14 Years Ago

I am so thankful that 14 years ago today, I married the man of my dreams.

I love this man more than he will ever know.

I am so proud of the man he is and the man he strives to become.

He is the hardest worker I know.

He is a wonderful dad to our kids.

He is truly an amazing husband.

He is my best friend.

Our Week in Pictures

Monday, August 2

Dirt Cups!

Tuesday, August 3

Emilie's friend Abbie comes over to spend the night.

Wednesday, August 4

Exciting morning: Operation Clean Up comes to our neighborhood.

Thursday, August 5

Zachary wants a dog really bad! This is Scout and it is as close as he is going to get (for a while, anyway).

Friday, August 6

At 8 o'clock in the morning, the kids start transporting toys outside to play in the driveway.

Saturday, August 7

Happy (early) Anniversary, Matt!

Story Time

I love books! I think I wrote about this in a previous post but it's true - I really do love books! Of course, I love to read them but I also love to just be around them. Bookstores and libraries are two of my favorite places; places that I rarely visit because I have 3 children who don't know how to sit still or be quiet. For a more vivid description of my last experience taking my children to the library you can read this post.

So when I had three hours of free babysitting this afternoon, the first place I went was the library. I had so much fun wandering the aisles all by myself! I wasn't really looking for anything specific. I just picked out random books that looked interesting. I ended up checking out eleven books which is a bit ironic since I just returned a book (after renewing it twice) without reading it because I just don't have time to sit down and read for hours. Did I mention that I have three kids?

As I set my books down on the magical pad that knows just which books you are checking out, I scanned my library card to discover that I owed a fine of ten dollars. See, this is why I don't go to the library! Besides having children who misbehave, I always turn in our books late. So, the computer screen informed me that I was no longer eligible for self-checkout and I must ask an employee for assistance.

As I held out my library card along with my debit card to the librarian, she proceeded to show me how many times I have turned in an overdue book since obtaining my library card in 2004!

Are you kidding me?! Just take my debit card!

She informed me that she would waive the fee. What?! I was so relieved! (One of the reasons I chose to go to the library was because it is free.) As I expressed my appreciation, she said, "Don't thank me. I see people like you in here everyday. You turn in your books late continually. I am not doing you any favors here. You will continue to do this." What?! Excuse me, I am willing to pay your stupid fine and you are lecturing me?! Why don't you save your lecture for all of the people who are going to argue with you and refuse to hand over the money that is rightfully yours?!

Then she says, "Do you understand that you can renew your books online? You can even call and if a librarian is not busy, you can renew over the phone. Do you understand?" I nodded. She goes on to say, "I am going to make a note on your account that I explained the renewal process to you." I am completely in shock. This crazy lady is on some sort of power trip! As I hung my head in shame, she points to the computer monitor where she typed, 'EXPLAINED RENEWAL PROCEEDURE. -PAT'

Well, Pat, thank you very much. See you next year.

Project Life

(Zachary and Emilie playing "Hospital." Emilie was pushing her "patient" to the exam room.)

I'm sure that I am infringing on some copyright laws but I just love this idea called, Project Life. I don't really know much about it. But the part that really captured my attention was to take a "Picture of the Day" EVERY DAY. My sister pointed me to this blog post http://christine-lifeorsomethinglikeit.blogspot.com/2010/07/project-life-711-718.html and I was immediately intrigued.

Blogging has completely taken a back seat to the rest of my life. I loved blogging for all those months. Getting my feelings and experiences out for everyone to see made me feel connected to my family and friends and even a few strangers. I felt affirmed and validated. I loved that I would be able to look back one day and truly remember what my life was like.

I am not exactly sure why I stopped writing. I love writing. It just began to feel like a chore. Why would I want to sit down and relive my child's temper tantrum at the grocery store? I would rather zone out in front of the TV. For a while life seemed to not be funny or fun....it seemed to be tiresome and draining.

And who wants to read about those things? No thank you.

So I have decided to try something new. I think the original idea came from here http://www.beckyhiggins.com/ but since I'm not going to buy this kit and I don't want to download the digital version either, I am just going to do my own version of Project Life. I am a Scrapbooking Failure and I have absolutely no idea how to use any of the features on my amazing camera so this is going to be boring and unattractive to anyone looking for something beautiful. If you are looking for some great photography as well as scrapbooking ideas, you're not going to find it here!

So the plan is to upload the POTD (Picture of the Day) either each day or once a week...I'm not sure yet. I just really want to have something to look back on (since we very rarely develop any pictures).

This will also be a test for my perfectionist-self. Will I really want to record, let alone DISPLAY our everyday (messy) life to all of you?

Here we go!

Un-busy

Is unbusy a word? I am trying to think of the opposite of busy. Free? Like when someone asks, "Are you busy tomorrow?" You might answer, "No, I'm free." Or maybe you would say, "I am available." Well, that is how I am feeling these days - unbusy, free, available.

We have dropped out of a few things in the last few years. Two of those things are Awana and Life Group. For about 5 years, we met with a small group on Tuesday evenings. It was great! We loved the people and we enjoyed studying the Bible together and sharing our lives with one another. We were involved with Awana for 2 years. The meetings were held every Wednesday and it was a beautiful thing to see my kids memorizing scripture.

What started out so good began to turn into guilt and stress and chaos. The crazy cleaning before everyone arrived for small group.....the rushing to put the kids to bed before they saw that company had arrived. The arguing about who was going to take the kids to Awana (Matt who had just arrived home after working all day or me who had been with the kids every second since waking that morning)....the kids staying up an hour and a half past their regular bedtime.

First we decided to cut out small group. This was a difficult decision. When we began hosting Life Group at our house, we were the only couple that did not have access to free childcare (ie. family that lived in town). We knew that by stepping away from this commitment, if we ever wanted to get involved again, it would most likely be at someone else's house and we would have to pay for childcare. We do miss the sweet fellowship of that group. But we don't miss all the other stuff that came along with it.

Awana is a great program. Giving it up felt like I was turning my back on the people in my church who love my kids. These volunteers give their time and energy and knowledge to help my kids know Jesus. I am so grateful for them. But at this time in our lives, the cost is too great. I don't want to argue with my husband. I don't want my kids to be up late. I don't want our family to be in two separate places.

Maybe one day, we will join a Life Group again. My kids may be involved in Awana in the future. Just not right now.

For now, all five of us are usually in our pajamas by 7 pm. The kids play and act silly. Matt and I clean the kitchen together. Matt plays on the computer. I check facebook. There are nights that we play games, read stories, make something yummy to eat....and other times that we just do our own thing. It feels good to just be together....at home.

Merry Christmas 2009

Dear Family and Friends,

It feels a bit strange to write our Christmas letter this year because so many of you read about our daily lives on Facebook. Now that you already know what we eat for dinner, how often (or not) we get to the gym, which of our children are tired, cranky or disobedient…it seems like I am taking a step backward. So, even though I feel like Facebook and our family blog have used up all my words – I will try to muster up a few more for the sake of tradition!

We have been living in Fresno for 8 years. Did you know that we were just “passing through” so Matt could get his degree in Construction Management from Fresno State? After buying a house, having three kids, finding a great church and being surrounded by so many wonderful friends – I think we are going to be here for a while! Matt is in his seventh year of working for Granite Construction. For the last two years he has been driving about 30 minutes into the foothills north of Fresno to complete the sight work for a new high school in Coarsegold. In his down time, Matt enjoys playing basketball on Sunday evenings with friends. He just finished coaching Zachary’s soccer team and will enjoy about a month off before coaching Zachary’s basketball team.

Zachary is really enjoying first grade. He wasn’t too sure about the long 7 hour days in the beginning but his sweet teacher and fun friends help to pass the time. He is a great reader but loves math. His favorite thing to do at recess is play tetherball and at home it is all about Pokemon. Zachary is kind, sensitive and quick to help…..and a teeny bit tempermental (if you want the whole truth!).

Emilie is in her final year of preschool and if allowed, she would run the place! She loves school so much - the singing, drawing, role playing, completing her daily ‘job’ – all of it! At home, Emilie spends time ‘teaching’ her stuffed animals and mothering her baby dolls. Her absolute favorite activity is to play her cds at a very high volume and sing and dance in her room. Emilie is caring, giving and helpful……and a little bit bossy.

Luke is in his first year of preschool and attends three days a week with Emilie. I think he loves his teacher as much as or more than me! He comes home singing the songs he has learned and talking about all of his friends. He loves playing with all of the toys there and eagerly checks to see if he is the Line Leader each day. At home, he is quite speedy on his scooter and is obsessed with all things Diego, Dora, Lightning McQueen and Spiderman. He is getting much better at wearing his glasses and we will find out in the next few weeks if he will have another surgery to correct his strabismus. Luke is funny, silly and affectionate….and can be more than a tiny bit obnoxious.

I am becoming more of a “in-the-car-mom” than a “stay-at-home-mom” just because of the kids’ school schedules. I do have 3 hours, 3 mornings a week that all three kids are in school and I have found plenty to fill up the time! I treasure the time I spend with the Moms In Touch group from Zachary’s school and I am glad to be available to help out in the classroom. But what I really love is cleaning the house in silence! I am the coordinator for the MOPS group at our church for the third year in a row. Spending time with other moms brings so much joy into my life! Dinners out once a month with a group of close friends is something I always look forward to. Matt and I still manage to get out for date nights and it is always a treat to spend time with my man!

As I look around my house, this is not how I envisioned celebrating Advent. It is messy everywhere! The counters are full of groceries needing to be unpacked, the floor is littered with messes to be cleaned up. The Christmas tree is shedding, the candy canes are being eaten off by the day and the ornaments are constantly being rearranged. There is no fire in the fireplace or candles flickering. Four out of the five of us are recovering from the stomach flu. We are running and busy yet we do take time to stop and remember what it is that we are waiting for. We are preparing to celebrate the birth of our Savior! So we pause in the middle of the craziness and savor these words:

This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins." I John 4:9-10

May you also enjoy the waiting in the middle of the mess! Merry Christmas sweet friends!

Love,
The Hall Family
Come see us at www.thehall-way.blogspot.com

A Quarter to Eight

7:45am is never a good time at our house. If we were crazy enough to televise our lives, my number one rule (I learned from Kate Gosslin that you can have rules.) would be that the cameras would have to be turned off from 7:45 to 8 0'clock in the morning.....every morning. This is the time of day that I am trying to get myself and three kids out of the house and into the car. I know, two simple steps......sounds so easy.

Today was especially bad and I will get back to it.....but generally, it is just a crazy time. This is what needs to happen during that time: last minute potty trips, jackets on, backpacks in car, lunches in car, kids in car, buckle up three year old, break up a few fights, unbuckle three year old to take off jacket, unlock four year old's seat belt, wait for 6 year old to run back in to go potty......I could go on.

A typical day in the Hall house starts at about 6am. Matt is usually up and getting ready for work by then and I try to get ready before all three kids join us in the bathroom at about 6:45. (From 6:45-7:45 things are relatively calm. We do all the normal stuff: breakfast, get dressed, wash faces, brush teeth, fix hair, make beds, etc.) It is not until 7:45 that everything begins to unravel.

Back to today: Today started at 3 o'clock in the morning. Emilie came into my room and said she was scared. I put her back to bed with a few comforting words. A minute later, I hear her crying. I go in to her room and turn on her lamp. Just as I get back into bed, she is crying again. I go back and am feeling quite annoyed when she tells me that she thinks she might throw up. After hanging out with her in the bathroom for a few minutes with no result, I put her in bed with me and tell Matt to go sleep in her bed. Just as I get set up with a large bowl and a box of baby wipes....the barf fest begins.....and continues every 30 minutes for the next four hours.

I slept in a little this morning and I was just getting out of bed as Luke and Zachary were waking up. This was not good.

Trying to get Luke and Zachary ready for school this morning was tough. I was tired and cranky and trying to comfort Emilie while simultaneously keeping the contents of her stomach contained.

I considered keeping Zachary and Luke home from school for a brief moment. I couldn't figure out how I was going to get everyone from the house to the car to school with my sanity in tact. But then I thought about poor Emilie being harassed all morning by her brothers and I figured it would be worth it to have a few hours without them. If only I could get them to where they needed to be.

7:45 rolls around and this is how it goes: I am helping Luke get dressed while reprimanding Zachary for his rude behavior towards his poor sick sister. I hear Emilie start crying from somewhere in the house. I know this means that she is about to throw up. I try to hurry Luke's legs into the appropriate openings in his pants and I'm yelling, "EMILIE, GO TO THE BATHROOM. THROW UP IN THE TOILET!" I see her run past me and pass the bathroom. Where the heck is she going? I run after her and see her heading towards her 'bowl' on the couch. She doesn't make it. Throw up on the carpet. "WHY DIDN'T YOU GO TO THE BATHROOM?" She wanted her 'bowl.' Wonderful.

As I begin to clean the carpet, I tell Emilie to go get in the shower and Zachary to start gathering supplies to make his lunch. This typically would be a day to buy hot lunch but since the menu said, 'Supervisor's Choice,' I understood why Zachary didn't want to chance it. I hear "Uh-oh!" And go into the kitchen to find the Strawberry Syrup spilled on the kitchen floor. A juice box was more of what I had in mind for lunch but since I had put Zachary in charge, Strawberry Milk was on the menu.

According to the clock, this is the point that we should all be heading to the car......except for there is throw up in the living room, syrup on the kitchen floor, lunch is not made and Emilie is in the shower.

I clean up the messes on the floors as quickly as I can, warm up the car, tell Zachary to get in, buckle Luke in and then go get Emilie. I wrap her dripping wet self up with my bathrobe and buckle her in the car. And we drive Zachary to school. He is 7 minutes late.