Happiness Is

Ezzie grabbing my hand.
And holding it.
The whole way.
As we walk home from school.
Telling me all about his day.

An adorable picture of Jobe.
Taken by Lara.
Flowers Ryan brought home from an event.
The 182 flowers I bought yesterday.
Can't wait to get them planted.
Ezzie's first Jayhawk.
Rock Chalk!
A rainbow of Peeps.My grandma loved Peeps.
They used to only be available at Easter.
She would buy a whole bunch.
And eat one row a day.
Until they were gone.
And then wait for Easter to come again.

Now they are available most holidays.
But Easter Peeps are still the best.
And the chicks are my favorite.

Jobie calls them "Cheeps".

I eat the tail.
Then the little tiny beak.
Then the body.
The head is always last.
It's very orderly eating.

Yummy, yummy Peeps.

My Jesus, I Love Thee

This song was on my mind and heart.
All last week.

My Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine;
For Thee all the follies of sin I resign;
My gracious Redeemer, my Savior art Thou;
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.I love Thee because Thou hast first loved me,
And purchased my pardon on Calvary’s tree;
I love Thee for wearing the thorns on Thy brow;
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.I’ll love Thee in life, I will love Thee in death,
And praise Thee as long as Thou lendest me breath;
And say when the death dew lies cold on my brow,
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.In mansions of glory and endless delight,
I’ll ever adore Thee in heaven so bright;
I’ll sing with the glittering crown on my brow,
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.

Thank you, Jesus.
My gracious Redeemer.
My Saviour.

Hope your Easter was blessed!

Awesome Mama, Hot Daddy

I was an awesome mom yesterday.
During Brookie's soccer practice.
I took the boys to the playground.
I never do that.
They beg me everytime.
I'm selfish.
I would rather talk to the other parents.
But yesterday I took them over.
Better enjoy it boys.
It won't happen again for a long time.

What is so exciting about a playground?
You climb up.
Go down a slide.
Climb up.
Go down a slide.
Hang on the monkey bars.
Then start all over again.
For 45 minutes.

I was awesome for 45 minutes.
Then I told them it was time to go.
Not so awesome anymore.

And, is there anything hotter
than a hubby who grills?In a Superman shirt.
I think not.
Mmmmm.
Mmmmm.
Mmm.

Circus, Prom & the ER

That was my weekend in a nutshell.
Circus, Prom and the ER.

The circus was not the best.
A few things were pretty cool.
The rest seemed a little...amateurish.

I asked Ezzie: What was your favorite part?
He said: EVERYTHING!
That made it worth it all.
Pretty sure Jobie liked the cotton candy best.
Lara looked beautiful for prom.
Friday morning I thought about a corsage for her.
Frantic, panic.
I called our local florist.
So nice to live in a small town.
Where people know you.
He said it would be no problem to get one.
Panic gone.

The corsage was perfect.
Really beautiful girl.With a gorgeous dress.
This is her "I'm so hot, I can't stand myself" pose.
Texting with fancy, fake nails proved to be difficult.And frustrating.
Then they were off.
The trip to the ER was courtesy of Jake.
He got home from an arena football game.
At about 10:30 in the evening or so.
Said his ear started hurting him at half-time.

Ryan and Brookelynn were gone in Oklahoma.
Lara's at prom.
The little boys were in bed.
So, I do what any girl would do.
And call my daddy and mommy.
They come over.
I take Jake to the crazy, busy ER.
Two hours later, we were back home.

We skip Sunday school in the morning.
But go to the church service.
Jakie has a little speaking part in the children's chior.
He did great!
And looked sooo cute!
Ear infection and all.

Whew!
I think I need a Monday morning nap.

Fingerprint Friday

I've been nostalgic lately.
Another school year is almost gone.
My oldest will be in junior high next year.
My baby is a month away from turning 4.
Lara leaves in 50 days.
I even miss watching my brother's kids.
Ezra and my nephew Gage had so much fun together.
(They also fought like brothers sometimes.
But I'll choose to forget those moments.)
Somehow the following post came to mind yesterday.
I originally posted it just over two years ago.
It was my 5th post after I took-over this blog.
And it's perfect for fingerprint friday.

Two little boys.
Discussing God.
(And Larry.)
While watching VeggieTales.
Ezra: Larry is the awesomest.
Gage: I know who is the awesomest, God.
Ezra: I meant on VeggieTales. Larry is the awesomest on VeggieTales.
Gage: Oh, okay. Deuteronomy 10:17
For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords,
the great God,
mighty and awesome.

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.

A Tutorial and Recipe

So, I've got people hounding me to post.
Although said people NEVER leave comments...
But, I'm a people pleaser.
So whether or not anyone else is missing more frequent posts,
here it goes.

Jobie and I baked yesterday.
It's a super easy yummy recipe.
It only takes 4 or 5 ingredients.
5 if you like nuts or have them in your house.
4 if you forgot to buy some at the store.
This little cooking lesson is a tutorial on:
How not to cook with your child.

1)Let your child stir ingredients in a hot pan
with a short handled spoon.
I'm just kidding on that one.
The burner wasn't on yet.
And once I turned it on,
I moved him over to the side.
I promise.
2)Cut the cake mix open with big sharp scissors.
And then leave them out right next to your child for easy access.
3)Realize that you forgot to wash your child's hands
as they are touching each and every butterscotch chip.
And the only reason you realize this is because
the child's hands are filthy and have dirt all over them
since they had just been playing outside.
4)Be thankful no one was hurt in the making of this recipe.
Pray that no one gets sick from the germs.
Apologize to the sis-in-law who ate some of this yesterday,
since you forgot to warn her of the possible consequences.
And enjoy!Butterscotch Snack Cake

1 pkg. (3.5 oz) cook and serve butterscotch pudding
2 c. milk
1 pkg (18 1/2 oz) yellow cake mix
1 pkg. (11 0z) butterscotch chips
1/2 c. chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

In a large saucepan, combine pudding mix and milk. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in dry cake mix. Pour into a greased 9x13 pan. Sprinkle with butterscotch chips and nuts. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool. Yield: 12-16 servings.

I've also tried this with all chocolate instead of butterscotch.
I thought it would be sooo yummy.
It wasn't.
How sad.
Normally chocolate is sooo much better than butterscotch.
Don't you think?

Fingerprint Friday

Psalm 16:1
You make known to me the path of life;
You will fill me with joy in Your presence,
with eternal pleasures at Your right hand.

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.

Chicago

We really wanted Lara to see Chicago.
We knew spring break would be our last chance to take her.

Hancock building.It cost $95 to take our family up.
That is ridiculous!
But we did it. This is Jobie's favorite place to be.
He is going to miss her.
A lot. Favorite place to eat in Chicago.
Giordano's.
Yum!And, of course, we did lots of shopping.
At Niketown.And Apple.And LOTS of other places.

If Jobie wasn't on Lara's shoulders, he was with me.
Always way behind the others. Brookie's favorite sign in the city.
We have many pictures of it. No trip to Chicago would be complete without a stop at Wrigley.
Then we headed to Ryan's cousin's.
An hour west of the city.
For a couple days of fun and family.

And guess where I went for the first time?
IKEA!!
And guess how many pictures I took?
Zero!

I was too excited I guess.
But I loved it.
As if I ever doubted I would.

Just Stuff

1. I had the theme to Gilligan's Island running thru my head yesterday.
Weird.
Haven't seen the show for years.
And I don't really like it.

2. I have two pairs of jeans that have ripped.
On my inner thigh.
In the last couple of months.
Weird.
Clearly there's some extra weight hanging around there.
I've been wanting to get the 30 Day Shred.
But just haven't gotten up the nerve yet.
I always think it sounds nice to excersice.
But when it comes right down to it...
I've also been having dreams.
That I've been wearing these jeans.
Out in public.
And I'm all self-conscious.
And wondering why I decided to wear them.
I rarely remember my dreams.
So it's odd that I've had this a few times.
And remembered it.
Is there some meaning or lesson I'm missing?

3. Although Stalker Cat is dead.
And I know he is.
There is another orange cat haunting our house now.
Creepy.
Not quite as stalkerish as the previous.
But still.
Creepy.

4. I bought a coat for Jobe at Target.
For next winter.
Got it on clearance a couple months ago.
Now I'm beginning to wonder if it is a girl' coat.
Oops.
In my defense.
It's brown.
A very neutral color, right?
And Target's clearance is all mixed together in the toddler section.
Also, I'm not even sure why I needed to buy a coat for him.
Didn't my other two boys have coats when they were 4?
Apparently I chose to let them freeze.
*
5. Our bug man came yesterday.
Jobie followed him all over the house.
Jabbering the whole time.
At one point I heard him ask the man if he wanted to play trains.
So cute.
And odd.
He's usually so shy.

6. Jake is working on a solar system project.
I hate school projects.
I'm terrible at helping with them.
Then I just feel like Loser Mom.
For hating it.
For not being helpful.
For not being creative.
So, I just defer it to his dad.

That's all.
Said in my best Miranda Priestly impersonation.

The Arch

One of our stops during spring break.
Ezzie and Jobie play with my camera all the time.
Somehow they put it on panoramic.
We didn't notice it until we were leaving the arch.

The gangs all here.
Ryan placed them all for this photo.
No idea why Brookie is miles away from the others.
Jobie loves to make faces for pictures now.
This girlie will be leaving us two months from today.
Sniff, sniff.
And this might be my new favorite picture of this girlie.
She's looking so...teenager-ish.
Sniff, sniff.
Quick honey, take my picture! I got the pyramid arch in my hand!The kid cracks me up!