Santa!

2nd Annual Gingerbread House Party

Today marked our 2nd anuual gingerbread grahm cracker house party! This is a tradition that Jennie had growing up and now we get to share that fun tradition with her! Last year, Korben was the only mobile kid there so while the other babies were sleeping in their mommies laps, I was chasing crawling Korben around the house. Well this year, EVERY kid was mobile so it was a lot more chaotic and a lot more fun! I got a good laugh at the other girls getting to go through what I did last year! :) It was a fun day filled with warm apple cider, a yummy lunch, good laughs, and lots and lots of candy! I can't wait until our kids are old enough to help us build these houses!

The "before"

and the "after" (minus Lisa and Hadley)

Notice how the girls are cheezing it up for the camera and the boys could care less! :)

Silly boy with his expressions :)

Confessions of a Sleep Deprived Momma

As some of you know, I'm in Abilene this week. The trip has been going well and Korben and I have had a great time spending time with my family and a couple of old friends. When night comes around though, sometimes it is a different story. My parents live in an older house and the bedroom we're in has a sliding door. The bathroom right next to our room also has a sliding door. It's a little hard to explain if you have never seen these pocket doors but both of them are old, out of whack, and VERY loud. I wake up every single morning at around 5:00 am needing to pee. Every night. Without fail. Well every time I open that stupid sliding door, it's like an alarm clock going off to Korben and he wakes up. I got tired of going through this, so the other night when I woke up and needed to pee, I was trying to think of how I could avoid waking up Korben (holding it was NOT an option because I couldn't handle the pain of the pressure). And then a light bulb went off in my head. Korben pees in diapers. We happen to have some diapers right here. And yes people, I busted out a diaper and I peed in it! And then I went back to sleep thankful for the relief and that I didn't wake the baby. And I just admitted it on my public blog. So next time you're having a bad day, ask yourself if you've ever in your adult life had to pee in a diaper... if the answer is no, then count your blessings and have a good laugh at the fact that someone else out there has resorted to such lows! And then enjoy the rest of your not so bad day! :)

Meet Sugar!

Josh and I got word that an animal shelter in Ennis was closing down and all un-rescued dogs would be put down. Josh suggested that we rescue one and I agreed. Well, turns out that all the dogs at that shelter had already been saved and placed in homes as of a few days ago. But we already got used to the idea of getting a second a dog so we went and visited the animal shelter in Rowlett. I really wasn't sure if we'd leave with a dog or not but I'm a sucker for abandoned and helpless animals... I should not have gone in that shelter because honestly, I wanted to take all of those poor animals home with me! It was at that shelter that we found Sugar! She is a 1 year old Husky that was left at the shelter by her previous owner because she apparently didn't get along with the cats. According to the last owner though, she gets along with any other living creature just fine, including children and other dogs! She looked so sweet that we just had to have her! So we took her home with us and she already fits right in with our family. Korben already loves her and calls her shu-shu and she loves Korben right back! She gets along great with Sam too. I think this match was definitely meant to be!

Fair Day!

Today was fair day for the Chaney family. We missed last year because Korben was so little but thought he might enjoy this year. We brought some canned goods and got in for just $1 a person...normally $15/person! But we made up for it with all the food, games, rides, and Korbens caricature picture thingy that we did. This morning, it was overcast and LOOKED cold outside so we all wore pants....too bad I suck at weather forecasting because it was hot and humid the whole day! Thankfully I was the only one that suffered too much because Josh said he was comfortable and I had some shorts in Korbens bag that he changed into later when I realized it. Korben was such a trooper the whole day and really seemed to enjoy the fair. The petting zoo was his favorite part I think. He thought most of the animals looked like horsies...it was hilarious! He loved feeding all the "horsies!" He loves doggies so we also went to a dog show, he got to play a couple of games grabbing ducks and fishes out of the water for prizes, and we all even went on a fun water ride. Add in the fried pizza and funnel cake and all in all, it was a pretty good day!

Watching the doggies do their tricks

At the petting zoo :)

Feeding a "horsie!"

Feeding Mommy some french fries

Korben had his first cotton candy! :)

The water log ride we went on

The slide to the right is what we went down

I refused to try the fried butter but we all had some fried pizza!

Bobbing for ducks!

Korbens prize was a ball!

And bobbing for fishes!

His prize for that was stuffed doggie!

Time to go home!

We didn't make it to the car before he was out!

Sleepy boy didn't even wake up when we moved him to his car seat!

Today....

Today I am sad. Sad about several different things going on with more than one group of friends. Sad that friends are struggling in their marriage, sad that another friend is still grieving the loss of her husband and father of her son. Sad that another friend lost her father this year. Sad that there have been several deaths in my own family this year, including a suicide. Sad that yet another friend is going through health issues that nobody can seem to figure out. I am sad that any of these are happening.

Today I am frustrated. Frustrated with all the drama that comes along with some of it. Frustrated that I feel like I haven't done enough and let people down. Frustrated that I feel so helpless in it all.

Today I am glad. Glad that there is One who knows all and holds the entire universe in His hands. Glad that He provides strength, comfort, grace, peace and love. Glad that when we are weary and burdened, He will give us rest. Glad that when people let us down, He never will. Glad that He is in control. Glad that even though we sometimes don't understand, we can still trust Him with all our heart. Glad that He has a plan...and it's good.

Ice Cream Man!

Apparently the ice cream man doesn't just work in the summer time anymore because we got a visit the other day... in the fall! It was Korbens first experience getting ice cream from a moving vehicle... and he loved it! The weather has been just beautiful lately and it was a perfect day to enjoy some ice cream! The driver was a driving a little fast so we had to chase him down by the time we got our money, but it was well worth it!

Mmmm, nothing like eating a yummy Tweety Bird ice cream shirtless! :)

Welcome home, Ringer!

Next week is Joey and Jeni's wedding...so crazy! Korben is giong to be the ring bearer and Jeni was so sweet and took Korben to Build-A-Bear as his gift for being in the wedding. The kid loves doggies and had no problem picking out the one he wanted! He kinda got into all the fun stuff after it was already done but he didn't know any different and had a blast doing it anyway! We named the new family addition Ringer, after Korbens role in the wedding. :) I can't believe I'm going to have a new sister in just 9 days! Thanks so much for the awesome gift and experience for Korben! He is one lucky kid to have you in his family! Love you!!!

Doing some fluffin'....poor Korben didn't realize that Ringer was already stuffed by the time he started using the foot pedal thingy!

Ringer needs a bath before he can come home :)

I think he's pretty proud of his new doggie :)

Aunt Jeni dressed Ringer in his tux while Korben and Joey made his birth certificate :)

Uncle Joey is so much fun!

Some fun play time with Aunt Jeni!

Ringer is ready to go home :)

K's 18 Month Stats and Anniversay Fun!

This past Wednesday, Josh and I celebrated our 3 year wedding anniversary. There are a few things on my to-do list and since it's been several years since our last adventure, I thought it was about time to cross something else off the list. But first we had Korbens 18 month check-up that same morning so let's start with his stats:

Length: 35 in. (95th %)
Weight: 27.4 lb. (75th %)
Head: 50 cm (90th %)

Both, his weight and length percentiles are up from his last check up which doesn't really surprise me... he is definitely a growing boy! I can't carry him around for long periods of time these days! And when he got his shots, he did not shed a single tear! I still cringed a little, but got over it pretty quick once I saw that it didn't seem to really even bother Korben in the least. I'm so proud of him!

Later, Josh and I headed over to Zero Gravity in Dallas to bungee jump! It's a thrill amusement park with 5 different things to do so we went ahead and made the most of our trip and bought the "thrill seeker" package and did everything. 3 of the 5 were just really big amusement type rides but 2 of them really got the adrenaline going! One of them of course being the bungee jump; the other one was a 200 foot free fall into a net. The free fall was nerve wracking because you didn't know when the guy was going to unclip you, but once he did, it was a lot of fun! The bungee jump was not nearly as fun as skydiving but it was much harder to do because there wasn't anyone to jump for you; you had to make the decision to jump off the ledge yourself! But once the jump was made, it was totally awesome! We got video of the bungee jump and the free fall thing so I'll let them show you the rest! :)

Much needed R&R

I again forgot to charge my camera battery so we have virtually no pictures to go with this post, BUT our trip to Austin without munchkin this past weekend was really fun and much needed! My parents (Gram and Grandpa) came in from Abilene to watch Korben while we were gone. They arrived on Wednesday night and Josh and I left the house Thursday afternoon. Our goodbye's took a while mainly because I really didn't want to say goodbye to Korben for so long. But I made it through it and Korben was such a trooper! He barely fussed at all when we left, which I thought would be bittersweet for me b/c ya know, I want him to miss me, but it really made leaving easier knowing that I wasn't leaving him sad!

We didn't do much Thursday night... my aunt and uncle cooked some yummy steaks for us and we visited for a while and headed to bed. The main reason for going to Austin was to see the musical "Wicked" which was Friday night, but Josh and I also wanted to go bungee jumping... we're spontaneous like that! We searched for hours for a place we could go and got nowhere. We only found one place to call and nobody ever answered the phone.... so much for being spontaneous! So no bungee jumping that day. :( We ended up going downtown and eating lunch at a cool place called Opal Divine and then we went to the movies and saw G.I. Joe which was actually a pretty good movie.... all a little boring after what I THOUGHT we would be doing on Friday, but still fun! That night, we saw the Wicked musical and it was absolutely fantastic! I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good musical!

Saturday, we were very "tourist-y" and went to the state capitol. Uncle Steve was a great tour guide and showed us all the cool stuff that recently got renovated. There was a big protest going on right outside the building too which was interesting. My favorite part of the day though was kayaking! We went up river and then docked by the dam and did a bit of swimming and visiting and then headed back down stream. It was gorgeous and so much fun! Afterwards, we had some delicious Mexican food at Maudies.... truly a great day and a great trip all together! Thanks Lori and Steve!

Sunday we headed home. Korben was sleeping when we got back but had a huge smile on his face when he woke up and saw Mommy and Daddy! It was so sweet! He immediately wanted his daddy and gave him a big hug and kiss. Mommy got her turn with the hugs and kisses after Korben and Daddy both got their fix. :) It was so good seeing that little guy and hearing his sweet voice again! According to Gram and Grandpa, he did super the whole weekend and wore them out! :) He stayed busy swimming in frog pool, learning to spell his name with sidewalk chalk, chasing Sam, and being his regular wild self! Thanks so much for taking such great care of Korben while we were gone!

all about Him

So the subtitle of this blog is "The stories of Josh, Cassi, and Korben." The thing is, I don't give enough credit for the stories and lives of those people to Him. So today, it's all about Him. Him...God, the Creator of the universe, the Savior of man. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit all wrapped up into one completely perfect Being.

I'm not on a mission to beat anyone over the head with a Bible or try to convice you to believe the same things I do or anything like that. It's just that quite honestly, there have been too many "Cassi's" for far too long. Out of selfish fear, I have sometimes avoided the words, "Jesus Christ," "God" or any other of His names. Selfish fear of what others will think of me if I dare to think of uttering such words. But the truth is, the first part of my identity is being His daughter and if I'm too afraid to be myself, then really, what's the point? And the point is, God is every good name that exists and He deserves credit for the "Chaney's stories!" He is the reason for every good thing in my life and the reason I have made it through all the bad times!

Just wanted to make that clear! :)

Catching up a bit....

So I joined facebook and it's taken over! But after a few weeks, I'm finally rejoining the blogging world and posting some updates!

We actually had some good rain for about a week in the middle of SUMMER! Hard to believe in Texas, I know. One night, the storm was really rough and it had it's way with our backyard

Sweet Alex turned 2 and we went to his birthday party. It was all about Mickey Mouse!

Korben loves jumping and was thrilled when Morgan wanted to jump with him :)

Korben and Nathan shared a very deep conversation about life of toddlerhood!

Checking out the horsie

We went out to Grapevine Mills Mall to eat at Rainforest Cafe. It's a really neat restaurant set up just like a rain forest with life size "animals" that move and sound just like the real thing. Korben loves animals so we thought he'd really enjoy it but we didn't get to sit next to any of the cool stuff... oh well

After we ate, we went shopping in the mall... there was a train store and Korben got to go on a ride
then we got to ride the carousal... by that time Korben was ready for a nap and didn't want to sit on a horse so we all sat in the spinning tea cup

I actually got to enjoy a girls night out! We went and saw the Legally Blonde musial and had an absolute blast! This is a group picture with the girl who played Elle Woods

And of course, Korben has been into mischief.... he did this to our floor with a Sharpie.......and was so happy to have done it! I couldn't even get mad when I saw it... I just started laughing! Thankfully it came up with nail polish remover

And if you're wondering what Korben was doing here.....

...he was doing this! Apparently toilets aren't complete without a few accessories!