A blog about our family in Lafayette, Indiana
Thu July 2, 2009 by Mike
Once in a while, Alex and I like to camp out somewhere in the house. Usually it's in his room on the floor (beneath the glow-in-the-dark stars and planets on his ceiling), but this past weekend we camped in the dining room downstairs. It had been a long day (and week) for Alex and Amy. They had five days of Vacation Bible School at our church which was capped off with a program and dinner Friday evening. I was beat, too, (which usually isn't the case around Alex's bed time), so it was a good time to camp out. We gathered up all of our supplies: comic books, flash lights, blankets, pillows and an air mattress and set up camp downstairs.
Before we went to sleep, we flipped on the flashlights and each told a ghost story. Alex's was about some boys that were chased by a ghost on Halloween night. Mine was also on Halloween and involved a ghost chasing down two kids that stole his 'Golden Arm' (standard stuff really). Alex was listening so intently that I made sure it wasn't too scary. So, it had a semi-happy, non-suspensful ending.
In the morning, I wanted to give Amy a much-deserved break and have a morning to herself. So I asked Alex what he would like to do, where he would like to go. He thought for a second and said, "What have I been wanting to do for a long time?"
I said, "Ride bikes at Purdue?"
He put on the hugest smile and nodded his head 'yes.' I think maybe he had something else in mind, but my answer trumped whatever it was. So, we decided we would put our bikes on the bus and spend half a day riding around campus.
The first thing we did was stop at Triple XXX for breakfast. Alex got the Mickey Mouse pancakes. Nothing better than syrupy flapjacks with whipped cream, chocolate chips and sprinkles to start your day.
Our ride reflected in the windows of the West Lafayette Public Library.
The Co-pilot has been a blast. I was a little worried about how we would transport it on the CityBus, but it fit fine in their bike rack. We got a few smiles and nice comments as we huffed and puffed around campus.
We stopped at the library to read some books and do some puzzles.
Here is one of the many painted dog statues that can be found around town. It's titled "Dog Eat Dog."
"The Dog Days of Summer" is a project to support the Art Museum of Greater Lafaytte. I guess they've done this every two years for the past six. Previous statues were frogs and hogs, now dogs. I just realized they all rhyme. What's next? I can't think of any other -og animals. How about a dutch theme? Clogs?
A few years ago, South Bend did a similar thing with ape statues and Chicago (where the trend started?) did cows once.
Another dog on the pedistrian bridge that overlooks the Wabash river. Notice one is missing. This is a groom and someone has kidnapped his bride!
A day after the statues were unveiled, some in West Lafayette were stolen or vandalized. So, all of the statues on that side of the river were moved indoors. As far as I know, none in Lafayette were stolen...unless you count the missing bride above. She would be on the Lafayette side of the bridge.
The pedistrian bridge isn't bike friendly. I had to carry the bikes up and down some steps.
At one point, Amy called me and said she was bored. So, we made a mad dash to the bus and got home around 1pm. We could've stayed out longer since it wasn't that hot. We did manage to get in a few video games at the Memorial Union on campus and we stopped at Borders to get a Scooby Doo comic book.
On the bus ride home, Alex and I played a game where we would make up silly quotes about people that we saw walking. Dumb stuff like, "Does anybody know where I can find a Wendy's?" when we saw people walking in the direction of a Wendy's. Or, "I ate too many cheesburgers!" as someone came out of McDonalds.
At one point, while the bus was going through a neighborhood, I saw a woman, in a driveway, washing her hair in a bucket while another woman watched nearby in a lawn chair. Not sure what was going on there, but wish I had time to take a picture.
It was a very fun day of just hanging out, my little buddy and I.
Fri June 19, 2009 by Mike
While tinkering with this site, I discoved that a link to the RSS feed was broken. Acutally, one link was pointing to an old file that contained content from YEARS ago. Some people probably have not noticed a problem at all, while others may have wondered why our feed never updated. It's working now. Sorry about that. I've been doing web development for 12 years now and apparently I still don't know what I'm doing.
"R.S.S. say what?"
Now, for those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about here are some tips that may save you a lot of time while you browse your favorite sites. It's a useful tool that can be hard for most people to wrap their brains around but once you get the hang of it, you're pretty much gauranteed to be hooked.
- Almost every blog or news site today offer 'RSS Feeds'. RSS stands for 'Really Simple Syndication." If you are wondering why something that contains the word 'simple' sounds so complicated, don't worry, you really don't need to know what RSS means just what it does.
- A typical RSS feed on a website contains a list of recent blog entries, news stories, tweets (for twitter users) or links.
- You can subscribe (for FREE) to a feed by using a 'feed reader'. A feed reader is either a web service or software that you install on your computer that checks your RSS feeds and displays any updates all wrapped up in a nice neat little package.
No more browsing individually from site to site, blog to blog, to see if something new has been posted.
To find an RSS feed, most sites have icons that look like these:
You've probably seen these icons before and wondered what they were. They usually link directly to a feed or a page that contains links to feeds (sites like CNN have feeds orgainzed by category. Ex: latest news, sports, business, robots attacking old people, etc).
Feed Readers
To get started using RSS you need a feed reader. There are two types of feed readres: web based and client software (a desktop program). I use Google Reader. It's web based so I can login and see my feeds from any computer. I set my Google Reader page as my browser start page so it's the first thing I read every day. Examples of software feed readers would be FeadReader, NetNewsWire (for Macs), or built into web browsers like FireFox or Internet Explorer. If you are new to RSS I'd suggest using a web-based reader since they can be easier to use when subcribing to feeds. A list of popular feed readers can be found at this wikipedia page.
Did you know?
RSS feeds can be found in a lot of places. Some of them that may not be obvious are:
- Google News search results. Any keyword you search for on Google has an RSS feed. I have a feed that keeps me up to date whenever my last name appears in a news story. I found out today there is a 'Focosi Lane' in Ludlow, MA.
- Twitter Tweets. I have zero knowledge of how people follow other people on Twitter on their phones but you can subscribe to a Twitter RSS feed if you desire to know what color your friend's poop was this morning.
- Craigslist. Same as Google. Search results and categories have feeds. I know a lot of people that read this blog may be interested in garage sales in Lafayette, here's the link to the feed. This is a lot more convenient than the newspaper.
- Blog Comments. Some blogs have RSS feeds for their comments. You can subscribe to a comment feed and your feed reader will keep track of any new comments for you. There is now a comment feed for this site.
That's all. I hope some people will find this useful. I think it may be hard to adjust to a new way of browsing the internet. But if you try it out, and see how useful it really is, you'll never imagine your life on the internet without it.
Your feedback
I tend to think that this is a topic that is a little hard for for people to grasp at first but maybe I'm way off. Are any of you reading this already using RSS? I'd like to hear how you use RSS or how you got hooked or how this is way too nerdy for you. Please leave a comment if you have a thought or any tips. Thanks!
Mon June 1, 2009 by Amy
We've had a lot to celebrate with our recent ultrasound news, but also a wedding in the family this past weekend. My cousin, Lindsey, (whom I feel like I partially helped raise because I babysat and spent so much time with her and her sister growing up) married her love, Adam. I didn't get too many great pictures of their special day because...well, I just didn't. But, here are some pics from the entire weekend.
Fri May 29, 2009 by Amy
I finally had my much-anticipated 20-week ultrasound yesterday. I swear I didn't breathe for the first few minutes of it actually. But, THANK YOU GOD!, the baby looks good at this point. The most perfect head shape (and brain!), heart, limbs and features. And it appears this baby likes pink! We couldn't be more thrilled about both outcomes. Not to be a Debbie Downer, or anything, but I do not feel like we are completely in the clear at this point. All I can do is continue to pray that she will stay healthy and come home to us!
I just had this urge to go and buy something girly and pink right after the ultrasound, so I headed straight to Target. I was in heaven surrounded by all of the cutesy clothing. I bought a couple pieces of apparel and a stuffed animal/blanket lovey. Oh my, I'm sensing this is only the beginning!
Here are some pictures of our sweet girl. A little hard to capture because she liked to put her hands in front of her face....a lot. The first one is her profile and the second apparently (I'm clueless at interpreting ultrasound pics) reveals that she is a girl.
Blessed, blessed, blessed!!!
Let's hear it for the girl!
Wed May 27, 2009 by Mike
It's almost a week now since we've been back from our vacation in St. Petersburg/Tampa Florida. It's weird that this week home has gone by faster than our week away. I guess that's a good thing. You want your vacation to last and not fly by. But one thing you don't want on vacation is rain--and we got plenty! It rained EVERY day. Apparently the Tampa area has been experiencing a three year drought. So what does it take to end a prolonged dry spell?...A Focosi Family Vacation. Hope you're happy, Florida.
Amy did get a little down when we realized early on that the rain wasn't going away. But, she did a super job planning our vacation. Despite the rain, she had some great ideas to have fun. Alex told us a few times that he was "so happy we came to Florida."
Check out the photos below for highlights of our Florida adventure.
Thu May 7, 2009 by Amy
It's been too long and all I've got for you is pictures. I've already posted most of these on my Facebook page. Why I'm more on top of that than the blog, I do not know. (If you've seen the pics on FB, there are some additional ones in here, so check them out!) We've had some fun times the last month, or two. Enjoy!
Tue April 14, 2009 by Amy
At my MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group today, I was asked to share my testimony, or faith story, with my table of women. I had never prepared anything like this before, so I really searched in my heart for what God wanted me to say, in 5 minutes or less. So, here's my testimony...in a nutshell.
I’ve learned that God is a gentleman. He gently reveals Himself to us throughout our lives and if we don’t see Him, it’s because we’re not paying attention. He doesn’t force Himself on us. He gives us the freedom to choose Him and His ways. When we’re ready, in our own time and His time, He is there. He’s always been there and sometimes it takes a special something to realize we want to be right there with Him.
I grew up attending church most Sunday mornings, but that was our only commitment to God. We didn’t pray regularly, never opened up a bible nor talked about Him much. Although I believed in God, I simply had a “date” with the church building and the people in it some Sundays. Once Mike and I married, I thought it was important that we go to church together. So, we found one and, again, I was repeating the same cycle with my own family—the same level of commitment. It was all I knew. I had a close Christian friend who questioned how serious I was and asked, “Do you have a relationship with God?” I really didn’t know what that meant. I said, “Well, yeah, I go to church,” which I now realize means very little.
In the summer of 2006, we were in the process of selling our home and moving to another town. To say I was stressed would be an understatement. I had a major breakdown and cried for hours. I realized in those moments that I was not crying about the move. I had this epiphany that something was missing from my life. And I truly felt that “something” was God. I didn’t know Him personally. Who cares that I went to church? I had no connection and I knew, right then, that I needed that. I felt completely blindsided—where was this coming from? But I realize now that God placed that friend in my life. She planted a seed in me. She got me thinking and questioning how there is so much more to being a Christian than simply going to church. And I wanted that “something more” desperately. However, I was at a loss as to how to achieve it.
Well, life got busy with the move and adjusting to our new town. And although I hadn’t actively sought out ways to get closer to God, we, of course, started attending a church. Then, a friend invited me to a Women’s Bible Study. I had never participated in anything like it, but I stepped out of my comfort zone for once. This group consisted of the most amazing and accepting women. It was a safe place where I began to learn about God’s love. I went to a Women’s Retreat in March 2007 and wept during worship. I felt God stirring in me and urging me to go pray with some friends. It was at that moment when I felt a shift. I accepted Christ into my life and everything felt right. I just knew I was on a spiritual journey and I couldn’t wait to grow closer to God, know Him in my daily life, and try to live and love more like Jesus.
In May, we were thrilled to find out I was pregnant with our second child. When I was 20 weeks along, we were completely devastated when the ultrasound revealed our baby had a terminal condition called anencephaly. The doctor said she would grow in the womb, but would die at birth. After hearing the most awful news ever, I was asked if I wanted to continue or terminate the pregnancy. In my state of shock, I said there was no way I could carry the baby only for her to die at birth. It sounded like torture. I cried non-stop for two days straight while I made the plans to go out of state to abort. I couldn’t sleep, think, eat, breathe. I didn’t feel comfortable with the decision we made, yet the alternative scared me to death. Then, I finally stopped and thought it through. I asked God my burning question, “What should we do?” And I randomly opened up my bible to the book of Joshua where I read a verse that I interpreted the way I think He needed me to. I felt God was telling me that I wouldn’t want to go against His ways and that He will be there for me like He’s always been...and that everything will be okay. Mike and I talked and realized there was actually no decision to make. We loved our baby and we couldn’t imagine how we’d be affected if we didn’t hang on to her as long as possible and let her go and be with the Lord when it was truly her time. We felt a sense of peace and comfort that I can’t explain.
I’m not going to lie—the next several months were hard, but I never doubted or regretted the path we (and He) had chosen for us. Although I cherished each kick from our daughter, Lydia, I also grieved over her. Even though I felt she was a blessing, it was painful knowing she would not be with us long. I gave birth to Lydia Grace on December 3, 2007. She lived for 28 minutes. It was a bittersweet day, but one I will treasure forever because of the memories we’ll always have.
When I look back, I can see God’s work in my life in countless ways. I feel God placed several people in my path who helped ignite a passion in me for Him. He gently opened my eyes. Sometimes I think about what life would have been like if I had not gotten serious about Him nor sought a relationship with Him. I would be blind and lost right now. I know I would have aborted my baby. I would not have experienced His most amazing love during that time and my unconditional love for my daughter. I would be angry and bitter. I would not have the knowlege that I would reunite with Lydia in Heaven one glorious day. My marriage would have suffered. I possibly would have never tried for another child because fear of loss would have consumed me.
But instead, through the most trying of times and because I clung to Him, I love the Lord more than ever. He wrapped His arms around me and instead of resisting, or turning the other way, I hugged back. I trust Him and His plans for me. I can honestly say I am content. I listened to the Voice of Truth, tried to get pregnant again and am now expecting our third child, thanks to Him. Because of God’s presence in my life, I can find ways to praise Him through the good and the bad. I know He’s there through it all. He’ll never let me go.
My life verse is: Proverbs 3: 5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowlege Him, and He will make your paths straight.
Sun April 5, 2009 by Amy
If you're a fan of "The Office," I think you'll really like this! Mike discovered Sarah Dooley and her webisodes online. She started these when she was a freshman at Barnard College in New York. She's now a sophomore. She's actually from Valaparaiso, Indiana! There are 5 episodes total and Mike and I found them to be very funny (I think they get progressively better, so keep watching them). There are definite glimpses of Michael Scott in her character. Basically she plays a socially-awkward college student. May not be your sense of humor, but it is ours...hope you enjoy them :-)
Here's the 1st episode:
Click here to see other episodes.
She is also a talented singer and shares her music on her myspace page. She sounds exactly like Regina Spektor. I especially like Watching Goonies at my House.
Let us know if you found them funny...or not.
Thu April 2, 2009 by Amy
I can't get this line out of my head after today's dr. appointment, which of course, is because of this "classic." Haha, so lame. Well, Mike came with me to the appt. and we waited for a little over an hour only to be told that my dr. got called into a delivery, oh well. But, I asked the nurse ever so kindly if I could hear the baby's heartbeat since I hadn't yet and was anxious to hear it. She thankfully reciprocated the kindness and got out the doppler. It didn't take long at all to hear that magnificent squishy cadence. Music to my ears! I breathed a sigh of relief. Believe me, you know that I know that it doesn't mean we're completely in the clear. Because hello? Lydia, totally normally pregnancy with her, until that 20-week ultrasound revealed different. This baby's heartbeat brings comfort and reassurance to me that, yes, you are pregnant, Amy. With a living, breathing, growing, miraculous being. Not just because a pee stick says you are and despite the fact that you really don't feel pregnant because you've had an unbelievably easy 1st trimester. Thank you, Lord, for giving me what I needed to hear today. For that special moment and for tuning into the rhythm of my heart. You always know what I need!
In other unrelated business (yes, I know I'm so terribly random), Alex has discovered (thanks to Mike) the infamous Star Wars kid from years back....we all know and remember him. I was not here when Alex watched the video for the first time, but according to Mike, he had never heard him laugh so hard. I'm really not sure what to think about that. On the one hand, I think I have a pretty smart child because he can see the humor in it and not be like amazed by SW kid's skill, yet on the flip side, we all know this video got leaked out and this guy was taking this seriously and was not trying to be funny. So, therefore, Alex is making fun of him when he laughs hysterically...hmm. Maybe it's not much different than laughing at the rejects on American Idol? Maybe pregnant Amy is just getting too old and serious, I don't know.
Alex is obsessed with another video currently that we just came across on YouTube. I don't know where I was when it came out a few years ago...being a young, sleep deprived mom, I guess. I have no idea what the heck they're saying, but it's definitely catchy and gets us moving. Alex just watches, mesmerized...and tries to sing the recurring lines. Apparently this song was made pretty famous because of this video, which of course he enjoys as well.
So, I got in the April Fool's Day mode yesterday, which is kind of unlike me.
- I, first, tricked Alex by putting a couple drops of green food coloring in the bottom of his cereal bowl. I poured his cereal in and then the milk...and walked away while it started to turn green. Alex was like, "Mom, come here quick!! What's wrong with it? It's green!" It was cute. He ate it all up :-)
- Later on, I played a trick on Mike and Alex. I'm not gonna go into detail because it's a pretty gross one, but it inolved chocolate pudding disguised as poop. Their facial expressions were priceless!
- One of my ideas flopped...I tied a rubber band around the kitchen sink sprayer with the idea that when Mike went to turn on the water to do the dishes, it would just spray and soak him wet. Would have worked well, but I didn't have the rubber band secured in the exact right spot. I made sure he still got wet though :-)
- I think the one that went over the best was at the very end of the night when Mike least expected it. I had put a little raisin inside the tube of toothpaste to appear as a bug. He had fallen asleep in front of the tv and then got himself up to brush his teeth, etc. I heard him start the process and then it took a while for any kind of reaction (because he had been studying it). He came out with this dumbfounded expression on his face and said, "What do you think this is?" And was just really freaked out by it...thought it had something to do with the breath crystals in this fancy toothpaste? I was laughing so hard. He has such a weak stomach that he says he almost threw up. He was so disgusted (what's the big deal? It's a raisin! But disgusted by the idea of what it could have been, I guess) that he went to bed without brushing his teeth because he felt sick over it...but eventually got back up and brushed. I really didn't intend for him to feel nauseous...he's a wuss.
I'm already thinking about what I'm going to do next year (insert evil cackle).
Good night, everyone. Thank you so much for your ongoing prayers.....
Mon March 30, 2009 by Amy
We are relaxing after a VERY busy several days that shook up my stay-at-home-mom world!! Thursday and Friday I spent all day in Indy at the Sheraton for the Indiana Speech and Hearing Convention that I try to go to every year. It's a reasonably inexpensive way to get continuing education hours to keep my speech licenses up. Good times (really it's not, but I'm glad it's over :-) I maybe slept about 6 hours each Wed. and Thurs. night. I rushed home and packed to head over to Elston Family Church's Women's Retreat at beautiful Camp Tecumseh on Friday evening. The men prepared a tasty taco bar dinner for us. My amazing friend, Lindsay, spoke on focusing on God and sharing His love with others and not getting bogged down with other "stuff." We worshiped together. We played some very competitive, rousing rounds of Pictionary. I sang a little Karaoke. And stayed up WAY too late just talking and connecting with a group of women, even though Jessica and I made a weak pact to go to bed by midnight. I went to bed at 2:30 and had a lot of trouble falling asleep and woke up each hour during the few hours of sleep I got. I spent the first half of Saturday at the retreat with more talk, worship, food and fellowship. Then, Mike picked me up right after lunch so we could drive the 2 hours to Walkerton for my cousin's bridal shower. Can I get a shout out for the Fish Lake area? No, you don't know it? At the shower I was starting to really feel the effects of lack of sleep for me and baby. I was beat. Got back to my mom's and hung out for a little while, but then crashed...hard...at 7:30 pm and did not get up until 8 the next morning. It was the best and most sound sleep I had experienced in a LONG time. After waking, we ate breakfast and laid around and then I napped on the couch after just being awake for a couple of hours. I know....that's pretty bad. I was told I was snoring. You know I had to still be tired if I was laying against the deer skin blanket hanging on the back of the couch in my parents' basement!! Aah...gross!! Anyway, I think I am finally caught up on sleep and feeling good :-)
Now for some randomness...when we got home from the weekend Sunday night, I noticed Mike had left his "to pack" list on the table since he had been solo for a couple of days and couldn't rely on ME to remember/pack everything he would need (which is typically the case!). So, I, of course, looked it over. Had things like: contacts, glasses, winter coat, laptop, etc. #9 said: Stop reading, #10: this list, Amy. What a brat. He got a real kick out of it while he observed me reading it. I can't figure out if he simply prepared the list to mess with me (because I am THAT predictable that I'd go and read it) or if he just thought of it as he was listing stuff. Gotta keep up with what's going on when I'm not here, ya know...Would you have perused your husband's list/notes if you came across it??
Today Alex said a couple of cute things. For whatever reason, we refer to our room upstairs (between our bedrooms) as the bonus room. It's basically a family room (or may be called a game room in the floor plans). I think bonus room is what would be used to describe it in a listing to sell the home, but it's just what has stuck with us. So, Alex said out of the blue today..."Why do we call this the bonus room? There's no bonus' in it." Haha. Also, I made a healthier version of banana bread today and it had oatmeal in it. I have NEVER been able to get Alex to eat oatmeal. Believe me, I've tried. So, as he was eating it, he could tell it tasted different than typical banana bread and he said, "Maybe you put too much EATmeal in." I've finally found a way to get him to consume "eatmeal," woo hoo :-)
A few years ago I used to subscribe to Family Fun magazine. GREAT magazine. You can pretty much view everything online, so check out their website. And I think I had a Parents mag subscription. I used to constantly tear out pages of activities and articles that interested me and categorized them in an expandable file with hopes/thoughts of referring to them and utlizing them someday....um, hasn't happened!!! But, I just remembered as April 1st is fast-approaching, that I had come across some April Fools' meals--to trick the kids. So, I looked up on their site and there is a slew of ideas. It's pretty cool how much they look like the real meals (peanut butter logs/chicken nuggets, vanilla ice cream with caramel sauce/mashed potatoes and gravy, sour apple Airheads candy rolled up into balls to look like peas, etc.). I may get creative on Wednesday (or SOME day) and try some of these out, although I know mine won't even come close to looking as perfect as theirs pictured. But, no matter, I wanted to share with you all. Check out these fun food pranks.
On a more serious note, my 2nd doctor appointment is on Thursday. I am 12 weeks tomorrow. I am feeling anxious. I want, more than anything, to hear the baby's heartbeat and they will most definitely be able to detect it at this visit. I NEED to hear it for reassurance at this stage. I think it will help get me through the next few weeks until I can hear it again. Several people have asked me if I've had testing yet and know the health status of the baby. No, I do not. I've opted (since they are completely optional) not to have any 1st trimester screenings because, frankly, that's what they are...screenings. They are not even close to being 100% accurate and are notorious for false-positive or false-negative results. I have nothing else in my medical history, besides the anencephaly, and I have been on mega-doses of folic acid since I had Lydia. Although this does not protect my baby completely from a neural tube defect, it helps tremendously. I have no other reason, medically, to be concerned to pursue testing at this time. Plus, it would not change how I handle the pregnancy. Sure, I have fears, which totally come along with having lost a baby and having friends who have lost babies or have had difficult pregnancies. But, I feel I am not letting my fears control me by having unnecessary screenings done and, in a sense, I am guarding my heart until that monumental 20-week ultrasound when everything will be more definite.
A sister in Christ prayed for me and the baby at the women's retreat. I can't tell you how much it meant to me. And it's times like those when the emotions that I didn't even know I had were revealed. Our heads were bowed, our hands were clasped and it, literally, was raining tears. A constant shower of MY tears splashed on our hands. And with each tear that hit, I thought about God collecting every, single one of them in that moment, in the past and in the future. Psalm 56:8 says that He lists my tears on a scroll. He keeps record of them. My tears will never be in vain. They will be cherished and remembered by The One who created me and loves me like no other. The One who determines my baby's fate. This is true. Although scary sometimes that I only have the teensiest bit of control during this pregnancy by some of the choices I make, but inevitably my baby's future is up to Him. Please know that I have a whole lot of faith in Him. And whatever is supposed to happen for our family in this phase of our lives...will happen. I just keep thanking God each day, for where I'm at. For this moment in time. Thank you, Father, for the tiny baby (currently the size of a large lime) that you are growing inside of me. Thank you for blessing me with this little one for 12 weeks now. I am constantly amazed by what You do!
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