Love Loving Them

Just because they are seriously so stinkin cute... I wanted to post these pictures of our little treasures that I took today. :)

Jed is smiling all the time now. He still smiles the most for his Papa... It's adorable!

And this cute girl came into the kitchen this morning while I was doing school with Siah in her sister's shoes, her sister's hat, and in her very own super hero cape. LOVE IT! :)

And this afternoon I caught Hal skipping around the house with one of her dolls in her shirt. I told her she needed to put her doll away when it was time for dinner and she told me that she couldn't do that. I asked her why not and she said matter of factly, "Because the baby is in my tummy and she's not coming out till November 1st. :)

That was enough to convince me to let her keep the baby in her shirt during dinner. She hasn't taken it out for five hours now. I think I'll end the madness at bedtime by letting Hal know how incredibly UNCOMFORTABLE it is to sleep when you're "8 months pregnant with a baby in your tummy." :)

And finally, at dinner tonight, Siah informed me that even when he was married he was still going to eat triangle pastas and bananas for dinner.

Man, are our treasures cute????? I love watching them play. I love listening to the things they say. I just love loving them!

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And just for fun... Siah read his first entire "book" (it was like 8 pages long with 5 or 6 words on each page... but still!!!) yesterday. :)

And tomorrow, bright and early, we leave for CA!!!!! Yipee!!!!

Ta Ta for now.... :)

I FRIED Our First Class Pet!

A few weeks back Tara found our first "class pet" in our driveway and brought it to us in a jar! Being the animal lover that I am (NOT), she encouraged me that it would be a great science project to do with the kids... so I went with it... IT, being a caterpillar. Things were going good. Our caterpilliar ate its leaves and turned into a cocoon. We patiently waited nearly three weeks for it to turn into this gorgeous butterfly, but no such luck. So we threw our first pet in the trash.

Lucky for us, as we were loading up the car to go to church we spotted a second caterpillar. So we put it in the jar & got it some leaves. I had this brilliant thought that maybe our first one didn't make it because we kept it inside the house... maybe the poor caterpillar needed some sunshine. So I left it in the front yard and we left for church. The next night the kids and I walked outside to check on our new class pet... And... unfortunately... my brilliant idea had back fired...

Josiah picked up the jar and looked at the caterpillar.

"Hey mom. Why is our caterpillar lying on it's back with it's legs sticking straight up? Wait, Mom... It's not moving. Why isn't it moving?"

I took the jar from his hands and looked a little closer. "Oh no," I mumbled under my breath.

"What's wrong Mom?" Josiah asked.

"Ummm, honey... well... I think I might have fried the caterpillar."

"What do you mean mom?"

"Well honey, I think it got just a little to much sun."

I looked at Siah's face wondering if he was going to burst into tears or what he was going to do.

He took the jar back, took a closer look... then a the BIGGEST smile crept across his face and he started laughing! "Mama burnt the caterpillar!" He thought it was hilareous!

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After frying our second caterpillar to a crisp, we were lucky enough to find our third caterpillar crawling across the sidewalk in front of our house yesterday. The kids named this one "Sam".

Let's hope that Sam has a better future than his little friend. :)

Here's Sam...

So far so good...
He's a furry little guy...

And he's our class pet! (Well, technically our third class pet. :)

PS... If you'd like to hire me to teach your kiddos science you can call me anytime at 555-FRY MY CATERPILLAR!!!!!

:)

Another Lovely Weekend

It's been another lovely weekend here in sunny Colorado! Yesterday we took a drive up into the mountains with some families from our church. We stopped at the most yummy donut shop (well sort of... VG's is still the best donut shop in the world. :) Then we caravaned through the mountains to this adorable little town called Cripple Creek. And on the drive we say some of the most gorgeous Fall leaves that I think I have ever seen. My pictures hardly capture how magnificent it was, but that's ok... the memory of my first Fall in CO will always be marked by the beauty of the leaves that covered the vast mountains. :)

Here are my kiddos enjoying their donuts...

Papa and Mama....

And.... The beautiful Fall leaves...

I tried to get a picture of this really cute church in the middle of town as we were driving but I pretty much got a picture of the giant tree in front of the church. As we were driving down into the town it reminded me so much of a place that Joey and I visited in Germany nearly seven years ago. I loved the view in Germany and I loved the view this weekend!

We stopped in the town at a park and had a picnic lunch. Below are all the friends that we spent our day with...

Jed is seriously one of our easiest babies. Most of the time he just hangs out. He's super mellow... we're so blessed!!

This is our new little friend Lindley... Isn't she seriously cute? I just loved this picture of her and wanted to put it on our blog.:)

And that was that...

So today, we just hung out around the house... I did loads and loads of laundry, and tried but filed at making homemade spaghetti sauce with homemade meatballs. All my meatballs completely fell apart once I put them into the sauce. It still tasted ok but it was more like extremely meaty, kinda salty sauce... oh well. :)

We watched a lot of football, the kids played outside all afternoon. I opened all the windows and enjoyed the warm breeze. I am soaking up the warmth knowing that winter is just around the corner. :)

It was another lovely weekend.

Three Is My Max; But I Have Four

I'm starting to think that three was my max.

Three was the number that allowed me to still be in control of my life...

which is probably the very reason WHY the Lord has so graciously given me four little treasures.

Three kept me stuck in my own pride... Four makes me brutally aware of my weakness.

Three allowed me to get out of my house on time... four makes me officially a half hour late to any event taking place outside my home.

Three allowed me to keep a clean house... Four leaves me describing my home as either being struck by a tornado or a cyclone.

Three made me think that I could be patient partially in my own strength... Four made it clear that patience is humanly IMpossible!

Three gave me an opportunity to rest each afternoon... Four has given me a taste of what it might be like for a war prisoner to be tortured through sleep deprivation.

With three I never once brought a box of sugar cereal into our home... With four you could have found me this afternoon sitting on the back porch eating Fruit Loops by the fist full (that I had bought for a "school project"... now turned into a delicious afternoon snack!) with my three oldest treasures.

Three could be easily contained with one in each hand and one in the front pack... Four just makes me look like a mother goose with her long line of ducklings waddling behind her trying to keep up with mom.

Three allowed me to rely on my own strength... Four has thrust me into the arms of My Savior almost every minute of everyday.

Three was my max... But four has me right where the Lord wants me...

And for that, I am grateful!

Quick Update

My kiddos say the silliest things sometimes not because they are trying to be funny but because they are just trying to learn the ENglish language. It cracks me up what they think certain words are. For example, the other morning Halee was praying, "Lord, help me to be kind and not shellfish." :) Doesn't that just want to make you smile???

Well, I've been sick the past few days with a cold and a few other things that have slowed me down. I have to admit that it is SUPER hard to keep up on homeschool and feed a newborn every three hours, and guide, teach, and direct my two year old on days when I'm feeling so under the weather. I have been falling asleep while feeding Jed at night and waking up with his bottle half way out of his mouth and him totally sacked out in my arms. The good news is that he has been sleeping like a champ, giving me 6-8 hour stretches at night... THANK YOU Lord for your sweet grace all over me in that area of my life!!! :)

Joey has been working like a crazy person with a few new companies out here in the Springs which has been a total blessing... so even though I don't always get to see him as much as I would like to, I am soo soo grateful that he even has work in this crazy economy... No complaints here!!! He's also been working on the farm a little bit the past few days, going through the inspection and getting it ready for our upcoming appraisal. We might be able to close by the beginning of October if all goes well. I guess we still have to wait and see what the Lord has up his sleeve?? :)

We're heading out to CA next week for a much needed visit on my part. Joey was going out to do some business stuff and I pretty much begged him to take me and the kids with him. And he joyfully gave into my pathetic pleas! Thanks babe! So CA... HERE WE COME!!! I can't wait to go to the beach, see family and friends, eat my favorite foods and stock up at Trader Joes before we have to head back home. :)

I think that's pretty much the scoop out here right now...

Ta Ta for now...

:)

Reminders

I've never really had a good memory. My memory (or lack there of) has been a blessing and a curse throughout my life. It's a bummer when there are moments in my kids lives that I would like to keep at the forefront of my mind, but I seriously can't remember some things, which is part of the reason that I keep a blog. :) My poor memory is a blessing because although it is often times hard for me to remember the good, it is equally as difficult for me to remember the bad, which is nice because I don't often struggle with forgiveness or dwelling on negative things.

But this post isn't about the my mind's inability to remember things... it's more about my heart's ability to remember. Lately I have often found myself caught up in some of the difficulties of having many small children.

I have been focussing on my exhaustion rather than on the healthy bundle of blessing that looks up at me in the night with his giant bright blue eyes! His smile seems to whisper to me, "thanks for feeding me Mom!" :) And I wanna smile back, but the truth is that I usually fall asleep again the moment that I pop that bottle into his mouth and pray that he drinks fast!

I sometimes find myself trying to home school in my own strength. I forget that "The Lord is the strength of my life!".... I, am not, able to muster up enough of my own strength to make it through an hour, yet alone an entire day. SILLY ME! :)

I forget that my kids need to see Jesus in me in the way that I act, not just in the words that I say. They need to see Him in the way that I live my life.

In this season of some unknowns, I need to remember God's faithfulness. He has ALWAYS been faithful to me! Not one time has he left me stranded!

When I'm tempted to speak harshly to my children I need to remember that the Lord disciplines me in His LOVE, NOT in His anger.

I need to remember that John 3:16 isn't just a verse to memorize in Sunday school. It means that God loves me. He really, really loves me. He gave his one and only son to die so that I can be with Him. He would have given the same incredible gift if I had been the only person on left on earth.

I do church, I read the Word, I talk about Christian stuff... but the brutal, honest truth is that often, very often in fact, I forget that the whole reason I'm a Christian in the first place... is because He loves me.

So I have been posting reminders for myself in places that matter to me.

On Jed's bed is a little note that says, "You're gonna miss this."

On the mirror above our kitchen table, a question stares me in the face each morning when I sit down with the kids to start our studies for the day... It says, "Who is your strength? No really, WHO IS YOUR STRENGTH?"

My closet is the place that I escape to when I get overwhelmed by our many small children. Behind the door is a post-it note that says, "The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped!" When I feel like I just might lose it, I tell my kiddos that I will be right back, and I quietly walk (run :) into my closet, close the door, and beg God to be my strength, to make me wise in the moment, and to allow me to choose to live a life of love towards my children, even though that is the absolute last thing that I feel like doing.

I highlighted John 3:16 in my Bible and placed my bookmark there. And each morning that is the one and only verse that I have been reading. I read it over and over again. I read it out loud to myself. And I thank God that He loves me. That He really, really loves me. And I ask Him to help my heart to believe that it is really true.

I need reminders. I need them constantly. Yes, my mind forgets things often. And that's ok, I guess. But I want my heart to remember... remember everything that matters.

Baa Baa Black Sheep

How my treasures sing Baa Baa Black Sheep...

Baa Baa black sheep

Have you any wool?

Yes Sir, yes Sir

Three bags full.

One for the master,

one for the dame,

One for the little boy

WHO LIVES DOWN THE DRAIN!

Baa Baa black sheep

have you any wool?

Yes sir, yes sir,

three bags full.

:)

September's Treasure Chest

Not to long ago, a friend took some awesome newborn pictures of my sweet Jed. We tried to get some pictures of all four little treasures but the kiddos were being total pickles (or maybe they were just being kids :), and we didn't get that many pictures of our entire treasure chest. So this week I took our brown bench behind our house and placed it in the middle of the giant cat tails behind our house, and attempted round two. We had some glitches, which is most certainly to be expected, but we also had some successes...

My pictures aren't as good as when Natalie took them... but i did my best and we now have a few winners...

Here is this month's treasure chest...

My little Jedi... Peaceful, quiet, joyful... I'm so in love.

My Siah... He is growing up so fast. Look how old he looks here...

My Hal... A Beautiful girl, with a beautiful heart!

Reesie did not want me to take her picture. The first two pictures are TOTAL Reesie faces! She is a bowl of fun loving joy mixed with pure DRAMA!!!!!