This is only the beginning

Tonight I sit here fondly remembering the days when I could walk into any store and purchase any outfit for my beautiful, sweet curly headed daughter, take it home and she would wear it. I could pick out dresses and skirts, jumpers and button down shirts, skorts and pants. She would wear it all. No questions asked. No fits. No arguments. Just pure unadulterated compliance.

Then something happened.
I guess she grew up and got a mind of her own.

We went shopping tonight.
We went to one store to purchase one outfit. It took one hour. I came home with one headache.

Everything I liked, she didn't. Everything she liked, I didn't.
She wanted peace signs and t-shirts.
I demanded a skirt and nice top. It is for Easter, after all.
She must get her strong will from her father, because I still have mine.

The biggest issues seemed to revolve around the "budget." Apparently it's a little tricky for young shoppers to realize that a "40% off your entire purchase" coupon doesn't always make everything affordable. As bedtime quickly approached I finally had to put my foot down. Either we're leaving the store or we're buying something that we can afford. She agreed to pay the $13 difference out of her own money and we cheerfully exited the store with these:

a cute embellished cami
(not pictured: orange tank to go under "low cut" cami.
Thankfully she does have a strong sense of modesty)

sweater to wear over cami/tank combo

fun tie dye skirt
(at least my blue jean girl agreed to a skirt with no screaming!)

Have I mentioned how thankful I am for school uniforms. I'm not so sure we could do the school clothes shopping thing every fall!

By the way, can someone please tell me when my daughter got old enough to go in the dressing room by herself to try on multiple outfits? That's just such a "grown-up" thing to do.

A Stream of Conscious Toddler Thoughts

I'm awake. Why am I still in my bed? I'm going to stand here and grunt until someone comes to get me. Hey, maybe if I yell loud enough I can wake up my brother and sister too. Oh, here comes my Mommy. Why does she look so tired? I don't know what she's talking about. What does "It's only 6:30" mean anyway? Put my feet on the floor. I'm out of this bedroom. Oh juice, I want my juice. Juice, I need my juice. Why is she not in here getting my juice yet? Oh there she is. She's pouring something. Is it my juice? I need my juice. Why can't she pour it any faster? Faster! Faster! I want my juice. Ahhhhhhh. That's so refreshing. I must go turn on the TV. Oh look. It's Curious George. That reminds me. If I pull out the second draw of the entertainment center, I can.....climb...up...and stand in the drawer.....then I can reach the Wii and turn it on. There. Mission accomplished. Oh shoot. She caught me. What is the big deal? Why can't I stand here in this drawer? Fine. I'll just go climb up on the piano so I can reach all the teeny tiny Legos they store up on top. She's not watching. Here I go. I just climb on the piano bench....up on to the next part. Why must this thing make so much noise when I walk all over these white and black lines? She's going to hear me..... shoot. She caught me. Back down to the floor I go. Hmmmm. Oh yeah. I like that spinning cabinet in the corner of the kitchen. For some reason they keep putting the cereal boxes there. I like Cocoa Puffs. Yep there it is. If I take the box, hold it like this and shake it really hard, it makes a cool sound when all of the cereal hits the floor. Perfect. Now I just have to sit down and eat. Why does she keep saying my middle name like that? Really mom, it's fine to just call me Ty. "Tyson Hunt Fuller" sounds so, so professional! And mom, just leave all the cereal on the floor. I'll eat it eventually. No need to get out that noisy vacuum. Ugh. She swept it all up. Again. Well, while she's busy putting the vacuum away, I'll just sneak into the bathroom here and put all the toothbrushes into my mouth. It always gets such a reaction out of everyone when they see me with their toothbrush in my mouth. What's the big deal anyway? Hey, while I'm in the bathroom I may as well turn the water on full blast. Then I can fill this cup up and dump it all down the front of my shirt. She'll probably end up changing my clothes, but it'll be fun anyway. Did someone just say my name? Oh it's her again. Why does she keep interrupting my fun? And why does she keep saying "Nap time can't come soon enough?" If she's so tired I wish she would just take a nap now. I can take care of myself, then she won't keep messing up my plans. Oh look it's a pack of gum. If I take this and hide behind the chair, I wonder how many pieces I can unwrap and stick in my mouth before she catches me? One....two....three.....four......five.....wow, she still hasn't caught me. I'll just take stick #6 and go show her before I put it in my mouth too. Mom? Mom, look! I can barely close my mouth. This gum is fun! Wait! Now she's pulling it all out of my mouth and throwing it in the trash can. Geez. Can't a guy catch a break around here? Cars. I'll go play with my cars. I can dump out the whole box, lay on the floor and play with them quietly. For some reason she doesn't bother me when I'm doing this.

#2

It's time for #2 in the list of 7 random things about yours truly.
You've been on the edge of your seats, I can tell. Please don't get your hopes up. I fear I may not be that interesting and I would really hate to thoroughly dash your expectations.

Nevertheless, here we are.

#2) I run.

See, I told you.

However, please note that I did not say, "I am a runner." There is a difference.

There are runners. And then there is me.
I run. Period.

My running started back in high school when my best friend coerced me into joining the Cross Country Team during my senior year. Up until that point I had been a member of the track team. In track, my events included 300m hurdles, 4x100m relay, high jump and long jump.

You don't need to be a follower of track and field to know that those are all SHORT distances.
I had reasons, people.

Then my dear Heidi begged me to join the XC team. They were one member short. They needed me in order to be able to participate at meets.
I gave in.
I caved to peer pressure.
My punishment? Long distance running.
My last XC meet = my last long distance run. Until...

Fast forward 13 years. I was at the gym working out with some friends. Not the same friends, mind you. Yet friends with just the same persuasiveness as my High School Heidi had.

One of them says "Hey! I think we should all sign up and run the Mini-Marathon!"
I politely declined. I'm not a runner. And I'm no fool. There's nothing "mini" about that race!

"Oh, come on."
"We could all do it together."
"You wouldn't have to run the whole thing."
"It'll be fun!"

One would think I had learned my lesson. But no. I gave in. I caved to peer pressure.
Again.

Then we moved. And the only person I had to train with was me, myself and I. So I trained. And trained. And trained.

Race day came and I ran every step of that 13.1 mile course.


I even had enough energy at the 7.5 mile mark to call my hubby as I crossed the brick yard.


I crossed that finish line overflowing with one of the most amazing feelings ever. Ever. So amazing that a few weeks later I signed up to do it all over again.

I know how to twist my own arm now.
But I might need to call Heidi and get a few lessons on peer pressure. It seems that I can't coerce a single soul into running this race with me.

89 days until race day.

Fresh Eyes

January is over and that word is still with me.

Deliberate.

A few weekends ago I was really deliberate about not getting any sleep and cleaning up lots of vomit. I really could have done without that. Thankfully, my body was also deliberate about not catching that nasty bug and I miraculously was the only one who didn't get sick. That was definitely a God thing.

This past week I've been focusing on looking at life with fresh eyes.
Focusing on the little things. The little things that, in and of themselves, might be trivial or even annoying. But they're the little things that remind me of the BIG blessings.
They're easy to overlook. But when I see them, I'm overwhelmed. In a good way.

First we have this:


This blue tub is full of almost every single piece of paper and project that Zane has brought home from preschool. And that kid sitting next to that blue tub sorting through and admiring all of those papers?

That would be Zane.

The same Zane who, less than a year ago, wanted absolutely NOTHING to do with learning.
I underestimated him. Big. Time.


And this:



Friday morning I put a whole PB&J sandwich in that container and packed it in my daughter's lunch. Friday afternoon when she came home from school it was empty.
The same girl who used to be consumed with so much anxiety about school that she couldn't stomach a bite of breakfast or lunch EVERY day for months is now eating 2 bowls of cereal for breakfast and WHOLE sandwiches for lunch.
Thank you, Jesus. Period.


And finally, these:


At a New Year's Eve party I felt the urge to mention to our wonderful Dr. Podiatrist friend that Ty's 2nd toe on each foot always sticks up. He took a quick look and here we are a month later with the cutest little pair of toddler orthotics to help correct all the issues we never knew he had. And to make it even cooler, the speech therapists think that maybe, just maybe, this might be why his speech is so delayed.
Isn't God cool how He works things out like that?
BONUS: Our "risky" HMO insurance covers these plastic puppies at 100% every time he needs a new pair. Which is probably every 6 months. Nice.

Little things are huge.
Fresh eyes are nice.

Thank you. Thank you very much.

Ladies and Gentlemen (that is if there are actually any gentlemen who read this here blog) it appears that yours truly is the recipient of an award.

A very prestigious blog award, I'm sure.
No?
Okay then, just humor me. Unlike my Emmy winning hubby, not many awards are handed in my general direction, so I'm going to label any award given to me as prestigious.
Thanks.
My friend Jamie over at Snips and Snails felt I was worthy enough to receive this. Do you want to know something fun about my friend Jamie? We were friends before we ever met. I think she was my first cyber-friend. She's one of the most amazing women I know, too. I'd like to think that if we lived a little bit closer we'd see each other a little bit more. But I guess for now we'll have to stick with our ever-so-spread-out occasional encounters.

Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how you look at it, there are strings attached with this award. If I am to accept this award I have to list 7 random things about me.

And since I'm accepting the award, you'll be discovering 7 random things about me.
Except right now I can only come up with 1 interesting thing about myself. So the other 6 will have to wait.

You can hardly stand the anticipation. I can feel it.

Drumroll please......

#1 I have some very vivid memories from when I was 2 years old. And every single one of those memories include her:


She is my Grandma Jackson.
And she went to be with Jesus when I was only 3 1/2 years old.

And I'm not talking about those photographically documented memories.
You know what I mean?
The ones that are only memories because you remember seeing the picture that was taken during that specific event.

These are genuine memories that were never photographed. But memories that my mom can verify actually happened.
Most of the memories are of events that were just ordinary, commonplace, everyday happenings. But apparently they scored very high on the importance scale of a 2-3 year old girl.

• Standing on a chair at her kitchen table mixing potato salad in a big yellow bowl. My mom actually still has that exact yellow bowl. I'm thinking about asking her to include it in my inheritance. I'm sure my brother won't mind.
• Spending the night with her in her trailer. We slept on a metal cot that folded down. She put it in the living room and let my brother and I watch TV until we fell asleep.
• She had evidently lost some weight at some point so she had some "extra" skin under her arm. Sometimes when she had her arm up I would mess around with that flabby skin. She would tell me "Cut that out!" so I would pretend that my fingers were scissors and cut her flabby skin. It always made her laugh.
• Coloring. She was an amazing colorer. I usually spent more time watching her color than I did working on my own page.
• Running around in her back yard trying to catch butterflies with nets that weren't quite big enough.
• She stored her jars of canned tomato juice in my bedroom closet. Right before she was to have her open-heart surgery she moved in with us so that we could take care of her afterwards. For some reason, her tomato juice was stored in my closet on metal shelves.

I also remember when she died. I was only 3 years old, but I could take you to the very place I was standing the minute my mom told me she was gone. My brother and I were staying with some of my parent's friends while they were at the hospital with Grandma for a very "routine" no-complications-expected surgery. They came back to get us and I remember my mom kneeling down to my eye level and telling me that the angels came and took Grandma to heaven. I don't know if I said it, but I remember thinking:

"Tell them to bring her back. They can't have her."

I have more memories of her funeral and of the auction that took place later at her house.
I still think about her a lot and cherish all these memories.
And my little girl, Anna Irene, carries her name as a daily reminder of the wonderful great-grandma that she never got a chance to know.
I marvel at the strength of my mom and all that she must have gone through to lose her mom at such a young age. I can't even imagine...


p.s. I promise #2 will be more lighthearted. Stay tuned.

Oh, My Word

Remember a couple of days ago when I was talking about the New Year and stated that I don't make resolutions?
I still stand behind that statement.

But lately, in this ever-so-enveloping world of blogs, I've run across a few people who have been taken with the idea of choosing "one word" for 2010 and making it their word. It's kind of like a resolution, but at the same time so far from just a resolution. It's so much more encompassing than a resolution.

But it's not a resolution.
Because I don't do resolutions.

The weird thing is that for the past week or so I've really had this unsettled feeling in my "inner self" when my thoughts turn to the New Year. It's hard to put in to words really.
It's time for a change....
It's time to take life up a notch....
It's time to be more effective....
I just couldn't put my finger on it.
Then I read about the "one word" idea from my friend Shannan.

Then that "unsettled feeling" started growing and doing a few flips.
Which probably means I should do something about this "one word" idea.

So I've chosen a word. And I have to admit I cheated a little bit. I liked Shannan's word A LOT, but I thought it was kind of lame to copy her word.

So I used a thesaurus.
Same word, only different.

And my word for 2010 is

Deliberate

In 2010 I will be more deliberate with
my faith,
my family,
my health,
my finances,
my cleaning,
my interactions with my kids,
my Bible reading,
my running,
my friendships...

You get the point.
That's my word. And I'm sticking to it.

And it's NOT a resolution.

One Single Thing

It's the start of a New Year. And a new decade to boot.
Remember all the craziness 10 years ago with the whole Y2K fiasco? The earth was ending....or something like that.
And yet here we are....

I've never really been one to make New Year's resolutions. I like to stick to my daily resolutions.

Today I will start running again.
Today I will get the laundry done.
Today I will mop the kitchen floor.

And if I can't resolve to do those things today, there's always tomorrow. I figure by the end of the year I'll get enough accomplished.

I take baby steps, people.

So instead of resolutions, I usually like to take a look at the past year pondering my favorite moments and giving thanks for the blessings.

2009 was a good year for us.
A good year despite the fact that the gloomy "you're still paying for a house that you don't live in" cloud was hanging over our heads the entire 12 months.

I could sit here and list all of the things I'm thankful for that took place in 2009. I've listed them all in my head quite a few times as I've pondered this posting.

I could give you a Year-End review that would probably bore your socks off.
But it's winter.
And your feet might get cold.
So there's no list for you.

I'm just going to mention one thing.
My favorite thing that happened this year.
The thing that keeps coming to my mind when I think of the best thing that happened.
The thing that caused me to giggle the most and probably caused most people to shake their heads at us in disbelief.
But it's the one thing that forever changed the lives of everyone in my family.

In 2009 we found NAET.

This is Zane during one of his allergy elimination treatments back in March.
It's just a jar.
A jar full of vials of allergens and enzymes.
A jar full of hope.
He just held the jar during a chiropractic adjustment and for another 20 minutes after that.

And now he can eat whatever he wants.

Call us crazy.
Say it doesn't work.
Go ahead and laugh about it. I'm the first to admit it sounds a little hokey.
But until you've lived with food allergies, you'll never know the desperation. You'll never know the frustrations of meal planning and going to a restaurant.
And you'll never know the simple joy that can finally be found in a goldfish cracker.
Or a plate of spaghetti.
Or a Hershey kiss.
Or a McDonald's cheeseburger.

It's been a good year.
A good year, indeed.