Tex-Mex Success!

We just want to take another opportunity to say THANK YOU to all of Finn’s Fans who came out and supported our 2013 Stillwater March for Babies Stillwater KICK-OFF fundraising event for our team at Fuzzy's Taco Shop!  We had a great time seeing all of our friends and family in one place, and of course you can’t beat the food!  It was really a lot of fun – until we hit Toddler Melt-Down mode! LOL!  Poor Finn!  He even fell down the brick steps out on the patio.  Got ANOTHER nice bonk mark on his head from that one!  He’s just to brave (or crazy!) for his own good!  We raised $150 to go toward the March of Dimes and their efforts to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality.  THANK YOU for being involved in the mission the Weaver family is so PASSIONATE about!

 

On the home front, it is April again!  That means we are super busy with all the year-end wrap up stuff!  The girls just finished up with State testing (blech!), and we are sure glad that is over!  Emma has started spring volleyball, and it getting ready to tour the Stillwater Elementary schools with her Double-Dutch jump-roping troupe.  Lara is hurling towards dance recital, but has to get through a choir concert and Tri-State competition with her Trio next week first!  Jake has his first official T-ball game next week, but they had a BLAST at their scrimmage last weekend!  He is one heck of a T-ball player!  He is also going on his first official school field trip tomorrow to the Oklahoma Aquarium in Jenks!  Britt and I will be along to chaperone as well.  Should be a fun (exhausting) day!  And in Finn news, we got him enrolled in 2 mornings a week of pre-school to start in the Fall!  We are so excited to watch how this changes him!  He is walking (running) all over the place, and his stubborn streak is about a mile wide now!  He is infuriatingly cute, I guess.  Has no fear, climbs everything, and wears us all out!  We love it!

And did I mention the Weaver’s are moving?  Just across town, but we are still trying to pack and we start moving in 2 days!  This all seems a bit Deja-vu from last year at this time…  You think we would learn!  We are downsizing a bit, and moving back to our old neighborhood, so it is a good thing.  Just bad timing. LOL!  And that’s not the most exciting thing happening this weekend!  Our nephew, Peter is getting married to the most wonderful young lady I have ever met!  We love Nicole and can’t wait to celebrate their wedding and welcome her to the family!

So, next time I blog, I will be at a new address, have a new family member, and probably be very close to walking in the Oklahoma City March for Babies.  We are 10 days away from the walk, and Finn still needs to raise $50 more for Team Mercy Miracles!  Click the Link on the Right in the banner section to make a difference for babies!

Warm and FUZZY'S!

We are Team Finn's Fans.  The Weavers, Rickers, Jacksons, and lots of extended family and friends.  We are passionate about babies.  We have a special place in our heart for premature babies.  And, we love to work with the March of Dimes for stronger, healthier babies.

Team Finn's Fans is once again gearing up for the Stillwater March for Babies later this year. We wanted to kick start our fundraising efforts before the OSU students leave for the summer, as we want EVERYONE to get on board and get that "Warm and FUZZY" feeling about helping March of Dimes!  They help moms have full-term pregnancies and research the problems that threaten the health of babies.  Who can't stand behind that?!?

Here's how you can get some SUPER YUMMY grub, and jump start Team Finn's Fans fundraising efforts for the March of Dimes!  Next Monday night, April 22, Team Finn's Fans is having a benefit night at Fuzzy's on The Strip!  So easy!  Either print out the flyer posted below or pull it up on your phone when you get there and show it when ordering and 15% of your sale goes to our efforts! And, it lasts most of the evening - from 5:00pm to 9:00pm, so there is plenty of time for you come in for a taco, nachos, burrito, or all of the above!  (If you have not been to Fuzzy's - that is a CRIME!  LOL!  This is a perfect opportunity!  And just like it has for the Weaver's - it WILL become your new addiction!)

Not sure what to order or if you will like it (like than can happen!  Best Tex-Mex ever!)?  Here's a link to the Stillwater Fuzzy's menu with prices!

If you want to pick up an actual flier before that night, contact Britt or Betsey!  Britt is at University Health Services on Farm Road, and Betsey in 325E Willard Hall on the OSU campus.  Get in touch with us and we can bring you several fliers as well if you would like to help spread the word! 

Come get "Warm and FUZZY" with us next Monday night!

 

OR

Click here to download the flier!

Remembering

April 8, 2011.  2 years ago today.  That was the last time anyone heard from my brother.  The days that followed were hard, painful, confusing, uplifting, reaffirming, and joyful all at the same time.  I took my girls on a date that Friday night to see a movie.  Sunday morning, my world came crashing down around me.  Not a day goes by that I don’t think of him.  I started a million emails to him to tell him a funny story or share a bad driving adventure with him.  I’ve seen movies he would love, watched our governmental system take turns that would turn his stomach, broken computers he would have loved to fix, and had a baby boy he will only meet in heaven someday.  These past 2 years have definitely been the hardest, most educational, and closest walk with Jesus I have ever had.  Even in his death, my Big Brother taught me lessons I would be lost without.  

Brian, I see a lot of you in Jake.  Physically, although he looks like a Baldwin, he definitely takes after you!  He as your gait, and your build.  He is smart as a whip, and has his teachers on their toes constantly.  And he has some of your mannerisms and habits, too.  Even at 6, I can see your influence on him.  He has your love of electronics and video games.  He has a lazy streak akin to yours, too.  And I think he has you beat on the “How To Tease Your Sister(s)” prize!  But most of all, he makes me smile.  Just like you did.  And the mischievous sparkle in his eye from you.

I miss you.  We all do.  Sometimes it’s purely selfish on my part thinking about our parents growing older and the responsibility of that all falling on me with no input from the smartest guy I know.  Other times it’s for my kids who won’t know their cool Uncle who buys them the “cool” gifts for birthdays and Christmas. And for you – you don’t get to know the Miracle of Finn and how he has completely changed so many things about our entire family.  But mostly, I just miss you.  Knowing you are there.  Being able to ask you questions, get advice, or vent frustrations.  Movie reviews, music critiques, restaurant recommendations.  All the good stuff you enjoyed.  I miss you every day.  Thankful to know you are in the arms of Jesus.  I’m jealous.  Love you more than you’ll ever know!

May 2004 - A Luau

 (For more about those days, see our page dedicated to his memory here on the blog)

Guest Blogger: One and a Half

Hello!  It’s Finn.  I took over Mommy’s blog and I’m here to tell you all about me today – since it is my half birthday!  I am 18 months old TODAY!  I have 10 teeth (4 on top, 6 on bottom) with 2 more (top) on the way.  I weigh just about 20 pounds, and I am 30 inches tall.  I am walking ALL OVER the place – mastered that about a week ago.  I still don’t have any “words,” but I love to babble and tell stories!  I like to point, shake my head, and count other people’s teeth.  I can clap – I’ve done it like 5 times in my whole life.  I think that’s enough.  I always wake up happy and smiley and ready to play – even if the light is too bright in my room to really open my eyes very wide!  I think it’s funny to shake my head back and forth, and I still can crawl like greased lighting to get away from you!  I like o wave, too.  Not at any predictable time, and usually at nothing in particular, but I do it!  Daddy says it is a "dainty" wave.  What does that mean?  I like to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Sofia the First as well as Jake and the Neverland Pirates on Disney Channel.  My favorite foods are whatever everyone else is eating!  I love pudding, Puffs snacks, and milk.  And Squeezy Food!  That’s what Mom and Dad call the purees in the pouches that are made for toddlers.  I drink out of a sippy cup, but only if it has a soft spout.  Mommy tires to trick me with those ones with the hard spout, but I just throw them back at her.  I love to climb on anything and everything – my climbing toy, fireplace hearth, couch, bed, chairs, things I shouldn’t – and I am even getting good at getting myself out of sticky situations!  I love being in a big family – Jake is the best big brother I could ever ask for, and Emma and Lara are great babysitters – most of the time.

Here are a few pictures of me on my Half Birthday – ALWAYS on the move!  Mommy says that is why I am so skinny!

For my Half Birthday, I would like to ask my friends to help me make my fundraising goal for the March of Dimes Oklahoma City March for Babies.  I am marching with the Mercy Miracles team, and I have set a fundraising goal of $126.00.  The march is on May 4, so I have about a month to reach my goal!  (Along with my parents and siblings, I am still serving as the Ambassador Family for the Stillwater March for Babies in September, but I wanted to be a part of this team as well.)  I am a Mercy Miracle, having graduated from the 12 week NICU course in 2011.  I am so grateful for the nurses, practitioners, doctors, therapists and other staff that made my visit bearable and taught my parents how to be preemie parents.  They, along with the research funded by the March of Dimes, saved my life.  I would not be here today if not for ALL of them, and I want to show my support. 

So, here’s my ½ birthday WISH LIST:

• 1 person to donate $126.00
• 2 people to donate $63.00 each
• 3 people to donate $42.00 each
• 4 people to donate $31.50 each
• 6 people to donate $21.00 each
• 8 people to donate $15.75 each
• 12 people to donate $10.50 each

Click on my MERCY MIRACLES FINN WEAVER SAYS page to make your donation!  And you can join the Facebook event as well.  We would love to see you on the 4^th at Myriad Gardens in Oklahoma City and have you March for Babies with us!  Be sure and let me Mommy know if you have ANY questions - and keep watching "The Early Adventures of Finn" Facebook and my Twitter for more updates!  Let's CRUSH this!

Seven Years

As my readers know, I am a fan of  The Pioneer Woman.  Lives in Oklahoma, has 4 kids, blogger, likes to Thunder up - all but the cooking (and the homeschooling), we have a lot in common!  Yesterday, Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman, posted this post  about an old picture of her 4 kids from 7 years ago, and a new picture of them from this past weekend. Time flies. Like, really, REALLY flies.

While sharing the post with my husband over lunch, we talked about what our family look liked seven years ago. It was just him, and I, and two orange haired 3 year olds. Looked like this:

April 2006 - Britt, Emma (3), Betsey, Lara (3)

And now? Holy cow! 4 KIDS! 2 (almost) 11 year olds, a 6 year old, and a 17 month old. I am in shock that my tiny baby girls will be starting MIDDLE SCHOOL in the fall.  My sweet baby Jake - wise beyong hid years - is a total clown and keeps me on my toes with his wisecracking ways (just like his dad).  And Baby Finn?  Well, I guess I need to stop calling him that, even though he is MY baby and still a peanut, so it's easy to stick with the "baby" part! Time just got up and walked out the door while I wasn’t looking.

April 2013 - Lara (10), Britt, Jake (6), Betsey, Emma (10), Finn (17 mo)

I love how Ree put it:

You know what? I just had a revelation. Rather than do what I normally do when I’m faced with comparison photos such as these—which is cry, wail, weep, freak out, wig out, pass out, sob and stomp my feet over how quickly time is passing and how much my children have grown—I’m going to conduct a healthy exercise and instead smile, appreciate the fact that my children are older, wiser, and more learned now, and cherish the time I have left with them before they leave the house to move on with their adult lives.

Deep breath: In…out.

Ahhh. You know what? I actually feel better! 

An even scarier prospect? 7 years from now… Emma and Lara will be closing in on 17. Jake will be 13, and sweet baby Finn will be 8. WOW! Not to mention, Britt will be 55 and I will be 45. Seems so far away right now, but really, it’s just around the corner.

I love being a mom. I truly think that is my purpose. I just wish I could hold on to the (good) moments a little longer… *sigh* So blessed.

Hoppy Easter

Despite ½ of the six Dream Weavers being on antibiotics this week (Emma – strep, Finn – another upper respiratory infection, me – Strep), we had a fun Easter as a family.  The week leading up to it was crazy with doctor’s appointments, missed school and work, and the business of kid’s activities.  T-ball practice has started, Emma started a new season of Volleyball this past weekend, and her Odyssey of the Mind team is 2 weeks from their State competition!  I always forget how BUSY Spring is, until it gets here!  We even squeezed in a quick family picture session on a bright Saturday afternoon!  We needed a family picture for our March of Dimes Stillwater March for Babies Ambassador Family paperwork, and we’ve put it off several times due to weather, illness, and being busy.  We were SO glad to get that taken care of!  And I can't wait to share the results!

I really love Easter.  I read through 2 different 1 week reading plans on YouVersion leading up to Easter to help remind me WHY we celebrate this holiday.  I love Good Friday – because we know Sunday’s coming!  A lot can happen in just 3 days!  I love that Christmas is the promise and Easter is the PROOF!  He bled and suffered for us.  He died for us! And he ROSE for US!  I love the newness of Spring, and the fun new clothes everyone breaks out for the occasion!  Britt wore a bow tie!  I had a fun new eyelet dress and a trendy necklace.  The girls were in new dresses and shoes, and the boys in plaid shirts – Jake with bright green skinny pants and Finn in skinny jeans.  We looked good, if I do say so myself!  There are no pictures of just us, but here are a few from our festivities.

getting ready for the egg hunt

Mom and her boys (Finn in his 2nd outfit for the day!)

Aunt Paula with Lara and Emma

 

We started the day off with the kids tearing into their Easter baskets – which were devoid of the “traditional” Weaver gift of swim suits  due to the fact that the EB was clueless on size, style and colors for the big kids, and Finn already has 4 for this season (he got a new outfit instead).  

The kids got certificates to pick out their own when the weather warms up.  Peeps, Reeses, sunglasses, headbands and flip flops rounded out the baskets.  Britt had hidden 100+ plastic candy filled eggs in our yard, so the hunt was ON!  The big kids came inside with 25, 27 and 29 eggs – so they did a pretty good job of being even without even trying!  Finn had 2.  LOL!  And, we found a few more later in the afternoon…  Then, It was off to church at LifeChurch.tv Stillwater!  We experienced and AWESOME worship set, which included this opening:

And this:

Of course, Craig Groschel’s message was amazing, too!  What an awesome experience.  We lunched at Aunt Paula’s house with all the Grandparents.  That was the smallest group we have had over there in while, but it was super fun.  The big kids played a little baseball in the front yard as it was a BEAUTIFUL day, and took a trip down to the pond as well.  It was a very nice afternoon.  That night, we went to my parents house to watch the last installment of “The Bible” on the History channel as a family.  It was truly a great way to spend this glorious holiday.  So thankful for my family, for my savior, and for the amazing blessings we have all around us.