Time to plan

New Years is a couple days away and I've been thinking about planning the things I want to do in the new year.... ya know- goals! I'd hate to call them new years resolutions since those are soo easily broken, but in reality goals, things I'd like to accomplish but realistic too. So, here's my top 5...

1. Live a Radical Life For Christ! To make Disciples of men, to make an eternal impact!
2. Be inspired to take more photographs. Not for money but honestly just to fall in love with it all over again because at one point I loved it and I've forgotten why. Perhaps take a weekend trip to Chicago to view this women's Photography exhibit (Jan- April)! She's amazing and I'd love to see her work. It's too bad that she died before she knew what a truly amazing photographer she was. What a history she tells! http://www.wttw.com/main.taf?p=42,8,80&pid=A1hO97qcWo7ViDL_rWniVH2LakYxNa7J
3. Take a family vacation- not paid for by the Federal Government, though I do love those business trips, I think I'd like to see Minnesota with my family this year!
4. Be more spontaneous!
5. Do the Warrior Dash with Patrick ; )

So, those are just a few of my goals for the year 2011! I can't wait to see what the new year holds! Happy New Year and may you be brave enough to try new things and step out of your comfort zone!

Remember...

We are called to remember and to reflect over the past so with a new year almost upon us and a sick child asleep on the couch I've decided today is the day to do just that. So, my 10 best memories from 2010.
1. Waco- X 2. See here for more details.
We had two really great trips to Waco the beginning of last year. Yes, we found out that Zoe gets car sick, but we also learned that our girls, age 5 and 2, can in fact stay in a car for 10 + hours without a DVD player. It can be done and I challenge each one of you to attempt it at least once yourself. It was a great time to just get to know the girls better, play games and really bond.
2. Bunk Beds- Silly, I know, but it's still big for us! The girls are in their own twin beds now. No more toddler beds or cribs in our house, we have two big girls now. See more here
3. Vincent family trip to Colorado- What a blast! Garden of the Gods, Pikes Peak, Balancing Rock, Helen Hunts Falls, Cheyanne Mountain Zoo, Focus on the Family etc... See more here
4. Birthdays, birthdays, birthdays- see here, here and here- That covers me (the big 28), Zoe (5) and Lexi (2). My attempt at a Barbie Birthday cake and a horse birthday cake- interesting.
5. Theater in the Park- July 23rd, Rogers and Hammerstein's Cinderella! What a great evening for it too. The girls loved it! A live play in an outdoor amphitheater all for under $20 for the family! For more details about the program visit here one last family outing before School forever changes our schedules.
6. One nice day for Summer pictures of the girls! Seeing more and more the things I won't be able to just up and do anymore with Zoe and Lexi. I'll miss her when she's at school and I'll miss the fun things we've done together without really planning them. That's what I'll miss the most! See the pictures here
7. Lexi Potty Trained! Even night trained! Wow! What a great thing anytime, but before the age of 2 1/2 is pretty great for one of my kids! Yeah! Good job Lexi! Sorry I didn't make a bigger deal out of this then I did, but it's been nice having no more diapers in our house! I'm soo proud of you!
8.Zoe's first day of Kindergarten! What a bittersweet moment for me. Thank goodness Patrick took off work that day for moral support. She's getting soo big! To read more and cry go here
9. Aunt Esther's wedding- September 17. Both the girls got to be flower girls and they did GREAT! Lexi became the little hero for a day and mine forever! See here
10. The Holiday Season! Gifts bought and wrapped 2 weeks before Christmas! Wonderful time with Friends and Family despite sickness that ravaged our household the week before Christmas! Gifts that were both given and received and well loved! The best gift given by me was Patricks "sound asleep" pillow. You plug your iPod into a pillow and the speaker is inside! It's awesome! I think I love it more then he does, but still.... great gift! For under $20.
Zoe got her Vtech Digizoom camera, her LIV doll and a robe
Lexi got a remote control dog (he walks and barks), look and find books, and pj's- Jingle Jammies from Old Navy (dresses)
Patrick got an air compresser, the above said pillow, photo keychain and a usb/car lighter coffee travel cup.
I got the Rachel Ray pots and pans set, tupperware and other things. I love them all! I'm spoiled!
So, today I remembered and reflected on such a great year with such a great family. My goal sometime this week is still to write out some goals for the coming year!
I hope you all take some time this week to remember and reflect on your last year and perhaps what your goals will be for the coming year as well.

What a week!

It's been a rough week here at home. Zoe was sick for a few days and missed her first 2 days of school, then I got the flu and Patrick thought he was starting to get it. I think though we might finally be on the upswing and praying that we all continue to heal and focus on Christ this Christmas season!

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

I am thrilled! I am officially done Christmas Shopping! Well, I finished last week technically but am still picking up the occasional stocking stuffers whenever I find something for them. Does anyone else struggle finding stocking stuffers for their husbands? I'm struggling with it very much. It's easy for the girls, but Patrick probably doesn't care much for earrings and necklaces with Ariel on them. So if you have any ideas for what you do for your hubby's stocking stuffers I'd love for you to share them, but I digress....
I'm am soo happy that the pressure to get the perfect gift for everyone, to check off every name on our list and to just have the best Christmas season ever is off. I feel soo much better! Really, this is something I recommend to everyone- finish your Christmas shopping early and truly spend some time this CHRISTmas season remembering what the season is really about! Rembering this, rembering that our God came as a baby, born in a manager in a stable when there was no room in the inn. A perfect baby, a perfect sacrifice born out of a perfect love!

Where would we be without Jesus?
He was born of a women so we could be born of God...
He humbled Himself so we could be lifted up...
He bacame a Servant so we could be made heirs...
He suffered rejection so we could be His friends...
He denied himself so we could freely recieve all things...
He gave Himself so He could bless us in every way!
May you know His Love this Christmas!

Jesus
He came not to a throne, but to a manager.
He lived not as a king, but as a servant.
He chose not an earthly kingdom, but a Cross.
He gave not just a little, but Everything!

Christmas rush

It's officially Christmas time! The tree is up, the lights are shining bright and the presents are getting bought. And I'm still finding time to read for pleasure....

I recenly read this book that had a great "sermon" in it about the busyiness of life and what we miss by being soo busy... here's the excerpt from Never Say Never by Lisa Wingate. It was perfect timing for me in my life right now. I hope you get something out of it too.

The pastor was demonstrating his point while juggling eggs. He started with one and as he was tossing that egg in the air he was talking to different people in his congration.... then he added another egg and kept talking to several different people.... then he added a 3rd egg and only talked to two or three people in the congration. He then added a 4th egg. While juggling the 4th egg he just focused on one person and then he went for a 5th egg. With the 5th egg in the air he just focused only on juggling- not talking to people just focusing on the eggs. Then he caught the eggs and went back to talking to different people- asking about particular issues in their life once again. He then asked a boy in the congration the difference between juggling 1-2 eggs and juggling 5 eggs to which the boy answered "At first, you was jugglin' just a couple and talkin' to folks and lookin' out here, but the more eggs you got in the air, the more you had to look at the eggs and not the folks"

"Exactly the right answer!" He then went on to ask that maybe when the Levite and the priest passed by that man who'd been robbed and left on the side of the road, maybe they had lots of things going on? Maybe they had a couple meetings to get to, the potluck list to worry about, some business deal to do, and a fund-raiser going on down at the Moose Lodge? Maybe they had so many eggs up in the air, they just didn't hardly look twice at that man layin' all beat-up and bloody, ya think? Maybe, But the point of the demonstration and the questions was that "the enemy of havin' our hand ready for God's work is having them full up with other things."

Is this you? Is this you especially at Christmas time? This is me! I find myself being too busy to focus on others during Christmas time with all the busyiness of the season- the shopping, the baking, the decorating, the dinners, but that's really not what this holiday is about! So, today as you take the time out of your busy lives I hope you can remember to focus on others, to build relationships, to be soo focused on others that the enemy won't get a hold of you!

Have a Merry Christmas and remember the true meaning of Christmas this holiday season!

A Week of Thanks

So, this week is Thanksgiving! 2 days until Thanksgiving to be exact! 2 days until we stuff ourselves full-overfull! 2 days until we hopefully take 5 minutes to think of the many things we have to be thankful for! Well, this year I'm doing it ahead of time and I'm taking a lot longer then 5 minutes to write out several things I'm thankful for...in no particular order

1. Family-both near and far
2. God and His word
3. Friends
4. Food
5. Husband who's also a GREAT father
6. House- roof over my head
7. 2 little girls that make me smile
8. Clothes to cover myself with
9. Washing Machine and dryer to keep said clothes clean
10. Other appliances that make my job easier
11. Couches to sit on
12. Beds to sleep on instead of hard floors
13. Heaters and Air Conditioners
14. Cars and Trucks to travel to and from places
15. Horses to ride on with family
16. Indoor plumbing
17. Grandparents that love my daughters as much as I do
18. Sisters
19. Tv shows that make me smile
20. Internet- even Facebook as my link to the outside world
21. Books to encourage
22. Answers to prayer even when it's no
23. Toys and Puzzles
24. Eating picnic lunches in November
25. Wearing wings at lunchtime with my youngest
26. Crayons and kid size scissors
27. Parents that have become friends
28. Great neighbors
29. Stable jobs
30. Good health
31. Even pet cats
32. Cameras and pictures to remember things I may soon forget
33. Little girl who loves combing my hair- wayy more then I like it
34. Fall
35. Christmas Decorations
36. Christmas Music
37. Knowing that my children know the true meaning of Christmas
38. The hope of Spring
39. Shopping for down on their luck families
40. Black Friday ads- and friends that will do the shopping for you
41. Late night conversations with my best friend
42. Scrapbooking
43. Days of giving thanks
44. A merciful God
45. A Forgiving God- over and over again
46. Someone else in control
47. Candles
48. Homecooking
49. Warm days to snuggle with my favorite people
50. I love you's said in so many different ways

Oh I could keep going but one of my favorite little people is wanting to snuggle right now and no matter how much I sometimes need reminded to give thanks and to remember what a big God I serve I know that we can actually be worshiping Him in the everyday little things like snuggling with the loves of my life too! God is Good! Have a Happy Thanksgiving

It's that Time Again!

Merry Christmas Cards!

That's right! The Holiday season is upon us! Which means hopefully a good family picture to put in our Christmas Cards and then there is the actual card! What a process! Well, we've ordered from soo many places for cards and this year we'll be ordering through Shutterfly! Why? Because they have great cards! Their prices are pretty right on with everyone else out there and they are soo easy to use! http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-cards I love that you can narrow down the various chioices of cards by number of photos, color, size etc. It's so easy! They even have a new holiday collection this year! Yeah! I'm soo excited about them! In fact here are a couple of favorites of mine for this year. They are in the running for our Christmas cards!

Of course, we've once again gone with a theme for our Christmas card this year... you are going to LOVE It! You'll have to wait though to see it! Though I'll admit we picked a challenging theme this year with colors that aren't your typical Christmas colors so I LOVE that you can narrow your choices down on Shutterfly just by picking the color and they have soo many colors to choose from!! It's been soo helpful! I love that they even have a plain black one that is just amazingly classy too! Here are more that I can't decide between... what do you think? Beware though that if you go check these links out you'll be spending at least 30 minutes on there looking for that perfect card for your Christmas message this year! Let me know which one you pick! I can't wait to see!!

http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/cards-stationery/color-me-merry-christmas-card-5x7-flat?sortType=1&storeNode=93476

choice # 123 for our Cards this year... decisions decisions decisions

http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/cards-stationery/starlight-joy-christmas-5x7-folded-card?sortType=1&storeNode=93491

Bloggers- do you want to see if you can qualify for 50 free cards from Shutterfly just by blogging about their amazing cards, go here

Convictions

I'm reading a book called Crazy Love by Francis Chan. It's Crazy Good!

I will admit that a lot in the book was convicting but nothing more so then this paragraph...

To fill you in a little before I dive in to this it's talking about how when the author became a father. He talked about his little girl running to greet him with a big hug before he was hardly even out of the car and how this experience and just becoming a father truly showed him how much God loves and desires him! This in and of itself should be convicting... the Creator of the universe loves and desires me! Wow!! Not only that but He desires a relationship with me! He doesn't need me but still desires me! I digress, anyways, back to the paragraph...

"My own love and desire for my kids' love is so strong that it opened my eyes to how much God desires and loves us. My daughter's expression of love for me and her desire to be with me is the most amazing thing. Nothing compares to being truly, exuberantly wanted by your children.

Through this experience, I came to understand that my desire for my children is only a faint echo of God's great love for me and for every person He made. I am just an earthly, sinful father, and I love my kids so much it hurts. How could I not trust a heavenly, perfect Father who loves me infinitely more then I will ever love my kids?"

If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in Heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! Matthew 7:11

"The best things in life are gifts from the One who steadfastly loves us. But an important question to ask ourselves is this: Are we in love with God or just His stuff?

Imagine how awful it would feel to have your child say to you, "I don't really love you or want your love, but I would like my allowance, please". Conversely, waht a beautiful gift it is to have the one you love look you in the eye and say, "I love you. Not your beauty, your money, your family or your car. Just you."

Can you say that to God?

Our love for Him always comes out of His love for us. Do you love this God who is everything, or do you just love everything He gives you?

Candy Men

Candy Men

I was catching up on some of my blog friends this morning and found this cute craft here... Candy Men! Soo fun and I figured I can do that... why not?

Of course since we have SO MUCH candy already here at our house from numerous parades, gifts, parties etc throughout the year I just decided to dig through it and see what I can find to use for these really cute Halloween favors.

So I got Lexi and my supplies- candy, marker,hot glue gun and went to work!

Here's some of my finished Candy Men and pets and my favorite is the little family on the right.

And in just enough time to give as a gift to Zoe's kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Hays, today at the Halloween party! I think she'll like them! And I know Zoe will enjoy giving them to her!

I love when I try something like this and it actually works! I'm soo thankful for brilliant bloggers out there who are more creative then me but that inspire me to be/do more!

What bloggers inspire you to be creative? Have you tried any new Fall crafts this year that you were pleasently surprised about as well? Please share!

Happy Halloween Y'All!!

Mid-week smiles

It's Wednesday! Breakfast this morning was a riot! This is how it went...

Me: We had these sweet rolls when I was a kid
Lexi: (HUGE) Gasp! You was a kid!
Zoe: Yeah, Lexi, we all start out as kids

Happy Hump Day to you!!

Ode to laundry day

Today on another laundry day at my house I'd like to make a list of things that will in fact make it through the wash and dry mostly in tact... or sometimes not...

1.Acorns-yes
2Leaves- nope
3. Silly Bands- yes
4. Crayons- not pretty
5. Money- yes
6. Grocery list-nope
7. Polly Pockets- yes
8. Polly pocket clothes- not always
9. Dress up costume-yes
10. Dress up feather boa- NO

Why do I......

Our friends just bought a new house.....It's got everything I want...lots of space, big kitchen, nice yard where the kids can play.... they open their windows and hear birds... I open mine and hear traffic, ambulances, the thump thump of someones car stereo. What is wrong with this picture I ask myself? Perhaps it is just me being greedy, discontent, unhappy perhaps even jealous?

I love our house.... I've seen Zoe and Lexi take their first steps here, say their first word here, sleep in their own bunkbeds here. So with sooo many happy memories why can't I find peace here? It's the house that Patrick and I had renovated when we were engaged- we picked the cabinets, tile, carpet, wall colors, etc..It's big enough for our family. We have room. Yes, the girls share a room, but they wouldn't have to if I was brave enough to move one of them to another floor. We have only one bathroom, but even that is tolerable. We have pretty much the best neighbors I've ever met! We live on an emergency street so they are always one of the first cleared in the city during bad weather. We are within walking distance of Zoe's school and at least 4 parks. I love my house!

So, why do I find myself season after season, year after year, week after week picking up House for Sale magazines, going online to the local realtor site, wishing we lived somewhere different?

I don't know why I do this but I do know why we live here in our starter home for the past 7 years and for the forseable future....

I get to raise my kids, not let someone else do that for me. I get to see them take their first steps, hear their first word, and get those snuggles all throughout the day. I get to walk Zoe to and from kindergarten. I get to have dance parties in the kitchen, and play dress up and puzzles and playdoh. I've had to remind myself this a lot this past year as I see others buying up great houses, see great houses going for sale soo cheap and think "we could afford that" and remember that "yes, we could but at what cost to these two?" Because the days are long, but the years are short!

The world of pretend

It's the age of princesses and pirate ships and the Seven Dwarfs......

Friday Photobooth

My favorite pictures of the week! Zoe's class went to the pumpkin patch this morning on their first field trip! She loved the bus ride and this is her buddy for the day and her best friend- Kathryn! They are soo fun together!

Things I'm thankful for... or should be

So, today is Monday, and honestly it's been a day- not a good one! I spanked both the girls before 8:30, I mopped the dining room, I started a load of laundry and I woke up with a headache! It's Monday alright! Most Mondays aren't great for me because it's my Laundry Day! I hate laundry so I decided one day to just hate it one day rather then one time every day of the week, so on Mondays I do about 6-7 loads of laundry. I'm always inpressed if I can finish it before 9 pm and sometimes I've even surprised myself by getting it done before dinnertime- this is a rarity! So, today as I was sorting all 7 of my loads and complaining to anyone who would listen- mainly Lexi, but I did at one time even email Patrick and mention my hatred of laundry day, I realized that yeah, laundry is NO FUN! Not at all. The sorting, the carrying downstairs, the moving from the washer to the dryer, carrying upstairs,the folding, the putting away- no fun! But today as I was moving my 4th load into the dryer I realized that yes, I still hate it but really it's not bad. I mean, I have a washing machine not a washboard with water I have to haul in

I have soap I don't have to make myself (though I do, because I enjoy it). I have a dryer,I don't have to hang them on a line to dry,

I don't have to do this all myself either. I have two girls and a husband who are ok at helping me with this. I even have dressers to put them in, closets to hang them in and we have a TON of clothes. It's not just one dress for church and one for every other day of the week. I really am lucky, so here's to me being thankful for laundry day and all I have rather then all I have to complain about.

Our gifts

Our church last month did a sermon series on Spiritual gifts. This included serving in the church and out and along with this sermon you could go online and take the spiritual gifts test. I have always known my spiritual gift was hospitality and as I took the quiz it was once again confirmed, but it was a surprise to see also that I scored high in the administration gift. I know that I like to have people over and to plan get togethers and such but I just always thought that fell under the hospitality gift but I guess it also goes with administration, which makes sense too.

I recently read about Hospitality and what it looks like in the Bible and this is just a bit of what I've found is the true meaning of hospitality...

Romans tells us "to share with god's people who are in need. practice hospitality."

Hospitality in the Strong's concordance is translated as 'entertaining strangers.' like abraham did when he entertained angels.

Titus says to be hospitable, love what is good,which translets to being fond of guests, and it implies strangers.
It's speaking love to others, love being always looking out for the good of others.

And then this sermon just kind of summed it up for me and my spiritual gift and how it's to be used practically...


"Exploring the meaning of and need for hospitality."


"Our society is beleaguered with business, people too swamped with their own to-do lists or their family needs to reach past their own front doors and invite people into their lives, the problem isn't our inability to provide a decent meal. It's our priorities! When have we looked out past our living room windows to the needs around us? This isn't only about reaching out to our neighbors or our community. It's about our heart attitudes. Do we LONG to serve others? Do we rejoice in reaching out? Are we loving each other by our actions? Let us contemplate our hearts and whether we should, in fact, offer up first our attitudes and then our homes to serve one another."

Here is a test you can take to see which spiritual gift you have and then find ways to serve. I have taken my gift and used it on our church's mothers group-iMom! I'm the hospitality coordinator and it really does feel good to serve and use my gift in this way. In the past I've used this gift as the Women's Ministry Kitchen Coordinator for our huge Christmas event- last year I was in charge of the food for about 600 people! Wow! It was amazing and so great to see how God could use me and my gift to serve so many people for HIM!



http://www.spiritualgiftstest.com/index.php?option=com_wrapper&view=wrapper&Itemid=3

What is your gift and how can you use it to best serve Him? I'd love to hear from you!

This is another wonderful quiz I've come across. I've read the Five Love Languages book by Gary Chapman and it's wonderful.
They also have one for kids that I have on my list of books to read soon. If you haven't read, heard about or know what love language(s) you are, please take this test. This is a great way to truly show love to those around you! It doesn't just have to be a spouse either. Everyone receives love in a certain way so learn those ways and you'll complete them in a way that might not even know was missing.

LOVE LANGUAGES QUIZ


http://edified.org/myspace/lovelanguage

School = fundraisers

So, Zoe has been in Kindergarten for 1 month and 5 days now and we've already had 2 fundraisers-2!! This doesn't count the smencils they are selilng at school that we've bought too. Now, I'm sure that these fundraisers are all for a good cause, but for kindergartners this basically is a job for moms! So, for the past 2 days I've been selling pasta... this isn't normal pasta this is fun shaped pasta- they have KU, KState, Iowa and other college teams as well. They have horses, ballerinas, basketballs, Christmas, St. Patty's Day, birthdays etc... see here for all the great choices. The quota we were encouraged to sell is 12... now the last fundraiser "we" sold 6 things, yesterday alone doing the same thing as I did last fundraiser "we" managed to sell 41 bags of pasta! Wow! I didn't really even try, but obviously this fundraiser is a winner, I mean who wouldn't want pasta in fun shapes, right? Especially when it has a shelf life of 24 months! So, if you want any pasta then let me know or even better if you or your school needs a great fundraiser this is the one!

My Hero

Finally!! The wedding came and went and it went beautifully! The kids all cooperated, the church looked beautiful and best of all the happy couple are now officially man and wife!

The girls were flower girls, along with 7 of their cousins and boy were they cute! The music started and the older girls walked down then Zoe and Lexi holding hands were next to come down the aisle and they were happy and weren't walking too fast and were really doing great as they made it into our seats... then a pause... and we look up and the last 3 little girls have froze in their spots about a 1/3 of the way up the aisle... what to do... do parents just jump up and get them? Well... let me tell you what happened... Lexi saw them freeze and I saw them freeze and I thought... Lexi did great, let's see if she'll go get them... so I told her to go hold their hands and bring them on up and she actually did it!! Yeah!! Very few times in her young life has she actually done something this brave, but I was soo proud of her! So here's the HERO shot of the night... she's the one on the right (sorry not a great picture). Seems she got the cousin on the left moving pretty fast just by being there! yeah Lexi!!!

She brought up two of the girls and got them out of their frozen state, but the third little girl just stood there so I sent Lexi back down, but alas, this girl wasn't budging! So, Lexi just came back up the aisle dejected that the last cousin wouldn't come with her but with a little pick me up- literally from Uncle Johnny for the little one, the aisle was finally clear for the BEATIFUL bride! The rest of the wedding went off without a hitch- well just the good kind of hitched!




The best part of the night other then being told over and over again how precious, cute, brave etc... the girls were, was the surprise that Regan set up for Esther. Seems Esther really wanted a dance, but it just didn't happen so it was planned by him and some friends that at the send off the friends would sing and play the guitar while Esther and Regan slow danced in a ring of candles! It was beautiful and Esther was soo happy to get her dance! Congrats to the happy couple! Thanks for giving us and the girls this wonderful experience!

Great Expectations!

As I mentioned yesterday I am now the trash women in our household. I've considered for a minute that I might be a little hard-headed! Ok, some might say just downright stubborn and trash has been one of those things I've been a little persnickity about, but I really held out hope b/c my loving husband has shown in the past that a little persistance can pay off. See, after a day of cleaning my house-bathroom included, my darling husband came home and mentioned how I'm not very good at deep cleaning the bathroom and honestly after so much work cleaning one of the dirtiest rooms of the house I took offense to that and explained to my husband that if he thought I didn't do a good job then he could do it from then on out- and he has, so see I had a glimmer of hope that he'd take over trash duty too, but no such luck, but no worries because I'm still holding out hope that he'll comment on the dishes or dinner : )

I am women!!

I love my husband, but he will never be the man I expected in every way that doesn't mean he's not even more so the man that I expected him to be but for us one way my expectations have exceded my husband is the trash...... who's job is it to take out? I think the mans job, he assumes the womens... well we all know he's wrong, but ya know what? I'm not sure how to convince him of this and after 7 years of trash wars in our house where the trash can overflowth I've finally decided that I can be the trash women! I CAN do this! I CAN empty the trash can! Do I want to? no, of course not, but ya know what? I've learned as a mom it doesn't matter if I want to do it or not sometimes we do things because we have to and I'm learning this is one of those 'have to' things! So, I can empty the trash can, there will be no more trash wars in my kitchen! I will empty out the can and really why not? After all...I am women, hear me roar.... as I try to fit all our trash out the back door!!

Life is like a puzzle

Sometimes I struggle with needing a new perspective on why God does what He does or what he allows to happen and today I ran across this word picture on putting a new spin on how to view it.

Life is like a puzzle and God holds the pieces. Every piece has a place, and when all the pieces are in His puzzle, He will return again for His children.

Happy Wednesday!

Mothering Counts

I am the hospitality coordinator for our iMom group (it's kinda like MOPS) at our church. That means I'm in charge of the ice breaker games, table decorating and such! I'm really looking forward to our first meeting Thursday morning. I'm also really nervous! Public speaking is not my thing and I've been having a nervous stomach already this morning and I'm not even there yet, but I'll survive! As I was reviewing my icebreaker for it yesterday I realized it's just not a good choice, so I have revized my plans and come up with this game! I'm really excited about it and the best part is the winning group will get a cupcake from our local cupcake shop featured on Food Network- Daddy Cakes. So, the game is called Mothering Counts and this is how it goes.... the fastest group to answer all these questions will win the amazing prize. So, let's see how fast everyone here can do it. Let me know how it goes. I know it's a group game, but give it a go by yourself or challenge your husband or at your next girls night out. If nothing else it'll be great to remember what fun it is to be a mother!



List



1 thing everyone in your group has in common

2 of your favorite places to shop

3 articles of clothing you are most comfortable in

4 new years' resolutions you have already broke

5 reasons you have been late for an appointment

6 things that go bump in the night that wake you but not your husband

7 excuses your kids have given for not eating their food

8 items commonly found in your car

9 movies you love to watch together as a family

10 reasons you love being a mother

Photo booth Thursday

Here is a sneak peak of Lexi in her little flowergirl dress for my sister in laws wedding! I can't wait!

What a week!

Day 3 of school! Zoe still loves it! And I love how much she loves it! In fact this morning about 5 minutes before the 7 am alarm went off she came into our room just crying and crying and I finally calmed her down enough to ask what was wrong and she said "It's Saturday and I can't go to school" and she was soo sad about that! What a blessing that was! It's never been this easy to wake her up in the mornings but since school started she's like a new girl in the mornings. If only I could say the same about Lexi! Zoe also told me this morning she wants to be a doctor because she likes to look at people's bones. Not sure where that came from, but I could encourage her today about doing really good in school so she can become a doctor one day. Doctor school costs a lot of money to which she replied "but I have two piggy banks", though please note, one of those is Lexi's she was claiming as her own. We'll see if she continues with this dream as she grows up.

It's been an incredible week, both good and bad and really emotionally draining. Zoe and I have transitioned to this new time in her life and are working on getting used to the new days and Lexi is trying to do so as well. We've been getting up early and going to bed early and somehow still adjusting well.

On Wednesday, my grandmother passed on, so on top of the emotionally draining week with Zoe in school I've now got these emotions going on. The funeral is Monday at 1. So, now come more decisions to make... do we take Zoe out of school for the funeral? Do we leave her and Lexi here with a sitter (and one to pick up Zoe from school)? I mean, they can handle sitting through a funeral but Zoe is soo excited about school and likes it so much. Plus, it's the Monday of the first real week of school so they start with the real school stuff not just the start up week stuff, ya know? I don't know... we'll see what we finally decide to do! So, pray for the family this week. It was expected and it truly is a blessing that she's passed on as she's been sick for quite a few years now, but still the void will be there no matter if she remembered people or not- they remembered her!

We made it!

We made it! Ok, I made it! I managed to take my oldest daughter to school today and leave her there! yes, I shed a few (read A LOT) tears! We got up at 7, ok, I was up before that... too excited (read Nervous) to sleep! I woke up Zoe and gave her a present for her first day of school! An adorable flip flop bracelet like the one she lost a while back. I took the charm off and put it on a necklace for her since the bracelets were still a bit too big.

She got dressed in her adorable new school dress that we've had hanging up for about 2 months so she'd look forward to her first day of school and her cute new ballet flats we got on Friday.

We ate some breakfast- pancakes and sausage... gotta have the protein to make it till 11:50 lunch time. Then we even had time to brush her hair, put on a little lip gloss and daddy helped her put in her earrings for her big day!

We got ready to head out the door, with the backpack, the quick snapshot of Zoe and her stuff

and finally looked out the windows- it was raining... well so much for riding her bike and walking to school today- luckily there is always tomorrow. Of course we did have to park on the opposite side of her classroom door, so it was kinda like walking to school!

So, we hopped in the truck and got to school about 20 minutes early... we were excited! Ok, we stopped for a few photo ops... I mean come on this IS her first day of Kindergarten!

We went inside her class with her to help her put away her things and kiss her goodbye... enter the waterworks! Wow! I thought I could do it. I mean, I'm not a crier! At all! But today was too much... the teacher is great and I ask if we could leave her then b/c it was still a little early and she said "yes, before she sees mom all teary eyed" and then it happened- My first tear... so I hugged and kissed her quickly and turned to leave. This is when Lexi started to cry that she "wanted to stay with Zoe" and then I think I really started to lose it! So I picked up Lexi and we left. Thank goodness Patrick was with us to tell Zoe bye as me and Lexi both left crying! Zoe though was oblivious to it all! She was just happy as a clam to be there! So, here we left her! Here is where I pictured her at various times throughtout the day as I looked at the clock time and time again. I've never seen a day move soo slowly! Of course she did finally tell me later that though I pictured her here all day that shortly after class started the teacher moved her to the yellow table right next to this one! So, bummer! Maybe I'll get a picture of it sometime soon!

Finally 3:30 rolled around and there we were... waiting at the door to pick her up! Ok, we were about 20 minutes early again! The let us in and I went to her and.... She was a grump! Though honestly I think she was just overwhelmed and mentally exhausted! Heck I was too! So, I ask her how her day was and she said "I didn't know it'd be soo long"... Well, honey I didn't either! But after giving her some time to unwind she started talking about her wonderful day and didn't stop! What a talker! And the last thing she said tonight was "I can't wait to go back to school tomorrow! I love it I love it I love it!" No matter how hard I thought today was and how many tears I shed and prayers I sent up, this was more then I could ask for! My daughter loves school! She made friends and she loves her teacher! I have been thanking God ever since she said that! HE is soo good! Now, if we can just keep that opinion for the next 13 years we'll be good to go!

We'll see if I do better tomorrow!

Bittersweet

It's Sunday! I have two days till I walk my oldest daughter to the doors of a school and leave her in the hands of a complete stranger.... I'm nervous, excited, scared, amazed and so much more in love with her today then I thought would ever be possible the day I held her little 8lb 8 1/2 oz body all those short years ago. I remember then how many people said that time would fly and I remember thinking... how could something this small make the world move faster? But it has, at least it's made my world move faster and it's been such an incredible ride-!

So here I sit and think of all the things I should be doing and the list of questions I should be writing to ask her teacher, Mrs. Hayes, tomorrow at the sneak peak but instead here I sit thinking. I am thinking of how truly bittersweet this day will be. It's a great day, I mean a whole new chapter of her life is starting, the start of independence and learning and making new friends, but at the same time it's bitter for me as I won't be as much a part of it as I have been these past 5 1/2 years. I won't be there to kiss away scraped knees or hurt feelings or help her with her learning frustrations. Instead I'll play a different, more important role. I'll now be the truly prayerful parent. I'll be the one to lift her up daily- I'm sure the first day, hourly or more often, in prayer to the One who can be there to help her with the scraped knees, the hurt feelings and the learning frustrations. I've ask myself several times a day it seems if she's ready, when really what I'm asking is if I'm ready, ready to let go- even a little bit. I'm not sure if I am, but what I am sure of is weather or not the answer is yes, the time is now! So as we embark on this new journey, this new chapter I ask for prayers from my friends and family; prayers for peace for all of us. Prayers for me specifically that I know that I've done well as a parent, that she's prepared for school, that she'll be able to make friends without me there encouraging her to do so and then prayers for me as I embark on my journey as once again a parent of one- a two year old no less. So as Zoe learns to befriend her new classmates I'll be at home learning also, learning once again how to play dress up, pretend, to do puzzles and to color and to really learn to enjoy my second born who will also be losing her playmate and have to make do with me, who quite honestly isn't near as fun as Zoe has been for her. Thank you to all who read this and to all who have been there and can share your hope that this isn't a bittersweet day but truly a day of independence and joy! May I some day soon feel that!

Summer Pics

We had a nice day last week finally. It was only about 85 degrees- in the shade, so I decided to take the girls out in the morning for some end of the summer pictures. This yet again was a reminder that I won't be able to do this with Zoe anymore once school starts. I'm Saddened by this but soo thankful for such great pictures to remember the time by.
Here are my 3 favorites and I've done some photo shop work to add their names. Such fun! Have a happy Wednesday!

Heather

funny things kids say part 2

I've been enjoying my kids lately and some of the funny things they say so I thought I'd share my two favorite with my loyal readers....

1. Lexi- every time we kiss she says "we're married"
2. Zoe-saw a packet of horseradish sauce yesterday and ask me if the "horseriding sauce is spicy"

Happy Hump Day!

School Enrollment

What a great day to enroll for school, ok, besides the fact that it is 103 degrees- in the shade! We got up early- 7 am, well 7:15, we ate breakfast-french toast/bacon sandwich, and we got out the bike and the stroller and we were out the door at 8! Yeah! This has been something we've been working on. It really does prove that God loves us, especially when he blessed me with children that are night owls and can sleep till 9 or later in the morning if I let them. Now, as much as I've enjoyed this for the past 5 years readjusting to the fact that this is no longer an option has been a struggle for us- all of us! So, we've been getting up at 7, ok, maybe it's been more like 7:30, but we've been working on it for the past couple of weeks all the same and slowly we are adjusting. Today since it was school enrollment that started at 8 I decided to make today a practice run. So, really we did it perfectly, though I must admit I felt like I was yelling all morning to get going.. we managed to even make it to the school after our 15 minute walk at 8:15. Of course school doesn't start till 8:30, so isn't it nice to have that window of extra time for those mornings when it just doesn't happen? I was thrilled with how well it went and now am hopeful that everyday will go as smoothly! Here is the outfit that Zoe chose to wear for today's enrollment day- What a great choice! You'd almost think she could read her shirt and that's why she picked it : )

Have a good day everyone! Don't forget to vote if you get to today also! What a blessing that we still have that right in America to voice our opinions! Take advantage of it! Here's a fun little picture to enjoy today as well! Love it!

You can make a difference!

I was reading FB this morning, as is my usual habit and I came across a link by my sister in law to this blog and was overwelmed with my selfishness. Who knew that so little could do so much! I just kept thinking that we went out to lunch yesterday after church and spent more money then it would cost to save 3 of these babies. So, today I committed to a gift card from Wal Mart to support these children and perhaps save just one of them! What a difference that will make and I'm praying that others will read this and feel just as convicted too. So, here's the incredible link to share and if you hurry someone will match your donation and we can double God's work that's happening thanks to unselfish people out there who have decided to make a difference in a life no matter how small they think it is! Please consider giving...

http://wearethatfamily.com/2010/07/there-are-hungry-orphans-in-africa-we-can-help-them/comment-page-1/#comment-53015

What a week!

What a week! At least weather wise! It's been beautiful down here. It's been a little rainy, but I'll take the rain if it means we can once again open our windows and in July! What a blessing! I'm soo excited! I love the breeze and we're even considering camping tonight. It's been a bit of a busy week and we haven't got to see Patrick so much so tonight will be great if we do get to go. I'm not a huge camping fan but it's a great time together as a family, no phones, no tv's, no interruptions and I don't have to cook, so it's worth sleeping in a tent just to have that!

So, here's wishing everyone a FANTASTIC weekend!

Independance Day 2010

We love the 4th of July, I mean, how can you not? Fireworks, grilling out, friends, parades, etc... It's great! At least, normally it's great! This year though was a little less great considering it rained the WHOLE day, ok it stopped for about an hour or two and thankfully those were the hours of a local community parade at Collins Park and the big Go Fourth Celebration at our local Lake Shawnee! It's always a good show. There is just something so fun about being out in a field surrounded by fireworks anywhere you look! It's amazing to see how beautiful it all is! And even more so to see it all in the eyes of a 2 year old! Lexi has been a little scared of them but this year she is a little easier to reason with and now she's excited about them. She still won't hold a sparkler, but now we have a goal for next year. Now she's just in what I like to call the "Awe" stage. She just claps and says "wow!" everytime she sees a pretty firework! It was fun! So, here are some pictures from our day! Hope your day was a day of "Awe" as you celebrated our freedom and each of those people that have fought so hard and even to the death to give it to us! Thank God for them and God Bless America!

Echoes from the Past

Blast from the Past....Last weekend Patrick's family had a garage sale. I put some stuff in and on the last day went to help with some cleanup. As we were going through the clothes sorting which to keep for the Haiti Orphanage we all support and which to give to our local rescue mission I ran across this adorable outfit. Patrick's mom told me that it was Patrick's that he wore a lot when he was about Lexi's age, so of course I brought it home and put her in it, added the boots and enjoyed the results, now you can. Have a good week!

In the Fire

We've all heard the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego but have we really ever listened to it? Our pastor this sizzling hot summer is doing a series on "Hot Stuff" in the Bible! He started this past week with Daniel 3.

The story is about a power hungry king- Nebuchadnezzar, who sends out a decree that everyone is to worship a 90 foot tall 9 foot wide golden idol. Whoever didn't fall down to worship this huge idol woudl be thrown into the fiery furnace. Enter Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego... three 20 year old men who stood up against peer pressure! They refused to bow down to this idol which incensed the king, so much so that he immediately had them brought to them. He was mad! I mean, he was an all powerful king, right? He gave them a second chance to once again bow down... to which they once again refused! Could you have done this knowing that this king meant what he said and that your answer to this could very well lead to your demise? Well, they answered true to their beliefs! In fact they answered that God was a most powerful God who could save them, BUT IF NOT they were still faithful and would NOT bow down to his idol! So they were thrown into the furnace- only of course, after it was heated up 7 times hotter, after they were tied up and then brought to the edge of the furnace to be thrown in by the strongest he-men of the kings army. This is amazing, because as they were held next to the furnace about to be thrown in they see their captors literally burn to death due to the heat. They fell into the furnace where suddenly there weren't just 3 men anymore but 4 were now seen. They were untied and walking around with a form in the likes of the "son of God"! The king was amazed and immediately had them brought out of the furnace and a new decree was set out for everyone to worship the one and only true God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.

So, here are the lessons to learn....
1. The world Falls at the feet of power and fame! We don't have to
2. Sometimes you have to offend people! Peer pressure never goes away!
3. Obeying God can get you in a "hot" spot!
4. God is God and we are not, He can do it, BUT He may not! Show your faith- GOD IS ABLE!
Hope- pray for it, know it! Believe it- Commitment, stand firm!
*Do your BEST and leave the results to Him
* Practice a defiant "BUT IF NOT" Faith
5. Expect to Roast for your convictions
6. Jesus meets us in the furnace- their pinnacle moment of their lives was when they walked in the furnace! They walked with the Son of God! Wow!
7. God stands with those who stand for him!

Take away from the story- Be willing to Go into the furnace for Christ
Have a "but if not" Faith!

Making a marriage better!

I recently read a blog about 5 Secrets to make a marriage last. There was some great advice there but the one thing that really did hit home was to put on your "goodness contacts" Philippians 4:8 says to only see what is pure and good and lovely and excellent and praiseworthy. If we see with our goodness contacts then those little things that bother us will not bother us as much anymore. The suggestion was to "write out a thankfulness log to get the log out of your own eye." Can you write out 100 things you love about your spouse today? 10? 20? And do it again tomorrow? See the good and give thanks. Write it down to remember. And remember that when we sometimes wonder if we have married the right person that indeed "I have married the right man because God can make me the right women." Today I'm going to start by writing out just a short list of 10 things that I love about my husband!

1. He's a GREAT listener

2. He's a WONDERFUL father

3. He is a STRONG protector

4. He's a GOOD provider

5. He's VERY generous with both time and money

6. He's SMART

7. He's FUNNY

8. He's ORGANIZED (but I'm soo not, so what a great attribute)

9. He's LOVING

10. He's PATIENT

There are just a very few of the many many reasons why I love my husband more and more everyday!

Hostas and heat

It's Friday! It's been a short week supriseingly enough though I'm sure that's due to the holiday on Monday and having that extra time with Patrick. So, despite the short week and the horrible horrible heat and humidity I've been quite productive in our yard of all places. This is a huge sacrifice for me as everyone knows that yard works is the mans job. But despite that fact, I've planted 4 hostas under a tree that before just had years old mulch under it and then I added new mulch and even a little circle of rocks to finish the look! It now looks GREAT! Thanks to my mom though for the rocks and hostas and to my little helpers for all their fine fine help.

Another of my goals this summer is to get grass to grow in our backyard. Now this doesn't sound all that hard I'm sure, but after 7 years of trying multiple things, ie. sod, expensive grass seed and fertilizers, even a professional opinion on how to fix it etc... It's been harder then it should be. One of the main problems has been our whole back yard is shade shade and more shade. I know this doesn't sound like a bad problem to have in a backyard for all those family bbq's but alas... shade doesn't grow grass. So we've cut down some tree limbs in the hopes of getting more sun and this year I've finally ask my dad for help and he's thought of an answer... the answer being manure, ok, compost. We need to save our soil that can barely even grow weeds. So one afternoon just my dad and the girls and me covered our whole backyard in composted materials. It was a LOT of work, but I am set on achieving this goal! We will have grass! The next day or two after that I planted grass seed.... all by myself and then every day since it's just been a matter of watering 30 minutes a day and I'm proud to show you my results as of today! Of course... check back at the end of summer with me to see if It's still going as well after the heat. It's the most beautiful thing ever and despite the fact that's its a little spotty in places its wonderful! Now as you can see the last picture of the yard though still needs some work so I think I'm just going to buy some of those pavers and kinda make it a proper entryway. We'll see if more grass grows but it's not looking so hot right now is it?

Just as an added bonus I thought I'd brag on my attempt at a garden... ok, a container garden, but hopefully we'll have tomatoes and strawberries before we know it!

Also this week I've let Zoe do a lot of cutting with her new safety knife from Pampered Chef... best $3 I've ever spent with them. I've just cut down my kitchen time at least by 1/3rd with all her help now!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend and stay cool in this heat

Heather