This and That

A little of this:

(Missions Baseball game)


A little of that:

(Caleb and Chris working hard. Caleb especially loves to help mow the lawn, trim, and then blow the cut grass off the sidewalks. And they don't just stop at ours. Caleb insists on doing all kinds of people's. They are now known in the neighborhood as "those guys that cut everybody's grass." At what age will helping no longer be fun? At what age will I not be able to use not being allowed to help as a punishment? I hope age 30.)


A lot of this:

(Carson smiles)


A lot of that:

(Snuggles from my boys)


A bit of this:

(Caleb making himself at home in the stroller doing puzzles)


A bit of that:


(That right there? Those are the best kabobs ever. Miss you, Deonne. Bacon wrapped steak and jalapeños smothered in spicy barbecue sauce. Oh, and no, I do not think nursing babies appreciate them. Sorry, Carson! I couldn't resist.)


Some crazy this:

(We hosted 6 youth at our house for a youth conference for church. SO FUN! And of course they had to raise a bit of mischief. And since Chris already spilled the beans and admitted what was done, I guess I can post the picture to show all the guilty to the Charles. Notice I was not in the picture. Must mean I had zero participation, right? I am innocent. :) Thanks for being good sports Charles family!)


Some crazy that:



(What is that you ask? Poor Caleb was desperate for any change in taste after having his tonsils out. Yes, that is him eating sour cream, cool whip, and miracle whip by the spoon. Sick.)


But there was also some of this:

(Proof that I did give him good stuff to eat and that he did not need to resort to the nasty stuff, here is Caleb eating soft serve ice cream.)


And finally...my favorite that.
Chris started a new job on June 8th. And he absolutely LOVES it! He loves the people, and loves the work! Thanks again, NCI!

Funny Kids

I'm not sure when/where it started. My brother (the famous Kip D a.k.a. Uncle Dip) and I like to make up songs. Sometimes it is just a normal every day conversation except we both sing what we would like to say to each other. Or then there was the time that we took a 12 hour car ride and made up the coolest song ever. Just ask Chris. I think he really enjoyed it. Something about 12 hours of a really repetitive, yet lively rendition of an awesome song about how many more miles to go set to the tune of 100 bottles of "milk" on the wall. Yeah. Good times. You know you enjoyed each and every repetitive verse of that 12 hour song, Chris. Both directions of our road trip. :)

So imagine my pride when lately my sweet three year old makes up a song about everything. My favorites? "I love milk." "I just like to beat dad." My all time favorite? "I want to go outside but my mom won't let me." I've been meaning to get some of them on video because I think they're so funny, but I'm usually too lazy to go find the camera. Well, not lazy necessarily, but, well, ok...yeah...lazy. So today the camera happened to be right by me, so the version you get to hear is entitled, "Good job."

"I'm singing 'good job' because mom got me root beer." Not sure if the good job was for me for letting him have the root beer or to himself for convincing me he could have it. Either way, I enjoyed the song. Does it make you proud, Dip? Passing on our legacy to my posterity.

What can I say? The kid loves his root beer. Especially after two weeks of eating nothing but yogurt and applesauce after having his tonsils out.

I'm thinking of recording them and making an album. Kind of like that SNL where Eddie Murphy plays Buckwheat and has a random album with random songs...you know the one. Anyway.


Then there is my cute Carson. Poor boy has been running a fever and is congested. Doesn't stop him from being a happy little guy though.

Chris was throwing the ball to land on the high chair and Carson just thought it was hilarious. The kid seriously loves to laugh.


And finally, my favorite quote of the week:
What? No, the first was my favorite random made-up SONG of the week, and the second was my favorite GIGGLING of the week. This is my favorite QUOTE of the week:

Chris told Caleb he needed to clean up the toys in his room. Caleb said, "Dad, I have a plan." (Good quote, but still not my favorite.) Chris asked him what his plan was and Caleb said, "I'll play with this toy while you clean up my mess. That's the plan...ok, dad?" Kudos to Caleb for coming up with such a good plan.

I just love my boys. All three of them. They make my life so fun.

Dear NCI

Dear NCI,

On May 18th, 2009, one of your vice presidents walked into my husband's office and told him that his five year career with your company was over as of that day. I just wanted to say thank you.

I understand that there just wasn't any work to be done anymore. For an established company to be unable to win bids is a sure sign that it's time for a change. But still, to tell an awesome and very skilled employee that they are done that same day with absolutely no notice and minimal severance pay?!? It may make business sense for a company against the ropes, but it certainly isn't very compassionate. Either some notice or a real severance package would seem more appropriate.

You would think I would be angry, after all, we had a 3 month old baby whom we thought at the time may have some serious kidney problems. We have bills to pay just like everyone else. I was shocked, but it only lasted about an hour. To quote Chris, "I should probably feel bad, but I'm actually really excited to see where this takes us and what our next adventure will be." So, in fact, I'm not angry at all. I just wanted to say thank you.

You see, because he no longer works for you, many wonderful opportunities have presented themselves and we are very excited about the prospects. He probably would not have chased down any of these leads if he was still working for you. Again, thank you.

I'd also like to thank you for the three week paid vacation. We thoroughly enjoyed having dad home for three weeks and the timing, for our family, could not have been better.

And thank you for paying for a lot of Chris's MBA. It looks like he can now put it to work for someone else.

We grew closer as a family and to our Father in Heaven. And because we were taking inventory of everything, we decided that less is definitely more. We can do much better with the money and things we have been blessed with. And we are. And for that I say thank you again.

In some ways, I actually feel responsible myself for this job loss. When Chris first started working for you, he absolutely loved it. He loved the people--he loved the work. Monkey stickers on his badge, hilarious experiences on the plane ride home from Dallas, regular team lunches, daily challenges: he was actually excited to go to work each day. I told him that it isn't work if you enjoy it that much, but he continued on. But over the last little while, I have noticed a change. I felt horrible watching him day in and day out go to a job where I felt that he was not enjoying it anymore and where I felt he was being unappreciated. Thus, I had been praying for quite awhile that things would change at NCI or that he would find a different job where he felt valued and appreciated and excited to go to work again. You helped answer that prayer.

I'm sorry to say that you definitely got the worse end of the deal. You see, you lost a great employee. (Actually lots of them, I hear. But I only knew one really well.) The one I know worked hard for you and made you a lot of money. He always made his deadlines, even if it meant working all night a couple different times. While others would lose money on their projects and simply say they couldn't make the deadline, Chris made it happen. He and a couple others did such good work that it led to a huge project with a company that brought in a ton of money and work to your company. He did such a good job that you even promoted him three times in the five years he worked for you. I could go on and on. Really, I am just sorry for you. Some other great company just recently gained a very hard working, valuable asset and all around good guy-- thanks to you.

I sincerely hope you will take better care of our dear friends that are still working for you.

Thanks again!

Krista Dial

Lest

Lest you think after my last post that we're not finding some time for fun too...here are some random fun things from last month:

Caleb often decides that he likes to help Carson out with his sense of style. Here is one example I caught on camera:


Carson pretty much said, "I can dig it. I can still eat my blanket...and that's what matters." He really loves to eat his blankets.


Speaking of eating stuff.... Carson turned four months old! Yikes!! He is just soooooo much fun!! He is a rolling madman these days. Rolling from his back to his tummy and back again. He also got to try his first food. The kid is seriously digging this food thing. He absolutely loves it. Chris was feeding him one day and walked away for just a minute. Carson decided to take things into his own hands....



Here is a video of him trying his first rice cereal:

I love how excited Caleb was to cheer him on and help feed him. They really do love each other and I think it is so cute!!!! Since my last post about Caleb's tonsils, the medicine started to make him pretty sick. But he was in too much pain to not take it. He was pretty miserable and puking and stuff. Have I ever mentioned how much I love to clean up puke? Every time it was just after Chris left. Figures. Anyway. Not the point. Even when Caleb was at his sickest, he would go lay down by Carson and just hold his little hand. It was just too cute.



We've been having a bit more rain these days. Really, any rain is a bit more than we've had for a long time. But Chris and Caleb had to go out and enjoy it while Carson and I enjoyed it from the front door:

Hmmmm, could this be related to my last post about being sick? :)