January 29, 2011

Happy Birthday

Kansans, enjoy the gorgeous day!

January 28, 2011

Fingerprint Friday

I'm a proud momma.
In a good way.
I hope.

Last night Jakie told me:
I decided I was going to memorize 100 verses
before my birthday.
(which is the end of June)
But then I thought that would be too easy.
So I changed it to Jobie's birthday.
(which is the middle of May)
I decided this 5 days ago.
I'm on my second verse.

I'm so proud of him for doing this on his own.
Even if he doesn't get 100 verses done before Jobie's birthday.
Or his own.
He's been taking his Bible to school with him everyday.
I'm proud of him for that too.

He started with Psalm 1.
And is just going to work his way thru the Psalms.
I think I might join him.
I've got a jump start.
I've had Psalm 1 memorized since I was little.
We won't tell him that though.
Hehehe.

I did memorize it in King James.
Maybe I should rememorize it in NIV.
To be fair.
Can't decide if I want to be that nice.
Hmmmm.
But it would be fun to quote it with him.
So NIV it is.

What a sweet spirit my oldest son has.Psalm 119:11
I have hidden your word in my heart
that I might not sin against you.

Each week Beki at therustedchain hosts Fingerprint Friday and uses a song by Steven Curtis Chapman as a springboard. Join in. It's a great way to be reminded of God's presence.

January 27, 2011

A Book and a Story

Ezra is writing a book.
This is the title.He has a compulsion to tell the truth.

This is what he has written so far.
(The first word is "deer".)He was having a rough day with his older siblings yesterday.
He sat down at his table.
And wrote out his feelings.
Glad he can express himself this way now.

Funny story.
Jobe and I were at Target the other day.
One of my favorite happy places.
We were in the girl's section.
Jobie pulls a bra off the rack and asks:
Mommy, are you going to get new boobs?

My first thought was:
Really?
My second thought was:
Did your dad put you up to this?
My third thought was:
Never mind...
I'm not gonna write that one for all of blogland.
My fourth thought was:
Where did you learn the word "boobs"?
And my fifth thought was:
Is it bad that my fourth thought wasn't my first thought?

A bit later we were across the aisle from the women's bras.
Jobie points over and very loudly says:
Mommy, those are big boobs.
The lady next to me got a good laugh.It's amazing what your fourth child learns.
Pretty sure that word was not
in Brookelynn or Jake's vocabulary at 3 years old.
Not gonna guarantee is wasn't in Ezra's though.
Here's to hoping it doesn't show up in his book.

January 21, 2011

Fingerprint Friday

Yesterday we got an unexpected "snow day".
Last week, we had 5 inches of snow on the ground.
And the wind chill was crazy low.
I was prepared for a snow day.
Wanted one even.
Yesterday, I was not ready for one.
And we didn't really need one.

Instead of cleaning,
I coped by yelling at my kids.
Too much.
And getting frustrated.
Too much.
And frowning.
Too much.
(I had to put extra moisturizing cream on my face this morning.
To try to reduse those extra frown lines I'm sure I created.)

You know I love my kids.
But by the time Ryan got home at 7:30 last night,
I said: I want to be done being a mom for the day.
Then he left for his basketball game.
I couldn't be done until they all went to bed.
And I hollered at one kid.
For really no reason.
Right before bed.
Then had to apologize.
Nice.When I woke up this morning,
the Lord brought these verses to mind.
Thank you, Lord.

Lamentations 3:22-24
Because of the LORD’s great love
we are not consumed,
for His compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is Your faithfulness.
I say to myself,
“The LORD is my portion;
therefore I will wait for Him.”

Each week Beki at therustedchain hosts Fingerprint Friday and uses a song by Steven Curtis Chapman as a springboard. Join in. It's a great way to be reminded of God's presence.

January 20, 2011

How to Cope

He didn't want to eat his food.
So he fell asleep. This is not the first time.

He falls asleep other times too.
Jobie: Can I have some gum?
Mommy: No, not now.
A few minutes later.
I find him in his bed.
Asleep.

Jobie: Can I play wii?
Mommy: No, not now.
A few minutes later.
I find him in bed.
Asleep.

It seems to be his coping mechanism.
Silly boy.This time I moved him to his bed.
He slept for 3 hours.
When he woke up he said he was hungry.
I can't imagine why...

Lucky for him.
I had his snack all ready.
The food he had refused to eat earlier.

He was not happy with me.
But I guess he wasn't tired enough to fall asleep again.
He ate it.

So, Jobe copes by sleeping.
I cope by cleaning.
How do you cope?

January 18, 2011

What I Learned This Morning

I had grapefruit for breakfast.
Then took a drink of my coffee.
Laced with milk.

Bad idea.
Tasted like wet dog.

You know.
Things taste like they smell.
Wet dog does not smell good.
It does not taste good either.

Which reminds me.
Last summer.
One of those really hot days.
I was out during Sonic happy hour.
So, the rule is:
If you are out during that time,
stop and get a drink.

I was in the mood for something new, apparently.
Mango iced tea.
Hmmm.
I thought it might taste good.
Sounded good anyway.

Sorry Sonic.
You know I love your drinks.
But mango iced tea.
Tastes like b.o.
And in the summer,
we have plenty of that to go around.
I don't need to drink it too.

Seriously.
The older I get,
the more I sweat.
What in the world is that all about?
Blech.

I finished my grapefruit.
And took a sip of coffee.
Right before heading out the door.
To take Ezzie to school.
Had to taste it the whole time.
Pretty disgusting.


So, today I learned what wet dog tastes like.
Yeah for me.

January 17, 2011

Date Night

Ryan and Brookelynn love sushi.
They eat it together on daddy-daughter dates.

Brookie has been wanting me to try it.
I am not a seafood lover.
Fried shrimp.
I can do that.
Occassional tuna.
That's doable too.
Long John Silver's fried fish.
Bring it on.

Friday night.
My mom and dad had the kids over.
For a sleep over.
Woohoo!

Ryan and I headed to the big city.
We had many stops.
Noodles & Company.
Target.
World Market.
Barnes and Noble.
Starbucks.

But our first stop was for appetizers.
Sushi.Didn't love it.
Didn't hate it either.
I told Ryan:
I will never crave it.
But I'd go eat it with you again sometime.
He said:
Really?
Thanks!Of course, I have a condition.
He must take me to Noodles after again.
Now that I crave.

January 12, 2011

A Lesson Learned

It's ridiculously cold.I make coffee every morning.
For Ryan.
And me too, of course.
I don't make breakfast for my kids.

Sometimes on Saturdays I get real ambitious.
I'll make pancakes or waffles.
But most days they get good healthy stuff.
Lucky Charms.
Trix.
Captain Crunch.
Pop Tarts.
I'm naming the name brands.
But we use mostly off brands.
If I'm feeling extra nice I'll make cinnamon toast.
That's about my limit.So, last night.
I knew it was gonna be below zero in the morning.
That's too cold.
Who wants cold cereal on a morning like that?
I leafed through some recipes.
Found one for overnight crockpot oatmeal.
Now that's something I can do.
It doesn't require me to get up any earlier in the morning.
Perfect.
So I threw it all together.
And this morning, my kids had a good hot breakfast.Ryan, by the way, does not eat breakfast.
Only on vacation usually.
Or when I make him on Saturday morning.
Because I've worked so hard on those pancakes or waffles.
I do make them from scratch afterall.But I was pretty pleased with myself.
I even went the extra mile.
Dished up the oatmeal for each child.
AND put fresh blueberries on top.
I know.
Crazy.Ryan left for work.
Ten minutes later.
I realize something.
Forgot to make our coffee.
I sent my husband off to work.
On the coldest day of winter.
For his nearly 40 minute commute.
Without his coffee.
Good feeling gone.

Fifteen minutes later.
Hubby calls.
I answer:
I can't believe I forgot to make coffee.

He actually thought I had made it.
Had his travel mug full.
Waiting for him.
Like I do most mornings.
Shoot.
I should have said:
I can't believe you left your coffee here.So I got off the phone.
Made the normal amount of coffee.
And drank it all myself.
Feeling much better now.

Lesson learned:
On a school day,
I can either make coffee for my guy.
Or make breakfast for my kids.
Expecting myself to do both.
That's just too much.

January 08, 2011

What Mama Got For Christmas

Let me explain something, first.
Years ago.
I quit teaching.
When kid numero dos came along.
Going from two incomes to one.
And then adding a kid.
That creates a little of a money crunch.
That year for Christmas,
Ryan and I agreed to only spend $40 on each other.
We've been doing it ever since.
Well, until this year.

I have to admit.
We have both "cheated" a little at times.
Like getting a mini torch buy one get one half off.
I gave the full price one to my brother.
And the half price one to Ryan.
Clever.
Very clever.

But this year.
Ryan really cheated.

When we went Christmas shopping for the kids.
(Which, by the way, is one of our few dates each year.
I look forward to it soooo much.)

I found something I really liked.
But they were very over-priced.
Even at 50% off.
So I admired them.
And walked away.

They showed up under our tree.I love them.
I'm spoiled.

Either that.
Or...
My hubby really wants something.
He also helped me clean the bathrooms last week.
Hmmm.
What is he up to?

January 07, 2011

Fingerprint Friday

The last day of Christmas break.
My kids.
All 4 of them.
Actually playing together.And eating carrots.Then Jakie realized I was taking pictures.
And bolted.
Can't have people thinking he likes to play.
With his 3 year old brother's toys.
Brookie didn't care though.
Just kept on playing.Not much is sweeter to this mom,
than seeing my kids playing together.
Getting along.
Even after 2 weeks of togetherness.

I Peter 3:8
Finally, all of you,
live in harmony with one another;
be sympathetic,
love as brothers,
be compassionate and humble.

Each week Beki at therustedchain hosts Fingerprint Friday and uses a song by Steven Curtis Chapman as a springboard. Join in. It's a great way to be reminded of God's presence.

January 04, 2011

Three in a Row

We woke up Christmas Eve to the pitter patter of little feet.
And Jobie saying:
Mommy, Ezzie is stuck behind the tree.We skyped with Lara's family.
And opened our packages to each other.
Our traditional Christmas Eve supper.
Hummus, grilled chicken, fattoush salad.Then the annual picture with the rocking chairs before gifts.
Brookelynn and Jake are beginning to get a little big for them.Ezzie could barely contain his excitement.He had everyone laughing.I have absolutely no idea what he is doing here.Christmas Day was with my parents.
Levi apparently had a hard time containing himself also.
You would think by now we could get a decent cousin picture.
Ridiculous.
Ezzie was pretty happy with his bike.The day after Christmas was spent with Ryan's family.
For some reason we only got a picture of these 3 together.And the two youngest.
Four weeks apart.
Amazing how much they change in that amount of time.
I think they look nothing alike.
Great memories once again.We are so blessed.