Jason's Concert

There were great forces against us trying to go to Jason Mraz's concert. But we overcame them all and were able to go! Lady got sick Monday night and Tuesday morning (as in puking and diarrhea), then she got well long enough for us to go to the concert Tuesday night. (She's a VERY good girl.) And she commenced with the puking and diarrhea Wednesday morning. Her break was just long enough for me to get my birthday present!

Grandma came over to babysit and the children were, well, let's just say they were more than a handful. They were more than a few handfuls. Especially Tink. Sometimes instead of Tinkerbell, we call her Stinkerbell.....and it's quite fitting. That little girl knows how to push buttons. By the time Grandma was finally able to get them all to bed, all 3 of the older ones were crowded in our bed. They quite enjoyed that. And Lady woke up after we left and gave Grandma a run for her money for a while, but finally calmed down and went back to sleep.

So we brought some good friends home for Grandma to have some company (what with Grandpa being away on business and all). Their names were Ben and Jerry and they're from New York. They're kind of fudgy and chunky, but they're SUPER! We knew they'd be able to keep her company and help her recover over the next couple of days.

Oh, you want to hear about the concert? It was awesome! Jason is a great entertainer and had the audience very involved the whole time. He even got Brent to dance. He couldn't tempt me, though, I was having too much fun just watching Brent and realizing how white we really are. (Love you, Babe!) The bad news? We forgot out camera! Can you believe it? But no fear, Brent had his trusty Blackberry, so we got a couple of high-quality shots with that. Here they are:

Here's Jason singing just w/his guitar.....LOVED that!

Here's Jason and the pre-show singer doing the "Lucky" duet (which, btw, sounds soooo much better with Colbie).

Here was a little hint Jason gave out about who he thought we should vote for.

And here we are.....don't we look like we're having a great time?

There were people there of all ages. One couple in front of us must've been in their 60's and the woman wouldn't get off her chair the whole time. Her husband wouldn't let her ruin his fun, though, and he got up and danced a few times, much to my discomfort.

You see, I like to go to a concert to listen to the music. I'm not a dancer....never have been, probably never will be. (Did I mention how white we are?) But I'm always amazed at concerts to see just how many people, who could possibly be even less coordinated than me, get up and show everybody. I may be the bah-humbug of concerts in that regard, but I just don't see the point of looking like a dufus. But there were quite a few people that night who had no problems with that themselves. And I applaud them. Or I laugh at them......maybe both.

I did feel rather old, though, when Brent handed me my pair of earplugs. But afterward I was sooooo grateful for them. We were on the 8th row, of course, so the speakers were just feet away. And I think my innards got a little shook up by the bass. But Brent and I had a GREAT time! And we were so thankful that his mom could come and wrangle our kids so that we didn't have to worry about some 12 year old trying to get them to bed. So thanks, Mom, for helping me have a great birthday!

Who needs another good cry? A HAPPY update on a beautiful family.

Go here to read some good news about Stephanie and Christian's family. Miracles do happen and I think these miracles are a direct result of the gospel of Jesus Christ. There's still a long road ahead of them, but it's a miracle that the road even exists for Stephanie.

Happy Jason Mraz Birthday to ME!!!!

After my post about my crush, Brent figured out what to get me for my birthday. We're going to go see Jason Mraz in concert tomorrow night!!!!! I can't wait! I don't think Brent and I have been to a concert since before we had kids. Brent's mom has even offered to babysit for us while we go. I am SOOOOO excited!

So I guess if there's something I really want in the future, a good way to hint to Brent about it is to mention it in a blog post. I'll have to remember that. :)

Anybody need a good cry?

If you do, go here and read about my sister-in-law's sister and their wonderful family. It's a beautiful and inspiring story. More evidence of why God created families. And here's a note to my family.....I love you all.

I Have A Crush

And yes, Brent knows, and he approves. (I hope!) Jason is his name. Isn't that a great name? Ever since my sister-in-law, Angie, introduced me to this guy I've wanted to hear him sing sweetly to me.

And he obliges.

She first introduced me to him through this song, which quickly became a favorite. Then I talked him into singing more songs for me. He sings this one, an old favorite. And then he met some girl and did a duet with her (he asked me if it was ok first, of course....and I caved just because she has a slightly better voice than me). And this was the result. She sounds ok, I guess. Jason sounds great!

Now Jason sings to me all day long. He sings to Brent at work, too. And luckily Brent knows my crush has nothing to do with looks (Jason has a cute-ish little boy face....I much prefer Brent's "dangerous" look), but just that great voice of his. I sometimes wish he'd come to my house in person, just Jason and his guitar. But of course, he's a busy guy. He just stops by on my computer now and then to brighten my day.

There's a new song (well, I don't really know how new it is since I don't keep up on these things, but it's new to me and Brent) that I really like. Here's the cd version (beware that he curses in it a few times (the d-word!), but I like this acoustic version better. I can't quite tell if he's still cursing or if he just made up a new word there. Either way, it doesn't sound as "naughty" as the original version. By the way, at the beginning of the acoustic video, he talks about his new girlfriend. I'm almost sure he's referring to me. Shhhh, don't tell Brent.

And one more thing that makes me really like this guy (and makes me a little bit jealous of him) is the fact that he's a raw foodist. AND he owns an avacado farm. How cool is that? The interviewers in that video are a bit loopy, I think.

Sometimes I feel a little selfish keeping him all to myself, so I thought I'd share this wonderfully talented man with a few of you. Just don't hog him, ok?

Here's another of my favorites, just for fun!

Someone's got a birthday, shout Hooray!

It was Brent's birthday this last week and I was so happy to actually be prepared. I'm not usually one of those wives who thinks about birthdays months in advance and plans the perfect gift. But this year I thought about Brent's birthday a couple of months in advance and even thought of the perfect gift! (This is an especially big deal for me since I'm NEVER able to surprise him. He always checks our credit cards and bank statements online a number of times a month. He always knows what's going on financially, so he always knows when I've spent money somewhere unusual.) This year I was determined to keep it a secret.

Brent's parents live next door to us and his mom has kept a bunch of the books that she read to her kids when they were little. One night we were all down in their basement reading some of the books and Brent was getting so excited seeing some of his old favorites. So I made a mental note of which ones he really liked (although I did have to call his mom when it came time for ordering to recall a couple of them). Then about a month before his birthday I ordered them all from Amazon.com.

I was very sneaky. I created my own account with Amazon (I've always just used Brent's, but then he gets the emails). I used a bunch of gift certificates that we have (we have an Amazon credit card, so those are the rewards we get), so Brent couldn't find out about it on our bank or credit card statements. And I hid the boxes away as soon as they came.

I had each of the kids give him a book (they got to choose which one and wrap it (in a bag) themselves) and then I gave him a gift certificate for a golf course. (It's his new-found hobby.) He was surprised and I was an extremely happy lady! Here's my hot hubby on his birthday.

Roo's giftAJ's gift
Tink's gift
Tink showing Daddy Lady's gift
Ann's gift

Look at my sexy birthday boy!
I LOVE YOU, BABE!!!!!

Welcome!

Welcome to my first post! I finally got a blog set up after much coercion from Brent. This blog is going to be quite the mix, I think.

Anyone who knows me knows how many random thoughts are floating around in my head at any given moment.

Brent wanted this blog to be about all the things that make us "crunchy," like being vegetarian, homeschooling, cloth diapering, hypnobirthing, and babywearing (and carseat safety, which has nothing to do w/being crunchy).

I wanted it to be a record of my life as a mother and wife and showing the beauty that can be found among the chaos.

So we compromised and there will probably be posts about all that stuff. And Brent will probably guest post sometimes too. I hope you all have a good time reading! Thanks for stopping by.