My thoughts as a wife and mother

Great days!

2012-02-09T09:54:00.002-07:00

We have been having a good week! I don't know what Grandma Vawter did to the kids, but since she was here on Tuesday the kids have been acting really good! Grace is doing better about not saying no and whining all the time. And if she does I just have to remind her that she told us she wasn't going to say it anymore (or threaten to call grandma!) LOL Grandma also talked to them about wearing underwear to bed and not wetting the bed.....Grace asked to try and the last 2 nights she has worn panties to bed AND STAYED DRY!!!!!! I know it may take Michael longer just because he's a boy, but this morning he told me he was dry at nap time yesterday, but not last night. So, we just try it tonight just to see. I just hope he doesn't start feeling bad if he can't do it. Grace has also been trying to tie her shoes already! She is doing good. Michael on the other hand always puts his shoes on without having to tie them so I guess we need to make him untie his shoes when he takes them off so we can teach him too. :-)
They have been playing very well today.....even played with play dough for a long time.
Ok, well now that I've probably jinxed it I am going to stop! Thank you God for my kids!!!!

Wow so much going on!

2012-01-25T10:23:00.003-07:00

Two months since my last post! I guess it's not like I'm sitting on the couch eating bon bons. :-) Really I shouldn't even be posting right now, but just wanted to let you all know I'm still here and I have been thinking of lots to blog about, but just haven't been able to sit down and do it.

Just real quick (before the girls get into something else or the little guy wakes up).....Michael went with daddy this morning to check out Faith Christian Academy in Williams Bay. They are on their way home now so I can't wait to hear all about it. He ate breakfast really fast then got his coat and gloves on. He was headed out the door and we had to stop him because daddy wasn't even dressed yet! :-) Paul has been texting me and sent me a picture....he was having a really good time and fit in like he'd been there all year! He didn't want to leave! Unfortunately, now he will have to wait till August to start school, but I know he will love it!

Oops!

2011-12-10T15:13:00.003-07:00

I knew in trying to keep the previous post short (although it didn't end up short) I would leave something out. I did think about this part, but then didn't get it in there. While Abbie was fixing Thanksgiving dinner and we were on our way to Children's my parents were on their way to our house to help out with the kids. They came up and stayed until Sunday. They brought Michael, Grace and Lydia to the hospital on Friday to see Levi and us. They also bought Michael an oreo ice cream cake from Culver's for his birthday since I wasn't able to make him one. Thanks mom and dad for helping out!

And just so I don't get a message from the other grandparents.....Paul's parents were able to stop by the hospital on Friday on their way home from MI. Then they and Abbie came to the house on Saturday to celebrate Michael's birthday. They each provided something for supper. :-)

(Sorry dad, I left you out). :-)

Arrival of Levi Grant

2011-12-09T17:40:00.007-07:00

Baby Levi at birth

So, it has been two weeks and I am finally getting on here to post about the arrival of our 4th child. One of these days maybe I will get on a schedule so I can keep updated on here.....but don't hold your breath for it! LOL

I am going to try to make a long story short since I don't want to sit here forever writing it all out and I don't want you to have to sit so long and read. :-)

I had been having contractions for the last few months of my pregnancy. Nothing to be concerned about, but wondered if it would mean a shorter labor and maybe earlier. I guess I was hoping, but didn't really think it would happen. Well, there were days that I felt like I was "nesting" but I kept telling myself (and my mom kept telling me) that it was too early. But, the day before Thanksgiving I started showing other signs that I was maybe going into labor and it seemed that my contractions were getting stronger. They weren't really close together or stopping me so I didn't really think it was early labor. I did call my midwife though to let her know what was going on (especially since she was going to be leaving that day to go to MI for Thanksgiving). We talked and she said she was going to believe I wasn't going into labor and was going to go ahead to MI. I also knew that Carole had already left for MI for Thanksgiving and I did think about calling her to tell her I was showing signs of early labor. But, I knew if I called her she would try to talk Wayne into turning around and coming back. I didn't want her to do that because I would rather she go on to MI and I have the baby than have her come back and then I not have the baby. So, even when she texted me at nap time I didn't reply (not really intentionally but I didn't right away because I didn't want her to know and then I forgot). :-) So, I did lay on the couch most of the day or in bed....the midwife told me she wasn't putting me on bed rest, but wanted me to lay down as much as possible. Later that evening I went to soak in the tub. In the other 3 labors any time I got in the shower or tub my contractions would slow down or stop so I thought this might help. It didn't. I was still having contractions while soaking so I finally got out. Then sometime around 9:30 or 10 pm my contractions did stop and the other signs also. So, I thought it would be a few more days or weeks. Oh, in case you didn't realize...my due date wasn't until Dec 18 so this was about 3 1/2 weeks early. So anyway, throughout the night I was up to go to the bathroom (which wasn't unusual at this point). Around 3:30 am I woke up and realized I was having contractions again. I got up to go to the bathroom and realized the other signs were back too. I thought the contractions were stronger, but wasn't real sure at first. Then after having another one or two I realized they were stronger and they were coming regular. So, I started timing them. I timed them for a 1/2 hour and they were coming 5 minutes apart and lasting about 1-2 minutes. I finally woke up Paul after the 1/2 hour and told him I thought we should call the midwife. He called her and since she was in MI she called her back up. She told us it would probably be about 2 hours before the other midwife would get here. By this time my contractions were getting even stronger. Paul called his sister to have her come over to help with the kids when they got up. We had already planned to have Thanksgiving at our house and she was coming over for that so she had her stuff together for dinner. Oh and to back up again for a minute....I had just gone to the store on that Wednesday morning (before I laid on the couch) to get the stuff for labor that we needed. Now I'm glad I didn't decide to order the birth kit! Ok, so about 5:30 am the midwife and her assistant (student) arrived. Sometime shortly after that Abbie arrived. The midwives came in and started getting things set up. That's basically all they had time for.....at 6:28 am Levi Grant came into the world!! He cried just a little and was laid on my chest. He weighed in at 7 lbs. 6 oz.!! If he would have gone full term he would have probably been the biggest baby! The midwives checked him out and everything was good. They even scored him a 9 on both Apgar test. We didn't notice some blue around his mouth so the midwife did some consulting with our midwife and another doctor. We were all comfortable with just staying home and keeping an eye on him. Around 9 am when the midwives were getting ready to leave they checked his vitals one more time. At that point his heart rate was down to low 100's. This gave us great concern and we immediately decided to go to the ER. We left Abbie home with the other 3 kids and we left for the hospital. We were so thankful for Abbie's help! At the ER they immediately called Children's Hospital in Milwaukee and they arranged to transport him. They were thinking if it was something with his heart then he would need to be there. Since I had just had a baby they wouldn't let me ride in the ambulance, but I of course couldn't drive either so we had to let him go in the ambulance alone. That was the hardest part. Paul had run home to get things for us while we were waiting for the transport team. We live only 5 minutes from the hospital. When we left to go to Children's we ran home again to drop off the other car seats and grab a couple more things. We cried all the way to the house and then we walked in and Grace asked where Baby Levi was. Ok, so I was wrong....that may have been the hardest part. I broke down again as I tried to explain to them why he wasn't with us and that mommy and daddy had to leave again and may not be home for a couple days. Abbie was great and even fixed Thanksgiving dinner for her and the kids! When we got to Children's they were still getting Levi checked in and settled so we had to wait a few minutes. The nurse came out pretty quick though and told us we could go back. Ok so I know I said long story short and this is getting pretty long.......so..................the short of it..........I was envisioning being there and not being able to hold or nurse Levi. But, it was quite the opposite....they let us hold him as much as we want and I was able to nurse him like normal. After all the tests and 2 nights at Children's they basically decided that since he was a little early he was just being lazy with his breathing and his heart rate is just slower than other babies. Also, the doctor determined that the blue around his mouth was just bruising. He also had a bruise on his forehead, nose and both eyes. By the time we went home you could tell from the coloring that it was just bruising. We made it home Saturday night just in time to have supper and birthday cake for Michael's 5th birthday! They were all so excited to see us home and that Levi was with us. I don't think they have quit kissing him since! LOL

So, yea long story short....hahaha.....we then had to deal with getting him tested for jaundice since he was yellow. Then we had to have him on the blankets and re-tested just because it was up just a touch. Finally we are through all of it and he is doing much better! He has already started filling out some and is getting some chubby cheeks. :-)

Lydia is my little baby monitor...."crying, crying" or "crying again". LOL She also thinks that kissing him will make him stop. They all love to hold him, but Michael is the one that will sit the longest and hold him. He has already talked about him playing with his cars and trains when he gets bigger. I think he is going to enjoy having a brother!

This is a picture of Levi getting ready to leave Children's. Can you tell how proud the older 3 are of their baby brother?! LOL

cloth diapers!

2011-11-14T14:06:00.001-07:00

We are once again considering using cloth diapers. When we look at the cost of disposables we just hate the number. So, if we can get together some money we are going to be buying Fuzzi Bunz again! I found a great web site today and they have a couple stores here in Wisconsin. They are both about 1 1/2 hours away, but may be worth going to one day just because I want to go to an actual store! :-) If you cloth diaper or are interested in cloth diapering go check out www.nickisdiapers.com.

Story

2011-11-09T08:36:00.003-07:00

So, the other day Paul brought this story home to me. I am wondering if he realizes this is how I've been feeling! LOL Of course, he knows!!! But, this is also why I soak in the tub after the kids are in bed. But, I really needed this to show me how often I act like my 2, 3 and 4 year olds and that I'm not alone (meaning I'm not the only mom that deals with this). :-) I read this again this morning after Paul left for work. I had heard the kids asking him this morning if he was going to church by himself or if we were all going. He told them that he was going alone this morning and that we would all go later. I laid in bed listening to that and was a little jealous that he gets to go to the church to be alone and have quiet time. Oh well, I'm sure there HAS to be times that he is jealous that I get to stay home with all the noise! LOL

Alone Time for Mom by Crystal Kirgiss

All I needed this morning was a half-hour alone, thirty minutes of peace and quiet to help preserve my sanity. No mom-do-this, mom-I-need-that, mom-he-hit-me, mom-I-spilled-the-juice-on-the-couch.

Just me, a hot Calgon bath, and nothingness.

I shouldn't dream so big.

After getting the two oldest off to school, I settled the youngest in front of Barney and said, “Honey, listen closely. Your mommy is going to crack. She's losing her marbles. She's teetering on the edge of permanent personality damage. This is because she has children. Are you following me so far?”

He nodded absently while singing, “Barney is a dinosaur in our imagination....”

“Good. Now, if you want to be a good little boy, you'll sit right here and watch Barney while Mommy takes a nice, hot, quiet, peaceful, take-me-away bath. I don't want you to bother me. I want you to leave me alone. For 30 minutes, I don't want to see you or hear you. Got it?

Nod.

“Good morning boys and girls....” I hear the purple wonder say.

I headed for the bathroom with my fingers crossed.

I watched the water fill the tub. I watched the mirror and window steam up. I watched the water turn blue from my bath beads. I got in.

I heard a knock on the door.

“Mom? Mom? Are you in there, Mom?”

I learned long ago that ignoring my children does not make them go away.

“Yes, I'm in here. What do you want?”

There was a long pause while the child tried to decide what he wanted.

“Um...can I have a snack?”

“You just had breakfast! Can't you wait a few minutes?”

“No, I'm dying! I need a snack right now!”

“Fine. You can have a box of raisins.”
I heard him pad off to the kitchen, listened as he pushed chairs and stools around trying to reach the raisin shelf, felt the floor vibrate when he jumped off the counter, and heard him run back to the TV room.

“Hi, Susie! Can you tell me what color the grass is....”

Knock, knock, knock.

“Mom? Mom? Are you in there, Mom?”

Sign. “Yes, I'm still in here. What do you need now?”

Pause. “Um...I need to take a bath, too.”

Right.

“Honey, can't you wait until I'm done?”

The door opened just a crack.

“No, I really need to take one now. I'm dirty.”

“You're always dirty! Since when do you care?”

The door opened all the way.

“I really need to take a bath, Mom.”

“No, you don't. Go away.”

He stood in the middle of the bathroom and started taking off his pajamas.

“I'll just get in with you and take a bath, too.”

“No! You will not get in with me and take a bath! I want to take my own bath! I want you to go away and leave me alone!” I began to sound like the three year old with whom I was arguing.

He climbed onto the edge of the tub, balancing carefully, and said, “I'll just get in with you, okay, Mom?”

I started to shriek, “No! That is not okay! I want my own bath, all by myself! I don't want to share! I want to be alone!”

He thought for a moment and said, “Okay, I'll just sit here and you can read me a book. I won't get in, Mom, until you're done.” He flashed me a knock-down charming smile.

So I spent my morning-alone-time reading “One Fish, Two Fish” to a naked three year old who sat on the edge of the tub with his chin resting on his knees, arms wrapped around his bent legs, slight smile on his face.

Why fight it? It won't be long before I have all the alone-time I want. And then I'll probably feel bad about not having any more together-time.

News and updates

2011-11-08T12:40:00.003-07:00

Wow....here I keep thinking I'm going to get back into blogging on a regular basis. Where does the time go?!

Ok, so the big news......Carleta and Danny are adopting twin boys!!!!!! They are due around December 17 (I'm due the 18th). Since they are twins we are thinking they will be coming any time. Last weekend the girls and I went down to my parents' house so we could go to the baby shower. We had such a great time. It was fun seeing all the gifts she got and all the support and encouragement she is getting. It was even more fun to go over to their house Sunday night to look at everything closer and be able to help her decide what else she needs. I love that she is asking me for advice! :-) We can't wait for Carson & Carter to arrive!!! Unfortunately, no matter when they are born I won't get to see them till Christmas (unless they make a trip up here!). ;-) It is going to be a wild Christmas though with 3 new babies and 3 older kids! Watch out grandma and grandpa cause here they come!!! LOL

Today Paul put Lydia in the toddler bed for nap time. It is the first time she is in it. So far so good. We'll see how well she sleeps though. She has also started going potty on the big potty some. We're not really pushing it, but she loves doing it. They are all just growing up so fast. Michael already has another tooth coming in so he has 2 loose ones now. Grace is becoming such a "mommy". I am hoping she is going to be a big help with the new baby....but first we have to take care of this attitude problem! :-/

The people at the church have been so welcoming and accepting. We now have two freezers full of food!!! It so awesome how they take care of us! We have started doing a family meal time and a kids' group on Wednesday nights. We are seeing more people coming for it. The ladies have been so great to me! They gave me a gift certificate for Blessings Unlimited (I may have mentioned that before...I can't remember). I finally placed my order and it arrived on the weekend while I was gone. I didn't even get a chance to open it yet! I hopefully will this afternoon.

Paul's brother, Andy, and his wife welcomed the arrival of their new baby girl this last week! She is so adorable! We've only seen pictures so far, but can't wait to meet her! I received an e-mail from Amie today with the birth story and it was so neat to see all the details of how Azalea arrived. It sounds like it was a great birth! Congratulations!

Well, I think that's all for now......now time to lay down for a little bit.

The journey to here.....

2011-09-22T21:13:00.002-06:00

So, I promised to write about our journey to Elkhorn, but in thinking more about it the journey has been longer than just a few months. When Paul and I got married 7 years ago (or 86 months ago) if you would have asked me if I thought I would ever be a Pastor's wife or living back in the Midwest...I would have answered no to both questions. I thought when we moved to PA that was the last time I would be living "close" to our parents. And since Paul always told me he didn't want to be a pastor I had no trouble saying no to that question. If you would have also asked me how many kids I would have by now (or on the way) I don't think I would have told you 3 kids with one on the way. I am so thankful that God's plans are not always revealed to us right away! :-) I am so blessed to have a wonderful, loving, Godly husband and three wonderful kids (with another wonderful one on the way)! It is so neat to look back on the last 7 years and see how God has been preparing us for the next step each time. And He was even preparing us for this step starting back then. When we moved to NM we had a goal in mind....to pay down debt so we could go to the mission field and not have the debt holding us back. Our goal was to pay off everything except a car payment and my 2 student loans since we knew that it would be a long time before getting all those paid off. After 4 years in NM we were able to pay down all the debt except a car loan and the 2 student loans! This was also with adding 2 more kids! Then God called us to move to WI where we are now able to do more because of the debt we paid off! We are not on a foreign mission field (although maybe foreign to some) but we are on a mission field in Elkhorn, WI! We are also where God wants us to be. The last couple years have been very interesting. I tell people that I knew before Paul that he was going to be a pastor, but I really think that is true (whether or not I really believed it). No, I didn't have a dream or vision, but I just saw the way God was working in his life and just thought one day he is going to "give in" and become a Pastor. Just within the last year really is when he started realizing where God was leading him. I talked in my last post about how the call to Elkhorn all worked out so I won't go into that again. But, we can definitely see that it was all in God's plan and timing!

Now, for the story of the actual journey here.....
Of course, I was pregnant and still taking care of 3 little ones and then trying to pack up a house. It was slow, but finally all came together. Paul was there to help also since he didn't have a job. When we got back from vacation we had a month before we would be moving. We obviously couldn't do too much at first so it got pushed off to closer to the moving day. We lined up a truck though with Budget a few weeks before the move. The week of the move our neighbor's brother died so the Thursday night before packing the truck on Saturday we were at the funeral and then Friday spent a couple hours talking with our neighbor. It was hard because we wanted her to know we cared, but we still had A LOT to get done. Friday night Michael and Grace went to their first sleep over at a friend's house. Then Saturday Michael stayed at the friend's house and Grace came home to go with Lydia to another friend's house. We had a lot of good help in loading the truck. Oh wait....I have to back up a day. On Friday we were supposed to pick up the truck at Budget around 10. We get a call from them at 9 telling us they don't have a truck for us. They are trying to find one within a short distance, but they'll let us know. So, after a couple hours Paul finally calls them back to find out they have a truck somewhere, but they don't have a way to get it to us. So, we had to call up U-Haul and go with a truck with them. It was a foot bigger (which actually worked out better) but was $100 more. Oh well, we had to get a truck. So, back to Saturday. We get the truck loaded up, but we can't load the van till Sunday afternoon or night because we still have to have a way to get to church. We are looking around after getting the truck loaded and realize we are going to have to leave some stuff behind....there's not going to be room in the van even with just me and Lydia in it! So, Sunday afternoon the van gets loaded and then Sunday night we finished with a few more things. Yep we had to leave things behind....but things can be replaced. :-) Monday morning at 4 am we pulled away from our house in NM. Paul drove the moving truck with Michael and Grace. Lydia, Ruby and I were in the van. We met Paul's parents at lunch time in Amarillo, Texas. Then the kids moved around at different times to different vehicles and Carole drove for a while so I could rest. It was such a blessing to have them along! We were planning to stop in Oklahoma City for the night and already had hotel rooms booked. A little over an hour outside of Oklahoma City Paul calls me to ask if the tires look ok (we were right behind him). I said the back ones look fine. He thought he heard a noise from back there and thought maybe he lost one. We started to pull up to check the front ones, but he said he didn't think it was a front tire. Not even 5 minutes later we were pulling over because one of his front tires had blown. Thankfully, he pulled the truck over with no problem. He called U-Haul and found out it was going to be quite a while to wait for help and then also realized the other front tire needed to be replaced. We decided that the side of the interstate was no place for the kids so Paul's parents, the kids and I all went ahead to Oklahoma City to get supper and go to the hotel. Paul made it to the hotel about a 1/2 hour after we did. Everything worked out fine, but the guy that replaced the tires thought he should have the truck checked the next morning at the maintenance place for U-Haul which was located in OK City. So, the next morning Paul and his dad take the truck over to get it checked out. They did some work and sent us on our way. It was about 10 am (or maybe later, I forget now) when we left. We were hoping to get out by 8. We got to my parents' house about 10 pm that night. We missed out on the 25 lb turkey my mom made! :-( Well, I guess we didn't really....Paul had a sandwich that night and they brought some to us that weekend! :-) Anyway, we got the kids to bed and were all getting settled in for the night. My dad had let Ruby out, but he couldn't get her to come back (which was unusual). He thought maybe she went to visit the dogs down the road. So, Paul and I went out trying to get her back in. She finally came back but ran to the other door so my dad let her in. When she came downstairs I smelled her immediately and realized she had been sprayed by a skunk!! I had always heard that a tomato juice bath would take the smell away. I looked, but mom only had tomato sauce and diced tomatoes. Well, Paul tried the tomato sauce and to our surprise IT WORKED!! Unfortunately, I could still smell it in the house. The next morning we ate breakfast at the Ramsey Cafe and then headed to WI. We got to WI to the house about 3 pm. We pull in to a lot of cars and think the people are there to help unload. We quickly realize they are not here to unload, but they are here trying to finish up some of the work! We are so grateful for the work that was done on the parsonage!! It is beautiful!! We waited a little while and then decided to unload the truck and van and put stuff in the basement and the kitchen/dining room area. The church ladies had then prepared sandwiches at the church for supper for everyone that night. The next day my parents came up and helped us start going through boxes and getting things organized. It is so great having our parents so close!!! My parents spent a couple days here helping us and spending time with the kids. Then that Sunday was Paul's first Sunday in the pulpit at Emmanuel Baptist Church!

We have had such an awesome beginning here! We are enjoying getting to know the people in the church. And today I found a midwife!! I have to drive 1 1/2 hours for my appointments, but she has agreed that if I drive for the next two visits then she will come here for the rest! She is such a nice lady and I can't wait to get to know her even more!

Again, this post is really long so I will have to do another update later on what's been going on with the church. I hope this has all made sense since it was about 10:30 when I started writing it.

Long over due update

2011-09-14T09:27:00.003-06:00

Ok, so I keep getting bugged by some people that I need to update my blog...I'm not mentioning any names though (M.B.) :-) I have just been so busy that I've not thought I've had time to sit down and update all that is going on. So, I am going to try to do an overview right now and then hopefully get going with it again. I was looking at my blog today to see how long it had been and realized it had been a lot longer than I thought!

So, first off I'm sure all of you know, but I am 26 1/2 weeks pregnant with #4! I am due around December 15. Everything has been pretty normal again with this pregnancy, but just a couple added little "problems". At the moment I am trying to find a new midwife...more about that in the next update. The kids are excited! Michael thinks it will be a boy, Grace thinks it will be a girl...Lydia just knows where to pat my tummy when asked "where is mommy's baby?". Michael and Grace also think there are 2 in there, but I try to tell them mommy isn't big enough for 2 and we have only heard one heartbeat! LOL

Next, update.....3 weeks ago today we arrived in Elkhorn, WI!! This summer when we came out to IL and WI for vacation Paul had been asked to preach at a church here just to fill in. They were without a Pastor and just needed someone to fill the pulpit. It worked out that he was able to do it on July 3 (our anniversary). So, after the morning service (they don't have an evening service) we headed back down to my parents' house. We were about 2 hours away and he got a phone call from one of the guys on the pulpit committee. He wanted to know if Paul could meet with some of the pulpit committee that Tuesday. So, on Tuesday Paul drove up to Rockford and met some of the people for an interview. He also lined up to preach again in a couple weeks, just to fill in again. Before that Sunday arrived they called and asked if he would consider being a candidate for the pastoral position. He said yes so that Sunday he was actually candidating (is that even a word?) and not just filling in. Because of the timing that we were out here some things were down out of sequence, but we went back to NM the next week and the following week the church voted on if they wanted to have him come as the new pastor. We were eating lunch when the call came that the vote had been taken and had passed. It wasn't as high of a percentage as we had hoped, but it is a small church so it only took 4 to make it lower than what we really wanted. We discussed it though and weren't real sure about accepting. Then later that afternoon he talked to the guy in charge of the pulpit committee and felt better about it. We found out the reason for the low vote was just because some people thought they needed to see more guys before deciding (he was the first candidate). This guy was very excited and was already calling him Pastor Paul! We were then excited about it too! Then we talked to someone else later that day that made us a little unsure again. So, that night Paul called his parents (not sure which way they would react) and we were again excited to hear their response. They thought the same as us....the reason for the lower vote was not something to really be concerned about (also the guy on the pulpit committee told us the people that voted no were still excited that the vote had passed). So, we took a few days to pray about the decision. In the meantime the school was wanting a decision from Paul on if he was coming back or not. They were going to be starting soon and they needed to know if they had to hire someone new. He told them he was going to take the time to decide, but they needed to do whatever they felt they had to do. It turned out at the board meeting that week they decided to eliminate a few positions because of financial reasons and they eliminated Paul's job. We took this as an answer to prayer and soon accepted the position. We realized we had been hoping for the vote to be high enough to make our decision for us and we weren't really trusting in God for making the decision. So, on August 22, 2011, we left Las Cruces, New Mexico and headed to Elkhorn, Wisconsin. Just a side note.....we left Illinois August 14, 2007, to head to New Mexico.

Ok, so since this post is already long and I still have a pile of dishes waiting for me I will have to update you on the trip here later. :-)

Alarm clock at 12:30 am

2011-04-23T11:34:00.003-06:00

Sorry for all the posts today. I knew there was something else I wanted to post, but couldn't think of it at the time. Last night while I wasn't sleeping good anyway.....I heard an alarm going off at 12:30 am, but it wasn't ours. It dawned on me then that it was Michael and Grace's clock. So, I went in and hit the snooze then was trying to figure out in the dark how to shut it off. I thought it was funny that neither of them stirred the whole time until I started to walk out and then Michael stirred a little. I guess I will have to teach them to wake up to an alarm (when that time comes).

Milk in cereal!

2011-04-23T10:10:00.003-06:00

This morning Lydia got to experience having milk in her cereal. She really enjoyed it. Not only eating it, but just seeing it in there. We had one little mess (and that was after 4 bowls of cereal!) so I would say she did a pretty good job! She is more of a juice drinker so I guess this will be a way to get some milk in her too.

Boots in bed

2011-04-23T10:08:00.004-06:00

So, as I've said before I go in to check on Michael and Grace when I go to bed. On Tuesday night when I went in to check on them I found Michael in bed with his boots on! I guess he really wanted to wear them or maybe his feet were cold and that's all he could find to keep them warm! I'm not sure, but I forgot to ask him when he got up the next morning if he still had them on.

The little things......

2011-04-15T07:49:00.003-06:00

It's the little things that make our kids happy. :-) Last night Paul and I had to be at the church for a meeting. So, Ashley came over to babysit. When we got home I took Ashley home and Paul put the kids to bed. Later we were sitting on the couch and he moved something and found Grace's blankie. He said "oh that's why we couldn't find it". So, when I went to bed I took it in and laid it beside her (I always go in and check on them anyway). So, this morning at 6:15 she come running in to daddy's side of the bed and says "Daddy, here's my blankie". It was so cute. She was so excited it was there with her when she woke up. :-)

They are listening even when you think they're not

2011-04-14T08:33:00.003-06:00

We have Michael sit with us in church now on Sunday and Wednesday nights. Paul is teaching on Wednesday nights. Michael was coloring and drawing through the whole service and acting like he wasn't really paying attention. This morning we realized he had heard at least one story! Paul told a story about spilling coffee at school one day. We had to take Paul to school this morning and in the van on the way, Michael says to Paul "Daddy, you have to be careful with your coffee today and don't spill it". So, just another time that we realize he does hear what we say even if he doesn't always act like it. :-)

Addition to walking like a duck

2011-04-11T08:52:00.001-06:00

I was informed I forgot to tell that it was Grandma Welch that taught them to walk like a duck. Unfortunately, we didn't get that on video! LOL She says Grace needs a little more work though. HAHA!

Walking like a duck

2011-04-10T15:49:00.002-06:00

Here is a video of Michael and Grace walking like ducks. We had gone to the park to feed the ducks so they decided to be like the ducks. I'm not sure if they thought the ducks would think they were one of them so they would come closer. :-)

Family Fun Night

2011-04-08T08:49:00.004-06:00

We try to set aside money each month to have a family fun night. Basically we get to go out to eat once a month with the money. Of course, we don't always stick to just going out just that one time, but we are trying to do better. Anyway, last night we decided to get out of the house and go eat supper at Carl's Jr. This way the kids could play and we could talk and relax. Well, we get to Carl's Jr and go to order and the lady starts to take the order and then says "by the way, our kids area is closed". So we left. The kids were upset, but we told them we were going to go find another place that they could play. It was too windy to go get something and go to the park. So, we tried Burger King. We hadn't been to this one so we didn't know if they even had a play place. We figured if nothing else we would go to McDonald's. But, we got to Burger King and THEY HAVE A PLAY PLACE!!! And it was open!!! There were a couple other kids, but by the time we got our food and the kids ate some it was just us. It was really a nice and relaxing time. I was so glad the lady at Carl's Jr told us about the kids area before we placed our order. Now, I have a new place to meet our friends too!

Handsome man!!

2011-04-06T15:51:00.003-06:00

So, I happen to just be sitting at the computer and this picture flashed up on the screen (we have all our pictures randomly doing a slide show for our screen saver). I thought "What a handsome man?!" So, I just wanted to share it with you all. :-) This was the day after Christmas and he was wearing his new shirt from my parents so I was getting a picture for them. I know it looks like he doesn't have any hair in this picture, but you should see him now......it's completely shaved. I know it's hard for him to keep it that way, but I really like it. Ok so enough of my rambling about my HOT husband!! :-)

New lessons

2011-03-15T15:19:00.002-06:00

Ok, so I started reading this book "Lord, Change My Attitude (before it's too late)". I knew I needed a change, but I thought it was going to be a struggle. Ok, so some things are, but there are times where I see God is changing my attitude and it's not been a struggle. But, it's so cool to look at the situation and know that's not how I would have reacted before and can just say "Thank you, God!". There have been a couple things just today that I have realized my reaction is very different than it would have been a couple weeks ago. Thank you, God for working in my life!

Better day

2011-03-08T10:32:00.003-07:00

So, far things are going good. I have everything ready except the bread. Ok, well not ready as in done, but ready as in the chicken is in the crock pot, the lasagna and coffee cake are in the fridge and will go in the oven later today. I got up early this morning and went to Wal-Mart to get a chicken before Paul went to school. I was out of the house by 6:30! Then I had a return so I had to wait till 7 for Customer Service to open. I was at the checkout just a few minutes before 7. The lady that had the keys all night had already handed her keys off or she would have done it for me (even though it wasn't 7). So, I had to wait till 7 (or a couple minutes after) for the guy to come up to help me. It was ok. I was early....it wasn't their fault. And I had time. See reading that book last night helped my attitude! LOL So, then I came home and got the chicken started, gave the kids a donut and then we took Paul to school. Then I headed over to get the gas tank for the grill filled. Then came back home and got busy. I am going to spend some time with the kids then work on the bread later.

Oh, by the way......did you know the world is awake at 6:30 am?! LOL It's been so long since I've been out at that time.

It had to be today!

2011-03-07T22:06:00.002-07:00

Have you ever had one of those days where it seems no matter what you do it doesn't turn out right? Well, today was one of those days. Of course, it had to be the day I was working on cooking stuff for Bill (see http://wifeandmommyhobby.blogspot.com if you don't know what I'm talking about). I'm trying to even think of where it all began. I guess most of the day seemed fine, but then it was all this evening. The lasagna I had frozen a couple weeks ago I pulled out about 3:30 to fix for supper tonight. I thought "sure it's frozen, but that just means it will take a little longer". It was one I had made with home made noodles (which we've not been too crazy about yet because I can't get them thin enough). I also made a loaf of French bread and made it into garlic bread to try out. I am supposed to make it for Bill too. He wants it really garliky so I thought I would try tonight and see how it turned out. Well, the way I did it didn't really work too well and wasn't even very garliky at all. So, hopefully what I make tomorrow will be better. Then the lasagna wasn't fully cooked or the noodles don't like to be frozen already mixed in the lasagna. I don't know, but Paul ate one end piece and I think thought it was ok. Then he had another piece (closer to the middle) and said the noodles weren't done or something. Oh yea, guess I should back up a little bit......after I already had the lasagna in the oven I had to leave to go pick up Paul. On the way home he starts telling me stuff about school and of course I don't understand and just get upset because to me it's not the way it should be and someone needs to step up and tell the school they should change the way they think......are they there for academics or athletics! Ok, I'm off my high horse now. But, anyway this of course put me in a foul mood, then the lasagna wasn't good. Then I thought since I was making all this food for Bill I didn't want Paul to think I had forgotten about him so I made him a German chocolate cake (from a mix I had in the cabinet). Of course, as the way my day was already going, they wouldn't come out of the pan (I never have problems with those pans!!) so the one tore (I made 2 round cakes). Then I go to ice them and had a can of icing. I guess I put too much in between the layers so I didn't have quite enough to cover the top. I'm sure it tastes fine (although he never said) but it looks horrible! Then we went out for a while to visit with a couple from church. We get home and the front door wasn't completely shut. It has one of those things at the bottom of it to keep air out and it had slid out enough that we thought the door shut, but it didn't latch. So, at first I was a little paranoid about walking in. Then everything was fine and we got the kids to bed. I decided I was going to do a couple more things tonight so I wouldn't have to do them tomorrow. So, I made the blackberry stuff. I didn't think about it that the pie crust I had in the freezer was from when Paul's students were here for Jan Term and we did a cooking thing with them. So, the pie crust wasn't as good as if I had made it. I just hope Bill enjoys it. Then I go to get the chicken out to make barbecue chicken. I decided I would put it in the crock pot over night and then tomorrow I would just have to tear it apart. Of course, I bought the chicken last Thursday and never put them in the freezer so they went bad (I had 2...one for us and one for Bill). So, now I have to either get up and get to the store before Paul has to leave in the morning or I have to get out early and take all 3 kids to get a new chicken. It just seems like one of those days where I can't do anything right!! I hope tomorrow is better. I really don't want to screw up my first food order for Bill!! Ok, now I will quit complaining. I think I'm going to go get a quick shower and then read a little of a new book I got. My mother-in-law told me about it (I'm not sure if she was trying to tell me something, but even if she wasn't I know I need it!). The book is "Lord, Change My Attitude (Before It's Too Late)" by James MacDonald. I know I need to just get to bed, but I think starting this book tonight might be a good idea! Good night all. Hopefully tomorrow I will have a better report.

Clean van!!

2011-03-04T10:24:00.005-07:00

Yesterday, I finally went out to try to clean out the van. I didn't think I would get it all done before nap time was over, but I was just getting to the driver side when Grace came out. So, I was able to get it all done. I'm talking taking all the kids' car seats out and all the van seats. I vacummed and used armor all. I should have taken a picture of it before I started, but I would have been embarrased to show them! So, here are some pictures of the finished product. Oh, and once Michael was up Lydia was still sleeping so we were able to go out and at least get the top layer of grub off of it. Michael and Grace were great helpers in washing it! Oh, and I realized how bad our floor mats were so I bought new ones last. I only bought the cheap plastic ones instead of carpet ones, but they came in a set of 4 so now Michael and Grace have one too! We'll see if we can keep it this way for a while.....at least till mom gets here in a couple weeks!

What are my kids learning?!

2011-03-04T10:11:00.002-07:00

Ok, so last night Paul had parent/teacher conferences at the school as was going to be there at least till 7:30. I decided the kids needed to get out of the house. Grace went with me to Sam's Wednesday night, but the other 2 hadn't been out for at least over a week. So, after supper we went to Wal-Mart. They did really well through the whole store, but then we had to wait in line for about 30-45 minutes. The people in front of us were having problems. Anyway, there was a couple behind us with a little boy that was 5. So, he and Michael became pretty quick friends. Ok, wait I have to back up a minute.....I was buying a new rolling pin to make it easier to roll out pizza crust and noodles, which I told the kids as I picked it up since Michael asked why I needed another one. I still like my Pampered Chef one for pie crust and smaller things, but I thought it would be nice to have a bigger one for the bigger things (and maybe to use over Paul's head every once in a while!....hahaha!!). So, as we're standing in line the little boy behind us picked up a frozen lunch that was a pizza. He said something to Michael about having pizza. As quick as the boy said it Michael came right back with "we make our own pizzas"! I was a little embarrased thinking I was teaching him to have an attitude like "look what we can do", but then I realized quickly he was just being matter-of-fact and he was only saying what I had told him. It also helped that the mom's reply was "oh, I bet that's even better". So, then a few minutes later the kid picks up another frozen lunch that had macaronni and cheese and says "see we have noodles too". I was thinking "oh great, here it comes", but Michael didn't say it. Then as soon as I'm done thinking it he says "we make our own noodles"!!! I was trying not to laugh. He was being so cute and matter of fact! I just thought it was funny. They obviously know you can buy pizza at the store, but we had had the conversation a couple times in just the past couple days about making our own. And I know the noodles came from me saying it when I picked up the rolling pin. So, no my kids don't think EVERYTHING has to be home made, but they know it can be! And on that note, you'll have to check out http://wifeandmommyhobby.blogspot.com for my post on making home made yogurt and cream cheese!

Bad dreams

2011-03-02T14:11:00.002-07:00

I wish I knew what causes bad dreams. It seems common lately that Michael has bad dreams during nap time and every once in a while at night. I hate it that he has them and then he can't tell me about them. He gets so scared. Sometimes he will mumble something about his dreams, but I can never figure out what's really happened. I just try to comfort him and help him go back to sleep. Of course, I would love to find a way to help him not have these dreams, but I guess for now I have to settle for helping him deal with them.

You can have my drainage!

2011-02-27T10:50:00.003-07:00

So, again we have had sickness this week and it's not going away for a couple weeks we're told. Lydia was tested for RSV and it came back positive. So, according to the 2 doctors we had to see they both say Grace probably has it too because her symptoms are the same. They also both have ear infections. I am home again today with all 3 plus our pastor's daughter (who has the same thing). We had a friend bring us chicken noodle soup, bread, cookies and a cheese danish yesterday. Paul heated up the danish this morning along with French Toast. Michael had a piece of danish and Grace wanted some. He says "here you can have some of my drainage....I don't want it all". Paul and I started laughing. We did correct him after we stopped laughing. It was so sweet that he wanted to share some of his food. It was also sweet that he thought he would share some drainage along with it! LOL

Trying new things

2011-02-20T18:06:00.003-07:00

Today was a day of trying (starting) new things. First, I went for a walk around the park down the street from us. It has a sidewalk all around it and is in a square. I walked around 5 times! I was going to try running, but I just couldn't get myself to do it. I figure I will hopefully go walk for a few days then try the running. It also helped that my husband bought me an MP3 player for a Not-A-Valentine's-Day gift. I now have something to listen to while I'm walking. I also listen to it all day long! I just keep one ear bud in so I can also hear the kids.

Then, I came home and was thinking about how to keep better track of our finances. I looked on our bank's web site and realized they can set up a budget on there, but I couldn't customize it for us. So, I found a program on our computer that I could download. Since we don't use Windows I'm not able to use Quick Books or at least I don't think I can. Anyway, we had a few free ones we could download so I tried different ones and finally decided on the one. Since we just changed banks at the beginning of January it made it really easy to get it all set up. Now, I have a budget set up, can see reports and everything! I am going to really like this!!

Now, I'm at home instead of at church. My little girl, Grace, has a 102.6 temperature. She's been coughing, but we thought it was just from her being sick before and the cough wasn't going away. The lady that was in the nursery this morning asked if she was getting sick again because she sounded congested. So, when we got home she wasn't wanting to eat and her eyes looked "funny". So, Paul took her temperature and it was 100.8 then. He gave her medicine and put her down for a nap. When she got up she was acting fine and ate something, but then she was sitting on Paul and he said she was burning up. Before he left for church I took her temperature again (I had to make sure I used the thermometer right....we got a new one for FREE...I'll tell you about that in a minute). That's when it was 102.6. Now, she is laying on the floor watching t.v. That is unusual for her. Hopefully she will be better tomorrow.

Ok, so for the thermometer....I guess Paul entered a contest about what the temperature would be at the Super Bowl. He said he was no where near the right degree, but he still got a thermometer and it said he won. I think they just sent them to everyone who entered! LOL It is one of the new ones that you just rub across their forehead. It's awesome!

A ghost in my kitchen!

2011-02-08T12:08:00.002-07:00

Ok, so no I'm not thinking I have a real ghost in my kitchen so don't get spooked out! :-) I was in the kitchen this morning trying to get the dishes done. Honestly, there weren't that many there (for once), but it took me FOREVER to get them done. The kids were off playing in Lydia's room. I could hear them through the monitor and I was enjoying listening to them playing well together and wasn't worried about them being "too quiet". I realized a few minutes later I should have been listening for each one and realized one WAS being "too quiet". I heard Lydia coming so I turned around to see her and she was covered from head to toe in white (powder, that is). So, I went to the room and found Michael playing in the toy box upside down (the toy box, not him....he likes to pretend it is a shell). So, I took it off and quickly inspected him. He didn't have much on him...just a dusting really. I asked if he got the powder down and he said no. I believed him since he didn't have it and didn't have much on him. So, then I look over and sitting behind the rocking chair, in the corner, is Grace with the now empty bottle of baby powder. She is also covered head to toe and is sitting in a "puddle" of it. Now, this isn't the first time they have gotten into the powder....it's actually the third! And I know you are thinking "boy you'd think the parents would finally learn to put the powder up out of reach". Well, for those of you thinking that I just want you to know.....the powder was on the shelf above Lydia's changing table/dresser. It is high enough that when I am changing her I have to reach up to get it. When you have a climber you can't get ANYTHING high enough out of reach! And I also have to add this wasn't the first....or last.....thing Grace was into this morning. Before Paul even left she was in the bathroom cabinet trying to get her hair things. Then later, while I was still trying to finish the dishes, she went back in my bathroom and got the new bottle of conditioner out of the shower and had it all over her arms (ok, that I admit was not out of her reach....but I didn't think it needed to be!). Oh well, I guess she will have really soft arms (as my mom told me). They have been running around with what looks like gray hair today. I decided it is bath night and I just got as much out of the hair as possible without washing it.

New blog

2011-02-04T20:07:00.001-07:00

I haven't really had a direction with this blog other than to talk about what's going on with us. I have decided to start a separate blog to keep up with all the "hobbies" I am doing. Maybe one day it will become big and I will have lots of followers and customers! LOL Anyway, it's up and running, but there are no posts on it yet. It is http://wifeandmommyhobby.blogspot.com. I will keep this one for the updates on the family and the other one for all the hobbies. So, please check them both out. Again, if you would like to receive e-mails when I update them just send me a comment.

Oh, I am realizing I'm not missing the time spent on Facebook, but I told Paul I feel like I am missing adult interaction. I would at least get feedback on there from my comments and I've not had any feedback on here since I quit Facebook. So, please comment so I know you're out there! LOL

Night at McDonald's

2011-02-04T20:04:00.002-07:00

We went to try Carl's Jr again tonight. They were open, but the chairs were on the tables in the play place and there was a fan in there so we guessed it wasn't open. So, we took our chances and drove down to McDonald's. Glad we did. They were open and it was warm! There were quite a few kids there too so they kids had fun. I had to laugh though.....I asked Paul what parents did before cell phones. As you look around the play place area almost half (if not more) of the parents are busy talking or doing something on their cell phones. He said, "I guess they used to visit with the other parents". :-) It did make me think though......is technology partly to blame for our lack of reaching out to others? hhmmmmm.......

Snow day at the park

2011-02-04T10:05:00.006-07:00

Sorry, the pictures are in reverse order, but here are some pictures of Paul, Michael and Grace's snow day at the park.

Grace was not happy about the cold. Michael had a blast and was upset they had to come home.

Here is one of Michael at the park and then 2 of them before they left. You can see Grace was already cold before they left and she had only been outside a couple minutes.

What to do when you want to get out of the house......

2011-02-03T19:16:00.002-07:00

Well, after being stuck in the house yesterday we decided last night (after finding out Paul would be home again today) that we would go to Carl's Jr today so the kids could play somewhere, but be inside. So, about 9:30 this morning we ventured out to Carl's Jr. I should mention here that we are the worst parents in the world (and yes, I'm admitting this)......we got in the van and it was only 2 degrees....I looked at Paul and said "we are awful parents.....it is 2 degrees and we only put jackets on our kids! So, anyway we get to Carl's Jr and there are no cars in the parking lot and there is a sign on the door. We pull up to the door and it says they are closed till 11:30 because of the heater. Fine. We'll go to McDonald's. I drop Paul, Michael and Grace off at McDonald's and drive over to deliver our rent check. As I am getting ready to leave the property management office Paul calls and says the play place at McDonald's is closed. So, I went to pick him up and try a different McDonald's. We pull in to the other McDonald's and he goes in to check. Comes back out shaking his head. So we drive back over by the other McDonald's to see if Gym Magic is open.....nope. So, we look at Burger King....no play place. Turn around....go to mall. Barnes and Nobles has a train table & coffee!! Get there.....mall is only open for walkers. The stores will open at noon! At this point I'm saying "give me a break......it's fine today!". So, we gave up and went to Wal-Mart to get a couple things and got a large fry at the McDonald's there just to occupy the kids while we shopped. Then we came home and ate lunch and they took naps. We really wanted to do something fun though so we decided to see what movies were playing. We ended up having to wake up the girls from their naps so we could leave, but it was worth it! We took Lydia to a sitter and then took Michael and Grace to see "Tangled". Michael had gone to the theater with a friend of ours a while back to see "Toy Story 3", but Grace had never been. We weren't sure how she was going to do since she is only 2 1/2 and because she wasn't happy about being woke up (now she knows how I feel every morning!). They both did WONDERFUL!! They really enjoyed the movie (and so did daddy and I) and they were pretty quiet. There were only about 3 other families in the theater so it was perfect. I even had to call my mom as we left to tell her. I got off the phone and Paul told me I was giddy. LOL Well, it had been a while since we had been to the theater too and I was so excited the kids did well. We will definitely do this again (in a couple months when we can save some money up for it!) but only for special occasions so it stays special. :-)

Snow day....February 2

2011-02-03T19:13:00.002-07:00

Well, like I promised....here are some pictures of our snow day. It's too bad we didn't have the camera with us today to get a picture of the mountains. They were beautiful!

The things toddlers say.......

2011-02-02T20:31:00.003-07:00

Ok, so it's not as bad as it sounds (that is if you know the context)..........

So, let's start with the context......In Sunday School this last Sunday (I teach the nursery kids) we talked about David and Goliath. So, we talked about how David put 5 stones in his bag and then used 1 stone to kill Goliath. So, tonight Michael and Grace are running around with Daddy's stocking cap and Michael starting pretending it was a bag for stones and he was David. Then a few minutes later they came running in the living room and Grace had it and was pretending the same thing. Then she says to Michael........"here, you can be the stoner". LOL Oh the things they come up with!

I will try to post pictures from the snow today and Paul and the kids at the park. It didn't turn out the way he thought it would.

Now, off for coffee and Texas sheet cake, making some bookmarks and a movie or two with my husband. Praying that the kids all sleep good tonight. Grace went to bed with a 100.2 fever. :-( Oh, SCHOOL IS ALREADY CANCELED FOR TOMORROW!!!!!

Facebook

2011-02-02T09:58:00.002-07:00

Ok, so for those of you that receive an e-mail every time I post will hopefully be getting more now. I just deactivated my account with Facebook! I realized I was spending too much time on there reading what everyone else was doing and I wasn't getting things done myself. So, I deactivated my account and I am going to work harder on updating my blog. But, with that said....I am also going to be trying to cut down my total time on the computer. So, you may get a lot of e-mails at first, but it will probably taper off. Plus, if I realize I am posting more in one day (like today) then I will start saving them and not publishing them till the end of the day.

If you don't receive my updates by e-mail and would like to, please send me a comment or e-mail with your e-mail address and I will add you on.

So, instead of posting a separate post I will just add this here......Paul, Michael and Grace just headed down to the park a little bit ago. They looked so cute all bundled up. :-) Hopefully they will stay warm enough. I promised hot chocolate/hot coffee and fresh baked cookies when they get back. Lydia and I didn't go because Lydia won't wear shoes! Plus, she was getting tired and I figured I would just be holding her and fighting with her the whole time (because she would want down) so we stayed here. Oh, I did think about layering her up and then putting a footed sleeper on her, but then I realized we didn't have another pair of gloves and the coat we have would be very big so I would need another hat......so it was just easier to stay here. Ok, so off to make those cookies!

Santa Claus is Coming!!!!

2011-02-02T08:02:00.002-07:00

I was just told that Santa Claus is coming to bring us more presents. I guess since it snowed the kids think it's time for Santa Claus to come now! LOL

We are on our 4th year here in Las Cruces and this is the first time school has been canceled for snow! It is still coming down! I guess after breakfast I will have to find those coats for the kids. Too bad Lydia doesn't have shoes so I guess she and I will have to stay in the house! :-)

SNOW.......

2011-02-01T22:11:00.002-07:00

Well, it is February 1st and we are getting snow. Who woulda thunk it? (Sorry, had to use that hick language.....now I realize thunk is actually a word....it didn't pick it up as needing to be spelled right). HaHa....ok to move on.....

Paul and I walked outside tonight a little before 6 pm and it was just starting to snow. By the time we got done with a meeting at church just before 8 it was already sticking to the car and roads. A little while after the babysitter left Paul looked out and couldn't even tell where her car had been. It is still coming down! The kids were so excited they wanted to go out tonight and play in it. So, the babysitter brought them a hand full as she was leaving. They both ate it and then laughed when I told them their lips were cold when they kissed me goodnight. It is not supposed to get to even the freezing mark over night or tomorrow so maybe it will still be around and they can go play in it. I guess I will have to find their coats, hats and gloves! That is something I'm not used to looking for. They think gloves are just for playing with and since we kept telling them they didn't need a jacket because they had long sleeves on they think they don't need one now (and it doesn't help that I keep forgetting that it is cold and have them put them on). We're watching the news now and it is supposed to be back in the 60's by Sunday! But, now they are showing pictures in El Paso and the cars are sitting still or driving slow on ice. They said they had ALL 14 trucks ready to go out to spread salt and sand in El Paso.....14 trucks for the whole El Paso area! HaHa! The public schools have already delayed school 2 hours tomorrow, but there's nothing on MVCS web site yet about Paul's school.

If the snow is still around I will try to get some pictures tomorrow and post them.

WOW...2011!

2011-01-14T08:24:00.002-07:00

So, it's the 14th of the new year and this is the first post. So much has happened in the last few weeks, but since I didn't write it down right away I know there is no way I will remember everything. We did have a good Christmas (even though it was quiet compared to what we've been used to) and we had tons of food! Jeffe and Kailani came over for a little bit. Then the next day Paul and I started to feel sick. Unfortunately, all 5 of us had to get it and it took me the longest to get over it! It was not a good New Year's since we couldn't really "celebrate". But, I guess it made us stay home and not go spend money so it worked out! LOL

Well, I really just wanted to post something in the new year, but I really don't have time to sit and write right now, so I will have to try to do it again later.

Family pictures

2010-12-21T19:16:00.002-07:00

We finally got some decent family pictures. I like the ones where I am not standing in front of the Christmas tree, but of course the kids had better looks on their face in the other one. :-) Oh well! Oh, and sorry mom....Michael had his tie on in the van, but I didn't realize he had taken it off until we got ready to take the picture.

Decorating Sugar Cookies

2010-12-21T19:12:00.002-07:00

Jeffe and I (ok, mostly Jeffe) made Aunt Gus' sugar cookies the other day. It was the first time I had even made them so the first 2 batches ended up a little thick. But, they taste very good! We let the kids decorate some of them. They had fun, but we finally told Jeffe she should decorate her own so she didn't have to worry about the extra "sugar" from the licking the fingers and picking the noses!! LOL

This is Jeffe and her daughter, Kailani. We are glad they come over to spend time with us at least once a week.

More goodies

2010-12-21T19:08:00.002-07:00

Here are some pictures of the kids dipping pretzels tonight. It didn't last too long since daddy had turned on Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. They decided they wanted to watch it instead of dipping pretzels.

Grace was so excited after she did her first one. :-)

New cookies

2010-12-21T19:04:00.002-07:00

I found a recipe for a new cookie. Then when I told my mom about it I found out it is one my aunt makes. I don't think I have ever tried them though because I don't remember tasting them (I do think I've seen them though). They are Chocolate Crinkle Cookies.....and they are really, really good!! And easy!! Paul took one bite and told me I could make more! LOL I may have to if we plan to give any away. Haha!!

Mystery cookies found!!

2010-12-21T18:57:00.003-07:00

A while back I was thinking of some cookies I remembered having as a kid, but couldn't figure out what they were. I described them as being fluffy, grayish (purplish) color and soft. No one could figure out what I was talking about. So, I gave up and figured I would never figure out what they were. Then one day I opened an e-mail that was actually from a blog I follow and saw some pumpkin cookies and got so excited because I thought those were the cookies. They looked similar to what I remembered. But, when I told my sister about them and she looked at the picture she said it wasn't that cookie, but now she knew what I was talking about! So, I was still excited because the mystery was going to be solved!! She told me it was a chocolate cookie my mom used to make. So, I told my mom and then she knew what I was talking about too. So, she sent me the recipe. They are called "Frizee Sugar Cookies" (I don't think I had ever heard the name of them). So, I made some.....they were DELICIOUS, but.....then my mom says "they are a basic recipe....you could add chocolate chips, nuts or icing and make them even better". So, I made some the regular way, then made some with chocolate chips. They were even better!!! And they're gone!!!!!!!!!!! :-) Here is a picture of them (without chocolate chips).

I am so excited to now have this recipe and can't wait to see what all I can do with it!!

Christmas Crafts

2010-12-13T08:31:00.003-07:00

We have done a couple Christmas projects already.
Here are our Reindeer. They were supposed to be Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer, but Grace wanted a green nose! LOL And I'm not sure what all the other "balls" are. Michael said the two by the nose are the cheeks. That made sense, but I don't know what the top two are. :-) Unfortunately, they have been taken down now and Grace tore hers apart. Guess I won't put those away. :-(

Here are some card collages. I cut pictures out of cards that I had put back. Then I let the kids glue them on some poster board. They got their poster board done and wanted to do more so they used construction paper. I will definitely have to do this again, because they really enjoyed doing it. The idea is really to use their b-day cards and other holidays to let them have a neat way to keep the cards. So we'll see...maybe we will do it with the Christmas cards.

Parents visit

2010-12-13T08:22:00.002-07:00

Well, mom and dad came and mom and dad went. It was nice having them come visit, but of course, like always we ended up sick and didn't get to do all that we had planned. Grace ended up sick the night before they got here and was sick the whole next day (while going to the airport and to Macaroni Grill). I was so excited to get to go to Macaroni Grill and then I enjoyed half of a chicken breast. :-( Oh well, my sick babies come first. Then that night Lydia got sick sometime during the night. Then Friday Michael ended up with it. Unfortunately, we didn't get to go to the train museum to see the lights and Santa that night. He was disappointed, but I think forgot about it quickly. Then Saturday we went to White Sands (pretty cold) and I was starting to feel yuck. By Saturday early evening I was really starting to feel yuck and was in bed for the night by 8. It finally hit me during the night. Then I stayed home all day Sunday. For some reason it really hung on to me more, but I finally got over it this past Friday. Then dad was feeling yuck on Monday (before they left on Tuesday), but luckily was doing fine the day they traveled. Mom ended up sick the night they got home, but thinks it was something they ate when they got back to St. Louis. So, we had fun visiting and hanging out, but didn't really get to do much.

Mom did bring us a gingerbread house that we did this past Saturday and a dvd set of 7 Classic Christmas movies. The kids love Frosty the Snowman!! They also had fun doing the gingerbread house. I think Paul and I had just as much fun since neither of us had done one before.

Michael turns 4!

2010-11-29T08:43:00.003-07:00

Ok, so I'm a little late posting about Michael's birthday.....but it was a good day. We were going to go for a drive just to get out of the house for a little while, but Michael kept asking if we could go to White Sands. So, we packed up some stuff real quick and headed to White Sands. We took Ruby for the first time too. Michael had fun taking her for a walk! LOL Fortunately, she was already worn out enough that she wasn't pulling him around. :-) Then we went on up to Alamagordo to McDonald's for lunch. When we got home Paul got the Christmas tree out and got it up. We waited till Saturday to decorate it though since we were all so tired. We gave Michael his birthday present from us since we knew he would have some to open on Saturday night at his party. As you can see from above we gave him a hat and guns. He loves "being a cowboy"! We also gave them to him right after he got done watching Toy Story so he kept telling me he was Cowboy Woody. :-) He has really enjoyed them. Daddy was trying to show him how to "draw and shoot"! He also received a Lego set (firetruck) and Geo tracks set with a character from the Cars movie and 12 Board Books about Toy Story. He also received clothes, which he was also excited about. :-) He loves all his new toys (and will love the ones that are still coming).

So, lots to do today and tomorrow in preparing for mom and dad getting here so I need to get busy!

Lydia turns 1

2010-11-17T08:04:00.003-07:00

So, I should have posted yesterday, but wasn't able to get to it. Lydia turned 1 yesterday!!! I can't believe it has been a whole year already! We didn't do a whole lot during the day (well the kids didn't). Michael had been up at 3:30 in the morning getting sick so it made it a short night for me. He was then not really feeling good all day so they just took it easy. That was fine for me. I was able to get the cake made and everything else I was wanting to do (well almost everything). We did end up having to cancel the party though because we didn't want others to get sick. It was nice celebrating Lydia's 1st birthday as just our family. She had fun sticking her fingers in the icing while we were trying to get the plates ready!

She has really grown and changed in this first year. I can't wait to see her little personality develop even more in the years to come.

I would love to have all the sentimental things to say, but for some reason I just don't think that way. So, I guess I will just leave it at this.

More yummy treats!

2010-10-28T19:19:00.002-06:00

Here is my new experiment. I call it Blackberry Turnovers! I took an idea of Apple turnovers from Heavenly Homemakers web site and made my own creation. I made some fruit dip the other day with blackberries and had some left over. I made pie crust today planning to make "blackberry stuff" (a family recipe). As I was making the crust I thought "hey, I could use this pie crust to make the apple turnovers". So then I was planning to get some apple pie filling out of the freezer when I remembered I had the blackberries still in the refrigerator. So, I adapted the recipe to what I had. I was glad I called my mom as I was starting it so she could tell me how to thicken the blackberries....thanks mom! They turned out WONDERFUL!!! Michael ate a full one himself! I have more pie crust left so tomorrow I will have to get the apple pie filling out and make some with that! If I ever get enough made before eating them I could freeze them! We'll see if that ever happens! :-)

More Pictures from White Sands

2010-10-21T08:54:00.002-06:00

Pictures from White Sands

2010-10-21T08:51:00.002-06:00

For some reason Grace thought it was fun to put her face down in the sand WITH HER TONGUE STICKING OUT!!! It was all fun and games until she started choking on all the sand in her mouth! :-)

A Day at White Sands

2010-10-21T08:41:00.004-06:00

The kids and I went to White Sands yesterday. I just decided mid-morning that it would be fun to go out and play for a while and then eat a picnic lunch. We did have a good time, but about half way there I realized it was farther than I was thinking. I thought it would only take us about 20-30 minutes to get there. I forgot it used to take 45 minutes from our other house which was about 10-15 minutes closer. Oh well, it just meant it was 12:30 by the time we got back to where we stopped. I spread out a blanket and the kids got out and started playing right away. I got all the lunch stuff out and Lydia and I started eating. Grace and Michael played for a while then finally came over and grabbed something to eat (quickly, I might add). Then they were off playing again! Lydia stayed on the blanket for a while, but as soon as she felt how cool the sand was in her hands, she was off! Then she was trying to keep up with the other two.

We were there for an hour and a half. The kids played very well and obeyed when I said it was time to go. Of course, it messed up nap time, but oh well, we had a great and relaxing time! And, they slept in this morning! Michael didn't get up till 7:10 and Grace didn't get up till almost 7:30! Lydia was up at 6 and nursed and went back to bed. She is still asleep (it is now 8:50)!

When we got back to town I didn't want to go home for a little bit then have to load them back up to go get Paul so we wasted time at Sonic and I got them some ice cream! So, it was just a special day of treats for them! :-)

This was a view of the mountains on our way back. I just thought it was so pretty.

Since I didn't put pictures on here first...I am having to move them around as I put them on. So, I am just going to do a separate post of some pictures.

e-mails

2010-10-19T10:48:00.000-06:00

Ok, for those of you that like to read my blog I added your e-mail address so you should receive an e-mail when I update my blog. If you don't want to receive an e-mail just let me know and I will remove your name. If you are reading this and would like to receive an e-mail, please let me know what e-mail address you want it sent to.

Yahtzee!!!

2010-10-19T10:39:00.002-06:00

I bought a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Yahtzee Jr. game for $5 at Wal-mart last week. This was the first time we played. This was just Michael and Grace playing (with our help). Michael won! Then we played again and Paul and I helped them, but played ourselves too. The kids both ended up with 19 points each and Paul and I ended up with 16 each! Something was wrong here! LOL Then we had the kids roll one time to break the tie and Michael won! They had a lot of fun and we had to play again on Sunday to teach Anne.

Wine box decoration

2010-10-19T10:31:00.002-06:00

Here is one wine box that I got at a garage sale. I have 2 more and I plan to use one of them in this way also.

I have hung one on one side of this window in our room.....when I get the other one done it will go on the other side of the window.

Here is the wine box after I painted it....I used crackle paint, but I think I waited too long to do the second coat so it didn't really crackle. Oh well, it still looks good.

I want to put books on it like this, but can't decide which decorations to put on it. I figure when I get the other one done I will put one of these dolls on it. Here are a couple pictures of different ideas I am trying, but I'm still waiting on some opinions too.

Oh yea....more to outside

2010-10-14T13:19:00.001-06:00

I forgot......Michael asked if grandma lived in California. After I tried figuring out which grandma and told him grandma Welch lives in IL and grandma Vawter lives in WI then he says "and we live in California". I said "no, we live in NM". So, then a little later he tells Grace we live in Las Cruces. A few minutes later he says it again, but it sounds more like "lost cruces". Then I hear him say "yea, we live in "lost cruces" that's why we're lost! LOL I guess he knows something we don't know!

Funny story

2010-10-14T13:14:00.002-06:00

Ok, so some days I think Grace is more of a tomboy than Michael is a boy, BUT not today!

We were outside playing after lunch. I was sitting in the sun reading a book. The kids were playing in the sand box. Michael comes over and tells me he found a lizard. At first, I was horrified to know there was a lizard that close to our door (the sand boxes are right outside the back door). Then I realized it was tiny....not sure if it was a baby or just small. He brings it over and I tell him to put it on the chair near me. I wasn't sure if he was squeezing it or not and I didn't want him to hurt it. So, he starts walking back to the sand box and says he's going to put it back. I, of course, say no, you're still playing in it...just put him on the chair. So, as he's walking back to me to put it on the chair I see something drop, but I see he still has the lizard. Obviously, I just figure the lizard pooped, but Michael keeps looking at the ground. So, I asked what dropped. He says "his tail"!!!! So, then he picks it up and brings them both over and puts them on the chair! The lizard of course takes off running, but then I have to sit and watch the tail move for a few minutes!!! Then later he comes back to check it out again and then throws the tail on the ground. LOL Guess he has some boy in him after all! :-)

Grace's private place

2010-10-13T10:33:00.003-06:00

So, if Grace was old enough to read this she would probably be so embarrassed! But, since she's not and I thought this was so cute (and I didn't take the picture) I thought I would share it! When the babysitters picked up they also moved the chair a different direction. Grace used to go hide behind the chair to do her stuff ;-). Since she couldn't get behind it she just tried to hide at the back of it. It was so cute.

My house after babysitters

2010-10-13T10:25:00.002-06:00

These are some pictures of my house after the babysitters were here. They even straightened up my bakers cart!!! They not only did my dishes, but they dried them and put them away!

Paul came home on a Friday night and told me to go get in the shower and be ready by 5:30. Then 2 girls (sisters) showed up to babysit while we went out to dinner at Texas Roadhouse and then spent some quiet time at Barnes & Nobles.

When we got home Lydia was in bed (had gone to bed for them!!) and the house was picked up! Even their room was amazing....I wasn't sure what they did with all the toys because I had never seen that much of their floor before! Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of that room before it got messed up again. lol

It was such a great evening and a blessing to come home to such a "clean" house!

Turkey sausage

2010-10-13T10:23:00.001-06:00

This was my turkey sausage....again a recipe from Heavenly Homemakers. This is the ground turkey after I had added the spices.

Just a closer shot.

This is the sausage frying in the skillet. It was very good. We used the rest of it in omelets another day. Then one night I made chili with some ground turkey. It is very tasty.

"Breakfast" muffins

2010-10-13T10:20:00.002-06:00

Ok, so I found this recipe on the Heavenly Homemakers web site for chocolate swirl muffins. I figured since she had them for breakfast and they were called muffins and not cupcakes that we could have them for breakfast too! So, mine aren't as healthy as hers since I didn't use the whole wheat flour, honey and stevia.....I used white flour, sugar (ran out of honey or I would have used it) and then sugar again. Oh well, they were very delicious and Michael & Grace both ate 2! Lydia probably would have too if I would have let her. Michael kept asking for another one. LOL These pictures were taken after we had already started eating....there were 3 more in there! Now there are only 3 left! :-)

Just random things going on

2010-10-13T10:15:00.002-06:00

My phone fell apart on Thursday. I picked it up to check a voice mail and it was hanging by one side. Then by the end of the night this is what happened. Guess it was dropped one too many times! LOL The guy at T-Mobile told us (but didn't tell us) that we could just go buy a prepaid phone and put my SIM card in it and it would work fine. So now I have a cheap $20 phone, but it only has to last me till June when our contract is done, so I will deal with it.

These are the beautiful flowers that a great guy brought home to me a few days ago. They are still very beautiful. I guess he thought it would brighten my day (and it did!)

This is a strawberry yogurt dip that I made one day. The kids loved dipping their apples in it and then licking the bowl clean! They each had 2 helpings so I guess it was pretty good. Unfortunately, I couldn't try it since it had yogurt in it. :-(

Applesauce

2010-10-13T10:12:00.002-06:00

Here is the start of the applesauce. This is a full crock pot and my crock pot is a BIG one!

This was after they had cooked on High for 4 hours with just a tad bit of water.

I then just added a little brown sugar and mashed with a potato masher. This is what we ended up with. I have done 2 more crock pot fulls since then! We have lots in the freezer and may do one more batch.

Applesauce bread

2010-10-13T10:06:00.002-06:00

Here is the applesauce bread I made. I forgot to take a picture of it until I had it in the oven.

Finished results. It is very yummy. I have applesauce made up that I plan to make more of this and in muffins too and freeze.

Pictures of Apples

2010-10-13T10:01:00.002-06:00

Here are 4 of the 5 apples I found as I was cleaning them all that had bite marks. I know there were many more that were thrown on the ground, but these made it into the bag! LOL Grace thought she needed to taste them periodically I guess.
Sorry, the pictures aren't really in order. This is after they were all washed. 90 pounds baby!!!

This is the cleaning process.

These are a couple bags I took.

Another bag and box.

We had such a good time as you can read about in the previous post! I am still not done with all of them, but just have about one or two more times of working on them and I will hopefully be done.

Adventures in Apple Picking!

2010-10-05T09:37:00.002-06:00

I figured it is going to take me a little bit before I post all my apple creations, but I can at least tell y'all about the apple picking adventure. :-)

So, I had Paul take a drive one night after we found out about the apple farm so I would know where it was and how to get there when we went picking. So, yesterday we get out there (Barb and Jan were following me in Barb's car) and we pull in and the office door is padlocked shut. I saw two guys outside so I went over to ask one of them if we were at the right place. He didn't really answer me, but said he would go get his boss. So, his boss comes out and I say that I don't know if I'm at the right place. He says "yes you are, but the apple trees are at another location" He gave me directions to get there. I was wondering why the lady I talked to wasn't there, but then thought maybe she would be at the other place. We get over to the other place and the guy had told me to stay to the left so I did, but when we got down at the end of that "road" there were no barns and he said I would see them. So, we turned around and went past the house that was sitting there and then saw the barns. Then we drove on back to the trees. When we got back there another car was there so I thought "I'll just pull off in this open area...it looks like a place they leave for people to park". Now you would think that since I'm from the "country" I would know better than that. As soon as I pulled off I could tell it was soft. I told Barb not to pull in so she pulled on up by the other car. Then I thought I should probably try to get out now instead of waiting till we're ready to leave and realize I'm stuck then. So I try to back up and I'm stuck!! I was trying to back up or move forward either one......Barb got out and looked at my tires. She says pull forward....NOW GUN IT!! So, I did and I was finally able to get out! I didn't want to hit dry ground and go flying though because there was a BIG drop off behind me! Thankfully we made it out ok and with only a little mud on the windshield (and a lot around the tires!). So, then we spent an hour picking apples and I ended up with 90 pounds!! It was a lot of fun and the kids enjoyed it too. I had Lydia in the wrap on my front so every little bit she would pick some leaves, or get a branch or leaves in the face and only once had an apple drop on her head! Michael and Grace were such big helpers picking the apples. Grace liked picking them then taking a bite out of them THEN putting them in the bag or box! I ended up with 5 apples with bites out of them....and that was after all the ones I told her to throw on the ground after doing that!!!

So that was our adventure of apple picking. Oh and before we even left the house we had the excitement of a fire truck, 2 police cars and an ambulance in front of our house! Our neighbor and friend, Yolanda, had fallen during the night because her blood sugar had dropped to 33. She was finally able to make it to the phone in the morning to call 911. She's not sure what time she fell though. They told her that she was very lucky to make it to the phone because she was very close to going into a diabetic coma. She and I know she wasn't lucky.....God helped her get there! They took her to the hospital, but she came home around 3 pm. She came over to talk with us. I could tell she was very tired so I told her to go home and rest and I would check on her later. When I checked on her last night she was doing much better. She had a couple things done this past week that I think messed with her blood sugar so hopefully she won't have this happen again! Of course, Michael enjoyed watching the fire truck and ambulance! :-)

A few of Michael and Lydia

2010-10-01T15:27:00.002-06:00

Here is a picture of Lydia eating her first whole apple. She got a hold of Grace's half eaten apple. We kept an eye on her and she did fine with it so we let her go for it! She really enjoyed it!

This is a "parking garage" that Paul and Michael made together. It's not complete yet. Still have to add the ramps and stripes.

Just another view of Michael playing with it.

And another view. He really enjoyed playing with it today until a little sister (who will remain nameless) tore some of the tabs off and then somehow they broke it apart.....so it is in for repairs now!

Last of the Baking Frenzy.....for now!

2010-10-01T15:24:00.005-06:00

Beginning of strawberry bread......

One view of finished product.....

Another view of finished product. This reminds me of zucchini bread. Now off to taste it!

Pretzels!

2010-10-01T15:19:00.002-06:00

Here is the start of the pretzels.....

Then this was once it was mixed up.....

Then after about an hour of rising...... (for those of you who know how big the biggest stainless steel bowl from Pampered Chef...well this is it!)

Here are some of the end results.....sorry forgot to take a picture before they went in the oven.....then got to excited about eating them that I forgot to take a picture before scarfing them down! I put salt on some and then sugar/cinnamon on others. Today I made hot dog wraps......hot dogs wrapped with pretzel. They were very yummy! Also, thinking next time I will dip the pretzel in the melted butter, instead of just brushing it on, then dipping it in the salt or sugar/cinnamon!

Apple crisp

2010-10-01T15:17:00.004-06:00

This was the start of my apple crisp. I got the recipe from my mom, but I think next time I will use my apple pie filling (from the freezer) for the start....it wasn't as juicy as I would have liked.

Here is the end result. It was very yummy!

Apple jelly

2010-10-01T15:08:00.008-06:00

Ok here is the start of my apple jelly. This is the apple juice and sugar/gelatin mixture. I took the easy route of just using apple juice and not making my own juice from apples!

This is how much sugar I then added......7 cups!

Here is the end result. I only had two bigger jars so I had to use the little ones too. It worked out good though. I was able to give the smaller of the big jars to Pastor & Barb and then a small one to different ones in the church.

Apple Pie!

2010-09-22T15:31:00.003-06:00

So here is my yummy treat for today....a yummy apple pie! We bought some apples at the farmer's market on Saturday. They have been really good, but I saw that I had a pie crust in the freezer still and thought I would try to make a pie. Since I didn't have 2 crusts I made a crumb topping. I had to use two different recipes to do this....the pie from one recipe and the topping from a different recipe. I haven't tasted it yet (I'm being good and waiting for Paul), but it looks and smells so good. Other than it taking me all morning to get the apples cut up and ready (because of interruptions) it was really easy to make. I now have apples on the stove cooking to make applesauce. We'll see how it turns out too!

Home made Donuts

2010-09-20T08:53:00.002-06:00

A lady at church told me she made home made donuts from a Jiffy Mix. I thought "I have a recipe for a biscuit mix that is supposed to be like Bisquick...I wonder if that would work". So, I tried it and as you can see from the picture they turned out great! I'm not a big cake donut person, but they are very tasty...especially as donut holes! I found a recipe now that is for raised donuts (more like the ones you get when you use canned biscuits) so I am going to try them soon.

I have now had a suggestion that I should start putting pictures and updates of the things I have been making from scratch lately. So, I think I may start doing that! Thanks Carleta! LOL

A new day

2010-09-15T14:36:00.002-06:00

So, it's been a while since my last post. That is mostly because I have been struggling so much lately that I have not wanted to post anything for fear it would just be complaining. But, I guess since not that many people read this and the ones that do care about me a lot then here is where I need to explain.

I finally talked with Paul the other night about all this too. I'm not dumb enough to think he didn't know something was going on, but he didn't know the extent of it or the seriousness of it.

I have realized in the last few weeks (and probably knew longer than that, but didn't want to admit it) that I have been getting frustrated way to easy and about little things. When I really sat down and thought about things I realized I have become an angry person. I was thinking the problem was with everyone else....my husband, kids, friends....but then I realized the only common denominator was ME! I am the problem and I need to fix it (with God's help). It's like I know the answers to the questions and I know the verses to look at, but it still didn't help because I didn't know how to put them into practice. I'm not saying things have changed over night or that I am ever going to be perfect, but I have realized I need to change and the only way I can change is let God do it. I know this is still very vague about what has been going on, but it's harder to put into words than I thought.

With the help of good advice from friends and family I am on my way of making changes.

The kids and I were making cookies the other day. We put the shortening and butter in and then I grabbed the sugar canister and realized we didn't have quite enough. I thought there was another bag of sugar somewhere so I went to get it, but couldn't find it. All I could find were the Ziploc bags of flour (we buy a big bag from Sam's and split it up). I started getting irritated that we had already gone through this big bag of sugar. Then I saw the container on the counter that has sugar in it for my coffee. I told the kids maybe that would be enough. So I dumped it in. It was enough! I even was able to stop and tell the kids God had helped us find enough sugar to make the cookies and we should thank Him for it (I just now realize I should have stopped and prayed first for Him to help us find some and then thank Him for finding it....guess I'm still learning too!). Then I opened the cabinet where the flour all was and realized the one bag was NOT flour, but sugar! I guess Paul had opened the big bag of sugar and put it in Ziploc bags also. So, I told the kids that God showed us where there was enough sugar to make the cookies AND He showed us where more sugar was so we could refill the canisters! Just that little moment I could see God was helping me because I would have been so frustrated by then that I would not have found the sugar before. I am realizing MOST things I get frustrated with are not worth the effort of frustration (like the fact that Michael is not sleeping right now even though it is nap time!).

I read these books and articles about how we shouldn't want more...like a bigger house, more money, etc., but I have realized I have been bad about wanting more time, more organization skills, etc. I have also realized this is just as bad because I am not being content with what I have. Now I'm not saying that I wouldn't have an easier time with some things (like getting ready for church Sunday mornings) if I was more organized, but I can't be focused on that. :-)

I think what has really hit me is seeing that my kids are already acting like me. They get frustrated over little things and react the way I have taught them. I really don't want them to be like that and I have to make sure now that I am teaching them the right way to react to things.

Getting out there

2010-08-26T20:28:00.002-06:00

Ok, so we are going on our 4th year being here in Las Cruces and I am FINALLY meeting people....and not just people, but other stay at home moms with little ones! In the last 3 weeks I have met so many moms that when I talk about them to Paul he has to stop me and ask which one they are. LOL I have met them at the mall, through selling stuff on Craigslist and now at Carl's Jr. The latest mom I met lives on a ranch in Hatch and has a little girl a month younger than Grace. She is also due to have another girl September 26. Her and her husband were both very nice and easy to talk to. We exchanged information and will hopefully be able to go out to their ranch sometime to ride horses and see all their animals.

I have also FINALLY been introduced to a play group in town. It was started about a year ago. They are very active and have probably 30 some moms that are members, but it's just whoever can come, comes. Tomorrow we are going to a pancakes-n-pjs at the organizers house. I have also been able to introduce a couple other moms to it too. I have been trying to invite the moms I'm meeting to church also, but either they already go somewhere or are not interested right now.

I am just so pumped about all the ladies I have been meeting and all the "play dates" that are to come!

Paul gone for a few days

2010-08-20T08:22:00.001-06:00

Paul had to go to the high school retreat this year. Of course, he didn't know about it earlier enough to get out of it. Oh well, we have made it through, but let me tell you about the last couple days......

Ok, first off Grace has been potty training now for a week and she is doing awesome! Lydia is waving bye bye, clapping, trying to say bye bye and mama. She is also pulling up to a lot of things and the other day she walked around a chair while holding on.

Ok, so on to the last couple days..... I have met a lot of new ladies lately so I knew I would be busy during the day while Paul was gone. He left Wednesday morning and they get back this afternoon (3 days and 2 nights). Wednesday we went to the park to meet a couple of new moms and kids. The kids had a good time but it was hot. There was some shade so that was good. I had a good time too. The ladies were very nice and easy to get along with. The one mom goes to Calvary Baptist so we may be able to connect more (if we get a chance to really talk...lol). Then that night Susan and Casper (the principal's wife) came over to help me with supper and getting the kids ready for church. Then Susan came back after church to help me get the kids to bed. It was a great help! That night went pretty uneventful. Then Thursday was a little different day. While I was in the bathroom trying to get ready so we could go to the park and meet new moms and kids (a play group I found) Grace decided to go in the other bathroom and get in the cabinet. She was standing up in the sink and had found a small thing of shampoo (like from a hotel) and had it all over her arms. Then later that day when she was supposed to be sleeping she was in my bathroom and up on the sink again and emptied Paul's after shave. I'm not sure how much was in it, but she was filling it up with water so there was none left. Susan then came back last night to help with supper and bed time again. It was bath night too so she gave the girls a bath and then we got them dressed for bed. Michael wanted me to give him a bath so I did while she played with the girls and they picked up the rest of the toys. Then Michael wanted me to put him to bed and not Susan. I think he was really missing daddy. So I put him to bed then Susan put Grace to bed. I then got Lydia to bed. I was trying to go get a shower, but was waiting for the kids to settle down. Grace kept getting up and turning the light on. I went in many times and had to spank her. Susan went in a few times and tried to get them to settle down. Finally just before 9 I thought they were asleep or close to it so I shut the hallway door and we started watching a movie. It was a really good movie, but very sad (a kid died of cancer). It was over about 10:50 and I was hearing noises. I went to open the hallway door just to see that it wasn't the kids. I was wrong. Their door was open, the light was on, and they were wide awake!! I think they were probably awake the whole time! I was so mad....but I came out of their room repeating "I have healthy children, I have healthy children". Susan ended up having to go in once too before they settled down. Finally they were really asleep. I went to bed about 12:30 and of course they were up at 6:30. I couldn't believe it...I thought maybe they would at least sleep till 7. UGH!! Oh well, at least Lydia slept all through the night and woke up at 6:30 and then went back to sleep.

I am planning to go to a play group meet today with other moms that use cloth diapers also. I thought about not going since they had such a short night, but I think it will be better to go a head and go. Plus, they have actually been really good this morning.....maybe they were getting too much sleep! NOT!!! LOL

So, I am ready for Paul to get home today. I guess I don't realize how much of a help it is just to have him here (even if he's not directly doing anything at that time with the kids). Just having the second person really helps. I love you, Babe!

Fun day

2010-08-13T18:05:00.003-06:00

So, I decided last night that I was going to focus on the kids all day today and not worry about what I needed to do around the house. Ok, so looking at my house you would think that's how it's been for a while, but I really have been trying to do things. I am also just trying to get used to being the only adult at home again. I could tell the heat was really getting to the kids though and they were being crabby so we needed to do something fun today. So, this morning Lydia slept in till 9:30 or a little after. Michael and Grace and I were able to make some french toast sticks for breakfast. They were very yummy! Then we were able to plant some flowers before Lydia got up. We also went outside and moved their sand boxes around back. While doing that Michael decided to bring his bicycle around front so he could ride it on the carport. So after I got the sand boxes moved I brought Grace's trike around and they started playing with them and the chalk. Then Lydia woke up so we went in to get her. We went back outside and at some point (I think before getting Lydia) I started to bring the trash can back up to the house and there were a bunch of flies in it! So, I decided it needed to be cleaned out. So after Lydia nursed I put her in the stroller and started spraying the trash can out with the water hose. Then I put bleach in it to help the smell go away. Of course, I had to spray the kids too! I decided it was hot and they needed to be cooled off. They thought it was so much fun! Then we came inside and they played in a bubble bath for a half-hour. Then I made them a smoothie. After that I put Lydia back to bed and made Michael and Grace pizza on tortillas. As for naps.....Lydia of course woke up not long after the other 2 went down. Grace slept good, but woke up crying so she was put back to bed. Michael never went to sleep. Lydia went back down after Michael and Grace got up. Then we went outside again. Unfortunately, we left the bicycles in the sun so they "had" to be hosed down with water to get cooled off! So, needless to say the kids did too! LOL

Grace was in panties most of the day. She had one accident this morning. Then while eating a snack and having her smoothie she says "I have to go potty" and took off for the bathroom. Boy did she have to go!!! I think she figured out what it really felt like. Then when we were back outside this afternoon she told me she was going poopy. I said "you can't go in your panties!". She said she didn't go yet so I asked if she wanted to go in and go on the potty. She said yes and pretty much ran in the house. I had to wait for Michael and thought she would end up going in her panties, but she didn't. She went on the potty!!! Then again during supper she said she had to go potty and she ended up going poopy (on the potty)!!! Hopefully this means she's ready! It would be awesome to only have 1 in diapers!

My "baby"

2010-08-11T07:55:00.002-06:00

My baby is crawling all around! She has figured out how to find us in other rooms. She peeks around the corner and just smiles great big! I can't believe how fast they grow up! Oh and now she has 2 teeth on the bottom, the two middle ones on top have broke through the skin and the two side ones on top are about to pop through! She will be eating meat in no time.....oh wait she already had venison and chicken! LOL Guess she'll be having steak soon! LOL

pop tarts

2010-08-10T14:09:00.002-06:00

Ok so here is the link to the home made pop tarts. http://chickensintheroad.com/blog/2009/03/20/homemade-poptarts/

Paul and I have been thinking of other ways to use this pastry recipe for other things too....like making something like the breakfast scrambles, or even putting it in the mini-muffin pan and making appetizers with it or breakfast tarts.....stay tuned for our updates on our experiments! LOL

Rough day

2010-08-09T19:00:00.002-06:00

So, it's been a rough day today. The kids (ok mostly Grace) have not been obeying well and Grace has been very crabby. Then tonight after supper she was supposed to be in her room playing, but Michael went back there and she wasn't in there. So before Paul got a chance to go see where she was she came out with no clothes or diaper on and her hair was all wet. He went back to our bathroom and she had been playing in the toilet. Of course she didn't just get herself all wet, she also got my small Bible wet (Paul said just the outside cover) and my "Juggling Life's Responsibilities" book (sorry Anne). Hopefully my book will dry out and the highlighted areas won't run! Only 1 more hour till bed time....hopefully the kids will make it to bed alive!

Oh on a good note.....I made home made pop tarts (thanks Anne for the recipe) and they were really good. Can't wait to have them again tomorrow morning....ok maybe I won't wait till then....just till the kids go to bed! LOL

Home again Home again

2010-07-29T21:13:00.002-06:00

Ok, so we've actually been home a week now, but I'm just getting around to catching up on my blog. We got home last Wednesday around 3 pm. We took 3 days to get home. It was a good trip home too. I was so surprised how well all 3 kids did on the way out and the way back!

We had a great vacation! It was harder adjusting this time for some reason. I don't know if it was because we started out split up or what, but we still had a good time visiting with family and friends and doing lots of fun stuff!

While in IL we went fishing, played in the pool, Michael went to the farm and we went to my cousins wedding reception. Oh, we also went shopping (which I already blogged about). The kids had so much fun being able to run around a big yard and playing on the bikes with Uncle Danny and Aunt Carleta.

In WI we went to the lake swimming and picnic, horse back riding, shopping, saw fire trucks, ambulances and police cars (Michael and Grace also went to see Grandpa at the EMS garage) and played in the pool. We also got to see Uncle Dave, Aunt Melissa, Hallie, Emma, Uncle Andy and Aunt Amie (oh and Izzie too). It was fun seeing Michael, Grace, Hallie and Emma all playing together. The girls were also such a big help. Oh, we also went to get professional pictures done while in WI. It was a chore getting the kids dressed once we got there and getting them on the mat, but once they started they acted like they were professional models!

When we got back the weather here was beautiful then in just a couple days it turned humid and rainy. I guess it was pay backs for rubbing it in to everyone back home about how nice it was here. Now it is still humid and rainy! Then Saturday afternoon I started feeling sick and that night after the kids went to bed I finally got sick. Then all day Sunday I was in bed or on the couch. Not a great way to start back at home....still not back in a routine. Wednesday morning I finally woke up and was feeling a little better. Then Wednesday night Paul started feeling sick. He spent all day in bed or on the couch today. Hopefully he will be better tomorrow....he is already feeling better tonight. So now, maybe I will be able to get back on a schedule (or start one!).

Lydia has started crawling some and then pulling up to things. She also has another tooth poking through her gums and another very close. She has been very clingy since getting home (which has also made it difficult to get things done). I'm not sure if it is because of being gone or the teeth, but I hope she gets through this soon.

We also found out that Paul has to be back at school August 6 for in-service. They start school on August 12. It is a very short summer!

Well, I guess I should get a couple things done that I have been wanting to get done during the day and haven't been able to.

Vacation

2010-07-02T09:35:00.002-06:00

We are in our 2nd week of "vacation". Obviously, as a wife and mommy of 3 little ones I don't really get a vacation, but I am able to be away from home and my duties there. I still have my duties of wife and mommy wherever I go and I have been struggling with that lately. I always have in my mind that when we go on vacation that it means I will get a vacation too, but I quickly realize that's not the case. Last week was rough being at my parents house, but not having Paul there too. He went on up to Wisconsin to start his seminary classes that he would be taking while we are here. I think the kids had a hard time adjusting to the different place and weather. Of course, we get out here and it is in the 90's all week with high humidity. They are not used to the humidity so I think it really affected their moods (I know it did mine!). Plus, daddy just stayed one night then was gone for the week and I don't think they were really ready for that. We made it through the week though. Michael went with grandpa every morning to take great-grandma her medicine and then go eat breakfast at the restaurant. It started as just a Monday morning thing, but then he went every day! He really enjoyed that time with grandpa. Then a couple days he went out to the farm with grandpa to ride on the tractor. They actually worked the one day on picking up hay bales so that was exciting (at least the first day). The girls and grandma and I went shopping the one day. We had a good time too and I got new clothes for my birthday (thanks mom!)!! Then on Saturday Paul drove back down to spend the night with us and go to church on Sunday in Pana. Then we ate lunch in Decatur and then drove the 5 hours to WI to his parents house. We have had a pretty good week here although grandma was working the first part of the week and Paul has still had his afternoon class this week. There was another couple staying here with a 5 month old baby so it was fun to see Lydia around him. Andy and Amie got here last night so we plan to have fun with just them for a few days then Dave and his family come in on Tuesday night. It is a busy time, but good to be with family.

I am really learning some things about myself while being here and really feel that God is preparing my heart more for hospitality. I think He is really trying to show me that is my gift and helping me to see more ways to use it. I've also realized in talking with Carole that I have had a selfish attitude about a lot of things and didn't even realize it till I start telling her about it. I realize there are some changes I need to make about my attitude toward certain things (and people) so I can be joyful and can be used more of God.

Well, Lydia is sleeping and Carole took Michael and Grace to the library so I guess I should go refill my coffee and see if Paul and I can spend some time together.

Book giveaway

2010-07-02T09:03:00.002-06:00

I receive e-mails from Anne Elliott now (author of Juggling Life's Responsibilities) and she is giving away a book on eating healthy on a budget. If you are interested in seeing her site or this book giveaway go to http://anneelliott.com/blog.

One more week!!!

2010-06-11T14:52:00.001-06:00

Just one more week and we will be getting on the road to Illinois and Wisconsin!!! Of course, I have been trying to get things ready for the trip and at least make a list of what we need to take, but I can't really get a lot of things ready till next week and then Paul will be working. Oh well, I guess that's why I have friends....so they can come help with the kids while I get things ready.

New Design

2010-06-11T14:50:00.001-06:00

I decided to change the layout of the blog since it is really turning into more about the kids. I thought the blocks looked cute. I guess I will just have to change it from time to time to give it a new look! Lots to choose from.

Paul & Michael's project

2010-06-11T14:36:00.004-06:00

Here is a project that Paul and Michael worked on together one day this week. I'm not sure how much Michael really helped with it since I had to keep Grace occupied to stay away from them. Now we just need to find a way to get some birds to come live in it!

Michael reading

2010-06-11T14:33:00.002-06:00

Here is a video of Michael reading. We obviously haven't taught him about punctuation yet! LOL

Grace giving lessons

2010-06-08T16:38:00.001-06:00

Here is another video of Grace. In this one she is giving lessons to Lydia already. It was so cute. Lydia loves playing the piano too.

Grace singing

2010-06-08T16:32:00.002-06:00

Here is a video of Grace singing "Jesus Loves Me" from when she first received her piano. It was a birthday gift from us and Grandma and Grandpa Vawter.

T.V. time

2010-06-08T16:28:00.003-06:00

So, I finally came up with a way to help teach Michael how to tell time and cut down on t.v. time!! This is our wall of clocks! LOL The green clock is when the show starts and the red clock is when the show ends. (The 2 individual clocks underneath are just the kids' clocks since they wanted one to play with). The left side is Michael's and the right side is Grace's. Then I copied off coloring pages of their favorite shows (and the ones I let them watch). I colored them then wrote the time and channel on them and then laminated them. The folder in the middle holds the "shows". Each morning they get to choose which show they want to watch and then we hang it beside their clocks and set their clocks. Then they know to watch the big clock and when it looks the same as the green clock they get to watch their show. It has worked out great! They ask to pick out their shows and we have been impressed that they are not choosing the same show every day (good for us too!!).

Crayons

2010-06-08T16:22:00.003-06:00

These are pictures of my latest "creation". I can't take all the credit for the idea since Paul came up with it. But, I can take credit for making them since he didn't help! :-) The kids had a bunch of broken crayons so I had them help me sort them out then I melted them and used the mold I bought for the Mother/Daughter brunch to make chocolates and made them new crayons. The frogs and lady bugs turned out good because they are thicker, but the butterflies were too thin and broke (or had help breaking). The kids thought they were so neat.....only one problem....they thought they were to eat! I had to keep telling them they were crayons and not candy! LOL

More thoughts

2010-06-07T16:06:00.003-06:00

Ok, so instead of talking to Paul about my thoughts from the last post, I just left my blog up so he would read it. He did. Then at bed time he told me he thought I was right. :-) I was really too tired to discuss it so I just smiled and said thanks. Before I had left it up for him (and maybe before I wrote the post) I had e-mailed Anne Elliott, the author of "Juggling Life's Responsibilities". I asked her the same thing. Oh, I guess it was before I wrote the blog because it was before I figured it out. Anyway, I was so excited that she answered me. We have e-mailed back and forth a few times since then. I told Paul it's funny because I feel like I really know her. :-) She is a great encouragement too. She has 5 kids and said she remembers what it was like with the first 3 and hers weren't as close in age as mine. She suggested I read some of the "extra reading" books mentioned in a couple of the chapters in her book to help with things about the kids. I checked and of course our library doesn't have any of them. I need to check a web site Paul told me about to see if I can find any of them for cheap.

Anyway, I also have been thinking more about the abundant life thing and what to look for and how to show it myself. So, I realized the thing to look for and show is the character of God. Which in Anne's book and a couple other places I have found that Galations 5:22-23 is a great list! They are the verses about the Fruit of the Spirit...love, joy, peace, etc. I also looked this up in the notes from Scofield and thought it was neat how he has it listed out as love, joy and peace being an inward character.....longsuffering, gentleness and goodness being character we show to others and faith, meekness and temperance as character shown toward God. So, I guess that's where I will start!

I was then reading something today by Nancy Leigh DeMoss about the Titus 2 woman. Again something Anne has in her book and goes along with what I have been thinking about in finding a lady that shows these qualities and can teach me. I have also learned I am in that age where I can be the younger woman and the older woman. There are always girls younger than yourself (unless you are a newborn) so you can always be teaching someone else. But, I have really thought about it that I am going to be married 6 years in July and I have 3 kids. I have learned a lot in the last few years that I could help someone else with. Not that I'm an expert or anything, but I could tell stories about how we have made it through things and be an encouragement to someone. So, I have started praying that God will bring an older lady into my life (or show me one that is already there) that I can sit down with and really learn from and also that I can be that "older" lady for someone. I pray that He will show a younger girl to me that I can be an encouragement to. I know I can obviously learn from my mom and mother-in-law, but I am really praying that there will be someone closer in geography that God will show to me. :-)

Memorial Day

2010-05-31T13:47:00.002-06:00

It's been a good day so far. Paul took Michael and Grace to the Memorial Service at the cemetery and then we went to the park to meet with friends (Rebecca and girls). Then we stayed to have a picnic and stopped by Sonic on the way home for ice cream (and a slush for me). Now it's nap time then we will go have fun with the Redlins later.

Paul was disappointed in Las Cruces this morning.....for one it took forever for him to figure out if they were even having a memorial service anywhere. He searched online for over an hour the other night...newspapers, etc.....and couldn't find anything. Then luckily he saw the little article in the paper yesterday that said there was one. So he took the kids this morning and said there was hardly anyone there and all mostly old people. It's a shame that in a city of 100,000 there were that few of people there to remember what this day is actually about. We did talk about it that it may be no one knows about it since it took him a while to find something on it. There were of course lots of advertisements for the wine festival and all that stuff going on this weekend. Oh well....I'll get off my high horse now.

I have been trying to go through "Juggling Life's Responsibilities" more again and really do it as a study (the whole reason I started this blog). I have been reading over and over in chapter one and have really been stuck on "abundant life" and what it really is. I heard Mark Lowry do a bit on it and I thought it was funny.....he says life is a bunch of ups and downs (like a roller coaster) so abundant life is just bigger ups and downs. I thought that was so funny, but still was trying to figure out what abundant life really meant. I had always thought of it being like a "happy life", but when you think about what abundant means, it doesn't mean happy, it means "more of" or "in excess". So I was still stuck on "what is life then" and maybe Mark Lowry is right. But, while Paul and the older two were gone this morning I was reading it again and really trying to study it out (look up word search, etc) trying to figure out what it could mean. Well, then they all got home and I went to take a shower and get ready to go to the park (since it was almost 11 and I was still in my nightgown). Well, while in the bathroom I had to sit a while so I grabbed Paul's Bible. It has the Scofield notes in it so I was able to look at those and read other verses that were referenced from John 10:10 (where it talks about abundant life). One of the things that I guess was holding me up on this is in the book (Juggling.....) it says to name a few women in your life that have abundant life and what you think their secret is. Well, I kept thinking it can't be just happy and it can't be just more ups and downs, so what is it? Well, in the Scofield notes about life is says "eternal". Then some of the verses it references talk about Christ being "eternal life". As I was reading these verses I just real quick (in the back of my mind) asked God to show me what this all meant. It was like He turned on the light! All the sudden it clicks in my head that "abundant life" is "more of Life" or in other words "more of Christ"! Well, that is why he came was to give us His Life so to me it makes sense now. Ok, so I was going to talk to Paul about this, but I always feel inadequate about talking about things like this with him (ok so not always, but a lot of the time). I am afraid he will either be like "duh, I can't believe you just realized that" (which by the way he would never say it like that) or "no, it's not really saying that" (which again he would not say it like that). So, I haven't talked to him about it, but I know I need to because I don't want to walk around thinking my thoughts are right if they aren't! LOL

So, off to make dessert for tonight and switch the laundry over.

New recipes

2010-05-21T08:32:00.002-06:00

So, the chocolate pudding and pie turned out great! I had enough pudding to make a pie and then have another big bowl of just pudding...probably would have been enough for 2 pies. I love the home made pie crust too....I usually don't like crust, but this was really good....baked just right. I also made apple butter. I combined a couple recipes I found and it is really good! I thought it would make a lot more than it did, but it filled a jelly jar and there was a little more that I put in a small Tupperware container. It will last a while, but I was hoping to have two jelly jars full so I could give one away. Oh well, at least I know my 8 qt. crock pot is big enough to double or maybe even triple the recipe! I know my mom (and maybe others) think I'm nuts in some of the things I do....like home births, cloth diapers, and making things from scratch....but, I really like making things from scratch. I enjoy being in the kitchen and the taste of it later, knowing I did it myself. I have actually been thinking about checking on the price of apples and apple butter and am thinking about selling it. We'll see.

3 posts in one day!

2010-05-18T19:36:00.002-06:00

Since I don't keep up with this I have to post three times today just to cover things....and I'm sure it's not everything. I have really gotten into making things from scratch. We make our own bread (at least for me and Paul) and pizza crust and noodles, but tonight I made a chocolate pie. the crust is home made (which we've done already) but I made chocolate pudding from scratch also...mostly so I can have since I can substitute my almond milk for regular milk. It is cooling and so we will see how it tastes later. I will try to let you know, but you know how I am with updates!

Teeth

2010-05-18T19:31:00.003-06:00

Lydia is getting her first teeth! Her first two bottom teeth have started poking through. I was so excited that I had to send out an e-mail so my mother-in-law reminded me how funny it is that we still get excited about the little things like this even when it's the 3rd child. :-) She is also eating "solid" foods. She enjoys the baby rice cereal, sweet potatoes and carrots. She had a little bit of avocado Sunday night and liked it too so I will probably have to get some of those soon too.

Mother's Day

2010-05-18T08:43:00.003-06:00

So, Mother's Day I woke up and heard Paul leave the house with Michael and Grace. The gift he thought I could use was a quiet Sunday morning to myself (and Lydia). So he took them to breakfast and then came back to get me for church. It was very nice. I then got in the van to find a card from the kids. He said he gave it to them and told them it was for me and they did the rest. Michael wrote his name on the inside and they both colored. Then Paul said Michael asked him if it was for me and he said yes. The next thing he knew Michael had written "MOM" on the envelope. Paul didn't tell him to or help him at all. It was so sweet. I am so thankful for a great husband that knew just what I needed.

Then I organized a Mother/Daughter brunch for church. It was a lot of planning, but I loved it! I even did the devotion. This is the first time I had ever done a devotion. I thought I would be very nervous, but since I had prepared so much for it and with God's help, I wasn't nervous at all. The day went well. We had a few ladies that had signed up, but then weren't able to make it. But all in all, I think it went very well.

I had Paul take me and the girls to the church for the brunch. That way he could help watch the girls as I finished with last minute details and then he and Michael ran an errand and then he worked on the van. So, I had asked him if he would bring my tennis shoes and shorts so I could walk home. I just wanted the time to myself and thought it would do me some good to walk. So on the way home I called my mom (she had left me a message). As I'm walking down the street I see a truck go through an intersection and a kid on a bike was coming from the street to the right and ran right through the stop sign and ran into the side of the truck. The kid (I think in shock or adrenaline) kind of jumped off the bike and ran or stumbled back a little then fell. There were a couple other people that saw it and a few more that heard it. I called 911 and they got units there quickly. The boy kept trying to get up, but we made him lay still. He had a nice knot on his leg, just below his knee, but otherwise seemed to be fine. He was probably about 13. Then I got home took a few minutes to relax and then got on the computer to start getting some things done and I received a phone call saying I had won from a raffle ticket I bought back when we moved. It is for a chiropractor/massage therapist. It includes the initial exam, 6 adjustments and any other services needed. I have my first appointment Friday! I was so excited! I could really use it. I have been putting off an adjustment, but I am having headaches and I'm pretty sure they are from my neck and back.

Well, I have once again just been reminded why I can't keep up on this blog. As I'm trying to do this "real quick" I have yelling and screaming going on. Then all is quiet finally and I turn around to realize Grace is unloading the folded diapers out of the laundry basket. UGH!!! Well, guess I should find something for her to do than destroy all of mine and Paul's work.

New things

2010-05-04T21:53:00.002-06:00

Ok, so I'm horrible at keeping up with this blog. We are moved into our new house now and loving it! One floor, new carpet, new floors in bathrooms, new toilet in our bathroom (with a toilet seat that shuts on it's own!) and great area. We also bought a new swing set for the kids for the back yard. We already have things hung on the walls (which is a record for us) and it really feels like home. The kids love being able to run up and down the hallway.

Grace turned 2 on Friday. We didn't get to have a birthday party like planned because Paul and all 3 kids were sick over the weekend. We were going to reschedule, but decided we didn't want to draw her birthday out more. She is already potty training too. Unfortunately, it will probably take her a little longer than Michael (even though I always hear girls are easier and faster) because we are starting her so much earlier. She wants to go on the big potty like her brother though so I am trying. It has been a couple of trying days though (we've been trying for a few days though). Yesterday she peed once on the kitchen floor then once on the living room floor then pooped in her panties later. Today she peed on the living room floor twice. She knows how to go and likes to, but I don't think understands the feeling that she needs to go yet. She did poop on the potty already too. Oh well, one of these days she will get it...then I'll just have 1 in diapers!!!

Michael is really being the big brother now. He likes telling Grace and Lydia that they are not obeying him! LOL He can be a good helper when he wants to be though. He just amazes me with the things he picks up on and learns. Tonight he was tracing the letters on the trash can at Subway that say "thank you". He knew every letter. He also writes his name (has for a while) but has also started writing "mommy". Tonight he wrote "mom" even without me telling him which letters to write. He likes typing his name on the computer when I'm "talking" to Grandma or Aunt Carleta too.

Lydia is growing and changing so fast. She is trying to crawl now. She gets up on a knee and pushes, but hasn't quite figured out how to coordinate everything. She is so alert and loves watching her big brother and big sister. You can tell she really wants to get up and run after them. She loves it when they get on the floor and talk to her. Michael and Grace love it when she laughs at them too (or even just smiles).

Gotta go for now....Paul needs to finish up some work for his seminary class tonight. I will hopefully update this more soon.

Saturday Cowboy Day

2010-03-16T20:19:00.002-06:00

I forgot to post about last Saturday. We spent the day at the Farm & Ranch Museum for Cowboy Days. The kids had so much fun. Unfortunately, we keep forgetting the sun out here is so much worse. So we all ended up with a little bit of a sunburn. The kids got to see roping, sheep, cows, bulls, Texas longhorn steer and they both rode a horse. They looked so cute on the horses. They were both getting so tired by that time, but still really enjoyed it. Grace wanted to ride more! We also tried to get them to let a lady paint their faces, but they wouldn't so Paul and I had our hands painted and then Paul painted a smiley face on Grace's hand and Michael's face. It was a really good day.

Lots happening

2010-03-16T20:09:00.002-06:00

Lydia rolled over for the first time on Saturday. She rolled from her stomach to back...unfortunately Paul and I both missed it. Then Monday night she rolled from her back to her stomach and I saw her! She loves sitting in her exersaucer and watching the other two. She was laughing at them again today.

Michael and Grace are still learning and growing. Grace is such a little monkey. Today I caught her climbing on their play kitchen. She likes to get in the refrigerator and washing machine. Today she was trying to get in the microwave! She is so funny! Michael is really picking up on the Bible stories we talk about. He and Grace both talk around all week talking about the stories from Sunday and singing songs. It's so hard to be mad at them when they are not obeying when they start singing Bible songs. :-) I think they have figured out how to make me smile!

Monday is moving day again! This time just across town again. This is our 3rd year here and our 3rd house. Hopefully this will be the last move until we move away from here. I have been sick since Saturday night so packing has not been going well. I had a friend come by today that took the kids for a walk for an hour and a half so I was able to get a shower and do some picking up and packing. I feel much better from just having her stop by and giving me a break from the kids.

Well, kids are in bed so time to spend some time with Paul. Update ya'll later.

Busy, Busy, Busy

2010-02-05T08:58:00.002-07:00

Wow! More than a month has gone by since my last post. Guess that's what happens when you have 3 kids! LOL

Well, lots has happened. Michael is potty trained!! And even after shutting the toilet seat on himself 3 times he's still doing great!!! He likes being a big boy.

Grace is learning so much from her big brother. She now counts to 10, sings her ABC's (pretty much all right too) and wants to go potty on the big potty! LOL She is getting so big.

Lydia is getting so big too. She is really paying attention to things and people around her. She laughed one day and it was at Michael and Grace. We haven't been able to get her to do it again, but it was so cute. She smiles a lot at them and they love it. Ok, so I do too!

A couple days in a row last month we had a rough time. In one day Michael shut himself in the toilet the first time and then Grace locked herself in the bedroom after nap. Luckily ice made Michael feel better and the doors were easy to unlock so we got Grace out fast with no upsets. Then the next day Grace fell down the whole flight of stairs. But, no broken bones!!

We have figured out that Lydia is allergic to milk so I have had to cut all milk products out of my diet....meaning anything with milk in it. It is a pain to have to watch the labels and not be able to eat what I want, but if it makes her better I can do it!

I also had a Pampered Chef show at the end of January. One of my friends had it for me to help me get my name out and hopefully get another show. We thought she was only going to have 4-5 people at the show and ended up with 13!! Then her sales ended up at $850!!! It was a great show and I got 3 bookings off it. I have 2 shows booked for this month and a catalog show going on. If I ever get catalogs to my mom and friend in IL I'll have 2 more catalog shows going! Maybe I can actually do something with it this year! So far off this one show I get about $200 in commission!!! That's a start on our vacation fund! WOOHOO!!! Illinois here I come!!!!

Mom told me yesterday that she is hoping to come out sometime in March or April. She may bring my aunt Marsha too! I'm so excited! She won't believe the changes in the kids.

The kids and I have been trying to do devotions every day. I read them something from a devotional book we have then we sing songs. Most days they do really well listening and then singing with me. I love to hear them go around the house singing and talking about Jesus. Grace has even been singing OBEY and she actually spells it right! Now if they would learn to do it all the time!! LOL

Well that's all for now....hopefully I can keep up on this more now.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-27T16:14:00.003-07:00

This Christmas was good. It was hard not being home with our families this year, but we had fun with just our little family. My parents were here December 9th through the 15th. We had a good visit with them and did Christmas with them. We let the kids open one present while they were here and we gave them theirs. They also helped us put up our tree and decorate. The kids had a good time hanging the ornaments on the tree. We weren't sure how they would do with the tree, but they didn't touch it too much. They also didn't mess with the presents that were under it for about 2 weeks. I was really impressed. They got great new toys and clothes. Now it is time to go through the toys and get rid of some or put them away!! We made up goodie plates for the neighbors and people at church. The kids helped make the dipped pretzels and some cookies. We all went as a family then to deliver them to the neighbors. The first house we went to was an older couple and they invited us in to visit. They had a little ceramic tree that had a train that ran on a battery and moved around it. Michael thought that was so neat. We went to the next house and he thought we should go in again. I guess he thought they should all invite us in! He also thought they would all have trains! LOL

We then had some people over for lunch Christmas day. We had a good lunch and a good visit together with them.

Michael has started potty training this week. We started on Tuesday and he has only had 3 accidents (2 on Christmas day). All the accidents have been at home and while he was really involved in something and not paying attention. Otherwise he has done very well. We have even gone out a few times and to church today and he has made it to the bathroom. He was very ready to be trained, but I wanted to wait till Lydia was born then till Paul was home on break to work with him. I just hope Grace & Lydia are this easy to train. I've always heard girls are easier so we'll see. Grace seems interested now since she watches Michael, but I'm not quite ready to train her yet. LOL

Well, the new year is approaching and there are lots of things I want to work on this year. We'll see how well that goes!