My Green Husband

So, a couple of months ago, as we were leaving Starbucks (yes, we have 3 within walking distance of our home – and we actually walk to them!!!) we noticed they had bags of used coffee grounds, free for the takin’.  The sign next to the bags encouraged people to help the environment by sprinkling the used grounds on their gardens and flower beds.  We don’t have a garden.  We didn’t take any bags. 

But, since then, most mornings Brad chooses a potted plant or some flowers in front of our townhome to bless with our used coffee grounds.  I do not have green thumb – or pinky or any other digit, for that matter.  So, I’m thankful that my husband is diligently guarding the life of the poor plants that became my responsibility when we moved in here.  (We have 3 potted plants – one inside and two outside.)

Where we come from (on the other side of the world) they have other methods of protecting plants.  They basically don’t let anyone touch them – even the grass!  They don’t let you walk or sit on grass.  There are signs in every park that read:

Yes, the grass is sleeping, so DON’T walk on it!  I’m not willing to confess how many times I’ve told the “keepers of the grass” that I couldn’t read the sign and therefore didn’t know we couldn’t _______ (play baseball/ picnic/ run on/ walk in) the grass.  – Fortunately most signs are not translated so beautifully into English, so I can usually get away with that.  The funny thing is that the Asianese really says that the grass is sleeping!      

Back to America:  One day Peter saw Brad in action and asked why he was putting coffee on the grass.  Brad responded with, “It’s good for it; it helps it.”  Peter nodded knowingly, and said, “Oh, it keeps it awake.”  Because, ya know, where we come from, grass is usually sleeping!

New Smiles

by Amy

A couple of days before Christmas (and two days after we had professional pictures taken) Peter’s front tooth fell out!  Well, actually, Brad helped it out a bit because I couldn’t handle it dangling!  Peter was a little disappointed it came out before Christmas.  He had a friend tell him that if he lost a tooth on Christmas Eve and put it under his pillow, then tooth fairy would bring him $600!  I assured him that since I was his tooth fairy, he wasn’t getting $600 any day of the year!  

Then, on New Year’s Eve, Alex lost his front tooth.  I’m so glad Brad was around for both of the extractions.  For some reason, I just can’t handle loose teeth!!

  

They’re cute, but I’ll be glad when their permanent teeth come in! 

Must Save Memories!

by Amy

Yep, I’m back….  I’ve taken a blogging sabbatical lately.  Why?  I don’t really know.  It just seems that life has been going along so quickly, that I haven’t had time (or taken the time) to slow down and blog about it.  But in December, a friend emailed me asking for some game ideas for a Christmas party she was hosting for Asian women living here in America.  I vaguely remember hosting a few Christmas parties in the past, but I have no idea what games we played!  So, what did I do?  I read December blog posts from the last three or four years to help with the recall.  And, that’s when it struck me….I’m not going to remember anything about this year we’re spending in America because I’m not blogging about it!  So, get ready….  We’re going to take a few strolls down memory lane….    

Play Ball!

From Brad.

Well, I guess being a single dad for a few days has got me in the blogging mood. Amy's been in Louisville for the past few days attending a retreat, so I've been going solo...and really having a great time with it. I know we haven't blogged for a while, being here in the states can really keep you busy. I guess the main reason I wanted to blog was to share my joyful little league baseball experience with you.

In Asia, it was not uncommon for the boys and me to venture outside with a baseball bat and a few balls in hand. We'd turn the tennis court into a makeshift baseball diamond (a bit lopsided at that). Peter and Alex have always enjoyed taking some swings, and I've always enjoyed helping them understand and like the game I loved as a little guy (and even now although I've dropped the adj 'little'). So when we knew we'd be back in the states for a while, I really wanted to get them involved in little league baseball. I found a Fall league that would allow me to manage my own team (a requirement of mine since I've heard of a few horror stories of overzealous parents/coaches). We've played 8 games so far and I must say it has been a great experience for all. It is a coach pitch league for 6-7 year olds.

When I drafted the team, I requested to be the Rangers (Astros were taken, Rangers are a fun, exciting team with Texas connections). They initially said ok, but then switched us to the Blue Jays b/c of a lack of Ranger uniforms. Uggg, not even an American team! :) We missed the first 2 games b/c of a family business trip to the East coast. Our team tied our first game 3-3, and lost the second 6-0. Games 3 & 4 were the first for the three Morello guys (with Savannah being our ever faithful ball girl). We lost 8-6 in the third game (first for us). I was pleasantly surprised that Peter and Alex both hit quite well and our team scored double the runs from the first two games. However, I was the pitcher the whole game and there's nobody more nervous on the field than me! I'm 40 feet away from the hitter and its overhand pitch with a hard ball. Throw it too soft and its diving straight down as it crosses the plate (hard to hit). Throw it too hard, and its too fast (also hard for these young guys to hit). Throw it inside and risk hitting a kid which at this stage would mean the end of his baseball career (they're already afraid of 'death-by-hit-batsman'). You get the picture...a perfect pitch and the kid has a shot of making contact. Anything else, it's a swing and a miss and disappointment everywhere.

Our 4th game we lost 13-2. I had lots of strikeouts, really lowered my ERA. :) Not what I wanted. We got killed and I started wondering if our team (now 0-3-1) was going to win a game all year long. But to keep things in perspective, Peter and Alex (2 of the better players) missed games 1&2, two other boys (2 of the better players) missed games 3&4. Game 5 rolled around and we Rocked! We won our first game by like 10 runs. Peter and Alex continued to hit well, and even made a couple plays in the field. However, I had never taught them baserunning. So Peter rounds 2nd base as the 2nd baseman is holding the ball right there, and Peter has no clue IT IS NOT GOOD TO STRAY OFF THE BAG. He fortunately got back to the bag because his Dad YELLED, 'get on the bag!!!'. Okay, not mean, but definitely competitive. Yikes, its not as easy as it looks to stay calm out there.

Games 5 & 6 we both won and now are on a 4 game winning streak. Now some of the 'late bloomers' who previously were joyfully watching planes fly by overhead are actually paying attention to the game and swinging in the general vicinity of the pitch :) and every now and then running into one. Peter hit a ball under the second baseman's glove last game which rolled to the fence. Due to an overthrow, he made it all the way home. According to Peter, he hit his first home run. I just couldn't bring myself to give him the facts. "Yes, Peter, you really crushed that ball!"

And were also finding some opportunities to share with some of the parents, which has been exciting. Last week, one of the Moms shared with Amy that she's been under so much stress with work and life, she just went and bought a Bible to see if it could help her. "Do you know anything about the Bible?" she asked Amy. How neat to be in that situation at that moment.

Here are the sluggers:

There's no smiling in baseball!

 Ah, maybe after a HR!

Finally got one in his wheelhouse!

Aging Faster than Expected!

by Amy


When the Goodins were in town for two weeks earlier this summer, we all bought a Houston City Pass.  So, we had tickets to 5 or 6 Houston Attractions that had to be visited in a 9 day time frame - Great for people who vacation in Houston, not so great for Houstonians.  But, since the Goodins were vacationing in Houston, we decided to pretend we were vacationing as well.  So, we did fun things like go to NASA (absolutely amazing!), the Houston Aquarium (quite disappointing), the Children's Museum (AWESOME), the Zoo (way to Hot to visit in June), and the Museum on Natural Science.  One day, I may actually blog about all of those great places, and the fun time we had vacationing with the Goodins, but that day is not today.  Today is about Alex.....


When we were in the Museum of Natural Science, we all entered the Gem Room.  (we all = 4 adults, 3 girls and 3 boys.)  It was a dark area with several rooms and halls.  All along the wall were beautiful, well lit glass cases displaying all sorts of gems (and maybe some rocks?).  The overhead lights were out so as to highlight and magnify the sparkly gems.  Near the entrance was an interactive computer display.  Alex ran right for it.  The rest of us separated and walked through the display.  So, I'm guessing when Alex turned around, he couldn't see anyone he knew.  My kids are trained to just call out for me, if they can't find me.  "Mommy!  Mommy!"  (It works better in Asia when they're the only ones yelling "Mommy!")   But, because Brad and I had entered the VAULT and were admiring the lovely sapphires, rubies, and diamonds, and since some crazy music was BLARING in there, we could not hear the cries of our son.  I'm assuming some other kind person heard those cries and took Alex to the "Lost Kid Headquarters."  And, since we were in the Vault, could we hear my name over the loud speakers as I was being paged....  Thankfully, the girls were not in the vault, so they came running to find us, thinking I was in trouble.  About this time we all realized we hadn't seen Alex in a while....  So, being the bright mama that I am, I concluded I had lost my son -- (Such a bummer...I just about had the Mom of the Year Award in the bag, until this unfortunate event.)  So, I raced downstairs to find my son behind the security desk, waiting to be claimed.  


He hugged me and promised to never leave my side again; I hugged him right back and reassured him of my forever love.  I was a little surprised the security guard let Alex leave with me -- He didn't even ask my name.  Then Alex said, "It's OK. I told them what you looked like, so that's how he knows your my mamma."  "Really? What did you say?"  Alex responded, "I told them you have curly hair and that Daddy looks like a grandpa."  

Oh my!  We laughed so hard!  A. my hair is not curly (see picture above).  And B - well, what do you think?  Does Brad look like a grandpa to you?  Of course not!  You know that security guard was so hoping the "Grandpa-looking Father" would be the one to claim the kid.  Too funny!  


PS -- Alex held my hand the rest of the day!  

First Impressions

So, we've lived in Asia for over four years.  My boys were 2 and Savannah was 4 when we moved there.  We came back to the States for a 3-week vacation about 2 years ago, but that's it.  Needless to say, things have changed since the last time I had a home here.  These are some of the fun/funny things we've noticed:

You can pause your TV.  Yes, you're watching a TV show, (not a DVD) and you can pause it to run and get a drink.  That's crazy!  I've heard of this TEVO thing where you can record your TV shows w/o a recorder (I've never done it), but I didn't know you could pause it.  Crazy!  

Peter was out riding his bike one day and came in to ask me for a towel.  When I asked what he needed a towel for he replied, "I was riding on the sidewalk and those things that are cleaning the bushes outside got my bike wet.  Sprinklers....I guess we don't see sprinklers in Asia! 

Laundry Detergent....Oh my!  In Asia, I don't buy my own laundry detergent.  My helper always did that for me.  So, after not buying detergent for over 4 years, I was overwhelmed.  They have liquid and powder, tons of scents, and lots of sizes!  I literally spent 20 minutes in laundry detergent isle, trying to decide what was the best value, what flavor I liked, and if I wanted energy saving detergent - what in the world?!  

Sidenote:  On our first morning in America, I woke up at 2am.  After laying in bed for an hour, I got up and was out the door by 3:30, on my way to super wal-mart!  By 6:45am the only people I had seen in the store were the stockers.  How strange for the grocery store to be open, but not full of people!  Then, I went to through the checkout, with my 199 items (I had 2 carts!), and they rejected my credit card.  I gave them another one, and it was rejected.  Then, I pulled out a check (I hadn't written a check in 4 years) and they rejected that too.  I borrowed my checker's cell phone to call my dad, but he couldn't come help me.  Finally, I called the number on the back of my credit card, and got it squared away.  I told my checker that if I had to walk away without my groceries (after shopping for 3+ hours) I was going to cry.  Thankfully, no tears were shed that morning!  

The sky is blue and clouds are lovely!  

Finally, I think the most surprising thing is how people drive!  They notice my kids!!  Parking lots and streets, are safe!  People driving cars stop way back to allow us to cross the street.  When my kids are riding their bikes on the sidewalk, drivers slow down to a crawl.  It's amazing!  I really don't think I'll ever get used to that!   

I'm sure I could go on and on....but I won't!  Maybe I'll write about a few more things we've discovered in another post.  

My boys are 7!!

Yep, on June 8, 2011, my little, baby boys turned SEVEN YEARS OLD!!!  Oh, my, how time fly!  Their day was fun!  We started off by meeting their cousins at Shipley Donuts.  Mmmm!  they're the closest thing to Krispy Kreme in Houston.  Then, we piled the girls (Savannah, cousin Emily, almost 5, and cousin Amanda, 6 1/2) in Grandma Sue's car.  They boys, (Peter, Alex, and cousin Travis, 10) hopped in our car, and we all headed downtown to a free production of Camp Rock 2 at an outdoor theater.  It was a warm June day in Houston, but we were sitting in an open-air, covered theater and it was perfect!  (My kids all love Camp Rock 2 and loved singing along with all the fun songs!)

Emily, on the left is my brother's daughter, and Amanda, on the right, is Brad's sister's daughter. Aren't they cuties?!?

Then, my dad met us at a yummy Mexican restaurant for lunch.  (I tried to talk him into attending the play with us, but I just couldn't convince him!)  Mexican food.... you gotta love it!  We had 10 people, and including tax and tip, the whole meal was $60!  Granted, we weren't at Pappasitos, but it was pretty great!  After will filled our bellys, we went down the street to Chuck-E-Cheese.  My boys played and played and played!  They had a blast running around with their cousins and collecting tickets.

After playing for a few hours, we pulled out the birthday cake.  This is the first year in their whole lives that I didn't make their cake.  We had been in America for a week and I just couldn't get my act together. ( Last years cakes took about 8 hours to make and decorate.)  Peter was crushed when I told him I couldn't do it this year.  My husband assured me time and time again that he'd get over it.  He was right.  When Sue took him to Sam's and let them pick out what ever cake they wanted, there were smiles all around!  Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of the cake they picked!  It was a small Toy Story themed circle cake with cupcakes around it.  

 
So, there you have it!  Alex and Peter are really seven years old!  I praise the Lord for each of them!  They are unique and fun!  What a blessing they are to this mama!  May they have many, MANY more birthdays to come!