Superbowl!!

 

SEAHAWKS WIN SUPERBOWL!

 

 

The Paulson's helped the home team win, we helped by decorating and do what we could. 

 

It's only crazy if it doesn't work, right??

 

RIGHT!!

*Yes I did go through 2 big bags of M&M's to pick out blue and green M&M's

 Our table

*table cloth is a flat bed sheet...my kids don't use them so I kept them...now I know why!

 Great Christmas gift!  I love this

Frank put his flag up...it was lucky!

We had our balloons from Lee's 10th birthday...yes they lasted that long AND they are still holding up...well the football ones are anyway.  Actually one of them yesterday finally started coming down. That's some good Helium!

More uses for my flat sheets!

 Seahawk fans

Just like everyone else we bought our share of Skittles...because we need to

"FEED THE BEAST"  to achieve BEASTMODE!

I made a delightful dessert...no those aren't raisens, but man did it taste good.  I would make this again and many times because you can keep tweaking it with different things.

 

Our Power Pellets!

 

 My new dip bowl set I got for Christmas...some dip and candy...not to be mixed!

 HAWKS!

 

 Frank's dad found the 12th man beer and got his boys some and I had some Angry Orchard cidar...YUM!

 

 We are behind the Hawks 100%

 

What a day!  What a ride! What a season!

 

Go Seahawks!!

Christmas Pj's

We found Duck Dynasty pj's!!

 

The kids were so excited.  And if I'm honest I was excited too, we found as close to  matching pairs as we could  this year...it's harder than you think!

 

 This by far is my favorite picture of my boys...this was all their idea.

 Just another view

 and of course a zombie picture seems appropriate for Christmas...right??

Christmas Season

 

Alright, because I'm so far behind and had forgotten how far behind I was.  Here is the short version of our holiday season in picture review.

 

 Eli wrapping a brother's gift...they had so much fun shopping for their brothers!  We like it  because it encourages them to think of someone besides themselves!

Cookies have been made and left out with a cup of chocolate milk and egg nog for Santa

Santa came and left Ian and Lee gifts

and left some gifts for Dru and Eli

Batman up close and personal!

Santa even came for Mighty and Charlie!!

Stockings were being stuffed!

All ready!

 

Tada!

Santa drinking and eating...Good job Santa!

Championship Birthdays

 

60th & 10th

 

It's time I get this out there so I can move on to other posts.

 

This is Lee and Grandpa Lee's birthdays...they agreed to share the day with each other and also with a Seahawk Championship game.  A lot was riding on this day...the whole day could have been wrecked...for a lot of people!

 

 

Here is Grandpa Lee with the grandkids

 

 

 

Grandpa Lee and Lee

The birthday boys...Lee was born on this day with only minutes to spare.

 

The Seahawk fan base

 

 

Birthday Pies

Lee picked Toll house pie

(tastes just like a Toll house chocolate chip cookie)



 

 

Grandpa Lee picked a berry pie

 

We gave Lee a BB gun...he has yet to use it because we have no place at our house but soon he will get to use it at Grandpa and Grandma's house.  He's had a long wait!

 

Mighty and Charlie are Seahawk fans TOO!

 

Lee and a cousin

 

So there was the birthdays in championship fashion! 

Happy birthday Lee!!

 

 

This really cool airplane Boeing had painted...it was incredible!  I would love to see this in person.

Ash Wednesday

 

So today is Ash Wednesday. Today starts some of us off into a 40 day journey into Lent.  Lent is when believers prepare themselves by self-denial, penance (did anyone have Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade go through their head just now?), repentance, and so on.  In preparation for Holy week and Easter.  Many, like me, think of something that would be a sacrifice (or fast) to give up in our daily lives and routines.  Many people do candy, soda, salt, bread. Some even go so far as to give up technology or social networks like Facebook. Many people also choose to add something they normally don't do or something that makes them stop and be aware and purposeful about their intentions.  Many add things like changing attitudes, meditation, read the Bible.  Or, like a relative of mine so eloquently put it," giving up laundry and dishes is what she would give up, seems like such a time suck".  Let me just say there is SO much truth in that! 

 

I have not participated in this observance for a few years and really felt the pull this year to do it.   So here we are, day one in the books.

 

 

I have decided that I will give up, or deny myself Peanut butter.  I know that sounds really, really silly...trust me I do.  But if you know me...you know I have this 'thing' with peanut butter.  Not just any brand, but JIF.  We go way back...unfortunately I think it's a genetic thing...it seems that my side of the family has this thing for peanut butter.  Anyway, in the process of thinking what I would be giving up I was stumped, until earlier this week when I was making Eli his lunch.  You have to understand how much we go through in just a month...a lot...probably 6-8lbs (so 2 really big jars of it...think big like Costco big) in a month.  So in the midst of making yet another sandwich for Eli that involved said product, I was thinking about just how much I loved it and that I even went out of my way to buy the brand I liked and not the generic version...I even went a step further and bought the natural version.  I knew then that would be what I would need to let go...for 40 days....we are on day 1 folks and it was already hard...not terribly but enough I noticed and I crave it ...bad!

 So bad that when I saw this picture it was like they were in my house taking a picture of me sneaking yet another spoonful of this stuff when everyone has gone to bed (because I have enough room in my day calorie wise I can do this...doesn't mean I should....but I do!).  Better yet the spoon has peanut butter on it with chocolate chips OR peanut butter and Nutella together....you see the problem?

 Yet I digress.  In the other vein of Lent I have also chose to add at least 10 minutes of prayer to my day.  It doesn't have to be in one chunk but a total I suppose.  I am leaning on the face that the Lord will guide my heart and mind in this area as this is all new and things might need to be changed or tweaked.  I think I will be finding/making a prayer journal and writing things down there to help me focus.  It's not that I don't pray, but I could practice praying more and praying when things are good and not just when things are bad.  I want more in my prayers and I want to hear more and stay focused more...not fall asleep while praying in bed.  Pretty sure that's just not cutting it.

 Does this even happen to you while praying? It happens a lot to me and I know that's the devil working against me but man some days he wins.  So I want to learn in these 40 days to pray with as little distractions as possible or learn to pray during all those distractions. I tend to think the latter is what needs to happen. 

Because when I get easily distracted...

Things like this happen...

 

PEANUT BUTTER!

 

 

SO when that happens I want to remember to pray to God to help me through that distraction and to focus on something else. Perhaps praying for a situation or a person would be a better use of my time rather than thinking of what I can't have....besides a million dollars and peanut butter.

 

I am looking forward to learning something and/or testing myself during this journey, I think I have picked some good ways to challenge myself and to grow in my faith.

 

 

John 3:16 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

       Daniel 9:3 - And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes

 

 

Oh Lord hear my prayers and search my heart

 

Artist Rendering

 

 

 

When I go to work I stay after and do some prep work.  While I do that Eli spends time playing with the toys at school or I bring on occasion my iPod for him to watch movies on or play games.  This day, however, he found the Potato family and made a rendering of our family.  I just can't figure out if I'm the one with red lipstick and heels on or if I have the pretty lashes and blue hat.  He never would tell me...abstract art or something!



Is it weird I have a craving for chips?

 

Baseball

Well it's that time of year again at the Paulson house...BASEBALL!

 

Well if I'm really honest it's baseball but it's really the time of year where we are all tired of looking at each other and being all up in each other's personal space. So we do a sport and get out there and get moving.  Mind you I didn't grow up in a sports anything family...the extended family did all kinds of sports...we just didn't.  Which is fine...really. 

Now that I'm married and with a very sports orientated family we do sports a lot.  And might I add I am SO thankful for sports!  I think if we didn't have at the very least baseball and the swim lesson in the summer that the grandparents pay for I'd be crazy, really I think I would be.

 

Anyway, this year Ian surprised us all by saying he wanted to do baseball this year.  He claims he took last year off, but I lean towards the fact that he had an awful year last year...horrid coach and most of the teammates teasing Ian and then some of the parents saying stupid/ignorant things loudly to Ian.  We allowed him to take the year off but he helped Lee's coach out, sorta.  Mostly he played and helped watch his brothers at the park during games and practices, a built in sitter.  Life was grand!

This year for baseball ages 6+ have to go to assessments.  Which is a polite way of saying try-outs for the kids.  So off Ian and Lee go, both are excited and know a bunch of kids.  Ian I knew was gonna be looked at differently and probably with more eyes on him. Which is fine we knew that going into it and there were things he couldn't' do well, like jogging/running.  He's just not there yet with his hip. I was proud of him for doing this and sticking with it and in front of a lot of kids and many that were his peers.  I can't say I would be brave enough to have done it with so many people watching. 

 

It has now come down to coaches looking at things and adding numbers up and drafting.  Turns out our Ian was not drafted by anyone.  I feel SO bad, and if I'm honest a little steamed.  Ian needed this for his hip, socially, building endurance, physically, mentally, etc.. Except it isn't going to happen again for Ian.  Pretty sure he won't ask to do baseball again, maybe through the middle  school, but I won't be holding my breath. 

 

So all that to say I'm really sad for Ian and although he has moved on and already found something else to focus on (tormenting his parents and digging in and being naughty and getting grounded and all those lovely things...we do try and discourage this strong focus on being naughty but right now he seems to be winning...the tide will turn soon enough).  So until all those things get better there will be no swim lessons for him, and that's what he would like to do instead of baseball.  They did offer him a team, but it would have been a much younger team and he would have been the oldest, and that quickly turned him off.  I can't say I blame him and there was a kid on there we knew and Ian just can't stand him and I can't either,r so I can't say I blame Ian.

 

 

Lee, Dru and Eli will do baseball this year and secretly I might be just a little glad we won't have 4 different schedules to figure out this season. 

 

I guess I should mention why Ian didn't get drafted and it was because his reaction times were really delayed and they didn't want Ian to get hurt.  I'm sure some of that is his hip but I also know Ian.  Unfortunately, for Ian that kid is all me and he is gangly, awkward, slow and extremely uncoordinated and when you get to those higher up divisions they get really competitive and some of those baseballs are being thrown at like 50-60mph...those dang things hurt if you get thumped by one.  I really do get where the league is coming from for Ian but it certainly doesn't take the sting out of the situation or make it hurt any less.

 

Some days it is really hard to be a parent and watch your kid go through things, knowing this will help them in their life and it's a growing opportunity, it is still really hard.  I think I' taking it harder than he is...that or he's really good at not letting me see how he really feels.

 

It's probably me! :D

 

Alright...well off I go, tomorrow comes quick fast and in a hurry and dragging said kid out of bed isn't hard, it's the getting him to pick up the pace.

 

Good night to one and all!