Year 2006 in Review...the meme

1. What did you do in 2006 that you’d never done before?
I can't think of anything major for this one...I must make more of an effort to try new things this year.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don't make typical resolutions usually....but here is my New Year's Post for last year. I will post my goals for this year in the next few days.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
ME and Shana!

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Jason's Grandpa Otto died in Nov.

5. What countries did you visit?
I didn't leave the country this year....hmmmmm that sucks.

6. What would you like to have in 2007 that you lacked in 2006?
More patience with those around me

7. What dates from 2006 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
May 13th...Chase's birthday. Hard to forget something like that.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
finishing out my pregnancy healthy was a big one. Also just our family dynamic in general. We have really settled into a family of our own this year. Things are cohesive and working rather well. Dallas has proved to be the right place for us...God was in control of this move.

9. What was your biggest failure?
Patience. It is NOT my strong point.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Not anything major...thankfully.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
My camera...though Jason actually bought it :-)

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Austin and Brodie. These boys have had a lot of adjustments to make with a new brother and they have done it so easily and understandingly. (it is SO a word)

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
There are too many to name. Mostly the media...

14. Where did most of your money go?
HI, I have three kids. Where do you think?

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
The birth of Chase was a big one.

16. What song will always remind you of 2006?
Sexy Back....inside joke with Jason.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? 
b) thinner or fatter? 
c) richer or poorer?
happier/thinner/richer (though not rich of course)

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
laughed, bubble baths, cuddles at bedtime with the boys, dinners out with Jason

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Worry and yelling

20. How did you be spend Christmas?
Surrounded by family.

21. Did you fall in love in 2006?
I fell in love with my husband all over again many times. I also fell in love again when Chase was born. I don't think the birth of a child ever gets to be routine...always amazing.

22. How many one-night stands?
HA! Um none.

23. What was your favorite TV program?
Hmmm, I guess Nip/Tuck.

24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Hate is a waste of time and energy.

25. What was the best book you read?
Praying God's Word by Beth Moore. Not so much for entertainment purposes, but it was a profound book.

26. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Jennifer Knapp...I had heard her before, but I really started to love her music this year.

27. What did you want and get?
a baby! a camera!

28. What did you want and not get?
World Peace (thank you judges)

29. What was your favorite film of this year?
I didn't see many movies....

30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 26 and on my actual birthday I went to lunch and shopping with Kree. Then a few days later I had a lovely birthday dinner with Jason.

31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
More time for myself.

32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2006?
Stay at home mom chic

33. What kept you sane?
my kids, my husband and prayer

34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
I am not much of a celebrity watcher...

35. What political issue stirred you the most?
not sure there is a specific issue that grabbed me, but just the state of politics in general. It is awful!

36. Who did you miss?
I miss my family.

37. Who was the best new person you met?
Some of the folks in our Sunday school class....it is nice to really get to know some new people.

38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2006.
It doesn't matter if the other person realizes you are right....it is only if God knows you did the right thing or not.

39. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
"I am so blessed...." (Martina McBride)

Guns Up...

Thank you Jesus for HDTV! (is that blasphemous?) We didn't even realize we got the NFL network (we are college football people, not pro), but we DO! We got to watch the Texas Tech Bowl game last night. WHAT A GAME!!!! How could we not proudly fly our flag today?

Guns up baby...

(the "normal" LaShawn will return shortly)

Following your gut...

Maybe it is because I am getting older or maybe it is because it is happening more frequently, but I am noticing a rather interesting phenomenon. This phenomenon has been part of my life and I see it all around me in the lives of others. It is the phenomenon of group decisions for one's life.

Let me explain...

When did it become the norm for every decision a person makes to be up for discussion and debate? There seems to be some sort of committee for everything. Sometimes that committee takes the shape of a family that is a little too involved. Sometimes that committee is friends and other times it is just strangers that somehow think they know better how to live your life than you do.

I started thinking about this last night while watching Clerks II. Yes, highly educational stuff there. There is a part towards the end where Randal and Dante have landed themselves in jail. They are fighting and Randal actually has something rather intelligent to say. He asks Dante why he is making life decisions based on what everyone else thinks is right for his life even though it doesn't make sense to him.

That is what it boils down to. Does it make sense to you? In my life there is only one other question I have to ask myself, What does God have to say on the matter? That is it. My life doesn't have to make sense to anyone else. If Jason and I want another dog or another kid it might seem crazy to others, but if it makes sense to us then why is it their business? (for the record another kid is NOT on the agenda...it is an example) In fact, if Jason and I listened to committee decisions on everything then there is a good chance we wouldn't be married and Chase wouldn't be a part of our lives. If people would stop caring so much about how other people view their lives and just start living their life the way it makes sense to them people would be a lot happier.

Getting back to it...

I know I am horrible for not posting in a few days. I am enjoying my hubby being home. Jason took off yesterday and worked from home today.

Yesterday we went and did a little shopping and FINALLY bought Chase his bedding. Yes, I know he is 7 months old. There is a reason it took us so long...a few in fact. One is that we could not find one we really liked that wasn't a million dollars. I am not going to plop down a ton of money on something that is going to get spit up and poop all over it. The other reason was we briefly thought about buying a house and I wanted to wait until we did that to decide what I wanted to do. The house thing has been put on hold for another year or so. We are in no hurry and want to buy the house we want to stay in for a while. So there...that is my reasoning.

Chase loves the bedding. He actually slept a lot better once we put it on. Not sure if it really has anything to do with it, but anything that makes this boy sleep better is golden in my book.

Things have been a little quieter around here since Austin and Brodie are still in Lubbock, but Chase is still keeping me hopping.

To see our pictures from Christmas GO HERE.

Home...

We are home! Well, three of us are home. Austin and Brodie are staying a few more days to hang out with some of the family. Chase, Jason and I made the trek home today and are happy to be here.

We had such a great time. Chase's first Christmas was a good one. I have a lot of pictures to share, but I think I am going to go relax.

I hope you all had a VERY Merry Christmas...

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

Santa Baby...

We did the Santa thing today. Chase's first time and he could NOT take his eyes off of Santa. He wasn't scared, but terribly interested. It was cute.

We were supposed to leave for Lubbock today, but Jason got hung up at work and we decided to not rush our evening. We will be getting up REALLY early in the morning and going.

Merry Christmas....and yes, I do have cute kids :-)

For You Mommy...

Brodie is just too sweet!!! He brings me every "flower" that he finds outside. I have a whole house full of dandelions.

My posts will be sporadic until after Christmas. Keep an eye on Flickr for lots of pictures.

Have a very Merry Christmas!!!!

Baby Whispers...

Can someone please explain this phenomenon? I mean there has to be a logical explanation...




Whenever Chase goes down for a nap and I need to get something done (laundry, dishes, PEEING, sweeping, or packing so we can get out of here at a decent time today) he only sleeps for 5 minutes....YET, when he goes down and I don't have anything to do he sleeps for 2 hours.

Anyone? Explain?

NEW TOY!!!

Even though I knew what I was getting, I am still SOOOOOOO excited. I did not know WHAT camera I was getting. Jason and I had decided on 3 different ones. The one I got is AWESOME. The pictures it takes are just so far above our old cameras. I am in love....and I will be shooting my little heart out!!!!

I have the bestest hubby!

Montage...

I made this little montage of random photos of our family from this year. Hope you enjoy. With my new camera I hope to bore you to death with lots of pictures in 2007!

Make photo slide shows at onetruemedia.com

Night Attack

Jason and I were sitting in the dark watching TV last night when he decided to get out the video camera and take pictures with it. Now...background. Both of our regular cameras are in different states of brokenness. Jason's camera is just beyond trashed and mine can't zoom (lost the zoom button). Not to mention our cameras are way outdated. SOOOO ...I was telling him IF he did get me a new camera for Christmas I would really like to have it early so I could use it to take pictures. He decides to point out that our camcorder takes pictures (yes it does, but only at 2MP). Anyway, he was being goofy and trying to irritate me. Like the lovely shot of me eating my cereal last night???? Gorgeous, no?

Last night as we were going to bed I found a gift bag on my pillow. It was a 1GB Memory Stick. We have NO electronics that take that kind of memory stick. Gee...wonder what it could be for??? I love Jason, he cracks me up.

Everyone Loves Mail...

I have a few Christmas cards left. If you have not received one from me and would like one, email me your address at: LaShawn0831@gmail.com

Artsy...

I mentioned a few days ago that I wanted to start tapping into my creativity more. Then I dropped the bomb that I am going into nursing still. Not exactly a creative career.

However, I am still serious about the creativity issue. I have been writing again...just privately. At some point some of those writings will be made public. In the coming months there will be much writing, much photography and possibly some painting. There will be sewing and more writing. I feel like I have a lot stored up inside. I need to get it out.

Right now I think I might borrow the boys' sidewalk chalk and go out and doodle with Brodie on the sidewalks. Nothing like looking through the eyes of a 4 year old to get the creative juices flowing.

A plan...

So Jason and I sat down tonight and made a plan for school. I have 4 pre-requisites that I need if I want to do RN school (which has been my plan for the last 4 years). I have gone back and forth on this for good reason. Nursing school is NOT flexible (where as nursing itself is EXTREMELY). That is a hard pill to swallow when you have 3 kids. The good news is that by the time I actually begin full blown nursing school, Brodie will be in kindergarten. There are other degrees I have thought about. Teaching is one I considered heavily, but to be honest....I don't care for other people's kids all that much :-) I also considered getting a graphic/multimedia design degree. There are a lot of reasons to not go that way, but it would have been kinda cool. Nursing (the career not school) makes a good fit for our family. I want to be able to work a schedule that can allow me to be with my kids as much as possible. The truth is we will never NEED me to work. But, I want to. I love being home while the kids are little, but I need more for myself. With nursing I can work a few shifts a week for personal fulfillment (and play money) and be with my kids the rest of the time. I also love being around people and helping them.

So nursing school it is. The next few semesters I will be finishing up the classes I need. Then off to RN school. I am excited, but nervous about the challenges this could present with our family life. Jason is blessed with a job that does have some flexibility in that he can telecommute some and also change up his hours (a little). It should work out. So, after months of indecisiveness I am going after what I have wanted for a long time. Jason is EXTREMELY supportive of this and that helps a lot.

Speechless...

For the first time in a loooooooooooooong time I am pretty much speechless. My last post was SHAMELESS groveling for a gift. I was thinking perhaps my mom or someone in my family might get it for me. Well, today I got an email saying someone had purchased the Flickr account for me for one year. AME YOU ROCK!!!!

Let me tell you about Ame. Ame was on colorguard with me back in high school. I have not seen her since I graduated....and yet, through the power of MySpace we found each other again. There was NO reason for her to do that for me. She is awesome.

Thank you Ame...you really made my day!

Perfect Gift...

I always think of good gifts for myself AFTER people have already bought for me. I am terrible at asking for things. Just not my thing. BUT....considering I am 99% sure that Santa (Jason) got me a new camera for Christmas I would LOOOOOOVE to have a pro Flickr account. I am too cheap to buy it for myself. So if anyone is feeling generous... *grin*

Shameless groveling over :-)

The Star...

Yes, Austin takes after his big mouthed mother.

Austin's Christmas play at church was ADORABLE! He stole the show. Seriously, I had so many people come up afterward and comment on how funny and charismatic he is.

He will either be a preacher or a sitcom star at this rate!


**note to my mom and dad....his shirt WAS tucked in when I dropped him off. It magically untucked itself. **

Talk amongst yourselves...

"I am not where I need to be, but thank God I am not where I used to be." - Joyce Myers

"To God, our journey is as important as our destinations." - Beth Moore

Thank You...

Thank you so much to the admissions office of South Plains College for F-ing up and holding up my transcript request to my new school. Thank you for making it possible for me to get NO financial aid this semester. YOU ROCK!

Identity...

Count me among the mothers that often has had a hard time separating my identity as a mother from my identity as a female. For me they have always felt one in the same. After my divorce my identity became my children. I was "a single mom". That was who I was...the end all be all of it.

Things have changed. I am married to a man who pushes me to be ME! Not just the mom me, but the WHOLE me. I have missed out on parts of myself. I have not explored all there is to me. I am an extremely creative person. I have left all that creativity dormant for a long time. Jason has been my biggest cheerleader in discovering who I am, even when he doesn't know he is doing it.

One area this is really evident is school. I have eluded many times to the fact I was having issues deciding about school. I have always intended to finish out college. Jason is the first person to say, "Yes, you need to get a degree you can use and yes, we have kids to consider, but what do you WANT to do?" I had always thought of what I should do. Or what would be easiest on everyone else.

I am happy with my life. I love my kids, my husband and the life we have made together. I am just really excited about adding some more contentment to that life. Some contentment with myself. I want to tap into my creativity more...I want to live authentically to who God created me to be.

Ho Ho Ho...

Last night was our Christmas party for our Sunday School class. We had a really great time. Click below for some of the pictures. Sorry about the crappy quality of some of the pictures. I am REALLY hoping Santa ( ahem Jason) is getting me what I think he is getting me for Christmas (cough new camera cough).

Element 26 Christmas Party

Christmas letters are a pain in the...

It's that time of year again. When one must get creative and witty and try to compile a summary of their year's events into a one page document of torture known as...(cue evil music) THE CHRISTMAS LETTER!

For the record I love getting Christmas letters and cards. I just hate WRITING the letter. Not so much hate writing it as I hate editing it. I have a strict one page rule about the letter thing (I know Shana...tragic). So today I am going to attempt to get it written. I got our Christmas cards done yesterday. Isn't the picture cute? It isn't the most "posed" picture of the boys ever, but I think it captures them perfectly.

Wish me luck with the letter. You would think that since I write a blog all the time I could do this, but apparently not.

Mom is so in trouble...

Yes, he is pulling up. Yes, all by himself. Yes, I fear for my life with this one.

OK, he is not even 7 months old yet. Friday afternoon I walked into the living room and this is what I saw. He was so proud. Then he fell, but still. He has done it a few more times and has decided to use this new found trick to yank anything and everything down he can find. He is quite the trouble maker.

Bad Blogger Mommy

I am a bad blog mommy! I have been so sick I have missed out on blogging about a lot of stuff happening around here. As you can see, Brodie had a choir performance on Sunday. He did wonderfully and was very proud of himself. Austin dressed up like Moses for school on Monday. It was a blonde Moses, but still. They were having a day to dress up like a character from a book. It was cool. He looked good. The baby did not recognize him. 

Out sick...

The cold from hell has returned....will be back soon.

I'm a star....

Seriously, I look good in pointy shoes...click here to see!