2 months of craziness and some sad news.

Whew. The last two months have flown by. Here's an update on us in a nutshell:
I did start working more on my novel in November. I finished another 2-3 chapters, but I didn't get it done, mostly because all the writing I thought I was going to do by the pool in Mexico just. didn't. happen. Not surprising since we were there with the Cotys. We love them, but they are a "bad" influence. (Uno cervesa, por favor?) And yes, I stopped at uno.

Mexico was wonderful. 80 degrees and sunny, and according to our friends who live there, this was a cold front. Best cold front I've ever experienced! I doubt that I'll get around to posting pictures, but they are on facebook for anyone who's my friend over there.

The sad news is that at the beginning of December, my Gramma Johnson, got very sick with a staph infection and was not able to fight it off. She left us on December 12. The hole she has left in our family is huge, but I am comforted by the knowledge that I will see her again someday. One of these days, I'm planning to dedicate an entire post to telling you about how amazing she was and the influence that she and my grampa were to me personally, but I'm just not able to do that yet. I would probably just sob the entire time I was writing it, but watch for it sometime in the next few months.

We were able to survive the holidays, with somewhat less fanfare than usual, given the circumstances, but we all still were able to enjoy the small moments. Maybe even more so, knowing what we have lost.

So now we look ahead to 2010. I don't anticipate that life will slow down for the Meek family, but I do plan to take even more time than I usually do to find the joy in small things. I do hope that I will have more pleasant things to post about in the coming weeks.

Until next time,

Becca

NaNoWriMo and Mexico...

This month, I am attempting to finish the novel I started a couple of years ago. I signed up for NaNoWriMo, a website dedicated to National Novel Writing Month (November), which will hopefully keep me motivated to actually do some writing. So far, I've finished another two chapters, but I'm hoping to get some more work done by the pool....


in Mexico, where Jon and I will be in just four short days! We are headed to Fiesta, the NewFrontiers Mexico Leaders conference. We are very excited to go, especially since our best friends Brooke and Brad will be traveling with us. I know I'll have lots of pictures to post when I get back, and hopefully I'll have some more of my book done, too!

'Til next time,

Becca

{pictures}

I just placed an order through the Costco photo center for all my Disneyland pictures. I'll pick them up this afternoon, and then I'll have to get busy scrapping. Speaking of scrapping...my good friends Renee and Jami are at Scrap Camp right now. I'm so jealous. I know they are having an awesome time. Well, perhaps next weekend I'll be planning my very own little scrap camp right in my very own basement.

'Til next time,

Becca

All I want for Christmas...

You guessed it...
Her two front teeth.

and after...

Kitchen before...

Zoo part tooooo.... (I mean 2)

At the zoo...

A few pics from our time in Portland a few weeks ago....

Part 2 coming soon....

First day of school!!

First, fourth and sixth. Crazy.

Bad blogger. Bad.

Me. I've been a very bad blogger. I do have an excuse, however. Well, actually, I have several excuses.
Excuse 1: August has been extremely busy. We were out of town for a total of 9 days this month, I went back to work a few days a week 2 weeks ago, back full time this week, Jon preached out of town, we had a church service at the fair, I had a couple of different planning meetings, and somewhere in there we still hung out with friends. It's been a whirlwind of a month.
Excuse 2: I lost my camera cord, so I couldn't upload any pictures that I took on our adventures. The cord has been found now, so expect some pictures some time this weekend.
Excuse 3: To add insult to injury, the camera belonging to the aforementioned cord decided to finally die after threatening to for the last year and a half. Some new friends of ours (who we hope will be friends for a long time to come!) blessed us with a very gently used camera that they don't use any more, which is way nicer than the one that just kicked it.
Excuse 4: I mentioned that I went back to work, right?

And speaking of work....
This fall I will not be subbing. I've been offered a half time librarian job at the school I've been at for the last two years, along with a half time office position. It's the perfect combination for me, and I'm super excited!! I'm planning a shopping trip this weekend to supplement my work wardrobe. :)

I think that's all for now. I'm going to try to catch up on pictures, updates and everything this weekend, and the kids go back to school on Monday. So I'll probably end up waxing nostalgic in there somewhere too. It's what I do.

'Til we meet again,

Becca

August...

Today is August 1st. This means that school starts in less than a month. It means school shopping and making sure we have everything ready for the first day. It means that our summer life of relaxation and days filled with whatever we want to fill them with are almost over. Summer's last hurrah is just around the corner, so we'll enjoy each of our last days of summer to the fullest!! These last few weeks will be busy!

busy, busy, busy

Oh, my, the last couple of weeks have gone by in a blur! We had Bethany's birthday, which I already posted pics of, we had the church's 32nd anniversary, which we celebrated by having a big celebration at Caras Park, complete with a community carnival! It was awesome! Jon and I celebrated our 13th anniversary, the kids went camping with Grampa, came home for a day, and then Gabe left for Scout camp. He'll be gone for 9 days!! Yikes. I'm already missing him and can't believe that my boy can really survive without me for 9 whole days! (The fact that I left him to go to England for longer than that last summer is completely irrelevant!)

Today we had a great time playing with my sister and her kids visiting from Oregon. Papa treated us to lunch, an afternoon at Splash, and ice cream afterwards! It's always so fun to see our kids hanging out. They are the perfect ages to play with each other. I always find myself wishing they lived closer, so that the kids could hang out more often than once a year, but I guess I will just have to be content with how things are, for now. We are headed their way in a week and a half, though, so we'll hit twice this year! Of course, I forgot my camera, so I have no pics to show, unless Papa actually uploads his and emails them to me!!

Well, that's all for now. We've got a busy couple of weeks ahead of us. I have another job interview on Wednesday, and am still waiting to hear on another one. We go to Oregon, then we have Fair Week (and the food!!!) and then two weeks until school starts for the kids! Whew, where, oh where did my summer go?

NINE!!

Bethany is 9!! She's getting too big, and growing up too fast. We had a great birthday party, and she got lots of great presents. Thanks to everyone who made her day special!!

aahhhh...summer!

We (the kids and I) spent a wonderfully relaxing afternoon playing at a local pond. I didn't take the camera, so I have no pics to share, but we played in the water, we laid in the sun, we snacked on Cheez-its and Oreos. Summer bliss.

We are headed into a busy weekend, with Bethany's birthday coming up, and then Jon and my anniversary, but it should be fun. My Dad is taking the kids camping starting Monday for a few days, so Jon and I will have free babysitting for our date night for our anniversary!! (Woohoo!!)

Things have been a little hectic around here lately, even though it's summer, with Gabe camping with the Scouts, Jon taking on more responsibility at the church, me with applications and interviews (I had one this morning!!) and painting the kitchen cabinets (ugh), and the girls with playdates, so it was especially nice today to spend the entire afternoon sitting in the sun, enjoying a good book and good friends, and remembering why we live where we live.

4 eyes!!

Yes, it's true, Gabe has glasses. He got them today, and he's seeing waaaaaay better. Jon and I had hoped that perhaps our kids would be spared by some weird mutation of genetics, but it looks as though this is not the case. He looks so smart!! (which he IS).

TWBA: Parental freedoms

TWBA (this week's blog assignment) is to write about the freedoms I get to enjoy as a parent when we have a babysitter. Very fun, and I think I need a date night!!

The first freedom I enjoy when Jon and I get a sitter is that we get to give each other our undivided attention. This is something that usually only comes at the end of the day, so when we get to have an entire evening of it, we cherish it.

Another freedom we enjoy is that usually we end up eating somewhere nicer than we would take the kids when we have a sitter. It's just usually how it works out. One of our favorite places to go is Jakers. They have the most excellent food! And since Jon and I like food, then this is a special treat!

It's also nice to be able to enjoy adult conversation. We have great kids, who get along most of the time, but there are definitely times when it is nice to get away from the conversation that revolves around baby dolls, Pet Shops (if you have girls, you know what these are), and Scouts.

I would have to say that the thing I enjoy the absolute most about spending time with Jon when we have a sitter is that I get to spend time with my best friend. And we're definitely due for a date night! Our anniversary is in two weeks!

A new tradition...

We began a new 4th of July tradition this year. We always go to Southgate Mall to watch the fireworks, and we have often purchased soft drinks, popcorn and cotton candy from the Boy Scouts. This year, since Gabe's Troop is the one that sells such wondrous items, we not only purchased them, but Jon and Gabe got to sell them! I think that this will probably become a new tradition for the Meek family.

Our celebration!!

TWBA: List of 10 books

So, I'm on a new forum. It's called The Dressing Room. I just joined, but every week they have a weekly blog assignment. This week's is a list of your 10 favorite books. Since I am such a reader, we'll see if I can narrow it down to only 10!! There are soooo many good books out there! (Sorry I'm not putting in pics of the covers).



1. Love You Forever by Robert Munsch

2. Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown

3. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

4. The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

5. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien

6. Big Chickens by Leslie Helakoski

7. The Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder

8. The Ramona books by Beverly Cleary

9. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

10. The Redwall Books by Brian Jacques



So, there's my list. If you haven't read these books, I highly recommend them all!

Land of Mouse, fifth and final installment. (I think).

Princess Ears.

We love Minnie!

My boys.

Group shot on our final night.
Our feet were swollen, we'd been up since 6 am, and had to get up the next morning at 5.
We were tired, but as you can see, we were oh, SO happy! We made memories that will last a lifetime!

California Dreamin'

These were taken at the California Adventure park. Wow, did we love the rollercoaster over there.


My rollercoaster girl!

Happy faces!

Land of Mouse, part 4

So happy together....

A Mad Hatter

Mouseheads!

On our way out, the first night. What a blast!

Land of Mouse, part 3

We're in the happiest place on Earth!

Teacups! (There's a reason Jon was taking the pictures and not on the ride).

Having fun!

Waiting in line.