For He's a Jolly Good Fellow....Seriously

Paul took a little trip earlier this December (over my birthday) and came back with a huge certificate stating he was officially a FSA (for those of you not fluent in the language of actuaries, that is a Fellow in the Society of Actuaries)...(for those of you not having a clue what a Fellow in the Society of Actuaries is, just know, I am a happy happy happy wife)!!!

He can even sign his name with little letters following it.

Paul, FSA, MAAA

FSA meaning, of course, that he's a fellow....MAAA meaning, well actually I have no idea. That's just what his work emails say. Honestly, up until a few years ago, I had no idea that anyone besides doctors had little letters following their name. One day, Paul brought me home this financial guys business card. It said something like this.

Bob Smith, LMA, CERA, JJU, FJS, JA, BS, LB, TLC, BLT, BCB, PTW, TSD, JLA, FJS

Really, I'm not exaggerating. Do the little letters even mean anything if there are a hundred following your name?

Anyway, I am so proud of Paul and his great accomplishment and so relieved and happy that he is finally done with those darn actuary tests!! I have only one request, if any of you need to send us a formal invitation, please address the envelope to:

Fellow and Mrs. Paul ***



Good job Paul. I love you!!!

Signing out,

Rachel, WIFE, MOM

Modesty

It is "Let's see what mom does when we do this..." month at our house. "This..." could be any number of things.The following is just a sampling of the list the two have compiled over the past week. Let E out of the house when mom is upstairs changing her clothes and then pretend like we have no idea where she went...get out of bed 37 times during quiet time to "use the bathroom"...grab ornament off of Christmas tree (that no longer has any ornaments on the bottom of it) while mom is upstairs and crush in our hands just to see what happens...go outside to play in the snow and come in every 5 minutes, tracking snow, mud, and leaves all over each time, just to check if mom has changed her mind and E can come outside now...give E a piece of chocolate off the counter and watch with glee the mess that unfolds...eat lotion...steal mascara from mom's bathroom and proceed to paint cheeks and carpet...while walking around the house, pretend like you are looking around, and very nonchalantly bump into your little sister knocking her over (do this 1000 times ever hour)etc...The list could go on and on.

It was a particularly hard morning this last week that I was at my wits end. I had used time out, distracting, taking away privileges, and every one of the other tried and true mothering techniques, but to no avail. Finally, in a spurt of inspiration, I took my sweet little boy in my arms and pointed at a picture on the wall. "Do you know who that is?" "Yes, it's Jesus." "Do you love Jesus and want to make Him happy?" "Yes." "Did you know that Jesus is watching us and when we are nice and good, it makes Him very happy?" Still feeling a little rebellious, he replied, "Well he can't see me now. The blinds are closed." Like a good mother, I didn't let this affect me. I went on to have a heart to heart conversation about making Jesus happy by making good choices, being obedient and being nice to our little sister. (We have had this conversation before, but this was the first time I talked about Jesus watching us and how he knows what we are doing even if the blinds are closed). He was so sweet and I was feeling happy because I felt like it really clicked in his mind. I finished getting ready to the sounds of two little children playing happily and laughing together (as opposed to one screaming and the other laughing maniacally as he teases relentlessly). Needless to say, I was quite pleased. It wasn't too much later that I asked Peyt to go change out of his pajamas into his clothes. A strange look came over his face and I could see his mind working at lightning speed. Finally, he looked at me and said, "But mom, I can't...I don't want Jesus to see me naked. That would not be modest."

At least he was listening...

The short version...

We were so lucky to get to spend Thanksgiving this year in the land of dreams - Southern California. We even got to go where all your dreams come true - Disneyland! It was so so fun. I realize that trip logs can get quite long so I decided to do a short version for those that just want a quick showcase of how our trip went, and a long version so I can remember some of the details.

Our trip to CA was fun and exciting!! (and we had to wear coats and long pants at the beach)

One year old children really do need their daily allowance of naps if you want to enjoy being around them!

Throwing things can be very fun, but watching your children have fun is the most fun of all!!!




One year old children that do not get their daily allowance of naps still have the ability to be dang cute!!

Driving a boat can be very intense for a three year old. Peyton told me, "I do not want to be a pirate when I grow up...I just want to be an adult that drives a boat."

We loved our trip!! Thanks so much Rick and Kay!!