Okay...now it's updated

So I admit that I have not been blogging lately. But now I am completely caught up to date....thanks to 2 hours at the computer. Make sure you keep going into older posts (I guess we did have a lot going on!) So have at it blog fans....read away. Who knew the Robinsons lives were that fascinating?

My Little Vet

November 28, 2008.

Today we took the kids to the Gulf Shores Zoo. John Mark loves animals and even talks about being a "wild animal vet" when he grows up. We mostly went to see the baby tigers. These tigers were 3 months old and were in a fenced-in area less than a foot away from us. If we had wanted to pay $50 per person, we could have actually been in there with them playing. Kind of hard to justify that money right now! But John Mark did get to pet the tiger...way cool.

As we walked around the rest of the zoo, John Mark could identify all of the animals....even the obscure ones that none of the rest of us knew. I love that he has his father's passion for the things that fascinate him!

So I Married my Opposite...

November 27, 2008.
It is Thanksgiving night and I am sitting with my husband, my sister-in-law, and my father-in-law. All of the festivities are over and we are watching the CNN Hero awards. I will admit, this is a great idea. CNN is honoring people in this world who are true heroes. We have seen people who helped with disaster relief and people who are teaching Cambodian children. But as I sit here, I look over to the couch where they are all sitting and they are all in tears. All of them. Crying in all of their Robinson glory. And I can’t help but laugh. There are some ways that I am still not a Robinson!

Thanksgiving

November 27, 2008.

Today we celebrated Thanksgiving with JP’s family in Alabama. We got to catch up with cousins, aunts, uncles, and friends. It was fabulous. I also found many people who are fans of this blog (Aunt Jeanie, Heather, Marian!!) Here are some pictures from our day. I have so much to be thankful for!

Never a Bad Day at the Beach

November 26, 2008.

We are visiting JP’s parents in Gulf Shores for Thanksgiving. I have been telling everyone we are going to the beach for the holidays. So today we went to the beach. The air was 70 degrees and the sand was warm. We took off our shoes and put our feet in the sand. We even put our toes in the ocean (brrrrrr). Then the kids ended up splashing in the waves, falling in the surf, soaked to the bone. And loving every minute of it. Proof once again, that there is never a bad day to visit the beach

Old Friends

November 25, 2008.

I resisted Facebook for so long. It annoyed me that JP spent so much time on it and I justified it by saying that he needed to do “research” for his job. But in February I caved and started a Facebook. Now I have over 200 friends. Do I even know over 200 people? I guess I do! And I have been catching up with friends that I haven’t talked to in years! Friends from high school, college, my days in Connecticut….I’ve found tons of old friends. And today I had lunch with a friend from high school. Someone I have not seen since graduation in 1991. My friend Melissa is now living in Mobile, Alabama. She is an ER Physician (ironic isn’t it?). So we met at Ruby Tuesdays and spent 2 hours catching up on 17 years. And you know what, it was if time had never passed. Thank you Facebook for reuniting old friends!

Pride Time

November 21, 2008.
Today John Mark won the Pride Time award at school. This is an award that they award to one boy and one girl in each class once a month. The award is to recognize the students that exemplify the character trait of the month. This month’s trait was PERSERVERANCE. Here is what John Mark’s award said:

"Congratulations, John Mark! We are so proud of you. You definitely deserve this award. Perseverance shows when you: never give up, you keep trying even when it is hard, and you maintain a positive attitude. We look forward to seeing your smiling face EVERY morning. Your encouraging words, kind spirit, and selfless acts make a difference wherever you go! It is our privelege to be your teachers and we are incredibly proud of the person you are becoming! You are an amazing kid--you will do GREAT things!"

We are so proud of him. He really does demonstrate perseverance. Some things come so easy to him…reading, social skills, making friends. But he really struggles with other things….writing, coordination, art. But he works so hard at those things. He wants to get it right so badly, that he never gives up. Not a bad trait to be recognized in a 5 year old. Keep it up Buddy!

Riley's 3rd Birthday

November 18, 2008.

My baby turned 3 today. I really can’t believe that she is no longer a baby, but a girl. She is so different from her brother, I just love watching her personality develop before our eyes. These are the things that I love about Riley: I love her smile, her dimples, her attachment to me, her adoration of her father, her admiration of her brother, her intelligence, her vocabulary, her musical ability, her ability to be a friend (even at such a young age), her imagination, her imaginary friends, her spunk, her independence….the list just continues to grow.

We had Riley’s birthday party at Jump Zone. She has been asking for 8 months to have her party there. All of our small group and a couple of her other friends were there.

Cassie Osborn was the hostess of the party (she works at Jump Zone and Riley “requested” her). I think that was one of Riley’s favorite parts of the party!

The part that made me laugh the hardest was when we were singing Happy Birthday, Riley started to sing. John Mark would have none of this…so he tried to cover her mouth. Such my rule-follower and rule-breaker.

So Happy Birthday Riley! We love you!

Favorite

Everyone seems to have a "pet name" for their spouse, something that is uniquely theirs. JP and I call each other "Favorite". He is my favorite everything. Favorite husband, friend, partner, person to hang out with, person to laugh with....the list could go on forever. Last night I was trying to remember back to when we started using this term and I couldn't. It just seems that it has always been there. That warmed my heart. He is just part of my life that has always seemed to be there:)

So last night JP proved again why he is and will always be my Favorite. I have had a busy week. Not that that is anything out of the ordinary. But yesterday was especially crazy. I worked on Wednesday night, came home and slept for only 4 hours. Got up, rushed to the post office and then to pick up Riley and Heather. Took them to the Poplar Grove bookfair. Gotta love bookfairs! Riley was actually well behaved. We went to try and get John Mark out of his class so we could get going on our errands, but when we got to his classroom, we found out he was already on the bus. So we headed home and waited for the bus. Then the kids, Heather and I headed to Toys R Us. Crazy huh?! Heather needed some toys for her home school and John Mark and Riley were making their Christmas lists. Of course bringing kids to Toys R Us is never a small feat. So when we finally left and took Heather home and got home ourselves, it was after 5:15pm. No dinner started and I had book club at 7pm.

I had forgotten to bring my cell phone, so I had a bunch of messsages waiting for me, including one from Denise about book club. Everyone seemed to be cancelling except me and Trish. So I tried to call Trish (after going a round about way to find her cell phone number!) but had to leave a message. At this point the kids were playing wrestling Indians and just grating on my last nerve. I had a headache from lack of sleep and I was losing my patience. I locked the doors and retreated to my bedroom to escape. I called JP to see when he would be home!!! That is when the glorious offer came. He offered to come home, feed the kids, put them to bed, and get dinner for us while I spent the whole time relaxing/resting in bed.

So I took him up on his offer, bailed on book club, and put on my pajamas. I turned on the tiny TV in our room and pretty much slept through 2 hours of TV. Then JP brought Chinese takeout and a glass of wine up to me. We had a great meal while watching the Office and 30 Rock. And I got to hang out with my Favorite. And THAT is one of the million reasons that I call him Favorite.

Politics to a Kindergartener

Yesterday John Mark got off the bus and came into the house with his head hung low. I asked him what was wrong, and in a very solemn voice he said "Obama won". There were actually tears in his eyes. I asked if that was REALLY why he was upset and he said yes. I asked him why that made him upset. His answer...."Because he lied".

I asked how he knew this and he said he heard it on TV. This led to a discussion about not believing everything we hear on television. I also asked John Mark if he had ever lied. He reluctantly answered, yes. I then told him that we have all lied, even John McCain, and God still forgives us. We talked about how God loves each of us equally, including Barack Obama. Then I told him that the Bible also says we need to respect the leaders of our country. So we need to pray for Obama that he will lead our country in a way that is honoring to God.

John Mark seemed okay with my answers, but I knew that I had not convinced him that American had not made a huge mistake with this election. Later that afternoon, he and his friend Olivia were drawing pictures. Olivia's said "I love John McCain". John Mark's said "I do not like Obama". (He had erased the word "hate" for a more calm sentiment).

As he was getting ready for bed later that night, he told me he wanted to talk to me. He then said "Mom, I think I'm coming to grips with Obama being our president".

A Very Hard Decision

Election Day 2008. I can honestly say I have spent more time in turmoil over this election than any other one I have ever voted in. I have been back and forth on what I was thinking, who I was going to vote for, who would be a better president of our country. I can't count the number of times I have heard the comment "It's the lesser of two evils". So after much prayer and consideration, I decided not to embrace evil. I decided not to vote for a presidential candidate.

This is a HUGE deal for me. I have voted in every election since I was 18. I get charged by standing behind that screen. I have taken my children with me to vote and talked to them about our civic responsibility. And typically I have always voted Republican.

But this year I looked at the Republican candidate and just couldn't do it. He is not truly opposed to abortion. He is a supporter of the death penalty. He does not seem to have a plan to take care of the poor. He supports continuing a war that is killing millions of people and not seeming to accomplish anything. And I have little to no confidence that his Vice Presidential choice would be capable of running this country should something happen to him.

But then there was the Democratic candidate. He seems to want to make abortion easier and more advanced in the killing of innocent unborn children. He seems to want a socialist country which is not the America I know. I do not feel that he will appoint judges and a cabinet that will uphold the moral issues I believe in. I couldn't vote for him either.

So today, as I stood in the voting booth, staring at my options, I decided that there was not a good option. So I exercised my right to NOT vote.

That seems like just as much of a right that I have as an American as my right TO vote. I am one small voice, that is saying "None of the above". But more importantly, I am one small voice who is saying that my hope does not lie in the hands of a political candidate. My hope lies in Jesus Christ alone. And He cares for the unborn child, the poor, the soldiers, the war-torn, the oppressed, the victims, those who have made mistakes, those who have sinned. He cares for all of us. So much as to sacrifice His life as a payment for mine. Now that is the place to put my vote.

As I was unpacking John Mark's backpack today, I found a paper they had written today. The teacher asked what they would do if they were president. This is his answer "I would take care of the soldiers and give clothes to the poor". I think he might just get it.

Halloween

Of course I have to post about Halloween. This holiday is just as fun as it used to be when I was a kid! I don't remember it lasting a whole week though!

The Halloween saga began when I could not find a Princess Leia costume for Riley. We visited 3 stores and could not find one in her size. So I checked online. They had plenty of costumes but they were all over $35. And they included a wig (which Riley already voiced that she WOULD NOT wear!). So did I really want to spend all that money on a costume she wouldn't wear completely. So I decided to make the costume. I used to sew a lot so I figured it wouldn't be too hard. Which if I actually had paid attention, it wouldn't have been. But I had to rip out so many seams that it is a miracle that it actually came together!

Wednesday Riley had her Halloween party at Miss Heather's on Wednesday. All of the little gilrs got to dress up and play! They loved it. Riley's favorite part of the costume was "the buns".

Friday morning started with me taking a "quick nap" after working all night. Then I rushed out to get to John Mark's Halloween parade. All of the elementary school kids gathered in the common area and the kindergarteners all got to parade through. The best part was that all of the kids were so excited for the kindergarteners. They werer giving them all high fives (which John Mark worked to all of it's potential!).

That night we got ready to head over to the Hackett's for our annual Halloween festivities. But first we had to wait for Riley's costume to dry (it had somehow not gotten inot the dryer that morning) and then JP tried on his costume. He had a mullet wig and some Bubba teeth. Well this freaked out Riley terribly. She screamed and cried and threw the biggest fit I've ever seen. It was almost comical if she would have actually stopped crying. But she kept it up until well after we were over at the Hackett's! Finally JP took the costume off...but not before this one!
Some other favorite Star Wars pictures:

The kids had a great time Trick or Treating and then came back to indulge in their treats. I was exhausted and got the best treat of all when JP let me go home early to go to bed. It is amazing how your idea of a treat changes over the years!