Mommy and Lauren Time

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Lucky

At Lauren's school when the kids are in second grade they get take hom the class pet/mascot.  It is so far a stuffed animal.  Russell had a dog named Lasso last year and this year Lauren got a Longhorn named Lucky.  Lauren brought him with her everywhere all weekend.  He got to spend the night at Nana and Papa's house.  They forgot to take pictures though.  They did remember to write it down in Lucky's journal so the class would know where Lucky has been.  I did take pictures but have not written down anything about where Lucky has been; nor encouraged Lauren to do so.  Unfortunately for Lauren's teacher she cannot access facebook at school, which is where I originally posted them for her. 

BUT fortunately for us it has prompted me to add another blog entry into Lauren't multimedia online visual techie version of a baby book I have made for her.  I do not scrapbook, make baby books, or develop pictures.  I do sit at the computer all day long and play.  So, I decided one day to reserve a dot com page for Lauren with her name so that in 20 years she will be able to use it with her name for whatever she wants.  She can keep this blog, look over it, add to it, or delete it.  But it will be hers and I will add to it 'til she tells me to stop and she has turned 18.  Hee hee. 

Anyway, back to the point.  Lucky.

Lauren brought Lucky along for a trip to Inflatable Wonderland.  April had been invited to a birthday party and I, as usual, waited until the last minute to "really" look at the invitation and realized that the party was NOT at their house.  Their house I had been to and it was really close.  So we rushed to Inflatable Wonderland, as I RSVPed 3 minutes before the party started asking if Lauren and Russell could crash the party.  Luckily, get it, she said they could.  Lucky for Lucky.  Lucky went down slides.

Lucky also made it into the Dr. Pepper ad.  When Lauren was about 2 she always wanted some of my drink.  She still does sometimes.  But at the age of 2ish I took several pictures of her drinking and holding my Dr. Pepper can.  I need to see if I have them digital somewhere or take them out and scan so I can add them here.  They are hanging in the frame in our hallway.  For me this picture had some sentimental value.  For Lauren this one will for her because Lucky was in it. 

As a kid Dino was my favorite Flinstones vitamin.  I always liked getting the Dino vitamines.  I loved how Dino would greet Fred whenever he came.  Dino was my favorite part of the Flinstones cartoon and quite possibly the main reason I ever watched the Flinstones.  I also dated a guy when I was 17, Michael Chiti, who everyone called Dino.  But ... this will mostly have rememberance for Lauren because Lucky is in the picture and Lauren watches the Flinstones when she is at Nana and Papa's house because they Cartoon on Demand with a DVR.  We do not.  We have rabbit ears and a converter box which gives us two channels in English.  Mama can't afford cable.  And we don't miss it.  I enjoy the time we spend NOT sitting in front of a television.  I do miss the opportunity to watch show with my children but we buy the movies we like and Nana has bought us a lot.  Btw, Nana and Papa are amazing. 

Just because Lauren is pretty.  Lucky was Lucky enough to be in the presence of that beauty for the weekend.  Lucky Lucky.

After the birthday party at IW we quickly drove, a little too quickly, prolly the quickliest I've driven in our new Honda Insight Clear Sky Blue hybrid since we've gotten it.  It has  a cool device that is on the digital screen that monitors my acceleration and braking to see if I'm too hard and fast on the car with my increasing and decreasing of speed.  I lost some leaves on that trip to the bowling alley.  Of course I didn't pay attention fully to Sarah's invitation and left it who knows where.  So I called to tell her we were running late, pretty consistent for us even though I hate it and stress out when it happens and try to avoid it all the time.  But I have three children now and forget that time changes when you have kids.  Nothing will take the amt of time to do as it did before the children.  Nothing.  So I also don't know where it is and have to get directions.

Well, I was video taping April while driving, not good to do, and missed our turn so Lucky got to go over the fairly new bridge from 10 to 410.  Yep, the really high one that Russell likes.  We never go that way just becase we never need to go that far from where we live so it was Lucky for Lucky that he was with us.   Moving on...

We finally made it to Oak Hills Lanes for Sarah's birthday party.  30 min late.

 I try to always bowl on my birthday every year and Sarah is making a habit of the same.  The neat thing is that most of the people that are at my bowling birthday party are also at Sarah's bowling birthday party.  Sarah is my best friend is now 18.  I am 35.  She has been an incredible friend to me for 3 years now.  We love her and she loves us.

Russell seemed to really enjoy bowling.

As did Lauren. 

Lauren had a fantastic time bowling and her little personality was just glowing.  That bright beautiful shiny happy little girl that I adore was brightly shining yesterday.  Bowling is one of my favorite things to do and all of my kids are inheriting that love for bowling.  My mom used to have a bowling ball with a bag and shoes.  Her bag is gray is all I remember.  I know as kids we went bowling.  All I remember is vaguely a photograph type memory still picture of the entrance that we usded to come into the bowling alley.  I think it was in England.  Maybe El Paso.  Not sure.  Wish I remembered more of my childhood.  What I can do is preserve my children's childhood a little bit digitally here on blogspot.  Which is much more likely for me to do.  Lauren looked adorable today and was really back to the little girl that I remembered from a time ago.  I personally think she's exhausted.  She has always been big on her sleep.

After bowling we headed to Target because we just simply hadn't done enough yet that day.  (sarcasm)  We spent a good while having fun goofing off in the dollar section at Target which I think is a great idea with great little bits of merchandise that is far better than most dollar stores.  So good Target, I approve.  We tried on silly hats, Lucky in tow.  I should get Russell one he looks pretty cute in the picture.  They are only a dollar.  Lauren used her allowance of $2 ( a dollar a week per grade level) to buy a cat calendar and a cute Hello Kitty dry erase board.

cute. isn't she.

We don't really "do" Halloween as in we don't celebrate it.  What part of Halloween exactly is worth celebrating?  I am a fairly new Chrstian and my brother Eric, Uncle Eric, is a pastor so I often ask him what he does or does not do and why.  I really appreciate and respect how my brother hands me the facts and never really gives me an opinion but states the facts first.  I usually have to pry anyone opinionate info on stuff pertaining to religious activity.  Anyway.  He lead me to a couple of websites that told of the old pagan rituals and holidays and broke down thing such as the jack-o-lanter, dressing up, "trick or treat", and what not.  So I gained my opinion that was agreeable to his that "Halloween has not one redeeming factory."  It is just simply ungodly in all of it's root nature.  The longer I do not "celebrate" or even aknowledge it really the more I notice how ungodly it is.  You see a lot reference to killers, murderers, evil, unholy beings, and most of the girls (which is starting younger and younger each year) are wearing less and less and looking sexier as to promote sexuality in an immoral way.  So, no I don't "celebrate" Halloween.

But we do go to and enjoy a lot of "Fall Fun Fests."  Cornerstone Church puts on a really good one.  4 years ago our church put one on and we loved it.  We haven't done it since though. Or maybe we did two starting back 5 years ago.  Either way.  Lauren and I one time went to one at Jone Maltsberger and Redland Rd.  I can't rermember the name of the church right now.  I'm pretty sure it has lots of "R"s in it.  But Cornerstone's by far has the best.  They call it "Hallelujah Night"  which I think makes us sound even crazier to the non-believer.  But whatever.  It is incredible.  Rides, inflatables, swings, train, booths, bungy, pumpkin decorating...  This year was even cooler than last year.  It is from 4-9pm and both years we got there right before it was over.  I like how they end at dark where as Halloween itself starts at night.  (the darkness)  The one at Cornerstone focuses on the light, the daylight, not the darkness.  They said their Feast Of Tabernacles is way better and bigger.  Hard to imagine.  But it is a 3day event I think.  The week right before.  Please remember to go next year, Brandi.  I heard about it on KLOVE but figured it would be weird, religiousy, historically dumb.  I don't like history.  Never have.  I'm starting to now.    Long story short.  Lucky didn't "celebrate"  Halloween either.  He chose the light and not the darkness. 

this was the night before the Inflatable Wonderland and bowling parties.  I just didn't take my camer and my phone battery died otherwise I would have taken more pictures.  Lucky was almost unluckily left on the very cool game truck.  Game Truck  which was a truck that had a long couch running lengthwise along the inside of the big truck.  there were 4 50" inch plasma TV's and up to 16 people could and were playing xbox and Wii.  Very cool.  It was packed with kids and me.  After about 10 minutes they were shutting down the park which was around 9ish.  So everybody was off and out of the game truck except for me asking the gentleman who was with Game Truck lots of questions.  Otherwise had it not been empty we probably wouldn't have seen Lucky laying on the long empty couch in a long mostly empty truck.  Thanks, Mr. Game Truck.  Lucky for Lucky that God is all about the timing and His children.

So all in all Lucky had a very exciting weekend with Lauren this weekend.  Lucky for us.  We were glad to have Lucky with us.  Going on word play here.  I don't believe in luck.  For God is sovereign.  God is in control.  God has a plan.  It's big. and it's perfect.  Nothing happens without God's approval.  Sometimes that can be really hard to swallow.  But we don't know the plan.  And we don't see the whole picture.  But I do know as I look back on some really trying times in my life and in others.  I can see God's hand in it all.  I can tell He knew the whole time that there was a purpose and a plan and that is was and alwasy is for the best.  God is for us.  God loves us.  God wants not one of us to perish.  God prefers for us to believe on His love and to live out that belief in love.  Just as He has done in His Son Jesus Christ.  So luck, no i don't "do" luck either.  But Lucky, him I like.