Twenty Years Pass in a Flash

This past weekend, we attended my 20-year high school reunion. Seriously ... I am NOT old enough for this! It just doesn't seem possible! I am the age my mom was when I graduated from high school! WHAT???? I'm not THAT old! And, now I know she wasn't either.

I always thought nearly-40 would feel different. Older. And, in reading my memory book, I also thought I would be married and have a baby by 23!!! I didn't even meet Ed until I was almost 24! But, at eighteen, 23 seemed ... well ... old! It is, as they say, all relative! My memory book also says I weighed 110 pounds my senior year - and I thought I was so fat! Ha! Again, ALL relative. Oh, to be that "fat" again!

In the last few months, I've reconnected with some old friends via facebook and that really sparked more interest in my reunion. I'm so glad I went! It was more fun than I imagined it would be. It was at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Houston, so Ed and I stayed the night. Which was a much-needed getaway for us. We had a beautiful view of the city from our room and enjoyed sleeping in! It was the first time I'd left Jace overnight, but he did great with Grandma.

We went with my friend, Nancy and her husband, Jason. She's one of the few high school friends I've kept in touch with over the years. She was my best friend throughout high school, we were in each other's weddings ... one of those kinds of life-long friends! But, even though we've kept in touch, we haven't spent much time together in years! I've only seen her once since we moved back to town, but we had a blast together! The night went by way too fast - and we stayed up way too late (at least for old people!!) - which are good indicators that it was indeed fun!

I loved getting to see some old friends (that's me and my friend, Cindy above) and there were others that I wish had been there ... but maybe at the 25 or 30 year ... when we're REALLY old! LOL!

I wish I'd taken more pictures, but I was too busy having fun!

Made My Day

I have a few other posts to catch up on, but this one is just too funny!

Ed traveled to Dallas for work this week and drove back in last night. He called me when he was about an hour from home (as I was getting ready to put the kids to bed) and told me to jump in the shower and get dressed, my mom was on her way over and we were going out - to his friend, Brad's birthday get together - HERE.

If you know me, you know I'm not all that good at spontaneity. I want to be. But, I'm a planner. That's just the way God made me. For better or worse. My husband knows this about me, but he also gets a kick out of throwing me off my game. Unfortunately, I didn't react as I would like to ... something about, "what?" "Its going to be late and I don't get to sleep in" "I can't be ready in an hour" yada yada yada. But, I agreed. Especially since my mom was already on her way.


I put the kids to bed and in the midst of nursing and rocking Jace, I realized that I totally missed the boat. Don't I love it when my husband plans dates? Don't I love it even more when he lines up the childcare? Don't I love it when he surprises me? Sheesh. This was GOOD! I called him back and apologized (gosh, I hate that!) and told him I was excited. I hopped in the shower and miraculously was ready by the time he got home.

We went to Sammy's Place, which is a B.A.R in Houston ... like show-your-ID-and-pay-a-cover-charge-at-the-door BAR ... and let's just say its been a REALLY REALLY long time since I've been to a bar. The bar scene just isn't my gig these days. I felt a little out of place and honestly, a little old.


But, the night was saved. There was a live band - the Spazmatics. As Brad described them, Devo meets Revenge of the Nerds. They were indeed geeks and freaks, but I have to say they put on a pretty good show. They play mostly 80s music ... and who can resist that? We had a great time.


At the end of the night (for us anyway!), Ed went to the restroom and a young guy approached me.


He wanted to know if Ed was my boyfriend!!!! I was so shocked, I just flashed my ring. Guess not too many 38-year-old-been-married-nearly-13-years-with-4-kids hang around the bar scene. Turns out, this adorable little guy was 24. That's my little brothers' age! Eek! But, I was beyond flattered. And, excited. I mean, what woman wouldn't want to be hit on by a guy 14 years younger who is floored she's 38 and has 4 kids! Made my night. My week for that matter. You just can't beat a little ego boost! Even if it was in a bar.

My Theme Song

I got this video on Facebook from my girlfriend, Nonie. We used to have weekly visits to Chic-Fil-A ... man, I miss those ... it was like therapy! I also got this from Pastor Lori - she said it made her think of me. Ha! I guess all my complaining about there being no free-standing Chic-Fil-A's in Des Moines was heard loud and clear!
So, I've decided that this should be my theme song! LOL.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsJHqstPuNo&feature=channel_page

And, just in case you haven't seen Tim Hawkin's work before, check this out ... I think this is his best work!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VM6uqj0_jQc

True to Form

Since Brad's known Ed for 28 years, I'm certain he knew what he was getting into when he asked Ed to be his best man ...

Sharp Dressed Man!

We had a fun, full weekend of wedding activities! Ed was super-handsome in his dark brown tux!

We didn't get many pictures - and in fact, didn't see much of each other as Ed was busy with bestman duties!

Jace did great with my mom. He took the first bottle, but had NO interest in the second and gave his Gummie a hard time the last couple hours! I guess 8+ hours was just a little too long.

My, How Time Flies!

Wow - I really can't believe how much catching up I have to do on my blog. And, not just mine, but on reading everyone else's. Sheesh. Where does the time go? Oh, I remember ... nursing a baby, cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, homeschooling, shopping, errands, gymnastics, ballet, soccer, bathing, disciplining, referee-ing ... and on it goes! Lame excuse, I know ... but its the only one I have! I should mention that my sister-in-law, Stacey, has done a better job of blogging the latest with my kids than I have!

So, first things first, today is my friend, Ericka's birthday!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, my sweet friend! AND, today is the day that Ericka is moving from Dallas to HOUSTON!!!!! YAY! I'm totally excited for her and her family ... and of course, for myself!

Ok, now for the catching up part. The last time I wrote we were still recovering from Ike. And, that particular day was Jordan's 8th birthday! I was working on a post about that, but I deleted it since its a little far removed now. Suffice it to say I can't believe MY BABY is 8! She's such a little miracle and just amazes us. She's totally into Hannah Montana, which we think is not only hilarious and adorable ... but downright awesome! I mean, let's get this ... JORDAN is into pop culture. I love it! I know, I know, my job is to temper pop culture God's culture - and I am, but can I just say that her interest is so ... well ... TYPICAL! And, for the mom of a "special needs" child, it just doesn't get any better than 'typical!' We had a family birthday party with grandparents (even her great grandmother!), aunts, uncles, cousins and the like. It was a ton of fun! We even had a bouncy house. Not because we invited enough kids to make it worth the money, but because we knew it would just be a blast ... and it was!

I think I've mentioned that Jakey started fall soccer. Life doesn't get any better than that for him. He's totally pumped about the crazy-sized cheering section he has at his games! I mean, our immediate family alone takes up a chunk of the sidelines - add in Grandma, Gummie, Grandpa, and/or Aunt Stacey - and he's got quite the fan club! This is his first year that they keep score, and he likes it - especially since they're 3-0!

Jace is growing like a little weed and is just a cute, fat baby! I don't know what that kid weighs, but he's wearing 12 month clothes. He just turned 4 months old. There's just something not-right about that! Aunt Stacey loaned us her exer-saucer (or whatever fancy name they have for them now) - and he's our first kid that didn't need some sort of lifting device in the bottom so their feet could reach! And, he loves that thing! He turns it around and talks to all the toys on it, drools on it, you know - the usual baby thing! He also rolled over for the first time this week! He started with going from his tummy to his back on Tuesday and then the other way today! And, I guess he came pre-wired to know that practice makes perfect, because he's been rolling all over the place this afternoon! That kind of stuff never gets old! Its always fun to see the 'firsts!'

Ed's the best man in his friend, Brad's wedding this weekend. Brad was Ed's best man in our wedding, so we've been watching our wedding video this week. Jordan keeps asking where she is and thinks that my little brothers are Jake! Its hilarious how kids just can't fathom mom and dad NOT being mom and dad! We're excited for Brad and are looking forward to all the festivities this weekend! I'll be leaving Jace with my mom, and I'm not really looking forward to that. Its not my mom, its the leaving part I have an issue with. I've never been too hip on leaving my babies. But, I'm not hip on taking kids to weddings either - especially not spitty, blow-out-poopy, noisy ones like Jace! His noises are cute and all, but somehow I doubt the bride would appreciate them as much as I do!

Ok, so on to what everyone has been asking about. A house. Have we found one? Did we sell the one in Iowa? Yes. And, yes! We finally took the company buy-out with our house in Iowa which equated to a financial beating. We lost about 20 grand. Considering the market, ok. But, we had to take a nice chunk of change to closing and that just doesn't sit well with me. Paying money for a house I'll never see again? Ugh. Needless to say, we had to re-evaluate our buying plans here. Part of God's plan, no doubt. We've been feeling convicted about the need to simplify and spend less. That's not to say we've been called to live in a box somewhere. But, we did go down in our price range and found a fantastic home we're really excited about. Its new construction, but has already been started and we should close before the end of the year! From a homeschooling standpoint, the kids have a new unit study they are excited about - home building! We'll be taking lots of pictures of the progress ... and you'll probably "get" to see more than you care to!

Silence = Emotional Health

I had a really hard day yesterday. My hormones are raging (no big surprise) - and I miss my husband like crazy - especially in the evenings when Jace is super fussy. We have a lot of stress in our family right now. And, yesterday just proved to be too much.

But, today is a different day and God's mercies are new everyday (thank you, Lord!) And, I'm so so so so blessed to have great friends. We've had meals every night for a week now from people at church - and even a couple freezer meals came today from a friend in our homeschool support group. Its amazing what a huge help that is.

Then, this morning, Amy came and took my kids to play at Jumpin' Jacks with Pastor Lori and Micaela. They fed them lunch and then took them to Amy's to play for a while. I can't even begin to thank these ladies enough for the time today. I didn't even realize just how great it would be. Jace is sleeping and my house is quiet. I feel like I've been given a little slice of sanity!! Thank you, ladies! Thank you, thank you, thank you! You have been a real blessing to me today!

I know it was really good for my kids to get to blow off some steam as well. I'm sure they needed it as much as I did!

So, thanks everyone for all your help!!!!

The ABC's of me

I've been "tagged" by my friend Sarah, so here goes nothin':

A- Attached or Single: Quite firmly attached
B- Best Friend(s): Ed & a couple really close girlfriends
C- Cake or Pie: Pumpkin pie - otherwise, I'm not much into either
D-Day of Choice: Saturdays
E-Essential Item(s): Books, Computer, cell phone
F-Favorite Type of Music: Contemporary Praise and Worship
G-Gummy bears or worms: bears, but I'd prefer jelly bellies or Mike and Ike's.
H-Hometown: Houston, TX
I-Indulgences: "Birthday Cake Remix" from Coldstone; pedicures; Starbucks
J-January or July: Definitely July
K-Kids: Doubtful you've missed them - 3 and one on the way
L-Last movie: I'm sure Ed will roll his eyes, but I don't remember (which is pretty common for me!)
M-Marriage Date: July 20, 1996
N-Number of Siblings: An assortment of half, step & even some cousins my mom raised.
O-Oranges or Apples: apples - unless someone peels the orange for me.
P-Phobias or Fears: Critters/bugs
Q-Quotes: My current fave: "Put on your big girl panties and deal with it!"
R-Reasons to Smile: Wow - so many. My God, My family, My life - and all the little things in between. Plus, my husbands zany sense of humor - but I guess that's more a reason to laugh.
S-Season: Spring or Fall
T-Tag: Amy, Mandy, Ericka, Lori (sorry, ladies!) :-)
U-Unknown Fact About Me: I'm an open book. I doubt there's much that's unknown. Perhaps not everyone knows I had Jadyn at home and am planning the same this time around. Homebirths are the BEST!
V-Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animals: I love me some steak!
W-Worst Habit: Picking at my fingernails. Perhaps that was an unknown. And perhaps it should have stayed that way.
X-X-rays or Ultrasounds: Neither if I can help it.
Y-Your Favorite Food: Ice cream!
Z-Zodiac: Capricorn

Friend Week at Ballet

This past week was "friend week" at ballet. Each of the girls got to bring a friend to class.
Jordan took Dakotah with her - and she was on 'Cloud 9' the entire time!
They were really cute together and seemed to have a ton of fun!
I had a great time watching them, that's for sure ... and I'm totally kicking myself for not taking pictures!

GIRLS NIGHT!

Last night, my friend Amy hosted a houseful of ladies for some crafting, eating and chattin'! She had no hubby or kiddos at home, so it was just the perfect spot for a FUN girls night! The way I was feeling Wed and Thur night, I wasn't sure I was going to make it. But, thankfully, I felt so much better yesterday and I'm so glad I went! There are times when what you need are some girlfriends to talk to, laugh with and just be around.

So, yesterday didn't start out so great, but it sure ended perfectly! I can't remember the last time I stayed up til midnight just talking with girlfriends! Just what I needed, for sure! So, for all the ladies that were there - thanks for a fun night and for lifting my spirits!!

I didn't get one thing crafty done ... but that's OK - I got lots of talkin' in and sometimes that's more important!

Thanks, Amy for getting us all together! It was a blast!

Three-to-Five year olds

God does indeed gift each of us differently. For that, I'm so glad. My giftings involve organization, paperwork (weird, I know) and details (well, details when I'm not possessed by a 'pregnant brain!').
Anyway, my friend, Lisa just started leading the "little kids" (ages 3 years old to Kindergarten) at church and there's quite a BUZZ about it! I don't even have a kid in her class. Yet. She'll be 'blessed' with Jadyn after March, so I'm thrilled to know things are going SO well. Lisa is completely gifted with this age group - and as far as I'm concerned, that takes a special person and a special calling!
Lisa has been so excited about it all - and that has rubbed off on all the kids in her class! Its been fun to see their faces as they leave on Sunday mornings & hear all the excitement in their voices!
If you have a kiddo in her class, you gotta check out her blog HERE!
Way to go, Lisa!!!

Build-A-Bear Birthday

Jordan had her birthday party at Build-A-Bear. She invited four little friends and had a BLAST! I had never been to a party there, but I was very impressed. They did a great job! Jordan's bear is a ballerina named Kylie! Aren't you shocked?

Afterwards, we went to the food court in the mall and ate Cold Stone ice cream! Yum! It was a great birthday!

Blog Famine

Has anyone missed me? I mentioned before its feast or famine around here - and this, my friends, has been a taste of the famine! There's been SO much going on and so many things happening. Some things I can blog about and others I can't. Suffice it to say, we've had a lot on our plates.

Jake started fall soccer. He's played two games so far and won both (not that there's an "official" score - but you know all the dads keep it!!). He loves it as much as he did in the Spring and continues to improve. There are some serious behavior issue-kids on his team, but he's managing them really well. I'm proud of him.

He reminds me so much of my brother, Eric, in this picture! THIS is how I think of my baby brothers (even though they're 22!)

Jordan started ballet again and is in hog-heaven! That kid lives for Fridays now! She moved up to Ballet I, which is what we worked toward over the summer. She fits in really well and is doing as well as the rest of the girls in the class, who just so happen to be the same age! We're thrilled she loves it enough to work hard! And, Grace Ballet Studio is just the BOMB! Anna, the owner is so amazing and has such a loving spirit & amazing heart for the Lord. I've met two new homeschooling moms at practice, so that's been fun. Plus, one of my friends, Wendy, has a daughter in Jordan's class this year!

We've done so many fun things over the past few weeks - and for whatever reason I don't have a lot of pictures. Weird. We've been having a blast with school and I think we've found our groove. We've had dinners with friends, birthday parties, even a church Baptism & BBQ at Lake Panorama, which was so amazing. It never gets old to see people baptized! Oh, we've had a car repair, too! Yep...that 'new' car - $2500 "issue!" That's life when you buy a used vehicle, but man, a little more time before high dollar repairs would have been nice. Its the reason we ditched the minivan, afterall! Oh well...its life and I'm just thankful we have the ability to pay for it! One exciting thing we figured out is that Jordan has grown over an INCH in the last 5 months! That may not be a big deal to most people, but for her, that ROCKS! Plus, she's finally grown some legs!

Jordan and I are leaving for Chicago tomorrow. She has her NACD evaluation Friday. Anyone that's known me long knows I'm a nervous wreck before these silly things. Its completely ridiculous, of course, having gone through this process every three months for the last 6 1/2 years, but I still get anxious. And, I just want Jordan to perform her best and show off her accomplishments. The last couple, she hasn't done such a great job of that, so I'm hoping that maybe without Jakey in tow, she'll do better. We'll see!!

Here are few more 'random' photo opps for the Sustala kiddos: Jadyn's dinner attire one night (notice: no pants!); Ed is convinced he can teach Jake to mow the yard by the time he's 6 and Jordan has a new hat she loves ... Oh and Little Miss Me Too wants to be just like Sissy!

This is the Life!

Don't you love those times when you think that? Sweet moments to cherish. I try to relish each second. Sometimes I think I should focus on life (or more appropriately, GOD) in that manner more often. I want my life to be a series of these thoughts. Unfortunately, its easy to get caught up in difficulties, trials or busyness and lose our focus.

Anyway, all that to say, this has been a wonderful weekend. One of those weekends where I've just felt like life is perfect.

Yesterday we went to the Buddy Walk and I will write a separate post about that later. Suffice it to say for now, it was a huge blessing!

Yesterday afternoon, I went to a Pampered Chef party at Mandy's - those are always fun! The bonus was the amazing dessert we ate. Oh, so delicious! Maybe she'll post it on the Good Eats blog or her own! Hint...hint!

Later, Mandy's family and Sandy & Adele May came over for pizza. Ed and I LOVE to entertain and have people over. But, we've noticed that we don't have people over very often because we just stay so busy. So, yesterday at the last minute, we called them up and invited them - and it was so fun! Hopefully we'll be doing lots more last minute stuff! Mandy & Sandy helped me get our church bulletins ready for today while the guys (Ed & Curt) watched all 7 kids! What great sports!

Today, after church and lunch, we've been hanging out outside enjoying the BEAUTIFUL weather! It has been amazing! Ed is grilling chicken for dinner right now. What a wonderful weekend! Hope yours is just as great!

And another belated birthday wish!

My friend Nonie's birthday was last weekend! If you read my blogs about Houston, you saw her name!

*Nonie is one of my dearest friends from Dallas ~ one of those lifelong friends no matter how far apart.

*She is one of the most honest people I know. I value her input in anything because I know she'll give it to me straight ... and from a biblical perspective.

*Nonie's view of the world is always based beyond herself. No matter what she faces, she always knows there are others with worse circumstances and counts herself blessed. That inspires me!

*Nonie and I had weekly lunch dates at Chic Fil A when we lived in Dallas. I always looked forward to those times and miss them so much now!

*Nonie has THREE beautiful blessings ~ Kailey, Tyler and precious surprise, Trinley!

*Nonie is one of those rare people that devotes her life to others. She's always thinking about what other people need, how she can help them and how she can be the best wife and mom to her husband & kids.

*Nonie is from San Antonio, Texas but they moved to the Dallas area for Aaron's job. She is very close to her family and misses living near them terribly.

*Nonie is a Custom home builder (yes, that's Custom with a capital C!). I wish I knew how to link to her most recent build ... but suffice it to say, it was outstanding and beautiful! Ed and I joke that we wish we could afford her!

*Nonie is very talented and creative in many ways. She's a phenomenal photographer - the kind with a real "eye" to see what makes a sweet photo. She also makes announcements, invitations and the sort. She did Jadyn's birth announcements and they are precious!!

*Nonie calls Aaron "The Bomb" - and they give each other knuckle pounds frequently. I love that about them because its just a reflection of the fact that they are truly 'on the same team!'

*Nonie kept Jordan and Jake the day Jadyn was born ... even though she thought I was nuts to do a homebirth!


I love you, Nonie! Hope you had a wonderful birthday!! Thanks for being such a great friend!!