The Ferguson Family

What a GREAT summer!

Well the time has come, the calendar has turned to August 20 something… and I have returned to work. Soon I will be getting up at a horrible time of day to go teach the children of America. Looking back at the last 3 months, Matt, Luke and I had such a great summer! Luke and I didn’t do a whole lot. We hung at home together, playing, sleeping and just being together. It was way too hot to do anything outside and Luke hasn’t really learned to appreciate indoor playgrounds, movies, etc…

I didn’t want to be “that blogger” that detailed every morning we spent eating and sitting on the front porch, or the times we went swimming together with Dad. But I did want to catch everyone up with Luke. He has done SO great and learned so much over the past months.

In June we learned that Luke was a little behind in his physical activity. We were referred to a program called ECI. A sweet lady named Meredith comes to our house 4 times a month and works with Luke. As a proud mama, I can say, my baby boy can now sit up, catch himself if he falls, rolling all over the place, and is just about to crawl. He can now feed himself with Sippy cup and learned to chew his food. These milestones are so much farther from June when he only rolled, and choked when he put anything in his mouth that wasn’t pureed. I am so proud of him. He is also teething like crazy and GROWING like crazy. Just the other day, I looked at him and he looked like a little boy instead of a baby!

In 6 weeks of the summer, Luke and I flew 6 times together (4 times just him and me)! He did such a great job on all our flights. I will say by the 6^th flight I never wanted to see another plane again.

Luke spent time at both grandparents and we even had our first over night separation ever while I went to youth camp with United Student Ministry. I LOVED being with middle school girls again, but I did miss my baby boy terribly. He of course had no idea I was gone, due to his Toots and Randaddy spoiling him like crazy.

Matt and I flew to Tennessee to get Luke and spent some time visiting our old friends. We arrived home and the 3 of us went 3 days later to Schlitterbaun Water Park with all of my family. (A 3 bedroom Town house with 6 adults and 5 kids). Thankfully we were outside most of the time.

After our almost 3 weeks of travel, Luke and I settled back into our relaxing summer days until the dreaded day of me going back to work. It has now come and gone and we are now back into the throes of a school year. Thanks to AWESOME child care that we found. Luke goes to Mrs. Brenda’s house with 5 other friends, has a blast watching the four 3 years olds dote over him and his special Ella girl love on him. (She is the exact same age as Luke and LOVES him!)

Believe it or not, in two short weeks, my baby boy will be a ONE YEAR OLD! (I promise I will blog about the party and show desperately needed pictures!)

Goodbye summer of 08′, I can’t wait to see what school year of 08′09 will bring the Ferguson family.

13 Years Later… (Dianna this is for you)

Ok, first things first…. I do apologize for the neglect that the Blog took for the past 8 weeks. I realized very quickly that after my trip to Lubbock I didn’t have much to blog about. I didn’t want to be “that blogger” that blogs about every tiny detail of theirs days at home (more on that later). Soon I got out the habit of blogging! Now I am back and hopefully will be better at blogging!

Now for the real subject of the blog….

Thirteen years ago almost to the day I walked into my very first class at Texas Tech University. I was a freshman LOVING dorm life (I know, I know! I am one social girl) not knowing that I would make friends that would be my friends, “my girls” and change my life forever! Thanks to the sorority Sigma Phi Lambda, I met friends and built relationships that changed my life. We did everything together, and I think I almost lived with all of them at one point (thanks to many, many marriages and weddings! HA)

I specifically remember going on many girls night with all my friends (back in 1995), saying, and “won’t it be hysterical if we get together once we all are married and have kids and still have girl’s nights?” Well, 13 years later, we know have had 2 reunions.

Last weekend, was our most recent one. About 20 girls got together ate dinner, laughed hysterically and relived stories and memories. Then 11 of us spent the night in a hotel, staying up to all hours of the night talking and laughing… Ok we were all sound asleep by 12:30, and up by 7:30 (Not my idea of course!)We shopped till we dropped and just loved on one another. Such special times I will never ever forget. I can’t wait until our next one. Thank you, Dianna for putting this all together. Because of you, we can continually spend time together and pouring into each other’s lives. I love you girls! So much….

PS- Just between 11 ladies, there were 22 kids between us! That is NOT counting the 20 or more girls that came on Friday…

TEXAS TECH!

On my venture to Midland, I was determined to visit Lubbock and my college alma mater TEXAS TECH! So Friday, June 27^th, Luke and I loaded up and went. This quick day trip may be the highlight of my summer! It was so fun to jump into my mom’s borrowed car (If you know my mom, you will understand this is something hard for her to do, she is quiet paranoid that my sister and I will wreck her car.)

The drive to Lubbock consists of miles and miles of dirt and plains. It takes about one hour and 45 min to get to Lubbock. You go through 2 tiny towns along the way. While driving I personally went through all my favorite memories of college, thought about all my friendships that I built during college and still hold strong relationships with these girls and their families.

I was seriously lost in thought the whole way. I grew so much in college. That is where I understood completely what it is like to have a relationship with Christ. Tech is where I understood who I was and what I wanted to believe in. It is also where I learned how fiercely independent I was. Ahh, such a wonderful drive. I thanked God that he allowed me to have these experiences and that He gave me these years in Lubbock to prepare me for what the rest of my life would behold…

Once I hit the big town of Lubbock, Little Luke was ready to get out of the car… so I took the long way to my good friends house and drove by all my favorite spots and all the MANY places I lived (I seriously moved almost every semester!) Then I got to Tiff’s house!

Tiffany, she is just one of those friends that the minute you see each other, no time has passed from your last visit and you just immediately miss all the time that has passed since you last talked! She also can make me laugh so hard.

She has these three cute kids that LOVE to be around Luke and love to explore life, and her husband Jason has been a friend of mine since the semester I moved to Lubbock back in 95′.

This trip we all went to the YUMMY spot of SPANKY’s! Which by far has the best fried cheese ever. It was funny to see how life has evolved from going out and dancing at Wesley dances, seeing movies together, to wrangling all of our kids, feeding them and trying to hold a conversation together at the same time. It was very funny to me to see where we all landed 12 years after meeting each other.

We then walked across the street to the Tech campus and took a million pictures ( all of mine were like a 5^th grader took them, Tiff on the other hand is like a true pro and took these amazing pictures!)

Then I wanted to drive by an old house of mine that I lived in with Amy Souther. And Amy, you wouldn’t believe this I COULDN’T remember the dang street we lived on. Poor Tiff, I made her drive up and down the streets from 22^nd to 27^th and I couldn’t find our house. I was so bummed, b/c again, such precious memories of that house with Amy and her year of engagement to Tappan! Tiff finally made me stop driving and said, “Are you kidding me! I have never left Lubbock and I never ever drive by my old houses!” It was awesome! It also made me realize how much I love memories and to relive them…

What a good day that was, June 27^th… a great day in Luke and I’s life. Our drive home late into the night was just as great as driving in. Luke slept the whole time and I again sang old country songs I loved and thought again, how much I love Lubbock!

Going Home

Last week, Luke and I ventured to my home town of Midland for a few days. Because my sweet parents offered to fly us home, I got to drive around in my mom’s newer car all week. Needless to say I got to get the full experience of being back in my home town I grew up in…

Here are some thought that occurred to me about growing up in a small town.

#1- It takes under 10 minutes to go anywhere, even “across” town or “down” town.

#2- It is always a game to me to see what business has closed down and what new business has taken over the building. This by the way is a HUGE pet peeve of mine. So far to date the most annoying is when an old pizza place called Shakey’s closed down and the International School of Business took over the building. To me that is just NASTY!

#3- To find out there is a Hot Dog vendor that randomly runs around Midland all week and his hot dogs are soo good people seek him out. One day I found him and there seriously was this LONG line to get a hot dog. (Apparently it keeps this guy from having to get a vendor license, whatever!? ( Emily T. There is an idea for your food service businessJ! )

#4- I love to see how my parent’s neighbors are doing. Not too many of them have moved, so it is always nice to see what they have done to their houses or NOT done to their houses…

#5- To have my friend from 2^nd grade come over with a wine bottle and Styrofoam cups and sit on the porch and listen to the town gossip. (Ok, sadly, I just don’t like wine, but it was fun to act like rednecks together!)

#6- On a more sensitive note, I love to know who everyone is in the town. There is something really neat to know all your friends from high school’s parents, all my parents’ friends and co-workers, or know the random person eating by you at the Harvest Café.

#7- It is so fun to read our church newsletter and understand all the new business because I know half of the members…

#8- To see my precious Irving girls now be in college, and relive our good old days of my babysitting them and our lemonade stands.. They know can babysit Luke for me (AHHH, I am OLD HUH!)

#9- I decided there is just a comfort about going home. It made me think… should I move to a small town so my kids can grow up in this comfort? Then I thought, NAH- I love Midland, but just as there is something about growing up in a small town, there is something about growing up in a Big City!

The Excessive “Touch-er”

You know exactly what I am talking about. They are everywhere. Those people who just excessively touch you during a conversation. I don’t mean an inappropriate touch, but more like casual contact. A side hug, a brush of the hand, or a rub on the back. Personally, touching doesn’t really bother me. I am totally fine with a high five, a hand shake, a fist pump, chest bump, or even one of those masculine “good game” slaps on the behind. However, some people would prefer to not be touched at all. I have a team mate who will completely freak out if anyone touches her, even if it’s by mistake. I also have co-workers who I will avoid at all costs. One does the awkward shoulder/back rub while they talk to you. The other co-worker has mastered the art of the “full-frontal-sneak-hug”. Should I ever encounter either of these folks in the hallway, I maintain a 25 foot radius of space between us.

Tonight, though, I had an experience with an “excessive touch-er” that would put those two to shame. I went with a friend to grab a late dinner. We were quickly seated and the waitress came to take our order. Before I could give my drink order I felt her hand on my arm, leaning in and pointing to the menu. At the same time, my friend asked her a question about the menu she immediately leans in to put her hand on his lower back. Now, let me be completely upfront, we are both happily married men, and even though both of our wives are out of town, we did not invite this touching in anyway shape form or fashion.

So as we continued our dinner I couldn’t help but be completely freaked out how much this lady was touching my friend. Every chance she got she took the opportunity to make physical contact with us. Even as we made for the parking lot she somehow managed to rub my friend’s back one more time. She either had absolutely no sense of personal space or was trying to get my very happily married friend’s attention. Either way, it was quite odd.

Outside of the excessive touching it was great to hang out with an old friend.

15 Cents

Since my wife is now a blogging aficionado I thought I would follow up with an entry of my own.

It is no secret I love being a dad. I love my kid. I love my wife. I just love the whole enchilada. Now, I don’t always like the crying, spit up/vomit, or the diapers that make me gag. One of my favorite things is naming my kid. I like to name all his little faces, his moods, even his fussy times. Most dads will agree that what boys need is a good rapper name. You never know what talent skills your little one might display so you want to make sure you have all bases covered. For the first few months of Luke’s existence his rapper name was Lil’ Slice. However, all that changed this last week during Luke’s nine month check up.

At our pediatrician’s office the nurse always asks a series of questions to see where Luke is developmentally. Last week the exchange went like this: Continue reading 15 Cents…

Summer Jenn

Ok, so here is the problem with summer… I have this crazy hair… I have some serious bed head (my college friends are probably laughing really hard right now because it used to be a huge joke at Phi Lamb retreats!) And due to pregnancy and hormones I have all this new hair growing in on the sides of my head, the hairs are all about 1 to 2 inches long, all surrounding my head. I have been referred to as Larry from the 3 Stooges, a Lion from the Lion King…I am hoping you are getting a good picture.

So in the summer you roll out of bed and you think … ya know, I may be going swimming later I am not going to do my hair yet… so for me I brush the mop and it gets bigger, I pull it back ,it looks like as Matt would call it, like I am from the Hills of Tennessee. So either way, unless I wet my hair and straighten it (thanks to my beautiful baby I have lost my curly hair for now) I am pretty much screwed!

Sadly since I have been off, I have only straightened my hair last Sunday. So my poor friends and husband get to see the rough looking Jennifer A LOT! Thankfully I have true friends and a hubby that loves me even though I have really bad hair! But yesterday I had a situation happen that put it all into terms for me… It goes like this…

I wake up with some seriously bad sinus pressure, so I think, AH, I need to go to the store and buy the GOOD Sudafed from the behind the pharmacy counter. About that time, my new found friend Glenda calls and asks if I happen to be going to the store (she is getting to share a car with her husband for a little bit). How crazy, I actually was on my way… so I swing by and pick up Glenda and her two cutie kids Emma and Sam. I open the door and Glenda is like a ray of sunshine, beautiful hair and make-up done, cute outfit on. Me, I pulled back my hair (think of someone living in the Hills of Tennessee, a t-shirt and running shorts, zero make-up) GREAT, I automatically feel homeless compared to Glenda, but hey no worries, we are just headed to Kroger right?

I enter Kroger; I make my way to the pharmacy counter and give the pharmacist the stupid plastic slip of what Sudafed I would like. (It has been a LONG time since I have done this, again thanks to feeding my baby, I really should stick with the drugs in the aisles, but I am miserable) Glenda and her cuties walk up and start looking at sunscreen and we are visiting while the pharmacist does her thing. Well next thing I knew Mrs. Pharmacist needs my license, I have to fill all this stuff out, and the pharmacist begins to tell me WHY she needs all this stuff, that the government now watches how often I will buy this stuff etc.

My first thought was hummm that is funny, she is being awful informative, and seriously I don’t make or take METH ya know! The last time I bought the meds behind the counter, forever ago, it was quick, easy, and silent. Anyway, I listen to the lady, check out, Glenda gets her sunscreen and we head out the door. Later that night I was thinking of that scenario and thought, you know what, I think Mrs. Pharmacist thought I was a meth addict due to my hot looks! I laughed pretty hard! I mean seriously, I do look pretty rough without my hair done…. But I didn’t realize I look like a meth head! HA

Another funny to that little trip was after Kroger Glenda and I decide to do lunch, so where do we go… to Chick-Fil-A in SouthLake where all the stay at home, RICH, moms go. So we eat ( side note, it was the first time Mrs. Glenda and kids had been to the heavenly place we call Chick-Fil-La, so fun for me to get to introduce them) So what a day for me… I got up, spent about 15 seconds on myself, got compared to a meth head, went to lunch at a place where people probably walked by and thought ahh look at the nice lady treating that homeless lady and baby to a lunch. But really, it is just me… Summer Jenn

Again, thanks to all my friends who still love me even though I look homeless and like a druggie. Believe it not, today, I am straightening my hair! Good Times!

Read It and Weep!

Yes, what you are reading is true, the Ferguson’s are putting in a new entry on their blog! For all those that have stayed so faithful and check our blog on a regular basis, your eyes are not failing, there is a new title on our blog and to follow the new title will be a new entry.

I know! Can life get any better! The Ferguson’s are up-dating! Now, there is a good explanation for our delinquency to our blog… it is called THE CRAZY LAST FEW MONTHS OF OUR LIVES! For some reason in spring, right before school gets out, our lives get hairy, crazy busy. There is such a fun feeling in the air of… SUMMER IS SO CLOSE, you don’t notice how crazy life is. For us, it was Matt’s birthday, both sets of Grandparents came to town ( in the same month), Matt had a work retreat, I packed up my classroom, and Matt summed up the year of United Student Ministry and so much more… (WHEW just talking about our month of May, makes me tired). Then we enter into our month of June with me having a week of workshops, our fun nephews came to visit and then finally it happened… the Ferguson’s had free time and open weekends.

I personally must say I didn’t know what to do with myself. I had all this time on my hands to play with my baby and do whatever I wanted. So what did I do… nothing. I sat around last week and did nothing. Did I clean our very nasty and cluttery house… NOPE, did I start to organize our cluttery house, NOPE, did I start our mounding laundry, NOPE…. I did however swim, went to lunch with Matt and a lot of nothing. It was great!

This week I have my motivation back! I have a plan to attack our house, all my to-do lists and to BLOG! Be excited, I set a goal this summer to blog more and to up-date our family blog. Please be patient I don’t know how to do much more than type a post. But Matt is super great and is going show me how to do everything so Fergoogle can be up-dated to its fullest!

Thank you to all our friends that check on us on a regular basis. Thanks for your patience… Fergoogle is back in action!

The One about the Pacifier

There are some things that will never cease to amaze me. Things like how they put that digital yellow first down line on the field during televised football games. Or why so many people waste good money on NASCAR memorabilia. Or why I wasn’t the marketing genius behind the whole Hannah Montana phenomenon.

However, the thing that haunts me the most is the connection between my son and his pacifier. From what I gather we are lucky in the sense that my son has chosen around 4 “binkies” as his. I’ve heard other parents say their kids will only use one pacifier. It was just a few short months ago that Jennifer and I were amazed at Luke persistence in not using a pacifier. Where and when his philosophy on the issue changed remains to be unknown. What we do know is that we can rest in the fact that Luke will never be without one of his beloved binkies.

I’ll never understand at what point the binky became the sole reason for his joy and, at times, his utter disgust. Over the past few weeks, Luke has mastered all skills and aspects of his newfound friends. He now comprehends that should he awake in the middle of the night without one, he can simply scream and a startled parent will stumble into his room to place one in his mouth. If Luke is out and about in public, he’s learned to throw the only binky his dimwitted father brought along onto the floor, rendering it useless. Then cause a scene with his panic inducing fit of rage.

Every parent’s nightmare became a reality during a recent fit of rage in the early hours of Friday morning. For some reason Luke chose dad’s “day off” to make it known that he no longer subscribed to the pacifier school of thought. To demonstrate his innovative philosophies he waited until his mother was safely out the door to work, then began to scream as if Michael Myers was standing over his crib. His dad stumbled into the room ready to go down swinging should the need arise, only to discover Luke was simply saying “I need my binky.” Once the sanctity of the pacifier had been reinstated his dad headed for the door with the hopes of a still warm bed. That’s when Luke chose to demonstrate his new ability. He removed the pacifier, that only moments prior had brought such relief and security, and sent it sailing across the room. It was at this moment that Luke’s befuddled father realized that the pacifier was now a tool in Luke’s ongoing effort to obtain more attention. (If, giving this kid more attention is even possible.) This must be one of those “cry it out” moments that kids have to go through.

However, I knew this would be a defining moment in my fatherhood. Much like Norma Rae holding her UNION sign I knew that this was a battle I would fight, a hill I would die on. I would not cave. I would not be “that dad”, who scurries from place to place hoping to appease his kid. No sir, I would be the William Wallace of fatherhood charging down the hill ready to fight a battle that may bring me to my death.

Less than 5 minutes later that battle was over, however, as the dust settled there was no clear winner. Picture a full grown dad lying in his own bed with his son lying next to him. The difference is that the dad has evolved into an era of parenthood; he has learned a new skill that will surely help him survive. He now has the ability to sleep while, at the same time, holding the pacifier in his kid’s mouth.

This entry ends similar to how it began, but with a new item to add to my list of “Things I don’t understand”.

The connection between my son and his pacifier.

Peace,

M

New Pictures

Okay, so I’ve stumbled across a new way to edit and share pictures of our family. So this is a “test run”, click the album above and you’ll be taken to another site where we can upload, edit, and share photos more easily. If for some reason you can’t click on the albums below here is the link: https://fergoogle.photoshop.com/?wf=share&galleryid=5d6caa1e9b4a40179c509cf9cd95d140&trackingid=BTAGC

Let us know what you think.

Much Love,

The Fergs

Day at the Park

Lil’ Ladykiller