What's in a Name?

Everyone always asks me where the name Jamin comes from....and never believes it's a Bible name.
Jamin was one of the sons of Simeon according to Genesis 46:10, Exodus 6:15, Numbers 26:12 and many others. There was even a group called the Jaminites. He was one of the 70 souls to migrate to Egypt with Jacob. In Psalms 11:24, Jamin marries Princess Farzana of Libya. Jamin means right hand of God.
For Levi I found lots and lots of info... probably because there were several. Here's some things I didn't know: Levi was the name of the great-great grandfather of Jesus. Levi was the son of Jacob (who Jamin migrated to Egypt with) and was the younger brother of Simeon (the father of Jamin). Levi means associated with God, attached, or joining.

Happy Anniversary...

to me!! and Spencer, of course. Another year married means another year apart. Hopefully next year will be different. You'd think after five years of marriage, we would have spent at least one anniversary together! oh well, seems silly to celebrate only one day of the year anyway. I was going to dig up some engagement and wedding pictures to post, but didn't have time today (see post below). So I'll have to leave the searching and scanning for another day. We pretty much look exactly the same anyway... still look great! I hope I can still say the same twenty years from now... Happy Anniversary Spencer!!

A Good Day

We finally had a wonderful day...and out in public! I thought everyone would want to hear about it, since all I've been doing lately is complaining! Our friend, Kelly, invited us out to their cottage and we had tons of fun.
Jamin LOVED it. I don't know if he's ever had that much fun. And it was really nice because he could go way out into the water and it was still shallow - and warm! it was like bath water. And of course, he did go very far out. But I didn't get a picture because....

Levi HATED the sand and water. So I didn't get very many pictures at all because he was attached to my hip almost the entire time. I did manage to get him to smile a few times though. He didn't like the beach, but he did like:

watching everyone else having fun...

hangin' out in the hammock...

and, of course, playing with Rufus the dog (they both love him!)

It was a really good day. We finally ALL had fun for once. And their cottage is beautiful! I need to go back even if it's just to get pictures - it's exactly what I want my house to look like. I definitely hope to go back again. We'll have to invite ourselves back once Spencer is home!
Thanks Kelly for inviting us out! And thanks for the help with the kids, Melinda!

WHAT?!?

I just got a surprise visit from CPS. (if you're wondering why, read my post in June) Anyways, the lady says she just needs to "look" at my kids. Jamin was on the couch watching a movie so she just glanced at him and asked about Levi. Levi was taking a nap, so I took her upstairs to "look" at him. And guess what she says? "I can't tell if he's breathing or not, could you touch his foot to see if he moves" WHAT?!? I didn't even know what to say, I just went downstairs and opened the door for her to leave.
I don't even know where to start, I could go on for hours. Is this lady for real? She actually thinks I would leave my dead son in his bed and let her look at him? I still have no idea what to even say. I'm in shock. Absolutely appalled. I hope and pray she's never found a dead baby in someone's house. I'm going to stop now and leave it at that.

Insane

I tried taking my kids to the pajama story time at the library tonight. What a NIGHTMARE! We were there for less than five minutes and had to get back in the car and leave. Every time I try to do something for THEM they end up ruining it. This happens quite often, actually pretty much anytime we go anywhere. It is SO frustrating. So, someone, please hunt down my husband and drag him home before I end up in a PADDED ROOM!!

Spoiled...

Lately I've had the worry that my kids are going to turn into horrible, spoiled little brats. It's just so hard taking care of them alone... sometimes it's easier to give in than to deal with another double-teamed temper tantrum. There's still time to turn things around (I hope) they're still young and they're not really "spoiled" they're just not very well behaved when we're in public. Maybe things will be easier once Spencer comes home, it's hard being the comforter and enforcer at the same time...he'll have to take over one of those roles. I just really, really don't want to end up with...

an Augustus Gloop...

or a Dudley Dursley...

any advice?

PICTURES, PICTURES, PICTURES

Alright, everyone has been bugging me for pictures of my kids, so I took my camera with me when we went to the park today. More will come later, but these will have to do for now.
First, I have to apologize because there are so many pictures, I didn't have time to crop them, I just shrunk them down so they wouldn't take 10 years to load.
Secondly, I have to apologize because they are wearing matching shirts. This was not on purpose to be cute or anything. Usually when we go to the park, I put them in very bright shirts so I can find them because they like to run off... but I need to do laundry so there weren't too many choices- I figured looking for the same shirt would be easiest, especially if I saw one, I would remember what the other was wearing.
I'm pretty sure you'll still be able to tell them apart... if not, sorry. The first pictures are Levi, then Jamin.





this one looks like he is taking a leak over the edge, but I promise he doesn't know how to do that yet!






Here's where Jamin starts...

Last week, I was at a friend's house and we were watching 101 Dalmations... I mean the KIDS were watching 101 Dalmations. Anyways, someone mentioned that the guy on there looks like someone we know and he also plays the piano. And it made me remember something that a few of my friends have done before - you pick characters for each person based on how they look or their personality or BOTH. So we spent the next hour coming up with characters for people, BUT before you get too excited... the list isn't complete so don't look for yourself in this post! That post will be coming soon (let me know if you have suggestions). But I thought I would put my kids characters up because I've known theirs for quite some time.....

From the day he was born, LEVI has always, most definitely, been HEIMLICH from A Bug's Life...

...but he's been growing up and walking and losing all of his chub! He's been starting to transition into a CURIOUS GEORGE which is who I always had picked out for JAMIN.

I still kinda think Jamin is a Curious George BUT someone suggested that maybe JAMIN is DASH from The Incredibles- that makes sense too...


Hopefully I'll have a more complete list soon... I really need to figure out who Spencer is!

Counting down the days 'til...

...Spencer comes home! (mid-August?)
...Levi is old enough for nursery (October)
...Jamin is potty trained (hopefully soon)
...my house is done (sometime in the next 5 years- fingers crossed)
...my kids learn the joy and importance of sleep
...I get to see my nieces and nephews again

I guess I shouldn't hope for time to go too fast...
then it will start snowing and I'll be counting down the days until it's sunny again!
Feel free to add to my list- I like having things to look forward to!!

( ) Broken?!?

I did post this on Facebook, but not everyone is on there... and it was quite funny. (Mom, make sure you tell Grandma this story - she'll be laughing for days)

The other day, Levi had a check-up at the doctor. They checked his weight, height, eyes, ears... all the normal stuff. And then they checked in his diaper (which they also normally do) to check to see if everything is growing and in the right place... or whatever it is they're doing. Anyway, as soon as the doctor left the room, Jamin looked at me with a horrified look on his face and said "penis broken?!?" (yes, he knows the proper term) It was SO funny, especially coming from a two year old! But I had to try not to laugh because he really was worried about Levi... what a good big brother. And yes, Levi is fine- nothing is broken.