Why I haven't ben blogging...

I have been working 12+ hour days the past few days at the Promiseland Conf. and it's not over yet! AGGGHHHH! One day left. Oh wait...then I have my weekend! I'm looking forward to Monday!

This is a picture of our stage set. It is pretty awsome!

Here I am "mic"-ing up my favorite Sandy!

Here are our Outloud Kids rocking it!

Mommo

Mommo died yesterday. I know I haven't taken the time yet to understand what I have lost.

Mommo was the only grandparent I ever knew. To those of you who have never meet her it's hard to explain her she is unlike anyone else I have ever meet. She was not your typical Mrs Claus sort of Grandma...you know the sort that bakes cookies and spoils you on holidays. She was however full of love and grace. She had dignity and confidence that I have never seen matched. In all the years I knew her I never heard her speak one un-kind word about anyone. She found joy in the little things...like a piece of chocolate for "pep", kids playing at the park down the street, or the wind making the leaves dance. She didn't place much value in material possessions. She did however, care about how she carried herself. When I was young I remember her often telling me how it was important to stand up straight and keep my chin up, to look people in the eyes, and that red was a good cheerful color...especially when we get a little older. I can never really know what she felt inside but to me she always portrayed a confidence that I found not only encouraging but to me it was almost like a safe place. (I don't know how to explain it better, but there was comfort in her confidence) She was confident in her faith, confident in her character, confident in her love, confident that there was joy to be found and hope to be had. It's sad to me that she is gone because to say it simply she was all good. I know I will never encounter anyone like her again. I only hope that in some small way I can live with the same character, grace, dignity and strength she had and pass those qualities along to Malachy.

I love this picture of Dad and Mommo. Mommo loved Dad so much it's crazy! She would light up when he was around. Dad thought maybe because he was born soon after her sister had died that Mommo had a special affection for him but for those of us who know Dad we know that he is just special. She often would tell us the story of how when she would be out shopping kids would run up to her with big smiles all excited just to tell her,"I know Andy" I have heard all the other stories too and I know Dad wasn't the easiest child =) but none of that seemed to matter to Mommo she loved him for who he was! So so I Dad! You are the best and I feel so lucky to have you as my Dad, I love you!

I just like this picture. Kim and Mommo shared a birthday, July 7th.

Here is Mommo with some of her Children and Grandchildren.

Here is Mommo with some of her grandchilden.

Mommo with Malachy, she really enjoyed him...she said he had intelligent eyes like me. She loved that we had named him Malachy.

2 amazing hours of 24 tonight...makes me happy!

Work, work, and more work...

When will my life be normal again!

Noah should be in Afghanastan at this point...scary thought...keep the prayers up!

Noah left this morning...

I borrowed (stole) these pictures from Laurens blog. This one is of Noah and Lauren

obviously.

Noah left this morning at around 9 am. Please pray for his safety in travel. I'm sure Lauren is dealing with many emotions right now and so is my Mom so please remember them in your prayers as well. I plan on sending out an e-mail to all my friends with Noah's address so you can all support and encourage him that way if you wish. I don't think we are allowed to post his address on our blogs...I will ask Lauren. Pray that he would not get sick from the water, food, or living conditions. Noah has some asthma so pray the sand would not aggravate that. Pray that Noah and the men in his company will not allow the stress to tear them apart but that they will be able to encourage and support one another. Pray that God would not allow their spirits to be broken and that they will all remain safe and find comfort in God's amazing grace and love.

I'm assuming this is the company getting packed up and ready to hit the road.

And here is my favorite Noah with a big grin! I love this picture Lauren thanks for sharing it!

Here is Malachy and I supporting Noah in our Army wear! Malachy's shirt is super reflective it practically glows!

Emily Update

I posted this for Crystal on her blog:

Hi, this is Steph, Crystal's friend. I'm posting for Crystal because she is having issues with her internet. Crystal is at home "resting" tonight. Frank and Madi are not feeling well so she still has her hands full at home but I know she is glad to be able to spend some time with them.

Mainly she wanted me to communicate that she is "beyond thankful for everyone's visits, phone calls, gifts, cards, and PRAYERS." I got to visit Emily, Crystal, and Scott at the hospital tonight and the first thing I noticed when I walked in was a ceiling full of balloons and a whole wall of gifts and get well wishes. I couldn't help but be overwhelmed with the out pouring of love towards Emily!

Crystal said that Emily's calcium levels are still low and she will not be able to go home until they stabilize so keep praying for continued healing. The hope is that she will be able to come home tomorrow so please pray that all will go well so that can happen. Emily is doing well. She got the drainage tubes taken out this evening and she is feeling more comfortable. She got up and walked around some and is talking more.

I'm so glad I got to visit them today. I have to tell you that Emily is being so brave. I could tell she was extremely tired but she was still trying to be kind and polite. She even gave me some candy! She was so sweet to all the staff that came in and I'm sure she has been a blessing to her doctors and nurses. Crystal and Scott must be so proud, and they should be! Emily is a remarkable little girl!

I have to finish by saying THANK YOU again because that is the one thing Crystal kept repeating when she asked me to do this post for her.

My favorite Emily

This is Emily and Frank (not Frankie-doo) at their B-day party this fall

I posted this as a comment on Amy's blog:

Hi, this is Steph, I'm a good friend of Crystals. I just called their home and talked to Emily's Grandma, Carrie. If you are like me I'm sure you have been checking the blog all day in hopes of some news and I know Scott will post later tonight and share all the details if he can manage to stay awake. =) But I thought Crystal would want you all to know that Emily is out of surgery. Your prayers were and continue to be appreciated. It sounds like Emily is recovering now which is good but the surgery was more complicatd then expected and was 9 hours long. I can't imagine poor Crystal in the waiting room that long. I'm heart broken I couldn't be with her but she has an amazing family that is supporting her right now and all of your friendships and prayers have blessed her and Emily more then words can communicate. I don't want to mis -communicate anything so I will leave the details to Scott but I got the impression from Carrie that we are still confident Emily will make a full recovery but the day wasn't as smooth as expected. So please continue to keep everyone in prayer.

Thank you so much.
In Christ,
Steph Stanger

Student Ministries Conf.

Sooo...day one went well. I may have blown my ear drum out at the Third Day concert. Mark asked me to grip for him (wrangle cables for his shoulder cam) and Mark was stationed right in front of the 4 stacked sub-wolfers, stage left, that Third Day had brought. It was like full blown gusts of wind, Yikes! The concert was great, I wish I could have paid better attention.

Husband said he saw Novelli talking to the band in the green room, so apparently he wasn't lying when he said he knew them. =) I myself got to talk to Mac when they walked in the door but didn't even realize it was him until I heard his voice...these things happen to me.

The earlier part of the day went well! Crowder was great! I missed the messages because I was trying to get some work done but I hear they were great!

Here is a picture of Husband and I on the LED's while video and lighting got squared away in between sessions.

Noah and Lauren

Please remember Noah and Lauren in your prayers this week. Noah will most likely be leaving this week and he only gets one hour notice! I can't imagine the stress of having to be ready at any second to leave like that! Pray that they would have peace and be able to enjoy the week. Also OBVIOUSLY pray for continued safety for Noah while in Afghanistan!

(I don't have a photo of just the 2 of them from the wedding on my computer, so you get to enjoy seeing Mom and Dad all dressed up too!)

Learned something new today...

Sandy and Alan are super good to me! They knew I was feeling a little blue so they bought me some iris to work today to cheer me up! We had talked several weeks ago about how those are my favorite flowers! Sandy is also having a stressful week because of conference madness and broken foot!! (that she keeps dancing on!) So I felt super special that despite her crazy life right now she took the time to show me love!

So later on at home I was putting the flowers in a vase. Malachy really wanted one so being the sucker I am I gave him one. He ran all over the kitchen with it laughing and sating flawa as best her can. Then Kim said what's wrong with Malachy's face and I said nothing. Upon close look it was pretty red and splochy but I ignored it. A few minutes later I picked him up to change his diaper and he still had the flower. I noticed his face was all broken out, his eye lids were puffy and the veins were popping out. (Malachy was fine though...he showed NO sign of discomfort) Mark says maybe the boy is allergic to pollen so we take away flower and he slowly got better! Strange huh!?? He's allergic to flowers! I wonder what this will mean come spring! He didn't seem to have any problems last spring. Neither Mark or I have any allergies. I should ask the doctor if it is something I need to be concerned about.

after work

I was so frustrated after work today I had an anxiety attack! ( I was not upset over anything that happened at work just some "personal" stuff that was stressing me out and hurt my feelings) Anyhow, that had never really happened to me before. It was like needles pushing into the back of my throat and there was nothing I could do to make it stop. I was coughing and my eyes were watering and it hurt really bad. Yuck! I hope this does not become a pattern!

This week is a stressful one for sure. It is the Next Gen conference mon-wed. Which means I will be working 12 hour days AND skipping my days off this week. I also have to prepare for the Promiseland Conf. Which includes having my stage layouts done by Thursday. Stage layouts I make on a program I barely understand, Visio. Also, I have to prep for my weekend( the "real" part of my job). Emily is having her surgery Tuesday and I really wanted to visit her and Crystal at the hospital. Noah is leaving between now and Friday. I HAD hoped to send him a "pre" care package before he left but there is NO time to put one together and make it to the post office to overnight it.

UGGHHH...could this explain the anxiety attack...no, it was actually something else! But, I can see more coming!

Oh. My point! My point was....after work in an effort to distract myself from my self pity and anxiety we took Malachy to Chuck E Cheese's (where a kid can be a kid). Kim, Mark, and Dad joined in on the fun. We got a little more "fun" then we bargined for. The place was packed and pretty crazy. It was a good time though. Malachy enjoyed some pizza and all the "rides". Here are some pictures:

Where I'm at

So I haven't kept up the last few days because I have been busy and sleepy! It's 10pm now and I need a shower and bed I will have to save the tape of American Idol and Survivor for tomorrow!

This past week has been strange! I have been super mood swingy...I'm not sure if it's hormonal, seasonal, lunar or what...I always try to explain my moodiness so I don't have to accept the fact I might just be nuts! This week I have even considered post-poning my efforts for baby 2 so I could get myself on some happy pills (the legal sort)! With Noah going overseas I know my anxiety is going to shot through the roof! Anyhow, with all that said...every time I have focused on God's love this week it has made a huge difference!! I went to work super grumpy Wednesday and in a staff meeting we looked up bible verses and it changed the course of my day. God's words really are life to me! (it works...The Bible) The truths I posted earlier this week have stayed with me and have sustained me and given me joy. I feel like it has been a good week despite my own lack of emotional stability! I know I'm extremely blessed and I never want to take that for granted.

Lord God, put your words in my mouth and cover me with the shadow of your hand-You who set the heavens in place, who laid the foundation of the earth, and who say to Your children, "you are my people." Isa. 51:16

I liked this one because of the "put your words in my mouth" part. Lately I feel as if many of my friends are going through challenging times and I never know what to say. I want God to put His words in my mouth!

I feel within myself a deep-rooted resistance to proving anything to anybody. I don't want to say:"I will show you that you need God to live a full life." I can only say:"For me, God is the one who calls me the beloved, and I have a desire to express to others how I try to become more fully who I already am." But beyond that I feel very poor and powerless. - Nowen

Keeping up with my Small group prayer thing...

Ok so before I go watch Desperate House wife's and Greys Anatomy...here is a word from the Lord...or... to the Lord anyways

O'God please set my heart at rest in your presence when my heart wants to condem me. For you God, are greater then my heart, and you know everything. (Prayer derived from1 John 3:19-20)

I like that one because it combines 2 of my favorite truths: There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus and we can't even trust our own hearts!

"every time you listen with great attentiveness to the voice that calls you the beloved, you will discover within yourself a desire to hear that voice longer and more deeply. It is like discovering a well in the desert. Once you have touched wet ground, you want to dig deeper." Nowen

Small Group

In our small group we are studying a book called Praying God's word. There are weekly topics that we pray for God to give us strength in. (that's the easy way of explaining it) We are all so busy that sometimes we have a hard time doing our daily prayers so we have decided to try and post them on our Blogs when we can to help encourage accountability with eachother and more importantly with ourselves. Sooo....if you see random Bible Verse/prayer things on my Blog then you will know what is going on!

This week we are praying about over coming the insecurity of feeling unloved. I think that is a great one because I know that is one of the biggest lies the devil wants us to believe because it makes us weak. When we feel fully loved and confident in our identity in Christ we are MUCH less likely to struggle with pride and be obedient because we don't care what others think. WE also will have the joy and hope that God intended us to have. The Bible tells us we are to live for God's approval alone and not mans. There is freedom in God's unconditional love. Henri Nowen speaks about this beautifully in his book Life of the Beloved. ( I highly recommend it!)

"...though the experience of being the Beloved has never been completley absent from my life, I have never claimed it as my core truth...I kept refusing to hear the voice that speaks from the very depth of my being and says: You are my Beloved, on you my favor rests. That voice has always been there, but it seems that I was much more eager to listen to the other, louder voices, saying: Prove that you are worth something; do something relevant, spectacular or powerful, and then you will earn the love you so desire. Meanwhile, the soft, gentle voice that speaks in the silence and solitude of my heart remained unheard or, at least, unconvincing."

So anyhow here is my verse/prayer for today:

Lord God, help me not only to fully accept how much you love me, but help me to abide in your love. (John 15:9)

Please pray...

For those of you who may be visiting my Blog and somehow haven't heard... our super friends Crystal and Scott are having a very challenging week. Their daughter Emily, 9, has been diagnosed with Papillary Thyroid Cancer. This apparently is a "good" cancer to have. However, it is unimaginably terrifying to hear your baby has cancer. Please keep them all in your prayers. Emily will have to have her thyroid out in the next couple weeks. She is one of the bravest girls I know. They are in the process of finding a endocronoligist (I have NO idea how to spell that!) and getting ready for the surgery. Pray for peace and courage for the whole family and that they would find a good doctor. And obviously pray that Emily will get well! Also pray for Emily's brother Frank,8. I'm sure this is a strange time for him. Kim may be annoyed with me posting this...but...she told me that when we were little and I had my eye surgery she remembers wishing she too could have surgery because it was hard for her to see me getting all this special attention. When your that young it's hard to understand these things! So please remember the whole Kunze family in your prayers. They are like family to Mark, Kim, Malachy and I and we love them all so much (even little Madison who may someday marry my little Malachy) !! You can visit Crystal or Scotts blog for more details or to give them some much appreciated encouragement!

I have been meaning to post this for awhile...

This was the house warming present that Noah and Lauren got us way back in october at a truck stop on their way into town....

This is how Malachy felt about it...

I'm feeling alittle better...Kim just told me I need a shower....hmmmmm...I guess I better go get on that!

I'm so sad right now I may actually vomit

Things I learned in NY....

when going to NY in Feb. bring wool sock and boots! Military men wear their hats extremely tight. Turkeys and porcupines can climb trees. In case of nerve gas exposure you can pee on your socks and cover your nose and mouth with it....

Our new Hats!

Malachy and I got cool Army hats with our names on the back just like Uncle Noah! Malchy LOVES his!! I keep putting it on his head and he gets all excited and touches it! It's sooo cute!

More fun NY pictures....

Noah "helped" me with my pancakes at the Golden Unicorn. We snuggled with the puppies! Played some games, tried on Army gear and had a great time!

Good times at Ft. Drum

We had a great time in NY with Noah and Lauren!! We did many fun things...we went to the Golden Unicorn where we experienced some hometown flavor!! They have a huge pancake meal where if you finish it you get a t-shirt!! I tried-ish but there was no way. Noah has done it in the past!

Lauren made us tons of yummy food! My favorite was the lasagna and the bannana bread!! Lauren is an awsome cook!

We went bowling! Mon almost beat Noah! I did the worst of course.

Here is the family portrait Lauren took for us before she drove us to the train station in a blizzard!!

Amtrak delayed

Ok so apparently there is a BIG storm in NY and Boston further East then we are....so our train has been delayed 3 hours and counting. Also we were informed that the train will be full. We experienced a full train when we came to NY this past summer and it sucked!! Think of crying children on mothers laps, overflowing toilets with NO toilet paper! And being squished like sardines into a tin can. So needless to say I'm not looking forward to this ride home!

I can't wait to see Malachy and Mark too!! That is what will get me through this.

I really miss Malachy!! I just called Mark to talk to him but he's sleeping. Mark must be playing video games because he wasn't interested in talking to me at all....oh well. It's nice visiting with Noah we have had a really good time.

I am going to New York...upstate

Sooo...In a few hours Kim, Mom, Dad, and I are going to NY to see Noah and Lauren! Noah is stationed there currently and will be shipped out to Afghanistan for over a year within the next month. Noah only gets 24 hours of notice before he leaves so we couldn't really go and send him off. This is the best we could too because this weekend is his 2nd to last "for sure" weekend here in the states! Please pray for us as we travel 13 hour train ride there and another 13 hours home...yikes!

Also pray for Mark who will be a single parent thru Tuesday! Not only does he have Malachy but he is also responsible for Kim's 3 cats and 1 of Moms!! And I have no idea why but he agreed to serve at Impact this Sunday with a 6:30 am call time and he is taking Malachy!! He is nuts!

Laurens sister Meg is watching Malachy Saturday so Mark can work then too!! Thank goodness for Meg! Poor Malachy is going to have a tough couple days though please pray that he will feel safe, secure and loved!

Talk to you when I get back! Steph

Nice weekend!

I forgot to check the box where it tells the pictures to be centered...opps! Anyways, other then the random pic of Noah and Malachy (that I just had to share) these pictures are from the Promiseland Production Super Bowl Party. Where I was forced by Kevin to spend more then I was budgeted of the churches money on cheap pizza!! It was a good time. Malachy has so much fun! It was in Blue Sky 2 (the 3 year old Promiseland room) so there were many toys to entertain Malachy! (thats not to say Mark and I didn't do our fair share of chasing after him) It was a real busy weekend but a good one at that. Today we slept in and ran some errands. Also the heating guy came and checked the furnace and water heater. He informed us that both were "OK" but already had out lived their life expectancy and where pretty old...great! Houses are fun! Tomorrow we go to the Little Gym and I start on my huge task of things to get done around the house so I'm ready to go to NY! By the way... thanks you to Lauren and Crystal who sent me encouraging e-mails after my last post. I really appreciate both of your friendships!
This first one is of Noah and Malachy from when Noah was last home.



















This next one is of Malachy eating pizza all by himself like a big boy!



















Here I am cuddling with Arnez and Katherines daughter Noe...
they have the 2 cutest kids who I adore!














This is my programer Sandy and her man Alan who is my super volunteer. Mark and I really enjoy them and wish we had more time outside of work to hang out with them!














This is Malachy and Noe in one of the many toys we got out.

I found this quote on a blog Kim linked to recently...

"History will have to recall that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the vitriolic words and the violent actions of the bad people, but the appalling silence and indifference of the good people. Our generation will have to repent not only for words and actions of the children of darkness, but also for the fears and apathy of the children of light." --Martin Luther King, Jr.

I was surfing blogs yesterday and came across some women's blogs who were bashing celebrities for dif. Things they have said and done and I just thought... who cares. Why do you feel so defensive and angry about that? Why can't people get angry and vocal about the millions of starving and under- educated children. Why can't we use our passion to make ourselves heard on the things that matter. Why are we so insecure that we let little quotes from celebrities throw us into heated rants. Why can't we find our identity and confidence in Christ alone and live out of that amazing grace?

another powerful quote I heard yesterday that made me think was:
You can know how much of a servants heart you have by how you respond to being treated like one.

20 Random things about Mark:

I was tagged by Sara to do this a while back and I'm just getting to it now....Crystal also did one on her blog...

1. Mark loves his job and I think he is doing a great job and learning so much, I'm really proud of him.
2. Mark can speak "communicative" Russian and lived in Moscow for 2 years.
3. Mark feels he is often attributed motives that just aren't there(mostly by Kim and I) ...he's a pretty simple guy.
4. Mark went to private school the majority of his life.
5. Mark has need new glasses for almost 2 years now and keeps allowing me to put it off and spend our money on other things.
6. Mark has been to Mexico, Jamaica, Canada, Holland, Germany, France, Switzerland, Hungry, Romania, Austria, Latvia, and Russia. ( I have never been out of the country)
7. Mark is the most sound sleeper I have ever met, and he is very slow when he first wakes up.
8. Mark has to tuck in his undershirt otherwise his belt pulls on his tummy hairs...he hates that.
9. Mark gets really mad when I talk while I'm yawning
10. Often times when I ask Mark if he just farted his response is, "I don't know" and he's serious.
11. Mark took 2 years to edit his best friend Todd's wedding video...one year to finish ours.
12. Mark is often eager to help people (especially at work) and never feels resentful or burdened by it.
13. Mark really likes beef villa and his favorite fast food meal is a bacon cheesburger.
14. Mark spent the first 2 years of our relationship trying to convince me that Des Moines, IA is bigger then Schaumburg. (apparently he was right)
15. Mark really misses playing Basketball and hopes to get a bike and a camcorder this summer (or sooner)
16. Marks favorite video games are sports ones and not the shot 'em up type...but he also likes his world domination computer game called civilization.
17. Mark is really good at geography and all that other stuff we were suppose to memorize in school but I never did.
18. Mark's favorite family vacation would be camping and hiking somewhere out west like Colorado or Montana. (I like beaches and Malls)
19. Mark can't wait to play tee ball with Malachy.
20. Mark pretends like he dosen't like Kim's cats but you can tell he is pretty attatched to Piper. He does however, want to get Malachy a dog sometime soon.

Poor Malachy!

Soooo....my poor little guy is sick AGAIN! He has a had a light fever for several days and last night it got pretty bad going up to 103 and he has been having chills and shaking! The strangest part is he has been on antibiotics for over a week now!?? So he shouldn't be able to have a fever! He also seems really uncomfortable and won't eat. So I'm going back to the doctor again today at 3.

In other news 24 was soooo good on Monday night. Then Gilmore Girls was a re-run, made me bad! At least I had American Idol to hold me over! Tonight is an all new LOST! We have no food! Wll no esy to pop in the microwave food that is and I'm feeling lazy! Can't wait till payday!Mom, Dad, Kim, and I bought train tickets to go see Noah in Feb. We will get there on a Saturday morning and leave on a Sunday night, so it's a short visit. But Noah is working that Monday and that is how the train schedule runs. I'm so glad Mom and Dad are coming. I think Noah will be glad they got to see where he has lived this past year. This week is a real busy one at work. We have the big Casa concert with Maria Del Sol. Alright thats it. Pray for Malachy please!

blah!

Bad day at work...I mean everyones nice and all I just feel like a failure. It's not really my fault it's more like the VCR's fault but if stuff goes wrong and I'm the one in charge and I can't fix it then I'm the failure...yuck...I'm stressed and tired I need to go to bed!

oh man!

So it looks and more tragicly feels like we got almost a ft. of snow here last night! If my batteries were not dead in the camera you would all be shocked and horrified. Mark and I spent the better half of the morning trying to come up with $500 and a pal with a van to get us to Sears to purchase a snow blower. After we realized that wasn't going to happen we set out shoveling. Poor husband is still out there. I had to quit becase I'm in so much pain. The worst part is we were both pretty sick going into this morning and now we feel even more crapy with a full weekend ahead of us! I hope I make it! Tear down tomorrow is going to suck!

Dad

Hey Dad, I was trying to get ahold of you last night but you must have been out with Lou or something! I hope you are enjoying your week. Can you give me a call or leave a comment so I don't worry about you! Love ya, Steph

I love my I-pod!

This is one of my all time favorite songs! Every time I hear it I want to cry. I adore Mark Knopfler! (Sailing to Philidelphia is another one of my favorites! Kim likes calling Elvis and the one about the Mc Donalds guy)

Romeo and Juliet

A lovestruck Romeo sings a streetsuss serenade

Laying everybody low with a lovesong that he made

Finds a convenient streetlight steps out of the shade

Says something like you and me babe how about it?

Juliet says hey it's Romeo you nearly gimme a heart attack

He's underneath the window she's singing hey la my boyfriend's back

You shouldn't come around here singing up at people like that

Anyway what you gonna do about it?

Juliet the dice were loaded from the start

And I bet and you exploded in my heart

And I forget I forget the movie song

When you gonna realise it was just that the time was wrong Juliet?

Come up on different streets they both were streets of shame

Both dirty both mean yes and the dream was just the same

And I dreamed your dream for you and now your dream is real

How can you look at me as if I was just another one of your deals?

When you can fall for chains of silver you can fall for chains of gold

You can fall for pretty strangers and the promises they hold

You promised me everything you promised me thick and thin

Now you just say oh Romeo yeah you know I used to have a scene with him

Juliet when we made love you used to cry

You said I love you like the stars above I'll love you till I die

There's a place for us you know the movie song

When you gonna realise it was just that the time was wrong?

I can't do the talk like they talk on TV

And I can't do a love song like the way it's meant to be

I can't do everything but I'd do anything for you

I can't do anything except be in love with you

And all I do is miss you and the way we used to be

All I do is keep the beat and bad company

All I do is kiss you through the bars of a rhyme

Julie I'd do the stars with you any time

Juliet when we made love you used to cry

You said I love you like the stars above I'll love you till I die

And there's a place for us you know the movie song

When you gonna realise it was just that the time was wrong Juliet?

A lovestruck Romeo sings a streetsuss serenade

Laying everybody low with a lovesong that he made

Finds a convenient streetlight steps out of the shade

Says something like you and me babe how about it?

This song was on the can't hardly wait soundtrack and to me it was right there with "in your eyes" from Say Anything. (which is one of my favorite movies)

This explains ALOT

"Has your toddler started hurting other children? It's not surprising — many toddlers act out in this way. The good news is that he doesn't mean to inflict pain on his playmates. When he pulls another child's hair, he's either fascinated by the reaction it provokes or copying an older sibling's behavior. Making another child yell or cry seems like great fun at this age.

Experts call this phenomenon experimenting with cause and effect — when I do X, Y happens — and it's the underlying reason for many of your most trying behavior problems now. Try not to overreact when your child's attention-getting tricks get out of hand — just gently but firmly stop the hurtful behavior and try to redirect his attention elsewhere. The more he gets a rise out of you, the more likely he is to repeat the behavior. Be sure he's getting plenty of positive attention, and you may find yourself getting a break."

This was my e-mail from the Baby Center this week on my childs progress.

Sorry I haven't posted lately!

So I have been pretty busy lately! We have implemented a schedule for taking care of Malachy so that Kim can have more of a life. And it's definietly a good thing because Malachy is mine and Marks baby and Kim deserves to have a life and be able to work on her paintings. The only problem is Mark keeps taking on additional things at work when he is suppose to have Malachy which means I have to cover for him. Then when I don't have Malachy and Mark does I have to try and keep up with all the house work (dishes, laundry, vacume...) The only down time I get is 9-11 after Malachy goes to bed. Which is usally spent watching whatever TV shows I taped that day. (24, lost, Gikmore Girls!) And I also get to go to small group on Thursdays. And thats about it! So needless to say there isn't much time for me to blog or leave comments but I still read everyones blog regularly!

Yesterday Mark and I were trying to find him glasses for under a $1oo...didn't happen...but he did find a place called The Little Gym and we sighned Malachy up for classes!! I couldn't be more excited! We start next tuesday morning it is once a week for 45 mins and both Mark and I are going to go and join Malachy. It cost more then we probably should have commited too but we have talked about doing something likes this for a long time and we just never did it so we thought lets just bite the bullet and do it! I think Malachy will really enjoy it....I was doing cart wheels the other day and he thought it was the funniest thing he had ever seen!


Other then that not much going on. I couldn't be more excited about 24!! It has been soooo good! (some of the writting is a little unbelievible like the Jack I know would never let a bad guy get away so he could have a little cuddle time with his girlfriends son) but I have grace because it is a kick butt show!

24 and baby drama

Oh my goodness...I can't believe it is almost here!! Every time I see the preview I start to tear up...Im that excited!! Man this is when you REALLY want a babysitter...so you can stay home and watch Jack uninterrupted. Maybe I will have to try that Draphamine everyone always suggest!! (Just Kidding...Don't worry I won't drug my kid so I can watch tv...I promise!)

FYI...I think Gilmore Girls was good...I couldn't really pay attention. Malachy threw himself into the pillows on my bed but missed and hit his head on the wall causing blood to come out of his mouth and then he rolled off the bed onto the floor...after shaking all the contents of his bottle onto my comforter. So I was more then alittle distracted.

On the subject of Malachy...He has had a pretty nasty cold for about 12 days now. He has been getting low grade fevers on and off and today and yesterday he would only eat half of what he normally eats!!! Plus he has had diarrhea the last 2 days!! He went to the doctor last week to get his shots and I asked the doctor about the cold. Doc said he was fine and that was that. BUT I think 12 days is long enough. I have a full work week ahead of me but I think Thursday will have to be a half day because I need to take him back to the doctors! I will have to break out the credit card for the co-pay. I hid it so I wouldn't feel easily tempted and I have no idea where it is...doh!

Arrrggghhhh!

I hate money! Because of Christmas, traveling to Iowa, and an increase in bills...Mark and I have found ourselves in a bit of financial trouble. We are currently overdrawn abour $120 on both accounts and don't get paid till Friday! This is when you have to get creative about meals and how to conserve gas!! After we will get paid we should be fine but poor Mark will have to put off getting new glasses for another month! (it's already been over a year...he's been a troopper!) And we will need to go without some things seeing as with overdraft fees will be starting the pay period with 300 dollars less then normal...bummer! WE have been doing ok with balancing the new house and all but it's only been a few months so far...I hope we will get better disciplined about heat, water, and food consumption! I'm a sucker for turning the heat up and Kim likes to take 2 baths a day to help her muscles relax. We all like to eat! =) Mark however is the best at saving money, I must give him that. His weakness is going out to lunch at work...it is hard to say no to that!

Here's hoping for a frugle January!

really sad

Sometimes I wander around from blog to blog of friend's half acquaintences I might have seen in the halls of Willow once. Mostly like the kids who were in Impact when I was a leader and the people who worked with Noah. (They are all connected on each other's blogs.) Most of these people fall in the age range of about 19-24. It just breaks my heart to read their blogs. I know that is a strange age because I was there not too long ago....

You have finaly won independence from your parents but you don't know what to do with it now that you have it. You end up making a lot of painful mistakes but are often too proud to learn from them at first. You wonder if the life you are living was your choice or came out of some effort to fit in, conform, be good.... You think you are more wise than you are. You think you are an adult and you can handle anything. Although you aren't aware of it ( or won't admit it), you think everything is about you. Everything is bigger in your head then it is in reality. You don't know who you are or who you want to be and you are scared.

A lot of these kids are in some sort of self obsessed depression and they are hurting themselves and each other. I'm not saying their problems aren't real...they are!! But they are magnified by their inability to offer themselves and each other grace. They all feel judged - whether they have held on to their faith or lost it they are feeling judged and angry. It's really depressing.

I'm NOT at all saying ALL people in that age range fall into the catagorey I am describing - I DO NOT believe that. I know some incredibly mature, amazing people in that age range and some incredibly immature people much older than that! I have just come accross an alarming number of people in the blogging community that do fall into that catagorey and my heart breaks for them!

Dad's Notre Dame Party!

Here are some pictures from the big game! (ND lost, we were all sad) The first pic is Mark, Kim, Noah, and Lauren with the Becker Boys!! I thought Sara would be shocked to see how old they are! Phil will be a Freshman next year!! Crazy how time flys!! Hope you are all having a great 06! I would type more but I'm scared of waking up Malachy!! For a more colorful discription of the party visit Marks blog!

By the way...

Dad has a Blog!! What fun!

Happy New Year

So the other night Mark was wishing farewell to 2005 and I commented," what was so special about 05 anyways" (somewhat joking) in which he responded,"well, Malachy turned 1, I got a promotion and you started a new job you love, we took a fun family vacation to Mass. and New York, then we toped it all off by buying a new home." So I thought ...he has got a point there. It's been a pretty eventful and good year!

There have certainly been some challenges. Early last spring it seems like everyone in my family made a trip to the hospital for one reason or another. I had to have surgery (again) and family members have had on-going and physicaly painful health struggles. Dad lost a job he had started to enjoy. Mark and I struggled financially after the birth of Malachy. More recently the loss of Tibor and Meg has been especially hard on Mom and Dad, we have all felt it.

While these struggles were all painful I'm very proud of how my family has carried each other. Mom and Dad have tried their hardest to be supportive while mourning with their friends. Our whole family has taken turns helping each other out financially when we could and we have taken care of each other through the medical challenges.

I think this year has been one in which we have all grown a great deal and I will not forget the lessons I learned anytime soon! Thanks to my family and friends who have supported, encouraged, and prayed for us this year. Mark and I are confident God has answered many prayers.

My hopes for 2006:
That we would continue to surrender to Christ
That I would grow in Self-control. (Work harder, Gossip less, be more patient and generous)
Have more babies =)