PPP (preschool, pals, and popsicles)

Ryan and I both start school on Sept. 2nd this year. This year he's going to the four year old classes and his preschool invited us to have a popsicle and meet his new teacher, Miss Tess. She's great and I'm sure Ryan is going to have a fantastic year with her. Here he is havin' a popsicle with some of his pals...(never mind the fact that he barely talks to anyone)... When we first arrived, he headed straight for the 'motor vehicles' section. He was quite impressed with the variety of tractors. Miss Tess made a great first impression here! :)This is the classic "I'm excited but I don't really want to show it yet" look:Gage followed in true McElroy form...lovin' the trucks.

There's even a slide in the classroom! Can you believe that??? A slide!!!??? Fun stuff.

"You'll Never Guess What My First Word Was"

Thank you all for playing my little game (broo ah ah) :) While the entries were all funny, I have to extend congratulations to the winner.... Jess! I will get your $5 giftcard out in the mail today! This was fun! :))))

Ready or Not...Here they Come!

Dam Pictures

I'm testing out my new camera ...

This picture was just plain funny...this is why it's impossible to sleep with Ryan. He's a total flopper!

reminder: turn on red-eye ;)

CONTEST!

Alright Aims....this one's for you (cause I was gonna do it late last night and then chickened out...and now I guess I'll do it) :)

I'm having a contest. The winner is going to get a $5 Starbucks gift card. All you have to do is come up with a creative title for this picture of Gage:



Jd will be the judge. I'll let him know what the titles are but not who came up with them. And I'll annouce a winner on Friday...so get crackin'! I can't wait to see what ya'll come up with!

Gagerelli

Can you believe that this little turkey burger... monkey man....

has strep???

Cody Gets Hitched!

This is my cousin, Cody, and his brand new wife, Chrissi:This wedding was a really big deal, for obvious reasons I suppose. Weddings are a big deal period. But it's also a big deal because I only have two cousins. Can you believe that? Only two. Shaun is the other one:
They are both pretty cute, if I do say so myself. You know what else is cute? They way lil ones entertain themselves while their mom is video taping during super hot, important weddings!

And you know what's funny? When you tell your dog to 'stay' and she doesn't...(by the way, that handsome smiler is my brother, Jason).Again with the funny ways lil guys entertain themselves...After the wedding, we all ran down to the lake and jumped in. Seriously. That's what you get to do when you get married at a gorgeous state park in northern Idaho!

What a fantastic day!

Charlene

This is my super great friend, Charlene. We met on the first day of first grade...many moons ago. Isn't she cute?

Charlene is the kind of friend who you can call up and pick up where you left off. Know the kind? And pretty much every one of our phone conversations begins with "Oh my gosh, you will never believe this..." She's also one of the most kind and generous souls I have ever met. I only wish she lived closer! Some fun photos from the shower...

So I can't believe it (actually, I can)...she's getting MARRIED! Her fiance is great and I cannot wait for the pair to tie the knot. So in early August I, along with Charlene's two sisters, threw a ragin' bridal shower. You might recognize her cake from the movie Because I Said So:

We played a hysterical game that Charlene's sister, Jamie, came up with. Everyone got a paper bag to put over their head. The directions of the game were to remove one item off of your body that you do not need. Needless to say, the paper bag is the item you don't need so while some take the bag off and watch in hysterics, others are removing their undergarmets in hopes to will that ever-loving GIFT! So here are some great shots of people laughing at the taker-offers:

This is Jamie:

Me:

Charlene:

Aren't those funny???? It was a great game. Anyway, I can't wait for the actual wedding day...what a celebration it will be!

Tagged

I was tagged by my friend, Jenn (I call her JennZ) and it's taken me FOREVER to come up with 6 random things about myself.

Here are the rules:

1) Link to the person who tagged you

2) Post the rules on your blog (this is what you are now reading)

3) Write 6 random things about yourself (see below)

4) Tag 6 people at the end of your post and link to them

5) Let each person know they have been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.

6) Let the tagger know when your entry or post is up.

1. I have about five books, pages open to the middle, stacked on top of each other sitting on the back of my toilet. I read when I'm in the tub and I guess I must like a little variety because I can't seem to finish a book without starting four.

2. I walk and talk in my sleep. One time, I walked down the street and into someone else's house (no, their front door was not locked). I fell alseep on their couch and woke up screaming. I saw a hall light turn on and ran out the door. This all happened when I was in middle school though. It's getting much better now :) Recently I've been known to spot an alien spaceship or two...

3. I secretly prefer to squish aphids as opposed to spraying them ;)

4. One of my greatest fears is of public restrooms. I'm paranoid of strange men and insist that JD stand right outside the door and listen for my screams (too many prison stories, I guess).

5. I am a sucker for any kind of product that will make me feel more girlie or simplify my life in any way.

6. Whenever I eat catsup or BBQ sauce, I sweat. Weird, I know.

Alright, so now it's your turn: Amy, Crystal, Halo, Maegan, Jess, and Kelly!

Good News...and Major Rambling

...I finally got a replacement camera- WhooHoo!!!! My old one is definitely fried now. BUT, this new one is going to be even better (I hope). It's nothing super fancy but it has twice as much digital and optical zoom than I had before so I'm pretty excited to give it a shot...get it, give it a shot? HA! I crack myself up.

This song? Blessed Assurance by Randy Travis. Totally made me cry.

I'm getting pretty excited for school to start. I got a wild idea to have my kiddos tye dye shirts on the first day of school...they will be transitioning from elementary to middle school and embracing a whole new set of colors and a new mascot. What better way to become a Viking than to tye dye blue and orange, right? Plus, I have a bunch of field trips planned for this year and it'll be so nice to have everyone looking the same when I have to keep track of 100 plus kidletts.

I also finished reading another book on my summer adolescent literature list- Ida B by Katherine Hannigan. What a great little read. I love keeping up on kid lit so I put the 'just right' book in a kid's hand. Who knew that I was putting the 'just right' book into my own? LOVED this book. It's about a girl who is very much a naturalist...and I can definitely relate to her (even though she's 10!). She goes through some rough things and learns to love and let go (just a little bit). This is from the back of the book:

This is what I have for lunch every single day: peanut butter on one slice of bread, milk, and an apple, preferably a McIntosh because they're tangy with a thin skin, which Daddy says resembles me at times.
"Don't you want to try something different, Ida B?" Daddy would say.
Well, by lunchtime I'm wide awake and I've already been busy doing my shores and learning and having some fun. I've got a list of things that I can't wait to do in the afternoon, my head is filled to the rim with interesting ideas and plans, and that's exactly who I want it to stay.
"There are too many things to think about in this world besides what I'm going to have for lunch, Daddy." I say, and he looks at me like I am a true mystery.

There is such wisdom in children, huh? One of the parts I most loved about this book is when Ida B, very apprehensively, attends a public school for the first time after a 'bad' school experience. She was expecting the worst until she met Ms. Washington...

I stopped in the doorway of room 130 for a minute, just taking it it so I could do like soldiers do before a battle: assess the enemy , formulate a plan, get armed, and attack.
There were rainbows and pictures and big colorful words on the bulletin boards. There was even a pretty rug at the far end of the room where there were no desks, only shelves of books that looked like real books, not schoolbooks. All that was missing were bluebirds and chirpy music.
And there was Ms. Washington, I figured, sitting in a kid's chair with her chin resting in her hand, listening to some girl who was picking her finders and talking at the same time.
I could tell that this was a warm place. Not a warm temperature place, but a warm-feeling-inside place. Some part of me knew it, but my heart refused to feel it.

And I've not realized it as much as been reminded of it...the fact that kids come into my room and are not as excited about the start of a new year as I am. I want my new students to feel at home...I want the classroom to be bright and cheery and warm. Not temperature warm, but warm-feeling-inside :) And so we're gonna take it one day, one student at a time and grow from there. My new over-the-door-motto? Mrs. McElroy's Class: A Great Place to Grow.

This is going to be a great year!

Music Heals and Thanks

First of all, thank you all so much for your kind comments...emails...messages of concern...listening...margaritas (thanks, candy!) and most of all, your friendship over the past week or so. I can't tell you how encouraged and loved I have felt.

I don't really know what to 'say'. I'm not one for publishing my 'laundry' so to speak but I also want this blog to be real. Me. And so I can't just leave it, you know? I have to say something...but what?

How about music. I know, I know...music again? Yes. It's how I heal and it's how I can tap into what I feel. This song that is playing- it's called "How to Save a Life" by Fray. Let's just say that after crying out to God, at a critical turning point kind of moment, He gave me this song.

And so for me, this song is about a man and his wife...and hurt...and crying out to God...and God saving their life. It's a kind of medley between hurt and hope- between wanting to handle something and getting hung up on things... to praying and letting God heal.

I hate to be vague...and I realize that in a way, it's annoying to say the least. But just know that God is good and I'm okay. And that I am a very blessed girl to have such great friends!

What does it mean?

What does it mean when you have morals and values and faith...and then just sit there? What does it mean when you don't have a backbone big enough? Or if you choose to do something that you know is wrong? This has been a big week- big as in crappy. The worst. Hurt. Disappointment. Broken. I just want to crawl out of my skin.

A day at Jubilee

This is Jubilee Lake. It was our first time there and was pretty stinkin' neat, if I do say so myself. This is the boat launch and you can walk all the way around the lake if you want (a little girl told me it was 2.4 miles all the way around).

This is me dipping Gage's hands in a little creek. He loves to be held upside down and touch stuff- especially water.

This is such a "Ryan" look. He was telling me all about this juicy beef bone (this kid has one huge imagination).

This is the cutes picture of Gage ever. Except that my camera has that crummy haze from being submerged in water. Ugh.

Sadie dog...

Meet Jed

Meet Jed. What? You don't see him in this picture here? Hmmm...that's funny because Ryan sure does. Jed went blackberry picking with us a few days ago. He likes berries, don't you know. Jed's his 'buddy'. He works with him. Jed is overall green with brown arms and legs, a big nose, and dark hair. Evidentally, he not only drives a tank but he also works at a tank store...and a few mornings ago, we almost had a tradegy at our house. I came this close to sitting on Jed at the breakfast table. Seriously. This almost freaks me out. I mean, I'm starting to look over my shoulder wondering if Jed follows us up to bed...what's even more weird is we don't even know a Jed. The only Jed I know is off the (JD) movie "Red Dawn" when some character (see how much attention I pay to these movies) says ... "Jed's dead. Jed's dead". So I'm a bit freaked. I mean, come on. Jed's dead, right? Ugh.

...more on Jed later. I'm sure.

Meeting God in the Blackberries

So I've been thinking a lot about this quote/poem from The Shack:

Earth's crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God,
But only he who sees and takes of his shoes;
The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries. - Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Actually, I've been doing a bit more than thinking about it. Obsessing is probably a better word. I mean, I just don't get it. I can't turn to the back and check out the meaning in the answer key. I've come up with some explanations but they just don't seem to 'fit'. And it is blackberry picking season, don't you know. And boy, aren't they yummy? Just look at these beauts-

I suppose, with all it's ugliness, the world IS afire with God. I more than suppose it. I know it- I can see it in the eyes of children (both at home and at school), I can see God in sunsets and hear Him in music. He is definitely here. But literally, here? In this blackberry bush? Is God afire in this blackberry bush? It's common enough. I was gonna find out.

So it was a 'come out come out where ever you are' kind of moment for me. Okay, God. Here I am. Here's my heart and now give me the answer. What is this stupid poem all about? The thorns. It must be the thorns- perhaps the thorn of distraction. Or the fruit? All that glorious fruit- the fruits of labor, perhaps? And maybe those big honkers, wayyyy up high- just out of reach, the ones you have to blast through spider webs and big prickly thorns to get to- maybe that's what the poem is about. How BIG that fruit is but that it's big because it had to grow to get that way???

I think God laughed. I mean, I can't say that with complete certainly but I think that a lot of the time, He laughs at me. So anyway, I wanted to know what was so wrong with picking blackberries "the rest sit round it and pluck blackberries'. What's so wrong with that? I mean, I love blackberry cobbler.

And that's when God asked me if I trusted Him. Of course I do. What a, dare I say, stupid question. And then He brought me here:

Can you see that there's a tiny path leading into a labyrinth of thorny blackberries? It's there if you look really hard. That's when He told me to take of my shoes and walk in there. PSHAAA. As if. Whatever. Are you HIGH? Again with the 'Do you trust me?' question. And I had to say...not really. I mean, come on. The thorny blackberries? That's one thing. But what about the black widows? And those fruit spiders? Have you ever seen a fruit spider? COME ON. I bet they eat blackberry pickers for breakfast. That's when God told me very plainly and simply,

"That's why you'll sit around the bush afire with Me and harvest fruit. You don't trust me. Trust me and take off your shoes so you will know Me".

Fine. Like I kinda trust you and if you want me to do this silly thing to prove it, then fine. Jeez Louise. That's when God told me "You trust me with your life...your children...your income...but not in a blackberry bush?"

Fine. One step at a time. Trust.

Deep breath. I can do this. I can trust God with my children. I trust. I trust.

This is looking back at the road from where I stood...barefoot and feeling rather sheepish. You can very faintly see my black flipflops...

And just down that path was the mother load of all blackberries:

This all seems kinda crazy now. I mean, who goes blackberry picking on a Monday with no shoes. Insane. But I get it. I mean, I totally get it. It's not about the stupid blackberries. It's about trusting God with everything I am. God definitely met me in the blackberry bushes today.

He is everywhere- the most simple of places. And when I trust, I can open my eyes to see new things. I just need to trust and I definitely need work on doing that in every area of my life.

BIG news!

When Olivia died, I totally didn't see it coming. Not that I could have, but that the possibility never, ever, never, ever entered my mind. It was not an option. It wasn't part of our vocabulary. It wasn't even part of our birth plan. It was complete and total shock. And so since that moment, the hour and minute that we found out were were parents of an angel, I have lived in constant fear of having another moment like that. So I sweat. I literally sweat when JD is late. Once, I had my keys in hand ready to go find him. Not that I don't trust him- it's that I don't want 'the call' or 'the knock at the door' to completely knock me out of this world. Because it would. I just can't bear the possibility of that moment. And when Ryan is playing on the sidewalk, the visualization of him getting hit by a car is enough for me to pick him up and say "let's play in the backyard today". Gage is a whole different story- with his new found walking freedom, it's enough to send me into cardiac arrest at times.

But rest assured, Lisa. God is working on you :) I'm trying to hard to TRUST and fear not. It's tough, but I can do it with His help.

So...the big news? The big news is that JD has quit chewing, which has instantly alleviated some of that 'who is going to die next' fear. JD's been a big time chewer since he was 15. BIG time- like 1 can per week. I don't mind the cost...or the nastiness of it...or picking up the cans everywhere...but I do mind that it was cutting our time, the boys' time, with him short. And so I can't even begin to tell you how happy I am that he has decided to quit. He tried quitting for me....then for Olivia....then Ryan...but until he was ready to quit for himself, he really wasn't ready. He picked a date (July 21) and quit. And I am so, very, very proud.

So world, meet my new tic tac man :)