2009 - Tomato T-ball and Water Balloon Fight!

All I can say is... we REALLY like to have fun and get REALLY messy!!
We went to Farmer's Market and got almost rotten tomatos, and then went to the Dollar Store and got water balloons, and now we have yet another family tradition...
Our neighbors think we are crazy... in a good way! Next time, it's gonna be a block party, baby!

Disney World 2009

It was Emily's 4th birthday! The year that marked her entry into... well, a four year old. We went on an adventure to Disney World (as is customary in our family when you turn 4!!) This was her second time to come, and Evan's third, but we all LOVED IT! Emily got to go to the Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boutique and have her hair, nails, and makeup done for her royal ball with Cinderella and Prince Charming! Cinderella came and gave her the Royal Glass Slipper as a special birthday gift! (It's actually an old family heirloom that she is now getting to receive, but she doesn't know that part...)
I had so much fun making the pillow for the glass slipper to go on, and imagining the shock and awe on her face when Cinderella would give it to her! When the night finally came, I was so excited! Cinderella came, the slipper was brought out, and Emily's face was unforgettabe. Her eyebrows stiffened into amazement as she noticed the beautiful slipper on a white fringed pillow with light blue beads dangling from the edges. Then Cinderella told her that this was her last slipper and that Emily had to take good care of it! From that point on Emily was extrememly aware that something could and may happen to her new treasure, so she put all of us on alert to make sure that we knew we were ALL guardians of the precious glass slipper.
Dinner continued, and the wicked step sisters, being their usuall UNcharming selves, decided that THEY needed the glass slipper, and were not at all amused when I slapped Anastasia's hand in her attempt to snatch the slipper. She was so upset that she took Emily's stickers that she had received at the beginning of our dinner, and Emily, being ever so outraged at the "inappropriate" behavior of the "stupid" Anastasia, decided that she didn't ever want to smile at her again.
Once dinner had come to an end, and we had all said our "goodbyes" to Cinderella and Prince Charming, the step-mother, Drusella, and "stupid" Anastasia, we took the ferry and watched the spectacular firwork show while sailing on the water and overlooking Cinderella's castle. I was perfect!

We also got to enjoy STAR WARS weekend!!!! For those of you who may not know, we all are huge fans. We literally waited for hours meeting all of the characters from the old and the new shows, AND we got to see the original Chewbacca!

We got to see the "Spectro-magic" parade, and we were in the "Celebrate You" parade, and got to dance and do the Conga with Mickey, Goofey, and Donald! (I've never sweated so much in my life!! I would be so skinny if I did those parades every day!)

Disney World really is magical! There's just that spark of "kid" that shows up in all of us every time we come, and we can't wait to return again!

The Penny

Emily found a penny on the ground next to the car. We quickly jumped in to head home from a long day at school. As we were on our way home she started weazing and making strange noises. I turned around and saw that she was turning red! I asked her if she was okay and then her eyes grew very big and tears started pouring out. Evan blurted out in hseer panick, "She swallowed that penny!!"
In my mind I was freaking out, but knew that I had to stay (sort of) calm. For some strange reason I went home a different route than I normally do, and it was down Forest Ln. We were driving right by Medical City when we discovered that Emily had the penny stuck in her throat, so I sped to our doctors office at Medical City!! Immediatly they were able to assess the situation and make sure that she was not choaking, but the penny was stuck. They had her drink water and try to wash the penny down. They told her that she will poop the penny out and all will be fine!
(Ever since then, she goes to the bathroom and comes out to give me a penny report...)

"Mommy! We're BEING ROBBED!!"

It was a perfect day! I went to the gym this morning, came home and had my friend, Julie, over for lunch; put the kids down for naps, and after Julie left I decided to jump in the shower. I was in the middle of shaving my legs when I heard Evan start screaming and crying!
He ran into the bathroom where I was, and in hysterics said, "Mommy, someone is at the back door playing with the handle and making it crack!!!"
I threw on a towel, grabbed my taser, and set off to fight this dangerous house robber person -- in a towel...
I entered our living room and didn't hear anything; I opened the window blinds, and didn't see anything there either. I wondered if Emily was outside and I didn't know it, but just as I was about to go and see if she was still sleeping, she walked in the room. I looked for the dog, to see if maybe it was the dog scratching, but NO! Dollie was in her bed.
I went back and got dressed, and then went outside to see if our huge gate was compromised, but the gate was secure. With trusty "Ole Tessie the Taser" in my hands, I then went through the house to the front yard to see if anyone was around, and yet again, NO ONE! (Like they would have really lingered anyway...)
So, I went back into the house and told Evan not to worry, and everything is fine. After a few minutes, I hear Evan knocking aggressively on the back door. I went in and asked him what he was doing, and he said, "I wanted to know if the bad guys were still out there because if they are, then they will knock back, and then you can fight them..."
Just call me "Janet Bourne" because apparently, I am an amazing fighter that can withstand obnoxious house-robber-people...

I still don't know what he heard, but all is well at the Couch house!

Z - is for ZORRO!

Evan is going through a Zorro phase, and so we needed to go to Lowe's and get a few supplies in order to complete the Zorro costume. He had a cape, and a bandana with eyes cut into it, but we still needed the "whap" as he called it.
I had NO IDEA what a "whap" was at first. A nap? A flap?
FINALLY the old girl got it! A WHIP!

We drove to Lowe's and he was studded out in his bandana, cape, and straw hat (that we were also buying black spray paint for...) As we approached the entrance into Lowe's, he noticeed all the cute grins he was getting from everyone around. So, he stopped at the foot of the automatic door and said, "I need to take all this off... I'm too cute!" (I love his humility...)
"Okay." I said. "But, why don't you want to wear it?"
"Zorro can't save people and swing in the room without his whip, mom."

We went in and asked for help in finding the perfect "whap" and before we knew it, Evan had his whip! The guy that helped us burned the ends so that it wouldn't fray. NOW he was now ready to be cute! He put his entire wardrobe on, and it was Zorro IN THE FLESH at Lowe's Home Impovement Warehouse! WOW! While we were in the check out line, Zorro kept fighting off the bad people... he was whipping everything that made noise -- mainly Emily...

I am now needing to RE-THINK the whole whip idea...

Emilyisms... (Part 1-ish)

Emily was in her bedroom telling her stuffed animals about God, and I overheard her say, "God is OLD. He's 71. But he loves you very much!"


I just learned from Emily (3 years old) that hick-ups come when your bottom is dirty. AND, if your bottom is dirty and you still don't clean it, then the hick-ups turn into coughs, and if you STILL don't clean your bottom, then you throw up.

It's amazing what you can learn from your children!

We're Being INVADED!!!!

Okay, I know that I am noted for my disgusting stories, so I don't want to disappoint...
The other night I was sooo tired, but I couldn't fall asleep. I was so mad!! AND, to add to the frustration, I kept hearing scratching followed be loud THUDS in the attic directly over our bed. I started grunting and rolling over every few minutes, and finally Eric just said, "Will you BE QUIET!?!?! You woke me up!" I pointed out to him that there was a rodent making a nest directly over our bed in the attic and it was being VERY LOUD, and I couldn't SLEEP! I wanted him to jump out of bed and take care of the whole rodent thing -- even though it was 3AM!! Well, obviously no one in their right mind would go rodent hunting in the attic at 3 am...
So, the next morning while getting dressed, I heard the scratching and thumping once again... I suddenly remembered that taser Eric gave me for Christmas, and wondered what would happen... I got it out, aimed it directly at the spot where the thuds were coming from, and BANG!!! (Did you know that tasers "BANG?!?!" -- I thought that they just shot electricity across the room -- kind of like that guy in "Star Wars" when he can shoot electricity out of his fingers...????) It looked like I had pulled the cork off of one of those New Year's confetti shooters... My head was pounding, heart was throbbing, and I couldn't really speak for about a minute. I scared myself to DEATH!!! That was NOT what I was expecting! I wanted to be like the "Star Wars" guy! I didn't want a New Year's explosion!!
Finally I found my voice, and the lump went down a little, and I called Eric, and asked him to come into the bedroom really FAST! (I couldn't believe he didn't hear the shrilling bang that nearly made me pass out!) He walked in and saw the "confetti hanging from the ceiling looked at me, and it took everything in him to NOT laugh hysterically at me! He KNEW my entire thought process, and then explained to me that I am NOT to shoot things before reading the instructions or watching a video, or letting HIM give me lessons, AND that tasers don't shoot through the ceiling...
I OBVIOUSLY figured all of that out, BUT just as he was explaining all of that, the scratching and thuds returned... UUUUGGGG!
I thought that was enough rodent mess, but NOOOOO!
My friend, Heather, was staying with us for the weekend, and she likes to sleep with lots fans, so I went out to the garage to get our other fan. I brought it into Emily's room where Heather was sleeping, and I plugged in the fan, turned it on, and then it made a really loud sound, like when you put cards in your bike wheels... Well, I shook the fan and a little dirt came out, and I saw some toys in there. So, I was just a little annoyed that the kids had put toys in the fan, but thought I could just shake them out of the way. So I gave the fan one more BIG shake, and when I did THERE WAS A MOUSE!!!! It was dead and crunchy!!!!! I jerked the fan OUT OF THE WALL, ran down the hall as fast as I could! I tripped over my own feet and crashed into the wall, slipped across the kitchen floor, and finally THREW THE FAN OUTSIDE!!!!
Now, those of you who know me well, know that I am a germ freak... I couldn't help but think of all the crunchy mouse parts that I had fanned across Emily's room, and shaken all over ME! I started a very thorough cleaning and disinfecting process on the carpets and floors and then myself!!!
I am contemplating STARVING the cat, so that he will do his JOB...

We are having a nice, quiet evening at home tonight! After bathtime, Emily decided to turn a movie on in Evan's room, and they were sitting on the floor playing legos! As I was finishing up dinner, I heard the pitter patter of little feet, followed by Evan's voice yelling excitedly, "MOM! BAMBI is coming out in March of 2005!!!! That means we can SEE it!!!"

I couldn't help but laugh because even though I was explaining to him that March 2005 was around the same time that Emily was born, he still thinks that since the previews say it, it will still come to "Disney DVD" very soon...

Hick-ups

I just learned from Emily (3 years old) that hick-ups come when your bottom is dirty. AND, if your bottom is dirty and you still don't clean it, then the hick-ups turn into coughs, and if you STILL don't clean your bottom, then you throw up.

It's amazing what you can learn from your children!

Oh dear! It has begun...!

Today we took one of Evan's good friends, John Calvin, home with us! He and Evan are in the same class at school (and church -- i think...) Anyways, all the kids were playing in the back yard, and I was inside cleaning or something, and watching them through the windows... Well, my three-and-a-half year old daughter, Emily comes in and says, "Mommy, HE KISSED ME AND HE'S NOT MY PRINCE!!!" After trying very hard not to laugh at her, I went outside and explained to John Calvin that we don't kiss girls until we want to marry them (what else do you say to a four year old...), and we have to be ALOT older before he can marry anyone! And his precious response was, "Okay, I'll marry her NEXT year!" Then he grabbed her hand and trotted off and pushed her on the swing while Evan was telling him to play with HIM instead of EMILY! It was priceless!
John Calvin and Evan did eventually go and play without the girl..
When we were driving back to the school he kept telling me that he was Emily's girlfriend, and I kept correting saying, "No, it's BOYfriend...and WAIT, you guys can't be boyfriend and girlfriend!! You can be friends, but no more kissing! Anyways, I found it hilarious that I was having a kissing discussion with a 3 and a 4 year old.
All I have to say is, HOLY COW! It has begun... Evan's friends are now going to come over and pay more attention to his sister!! I am praying even more!!

Fun Day!

Fun Day!

Happy New Year!

Eric and I spent New Year's Eve just us, and it was great! We went to one of my favorite places called Picasso's and had a two and a half long dinner! We just sat there and talked (my biggest love language is quality time, so that is huge for me to get his attention for that long!!) Then we went home, and he wanted to bring in the new year with us earnestly seeking after the Lord together! So, we came home and spent time in prayer and we read a book that my sister's father-in-law reccommended we read called, "Marriage: The Journey." We started it and are enjoying it together, and we also worked on memoirzing scripture. (We have a challenge set before us in our Sunday School class at church,s o we are doing our best!) I can't imagine a better way to bring in the new year! I pray that this year will be one that the Lord will use to continually draw us closer to Himself and his likeness!

Christmas 2008

We have a family tradition of having a birthday party for Jesus on Christmas Eve, so this year Emily, Evan, and few of the other chldren who attend the party, got to play a part in telling the story. Emily played the part of Mary, Evan played the part of Joseph. Easton and Andrew were shepherds, and Joseph narrated the story of Jesus birth. It was very cute! After the story was finished the music started and we listened to "Happy birthday, jesus" sung by the Brooklyn Tab. Choir. It really was so precious!! Andrew played the part of a shepherd extrememly well! Every time there was an action verb, he made sure to act it out -- my favorite was when the shepherds were "frightened" he made sure to faint!!

Eric's dad, Maw Maw, and his friend Nancy all joined us for Christmas, so that was fun as well!

Thanksgiving Week!

We had a fun Thanksgiving Week! We had friends and family over before Turkey Day, and then Eric kidnapped me and the kids and took us to the Gaylord Texan, and we stayed there for four days!! One the first might we were there we ate at one of our favortie steak places, the Old Hickory, and Evan and emily were so well behaved! I was very proud and greatful for Eric's iphone!! On thanksgiving day we went to the zoo, which we had almost to ourselves, and the animals were very happy to see us! They were so cute! We ate dinner at Ama Lur where we had the best turkey ever!! We spent the other days, swimming, shopping at Build a Bear, and enjoying each other! The decorations were georgeous at the Gaylord! Our room was the size of our house, and it overlooked all the beautiful lights inside the Gaylord! It was great! Eric and I took turns enjoying the amenities at the spa, and we all enjoyed ordering pizza and watching movies in the room! It was wonderful!