Oh Corban!!! You are too cute to be mad at (for long)!!

So about an hour ago, I went upstairs to our bedroom and handed my sick husband a drink of Gatorade.


Nate: "Thanks honey! Um hon, you smell like baby powder." (Mind you, my husband is sick with a cold and can't smell anything)


Me: "I smell it too, but it's not me."...


We both stare at each other for about three seconds and then we both scatter to the boys room across the hall. Here is what we found after turning the boys light on.


No, the camera is not out of focus, that is the dust of A WHOLE CONTAINER OF BABY POWDER ALL AROUND THEIR ROOM. (Click on pictures to enlarge and get the full effect.)

(I bought the stool steps at the Goodwill yesterday so Corban can wash his hands on his own, but he thought they would make great stairs to his bed.)

Needless to say, we've spend the last hour changing sheets, vacuuming the floor, dusting and wiping all the furniture, vacuuming again, and making sure our boys could breathe. Stupid me for leaving the lid open. All I have to say is, good thing Corban is so cute...

Our First Rodeo

I'm a Kansas girl, so it's not like I've never had the opportunity to go to a rodeo. It just never really crossed my mind as something to do. But here, it is THE (only) thing to do. So...we loaded up the kids and went to the Great Stampede Rodeo.

Only in a small town would they jumpstart the rodeo weekend with a cattle drive through the Air Force Base. There are historic Chisholm Trail roots on the base. There was definitley evidence of their journey through the base for the rest of the day. Let's just say that they didn't follow up with the street cleaner that always ended the parade in my hometown.
Corban in his Dollar Tree cowboy hat. :)
Corban loved his front row seat, but jumped every time the cattle and horses went swooshing by. Corbie on a pony ride. After he went around once by himself, they decided I probably better walk beside him. So I went around and around for seven minutes stepping in horse pooh over and over again in my flip-flops. The worker shouted at me from the gate and said "Flip-flops at a rodeo? That's the dumbest thing I've ever seen!!" So of course I was embarrassed and annoyed that I hadn't thought through proper rodeo attire before hand.

Caleb had a pretty good time too.

Overall, it was an ok way to spend the evening. There was a free chuck wagon dinner before hand with ticket purchase for Military night, so overall it was worth the moolah. Now we can offically say that we've been to the rodeo. We're starting to like some of the things that small towns do have to offer instead of focusing on all the things they don't.

Family Pictures

I was so happy to go out to my mailbox this afternoon and find that the family pictures we got taken back home a couple weeks ago had arrived. Although there were many, many nice ones, these are a few of my favorites.



(Corban really has a hard time in front of the camera, can you tell?? :) This was not posed, he struck this pose all by himself. )

To see more family pics, click here.

Long Time, No Blog

I know things have been a bit silent here for the past couple of weeks, but things have been really super duper busy. As we are getting more settled in Altus, our calendar is getting fuller and busier. But here is a quick recap of the past couple of weeks.

First off, I have started another blog for people here in Altus to know about community events, etc. It is just starting to take off, but has been pretty time consuming the past week or two.

Second of all, Corban started "school" this past week. He goes two full days a week to a Mother's Day Out Program. Since we plan on homeschooling, this is probably the closest thing to "school" he'll experience for awhile. So far he seems to love it. From day one, he runs into the room and doesn't even look back at me. He feels like a big boy because he takes a lunch and backpack to school.

However the term "Mother's Day Out" is sooooo deceiving. It gives the vibe that I'm out drinking lattes and eating Bon Bons and then relaxing in the spa all afternoon. In reality, I still have Caleb who is very very needy and I'm STILL trying to unpack and get the house in order. This week my friend Amy and I priced garage sale stuff almost the whole day. Oh and I got a load or two of laundry done. I know, I know...riveting really.

Corban on his first day of "school."
Caleb and his playdate, Evan.

Third, we had a garage sale today and got rid of a ton of junk, so now we can breathe a little better in our home. We coupled up with some friends and it turned out great, except for the extreme heat and humidity.


And finally, we are getting to know several families with kids and have had lots of fun play dates and outings. (By "outings" I mean going to McDonald's multiple times per week and letting the kids play on the Playland because that's literally one of the ONLY things to do.)


Overall, life is good. We have found a church about an hour away that we plan on becoming members at shortly. Nate is getting settled into the new job. All appliances and veheicles are currently functioning. We can't really help but feel blessed right now.

Picture Potpourri

This picture is the first time both kids were in the "car" cart. Now that Caleb can sit up well, it makes shopping SO MUCH EASIER and I didn't get any dirty looks from people! (Remind me not to tell you the story about a time Corban was kicking over all the cans off the shelf meanwhile Caleb got his foot stuck tight in the cart metal things and I got a look from this lady that clearly said "You shouldn't be allowed to have any more children and the ones you have should be taken away" and I looked at her and said "Don't give me that look!" and then was SO EMBARASSED that my thoughts came out of my mouth and then I had to face her in every aisle after that!! Ok, I just shared my mortifiying commissary story, SORRY!) Anyway, this shopping trip was a dream in comparison and made me feel like I can shop again, without losing my mind. Aren't they so cute?? I know, I know, I'm extremely biased.
Corban's new pool that he just couldn't wait 10 seconds to take his clothes off before jumping in. Oh and notice our new beautiful fence in the background compliments of home owner's insurance!
Whoever invented the baby exersaucer is deservingly a rich (wo)man and a pure genius. It's the only way I get a break from holding this precious cherub all day.
Corban and Daddy feeding the ducks. Corban looked back and said "Ducky, quack qwak Mommy! Un (one) ooo (two) free (three)" (He's four off, but hey he's not even two yet!)
Yeah, I dress them alike when ever possible. This is probably the closet thing to twins I'll ever have.

It's Been One of THOSE Weeks

We've had quite a week around here. One of those weeks that can just be described as "death by a thousand papercuts." Nothing traumatic, nothing life changing, nothing over the top, just a lot of little annoyances and inconveniences that make life an adventure. Things like:

* Temperatures around 110 degrees all week. Too hot to go anywhere (including swimming), but being stuck in the house (especially a messy, still not unpacked house) can make a person crazy.

* Nate has been working extra long hours as he learns the ropes of his new job. This is his first round of students so everything takes longer right now.

*Going to my 10 year high school reunion and having all the insecure feelings from back then come back.

*Caleb decides to relive his newborn days and wakes up every one to two hours at night. (Teething maybe??)

*I've made a few friends (Praise God!) but still feel unconnected to the way of life here.

*Corban is active and strong-willed, he is absolutely exhausting, all by his own self.

*Dishwasher broke

*Garbage disposal broke

*DVD player broke

*Van broke down (again, we were stuck in the house)
(Can you tell it's also been an expensive week?)

Well, to put it mildly, I've been very weary (read: grouchy) I haven't had the best attitude and have not treated those nearest and dearest to me with the kindness and love that I want to and that I'm commanded to. I've realized my heart has not been in the right place for awhile now, and a week like this was all it took to show my true colors.

This afternoon as I was singing my boys to sleep, I sang one of my favorite hymns to them and tears just fell down my face as I realized how much I needed to rest in my Father's love and surrender my concerns and cares to Him. So I am now resting peacefully in His grace and so thankful that He does not let me go. So onward to the next papercut.





O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go (RUF version)

O Love that will not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in thee;
I give thee back the life I owe,
That in thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.

O light that followest all my way,
I yield my flickering torch to thee;
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
That in thy sunshine’s blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be.

O Joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain,
That morn shall tearless be.

O Cross that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from thee;
I lay in dust life’s glory dead,
And from the ground there blossoms red
Life that shall endless be.

Dollar Tree Fans

To put it mildly, my husband is very picky about the quality of his things. He is definitely a lover of quality over quantity. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen him go to a Wal-Mart before we lived here. And I KNOW I've never seen him go into a Dollar Tree before we moved here. I, however, am a big tightwad most of the time. I rarely, pay full price for anything and am known to Nate as his "bargain bloodhound."

However, having limited places to shop here, Dollar Tree has become a weekly hang-out for our family. And Nate has fallen in love. In fact he asked me the other day to try to get things there before going to Wal-Mart.

Rachel, at http://debtfreedowds.wordpress.com/2008/07/25/frugal-friday-2/ made a list of her top 10 finds at the Dollar Tree and I thought I would piggy-back off of her and make my own list.

So here goes.

10) Batteries-they are not the strongest batteries...they won't power your digital camera, but they will definitely power all your children's toys that are always needing batteries.

9) Mister Plumber- very similar to Drano, but works just as well.

8) Gift bags-very cute and very affordable.

7) Greeting Cards- 2 for $1 and there are some cute ones. I stocked up on these during Nate's deployments and sent him cards every few days.

6) DVDs/Books- these are hit and miss, but I've found some great finds in this area, including four discs with all the episodes of the classic Davey and Goliath DVD's that I grew up on (shoot, even my mom grew up on them).

5) Stocking Stuffers- come Christmas time, Dollar Tree is a goldmine for stocking stuffers.

4) Home/Office Supplies-cheap and cute pads for shopping lists, mailing envelops, school/toy room decorations, scrapbooking supplies, etc.

3) Fuel Injector Cleaner- (Nate is right beside me and he asked me to put that down along with Italian Ices, but since this is my list, I'll fit his two in one number. :)

2) Household goods- shelf liner here is way cheaper than Wally World, dish rags, dish scrubber wands, pot holders, tupperware containers, baskets for storage, etc.

1) My number one buy at the Dollar Tree is (drum-roll please....) PREGNANCY TESTS!!! That may sound silly but they are VERY accurate (used to determine all of my pregnancies, very early on) and VERY affordable. They cost anywhere from $8 up at any other store and I always feel like I have to *know* I'm pregnant in order to buy one of those expensive puppies, but at only a dollar a pop, I can take one even if I have the slightest scare of being pregnant (like when I cried watching the Gilmore Girls finale on DVD). Please note...I'm not making any subtle announcements here. Corban and Caleb are keeping us plenty busy for now.

Although we are not an official endorsement for The Dollar Tree, (that would be nice!) these are the things that have worked for our family. On the other hand, I will mention a few things that we steer clear from.

1) Most toys- most are made in China and have cheap paint on them...not good for kids who like to put things in their mouth. (Although we have found some great puzzles, kids books, balls, etc.)

2) Products like "namebrand" toothpaste, aspirin, etc. that can't be guaranteed to be from the actual manufacturer of the items. (i.e. Colgate toothpaste made in China)

3) Some cleaners are cheaply made and just don't do the job.

4) Most food items-most we have tried have tasted like "pooeys" (as Corban would say)

So, that's our opinion, take it for what's it worth. I'd love to hear what your opinions on top finds and steer clear items are at your Dollar Tree.

Aunt Ju Ju, A new Choo Choo, and a new Hair Do.

Nate's sister Julie and her husband Kevin made the move from Breckenridge, CO to Memphis, TN this week and decided to take the detour to come visit us for a couple of days on the way. We were SO HAPPY to see them, as we have been aching for family since we've been away. It was so nice to have visitors too! Being that they lived in Breckenridge where there is a population of 3,000 people who live there year round, the population of 18,000 in Altus, seemed big to them. In fact, they kept trying to convince us that it's really not that small of a town, though I'm not buying it. However, I do admit, it did seem bigger on the ten minute tour as we were pointing out all the things that we DO have...
This is Corban with Aunt "Ju Ju". We told him his aunt Ju Ju was coming to our house for a visit and he confused it with a "Choo Choo train" and was so excited running around saying "Choo Choo!!!" He would have been really disappointed, except for the fact that she brought him a choo choo train, hat, and whistle. He now loves his Aunt Ju Ju and his Choo Choo.
Uncle Kevin is always looking out for the little guy and spent a lot of time with Caleb. He's gonna be a great dad someday.
One of the afternoons during their visit, we decided to give Corban his first hair cut. Nate didn't want me to do it because he thinks it's silly that "a woman becomes a mom and all of the sudden she thinks she has the ability to cut boy's hair". The nerve I tell you. Just kidding. I was very glad not to be the one to have to answer to this home job.
It's amazing how much older our buddy looks without his red thick curls. It makes me want to cry. He acts older too. At least we don't have people saying "Oh, what pretty red curls she has" anymore, though how people can confuse a airplane wearing, choo choo train toting, race car sounding boy for a girl is beyond me.

Oh, and here is baby Caleb, chillin' in his favorite outfit, his birthday suit...relaxing after a hard day of crying, eating, pooping, crying, whining, sleeping, crying, and did I mention crying?

It's Amazing What a Little Paint and Carpet Can Do!!!

I have a feeling that my chances of getting a lot of visitors down here are... well... let's just say I probably have a better chance of a Target, Home Depot, or Old Navy coming here during our stay.

Sooo..

I'm posting pictures of our house and it's progress so you can see our humble abode, without making the adventure to Altus. (although, we would LOVE more visitors...ANYTIME!!!)

I've been wanting to post before and after pictures of our house on here for awhile now. I wanted to wait until our house was completely unpacked, arranged, and cleaned to do so. I'm now realizing that it may never ever ever get there. Oh well. So here is Pictures Phase One-The entryway, The dining room, and the living room, and family room. Here are the BEFORE pictures:



Former dining room

Old Family Room

As you can see, the prior owner of our home liked blue. I mean LIKED. Every room sported the color in multiple fashions...blue carpet, blue curtains, blue bathroom countertops, blue walls, blue shelf lining, you. name. it.

Here are the AFTER pictures:


This is our family room, although it looks like you have to climb over the couch to get to that bathroom in the back, in actuality there is a path behind the couches.

I really am amazed at what a difference new paint and carpet can do to a place. And maybe changing out a '70's light fixture or twelve. But alas here we are in our new home with freshly painted walls, clean new carpet, new hardwood floor, and a touch of Tolle all through out. Enjoy the pictures. And if it inspires you to take a trip out to B.F.E. (Is it Christian to use the term B.F.E.?? Probably not, but I can't bring myself to delete it...) then you are more than welcome to come stay at the Tolle Manor.

It's a Tragedy...Really

When Nate and I found out that we were assigned to Altus, we spent many hours pulling out our hair, feeling sorry for ourselves and asking "why us?" (only slightly exagerating). However, we were delighted to find out that Altus had gotten a STARBUCKS since we had last been here. We were excited. Altus was moving up in civilization, or so it seemed.

Well...we just found out that after less than a year in business, the Altus Starbucks will be closing...(tear...). I told you it was a tragedy!

Not that we frequent the place. We are not big proponents of spending $4.00 for a cup of joe, no matter how perfect it may be. But it was nice to have the OPTION of going there and treating ourselves to a Java Chip Frappacino every once in awhile (and feeling like we are high society).

Oh Dear Starbucks... YOU WILL BE MISSED!!!

The full story is here http://www.altustimes.com/articles/2008/07/18/news/doc4880ebfbc62b1900396131.txt

Progress??

So, I didn't get everything on my "To Do" List done. It seems I was a little over ambitious, as always. I did however get a few things done...





1) I got my hair cut. (Ignore the fact that I have no make-up in the picture...I wasn't really planning on going anywhere that day)





It didn't turn out as good as I'd hoped, but with my crazy hair, I should have expected that. But Nate likes it, so that makes it worth it. At least I can't just pull it back in a pony tail anymore. It requires a little more work now.





2) I went to that garage sale that advertised a lot of toddler toys. However, I didn't end up buying any of them. I did however find a great deal on one of those scrapbook supply suitcase bag thingys. I've wanted one of those forever but they cost about $70-$100 new. I got this one, loaded with scrapbooking supplies, for $10.00. So I was happy!!





3) I did get the mound of clothes cleaned from the boys room and just decided to clean the whole room while I was at it. I'm embarrassed to post a "before" picture, lest you think we usually live this disorganized and chaotic (we don't), but I'm gonna go ahead and do it so you can see the progess.








Before...(Yikes!)














After...(still have some progress to make, but feeling a lot better about it...at least you can see the floor now!)

4) Got the bedding on our bed (again, ignore the boxes surrounding it...)







And still had time to bond with the boys.




It was a good weekend.

Saturday's To Do List

I'm holding myself accountable to my blog readers (all five of you :), hoping that if it is in writing, and I know that you know what I need to get done, it will inspire me to get moving on it. So here is my "To Do" list for Saturday. Hopefully, I will take before and after pictures of my progess.

1) Go to the garage sale that was advertised as having lots of toddler toys

2) Get hair cut and dyed.

3) Get the mound of clothes in the boys room organized and put in drawers.

4) Three loads of laundry washed and put away.

5) Clear off Vanity in Master bedroom and unpack three boxes labled "Master Bathroom Supplies"

6) Put bedding on Master Bed.

7) Set up Toy Area in Family Room

8) Get blinds on the windows and take down the ugly blue curtains.

9) Make up a menu for the upcoming week.

10) Snuggle up with Nate to watch our Netflix movie that we've had for a week and haven't found the time to watch yet. (It's 10,000 B.C. in case you were curious.)

That should do it for one day, since I have two "Mama's boys" who need their mama's CONSTANT attention. Thanks for reading!

Our family just got home from a nice holiday getaway. We went to Kansas for the Fourth of July weekend and just had a relaxing and exhausting time.

Independence Day is Nate's favorite holiday. He has missed two out of the last three years due to deployments, so it was nice to spend the Fourth of July together this year. We chose to celebrate in Hutchinson, because for a small town, they sure do throw a good celebration.

This is a picture of our family on Friday morning. Notice Nate and I have matching shirts, which he would never have agreed to.....I LOVE being in charge of the packing!! HA! And also, he HATES having his picture taken, so this was my lucky day. Matching shirts and a picture to prove it. And the fact that he smiled in the picture is icing on the cake! I LOVE HIM!!




Corban waits patiently for the "fywolks" to go off. This kid is scared of NOTHING, which terrifies his mother. He kept running off into the crowd and wouldn't even look back. The loud bangs from the fireworks didn't even phase him. He forces me to stay on my toes.

Our friend, India, sent us this tent during our long stay in hotel rooms, but we use it all the time now...Corban is a big fan. (Thanks India!!)









OOOOOHHHH, AHHHHHHH!









My husband put on a late night firework show for us. At the end of the night we were absolutely exhausted. Long day...parade, swimming, barbeque, fireworks, more fireworks, no naps, cranky children. We slept like rocks that night.
What a great celebration of the freedom our country has! Let us not take it for granted! Please remember to keep our troops in prayer as the defend our great country.

We're Back in Business

We got the cable we needed in the wonderful land of Oz, so now we are back in business.

Here is a picture I took this morning, so this is as up-to-date as it gets.

Corban is only smiling this big because he is squeezing the bejeebers out of Caleb (or "K-Love" as many kids here call him, including Nate and I).

Corban gets his hair cut tomorrow so enjoy the wild orange locks while they are there!

Sorry No Pictures!

I haven't written in a while because I didn't want to post an update without pictures. But unfortunately, I cannot for the life of me find the USB cable for my camera to upload the pics to the computer. It's not the standard size of cable or I would just buy a new one, but they don't carry this kind anywhere in this one horse town.



So here is an update sans pictures.



Corban...WOW! Mr. Personality. He has changed so much the past couple of months. He is talking so well and loves to be the center of attention. People always stop us in the store and comment on his red hair. He's getting sassy toward his mama though. We are trying to nip that in the bud real fast. It's funny how much easier parenting was before I had children! Being consistent is proving to be a much harder task than originally expected.



Corban is all boy. He is a hyper little thing who loves airplanes, trains, and trucks. He has a new love in his life. She is a Hispanic little girl who has captured his heart name Dora. Can you say "Obsessed?"



"Dora" is the first word out of his mouth in the morning and the last word out of his mouth before he goes to bed. If I could, I would post the picture here of him in his Superman outfit, holding a pink Dora lunchbox that we found at a thrift store and he couldn't live without it.





Caleb will be five months old this week. He is a sweetheart, happy go lucky baby. He LOVES cereal (and any other sneaky tastes daddy gives him). He's gotten a couple of boo-boos this week now that he has learned to roll with avengence. Nothing makes you feel like a bad mom more than hearing "the thump" and then the pause, and then the loud wailing afterwards. So far just a couple bad bruises and a puffed eye. Don't worry, I don't put him places he can roll off anymore.


Caleb's favorite toys are 1) his feet and 2) Corban. It's great to see these brothers adore each other. We pray they grow to be best friends.



In other news, we are still adjusting to small town life. We are very excited to go home to Wichita for the 4th of July weekend. We are looking forward to shopping at any place other than Wal-Mart and storing up on some things that you just can't find here. Hopefully we can find a store with the right kind of cable and then I can post pictures. Or I could keep unpacking the boxes and hoping it mistakenly got put in a box labled "garage supplies" or something.

Home Sweet Home

Finally, after

*72 days in transition

*51 meals eaten out

*19 different hotel rooms

*1 really damaging storm and

*countless memories made, prayers uttered, and lessons learned,

WE ARE HOME!!



Humble as it may be right now (we still have a lot of damage to take care of) we are in a place we can call "ours". And we are thankful for it.



Picture of our house pre-storm.

When it Rains, It Pours...

Overall, our house is completely liveable save for the fact that there is glass everywhere and the carpets are soaked. Nate's Saturdays for the next couple of months will be spent doing minor repairs such as fixing the doors, minor roof repair, touch up paint, etc. Our moving truck is coming this Wednesday, so we will hopefully have all the glass picked up and carpets extracted by then. We now see it it was Providence that our stuff didn't come on time, or else there would have been a LOT more damage. We are thankful for home owners insurance, but not for deductibles. :) People have been real helpful. What a way to meet the neighbors!

We are still without electricity. Most of Altus has it back except for our area. It was *supposed* to come back on today, but we know how these things go. We are comfortably staying at the Hampton Inn. It's more inconvenient than anything.

We are just so thankful that everyone is alright and no structural damage occured. The hotel across the field behind our house lost it's entire second floor and people down the street lost their garage. Several mobile homes tipped over and many people had it a lot worse than us. It seemed to be just a tiny short-lived twister, thankfully.

Thanks for all your prayers! Altus has turned out to be a little more adventurous than we originally thought!

Starting a Blog

In my attempts to keep in touch with dearly loved family and friends, I am attempting to join the blogging world. Hopefully this will be a place you can come to for frequent updates on the Tolle family, current pictures, and all the exciting details of our Adventures in Altus. Oh, and I promise to provide you with more than you want to know information on the mundane day to day details that sometimes bore even myself and plenty of random ramblings. (And you thought you would miss me!)

In case you are wondering why I chose the title "The Jubilant Journal" I will tell you. After looking up the word "jubilant", I found it means "showing great joy, satisfaction, or triumph; rejoicing; exultant." None of these definitions are by any stretch characteristics of me. In fact, Nate occassionally calls me "Debbie Downer" (in jest) due to my tendency to see the glass as half empty. (I defend my honor by reminding him that I am a "realist".) However, I long to be full of the joy of the Lord. And with a title like "The Jubilant Journal" I can't help but strive to see God's goodness in every part of our lives. So bear with me as I grow in grace and joy. And feel free to grow with me.

Hopefully in my next post I will write about the "David" tornado that hit our town, but caused "Goliath" damage to our house. And I'll post pictures. So check back soon!