Yellow Ribbons

I've seen these magnetic yellow ribbons on cars lately and wondered where to get them. In the process of looking for them I found that there are window clings as well. There are many places online to get them. I like one in particular-Military Wives. They have much more than the Support our Troops and Pray for Our Troops(my personal favorite) ribbons. This is the reason I like this site the best. They offer all kinds of things to help children get through the deployment of people who are special to them. I know from being a military child that this can be a very hard time for children. The proceeds from the ribbons bought on the Military Wives site go to expand the store and their support network. It's important to support our troops and their families always. This is a particularly hard time for them. Especially when people go around spouting off against the war and the soldiers who are fighting for their very right to say the things they say. Please remember the people behind the uniform the next time you say or do something against the war in public. These people have enough stress in their lives, they don't need to think their sacrifice is unappreciated or un-noticed. Even if you don't like the reasoning for the war don't denounce your country and your fighting men and women. They need all the support they can get from home to boost moral. They are fighting for YOUR freedom and mine and I for one appreciate every one of them. Especially my dad and my little brother-Love you guys! Keep up the good work and be safe:)

Lunch Bunch

I went to my first "Lunch Bunch" today. It was cool. I had to drop Zach off at school so I missed the lunch part:-( Ben Cachiaras, our lead pastor, spoke today on forgiveness. How is it that every time that man speaks I feel like he's talking right to me?! He had some good pointers...whats, whens and hows. I feel very inspired and way more equipped to forgive some people in my life. I'll be posting some of the highlights on the Lunch Bunch site soon. Not now because I'm tired and I have lots of things to do(even if I don't want to do them). This post is a little thing I like to call procrastination in disguise;)

Zach Starts Soccer

Zach starts soccer today after school. He was very upset this morning. I had told him he won't be riding the bus home, but going straight to soccer. He came downstairs in only shorts very upset. When I asked him what's wrong he struggled to get out "I-can't[snif-snif] find my[deep breath, deep breath]my soccer shirt." Of course he doesn't have one yet, so I tell him he doesn't need to wear it for practice. A tee shirt will be fine. Then he tells me he's a little bit nervous about soccer. So I ask him what he's nervous about and he says "What if it's big?"(I'm sure this is something he got from TV, the Bernstein Bears got to School-I think.) I asked what he meant by big and he couldn't explain. I'm thinking it's been suggested that he should be nervous when doing new things(indirectly of course.) Like his teacher was saying it's okay to be nervous about starting school and the Bernstein Bears episode about the same thing. Never-the-less I took him seriously because an idea that is planted in your mind can create feelings just as real as any others. I explained to him that he would be playing with kids his own age and they would just be learning too. I also told him they would just learn how to play at first, not play real games. They would learn how to dribble, aim and score goals. To which he replied,"I know how to dribble." That seemed to give him some confidence. I told him I'd come watch him practice after Ryan gets up from his nap. I think he was okay when he left for school. He told everyone we saw, "I'm playing soccer today!" I'm going to take my camera to his practice. I'll post pictures if I can get any good ones.
Zach headed for the ball; He's wearing the white shirt and dark blue shorts. 

This would have been a great shot if it wasn't blurry:( 

Love-fest with Giraffe

Ryan is holding giraffe right now, as a matter of fact he has not put it down since dinner(over an hour now). He didn't put it down to pick up other toys which is standard practice when he sees something new or exciting. He didn't even put it down to pick up and throw his ball. He keeps picking things up with his left hand and throwing them down on the ground(including the other animals from the ark), but giraffe is firmly planted in his right hand. I'm so glad we got him another one!

Ryan and his beloved giraffe 

He doesn't even put giraffe down to throw his ball! 

Giraffe

Ryan lost his treasured giraffe on vacation. He would take giraffe everywhere. He'd hold him up in the air as if he was showing him the world. He would also let him look in cabinets, over fences and anywhere else. We think he was showing giraffe the inside of the trash can when he lost him:( We looked everywhere. In cabinets, under beds and couches...he was not to be found:( He loved giraffe so much. We briefly debated about replacing him thinking that he might just find a replacement. We decided to replace him. After we ordered the replacement ark(the one giraffe came in) we wondered if it was a waste of money. The package came today and it was most definitely worth every penny. He's been carrying new giraffe around ever since. I couldn't get him to sit still for a picture, so these are the best I have. He also does a new thing with giraffe. He sits it down very carefully making sure it's standing up. It's very cute.

Yea, Giraffe!!! 

Standing giraffe up