Just Too Busy

I would love to post for you today.

But, I am way absorbed in my scrapbooking and can't really seem to tear myself away. Thus the semi-lame new masthead. It was the best I could do quickly. I apologize for my half-heartedness.

I do want to send my condolences to Jenae and her family with the loss of her Grandfather. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.

On another note, my grandmother was just diagnosed with stomach cancer. She will go for more tests this week to determine how far it is spread, but she has already stated that she will not undergo any treatments. Please pray for her.

I will be back with more another day!

If my Mom calls you with some far-fetched story, don't believe her. Happy April Fool's Day!

Aloha!

So it has been a while.
Sorry. Kind of.

I was in paradise.

Our trip to Hawaii was amazing! I have a ton of pictures to share. And when I say a ton, I am not exaggerating. There are probably close to 300. I will share a few with you, then I will continue to digitally scrapbook and share the pages with you as I get them done.

Here is a quick recap of our trip...read if you are interested or skip if you are not.

Wednesday:
Left for Hawaii. We spent almost 8 hours on the plane by the time we finally landed. Cade did amazingly well. Of course we were subjected to almost 8 hours of the Wiggles, Doodlebops, and Praise Baby...but it was worth it. We landed in Maui at like 3:00pm. We checked into the Ka'anapali Beach Club and hung out there for the evening.

Thursday:
We went Whale Watching. It was absolutely amazing. Great BIG humpback whales. We got some amazing pictures. Of course, Jim took most of them as Mom and I were trying to keep a tired, somewhat cranky toddler who was angry about being confined in a life vest under control. We stopped for dinner on the way back at Cheeseburger in Paradise.

Friday:
We spent midday snorkeling while Mom graciously entertained Cade on the beach. Snorkeling was an adventure in itself. Dad wanted to take Jim and I snorkeling at Black Rock. But we couldn't fine beach parking close to it. So we got onto the beach far away from Black Rock. And swam out to it. It was a LONG swim. We are thinking it was at least a mile. Getting out there wasn't as bad as trying to get back it. Swimming against the tide was much more difficult and I was already tired by then. It was pretty cool, though. I got to see three sea turtles! We enjoyed a nice dinner at Leilani's.

Saturday:
We spent the morning shopping in Lahaina. Hilo Hatties took A LOT of our spending money. Hawaiian shirts for everyone--including Cade. We bought souvenirs for everyone. That night Mom and Dad volunteered to baby-sit Cade. Jim and I went on a sunset dinner cruise. It was a small boat, but the husband and wife that run it are amazing people and we had a great time. (Except for the crazy people who sat with us at dinner! But that requires a different post...it needs its own story!) They pulled both the men and women up separately and taught some hula dancing.

Sunday:

The Easter Bunny found us in Maui! Cade got his Easter basket when he woke up. We attended a church service that was held on the patio of Leilani's restaurant overlooking the beach. What a way to worship on Easter! We had a quick breakfast at Whaler's village and took some family pictures. We returned to our room so Cade could hunt for Easter eggs. He was so funny. Since he had played with the plastic eggs when I bought them, he knew to open them. I had a hard time getting him to keep looking for more eggs since he was more interested in eating what was in the ones he already found. While Cade napped, Mom and I ran to check out the local craft fair. We got beautiful necklaces and I got a little purse. We made it back in time for happy hour and then our Easter dinner which was purchased at the local SAFEWAY!

Monday:

We all attended the time share presentation. Jim and I had seriously been talking about purchasing a time share for a while. And we decided what better place to buy than in Maui? So, we did. We purchased a time share! Now how many friends do we have? We tried to take some family pictures on the beach--in color coordinating outfits, but Cade decided it would be more fun to go swimming in a little tide pool--fully clothed than to take pictures.

That night Jim and I got to go to a Luau. It was pretty cool. And open bar. I had a few. Then I had a few more. It was fun.

Tuesday:

We drove to Lahaina for breakfast and ate at Cheeseburger in Paradise again. We spend the morning shopping and headed back to go snorkeling at our beach. I hung out with Mom and Cade on the beach and at the pool. We had happy hour at our resort then had a great dinner at Hula Grille where we saw the most amazing sunset.

Wednesday:

We had to pack up everything. It is amazing how scattered your stuff can get when you are there for a week. It took a while to pack and get ready to leave. Our plane didn't leave until 10:00pm, so we had the whole day. We went to the Maui Aquarium which Cade LOVED and drove around Kahului. We went to the mall and walked around--went to a fabric store...and finally to the airport. We had to leave. It was sad. We landed in Phoenix at like 6:30am on Thursday.

We had such a great time. Can't wait to get back!

I Thought I Was Part Time

Here I am at work again.

Not that I am not working and actually blogging.

No.

That would be wrong.

But, since I have to work all day today, I thought I would post quickly and get back to work.

Just a couple of things I wanted to share with you...

• My Mom finally called from Hawaii on Saturday night. Not to say hi to me or check in on Cade...just to see if JEREMY had made it in okay from CA. Hmmm... See where I rank?
• When Mom called she said, "The weather is here, wish you were beautiful". Not very nice, was it? She took a perfectly nice comment of the weather is beautiful, wish you were here and made it mean. Intentionally.
• WE LEAVE IN 2 DAYS! WOOOO HOOOOOO!
• Rock Band on XBox360 rocks. Especially when we can play with my bro in WI. How cool is that?
• Cade's new obsession is with the Wiggles. Much to my disappointment. Of all the shows to watch he wants THAT one? Seriously...Ughhh. My in-laws who very kindly watched Cade this weekend had more than their fill of Wiggles.
• I have SO much stuff to do before we leave and I work 12 hours today!
• I am contemplating cold pizza as the breakfast of champions. Sounds good. Won't be able to hold out much longer!
• Fewer people commented on my scrapbook pages than I thought would...I am in need of positive reinforcement, people! Come on, flatter me...or tell me the truth. I can handle it. I am afraid some people might be upset that they were not included in the pages I put together...but please don't be offended. I used pictures that fit that I hadn't used in other scrapbook pages. I am sorry if I hurt anyone's feelings! I just means that your pictures were on another page!
• Happy St. Patrick's Day! No, I am not wearing green and don't pinch me unless you want to lose your fingers!

My Favorite Song

Let me clarify...this post is about Jim's song choice...not mine!

We were in the car the other day going to dinner with my parents. Mom, Cade, and I were in the back seat while Jim and Dad were up front. Cade loves to listen to his kid's music CDs while in the car. The music is kind of horrible, but if it keeps Cade from screaming, it is worth it. Plus, he "sings" along with some of the songs, so it is cute.

I asked Jim to change the song to number 11 on the CD. It is the Erie Canal song and Mom always sings that with Cade. Cade dances along with it and is fun to watch. Jim said that I had to wait...that his favorite song was coming up next. WHAT? Favorite song? On this CD? Seriously? So, we waited with bated breath to see what song was Jim's favorite.

Kookaburra.

You know that song... Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree....Merry, merry king of the bush is he...

Mom and I laughed hysterically until we made Cade a little afraid of us. Jim tried to clarify saying that he just liked the girl's voice in that song. The girl's voice? She is probably 12! It is okay, but nothing to be excited about. Mom and I laughed harder. Poor Jim. Since he was our DD that night, he kept threatening to make us walk home since we picked on him so much.

The next song that came on the CD was I've Been Working on the Railroad. It got to the part where it said, "Some one's in the kitchen with Dinah...some one's in the kitchen I know..." I mentioned that I thought this song was about infidelity. Someone is in the kitchen, but it isn't her husband! Mom said that On Top of Old Smokey was about infidelity as well. Well, Dad heard that and started cracking up. "ON TOP OF OLD SMOKEY?!" It took my mind a few seconds, but it followed Dad's straight to the gutter. We laughed again--and harder. Cade just looked at us like we were nuts.

Luckily it isn't a really long drive to Friday's and we were there shortly after our conversation went downhill.

A Much Needed Post

I apologize in advance for the rambling, but a lot of this I needed to work out in my head (or on the internet)

I went to a funeral on Saturday. My second funeral in like three weeks. My second funeral for a child in like three weeks. My second funeral for a beautiful girl in like three weeks. The second time my heart has been broken in like three weeks.

You may remember me talking about the first funeral. Baby_Brielle was my friend's baby who had Trisomy 18 and finally lost her battle with life on February 11th. It was sad but the service for Brielle was a celebration of life and a testimony of God's goodness. It was beautiful. As horrible as it was to bury a baby girl who only lived 93 days, you knew that Brielle was no longer suffering and struggling and that she was in Heaven and peaceful and happy.

The funeral I attended on Saturday was for Jasmine Bowden. It was also a memorial service for Jasmine's Grandmother and Aunt as all three lives were taken by the bus_crash in Utah on January 6th, 2007. Jasmine's mother, Debbie, worked at my store with me. Debbie, her husband, and her two sons were also on this bus. Debbie was critically injured and was just released from the hospital this past Friday. I am assuming that is why the funeral was postponed for so long.

Saturday's service was very difficult for me. So much more it seems than Brielle's funeral was. Is that the difference between knowing and preparing for the death of one battling an illness compared to an unforeseen, unimaginable tragedy? I am confused by my feelings. I met baby Brielle and got to hold her in my arms. She was so tiny and beautiful. I never met Jasmine Bowden. And yet her funeral caused me more grief and anguish than Brielle's. However, I felt in a way connected to Jasmine.

Jasmine was 16 and attended the same high school I did. She was in the marching band, just like I was. She was the only girl stuck in between two boys. She loved school and worked hard to be a straight A student. She had dreams. Due to this unfortunate tragedy, she will never get to fulfill them. I broke down twice during the funeral. The first was when the DVHS marching band--in full uniform--marched into the church playing the DV fight song. A flood of happy memories overwhelmed me and the gratefulness that I got to experience that and so much more past high school made the reality of this event sink in and broke my heart. The second time was when Alfred, Jasmine's older brother, got up to speak. He said that the thing that makes him the most sad is that he will never see what his amazing sister could have become. Immediately following that statement he broke down. He was still trying to talk, but the sobs made him incomprehensible. Seeing this 18 year-old cry broke every one's hearts. This family was devastated by the death of three family members. They are running very low on hope.


Yesterday at church, Pastor Al was talking to me, it seemed. He said that it was okay to cry when other people are hurting. That Jesus himself wept. We have an image of God up in Heaven controlling everything. But he is here in our midst. Not only does He heal our pain, but He also feels our pain. Hope is found in a tear--a tear on the face of Jesus. Because of that tear--because of that hope, these tragedies that we experience can be transformed. Pastor Al also caught my attention by talking about how we all trust God to provide a home for us in Heaven when we die. But can we who entrust our future in God entrust our present? Wow. I need to let go and let God!

Please feel free to listen to the sermon--it was awesome. (I could only get it to pull up using Firefox--not IE)

http://www.peacelutheranaz.org/Sermon%203-9-08.mp3

Just to close with a praise, the most amazing thing about this funeral was that Debbie was there. She still has a "halo" on to keep her neck immobile, but she could walk and talk. I wasn't sure that I would ever see Debbie again, so that was a miracle in itself. Thank God for that.

Playing with Garlic

I was making dinner last night.

I decided to cook up a couple meals at once. Makes it easier for the rest of the week. So, I was making two different kinds of chicken as well as enchiladas. Since Jim was at work, Cade was "helping" me cook by whining, eating whatever I was making, and getting into everything.

I looked up at one point while cooking and noticed that Cade had a spice bottle. It looked like my bottle of garlic powder, but I swore it that bottle was full...and that bottle was well, empty. I was standing behind the island in our kitchen so I couldn't see the floor where Cade was standing shaking the empty bottle. I came around the corner of the island and saw...

Garlic powder.

All over the carpet.

The bottle was almost full when Cade got a hold of it. When he was done, it was completely empty. I wish I had taken a picture, but I was too shocked to think clearly. I just kept saying, "Caden!" He just kept looking at me like, "What?" I kind of laughed...because it was really funny. I just didn't want to have to vacuum in the middle of trying to cook. But, I did.

Cade is apparently afraid of the vacuum. It was a little funny to see him run away from the vacuum whenever I pushed it close to him. It was funny until he started whimpering in fear. Then I felt a little bad. I am mean, I know.

Scrapbook Update

The website:

http://www.scrapbookflair.com/chmorales

Here is the website where I have uploaded the part of Cade's scrapbook that I have finished. Feel free to check it out and give me feedback! Enjoy!

Bathing Suit Shopping

I swear it is worse than jean shopping. And jean shopping is pretty awful.

We leave for Hawaii in less than two weeks. I needed a new bathing suit. One that I won't resemble a hippo in. It is not an easy task. I have been to three different stores and tried on probably at least 30 suits. Today, I finally found one suit that wasn't too bad. The suit itself is really cute...but on me...well, it will do. It has to. I am exhausted from bathing suit shopping.

So exhausted that I have nothing else to say...

The Switch

Have you seen it?

It must be like a light switch...you know...you can turn it on and turn it off with just a mere flick of the hand...

I can't find it on Cade. But I know he has a switch. He turns it on and off by himself pretty regularly throughout the day. Don't understand what I am talking about? Let me illustrate it for you...

We were at the Little Gym today. Cade was in a pretty good mood this morning which made the start of Little Gym much more enjoyable. I don't remember what happened to set him off, but he was mad and started throwing a temper tantrum. Screaming, crying, face down on the ground... Miss Monica came over and said, "It must be time to get the balls out!" Cade immediately stopped crying, sat up, and smiled and said, "Ball!"

That is the switch. He turns it on and screams and cries like he is being tortured...then, as quick as it starts, he can turn it off.

But right now, especially since he isn't feeling well, he is in charge of the switch. I need to find it because I would love to have much more control over turning it off!

Do I Sound Like a Broken Record?

Cade is sick. I am sick. I know...you have heard this all before.

Well, I know for sure I am sick. Cade's symptoms could be teething or allergies. But the fever he has had off and on for about 5 days now concerns me a little more. He is drooling up a storm. It was super windy today and his drool would leak out of his mouth and get carried away in the wind--usually landing on me. Kinda gross. Poor baby...his mouth is runny, his nose is runny, and his eyes are runny. He is not feeling all that great. Meanwhile, since I feel pretty lousy myself, I find I have been more exasperated with him the last few days. I try to be patient and not lose my cool, but I am human...and this cold and Cade just drained me this weekend.

On Friday night I got a Wii injury. Yes, it was self-inflicted...and yes, I had been drinking. We were playing the Wii Olympics--which is super fun, or was until I maimed myself. We were doing hammer throws. You have to swing the Wii remote around to get your character on the screen to swing the ball on the chain. I was really into it...and swinging the remote...and got a little too close to my chin. OUCH!

Everyone (all family members) was laughing at me. It was kinda funny, but also kind of painful. I took a huge chunk of skin off of my chin and was practically bleeding to death while everyone fell on the floor laughing. Okay, maybe it wasn't quite that bad. There was blood, though. I do have a scab on my chin even though it is pretty small. Small enough that hopefully nobody will notice at work tomorrow and ask me to explain. I need to make up a good story in case anyone does ask. Any suggestions?

Good Job with Photoshop, Courtney!

I amaze myself sometimes.

Do you see my new masthead? That is the second one I have done all by myself. Okay, so it takes me hours, but I will get quicker as I make more!

I am currently making a book/photo album for Cade. One that has nursery rhymes pictures of him illustrating them. Also in the book is the alphabet--with his pictures as well for each letter. For example... A is for Airplane--and it has a picture of him on his little ride-on airplane. I am not sure why I started this project. I just had so many random pictures of Cade that I wanted to scrapbook somehow...and he loves to read books--and look at pictures of himself, so I thought I would combine the things he likes! I am doing this on Photoshop Elements--and I am still learning and very slow at doing it. It will be worth it in the end, I think. I hope it turns out well!