The Richter Scale

Enjoy.....

2012-02-10T14:38:00.004-06:00

Life is crazy and it flies by almost at the speed of light. I sit down and look back and it seems like yesterday I was playing school in my garage and here I am almost 40!

Not sure how the time traveled so fast and how I missed so much (or maybe I didn't?)

In this crazy world of making sure deadlines are met and children are carted off to whatever extracurricular activity they may be involved in, I want to remind you to stop and smell the roses or daisies or whatever kind of flower you are into these days. Before you know it, you will be looking back wondering what the heck happened to ALL this time I thought I had left.

Having a hubby with cancer puts your invincible status on permanent hiatus and makes you realize that life can be cut short at any moment. None of us know God's plan for our lives, we just know that we are here today. Later today is a mystery and tomorrow is not a guarantee.

I think that James and I have come to two conclusions walking this journey, as a family with a cancer patient to a family who has a cancer survivor to a family who has no freakin' clue what the future holds.

Those two things are live for the moment and be happy. Two very easy things if you let yourself go a little and hold up your hands and say "its out of our control, it's in your hands and I have faith that it will turn out the way it should."

Living for the moment is probably harder in today's society. We have so much pressure to have our kids involved in things, meet deadlines at work, put our jobs as a priority to our families, put off tomorrow what clearly could be done today.

7 years ago, we lived in the moment and moved to Minnesota. That wasn't easy - our entire family base and all of our life long friends reside in Illinois or a close proximity. We knew two people in Minnesota when we moved here. By no means was that an easy decision or an easy transition. But we did it. We slowly crept back into the life style of worrying about the future...money for the future... etc.

Let me tell you there is more to life than money, there is more to life than making sure your child excels at every sport or musical interest. In the end, none of that matters. So today, we do what we want and pick up and go places when we want. Spend lots of time with our kids and have an amazing friend (family) base in MN. So when the day comes when James and I aren't here, our kids will have some great memories and will hopefully tell people that their parents did the best they could.

Being happy is a choice. You just don't wake up everyday happy. You have to decide that you will be happy and go with it. My husband has taught me a lot about this over the past several months. Regardless of what he was going through, he was always happy, full of life. He could care less what others think of him and ignores them that blatantly demean him. He doesn't care. He knows he is loved by Jesus, he knows the kids and I adore him so he needs nothing else and lets all the other crap go by without hesitation.

That is something I admire and I aspire to be like. I recently let go of some of the things that were holding me back, making me crazy and decided to live with grace and acceptance that some things and some people will not change regardless of the circumstances. I am choosing to be happy despite anything that may go on around me.

It may seem strange, but I am thankful for the journey our family has taken over the past 13 months. We are stronger, happier and a heck of lot wiser because of experiences and some really tough lessons learned.

So stop......breathe.....enjoy your life and stop stressing over the things you have no control over!

New Year....New Beginning

2012-01-19T19:12:00.006-06:00

So 2012 has brought some change to the ever changing world of The Richter Familia ~ all for the better (one can pray)

The Holiday season came and went so quickly. My parents were here for Christmas, which was awesome. My children were ridiculously spoiled....(will try to change that next year) and we took some pictures, because to be quite honest, we were so excited that James was home this year, we didn't want to miss a second of watching the kids due to trying to keep a video camera somewhat steady.

I think the most dramatic change in the family is that I, almost 40 year old Tara, decided to go back to school. Luckily many of my credits from Harvard on the Highway (Waubonsee) transferred to my new school, so I have very few "gen ed" classes I need before I can apply for...........................................

Nursing School. Yep, that's right...nursing school! Who'd a thunk? right?

So now, I work full time, go to school three nights a week, try to be a semi-decent mother and amazing wife, lead a volunteer group at church, and chair the PTO at Carlie's school and sleep and relax in between! Some may say I'm nuts.....but I am determined!

Why Nursing? What a fabulous question!

I have slowly become weary of my current occupation, which I have had since I was about 19. 20 years of listening to people cry and complain and paint you as a villain gets old. While my current job, pays our bills, keeps food on the table and allows my kids to participate in activities, it no longer fulfills me. I have talked about nursing for a while and only a few things would deter that ambition and make me change course. Those few things I can not elaborate on at this time.

Any who.....when James was in Mayo last March, the nurses there inspired me. No matter what floor we were on or what unit he resided in, the nurses were all the same..........caring, compassionate, put his needs first, friendly and unequivocally the most professional nurses I have ever been around in a hospital setting.

Perhaps I was of a different mind set at the time, perhaps it was the atmosphere in which they work, but I decided at that moment, this is what I wanted to do when I grow up. Because, heck, as I approach 40, I am still a kid, right?

So I applied for financial aid, registered and now I go three nights a week.

So with this has brought change.....

*preparing meals on Sunday to get us through the week, which has helped financially because we are not eating out or running to the store for something every night.

*my kiddies are having some good old quality daddy time (which never hurts).

*my schedule is a bit more hectic that normal, but as long as I have my calendar on my handy smartphone, I should be ok.

*I have cut out soda from my diet, as well as fake sugars....Gotta get in shape if I am going to stand for 12 hour shifts!! We are trying to live and eat healthier! So far, so good!

Its been fun. It should be exciting and I was pleasantly surprised that I was not the oldest in any of my classes and hopefully in a couple years, I will have an RN after my name.

God has continued to bless us! It has been an amazing ride.

P.S. James is doing fabulously!! Thank you for your prayers for him!!!

Happy Death Day! (almost)

2011-12-08T21:39:00.004-06:00

One year ago, on December 20th, I drove to the hospital because James thought his appendix had ruptured. He was working, walking around with new hires, and doubled over in pain.

The night before, he had some lower abdominal pain but we shrugged it off as eating too much for dinner.

While at the hospital, we simply thought he would need to have his appendix removed and we would be home in time for Christmas! However, as soon as the doctor walked in, after his CT scan and said..."have you been feeling ok, lately?" - we knew there was something else.

After a list of questions, he referred us immediately to another hospital for more testing. He couldn't explain how James could have stomach cancer and no symptoms.

So...numb....we drove through the snow to Minneapolis without saying much. We tried to console each other with "it will be ok" and "i love you", but deep down, we both felt that James was dying, never coming home. Any faith that I may have had, disappeared.

In an instant, I transformed into a patient advocate and tried to be a comforting wife. I failed miserably at trying to protect me kids, I failed miserably on certain days to be strong for James.

After 4 days of no food or water, obvious deterioration and countless negative testing, James was wheeled into surgery. Several hours later, nearly 1am on Christmas Eve day, he was in recovery and I was told NOTHING. They couldn't tell me one way or the other what the heck was wrong with him other than they removed his RT colon and something that used to resemble an appendix.

5 days later, James came home with a diagnosis of mucinous adenocarcinoma, a very rare form of appendix cancer, which is very slow growing and affected only 500 people per year. The mucin pockets had likely been growing for several years without any knowledge to him as there are no symptoms.

However, so much good has come from James' near death day - as we call it. I know it is morbid, but we (or I) really felt on that one day, he was never coming home.

So...here are the good things..

1) There were two on call surgeons --- the first had never seen anything like this. The second surgeon....he had. The days following the surgery, he tried to prepare us for the inevitable diagnosis of cancer. But we chose to believe that he was wrong as they all had been wrong for 9 days. Ultimately, he was correct. However, the miracle was not in the doctor himself, but who he used to be a resident under. Yes, he was a resident under one of the two surgeons in Minnesota who have treated this type of cancer. And yes, he had seen it before. Within days, he was on the phone with the ONE physician who he felt would be aggressive with James' treatment and keep him alive longer --- Dr. John Donahue at the Mayo Clinic.

2) By the time, James and I received his actual diagnosis, we were at peace with whatever the diagnosis was. 9 days of uncertainty will do that for a person. That was nothing but the result of people's prayers and God's continued objective to prove His existence.

3) My husband was baptized within 6 weeks of his first surgery --- barely able to get up from a sitting position, he was dunked in a small pool at our church.

4) He went into his second and most extensive surgery - positive, faithful and full of life. He came out of the 10 hour surgery well, recovered well and was back to himself 8 weeks later.

5) Our family has matured. Our family, faith, and view on life has changed dramatically.

6) Here we are - nearly one year later.........James is cancer free. We believe that he will stay that way and will prove the brilliant minds of his physicians wrong and will NOT be the norm!

So, a year later...., a year after we thought our future was gone, we celebrate life. We embrace change and movement forward. We are, in a strange way, thankful for the journey we were forced to take or we would not be in the absolute happy place we are today.

In addition, we thank YOU for your prayers. We thank you for your support, for your love, for your compassion, for the meals you prepared and the time you took our kids or shoveled our driveway. We would not be where we are today, without you all!

Saints and Sinners

2011-12-04T20:06:00.003-06:00

We all have skeletons in our closet...something we have hidden deep in the depths of our brain and/or heart or ones that have come to the forefront and we have had to deal with.

There is no one in this dark, sinful world how is perfect. I only know of ONE perfect being and it sure as heck is not me! You all have heard me talk about my church. I love it. Despite its imperfections, despite what our community may think of it...None of that matters.

Our church is unconventional. It plays loud music and has people standing outside smoking and others who have more tattoos and piercings than you have likely seen in one place before. There are Harley driving, leather wearing men and women who come every Sunday to hear what Jesus has to say.

Last night, I was serving and had the extreme pleasure of watching someone struggle to walk through the door. He was so nervous, this normal black coffee drinker, was putting every type of flavor, cream and sugar in his coffee as his hands were shaking. He had been to a different church before, but had fallen away from Jesus.

He went to service and after - several of us were able to hear his story and pray for him. He is a man with a lot of crap going on. He was 24 hours sober. He was struggling with marriage issues and to top it off, he is facing some prison time - for what? It doesn't really matter.

At our church....none of this mattered. We loved him, hugged him, prayed for him. No one stared at him, no one judged him for his sins, imperfections, for his appearance.....He just came, listened and hopefully got a little life change.

This is one of the main reasons I LOVE MY CHURCH! You can be whatever you are and not worry about the consequences of it. You can be headed down a really dark path and still find people who will love on you like you are an old friend.

So those who believe our church is weird, out of the ordinary, crazy and over the top....you are likely right. But over the course of the past two years, I have seen hundreds of lives changed for the better.

Jesus is the answer.....Seek and ye shall find...

WOOT!!

2011-10-10T23:02:00.003-05:00

This is what HAPPINESS looks like! Look hard, because it does not get any better than this! After 9 months of uncertainty, hospitals, doctor appointment, worry and prayer....this is what it looks like when you hold on to your faith, think the best and get some awesome news!

Can I tell you a secret?

This picture.....it was taken the night BEFORE, we received the awesome news that James is currently cancer free.

Yep, the night before! Not the night after....the night before. We acted silly, went to dinner, had dessert, walked outside in the beautiful fall air, celebrated life....no matter what his results.

Yes, after 2 surgeries, 4 days of toxin being pumped into his gut, 27 total days in the hospital, 9 months of praying, believing and living life as normally as possible....we heard the words....you are cancer free.

There was a but....we still expect this to return just because of the nature of the cancer, but for now you are pretty darn perfect! See you in ONE year....not 6 months...a Full 12 months, a full 365 days. Today and every day, we celebrate James' life, our life and live it completely!!

I can't begin to tell you how amazing it is. However, we aren't stopping now...we are still praying, still believing that James is the exception to this stupid disease and not the norm!

There was nothing as exciting as coming home to our kids asking how James' appointment was and to be able to tell them...especially Carlie, that it was AWESOME!!! AAHHH!!! one year she doesn't have to think her dad has cancer! AH-MA-ZING!

Here are our kiddos ---

Eating ice cream -- Luke is enjoying sorbet!

Then....fishin' with dad!!! They love that and so does he!

So..........live life to the fullest!!!! Don't take a day for granted! Have fun, be silly, love deeply, chase your dreams...Don't be 50 years old and wonder what the heck happened to your life!

The Places We will Go

2011-08-25T00:25:00.005-05:00

It is funny how the places and things you dreamt of as a child very rarely become a reality. I have been super quiet on the blogosphere as I have felt uninspired...Nothing has reached out and grabbed me and said..."you must share!"

This summer has gone quickly. Carlie spent a large portion of the summer with my mom and dad and then came home to a surprise of a new dog, some YMCA camps, basketball camp and now we are on the final countdown to school. Honestly, just having laid back Luke in the house did not cause a lot of drama or excitement. That, of course, all picked up when the lively 8 year old returned to the nest.

The last few days/weeks, I have been praying for so many people who are having issues in their life, whether it is marital, a death of a loved one, family members involved in a Hurricane, an illness. There seems to be a lot of crap going around these days.

Maybe it is because I am getting older....my loved ones are too, which means illness or disease is likely. Maybe global warming has something to do with the natural disasters or perhaps it is the prophecy we have read in the Bible. However, I am having a difficult time getting a hold of and wrapping my arms around all the illness that is all of a sudden surrounding me. It is sad.

I never, in a million years, would have thought anyone I loved or cared for would have cancer or an illness that can't be diagnosed, or sudden onset of MS. It always happens to someone else. I remember feeling invinsible at 18! Boy, did that end quickly.

Anyway, I guess what I am trying to share is I never thought I would be in a place where I lived life in 6 month increments. A very wise, Godly woman, whom I have never met, was diagnosed with breast cancer recently and had surgery. While her daughter shared updates, she was in awe of the fact that her mother has never said anything other than she will use this disease for God's glory. How incredibly faithful is she? I mean, really, some feel sorry for themselves. Others feel angry and betrayed by God. but not her....she is using it to HIS glory.

Over the last few months, our life has been normal. We have lived everyday appreciating our family and the multiple blessings in our life. We have not been consumed with James' potential illness, we have focused on him healing from his surgery and resuming a normal life. He has maintained stellar strength during all of this, never feeling sorry for himself or angry that he was the one chosen to walk this journey.

Yet, here I sit....less than 30 days before his 6 month post op CT scan and I am consumed with fear and anxiety. Even though, his surgeon told us that this CT scan would be a baseline and would likely still show scar tissue from the surgery and the annual CT scan would reveal more, I am sick to my stomach thinking what if it is not gone? What if it has mutated to something more aggressive? What if it is somewhere else? What if I lose my husband, my kids lose their dad?

Ugh....I have said it before. What if's are a big old waste of time! What if's are ridiculous, yet I can't seem to shake them. Jesus said, do not worry about tomorrow as today has enough trouble of its own. I know this. Yet I have a hard time living it! It is frustrating. It is ridiculous. It is quite pathetic.

So, here is my request..........as I have requested many times over the last 9 months. Please pray for my husband! Please pray that his CT scan is crystal clear and that Jesus performs a miracle and this cancer does not return in any form. Please pray for his continued strength and determination and for the wisdom of his physicians. His appointment is September 29th, so if you read this... please lift him up on prayer! We (I) so appreciate it!

Just as I thought....

2011-07-18T18:06:00.003-05:00

Some have loads of friends. More than they can count, keep track of or keep in touch with.

Me...not so much. I am kind of a loner. Been stung by the friendship bee too many times and tend to hang close to my hubby and family with a few girlfriends here or there.

On Facebook, I see many people from high school who are still friends with their high school friends or at least have kept in close contact with them.

Again, me....not so much. I lost track of my high school friends when they ventured off into their life and I stumbled through mine. Then came marriage...Then came Carlie in the baby carriage. Some of you may be able to relate.

I have a few friends who I talk to every so often and we can pick up where we left off 6 months prior. I have a friend who I hadn't talked to in nearly 18 years and we picked up like no time had passed. I have some new girlfriends here in Minnesota, who are very close to my heart and I absolutely adore, but lets face it, we all have kids, jobs, responsibilities and we try to get together whenever possible.

I even have a friend who I have never met, but have been pen pals with since I was like 12. We have grown up together and still communicate every now and then and exchange pictures of our adorable children. That, I think, is pretty cool.

Keeping with the never meeting theme, I have a super special friend, who I had never met~ except through BlogWorld. I found her through my cousin's blog when she requested friends and family to pray for this woman's little boy. I followed this little boys story, communicated with his mom and grew to absolutely love her and her family. I have read her struggles and seen her grow. I have watched her sweet little daughter go from a little 4 year old to a beautiful 9 year old young lady. She has helped me through one of the hardest times in my life. She has prayed for my family as I have for hers.

She kind of lives far away and I have always prayed that one day I could just meet her. Give her a hug. Tell her that I love her. However, my opportunities to travel West are kind of limited at the moment - especially to meet someone face to face, who I have never met.

But.......this past week, I was blessed enough to have Adrienne come to Minnesota. She was having a jewelry show (of jewelry that she makes) and she sent me an invite. I was thrilled to go, so I took my friend and we headed to Minneapolis for a little bit of girly fun.

I have to tell you, it was just as I had thought! She is more beautiful in person. She is genuine and by far one of the sweetest people I have been blessed to call my friend and now I no longer have to refer to her as my Blogger friend (which can be hard to explain)! I was able to hug her, cry a little (but I caught myself), have some snacks and look and buy some awesome jewelry that comes from her heart. I was able to hug her again and hold her beautiful little boy and tell her, face to face, that I love her!

It was the highlight of my week and summer! I am so very blessed that God put us together during really crazy circumstances but I believe that a friendship was made.

I can't wait for her to come back and we can share a little Sebastian Joe's, maybe introduce our girls, or even better spend some "retreat" time with her.

So, if you are reading this...Adrienne! I am so very thankful for you and love you just as much!

Speechless

2011-06-01T15:17:00.005-05:00

These two kiddos are the light of my life. In addition to their very handsome dad, they are the reason I get up every day. It is my job to provide for them, teach them and protect them.

I really don't have anything to say at this point in time. Perhaps that is because there is not any drama in our life right now - there is only peace. James is doing well. Carlie and Luke are fabulous. Really, what else can one ask for?

Carlie just turned 8 and Luke just finished his first year of preschool. Not a lot of excitement here!

I will ask though, that you keep James in your prayers over the next week. He is scheduled for his baseline CT next Thursday in Rochester. We continue to believe that Jesus has healed him! Thank you so much in advance!

All in His time

2011-04-26T21:05:00.004-05:00

I am not by any means an ultra conservative mom. There are some things that I believe are better kept for older children. I still prefer that Carlie watch Scooby Doo over iCarly.

I try to protect her from the things that I know can hurt her, confuse her or cause her to ask questions, I am not prepared to answer... :)

I believe that she can listen to music by Heart and Foo Fighters and still believe in Jesus and go to Heaven. I don't believe there is anything evil about her wearing the Peace Sign on her clothes, and I will even go as far as saying that I let her read books titled "Captain Underpants" and let her watch TV shows like "Dancing with the Stars", even though we typically TIVO that to fast forward through the sometimes too grown up comments.

Yesterday, she told me that her friend told her that kissing like grown ups was called "sex" - I told her that was simply called kissing and then totally avoided the whole "what is sex?" talk. Not quite ready to open that can of worms yet!

But simply said, my little peanut is growing up. I can tell in her mannerisms, her choice of words, her change in interests. Along with all this change, Carlie has had a lot of change in her life over the last 4 months that has caused her some anxiety. This anxiety has, in turn, made her physically sick.

For nearly three weeks we have battled whatever this was. At first, I thought the worst! Then, I realized that this was satan chompin' at the bit for my family! We prayed over Carlie for nearly 2 weeks, for satan or whatever dimension of evil was entering our house and her mind to leave her and our house in Jesus' name. We would have a couple good days where her complaints were minimal, then BOOSH!!! It was back. I took her to the doctor for the doctor to tell her she was OK. That only helped minimally.

Then Saturday night after volunteering at my church, I was walking to my car. There were three Women of God (Debbie, Karen and Rita) with whom I am proud to serve with, standing in the parking lot. God led me to these woman that night in the parking lot - I was feeling depressed and helpless when it came to making Carlie better. Despite everything going on in their lives, I kindly requested that as they pray, if they could simply remember Carlie.

At that moment, Debbie, who was so sick and is struggling with her own son's anxiety, got out of her car and all four of us prayed for Carlie, a little girl they have only met once, right in the middle of the parking lot of our church. Each woman prayed individually, outloud, asking for Jesus to heal Carlie's heart and body, to wrap His arms around her and protect her and our family and the third asked for all this "demonic" activity to leave Carlie immediately.

This may sound CRAZY...but at that moment the stress left my body and I had a gut feeling, along with Rita, that Carlie was going to be better.

Can I tell you something?

On Easter Sunday, my daughter woke up feeling better than she had in over 2.5 weeks. She enjoyed her Easter basket, went to church and served and went to another Children's Worship class, she prayed for Jesus to be the leader of her life and forgive her of her sins, she came home and had an Easter egg hunt, played at the park and with her friends until 8:30 at night.

Her personality returned to the Carlie we all love! Not the sad, walking on eggshells, sitting in her room Carlie, but smiling, vibrant, full of life Carlie!

Tonight, when my daughter went to bed - she told me..."mom, I feel good - really good!"

I am so very grateful for those woman, who I am proud to call my friends and everyone else who has been faithfully praying for Carlie. This has been a hard 4 months for her - for a lot of reasons. She has remained strong, sometimes stronger than me. Even as she questioned why God was not helping her feel better and answering her prayers, she continued to pray for healing every night. In His time, it happened!

Tonight, my little peanut went to bed smiling instead of gripped with fear!

I just had to include this picture of Luke - he came home last week with a bunny face and I just thought he was TOO cute!

So what have I learned as a mom through this ordeal....we can not protect our children forever, no matter how hard we try, no matter how much we hate to see it, our kids are going to go through ordeals that sometimes may be more than they can handle. They are going to have lessons to learn, even at the very tender age of 7!

In this case, I truly believe that satan was trying to manuever back into our family. It took a little longer than I would have liked, but we slammed the door in his face!

Luker

2011-04-15T22:54:00.003-05:00

Our son ROCKS! No, I am so serious. Everyone thinks their kids ROCK, I get that! But my Luke has gone from a quiet little boy to a boisterous 4 year old over night! He is kind of mouthy, kind of stubborn, kinda OCD, kinda crazy (in a fun way) and 100% loveable.

To put it plainly..

He amazes me every single day with a new action or something witty coming from his cute little mouth!

Tonight, James had a little burst of energy. It was great. He sat on the couch and played nerf guns with the kids. They ran around like little crazy people and for the most part, he sat in the same spot, with two bullets and just shot at them as they went flying by. It was hysterical!

At one point, Luke puffed out his chest, like a rooster, and strutted into the living room, gun in hand and boldly telling his sister..."I. WILL. HANDLE. THIS!"

As he approached the couch - Boom - Nerf bullet hits him square in the face and he falls to the floor....dead. He then gets up, stomps to the back room and tries to form a new plan, with Carlie, to get their dad. This time, they come out and James had moved and scared them both!

Just a brief moment of fun with their dad, but a huge stress reliever for all!

Prayer

2011-04-10T20:44:00.003-05:00

My prayer list seems to grow everyday....Sometimes, mostly in the morning or at night - my prayer can go on....well....forever..... Whether I am praying for something specific like healing or protection, asking God to soften the hearts of those dear to me that I want to find Him and have their lives radically changed, to praising and thanking him for the everyday blessings He has given me. Without Him, I wouldn't have my awesome, yet sometimes stressful job, I wouldn't get my paycheck, I couldn't feed my kids or enroll them in their extra curricular activities. Without Him, I wouldn't have my husband and my friends or the ability to share my blessings with others.

I pray many times throughout the day. I pray when I wake up, when my kids are getting ready for school, before we eat, as I am driving and some psycho woman on the phone cuts me off, as I get feel anxious, sick, thankful that my kids made it home safely. I pray for my brother, my parents, my in-laws, my family and friends. I pray for specific people, some I don't even know, and their needs or simply thank Him for them being a part of my screwed up life, I pray for my very hard working pastor, his wife and family and their very dedicated staff. I pray for our government leaders and for Israel, simply because He tells us to in the Bible.

I have told Carlie, she can pray whenever, wherever she is. She doesn't have to always close her eyes and bow her head, she can speak her prayer in her head and talk to Jesus about WHATEVER!! Whether she is scared, happy, mad, sad or thankful.

Today, Carlie's bible lesson at church was about just that! That you can talk to God ANYTIME, ANYWHERE, about ANYTHING....and ANYTHING means just that....ANYTHING. The verse of the week.

1Thessalonians 5:17..... "Never stop praying"

I think it finally hit home with her that it is ok to pray whenever, wherever...For that I am thankful.

However, in our service something else hit home with me that I would like to share.

See this picture?

It is of my kids and four of their friends. I have prayed over these children everyday for as long as I have known them. Sometimes the prayer is the same, sometimes it is specific about their day, health, whatever.....just depends on the day and quite frankly what is on my heart at that moment. However, today we were asked this.."How many of you have a boring testimony?

Maybe a few raised their hand...I admit mine has not been boring. Neither has James', I don't think my parents would say theirs was boring either. Honestly, I think the majority of Jesus followers probably had something huge happen that impacted their decision to follow the ALL forgiving Jesus. Whether that tipping point was pain, disappointment, anger, an addiction, judgementalism, lies, infidelity, whatever...Something probably happened to cause them to say...Hey, I can't do this on my own anymore.

The one thing that struck me while this conversation was going on is that while I pray for my children and these four above, I have never specifically prayed for THEIR testimony, THEIR road to faith to be uneventful or boring. I pray for their protection and so on...however, as I sit back and think, I don't want them to go through anything that we have gone through to find their true faith in Jesus.

So from today on, my prayer for these very special 6 kids is that their faith just blossom as they mature and that their journey is uneventful and someday when they are asked how they became the person they are, they can simply say..."It was all Jesus, my whole life, and there just is not anything all that exciting to speak of!"

Sometimes there is something to be said about being the boring, uneventful one! :)

Inspiration

2011-04-08T20:10:00.010-05:00

There are two reasons that have made this really difficult "new" reality easier to handle. Nearly 8 years ago, after being married for over 7 years, James and I had Carlie. For those that know Carlie's story...her birth and survival was a miracle. And here we are nearly 8 years later and we stand in awe of her awesomeness every day.

Then 3 1/2 years later, Luke was born. For those that know Luke's story....his life is also a miracle. And here we are nearly 5 years later and we stand in awe of his absolute awesomeness.

Some of you may be thinking to yourself....every birth is a gift from God. Every birth is a miracle, something to cherish and stand in awe of. I don't disagree with you at all. The whole concept of having a child is incredibly miraculous.

However, our kids truly were miracles. God performed BIG things in their little lives before they were born, immediately after and continues to as they grow up into remarkable young people.

Carlie was a miracle as my body spontaneously reversed a miscarriage at week 5 of my pregnancy, she was then born 8 weeks early and the ONLY medical issue she had was she wouldn't suck and needed a feeding tube.

Luke was wrapped in the umbilical cord, suffocating, using only stored up food and energy as the cord was completely pinched and wrapped around his neck and upper body. He was born via emergency c-section - 4 weeks early. He was blue, needed to be bagged to start breathing and then spent 9 days in the NICU because he had low blood sugar and wouldn't suck to eat.

Considering all....my kids were miracles.

When James and I first started this walk in December, my Aunt prayed and prayed for us and provided us with a verse in which she says was directly from God and we should live through this. The verse is this and she gave it to us the day after James entered the hospital the first time, before we knew what was wrong with him...

Psalms 91:14-16...."Because he loves me", says the Lord, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation."

As James and I processed his treatment and our life, we both chose to hang on to that scripture. I remember telling James that God has performed so many miracles in our marriage and life, why would He stop now. God performed these miracles in our marriage and with our children and family before James even stepped up and acknowledged his faith...

James and I went through marital problems, for which we survived solely because of the power to forgive and the absolute grace of God.

Why would God stop now? I sure don't think that He is. I think God has incredible plans for our future...all of us - James, me, Carlie and Luke.

However, through all of this....our kids have been a HUGE part of our inspiration!

We have come a long way...In our house the order of priority is God, our marriage and our kids. Without the first two, our kids lives would really stink.

We love their braveness, their heart and their spirit and their will to just be happy and have fun.

One of the things James thought of as he entered surgery, was our little kiddos rockin' to "My Hero" by the Foo Fighters - They can both sing it almost perfectly and it makes James smile from ear to ear every time they start rockin' out to it!

Apologies

2011-04-06T19:46:00.005-05:00

Countless times over the past few months, so many people have tried to comfort us with "I'm Sorry" or "Good Luck".

At first, I think we probably responded with a polite thank you or an it's ok. We just responded the best way that we could.

However, today....that is a much different story.

James has not had many moments of self pity or anger. He has faced this with courage, strength and peace. He really has amazed me in so many ways.

As he left for surgery, James was told ~ "Good Luck"

James' response was "I don't need luck, I have faith on my side!"

Now, if someone says they are sorry for what we are going through, we simply say there is nothing to be sorry for. This is the hand that we have been given and we will deal with it the best we can and move on.

After spending 3 weeks in the hospital, our story is nothing compared to the others that we saw or heard about. Mine and James' situation is no better or worse that anyone else suffering or trying to make it through a difficult situation, whether it is medically related, financially related or emotionally related.

It is just ours to deal with.

People say - God says he does not give us more than we can handle. I personally have not run across that in my reading...but I do know that by reading His word, we gain perspective, strength and wisdom to get through anything.

So, if you see James, don't feel bad for him! Rejoice with him, Congratulate him on his recovery and encourage him to continue to believe and have faith that this will not return.

This medical situation does not define him, it will only form him into an even more extraordinary man than he already is! I am so very proud of him! I am the lucky one, that is for sure.

Normalcy

2011-04-03T22:35:00.010-05:00

Really, what is normalcy?

That can be defined differently by every family in the world. My normal is definitely not your definition of normal and vice versus.

Up until December, we had a sense of normalcy, a sense of security, a sense of invincibility. Since then, our normal has been different. Constant prayers, reminders, worries, doctors visits, concerns. James recovered so nicely from his first surgery that we couldn't imagine anything different from this one.

From December 30th, when he left the hospital the first time, we focused on his recovery, positivity and focused on preparing James, me and both kids for the second surgery and all that was going to transpire, without telling the kids "everything" - as some burdens are too much for them to bear and that is why we are here as parents. We didn't take our kids for granted and hugged them a little more and did more "family" things that maybe a couple months before.

Then surgery number two happened! We are moving on nearly 4 weeks from his surgery and he is slowly recovering and getting back to "my" James.

Since coming home, life has not been normal. We have been walking on egg shells, holding our breathe, dealing with anxiety in our own little ways, sleeping very little and likely eating less.

That is...everyone except Luke. He is truly blessed because he does not understand anything and lets things slide off him like water on a duck.

But, James, Carlie and I have had to adjust and deal with a lot of things we really did not anticipate. But kudos to my kid...she tries to be brave and strong and I love her for that.

Last week, both kids and I spent time at the doctor-all on different days. I feel like I have not got back into my groove at work, despite all the trying I could muster.

However, our life started to return to normal yesterday! For two days now, James has felt better, Carlie is relaxed, I am more relaxed trying to hold my entire house together. Luke is, well, Luke! :)

My focused reading this week, as I have tried to work out of my funk and to be straight up honest with you, depression, has been Psalms and Isaiah. In addition to that, I resisted the urge to stay home and curl up in my bedroom and headed back to church after a three week absence.

My favorite verse of the week is this.... Isaiah 40:31 "but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint."

There are a lot of factors that have gotten me through these past two weeks that James has been home. There were times were I felt failed by God, I felt alone (especially after my dad left), I felt sad and cried at milk spilling on the floor and everytime I took my kids to the doctor. I can tell you that in my entire life, I have never felt that way.

But the things that got me through it are these:

~Time to process everything. ~My parents ALWAYS being available to me, whenever I called. Never lecturing me too much and just being there.

~An unexpected phone call from a friend who I have not seen since Carlie was a baby but she has known me since the day I was born. ~Countless emails, texts and facebook messages sending words of support or inquiring as to how we were all doing. Even people who don't know my husband.

~An email from a friend, I only know via the Internet, who spoke words of truth to me because of her own personal pain and I read it nearly every day for three and a half weeks. ~My church - my church is not traditional, it is loud, it is crazy but it is my church and I am comfortable there and love it and it's mission. ~Praying and reading my Bible, even when I was too angry to do so. Trust me, I have had some anger moments! ~My MN friends that I just thought were friends in passing, but who I now know are my friends and I hope they all know how much I appreciate and love them. ~One of my oldest friends just flat out telling me to get over it! :)

~and perhaps, going to the doctor and talking to someone about everything and her giving me medicine for a 4 week bronchial infection probably helped a little too.

What is going to help me get through the rest of this......

~My church....my pastor told me today that he has been praying for James and will continue to do so and pray that this disease stays out of James' body. ~I am going to start to journal my daily Bible reading.

~At this moment........I believe that James is cancer free! His color is amazing - it hasn't been like this in as long as I can remember (I know that sounds crazy, but it is). I truly believe this. We will now live our life and in 6 months go for a CT scan.... I believe that my husband will remain cancer free. At this moment, I refuse to believe any different.

~my kids and my family. Simply put - they need me and I have no choice.

~I am taking the advice of my favorite aunt and I am starting to write a book. We will see where that goes. James and I have been through so much, so much no one knows about, then this. Our testimony, our story is amazing and I want to help others.

~I return to my normal routine tomorrow - come hell or high water...Kids to school, work where I am going to focus and be productive because in all honesty I need my job, homework, piano lessons, cooking dinner and working out at the YMCA.

Tonight, as I sit here, it is silent in my room. My entire family is sleeping comfortably and I am listening to the beautiful sound of rain hitting my roof and windows. I am thankful it is not snow. I am thankful for my healing husband, my finally healthy, semi-relaxed children, my two awesome parents for whom I would be nothing without, my brother who I know has my back, no matter what! I am thankful for my home, my friends, my job, my extended family and friends and people I have never met that have held us close to their hearts, I am thankful that God has blessed me with all of this.

Most imporantly, I am thankful that for two days straight, my life has been as close to NORMAL as they can be, according to our own special uniquely definition of normal.

Greater Things are Yet to Come!

If you are reading this know this without any doubt or hesitation....I love you very much!

There is no room in my heart for grudges, anger, judging or fear. None of that means anything in the grand scheme of things and I will not allow it to consume me!

Exhausted

2011-03-22T22:13:00.002-05:00

There are no other words for me to adequately describe my current state of mind, my current physical capabilities, my emotional capacity.

Exhausted.

That's all I got.

This has been THE longest two and half weeks of my entire life. This has been the most draining two and a half weeks since December 21, when this all started. Tonight, I am just plain tired.

You all know my story. Husband diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, surgery number 1 and recovery complete, then we spent 8 weeks preparing for surgery number 2. You all know that James went from good to bad, bad to really bad, really bad to good, good to great.

The last day of his treatment was last Friday. Shortly after, he was discharged. He had very little pain, he walked to the car in the parking garage, he was excited to get home, see our kids and sleep in our own bed. As we drove home, his pain returned and slowly got worse. About 3 hours after we arrived home, his pain was so bad he passed out. After an ambulance ride and 7 hours in the ER, James was readmitted to the hospital. Not Mayo - another hospital. During that 7 hours, I spoke to his physician from Mayo 3 times. James was at that hospital for 7 more hours until he was transferred back to Mayo via ambulance.

While in the ER, a CT scan was done. The ER physician advised us there were no changes to his CT scan other than fluid in his abdomen and a lot less cancer in his gut.

DUH!!!!!!! He just had a 9 hour surgery to remove it and then 4 days of treatment in which 7 liters of toxin were pumped in his gut! Tell me something I didn't already now.

The next day, they wanted to run test after test. I would not allow any treatment until they spoke to his surgeon.

When we get back to Mayo, we were quickly (within 30 minutes) told that it appeared he had an abnormality of his spleen. His blood counts were all out of whack so they were going to monitor him for a bleed in the spleen. Over the next few days, James' blood work started to level out, which indicated that his body was healing the laceration to the spleen on its own. If the ER radiologist had recognized that his spleen was different, James would not have had to endure some of the painful tests that he did before returning to Mayo.

But...whatever! We were just relieved to get him back to Mayo, to doctors who knew him and have actually seen the type of cancer that he has.

Anyway, mine and so many others prayers were answered. James' body healed itself. James did not require another surgery to repair his already operated on spleen. So today, James is home. We drove the two hour stretch, without incident. He has walked around the house, up and down the stairs, eaten and showered with no incident. So now...maybe we can both breathe. Maybe now we can both get a good night sleep.

It is funny how your body reacts when the adrenaline stops. It almost shuts down. Throughout the last two weeks, I have watched my husbands ups and downs, I have learned more about any of this than I ever cared to, I have not slept, I have functioned on over drive with pneumonia or bronchitis, not sure which but thankful my doctor gave me medication over the phone and trusted my verbal assessment of my symptoms. I have lost countless hours of sleep - Between Friday and Sunday, I was awake for nearly 43 hours. I have worried about my kids. I have met family after family going through much worse than me. I never once took a Xanax, even though they were right in my purse.

Tonight, I am exhausted. I have nothing to offer. Nothing to prove. Nothing to gain, except perhaps some sleep and a new perspective tomorrow. Tonight, I am thankful my God is bigger than me because without HIM, I would have been a pill poppin', vodka drinkin', psycho path the last 2.5 weeks. Without Him, I would have lost my focus. While I did lose my temper a few times, I did not retreat and hide like I sometimes wanted to.

Tomorrow, I try to return to life as normal. Getting my kids ready for school, taking care of a recovering husband, going back to my job (just for a half day, because I think that is all I can handle at this point), back to making dinner, back to being a mom, a wife, a daughter, sister and friend. Because for the past 2.5 weeks, I have been a wife, a patient advocate and nothing more.

So thank you to those of you who have diligently prayed for James. Thank you for remembering him and thinking of him and checking on him. I can never adequately tell you how much it has meant to me and to James. I ask that you continue to pray for his continued healing and that he will be disease free. While the doctors say this disease will more likely return than not sometime in his life, my God is bigger than this stupid cancer and can perform miracles that are not explainable, like the body healing a spleen bleed without the need for surgery.

Thankful

2011-03-16T22:08:00.004-05:00

Today I walked for an hour with James inside and outside of the hospital.
Today I am relieved.
Today I am hopeful.
Today I am nearing 48 hours until I get to go home and see my beautiful children.
Today, is the first time in over a week that I could get close enough to James to give him a hug - mostly because I have been sick, but regardless, it happened.
Today, I got three refills of my Starbucks for $.50/visit!
Today, I am so very grateful for my group of friends and family that have kept us close the past two weeks.
Today, I am THANKFUL!

I have been in Rochester since March 7th. I have walked these streets, driven back and forth from the hotel to the parking garage every day. I have watched amazing families going through similar yet very different and difficult circumstances. I have watched as nurses and doctors run into a room to save a coding patient. I have watched my husband go from good to bad to really bad, to good to great all in the matter of these last 9 days. I have sat in a chair watching a two hour drip of chemo enter my husbands abdominal cavity. I have watched as his stomach becomes so bloated, he can't sit still because of the discomfort and I have watched that discomfort go away. I have sat in the chair next to his bed thinking I was living a dream - this is something that I never expected would happen to him, me or my kids.

It is a surreal experience to watch the love of your life get pumped with a toxin, that will or could ultimately save his life.

Can I tell you that this experience, while horrifying, has been amazing. We walked into this with our eyes wide open. James' physician educated us well. But while we have been here, we have been amazed at the quality of care, the overall efficiency of this hospital and clinic, overwhelmed by the support within the walls of the hospital and of those outside of the hospital.

There are more people praying for James that I can even count. I will never personally ever be able to thank each of them for taking time from their life and their issues to pray for my husband and family. However, our gratitude is over flowing.

God has showed up a lot this week. Even when I felt that we were being failed, He was there. Today, we were talking about James' incision, which is almost the entire length of his abdomen. After his surgery in December, he still had discomfort and tingling. Now - 9 days after a 9 hour surgery, in which they removed nearly a pound and a half of mucinous tumors from his abdomen, he has NO abdominal pain. He is able to get up from bed or a chair, he is able to laugh and cough with NO pain. While we understand he has a phenomenal surgeon, God gave that surgeon the ability to perform this type of surgery and the amazing ability to put it all back together. God watched over my hubby in every way, even when he could barely breathe!

God has given us both a peace that is otherwise unexplainable. While we are human and we worry a little bit, James walked into that OR confident and at peace that everything was going to be OK. He sits through two hours a day of chemo being pumped into his abdominal cavity and believes that he is going to be disease free.

Today, we thanked God together for the amazing strides that he has made, we prayed for a woman losing her fight, we thanked God that he has allowed us to walk this walk with grace, for the most part anyway, and we thanked Him for giving us the opportunity to fight this disease head on at one of the BEST facilities in the country!

There is an answer to your dispair, there is an answer to your bitterness and grudges, there is an answer to your lack of faith in anything good, there is an answer to your sucky finances and your crappy marriage. There is an answer for you to be healed, forgiven and FREE! You just have to open to your mind and your heart and ASK for it and then LIVE it!

It will truly make ALL the difference in your life.
If you know my husband, you know the difference that I speak of! Putting your trust in something other than yourself or your spouse makes all the difference in the world.

.....

2011-03-13T13:50:00.002-05:00

Another day has passed and things are progressing nicely for James. He has turned the corner of critically stable to stable to practically normal in a matter of 2.5 days. The body and its ability continues to amaze me, it is so much smarter than we give it credit for.

On Thursday, James could barely breathe. His chest was filling up with fluid and both of his lungs were partially collapsed. A chest tube was placed and after several hours, he finally needed to be sedated to get any relief. As of today, he is out of ICU and in a regular room. He has been taken off all of the monitors, IVs and tubes. He simply remains on a little bit of oxygen. He is doing much better today.

Tomorrow, they will move him to another floor, for which I am kind of bummed about because he has an awesome room now, to begin his treatment for the next 4 days. We are hopeful that he can tolerate that well and we can head home on Friday or Saturday.

However, as I watch my hubby progress and move forward, I am still running into many of the families that I have met over the past week whose lives are still stagnate. Their loved ones still fighting the fight, their ability to maintain hopeful still shining like a lighthouse.

I admire these people. I have never been in a hospital where you hear the stories of so many people and they allow you to walk their journey with them. They are holding it together for the greater good. People with the faith of a mustard seed sitting in almost every chair. When you are inside these walls, the world around you goes on, but your life kind of just stops. You lose track of the day, the time, heck, even what year it is.

So anyway....tomorrow begins the next phase of our journey. I am holding on to the hope that my husband will be completely disease free when this 4 days is behind us. I kindly ask that you pray with me for the medicine to do its job and for this to just be a stepping stone in James' life. Three days ago, I briefly felt as though a miracle was out of our reach...today, anything is possible!

Perspective

2011-03-11T11:41:00.002-06:00

When you are faced with a life altering, out of your control situation, I think people tend to believe they are alone, they are the only ones having to face that particular or similar situation. I think it is easy to get wrapped up in your own garbage and life that you lose sight of...well... alot. To be honest...unless you have walked in someones shoes, it is nearly impossible to know what they are going through.

I am sure that over the course of the last three months, I have questioned WHY? What is the grand purpose behind this disaster? I am sure that I have even felt angry, although I don't believe that has last very long.

James is being treated by one of the few physicians in the country that treat his type of disease. Short of a miracle, I am confident that he is being well taken care of and they are doing everything they can to make him comfortable and disease free. However, as you walk the halls or sit in the lounge or waiting room...you hear so many stories, see so many tears of both joy and sadness. Every face has a story. Every face has a loved one that is fighting a demon bigger than themselves.

Yesterday, my mom talked to two ladies in the lounge area, while she patiently waited 12 hours for me to feel comfortable to leave my husband, and they were both mothers, both on the verge of losing their 40 something son to cancer. Both dealing with interfamily dynamics, while trying to cope with the absolute fact that their sons are dying.

On the day of James' surgery, parents sent their very nervous 16 year old into surgery to see if they could save her leg. Another lady waiting patiently while her husband was in surgery to try and release scar tissue in the jaw so her husband could get a feeding tube removed and maybe speak. His mouth gripped so tight from years of chemo and radiation to his jaw.

After spending a few days walking the halls of this hospital, watching the strength and the resilience of the family members, you realize that no matter what you may think....You are not alone, there are so many other families going through the same thing.

My heart breaks for these families that have been here for months. My heart breaks for my husband and it has only been three days and I know he is going home with me. Disease, sickness, hospitals all suck. However, I am thankful for this hospital and these doctors who have done everything they can to make my husband disease free and the help him find comfort through the pain and tubes since the surgery.

Today is a new day. Today is a better day. Today, my husband said "Hey baby" as I walked in the door to his room. Today, James is one day closer to going home to see his children. Today, Jesus showed us that He had our back the last three days no matter how hard it was. Today, we move forward.

My prayer would be that any family here or anywhere for that matter, Trust in Jesus, to carry them through their storm!

Exception

2011-03-08T10:30:00.003-06:00

Everyone that knows me, knows that I am not one of the most patient people in the world. Goodness gracious, I have made the mistake of praying for patience. Today....God is allowing me to learn patience at an absurd level.

Today, I am two hours into the waiting game of James' surgery. As we speak, James is nearly 2 hours into a surgery that could last as short as 4 or go as long as 10.

Needless to say ~ I. am. ANXIOUS!!

However, I am a heck of a lot calmer than I thought I would be. Which is likely a very good thing for my mother, who sacrificed a good night sleep and a weeks vacation to sit here and

WAIT!

Yesterday, at his pre-op appointment, his fabulous physician, Dr. D. ~ told us all about his surgery and advised that depending on the person, it could take years for this type of disease to return. Then, of course, I asked if it is possible for the disease never to return. He said "Yes and that would be the exception and not the rule".

So today, Dr. D will clean out James' abdominal cavity and remove any mucinous tumors he can see.

Today, James is one day closer to being the EXCEPTION.

Here today.....gone tomorrow

2011-02-26T23:08:00.002-06:00

I can't really sleep tonight...perhaps I should have taken my friend up on her offer to hang out with some awesome woman for a night out on the town. However, I didn't take her up on that offer and instead, I sit in my relatively cold family room at 11:15pm listening to archived church services that I have missed.

Any who....I decided to click on Week 1 of "MIST"

Here today........gone tomorrow

I think over the past couple of months, for those that know James and I, we have been saying your life can change in an instant.

Our life changed in an instant, really it took 9 days but who's counting. James and I aren't feeling sorry for ourselves or each other. We have an oddly positive attitude, which for those that know me, is oddly strange. My husband has been a pillar of strength and unquestionable resolve.

But the one thing that we can both agree on, is tomorrow is NOT a guarantee. We. Are. Human.
The last time I checked, neither of us had a special super power to make bad things disappear, good things stick around or the fountain of youth in our backyard.

Actually, we have the "Tree of Life" accessible to us....no questions asked, no matter what! But that is for you to determine at your pace and understanding. In our life Jesus has been our Tree of Life, the reason we are simply living life.

I found that this service, in particular, just reinforced what I have learned on my own.

1) As mere mortals we are wasting our lives. We focus on the need to earn more money, have the cool car that the neighbor has, buy the new furniture so we can keep up with the Jones'.
We. Are. Missing. Our. Life.

According to Psalms 118:24.."THIS is the day that the Lord has made..." Yesterday is not the day nor is tomorrow.

The one thing that I learned quickly on 12/28/10, was that we can not control tomorrow. Even the control freak in me can not control everything. Really, the only thing I control is not burning my house down when I cook dinner at a relatively high temperature!

We can only live in today. I have quoted this verse before, but Matthew 6:34 clearly states.."Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

Really?

Isn't that the truth.

Why do we spend so much time and energy worrying about yesterday. Why do we just not let go of the hurt, the pain, or the disappointment that happened yesterday, a year ago or 10 years ago?

Is it worth not living today?

My answer would have to be NO!

I spent time holding on to anger and pain and in a moment, with a word, I realized that none of that mattered. I did not want that history to define me or my future, let alone define my today!

As I sit here, I look back on my day TODAY - which will be tomorrow in less than 10 minutes - and realize that I wasted 1/2 of my day worrying about the future!

Where in the heck did that get me today?
I will tell you that for 1/2 of the day, I made my husband and my kids day miserable because of it!

Then I realized, Thank You Jesus, that it was not worth it!
On March 8th, I can worry about it.
Today. Not. So. Much!
Today...my worrying about tomorrow ruined my morning with my family. The last Saturday that my family and I will have together, just the four of us, for the next three weeks. I blew it! I spent the rest of the day apologizing and feeling guilty. How dumb was that?

2) In the words of Eric..."Life is too short to live for money. We need to live for passion."

God made us in His likeness. He made us for something so much bigger than this. We are valuable. God is for us..not against us! Therefore, throwing myself in my job became a lot less important on 12/28/10. I still am not quite sure what God's plan is for me and how I can change the world, but I can tell you one of those plans for me is to love my family with passion. Not miss out on today. If I fail at loving my family with passion, everything around me will fall apart.

3) "Life is too short for good intentions - We need good actions."
Really, we spend our life wondering what if or living for our retirement. Are any of us guaranteed a retirement? My aunt passed away when she was 47 years old. She never got to retire. She never got to spend her pension or 401K. She was middle aged at 23 years old! I will tell you this about my aunt... she lived life. I can't speak for her relationship with Jesus, but I can tell you that she lived her life to the fullest. If she wanted something, she typically did it.

I don't want to live a life of regret. I don't ever want to regret not spending enough time with my kids or regret not telling James something. Because... really, I may not be here tomorrow. I am human. I want to make the right decisions now. I want to live my life to the fullest now. I don't want to go to bed at night wishing I did something that was within my grasp and I was just too afraid or too lazy to grab it - or worse yet, thought I could do it tomorrow.

I don't want those that I care about to ever regret NOT LIVING.

Life is too short.
This life could be over in a blink of an eye.
Don't leave this life regretting that you didn't give your husband a kiss goodbye or go to your kids soccer game, or that you really wanted to try that sushi but the thought of raw fish freaked you out.
Don't leave this life regretting that you didn't forgive someone for something.
Don't leave this life without living it to the fullest.

Who knew?

2011-02-24T20:28:00.008-06:00

As many of you - my faithful followers - know, James is having surgery on March 8th to remove some useless organs, like a spleen and gallbladder and some other "gook" that has decided to manifest itself.

Looking at James, he is totally not sick. He looks healthy and acts even better. Really, it is simply awesome. A true blessing.

However, we are now under the 2 week mark until his surgery. A surgery that could take a matter of a couple hours to a surgery that could take as long as 10 hours. We just won't know until they wheel him in and open him up. Albeit, my prayer has been for a quick, easy surgery and an even easier recovery. The pessimist in me is trying oh so hard to be an optimist.

However, I have to admit that as the day is drawing near, I have noticed that my upbeat optimism is slowly fading into something....well....not so upbeat and optimistic.

Matthew 17 addresses Jesus being confronted by a mother asking for mercy of her son, who suffered from an illness that the disciples could not heal. When the disciples asked Jesus why they could not drive the illness from the boy, Jesus replied..

"Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.'"

Have you ever seen a mustard seed? They are tiny.. really how are hard can it be to believe in something so small it could fit in a mustard seed? Dang, it is really hard.

As the day draws near for my main squeeze to undergo yet another surgery and prognosis, my heart aches, my stomach turns and I just love him more than I could ever imagine. So, as the days progress and the day draws near, I will hold my head high and try my best to show that stinkin' mustard seed who's boss!

My God is an awesome God! My God does BIG things! My God does miraculous things when you least expect it! One way or another, my God will make James whole, He actually already has in ways you can likely already see. My God has a plan for James and I can't wait to see what it is!

Take that freakin' mustard seed!

OMgoodness!

2011-02-21T14:17:00.003-06:00

Today, my kids and I had an OMG moment.

My little peanuts and I decided that we would venture out on the snow covered roads to get haircuts, run to the grocery store and maybe a quick trip to Justice and Old Navy for a cool pair of camo pants and a new swimming suit for Carlie.

All was good until we were about 13 miles from home. I took a curve at about 35 miles per hour (normally 60) and lost control of my car! All I could see were the two cars already in the ditch on the left side median and I was trying desperately to manuever my car away from the two cars AND the two people standing on the side of the road, next to the two cars stuck in the snow.

I thought I had recovered only to start to slide again. The kids and I went sideways, then backwards right into the shoulder side ditch! Great!!! All this after having a conversation with them about 5 minutes prior that we would not get into an accident.

Well....I guess we weren't really in an accident as I didn't hit any of the cars or people around me. My car was still intact and thankfully didn't roll....goodness gracious!

I think the most horrifying thing about the whole experience, was sitting in our car, facing Highway 10.....watching all these cars fly around the curve that started our disent off the road. That, in itself, was making Carlie sicker by the second.

When the police finally showed up and started slow the traffic up, Carlie seemed to relax a bit. Then the tow truck came, pulled us out...which Luke thought was pretty cool. All in all, it was an ok experience for being in a freakin' ditch nearly an hour, but again no one was hurt.

When we were driving away, Carlie asked why the tow truck driver couldn't take us home and then proceeded to tell me to drive slow the whole way home. As we sit here now, she is very nervous for her dad to drive home.

Needless to say....Jesus kept us safe so we thanked HIM for that and have prayed for my kids fabulous daddy to make it home safely tonight. And to ensure our continued safety, we are staying home the rest of the day and the chili I am making for dinner will just have to be minus the green pepper and jalapeno!

Got.... Religion?

2011-02-09T22:07:00.003-06:00

Some of you may be thinking....holy mackerel, Tara has lost her mind and has all of a sudden become "religious". Well, I hate to burst your bubble, but that is not the case at all.

Six months ago, I was "religious". Today, I am a Jesus follower! There is a big difference. Anyone can say, I am a Christian...I am religious...I go to church...Ok, that is good and all, but the difference is are you trusting Jesus to be the leader of your life? Are you being obedient to His word? Do you have a relationship with Him every day, all day?

James and I have been living the life -- trying to make it on our own. Two months ago, we were smacked in the face. Today as we sit back and think, I believe we were getting slapped in the face with a "Hello, James and Tara? You need to pay attention to ME!" moment. Since then, I have grown in my faith.... It is funny how faith is usually tested with some sort of catastrophe. Anyway....since that time, I have leaped head first from my life as a Christian to that of a Jesus follower.

I may never know why James and I were chosen to walk this walk - maybe it was to get our attention, maybe our story will eventually help others with their faith. However, I can tell you this.....

1) I trust in Jesus! He is in charge of my life and I don't need to worry about the future. While I am human and still worry a bit about the future, still get cranky, nervous and emotional, I truly believe that I will be prepared to handle whatever is thrown at me/us.
2) Reading the Bible, answers a whole lot of questions that I have had.
3) I believe that Jesus heals... I believe that my husband is going to be healed and that makes this journey much more tolerable.
4) I can't do life alone! I have tried it and to be honest...I suck at it! So....I handed it over to Someone much more capable of making sure I suck a little bit less at it!
5) Faith....well..Jesus just asks that we have faith the size of mustard seed. Well, to my knowledge a mustard seed is pretty small.....so the least I can do, is have a little bit of faith that He knows what the heck he is doing.
6) Enjoy today, because in an instant your life could change forever. Tomorrow is not a guarantee. Yesterday doesn't matter and can't be changed.

Jesus says..."do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:34

7) Only God can change the world and we have been put here to share His story. No one else is going to change the make up of our society..politicians aren't going to.
8) Your past doesn't matter. Jesus doesn't care - He died to wipe all that crap away. Once you ask for forgiveness and ask Him to lead your life, boom......the past is wiped clean!
9) My posts on FB and here are meant to be uplifting....Sometimes I say them to remind myself and hopefully, I can encourage a few others along the way.

So to sum it up....my life hasn't changed other than more time at the doctor with James now than 3 months ago and "I Trust In Jesus, My Great Deliverer, My Strong Defender, the Blessed Redeemer" (Third Day)

Third Day Trust In Jesus

2011-02-09T22:04:00.000-06:00

Casting Crowns #6 Glorious Day (Living He Loved Me)

2011-02-08T18:37:00.000-06:00

Dunked - Part Deux

2011-01-26T00:01:00.003-06:00

My hubby will likely kick my butt for putting this on my blog...but HEY! It is my blog last time I checked and this is HUGE! MAJOR!!! LIFE CHANGING! So being the crazy wife that I am....I
am posting it! Mwahahaha!

No, really....all kidding aside. Some of you may....or may not know...my handsome hubby has been on the Jesus fence for a while. Not quite sure what to think of it all - silently contemplating what it all meant for him and his family. He was starting to lean one way more than the other a few months ago and I could tell that he was moving closer..

Then BAM!!! One Sunday morning, after the first week of "I Need to Change", my hubby took the plunge!! It wasn't planned! It was awesome! My kids were there, kneeling right by the little pool in our lobby taking it all in.
I gotta tell you, as a wife who has pretty much waited for this day for, I don't know, a really long time....it was totally, unbelieveably AWESOME! My heart was full. I am so proud of James and what he stands for today, I can't even tell you! God is going to do fabulous things in his life and I am so psyched to be on the journey with him! Yay God!!

Dreams....

2011-01-20T19:52:00.003-06:00

So Carlie had a dream last night and woke up this morning and said it was the BEST dream in the whole world! So, of course, as the curious mom that I am....I asked her what her totally awesome dream was.

So here I go....

"We were standing outside of our house and a huge tornado was heading toward our house. She said that she just stood there and prayed and prayed that Jesus would save us and our house. As the tornado got closer, a man stood infront of our house and hit a big red button and a giant forcefield protected our house and our family and the tornado went the other way. And the man told me that is what happens when you pray. I don't know who that man was, but I think the man was Jesus! It was the coolest dream ever!!"

I love this!

Faith

2011-01-12T21:56:00.002-06:00

Faith is a funny thing....you either have it or you don't. It really is not something that you can have if your heart is not fully invested.

I think everybody thinks they have faith until their faith is truly tested. It is inevidentable, eventually everyone is going to have something that happens to them that is going to require faith. Not just some faith, but a whole heck of a lot of it. I don't believe that anyone will walk through this life and not be tested in some shape or form...whether it is financially, in your marriage, physically....something ultimately will happen that will shape you. The question is...will it shape you negatively or positively?

Recently, my faith has been tested. Perhaps God is saying....."Tara, you need to wake up and give your whole heart to me". My pastor has said on many occasions that God is relentless in his pursuit of you. When something bad happens...I think the immediate response is Why? or How could you? I remember being 12 years old...sitting on my brothers bed, just yelling at God because he took my grandma. How dare He take her from us. Shoot, I was 12...I had no idea...it was just my instinct to be angry at Him.

However, since then I'd like to think that I have grown...maybe just a smidgen...but I have grown. When this recent bout of "Yo Tara, I need your full attention" popped up....I paid attention. I stopped believing I could do it on my own. I stopped believing that I was in control and could change the outcome. I swollowed my pride and asked for help....from a whole lot of people.

My faith has been tested over the past three weeks and I have studied God's word, I have obeyed what he has asked of me and I have to tell you, while not always easy, I did indeed believe that he was going to hold true to his promise to me and my family. I did have my moments of tears and worries, but they quickly passed and I was blessed with strength, comfort and GRACE! YES....I had GRACE!! I have been waiting my whole life for some of that!

I have to tell you....He did not disappoint. Today, He made His presence known, His total control known and I have no other reason than to believe that me and my family will be blessed.

At this moment, it is my job to share that faith with others. I can't keep it a secret. It is too magnificent not to share. It is too overwhelming to not help direct others into God's presence so they can feel completely at peace and blessed...no matter the situation.

So come one...come all....This blog is taking a whole new turn....jump in and enjoy the ride!

The first love of my life........

2010-10-26T23:43:00.003-05:00

I remember nearly 30 years ago, (OMGosh, I AM old), my dad picked me up from school and took me to my Gammy's house as my mom was in the hospital. I remember the day as if it were yesterday, however, I don't remember the days, weeks or 8 months leading up to that day.

On that day....November 25, 1980, I was stranded (or so I thought) at my grandparents house laying on the floor with my 8 year old head stuck under the yellow couch in their front room, crying! Why was I crying? That's a good question.... was I was upset that my dad picked me up and left me? Was I upset because he took me out of school? Heck no, I was ticked off because my mom was in the hospital having a baby! I was so mad at her, I wouldn't even visit her or my baby brother in the hospital.

I don't recall ever being talked to about having a sibling. After all, I had been the only kid for just over 8 years. Wow! I was losing my rank to a slobbering, crying, pooping baby doll! Whatever!

Well, I did not know it on that November day, but Ryan was the first love of my life! He was my baby! Even as we grew up and started fighting and arguing and chasing each other with bats and slamming doors in each other faces, he was MY brother!

Now "my baby" is all grown up! He is married to a fabulous woman, he has a good head on his shoulders and has made a good life for himself. He is infuriating and funny all at the same time. Now as he approaches 30 and I approach...well it doesn't matter - I consider us close. We are there for each other when we need it and to be quite honest, I would move heaven and earth for him.

Well, tonight, nearly 3o years after he blessed us with his presence, he is about to be blessed with his own little miracle! As a big sister and a mom, I can tell you there is nothing more special than the gift of a child. God gives us these little creatures for such a small amount of time and entrusts us to raise them and mold them according to His Will.

I can tell you all this.... I know without a doubt that he is going to be an amazing dad. I am so very proud of him for being the man that he has become, for being the husband that he is and the support system for his wife when she needs him the most. I am proud of the dad he is going to be and am so very excited to meet my beautiful niece!

I love you, Ryan!

Birth-weekend

2010-10-26T20:24:00.005-05:00

For some crazy reason, my kids birthDAYS have turned into Birthday weekends and months. It is crazy.

For Luke's big number 4 - we celebrated all weekend long.. We started off on Friday at the Mall* of America and both of the kids spent the day riding on all the rides they could! Luke is fearless when it comes to those rides, which makes me happy because I am a big baby when it comes to roller coasters, things that spin, things and whip me around. NO thank YOU!

This is a picture of Luke and Carlie on the mini-roller coaster! He loved it!

Below is a picture of them in the cars that whip them around the curves. It was so funny to watch as at every turn, Luke would slide towards Carlie and would immediately pull himself back to his spot on the seat...just in time to get pushed right back over to his sister!

Carlie was a good sister, she went on this little hopper with Luke. She prefers the *Splat-o-meter but was a good sport and went on all the kiddie rides with her brother!

Then on Saturday, we went bowling! First time, my kids have been and they of course had fun and can't wait to do it again.

Here is Luke cheering for himself. He was so funny - he pretty much cheered every time he threw the ball down the bumper covered gutter lane!

Finally ---- Both of my crazy kids and my handsome hubby bowled a strike in our last game!!!

We ended the weekend - baking our annual dairy, egg and peanut free chocolate cake for Luke. He, of course, couldn't wait to lick the bowl!

He waited patiently, all day, to open presents!

And had to hold Buzz's hand while having his picture taken with him! He loves Buzz...

He had a good birthday....I think. I am quite sure it is not over as he is still expecting gifts from my parents and his uncle Ryan. However, the best gift of all would be if his baby cousin would be so kind as to bless us with her presence and share a birthday with my little man!

It's the Great Pumpkin.....

2010-10-26T19:46:00.002-05:00

Last weekend my dad came up for the weekend and hung out! I always love it when my parents come to visit and so do my little pumpkin heads!

It was a fun day and as always...my kids had a blast!

Happy Birthday Luker!

2010-10-26T00:01:00.002-05:00

I look at this picture and find it hard to believe, my little Luker is 4 years old today! It seems like yesterday, I was sitting in the hospital room waiting for him to be delivered via an emergency c-section and my hubby miles away trying to get his big sister situated with a babysitter. Seems like yesterday that I spent 9 days traveling 40 minutes one way to see him in the NICU!

He has made such strides in his little life and today I am so very proud of him.

James and I were talking about him the other day and how truly far he has come in the last 18 months. He has gone from a kid with 4-5 words to a kid with an unlimited vocabulary. He has gone from a kid with a very passive demeanor to a kid with a lively 4 year personality filled with every emotion! He has gone from a kid who was just getting walking and running under his belt to a kid who sprints everywhere, jumps and can ride a bike!

Our son is simply amazing!! His name means "Bringer of light" -- he truly brings such joy, laughter and happiness into our life!

Happy Birthday Luke James - we love you as big as the universe!!!

Just liked the picture.....

2010-10-13T21:19:00.001-05:00

Gone too long.....

2010-09-18T10:17:00.008-05:00

James and I were raised in Illinois - 35 miles from THE most fabulous city in the world (in my opinion)! In all the places I have been, Chicago remains my favorite place! You can't beat the food, the culture, the diversity! If anyone asks me where I am from....I always simply say Chicago. I think if given the opportunity, I would move back in a heartbeat!

Over the nearly 6 years that we have lived up here in the frozen tundra, we have stuck true to our "Chicago roots" - We have not become fans of the sports franchises or found a classic Minnesota restaurant that we can't live without! I will even go as far as to say, I have not adopted the painfully aggravating driving styles of this greater metro area. Carlie will even say...everytime we come home from Illinois --- "you sure can tell we are MN, these people can't drive!" (wonder where she gets that from?)

Anyway, it appears the Richter roots are digging deeper! UGH! Not sure whether I should laugh or cry!

1st of all our children have lives here -- they have friends. They have church, they have school, they have extra curricular activities. James and I are involved in our kids school and have established a base here! Something I don't think we really had in Illinois other than our parents and siblings! Don't get me wrong, for a lot of reasons, MN has been very good to us.

However, to top it off.....this happened last night!!! (PLEASE don't judge us!!!)

Yes. You are not seeing things! It is not a terrible dream! It is the real thing! Our children who were born to White Sox, Bear lovin', hot dog eating parents ARE indeed wearing MN *Twins baseball hats! Yes, the man of the house who shed tears with a White Sox World Series Championship in 2005 bought his children (who both own Sox merchandise) EACH a Twins hat! While our tickets were free and fabulous, we donated a whole lot of money to this organization last night!!

I asked James - "Are you sure you want to do this?" (after all they are not cheap!) He replied, "yes, we have lived here long enough!"

What does that mean? Are we no longer Illinoians? We are now Minnesota Nice? Oh my, how did that happen!?!

The new field is incredible! Nice to see tax payer money at work! Very impressed!

Here are some pictures from the night.....

Bottom of the seventh inning -- bases loaded, 2 outs and they bring him out for the first time during the game! The place went nuts! We all stood and were cheering for a home run, or just a hit, after all we were down by 2 and he is the STAR. He popped out to left! :( This is the best I could get of Jim *Thome -- We are big fans from his days with our SOX!! Couldn't resist...plus the Bud sign adds a special touch -- don't ya think, Uncle Ryan? :)

Carlie took it all in....she really enjoyed it! We were to the left of home plate...She waited all night for a foul ball --- never got one! So here we are! While we still say we are from Chicago.....it appears MN is our home!

On the first day of school.....

2010-09-12T17:03:00.003-05:00

Last week, my babies started school. Carlie entered a much different world....called....2nd grade! She had an odd transition week as her teacher is a bit more strict that she is used to, but by the end of the week, I think she was getting used to the new routine and kids in her class!

Yes, it was 60 and raining the first day of school, but we still managed to walk there! It was so much fun.....for her!!

This fall, we decided that we would send Luke to a big boy preschool. One that does not concentrate on his speech but one that concentrates on all the finer things that preschool should. It was kind of a last minute decision on our part -- but this kid rose to the occasion! He LOVES it. He just wants to go to his "blue" school this year and wants to forget about the other one! It is kind of cute when you think about it! However, he is going to both preschools and will be a busy boy 4 days per week!!! I am so proud of him!

Campers Paradise

2010-09-03T15:43:00.005-05:00

This past weekend, we went camping at a great spot northwest of us. We had a lakefront site with our own beach. The kids had a blast and can't wait to go back. Much like their vacation with my parents, they did not want to go home. From looking at these pictures, it is hard to believe that we didn't even hit 60 degrees today and this was just 4 short days ago!

This first picture was the sunrise the first morning there - snapped it while drinking my coffee from a campfire coffee pot! Yes, I even slept in a tent! Shocking!

Carlie was so excited, we beached Jame's boat on our very own little beach and she would just climb in and fish -- she would only catch little pan fish, but she thought it was cool that she could just do it herself.

Luke was pretending to be a Pirate in this picture!

Needless to say, we will be there again next year!

No Parents Allowed

2010-09-03T15:27:00.004-05:00

A week or so ago, my kids had a much needed vacation from the life with Mom and Dad and got to hang out with their Papa and Grandma for a whole week! As always, Carlie got free reign of the camera and I have attached some of her masterpieces.

My kids LOVE their Grandma and Papa. Carlie, especially. She is a bigger Papa's girl than I have ever been a Daddy's girl. I have to say, neither of them cried when I left them there to head to DeKalb and then home, but they cried when it was time to leave and come back.

The week of separation did us all some good! James and I go some good alone time together and it was nice to enjoy the fair and a dinner and a drink without having to pay for a babysitter.

Now...vacation ends and school starts in 4 days!!! WOOHOO!!!

Brothers and Sisters

2010-08-24T15:49:00.002-05:00

I have a brother -- you all know him! He is a crazy dude, with a lot of different views on life than me, but I love him nonetheless. I was 8 years old when Ry was born and I immediately turned into a "mother"! He was my real life baby doll! My baby brother! To this very day...despite some of our crazy differences, no one can get away with saying anything bad about him! I feel, if need be, I am his protector! I highly doubt, he ever thought of me as his "protector", but in my mind, that was my role.

He has told me on several occasions that I feel like more of an aunt to him than a sister! Probably because I am so much older than him...however, as he is approaching 30, I would like to think he loves and thinks of me as a sister and not some crazy aunt! :)

This week, as my kids are livin' the life with Grandma and Papa, I have learned ONE thing!!! I AM NOT LUKE's source of security!!!

You know...I never really thought much about it, but when Carlie is gone, whether it is playing at someones house or spending the night at a friends house, Luke is always concerned with where his sister is...when his sister will be home. He asks over and over when she will be home. After telling him several times that she will be home in the morning, he stops asking.

Last week, I told them to pick what they wanted to take to their grandparents and pack it in their respective backpacks. I didn't look in the bag...I let them take whatever they wanted that would make them happy over the week to follow. While driving there, Carlie was thirsty. Luke in all his cuteness, picked up his backpack and pulled out a bottle of water!!! I asked him why he packed a bottle of water...his response...."for my sister"!

Luke is always thinking of Carlie, whether it is where she is, when she is coming home, grabbing her a sticker when he is done with his doctor's appointment, or wanting to kiss her goodnight! Luke loves his sister with his WHOLE heart! It is the sweetest thing!

Today, he told my mom that he wants to stay longer at her house -- however, he did finish by saying..."with Carlie too!"

All that being said....Mom and Dad are not Luke's source of security! We are not his main squeeze security blanket....CARLIE IS!!! : )

Family

2010-08-23T16:24:00.002-05:00

This past weekend was really great! I took my kids to my parents for Carlie's annual vacation there, with the hopes that her little brother would follow in her footsteps and also stay and enjoy a week at "the farm". Carlie has been making this trip for 3 years and this is the first time, she has been limited to one week. The past couple have been 10 day visits and usually two per summer. However, this is all we could eek out this year.

Two weeks ago, Luke told us he wanted to stay at Papa and Grandma's for a long time and my mom told him that he needed to keep his underwear dry for the whole two weeks and if he did that...he could stay. Can I tell you? This little man made that conscience decision and didn't have any accidents for two weeks! He was convinced he was going to stay and I was not sure he would like it when I left. HA -- Egg on my face....the kid had no issue with me leaving Saturday afternoon and as of this morning - he hasn't even asked to go home.

Saturday night, I got to meet up with my friend, Tricia, who I haven't seen in 16 years. It was fun to catch up and was almost like no time has passed. Then yesterday, I helped my brother and Carol register for the baby - not sure I was much help, but I did have a good time. We then all had lunch with my grandpa - which was fun!

But anyway - about 3pm, I headed home and realized that the 6 hour drive is a long one without my chatty kiddos in the back seat! I don't think I have made that trip without, at least, one of them with me. It made me miss them but it also made me realize how terribly blessed they are to have this opportunity!

Anyway, my kids are making some great memories that will last a life time and the fact that my folks were willing and happy to have them both for a whole week --- makes me smile! However, my house is eery quiet -- but so far, Day 1 has been quite productive for me!! :)

Summer's gone by....

2010-08-19T20:16:00.004-05:00

Wow...has summer just flown by or is it my imagination!? The last thing I remember is walking Carlie home on her last day of school, Luke trailing behind! I remember looking forward to warm weather, lack of routine and just some good old fashion good times! Now, nearly 3 months later, I find that I can't wait for my routine to return, the warm weather to stay for just a bit longer and for both of my munchkins to hit the happy school trail by 8:45am. Aahhhhh!

Given my very poor memory, it is such a good thing that I had the handy Nikon with me to snap a few pictures of my childrens fun in the sun....

James now has every other Saturday off. It has made a big difference having at least two weekends with him home all weekend. On one of those weekends, we took the kids to Canterbury *Park for the horse racing. During this trip to the track, Luke was able to pretend he was *Woody from *Toy Story and ride a horse. Needless to say, he thought he was the big man on campus!
Luke loved being up close to the track. Carlie liked it too - but it was a bit too hot for her that day!

Here are my three favorite people waiting to see the field before the next race! Carlie put on a good face for feeling a bit miserable and at times making us all miserable because of it!

In July, we headed to Aunt Beth' cabin in Northern Wisconsin. It was a cool trip because my parents met us there too! The kids loved it that Papa and Grandma were close by. On the way home, we took our time and stopped for blueberries, lunch at Maggies and a dip in Lake Superior*.

Then about a week later, my grandpa came for a visit. He was here just over a week! It was so nice to have him here and my kids just had a ball! We all missed him when he went home! Even though he had a nice time and loved being around the madness of this house, I am sure he was glad to make it home to his own stuff and routine! Last weekend - on a whim - we went camping! It was our first time as a family sleeping in a tent! Carlie was in heaven and loved climbing trees, sleeping in a tent and Luke did a great job too! Looking forward to the next adventure! Maybe once more before school starts.

Our neighbors are moving next week, while my kids spend the week with the 'rents. We are all kind of bummed about it as they have kids the same age as Carlie and Luke! I think it is hard for me because they are neighbors I can borrow things from if need be, they watch over things when we are out of town and our kids play together SO well together and kind of had run of the place. CJ and Luke will miss them a lot - good thing is - they are not moving too far away!.

Luke told us today he wnts to be a firefighter when he grows up....let's see how that all plays out!

Well -- enjoy the rest of your summer, I know we will!!

Just to catch up!

2010-07-06T20:45:00.004-05:00

This past February - over President's Day weekend, James had the weekend off too so we headed to my parents for a long weekend. As always, it was not lacking fun - as the kids always fun when we are at Papa and Grandma's. Luckily, there was loads of snow and the kids took full advantage of it by sledding and snowboarding.

Spring time did not come too quick to the frozen tundra....it never does. This picture was taken in June and you can see that our bushes haven't even grown in all the way. Crazy! While MN has its perks, winter...the long winter is NOT one of them!! We have an overwhelming excitement when leaves start to appear and the grass needs to be mowed.

Over the Spring, Carlie moved from a Daisy to a Brownie in Girl Scouts. Here is her troop when they moved up!

Carlie...is well Carlie. She is growing like a weed and maturing before our eyes. She is full of life and too much like me, at times. Hard to believe, second grade is in the near future.

Luke is thriving and turned into a little boy overnight - He loves *Buzz Lightyear", he loves the John *Deere gator and is talking clearer and clearer every day. So much so, Mr. Luker is going to preschool this year! This weekend, I cleaned out Luke's room. Got rid of the little boy night light, the bed skirt around his toddler bed, threw out some little toys and got rid of all of his 2T and 3T clothes. I actually cried. Sad, I know....but turning my baby's room into a big boy room was kind of...UGH!!!

Happy Dad's Day!

2010-06-20T20:20:00.004-05:00

Happy Father's Day to my AWESOME dad and the man my kids are blessed to call their DAD!!! You both ROCK and I love you both!!

How did you spend your Father's Day weekend? This is a little of what we did.....

With all those berries, I ventured out of my comfort zone, made a homemade pie crust and James' Grandma Richter's Strawberry Pie recipe! It turned out great and as a BONUS....Luke could eat it!!

Parenting

2010-06-11T20:52:00.002-05:00

Parenting is HARD!!!! My church is doing a series on parenting and week one was great! if you got some time.....take a listen!
I was happy that I am at least following some of the ways to be a GOOD parent with the kids God gave me!

Week in review...

2010-05-03T10:39:00.002-05:00

What a crazy week for us....well, not really.....
Let's sum it up in a just a few short bullet points:

1) James celebrated his "almost 40" birthday! We had a date night and went to our favorite restaurant for dinner, our favorite ice cream joint for dessert and drinks (for me, not James) with our favorite friend! It was a super fun night for all of us!

2) I had my gallbladder removed! Fun Fun, I know. I was a basket case prior to the surgery and calmed down considerably after having a conversation w/ my anesthesiologist. Funny what a few jokes in the midst of straight talking can do to calm ones nerves. I was in an out of the surgery center within 5 hours - home only to live through the excruciating shoulder pain afterwards. Yes, shoulder pain! It was horrible. Anyway...5 days later and I feel so much better!They tell me that the gallbladder was 5x the normal size. No wonder I was in so much freakin' pain.

3) My kids school carnival was on Friday. Not sure if it measured up to the previous, but I know that my kids had a blast.

4) My parents came to visit. First time they have seen the kids in over 2.5 months. I think that is the longest they have gone without seeing us since we moved to the Frozen Tundra 5 years ago.

5) As always, my children were spoiled rotten..."camping" in the living room with my dad, staying up way past their bedtimes and being a little more mouthy than normal. Funny how that works? Anyway....Carlie was so lucky....she got an early birthday present from my parents.....wait for it.....wait for it....a Pair of Heely's! Seriously! This child has wanted a pair of these ridiculous shoes since she was 5! One day, we were sitting at karate and her friend Addison rolled in with a pair. Addison had just turned 7. Carlie immediately wanted a pair of these silly shoes and I told her that she could not have them until SHE turned 7! Well... guess what? this child is turning 7 in less than a month and all she has asked for, besides an ipod and bop it, is for a pair of these shoes. So...Saturday, my mom took her shoe shopping, she left with a pair of heely's and a pair of twinkle toes. After a couple of days of practicing, she is getting better at it. Not quite good enough to head off down the sidewalk, but I have no doubt in a few days, she will be rolling down the street!

6) Luke is still doing well with potty training.....I think he is almost there! I am keeping my fingers crossed! Today, he told me that he was "mad at me"! That is the first time he has ever told me that! All because I wouldn't let him take a snack to daycare!

Oh well......let's see what this week brings....probably not very much!

I've been gone awhile...well...not really!

2010-04-16T00:00:00.002-05:00

Has anyone noticed that I went away for a while? Doubt it, since everyone I know who used to read this blog are my "facebook" friends and get all the Richter news that they need in a day!
But regardless if you realized it, my blog was shut down for a while for a couple of reasons. However, I have decided to rise above the garbage and continue to blog for my family and real friends and to have something for my kiddos to look back on when they are a bit older.

This is kind of random but...Did you know that Forgiveness is a powerful tool and extremely liberating when truly meant. Most of you know, James and I have been together for a really long time (we are going on 20 years!!)! While for the most part, we are happy go lucky, we have had our fair share of drama and issues - like most married couples. However, thanks be to God, we have moved past all the garbage and are in an absolutely beautiful place today. I truly believe that our lives would be different today if we did not practice and act on the power of forgiveness in our life. That and through nothing short of a miracle.
I don't wish to spew our past issues all over the internet or anywhere else for that matter because they don't matter anymore, but I am going to tell you this...God can heal a broken marriage and make it stronger than ever! If you don't believe me, have questions or need some advice, give me a ring.....
As a result of our journey, I am where I am today. It has made me a better person, more forgiving, a little more tolerant, a lot more compassionate and a much better communicator.

Many don't or won't hear this, but satan attacks in many ways. he loves to prey on families...families who love each other, who love God. he would do anything to break a person to their core and destroy their family and their life for that matter. he doesn't care about anything but the misery he can shower on, well....anyone and everyone.

We, shall I say, I made a decision that satan was not going to and will not win in this family...that's all I can say about that! So those who think they can come into my life and screw with my family really will have a fight on their hands. Period. Done.

A couple of posts ago, I mentioned we were going to a new church, The Crossing. I have to tell you, I love this church. It is a teaching church, it is real and really a breath of fresh air in a world of stuffy Christians. It is loud and fun. I have to say....we have adjusted well within this church family and have learned along the way. The kicker is...my kids...my kids can't wait to go back every week. Anyway...long story short, I have made a home here and was baptized on Good Friday. It was awesome! Took me a while, but I took the plunge! I will post my pictures soon. My short testimony....which had to be short as there were 80 of us being baptized....was this---"I finally decided to get baptized because through everything I have been through in my life, no matter what it was, Jesus has always been faithful to me even when I ignored Him and He has performed miracles in my life and it is time for me to step up and be faithful to Jesus!"

As for these two gorgeous children.....
Wow...what can I say about these two! They are the loves and the light of my life. Carlie is growing like a weed -- over an inch since January and is about 1/4 of an inch away from not needing a booster seat anymore. It is crazy. She has matured so much this year, it kind of makes my head spin. We look at her and she is turning into a young lady full of life, faith and laughter. She is losing her teeth and with it, her "baby" looks. Whew....where did the time go?She is one month away from being 7!! In addition to Ice Skating lessons and Basketball, Carlie has added piano and girl scouts to her list of things to do and learn!
As for Luke, he is definitely coming into his own. Finally! Last May (2009), my son had 5 words! That was it...momma, dada, sis, papa and no -- nothing else. Today...his vocabulary is endless - it is amazing! In addition, he has learned to pedal a tricycle, alternate feet on stairs and his newest accomplishment is going potty like a big boy!!! I would say that he is 90% potty trained. He has very few accidents during the day and needs a pull up at night. He has grown up so much this past year...it is amazing! I am so proud of him, so happy that he is catching up with other 3.5 year olds after a pretty slow start. I have to thank my school district and his preschool teacher for this and also his Speech Instructor at the Scottish Rite Clinic....if you ever have the opportunity to give to the Scottish Rite, please consider it! They provide FREE speech therapy to kids who need it -- no matter what their parents earn!

James....well...he is James! Working and taking care of us. He installed our new dishwasher today..which is kind of out of his comfort zone! But it works and now we can put our 4 months of dishwashing by hands to rest!! YAY! we are so spoiled! He gave up fishing tournaments this year to spend vacation time with us! We are so looking forward to the trips that we have planned this summer as a family and with some friends of ours - one of them being a camping trip...Yes, I said camping, as in tents and sleeping bags.

2010-03-06T22:17:00.003-06:00

WHEN LIFE THROWS YOU A CURVE BALL.....KNOCK THAT SUCKER OUT OF THE FREAKIN' PARK!!!

Random thought of the day!

WOW!!!!

2010-01-30T20:21:00.002-06:00

Ok, so tonight I went to new church and I all I can say is IT ROCKED. I am going to be totally honest here... I have been really, really turned off by the whole Church thing for a lot of different reasons for which I am choosing not to go into today.

Anyway....this church, *The Crossing, is a church that sends out advertisement to get people to come, they stand out on the sidewalk outside their church trying to flag people in, they march in every local parade handing out information on their message. So I decided last week that I was gonna give it a try. Their motto is "it is the church for those who don't "do" church" - so I figured it could either be really off base or it could be really real! hmmm....

Anyway....if you read the blog of the pastor or read their website or watch some of their videos you get the picture that they are just ordinary folk trying to spread the Word! So I took my shy self and my not so shy daughter and we headed out to the Saturday night service. (Note: Saturday night services are sweet!!!)

They have been talking about the "Crazy Train" -- Crazy schedules, crazy life, crazy family...I happened to be blessed enough to show up on the night about crazy families....aaahhhh! My family is not crazy!!! That is your first mistake! Thinking your family is NOT whacked! Don't we all like to deny or ignore the crazy insane things about ourselves? Well.....duh?

Before Pastor Eric started, he said the obvious...we are products of our parents. The Good Crazy and the "crazy" crazy. He then wanted everyone to pull out a paper and pen and write down three Good Crazy Qualities and Three Crazy Crazy things. For example...good crazy would be the drive to learn and crazy crazy would be something like anger or materialism. So 100 people pulled out a piece of paper and did as they were asked. Then after a moment to think about the good and bad craziness....he said write this under the list...."I AM ALL OF THESE!"

WHOOOOAAAA --- SCARY!!!!!!!! I am exactly what I wrote down...good and bad and I am sharing all that "baggage" with my children! The good crazy is a good thing....the bad crazy we need to deal with (the examples given....addiction, anger, materialism, lying, etc....) and stop the cycle before he goes on four more generations!!! How do we do that? Go to the cross!! Then once you turn over all of your baggage you can be FREE!!! Free to help others with their baggage and show them where to lay it and move on in freedom and know that if you can make the change....your kids will not live in the same craziness you did!

One thing that stuck out and if I do nothing else, I want to pass this on to my children....
"You don't have to be like me or like your dad, or like your best friend or the boy/girl next door....You are suppose to be the BEST you can be." If they can leave their "baggage" at the cross, they can and will accomplish GREAT things in this world!!!! They don't have to carry around any of that stuff! We so have our work cut out for us!

So what did I think of this church?
Well...this may be rambling and for that I am sorry..... I am not the best person to wrap everything in to a pretty little bow, but you get my jist!

It ROCKED -- literally! It had rockin' music, a passionate pastor who spoke from the Bible and talked to his congregation like they were his friends sitting across from him at a table....It was REAL! It was dynamic, it was honest and scary all at the same time.

And Bonus #100......my kid had the time of her life and actually learned something and made some friends along the way!

The Richter Comedy Hour......

2010-01-23T16:30:00.002-06:00

Well....sometimes my children crack me up! Sometimes, I bust out in laughter when I should likely have keep a straight face and then scolded them.... However, as a human being some of the things that they do are straight out of a comedy flick.

Today, we were at the grocery store and our Pastor and his wife were checking out in the lane next to us...what does Carlie say.....Hi Pastor Greg....No....she says..."why is Pastor Greg here?" I told her that even Pastor Greg and his family have to eat and she responded with...."really, God doesn't give him their food? that's just crazy!"

Anyway...this is a picture of her and the beautiful crayons that her and my mom made out of old broken, worn down crayons... She loves that crayon maker!
Then there is this crazy kid. He is a lunatic. Today, while standing in the living room playing with Carlie...he stopped and just stood there. Let me tell you that he was still in a diaper and PJs. He actually looked as though he was going to go to the bathroom so I asked him..

Me: Luke, are you going poopy?
Luke: No, I am Peeing down my leg!

He in fact was peeing down his leg!! Seriously.

Then this afternoon, he went poop in his diaper. I am tired and not feeling all that great and the fact that he can tell me while he is going to the bathroom and not before really urks me. So I changed him and being the hot headed German/Native American/Hillbilly that I am, I took his diapers and threw them ALL in the garbage. (really, they are in the hall closet, but he thinks they are outside in the garbage can!)

You would have thought I was ripping off a limb he cried and cried. However later told my mom that his diapers were in the garbage with a big smile on his face.

Where has this kid been?

2010-01-05T23:45:00.002-06:00

So, I have another funny Luke story. His personality is just blooming...I can barely keep up with him! He is an absolute hoot!

So Sunday night, we did a family movie night. We all sat on the couch and watched the beloved *Toy Story. Which is Luke's favorite movie. Let me set the scene for you...

We were all on the couch...James, Carlie, Luke and me...In that order.
We all sat through the majority of the movie laughing and Carlie saying the words verbatim when Luke decided to get up and sit on the floor, with about 10 minutes left.

Carlie then decides...hmmm now is my chance so she moved her cute little self over by me. Luke was not at all happy about that move and started crying and saying.. "me there first, mama!" over and over. I told Luke that he needed to share me and it was OK to let Carlie sit by me for a few minutes. He then carried on about his business on the floor.

Well, 5 minutes or so passed and Luke stood up and walked over to his sister, pulled her stuffed puppy, Murphy, out of her hands and started to bolt across the living room...with Carlie right behind him. When he got across the room, he launched Murphy behind the chair and darted back to the couch and climbed up next me and just smiled. Which in turn, made Carlie start to cry because her brother got one over on her!

It was absolutely hysterical! I could not help but laugh at the whole idea of my son...my sweet, non-talking, non-combative son plotting against his sister to get his prime sport next to mom back! Needless to say, I laughed and there was no punishment given!

2010

2010-01-02T19:56:00.002-06:00

To be quite honest, I am glad to see 2008 AND 2009 in the history books. I am hopefully for a much better 2010. I may be a dreamer, but at least it is my dream!

2009 and 2010 has started off pretty good for us with some pretty exciting changes. Carlie has started ice skating and absolutely loves it. I am sad to see the absolutely frigid temperatures as we have not been able to go to "the pit". -10 is a bit too cold to stand out there and watch while she ice skates. It is kind of fun to watch her learn.
In addition to skating, Carlie has decided that she is too big for the rail on her bed. Up until a week or so ago, Ms. Carlie would wiggle and move ALL over her bed. Since she has decided that she is too big, she sleeps in the center of her bed and does not migrate toward the edge. So today, James and I removed the railing and she is officially a big girl.... or at least she thinks so for the moment.

As for Luke....I started to potty train him on Wednesday. He has done such an awesome job. While he does not always tell us that he has to go, he does seem to hold it until we ask. Since Wednesday, he has had one minor accident where he caught himself and finished on the potty and then today he did have a "pooping" accident and was really upset. I am sure that there will be more accidents to come bit for today...day 4...I am thrilled with his progress. I am anxious to not buy $40 boxes of diapers anymore! We will see how it goes when we get back to a normal routine of daycare and school next week. I will keep my fingers crossed.

Happy New Year!!!

Just some things I don't want to forget....

2009-12-29T23:42:00.002-06:00

My chatty son has come up with some really fun things over the past few weeks that I don't ever want to forget...
..He referred to Santa as "HoHo" for a couple of weeks and then graduated to Santa.
..He absolutely LOVED the Christmas tree and ALWAYS wanted the lights on. He also wanted the lights on the stairs on all the time.
..His newest saying is "Don't know how". You can tell him to go downstairs and watch cartoons, go get a diaper, get a cookie from the pantry and his response is the same..."don't know how" with a shrug of the shoulders.
..Carlie asks to sit by me and he immediately starts to run to me to sit by me and says.."me asked first, mama!"
..We were putting away the Christmas place settings and we was confused as to why... We told him Christmas was over and he started to cry. He did not want it to be over!
..Last night, he wanted to play Wii!! Carlie got a new game, Mario and Sonic Winter Olympics. He wanted to blobsled. When his cute little Mii dropped his head in failure....Luke sat down on the floor and started sobbing and saying "me lost..me lost..me lost". He was heartbroken! It was so stinkin' cute.

Christmas 2009

2009-12-29T21:08:00.001-06:00

I think this was by far the best Christmas yet! I think I say that every year, but I really think this one was. By far, this was the funnest Christmas with Luke. This year he was engaged and loved opening presents and loved the Christmas lights on every day and loved singing Jingle Bells. However, he was tired of opening presents about 1/3 of the way through them as he wanted to just stop and play. Carlie, was simply....Carlie. I am afraid that we are likely nearing the end of her magical belief in Christmas. Even though she can tell you what the true meaning of Christmas is...Jesus' birthday and giving...she is very smart and savvy and I think she is going to figure it out pretty darn soon. We are trying are best to hold her off with the million questions she asks. For example...how does Santa make it around the entire world, how does he get in our house...we don't have a chimney, Why don't we ever hear him on the roof? Stuff like that... To be honest, I was fully expecting her to go outside this year and look for hoof prints. Regardless, both kids got more than they needed but what can you expect with two sets of grandparents!

As for us in general...we had a good 2009. Our family has been blessed in ways that most people would not even know. Given 2008 was not one of our best years! We are grateful for our happy and healthy children, our happy and healthy marriage and the blessings that surround us on a daily basis. We are hopeful for an even better 2010!

I wish you all a Very Happy New Year filled with loads of peace, love and happiness! ...what can I say...I am a daughter of parents from the 60s!! :)

HoHoHo

2009-12-13T20:03:00.003-06:00

In case I don't send out a Christmas Card this year....Merry Christmas from all of us to all of you!!!

It's December...already?

2009-12-08T23:21:00.002-06:00

Every year, it seems that my desire for the Holidays drift away a little bit. Given the fact that I have two young kids who love the Holidays and all the magic that comes with it, it is a bit daunting for me. Perhaps its money....Perhaps I am simply lazy....Perhaps I think the Hoopla over gift giving has gotten a bit out of control. I don't know the real reason, but I have to psych myself into the Holidays much like I have to psych myself into Mondays. It is relatively funny in a sad kind of way.

Anyway, for the sake of my kids...I dig deep and found some spirit. We took the kids to cut down a tree. Luke is so excited for Christmas this year. He says that HOHO (his word for Santa) is bring him THREE BIG TRUCKS! Yep, you got it...not one or two...THREE!! When you ask him "DS". Seriously..please!
You might think that picture above if kind of strange. For two kids to be bent over like that in a tree farm. But the story behind that pose is....While at my dad's they saw a tree in the woods that had been scraped by a Buck. So now, Luke bends over and pretends that he is scraping a tree. Granted here he is scraping air....but it is still cute.

He also looked forward to decorating the tree. I can not tell you how awesome it is to see my son excited and engaged. It has been a long time coming and I am totally loving it.

Anyway.....from our family to yours.....MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Enjoy your families and the time you have together.

Thanksgiving 2009

2009-11-25T19:13:00.003-06:00

Well, we spent Thanksgiving with my parents, Ryan and Carol, Stephanie and my Grandpa over the weekend. We had loads of laughs and a lot of fun. It is always so relaxing to hang out at my parents house.

2009 has been a good year for the *Richters. Tons to be thankful for....let me share a few...

1) I am Very Thankful for the power of forgiveness...without it, things would be MUCH different today.

2) I am thankful for James, Carlie, Luke, my parents, Ryan and my grandpa! They have all played an important part in who I am today.

3) I am thankful for my beautiful home and my two OLD functioning cars.

4) I am thankful that all of our needs are provided every month...sometimes I am just not sure how.

5) I am thankful for my children's schools....while busting at the seams, they are still getting a good education and are surrounded by fabulous teachers, aides, volunteers and an amazing principal.

6) I am thankful for both mine and James' job...no matter how much I complain or hate it on certain days, I am still thankful that I am not among the millions of people unemployed.

7) I am thankful for coffee...without it, I may not always be the nicest person in the morning!

8) I am thankful for the few TRUE friends that I have. They are few but they know who they are and I appreciate them everyday!

9) I am thankful for Noel. While she fits in #8, she is also the person who cares for my little guy when he is not in school!

10) I am thankful for the opportunity to reconnect with some of my dearest old friends. It has been loads of fun.

11) Dill Pickle chips...hello?? that is a given!

12) I am thankful for my church

13) I am thankful for my Aunt Margie, who I love with all my heart. I am thankful for my Grandma June, although she is no longer with us, she lives on in our life in so many ways.

14) I am thankful that my son is noticeably catching up with other 3 year olds.....

15) I am thankful for the generous and loving heart that both of my kids have.

16) I am thankful that both of my kids have been relatively healthy this fall, including no H1N1 virus! Whew!

I could go on and on, but I am thankful everyday, I just thought I would share a few...

Have a blessed and Happy Thanksgiving and Holiday Season!!!

Faith

2009-11-15T19:08:00.003-06:00

The song I have posted below is my new favorite song. I heard it on the radio about a week ago for the first time and started crying. Now I hear it and I sing it as loud as I can and often find my hand rising to the sky.

The jist of this song is exactly what the title is... What faith can do?!

My faith has been tested and I have overcome and am a better, stronger person than I was before. The words to this song ring true in so many ways. To paraphrase...

"Everybody falls sometimes, you have to find the strength to rise from the ashes and make a new beginning....You think the ache is more than you can take, but you are stronger than you know....Don't give up, the sun will soon be shining, you have to face the clouds to find the silver lining...
I see dreams that move mountains, hope that never ends even when the sky is falling, I've seen miracles just happen, silent prayers answered and broken hearts become brand new...That's what faith can do.
Impossible is not a word... it is just a reason for you not to try. Everyone is scared when they decide to step out on the water...it will be alright. Life is more that what your eyes are seeing...you will find your way if you keep believing. "

Life, every now and then throws you a curve ball and you don't think you have the strength, compassion, grace, love, faith, desire to knock it out of the park. When life throws you that curve ball, which by the way is typically satan trying to move in...I encourage you to dig deep...find your strength, find your faith, find your capacity to love and forgive and fight it with your whole heart.

The power of forgiveness is an awesome gift. It is liberating. It is empowering. If you have the strength to find your way, I guarantee you will be happier, you will be stronger in the end.

The song says it....there is so much that can happen when you keep your faith. Our walk in this life is the appetizer for the main course. Make the most of it while you have the opportunity.

Find your strength...find your faith. Believe and it will make all the difference!

This song is SO true

2009-11-15T12:41:00.000-06:00

Lysol, Hand Sanitizer, Clorox wipes, oh my

2009-11-02T20:16:00.002-06:00

The Richter house has been hit hard by illness this school year. My dad says it seems like we are always sick, but I have to believe that is because he talks to us so much that he knows of every sniffle, cough or headache! Overall, we tend to be healthy. We went through a period of 8-9 months of ear infections right after Carlie started daycare many moons ago and then we just got the occasional cold, etc... However, this year is crazy!!!

It all started about 8 weeks ago, with Luke having a little cough and runny nose. I started his breathing treatments and he bounced back relatively quickly. Then, I caught an awful cold....it consisted of body aches, chills, headache and an absolutely terrible cough. That started 4.5 weeks ago....With a cough still lingering, it has now returned to a full blown uncontrollable cough! UGH.

When my original cold started, Carlie was also sick with a low grade fever, headache and just plain tired. After about 6 days she returned to normal. Then it was James' turn....he had the sinus thing with a cough!

This past Friday, Carlie was diagnosed with Strep (I will say it was going around her class) and today my little Luker was diagnosed with strep too! Craziness! We all have hand santizer close by, Carlie in her desk and backpack. There are just SO many kids sick this year. It is crazy....

My hope is that we are all cough, fever, sore throat, headache free by the time we see my parents for Thanksgiving! We will be so bummed if we aren't able to!!! GRRRR!!!

So.............. Besides gross sickness, nothing has been happening around here!! Luke will be on medicine tomorrow for 24 hours....the house is getting a good once over with clorox wipes, bedding changed, etc.....I have got to get rid of this garbage!

Anyway...enjoy the picture of my gorgeous daughter!!! I think this is just an awesome picture of her!!!

October!

2009-10-30T21:18:00.003-05:00

October is a fun month for us....It is Luke's birthday and Halloween. Two of my favorite things.
This year for Luke's birthday, we headed Northwest to Alexandria to a resort/waterpark. Both of the kids LOVE the water and with the lack of summer and leap into winter, we thought it would be a fun get away for all of us, especially the kids.

Here is a picture of Luke and James going down one of the smaller slides. From the look on Luke's face, it is obvious that he loved the ride. After a few minutes, Luke was all about exploring in the water. He was in heaven. The day we arrived we spent a good 5 hours in the water. The following day, we spent at least 2. While neither wanted to leave, they did not complain too much.

This picture was taken right after the huge bucket of water dropped on their heads.

I love this picture....Carlie is all about adventure. She got up enough nerve to go down the three water slides by herself. Two without a raft, one with a raft. This is her coming down one of them for the first time. She thought it was cool that the slide took her outside before she landed in the water.

Luke sitting on one of the fountains. Silly boy!

We then headed home to celebrate his big third birthday! Among his many gifts was a Black and Decker tool set....safety glasses and all.

I know he is not one anymore but I think Thomas is the Number 1 engine....but Luke loves Thomas. He has not watched more than one of the cartoons, but loves trains... Can you tell he was excited?

Me and my baby snuggling......feels like yesterday he was born and I was a mess while he was in the hospital for days! Look how far he has come!

The birthday slice......

He even blew out the candle by himself for the first time! Awesome!

Then we move into Halloween! Here are a few pictures from our carving adventure tonight. Luke absolutely adored the pumpkins and could not wait to get his picture taken with them. Look closely.....can you tell Carlie is sick? Even when she is not feeling well and actually has strep throat, she is photogenic.......I am so jealous! :)

I am pretty excited about trick or treating. This is the first year I am able to walk well enough to go with James and the kids....We are hoping Carlie is better tomorrow after two doses of medicine so we can go for a little bit. Luke went to the downtown retailers today trick or treating and out of his brown lunch bag filled with candy, only 7 pieces were stuff he could eat! The rest is for us!!!! Can you say...willpower?

Happy October!!! It is almost over! Then we leap into the Holidays.........Whew, not sure I am ready for that!

Happy Birthday Little Man!!!

2009-10-26T00:35:00.000-05:00

There is nothing I could say that could sufficiently express my love for this little man, who blessed us with his presence 4 weeks early, under less than ideal circumstances exactly 3 years ago today!!!

We love you Luker!!!!

October

2009-10-18T21:19:00.002-05:00

My little man is growing up. Soon he will be 3 years old. He has an unlimited vocabulary that is becoming easier to understand with every passing day. He is my joy! This picture is of Luke and his best buddy, Joe-Joe! All Luke wants to do is play with "joe-joe". Today, James and I took the kids to the pumpkin patch. It was nearly 65 degrees today and with the weather being so cold lately, we jumped on the chance to get out and enjoy. The kids, of course, had fun. There is never a doubt that these two have fun in whatever they do. But isn't that how kids lives are suppose to be?

Last night, we loaded up three vehicles and headed to Pumpkin Night in the Park. This was the first year for us and boy am I glad we went and can't wait to go again next year. It is a local forest preserve and the paths are lined with pumpkins craved by the locals. It is just so cool. You walk around the path and they have pirate ships and roadkill cafe's and ghosts. The kids had so much fun. We even stopped for about 10 minutes to watch an Elvis Impersonator. My kids danced and just had so much fun with 4 other friends.

As you can see, Carlie dressed up like a baby. I have to admit she was pretty cute.

Luke was a puppy and I had a hard time getting a picture of him looking at the camera. So I had to take what I could get from him. He is definitely not the camera lover his sister is.

We have been so blessed this year. We are looking forward to Luke's birthday next week. We have a fun weekend planned that includes.....water.

2009 Fun Run

2009-10-03T13:28:00.002-05:00

Well...here we have it...another Fun Run down in the books. Last year, CJ, Luke and James walked the 6 mile path and I made it about 1/4 of a mile because of my bad hip. However, this year, James had to work so it was up to me to participate.

The morning started in a rush as being the PTO co-chair, I was there a little early to help set up. This was after being up most of the night with a gallstone attack and getting about 2 hours of sleep. James did not wake me up, so Luke did about 7:30 and we were to be at the school by 8am. A giant cup of coffee and a Red Bull and I was ready to go....

It was cold, cloudy and rainy. Not ideal weather for a walking fundraiser. By 9:15am, when we left for CJ's basketball game, both her and Luke were frozen. However, we were able to take a break from the elements and Luke and I went to her BB game. I have to say my little munchkin is starting to get the hang of it. She did awesome! I then dropped Luke off with my fabulous sitter and Carlie and I headed back to the Fun Run, still raining and 50 degrees. UGH! However, we pressed on and walked about a mile. After our quality time together, Carlie and I headed back to the school to wait for the ultimate prize -- pouring "slime" all over her principal. While we waited, she had to run around with one of her best buddies, Nathan! Last year, these two were joined at the hip. We even had kissing episodes. This year, they are expanding their horizons but are still good pals.....thank goodness!

Then...the time came. Poor Mr. H!!! He is such a good sport. Freezing cold, wearing shorts and a short sleeve shirt, he sat on a chair...Outside...and let 12 of his students pour cold slime all over him. The top fundraising girl and boy from each class got to slime him. Last year, it was Carlie and Nathan in Kindergarten...this year, it was Carlie and Nathan for 1st graders! Both myself and Nathan's parents thought that was pretty funny!

So there you have it!!! Thank you to everyone who helped support our school and helped Carlie achieve her ultimate goal of being the one to slime Mr. H.

Summer...Part Two!

2009-10-01T19:22:00.003-05:00

This is a sunset out our front door....isn't it gorgeous!?Then there is Luke...he is finally getting on board with nearly being three...Here is putting the gint Elmo puzzle together. I was so proud of him!!!

Last week, my parents drove up here with my Grandpa. He actually played Wii bowling with Carlie. Here is the proof!! Just in case you did not believe me!

Also, we did spend a week in Illinois in August...While there, I took the kids on the train into Brookfield Zoo. It was so much fun and the kids loved the train ride.

Hope you all had a fabulous summer! I know we did, even though we did not have great beach/pool weather, it was fun nonetheless.

Who is the tooth fairy?

2009-09-28T10:42:00.002-05:00

Carlie lost her second tooth on Friday (9/25) while at school. She was so excited that she pulled it out herself and could not wait for the tooth fairy to flutter into the house to bring her a gift.

Anyway...Saturday morning, Carlie woke up to a crisp TWO dollar bill under her pillow. When she excitedly came out to show us all what the tooth fairy had brought her, she told us that she did not sleep too well because she was tossing around all night waiting for the little fairy to show up.

She then proceeded to tell us that SHE DID see the tooth fairy. So we asked her what she looked like..... She said that the tooth fairy looks like Tinkerbell. Pretty blonde hair and she wore a green dress and had cute little wings. She also said that the tooth fairy had a little star shaped wand that touched her cheek like a little kiss.

So.. there you have it and SOME kids think it is their parents! HA!! Carlie would surely beg to differ! : )

One step forward....

2009-09-24T23:27:00.003-05:00

My little munchkin is far from little anymore. She is growing up so fast and while it is amazing to watch her transformation, it is also a bit sad. However, as the big sister, Carlie is kind of stuck in the middle. She does not know if she wants to be 6, 16 or 6 months. She insisted on going to the little farm at the fair and was determined to be like everyone else there. So, she got on the little John *Deere tractor, which as you can see....was just a tad too small for her. Later in the evening, she told James and I that the little play farm was just not as fun as it used to be.
Part of her wants so badly to grow up because as she puts it...She "doesn't like people telling her what to do all the time." and part of her wants to digress and be younger than her brother. She is so silly!

Luke on the other hand...is coming out of his shell. He is exploring and talking back in good and bad ways. I can not explain to you what an absolute joy it is to watch him grow, learn, explore and express himself. It has been such a long time coming and is more amazing than I ever imagined. He is so smart and to finally hear him tell us what he is thinking is simply awesome.

Luke just finished his second week of preschool. He is adjusting and doing just fantastic. He is excited to go and when he comes home, he always has the same routine...

He gets off the bus and tells me..."school fun!"

He walks to the front stoop and sits down and hands me his backpack and will not go in the house until I look at everything that he brings home. He brings something home every day that tells us what he did at school that day and he tries to tell me what he did. I can normally get "snack" and "outside" from him.

It is so cool!!! I am so happy with how he has progressed and grown in the past 6 months!

This is my life...

2009-09-17T22:24:00.013-05:00

...and I would not change it for a second.

Facebook has really cut into my blogging life. To be totally honest, I have not felt overly creative and when things are just moving smoothly..let's face it, blogging is not all that exciting.
We have some firsts here in the Richter home...

1. We went to the MN State Fair. Some of you may say...hmmm, they have gone to the fair before. Well, you would be correct, but this is the FIRST time I have been to the fair without a limp or debilitating pain. It was fabulous. We went with a group of friends and their children and had the time of our lives. Now Luke is a bit timid when it comes to some things. He is afraid of our neighbors 11lb dog BUT at the fair, that kid walked right into the pen of a 400lb pig and PET it! I have loads of pictures of the kids at the fair, but these were my favorite!

2. Carlie spent a couple weeks again this summer at my mom and dads. As always she had fun and did not want to leave. Here are a couple of pictures that she took while on her vacation! She always takes one of her with my dad and we usually get a few of the chickens. She is not a fan of the rooster as he liked to chase her - even while she was driving the tractor. Notice I said Liked -- the rooster is dead! We think a fox enjoyed him for breakfast... needless to say, Carlie was not upset.

3. Luke went on a Ferris Wheel! He loved it! While he and Ryan were on it, fighter planes flew by and he thought that was pretty cool.

4) Carlie had her annual follow up with her ortho and her hip is fabulous!! If she continues on this track, she won't need a hip replacement as early as I did! Yay! She also caught her first fish on Mille Lacs! Her dad was so proud!

5) We have a first grader and a preschooler -- It is hard to imagine my kids are old enough! Luke had his second day today and did great! His teacher told me that he is an absolute joy! Carlie is doing really well in school and I notice an improvement in her handwriting and she just seems to be growing up! Bittersweet! That's for sure!

There you have it....Summer in a nut shell!

Seriously.........

2009-09-04T16:08:00.006-05:00

Let's get real for ONE second...I know that it is an impossible task for some, but really can't we try just for a moment? Humor me?

I am a realist living in an unrealistic world.

There are a few things that this country needs...Let me point them out just to get them off my chest!!!

1) We need honesty from our leaders. ALL leaders!!!! I don't care if you follow the donkey or the elephant. I don't care if you want to leave the union and be your own country. I think if everyone would just be honest, boy, would we be SO much better off!

2) We need funding to our schools! In this country, all children have the given right to have the same education! Our children are our future, people!! They need to be educated and in order to do that we need more funding to our public schools. I live in a district where we are in the top ten for enrollment and the bottom ten for funding! WHY the short fall!??! I could go on and on and on, but it doesn't need to be right now. Our children's education is suffering because are districts are losing money -- This is JUST wrong!!!

3) We need and must have Healthcare/Insurance Reform. Insurance prices are ridiculous in this country. I work for an insurance company and pay over $400 per month out of my paycheck for my family's healthcare. I also have a $2500 per person deductible, that does not include my co-insurance and other fees that are not covered, like my son's potential life saving Epipen or his much needed nebulizer. I have a max $5,000 out of pocket. That is ridiculous!!! I have a congenital hip condition for which I had a total hip replacement this year and a history of HBP. Carlie has a congenital hip condition for which she has had 2 surgeries and requires annual follow up appointments with the possibility of surgery in the future. Luke has a multitude of allergies, asthma and now a foot/ankle condition. For ME to switch to my husband's insurance, NONE of these conditions would be covered as they are pre-existing (don't argue with me on this point as I have checked and double checked it to make the switch as my husband's cost is ALOT less than mine). Unless I kept both coverages and paid over $700 per month out of our paychecks, my children and I would have to go without coverage for these conditions for at least ONE year before we would be covered under James' insurance!
The issue of health/insurance reform is easy...Every AMERICAN has the RIGHT to have health insurance. It is not a privilege. I would love to see the cost of insurance to decrease because there were more options. I would also love for my pre-existing conditions, some which I was born with to be covered under other insurance when I lose my job, which for those of you that don't know IS going to happen eventually as my company is going out of business.
If money would stop exchanging hands and these idiot politicians would think with their brain and NOT their wallet, perhaps...just perhaps we could get an insurance reform bill that EVERYONE could live with.
Insurance should not be a billion dollar industry at the expense of all of us. Perhaps we should all have the insurance coverage that Congress and other government officials have at the cost they have to pay and there would be NO debate!

4) IT IS OK for the President to speak to the students of this country and stress the importance of staying in school and reaching for their dreams. If I recall, President George H.W. Bush spoke to students when he was President and was HE A SOCIALIST??? Give me a break! Whether you are an Obama fan or not, he IS our president and it is OK for him to give students a "Pep" talk! Encourage attendance and working to achieve your goals. WHY is that bad?
This is not an opportunity for him to push his agenda or liberal ways on the young and impressionable. Holy cow, we as parents have a better chance of that with our children. However, if he encourages just one kid to stay in school or study harder....who did it hurt???

Those parents who keep their kids home and districts that do not air it is simply wrong. If he gets on TV and preaches to the kids that it is OK to have protected sex and Abortion is OK and Health Care reform should pass, I will apologize and remove this post.

5) Listen...I am a Christian. I am a God fearing, bible reading mother of two impressionable kids. I believe that you share the Word of God through your life experiences and lead them to the water. I do not believe that you shove your religion down peoples throat. There is a difference between shoving and sharing.

Perhaps we are a Christian nation...founded on Christian beliefs. However, in the 21st century -we live in a nation of many different religions and beliefs. Is it really realistic to "shove" our Christian beliefs down the other religious communities?

My favorite guy!!

2009-08-14T21:45:00.002-05:00

No pictures this post...my computer has some funky virus so I am improvising until I get it back and go back to the real world of pictures and facebooking and blogging... Goodness, I feel like a little lost sheep without my own computer.

Anyway....this little bloggette is all about my favorite guy........Nope, not James. Nah, not my dad either. Oh, ok...tired of guessing --- my main man LUKE!

My little man is so stinkin' cute. He is teetering on the brink of being 3. He is on the edge of heading off to his first day of preschool - two days a week, 2.5 hours a day. Depending on the day, he is relatively close to being potty trained; however, he has not been on the brink of talking, climbing, or acting like a "typical" three year old.

I know I have told you over and over again and you are probably so tired of hearing it, but Luke is developmentally slow. He walked late and he has definitely talked late. I can't explain his little "imperfections" (to some they would be that...to me - he is perfect).

Was it his vaccinations? Was it the fact that life was getting sucked out of him before he was born as he was wrapped in his cord from head to stomach? Who knows? We will never know why his development took a sharp turn south, we will never know why he has knocked knees and requires braces on his feet, but I will tell you the things I know about my little guy....

Let's just call this a LUKE ROCKS segment:

1) Without his words, he is by far the sweetest little guy I know. He loves us so much, it just oozes out of him.
2) He ALWAYS thinks of others, especially his sister. Sound funny for a two year old? Maybe, but it is true. He gets a treat for going potty --- he asks for two so he can share with Carlie. He goes the doctor and gets a sticker --- he asks for one for Carlie. I could go on and on with my examples.
3) He is so smart. Even without being able to communicate, he knew everything that was going on around him. Now that he IS talking, it is so evident that he was paying attention.
4) He will not go to bed without kissing his sister good-night
5) Now he can express himself with words and he is just so lovable, I just want to squeeze him. Tonight he said.... "Love you Mom", "Love you Dad", "Love you Ah-ie" (Carlie) -- He put three words together, three times in a row. It was amazing!!!
6) He always smiles
7) He always greets me, James and Carlie with a hug. And when I say hug, I mean a run across the room with arms wide open throwing himself into us..hug!
8) He is hysterical. He has a funny, cute, slap-stick kind of sense of humor.

Around the last week of May, Luke started speech through our Early Intervention program with the school district. At that time, Luke has about 7 words. Basic words: Mama, Dada, sis, juice, Na-Uh, Uh-huh, and Papa. Now Luke is putting together 3 word sentences and his vocabulary is endless. Today, I shut the garage door and he shut the front door. He said to me - "you, me close door"! We were outside eating dinner and he said "More pasta please" and then said "Hi Mike" to our neighbor!

All I can say is LUKE ROCKS!!

Luke has a ways to go. He is behind in naming all of his colors and shapes, but he can put puzzles together and solve problems like no other kid I know. Regardless of progression, Luke is exactly the way God wanted him to be. He has progressed at His speed and I can not tell you what an ABSOLUTE joy he is!

We are ALL so blessed to have him in our lives. Those who know him would likely agree. Those who don't or won't are missing out on the chance of life time to know one absolutely fabulous little boy!!!

Everbody goes Tubin'.....Tubin' USA!!

2009-08-02T21:25:00.005-05:00

We have made some new friends and they are SO nice and a welcome change. In addition, our girls go to school together, which makes it super nice!

Today, they were kind enough to include us in a day at the Lake...tubing. As you call know, Carlie loved it! She jumped off the boat, went in the tube by herself! She really is fearless and in the beginning, the B kids were too! Luke did fabulously in the boat!! I am so very proud of him, considering his daddly wants to take him in our boat too!

Here are a few pictures of our very fun day! I am exhausted and I did not step foot into the tube. However, my hubby did and had loads of fun too!! Mom....don't freak out too much!!! : )

Thanks to the "B" family!!! We had so much fun and can't wait until our next get together!

It been a long time coming...

2009-08-01T07:00:00.002-05:00

Today, James and I celebrate our 13th wedding anniversary. We are slowly approaching the 20th anniversary of our very first date. The only reason I remember it is because it was New Year's Eve!

Anyway...I am not going to sugar coat this post, I am not going to make it seem as though we have the perfect marriage, the perfect life and live in perfect harmony. If I did attempt to say those things, who would I be foolin'...really? Not myself and I highly doubt - you.

I have had GREAT role models when it comes to marriage. My parents, though separated for a short time, worked through their issues and have been married 38 years this year. My parents have come along way in their journey that spands nearly a life time...well mine at least, but more than half of their own. Growing up, the other influential pair was my Aunt Margie and Uncle Laymon. As a young child and pre-teen, we spent ALOT of time with them at their home. So, really...as sad as it may seem, those are the two examples I have of marriages that people worked at and succeeded; however, as an adult I know the one thing that they both had in common was their deep love and devotion to God -- above all else. However, I had more examples of broken promises, broken marriages, families being torn apart. Goodness, I lived it for a couple of years and it really sucked! There is no other way or even a nice way to put the heartache that a child feels when their parents split up!

Anyway....I digress! This is about ME!

James and I have been in the trenches over the last 20 years. We were together, we weren't together, we took turns hurting each other and finding our way back. In a lot of ways, James saved me. Granted I saved myself from the turmoil I was in some 18 years ago but he really stuck by me and if it was not for him, I am not sure where I would have ended up, but it likely would have been a pretty crummy place. We tried to mesh our independent lives and work out the kinks. More recently, James and I have had to really work at our marriage. Things weren't good. Things weren't rosy. Things were anything but peaceful. However, through it all, one thing never changed and that was the fact that I really did love him and I would not accept failure at our marriage. Not for me, not for him and NOT for my two beautiful, innocent children.

James and I have fought, cried, laughed, sat in silence, prayed...really did everything we could to keep our life together and I am glad to say that we have succeeded. So, here we are 13 years later.... We are doing well! We are in love with each other and appreciate the life that we have, we are stronger than ever. So this anniversary will be different -- it will be a HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!

I love you, James -- today, tomorrow and forever!!

another random post...

2009-07-30T22:03:00.005-05:00

I am going to first of all complain....This little camera phone picture was taken at the pool like 4-5 weeks ago. That was the last time it was warm enough to enjoy the pool! I need summer to get here ...It will be winter in like 6 weeks! Come on heat, sun, a little humidity!!!

So....let's see where to begin -- life in the Richter home has been pretty status quo over the last few weeks. Which typically is a very good thing.

Last Friday, my friend and daycare provider, Noel and I helped with a fundraiser for our friends who are walking the three day walk for Breast Cancer. We had a kids carnival in Noel's backyard and raised over $400. It was awesome. The kids had an absolute blast.

Carlie had her 6 year check up yesterday and freaked out so bad on the way there fretting about shots and pricks in the finger, she ended up falling asleep. If you are on Facebook, you have seen the picture. If you are not on Facebook, you should join! Anyway...she is 4.5 feet tall - in the 95% for her age. Her weight is in the 90th percentile and when Dr. M told her how much she weighed she looked at her and said....OOHHH, I need to lose weight! Thankfully, Dr. M told her that she was perfect and did not need to worry about that. Anything Dr. M says is gold to Carlie. For example, she has been having extreme growing pains in her legs during the middle of the night. She wakes up crying and begging for Tylenol. I will usually give her a small amount and she goes back to bed like I gave her a full dose. Dr. M told her to put a towel or pillow on her legs when they start to hurt. Sure enough tonight, her legs hurt...she put her extra pillow on her legs and fell asleep soundly.

Last night, she was so mad at me she thought I did not like her. So, she turned around while I am trying to dry her hair with a round brush and said to me...what! MOM!! did you have kids before me and now they are hiding somewhere? I told her of course not, she and Luke are ALL I can handle.

Carlie is signed up for youth Basketball and Volleyball this fall.! We are so excited for it to start. She is really looking forward to. Come on September.

So...Carlie is a borderline kind of kid. She aims to please some of the time and is a leader others. Is it ok to be a leader and a follower, depending on the day? I want her to be a leader. I want her to stand her ground, have confidence in herself, try to please me and not her friends, I want her to make her own decisions no matter what her friends are doing. I fear her becoming a follower. How do I change that path, should I leave it as is and not worry about it? Is it too early to even care? I want so badly for Carlie to make the most of her life, I want her to achieve her dreams and flourish into a confident, well balanced, independent young lady!

My son...wow...all I can say is he is progressing. He is talking, expressing himself with words, peddling a bike! He is doing awesome. He has gone from a 5 word vocabulary 8 weeks ago to an enormous vocabulary over well over 100 words and actually put three words together today..."more juice mom" Wow.... Again, if you are on FB then you say the video of him riding his bike for the very first time.

Finally...Saturday is mine and James' 13th anniversary. Seems like forever ago. I am realistic, it does not seem like yesterday. J and I have had a rough year. When I think of where we were and where we are now, I am so grateful, so blessed.. He is a good man, better than most, despite his flaws. Goodness... I have more flaws than most. Anyway....13 years....in 13 years from now, our daughter will be 19 - in her first year of college, Luke will be in highschool, I will be 50! The time does fly by...Better watch out or it is going to pass me by!!!

My other kid...

2009-07-16T00:14:00.003-05:00

We have had an interesting couple of weeks with our daughter. She is 6 going on 16! She acts like a hormone raging teenager and not a free-spirited six year old. She has been mouthy and let's just say --CRAZY!!

Today, while taking her to Basketball Camp we had a relatively heated discussion after grounding her for her repeated need to tell me "NO!!!". During this conversation, this little six year old told me --- "Mom, if you don't like the daughter you raised, why don't you go get another kid to raise!"

WHAT??!??!?!! Are you kidding me? Wait...let me clean my ears, let me roll up the windows...what did she just say?

That is not something that I ever expected to come out of my little girls mouth until she was oh...18!

I then tried to reassure her that I love her, I always love her, I would never want to live my life without her, I just don't really like the way she has been talking to me and her dad. She then proceeded to tell me that she just needed mouth surgery then so she would stop saying NO!!

I told her that if her behavior continued, not only would she be grounded today but I would slowly take away her summer fun, including her trip to her grandpa's and she would have to explain why. She then had the nerve of an adult and said "OK, I guess I have to be good, because I am not going to tell my Papa that I was naughty, that would hurt his feelings." Good fear of her Papa ---PRICELESS...I guess.

So tonight, I tucked her into bed, said prayers with her and again told her that I love her with my whole heart...as big as the universe. She told me she loved me too and that she hopes I can start acting like it!!!

Goodness gracious!!

It's fun to be me....

2009-07-13T20:11:00.006-05:00

This 4th of July, the entire Richter clan hung out at my parents house. It was a super fun weekend as Ryan and Carol were there so we were all together for the first time since my brothers wedding.

My very festive kiddos were sporting their tye-dye shirts that were made by Luke's daycare provider - Noel - and I must say, they both looked pretty darn cute...don't ya think? This next picture of Luke and his uncle RY-RY is just too cute. Luke is really a Ryan mini-me. So many people have said he looks like Ryan when he was young. I have to say, I must agree.

Carlie had spent the entire week before the fourth with my mom and dad -- mostly my dad. However, Uncle Ryan and Aunt Carol did come a couple days early and Carlie LOVED the attention. She was the ONLY kid for a week and she has had some trouble adjusting since she has been home.

While with my dad, Carlie gets to experience a wide variety of things - "squirrel hunting", morel hunting, tractor driving, hiking in the woods, just to name a few. She has moved up from her Pocahontas days (life w/ a bow and arrow) to a BB gun and Paintball gun. Here is proof that Annie Oakley is a good shot!

Since her return, Carlie has been a bit emotional and a little sad. She finally told me after I threatened to take her to the doctor that she just missed her Papa! Sweet...I know! He is her favorite person next to me and James, of course. Although, she would rank him much higher! She is definitely a Papa's girl!

Since she returned home, she has been making her bed every day, picking up after herself, wanting to do chores w/out being asked. Perhaps it is because her grandma put her to work --(NOT!!)

Anyway...on Saturday, she unloaded the dishwasher and started to load it with the sink full of dirty dishes....apron and all! I just love this kid! She has a heart as big as the universe!
One of the fun things we do during the summer, is hang out at the local pool! Both of the kids are little waterbugs! The first nice Saturday, we were there for 5 hours!! Imagine that! Here is some proof of my bathing beauty and her handsome brother!

This one is just too funny.....They look like Adam Ant!

Another fun thing we do in the summer is strawberry picking.. Here they are after picking in 90 degrees one morning before volleyball camp! 8lbs of strawberries that we are still eating!

Finally, I never posted any pictures of Carlie's birthday party!

Here she is with her group of friends! They had a great time.. Yes that is pants and sweatshirts the first week of June! Gotta love MN! Luke had to join in on the fun too --- he needed a rest by the 13th hole!

Happy Daddy's Day!

2009-06-21T16:57:00.004-05:00

I have to admit, I am probably a bit bias, but I honestly believe that I have the best DAD in the world. I am and have been most of my life, a "daddy's girl". While I qualities of both of my parents, I think I tend to be more like my dad. So....too my dad...I love you and Happy Father's Day!

However, today was all about James. James and Carlie had planned a fishing trip today, but the weather did not cooperate. So we did the next best thing.....went to Cabela's and out for lunch.
Cabela's for essentials...a life jacket and new reel for Carlie and a new reel for James. We then decided to go to lunch at Mort's Delicatessen. This was our first visit to Mort's and my goodness was it delicious!!!! Needless to say, we will be back!!

Well, I have to say that my kids have one heck of a dad, too! He is patient and fun. He is caring and loving. My kids are very lucky to have James as their dad! So Happy Daddy's Day to you too!!!

These pics were taken today, even though the date is wrong.

Words can not describe....

2009-06-15T19:38:00.006-05:00

Look at this beautiful...soon to be...1st grader! What dimples, what a complexion, WHAT A SMILE!!!! Tonight, while eating Red Snapper, that beautiful smile turned into this.......

Carlie is officially toothless...She has finally lost her very first tooth and is SO excited about the tooth fairy coming to our house. She told me that she thinks the tooth fairy is really me and I told her that if it IS me...there will be nothing under her pillow tonight. So, she calmly tells me.."ok, mom, the tooth fairy is real!" I still think she has the most beautiful smile.

This next picture is of Carlie on the last day of school. She just happened to wear the same shirt as she wore on the first day of school. Wow, has she grown. Last summer, she was a bit fearful of the "big kid" monkey bars...now, she can climb to the top. If you would like to compare before Kindergarten and after kindergarten, click here.

Finally, what would a post be without a picture of Luke.

Do you like his new hairdo? Spikey? I kind of like it. His new thing is a little thing he does with Carlie, A high-five, a fist bump and then Peace! He holds up his fingers and actually says Peace!

1st grade...here we come

2009-06-05T12:08:00.002-05:00

Milestone...maybe not to everyone
Big deal....maybe not to everyone
Nostalgic....again, maybe not to everyone

But to me......Whoa....it is all those things.

Today, is Carlie's last day of being a kindergartener. This may not be a huge deal, but to me it is a big deal.

6 beautiful years ago, Carlie entered this world full of life and spunk. She was an 8 week preemie, who wasn't even suppose to make it out of the womb at 5weeks gestation. Now....she is going to be a first grader.

I think the feeling of the day is pride. I love watching Carlie grow up. She really is amazing in so many ways. While I would love for her to stay young and my baby forever, I know that it is not the intent of God's gift. We are entrusted with these lives to nurture and raise and then sendoff on their own. They are ours for only such a short time.

However, as I walked her into her class (which by the way is the second time this entire year) simply because she wanted me to carry the lilacs we picked for Mrs. C - I felt proud! Proud that Carlie had such a good year. Proud that in this nine month process, she has learned to tell time, read a book, write words and sentences. Proud that she has made so many new friends. Proud that she has blossomed into a ready to move forward 1st grader.

I thanked Mrs. C for being a great teacher and putting up with my kid all year and she told me that it has been her pleasure and that Carlie is a joy to have in class. As I listened to those words and watched Carlie and her friends dance around the room chanting they are "first graders now", I felt proud.

Perhaps....just perhaps, I am a sappy mom. Perhaps, I make Not a big deal moments into BIG deal moments. But I think venturing into this next chapter is a big deal!

3 more years and Luke will be next. Perhaps James and I need to consider another baby just to keep it going.... NOT!!!

I love these kids!

2009-05-30T20:03:00.008-05:00

***Please pause my playlist before you play the attached video***

This week, Carlie turned 6! She had an awesome birthday, if I say so myself. On Friday, she came home from school only to run around the corner of the car to be surprised by my mom and dad! I think that was truly the highlight of the weekend. On Saturday, She opened her present from Luke before James went to work. As you can see, Luke gave her a basketball that she was pretty happy about. James then took her outside to the backyard for her to see her gift from us - a real 7.5foot-10.5foot basketball hoop! She was thrilled! She also received an awesome pair of Sketchers from my mom and dad, along with a whole lot of other things.When James came home from work, I made the requested birthday dinner of BBQ Bacon pizza's. Then we had cake! Which we are still eating! For a few days, last week, it was pretty warm outside - so after school, the kids were able to run through the sprinkler! This is Cool Hand Luke, himself.... he is quite stylin', don't you think? Carlie is one of Luke's favorite people. Not a day goes by where he does not run to her to hug her, play with her, or just sit by her. Here, they are just loving one another!

Next......I am pleased to present you with my handsome son...sportin' a new haircut - given to him, by me, last night before heading out to "Movies for Boobies" - a fundraiser for my friend Cassandra, who is walking the 3 day for Breast Cancer.

On Friday, I went to Carlie's school for a kindergarten farewell party. It was a nice hour and a half spent w/ Carlie's class and their parents. Mrs. C made a movie that consisted of pictures of the kids throughout the year played to music. Of the many pictures, was one of each kid on the first day of school and then one taken recently. It is amazing how much they have changed in 9 months! It was a little emotional at the end, when she presented us with their recent pictures with a forward of "Look how we've grown" and ended with a "Future Class of 2021". I did manage to get a little misty at that point. To be honest....I have never put a year to when Carlie would graduate from highschool! 2021!! 2021!!! You have to be mistaken! I will almost be 50!!! Holy mackeral! Luke won't graduate until 2025!!!

Anyway, at the end of the program all the kids sang a song, which I videotaped on my camera. Somehow today while looking through the pictures, I managed to delete it! I was SO mad! So I had Carlie improvise and sing it all by herself...so she would always have it. Here you go!

Luke, given he now has a vocabulary of over 30 - would not have anything with being left out. So tonight, I let him sing too! (notice at the end...the first person, he mentions...NO it is not me!!)

All I can say is, I struggle some days with a variety of things.....but these two kids are the reason I work so hard everyday to be a good person and a better mom! I love them both as big as the universe!

Carlie ROCKS!!

2009-05-23T20:23:00.003-05:00

Here are a few pictures of Carlie...Just look at how she has grown! The first picture is on her actual birthday, May 23, 2004! She was still in her spica cast from her hip surgery that March. She was crawling a round and as happy as a little clam. Look at the biceps on that kid.

The second picture is of her shortly after her cast came off. As you can see, she was sitting up but her legs were spread apart as if she were still bound in plaster.

It is hard to imagine that Carlie is 6 years old. It does not seem possible for that to have happened. I remember the day she was born like it was yesterday. I was full of emotion that day. She was 8 weeks early but was born on her terms. She entered this world a strong little preemie and today is a strong young girl.

Some of you might remember that last month I wrote a post about the 38 reasons James rocks for his birthday. Carlie has requested the same be done for her on her birthday...so here it goes.....

Carlie ROCKS because....

1) she has the biggest heart of any 6 year old that I know.

2) she takes really good care of me and the rest of us when we are sick.

3) she loves to snuggle with me.

4) she is smart

5) she is extremely funny

and

6) She loves everything with her whole heart!

My parents are here this weekend and she wanted us all to take turns with this task...some of the things that were said -

1) She is a sweetheart

2) She likes to fish

3) She likes to go fast in her dads boat

4) She likes to hunt morels

5) She got good grades on her report card

6) She is smart

7) She is a good sister

8) She will always talk to me

Needless to say, our little girl is growing up and she is very much LOVED!

Happy Birthday, Carlie!!!!!

We're goin' to the zoo, zoo, zoo...

2009-05-18T20:54:00.007-05:00

Those few that follow me on facebook, know that Carlie and all three of the Kindergarten classes at our school went to the zoo today for their end of the year field trip.

Last September, when the list of field trips came out, I told Carlie that if I had my hip fixed, I would be a parent chaperon. Well, you all know, the hip is fixed, it is perfect, it is like a hip of a 6 year old...so I followed through on my promise to my 5 year old and was a parent chaperon.

There were so many parent's that each one of us was lucky enough to have our own child and one more. While we walked with friends, it was very nice to only be responsible for 2 children, one of which was your own.

We had loads of fun and since Como is a relatively small zoo, we were able to enjoy it all.

Although souvenirs and treats were really off limits, by the end of the day...as you can see in some of the pictures... we, parents, broke the rules and the kids were able to enjoy a snow cone. After all, it was a beautiful, MN spring day - not a cloud in the sky, a tad bit breezy and about 76 degrees. Perfect. In order to keep the kids easy to spot, they made cute little white t-shirts that had their names on it and they were able to decorate themselves.

Carlie had a lot of fun and was a bit tired on the bus ride home. I am not sure about any of you out there, but these school buses were definitely NOT made for a 6 foot tall mom with two kids in the same seat. Luckily for Carlie and I, her friend Ana, is a little peanut!

This one is the flamingos. You may not be able to see them in the back ground too well, but the girls just loved them. We probably spent a good 5-10 minutes watching them and went back probably 2-3 times.

I am not sure if you can see it, but the picture below is an Orangutan that was right up against the window in front of Carlie. I had a great day and am THANKFUL that I have a job in which I have loads of PTO so I don't miss too much.

When to grow up?

2009-05-14T20:08:00.004-05:00

Here are some pictures of my children...my innocent children, my children who, despite their age, think it is OK to have fun and watch Noggin and Imagination Movers and have little to no interest in anything else on TV.

Luke is a given....He is young, innocent and is just NOW learning at 2.5 yrs old that he can tell his mom and dad - NO.

See, how stinkin' cute he is....he doesn't care that his vocabulary is minimal. His heart and his ability to have fun is HUGE!

As you all know, Luke suffers from a multitude of allergies. He has not experienced pizza, ice cream, chocolate, corn dogs, a funnel cake at the fair. He is pretty much a meat, potato, veggie and fruit kind of kid. He is going to live to be 100 just because he eats so darn healthy. Well, I found him some dairy, egg, peanut free brownies. The kid went crazy over the batter! So being the good mom that I am, I let him clean the bowl. Then once the brownies were baked....it took him a good 3 days to want to eat them. He had no idea what to think of them after they were cooked! Then...there is Carlie. My little girl is going to be 6 in just over a week. If you compare her to other kids in her class or those in this ridiculous neighborhood we live in, she is very much younger than the average. AND I don't mean because of her age....I mean because of her lack of knowledge of certain topics of discussion.

Carlie still watches cartoons that consist of Little Bear, Mickey Mouse and Imagination Movers. She very rarely will ask to watch Hannah Montana or iCarly. James and I have worked so hard to keep her from watching TV that has so effectively desensitized our society. We really stick to very few shows/movies that she can watch. She is not even a fan of the Disney movies because every single one of them has a "bad person" in them.

I don't want her to grow up too fast. I want her to be a kid that likes to play, be involved in sports, music, theatre or whatever can grab her attention in a positive way. I don't want her conversations to be bogged down with slangs about boys body parts. I don't want her to know hand gestures or curse words. We work hard, at home, to shield her and Luke from that. I know I can not shield her from everything. She does go to school after all with children who know more than I probably do.

However, James and I spend a lot of time diffusing some of the things that she hears at school and in our own backyard.

In the meantime, I am very happy with my little girl BEING a little girl. I am happy with her thinking when a boy says a girl is "hot" she is confused because said boy never touched the girl so "how would he know".

I am happy with the little girl standing up for what she believes in, even when it comes to God, Jesus, Heaven, marriage, and that a boyfriend is just a boy who happens to be a friend.

I am happy with the little girl who thinks it is not nice when bad words are said and I am happy that she is confused and clueless when the little boys in the neighborhood use slang terms or hand gestures. I would prefer she learn these things from us -- perhaps it is time for me to reread my friend, Adrienne's blog about a healthy way to discuss this with a child or call her for suggestions since her daughter is just slightly older.

Anyway....all I am trying to say is I want Carlie to not dwell or be consumed with all this garbage! I want her to be innocent and full of life and some day she will know the ins and outs of all the other stuff and will hopefully learn on my terms. : )

Here is Carlie just wanting nothing more than to make her brother breakfast (without any help)..

This is Luke thoroughly enjoying said breakfast (delicious cinnamon toast) made by his big sister... There is no one in this world that Luke loves more - than Carlie. This is a kid who is tormented with shots at the doctor and when he picks out his good boy sticker, always asks to get one for his "sis".

This next picture is that of my little girl who conveniently said to me one night..."Mom, I am a big girl and I DO NOT need my bed rail anymore. It's for babies". I told her not tonight and then snapped this picture of her sleeping right next to this unneeded bed rail.

Fun in the 60's

2009-05-02T14:46:00.009-05:00

Today it was sunny and 60 in Minnesota - the land of eternal winter - it seems. Our kids had a blast outside blowing bubbles, climbing trees and racing down the hill in their respective cars. As you might notice, CJ kind of resembles a hippie child - sportin' her hot pink bandana and tie-dye shirt!

Random! Watch out!

2009-04-27T21:57:00.006-05:00

Oh my - oh my where to start! Random thoughts can be good or can be bad - depending on your perspective!

Let me itemize!

1) Tonight we watched the end of Dancing with The Stars and they did a group dance of the Mambo to a Beyonce song - I don't know the title, but it is "all the single ladies - if you like it then you better put a ring on it" song... Anyway, our little Carlie danced to that song in perfect beat and was popping all over the living room floor! I really think I need to get her into some kind of dance - although girlie type dancing is so not her! She needs a hip hop type dance class! That... she would dig!

2) Luke sees me drinking some FIVE ALIVE tonight and said JUICE!!! He said it over and over and over again on his own and even when ASKED! Soon after, he was eating his snack - yogurt. Got some on the upper corner of his lip and he reached it with his tongue!!
Now some of you may be saying - Tara that is not good behavior to promote with a toddler!! Let me tell you - it was flippin' awesome! My son, up until this point, had no idea that he had a tongue let alone what it could do. About two weeks ago, we started working with him to stick it out at us and after several attempts and a few days, he figured it out. Now he can use it to clean his lips! Let me just tell you again - AWESOME! Here is my little man, who will be talking soon (I just know it) at Buffalo Wild *Wings* a few weeks ago. It is from my phone - not the best quality - but cute none the less. I just LOVE this kid!
3) I was on a ledge today - hyper, binge stress eating, freaking out if someone told me that the sky was blue! As you could tell from my earlier post, my hubby - talked me down, brought me back to reality or sanity! He has such a gift! I just LOVE him!

4) We gave Carlie an expert review in hand washing due to this flu thing that is spreading. I know that she is almost 6, but I really need to keep my kiddos as safe as I can without putting them in my house which I have effectively wrapped in saran wrap. Here is a picture of her listening to her mp3 player that plays nothing but Bible stories and songs. A friend close to her heart will be getting it when she is done. Thats my girl - a walking ministry! I just love this kid!! 5) Whoever allowed that plane to fly around New York City should resign!

6) Yesterday, we spent the day at *MOA* - Carlie had a blast. We bought her a wristband at a reduced price at my favorite store - Costco*. She rode tons of rides and had such a fun day. I bought a new swimsuit and some clothes that aren't too big and Luke was an angel, as he normally is! As we were leaving, we decided to get a drink from Orange*Julius. I asked the girl working what was in the fruit drink as my son has a severe dairy allergy. She told me - fruit, juice, ice and water! I got our drinks and gave it to Luke. As I picked it up, I double checked with another worker about the contents and was told the same thing. I let Luke drink it! We got in the car, 15 minutes later, the poor baby is vomiting and breaking out in hives. We were stuck in traffic due to an accident and there was nothing we could do. Anyway, 45 minutes later, we are home and as I get him out of his very disgusting car seat and strip him in the garage, he looks at me and in his own way says "thanks mama"!! James and I just burst into laughter! As Luke is in the bath and a dose of benadryl later, he seems to be feeling better. Meanwhile, James takes the carseat apart and I go online to see what was in this drink - thinking "oh my what else is this kid allergic too". Much to my surprise - this drink that these lovely people told me was dairy free, contained a powder - yes a powder that contains NONFAT milk, WHEY and EGGS!!!! Hello, you should really tell people ALL of the ingredients in a drink if they specifically ask due to allergies. Thankfully, Luke has an allergy that is relatively severe, but not life threatening to this point. Had it affected his breathing or worse -- Orange*Julius would have gotten worse than an email!

7) One last thing - I have decided since the economy stinks and there is no chance of me moving anytime soon - I need to get involved in my school district. I love Carlie's school, but for various reasons we do not get a lot of state/federal funding. So tomorrow, is my first meeting with the Legislative Action Committee! I am a bit nervous and excited at that same time! Pray for me to stay focused and logical!

TTFN!!!

One more reason why I love him....

2009-04-27T16:23:00.001-05:00

James can talk me down off any ledge that I happen to stumble upon! I Love it and HIM!!!

Faith of a Child

2009-04-24T16:42:00.002-05:00

As an adult, the Faith of a Child is really a beautiful and quite remarkable thing. Children - or should I say most children, have an innocence about them. They believe everything they tell you and later come back and throw it in your face.

While I can tell you, Carlie has incredible faith, she does not hesitate to question any of the things she has been taught. If you think about it, it is pretty cool to have a five year old question you about life, Heaven, hell, death, why birds fly and why the sky is blue.

Anyway...my dad - the great teacher - had to remind me today that the faith of a child should never be destroyed. Let me share with you my story of this.

As you know, Earth Day was this week. During the course of the week, Carlie has been learning about recycling and how to take care of the Earth. She has been on a frenzy trying to pick up garbage to keep our Earth clean. She has repeatedly told me that it is wrong if you don't take care of the Earth and has also lectured our neighbors children about it, too. (note: neighbors don't recycle.)

Well, with the rain and off and on cold, we have had our share of spring spiders and ants in our house. I have to admit, the ugliest black spider was crawling in my office the other day and Luke saw it and started yelling "ug" "ug". I said to him -- Luke, it just a spider, step on it! He immediately told me "no" in his own little way. So I preceded to squash the spider and throw it away. He was so very happy!

This morning on the way out the door, Carlie saw a little, lonely black ant crawling in our foyer. She was trying to pick him up without breaking his poor little body and said to me as serious as she could -- "mom, look at this ant. This is part of nature! One of God's creatures!"

Without thinking, I responded:
"Carlie, it is an ant - kill it!"

"no, mom - put him outside, he is part of nature!!!"

Again, without thinking...I smashed that little ant and said - nature is good outside, I prefer it not in my house!

she replied....MOM!!!!!!!

So then, I took her to school. My dad told me that I needed to apologize to her for brutally attacking one of God's creatures. The more I thought about it, I guess I should have handled the whole "god's creature" a little bit better.

I did apologize to her for killing the ant. And she so kindly told me that "God will forgive you if you ask him but He probably wouldn't miss one ant as there are thousands and millions of them!"

Then I had to start the conversation that God loves all of his creatures, even that tiny little ant! That's a blog for another day!

James

2009-04-23T00:01:00.001-05:00

Today, my husband – my best friend – the father of my two beautiful kids – celebrates his birthday! Unlike him, Carlie and I think his birthday is a big deal. Carlie for much different reasons! Carlie wants his birthday to be special. We “have” to buy him a present, make him a cake, let him pick dinner, give him a card. We “have” to make a big deal about it because, well… it is his birthday. It could also be because she knows her birthday is exactly one month after her dads and she is very excited about being 6!

Me…well, I like to make his birthday special for other reasons. One, I think he is pretty special and is the love of my life. I am thankful that he was born, oh so long ago! : ) I like him to know that he is special, that I love him with my whole heart, that I think he is an exceptional dad, that I appreciate him for trying to be an exceptional husband, that I appreciate him putting me and the kids before anything else.

So today, April 23rd, I am going to “try” to think of 38…yes 38 reasons why I think James ROCKS…. (some may be a repeat of the above… its my list, my prerogative.)

1) He is a great man of character
2) He loves me unconditionally
3) He loves our kids and strives to be the best dad
4) He is the one guy I dated that was taller than me!
5) He goes to work every day
6) He comes home every night
7) He does most of the grilling
8) He is usually the one that cleans the bathrooms
9) He sacrificed a whole fishing season last year for the sake of his family
10) He is genuine
11) He works very hard to better himself
12) He is frugal
13) He doesn’t have a temper (unless I push him unmercifully)
14) He is ridiculously patient
15) He doesn’t get involved with the cattiness of suburbia
16) He is a good friend
17) He only has one vice – fishing
18) He doesn’t drink – which I find admirable
19) He likes to have fun
**YAY, I am half way there…
20) He has a very funny, dry sense of humor
21) He is loyal
22) He can be sarcastic when the situation calls for it
23) He almost always does the laundry
24) He let me name Carlie after my grandma, even though he had two of his own!
25) He gives me time to myself when I need it
26) He takes care of us
27) He is supportive
28) He is a great teacher to Carlie and Luke and me!
29) He is a good listener
30) He learns from his mistakes
31) He chose me!
32) He works hard to raise our children to love God and know right from wrong
33) He is not a pushover
34) He is handsome
35) He looks awesome in camouflage
36) He is a GREAT dad!
37) He is a GREAT husband!
38) Oh yeah, did I mention…he chose me!

So, if you talk to him today….wish him a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Say what...Say what??

2009-04-22T20:17:00.002-05:00

My little Luker is quite the character. He has gone from a perfectly normal, babbling baby - to a baby with no sound, to a kid that would just say "ah" to a little toddler with about 20 words.
He has been involved in therapy, which has been a bit beneficial, I think. However, James and I decided to take him to Children's today for a speech eval just to make sure we weren't missing anything.

After an hour with a therapist, she agreed with our plan for home therapy and we will reevaluate him in 4 months to ensure the school therapy is beneficial. If not, we will look into therapy there.

During the course of his eval, he did use about all of his 20 words and was able to follow commands. He is all over the spectrum when it comes to his development. He is right on target for certain things and at a 12 month old level for others. He scores lowest in his ability to express. Which is obvious given his very limited vocabulary.

So...in the meantime we will keep working with him and hopefully one day he will just start talking like there is no tomorrow.

Easter - Part 1

2009-04-11T09:28:00.003-05:00

We have had lots of discussions the last few days about the meaning of Easter - Carlie is becoming more and more interested in Jesus and how all of it works - which means I am having to do my homework to make sure I don't misrepresent.

Anyway - the fun of the Holidays is still alive and well. She is so excited for the Easter Bunny to come tonight, she can barely wait to go to bed!

Last night, we colored eggs, which was Luke's first time. He was more interested in throwing the eggs into the cup to make a splash and put his hands in the dye and was amazed when they came out blue or green! Both of the kids had fun and thank goodness for a very patient dad to help them out. I was in charge of the pictures!!

Hope you all have a blessed Easter weekend!

Need to be inspired???

2009-04-08T11:43:00.002-05:00

Go to my friend, Adrienne's blog! Her words will strengthen and inspire you!!
She was on Castle Rock radio today and I am sure she will have a link to listen...

She is a strong woman of God, she is inspiring, she is an awesome mother, she is simply amazing in my eyes and I just love her to pieces!

I guarantee you, you will not walk away with a dry eye and you will not walk away disappointed.

to blog or not to blog....

2009-04-06T16:24:00.002-05:00

My goodness has Facebook cut into my blogging life...
Fortunately, there has not been a whole lot happening in the life and times of the Richter family! We have been pretty laid back and the definition of boring to a lot of people, I would imagine.

There is not much news to share as we really have just been going on about our daily lives without incident! YAY for us!!

Carlie is in the final stretch of school and just had the best report card yet! She got all S's! Even in the section about listening attentively. In the past, Carlie was a bit more interested in socializing than anything...but I think we have that straightened out! Her teacher told us last week that she is doing great! We are so proud of her so a trip to Dave and Buster's is in the works...

Luke is all boy -- while James was working the other day and I was in the shower, he managed to unlock the back patio door! We found him on the deck! He is so different than Carlie, she would not have ever tried that. He is talking a bit more, so hopefully soon he will be running that cute little mouth a mile a minute.

James has his first fishing tournament of the year next week - I think he is looking forward to it. He did not get to fish much last year so this is a welcome change for him.

Me....well, I am just me, with a new HIP!! YAY me!! James and I actually went out dancing on Saturday! I have to tell you it is awesome and I have no idea why I waited so long! Over the past two years, I was so depressed - I don't think that people even realized it. My demeanor has changed significantly!

On a serious note...there has been something on my mind lately.... over the last year or so, I have been through various emotions and have had to express and work on qualities that I never thought I was good at or even possessed. People who know me will know that I have often said, when God was passing out attributes, he forgot to give me grace! Those people would tell me, that I have it, I just have to dig deep and find it. I am also a person who would not forgive easily if the situation suited me. However, this year, I have found myself needing to forgive and be forgiven. All I can or will say, is James and I would not be where we are today had it not been for God's grace or forgiveness.

Today, James and I are a solid, cohesive unit!

I think I have probably always said that we were, but it was not the case. Now, I can say without hesitation that we are. We would not be that today if I were unable to forgive and in turn be forgiven. If you look at my sidebar, one of my favorite quotes basically says that forgiveness is an attribute of the strong and to not forgive is an attribute of the weak. I believe that. It takes a strong person to forgive a wrong. I think over the past year, I have become a stronger person and as a result my marriage has become stronger. It is true that we can overcome, we can bear great strife and grief - however, it is something that we can not do alone or even with the support of your family...while that makes it slightly better - you have to believe that God has a plan for your life and live according to His word.

I am thankful that God gave both of us the strength to forgive and move forward. Had HE not, the direction of this blog would be much different!!!

My advice today.... Forgive! It is very refreshing and very empowering (in a good way!)

GO ELKS!

2009-03-07T14:37:00.004-06:00

So, last night, Carlie turned into a cheerleader! I am not sure what she liked the best, the cheerleading or the basketball game. But she did enjoy it enough to sign up for a summer cheer camp.
Before the debut~

Here is Luke, thinking he is BIG stuff - wandering around the gym like he owned the joint Luker -- just too cute for words!

Rehearsal!

More rehearsal!

Look at those pom poms!
One very proud "cheerleader" at her first BB game!
Too Cute!
All in all, it was a fun night!

Hump Day!

2009-03-04T15:26:00.002-06:00

I had my first post op appointment today with my doctor and got the "good to go" from him. Everything is perfect. My leg length, my range of motion, everything. Other than NO running - I am restriction free!

Luke has a doctor appt this afternoon for a problem he is having with his left foot - I think an orthotic will help, but we will see what his doctor says. Plus he has a wicked cold and I think a check of his lungs wouldn't be a bad idea.

Carlie is going to Cheer Camp tonight with the highschool cheerleaders - she is going to learn a dance and a couple of cheers, get a t-shirt, hair ribbon and face tattoo and will be participating in the 1/2 time festivities at the highschool boys varsity game on Friday! This should be fun!
So be sure to check back from some pictures of my "jock" daughter turned cheerleader!

Also, side note --- my mom is having surgery tomorrow so if you happen to think about it, please pray for the surgeons, other doctors and for her. She usually doesn't do to well with anesthesia and stuff like that! While, I am sure she will be fine (she has assured me of that) - a few prayers never hurt!

Just a few pics

2009-02-28T16:43:00.001-06:00

No longer the turtle of the family!

2009-02-20T10:48:00.002-06:00

Holy Mackeral! Today is one month to the day since my hip replacement! It has been a fast month and such an incredible month!

Today as I was walking out of the house to take the kids to school and daycare, I walked out of the house into the garage and to the truck! Carlie said to me..."Holy mackeral, Mom...you are so fast, you beat me to the car today!" I can't remember the last time I did that!

So my one month story -- As of today - I have no cane, I have a very limited limp that usually only starts when I have been walking for long periods of time. I have minimal swelling around the incision, NO pain, NO clicking, No locking, No crunching! It is AMAZING!! In addition, I could get out of the upstairs, lower than the others, couch by myself last night, put on my own socks and lifted my leg into bed without assistance from my hand!

Having my hip replaced was the best thing, despite the medical bills we have to pay it was well worth it! My follow up is on 3/4 and I should be released to full activity - including riding a bike by then! Yeah!

I do have a couple of funny stories about my kids to share - just so I don't forget them.

**For Valentine's Day, James bought Carlie a sucker with fake lips. I took a picture of her and sent it to my mom and dad and Ryan. When my mom talked to her about it, she said that wasn't me, that was "my favorite me and she had a lip replacement because her lips were chapped!" the conversation went on for a few minutes or until my mom got irritated with it. Carlie loves to give my mom a hard time and kept a straight face the whole time.

The other day we were driving by "KFC" - Carlie is learning to read and sounds out things as we drive by them. She said to us "what in the world is a KA-FF-CA! Thought that was Kentucky Fried Chicken!" Obviously she has not learved about abbreviations yet!

Yesterday she took my dad's green camoflague lunch box thing to school with her lunch and snack tucked into it. I asked her why she wanted to take it to school instead of her pick camo bag and she said - "just because the boys didn't believe me when I said I had one" She is proving points already!

As for Luke - he is good - talking a little bit more. Drank some milk yesterday and welted up by his eyes.. He looked like that droopy eyed dog cartoon character. All is well now though.

Hallmark Holiday? Maybe....

2009-02-14T00:01:00.000-06:00

Happy Valentine's Day to all you hopeless romantics....

Valentine's Day has never been a "big" deal here in our house. Every once in a while, we will exchanged cards and maybe a gift...but never consistent.

However, today -- is going to be a good day - even though James will have to work.

James and I have been through the ringer over the past year or so - and given the state of our marriage, this is going to be the best Valentine's Day in our 18 year history! I just know it! I encourage all you out there is married land - to grab hold of your marriage - embrace it - appreciate it and don't take it for granted, because it really could be gone tomorrow.
Today, James and I are solid. We love each other more today than we did nearly 13 years ago when we got married. We are in a good place! I wouldn't trade him for the world.

In addition, we have two pretty awesome kids to share our love with. Luke and Carlie are our blessing and we try not to take that for granted either!

So in a home filled w/ Love this year, it can be nothing bit a great day!

Hope you all have a fabulous V-day - whether you think of it has a Hallmark Holiday or a legitimate holiday.

2009-01-29T10:00:00.003-06:00

Hello again!

I am actually back on my computer - just 10 days after my surgery! My surgery went well and my recovery has also gone great!

I had my surgery on Tuesday the 20th of January and was in my hospital room about 2:30 that afternoon. I was up walking with full weight bearing by 9pm, in therapy by 10am the next day. Therapy again about 1pm in the afternoon. Walking up and sown stairs with a cane and discharged from the hospital on Wednesday the 21st at 2:20pm! Amazing!

I am not in any outpatient therapy -- all my therapy is at home and every day my strength and range of motion has improved. It has been a long time since I put full weight on my left leg and had any strength in it at all. Prior to my surgery, I could not lay on my back and do a leg raise with smeone putting any pressure on my leg. It was very weak! My doctor told me that my hip was shot when he took it out!

I have ventured all through the house and am actually in my office today. I have not taken pain pills in nearly 5 days and am so pleased with how it has turned out!

I am anxious to be healed completely and have strength in my leg so I can walk Carlie to school or ride a bike! I am excited about the spring and summer and being able to walk normal.

Thanks to all of you who have prayed for me! I appreciate it! If anyone is in need of a great orthopedic surgeon for hip and knees - let me know - I have the best! : )

One Week to Go

2009-01-13T13:14:00.001-06:00

This picture does not do it justice! However, next Tuesday is MY big day! I am having my hip replaced and I am so very excited! The very poor picture above shows that I am having the minimally invasive procedure, which means I will not have the incision that is in BLUE down my side. Instead, I will have two small incisions in the front and back of my leg.

I had my pre-op yesterday with my surgeon -- I was dreading that appointment for several reasons - 1) I was afraid he would tell me that I had not lost enough weight and 2) that he would tell me that he could not do the minimally invasive procedure because of #1.

So, I drove to St. Cloud in near blizzard conditions and when I got there - I was shocked that my blood pressure was great, my pulse was even better! What a great start to the appt. Anyway, instead of yelling at me, he congratulated me on the weight that I have lost - 60lbs since Luke was born and 25lbs since I saw him last. He further confirmed that he will do the procedure the minimally invasive way! In addition, I have been freaking out a bit about the whole anethesia thing... however, he told me that I would just have a spinal! Yippee! #1 fear --- gone! Thank God for that!

So, what does all this mean..... Well, my hip replacement will take between 45-55 minutes. Because of a thin femur bone, he will put a coil around it to help it from cracking or fracturing after surgery. I will be up walking and doing stairs the day of surgery! I will have PT the following day and barring any complications from surgery itself, I will be home Wednesday night! Worse case scenario - Thursday morning! He said I will be discharged with a cane that I will need to use for 3-4 weeks. Limit bending and no lifting over 20lbs for 4 weeks.

I am so excited as the prospect of walking without a limp and being able to do things with my family pain free!!

Here's to a Happy 2009!

2009-01-02T15:17:00.003-06:00

Whew! The holidays were here and gone! They flew past us so fast that it seems like yesterday it was Thanksgiving.

We had an awesome Christmas and relatively quiet New Year! Christmas was so fun! Santa was good to the kids and they were spoiled rotten by both sets of grandparents. Carlie made out like a champ -- let's see, her gifts included a snowboard - thanks Santa, a Nintendo Wii! Whohoo -- is that loads of fun plus as long as you stand up and play it can be a good workout! She was also lucky enough to have a grandpa and grandma R. send her a Vikings jersey! Carlie received ALL 5 things on her list, plus many more including the very fun Air Hog Havoc Helicopters.

Luke made out with Tonka Trucks, Tonka Trucks, matchbox and hot wheel cars, remote control train, etc. etc. etc.... He has played with everything and seems to love all of his new toys, puzzles and blocks!
I don't think Luke really knew what to think of Christmas, but he definitely liked all the new fun toys.

My parents came up on Christmas Day -- so for 5 days, the kids had undivided attention from their Papa and Grandma! As always, them leaving was quite traumatic for Carlie! She does not do well with separation from her Papa. She would cry, then want to erase his Mii from the Wii because it made her sad! If his Mii was watching her bowl, she would wish for him to go to the snack bar!

We got a good amount of snow on Tuesday so with a layer of icy snow underneath, James and Carlie were able to go snowboarding and sledding on New Years Day! Carlie managed to to stay standing on her snowboard and was very proud of herself. Like always, New Year's Eve was dull -- Luke stayed up until 9:30pm, CJ until 10:15pm and James and I were in bed at 11:45pm. Nope, we could not make it another 15 minutes. Although, a New Year's call from my mom and fireworks outside our bedroom window managed to wake us from our slumber!

Well, I don't know about you, but 2008 was a challenging year for James and I in a lot of ways. Our marriage has been tested, our family has been tested, our finances have been challenged and we managed to pull ourselves together for 2009. We have high expectations of things looking up this year.

So, what does 2009 bring for you? For us, it promises the following:

1) a healthy marriage for James and I - although we are far from perfect, we are healthier than we have ever been.
2) a NEW Hip for me in 18 days and counting! I can't wait. I am looking forward to a successful "minimally invasive hip replacement" which will leave me in the hospital for 24 hours and home to recover with only two small (2inch) incisions on the front and back of my left leg. I am very hopeful for a good recovery and being able to be a parent chaperone at Carlie's field trip in May to the Como Zoo! In my current state, I couldn't even walk to the front gate of the zoo without significant pain and a significant limp.
3) My baby girl will be 6!!! I can hardly believe it and it is a bit surreal! While God blesses us with the opportunity to be parents, it is unbelieveable that MY Carlie will be 6 years old. It seems like yesterday, I was pregnant awaiting her arrival.
4) My little Lukers will be 3 -- That, too, is hard to believe. Luke is progressing nicely. I am hopeful that by his 3 year birthday, he will be talking up a storm. He is currently on the waiting list for a speech therapist! The little stinker knows and understands everything, he will just not talk!
5) James and I will be one year closer to 40! How in the world did we become this age. It seems like yesterday, again, that I was 19 and going on my first date with him!!! Yes, New Year's Eve was the 18th anniversary of our very first date!! Goodness gracious, I am getting old!

Other than that, I am not sure what 2009 will bring for our family but no matter what we will be together! But I wish all of you a very Happy and Blessed 2009!

Gotta go "try" to beat Carlie at bowling! That is hard to do! I will get Christmas pictures posted soon!

Blessings......

2008-12-12T15:03:00.002-06:00

Blessings happen in so many different ways...

I have been blessed in so many ways - I have two fabulous kids for whom I would give my life for. Despite our trials and tribulations, I have an amazing husband. I have a great mom, dad and brother and extended family.

Anyway, a blessing popped up and surprised me today - while I may not always care for my job, my job has blessed me today!

So, inspite of all the garbage that goes along with my job, I am truly blessed to have my job and am thankful for it!

Let the Festivities begin.....

2008-12-05T18:23:00.003-06:00

In the Richter house, holidays and birthdays are not just days in our house, they are more like week long events.

Living 400 miles from your entire family can have that affect on things. One year, Carlie's birthday lasted about 3 weeks. You think I am kidding....I am not. We had a birthday party at preschool, at home, at her grandma and papa's and then again at her Aunt Stephanie's.

Christmas and Thanksgiving are about the same. This year, we celebrated Thanksgiving w/ my parents and my brother and sister-in-law and our friends, the Pirela's. It was a great time, although James was missed as he had to work, of course. I love hangin' out with all of them.... The Pirela's are a blast to be with and their son has a girlfriend with my exact name --- spelling and all, how weird and crazy is that? However, being around my parents is always kind of a vacation for me as they tend to take over when it comes to Carlie and Luke.

We then celebrated Thanksgiving with our friends here in MN. They have three kids so our house was full. But it was fun. James and Wade actually napped after dinner while all five kids played around them. That night, Noel and I hit the mall -- which all in itself is another story.

Christmas will likely be the same - but not as drawn out. We have our normal family traditions of me making Grandma R's cream puffs on Christmas Eve and then Christmas day -- Grandma R's tradition of homeade coffee cakes, which I typically make Christmas Eve day. And sometime around there, my mom and dad will be coming up for a few days.

We cut down our tree from the tree farm this year and both of the kids loved it. I am excited as this will be my LAST holiday season limping around as in a month and a half, I will have the much needed, much anticipated NEW HIP!!! I can hardly wait. I am so confident of the results, I signed up to help chaperone a field trip to the zoo with Carlie in May. I couldn't even go to the zoo this summer as I can only walk about 10 minutes without pain.

We also saw Santa yesterday, which besides a few tears at the beginning by Luke, turned out good. I will post pictures soon!

So, enjoy the Holiday season with your family and friends. Where would any of us be without them? I am so looking forward to it all! I am most excited to see my kids faces Christmas morning!

What's in a name?

2008-11-17T11:40:00.005-06:00

Carlie has loads of nicknames and will respond to each and everyone of them. Among them are CJ (short for Carlie June), Peanut (since she was a baby), Baby Girl (a name that she has had since birth), every now and then I call her Soul Sister - with a Rock on preceeding it.

However, Saturday morning - bright and early ( I was still in bed half asleep ) and she tells me - Mom, I want you call me by my new nickname --- SUPERSTAR!!

I paid no attention to her as I was asleep - I just said Ok.

Last night at dinner - she said to James and I -- don't call me Carlie, my name is Supergirl. I

want to change my name to Superstar. Say Superstar-drink your milk, superstar-wash your hands, DO NOT say Carlie anymore!

So, in her mind everytime I say "Carlie" she thinks I am really saying superstar. I personally can not get myself to call her that -- even once. Plus all I can think of when she says it is the Saturday Night Live skit with Molly Shannon!

My parents say she is "a little Tara to the 10th power" -- frankly I don't see it! : ) *j/k*

I can't recall EVER telling anyone to call me SUPERSTAR!!!!