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 =)