Live, Love, Laugh

cousins = love

2012-02-09T18:58:00.000-08:00

Lindi came to visit today. Preston was so funny, he kept crawling over to Holly and Lindi and laying his head on them. He's such a LOVER!
Deep in thought...

JP was reading Preston and Lindi a story.

Tomorrow is finally Friday!! Woohoo! For me, that always seems to make Thursday a little bit easier. I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!

i love hump-day

2012-02-08T18:16:00.001-08:00

I took JP to buy his Valentines for his class today. They are having a party Friday and he is very excited. Part of his homework for the next two days is to write all of the names on the Valentines. I didn't even really help him all that much...he looked at the list and off he went! (Now, if he only worked that well in class, we'd be in business!)
He, of course, chose Power Rangers! We found them at Dollar General for ONE DOLLAR! Mommy was happy with that!

We also found a SMURF coloring book for $1.

We had dinner tonight at Nanny's. JP and Preston LOVE to play together. Preston literally thinks he is as big as JP...they are so cute!

Uh, Oh! Someone left the gate open...

Laurie threatened to KILL me with this picture. She said people would think she was a bad mom. I said that dried green beans, snot, and drool never looked so good!

Last, but not least, here is a little recipe I found on Pinterest: Take crescent rolls and put 1/2 of a mozzarella cheese stick and three small pepperonis in each one. Bake on 350 for 20-25 minutes. Or until the rolls are golden brown.

Super simple and super good!

Well, that's about it for today folks! Like I said, I LOVE hump-day. It's all down hill from here!

...and he's all grown up

2012-02-07T03:32:00.001-08:00

getting our wiggles out!

2012-02-06T13:00:00.000-08:00

Often times, people ask me if I make up the "eccentric" things I post on Facebook about JP. The answer is NO! He is a silly thing who loves to play with the most unusual things. We went outside after school today and he brought the Guatemalan bag he borrowed from Laurie along with...
...his basket with the Wizard of Oz puzzle, his journal, and a pencil. Oh how I love this little guy! Do not worry, he loves to climb trees, throw/kick balls around and dig for bugs in the dirt too! (Thank goodness!)

We had a good day today, for the most part. Although he was on "yellow" at school again today and lost his recess. He just cannot seem to STOP talking long enough to do his work!

Welcome to my world!

sunday

2012-02-05T16:53:00.000-08:00

JP loves the Wizard of Oz, so although it looks a little "girlie," I bought him this puzzle at the Dollar Tree. He and Nanny had so much fun working it! Dollar Tree sells little 48 piece puzzles. They are perfect for JP's age.

I hope that everyone had a lovely weekend. If you haven't seen it already, I closed out my other blog. After a month or so, I realized that TWO blogs is plenty for me!

This weekend has been non-eventful for us. Friday night, we just hung around the house. Saturday, Scott played golf while Rose and I took JP to be fitted for his very first tuxedo!! He is going to be in Natalea (Natalie) and Jamie's "big day" at the end of April. He looked SO handsome. I took my camera and forgot it in the car, so when he goes back in March to be re-fitted, I'll be sure and snap some pictures then. I can't wait!

Happy Monday, everyone! :)

ramblings

2012-02-01T18:41:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I am a little bummed about not being able to upload any pictures to my GOOGLE account. I will figure it out at some point. Until then, you'll have to endure my ramblings!

My brain is one big tangled up mess right now. I swear, once I told God that I wanted to actually use the passion He has given me for writing, my mind DOES NOT shut off. Ever. In one respect, it's a good thing. I have a TON of material. On the other, it's awful, because I'm so tired. I keep telling myself that I am going to organize my thoughts, my days, my weeks. That hasn't happened yet. As you know, mom and I are in the middle of writing (and re-writing) our children's book. Well, last night as I curled up into bed and was drifting off to sleep, God gave me another idea for a children's book. I got out of bed, grabbed my laptop and wrote it down. I WASN'T EVEN PLANNING ON WRITING ANOTHER CHILDREN'S BOOK!! Writing devotionals is where my heart is. Or so I thought. I guess we'll see what happens.

JP is having a SUPER week at school. I guess being stripped of his daily luxuries has paid off! I love him so much!

Scott has joined a local gym. Believe it or not, his knee is beginning to swell again. (I'm not going there...). We decided that if he worked really hard at staying in shape and healthy, maybe the recurrence of whatever disease attacks him will take it's time in showing up again. Your prayers would be appreciated!

Class at Furman is still rolling along for mom and I. It continues to be wonderful! We are already trying to decide what classes we want to take next. Hopefully I can find some good ones during the summer when I'm off work.

Well, that's it for now. I am going to jump in bed and doze off to Dr. Phil! I hope everyone is having a FABULOUS week so far!

HELP NEEDED!!!!

2012-01-30T15:39:00.000-08:00

I am posting this on BOTH of my blogs...

When I try to upload pictures now, GOOGLE tells me that I have exceeded my limit!!! I am going to go crazy!!!

Please let me know if you've ever encountered this before!!

saturday at the park

2012-01-28T18:17:00.000-08:00

Both boys ready for take off!
Laurie in her new ride.

Cheesy smile & blank stare!

JP got brave and climbed the tree pretty high...

...and then of course we have to pet a dog!

And now we're stuck!

My precious-ness.

Handsome.

"Hmm, what's this thing and how can I get it into my mouth..."

JP always finding friends to play with.

Mercy! Look at those eyes!

Me and my favorite.

Flowers from my sweet boy.

Taking it all in.

Kool Kicks!

monitoring tv

2012-01-27T19:13:00.000-08:00

*GUEST POST*

Contributed by Alec Bates

I think it’s important to monitor what your kids watch on Cable TV even when you’re not around. The more you teach them what’s appropriate and what’s not the less they’re going to want to go behind your back and watch something you know they shouldn’t. My kids, for example, know they’re not allowed to watch Beavis and Butthead or The Simpsons. I don’t think either of the shows (even though they’re cartoons) have good messages for kids and I just don’t want them learning anything from them that I’m not already teaching them. I try to stick to educational program but basically as long as it doesn’t have cursing or drugs or sex or anything like that it’s fair game for my kids. Their favorite show is actually jeopardy which is about as harmless as it gets and I’m fine with that. At least they’re learning at the same time they’re watching TV – not many shows can say that they allow your kids that kind of double duty!

sleep deprived

2012-01-25T17:23:00.000-08:00

I am seriously lacking in the sleep department! It's no one's fault but my own. I have been staying up WAY past my bedtime to write. I am quickly wearing down. Right now, I'm sure you're thinking, " boo hoo! Go to bed earlier, idiot!" While that certainly would be a quick fix, it is much easier said than done! Trust me!

I get up early, get myself AND JP ready for school. We come home, do homework, make dinner, take baths and then it's time for bed. I am choosing to change my career at this stage in my life. I do not want JP to suffer because of it. Meaning, I am NOT going to use my afternoon time with him to write. He does not understand what I doing. To him, it would just be mommy fixated on her laptop all day. I REFUSE to be THAT mom! Therefore, Andrea loses MUCH sleep!! My prayer is that the reward will be great!

The class we are taking has FAR exceeded what little expectations I had. It is more than wonderful! Last night, we had a critique group. We shared the outline of our book and sat while the other students AND the professor gave their opinions and feedback. It was very insightful and a lot of fun - definitely a humbling experience. You find out that you really do not know as much as you think you do! Everyone seemed to really like our story. The professor, ( I keep calling him a professor...he's an author/illustrator), loved it and gave us some really great ideas. Mom and I came home and changed a lot of what we had written. I will keep you updated.

Nothing too exciting is taking place around here. As always, we're working/going to school and then home and bed. Pretty repetitious.

I hope everyone has a FABULOUS Thursday!!

gatlinburg @ random

2012-01-23T15:57:00.000-08:00

Here is a picture of Scott's new truck. (Or it's new to him, at least!) I meant to post this picture before now. As I mentioned a MONTH ago, I took over 200 pictures in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. Here are a few from our trip...I hope to post the remainder of them over the next several days.

Silly faces at the Apple Barn!

We went to visit Santa at his workshop.

JP LOVES the Wizard of OZ movie, so he really enjoyed this store.

supernanny

2012-01-22T07:57:00.000-08:00

This is my son's new favorite show. In the beginning, I was torn. Do I let him watch it? I certainly do not want him to pick up the horrible behaviors of the children on the show. So, for the first time, I allowed him to watch it.

JP has some "junk" in his left eye. I do not think it's pink eye, but rather a cold of some kind. Because of this, we didn't go to church this morning. Scott and I watched the service live on the Internet while JP laid in my bed and watched two episodes of Supper Nanny. I actually think it is going to be a positive thing! All morning long, he's been reciting to us all of the things "wrong" with the way the kids are acting. I have used this as a platform to talk with him about the way his voice sounds sometimes. Maybe watching this show will help JP to recognize when he is not making "good choices."

We'll see....

(FYI, we are having family pictures taken today with Scott's whole family. Hopefully I will be able to post a few in the near future.)

i need your input!!

2012-01-20T12:37:00.000-08:00

As I've mentioned before, JP is doing pretty well in school. His biggest issue is TALKING TOO MUCH and REFUSING TO WRITE! Scott and I have implemented several different types of discipline.

Spanking (Not beating, just spanking)
Time out ( Sitting in a secluded area of the house for a period of time)
No TV or games (We've taken away television and video games)
Simply talking to him. (Explaining to him what is expected and "talking about his feelings."

Obviously, NONE of the above have proven too effective. Well, today his teacher WALKED HIM OUT TO THE CAR and told me that he was on RED! Red is one step before you're sent to the Principal's office. Basically, during instruction he was plugging his ears, playing with fuzz on the carpet, distracting his classmates and refused to write his sentences!

I was so mad!! I first told him that I missed him very much and I loved him. I told him that we, including his teacher, were very disappointed in him because we KNOW how smart he is. After telling him that, I brought him home, sat him at the kitchen table and gave him ice water and blue berries for a snack. While he was eating, I made THREE pages of sentences for him to write.

"I will obey in class."
"I will listen at school."
"I will write at school."

I am making him write EACH sentence 8 times each. I have told him NO TV, NO video games for the rest of the night. I told him that since he chose to play and goof around during class, he had to work at home. He's been sitting at the table for an hour and has written ONE sentence. He's been crying, bargaining with me etc. I do not plan on letting him up until he's done.

This is where you come in: Am I being too harsh on him? Do you have any other ideas for punishment? I would REALLY appreciate your suggestions/input. I do not want to send him the message that he can not work at school and come home and everything be okay. He loves school and I want it to stay that way, but he is not working the way he should.

Okay.....NOW COMMENT!

out of the archives

2012-01-19T17:29:00.000-08:00

Seriously? Look at these two! How gorgeous...and look how tiny and chubby JP is! I could just pinch those cheeks!

I was looking through some of my old photos and I thought I'd share this one again. I love it! It's been a LOOONG day. I am really tired. I have some homework to do from class and I have a few things that I need to finish writing tonight. The house is so quiet. This is rapidly becoming my favorite part of the day. Don't get me wrong - I LOVE spending time with my men. There is just rarely a time in my day when there is no noise. Except now. All I hear are my fingers tapping away on the keys.

Heavenly.

As I sit here in my TENNESSEE snuggie, (yes, you heard me right!), I am able to clear my head from all of the clutter that has polluted it throughout the day.

I hope that all of you find a time during the day when you can be alone with your thoughts. It is very therapeutic.

Well, not too much is going on this weekend. Tomorrow, we will probably have our Family Fun Night. I still have a Regal gift card...maybe we'll see a movie. I am hoping that Saturday will be nice, I'd like to take JP on a picnic. I hope everyone has a WONDERFUL Friday!!

catch up

2012-01-18T18:39:00.000-08:00

I could get used to typing on my computer in my bed! I'm so much more comfortable in here. I guess it could turn out to be a bad thing though...I may never go to sleep! And boy do I need sleep these days.

Well, now that we are officially in the "swing of things" around here, it's almost time for another weekend. However, I am NOT complaining! I thought I would try and play a little catch up and update you on the "happenings" around the Beam home. Try not to fall asleep...they are not all that interesting.

JP is working on writing sentences in school. He does not find this all that interesting, so he usually chooses to RUN HIS MOUTH instead! His big, brown, beautiful eyes are only going to get him so far! He is working DOUBLE time at home each night!
Scott has actually been doing pretty well lately, (hang on...let me find a piece of wood to knock on). Okay, I'm back! He is still having trouble performing the day to day responsibilities required of him at his job. We're praying through that.
Speaking of prayer, we have been consistently making it to church now since the new year began. It has been SO NICE to jump back in and be an active participant in the service! JP loves it so much!
My mom and I are taking a writing class at Furman University for aspiring children's authors/illustrators. Our first class was this past Tuesday night - it was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G! We got our money's worth within the first 30 minutes. The goal is to have an actual manuscript written by the end of the class. I am beyond excited!
I received a letter in the mail today letting me know that a poem I had submitted had been selected to be published in a book that will be released in March of this year! That was a surprise...I didn't even remember submitting it! (You can read, The Waiting Room, on my devotional blog.)
Preston said, "thank you" the other day and today he signed the word "more" for me twice. He's really growing up fast.
Laurie continues to train at her new job.

I guess that's it for now. I mainly wanted to update family members and I also use this as my little "journal" so I can always remember what was taking place at this time in my life.

Thanks for joining me! Have a great night!

our last day off...

2012-01-16T14:59:00.000-08:00

You guys just hang with me while I play "catch up" with my pics. I normally do not post twice in one day! Our day began with a little water painting...the above book is really cool - it has paint on every page for you to cut out and use with each picture. REALLY neat!

We tried to wait on it to warm up before we went out, but that didn't happen....so, we headed out for a little scooter ride anyway!

We, of course, did have to park the scooter long enough to throw gumballs into the water.

Silly face!

Handsome face!

I LOVE this little guy!

JP thought it was so funny that the duck was beside our car. He wanted me to take a picture of it.

And this is my new favorite friend - my new laptop!!

This is where I spend a LOT of late nights writing. Thank you again, Santa!

Well, we go back to work tomorrow. UGH! It's not that I mind going back to work, really, it's just that I TOTALLY MIND getting up early. I am so sad about that. Tomorrow night, is my first night of my writing class. I am SO EXCITED!! My mom is going with me...that makes it even better!

I hope everyone had a nice long weekend. I will post again SOON!

random

2012-01-16T07:05:00.000-08:00

Preston was actually over playing with JP in his room...they were watching "Elmo In Grouchland"...I took this picture and then tried to take one of Preston.....my battery died! UGH!
Camera-ham

JP sitting on his bed in his room watching the "JP Story DVD." He is so cute watching it! He also loves watching himself in the home videos. It is neat for him to see the pictures that go along with the story he's listened to for so long.

family fun night

2012-01-13T20:32:00.000-08:00

Tonight was our family fun night. JP chose the movie, Spy Kids, which I highly recommend. It's very cute. Scott went to Domino's to get our pizza. The pizza was good, but we were very disappointed in the price. They have been advertising their, "pick two of any kind for $5.99" deal on TV lately, so we could not wait to take advantage of it. We ordered 2 medium pepperoni and bacon pizzas. Be careful not to make the same mistake we did....be sure to read below the caption in VERY SMALL print where it says, "each." UGH! In my mind, that is definitely false advertisement, but whatever! The pizza was still good. We just will not drive all the way to Domino's next time. Little Caesars and Pizza Hut are right around the corner!

After the movie, we watched the "JP ADOPTION STORY" DVD that our friend, Terry, made for us when we returned from Guatemala. WOW, is all I can say. Scott and I cried through the whole thing. It was also fun to watch JP watch it. We had to keep pausing it and answering his questions. He wasn't too thrilled that we were so emotional. I had to keep telling him that people cry when they are happy. Now that he's older, he really seems to grasp adoption. Then, as if that weren't enough, we hooked up our old video camera to the television and watched the home movie of our first Christmas with JP in Guatemala. FORGET THE TISSUES, I NEEDED A TOWEL! I had forgotten how small he was. I had also forgotten the emotions that accompanied leaving him. It is amazing how quickly all of that came flooding back. It was such a painful time.

Now that both boys are in bed, (as I should be), I sit here in my Tennessee Snuggie re-reading my blog posts from 2007. Again, WOW! Such raw emotion. How could I have forgotten that? I certainly do not miss it. You know what I do miss? In reading the comments, I was re-introduced to so many other Guatemama's. I LOVED that support system we had. Such encouragement. I wonder how many of you still blog. I would love to hear from you. About the only person I keep up with on a regular basis is Lou.

If you ever stop by, say hello. If not, and by some miracle you read this, I sure am thankful for everyone who helped me through such a difficult trial in my life. It's times like this that I am reminded of how much I appreciate the Internet.

Okay...enough bittersweet for one night. It's past my bedtime.

back to normal

2012-01-13T07:59:00.000-08:00

Well, thankfully, things seem to be back to normal in the Beam household! Scott is at work today and JP and I are hanging out at home. We both are out of school until Tuesday! WOOHOO!

Nothing too exciting is taking place. I'm not sure if I mentioned it in an earlier post, but my sister has a new job! She is very excited. It is a job that will allow her to move up and become very successful. We are all very proud of her! Preston continues to do well. TOO CUTE FOR WORDS, literally! We enjoy him so much...such a gift from God!

Scott is off on Monday as well, so we may go to a movie with JP. I still haven't used a Regal gift card I received at Christmas. Other than that, we have no real plans. I think it's pretty nice outside, (cold, but nice), so I will probably take JP somewhere just to get him OUT of the house! You can imagine how stir crazy he is from being inside most of the week.

Well, I hope everyone is doing well. I still have some pictures to post from the past few months. I promise I'll get to them. And hopefully I'll snap some new ones this weekend! Have a GREAT Friday!!

good morning, stomach bug

2012-01-10T08:26:00.000-08:00

The stomach bug came to visit us around 10:30 last night while JP was sleeping. I heard him coughing from the other room. When I went in to check on him...well, I won't gross you out with those details.

It's not fun to watch your kids when they're sick. I feel so bad for him. He is so sweet when he doesn't feel well. It brakes my heart, I wish it were me. This is actually JP's FIRST TIME EVER throwing up! You can imagine how lovely that was! Pile his OCD-"don't get me dirty" on top of that, and we were having a BLAST!

Oh well, it was only a matter of time. I know it's going around. I've had a few students out with it. I just pray that it doesn't make it's way throughout our house. I've been so excited about this FOUR DAY weekend coming up- I sure don't want everyone to be sick!

who says you have to be in the army to commando crawl?!

2012-01-09T17:44:00.000-08:00

The only thing cuter than Preston sitting up, is Preston crawling! These pictures are actually from a few weeks ago. He flies around on ALL FOURS now! And he hasn't stopped there...he is pulling up on everything and starting to climb! Poor Laurie. Hehehehe! He thinks he is HOT stuff now that he is able to go anywhere in the house. It sure does make for one tired momma though, I can promise you that!

a little bit about jp

2012-01-07T17:51:00.000-08:00

*DISCLAIMER* All of you will not be interested in this post. I am mainly writing it for family members and distant friends who we are not able to see often...I wanted to give them an update on JP!

JP is growing up so fast! Most days I can hardly believe it. Here is a bulleted list of some of his personality traits, and his likes/dislikes:

- His favorite color is blue. Hands down! He would be happy if everything he bought was blue.

- He is VERY interested in the weather. Especially tornado's. We have bought lots of books about tornado's. He knows the level of intensity of them and the damage that each level causes. He even knows that the word "tornado" came from the Spanish word, "tronada." He is so smart.

- He really enjoys kindergarten, but often gets in trouble for talking too much! SHOCKER!! He talks NON-stop all day, every day!

- He is learning how to be a "gentleman." He opens the door for ladies and pulls out their chairs. He'll look at me afterwards and say, "Did you see me, mommy? I was a gentleman!" He's always so proud of himself.

- He is almost TOO smart. He learns very quickly, and he loves to read books and play games on the computer. He maneuvers his way around the computer better than I do!

- While he is a very sweet, kind-hearted boy, he certainly has his moments. He has the mouth of a teenager. He doesn't always listen and spends a LOT of time in time out! He has a very short fuse and gets angry over the silliest things. ( I didn't want anyone to think that he was perfect!)

- He LOVES to go to church. We try to read our devotion and our Bible before we get up in the mornings. If I forget (and unfortunately, I do), he'll remind me! He says the sweetest prayers! We talk about Jesus often. He really seems to understand (as much as his 5 year old mind can) what Jesus did for us. He knows that to "get into Heaven" you have to know, accept and love Jesus.

- His hair grows at a crazy rapid speed, and it grows STRAIGHT up! It will not lay down. He's such a good boy when we take him to get his hair cut. I don't even have to stand with him anymore. I don't have to keep up with when he needs it cut. He'll tell me, "Mommy, I need my hair cut because my hair is stretching up really high!"

- He loves Batman, Nick Toons, Tom & Jerry, Smurfs, Spy Kids, Veggie Tales, Casper, any movie or TV show with real animals in it, Toy Story, Wizard of Oz, Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer and basically any Christmas movie.

- Although he is ALL BOY, he usually wants to get the girl toy that comes with the McDonald's happy meal. Go figure!

- He is extremely loud and loves to sing and dance.

- He loves the outdoors. He enjoys riding his new scooter and playing on any playground. He loves to swing and "explore."

- He LOVES animals more than anything. Especially dogs! He has no fear of any animal. Every time we pass someone (outside or downtown or at Furman) who is walking a dog, he asks me if he can "ask for permission" to pet their dog. It's really cute.

Okay, that's about it for now. I could go on. He is a very interesting little guy. He is very, very OCD. We love him so much it hurts. His smile and laugh are contagious. I am so thankful to God for allowing us to raise him!

somebody call the tooth fairy!

2012-01-04T16:35:00.000-08:00

MY BABY LOST HIS FIRST TOOTH TODAY!!!!!! I guess we're not a baby anymore! *Tear*

I got an email from his teacher telling me that he lost it at lunch while eating a goldfish. She said he was so brave! I am so proud of him!!

potato soup, pop tarts & cocoa pebbles

2012-01-03T15:42:00.001-08:00

This is the potato soup that Scott ate for dinner.
These are the pop tarts that JP ate for dinner.

And this is the cereal I ate for dinner.

Pretty sad, huh?! I originally planned on soup for everyone, however, while I was making it I decided that I wasn't that hungry. So, this is what we ended up with. I guess the important thing is that we all sat down together and talked about our day. We enjoyed each other's company for about thirty minutes. It was nice. It is rare that we have JPs undivided attention for that long at one time! Ha! That's why our dinners are so important.

I hope everyone had a great day! Mine was uneventful. In my profession, that is a good thing! Trust me. We are pretty much functioning on auto-pilot around our house this week. It's so hard to get back into the swing of things when you haven't been in a routine for two weeks.

Oh well....I think there's only like 58 more days until Spring Break! Woohoo!

loose tooth

2012-01-02T16:43:00.001-08:00

JP has a loose tooth. It is his first, and while he is super excited about a visit from the tooth fairy, he is terrified of having it pulled! His new tooth is beginning to push through behind it, so it really needs to come out.

I have tried to make it a fun game. We sing a "wiggle it" song and I wiggle it (pretty hard) front to back and then side to side. And then around in circles. It has yet to come out. I am really trying to avoid YANKING it out and really freaking him out. Any suggestions? If we go another day or two and it still hasn't popped out, I may have to jerk it out and deal with the aftermath.

This is our first experience with this, so I welcome ANY ideas or suggestions...