Who Sleeps Like This?

Old Words. New Tunes. Timeless Truth.

Rediscover the richness of hymns! There is such a depth and passion in older hymns that modern choruses rarely match. Listen to these songs and be encouraged by the God-centeredness of them.

Let me know what you think!

A Non-Sequitur Post For You

--I really--seriously, really--need to organize my closet. It's bad. Seriously.

--Jude sneezed at HEB today and a lady offered me a tissue...from her pocket. I kid you not. She assured me it was clean as she held it out for me to take. I took it so as not to hurt her feelings but did not use it. I used his shirt instead.

--I have been sewing a jon-jon for about 5 months now at our weekly sewing lesson with a lady from church. It started out for Asher and then I took so long, it then became Jude's. But I jacked it up so badly last night that I decided I am done with it. I refuse to rip one more seam out of that darn outfit. I need shorter, instant-gratification type projects.

--Asher is offically in the "I do it by self" phase. That has its pros and cons for sure.

that's all I got. more bluebonnet pics are coming--with the whole fam in them. please don't abandon my blog due to crappy posts like this.

Bluebonnet Pictures

In which the Rives Brothers never look at my camera at the same time, barely smile, and Jude eats some grass.






Thankfully, Uncle Sean was also snapping pictures and he got some really cute ones so I will post those once I get them.

This was our first year to do this. I feel so badly that Asher is 2 years old and has never taken the obligatory bluebonnet picture. So un-Texan like. But I plan on keeping up this tradition, especially since Uncle Sean and Aunt Mindy (along with some friends, including one Mr. Scott Dayton who said he would like a shout-out on the blog) take the yearly pilgrimage to Brenham, famous for it's bluebonnet fields. We will tag along with them for many years to come, Lord willing.

Rives Boys+Wimberly Girls=Good Times

A few days ago, we had the pleasure of Saige and Meadow's company while their mom went to a friend's birthday lunch. It is so interesting to watch them interact and to see who ends up playing together. This time, Saige and Jude paired up for a rousing game of "Stick the Fish in Jude's Mouth." If you've never played, the pictures below will help you out.









Meadow wasn't too sure about that game so she just watched.


I had to post this picture to point out the fact that Winnie the Pooh has never once been held like that in his life. Complementarianism is a beautiful thing.



I had to get a few of Asher and Saige because they are just too cute when they get together.







See what I mean! Good times!

You Choose the Title

A: "Walking with My Daddy"

B: "Bridge Over Peaceful Water"

C: "On Our Way To Get the Poop Off My Hands"

Your call.

ps--I feel the need to document the fact that Jude is now a crawler as of this week and a clapper as of today (I love it when they start clapping!) He turned 8 months a few days ago so he has far surpassed his brother's crawling age of 10.5 months.

Jude is now a much more contented individual who has eaten tissue and a coupon today thanks to his newfound mobility.

Yesterday, Asher saw this guy eating the letter of the day, which was "A," after Prairie Dawn specifically asked him not to.

Asher looked at me and said, "He needs to calm down."

I was very pleased that he was able to recognize the out-of-control behavior and identify the solution. That's a little thing I like to call progress.

A Woman of My Word

I said I'd post, but I made no promises regarding content. I will of course rely on a few pictures of my little guys to get me started.

Incidentally, doesn't Jude look so much like Asher in this picture? For so long, they barely looked related, but the older Jude gets, the more resemblance I see. I've upgraded their look-alike status from "not related at all" to "maybe distant cousins."



We all went to the park together when Kris was on spring break. We had lots of fun.



Until we realized that Asher had dog poop on his hands and that is was also on the stroller. We had to leave to go sanitize but it sure was fun while it lasted.

Thankfully, we know how to make our own fun right here at home.



Who needs a park when you have a big brother and a Little Tykes shopping cart?

Ok, on to the next charming anecdote...so I was at HEB last night (best grocery store ever for those of you unfamiliar) and I was attempting to avail myself to the "5 for $10" sale on HEB brand soft drinks (we have become fans of Diet Dr. B--thank you economic down-turn.)

However, it probably goes without saying that Sunday evening isn't the best time to go to the grocery store if you are hoping for well-stocked shelves and lots of variety. So the only HEB brand drinks left were at the very top shelf and my choices were diet root beer, diet red soda (Big Red's frugal counterpart) and diet orange soda. None of those would be my first choice but the diet root beer would work.

So I decide, because I have been working out and am incredibly buff now that I can stand on the bottom shelf and lift a stack of 3 cases of cokes (the all-encompassing term you use for carbonated beverages if you are a true Texan)in order to get my fridge pack of d.r.b.

As it turns out, sadly, I am not that buff. The cases come crashing down and they explode all over Aisle 1. It goes everywhere, including all over my feet and legs. It was pretty spectacular, I must say.

And because I am a good citizen (and because I was fairly certain that I was on camera somewhere,) I found an employee and alerted them. The lady was very sweet and thanked me for telling her. I asked her if I could help clean it up and she said that someone was already on their way with a mop so just to continue shopping.

So I moved on (with red, sticky feet I might add) and as I am perusing the breads, I hear, "Clean up on Aisle one!" Yep, that would be my mess.

The rest of the trip was pretty uneventful. It's hard to top exploding cans.

Baby Steps

Ok, I've taken care of the depressing background. (thanks, Ashley, for the tip!)

Now I just need to post something fascinating.

Gonna need some more time on that one.

So let's say Monday is my official comeback day.

Mark your calendars.

I'm Better Now...

...but I still don't want to blog. I think it's the black layout--too depressing. I need to change that. Anybody wanna do a blog makeover for me?

It's My Turn To Be Sick Now

I'll be back once the antibiotics do their thing.

It's Never Too Late For Cake

One month after Asher turned 2, we were finally able to sing "Happy Birthday" to him and let him blow out his candle and eat some cake.



He has come a long way in his cake-eating abilities!

Is There No End To The Man's Talent?

I offer these pictures to you as proof that there is not! Add "fruit-sculpturist" to the list of things that Kris Rives is good at!



We had a shower for Kathy last weekend and, as usual, I decide to do something that would require more skill and patience than I currently possess. So, as usual, Kris offered to step in and make it happen. We make a great team.



He even hand-crafted the wheels for the canteloupe carriage when the way that the instructions said to do it did not work out. I'm telling you, if this whole music/sound/p.e. teacher thing dries up, he could have a bright future at Edible Arrangements.

This is me doing my, "Whatever-You-think-you're-all-awesome-with-your-melon-baller-skills-Don't-forget-I'm-the-one-that-came-up-with-this-idea" face.



Oh, I'm only kidding. I'm glad one of us has a marketable skill to fall back on.

Here is the finished product at the shower. He really did do a good job--I just have to make snarky comments because that's just what I do.



And don't think for a second that the fruit fairy came and arranged those grapes and strawberries on that platter. That was all me, baby.

Apparently This Is Haiku Week

A Heavy Hitter?

Um...thank you, Littlefields?

You callin' me fat?

Obviously I'm Hurting For Material Here

Another haiku.

I may need to publish an anthology of all my work soon.

My Asher is sick

This can only mean one thing

Way too much T.V.

Tuesday Evening Haiku Break

Chicken for dinner.
I tried it; it was spoiled.

Gross. New plan: take-out.

No More Birthday Parties. Ever.

We had our "make-up" family birthday party for Asher yesterday after church. Since he and Jude were sick with a stomach bug during birthday weekend, we had to postpone the festivites.

At church that morning, Mamoo, Poppy, Uncle Micah, Uncle Marc, Aunt Sue, Jaxson, and Emily (or Emie-o as Asher calls her) were there for Jude's baptism and then the rest of the fam met up with us at our house for burgers and cake. Lots of fun. Good time had by all. No vomit.

Then last night around 9, Kris went in to check on Asher and his breathing was very raspy and labored. We got him up and sat with him in front of a warm shower so he could breathe in the steam. Kris called the pedi's office and the nurse on call said it sounded like croup. Kris was up with him for a while then I took my shift. He started running fever around midnight so I gave him some tylenol and he finally went to sleep and slept all night. He and Jude both woke up around 7.

Thankfully, Asher is breathing better but he is still contagious. He also still has the barking cough. Jude hasn't shown any symptoms yet (more thankfulness)and I am trying my best to keep them apart, but they live in the same house and breathe the same air so I'm doing what I can, but I realize I can only do so much.

Which leads me to the logical conclusion that birthday parties make my kids sick so we will never have another one ever again.

The Rives Brothers

I asked Asher if he and Jude were going to start a band as we were watching something on TV about the Jonas Brothers. He said yes, of course. I asked him what instrument Jude would play and he told me that Jude could play the "man-o-lin" and he would play "ban-o (banjo)," "ta-gah," and "dums." Hopefully the Lord will grant us another child one day so that Asher's load can be a little lighter.


So yesterday we took a little stroll in the wagon that Grammy and Capaw got the boys for Christmas. It is so fun that Jude is at an age now where he can participate just like Asher. We just walked around our cul-de-sac but it was enough time to soak up some vitamin D or make some vitamin D or whatever it is that is supposed to happen out in the sun.




Favorite Asher quote from yesterday: "Tank ooh, Mama, change my poo-poo. Put fresh diaper on." He thanks me constantly. It is so precious. When I open a door for him, change his diaper, hand him milk, he almost always says "tank ooh." I pray he will stay full of gratitude.

Favorite Jude moment from yesterday: Climbing on to Asher and trying to steal his sippy cup. That boy is a go-getter. He loves his brother and his eyes light up when he sees Asher. And whatever Asher has. It is amazing how he can move when he sees something he wants. I pray he will use this super-power for good ;)

Asher loves Jude too and is, in God's mercy, learning the lessons of patience and sharing very early in life. I am working on teaching Asher to speak kindly to Jude. He has started telling him "NO NO Judah!" He can say it pretty harshly. Guess where he learned it?

That's right--Kris.

Ok, not really. I hear the tone in his voice and I, unfortunately, recognize it as my own. So I'm training two people to speak kindly actually. The little one is proving to be a much more teachable student. It's a humbling task to teach someone something that you are still in the process of learning.

ps--the pastor at my church in Beaumont, Mark Gibson, started a blog. You should check it out!

I was fine blaming my camera

But then Robin had to go do a whole series of posts on how to take better pictures. One of her tips was to actually read the manual that came with the camera. Touche.

So all my crappy pictures may not be completely the fault of Nikon Coolpix. I learned that tidbit as well as much, much more. Robin has gone to great lengths to explain some basic photography terms and concepts so if you, like me, have much to learn and a limited attention span for such things, you should check her blog out.

She took some awesome pictures of one Mr. A. O. Rives in the Fall of 2007 (can you believe it was that long ago, Robin!) that you may check out here as proof of her credibility. Just ignore the truck in the last picture because she will be most upset to see that I did not crop it out before posting it.

It's The Little Things In Life, Really

Asher requested a "W" cup when he learned that the Elmo cup was dirty. He loves the letter "W." He still calls it "double-buh" even though we continue to pronounce it correctly.



One "W" cup coming right up. He loved it. Wouldn't you if "W" were your favorite letter?

I think I may sell these on Etsy.

Things I Learned Whilst Spinning

We just joined a new gym in our area. It is really close to our house and offers lots of neat classes, a rock wall, awesome pools, and many other amenities. And thanks to Cheryl, we were able to get a great deal on our membership. I thought this would be a great opportunity to lose the rest of the baby weight, get in shape, and have a pool to take the boys to this summer.

So I have been slowly easing back into the world of activity. I'm limited right now on what classes I can take because I don't want to leave Jude in the nursey until cold and flu season is over. So I am just trying out classes here and there as I get the chance.

Last night, I decided to try spinning. Kris was very sweet and offered to bathe the boys and get them into bed while I went to the class. I've been wanting to go, so I took him up on his offer and headed to the gym.

I will now impart to you my newly gained knowledge that I acquired during this class.

1. An hour is a freaking long time if you have not been on a bike since the early 90's.

2. If it is your first time in a class like this, you will naturally want to use a bike that is towards the back of the studio. However, you should not pick a back-row bike that is on the opposite side of the studio as the exit. Because when you realize that you are about to die, you will want to make a fast and inconspicuous exit but will be unable to do so without looking like a total out-of-shape moran. Even if you are one, you don't want to look like it.

3. Wear appropriate biking attire. Your tennis shorts from college would not fall into this category. I'm not exactly sure what would be the best outfit choice, but I can assure you it was not what I was wearing.

4. I am a victim of all of the "green" propaganda because as I was furiously pedaling (and maybe or maybe not turning my dial to add resistance) I thought that they should hook these bikes up to some sort of generator and harness all of the energy to power the gym. Al Gore would be proud. And I make it a point never to make Al Gore proud.

5. If it is your first time to take this class, you should ask some questions beforehand regarding optimal seat and handle bar height. Don't play it cool. Don't act like you know what the heck you are doing. You have spit-up on your shirt and are wearing shorts from college. No one is fooled so you might as well ask for some help. Your butt will thank you. (I know mine would have.)

6. Picking the bike behind skinny girl with her very own cycling shoes will just tick you off.

7. You might have to purpose in your heart, somewhere around minute 15, that you're new goal is to just survive. In this case, ignore it when peppy Kimberly tells you to turn your dial and add resistance. Just keep pedaling. No one will know.

8. Peppy Kimberly will also tell you to get "up off the saddle." She crazy. You should not do this if you have made the resolution outlined in point #7. Just keep sitting.

9. The hour will eventually draw to a close. When this happens, wipe off your bike, get your water bottle, and hobble on out of there. Try to restrict your remarks to the weather because you will not be able to think of one nice thing to say about Peppy Kimberly or what she just put you through.

I think that about sums it up. I think I will look for a water aerobics class for the 65+ crowd next time.

A Two Year Old's Work Is Never Done

What, with all the toys that need to be put in empty diaper boxes and then pushed around the house, it's a wonder Asher has time to eat and sleep. He certainly doesn't have time to get dressed.

So if you've called him and haven't heard back, he'll get with you as soon as things slow down a little around here.

He should probably consider hiring another worker because the guy he's got now is no help at all.

Rub A Dub Dub

We've got 2 kids in a tub now!



Yes, we do have bath toys and a little bath seat for Jude, but this was just a trial run. I just wanted to offer proof that I am no longer cramming Judah Barracuda in a tiny little baby tub.



Although by the looks of it, I think he liked it better when he didn't have to share bath time.



Look at those sweet rolls of baby lovin'! My poor little fella has lost weight these past few days. He's down to just 20 lbs. (which is more than most 6 month olds weigh) but still...

I am happy to report that he seems much better today. His appetite is returning and he is smiling and playing by himself again. For a few days he has been super clingy and just wanted to lay on me. Not that I mind that part at all, but I knew it meant he was feeling badly.

We are going to get out today and take a little drive. We've all been cooped up way too long. I'm not someone that always has to be on the go, but 5 days at home will drive anybody nuts.

And I don't want to alarm anyone, but I haven't had a diet coke with lemon since Saturday.

Oh My Goodness, Where To Begin?

Combine a blog funk with a busy, crazy, birthday, stomach bug filled week and what do you get? That's right--a picture of my chunky boy in a too-small tub for over a week.

But I will now make an attempt to catch you up, because with an intro like that, I'm sure you are just dying to be filled in on what all has been going on around here. Just to forewarn you--there will be no smooth transitions, witty remarks, or in-depth commentary. I'm just trying to get my mother off my back. (I kid, Mamoo, I only kid.)

First, Jude turned 6 months on the 28th. These pictures are just getting ridiculous. He eats the paper before I can even get a good picture. So Daddy had to help out.





Two days later, Kris turned 34. I decided (very last minute in true Jamie form) to call a few friends over for some pizza and cake. It was a fun, but short get together because most of us have toddlers with bedtimes that you just don't jack with.

Here is the birthday boy himself.



Do you want to know why he's so excited? Because this was his cake!



That monstrosity is a post unto itself. Suffice it to say, Chef Duff will not be recruiting me anytime soon.

When the kids start getting relatively still , you know the bedtime hour is rapidly approaching. So we called it a night around 7.




Next up was Asher's 2nd birthday. Again, all about being low-key, I decided to have play group here at our house and call it a "birthday party." The same 5 guys get together to play a few times each month so it worked out well. Asher also invited his 3 church friends, Saige, Meadow, and Steven.

Everything was going great. We ate chicken nuggets. We wore Elmo hats. We played with toys. Oh, but it was fun.






Then we opened presents! I'll just tell you now--I'm not cute in any of them.





And after that, I brought out the Elmo cupcakes...



and I lit the candle on the birthday cupcake...



and then Asher puked everywhere.

(No photo available.)

The party kinda wrapped up at that point. Kathy helped me clean up the puke (a true friend indeed that will clean up your kid's vomit with you...and she is pregnant I must add) and Laura held Jude and redirected traffic. I seriously have the best friends ever. They were all very gracious, but I felt so horrible that we exposed them to the yuckiness.

Of course, Kris had to run sound somewhere that night. Asher threw up a few more times and had some very dirty diapers, but felt much better by the time he went to bed.

The next day was Asher's actual birthday. We planned on celebrating with our families the following day because Jude was getting baptized at church that morning and they were all coming for that and then over to our house for lunch (and more cake.)

My mom, Jude, and I went to my sister-in-law's baby shower that morning and Kris and Asher hung out all day. Asher was feeling great and had lots of fun with his daddy, as usual. But that night around 11, Jude started throwing up. So we cancelled everything and stayed home from church. And then Asher threw up again. And then Jude. And then Jude again.

So here we are on Wednesday. Asher has returned to completely normal input and output but poor little Judah Bear still has some diarrhea and a less-than-normal appetite. He's gone from 3 rolls of fat on his thighs to just 2, bless his heart. But we are over the vomiting portion of the ordeal and for that I am grateful.

I'm very thankful that my boys are feeling better and I'm looking forward to everyone being back to 100% and getting back out into the world.

Consider yourself updated.

Maybe I'm In Denial?

I know, I know. Time to move on from the baby bath. It's getting a little ridiculous.

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Have you noticed what those crazy tickers over on my sidebar say. They are trying to tell me that my newborn is 6 months old and my preemie is almost 2. That's absurd.

Futhermore, my preemie's 2T jeans are almost too short and my newborn's 12 month jeans are getting hard to button. This would also fall under the heading of "Things That Are Absurd." (appropriate use of quotes here)

I know kids grow and that there is a very serious glandular problem if they don't. But it is happening at a slightly more rapid pace than I anticiapated.

I have got to stop blinking.

Is That Really "Necessary?"

I love this blog.

It makes me "laugh."