Graham finds his tongue

Graham just started doing this today. He's not teething, so I'm not sure what's prompting it, but it's hilarious!

(Please excuse the SuperWhy episode playing in the background. One does not always have time to be sure the setting is perfect for video taking. ;-)

Meet Our Newest Addition: Adner!

We have added a new little boy to our family! As many people have probably read/know, we sponsor a little boy in Brazil named Marcone. Here are some recent posts about him. Marcone and Austin share the same exact birthdate -- October 20, 2010. Our goal is that when Austin is old enough to understand the situation--who Marcone is, where he lives, that we help him monetarily each month, that Austin and Marcone will develop a penpal relationship. I don't want to just pay the monthly fee, I want to bless both families through letters back and forth.

Anyways, we recently began sponsoring another little boy, this time he lives in Nicaragua and shares Graham's birthdate -- October 15, 2012. Our goal for Graham and Adner is the same as for Marcone and Austin. I want to use Marcone and Adner to teach our boys how blessed they are and how wonderful it is to help others. I want them to be in our prayers as a family. I want them to feel like distant family members that we don't ever get to see.

When I went looking on the World Vision website for a boy to match with Graham, Adner's picture struck me immediately. His big eyes... it felt like I was seeing deep into his sweet soul or something... I got tears in my eyes and then prayed about it for a couple weeks. I couldn't shake this feeling of wanting him to be ours and then when I got our packet in the mail and saw his face shining out from the envelope, I burst into tears! I'm thrilled to have added yet another boy to this family.

Please join us in praying for Marcone and now for Adner too.

A True Tale of Customer Service (AKA: Why I Will Love Gap Forever)

In order to fully appreciate the story I'm about to tell (about Gap), I need to back up and tell a story about a recent experience at Jo-Ann's.

It all start innocently enough: I needed some scrapbook supplies and Seth agreed to stop there with me one Sunday afternoon so that I could shop in peace (and really let my brain figure out what I wanted vs. what I needed) because he was watching the boys (mostly chasing Austin up and down the aisles). I use the Jo-Ann app regularly and had recently noticed a 15% off coupon so I was shopping with the 15% off in mind (that is, I was buying a large quantity of stuff).

I got to the register and when I went to show the check-out lady the coupon, it was gone. I gasped and she guessed "If you're looking for the 15% off one, it expired yesterday." She then offered that there was a 25% off one coming soon for the following weekend, beginning on Friday (this was a Sunday). It was awesome of her to offer that information, I say, but I can't come shopping on Friday because I'll have my boys with me and I need these supplies for Friday evening. Then I ask "Can I simply purchase everything now and then come back with the coupon for a price adjustment?"

(See, the problem wasn't making a trip to Jo-Ann's with the boys in tow, but having them along would zap my creative abilities as far as knowing what I wanted to buy. It wasn't a matter of making it to the store, but of being able to spend enough time there to make all the decisions I needed to make.)

A cashier next to her says "You can only use the coupon once. And you have to surrender it at the time of purchase." That's fine, I say. I'm only making the one purchase and would only want to use it once. She, the other cashier, then says "Well, that's on your conscience." WHA? I look at my cashier like "What in the world!?" and she smiles and replies she will be there on Friday and will help me with the transaction. Ok, I think, that was weird. And rude. I was a bit miffed at the lady saying that, and it made me question my conscience, but at finding no policy stating what I was doing wasn't ok, and knowing it was neither illegal or taboo (I ask for price adjustments all the time), I forgot all about her.

Until Friday. I had (after Sunday) arranged a Mother's Helper to come that day so I could run a few errands by myself, but she texted Friday morning saying she couldn't make it because she wasn't feeling well. Blech. (There is nothing like thinking you're going to have a minute to yourself and then having that fall through at the last minute. Yuck.) So, I loaded the boys and my purchases and headed to Jo-Ann's.

I got to the checkout and it's the same girl I had on Sunday. I remind her of my coming in on Sunday and state that I simply need a price adjustment on my items since there's the 25% off coupon now. I hand her the items and the receipt. She goes about returning everything (finding each item on the receipt and crossing it off... a very lengthy and annoying process in my opinion) and then asks the manager next to her for a merchandise return card (I'm so distracted by trying to keep Austin out of the automatic doors that I don't realize what she's doing until it's all over). The manager cashier asks about the transaction and once my girl explains what's happening, she looks at me and says "If you'd asked me to do it, I would have told you 'no'." And then walks away.

I was stunned. "Tell me you won't help me!?" I'm thinking. I tell my cashier that I don't appreciate the attitude the manager just gave me and said that I didn't understand why her and the other lady were giving me such grief when I wasn't asking to break the law or any policies. WHAT IS THE BIG DEAL!? I wanted to shout. IT'S JUST A PRICE ADJUSTMENT. I DO THIS ALL THE TIME. sheesh! As she's ringing everything up, I notice that classes are on sale right now and ask about a class schedule (there weren't any on the table where they normally are).

My girl talks into the headset "Can someone please bring some class schedules up front? I have a customer who wants one." She finishes the transaction which leaves me $26 on a merchandise card. Store credit. Which is obviously not what I had asked for, but I'll likely spend $26 here at some point in the future, so I don't argue the point, though it does make me upset. I then stand by waiting for the class schedules, still fighting with Austin to keep him from getting smooshed in the automatic doors. While I'm waiting, my cashier returns a clearanced item for a lady after getting another manager's approval (who rolled her eyes at being asked to help). This is blatantly against policy. I'm thinking "I got all this grief about a non-against-policy request and here they are letting her break policy without even a fight? What about HER conscience!?" I was starting to get steamy.

And I'm still waiting for a class schedule. WHILE trying to keep a hold of Austin. I'm standing right by the table where the stack of schedules usually is when the manager cashier from a few minutes ago (who told me she would have said no) walks past me and sets them on the table saying "I don't know where to put these, so I guess I'll just throw them here" setting them on top of several sewn display items. I wait several awkward seconds for her to move (because I'm obviously standing here waiting for them) and then because Austin is out of control at this point, I decide to slink my arm around and grab one from the stack saying "Thank you!" as I do so. Now I was HOT.

I was so mad that after strapping the boys into their seats, I immediately call Jo-Ann customer service. I mean, I'm 30 feet from the front door, sitting in my car, on the phone ready to complain about how I was treated. The lady at customer service was AMAZING. (I do have to give them credit for that.) She verifies that she doesn't understand why I got such a hard time, that what I was asking for is fine, that she's sorry and says she'll have the district manager call me directly. I felt MUCH better after that phone call.

The district manager calls later that day and I relay the story to him. I tell him that I've never before been treated so poorly by people at this store and cannot believe the things these ladies said to me. He seems apologetic enough for the behavior of his people but then says "But it IS against our policy to use coupons on previously purchased items. It says so on the coupons." What!? After a slight gasp, I start apologizing for having even asked them to break policy. I clearly never read the fine print well enough to notice that and wouldn't have asked for it to be done if someone along the way had simply told me about the policy! In two seconds flat, I went from steaming mad at how I was treated to feeling super guilty for breaking the rules. (I am the girl who once bawled her eyes out at having accidentally stolen a pen from the gas station check out. I am not a rule breaker. I use my blinker every. single. time I change lanes. I come to complete stops at stop signs and before turning right on red. I am a by-the-book person. Side note: I think that has something to do with why I get so easily upset by situations like this.)

But once I've apologized for breaking the rules, I ask him why they didn't state the policy to me. I mean, why are they telling me "That's on your conscience." and reminding me that I have to surrender the coupon at time of purchase instead of "Our coupons can't be used on previously purchased items." If someone, anyone had simply said that, I wouldn't have even asked for it to be done. (Though that means I would have abandoned ship on Sunday and would not have gotten such a good deal on so many things on Friday using the 25% off.) He offers to "help me out" if I can come back in that day, but I couldn't because it's naptime and I'm hosting an event later and so I've not been compensated for this situation which still irks me even though I was asking them to break policy. (Side note: I have since looked at the coupons and it does clearly state that coupons may not be used on previous purchases.) A policy I think is stupid, but whatever. (Returning unused items for a price adjustment should be fine, in my opinion.)

Fast forward to today...

I went shopping at Gap today. For sales. See, I go every so often to Gap to look for clearance items and I also needed to return something I had bought online (also clearance items). (Austin is at gymnastics camp this week, so it was good timing to only have one with me. The small one. The one in the stroller. ;-) The clearance section was missing so I ask an associate about it and she says there is some in the back and offers to go looking for the specific items for me (in the size and with the description I gave her). She comes back with four or five things--all exactly what I was looking for--and then says "And if you come back on Saturday, we're having a 30% off sale and we can give you the price adjustment." ! SHE JUST OFFERED THAT INFORMATION TO ME. Just offered it!

I explain that coming back is hard because I also have a toddler and the money I would save wouldn't be worth the hassle with the boys along. I ask if I could call for it, though, and she explains that I could if I use a credit card. An associate just walking by (JUST WALKING BY!) says that if I happen to have a Gap, Old Navy, or BR card, I can save the hassle and just get 30% off today because "there was a coupon that went out." ! Y'all. I was stunned. STUNNED. Stunned AND glad I have a BR Luxe card that I've kept all these years.

I thank them both profusely and then decide to venture to the baby/toddler section where I find some awesome deals, including coordinating shirts for the family picture, before heading to the check out to do my return and make my purchases. The guy who offered up the 30% off information walks by while I'm checking out and I tell my cashier that he has a 30% off coupon for me and he smiles and then just tells her the coupon code. No coupon needed. ! No. Coupon. Needed. And then the cashier explains that because it's Tuesday, I'll get an additional 10% off because I'm using the BR card. ! Holy. Smokes.

Needless to say, I got some amazing deals today at Gap, given that I bought sale and clearanced items and then got an additional 40% off. But the biggest thing is that they were SO helpful in my trying to save money. I mean, I didn't ask for it, they just offered it up. The service was a night and day difference to my recent Jo-Ann experience. And though I realize the industries are fairly different, I still believe in customer service.

I do not, however, think that the customer is always right and don't expect rules to be broken on my behalf, but Jo-Ann's could have simply explained the policy to me whereas Gap was going out of their way telling me about policies to save me money. One place never explained the policy and treated me horribly (though I still saved money, though NOT because of their help) and the other went out of the way to tell me the policy, treated me wonderfully, and because of their help (information sharing), I saved 40%! I was bowled over! I'm a Gap shopper for life. For life.

I'm planning on calling their customer service number to compliment them. That's something else you should know about me. ... 1) I'm a rule follower. 2) I am quick to complain. BUT 3) I'm ALSO quick to compliment. If my water glass goes empty during my entire meal, I start ticking off percentages of my server's tip. But if they go out of their way to ensure I have a good experience or save money or something, I start adding percentages to their tip. So despite some people thinking I'm too hard on people in the service industry, I disagree. It's a two-way street with me. (And if someone wants to go ahead and psychoanalyze how my being a rule follower is related to the second two points, please do. I'm too close to the trees to see the forest.)

Anyways, that's enough "Reflecting" for this naptime... Moral of the story: ask for price adjustments, but also be sure you know their policy on price adjustments. Also: Shop at Gap. The End.

A (typical) Brotherly Photo Shoot

This is what we typically get when we do a photo shoot with both boys. Enjoy! :-)

Is this not the cutest picture you've ever seen!? 

Talk about a face. Sheesh!

Cute Pic Post -- July 2013

Austin's big thing this month is that he's starting to ask questions. A lot of them. And most of them don't make any sense. I mean, the question makes sense, but not why he's asking it (again). His favorite is asking where the sun is. ! "Where's the sun, Momma?" "Momma, where's the sun?" ARGH! And it's always right there in the sky, right where it was last time, so I've run out of unique ways to answer him which makes me more annoyed than his asking. It's not like he asks this on super cloudy days (do those even exist in TX in the summer?), he asks it all the time on bright, clear days. One time, while driving, he asked so much about the sun that I told him he had to stop asking me about it. (One of the many times I was thankful that his memory won't store from this stage.)

Austin took a "dance class" this month at Power House of Dance and he had a GREAT time and was asking to go back even when we were loading into the car! The awesome news is that because Gramps works for them, we get to take classes for free, so Austin will be enrolling in a Creative Movement class that will meet once a week for the school year. YAY!

Graham is a mover and a shaker! He's a crawler, a cruiser, and almost a walker! He's been using the push walker toy just a step or two before he's freaked out, but he's definitely on his way to being able to keep up with his brother better! Oh, and the other cool thing Graham is doing is that he comes when called. Like if you say "Graham, come here." and motion with your hands, he'll crawl over to you! He's made it from one end of the house to the other with encouragement. This is very helpful when you're busy trying to get everyone ready in the morning. It leaves my hands free to carry and do other things than carrying him.

The other thing that's really noticeable is how much Graham wants to be with Austin and vice versa. If Graham isn't in the room when Austin wakes up (sometimes Graham is up and Austin's still asleep so I'll take Graham out and leave Austin to finish his sleep), the first question he asks is "Where's baby?" And Graham will follow Austin around in a circle in the living area of our house (it's designed so that it makes a nice circle track...kitchen, dining, front room, family room, kitchen, dining, etc.). Austin will be running this circle and Graham will be crawling after him (Austin does lap him). And they sorta wrestle already, which is super fun! If Austin is too rough with Graham, Graham will start crying and look at me like "Did you see what he just did to me, Mom!?" I love how much they've been interacting lately. Love my sweet boys!

Enjoy some pictures from July:

Austin insisted on walking Georgia down to the park to watch our 4th of July parade.

Graham slept through the fireworks, all rolled up in this blanket.

He is seriously squished into that box and he was so excited about getting himself in there!

This Kitty Tales book was one of our favorite handmedowns and then the tail finally ripped off.

This picture captures two things:
1) how sweet his I-just-woke-up-face is and
2) how much he sweats in his sleep! (can you see the darker gray around his neck? soaking wet)

Mr. Smiley while watching Daddy mow the grass

I'm pulling up, now!

Boys ARE Awesome. And I love the gray and yellow stripes combo!

What a sweet face! Makes me want to go hug him right. this. minute.

Graham figured out how to get the balls out of the basket!

Graham also figured out how to get to the puzzles!

Mr. Cowboy while spending time at our neighbor's house.

He's going to eventually outgrow this "smile" at "Say Cheese!" right!?

Not exactly how you're supposed to play with it...

"But Mom, I had to get this pear!"

Coming to get me!

Serious Bed Head and a sweet smile.

Austin, his friend Charlie, and our Mother's Helper reading books together!

It's hard to see exactly, but his left hand is between his thighs. lol

He just loves going over and sitting by the back door and windows.

I texted the picture to Seth with "Maybe he's a charismatic?"

Two Green Polos. AKA: brother photo op.

I LOVE my boys!

Graham refuses to miss out on the fun!

lol

We were at Target and I let Austin walk (which is rare) and he just went over and picked these up! And we didn't even need laundry supplies. 

This kid digs Eau Claire!

Austin was trying to copy me.

The original.

All Smiles and Grabbiness!

watching the rain...

Another example of things that happen when you're too little to fight back. Your big brother puts stickers in your hair when Mom and Dad aren't watching.

So happy and So proud!

I LOVE that I was able to capture this one of Austin!
"Just sitting in my rocking chair, wearing Power Ranger jammies and reading a Nemo book."
(Seth always comments that the kid who originally owned those jammies is probably in his 20s now. lol. Gotta love handmedowns!)

Don't tell CPS. lol.

Austin's Creative Movement class was more like a tumbling class. Here, he's jumping from one hoop to the next, trying to avoid touching them.

Graham enjoying himself while Austin was in his CM class.

This is a two-fer: A Self-Posed picture that he asked me to take and a faux smile he initiated himself. eyeroll.