Happy Halloween

Jake's Halloween highlight: running around downtown Gresham telling every single person who would listen that he was a dinosaur and he was here with his brother Ty who was a monkey and mom and dad and grandma and Auntie Jenny and that all he had to do is say "trick or treat" and they filled up his bucket with yummy candy like suckers and candy bars and he just saw his cousins and his friends Ashlynn and Lorelai and Kari and Joel and that he doesn't think he can eat all the candy right now cause mommy said to wait until after dinner to have more, and wasn't this the most fun thing anyone could ever think of...


Ty's Halloween highlight: chocolate

Only for you, Faith

My dear friend Faith, who gets frigheningly excited about these things, "tagged" me again to write about random things, but this time there's actual questions so it's easier, and therefore quicker, so I'll indulge her. Love you, Faithy! So if you're interested in what I think of my husband, read on.

All About My Great Husband…

1. Who is your man? Daniel John Stump (aka dude)
2. How long have you been together? 8 years
3. How long did you date? 2 years
4. How old is your man? 27. He robbed the cradle. Just kidding, we're 9 months apart. Sorry Natalie but I'm not Honey.
5. Who eats more? Pizza? Dan hands down. Chinese food is a toss up. When it comes to chocolate, I rule.
6. Who said “I love you” first? He did. He says I can laugh about it now, but I still feel bad that I was so surprised I didn't say it back until the next day.
7. Who is taller? He is. Actually, when I wear my Spice Girls' platform shoes...
8. Who sings better? He does. Though neither of us would make it past round 1 of American Idol. At least we know it.
9. Who is smarter? Anything related to math, and he wipes the floor with me. But then again, he's never written a book. I'll let you decide.
10. Whose temper is worse? Probably his. Ok, defitely his, especially during football season, but mine came out in full force as soon as Jake hit about 18 months old and started morphing into Mr. Hyde. My easy, perfect baby and my seemingly anger-free personality...poof, gone. (These are green M&M's he swiped at Christmas and got all over himself and my carpet.)
11. Who does the laundry? I wash it, I dry it, I fold it...and neither of us puts it away.
12. Who takes out the garbage? He does, and thanks.
13. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Hmm. If you're in the bed, he's on the right. If you're standing at the end of the bed, it's me. Like anyone cares that I'm clarifying.
14. Who pays the bills? I do. I can't have him finding out that I'm not the bargain shopper I claim to be. Oh wait, I got this jacket at Ross. For $6.99. I'm totally serious. Why would you not bargain shop?
15. Who is better with the computer? Probably him. I don't have any witty comments on this one, sorry.
16. Who mows the lawn? He does, though unlike Faith, I'm perfectly capable of doing so.
17. Who cooks dinner? Normally it's me. But if you want something really tasty, he's the man. He should be the next Food Network Star. I would have said the next Iron Chef, but he's not very fond of tripe ice cream.
18. Who drives when you are together? He does. Probably saves us money on speeding tickets.
19. Who pays when you go out? He does. If I have to calculate a tip I feel woozy.
20. Who is most stubborn? We both are.
21. Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Neither of us. We're both always right.
22. Whose parents do you see the most? Probably his. Mine are off galavanting in Hawaii right now where we can't swing by as easily.
23. Who kissed who first? Actually, Ryan kissed Michelle first. Then Dan kissed me (he couldn't let Ryan steal all the thunder of that awesome double date they had planned.)
24. Who asked who out? It was all him. He had it all thought out, so I had no excuses. Even if he hadn't, I'd have said yes. He was the man. Still is.
25. Who proposed? I did. I got down on one knee, and...just kidding. He did and I cried.
26. Who is more sensitive? Me, though it kills me to say it. It's not like anyone would believe me if I said him.
27. Who has more friends? Me. I'm nicer.
28. Who has more siblings? He does. 4 to 1.
29. Who wears the pants in the family? Definitely him. Speaking of which, I need to sew those jeans again.
30. What’s your favorite thing about your man? He pauses his football game and wrestles with his boys, even when he's exhausted.

Olive Ainsley Grace

We're surrounded by babies!! Congratulations to our friends Vergil and Kelsey on the birth of their first, a girl, Olive Ainsley Grace. She was born happy and healthy and adorable on Tuesday October 23rd. Vergil is our pastor at Gresham Bible Church and we became fast friends with he and Kelsey when we met them a little over a year ago. He wrote an email to our church awhile back, which includes Megan and new baby Elsie, and warned everyone not to drink the punch at the potlucks. There's tons of new babies and pregnant mommies walking around at GBC! They've started a blog for Olive, but these last few days have been crazy so there's not an update yet, but I'm sure one is coming soon, right Verge?

Welcome to the world of parenthood, Browns. We are so excited to see little Olive grow up, and to see you guys take on the role of mommy and daddy. You're going to be great parents!

Elsie Mae

Congratulations to my best friend Megan and husband Eric on the birth of their baby girl. Elsie Mae joined big sis Jenna on Friday October 19, and I couldn't be happier for this sweet little family! She is beautiful, such a tiny miracle. Check out pics and more of the story on the Wood's blog.

I'm so glad I got to hold you today, Elsie. I'm hopefully going to be seeing a lot of you over the next few years. Not that we've discussed this, or even thought about it, but the odds of your mother and I being related through marriage some day have gone up since you entered the world. Ty and Elsie, Jake and Jenna. Ty and Jenna, Jake and Elsie. Hmm, guess that's about it. Promise me at least a Prom date with one of my boys, okay?

Megan and Eric, we so appreciate your friendship and can't wait to see how Elsie adds to your lives. Thanks for being great parents who are raising beautiful daughters to be women of God. We love you guys!

Dad's are the best

Wednesday I took the kids to Dan's football game. The rain held out long enough for the boys to run around and me to have to pull both of them off the field multiple times. There is one kid on Dan's team that is not a lot bigger than Jake, but I'm not ready for them to be tackled without pads quite yet.

We had a great time even though Dan's team lost the game. It was frustrating for him because he would tell the kids exactly what the other team was about to do and how to stop them, and yet his players wouldn't listen and would end up watching as the other team scored a touchdown. Teaching and coaching have a lot in common. I know there are days when Dan feels like the kids just aren't learning a thing. But however frustrating those days are, I'm proud of Dan for the work he does.

Thanks Dan, and other teachers out there. I know some days you really don't see it, but you do challenge and inspire these kids to be better people. But most importantly, you're on a mission field making a difference for eternity by showing these kids what it looks like to love Jesus. Even in a math class. And even on a football field.

19 months old

19 months old is not the typical milestone people blog about. However, 19 months means that Ty is now the age that Jake was when I gave birth to him (When I gave birth to Ty, not Jake. Wow, that would have been a pregnancy for the books.) Thinking about the way Jake was, and the way Ty is now...well let's just say if we'd had Ty first, baby number 2 would have come a lot later. A WHOLE lot later. Let me just say before I go any farther, that I LOVE THIS CHILD. He is a delight to me, and I love that he is not his brother. That would be boring, and folks, my life is NOT boring with this kid. Here's a little taste of 19 month old Tyler Daniel.



"Heil, Tyler!" Sporting the Hitler 'stache after a chocolate chip cookie. Appropriate because I'm convinced he and Felix are secretly organizing a plot to take over the world.




Telling me in no uncertain terms that he didn't appreciate not being consulted on the haircut idea.




This is Ty after any meal, any day, any time, any place. Just imagine him in different shirts, possibly with different colored dipping sauces covering his entire body, and you have an accurate picture of my son every time he eats.



This picture was taken this morning. I had my camera out looking at our recent pictures when I heard the terrifying sound of silence in the kitchen. This is what I saw. Pretty sure those drawers weren't built to withstand a 28 pound child searching for a snack. Ty's life illustrates the concept of "silent but deadly." I have a few more recent stories proving this point. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera readily available, but I think you'll get the picture. Ha ha.

Ty sitting on the couch watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and eating a tube of toothpaste. The living room floor covered with potpourri. The living room floor covered with quite artistic figure-eights of maple syrup. Ty cutting a hole in a brand new shirt with safety scissors. The kitchen table covered with 2/3 of a box of Kix cereal. Yes, that is a candle with bites taken out of it. The toilet full of an unrolled roll of toilet paper and half a box of Kleenex. 1283 baby wipes individually scattered on Ty's bedroom floor. Ty falling down 1/2 a flight of stairs after giving me a defiant look and standing up despite my warnings. (He was fine, I was 2 feet away and saw the whole dramatic thing.) Ty's face as he takes a sip of the apple cider vinegar he pulled out of the kitchen cabinet. Ty dipping his cup into the dog water and gulping away (this happens quite regularly.)

The list could go on and on. Happy 19 months, baby. Whew, I'm glad you're still my littlest.

Claude Louis Berthollet

My new favorite French chemist: Claude Louis Berthollet. Wanna know why?

"Cl2(aq) + H2O(l) H+(aq) + Cl-(aq) + HClO(aq) The H+ ion of the hypochlorous acid then dissolves into solution, and so the final result is effectively: Cl2(aq) + H2O(l) 2H+(aq) + Cl-(aq) + ClO-(aq)"

That clears it up, I'm sure. For all you uneducated individuals out there, I'll rephrase it.

BEFORE:

AFTER:Mamma's got the magic of...Clorox.

Oh, and this is for you, Diane. And Mom. And Dad. And pretty much everyone except my husband.