Just Us

First Day of School: The Reality of Homeschooling

2011-08-01T16:09:00.000-07:00

"First day of school! First day of school!" I can't think of the first day of school without thinking of Finding Nemo. Cole went through a phase when he was 2 that he begged for that movie everyday. The first scene scared him so we always started it with Nemo singing, "First day of school!" But I obviously digress.

We started back at The Huddleston Academy, or whatever we are calling it this year, today. It was a good first day all-in-all though definitely trying at times. Getting back into a routine is always easier on paper than in reality.

As we were finishing up this afternoon and I was checking things off that we did, I began wondering what school really looks like at the homes of other homeschoolers. Before I actually began homeschooling, the picture in mind was way off. I had this picture of me reading stacks of wonderful books, the boys engaged asking challenging questions, and begging for more. Of course, this was going in a clean home with the boys helping me cook in the kitchen. I know I'm a dreamer.

In reality, we do have stacks of wonderful books, but I have one child who begs for more, another who declares "he hates school" at least once a week, and a little one who wants nothing to do with any of it unless it's time for his "wetters" (aka ABCs). There are sometimes tears (occasionally by me). Some days we get everything on our list done, but more often than not, something gets left out. The house is sometimes clean, the laundry basket is rarely empty, and some days we order take-out for dinner.

While it's not the ideal dream that I had in mind years ago, there are those beautiful moments that I would never trade. I remember the week reading clicked with Cole. It had been such a struggle for both of us and, then, he got it. I still remember him reading a book to me that week and hugging me so tight afterward. Or watching all three of them re-enact together one of our literature books. Then, this morning, Jason reviewed what parts of the Old Testament they studied last year. I was amazed at what Cole and Connor have retained and love hearing their versions that are in light of their unquestioning faith. In truth, homeschooling isn't easy but has been a huge blessing in our lives in many ways. I am so thankful that God led us to this path for our family.

Oh and one last thing from today, Cole informed me when we started math that he completely forgot how to subtract and he just wants to add this year. It was only an 8-week break and math has been his strongest subject. This is one of the many excuses I will hear this week. ;)

My Baby is Four Today

2011-06-21T12:28:00.000-07:00

I'm having major issues today with my baby being four. It just can't be. I am in denial. Seriously, it seems like only months ago I was sitting in the hospital waiting room telling them, "No, thank you, I'll stay and wait for a bed to open up. I've been in labor for well over a week now and I do not want to go home until this baby is born." And he's kept us on our toes ever since.

I asked Caleb what is it like being four and he replied, "I'm REALLY a big boy now." He's so excited about four and has been telling people all day.

He got to have a fun, family party on Saturday with some of his cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. Today, we went to play at Chuck E. Cheese (or Chucky Cheeze-its as it's called by our boys for some reason) and then to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. It's been a big day for a brand new four-year old.

He are some pics of our "REALLY big" birthday boy from Saturday and today,

Our Little Valentine is 5

2011-02-14T19:35:00.001-08:00

Connor turned five years old today. I truly cannot believe our little Valentine is that old. He is still the sweetest boy I know (yes, I have two other boys, but Connor is just plain sweet and the other two can be known for something else ;0) ). These days he is into reading more than anything else. He reads everything and if he can't, he starts asking me what it says but I am only allowed to read the "really big words" and he'll get the rest. His favorite foods are a surprise to almost everyone. He loves broccoli, spinach, salad, and just about all the veggies mommy makes. Of course, cheese still tops the list though. Don't get me wrong, he loves a cupcake or piece of candy, but only one a day for him. The dentist told him once to limit sugary things to one a day and our little rule-follower gets very concerned on days like today (which happen to be Valentine's Day AND his birthday) where multiple sweets were offered to him. That's our Connor James.

I told him I wanted to take some photos are our new 5 year old today and I thought I'd share a few.

Mommy Exercise Plan

2011-02-09T09:17:00.000-08:00

I've been wanting to shed a few pounds and get into better shape for awhile now, but just have not stuck with anything really. We've been eating healthier (I know "healthy" is a highly subjective word these days, but we are trying to eat more whole foods, traditional foods, and not processed or refined foods), but my weight has pretty much remained the same. Some friends told me about the site, My Fitness Pal. This is a great, FREE resource for helping keep track of calories, exercises, weight, etc. Also, you can add friends on there which is an awesome accountability tool.

So, I know my biggest problem is twofold- sweets and lack of exercise. Keeping track of everything I eat really helps cut down on the sugar, but I still needed to exercise. Well moms, apparently all you have to do is let your children know you want to exercise everyday and they will get your hiney in gear.

Here's what my "Mommy Exercise Plan" has consisted of this week,

Seeing who can do the most jumping jacks in a minute
Letting the boys trade off who sits on my feet while I do sit-ups and "bonk" them on the head
Chasing the boys around the park, house, or pretty much anywhere
Taking the boys and dog (having a 70lb dog pull you along is whole 'nother kind of workout) for a walk
Them laughing at me and urging me to do one more "game" on Wii Fit
Seeing which boy I can lift higher with arms and then with legs (the obviously answer is Caleb since he's almost 20 lbs lighter than the other two)
Letting Cole lead me in stretching (I wish I had videotaped this)

I don't need a gym membership. I've got three little "trainers" running around me daily.

The Bible Alone is Enough

2011-01-24T09:46:00.000-08:00

As I continue on this exciting journey of reading through the Bible in 90 days, I have realized one thing that I think is helping me is that I'm reading the Bible on it's own. I'm not reading any commentaries, not using a Study Bible with notes, or stopping to looks things up online. I'm a researcher by nature and rarely ever read the Bible from something other than a Study Bible and often consult other sources while I'm studying. I'm not knocking these study helps in anyway. I love them. They are incredible resources.

The other way I might study the Bible is through a Bible study written by someone like Beth Moore, Priscilla Shirer, and so on. Again, I LOVE these. They are wonderful authors who teach us about God's word and how to apply it to our lives.

This time I'm reading the Bible through on it's own. Simply God's Word with no other commentators, no interjections, and no one else's thoughts. It's AMAZING! I am so thankful for these other study ways I've mentioned and know I will continue to use them, but for right now I feel like I'm falling in love with the Bible all over again. I have no idea if that makes sense. I am reading from a Bible with no study notes and no distractions (as they can be to someone like me at times). The Bible alone is enough. I thank God for all these authors who study and write about Him, but oh how the beauty of His Word stands alone. Honestly, each day as I simply read the Bible, which is not simple at all, I think maybe this is one of the reasons the Holy Spirit prompted me to do this. I need this! I need Him!

Leviticus, Numbers, & Deuteronomy...

2011-01-18T12:25:00.001-08:00

I know I've been quiet this past week. I struggled a bit to get through by Bible reading last week and therefore kept myself away from the computer in order to finish. My struggling was not from a lack of desire to complete it, but over the last 8 days, I read through Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Those are tough books to get through.

Still, I think God can teach us much through these books. For one, you cannot read these and not realize what a truly, HOLY God He is. The line from that song What Do I Know of Holy that posted a couple of weeks ago that says "I think I made You too small, I never feared You at all" kept running through my head as I read about the sacrifices and unclean/clean rules. I am so unbelievably grateful to live on this side of Jesus, but I wonder how often do I approach Him with a lack of reverance for His holiness?

Secondly, I think reading through these books in the Bible has to increase one's faith. I keep thinking of Isaiah 55:9, "For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts." I cannot wrap my brain around so much of what I've read these past few days, but I know that God doesn't think the way we think. That thought used to only bother me. I don't know why other than I'm the type of person who likes to figure everything out. Then, I realized at some point that if I could figure God out, He wouldn't be God. Now I'm am comforted by the fact that God works differently than us. And it only presses me on to learn as much as I can about Him from His word.

Lastly, I will readily admit that I feel somewhat victorious getting through these books of the law. Every time I've started reading through the entire Bible, I either get distracted, burnt out, give up when I tried to get through these books, or if I'm being completely forthright skip much of this information. I feel immature admitting that I've completely skimmed or jumped right over Leviticus and Numbers in past efforts. This time I committed to reading through every word of the Bible attentively and this time is different because I can only do it through God's grace, wisdom, and strength.

I am now looking forward to delving into the book of Joshua and seeing what God will reveal to me this week.

My Time is His, Because it's ALL About Him

2011-01-12T11:21:00.000-08:00

As I re-read through some of my posts recently, I am seeing a lot of "I" statements as I've been sharing about things God is laying on my heart or working in me. I have to apologize, because it has nothing to do with me. I never intended for it to sound that way, but it's easy sometimes to say "I" am doing this or "I" have changed that. The last post I wrote has a line that says something like "I have been more purposeful with my time." It should read more like this, "Only through God's abundant, undeserving grace and His Spirit's conviction have I realized and finally succumbed to the fact that I must be more purposeful with the time He has given me in order to truly seek Him."

See my motto in life for as long as I can remember has been "Less of Me. More of Him.", yet my hours, for way too long, have been filled up with "me" things. I was desperately praying for God to show Himself to me and asking Him to ignite a fresh passion in me, but I was not giving Him any of my time.

In our culture, it is ingrained in us that our time is ours, that time is money, that there isn't enough time, but in reality time is His. In Matthew 6, after Jesus has addressed every need and worry we might have in this life, verse 33 says, "Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need." (NLT) How else can seek Him "above ALL else" if you we don't fully give Him our time?

I love the way The Message puts the same verse, "Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met." I feel like Jesus is saying "Relax. Don't worry. Just fill your life with Me and everything else will be taken care of."

I, for one, have too often been doing life the exact opposite way. I would worry, try to take care of everything, and then fit Jesus into the schedule somewhere. It's not that He hasn't been a part of my life, because I cannot remember a time in my life when He wasn't in it. It's that I was not allowing Him to truly be the center of my life. I am now working on this very thing and He is already showing me amazing things. I do not deserve any of it, but I am deeply grateful that He is a God who never lets go and does not give up on His children.

Humbly, I've leave you with this. It's not about me. It's not about you. It's ALL about Him!

Bible Reading, Busyness, & Distractions

2011-01-10T15:52:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned last week, I started reading through the Bible in 90 days. It has already been an incredible and eye-opening experience. I have a friend who does this once a year and spends the other 9 months of the year studying specific texts more deeply through various studies. I will admit I first thought it a little crazy, but no longer and I'm only a week into this.

I'm amazed at the things I'm learning and the verses that jump out at me which I don't remember noticing before. I was worried I would feel like I was chugging so much information that I couldn't process it but it's simply a different learning experience. While I may not be studying each passage or story in depth, I am seeing how stories relate to each other and the repetition of certain things (which I think if God's repeats it, I'd better really pay attention).

The other thing I've definitely seen is how much Satan does NOT want us in God's word. I've had a couple of people ask me how do I have the time to read that much (it's about an hour a day if you're wondering). Time is a funny thing. We often complain we don't have enough and I completely understand this sentiment. I think I said it myself today. But once I really looked at how I spent my time, it's no wonder I constantly felt like I was beating my head against the wall when it came to my relationship with God. I wasn't giving Him a priority in my time. Through the Holy Spirit's conviction, I took an honest look at how much time I spent watching TV, on the internet, reading other things, some times sleeping, and most of all just plain busyness. The things that often fill my time are not "bad" things, but they are not God things. It's not like I've suddenly freed up loads of time, but I have been more purposeful with my time. I'm probably rambling at this point. I'm just trying to figure out the best way to spend the time I'm given.

Something I have to remind myself daily is that we have made Satan's job very easy these days in that all he has to do is keep us busy or distract us from the good things of God to keep us from growing in Christ.

Impromptu Days & Milestones

2011-01-07T15:42:00.000-08:00

Today has been a really good day. I love to look back on a day and be able to state that. I think God is changing my perspective on things and I'm enjoying my days more. I am truly blessed. Life isn't always easy, but it's easier to enjoy when I view it through the eyes of gratitude.

We started the morning at the dentist office for Connor and Caleb. It was Caleb's first appointment. Caleb usually does not care for any doctor, hair cut, or basically anyone messing with him. So, we've been role playing going to the dentist office and he did GREAT! He was a little unsure about the chair moving up and down, but other than that loved it and says he wants to go back. He's a nut.

Afterwards, we realized it was such a gorgeous day and decided it should not be spent indoors. We ate outside at a great burger place. Then, we went over to Bastrop State Park and had fun playing and walking some nature trails. Cole said he was our "fiercest leader" on the trail. I think he meant fearless leader, but either one really fits him most days.

Below are a few pictures from the afternoon. I'm glad my iPod has a camera since our impromptu day meant I was without mine.

Then, we came home and the boys continued to play outside. I was inside doing a few things when Cole and Connor came running in, saying "Mom, come watch, you gotta see." I replied, "What's going on?" Cole excitedly says, "Connor can climb over the fence all by his self." I wish I had brought out the video camera as he went over the fence. He was so proud of himself.

Later, Cole came in telling me all about how he caught a football while running. This was the first time he was able to catch it without stopping to do so. I had no idea these were such big things to boys, but am so glad I was here to hear about it. Jason came in and said "Fence-climbing and football-catching are milestones for boys."

Impromptu family days are sometimes pure bliss!

Music Speaks to the Soul

2011-01-05T12:30:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, Jason gave some challenges at church. One was to try listening to only Christian music for the next month. Well, I rarely listen to anything else, but I realized a few months ago that most of time I'm not truly listening. I am even singing along, but not really hearing what the words are saying. In the Beth Moore study on Psalms I just did, she talked one week about the affect music has on us, that is speaks to our soul. So, for the last month or so I have really been paying attention to the words of the songs I hear. I've re-discovered that most Christian music is good and much of it is AWESOME.

As I've been truly listening and contemplating the lyrics, it really does impact me and my attitude. In fact, there are a few of those awesome songs that have caused me to search God's word and spend some time in prayer. Also, as I spend more time in my Bible and listening to these lyrics, these are things filling my mind, which reminds me of Philippians 4:8, which says, "Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise."

There are several incredible songs rolling through my mind, but there is one that has really struck me. It's What Do I Know of Holy by Addison Road. If you haven't heard this song, here is a YouTube video with the lyrics,

Gratitude: My Word for 2011

2011-01-04T12:31:00.000-08:00

I don't typically do New Year's resolutions or the like, but I was reading about Ali Edwards' One Little Word a couple of weeks ago and it stuck with me. She talks about choosing a word or that a word might choose you. Well, when I read that, the word "gratitude" immediately came to mind. The concept of gratitude and thankfulness have been in just about everything I've read lately from my Bible to blogs to even some fiction books. I've also been reading Ann Voskamp blogging about her gratitude journal and One Thousand Gifts (her new book which is in incredible so far and I'm sure I will write more about once I finish). I believe God has impressed this word upon me.

As I began looking at this word, I looked up the definition of it. Dictionary. com defines it as "the quality or feeling of being grateful or thankful." And Merriam-Webster's current dictionary similarly states that gratitude is "the state of being grateful." These do no justice to the word in my opinion so I continued to look it up and came across a beautiful definition in Noah Webster's 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language (you can look up words in this dictionary here),

An emotion of the heart, excited by a favor or benefit received; a sentiment of kindness or good will towards a benefactor; thankfulness. Gratitude is an agreeable emotion, consisting in or accompanied with good will to a benefactor,and a disposition to make a suitable return of benefits or services, or when no return can be made, with a desire to see the benefactor prosperous and happy. Gratitude is a virtue of the highest excellence, as it implies a feeling and generous heart, and a proper sense of duty.

This paints a better picture of this word I've been studying. As I have researched "gratitude," I've been most intrigued by words that are associated with it. Words like grace, indebtedness, abundance, response, praise, simplicity, and contentment have been repeated as I've searched.

I will continue to seek the word in scripture and started a gratitude journal myself a few weeks ago. I'm interested to see what journey God has in store for me with this word.

Reading through the Bible in 90 Days

2011-01-03T07:20:00.000-08:00

Last year, I heard about reading through the Bible in 90 Days. I started it and never completed it once we started our move. This year I heard about momstoolbox.com hosting a 90 Day reading challenge with mentors and encouragement. I have signed up and today is day one of reading. I'm excited about completing this.

I know this reading plan is not for everyone. Jason usually says (he is quoting someone who I cannot remember right now) "The Bible is meant to be studied not finished." The Bible in 90 Days program itself says it's not meant to be an in-depth study. But there are also many reasons for reading it through like this. One is that people are having a higher success rate of completing this than reading through the Bible in a year. Committing to 90 days, even though the readings are longer, is less daunting to some. The reason I am choosing to participate is simply the same as the mission of the Bible in 90 Days organization, "To read, ATTENTIVELY, every word of the Bible in 90 days."

I am excited about this and seeing what God will teach and impress upon me during this time. If anyone is interested in doing this, here are some links to information and resources that might help you.

The Bible in 90 Days website

Tools to Help your 90 Day reading program at Moms Toolbox

The Bible in 90 Days reading plan at You Version

If you are interested in other reading plans, check out youversion.com. They have many reading plans from the One Year Bible to Chronological Bible and several others. They have apps for your iPhone, Android, Blackberry, etc. to help you complete the reading plan you pick. All that I've seen on their site is FREE (there may be some plans that are not, but I've not come across them). It's a great site and resource.

2010: What a Year

2010-12-30T16:26:00.000-08:00

All this week, I have been thinking back over the past year and am almost overwhelmed with all that has happened this year. I cannot remember a time where I would look back over my life and not see God's hand, but this year His hand seemed to be more evident, more seen, or something. Or perhaps, I am learning to listen and see better. I don't know what it is but I am blessed.

This has been a year of changes for us. It's been interesting to think back over these changes and how they've impacted us. Some of the small changes have had huge impacts on us. If I had to sum 2010 in one word, I would have to say EDUCATIONAL. I feel like I've learned so much this year. It's been amazing for sure.

Some of the changes that have taken place this year for us,

Moving to a New Place - This was, of course, a major change for us this year. We moved away from an awesome church family and amazing friends to start a new journey in our lives. God has blessed us with another incredible church family. Seriously, I wonder how we could be so blessed to be a part of these wonderful churches.
Homeschooling - This was another big change for our family. God placed homeschooling on my heart several years ago, but I was hesitant to commit to it. We continue to pray and decided to at least give it a try. It's been a great blessing to our family. It's given us the flexibility to be involved in many things this year that we wouldn't otherwise been able to do. I am continuing to learn how to teach and plan and look forward to the rest of this school year.
Moving the TV out of the Living Room - This was a small change with a major impact on our family. For the last few years, the television has been a source of frustration to me. It seemed to be on way too much even though it was not my intention. I would turn the TV on to watch one show and end up watching three. Then, a dear friend was telling me about the year they turned the TV off. This really stuck with me. I started talking to Jason about it and praying about it. So, with the move, we got rid of cable and moved the TV out of the living room. It's been wonderful. I feel our home is more peaceful. We still have a TV and DVD player, but it's not the center of our home and when we view it now it's more intentional. It sounds silly, but it's been one of the best changes we've ever made.
Eating more Nutritionally - This change actually began in 2009 as I started researching nutrition and how our food affects us. This year though I was introduced to Nourishing Traditions and "real food". Everything I was reading made so much sense yet completely contradicted the Food Pyramid and so much of what I've been taught about low fat, low carbs, etc. This is still a work in progress for us, but we are feeling so much better. It's been interesting for sure and I still devour just about any book on the subject.

I'm sure there's been many other changes, but these are some that stick out to me. I am excited about the new year and what God has in store for our family. My prayer is we follow hard after Him.

Happy Birthday Jesus!

2010-12-25T14:20:00.000-08:00

I hope you all are having a very merry Christmas day. We started the day with our birthday cake for Jesus as we have for several years now (Jason got a little "artistic" with the icing this year). We finished our Jesse Tree book. We opened presents. And then I took a nap. It's been a wonderful day!

My 4 Shepherds

2010-12-13T13:14:00.000-08:00

Last night was our children's Christmas pageant at church. It was so cute! Since there were so many shepherds, Jason was recruited to be one. To be honest, I was recruited to be a shepherd, but Jason was much better at "herding" the shepherds than me. He has made it very clear though that I "owe him big time" now.

I know I'm a little biased but these are the cutest little shepherds I have ever seen.

Silence is Sometimes Necessary

2010-12-09T09:50:00.000-08:00

While my lack of blogging has not completely intentional, it has been somewhat purposeful. It seems that every time I blog, I'm talking about how busy have become. We seem to just get busier and busier as time marches on. As this fall became so busy, I felt I could hardly function, I realized it was way past time to figure why we are so busy. Are all these things that fill our days so important? Do we have to be running around all the time? What do we really want to be doing? And more importantly, what should we be doing?

My lack of blogging has come as I've tried to sift through answers to these questions and prioritize. I enjoy blogging and following other people's blogs, but the internet as a whole is such an easy distraction for me. I haven't been on Facebook lately either or been keeping up with some of my beloved friends on a couple of message boards. I'm easing my way back in hoping to find a balance. I want to use these things for good not simply as a way to spend (or often waste) time.

Water Balloon War

2010-08-29T07:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday as Connor and I were waiting on the return of the rest of our family, we decided to plan a surprise. Cole has been asking to play with water balloons all summer and it was time. So, Connor stretched them and I filled them. We even made a trip to the store for some more since I popped half of the ones we had while filling them. When they arrived home, the war was on.

The Ammunition

The Participants (with one sad Caleb who had already dropped several balloons accidentally)

First shots fired

And IT was on...

I'm not sure Caleb ever actually hit anyone with a balloon but he had fun

Connor would stand very close to Jason waiting to be hit

Jason got a little into it

And when we were down to the last balloon, everyone wanted to get wet

I think everyone won

And when I woke up this morning, my legs were sore and aching. I thought "what in the world did I do." Then, I remembered that I squatted for over an hour filling balloons and I'm about to turn 33. That about sums it up.

Date Day with Connor

2010-08-28T10:05:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Connor and I had an entire day to ourselves. This rarely happens with any of the boys, but probably the least with Connor with him being the middle child (no, to my-middle-child-sister, he is not neglected or ignored ;0) ). The funniest part of this whole thing was when we told Connor he was going to have an entire day with mommy. Once he confirmed repeatedly it was only going to be him, he looked right at Cole and said "And YOU'RE not going." He didn't care where we were going or even when, he was just so excited it was just going to be him and mommy.

So, yesterday was the "date day", and Connor was the perfect gentleman. He held the door for me, held my hand, and gave me lots of hugs and kisses. We went to Chick-Fil-A for lunch, Chuck E. Cheese for games, and Target for mommy. Sometimes Connor gets lumped in with Cole as one of the "big boys." Watching him so enamored with Chuck E. yesterday and wanting to ride in the shopping cart, reminded me that he is still my little boy. Then, last night we met some friends for dinner and Connor had his first soccer practice. It was a perfect day. He is such a sweetie! I told the boys this will be become a regular thing and Caleb's turn is next. I'm scared that date might be a little wild. Here are a few pictures of Connor on our date,

Our School Year Begins...

2010-08-03T08:54:00.000-07:00

... and with a bang. We kicked off our first day of school yesterday here at home. It was a long, but good day. As usual, I was too scheduled. I need routines, not schedules, yet I constantly make schedules for myself for some reason. Fortunately, I recognize this in myself quickly these days and already adjusted. Today was more laid back and we had fun getting into our new curriculum. If you stop by our house these days, there is a good chance you will see books piled high on the coffee table.

Since a few have asked what we are using this year for curriculum, here is a list below. While I consider this our family's curriculum, these are basically for Cole. Our younger two are invited to participate as much as they want. Our choices were made through prayer and lots of research, and they are primarily influenced by the wonderful curriculum guide at simplycharlottemason.com .

Genesis Through Deuteronomy & Ancient Egypt: A Family Study Handbook

Exploring Creation through Astronomy & Nature Study

Math-U-See Alpha

Various Literature Books: My Father's Dragon, Stuart Little, Charlotte's Web, Peter Pan, and others that are not coming to mind right now

Continuing to work on reading skills through Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons and Pathway Readers

Drawing with Children and Art with a Purpose

We are also doing Hymn/Worship Study, Poetry, Composer Study, Artist Study, Personal Development, Scripture Memory, and an introduction to Spanish, but I'm using various sources for these and not a set curriculum.

I am already excited about Jason getting involved. We are doing our Bible/History time before he heads to work in the morning. It is one of the beauties of homeschooling. Here's a little peek into this morning,

No Routines & Summer Adventures

2010-08-02T07:28:00.000-07:00

If you have been reading my blog for any period of time, you know every summer I completely fall off the blogging wagon (if there is such a thing). I have learned something about myself that I probably already knew, but didn't want to own up to. I need routines. I crave routines. My sanity wavers when there is no routine. Moving causes the loss of all routine. Summertime is notorious for having no routines. So, yes, I am a little crazy at the moment, but sanity is on the horizon.

There is much about summertime I do enjoy though. While my routines might be turned upside-down, there is freedom with summer to do just about anything at anytime. Plus, 3 of us (not me) have summertime birthdays, so Caleb, Cole, and Jason are a year older than probably the last time I posted. Our summer has looked something like this,

Lots of Swimming * Seaworld * Disneyworld for Cole * DeeDee's House * Parties * New & Old Friends Visiting * Caleb's Birthday * Father's Day * VBS * Lots of Nana & Papa * Western Days * ER Visit * 4th of July * Houston * Youth Camp for me * Cole's Birthday * Farmer's Markets * Jason's Birthday * Date Night * Round Rock Express Games * Cousins * Picking Watermelon at Mr. Alvin's * Austin's Park & Pizza * Bowling * Library * Movie Nights * Way too much Eating Out * Lots of Driving

And now I'm tired all over again.

With the lack of my much needed routines comes the lack of picture-taking. I seemed to only remember my camera about half the time during the summer fun. Here are a few pictures of this crazy, fun, busy summer.

Seriously Good Sandwich & a Frappuccino

2010-06-23T06:57:00.000-07:00

I was browsing some of my favorite food blogs recently and saw this recipe for Chicken Caesar Sandwiches that looked and sounded delicious. Today, I remembered these sandwiches and decided to attempt to make them for lunch only I didn't have the recipe in front of me at the time nor did I have all of these ingredients. So, I made up my own with what I had on hand. It was so good that I thought I would share,

Yummy Chicken Sandwich

2 chicken breasts

Olive Oil

Salt

Pepper

Lemon

Garlic, 1 clove minced

Sandwich Rolls or Bread (I had some small sour dough sandwich rolls)

Caesar Dressing (bottled or homemade)

Lettuce

Sliced Tomato

Feta Cheese

I mixed up a few tablespoons of olive oil with sea salt, fresh ground pepper, and juice of one lemon. Rub each chicken breasts down with this mixture. Heat a grill pan. Cook chicken breasts in grill pan until good and brown on both sides. Push chicken to one side to finish cooking through. While chicken is cooking, brush your bread or rolls with a mixture of olive oil and fresh garlic. Put bread cut-side-down in the grill pan to toast.

Once chicken is cooked through and bread is toasted, slice your chicken breasts. Then, make your sandwich with sliced chicken breasts, romaine lettuce, sliced tomato, feta cheese, and Caesar dressing. This made 3 sandwiches. So yummy!

With the sandwich, I made a homemade frappuccino. My friend Lisa posted the recipe for these Starbucks clones on her blog last week. I bought some of the syrups she mentioned and made a caramel one today. It was so good and great for summer! The only problem was I only had enough coffee to make one and I was nice enough to share with Jason.

Going to Church Versus Going to Worship

2010-06-06T00:40:00.000-07:00

Early this past week, I started reading a book entitled Parenting in the Pew by Robbie Castleman. I'm about halfway through the book and so far it's absolutely fantastic. I am so glad some wonderful friends recommended this to me.

What has really stuck with more than any parenting issue from this book is something the author brought up early on. The author asks "Are you going to church or are you going to worship?" I've been involved in church my entire life. On Sundays, I know where I am going to be (of course, being married to a minister leaves even less wiggle room here ;) ), and I can honestly say that there are many times where I simply "go to church." See going to church means it's something we are checking off our list for the week. We go because it's the right thing to do or it's what we've always done. We may enjoy going, enjoy the break from life, but if we are simply going to church most likely it's about us. But worship is not about us. It's about God.

Mrs. Castleman says it better than I ever can.

Worship is not a refueling to get us through another week. Worship is not a system of traditions built up over many years of congregational life until everyone feels comfortable. Worship is not a time to unwind, relax, tune out or take a mental vacation.

Worship is not an hour of Christian entertainment. It is not what makes us good people, faithful Christians or successful parents.Worship is a surrender of our souls to God who is jealous for our attention, time, and love. Worship is a challenge. (p.24)

The challenge of worship is to sense yourself more fully in God's presence, to sit at the feet of Jesus with the people of God, to anoint His head with the "oil of joy" (Hebrews 1:9), to bring Him a"sacrifice of praise" (Hebrews 13:15). Worship means that for a time all else is set aside to be with Jesus, the Bridegroom of the church -- to be together with Him. To be alive in His presence! (p.29)

Well, if that's the difference between going to church and going to worship, I want to go to worship. I know we use the two terms interchangeably most of the time and don't necessarily mean anything about it, but I think I might just start using "going to worship" for our Sunday mornings. It's so easy to get into the habit of Sundays mornings and to go through the motions. As I type this early on a Sunday myself, I pray that I am more intentional about this day. We have the privilege to worship God every day of the week and are called to do so, but there's something special about Sundays when we can worship together with our brothers and sisters in Christ to give glory to our Almighty, Righteous, Glorious, Awesome, Risen King!

Menu Monday & Current Happenings

2010-05-24T15:16:00.000-07:00

Well, it is definitely a sign that I've not been blogging much
lately when I go to login and cannot remember the password for our
blog. The camping trip was a success and lots of fun. I will
try my best to post some pics this week. I know you want to
know about the "s'nores" and "smarshmellows."

Today we ended up car shopping and were gone most of the
day. We didn't set out to buy a car today, but happened on a
great deal and now own a "new-to-us" GMC Yukon. The
best part is thanks to Dave Ramsey and Financial Peace University we
will have no car payments. Woohoo! We also own 2 vehicles again
which is going to be very nice, though after sharing one for almost 2
years I feel a little spoiled owning two.

I have had no time to plan a menu for this week, and the best part
of posting these on the blog is that it's holds me accountable to
getting it done (well, sometimes). Menu planning doesn't take
me too long these days unless I'm in the mood to browse cookbooks.
Without further rambling, here's our menu for this week,

Spaghetti, Marinara, Italian
Chicken Sausage, Green
Beans with Bread Crumbs, French Bread

Carne Asada, Black Beans, Yellow Rice, Guacamole, Sopapilla
Cheesecake

Sloppy Joes, Baked Fries, Carrots, Fruit Salad

Grilled Chicken, Quinoa, Salad

Menu Monday - OOPS

2010-05-18T08:29:00.000-07:00

Life has been a little crazy this past week or so. Good crazy, but crazy nonetheless. I forgot to post the Menu Monday post last week and now I'm posting this week on Tuesday. We are going on our first ever family camping trip this weekend so I'll try to post an update with pics from that when we get back.

Here's what we've been and are eating this week. There is very little cooking for me.

Sunday - Steaks, Grilled Shrimp, Baked Potatoes, Salad, Homemade French Bread

Monday - Leftovers from all that stuff on Sunday

Tuesday - We are eating with some new friends tonight & I'll be making the chili for the camping trip later tonight

Wednesday - Eating at church

Thursday - Camping Day One - Hot Dogs, Chili, Potato Salad, Carrot Sticks, S'mores

Friday - Camping Day Two - Shredded Beef Tacos

Saturday - Come Home from Camping - Homemade Pizza or Spaghetti (we'll see what I feel like cooking)

Menu Monday 5.3.10

2010-05-03T09:06:00.000-07:00

Last week, I went to Costco for the first time and fell in love. It is clean, full of organic and healthy choices, and just plain wonderful. The only problem is that I usually plan my menus before I shop and there I just shopped. I do have meat to last us at least a month and lots of other goodies, but my menu planning was backwards this week. Though I must say I kinda enjoyed doing it this way and just hope I don't let any of these bulk items go to waste. Here's what we are eating this week,

Tostadas with Black Bean & Mango Salsa, Yellow Rice, & Salad

Pork Chops with Dijon Sauce, Roasted Potatoes, Green Beans

Flank Steak Pinwheels, Mashed Potatoes, Roasted Carrots

Ginger Glazed Mahi Mahi, Rice, Cucumber Salad (there will be chicken for a certain husband who doesn't eat fish)

Grilled Hamburgers, Potato Wedges, Fruit Salad

Homeschooling and having fun

2010-05-02T10:55:00.000-07:00

The question I get asked most often these days is "how is homeschooling going?" (Well, I also get asked "are you all unpacked yet?" But for now let's just pretend there are no more boxes hanging around) Homeschooling is going really well so far. We've had a couple of difficult days where Cole didn't want to "do school today," but we are really enjoying it. I love being there when he learns a new word or reads something for the first time. Also, Connor is starting to read and gets so excited when he sounds a word out. Caleb is mainly just along for the ride, but he does love to sit when we are reading and play with his brothers math blocks. I also love the flexibility it allows us too that we get to go do stuff on a weekday.

Here are some pics from the last few weeks,

Caleb getting our book to read

Cole working on his math

The boys lined up ready to head to the food pantry to help out.

The "peady-cock" we got to see on our visit to the zoo.

Coupons are Totally Worth It ...

2010-05-02T09:56:00.000-07:00

Especially if you have Walgreens and/or CVS nearby. Today, I went to CVS and Walgreens. I've been at home with a sick little boy these last few days, so I needed to get out of the house. Otherwise, I usually do these drug store trips during the week, but today I got to go all by myself while all the guys were napping. It's always fun to get a few moments away alone, but especially fun saving money while I'm at it. I know I'm little weird.

2 boxes Kelloggs Shredded Wheat Cereal

5 Betty Crocker brownie mixes

3 bags of jelly beans (these are hopefully going to encourage Caleb to potty train)

4 candy bars (these are hopefully going to encourage mommy to potty train Caleb ;0) )

2 tubes of Colgate Total toothpaste

3 Nivea body washes

2 Nivea lip balms

1 Venus Embrace Razor

4 Reach toothbrushes

1 Revlon eyeshadow

1 Revlon nail clipper

1 Arizona Iced Tea

1 package of sandwich bags

3 bottles of children's Pepto Bismol

2 boxes of Kotex U tampons

4 bottles of Coffeemate Creamer

1 Softsoap body wash

I paid less than $15 out-of-pocket for all of this. See Walgreens has these things called Register Rewards (RR) and CVS has Extra Care Bucks (ECB) where you basically earn "money" to spend next time you shop. If you use this in combination with coupons clipped from the Sunday paper, you can save lots. I spent $15 but I also now have $15 in Walgreens RR and $19 in CVS ECB that I will use next week when the new sales ad comes out. We don't necessarily NEED all this stuff, but I get much of it for free or very cheap and figure I can give away what we won't use.

I've been using coupons for years, but am pretty new to saving money at these drug stores. If you want to learn more, check out A Full Cup and Coupon Mom.

Pantry Raid Menu Monday 4.26.10

2010-04-26T10:15:00.000-07:00

Being that I really don't want to go to the grocery until hopefully Friday, we are going to be using up some stuff in the freezer and pantry. With that plan, our meals will be the following,

Leftover Night (which is tonight) - There's chicken, mac & cheese, chicken salad, hot dogs, roasted veggies, and who knows what else in there ;)

Breakfast for dinner - Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Pancakes, Scrambled Eggs, Sausage/Canadian Bacon, and Fruit

Spaghetti and Marinara, Salad, Homemade Bread

Chicken Fajitas, Rice, Beans

Pot Roast, Potatoes, Green Beans

We have more stuff than I thought as I perused the pantry. Of course, this is due to the wonderfully nice church members who stocked up stuff for us before we got here. It's been very helpful! :)

Edited to Add: Jason just came home and said let's go out to eat tonight after I said leftovers for dinner. Little does he know that they will be still be good tomorrow. ;0)

Sometimes we can learn from watching a 2 year old.

2010-04-25T12:42:00.000-07:00

I just witnessed something that I see fairly regularly yet it still amazes me. It is the fight that is in a 2 year old. Tonight it was over vegetables. The rule in our house is not difficult. You don't have finish your plate if you don't want to, but if there is a treat, you do not get it unless you eat what is put on your plate. It's always been this way.

Yet, here is Caleb simply horrified that he is not with his brothers enjoying an after dinner treat. He screamed, wailed, threw himself on the floor, followed me to another room to start it all over again, and never ate his vegetables. He was not going to give in and I knew this from the second the tantrum started, because I know the will of this child. Connor, on the other hand, would eventually give in but not without lots of whining. Whereas, Cole and Caleb, are as stubborn as one of their parents, who shall remain nameless.

What amazes me even more than the fight though is the how easily he got over it. I mean he was mad, really mad, but before I finished loading this picture on the computer, he had crawled up in my lap and gave me a hug. After we hugged it out, there is complete restoration in our relationship. I again was mom and not the "evil-vegetable-pushing villian" and all was right with his world. When a 2 year old is mad, they are mad, but once they are over it, they are truly over it. He is not currently holding a grudge or even talking about it anymore. It's done. He loves me the same now as he did earlier today.

At what age, do we stop just getting over it? Watching him tonight just got me to thinking, how much easier and better would our relationships would be if when we got mad or hurt, we threw our fit and then let it go. I'm not one to hold grudges easily, but there are definitely times I could let things go much easier. I mean truly let it go meaning the person we were mad at is fully restored to us. Love becomes conditional so often for us as we grow older. However, love "keeps no record of being wronged" so maybe tonight I can learn something from my little stubborn 2 year old who loves me despite the fact that he did not get his treat.

P.S. Just in case you are wondering, Caleb is now getting ready for bed and the vegetables are still sitting on his plate on the table.

Playin' in the rain

2010-04-22T13:57:00.000-07:00

I love that the boys can have so much fun in the rain. I'm not sure why they felt the need to dance in it, but they did and for that I wish I'd had the video camera handy. It was quite entertaining. Still, I got some pretty good shots of them enjoying the sprinkles. And the last two photos are simply further proof that I do indeed have 4 children.

Menu Monday 4.19.2010

2010-04-19T09:30:00.000-07:00

Since this past week, we ended up with sick kids I didn't end up fixing all of the meals I had planned, so there is one carryover. You will also notice the recipes this week are primarily from Ellie Krieger. In an ongoing attempt to eat healthier, I read two of her cookbooks this weekend. So far any recipe of hers that I've tried has been great, so I'm hoping some of these new ones (new to us) will be good as well.

Here's our meal list this week,

Canjun Chicken Pasta, Spinach & Strawberry Salad

Marinated Chicken & Grape Skewers, Roasted Asparagus, Quinoa Pilaf with Pine Nuts

BBQ Burgers with Cole Slaw, Oven Fries

Korean Beef Stir-fry, Zucchini (not sure what I'm doing with this yet)

Meatballs with Spicy Tomato Sauce, Green Salad (This is seriously an awesome spaghetti & meatball recipe and it's healthy. I sometimes use lean ground beef instead of turkey. Very yummy!)

If you give a mom a muffin...

2010-04-18T11:42:00.000-07:00

Maybe you've seen this already, but a friend shared this and I love it. This pretty much sums up a morning here with 3 crazy boys and a slightly distracted momma.

If you give a mom a muffin,

She'll want a cup of coffee to go with it.

So she'll pour herself some.

The coffee will get spilled by her three year old.

She'll wipe it up.

Wiping the floor, she will find some dirty socks.

She'll remember she has to do some laundry.

When she puts the laundry in the washer,

She'll trip over some snow boots and bump into the freezer.

Bumping into the freezer will remind her she has to plan supper for tonight.

She will get out a pound of hamburger.

She'll look for her cookbook. (101 Things To Make With a Pound of Hamburger)

The cookbook is sitting under a pile of mail.

She will see the phone bill which is due tomorrow.

She will look for the checkbook.

The checkbook is in her purse that is being dumped out by her two year old.

She'll smell something funny.

She'll change the two year old.

While she is changing the two year old the phone will ring. (Of course!)

Her five year old will answer it and hang up.

She remembers that she wants to phone a friend to come over for coffee on Friday.

Thinking of coffee will remind her that she was going to have a cup.

She will pour herself some.

And chances are,

If she has a cup of coffee,

Her kids will have eaten the muffin that went with it.

Written by Kathy Fictorie

Based on If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff

Menu Planning Monday

2010-04-12T12:04:00.000-07:00

Now that we are pretty much settled in our new home, I figure I need to get into my regular routine of planning our weekly meals. Awhile back when some friends and I were talking about cooking, they asked if I would be willing to share our menu each week. I actually really enjoy the menu planning part as I get to peruse recipes and usually pick something new to try. So, I will try to post our menu each week on here.

For me, I don't like a strict schedule of meals so each week I plan 5-6 dinners and some breakfasts to cook and simply put the list on the fridge. This number of meals works for us since we usually eat at the church once a week and eat out once a week. Then, we typically eat leftovers or sandwiches for lunch so I don't plan those.

For this week, the meals are primarily old favorites with a friend's yummy pasta recipe thrown in. Here you go,

Canjun Chicken Pasta, Spinach Salad, French Bread

Mini Meatloaves, Roasted Potatoes, Smothered Green Beans

Homemade Pizza (Thai for us & Pepperoni for the boys) & Thai Cucumber Salad

Baked Chicken Parmesan, Spaghetti & Marinara, Zucchini Cakes, Green Salad

Pot Roast, Mashed Potatoes, Dill Carrots, Dinner Rolls

Have fun cooking this week! :)

Welcome to Elgin

2010-03-27T05:16:00.000-07:00

We have been hugely welcomed to Elgin. We have been blessed to have so much help in getting unpacked and settled. We are so grateful for this wonderful church family who have gone above and beyond to make us feel at home here.

The boys arrived here yesterday and were excited to see their new rooms and love the big backyard. However, this morning Connor said he didn't want to go potty at this house, but wanted to go home. I had been wondering if he understood what was going on. We explained it again and he decided he could go potty here. Kids are so funny. Cole seems to love it here already and well, Caleb, is Caleb and has fun playing anywhere and everywhere. They all slept pretty good last night in their new rooms and I'm sure tonight will be even better.

We are mostly unpacked but haven't hung anything on the walls and such yet. I know many have been asking me to post pictures of our new home and I will definitely get those shortly.

Going is easy. Leaving is hard.

2010-03-22T15:42:00.000-07:00

We are so excited as we head to Elgin and cannot wait to get there tomorrow. But leaving Borger is difficult. This is only our second move in ministry, but I realized something this time. The going is the easy part. Since I was a young girl, I've prayed "I'll go wherever You call me," and going with God somewhere is the most incredible journey in life. We are beyond delighted and blessed to start in this new place.

But leaving people we cherish is hard. I remember a ministry friend telling Jason and I back when we were first starting out, "Ministry is awesome, but be prepared, leaving is the hardest part." This is true.

I would like to say to all of you at FBC Borger,

Thank you first and foremost for loving us. You have affected me for the good. You have challenged me to grow and go deeper. You have continuously pointed me to Christ. I would not be on this exciting journey without you.

Thank you for supporting and encouraging Jason. Thank you for helping us care for our boys. You truly have become family.

I love you and am excited to see what God has in store for both us and you.

Until we meet again,

Hope

Ebay sales were a great success! Subscription goes to...

2010-03-17T13:17:00.000-07:00

The winner of the magazine subscription is post number 7, reyanna.

Looks amazing! And I would LOVE a subscription to Scrapbooks Etc. :D

Posted by:
reyanna |
March 12, 2010 at 03:22

I'll e-mail you to get your address to start the subscription. Thanks so everyone who helped the word about the ebay sales. I'm so glad my stuff is going to get some good use. :)The move is on full force and my house is upside-down. We are getting there...

Scrapbookers: Check This Out! Ebay Sales & Giveaway!

2010-03-10T11:08:00.000-08:00

With my love of digital scrapbooking and our impending move, I've decided to sale most all of my paper scrapbooking supplies. To do this, I made several HUGE kits of my stuff. This picture is an example of one of the kits. Seriously, the boxes are stuffed full and I keep finding little things to add to them.

Some my stuff will sale at our garage sale this weekend, but most of the kits are listed on ebay (seller name: tulsachick77). To see these kits, click below,

Huge Scrapbooking Kits

In addition to these kits for sale and to help get the word out about these kits, I'm also giving away a subscription to Scrapbooks Etc. magazine to one blog reader. This is my favorite scrapbooking magazine and I think appeals to both paper and digi scrappers. To be entered in the giveaway, leave a comment telling me whether you are a digi or paper scrapper or both. You can earn extra entries by bidding on my kits or by getting the word out about this sale and giveaway. If you bid on a kit, post here with your ebay username. You can get one additional entry for each kit you bid on. If you have a blog or can post about this on a message board, leave a comment here telling me how you are helping me get the word out and earn an additional entry as well. I will draw a winner, one week from tonight when my last ebay sale ends. Thanks for checking this out!

Moving and Overwhelmed with Emotions

2010-03-07T09:01:00.000-08:00

My heart and mind overflow as I prepare for our move. Jason is the new pastor of FBC Elgin, and we couldn't be more excited about this new adventure God has called us to. The people of FBC Elgin have already welcomed and blessed us so tremendously that we look eagerly ahead at getting to know each and every one of them. I am filled with peace and joy in starting at this wonderful new place.

Yet, I am also hit with the emotions of leaving this place. Borger has been our home for 5 years now. It is here that our literal and spiritual family has grown. We have been blessed beyond measure here. I have made friendships that have deeply impacted who I am and am better person for these people in my life. Some probably don't even know who they are, but I hope to tell them before we leave. We wouldn't be where we are today without this place. The people of First Baptist Borger have taught us so much and it is through them that God has affirmed and encouraged Jason that preaching is his calling and greatest passion. We will forever be grateful for our time here.

I listened to some dear friends share this morning at their troubles in finding a good church home since they moved. I think I sometimes forget how truly blessed I have been. I don't know why God has allowed me to be a part of all these incredible church families. I grew up in a church, Carbondale, that first planted in me a love for Christ and a passion for His people. I was able to go back there last fall for an incredible time of reunion and loved every minute of it.

Later, I met Jason at Heritage Park Baptist, where many of our friends and family still worship. It was there that we were first called into full-time ministry and they took a risk on a young guy with absolutely no experience or education. I cannot imagine where we would be without that time in our lives and I think in many ways, Heritage Park will always be "home".

I remember when we left Heritage Park to come here to Borger and felt many of the same emotions we are feeling today. I am glad God is in control and holds our future in His hands, because following Him has been the greatest adventure and I am excited about the next journey.

I can't believe he is 4 years old

2010-02-17T06:26:00.000-08:00

Connor turned 4 on Sunday. I cannot believe he is that old. I found out I was pregnant with him shortly after we moved here. It was such a sweet surprise as we were fully expecting it to take awhile after our years of infertility before Cole. I cannot imagine our family without Connor. All three boys have their unique personalities, but with Caleb and Cole having similarities, Connor tends to be the most different from his brothers. I used to say he was my quiet one, but he has proved me wrong on that one in the last several months. While his brothers prefer to be outside and constantly moving, Connor would be perfectly content staying inside all day. His perfect day would probably be playing on the computer or watching TV all day, but that is not allowed and is often the source of whining from this little guy.

Connor's favorite thing to do these days is try to read. Cole is reading and Connor wants to so bad. I am working with him on it, but he gets so frustrated when he doesn't get it so we are taking it slow.

We had a big birthday lunch for him Sunday. I asked him what he wanted and after he made sure there was going to be cake of some sort, he said "Sow-wood (salad) with some 'matoes and carwots." He cracks me up! Moms, don't be too jealous, he doesn't always eat his veggies.

I took this picture of him Sunday in a brief moment that I got him to look up from his Leapster. He got 2 new games for his birthday from us and his friend and was beyond excited to play them. Of course, on a normal day, he is either not allowed to play or it's severely limited, so it was a major bonus to him that he pretty much had unlimited play time for his birthday.

I love you, Connor James! You will always be the best Valentine present I ever received! I can hardly wait to see what this year holds.

Who will be Jesus to them today?

2010-02-08T13:35:00.000-08:00

As I was driving home this evening from a quick trip to Walmart that ended a very long day, I heard a caller on K-LOVE say "Who will be Jesus to them today?" To be honest, I didn't hear what they were previously talking about or why she called in. She shared a simple story of how she made a passing comment to a stranger which turned into a conversation. It turns out this stranger was new in her town, had moved there 3 months ago, and had met no one. The new acquaintance was so grateful for a possible new friend. The caller went on to say how we never know how what we say or do will affect someone and ended the call by saying "Who will be Jesus to them today?"

I've not been able to get this phrase out of my mind. I realized after hearing this that I didn't even make eye contact with anyone during my shopping trip. I am certain I didn't show Jesus to my children most of the day. I was short with my husband. I am guilty, as many of us are, of writing this day off as "just one of those days." But what if there was someone who needed to see Jesus today and I simply wasn't in the mood. How selfish of me!

So, how do I be Jesus to those around me? What does that even mean? I started searching some scriptures and came to many that share who Jesus is, but this passage in Philippians 2 really sticks out to me in answering my questions. I love how The Message paraphrases verses 14-16,

Do everything readily and cheerfully�no bickering, no second-guessing
allowed! Go out into the world uncorrupted, a breath of fresh air in
this squalid and polluted society. Provide people with a glimpse of
good living and of the living God. Carry the light-giving Message into
the night so I'll have good cause to be proud of you on the day that
Christ returns. You'll be living proof that I didn't go to all this
work for nothing.

For those of us who are familiar with this verse know it as the "do everything without complaining" passage. Yes, I was guilty of complaining today, but I think there is more to these words. If we truly did everything cheerfully, without complaint, uncorrupted, we wouldn't allow our witness to be ruined by "bad days." We would be "breath of fresh air" and "provide people with a glimpse of the living God."

It's hard for me to imagine that Jesus walked in this world for 33 years without ever allowing His circumstances compromise who He was. Yet, I truly believe He didn't. We know Jesus got mad, we know He needed time alone, and we KNOW He had bad things happen. But we also know He never stopped loving people. I have to stop letting my circumstances of the moment control who I am. Because who I am in Christ doesn't change. I simply allow my witness to be hidden and even hurt at times.

So, who am I? I am a follower of Christ. I am child of God. I am a friend of Jesus. I am a daughter and a princess. I am free. I am loved. I am called to be an imitator of Christ. How many people do I come into contact on a regular basis have no idea they can be these things too?

I CAN show a glimpse of Jesus by simply remembering who I am and remembering who He is.

Mini Meatloaves were a BIG hit last night

2010-02-02T02:19:00.000-08:00

It's not often that I can say everyone in my house cleaned their plates, but last night's dinner was a big hit. I made mini meatloaves (or 'big meatballs" as Cole called them). As usual, I looked at a few recipes and then started cooking without writing down what I did. Since these were received so warmly, I decided I better try to remember what I did so I could make these again one day. So here goes...

Mini Meatloaves

1 egg

1 cup milk

2/3 cup oats (old fashioned or quick ones work)

1 cup grated Cheddar Jack cheese (use whatever cheese you have on hand here)

1 carrot, grated (I used my micro plainer for so it was very fine)

1/2 onion, finely diced or grated

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef

Glaze:

1 cup ketchup

1 tbsp yellow mustard

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tsp Worcestershire

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp lemon juice

Preheat your oven to 350 F. Lightly grease or spray a muffin pan.

In a large mixing bowl, lightly beat your egg. Then, pour in the oats, milk, cheese, carrots, garlic, salt, and pepper. Mix together and let sit for 5-10 minutes so the oats soak up some of the liquid. Next add in the ground beef. You're going to have get your hands in there and mix it up really good. Once it's all mixed together, form the meat into 12 balls and put them into your muffin pan. They should fill the muffin cups. Put them in preheated oven for 30 minutes.

While the meatloaves are cooking, mix together your glaze. Stir ketchup, mustard, brown sugar, Worcestershire, onion powder, and lemon juice. Once your meat has cooked for 30 minutes, spoon some glaze on each loaf. Then, return to the oven for 15 more minutes.

Inspired by this recipe, Mini Meatloves, at allrecipes.com

Please keep in mind I rarely measure anything unless I am baking, so I don't think you can really mess these up. I made Mashed Potatoes and Maple Dill Carrots (this is the best carrot recipe ever) with them. I tried something new with the potatoes too. A few weeks ago, I made Pioneer Woman's Creamy Mashed Potatoes and they are scrumptious, but I wanted to lighten it up a little. I used Greek yogurt instead of cream cheese, lowfat milk instead of cream, and a little less butter. They were so yummy!

Greek yogurt is a new friend to me. It's a great substitute for sour cream or cream cheese in recipes. I can't seem to find it at our local grocery store. I get it at Natural Grocers in Amarillo, which is my new favorite store as we are trying to eat organic and natural (basically no chemicals).

For dessert, the boys had plain yogurt with blueberries and honey. They love this! I like it because it's healthy, cheap, and easy.

"I wuv my seesters" - Is he prophetic or just silly?

2010-01-29T12:46:00.000-08:00

I was tucking in Caleb tonight and our conversation goes,

Caleb "I wuv my mommy. I wuv my daddy. I wuv ColeConnor. I wuv my seesters."

Me "What? Silly, you don't have any sisters?"

Caleb "My seesters."

Me "Oh, what are your sisters' names?"

Caleb "Seesterhead. Seesterhead."

Me "You're such a silly boy."

Caleb "My want seester."

My cute boy and I have lots of silly conversations. We often say "our little surprise" should've been named Isaac since it means "laughter." He cracks us up on a daily basis.

This conversation, though, I can't get out of my head. "My want seester" too, Caleb. As many of our friends and family know, God placed adoption on my heart when I was young and then confirmed it in both of our hearts when we went through our years of infertility trying to get pregnant with Cole. After being blessed with our three sons, I've wondered over the last few years, where does that put us adopting? Well, it's been heavy on my heart and I've even been doing some research on countries lately. It will still be at least another year, probably more like two, before we are able to get started in the process, but I'm excited about the future. In the mean time, it's certainly good to know Caleb's on board with a sister. ;)

Obsessed with Food Blogs & Websites

2010-01-27T03:19:00.000-08:00

I truly enjoy cooking, but I LOVE recipes and finding new ones to try. Is that weird? I used to have a rather large cookbook collection though I've weeded some out over the years. I still love to sit down and read a good cookbook from beginning to end. Yes, I read through the entire thing including all the recipes. It's combines my love of reading, eating, and cooking (maybe it's a sickness????). But with the internet brimming with incredible food blogs and sites, cookbooks are just not necessary anymore.

My "go-to" sites when I'm looking for a specific recipe or what to do with a specific food item are allrecipes.com or foodnetwork.com. I love that the recipes are reviewed by regular home cooks and you can sort by rating on both sites. I will say that the Food Network site is slow and often cumbersome, but still some of my all-time favorites recipes are from there.

But food blogs are so fun to read. I love reading about real cooks, their families, and the recipes they love. I'm seriously obsessed and get a little rush going to Bloglines to see who has posted new recipes (I highly recommend using Bloglines or some other kind of reader to keep up with the blogs you like). It's like getting a little peek into kitchens around this country and sometimes the world.

Here my current faves,

The Pioneer Woman Cooks - I love her site in general, but her recipes are divine.

Annie's Eats

Homesick Texan

Weekly Dish

Simply Recipes

Food Blogga

Hope you enjoy! If you have a favorite food blog or site you love, please share.

Some Digi Scrapping to Share

2010-01-26T08:30:00.000-08:00

We've had a lot of sickness going around the house. First Caleb, then Jason, then Cole, then me, now Cole and Jason again. Yuck! But with all this down time at the house, I've been able to get some scrapbooking done, which I've been missing lately.

Designer Digitals has a new kit, Help Haiti Collaborative Kit, where 100% of the proceeds are being given to MercyCorps to help with the horrible devastation in Haiti. If you are scrapper, consider purchasing this great kit. Below is the page I made with this kit. I've been working on going back and scrapping 2009 pictures that haven't been done.

Products used: Get It Scrapped Sketch 30, Designer Digital's Help Haiti Collaborative Kit, Katie Pertiet's Cardstock Tabs No. 1, and fonts: love ya like a sister, ckalishand, & century gothic.

Here is a page I did for the current Web Inspiration challenge at O'Scraps. I've never participated in any of there challenges before, but this was a fun template to use.

Products used: O'Scraps Jan 2010 Web Inspiration Challenge Template Freebie, Audrey Neal & Paislee Press' Photogenic Kit, Emily Powers Love Birds Kit, Danielle Young New Lunchbox Kit, and Pea Mique font

Here are 3 other pages I've done recently. I started these awhile back but put the finishing touches on them this week.

Products Used: Lynn Grieveson Scrap Express Template 25, Audrey Neal & Paislee Press Photogenic Kit, NinaScraps Grids & Dots, Anna Aspnes Yes Kit, and fonts: CK Puppy Love, CK Tipsy, & Century Gothic

Products Used: Tiffany Tillman 25 Days of Templates, DeCrow & Sahlin Studio Play Kit, Audrey Neal Resolve Kit, Katie Pertiet Photo Wraps, Hanging Tags No. 1, Anna Aspnes Yes Kit, Lynn Grieveson Worn Pages, and Fonts: tweed & ckalishand

Products Used: Emily Merritt Expressive Moments Set 3 Template, Emily Powers Art Nation + Blossom Kit, Katie Pertiet Buttoned Up Love, Pattie Know Pin-Its, Jesse Edwards Little Tags Brush, Anna Aspnes Art Inspired Chat Freebie Brush, Karla Dudley Capture + Record Kit, and Fonts: CK Jr. High Girl & Ckalishand

3 Favorites - Pics from Christmas

2010-01-12T06:41:00.000-08:00

I started to post Christmas pictures a few weeks ago, but had a hard time narrowing down to a few I wanted to share. Of course, since then, I got a little side-tracked and just now was thinking about that again.

We had a wonderful Christmas full of traveling, gifts, laughter, family, and memories. We put lots of miles on our little minivan, but it was worth it. We started off spending a few days in Canyon Lake with DeeDee, then we headed to Columbus to stay at Nana & Papa's new place, and spend a couple of days in Houston with Grandma & Grandpa as well. Usually, at the end of a trip, I'm ready to be back to my own house, but the time flew by on this trip and we wished it could've lasted longer.

Well, I decided to pick my favorite of each of the boys to share, which was difficult since I have a couple hundred pictures, but here they are.

Cole sporting his new Home Depot goggles and power tools from Uncle Dustin

Connor loves hats and wore this Santa hat all night on Christmas Eve

Caleb's favorite toy was Sydney's doll - He was so cute taking care of it

I hope everyone had wonderful holidays. We were so busy we did even get Christmas cards out this year. We have loved the ones we received and will have get started a little earlier this year.

Christmas Time

2009-12-02T10:41:00.000-08:00

I love Christmas and every year I say I'm going to scrap a Christmas Album and I never get it. This year I signed up for the a class at Renee Pearson taught by Tiffany Tillman. It's called 25 Days of Templates and using templates makes digital scrapbooking so fast and fun. Here are 2 pages I've completed so far for my album,

I haven't had much time to scrapbook lately, so it's been great to get back into. I'm also working on a book to go along with Lisa Whelchel's This is my Story. It's an awesome Bible study and book that helps you complete a scrapbook about yourself, your family, your story, and your faith.

Tri-State Fair

2009-09-19T12:02:00.000-07:00

Last night we went to the Tri-State Fair in Amarillo and had a blast. We walked around checking things out. Then, we went to the petting zoo where the boys got to feed deer, sheep, goats, and llamas. Caleb was a little scared at first, but ended up petting some animals. Here's Connor feeding some.

I forgot how expensive things get at the fair. The boys kept wanting to play the carnival games, but that is simply throwing money away. Still, we let them pick a couple to play. Cole won a stuffed banana and Connor won an amazingly, annoying toy trumpet that all three of them love.

After the games, we told them they could pick a ride. There were all kinds, but they picked this goofy little canoe ride. I admit it was cute though. They all three fit in one canoe. I think they just liked getting a little wet.

After the ride, we had to get some fair food. We shared a huge corn dog, a turkey leg, and fried potatoes. It was all very good, but messy and greasy. We then headed to the livestock area and the boys got to see chickens, pigs, goats, and cows. Connor thought the chickens were hilarious. He was cracking up. As we were leaving, we promised cotton candy or as Cole calls it "cotton ball candy." Caleb was very unsure of this and just held it in his hand for awhile, but loved it once he finally realized it was sweet. I wish I'd gotten a picture of this, but I forgot. This last picture is my favorite of the night.

Busyness and updates

2009-09-19T08:22:00.000-07:00

Well, I keep thinking I'll have a day to get caught up but that day hasn't come as the days only seem to get busier and busier. This summer was the busiest we've ever had with my trip to China, VBS, Houston Project (Youth Camp), visiting friends and family, summer visitors, and then Cole starting kindergarten. Now September is here and Jason is back in school taking some online classes for his Seminary degree and it's a whole different level of crazy for our family. Soccer has started back as have all church activities. I am loving that fall is quickly approaching though. There were pumpkins at the grocery store today and the there are a few days where the high temps are only supposed to be in the 60s.

Cole is loving school though getting up every morning has been a challenge. He is attending the kindergarten program at our church which is 8-12 Monday through Friday. I've really missed him every though he is only gone for a few hours each day. Many people have asked what are plans are next year as we've talked about homeschooling or him going to all day kindergarten at public school. Right now, I truly believe God is calling us to homeschooling. The more I read about it, the more I am impressed and encouraged to do so. I prayed that God would put other homeschooling families in my path and I've met several these past few months which has been a huge encouragement. For those who haven't seen these yet, here are some pictures of Cole on his first day of school.

Connor started preschool last week. He goes on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9-12. He is in the Star Class (also at our church) and he thinks he's big stuff. Here he is on his first day of school,

Caleb is the biggest and littlest stinker still. He is my clingy one and is extra clingy these days he is either right next to me or hanging on me most of the time. This has become exhausting, but he's so darn cute which helps immensely when I want to scream "please stop touching me for just a few minutes child." I know he will grow out of this so I'm trying to remind myself to enjoy the extra holding and cuddling. :) Here is a picture of him on Connor's first day of school. He didn't want to be left out.

Well, that's a little update on us. I've got some other pictures to share in another post.

Some scrappin' and such

2009-05-03T09:19:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure how long it's been since I posted. We've had afew really busy few weeks. Cole's playing soccer again this spring. He's only got one week of that left, a few weeks of preschool left, and then Summer's here. We've got lots planned this summer but I'm looking forward to it. I also can't wait to get past all these season of sickness. Caleb's been sick so much this year and today I've stayed home with Connor who's been coughing horribly. This panhandle weather though is crazy. It was in the 90s last week and then yesterday the high was in the 50s and it's been rainy.

Here are few of the last digital scrapbooking pages I've done.

I'll back on later and post a few recent pics of the boys and a couple of new recipes I've been wanting to share. :)

Snow Day

2009-03-27T16:08:00.000-07:00

We got lots of snow today. It was supposed to be a blizzard and I guess it was, but it never got too bad. We've had electricity and water and the wind has been high, but not horrible. We've stayed put though. I'm sure for anyone who had to get out, it was not good. This afternoon when the wind had died down some, Jason, Cole, and Connor went out to play. Here are some fun pics from their fun,

Before heading out

Cole loved it!

Connor had lots of fun too!

Poor Caleb - mommy wouldn't let him out in the snow since last time he cried the whole time

Jason got in on the fun

And, Molly doesn't like the snow too much. She had her first accident indoors. We're hoping it's just due to the weather. She's already part of the family. Connor wanted her to nap with him today, Caleb's been giving her kisses, and Cole loves playing fetch with her. She's been so great!

Our New Baby Girl

2009-03-25T12:53:00.000-07:00

Isn't she adorable? We adopted Molly from the local animal shelter today. I fell in love right away. She is 4-6 months old, a Shar Pei mix, and a perfect size for our family. She has been so great with the boys already, playful, but calm, and very sweet. I took a bunch of pictures of her playing with the boys outside, but apparently I wasn't moving fast enough, because most of them are of her backside, which I figured you all didn't really want to see ;). I'll have to try to get some more of her with them later this week. Caleb's been following her everywhere saying "dog, dog." Connor has been making sure she has her new toys constantly, and Cole is just beside himself. He's been calling her Miss Molly and telling everyone about her.

Spring Break has Sprung

2009-03-16T13:18:00.000-07:00

Most of my neices and nephews are here with my sister, my brother, mom and dad. We've been having lots of fun already. Here's some of pics of some of the things we've done so far from Bible time last night to craft time & our walk to the park this morning and then ice cream and swimming at the hotel this afternoon.

Trying Digital Scrapbooking

2009-03-12T15:23:00.000-07:00

I've fought getting into digi scrapping thinking I wouldn't really like it, but since my scrap space has gotten smaller, I thought I'd give it a try and I'm loving it. I created the 2 pages below this week and had fun doing so. I'm still learning and just signed up for a class over at GetItScrapped!. I already learned some new things tonight. The best part of going digital is there is no clean up ;)

Products: Paper from FeiStuff at Oscraps, Bubblewrap Brush from Erica Hernandez at 2peas, Polaroid & Filmstrip from Pamela Donnis & Juno Designs at Funky Playgound Designs, Flower brush from Corina Nielson at Funky Playground Designs, Journaling Strips from Katie Pertiet at Designer Digitals

Products: Photo Template from Ali Edwards at Designer Digitals, Background Paper from Amy Teets at A Cherry on Top, Green Paper from Insprink, Blue Paper from Corina Nielsen at Funky Product Playground, Journaling Stamp is from Mary Ann Wise at Designer Digitals, Stamped Block Brush from Katie Pertiet at Designer Digitals

Cole's First Family Portrait

2009-03-08T07:40:00.000-07:00

Cole just brought this picture he drew while his brothers are sleeping. He loves doing art when they are not around to bother him, especially Caleb who likes to get in the middle of it.

I love the picture! It's our family. He said Daddy is the brown one, Mommy is the red one (oh, and he put a hat on me, he said ;) ), Caleb is the green one, Connor is the pink one, and he is the blue one. He also made a frame for the picture, which cracks me up. He is so proud of this and it's already displayed on the wall of fame (our fridge door, of course).

My sadly neglected blog... an update on us

2009-02-25T02:40:00.000-08:00

Does it help to know that I've thought about blogging many times in the last 2 months? It seems that once I get out of the habit of it, I go months without updating. Hopefully this post will kick me in the pants and get me in the habit again.

We are all doing well. All of us got the flu last week and were down, but today other than a little coughing left, we are feeling back to normal. As requested, below is an update on everyone individually,

Cole is 4 1/2 now and can't wait to be 5. He's been talking about being 5 for 2 years and is probably going to be disappointed when he actually turns 5 because he's got it in his head and that he can do anything once he's 5 ;). I've started homeschooling with him this year just doing some preschool stuff and he's also still going to our church's Weeschool program 2 days a week. Next year, we will homeschool full-time as he starts pre-k at home.

Connor just turned 3 and I can't believe it. He had a great birthday party even though that's the day we realized everyone was starting to get sick. He had a great time with his friends though at his Mickey Mouse party. Connor's favorite thing right now is to watch movies and would stay in front of the tv all day if we let him. He spends most of his time trying to keep up with Cole. Here are a few pics from his party,

Caleb is 20 months old now and is the busiest child I've ever known. He is into everything and rarely sits still unless he is eating or sleeping. He cracks us up all the time and is obsessed with hats right now as you can see. I don't believe he realizes he's younger than his brothers because he gets really mad when he can't do something they are doing. My house is messier than it's ever been with him around, but we're having fun and it will be clean again one day, right?

Merry Christmas Everyone!

2008-12-24T13:33:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas to all & to all a good night!

Our Christmas Tree

2008-12-03T05:43:00.000-08:00

We started decorating our tree on Monday like we planned and have made our ornaments. Today, Cole and Connor made beaded snowflake ornaments. Caleb wanted to do one as well, but that didn't work out so well as he was more interested in taking the beads off the pipe cleaners than putting them on. Here is our treee and Cole's ornament from today.

Some Thanksgiving trip pictures

2008-12-03T05:39:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pictures from our Thanksgiving trip to Tulsa. We had a great time staying with Grandma and Grandpa.

Connor loved playing with all of Babu's (aka Grandpa John) hats and had a different one on every few minutes each morning.

Caleb was spoiled rotten by Bibi (aka Grandma Marie) and they both loved every minute of it. Here he is mooching some of Bibi's breakfast after he'd already eaten all of his.

Thursday afternoon, we took the boys to Woodward Park to walk around and get some pictures. It was a gorgeous Autumn day!

25 Days of Christmas - Preschoolers Style

2008-11-30T11:07:00.000-08:00

Starting tomorrow, December 1st, we are starting our 25 days of Christmas. We have something planned for each day. I'm excited to see how it all goes. Some days that I know will be busy are easy crafts or just coloring, but it's fun to have a plan for every day. Here's our 25 day plan. I hope some of these ideas you can use as well. Have a great December!

Put up Christmas tree and start decorating - make paper chain garland for tree
Paint sun catcher ornaments and hang on tree (bought at $ store)
Make sparkly beaded snowflake ornaments (instructions)
Make felt Christmas tree ornaments - cut tree shapes from green felt and decorate with seguins, glitter, etc.
Taking Christmas family picture & visiting Santa
Making a large paper Christmas tree to hang on front door
Putting out nativity & Christmas caroling
Making homemade Christmas cards for family (there are lots of ideas online if you google it)
Cutting and decorating snowflakes for door and windows
Glitter art (draw Christmas shapes with glue and sprinkle glitter)
Christmas coloring (lots of coloring pages online if you google them)
Making a gingerbread house
Holiday cooking & baking and then delivering goodies to friends
Buying a toy for Toy for Tots
Making a family photo wreath (instructions)
Making gifts for classmates & teachers (Reindeer cups)
Christmas cookies
Christmas parties at Kids Day Out
Christmas movie night
Making Christmas placements for Christmas dinner
Stamping napkins for Christmas dinner
Driving to DeeDee's for Christmas - planning on taking some holiday goodies for road trip
Paper bag reindeer puppet (instructions)
Christmas Eve service
Birthday cake for Jesus for breakfast & opening gifts

Merry Christmas!

Three Superheroes

2008-11-01T06:01:00.000-07:00

The boys had so much fun this week. They got to dress up multiple times at school, for our church Fall Festival, and last night for their first time trick-or-treating. Here are some pics from the week,

This first one is of me with the boys as we were heading into the Fall Festival. For those that have been asking to see my new short hair, here it is. Well kinda, I don't normally wear the cat ears in it. LOL!

Then, here's Batman and The Flash being brotherly. For the most past, they've taken this superhero thing pretty seriously, but I got them to hug for a few minutes.

Caleb says "up, up, and away." He was so cute. I don't know if he was excited to get dressed up because Cole and Connor were, but he absolutely loved being Superman.

We tried to get all three little heroes as they headed out trick-or-treating with dad, but they never would all look at the camera at the same time. Still, it's a good picture and they came back with those bags full of candy and have been negotiating on getting some ever since. Well, primarily Cole since he's the big negotiator and the one who I believe wakes up each morning with one goal in mind "getting candy."

Lastly, I can't leave out our wonderfully carved pumpkins. Jason loved carving them and really got into it this year. We have a Blues Clues one and Thomas the Train. They were a big hit last night.

Some Scrapbookin' & A Giveaway

2008-10-18T06:15:00.000-07:00

I've not posted any scrapbooking stuff in awhile, so I wanted to show some things I've been working on lately. Also, be sure to check out Triple the Sketch this weekend. In addition to the awesome sketch this week, there is a giveaway from Pink Persimmon stamps so be sure to check out the details. Here are some pages and cards I've done in the last few months. Most of these are from Triple the Sketch, but I'm also take an embellishment class at NYC Scraps that is lots of fun.

Pumpkin Patch Fun

2008-10-18T04:32:00.000-07:00

We went to the Amazingly Fun Farm last night. The boys had a blast . There were games, a corn maze, hayride, and then they got to pick gourds & pumpkins right off the vine at the pumpkin patch. This will be a new annual tradition. It was a great day and the boys crashed when we got home. They even slept until 8 this morning, which everyone with little kids knows that is sleeping late. It was nice! Here are a few pics from the evening,

I'm officially a minivan driving, soccer mom now :)

2008-09-13T08:05:00.000-07:00

First of all, I know it's been ages since I posted. It's seriously been the craziest and busiest few months of my life. I love photography, scrapbooking, and blogging and have had no time for all three this summer, but hopefully now that school has started we will get into a routine and I can find some time again. So, I'm sorry for being MIA.

Anyway, onto the news of the day. It was Cole's first soccer game. I took lots of pics and tried to narrow the ones on here down to a few, but it's hard. For those that don't know, Jason is the coach of Cole's team and the boys did great today though I must say, at times it was quite humorous. Here some pics highlighting the day.

Later this week, I'll try to post other pics from our summer and the first day of school. :)

We're back home with lots of pics to share

2008-07-18T06:13:00.000-07:00

We actually got back home last Saturday night, but then had family in town and a busy week, so I'm just now getting around to downloading pictures from our trips. We've had a great couple of weeks. We got to see lots of family, the boys had a blast with their D.D. (Jason's mom), Cole got to celebrate his birthday multiple times, Caleb was a sweetie staying with friends, and Jason and I had a wonderful time at camp. It was great to spend some quality time with teenagers again. It reminded me how much I love spending time with them, praying for and with them, and just being a part of their lives. I'm hoping to start teaching at church again soon.

I tried to narrow some of my favorite pictures from the last few weeks, but it was hard. These are from 4th of July weekend where I took Cole and Connor to my aunt's house and then on to D.D's house. Later I'll share some from camp and birthday boy Cole.

Cole on the water slide

Connor enjoying a rarity, his own root beer

Connor w/ a 3rd eye from our craft time ;)

Cole had a blast swimming in the lake

My 2 little flamingos at the zoo

Some pics from this past week

2008-07-02T14:05:00.000-07:00

I am heading out of town tomorrow for the weekend and next week for camp so this will probably be the only post for a couple of weeks. We have been super busy this summer and I've been so homesick. We haven't had a chance to go "home" this year so I'm really looking forward to seeing my family at my aunt's this weekend.

I thought I share a few pictures of Cole and Connor though since I was just downloading them. The first is just some sprinkler fun. Then, Connor had a blast with a bubble machine we bought as you can tell. :)

Caleb is One

2008-06-21T02:44:00.000-07:00

I can hardly believe it's been a year since our little surprise came into our lives. Caleb turns one year old today! It's amazing how times zooms by and they grow up in the blink of an eye. My baby boy won't be a baby much longer. It's bittersweet recognizing this though I look forward to watching him grow and I know he can't wait to run with his big brothers.

We had his party last night and he had so much fun! At first, he wasn't sure what was going on, but by the time he'd opened presents and was eating cake, he realized something was special. Here's a few pictures from his day yesterday as you can see he also got his first haircut. It was a big day for such a little guy!

And my favorite...

Crazy Cole and his Swim Lessons

2008-06-19T06:53:00.000-07:00

Cole has been taking swim lessons all week at our local activity center. There are about 20 little kids in his class and it's been quite hilarious to watch. He wasn't happy on Monday, but has been loving it every other day and doing great. Jason took some pics today that I've shared below, but first you gotta hear what Cole told his instructors. They were practicing blowing bubbles and going under water and he said "I don't want to blow bubbles anymore because it makes me have to poop." He's crazy! I wish I could get into that little head sometimes. At least he had his teachers laughing!

Links to both of my blogs

2008-06-05T11:48:00.000-07:00

Just a reminder that my personal blog moved earlier this year to http://4boysandagirl.typepad.com and also I started a fun blog for moms that can be found at http://simplyamom.wordpress.com. Thanks! :)

Learning in Photoshop today

2008-05-29T10:32:00.000-07:00

We learned in our photography class today how to do selective color in photoshop. Here is a pic from today I played around with to learn. I can't wait to try this again.

Impromptu Zoo Trip Today

2008-05-29T08:15:00.000-07:00

For me the planner, the occasional last minute, "jump in car," trip is good. Jason needed to go to Amarillo to pick up some things for church, so we all decided to go. We were out the door before 9am which in and of itself is pretty close to a miracle. We ended up going to the Amarillo Zoo with the boys while we were there, running errands, and having lunch at Joe's Crab Shack. It was a fun day! Below are some photos from the day.

It was a long day...

2008-05-29T08:06:00.000-07:00

Jason took these photos of Caleb Tuesday night. He gave him a bottle and that boy was out before he ever got into the bed. I guess he had a long day...

Fun, new blog for moms

2008-05-23T06:39:00.000-07:00

I've started a new blog for moms at SimplyAMom that I hope all you parents will check out. I'm trying to make it a great resource for easy activity ideas, encouragement, etc. I'm really enjoying it so far!

Triple the Sketch creations

2008-05-23T06:35:00.000-07:00

Here are some recent layouts I've done for TripletheSketch. Be sure to check out the site this weekend, because Patter has an awesome giveaway posted.

These first two are with pictures from 3 years when Cole was small and the last one is Caleb just about a month ago. Thanks for looking!

Learning White Balance

2008-05-21T06:11:00.000-07:00

These are photos from this morning playing outside with the boys. I was playing with the white balance on my camera and amazed at the different colors you get in the shots by changing it. Anyway, here are my faves from this morning.

Little Girl Clothes

2008-05-16T03:49:00.000-07:00

Yes, me who has 4 guys in her life got to shop for little girl clothes yesterday. It was so fun, but so difficult. I was shopping for my new neice, Sydney (don't ya love the name?), who is expected to meet us in August. I now have 3 nieces and that's only time I get to shop for girls so I tend to get a little excited when I do. I was at Babies R Us and literally spent close to an hour just looking at clothes trying to decide what to get. It was so hard because there were just too many cute ones. I also got kinda sad because they had quite a few cute baby boy clothes too and Caleb is getting so big that he's not much of a baby anymore. Despite all this, I had so much fun and these are what I ended up getting.

A Picture of Connor

2008-05-13T02:56:00.000-07:00

This is just a picture of Connor I took yesterday as I was playing with my camera. I'm taking an online photography class and am learning to use different settings on my camera. I just liked this one and thought I'd share. I have some other stuff to upload later.

Visit with Grandma & Grandpa

2008-05-07T06:28:00.000-07:00

We had a great visit with my grandma and grandpa in Tulsa this past weekend. We were only there one night and I wish we could've stayed longer. The boys didn't really know them that well beforehand, but they knew instantly they were grandparents and started giving hugs, kisses, and making a mess from the second we walked in the door. Here are a few pics from the weekend. The first is of Grandpa with Cole and Connor. Then, Caleb being a little mess. He wasn't still much all weekend. He had more fun crawling around in his diaper being a ham than anything else. Then, we've got Grandma and Cole having a balloon fight. I'm not sure which one was winning or having more fun.

It's been too long

2008-05-01T09:06:00.000-07:00

Life has been absolutely crazy pretty much ever since we got back from Chicago. I definitely have overcommitted myself these last few weeks and then ended up getting sick this past weekend. Today is the first day in weeks, I've been able to do some catching up. My to do list is much longer than I have time for, but hopefully I'll have a big dent in it before I hit the pillow tonight.

I wanted to share some pictures of Connor from this week. Tuesday morning he decided to put Aquaphor in his hair (which basically just like Vaseline). We washed it with lots of different things and yesteday decided to just cut his hair short. I need to get some pics of the new short hair, but here are some of his "greasy" do.

Some cards & a layout

2008-04-13T08:01:00.000-07:00

Here are 2 cards I made using sketches from Lucy Chesna at mysketchworld.blogspot.com. These are from sketches made for Sassy Scrappers Grand Opening Celebration. They have lots of fun challenges going on over there all month, which has been great for me since I've needed something to get me going.

Then, this is a layout for my DT work at Triple the Sketch. This a picture of Cole from three years ago when we first moved to Borger. In fact, he is playing in the boxes as I was unpacking them. I can't believe it's been three years already. Time flies when you're having fun, right? ;) As always, thanks for looking!

Having fun in Chicago!

2008-04-10T13:03:00.000-07:00

We are having lots of fun in Chicago this week! The conference is awesome! The weather stinks, but that has affected us too much. I feel like all we've been doing though is sitting and eating. I'll probably be 10 pounds heavier when we leave here tomorrow.

We've heard some awesome speakers at Shift so far. We really enjoyed Mark Yaconelli and Shane Claiborn. You need to check out their sites, especially if you work with students.

We dedicate this child...

2008-04-07T09:45:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Caleb's Baby Dedication at church. It was a special day for us! We took some pictures as a family and then took Cole and Connor back to the nursery. I didn't think they would do well on stage at church. Caleb was a little ham during the dedication. I love the whole idea of the baby dedication saying to your church family you do all you can to raise up this child in the ways of the Lord. How awesome!

Silly guys

2008-04-07T05:56:00.000-07:00

This is a fun layout with a picture of my dad and Cole a couple of years ago. I have tons of pictures of the 2 of them and this is the first one I've scrapped. I could do an entire album about the 2 of them. This layout is based on a sketch by Becky Fleck for the the Grand Opening Celebration over at Sassy Scrappers.

My first mini -album

2008-04-03T04:35:00.000-07:00

I worked on this mini-album last weekend and finished it up this morning. It was fun! I don't why I never did one before. And yes, the last 2 pages look out of order, but I accidentally scrapped them upside-down. But hey this is supposed to be about my life right now and it's a little upside at times. :)

For all you scrappers out there, if you haven't done any mini albums, I encourage to do one. It was lots of fun!

Blog tag & new pics posted

2008-03-27T07:41:00.000-07:00

I posted several scrappy pages in my scrapbook photo album if you want to check it out. Some are new and some are older ones that I never added to this blog. I plan on adding some more pics of the boys to their photo album this afternoon as well.

Norma has tagged me. You must check our her blog and her awesome scrappy pages here: http://www.redrediris.blogspot.com/ .

Here are the rules to this blog tag fun:
1. Link to the person that tagged you and leave a comment on their Blog.
2. Post the rules on your Blog.
3. Share 7 random facts about yourself on your Blog
4. Tag 7 random people , linking to their Blog. Let each person know by leaving a comment on their Blog.

Random Facts about me:

1. I never thought I'd have three children, much less three boys, but I'm loving it and all the craziness that comes with it.

2. I can touch my tongue to my nose. It's apparently a family trait as my brother can do it too.

3. I love to vacuum but hate mopping.

4. I've always wanted a nose ring though my hubby says never and thinks they're disgusting.

5. I'm 5'7" and have been since I was 13, so I was VERY tall back then.

6. I hate scary movies and am perfectly fine with a feel-good, happy ending movie that totally's unbelievable. like August Rush, which I watched last week and loved despite the bad reviews.

7. I love my Savior, Jesus Christ, more than anything and want others to love Him too.

Now I'm going to tag:

1. Nikki (my sis) in hopes that she'll update her blog with new pics of Jacob,

thequisenberrys.blogspot.com

2. Danni - you must check out her blog and her amazing cards

dannisdoodles.typepad.com

3. Shanna - she has a fun, awesome blog

mynextthirtyyears.com

4. Traci - I'm having fun getting to know her with Triple the Sketch

wishartscraps.typepad.com

5. Danielle - I love her scrappy stuff and her photographs

danielle-hereiam.blogspot.com

6. Lee - her running endeavor motivates me to get in shape

createalways.com

7. Marcee - another woman I'm getting to know through Triple the Sketch - so fun

eachmomentisaplaceweveneverbeen.blogspot.com

Uh, mom... this is not the bathtub

2008-03-21T11:24:00.000-07:00

I just love this picture of Caleb taking a bath in the kitchen sink. The bathroom was in use so we made do. He was like where am I? But then he loved it. :)

New Sketch Site - Come check it out!

2008-03-13T07:18:00.000-07:00

Triple the Sketch is a brand new sketch site for scrapbookers. Patter Cross has started this site with a great vision and I'm excited to be a part of it along with other great designers. The site will officially launch in the beginning of April, but we are having a fun drawing and posting some fun facts between now and then, so come check us out!

Love this picture!

2008-03-13T06:58:00.000-07:00

Cole had his Easter party and egg hunt today at WeeSchool. They had the egg hunt out on the playground and Jason walked up to the fence to say hi. I love this picture of them kissing through the fence. So sweet!

"Mom, Can we go to Africa?"

2008-03-11T13:12:00.000-07:00

I don't usually post twice in a day, but I had to pass on this funny from Cole. Earlier, Cole and I went shopping for stuff for his Easter party on Thursday. On the way, I was telling him that Nana & Papa are coming to visit in a few days. He starting naming places he wanted to go with them, like the zoo, bowling alley, museum, and then said "Mom, can we go to Africa? (pause) Well, wait, what is Africa?" I was cracking up! Where do they get this stuff?

Fun Challenge to get your Scrap Mojo going

2008-03-11T11:06:00.000-07:00

First of all, if you haven't checked out the 2008 Scripture Challenge, you must it has been so great. Today, I was working on the word for last week : Prayer. I had picked out my verse and I was just sitting there staring at my supplies really having no thoughts of what I wanted to do. So, I closed my eyes reach in all my patterned paper and pull out a sheet and just started with that end up with this page after lots of fun chalking (idea from Erika Guhm) and doodling.

So, I challenge you to do the same. Close your eyes and grab out a sheet of paper. Don't we all have some we love and never use anyway? Have fun scrapping!

It's a family thing

2008-03-04T05:03:00.000-08:00

I have no idea if Jason wanted me to post this, but I love it so much I just had to and plus he's not answering his phone right now;). He made a scrapbook page on Photoshop yesterday. It was fun 'cause I was sitting at my scraptable and he was in here with me "scrapping" himself, though he'd probably just call it playing around with stuff.

In case you can't read it, the journaling he wrote to Cole and Connor reads,

"There are some opportunities with you two that are simply too good to pass up! I am so glad I got to come home early for lunch and make this snowman wiht you two! It made my day!"

Snow today... gone tomorrow

2008-03-03T06:09:00.000-08:00

We woke up to beautiful snow this morning, but it started melting quickly. Cole begged to go play in it so Jason came home early for lunch to play before it was all gone. I hope you enjoy these pics of the boys and their snowman.

Universal Truths about Boys #1

2008-03-02T00:30:00.000-08:00

I realize that I am only on the tip of the iceberg when comes to the full realization that I am the only female in this house. I mean, I don't think Caleb even knows he's a boy yet ;). Still, there are some universal truths about boys that I am coming to realize. Today, I share 3 things that boys of all ages seem to think is fun and funny:

Gassy smells & sounds

Being naked

Tackling someone

For now, these are things I get to "enjoy" in my home. I fear what the teenage years will bring.

Our blog is moving

2008-03-01T17:52:00.000-08:00

I decided to move our blog to a different place after a few frustrations with this one. So, there will no new posts or pictures added here. Please come visit our new blog at http://4boysandagirl.typepad.com.

Thanks!

Going digital... Well, sort of

2008-03-01T11:41:00.000-08:00

I bought Adobe Photoshop Elements about a year ago, but had used it very little until this week. One of my goals for scrapbooking this year is to learn more about it and how to incorporate it into my layouts, so I jumped right in this week. I bought a great magazine, Com puter Tricks for Scrapbooking 2, which has been a great help in learning and has great inspiration. I also have been reading some great tutorials from Prima Hybrid. I did these two layouts this week. They are both hybrid pages, a mix of digital and traditional products.

Great day for pictures

2008-03-01T11:29:00.000-08:00

Today was a beautiful day, in the 70s and sunny, with a little breeze. It was gorgeous! So, we decided it would be a great afternoon for taking some pictures of the boys, but they thought otherwise. Still, we got some cute shots. I have to thank Tracy for the cute shirts she got the boys for Christmas!

Jason took some pictures of Caleb and me before we left for the park. There were a couple of great ones, but this one is my favorite.

This next one (to the right) is of course, Caleb in the swing. He loved it. This is his first time to get to swing at the park and he was in the best mood being outside with his big brothers.

I just fell in love with this shot Jason took of me walking with Cole & Connor. Cole doesn't let me hold his hand too often anymore, so I definitely want to cherish these moments.

Then, we've got Connor-man with his hair blowing in the wind. This was one of the few shots of him actually smiling today, more because he was camera shy than anything else.

A new blog

2008-03-01T07:17:00.000-08:00

This is our new blog. I was getting frustrated with some things at our old one and wanted to do more customization so here we are.

When you visit, please feel free to leave comments. I always enjoy feedback on my scrapbooking and of course, pictures of the boys in my life. I hope to make this blog a fun place for our friends and family to visit!

Action shots

2008-02-19T16:40:00.000-08:00

It was nice out today so I was playing outside with the boys and playing with the camera trying to get some "action" shots. Here are some that I wanted to share,

Happy Birthday Connor!

2008-02-14T14:13:00.000-08:00

Connor, I can't believe you are two years old today. You are getting so big so fast. Some days you want to be that big boy, but other days you remind us you're still a baby too. We love you so much! You are such a sweet, caring little guy. We can't wait to see what the future holds for you though hope it doesn't come too soon.

Cole's Valentine's Party

2008-02-14T14:11:00.000-08:00

Cole enjoyed a sugared up Valentine's Party at WeeSchool today. As you can see he is really enjoying that sucker :).

Happy baby!

2008-01-22T07:51:00.000-08:00

Caleb has had a rough month, but we think he is finally getting over everything. Even with all the sickness he's had, he's been a happy baby. Now if we can just get him back to sleeping.