The Joys of Life

2009 - Happy New Year to Merry Christmas and All Over Again

2009-12-16T09:40:00.002-06:00

Well, 2009 is almost over and this year has been one of the craziest years we have had in a while. The one big difference this year over previous years is we did not have any kids nor get pregnant this year. Amazing isn't it. The Mullins are no longer expanding their numbers, and that is a great feeling.

2009 has been an up and down year many times over. Thankfully the highs have far exceeded the lows but that doesn't change how crazy it has been.

HAYDEN
Hayden turned 1 this year and everything changed. He started walking, walking very well, at 10 months old. This was the beginning of a new era...An era fraught with both excitement and danger. Hayden is our wild child, the one who knows no fear...none what so ever! He sees his 4 year old brother do something and in his mind there is no reason that at 1 he shouldn't be able to do the exact same thing. Just the other day I went into the kid’s bathroom, which we used to keep a small step stool out so they could wash their hands and brush their teeth on their own. Notice I said used to keep. So I walk into the upstairs playroom and quickly spot the older two and ask where Hayden is and in unison I get the response, "he's in the bathroom". So I walk around the corner to find that the little fella has climbed up the step stool gotten a hold of the edge of the sink and used that to pull himself up onto the counter top where is he standing as I walk around the corner smiling and staring at himself in the mirror. Really this kid is gonna turn the rest of my hair gray before I hit 35. He is growing like a weed and eats like I used to. Even his brother and sister have recognized his and have started casually handing him food off their plates that they don't want to eat because they know he will still finish all of his. One little hiccup we had with Hayden was for about a 4 or 5 month stretch he kept getting ear infections so we ended up taking him to a ear specialist and they suggested that we really consider tubes to help him out. Well we considered it and decided that we would give him a couple more months to see if he would grow out of it. And thankfully it appears he has as he hasn't had an ear infection since we took him to see the specialist.

LANDICE
Landice turned 2 this year. For the most part she has been the least exciting of the three, only meaning nothing really big happened for her this year. She still sucks her thumb which drives me absolutely crazy, so if you have any ideas how to break this bad habit then let me know. She still has her beautiful red hair and the temper to prove it is real. She is both great at being a little sister and a big sister and holds her own quite well against her two brothers. I have a feeling that Hayden will outgrow her one way or another before too long. Landice loves to dance and sing and these bring so much joy to Elizabeth and I as you can see how beautiful children are because they know nothing of people’s expectations or judgments, they do something only because they love it and that is so beautiful and I wish it lasts her whole life. We did switch Landice from a crib to a toddler bed and that wasn't much of a transition for Landice. She did fall out of the bed the first few nights but after that no problems. I guess the biggest change for Landice was Elizabeth potty trained her. And that honestly was very exciting because Landice took to it so quickly. Elizabeth did a great job and my job was to stay out of the way and be excited when Landice did make it to the potty successfully. Landice is almost 3 now and is growing up so quickly, and I know that is such a cliché but I suppose it became that way because it is so true.

CORBAN
Corban turned 4 this year and this year has been somewhat of a challenge for me as his dad. The biggest decision in my mind we had to make this year was whether or not to let him move into the pre-k program or not. I did not like making this decision so soon but in hindsight it was nice to have it done. At the children's bible class program at our church we actually have a class that consolidates a lot of smaller classes into one big class when they reach pre-k age. Because Corban's birthday is in the summer we had to decide if we wanted to send him to this class now as the youngest in the group or wait and send him next year when he will be the oldest. This was really difficult for me because he was only 3 when we had to make this decision and I just wasn't ready. Thankfully Elizabeth was understanding or at the very least willing to put up with my desire to put this decision off and she talked to the coordinators and found that we could let him go during the summer and then decide after the summer session was over if we actually wanted to keep him in the pre-k group. So that is what we did. All summer Corban went to the pre-k bible class and that made it both easier and harder to decide. On the one hand Corban did excellent from an academic standpoint and he enjoyed it, really enjoyed the class and the learning experience. On the other hand you could see that he was the youngest and from a social perspective he was becoming a follower, a little hesitant in his ability to interact with the older kids. So we decided that we should keep him out of pre-k until next year and right now that seems to have been the right decision. Corban is becoming a lot more independent now. He asks lots of questions and has even more opinions. Corban's one big bump this year was he nearly made his thumb useless. He got cut and thankfully it didn't damage the tendons but he had to get his first stitches and that was not something he enjoyed but he recovered and I doubt he even remembers it any longer. And the biggest news of late with Corban is he is starting to learn to ride his bike without any assistance. Just the other night he probably rode around for 15 minutes riding 10 or 15 yards at a time and that was the most fun I have had with Corban maybe ever.

ELIZABETH & JOSHUA
Well, Elizabeth and I have had one incredible year. We put our house on the market almost a year ago now. On Christmas day last year we visited our friends Andrea and Randon to see their new house and ended up looking at the one next door. Fast forward 6 months and we finally had our house under contract to sell and had made one big circle looking at houses and ended up at the very first one we looked at on Christmas Day and bought it. So on June 29, we moved into our brand new house on a half acre in a beautiful neighborhood in north Edmond. We have 4 other couples in our neighborhood that are in our bible class with kid’s similar ages to ours and it is awesome. Our kids love it and we love it. We couldn't have picked a better place for them to grow up. I have been at my job now for over a year and it was a blessing that I got it. Elizabeth is still training people to live happy, healthy lives through her personal training and she loves that. We have made many new friends, which is always nice. Our kids were in 3 different weddings this summer which kept our summer busy. We only had to travel for 1 of those weddings to TX for my little brother’s wedding and our friends Jeremy and Jana went with us, because they are awesome and helped out since we couldn't take the two younger kids to that wedding. We made a second trip down to TX to go visit Seth and Ashley and stayed at their house with them. We actually spent a lot more time at their house than we anticipated because we had intended to go to a Rangers game and meet some of the players, but we took the rain from OKC down with us to DFW and it literally rained the entire duration of our stay. Thanks to Seth and Ashley going from a nice quiet home for 2 to a train wreck for a nice long weekend. They played host incredibly well. Then, we took a third trip to TX with Jeremy & Jana and Micah and Tara to Lake LBJ for our final trip of the year and it was a blast...side note it was a blast for almost everybody. I, on the other hand, decided that being towed behind a boat on a wake board wasn't enough fun and that I should learn some tricks. Here is what I learned, if you try and jump the wake (and you aren't any good) and let the rope go loose when it yanks you forward you jack your knee all up when you let the toe of the board hit the water first. That was the end of my outdoor activities for the rest of the trip and the next 4 months or so. Thankfully it was only a bad MCL sprain so no knives were necessary for my recovery. One cool side note is because I was laid up on the couch while everyone else was out enjoying the beautiful weather and the lake I got to find cool places to eat. So we got to go eat dinner one night at the house from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie. It was a fun trip but my wake boarding days may be over.

It has been a great year. We hope that your year has been enjoyable and blessed. We all go through ups and downs but thankfully for us Christ has blessed us so much more than Satan has with hardships. Keep Christ as your priority!

Merry Christmas & Happy 2010!!!

Dad's vs Mom's

2009-09-02T10:17:00.003-05:00

So, I got to experience first hand what it is like to be a dad vs being a mom in today's society. A couple weeks ago I had the privilege of taking all 3 kids to a birthday party at the zoo. Here is the kicker, I did this without Elizabeth.

Now, I would consider myself to be a talented man, maybe not so humble, but talented still, so taking the three kids to this birthday party without Elizabeth didn't really seem like something I should be overly proud of or to high and mighty about. Well, apparently I was wrong! I just want to say thanks to all you lazy bums out there that make me look so incredibly good to all your wife's. I mean, seriously, they thought I was some kind of out of this world kind of fella for, get this, bringing my kids to the zoo, to a birthday party, where entertainment and food was provided, and I didn't have to do a lick of anything but show up, sit down, and eat pizza/ice cream/cake.

So here's the point, Mom's don't get enough credit or dad's get to much for doing the same thing. I tell Elizabeth all the time that I have no intentions of giving up my full time job to be a full time dad because I think raising 3 kids full time all day long is harder than my job. But just like most dad's I take her hard work for granted. So thanks babe for doing such an awesome job with the kids!

"Quiet Time!?!"

2009-09-01T13:55:00.005-05:00

So this past Sunday afternoon I decided to mow the backyard after I put the kids down for their nap. Corban asks me, "Daddy, can I just have quiet time today, instead of naptime?" So I tell him that is fine with me as long as he can stay quiet so his brother and sister can take their naps and that I am going to go mow.

Now Corban has this thing with riding lawn mowers, I don't know if this is the same with all little fellas, but with Corban his world just lights up when you start talking about taking the "tractor" out to mow. So after telling him he can't mow with me that he has to have quiet time I head out.

I start mowing the back yard and after the first few laps I notice something moving around in Corban's bedroom window and so I stop look up to take notice and realize that Corban is standing on the window sill, jumping up and down while holding onto his bunk bed, banging on the window with his free hand going absolutely crazy rooting his daddy on while he mows the back yard. I can literally hear him over the lawn mower yelling at me that he can see me mow.

Now, as dad of this little fella, I had a couple things go through my mind. First, I had the thought of "Boy, you better not wake up your sister and brother because if I come up there and they are screaming, quiet time is gonna turn into nap time", which of course is the nice way to put it. However, this thought didn't last very long because, well, he is my son and I am his dad and the country boy in me won out. So the next thought, the thought that did stick with me, was how proud it made me to have my son screaming his little head off in excitement over a lawn mower and the fact that his dad was at the wheel. I guess when it came right down to it I thought his priorities were in the right place after all. I mean who can argue with power tools/lawn equipment over "Quiet Time". Well, apparently I can't.

MIDAS BRAKES IS THE WORST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-09-01T13:46:00.003-05:00

Even though nobody reads my blog, I am going to bash the MIDAS Brakes on Broadway Ext in Edmond, OK. So here we go...We needed new brake pads on our mini-van. I decided to make a mistake (hindsight is 20/20 as they say) and take it to Midas Brakes. They give me the sales pitch about upgrading to their more expensive brake pads and so I ask them, is there anything wrong with the quality of the $100 brake pads. They of course sound disappointed that I ask this question because it means I am not going to spend more money, so they tell me there is nothing wrong with the quality of the pads. So I got them on the mini-van. Now a month later you can't even have a nice quiet thought to yourself because the blasted brakes squeal bloody murder every time you touch the brake. I called them today and talked with a fella there who proceeds to look up my account and tell me that if I didn't want the pads to squeak I should have bought their more expensive pads because their cheap ones tend to squeak real bad. I ask them is there anything they can do to help out since they have just told me they sold me an inferior product and they say sure, we can sell you more expensive brake pads! What a bunch of freakin punks. I said no thanks, told the poor sap what an idiot he was to suggest something so downright STUPID, and hung up on him. MIDAS not only are your products terrible but your service was horrible as well.

STAY AWAY FROM MIDAS, there is no reason to buy something from dishonest people!!!

Joy

2009-03-09T08:06:00.003-05:00

Well, I had and incredibly great weekend. I took part of the day off on Thursday so I could pick my kids up from school and took Friday off and we all went to the zoo. This was such a refreshing weekend because we were able to just slow down and enjoy the simple things, like watching grizzly bears splashing around in the water and black bears rough housing with each other and snakes slithering around their cages. But I learned something about myself this weekend that unfortunalty took me about 10 years to learn. I am really selfish. Not the best thing to learn about yourself, or maybe it is. For me it was great because I am working on being a better husband and dad. So, instead of making that little sigh, or groaning, or drooping my face when something happened that might have rubbed me the wrong way at one point or another in my life, I actually thought about whether or not there was a reason to get annoyed by something and you know what I figured out, that 9 times out of 10 I was actually happier with the way it went than I thought I would be. And this really had everything to do with attitude. And here is one really silly example and a little telling about just how bone headed I can be sometimes.

Just last night Elizabeth snagged a half a cookie from me without bothering to ask. And in the past this might have gotten something of a snarl or at least a little sarcastic remark from me. But last night instead of throwing a little fit I just smiled and ate the other half. No big deal, right, except that it was. Because, that was one less time that I had a hard hearted approach to something silly and believe me that can make a difference.

So I am working on myself, because with the right attitude it has become apparent to me that things are just easier and better and happier and fun. So have a good day and put some thought in the way you respond to those around you. It just might make your day and theirs.

ABSOLUTELY HILARIOUS

2009-02-26T08:49:00.002-06:00

Probably the funniest thing I have ever seen on YouTube. And sorry about the ads on the video, nothing I can do about it.

30 Years Old

2009-02-16T11:24:00.002-06:00

Well, today is the day. I am no longer in my twenties and I don't feel like I am middle aged yet. I guess that must mean I am 30. And what have I learned in my 30 years, well, probably not as much as I should have. But I will give out a few of the really important lessons I have learned.

1. Love God and follow Christ. You do this and everything else will take care of itself.
2. Love your wife. Do this right and she will give you more than you would ever imagine.
3. Love your kids. Strive every day to be the dad you should be and they will bless you.
4. Have a job you can like so you can spend time doing the things you love. And if you are lucky enough to do the things you love and it's your job then don't take it for granted.
5. Remember who you are. Christian, Husband, Dad, Son, Brother, Friend, Employee, and an example to all eyes.

Have a good day.

Hope Does Come in a Box

2009-01-27T08:12:00.003-06:00

Well, this past Sunday morning was very challenging. Pretty much my kids nearly drove me right off the deep end. Anyways, I took a moment to myself by sticking my head in the pantry and just resting on a shelf when Corban walked around the corner and saw me. Here is how the conversation went.

Corban: Daddy what you looking for?

Me: Corban, I am just looking for a little hope this morning.

Corban: O, I know where hope is, move out of the way.

(Corban pushes me aside so he can open the lower pantry doors. He reaches in and rumishes around a little and then,...)

Corban: Here is it, Daddy, I found you some hope.

And he hands me this...

Now, I realize, that is a box of Italian seasoning. But this box actually did symbolize the hope Corban gave me for the rest of the day because even when our kids are driving us crazy they always seem to find a way to lift us up when we are down.

Knowing when to pick your battles

2009-01-20T09:33:00.002-06:00

Well, last night I felt a little smarter than the night before. Our little girl is something of a picky eater which drives me crazy. I basically grew up eating anything and everything in sight. So the simple fact that Landice is picky is just hard for me to grasp. Last night Elizabeth made this wonderful dinner and we all sat down to eat except Landice. She just sat down and fussed about not wanting her food.

Well, I decided to try something different than my normal response of trying to persuade her to eat right then and there. I decided to just let her not eat and I left her food on the table. I cleared the table of plates except for hers which I just left there with all her food on it getting cold. Now you must understand something else, eating cold food that is supposed to be hot is the one thing that really just grosses me out. Don't ask why, I really don't know, but I can guarentee you that growing up as a kid there was never cold food on the table because my brothers and I made sure the food never had time to get cold. Anyways, I just left it there, in all it former glory. And a funny thing happened. After about 30 minutes of playing after dinner Corban and Landice decided they wanted a treat. This is normal so I told Corban he could have one and Landice she couldn't because she hadn't eaten her dinner but if she was hungry her dinner was still on the table, cold (yuck).

Then the funniest thing happened. Corban decided to take it upon himself to get his sister to eat her dinner. So he grabbed her hand, walked her over to her chair got her to sit down then sat in the chair next to her and started feeding her. I kid you not, I said nothing to encourage this. Fact is I was shocked because I fully expected Corban to take his treat, rub it in his sisters face a little, hear her scream bloody murder because she didn't get anything and me just do my best to ignore her fits of rage. Then about 10 minutes later I hear Corban and Landice holler for me that Landice has finished her dinner and can the both now have their treats. So I went and checked and there wasn't a single piece of food left on that plate. So they got their treats.

This whole event still boggles my mind, but I did learn something from it. One you just can't force your kids to do everything you want when you want them to. Sometimes you just have to be able to let the right time come. And second, maybe, just maybe, my son is learning that being a big brother doesn't just mean that he is physically intimidating to his sister (not that she would admit it) but that he can actually have a positive influence on her by being a leader, by being a good example. Just one of those little things that makes a dad proud.

Trying something new.

2009-01-11T21:04:00.005-06:00

Well, Elizabeth has been encouraging me to actually post stuff on my blog that she would actually enjoy reading and them maybe other people would enjoy my little tidbits as well. I have finallly given in and will give it a shot. So, basically these will be my experiences about being a daddy and/or a husband. So, here we go and I hope you all enjoy.

Today, Corban and I had an interesting conversation.

I was getting ready to put Corban down for his nap and I told him he needed to go potty and try and go "muddy" (the first time he went poop in the potty he turned around and looked in the water and said "Daddy, look I made the water muddy. Since then in our house it is called going muddy.) before he took his nap. He then proceeded to explain to me how he couldn't go muddy because his bottom was empty and he needed to refill it before he could go. He then proceeded to ignore this rather unique explanation and unloaded two muddies stout enough to convince me that his initial explanation was actually a prophecy in the making. Who knew that my 3 year old could predict the future.

Also, this weekend, Corban has shown me he really does care about his friend Kadence. This weekend while we were up at the church building I had Corban, Kadence, and Landice walking around with me and Kadence had taken a wrong turn. When she realized she was the only one who had taken that route she immediatly turned around and ran back towards us, unaware of the little girl who was twice her size who was running from around the corner right in her direction. The two girls t-boned each other and poor Kadence went crashing to the floor. Now, the other little girl, who was probably close to 10 or so was very concerned and polite and immediatlly offered to help, however, this action did not console Corban at all. He immediatly pointed at the little girl and in the most intimidating voice I have heard from him said "Arghhh, YOU DID IT!!!" and pointed at her with this look of retaliation in his eyes. Now I would have immediatly picked Kadence up to make sure she was alright but instead I had to turn to Corban and calm him down and apologize to the other little girl for my son's intolerance of her mishap with his best bud Kadence. I have to say though that in a way I was very proud of my son for standing up for his little girl friend against someone much bigger than he was. Maybe it wasn't the best way to do it but give a dad a break to know your son will stand up for his girl gives me a good feeling.

Until next time.