Repairing the Trail Blazer....

For three weeks straight, Luke and I traveled to Hillsboro, KS -- a town about 30 minutes away from here.

Each week, we only went there one day, but here's why we went there in the first place....

You see, though the town we live in (Newton, KS) has vehicle service repair shops, Marc has always preferred a particular one in Hillsboro. Though I don't particularly like to drive 30 minutes to have a vehicle serviced, the customer service at this place in Hillsboro is fantastic. Therefore, I'll put up with the drive.

**I'll preface the rest of this blog post by saying that these trips to Hillsboro took place at the end of April and during the first two weeks in May....You know, back when we were having unseasonably COOL weather here in the great state of Kansas.

Week 1 -- I had previously arranged for Luke and myself to hang out at the Good Family's house -- with Olivia and their two kids, Ellie and Esther. I'm glad I did, and I'm also glad the Good Family was willing to be hospitable to us BECAUSE it was cold outside that day. So, Luke and I just merely had to have a "tough" walk in the cold to their house after dropping our car off.

Thanks Olivia for letting us hang out! And sorry, I didn't get any photos from this visit.

So, during this first week's visit, the oil was changed, and the tires were rotated. However, I was told that the rotors and break pads needed to be replaced on the Trail Blazer.

O.K. -- we'll come back next week for that.

Oh, and I forgot -- the battery was also testing low. I said, "Go on ahead and change that. I DO NOT want to be stranded because of that."

Week 2 -- (For the rotor/brake pad replacement) It was forecasted to be warmer; therefore, I decided that after dropping the Trail Blazer off, Luke and I would just walk (with the jogging stroller) to a local park. This time, it was slightly warmer....Luke was in shorts anyways, but please notice the jacket.





After about an hour at the park, the serviceman called. "Uh, I'm sorry, but the rotors we ordered in for your vehicle aren't the right ones. You'll have to come back another time."

**Yep, I was slightly frustrated, but I kept a smile on my face. Their service every single other time we've been there has been fantastic. Plus, we're all human, right? I'm not perfect either.

Week 3 (Third time's a charm, right?) -- This was exactly one week later than the second visit. The weather was still a bit chilly, but the sun was shining. I dressed Luke a little bit warmer yet...Once again, it was nice enough to hang out at the park. Notice the jeans AND jacket on Luke at this point -- yep, it was May in Kansas, and that's how I was dressing Luke (not normal at all).





This park has some "older" equipment. So, Luke got his first try at a Merry-Go-Round. He actually did quite well and held on the entire time.



There was a bridge covering a little brook. It had rained the night before; therefore, there was quite a "stream" of water going. I found it cute to watch Luke discover this bridge and water.



Finally, Luke just sat down on the bridge -- I think he was pondering life or something....



And, this part of the park trip was my favorite. There's a golf course right beside this park. There was a golfer out on this particular day. Luke noticed him, and he walked right up to the fence and watched very intently. Luke's never seen golf, and I think he was a bit intrigued.

The lone golfer is way in the background of this photo.



After about 1 1/2 hours, we headed back. It didn't even seem like that long because Luke did so well. At that point, our vehicle was finished with new rotors and brake pads! YAY!

Here's the funny thing -- Just this morning (May 28), Marc took in our other vehicle to this same repair shop. The oil was changed, but when doing their complete "look-over" of the vehicle, it was discovered that one of the tires was pretty low. They took it off and discovered that there was a large nail in the tire. Therefore, that was repaired as well!!!!!

That should hopefully save Marc a tire change on the interstate :)

Hopefully, we're all good on the vehicle front for awhile.

A Great Nap and Weekly Meal Planning....

Luke is one of those kids who's an "O.K. napper" -- not a horrible napper but certainly not the greatest napper in the world. But, I realize I shouldn't complain. He's almost 2, and he has yet to have a day WITHOUT a nap. We always get at least a little nap out of him.

Last week was filled with really poor naps.

This weekend, he had GREAT naps.

Monday was terrible, but yesterday (TUESDAY) was fantastic.

I think he was catching up. Or, he was really pooped out...Right before I laid him down, we had just returned from our friends', Seth and Sarah's, house where their son, Collin, had a lemonade stand. We just had to make a purchase!

Yep, after that lemonade stand adventure, Luke slept for three hours. He probably would've slept longer except I woke him up -- on purpose. You see, it was approaching 5:00 in the evening, and I wanted him to go to bed at a decent time that evening.

But, I must say I LOVE snapping pics at our sweet little sleeping boy....



And, for this week's meal plan (a couple of days late)....

Monday, May 24, 2010
Fish Sticks
Macaroni and Cheese
Green Beans

Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Homemade Pizza

Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Crescent Chicken (from Meg's Whatever Blog)
Oriental Salad
No-Bake Cookies

Thursday, May 27, 2010
Sloppy Joe's
Chips and Dip

Friday, May 28, 2010
**Marc's taking the day off (YAY)....

Lunch: Pizza Hut Buffet (I think we're going to be accompanied by the Smith Family)

Supper: Rummage

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Lunch: Rummage

Supper: ?? (We're not for sure about our plans yet)

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Lunch: Chicken Fajitas

Supper: ?? (We're not for sure about our plans yet).

This time, it was my turn....

Back toward the end of the year 1999 or the beginning of the year 2000, I took on running. I was NEVER in any sort of athletics in high school (I was the music and academic geek). So, to take on running at that point (I was 23 years old at the time) was HUGE for me.

At the time, I did it to lose some weight. Soon after, when the weight had come off, I realized it was something I enjoyed.

Over the next several years, I probably participated in roughly 50-75 races.

In February, 2003, Marc and I met. You all know that Marc runs A LOT. It was something we had in common.

After meeting Marc, I kept running, but I will admit I didn't run as much (funny how that works out). And, of course, I put on a few pounds that I had previously lost.

At the beginning of 2006, we started trying to have a baby. It took us a while, but it didn't take forever.

In 2007, I got pregnant and later miscarried.

It seriously broke my heart.

Fortunately, soon after, God blessed us with another pregnancy (this would be Luke).

Through all of that, running took to the backburner in my life.

During my pregnancy, I said, "I can't wait to start running again."

When Luke came, my heart toward running changed. For some reason, and I honestly can't fully explain this, my heart was no longer into running. (And I have struggled with this issue for over a year now).

However, as MANY of you in this town know, I walk A LOT -- with Luke in the stroller.

My many walks up and down Main St. in this town have allowed me to "meet" a few people.

Several weeks ago, two women runners approached me on the street. They told me they were organizing this run/walk to fundraise for the Harvey County Relay for Life.

Seeing how cancer has hit a couple of our friends' lives over the last 1 1/2 years, I decided to walk it. So, I signed up.

We decided that Marc would not run this event. But, he would show up with Luke to support me.

I headed out this morning....A little over 100 people ended up participating in this event (which I assume will become an annual event).

It was very LOW KEY -- which is what I needed :)

I decided to start off running (keep in mind I HAVE NOT been running at all in almost 2 years).

It was nice and hot and nice and windy (Kansas wind, if you know what I mean).

You know what? I actually ended up running the whole thing. I guess the walking "trains" me more than I realize because I haven't run an entire race since a week before I found out I was pregnant with Luke.

And, guess what? I actually enjoyed it once again -- kind of like I did 4-5 years ago.

I'm actually not sure what my finishing time was....This race was a bit different in how times are kept. As I am typing this, I just checked to see if the results were posted, and they weren't yet.

Marc took a couple of photos....So, here they are :)

I'm on the left in this photo -- in the yellow shirt and black "skort" type thing.





Here I am -- approaching the finish line....



And, if you look REALLY closely in this photo, you'll see my yellow shirt underneath the balloons...That was the finish line.



And, why exactly did I choose to go on ahead and do this race -- even though racing hasn't exactly been top of mind lately?

I did this in honor of my friend, Lisa Siebert, who is now 6 MONTHS out of a stem cell transplant (November 11 is her official immune system birthday).

Go Lisa!!!!!

And, I did this in memory of Cora Paige McClenahan, the daughter of friends Joel and Jess, who lost her brief battle with cancer last year.



These same women who originally invited me to this race asked me I knew other people who might be interested.

I did....But, I was slightly late in getting information to other people about this race. Therefore, nobody took me up on the offer to join me in this event. I also realize this is a busy time of the year.

Next year, perhaps I'll do a better job, and perhaps more of you out there will join us.

Twenty-Two Months....

Today, our little guy is 22 months old. Oh my -- he's almost 2! Can you believe it? We certainly cannot....

So, here's the photo on the chair....



You'll notice Luke is reading a book this time in the chair...He's reading this book.



He actually received this book before he was born. I had put it on our registry at Target. If I'm not mistaken, and please correct me if I'm wrong, it came as a gift from Debby and Jill at one of my baby showers.

The book has some cool "movement" to it inside. It's one of those books I had stuck on his shelf to wait until he was older (as to avoid tearing all of the "moving" parts). But, the other day, he found it. Luke was SO excited about it, and he's really been reading it a lot.





Yes, I've already had to "fix" something in the book. But, that's O.K. He's learning from it, and I LOVE that he likes to read. I frequently find him doing this...



And, just for fun -- here's the "chair photo" from a year ago today.



Marc just said this evening, "We don't think he changes much, but then, we look at these photos. He's really changed a lot!"

Oh -- how we love this little guy of our's!

Mother's Day, Part 2....

About a week and a half ago, I made THIS POST.

It was the first part of our Mother's Day...Perhaps I should finish that out....

My mom's birthday is May 9. So, each year, Mother's Day falls ON or AROUND her birthday. So, I've always found that kind of fun. (And, as a side note, my mom's mother, or my grandmother, had the same birthday)....

This year, her birthday not only fell ON Mother's Day, but it was her BIG 60th Birthday!!!!!

So, that evening, we celebrated as a family Mother's Day AND my mom's 60th birthday.

I didn't take too many photos, but of course I took some....Here they are to share.

My mom wanted spinach/mushroom manicotti; therefore, that's what I made...I didn't get a photo, though.

My brother, my father, and of course, Marc wanted something meaty :) So, my dad grilled pork chops.

Then, we added Oriental Salad, Strawberry Whip, Bread, and Lemon Pie. YUM!

After supper, my mom got all of her gifts....

Our nieces, Grace and Natalie, helped their grandmother open her gifts....



For Mother's Day from us, she received this notebook (it says "Grandma's Notes" and has photos of all of her grandchildren). I bought it from Snapfish.



From these next two photos, you'll see that my sister-in-law, Amber, and I didn't really talk about what we were respectively buying for my mom.

We bought her an "All-Edge" brownie pan...In case you're wondering, we purchased it HERE.



And, Amber purchased this pan for my mom...Amber said she bought the pan HERE.



Fortunately, we all laughed about it. And, I KNOW that my mom will make use of both pans. It's just kind of funny, though!

And, here's a little bit of what else went on that evening...that I was able to get a photo of....

Balloons (not sure where my brother was going in this photo)....



Luke ALWAYS plays on the stairs at my parents' house. They're wide with a good bannister for him to hold on to. However, the bottom of the stairs is tile. That would NOT be good for him to fall on to. So, we do our best to watch him closely.

Sorry his eyes are closed in this photo....



And, the usual also went on...things I can't photograph...Political jokes, my brother imitating customers from his job (he manages a DQ), etc....

At the end of the evening, my dad wanted some photos....unfortunately, we waited until small kids were tired. Perhaps we'll learn from that mistake someday :)

This is a photo of my mom (at top), my brother, and I (in green)....



Then, Luke wanted to be in the photo (already in his pajamas to go home)....



Lastly, Grace added herself to the photo. Unfortunately, Natalie REFUSED to climb up there. You know, she's 2 -- almost 3. What else can one expect sometimes?



That pretty much summed up the evening....

Right before we left, my mom gave me some very nice Mother's Day flowers....

I didn't have an appropriate vase for all of the flowers. So, I separated them. I am SO NOT a florist. I did the best I could.

It's all about the thoughfulness of my mother and gratefulness of me for receiving them from my mother....Right?

Luke Photos (of course) and Weekly Menu Plan....

Whoa -- I haven't blogged in a full week again....I really don't have a good excuse this time.

I've decided I need to keep my blog posts shorter....then I'll probably blog more.

With that in mind, here goes....

A couple of weekends ago, I was in Kansas City. I picked Luke up this little bubble mower (I think I already had posted about this).

Anyways, to say that Luke LOVES this mower would be an understatement.

I think our house has been "mowed" many times over.

(And yes, Candice, you were right. The bubbles did not work well at all. In fact, we found them to be quite lame).



This past Saturday, we went to a couple of graduation receptions. One of them was in the town I grew up in -- about a 40 minute drive.

Luke has really taken to reading in the car (this was on the way to one of the receptions).

(Sorry this photo is a bit blurry...I must have moved the camera. Also, if you look closely, Luke's face is a bit red. When I took this photo, he had just gotten over a meltdown. What was it about? Who knows?)



*****

And, here's our meal plan for the week....

Monday, May 17, 2010
Papa Murphy's (with a coupon, of course)

Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Grilled Burgers
Tater Tots
Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice

Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Spaghetti and Meatballs
Caesar Salad
Bread

Thursday, May 20, 2010
Fish Sticks
Sweet Potato Fries

Friday, May 21, 2010
Baked Chicken
Baked Beans
Vegetable

Saturday, May 22, 2010
Lunch: Subway

Supper: Hamburger Helper, Vegetable

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Luncheon at church -- Hog Wild Pit BBQ (YUM!)

Supper: Rummage; Dessert with Community Life Group: Creme Brulee (Marc is making) and Brownies

Mother's Day Part 1....

This is my 300th post since starting this blog not quite two years ago...So, it's only fitting that the main reason I started this blog in the first place was because of Luke...and, this post is about Mother's Day....

On Monday evening, July 21, 2008, at 11:02 P.M., I officially became a mother. I say "officially" because technically, I was a mother even when Luke was in utero. But, it takes a lot more "mothering" to have a child out of my body -- as opposed to when the baby is still inside.

Since I had an unplanned C-Section, my first glimpse of Luke was a little after the "pediatric team" in the C-Section room (for lack of a better term) had made sure Luke was O.K., and he was temporarily cleaned up. Marc actually is the one in this photo who "brought" Luke to me so I could see him before they took him away while I was being sewn up.

I LOVE how Luke's face is all "scrunchy."



Even though my hair looks awful in this photo, I still REALLY LOVE it. It's in the hospital. Luke was a couple of days old....



Words cannot describe how much I love our little guy, Luke.

Mother's Day now brings tears to my eyes....because I'm just so grateful to God for the gift He gave us...the gift of Luke.

On my last post, I mentioned that recently, Marc and I were listing out things we really liked about Luke...things we hope we don't forget, things we hope we don't take for granted.

Two of my bloggey friends, Candice and Diana, both commented to me that they'd be interested in hearing about more things I really like (I mean, LOVE) about Luke.

So, here goes several more things...

1) I LOVE how Luke gets excited when he hears Marc coming home from work -- from the back door to the garage. He R.U.N.S. into the kitchen to watch for him.



Then, once Marc's inside and is able to put his stuff down, Marc picks him up, and Luke stays in his arms for awhile.



2) I believe I've put this on the blog before, but I LOVE how Luke drinks out of his sippy cup from the side of his mouth....We're not sure why he does this other than we think he can see forward better. It's just one of those cute traits I hope I don't forget.



3) And, I LOVE when Luke gets excited for the simple things in life -- like a balloon. Last week, we were briefly in our local Wal-Mart. Citizens State Bank has a branch inside the store. Even though we don't bank with them, they were handing out balloons to kids that day....JACKPOT for Luke!!!!

Luke was soooo excited. And, I love to see that excitement. He had to wear it on his wrist even on the car ride home.



This list could seriously go on and on and on and on....But, I'll stop here.

For my next post....our Mother's Day festivities!

My Mom Tried and A Blanket Break....

O.K. -- so here's where I'm going to admit a fault of mine. It's a fault with which I truly do not blame my mother. She tried. I just never got the hang of it.

What I'm talking about is something so miniscule, but I'll have to say -- you'll chuckle.

I HAVE PROBLEMS PROPERLY CUTTING BREAD AND CAKE!

My cutting is so bad that any time we're together as a family, my mom practically bans me from the job. Now that Marc knows just how bad I am at this, he too has banned me from it.

Case in point....

Tonight, I was preparing a meal to take to the Veer Family. (They just welcomed baby Kate into their family). As part of their meal, I fixed French Bread.

I attempted to cut the bread in half to add some butter and garlic mixture, and here's how it ended up....

Pretty bad, isn't it?



So, sorry Veer Family -- you can blame me if your bread seemed cut a little uneven. I hope you enjoyed it anyways.

Here's the sad part -- I've even cut cakes at several weddings. I made it through it, though I'm not convinced you'd want to hire me for that job anymore.

*****

Last night, Marc and I were talking about Luke (that's what we talk about a lot anymore).

We were talking about the little things of his personality that we really find cute or really enjoy.

I came up with quite a list, but I won't bore you with everything....That's for Luke's Mama and Daddy to enjoy...

Anyways, one of them is how he sucks his thumb with his blanket.

As an infant, he NEVER would take a pacifier. I tried several different kinds. But, around 3 months or so, he found his thumb. We were never so grateful for that. He's used it ever since to go to sleep or WHENEVER he's sleepy, uncomfortable, hurt, or bored. Around 9 months or so, my mom made him his blanket. In fact, she's even the one who first introduced the blanket to him when she was watching him one time. Now, he won't suck his thumb without the blanket. It's part of the whole comfort thing. The blanket MUST be up at the nose while the thumb is in the mouth.

I'm not sure what we'd do if the blanket was lost at this point. It would be a SAD day. I seriously do pray that we don't lose that blanket. I think I would cry as much as Luke would.

I know that some of you readers out there DESPISE thumb sucking. And, someday, Marc and I do realize we'll probably have to figure out how to get him to not suck his thumb. In the meantime, it's what makes Luke, Luke.



This photo cracked me up. He had been playing with some storage containers from the kitchen. He was playing SO contentedly while I was preparing the previously mentioned meal for the Veer family. I happened to look up at Luke and notice that he took a blanket/thumb break.

Some of us have coffee breaks. Some take Pepsi breaks (i.e. my husband). Luke takes a blanket/thumb break.

After about 10 seconds of sucking his thumb with his blanket, Luke resumed his playing.

Muscle Shirt, Bubble Mower, and Weekly Meal Plan....

This past weekend, my friend Sarah H. and I went to Kansas City for a little "Girls' Shopping Trip." I will post more on that later, but here are a couple of things Luke got out of the trip....(Of course, he did get a few things even though it was supposed to be Sarah and me).

First, a "Muscle Shirt"....(And yes, I caught this photo when Luke was pretty tired and ready for a nap; henceforth, the blanket in the face with the thumb in the mouth)



Luke's little friend, Oliver, likes to talk about muscle shirts (I watch Oliver and his sister Lily 1-2 mornings a week). From what I think I understand of Oliver, a "muscle shirt" is a t-shirt without sleeves, and every little boy MUST have one.

Oliver will be happy to know that compliments of this trip to Kansas City, Luke now has several muscle shirts.

Second, we had been looking for a "Bubble Lawnmower" for quite sometime. I was VERY excited when I found one. In fact, I purchased the last one on the shelf at this particular location.

So, Marc put it together for Luke when I returned. We haven't yet put the bubbles in it to play with outside. Luke's MUCH too content inside right now with this.

Let's just say that it's a HUGE hit at our house.

(Is this similar to Graham's, Candice?)



*****

And, in case you're DYING to know, here's what the Friesen Family will be eating this week....

Monday, May 3, 2010
Creamy Chicken Pasta Carbonara
Salad

Tuesday, May 4,2010
Salmon
Mashed Potatoes (NO Gravy)
Vegetable

Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Meatloaf Minis
Oriental Salad
Bread

Thursday, May 6, 2010
Beef Enchilada
Tortilla Chips
Vegetable

Friday, May 7, 2010
Carlo's O' Kelly's

**Luke and Marc are taking me to this restaurant for Mother's Day!!!!!

Saturday, May 8, 2010
Lunch: Rummage

Supper: KFC and Chocolate Cake

**Personally, we're not really KFC fans, but Marc's mom really likes it! So, that's going to be her Mother's Day treat.

Sunday, May 9, 2010
Lunch: Rummage

Supper: We're going to be eating at my parents' house to celebrate both Mother's Day and my mom's 60th birthday!

I'm taking spinach and mushroom manicotti (my mom's personal request) and strawberry salad (a.k.a. strawberry whip).

Have a great week!

Easter Weekend, Part 3....

Yep, I know that Easter was a month ago. And, I did post HERE and HERE (parts 1 and 2) of our Easter weekend. Then, I said I'd post Part 3, but I never quite got that done. I'm like that sometimes. Excuse the attention deficit :)

So, since it has been a month and this weekend will mark Mother's Day AND my mom's B-I-G 60th Birthday (her big birthday is on Mother's Day)....

I decided I better post part 3 of Easter....

*****

I don't have too many other photos to post, but I better do so anyways....

On the evening of Easter, we headed to my parents' house for dinner.

There is A.L.W.A.Y.S. a feast at my parents' house. We absolutely NEVER leave hungry. It's actually somewhat embarrassing for a host of reasons.

But, this photo doesn't look like much food, but it is :)



We had my mom's brisket (YUM) and my ham loaf (again, YUM), scalloped potatoes, oriental salad, and french bread.

After that, we had dessert, but for the life of me, I can't remember what we had. And, there's not a photo to be found to remind me :(

Here's the family dinner table....

If you notice at the front of the photo, there is a "kid" chair. That would be Luke's chair (but he had already gotten up to play). You'll notice some Sun Chips in front of the chair....Remember THIS POST from a week ago? Since Luke prefers chips over candy, my mom actually bought him chips for Easter....Nope, no need for candy for Luke.



After supper, we decided on a whim to have a "Hula-Hooping" contest. My mom pulled out her old Hula-Hoop from the 50s or 60s....

Fortunately, when I went, nobody picked up the camera and took a photo. Believe me, it's better to NOT have a photo. The Hula-Hoop did NOT last long on my waist. I was terrible at that game :(

But then, Marc went. And nope, it didn't last long for him either.



And, my brother, Joel went. Nope, he didn't win either.



And since my sister-in-law, Amber, is pregnant (due in July), she graciously declined to be in the game (smart move, Amber).

BUT, the winner BY FAR of this lovely game was our niece, Grace. She's 4 1/2 years old and is sickingly AWESOME at the Hula-Hoop. Nobody officially timed her, but she kept that Hula-Hoop up for a LONG time -- the obvious winner. I was actually quite jealous of this 4 year-old.



Of course, the usual bubble-blowing went on with our nieces (Grace and Natalie) and Luke (though Luke is not in this photo)....



When outside, for the most part, Luke spent time going in and out and in and out and in and out of my parents' door to their deck....You know, what else entertains kids his age?



After going back inside (once darkness and coolness came), the usual time spent discussing politics happened (the members of my family are STAUNCH conservatives)....Jokes ensued at that point (you know, the ol' political jokes).

Overall, it was a GREAT Easter weekend -- celebrating the resurrection of our Savior, Jesus!