Thumone lotht their firtht toof!

And the tooth fairy even came!

(I have to admit, I almost titled this post, A Fish looses his tooth, just for those weird google searches I seem to get!)

Just for today

Just for today, I am not going to complain. I am going to look around and thank God for every blessing and every challenge that He gives me. I am going to offer every discomfort, inconvenience, or misunderstanding up to Him.

How can I complain when I look into the eyes of a woman who cried all through Mass last night because her son is leaving for Iraq as an Army infantryman. As I tried to get my 5 year old to "behave" in Mass, I finally relaxed and just thanked God that he was there to make a ruckus. I wondered if the woman behind me was longing for those days with her son...

How can I complain when I have a friend who just received news that her cancer has returned. I can put an ice pack on my most serious health issue. We never know what will happen tomorrow, but today, I have my health, my children have theirs, and we can pray for those friends of ours that are struggling with health problems.

So, if you talk to me today, or anyday for that matter, and I seem to be ungrateful, please remind me of how blessed I am...

Better than good news!

Hans is CANCER FREE! Can we all say ALLELUIA!!!!!!!! Read the update here.

How does she do it?

Say what you will about Harry Potter. That boy can get my kids to read!

Bean got the last book in her hands at lunch time yesterday. She worked for 4 hours at the Tae Kwon Do school, and still managed to read the almost 800 page book last night.

My son, Foo has read the first three books in four days!

I now have proof that they CAN get something read if they really want to!

400th Post

This post marks my 400th. Not sure what that means, but I thought, WOW, aside from nursing and changing diapers, I've been consistent with something enough to say I've done it HUNDREDS of times!!

My posting has been sporadic at best lately. We've been so busy around these parts. We are busy planning for school, training for marathons, and going full throttle with our ventures.

I couldn't let the latest Fishism pass without telling you all about it.

Ever since last October, Fish has developed a sense of fear, something I thought he'd never have. He's afraid of movie theaters, museum classes, and in general trying anything new.

We've made some progress with this and he was able to attend the movies last week with his big brother and Daddy. He was too scared to see Ratatouille, but was quite content to sit through Fantastic Four. (not mom's choice, but boys will be boys!)

Yesterday, we had the wonderful pleasure of attending a birthday party of a dear friend. There was singing, dancing, and games to be enjoyed. Fish would not partake of any of the singing or the dancing and was doing the backstroke on the games.

I encouraged him to just watch and see if he might want to try to Pin the Tail on the Donkey. He wasn't convinced, but he agreed to watch. Within minutes he was very excited to take HIS turn at being blindfolded and turned and finally let loose to get to the business of pinning.

He didn't quite make it to the donkey, but he was very close. I was proud that he tried something that was scary for him.

Best of all, my little boy, who is truly ALL BOY in every sense of the word, displayed his gentlemanly, heroic self when several of the other guests we having trouble opening their treats. He took it upon himself to go around the table and assist each one who needed it. At one point, he came to me (I was oblivious to what he was doing) and started tapping me trying to get my attention. I became a bit short with him and reminded him that he was interrupting me. He insisted that I come with him. I complied, all the while wondering what could possibly be so wrong that he had to come pull me to the table.

Once we were at the table, he began pointing at a little girl. I asked him what was wrong. He continued to just point, but with much insistence. Finally he said, "she can't eat!" This poor child could not open her treats and Joseph could not open them either. I was so proud in that moment. My little "devil" was such an angel.

Honestly, we've always known about his gentle, sensitive side, we just haven't had the opportunity to see it very much. I suspect as he matures, we will see more of this side of him.

I took the time to tell him how very proud I was of him. How his kindness and compassion were so wonderful. He glowed! I hate to admit this, but Fish does get more than his share of stern looks and firm tones. He is definitely a strong-willed person, and I try to remember that this will be a good thing some day! This moment at the party proved the point. If he hadn't been so insistent with me coming to the table, that little girl might not have enjoyed her treats.

Once we were home, I bragged about what he did to his daddy, who was very proud as well. Fish glowed once again! What a beautiful face he has...

When we asked him what his favorite part of the party was he answered...

"When we played PUT THE TAIL BACK ON THE GOAT!" I hope I never forget these memories.

The Torch has been passed

Once upon a time, a little Foo played with some trains. He kept them so well. His Daddy made him a train table and he would play for hours with Thomas and his friends. We would build the wooden track and make "choo choo" noises. It was the best of times. Then along came a Fish.



Fish loved his trains! He loved them so much he would take them out to the bird bath to make sure they got clean. He was sure they could swim. When he played, the track was merely debris and the trains loved to be tossed around the room. How differently my two sons played with their trains. The chips of paint that came off of these trains were our first indicator that Fish was NOT Foo. Poor Foo's beautiful wooden trains were now chipped and worn. But we knew they were loved.



Now, my little Boo has picked up the torch and has officially passed from babyhood to toddlerdom. (if you enlarge this picture of him, you can see his lips saying, "Choo choo!") I don't know when or how it happened. But it has. I wonder what he has in store for these little trains.

Shine III

For those of you who like to keep up with our Shine family retreats, you can experience our last one through a series of pictorials on our Shine blog.

Am I stuck in time?

I was talking this morning about how I've never had to attend a jury summons because I've always had a young child at home that exempted me from my obligation. I joked about how I've had a child under 10 in my home for a LOOONG time! Then I realized, I have!!

I am not complaining. I feel so blessed. But sometimes, I have days where I feel as though I am doing the same things over and over with little result. I know that this is not true. But some days it does "feel" like that. Thank goodness I've learned to not always go by how I feel. (Notice I said "not always". I'm far from perfect, LOL)

Cindy has a wonderful post concerning the other end of the spectrum. It really gave me pause to think about how each of us are on our own journey, and how we may each cross one another's path for a time, but ultimately, we will all meet Christ, face to face and standing by ourselves. Our spouses won't be there, our children won't be there, our best friends and family won't be there.

Am I ready to meet Him as I am today? Just me. Not what I've done, not what I want to do. Not who I do it for? Just me. Just my heart. Just my love for Him.

Supposedly summer is the time of year that we slow down and enjoy the warm weather, the more relaxed schedule, and plan for the fall.

Someone lied! I've been so busy lately that I haven't had a moment to blog. I am going through withdrawal!

I did want to post a picture of Boo after his little spill off of a kid's table the night of Bean's birthday.

He is looking much better now, but I had to share this pitiful face!

Before the fall...



After...

How to win a husband's heart...

Some may say it's through a good meal, but then you'd eat my cooking.

Some would say it's through complete obedience, but then you'd meet me.

This is how I won my husband's heart this week...

his new toy!

As I write this, he is upstairs happily vacumming away. And let me just say, this vacuum is awesome!

Arguing with the Almighty

Last night, Mark and I watched Bruce Almighty in attempts to get ourselves prepped for Evan Almighty. I can not recommend Bruce Almighty for family viewing, not even really for "appropriate" viewing because of a few scenes that are less than noble coupled with a few choice curse words, but nevertheless, this movie makes me laugh out loud!

I have seen this movie several times and I still find it so funny! I love how the main character, Bruce, played by Jim Carrey, constantly and consistently talks to God, argues with God, whines at God, mopes to God, etc. I find it strangely familiar!

In one of my favorite scenes. Bruce is driving somewhere fast, asking God to show him a sign. Begging Him to tell him what to do. Of course, God, in His wonderful sense of humor, places many signs, obstacles, and bumps in Bruce's path, but Bruce doesn't see them because he is too consumed with yelling at God to show him a sign!!

I must admit that I have acted similarly myself on many occasions. I love how God still embraces us when we act so silly! Does He look down at us and giggle? I must offer Him many opportunities for a good belly laugh.

She's Sweet 16!

This week has been so full of joy and happiness as we have come together for our 3rd annual Shine Retreat! What made this one even more special? The blessing of our daughter's 16th birthday!

We were so blessed to be able to have many of her friends, all wonderful and truly amazing examples of Christian lives. We did miss those who weren't able to be with us, but know that they were there in spirit!

You can read a wonderful account of the event here on Mickey Miss' blog. I would try to write my own, but hey, I'm on vacation and my brain is not in "think" mode! So I'll hijack hers!

A huge highlight this past week was the visit from some of our cousins from Michigan. It always so hard to say goodbye and can't wait until the next time we see one another. And now that I know that they sometimes read this blog, I get to say HI GUYS!!!!!!!!!



Let's see if they can figure out how to comment...

Now on the subject of 16 year olds, I must say, it has been a true joy to raise one. Bean is such a wonderful person, such a thoughtful, caring, and loving soul. Her family and friends adore her. She is definitely a 16 year old girl, complete with mood swings, but she holds herself to a very high standard and usually lives up to that standard.

Being her mother, I try to find the times to tell her how much she means to me. But, I usually fail. I know we all remember how hard it was to talk with our parents when we were teens. But I assure you, it is just as hard, if not harder to talk with your teen when you are the parent. They feel we don't understand them, and we only wish they could understand us.

I know she reads my blog, so taking advantage of this moment, I hope you will indulge this mom and let me tell my sweet little girl a few things.




Bean, you are awesome. You are beautiful. Beautiful to look at and beautiful inside. You inspire me to be a better person, a better mother. I am sorry that I don't say thank you for all of those things you do that I don't seem to recognize. They do not go unnoticed, just unmentioned.

I know that sometimes, well, ok, a lot of times, your parent's rules don't make a whole lot of sense, but believe this. These rules are one way that we tell you we love you. We love you enough to be nosy. We love you enough to be embarrassing and ask questions that might make you cringe. We love you enough to say "no". We love you enough to say, "you must".

Perhaps one day, God will bless you with children and then some of what we done might make more sense. Maybe it won't.

Do not go to bed tonight without knowing this. YOU ARE LOVED! You are so loved! Each day we pray that we are doing the right things for you, the things that God wants us to do for you. Each day, you make us proud. You make us smile. You make us deeply grateful to have a daughter like you!

As you grow into young adulthood, never forget that we are always here for you. We are always a safe place, even when you are afraid that we won't understand. Know that we will NEVER abandon you. We will ALWAYS support you. We will FOREVER love you.

You are our living angel.

Happy Birthday, Bean!

More about the Sweetest 16 Luau you've ever seen when we are back from vacation.

For now, a preview...

Busy, Busy, Week!

(this is a picture of Nyokki. His hair finally grew and he needed a hair cut, so Lem took a before shot)


This week has been a blur! This was Mark's first "official" week home, although he did go into the clinic a couple of hours here and there to try and tie up a few loose ends.

The business is growing at a nice pace, which is a relief since we've thrown all caution, (and some may argue, common sense), to the wind and left the world of working for others. We are officially self-employed and I have a few sleepless nights to prove it!!

The week started off with a bang with Boo having a seizure. Thankfully, he responded well to the fever reducing medicines and didn't have any more.




This was also testing week at Tae Kwon Do which is always busy. Fish tested yesterday and earned his BLACK BELT in Karate Kubs! WOO HOO!! Go Fish!! He is so very proud of himself and we are very proud of him as well. It seems like it was just a few months ago that he started this journey. But it has been almost two years. He will likely move up to the regular TKD program in the late fall, depending upon his ability to handle the class length and the physical demand required for the more complex forms. I am not in any rush to have him move on. He is so happy where he is.






Today Lem and I ran a race. She hung in there for the whole duration in spite of the heat and humidity. You can read more about that on my running blog.

We are on the final count down to SHINE III! I can't wait! This week will prove to be even busier than the last, so I am not sure if I'll be posting much. I promise to take lots of pictures and post them as soon as I can!

The Fishism of the week was this. Fish has been working on getting his chores done each day. If mom and dad think he did his best work, he gets a quarter. On Tuesday, he earned one and ran downstairs crying, "Look Daddy! I've got toppins!" Can you guess what we have been watching??

We knew it was coming...

We just didn't know when. All of my sons seem to have seizures with fevers, even fevers that aren't very high. We've been waiting to see if Boo developed them as well. This morning at 2:30 am, when I couldn't figure out why I was laying there wide awake, the seizure reared its ugly head.

Boo is fine, Mom and Dad a bit shaken, but all in all we did pretty well. No mommy screaming "CALL 911!!" No extreme freaking out, just alot of silent praying and holding of the little one. This was followed up by a 4am showing of Elmo in Grouchland which always makes Boo happy!

Why this picture you ask? Because it makes me smile! How about you?

Life Lesson for Fish

Life Lesson #1

Leapsters are NOT washable.


Life Lesson #2

If you ask your older brother to pinch you, and he does, it will probably hurt.

Who can it be now??

Who can it be knocking at my door?
Make no sound, tip-toe across the floor.
If he hears, he'll knock all day,
I'll be trapped, and here I'll have to stay.
I've done no harm, I keep to myself;
There's nothing wrong with my state of mental health.
I like it here with my childhood friend;

Just another Men at Work moment around the FTroop Farm!

Prayer Request Update

We were able to visit with our friend Kim today and she is doing well. Her speech is coming back, though not as quickly as she would like! I can only imagine how frustrating this must be for her.

The news is not the best, however. She has a glioblastoma. As she said tonight, "I am a fighter, I am a fighter." Please continue to pray for Kim, her husband Kirk, and their sweet daughter Mackenzie. I know they are coveting all of the prayers they can right now.

A website is being set up for the friends and family of Kim to keep updated. I'll post the site as soon as it is ready.

Happy Birthday!

I love Pentecost! It is the birthday of the Church, it is the Feast Day of the Holy Spirit, and today, by some chance, it is the day I had a Mass said for Mom.

The deacon gave a wonderful homily, one that was so spirit-filled that it moved me to tears. He is so passionate about his faith. He makes me want to delve even deeper into my own.

He is a very charismatic man and he brings a certain flair to his homilies that you don't normally feel or see in most. He isn't afraid to ask the tough questions, admit his shortcomings, and today even had the congregation praying out loud to the Holy Spirit during his homily!

I know that this might not sit well with some folks, but sometimes, I think we get into a rut in our ways of worship and Deacon Mike was sent to shake things up a bit. I love it!

Today he talked about what an unbelievable experience it must have been to be an apostle that day. He truly made them human in my eyes. He talked about how scared they must have been, hiding in that Upper Room, doubting the last three years of their lives. Wondering how they could have gone so wrong! They walked away from everything away to follow around someone that they thought was the Messiah. Were they wrong? They just watched Him die on the cross? But then, something wonderful happened. The Spirit of the Lord descended upon them, gave them the gift of tongues, and the courage to go out into the world and make disciples of men! Imagine that! One moment you are doubting everything you've ever know, the next, you are so full of the Spirit that NOTHING will stop you from carrying out the Good News! MAN! That is so awesome!

Feeling the Holy Spirit as powerfully as I did two weekends ago during Confirmation, I can see how that would change someone. I have seen it change someone. I have seen it change many.

Many years ago, I was very alone, very afraid, and very unsure of where in the world God wanted me to be. I wasn't even sure that there was a God. I prayed anyway, "Please, Lord, if you really are there, I NEED to feel you right now."

As I lay in a dark room, with no hope left in me, I felt His presence in the form of a beautiful warm hug that stayed with me for quite sometime. I was able from that moment on, to turn away from the life I was living and move forward toward Him. I know that without a doubt, in that moment I was touched by the Spirit. I was given a beautiful gift of grace that has allowed me to become who I am today. Not because of anything that I have done, only because of what He has done within me. I am forever grateful for that moment, and for every moment after that.

And to those who are serving, have served and especially to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, Thank You. Those words will never be enough, but they are all I have. My prayers are always with you.

Hair cutes

Wouldn't you agree that the recent visit to the barber left us with hair cuts as well as hair cutes?