I’m Mickey Mouse!

December 31st, 2007 by Mariah

There is a store here in Boise called Other Mothers. Once per month (the last weekend of the month) they have a “quarter sale” everything is a quarter. They section off the store and there is a ton of stuff offered for a quarter each. Anyway, I went this past weekend. I found quite a few things for Tyler. He was with me, but he didn’t really pay attention to what I was buying. I brought the clothes home and this evening I was washing laundry. The new stuff was in the laundry basket I was folding. Tyler happened to look in my direction when I was folding a pair of Finding Nemo swim trunks I had bought at the quarter sale. He HAD to wear them! So even though he was wearing his jammies, we put the Finding Nemo swim trunks right over he feetie pajamas. He thought he was hot stuff! He had to run upstairs to show daddy his Nemo shorts.

After we came back down stairs, I went back to my laundry basket to continue folding. Now Tyler was very interested to see what was in my basket. To his surprise, there was a new Mickey Mouse sweater. And guess what? He had to put it on. So we slipped off the Finding Nemo swim trunks from over his pajamas and put on the Mickey Mouse sweater. It was even cuter than I realized at the quarter sale. The hood has Mickey ears. It’s cute! So, again, Tyler wanted to go upstairs to show daddy. This time, he ran up the stairs just as fast as he could. He ran down the hall to our bedroom and threw open the door. He proudly announced, “Daddy, I’m Mickey Mouse!” That cute show of pride for his new sweater makes it worth every penny I spent on the sweater. (even if it was only 25 cents)

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The bla, bla, bla prayer

December 29th, 2007 by Mariah

Well, here is the latest cute story about my little guy.. Today we were driving in the car to go to Costco. Just Tyler and I. We were at a stop light and we were playing the tickle game. Then he grabbed my hand and said, “I want pray.” So, we held hands and I started to pray with him. He opened his eyes and said “No, mama.” Then he closed his eyes again and began to lead ME in prayer. It was very cute and it went something like this: “bla,bla,bla Daddy. bla,bla,bla brudah (brother). bla,bla,bla puppy. Amen.” As I sat there in amazement and pride for my little man, the light turned green and away we went.

What a blessing it was to have my little Tyler - not yet 2, remind me that it’s ok to stop and take time to talk to God. It doesen’t have to be a long drawn out thing. It can be as simple as his little prayer. (the bla, bla, bla prayer) I assume he was thanking God for Daddy, Brother and his puppy. And I thank God for for Tyler, daddy, brother and puppy too!

From the lips of children and infants
you have ordained praise. Matthew 21:16

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We Wish You a Merry Christmas

December 25th, 2007 by Mariah

Merry Christmas to all! Now that the day has wound down, I can take a moment to breathe and to reflect on the day’s happenings. I am totally nerdy. I know that those of you who know me are shaking your heads in agreement right now – you can stop. J/K
Anyway, here is the reason I am nerdy (this time.) I was so excited for my boys to wake up and to have Christmas morning with them, that I had a hard time sleeping. I’m not just talking a hard time going to sleep; I am talking about waking up every 45 minutes or so to check the clock. I guess I was both excited to see them experiencing another Christmas but I was also worried that I would sleep late and miss it. Totally irrational, but that’s what I was worried about.

Now, every Christmas is special.. But I was excited about this Christmas for another uniquely special reason. This is the 1^st Christmas Brandon (11yrs) has had an “adult” understanding of Christmas. He has a very clear understanding of the meaning of Christmas – the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Now he has had this understanding for many years now, but this year I feel like he really gets it and he is growing in his faith. It is awesome to see! Also – in regards to the “adult” understanding of Christmas, he knows about Santa too. So it was fun to share in the Christmas Eve festivities together. He helped put together Tyler’s train table and track in preparation for having it already set up or Christmas morning. (Santa’s little helper)

It was also exciting to try to envision how Tyler would react to being cut loose on the gifts under the tree. As Christmas morning slowly – VERY slowly arrived we got to see just how much fun it would be. We all woke up about 7:00am (which is early for all of us) and came downstairs to start with our stockings.. Santa was very good to us all. We got yummy treats and a few movies, books and other trinkets scattered between each stocking. Brandon was ready to go. After doing this for so many years – of course he knew what was coming. But Tyler had no clue. He was adorable and so excited about each and every gift. He was so appreciative! Not in the “Oh wow, mom and dad thanks for the …” but in his reactions to each package opened. He has responses like “Oh wow” and “Cool!” Keep in mind he is not yet 2 years old. His vocabulary is still limited, so you know that these reactions and comments were genuine.

Brandon received several of the Wii games he wanted. I got a TON of clothes! (I got a lot of them early) but it was still fun! And Shaun had more gifts for me under the tree. Tyler got a couple of movies, some toys and some books. And let’s not forget his giant train table!! I am totally happy about Mom getting him he 1^st bible. It is adorable! It is a board book version! And uncle Edd and Aunt Judi got him a set of 4 board books that are titled “2 minute toddler devotions.” Each book comes w/ a cd of children’s songs. So cute!! My handsome hubby received a ton of warm sweaters and a few pairs of jeans. He also got the pc game he wanted. Needless to say, we all made out very well.

I have to also help you all picture Tyler and the way he unwrapped his gifts. He had no trouble with getting the paper off. He was just extreamly slow. He would rip off a piece of paper, maybe the size of my thumb. Then he would have to reach across his body to put the paper in the pile of discarded wrapping paper. It was a very long but cute process. Then, he wanted to stop and open each box to fully examine each and every toy or gift. In the photo below, he recieved a Tigger plate and bowl set. We had to stop what we were doing because we wanted to try them out. He took the bowl into the kitchen and asked for a banana. We broke it up and put it into the bowl. Presto - there’s breakfast.

Boy do I ever miss having family to hang out and visit with this afternoon and evening! We are counting down the days until the Hussey family moves to Nampa. I don’t know if they realize what they are in for. We (especially me) have been, not homesick but family sick. Really bad. Especially during the holidays! Holidays are already a hard time for me, so this year Thanksgiving and Christmas have been just that much harder. I am very thankful that Christmas 2007 will be the last holiday we will have to spend alone. Unless of course I, being so starved for extended family fellowship, bug the you-know-what out of them and they choose to hide from us.. I don’t think that’s likely though. We know where they live!!! J hehe. I even have a little party planned for the babies when they get here. We will celebrate Jamesyn and Tyler’s 2^nd birthdays. It will be great!

Anyway, I’m getting off the subject of Christmas here.. He had Shaun’s scrumptious Tri-tip sandwiches with mashed potatoes for dinner. This is a deviation from the normal Christmas dinner. We usually have turkey. Here’s why there was no turkey for Christmas.. At Thanksgiving we tried to preserve the traditions of the holiday the best that we could. This was a big challenge for several reasons. The first was that we are in Boise Idaho and everyone we love is in California or North Carolina or Florida or Kentucky. Anyhow, the next challenge in preserving Thanksgiving holiday traditions was that Brandon was not with us. He was in California visiting his mom. So, it was Shaun, Tyler and I for Thanksgiving. Did that stop us? NO. We bought a 22lb turkey and we cooked that baby up! And we ate turkey to our hearts content. And beyond. We ate turkey. And we ate turkey. We had turkey soup, turkey enchiladas, turkey sandwiches, turkey tacos. Well, you get the point. We were turkey’d out. So we went for the tri-tip sandwiches for Christmas. They were awesome! I mad chocolate chip cookies at Brandon’s request and we had a pumpkin pie. As of 10:30 pm, we have each had 1 cookie and we have not even touched the pie. We are all too stuffed. But, it’ll be there later, cool whip and all! YUM!

As we are winding down our day, (Tyler’s been in bed for hours now) Shaun, Brandon and I took some time to play a little family game on the old Wii. We played Playground. It is one of the new games Brandon got for Christmas. It was a lot of fun! There are several “playground” type games to choose from. We played dodgeball. Brandon and I were on a team against Shaun. Big surprise – we won! And now that all the presents are unwrapped, our tummys are full and I have attempted to clean up, I am ready to go snuggle up in my nice warm bed. In my new jammies mom got me for Christmas. I love, love, love them!

I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. I pray you know the richness of God’s blessings this Christmas.

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Snow day

December 23rd, 2007 by Mariah

Alright, today was the most snow we have seen since we’ve moved to Idaho. The weather channel has issued a snow advisory for the valley, (that’s where we are) and they say that there will be more snow between now and the end of December than there has been since 1980. Brandon is so excited!!! After church Shaun went out into the side yard. No one knew what he was doing. I was inside where it was nice and warm. Brandon was outside playing in the snow. Shaun came and asked me to do something for him outside. I reluctantly agreed. Come to find out, he wanted me to grab the video camera and video tape the moments that were about to unfold. You see, Shaun had been outside on the side yard quietly and privately preparing and arsenal of snowballs to attack Brandon with. We had to get this on tape!!! And boy did I!! It was so fun! Shaun got him good. And poor Brandon as he is being attacked, just kind of gave up. He saw the ammo Shaun had, and he had nothing. So he did what any smart kid would do.. He ran! And when Shaun would catch up with him, he would take cover under his jacket. The two of them had a great time together! Poor Tyler missed out on all the fun. It was nap time. He was upstairs snuggled up under warm blankets snoozing in his crib. Meanwhile, poor big brother was under attack. Brandon also lay down in the driveway and made a snow angel.

He also made 4 little snowmen on our front sidewalk. I think they were supposed to represent the four people in our family.. Pretty cute if you ask me.. But, if this is so, poor Tyler’s snowman is in trouble. He has one giant arm, and one short arm. And he looks like he is melting into oblivion… Don’t worry baby, mommy won’t let you melt!

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Faith Community Bible Church

December 22nd, 2007 by Mariah

Well, we think that we have finally decided on a church. We have been going to FCBC for a few months now and we have decided that this will be our church home. We like the pastor Jason Wolin. He is young and has a young family. Feel free to check out the link to the church. http://satisfiedinjesus.org/ Also, if you have the time - listen to this sermon from last Sunday! We were blessed by the sermon and really feel like it is worth a listen! http://satisfiedinjesus.org/resources/sermons/mp3/2007-12-23.mp3

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Wednesday 12/19/07

December 19th, 2007 by Mariah

Well, this past Wednesday, I had the privilege of having the Williams children overnight. Addison, Carolyn & Calvin. Brandon had such a great time!!! The four of them stayed up late, and boy did they play hard!!! I am so thankful for the friendship we have begun to have in Scott and Rebekah Williams! They are such a neat family! Their kids are really great too! (I’m serious Rebekah! ) Anyway, Tyler loved having so many kids in the house. He really seemed to LOVE Calvin! I guess he is closer to his size than any of the other kids. And Calvin was so tender and loving to Tyler. It was so precious!

We are SO loving Idaho, and the new life we are building here for our family! God has blessed us in so many ways here! Our family is closer and stronger than it has ever been! My marriage is awesome! (We have our moments - this is Shaun we are talking about) j/k hehe. In all seriousness, I am so proud to be Mrs. Shaun Buck. God has been working in us and through us for years now - but especially recently I have seen so many changes for the better! It is like things just “clicked.” It makes since now. The business Shaun and I run together is doing very well! We are working together, like never before, and it shows! My husband is amazing!

Now, despite the fact that it all sounds like a bed of roses.. It is not always so. Of course, we all have our things. But basically I am just so overjoyed with how God is working though each member of our family, I can’t help but to sound so giddy. As we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, who came to this earth to save ME (so unworthy) How can I feel anything less than complete joy? I pray that each of you reading this knows that joy!
Merry Christmas!!!

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The 1st Post

December 18th, 2007 by Mariah

Hi everyone!! I am excited to be starting my first ever blog.. How nerdy is it that I have never done anything like this before? I have always liked to read other people’s blogs, but never wanted to start one of my own. Then, recently a light bulb moment.. For those of you with kids: How many times have you told a cute story about your children and had someone respond to you by telling you “be sure to write that down!” Well, for me all the time! Mostly from my mother in law (my adopted mom) I have always agreed that I should, but that is as far as I have gotten. Well, mom.. Here goes. From now on, I will do my best to document all cute and adorable things my children do. All precious moments, family traditions, daily thoughts, the whole she-bang. (that’s the plan anyway) We’ll see how it goes. I certainly have enough precious moments with my beautiful family each and every day. Please join me along this journey of being a godly wife and mother. And as another blogger puts it (whom I enjoy reading)….

Aspiring Proverbs 31 woman - Mariah Buck

(my blessings)

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Me - Mariah Jean Buck

December 10th, 2007 by Mariah

I am 26 years old. My birthday is April 6, 1981. I am married to the love of my life - Shaun Buck. He is the most wonderful man I have ever met, and I am blessed to have the privilege of being his help meet. We have two beautiful boys. One that gave me stretch marks and one that didn’t. Brandon is my blessing that came without labor or stretch marks. He is a caring and sensitive young man who loves the Lord. He is a great helper around the house and a marvelous big brother to Tyler. He is 11 years old and in the 6th grade. We homeschool and have been doing so since October of 2004, (I think).

Tyler is my blessing that came with enough stretch marks to make up for him and his brother:) He is my rambunctious (almost) 2 year old boy. He loves to run and play rough. Anything that is boy related, he loves. Cars, trucks, tractors, airplanes, trains - you name it! He loves to play outside and to chase his dog. But I think is favorite game is to have mom or dad “help” him GET brother. You see, Tyler does no call Brandon by his name.. Brandon is Brother. Anyhow, Tyler loves to have mom or dad help him tickle or pooper kiss brother. That’s the game he has the most fun with!

My super handsome husband Shaun is the love of my life! We have been together since the Summer of 1999. We were married on August 8, 2004. Shaun and I own our own business - Dry Cleaning Butler. We do a pick up and delivery dry cleaning business. Shaun is so knowledgeable about business! He has done amazing things with this company. We work together and make a great team! If I do say so myself.

And that’s our family so far. We pray that God will bless us with another baby sometime soon. We will keep you posted on that one…

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