Bits of my weekend, vol.1

One of my new fav blogs is starting a new Monday tradition and I like it. Or lick it, if you happen to read Fundamental Elements Facebook page.

"...and I to him."

There's a verse in Song of Songs that reads, "My beloved to me and I to him". If you're unfamiliar with that book of the Bible, it's an incredible love story. The best instructions on how to love can be found in the subtle (and not-so-subtle with those fawns and hills and such) verses of this old testament book.


(Pay no attention to the death-grip I have on the table...I was as cool as a cucumber. A cucumber about to pass out.)

Several years ago, the mister and I started talking about getting wedding ring tattoos for our 10th wedding anniversary. Obviously we didn't get around to it then. (read: CHICKEN!) We've talked about it and talked about it. We would start with not knowing what to get and the conversation would ALWAYS end with ideas of the most ridiculous tattoos ever thought of by humans. Seriously, Russ and I can come up with some funny stuff, because that, my friends, is easier than trying to decide on something real and ever-so-permanent.

Russ' reads "My beloved to me" and mine finishes the verse with "and I to him" in Hebrew.

So, the real question now is am I the type of person to be able to use the phrase "tat" or "inked"?

And of course there's more stories of the people and places of the whole affair but those will need to come later. They're good though. And also please note the "I'm not really a waitress" shade. Makes the whole thing more beautiful.

Our first foster!!!

Meet our newest addition. Temporarily.

A friend is getting her house ready to put on the market. A replica of this little number was in an awkward spot in the house, so rather than put it in storage, she offered to let me borrow it, foster it if you will.

I shall name it, cuddle it, nurture it and call it my own.

Until they call and say they want it back.

So, I gave it the ol' KT initiation. A little bit of walking, little bit of running. A little Spice Girls. A little Brittany. Cuz I'm shallow like that. Kick it.

There was enough of that there exercise that I had to shower to get rid of what doctors are calling 'sweat'. Combine that with the fact that I did NOT drink a MtDw today, and I'm practically training for the Olympics. Now if only the manufacturers of the popcorn I ate would add a couple vitamins to the butter flavoring, I would have had a serious athletic trifecta.

All that to say, hopefully spring 2010 you'll be seeing Less of the Mohrs instead of More from the Mohrs.

Friday ramblings. Welcome.

* Have I told you about Riley? Our corporate dog? He's a golden doodle that hangs out here everyday with us at work. He's crazy and delightful all at the same time. Yes, these are themed pictures. We made a 'Riley calendar' for our boss for Christmas.



* I updated the links on the blog. I also started adding "tags" to some blogs to classify and categorize them. It's like 3rd grade science all over again. Now when you feel like browsing my posts on a given topic, they are readily available. Get pumped.

* I don't know the last time I took a picture. That's awful and sad.

* I broke my wedding ring again. Ugh.

* It was fashion week and 2 of our electrical sales guys were in NYC for a conference. Such a waste. Frankly, I'm disgusted.

* I desperately miss running. It doesn't help that when I'm at work, I sit up front by the window and see people running by ALL.DAY.LONG.

* I have an unmixed copy of Russ' new album (FE's new album I should say) and it's ahhhhmazing.

* We got Eliot's school pics back. Enjoy the gummy grin:


*I found my f.a.v.o.r.i.t.e. nail polish color randomly this week. It used to be difficult to find, but this week I happen to look in a random spot and BOOM GOES THE DYNAMITE, there was OPI's "I'm not really a waitress". That, above all else, makes this week awesome.

Motherhood.

I've never experienced anything that made me overwhelmed to the extremes like this, both good and bad. Monday was a night that left Eliot and I on our own as I sent Russ off to small group by himself. I had a date with some dust bunnies before round 2 of the home study and it's just better if no one else is around to see what happens to them behind closed doors.

While we were eating dinner at his tiny kid table, I got pretty choked up out of nowhere. Sometimes I just can't believe that I get to be his mom. Out of all the women in all the world, God chose me. That rocks me off my chair (not literally, although it is a pretty small chair). There was no mistake. I didn't force it to happen, I couldn't have. Too many details just fell into place. He chose me for this exact role. Whatever Eliot is supposed to be/do, I was picked to be a part a key role in that. To quote my favorite Bible story and Halloween costume from '83-'86, "And who knows if you have come to this position for such a time as this." It is humbling, encouraging, and quite possibly the closest thing to my heart.

Now, on the flip side. More times than I care to admit, I look at the clock during my time with Eliot and think, "What now?" I don't feel like playing baseball and if I see another Lightening McQueen somebody's going to get hurt. And immediately I feel guilty. I don't get to see him all day and then come home and can't muster the energy to fake-love playing with cars? Sometimes I push through it, sometimes I find something else for the two/three of us to do, and sometimes the selfishness wins. I'm thankful for this post from Mckmama's blog that gave me a better perspective. I will probably read it at least once a month. If you haven't read it yet, head on over.

It's safe to say motherhood, the blessing and the responsibility is always on my mind. I was encouraged lately by mom-posts in the blog world. There was Sara's post and then Tiny Twig's post that posted this video:

the words to the video short:
You are a miracle.
And I have to love you this fiercely: So that you can feel it even after you leave for school, or even while you are asleep, or even after your childhood becomes a memory.
You’ll forget all this when you grow up. But it’s okay.
Being a mother means having your heart broken.
And it means loving and losing and falling apart and coming back together.
And it’s the best there is. And also, sometimes, the worst.
Sometimes you won’t have anyone to talk to.
Sometimes you’ll wonder if you’ve forgotten who you are.
But you must remember this: What you’re doing matters.
And you have to be brave with your life so that others can be brave with theirs.
The truth is, being a woman is a gift. Tenderness is a gift. Intimacy is a gift. And nurturing the good in this world is a nothing short of a privilege.
That’s why I have to love you this way. So I can give what I have to you. So that you can carry it in your body and pass it on.

I have watched you sleep. I’ve kissed you a million times. And I know something that you don’t, yet:

You are writing the story of your only life every single minute of every day.And my greatest hope for you, sweet child, is that I can teach you how to write a good one.

Homestudy part 2: check!

We met with our licensing worker today. She's the one we'll meet with at least two more times before this is all done. Then we get handed to a case worker, as I understand it. So far, so good.

So, she arrived a few minutes early. She caught me sweeping the stairs but as we entered the house, I realized Russ was still in the shower and his clothes were in our room ACROSS THE HALL FROM THE BATHROOM. Instead of letting him sweat it out or force anyone to get to know each other too soon, I popped my head into the bathroom, dropping his clothes off and letting him know she was here early.

Now. Let's talk about a little bit of history between one Russ Mohr and one Katie Mohr. Over the gazillion years we've been married, I've enjoyed a little something I like to call recreational fibbing. For example, Russ is making food for himself but left the kitchen to check email or whathaveyou. I casually say, "Russ, your water's boiling" as I pass by the room he's in. He immediately heads to the stove only to find the water is in fact, not boiling. This also works for "Hey, it's snowing outside!" and many many other everyday things that could be real.

This started in college with a roommate, Lisa C. Upon meeting someone new, she would casually mention something completely untrue about herself and people would ask questions and I would just sit and enjoy the entertainment as the conversation developed. She was amazing. A true mentor. Years later when we met the Seibel family (our STL family) they had us over for dinner to get to know us. In telling them about myself I casually mentioned that my parents were missionaries in Africa. I also told them that Russ and I met online. Both times Russ ratted me out.

What does this have to do w/ our homestudy today? Well, guess what happened when I told Russ that our licensing worker was here? From the shower (read: very loudly spoken!) he said, "yeah, right, you're lying."

Enter nervous laughter from one-who-fibbs-recreationally-and-is-praying-russ-doesn't-say-anything-embarrassing.

In spite of our "family dynamics" today, we're on-track! We will be in classes until late spring (Spring? What is this thing you speak of?) and then starts the waiting game.

The Mayan was actually Flyin'!

If you didn't go see this AHHHHHmazing cape at this blog, here's the home application. It's amazing. I love it. I can't believe I have friends this talented! (ignore the rough bottom half of the cape, Eliot's still a little short for the cape so I added a temporary "hem." Ever since the stitches incident of '10, I've been a slight spaz about possible danger...)



Yes, eliot's heading straight toward that brick wall. Can you blame me for being a slight anxious about head injuries?

AND!!! Last week I got some fun mail from another friend! Remember the story of Janel? She won Russ's blog banner contest. Well, she posted this blog with this picture:

I, of course, fell in love with it. A few weeks ago, she emailed me to ask for our new address and then it showed up!!! So excited, so excited, so excited.

Haiti adoption?

Since the earthquake, I've had a number of you ask about the possibilities of adopting one of those beautiful babies. I've definitely had my ear to the ground on this and it's working out to be as messy as I expected. The media can sometimes be misleading on things and honestly, it's a good thing that blogging is so common these days for getting more truth out there. I just read a great post on this last night from one of my new favorite bloggers, Jamie Ivey.

Click here to check it out.

Dear 1996 Katie,

Today (not calendar day, but day after Superbowl Sunday) is the day you start spring semester of your freshman year of college. You're spending the day settling into your new dorm room with your new roommate on the third floor with all of your girls. First of all, you're going to have a blast and it will be totally worth giving up that amazing room for the tiniest one on campus.

Secondly, listen to your mother on that Spanish class you're considering dropping out of. It just might come in handy.

Thirdly, you met a guy yesterday and I doubt you've even thought twice about it. Chances are you're more concerned with where to hang all your overalls in that tiny closet and trying to remember the new extension for the hall phone since cell phones are for rich people. Pay attention. He may have been a little on the obnoxious side, but that's not his heart. His clothes may be rather baggy and his hair long, but he just might be the most amazing man you've ever met. Don't write him off just yet.

Lastly, please buy yourself a set of tweezers immediately.

Love,
2010 Katie

Highlight of my day?

Other people's creativity. Click here to see the latest addition to Eliot's awesomeness.

Also, is anyone else's 3-year old boy telling them that a girl is pretty because she has blue eyes?

Slow.Down.Latin.Lover.

Month-o-love!

Several bloggers have committed to comment-love this month. I like it. If you're one of the gazillion bloggers in my google reader, you might just see an increase in my commenting.

Heather's post explains it well,so I'll just link you to her thoughts.

By the way, I had a blog-fame moment the other night. I was at a very-healthy-eating-establishment that happens to also have a large play area with Lisa for a playdate and a woman came up and asked if I was Katie from Mohr from the Mohr's. After I got out my Sharpie and signed her iPad and posed for a picture, she explained that she was told about my blog by her friend Nicole because she and her husband are foster parents currently. She doesn't know it yet, but we're about to be BFF. Oh the questions I have! (Hi Megan!)

Postscript: I didn't really "sign" anything or pose for a picture. Some of you don't know me well enough to know that embellishing stories is my personal therapy. Keeps you and me coming back.