? He shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men. Prov. 22:29
Most of my posts tend to recount the antics and accomplishments of my little man Lance, but this time Brian is the one in the lime light. Please pardon my bit of bragging, but it’s well deserved.
When I married Brian I knew he had a good work ethic but had no idea what an achiever he would be once he had an admirer 🙂
6 months into our marriage, Brian thought it would be wise to earn a college degree. Not one to under do things he went for his Master’s degree as well and in less than two years gained both degrees. He just finished his master’s in Dec. and holds an MBA/MIS degree from Northcentral University with a 4.0 GPA, getting him inducted to the Delta Mu Delta honor society. He did his courses online, often getting up at 4am to study before heading to work!
Brian has also made great strides in the workplace. His motto in computers “it can be done,” spurs his problem solving skills as he leaves no stone unturned when looking for a solution. He also desires to make his boss successful. This has been noticed and rewarded with 3 promotions under two different bosses, the latest putting him in a manager position.
The neat thing about this man is his ability to achieve balance. These same characteristics are seen at home too. He’s an incredible husband to me, making sure I’m not left behind on his journey to success. He invites me to be a part of his efforts and values my company. Lance knows he’s a lucky guy to have a daddy like Brian and always has a smile and a laugh ready when dad comes home.
Tonight I made a special steak dinner for Brian, because you know what? I have an amazing guy!
New Years day Brian and I went out for an all day date! We started off at the mall smelling perfumes, made several short stops at some stores to return an item, check prices and get a few things – Brian came out of it all with a new watch which he badly needed. Next stop was two different piano stores where we asked a bunch of questions about electric pianos and got to try a few out.
We’ve been looking at getting a piano for a while now so I can keep up my skills and decided that a small electric one would fit our purposes and be easier to move around until we were settled in a more permanent location. We had seen one on Craig’s List but had no idea what to look for so we gathered info at the showrooms and felt we should go for it!
We played telephone tag with the owner while we used gift cards to eat first at McAllisters (bowl of soup) and then at TGI Friday’s (an appetizer and a dessert). Finally making contact with the piano seller we headed way out into the country and picked up our new prize!
This is a Korg Concert piano. I enjoy the ability to keep the sound down if Lance is napping while I practice – Lance just enjoys the whole experience of making noise with it. I’ve pulled out my old pieces and I’m reworking some of them, thrilled to find I’ve not lost my touch.
In other news….Lance has made some great progress in his skills and abilities:
Yesterday I taught him how to clean the toilet – he worked at it for over 15 minutes! Nothing like child labor 🙂
Lance has also taken off walking all over the house holding on to anything that will bear his weight. I took this film about a week ago and it’s already outdated as far as what he can do and how fast he can do it. Brian had a great time playing with him on Sunday, hiding around a corner and “scaring” Lance as he came around it. We were all laughing our heads off – which tended to make Lance a little wobbly. My favorite is when he laughs so hard his legs kind of melt and he has to sit down.
The other day he was cruising along a wall and I left the room to go do something. I heard him moving and pretty soon his little self came out the door and spied me – he was so proud of himself for finding me! What a fun kid to have around!
Nothing could make for a better day than watching my two boys play at the park.
Daddy and Lance had fun checking out every new texture and experience provided in this kids wonderland.
Playing peek-a-boo with Mommy.
Playing in the sand proved to be the highlight of the visit – for both of them. Lance tore down Daddy’s sandcastles as fast as he could build them! He also enjoyed testing his new cruising skills on different pieces of equipment. Other activities included swinging, sliding and walking barefooted on different surfaces.
Lance surveys the park and stores up good memories until next time.
i was just a little boy with his baby toys until….
I saw what real men do! Rough ridin’, cattle wranglin’, rootin tootin cowboys are my kind of stuff!
I got me some duds, traded in that faker ‘ol paint for the real McCoy and rode off into the sunset!
I did have to give my Ma one more hug though……and of course, I made it home before dark. But stick around, I’m sure there will be more tales to recount about Big Man “Shorty” – ya never know what I might do.
