Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Our Family Fun Day

Today we celebrated Collin's third homecoming day. I don't think he quite understands what the day is all about. He keeps saying it's his birthday but I guess when you are three any day you get cake is your birthday.


I had a dentist appointment this morning so daddy took Collin to Waffle House, one of his favorites, for breakfast. After my appointment we went to Lynds Fruit Farm to pick apples. When we got there we found out you can only pick apples on the weekends so we drove 2 hours round trip to buy apples. But let me tell you I would do it again in a heartbeat. We bought the Honeycrisp apples and each of us ate one as soon as we got to the car-it was hands down the best apple I have ever eaten in my life! How can those apples taste so different from the ones you buy at the grocery? I'm a little ticked because apples from the grocery will never taste the same so what do we do when apples are out of season???

After that we headed back home so Collin could get his nap in before the evening festivities. He of course, was not thrilled about taking his nap. He told me "Mama, I promise I won't be in a bad mood. I'll laugh at everything". And then he proceeds to start this creepy fake laugh-definitely taking a nap!! And somehow he managed to rope me into napping with him which very rarely happens-that is daddy's job!!


Then it was time for soccer practice.

He has definitely warmed up to the soccer and seems to really enjoy it although he is quite the clown!!



Then we met Nana and Pops at Tommy's for pizza and spaghetti-another of Collin's favorites! After dinner we had cake and then for the best surprise of them all...


Collin talks about Chuck E Cheese night and day, day and night, all day, every day. Who would have known what a monster we would create taking him there?? And it's not so much Chuck E Cheese-but it's what Chuck E Cheese has...


DINOSAUR DASH
aka Running Dinosaurs

He had no idea we were going to go there after dinner. God forbid you even hint that we are going to go to Chuck E Cheese and he starts bouncing off the walls. So we didn't say a word and managed to get in the parking lot without him noticing thanks to the outside lights not being turned on. He was deeply concentrating on something and looked up as we pulled into a parking space and started screaming "Chuck E Cheese, Chuck E Cheese...Can we go in...Running Dinosaur...Yay"!!! I'm pretty sure this was the highlight of the day.

So 2 hours, 120 tokens and 300 tickets later I think we actually wore him out. He willingly walked away from the Running Dinosaur game and played something else-YES!!!

And we can't pass up the opportunity for a photo op on this special day!
I tell you what-whose idea was it to bring the 37 year old kid with us?? Can't he be serious for just one minute?? NO! I'm watching Collin play his game and something catches the corner of my eye. It is my husband at the picture machine taking various "silly" pictures. It was quite amusing watching him look around to see if anyone was looking and then do whatever infantile pose he had concocted in his teenage mind. He forgot to see if his wife was looking though-LOL!!  Next thing you know he sees me watching and we both start cracking up...who let us out of the home??

So after closing the joint down we headed home for one last surprise. We have 21 years worth of gifts from Guatemala in our basement. Every year on Collin's homecoming day he gets one of them. It's really nothing big but hopefully it will be meaningful for him in the future.
 I'm personally looking forward to his 21st birthday to open up the 23 year old bottle of Zacapa-which by then will be 44 years old. I have several, so hopefully one of them has a chance of making it 17 more years!!
The perfect ending to the perfect day was a little more train playing and then Daddy and Collin snuggled in bed watching football!

Happy 3rd Homecoming Day Buddy!
We love you to the moon and back!!

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Guatoberfest Cruise 2009

My soapbox about the Advent Conspiracy

I came across this video on another blog. I have to admit I only looked at it for entertainment value. I assumed with a title like that, it had to be some wacko conspiracy theory and who doesn't need a good laugh. Suprisingly enough it really touched me and made me think. It didn't grab my interest because of it's religious value, because that's not really my thing. I am not the type of person that flaunts religion or believes in pushing your beliefs onto others. It touched me because of it's human value and because it shows me how quickly I forget.

When we were in Guatemala it was truly a life changing experience for a myriad of reasons, only one of which was bringing home a baby! We saw poverty that we could never imagine in this country. I remember thinking when I was there that despite all of the stress of the situation, I was more at peace than I had ever felt in my life. Among other things, there was no pressure to have more...there was nothing to have. People just lived their lives. Families worked together, lived together in cramped housing-if they had a roof over their heads at all-and they were happy! We were forced to enjoy eachother without our "creature comforts" and I loved it. I now remember hoping that once we got home, I would never lose that idea that we don't really need much at all. I realized our society makes us think we need more but we really don't. And after watching the video it makes me realize that I have failed miserably.


I had made up my mind that in order to honor my new found attitude and our sons heritage, we would sponsor a Guatemalan family every year so that they could have food and heat and their children could go to school-things we take for granted on a daily basis. For some reason I can never seem to find the money to do that- BUT- I can find the money to buy coffee every day, sometimes several times a day, Collin will see a room full of gifts on Christmas morning, I can go out to eat, I can do whatever I want for the most part. My priorities have gone right back to where they were before I experienced Guatemala and it makes me sad. That is the reason that I am posting the video in a permenant spot on the blog, so that I am constantly reminded, not only during Christmas but all year to give PRESENCE to my friends and family not PRESENTS and to give back to something that I feel very strongly about. I don't write this to push Guatemalan charity or any charity but to encourage anyone reading this to slow down and take a look at your life and see what means the most to you and see where it takes you.

Advent Conspiracy