Neal Hendrix Betz

Hendrix decided to come into the world at the most interesting time. Mommy was sick with an upper respiratory thing. Vanessa had spent the day and night before throwing up. Zane started running a temperature the night before and Daddy started coughing in much the same way Mommy had started feeling yucky. I kept Vanessa and Zane downstairs to sleep and so I could keep an eye on them. I woke a couple times in the night with the feeling of strong contractions. I begged God to have Hendrix hold out a little longer so I could manage a c-section.

By 7:30am I started noticing a more consistent pattern. By 8, I was definitely having contractions 5 minutes apart. We told Daddy and started preparing to leave for the hospital. Soon after we got to the hospital, contractions picked up to about 2 and a half minutes apart. His heart rate dropped a few times but he bounced back and we waited for about 6 hours after I had eaten a Pillsbury Cinnamon Roll to enter the OR.

Neal Hendrix Betz arrived at 3:02pm. As soon as his head was pulled into the light, we heard his screaming. He has a strong cry. He weighed 6 pounds and 14 ounces and measured 20 inches in length. Our biggest baby.

Mix and Match

We're not like everyone else. We like to mix and match.

Snow Day Off

Finally, a day off from school for snow! There's a good chance it will be the only one they get! Could the kids have managed to get to school safely? Probably, but I decided my daughter was learning more on this snow day off than if she had gone to school this day. So much time was spent outside exploring the elements. The snow was perfect for packing and the temps allowed for hours and hours to release their creativity. They didn't get much help from me, but they didn't seem to need it. They built a snowman and igloo all on their own. Zane rested while Vanessa buried him up to his neck and couldn't move. Really, it was a perfect snow day ON!

Lunch Dates

These offspring are keeping it real for alumni parents, enjoying buddy lunch dates at Adriatico's Pizza! (It's a rude awakening when they can be trusted to sit by themselves, far away from parents. Just what are they plotting?!)

Enriching Open House

Instead of the same ol' P-T conference, Vanessa's enrichment teacher hosts a classroom open house where we explore the things the kids have been working on and we do little projects together as a family. It's fun and Vanessa can hardly contain herself while there.

 The kids made catapults and shot candy hearts at a target. The activity was a hit, even for Zane.

Vending

Zane has been a little bummed that I can't jump with him at preschool jump time. However, he is sold on still going to use his quarters in the vending machines. His sister has convinced him to buy for her too, to share.

~ LOVE ~

 Vanessa  made an alien Valentine card box this year. She went through my random scraps of things to decide the direction she would go. Zane asked me to help him with the golden Power Ranger Samurai. 

It was a weekend full of love. While we stuffed eggs for the upcoming Easter Egg-splosion, Zane loved helping Jeff deliver candy to the stuffers. 

During an open house event this last week, we were able to check out Vanessa's contribution to a My Body project she did with fellow classmates. She and her partner worked on using nonfiction features to present and describe a human heart. I was impressed by Vanessa's drawing of a heart and the fact she cared enough to color it neatly. :-)

The Bible

[Vanessa made the above icon for a one of her school accounts. I stole and like. :-)]

A couple of weeks ago, after Vanessa took the initiative to read in her Bible, I asked her if there were parts she found hard to understand. I remember some of it being gibberish when I was younger. And let's be honest, some of it I still start to daydream in the middle of reading. It wasn't until I was older and with the help of very wise and Godly people that I was able to see the whole story of Jesus woven throughout, His geneology and the demonstrations of God's divine intervention in each Sunday School story. It has also become a time that I love to research the stories and figure out how we've distorted them to soften or dummy them down in Sunday School.

Anyway, back on subject. Vanessa explained to me that she actually understands a lot of It. I was surprised to hear that. Makes me think we're spending a good amount of time in It to make sense of and apply It to our lives. She replied that some books are harder than others though, like "Lemontations" and "Revolutions." Love her.

Zane is funny too. He's very serious about taking HIS Bible to church. The other day I was studying a devotion using my study Bible. He wanted to know why it was so big and heavy. He also found the appendices to be rich with resources. He especially liked the maps in the back. (I remember being intrigued by the maps at the back of my grandparents' coffee table Bible when I was his age.)

Anyway, he placed the Bible on his lap and flipped back to a specific map and then looked at me and asked "Mom, could you show me where Florida is on this map? I can't find the "F". :-) I chuckled and explained to him, "Buddy, these maps show the Bible lands, which are across a lot of ocean water." He then pointed off to the right from the land mass and said, "Oh, across these oceans somewhere."

MH Day?

Vanessa never misses school. Other than little sniffles here and there we've been lucky she doesn't get sick too much. But today she said she has a stuffy head and headache, so she stayed home. She spent some time chilling on the couch, watching all kinds of TV, and now she's gently playing school with Zane. She told me since her head is hurting a tad she won't play rough and won't do round offs in the great room. Good to know. :-) She seems fine to me, but she can afford a day off. I get it.

I think another special thing about the day for Vanessa was eating homemade chicken and veggie soup on trays in the great room.

UPDATE: At dinner time Vanessa said "You know I kind of planned my sick day. You know how I get phlegm as we near spring months? Because of the pollen and cotton stuff flying through the air? Well, that's why I was coughing, so I figured I might be sick on Monday, Wednesday or Friday. I guess it was Monday!""

Special Power

"I have the power of toots!"

Zane said the above while dancing and singing to an episode of Power Rangers. It went well with the picture above in which he was cracking up over his ability to toot on command. He thinks he's pretty funny. His sweet smile and laughter make us agree, sadly so.

What's your power? ;-)

Stuffed by Stuff

It's a huge chore to clean Vanessa's room. I feel it's mostly her responsibility, but every once in a while, she needs me to go in to restore order and to manage her hording for crafts. About a month ago I found the two things above. There were a ton of things but these were the two things that left me most puzzled. It was an opportunity to get rid of the stuff without second guessing, so I took a couple of pictures to remember and remind her one day.

The top picture seems to be a duct tape diaper. Could be useful? Maybe more about style than practical? The second seems to be something like a a plane. Not sure if flew well but the skewers are dangerous if flying through the air. She loves string and to wrap anything in string.

Have I mentioned here that one time she made a trash collecting contraption out of string and hooks? She hung it from the ceiling above her desk and would use it to swing trash to the trashcan right beside her desk. Somehow this seemed more fun than just tossing trash in the can as she sat there.

Then over this last weekend, while trying to snatch up a box Zane had claimed for himself, she remembered she had a Coke box stashed somewhere in the house -- I can't remember if she ran and got it from the basement or from her bedroom. But I do know she has a tendency to take things from the recycling pile before we've had a chance to run stuff to the recycling bin. Anyway, she used some cool crinkly packaging paper from Grandma's to create an elephant, after Zane used the pieces to build his arms and legs with Hulk hands. (Didn't get a picture of that but he looked really cool!)

The STUFF drives me a little batty but I'm also left intrigued and humored by their creativity, which outweighs the feeling of being overwhelmed by stuff . . .

Maybe show it off to a couple of friends?

Drive fast, speed turns me on! We almost got whiplash, she took off so fast. ;-)