Our Own Little Piece of Normal

2012-02-04T10:46:00.002-06:00

#57. Thank you Lord for so many generations in one place!

5

2012-01-20T15:31:00.000-06:00

Each year you impress me with your growth, both physically and mentally. You are so intelligent, funny, and even {when no one else is looking} sweet. You are growing and changing so rapidly I can hardly believe it has already been 5 years. You are learning to read with amazing speed, your memory for dinosaur names is unfathomable, and you are beginning to grow in the knowledge of the Lord.

My prayer for you this year is that You therefore, put aside all malice and deceit, like a newborn baby, you will long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, and that you will begin to know and taste the kindness of the Lord. {prayer adapted from 2 Peter 2:1-3}

Getting measured - Just tall enough to ride the BIG roller coasters!

At least Each month you become another flying creature. You have been a dragon, an eagle, a bat, a bluejay, a vulture, a falcon, a quetzalcoatlus, a barn swallow and even a flying squirrel. You are able to completely lose yourself and live contentedly in the amazing world you have created. Your imagination is complex and astounding. Your energy for imagination is so inexhaustible that it's hard not to get caught up in your world with you. Whenever I read the end of Isaiah 40, I smile and think of you.

Yet those who wait for the LORD
Will gain new strength;
They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary.

wings in flight.

Each week you cause me to think. You are not a man of many words, but a man of action. And some of those actions are absolutely perplexing. You force me to be creative and persistent as I teach you, talk to you, and discipline you, because all the usual methods are completely lost on you. And one day {I hope} as your words catch up with your thoughts you can let me know what you thinking about. Because I know it will be fascinating!

A plan in the heart of a man is like deep water, But a man of understanding draws it out. - Prov. 20:5.

Each Day you bring me to my knees. Let's be honest, you are not an easy child, but you are an amazing child! I remember saying before any of you kids were born, that I would rather have a strong-willed child than a passive one. Because a strong willed child doesn't do anything he doesn't want to do, and good or bad you always know exactly where they stand. {be careful what you wish for} And because of this I must be on my knees daily asking that the Lord will soften you, the Lord will shape you, the Lord will convict you, and the Lord will use your weaknesses for His glory. I am so thankful that you challenge me to my knees. Because if you did not, I'm not sure I would be there. You are such an wonderful blessing to me. I adore you Micaiah David, and I am so privileged to call you my son!

matters of the heart

2012-01-17T16:20:00.001-06:00

About a year and a half ago I became increasingly weary of seeing half-naked ladies lying around my little girl's room. These weren't just any naked ladies, these were my daughter's prized possessions {though I didn't know it at the time}. I have never been a fan of Barbies, with their ridiculously disproportionate bodies and their propensity towards flagrant immodesty, but each one had been given to her as a gift from someone who loves her very much. We decided at the time to let her keep them, but were growing very tired of seeing their unclad bodies strewn about. {Let's be honest, even when Barbies do have clothes on, they leave little to the imagination.} Barbie just wasn't a role model I wanted for my girls, so in a moment of unthinking and unplanned rashness I scooped all of them up, threw them in a box, and told my sweet girl that it was time for her to have a break and we would find something a little more tasteful for her to play with.

Problem solved. {Not hardly! This is why parenting on the fly is not always a good idea for me.}

What I had done in that single moment was break my daughter's heart, and help her to open up her heart to a little plastic idol that has resided there ever since. She became obsessed. OBSESSED. Anytime we were in a store, she would beg to go down "that" aisle, she would draw pictures of Barbies, make Barbies out of paper, request to play Barbie on the computer, play Barbies at her friends house, beg to watch Barbie movies at other's houses'. Barbie, Barbie, Barbie!!!

I naively thought that if I removed the object, then the need for said object would gradually fade. Why...? I'm have no idea. It's never worked for me. Have you ever tried to give up sugar for an extended period of time? Did you just stop thinking about it after a couple of days. I sure didn't. {but maybe that's a personal problem.}

So yesterday when my daughter had begged for the forth or fifth time to just look at her Barbies in the box, I knew I needed to rethink the way I had been handling things. We didn't get them back out, but sat down to have a light hearted chat about the sin of idolatry and how it can so easily capture our hearts. Though her eyes immediately glazed over, I'm pretty sure she was listening. After talking for a couple of minutes I realized I needed a different strategy. This girl hates to be talked at. So I asked her to draw a picture of her heart and exactly how the love was divided up inside her. She was more than happy to comply. {She loves to draw about as much as she hates to listen}

The picture of her "heart" hanging on her bulletin board - to "always remind her."

Once she saw her finished product I could tell she was a little shocked, she said "I think I need to pray about this right now". Her simple prayer went something like this "Dear Jesus, please help me never to love my things more that I loved You. If things do become more important to me than You, would you please take them away." Needless to say, her simple prayer convicted me. I too am guilty of things, people, hopes, or dreams becoming more important to me than Christ. After the prayer she looked up at me with her big blue eyes glowing, "Mom! My heart actually feels lighter, I had a 'burden' just like the 'Pilgrim'".

- Oh Thank you Lord for doing what I cannot {but for some reason still try to do} in the hearts of my children. Thank you for giving us Your Holy Spirit to convict us and please help me to remember that I am NOT Him, in my life, or the lives of my children!

We decided together after talking and praying {and me apologizing for my snap decision} that the Barbies would come back out, but if she felt that they were starting to consume her heart she would ask me to hide them for a while until she could regain focus. And the beauty of this, is that I know that she will. It so amazing as a parent to see the Lord convict your children and know because He has worked in them there will be a real transformation!

So the Barbies {though still not my favorite} have rejoined our lives with new, more modest wardrobes {patterns from craftiness is not optional} and a simple request that they keep their clothes on in all situations that Anya* would as well.

Now...why didn't I think to do this a year and a half ago?

*All stories about my kids, that can read this blog, have been used with their permission. My goal is not to embarrass them, but to share where they are at as they grow and change on this journey we call life. We all make mistakes and are just as happy to share our victories as we are our shortcomings.

we interrupt this program...

2012-01-11T14:34:00.000-06:00

I am not a 'deals' blogger, or an extreme buyer, or an anything blogger as of late, but sometimes a good deal is too good to pass up. Enter Vitacost. It's a natural foods and products website that is offering a deal right now that you get $10 off of your first purchase, and if you use this *link* I will also get $10 for referring you. For your $10 you can get things like...

Three bottles of Seventh Generation Dish Soap for the $4.99 shipping. This is what I'm getting. It's something we use already and at $1.67 {the cost of shipping divided by 3} a bottle it's a great deal. Vitacost also carries..

And grocery items such as raw honey, coconut oil, Annie's Organics, and Bob's Red Mill.

So there you have it. My first and probably last shameless commercial for Vitacost. Hopefully my check is already in the mail.

Thank you Uncle Biggle

2011-12-16T13:40:00.000-06:00

Q: What soars above the rooftops without ever leaving the ground and weighs well over a ton?

A: Uncle Biggle in a bucket truck!

Today as I was making lunch I got a call from my brother. He starts the conversation with "Whatcha doing? "Putting noodles in a bowl", I reply. The next thing out of his mouth "Is Micaiah afraid of heights?" {At this point I have no idea what he is talking about, but with a question like that - we're in!} It turns out he was at the end of our street, working on a church with a bucket truck, and was offering rides. HELLO!

Not too sure it will hold both of them.

Bummed because he chickened out.

I'll go.

Piece of cake! {Something Uncle Biggle is very familiar with}

Not to be outdone by his little brother.

Micaiah tries again.

"Mom, that was fun!"

Thank you Uncle Biggle for taking a few minutes out of your day to make my boys life! And next time it's my turn.

"The Boy" or Lessons From a Duck

2011-11-15T09:10:00.001-06:00

Cai - pre-haircut.

Though we have two boys around here. Anytime Greg or I use the term "The Boy", we both know immediately which one the other is referring to. In Micaiah's 4 plus years he has been a constant teaching tool for his mother, his father, and all of his siblings. We are getting the chance to learn patience, forgiveness and compassion daily.

He just seems to be wired for mischief. Most of his escapades of late have involved knives. He cut up a plant {the only indoor plant I have ever kept alive longer than a couple months}, the cord out of our bamboo blinds {they don't go up anymore}, the ties off of our pillow shams, and his own hair {he used 4 different pairs of scissors for that last little gem}. Last night he decided to use the diaper sprayer for a water gun, and his little brother and all our clean laundry for his target. {Should I mention that he was also buck naked and perched on the toilet at the time?}

This, of course, has also been a time of intensive training and discipline for him as well. We have been diligently trying to help him to understand action and consequence, as well as trying to explain why we are working so hard to "train" him. On Monday we were reading the story The Story About Ping as part of his schooling. It's a wonderful little story about a duck and his master. Every night the master calls, and all the little ducks must hurry to the boat. The last one on the boat receives a spank on his back.

Ping decides that he would rather not get on the boat than have that spank. He then has a very harrowing night and difficult day without the protection of his master. Thankfully he finds the boat again and though he is going to be last on the boat and has to receive the spank he does so willingly so that he can be with his master once again.

As I read the book to Micaiah I thought it was such a wonderful example of how we are with our parents when we are young, and the Lord when we are older. {Hebrews 12:11 - All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.}

Micaiah didn't exactly come away with the same observations that I did. Our conversation went as follows:

Me: What happened to all the ducks if they didn't listen and were last in line?

Cai: They got a spank.

Me: You know how we have been talking about training?

Cai: Yeah.

Me: The master is training the ducks to listen carefully for his voice, so that he can keep them out of trouble. Does that sound anything like how Mommy and Daddy are trying to train you?

Cai: Yeah! 'Cause when I'm disobedient and don't listen, you hit me with a train too!

Me: *stifling laughter and realizing this "lesson" is over.*

But just when I think all is lost and he is never going to "get it". A few days later I overhear him praying with his sister {I should note that when the kids fight, after they apologize, I have them pray for each other.}

Cai: Dear Lord, please change my heart. Help me to hear You, and know You, and please help me love my sister, and be obedient to my parents. I love You. Amen.

Me: *MELTING*

Sister - {Who would prefer to remain nameless}: Dear God, please help me not call the police on my brother like I wanted to, and MAKE him understand that HE was WRONG!!!

Me: *aye, aye, aye, a parent's work is never done.*

So Many Farms, So Little Time

2011-10-28T10:58:00.000-05:00

I know it has been said before, but I LOVE fall! The crispness in the air, the urge to cook or bake anything that will hold still, the harvesty scents and the gorgeous leaves, but most of all I love the opportunity to get out and do fun things with the family without the ghastly heat, or the frigid temperatures. This fall I wasn't sure I was going to get to partake in any of this fall's family adventures, because of all that has/had been going on in our lives. So it has made each outing since then that much more special.

One of the very first things that we did this year was the Kaw Valley Farm Tour. We had never gone before, but it is going to be a new tradition. So much fun! For one weekend a year around 25 farms open their homes for people to come visit and enjoy. There are tons of animals, hay rack rides, and kid friendly activities at each farm.

Such a fun time! The weather was perfect, the environment was rich with educational possibilities, and I GOT TO MILK A GOAT!

Aaaaannnnnd....I'm Back.

2011-10-28T09:55:00.000-05:00

Dear Blog,

Please let me reintroduce myself. My name is Jeni and we used to be like b.f.f.'s. Hopefully, now, we can just pick up where we left off. It's what best friends do, right? Good.

Sincerely,

My Neglected 4th Child

2011-05-18T11:40:00.000-05:00

I always said I would never be that mom. No matter how many children I had, my kids would always have clean faces and their hair nicely done. I would keep track of them at all times, never letting them out of my sight. I would never let them play in the dirt in their Sunday clothes and I would always be attentive to their every need. Well...never say never.

A couple of days ago Zayin was begging for a drink of water. I was working with one of the girls, and couldn't give him my full attention. I kept saying "Be patient, I will help you when I'm done." Patience is, of course, in short commodity for someone not yet two years old, so he decided to take matters into his own hands. He toddled off, vaguely murmuring something like "Zayin wa wa!" Out of curiosity, I followed, telling the girl I was working with, it was her turn to be patient. Thankfully I grabbed the camera {mother's instinct}. Here is the scene that followed:

My kids may not be perfectly assembled when we arrive at the store, and they may jump into puddles on their way into church. They are, however, very resourceful & quite creative. They know that I love them more than their clean clothes and faces. And they might even be learning that their needs don't always get to come first! {Though I'm not going to bank on that last one.}

The Froot of the Speorit

2011-04-26T23:37:00.000-05:00

My sweet little girl may not be much of a speller, but where she lacks literary skills she makes up for in goobness! This was on our back door for over a month with no intention, on my part, to remove it. Tragically during chores one afternoon, someone took it upon themselves to wash the back door. Normally this kind of initiative would have thrilled me, the window is disgusting after all. This time it was a little sad. Thankfully I still have the picture!

*And yes, I do know that gentleness is missing. Each mistake makes me love it that much more!

Hot Topics (to the theme of Hot Pockets) {1}

2011-04-15T15:44:00.000-05:00

It's been a long while since I have posted. It hasn't been for lack of material, but lack of will. I sat down at the computer a number of times with a quick anecdote, or silly kid story, but I just didn't feel like writing. I'm not depressed, or even in a funk, but my mind just feels heavier than usual. I've had a number of "bigger" topics on my mind, so I decided to share them, and to ask your advice. Though I'm not really sure any one reads this except my family and a couple friends, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Hot Topic {1} - Identity

Reading The Prince's Poison Cup - R.C. Sproul

At the end of last month and the beginning of this month I was in Charlotte with my kindred cousins. It was my first trip alone, since being married. I have always taken at least a couple kids when I have traveled without Greg, and that has only happened twice. It was a wonderful and relaxing trip! Many nights staying up past our bedtime giggling like 12 year olds. But even though the trip was a blast, I felt strangely out of place. It wasn't my cousins. I always feel comfortable with them, but it was the lack of small people about me. I didn't know what to do with myself without the constant busyness of mom life. I became awkwardly chatty and self conscious about silly things. I didn't remember how to just be, or sit, or be still in my own skin. I didn't realize how fully my identity is wrapped up, not only in my husband and children, but in all the busy work that *needs* to be done around the home. And I don't know about you, but I don't want any part of my identity wrapped up in dirty dishes or poopy diapers!

My identity should be found in Christ. And if you had asked me before the trip I would have felt fairly confident that it was, but it's not. So how does one do that? How can I be just as much myself at home as somewhere else? How can I be the same person I am at church as I am in Target? Or how about when friends are over verses when I am alone?

So my question for all of you...How do you maintain an identity in Christ while still fully operating in the season that He has placed you in? He is my passion and my pursuit, and yet He is so easily forgotten when I have a stack of papers to grade, or children whining at my feet. And I am wanting more...more of Him...less of me!

These Boots are Made for Walkin'

2011-04-01T14:50:00.000-05:00

The kids have a lot of boots, probably more boots than necessary. They have church boots, rubber boots, snow boots, and boots they have grown out of, but we still have for some reason. In the winter they are supposed to stay on a shelf in the garage and pulled out when needed. However, they are usually just thrown helter skelter right inside the garage door. This has caused many a near accident and is a source of great frustration for the parents of the children who own those boots.

A few days ago Greg and Micaiah were home alone, and Greg was trying to get some work done in the house. Greg needed to put something into the garage and, as usual, tripped over the boots. Out of frustration he kicked a couple of them across the garage. Micaiah standing right behind him witnessed this release of frustration. Greg then sheepishly turned toward Micaiah, but before he could say anything Micaiah, in a most serious tone, said "Daddy...God said not to be angry at the boots."

My first reaction to this statement was to burst into laughter. But the more I thought about it, the more these simple words struck me as pure child-like wisdom. James 1:19-20 puts it this way - This you know, my beloved brethren But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.

How often do I get angry at an object or a circumstance out of my control? Answer: All the time! I get frustrated and bothered that I cannot make all things go exactly as I want them to, at all times. Or I take out my anger out on these inanimate objects because I'm really angry at myself or the kids. Either situation is wrong...and...dumb!

And now is the part of this post where I would love to wrap things up and say. Because of this timely comment by my four year old I am now aware of my unnecessary anger, and because of that, it has been dealt with...but it's not. I still have a temper, and I still lose it. But in my times of failure I have been clinging to the words of this hymn by William T. Sleeper.

Jesus, I come

Out of my bondage, sorrow and night,

Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come;

Into Thy freedom, gladness, and light,

Jesus, I come to Thee;

Out of my sickness, into Thy health,

Out of my want and into Thy wealth,

Out of my sin and into Thyself,

Jesus, I come to Thee.

Out of my shameful failure and loss,

Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come;

Into the glorious gain of Thy cross,

Jesus, I come to Thee;

Out of earth’s sorrows, into Thy balm,

Out of life’s storms and into Thy calm,

Out of distress to jubilant psalm,

Jesus, I come to Thee.

Out of unrest and arrogant pride,

Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come;

Into Thy blessed will to abide,

Jesus, I come to Thee;

Out of myself to dwell in Thy love,

Out of despair, into raptures above,

Upward for aye on wings like a dove,

Jesus, I come to Thee.

Out of the fear and dread of the tomb,

Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come;

Into the joy and light of Thy home,

Jesus, I come to Thee;

Out of the depths of ruin untold,

Into the peace of Thy sheltering fold,

Ever Thy glorious face to behold,

Jesus, I come to Thee.

It is so wonderful to have a Savior that I can come to no matter how big a mess I have made of my life. No matter how angry I get, no matter how many times I lose my patience or 'kick the boots' and He is there with open arms.

A Loaf of Apple Sauce Bread a Day - Keeps the Doctor Away

2011-03-09T22:14:00.001-06:00

The boys have had a rough week. They've both had fevers, sore throats, walrus coughs, and Micaiah had a double ear infection. Fun stuff! I spent almost all day Tuesday on the fold out bed with them, with a boy tucked under each arm. (The girls were at Gramma Sally's)

By the end of the day, though, Zayin had had enough of the laying around business. So with Micaiah occupied with books, and Zayin no longer content to stay on the "bed", we ventured into the kitchen. What could be better than cooking with a highly contagious child!? I figure, we are going to be the only ones eating it, and I have been exposed to their germs all week (been exposed = sneezed on, coughed on, drooled on, and been a human kleenex all day), so why not? And it turned out to be just what the doctor ordered.

Applesauce Bread - by Laura from Heavenly Homemakers - Picture Tutorial by Zayin

1st: Put on the manliest apron you can find. (We didn't have to worry about covering his shirt, it was already covered in a days worth of slobber.)

2nd: Concentrate very hard on getting the ingredient into the bowl and not onto the floor, like the previous spoonful.

3rd: Smile thankfully at the ingredients for staying where you put them.

4th: Use all your strength to saw through a giant stick of butter.

5th: Unwrap butter, like you are peeling off decades of old wallpaper, minuscule strip, by minuscule strip.

6th: Pretend to grate nutmeg, so your mother can take a picture.

7th: Poke delicately at the batter.

8th: Pat yourself on the back, you did a great job!!

Happy Birthday Daddy

2011-03-04T12:03:00.001-06:00

Birthdays might not be quite what they used to be around here...but boy are they entertaining! The kids begged Greg to stay home a little longer the morning of his birthday so they could give him their presents.

Charis has been working for weeks on a comic book for him. It's entitled Pack Women Returns With a New Gang vs. The Princesses! I'm sure it will be an exciting read, filled with much tragedy and suspense.

Anya stayed up quite late the night before, working on her gift of fine art (glitter pens make everything fine!) and a plastic Egyptian Pharaoh bust. She hid the Pharaoh and had Greg play the "Hot & Cold" game to find it. Mild giggles turned to shrieks of laughter when Greg just "couldn't" figure out where it was hidden.

Micaiah, my sweet generous boy, didn't realize that everyone was giving presents, so he ran up to his room and selected a few choice gifts. He gave Greg his prized Viking helmet, shield and "sword", his Warm Cookie , and his bug terrarium.

Zayin had no idea what was going on, but was quite happy to have Greg carry him around all morning. After a quick breakfast, the real festivities began! It was time for a...

SWORD FIGHT!

And, of course, no birthday could be complete without at least one 'knee hopping' dog pile!

All in all I think it was a very Happy Birthday!

When I grow up...

2011-02-28T14:19:00.000-06:00

We have a friend that when asked what he wanted to be when he grew up he said he "wanted to be a fire truck". He didn't want to be a fireman, but a fire truck!

I think he and Micaiah just might be cut from the same cloth. When I asked him this afternoon what he wants to be when he grows up he replied "I wanna be a dinosaur fossil!" Dream big Little Man, dream big!

20 Things Not To Put On Your To Do List.

2011-02-24T14:58:00.001-06:00

1. Allow children to play in the mud filled sand box just before starting dinner.

2. Decide to bathe youngest son along with his brother.

3. While getting your son ready for a bath - get sprayed. {Not with water}

4. Make sure he hits, not only you, but his clean clothes and the bath mat.

5. While cleaning yourself up, leave said son alone {rookie mistake}, and allow him to cram his bath

towel into the toilet. {That has not been flushed for some reason}

6. Refrain from crying.

7. Finally get son into the bathtub, only to get distracted looking for the soap, and get doused with a

large cupful of water.

8. Dry self off...again.

9. Break up water fight between sons.

10. Get everyone ready for dinner {this one is just fine to leave on your to do list, but I don't recommend

what's next.}

11. Turn on oven to broil chicken for dinner, forgetting to remove blanket {daughter's favorite}

wrapped around yogurt jars.

12. Start fire in oven.

13. Breathe in toxic fumes and nearly throw-up.

14. Rush 3 crying & panicked children out of the room while simultaneously trying to put out the

fire.

15. Calm everyone down, put out fire, stay positive, open the windows, THANK THE LORD, and

take pictures of scorched blanket!

16. Apologize profusely to daughter.

17. Realize once again you left youngest son unattended.

18. Clean up spilled water and soggy artwork.

19. Wait until husband come home then dissolve into a puddle of tears.

20. Thank the Lord for a washing machine that works, clean clothes to change into, a small fire that

could have been much worse, yogurt that still turned out just fine, a very busy little boy that keeps us

laughing, and a loving husband that comes home every night to this madness!

You know what they say...

2011-02-22T11:34:00.002-06:00

"Boys WILL be boys!"

When I was pregnant with each of my kids. I was asked numerous questions about our family and the new baby on the way. Inevitably they would ask "Do you know what you are having?" If I was in an amicable mood I would disclose the sex to whomever was asking. If not, my general response was "Well I hope it's a baby, because we are quite unprepared for a monkey/puppy/elephant, whatever happened to pop out my mouth in the moment. - {I was a pretty cranky pregnant Momma}.

After my girls were born and I was pregnant with Micaiah, I would tell the asking party that we were expecting a boy - our first! Then they would generally raise their eyebrows and give me a knowing, sympathetic look, saying something like "Sweety, you have NO idea what you are getting yourself into!" or "Wow, now you are really going to have your hands full!" Now if any of you have met my second daughter, especially when she was younger, the mere thought that my hands could be any fuller was almost laughable to me. She was a bug eating, mud loving, tempestuous little handful when she was little. I thought, "Really? How different could boys be?" QUITE!

Though I don't know that my hands are any "fuller" with my boys, the boys are most definitely...different! The things they think up and then do are so bizarre to me that I sometimes wonder if I did give birth to monkey or an elephant. Boys don't have to be taught to be male, they just are. With the girls we have attitude issues, or not clearly thinking things through before they do them. With the boys we have issues with spitting down laundry chutes and clearly not thinking at all. But what I overheard yesterday morning takes the cake! {Those of you with older boys feel free to give me that knowing smirk - I deserve it!}

Greg {Knowing what had already transpired}: Hey Micaiah, what did you do with the octopus this morning?

Micaiah: I went potty in it!

Greg: Um...why did you do that?

Micaiah {with pride}: Because it is soooo amazing! I can make my potty come out ALL of his legs!

Greg: Micaiah you can't potty on our things, there are a lot of germs in potty.

Micaiah: Yeah, I know, but it WAS so cool!!!

I thank the Lord, that He has given me the opportunity to raise both girls and boys for His glory. I may not always make the most perfect parenting choices, always discipline consistently, or keep my cool 100% of the time. But I will leave this life with a deeper understanding of my Father's love for us and knowing that His grace is all sufficient. I will also be laughing the whole way there, because if I don't laugh - I will cry!

Everyone Else is Doing It.

2011-02-15T15:44:00.002-06:00

Jimmy: But dad, all my friends are gonna be there!,

Hugh: I know, son, but if all your friends were named Cliff, would you jump off them? I don't think you would.

— Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius

Yesterday I had a very short, but very life altering conversation with my Dad. It was one of those conversations that I hope will have a long lasting effect on my life. As is usual, we were interrupted several times by my children, so I don't remember the entire conversation. But one line in particular has been gerbiling around in my mind ever since. He said, "Even if everyone does it, that is not an excuse for me to do it, it simply means that everyone needs to change." Ouch! How often I use this excuse, and now my pitiful excuse, for justifying my actions, has just crumbled before my very eyes.

I started to think of all the ways that I just do what everyone else does. I don't question it, I don't think about it, and I certainly don't pray about it? I assume that if my other Christian friends* are doing it, then it must be fine. Well it's not fine, or if it is fine, it's not good. And it most cases it's not even close to the best. We all need to change.

1 John 2:15-16 puts it this way - Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world.

And again Romans 12:2 tells us "Do not to be conformed to this world,"

There isn't much to argue there. We aren't to look like, speak like, or act like the world. I know it's hard to be the odd ball out, and it's easy to think what we are doing, or not doing, isn't that bad. But the world doesn't need more of itself, it needs Christ!! And if that isn't who people see in my life, then I've conformed.

So once again I started asking some questions.

Why do I spend my time the way that I do?

Why do I wear what I wear?

Why do I read what I read?

Why do I watch what I watch?

Why do I listen to what I listen to?

How do I talk to people?

How to I talk about people when they are not around?

How do I make the choices that I make?

Why do I live where I live, and drive what I drive?

Why do I give what I give?

Why do I eat what I eat?

Is it to glorify the Lord, or is it that everyone else is doing it, so why shouldn't I? I encourage you yourself these questions, or make a list of your own. And if you decide you need to change as well, let me know, because I'd love to pray for you and will be needing some accountability.

*I had no actual "Christian friends" in mind when writing this. Don't worry I'm not keeping track of where anyone else needs to change. I'm way too busy with my own short comings.

...And I will wait

2011-02-11T11:10:00.001-06:00

Do you ever have a season in life, where all it seems you can do is put out the fires? From morning until evening fixing one fiasco after another. I'm here.

I want to vacuum the floor - It will have to wait.

I want to finish our budget - It will have to wait.

I want to finish a food order - It will have to wait.

I want the kids to stop shrieking - It will have to wait.

I REALLY want to take a shower - It will have to wait.

I want to write a real post - It will have to wait.

I want to finish my sewing projects - It will have to wait.

I want to call a friend and have an adult conversation - It will have to wait.

I want to fold the 7 loads of laundry waiting for me in the laundry room - It will have to wait.

I want to give undivided attention to each of my children - It will have to wait.

I want respond to my e-mail - It will have to wait.

I want to make a list of everything I need to do, and do it efficiently - It will have to wait.

Because right now with everything piling up around me, the only thing I can afford to do is push everything else aside and spend some "face" (where I am on my face) time with the Lord - and in the "stillness" (whatever that is) I will wait on Him alone.

Habakkuk 2:1 I will stand on my guard post
   And station myself on the rampart;
   And I will keep watch to see what
   He will speak to me,
   And how I may reply when I am
   reproved.

You Cannot Lose My Love

2011-01-26T17:31:00.001-06:00

When my day started with an incident involving a rainbow assortment of Sharpees and a maze of serger thread, I knew I was going to need take my focus off the storm and set my gaze upon Christ. A verse and a song immediately came to mind. (Okay not immediately, strangling the guilty parties came to mind first.)

This song has been running through my head for days now. And knowing that my love for my children needs to be a refection of God's love for me it means that much more.

You cannot Lose My Love - Sarah Groves

You will lose your baby teeth.

At times, you'll lose your faith in me.

You will lose a lot of things,

But you cannot lose my love.

You may lose your appetite,

Your guiding sense of wrong and right.

You may lose your will to fight,

But you cannot lose my love.

You will lose your confidence.

In times of trial, your common sense.

You may lose your innocence,

But you cannot lose my love.

Many things can be misplaced;

Your very memories be erased.

No matter what the time or space,

You cannot lose my love.

You cannot lose,

You cannot lose my love.

Time Theives!

2011-01-21T14:02:00.000-06:00

–noun, plural thieves.

a person who steals, esp. secretly or without open force; oneguilty of theft or larceny.

I'm sure you have all been here before. You decide what you want to accomplish during the day, you may even write it down and then just as you are about to get to it, the phone calls start, the kids start pestering, the baby is crying, the dryer is buzzing, is that really someone at the door, and *Poof* your day is gone. You are exhausted. And, lucky you, you get to do all again tomorrow.

When I think about my past few days, this is the image that comes to mind, but if I were completely honest, my days probably went a little more like this.

I wake up early, but decide to hit the snooze, 4, 5, 6 times. I drag my self out of bed only to hear that the kids are already up. I bark at them to get their chores done while I look for my bible and a cup of of decaf (Don't tell my brain it doesn't know it's unleaded). I park myself on the couch and *bing* "Ooh an e-mail". I fully intend to check just that one e-mail (it may be something super important), but then I spend the next 15-20 minutes reading and replying to various e-mails that most certainly could have waited until later. I then, once again, have to find my bible. I sit down and begin to read. Then, after a couple thousand interruptions, I finish. I help the kids with math, spelling, reading..., change a couple loads of laundry, and try to keep the boys occupied. I ignore three phone calls. (Score one for me) Time for lunch. I remember this great recipe, on AllRecipes, and decide to make that for lunch, but as I'm waiting for the recipe to print, I decide to check out a friends blog, or two, or three. This inspires me to write something of my own. I'll definitely have to do that later. Thirty minutes pass, the kids are whining because they are hungry and I still have to make lunch (So demanding).

After lunch, naps. I put everyone down, Micaiah 4 or 5 times, and then start on my chores. But I don't really feel like doing my chores, my chores are boring and seemingly pointless. What don't bathrooms ever stay clean. I decide that I need some music to motivate me. On my way to find music I pass the phone. Another hour and half gone. I do get a room or two vacuumed and the bathroom cleaned, but then it's time to start dinner. Back to the computer for another recipe, a few more blogs, and a couple e-mails, a "quick" look on facebook to see what everyone I've ever met in my life is doing.

I'm sure by now you have the picture, slightly exaggerated, but not by much. It's me that fills my day with nonsense, it's not everyone else putting their demands on my time. It's my lack of self-discipline and my stinky attitude that makes me feel like I am always one step behind.

So with this in mind I sat down to write out my top 3 Time Thieves and Solutions.

Thief 1:

Sleep: I adore sleep! And I am not one of those people that functions well without it. However, I am also a self-professed night owl. I go to bed very, very, late, and then can't figure out why I can't seem to get up before the kids in the morning without falling asleep in my oatmeal.

Solution: Go to bed earlier. Sounds easy enough, but it will be brutal for me. I have a million and one justifications for why I need to stay up late. Much prayer and self-discipline with be going into this one.

Thief 2:

Computer: I have the attention span of a gnat, and the internet is perfect for that. (hee, that rhymed).

Solution: I have already gone on a facebook break and am trying to figure out a more permanent solution. I am also trying to be more intentional about the e-mails that I read and reply to. If it says FW in the message line of an e-mail, it gets deleted. This may sound a bit harsh, but I greatly value the friendships I have made through blogging and e-mail and want to make those a priority, and not the facebook stalking and silly forwards. If it is a personal e-mail, I just need to wait until I have free time to reply. For everything else (including phone time), a timer is going to be set. I too easily lose track of time when given free reign.

Thief 3:

Attitude: This one is the sneakiest of the my 3 Time Thieves. Of course, it wouldn't be a thief it it announced itself at my door and said "Hello, I'm a Thief, I'd like to come in and steal from you." Attitudes that steal my time are usually of the pouting and whining variety. If I don't really want to do something that I know I need to do, it takes so much longer when I am grumping about it, that if I just did it. Like pulling a band-aid of a toddler.

Solution: The Lord. I can't accomplish any of these on my own, and changing my attitude is no different. Colossians 3:23 - Whatever you do work heartily as for the Lord, and not for men.

So now that we all just got that much closer, maybe you would like to share some of your Time Thieves? Or maybe you have something else you should be doing. *wink*

A Boy and His Pickles

2011-01-17T11:05:00.001-06:00

After filling his plate with various items from a salad bar, Micaiah walks carefully back to his seat, making sure not to spill even a single shred of cheese. He then realizes that his meal will not be complete without some crisp and delicious pickles! He wanders up to the salad bar and remembers that he must always use the tongs, they provide, because that helps to keep germs from spreading from person to person. Much to his chagrin he has left his plate back at the table, but no problem, he can bring the pickles back to his seat using the tongs already in his hand. He deftly places the pickles onto his plate and begins to return the tongs to their home at the salad bar. Oh no! The juice from the pickles is sliding down the sides of the tongs. That's not very tidy, he surmises. There is only one thing that can be done. The tongs must be licked clean and then placed back into their proper position. Phew! Crisis averted!

p.s. These pictures were not posed. This is actually what he was doing with the pickles when Greg came back from explaining about the tongs to the restaurant staff. So proud!!

Priorities

2011-01-14T14:47:00.000-06:00

Why is it that whenever I determine to blog more, my life becomes so busy I can't even think, much less blog? Or when I try to carve out a little time for myself, or to catch up with friends, or have an entire conversation in one sitting with my husband that everything else falls apart? I used to wish for more hours in the day, but then I realized I would cram those just as full as the hours I have now. I don't need more hours, I just need to do less stuff.

So I sat down with a little notebook and asked these questions of myself. (Some of the ideas came from Revive our Hearts daily podcast.)

1. What season am I in? Is it time to learn or teach, is it time to cry or laugh, is it time to keep or throw away, is time to tear down or build...? And what do these mean in my life?

2. What are God's priorities for me in this season?

3. What things merely loudly call for my attention and what things are truly important?

I have to admit. These were extremely difficult to answer, because they aren't as black and white as they seem. The line between teaching and learning is often fuzzy, sometimes I laugh and cry at the same time, but it is still a good starting place.

My list ended up looking something like this.

Priorities for My Home:

Priority #1. Matt. 6:33-34 - Serve the Lord with all I've got! (mind, body, spirit) - For me this means meeting Him in His Word first thing in my day, and then also carving out some time to be alone with Him in prayer. The latter one is much tricker for me. I don't even get to go to the bathroom alone these days. But it is possible, it just takes some creativity. Yesterday got down on my knees in the shower while I was waiting for my conditioner to, um, condition and spent the most wonderful 5 minutes with the Lord. I also pray as I work, but the alone time is so necessary.

Priority #2. Proverbs 31:11 - Serve and love my husband. This one is tricky, not because my husband is so unlovable (though aren't we all sometimes), but because I have a tendency to try and place him at priority #1 instead of #2. I don't know if you have ever done that, but it doesn't usually end well. A while back I was really frustrated with Greg, no matter what he did for me (and it is a lot), it was never enough. I finally realized that I was putting him in God's position of #1 and he just wasn't capable of doing that job. Imagine that. So we now affectionately refer to one another as "#2" or "Second Best".

Priority #3. Deut. 6:5-9 - Care for and train my children. I truly believe that "Mother" isn't just my title, but it is my calling. I always wanted to be in full time ministry, and now I am. (Is there such thing as more than full time?) Of course, this is easy to say, but hard to put into practice. I like to check things off a list and get thing accomplished, and I may never see what my efforts are producing in my children.

Priority #4. Prov. 31:27 - Keep my Home. This is also a hard one for me. It isn't just cleaning, cooking, laundering, fixing, scheduling... but also making our home a haven and a place of rest for all who enter. It's being hospitable and trying to bless others with what God has loaned to us. It's just hard for me to remember that this is 4th on my list and not 2nd or 3rd. I so often hear myself telling the kids "Just a minute, let me finish this first." A friend of mine with grown children gave me some wonderful advice when my oldest was little, she said "Teach them to do what you are doing, while you are doing it, you will be so glad that you did." It takes a lot longer to teach while I do, but it's good for me and them.

These are only my top 4 and my entire day could be filled with these alone. However, I still have church ministry, friends, e-mails, phone calls, blogging, exercise, sleep and *gasp* maybe even some free time to fit onto my plate. So next time I will be blogging about "Time Robbers" and how to identify them. Until then, how do you order your days so that the first things remain first?

Shouting at the Piles

2011-01-03T23:02:00.000-06:00

With four little ones and a large & very hairy dog, I've spent what seems like half of my lifetime sweeping our floors. I have a system when I sweep, it's not perfect, but it's mine. I do the edges first, then the open areas, then under the tables and chairs, kitchen, dining room, living room, all the while leaving little piles of debris here and there. I then use a dustpan to finish the job. Sadly it's at this juncture that my system usually falls apart. (For those of you with a toddler, this may sound familiar.) Zayin loves these disgusting, yet potential filled piles. And he has made it his goal to leave no unattended pile unturned. When he hears me pull out the broom he gleefully runs over to my piles kicking and batting at them sending dirt, hair, and crumbs flying in all directions. Yuck.

Since I don't want to have my precious piles sent back into all the nooks and crannies of my kitchen I have been dutifully working with him on this habit. The first couple of times he completely ignored me. I continued to train. The next few times he gently told himself "no, no" and then went right ahead and...blam-o! - Dirt everywhere. Grrr.

This morning as I was sweeping and checking my piles over my shoulder (There is a reason we call him "Ninja" - he's very stealth.) I see Zayin toddling up getting ready for his morning ritual. He comes running right up to the pile and squats down (I stay back waiting to see what he will do). Then to my surprise instead of playing in the pile he starting yelling and shaking his chubby little fingers at it. (I am cracking up at this point.) There he was hovering just inches over the dirt and shouting "NO NO NO NO NOOOOOOO!" He did this over and over until I wondered if he might pass out. He then got up, sighed and walked away. He had finally conquered his temptation. And once again I learn a life lesson from my children.

Though a very humorous analogy it reminded me of one of Jonathan Edwards resolutions.

#56. Resolved, never to give over, nor in the least to slacken my fight with my corruptions, however unsuccessful I may be.

For little Zay this was a very big fight, with a very big temptation and though he was unsuccessful before, he kept at it until he was able to overcome. His spunk has inspired me to "never give over", but to continue to "shout at my dust piles" "however unsuccessful I may be, knowing that God will always provide me a way of escape.

1 Corinthians 10:13 - No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.

Remember

2011-01-01T19:34:00.000-06:00

For those of you that know me, or read either of my blogs, you know that 2010 has been a difficult year for me. I feel as though in every area of my life I have been stripped bare, and then punched in the face... repeatedly. As this is happening, the Lord has been exposing things in me that I really did not want to know about myself, much less allow other people to see. Like most people I do not particularly enjoy having all my faults on display. Unfortunately, this year, I just had to get used to it.

2010 has been a year of failures, grief, anger, impatience, sorrow, trials, confusion, turmoil, and amazingly...sweetness.

The Lord has been showing me that I really do have reasons to thank Him in every circumstance, I can cling to Him when I have no one else to turn to (and even when I do), I can have peace everlasting in the midst of a hurricane, and though life is often bitter, His is always sweet.

Now, don't get me wrong, I am no where near being able to live in this place of contentment and surrender all the time, this is my goal, I am still a loooooong way off. I've found that I have some sort of spiritual short term memory loss. The Lord shows me something wonderful (or something I need to work on), I see it, I admire it, I forget it - on with my day, on with my life.

I want to remember...I just...don't. I want to remember the beautiful things, the hard things, the lessons, and everything in between. More than that - I NEED to remember! If I don't remember I am left unchanged, untrusting, and afraid to leave the comfort of my own self preservation. (This is not a pretty place to be, but a place I am rather familiar with)

So starting now, I am purposing to remember. And as I remember - to give thanks. I also plan to write here more regularly, not just when things are going well, or when the kids do something funny, but also when I am struggling to keep it together, of when the Lord knock my socks off with something in His word. I want to be able to look back remember (literally) at what the Lord is doing in my life and hopefully be an encouragement to others at the same time.

Now as I take my first tentative steps into this new year I am posting these verses both on my wall at home and here on the blog as a reminder to myself of where I am going and where I've been. It's time for me to REMEMBER.

1 Chronicles 16:11-12 - Seek the LORD and His strength; Seek His face continually. Remember His wonderful deeds which He has done, His marvels and the judgements from His mouth,
Psalm 111:2-4 - Great are the works of the Lord; They are studied by all who delight in them. Splendid and majestic in His work, And His righteousness endures forever. He has made His wonders to be remembered. The Lord is gracious and compassionate.

Merry Christmas

2010-12-25T16:54:00.000-06:00

Hope you have a blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Zayin and Woosie (Lucy)

2010-12-20T16:50:00.001-06:00

Lucy and Zayin are the very best of buddies. Lucy is my little sister's little dog. Don't let her stature fool you, she has "the heart of a champion." *wink, wink*

The big kids are still scared to death of her (it must be her terrifying size), but she and Zay bonded right from start. They actually have quite a lot in common. They both like to chew on anything and everything, they both like to run aimlessly in circles, they both drool...alot (though Zayin could shame anyone in a drooling competition), and now this...bonded for life!

They did this for about 20 minutes straight. I never did get a real good clip of it. But the bond will last forever (in dog years)!

*My Dad just sent me a better clip of their escapades. Here it is.

A Little Too Quiet

2010-12-09T14:25:00.000-06:00

Me: Micaiah, is Zayin in there with you?

Micaiah: Yeah!

Me: Good. What's he doing?

Micaiah: Just looking out the window, and giving kisses.

Me: Aw, that's sweet, thanks for keeping an eye on him.

Micaiah: Uuuuh Ooooh, I think maybe the window kissed him back.

Mmmmm

Mwwaaahhh!

This and That

2010-11-22T14:36:00.000-06:00

A short compilation of stories for your reading pleasure.

1. Anya FINALLY (exaggerated emphasis Anya's) got her ears pierced this past weekend! She has been asking for weeks, but I wasn't sure she was quite ready. She almost had them pierced once before and bailed at the last second. I was wrong. She hopped up into the chair and sat patiently for the piercing technician. She held my hands and smiled (albiet a bit warily) the whole time. After it was over, her only comment was "I thought that was going to hurt, it only felt like somebody stapled my ears!" (Oh, is that all!?)

2. Overheard at Silver Dollar City in the Jail.

Little Boy: Hey Girl! Hey them are guns! Them are guns, Girl!

Anya: Silence, staring at the guns and then back at the boy.

Little Boy: Those are the Sheriff's guns, those are his guns girl.

Anya: (With an air of superiority) Those are not GUNS, those are RUFFLES (rifles)!

Me: Bah Ha ha!!!

3. As recorded on facebook:

Jeni Nadvornik So...what's going on downstairs?

Sickly & Sweet

2010-11-01T19:08:00.000-05:00

All of my kids are rather...er...spirited. And this past year has been a MAJOR challenge for me as a mother, wife and human being. I feel like each child has spent a portion of the year testing, pushing and poking at me, trying to figure out exactly where my weak spots are (and there are a few), and then digging at them just to see what happens (I lose it...um...I mean respond in patience).

Micaiah has been my biggest challenge this year. He is constant energy and self-will mixed with a hot temper and dirt. I do agree that boys need to be boys, but when "Boys" = Violence & Destruction, a line must be drawn. And that line gets drawn over and over and over...and...over every day. I wake up each morning weary from the day before and fall asleep begging the Lord for strength to face another one.

So when Micaiah woke up with a fever and a sore throat a couple days I ago, I almost cried. The kids attitudes are generally less than stellar when they are sick (as is mine). I immediately started making a mental list of all the ways his sickness was going to ruin my day (Yes, that's the attitude I'm talking about.) But to my surprise He was the sweetest, most gentle and obedient patient I think I have ever had. We snuggled, read books and drank hot tea together. It was so nice to just sit and enjoy each other's company, without having to constantly correct his behavior.

I was mentioning this to my dad, along with my ongoing struggles with Micaiah. His comment on the situation struck me. He said "Isn't it such a wonderful blessing for God to allow you this glimpse into the man Micaiah is to become." In other words (my words). It's going to be worth it! Every morning, afternoon and evening spent battling the ugliness in his life (and mine) is going to be worth it all!!

10.29.10 - Romans 16:16

It's a Massacre!

2010-10-25T22:15:00.001-05:00

Oh wait...no...it's just my children's weird aversion to beds, especially their own. I'm not really sure why our kids have beds, or even rooms for that matter. Micaiah hasn't slept in his room for months. They prefer to sleep on the hard floor with a couple of blankets and a mound of pillows. They can be found separated as shown, or piled up on top of each other like a bunch of puppies.

Now this is one of those things that may seem like no big deal, or maybe even cute, but it really irritates me.

I want them to sleep in their own beds, and in their own room.

That is why they have them *duh*.

But at this point it's just one of those battles I choose not to fight. I choose not to fight because no one is being harmed (though you wouldn't think it would be very comfortable), no grave sin is being committed, and because I'm too lazy to fight it (this eliminates multiple trips to put them back to bed).

Right now I choose to fight the battles against bad attitudes, sibling violence, lying and other various issues of morality. But after this the lines get a little blurry. Do I fight for a clean room, a lower noise level, an empty plate, or a nice appearance in public? Are these things necessary for good character development, or do I want them done so that I will look good in front of other people? I find that anyone that has been a parent for any number of years (myself included) likes to throw this phrase around. "You have to choose your battles." But how do we know which battles are to be fought and which we can let go? Which are important, and which ones just make us feel better? It's a great phrase to make yourself appear as if you know what you are doing as a parent, but most days... I don't really have a clue. And the longer I am a parent, the less I know what I'm doing.

So here is my questions for all you wise parents out there:

What are 3 battles that you choose to fight, and what are 3 that you could fight, but have chosen to let go of?

Without thinking real hard about it, mine are as follows:

1. I don't fight sleeping in their own beds, but I do fight a decent bed time.
2. I don't fight a matching clothes, but I do fight a modest ones.
3. I don't fight a clean plates, but a do fight trying everything on your plate more than once.

I might be fighting the right battles, I might be fighting the wrong battles, but at least I'm fighting. So that in the end I might say "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." (2 Timothy 4:7)

What do married couples really do after the kids go to sleep?

2010-10-18T21:23:00.002-05:00

...Curl up by the fire and sip hot cocoa while wrapped in a snuggly blanket?...No.

...Put on comfy pj's, pop in a favorite romantic comedy, and eat some delicious buttery popcorn? No. (If you know us at all - you KNOW this is a big fat no!)

...Then maybe cozy up to their favorite someone and exchange jovial anecdotes over a glass of fine wine? Again no.

Ok. How about chase this nasty creature around the backyard, with a broom stick, in your underwear* while your wife laughs hysterically and takes pictures you! A most definite YES! And people wonder how we keep things interesting after all these years and with all our kids.

Thank you gross opossum for a wonderful evening of adrenaline spiked entertainment and hilarity!

*Note all pictures of my husband in his underwear have been destroyed (they were blurry anyway *wink*)!

"Four eyes, Four eyes..."

2010-09-24T13:59:00.000-05:00

"You need glasses to see-ee!" - Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.

I've worn glasses (well owned glasses, I don't always wear them) since around 6th grade. Unlike most glasses wearers, I kinda like them. Getting a new pair glasses is even better than getting a new pair of shoes in my book. Glasses put a nice little frame around the window to one's soul. They can be fun, funky, stylish, and even make you look smarter than you are (I need all the help I can get in that department.) So when Anya was prescribed her first pair of glasses I was more than a little excited, but I was also apprehensive - How was she going to react? Would there be tears? Would she refuse to wear them?

I'm not sure why I was nervous - This is Anya we're talking about here. The QUEEN of accessories! She thought this was the most brilliant idea since the Silly Band. There were a few tears, though, from big sister Charis. She wanted glasses so bad. I found this placed me in a very difficult position. Trying to tell one child "you will love glasses", and the other one that "they aren't any fun at all". Knowing that would never fly. I tried to explain to the girls that they were both "fearfully and wonderfully made" and that God made them just the way He wanted them.

Next was the actual picking of the glasses. Anya is so funny when it comes to picking things out. She takes no time to look at anything and falls in love with everything. I kept hearing "Mom, I LOVE these." I'd point out that they might be a little big, or wouldn't fit quite right, and she would be on to the next pair. Until she found "The pair" "Mom I'm 100% sure I love these and no other!" They're black, and black is my color!!" I'm 120% sure, I LOOOOOOOOVVVVVE them. How do you argue with that? Besides the pair I liked were twice as expensive, and if she loved them she'd be more likely to wear them, right?

I was really happy for her, and excited to share my love of glasses, however strange a love of glasses is, but I was a little sad too. When she put on her glasses, she grew up a little bit, right in that moment. I looked down at her and could no longer she a chubby toddler, or precocious preschooler. She was a kid, a real live KID. And before I know it, this kid is going to be packing her bags and heading off to college, or *gulp* getting ready for her first date (which as she has been informed by her father, will not be until she's at least 30.) And though these thoughts are filled with uncertainty. I know that my job is to hold my children lightly, because they are only on loan to me. They aren't mine to do whatever I please with. They are the Lord's and I am merely preparing them for their journey ahead. Motherhood is a wonderful gift, but my ultimate goal is to work myself out of this job. Some days I'm ready, some days I'm not, some days I don't think it will ever get here soon enough. Thankfully I still have some time to figure it out.

Anya will always remember 1st grade as the year she got glasses. I will always remember it as the year I realized that she was really going to grow up, and those glasses will be a constant little reminder. Though as sobering as that thought is, I still have to say that my heart melts, just a bit, every time I see that adorable, bespectacled face. You're too cute for words Ani B.!

Happy Heart

2010-09-02T20:26:00.000-05:00

Micaiah has just recently started drawing pictures. He hadn't shown any interest in coloring or drawing until the last few days. This morning he ran up to me to show off one of his latest creations.

Micaiah: Mama! Look what I just drew for you?

Me: Oh wow, Cai, that's wonderful. We should put it on the fridge to show Daddy!

Micaiah: Yeah, ok, but I wanna show Jesus too.

Me: Hmmm...How do you think we should go about doing that?

Micaiah: Just like this! (he lifts up his shirt) Now you hold it up to my tummy, so Jesus can see from my heart (which happens to located in his belly button).

Faith of a child. Priceless.

Sometimes...

2010-08-26T21:08:00.000-05:00

Sometimes...you just have to close the door and walk away.

Sometimes...you have to laugh, or you will cry.

Sometimes...here is the most important place you can be.

Sometimes...dignity is completely unnecessary.

Sometimes...washing dishes and bathing the baby is the same thing.

Sometimes I am fed up, frustrated, at the end of my rope, burnt out, and too tired to say another word...

...But it IS worth it...And not just sometimes!

Which Came First....

2010-08-13T12:25:00.000-05:00

People have been asking for some time now "When are those chickens going to start laying eggs?". I would give my usual response "Oh sometime around the end of July, or beginning of August." (Not having any real idea if this was true or not.) Having never been a chicken farmer, all my information comes from the internet. Well Wikipedia said it would be July or August and that was good enough for me.

Gretel Louise - The "Alpha" Chicken

But July came and went and still no eggs. I kept making sure to have their nesting boxes ready just in case. I felt like I was in my 9th month of pregnancy, and was "nesting', literally. Then a couple of days ago I went out to make sure the chickens' water was fresh and, lo and behold, there was a chicken in one of the boxes. It was rather humorous to watch her. She would scoot down in the box and then hop back up, make a cuuuooorrruuuuuuck, reposition and then scoot back down in the box.

Natalie Emma - Our Scardy Chicken, or Chicken Chicken, if you will

After a while I actually started to feel sorry for her. I realized that I had not been a very good mother and had never given her "the talk". She had no idea what she was doing, or what was going on. I watched her for quite some time...hoping. She then unceremoniously hopped up and ran away. It was rather disappointing. No egg. (Or so I thought)

Ned Triceratops - The Crazy Runt of the Litter

Maionne Sophia - Taking a break after a big day

I decided to finish my "chores" and refill their water, and right next to the waterer was a brand new egg. It had been their the entire time. I was so sure that Maionne was working on egg that it had never occurred to me that she had already laid an egg. (not very perceptive) So 1st prize goes to Maionne Sophia for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd egg laid by our chickens.

"The Coop"

They would have been part of our dinner tonight except Anya dropped 2 out of the 3 of the eggs this morning. My poor girl, she was devastated. Oh well. We will just have to split the last remaining egg. I mean, it's not every day you get to eat something that just fell out of a chicken a few hours earlier (okay that was gross). You can just scratch that last image from your mind.

Anya shortly before the "incident."

We are so pleased with our little brood, and hope the others will follow in the egg department shortly!

Sick of Being Sick

2010-07-09T17:54:00.000-05:00

I had a book with this title when I was little. It was about how to get more sympathy from people when you are sick. One of their suggestions was to paint your tongue green and add white blotchy spots to your skin to make it look like your are sicker than you really are. Are there any parents out there that would actually fall for such a thing? Mine didn't, and yes, I tried it. I also tried the old put your thermometer in a glass of hot water to make it look like you have a fever routine. A fever of a 110 is a pretty hard sell.

We have been sick all but two weeks of this summer vacation. The running tally is 5 cases of strep throat, 5 cases of stomach flu and several cases of "viral-something-or-other-highly-contagious-itis". It's symptoms include: fever, body aches, sore throat, rash, high pitched crying and other over dramatic behaviors. (That last symptom is mine.)

"My Speckley Baby Boy"

We have completely checked out of the social scene - no church, play-dates, family dinners, or even *gasp* WAFFLES! I'm not sure I even remember what other big humans look like. Yesterday everything came to a head. The older/neglected children were trying to eat each other alive, Zaying was screaming (as he had been for 3 days) and it was pouring outside. I felt like a caged animal, in a very loud zoo!

(Now lest you think I have read my Sick of Being Sick book one too many times, I'm not actually looking for sympathy here. I am just painting you a picture of the miserably sweet pity party I was having in my head.)

Everything was coming unraveled we had to get out, or I was going to lose it! It wasn't thundering outside, so why not go play in the rain? Sure! That's what a fun mom would do in this situation. Right? Well at least that's what I though. So I gathered the kids, we went outside, and for a few minutes it was marvelous! I could feel the rain melting away the stress of being pent up for so long. I decided to lead a playful march down the gutters and into a really big puddle at the end of the street. Unfortunately, I didn't know that when it rains our gutters are REALLY slimy.

And slippery.

And I bit it.

Big time.

Thankfully, I had the fortitude to hold Zayin above my head so he wasn't hurt, but that meant I also couldn't brace myself for the fall.

It hurt.

ALOT!

But as I was laying there, deciding whether or not I would ever walk again, I remembered a resolution that my brother recently made. His resolution is as follows - Resolved: Not to grumble against God's providence. (side note if you've haven't read the Resolutions of Jonathan Edwards, I highly recommend them. Our college group has been going through them and making some of our own. Good stuff.)

I realized then and there, as dirty gutter water gently washed over my pathetic life, that I have a lot of choices in life, and none of then include whether my kids are sick or well. That is completely out of my hands. But I can choose to be grateful that I have children that I get to see everyday, that I get to stay home with them while they are sick, that all their sicknesses have been treatable or minor, and that no matter what God is with me and He is in control.

So thank you, Lord, for 4 sick children and a trip down my scummy gutter to make me realize how wonderfully blessed I really am!

Once upon a time...

2010-07-03T21:37:00.000-05:00

There was a softball game, and a very, very bored little boy.

(That my mom, ladies and gentlemen, in pink, playing her 27th year of softball! - Yep, she's a hoss!)

He tried to focus...he really did. But softball just wasn't his game.

But just then, when he thought he might slip into a softball coma - he heard a voice. (or at least he would have if his brother could actually talk.)

"Pssst. Micaiah. Come check this out. I don't know what it is, but it feels glorious between my toes."

"Zayin, my friend, forget toes, this is going everywhere!" (and as his mother, I can attest to the fact, that it was indeed everywhere! *wink*)

"This is the life! Why didn't I know about this until now?!"

"I gotta tell Lash about this 'dirt'. He is gonna LOVE it!"

"Can I, Mom, pleaaase?"

"We promise, Mrs. Kueffer, we'll take gooooood care of your son."

"Auntie Claire, It's not fair, everyone else is doing it."

"I promise you, Lash, if my brothers are doing it, you don't want any part of it. Ooh - is that dirt over there? Gimme some!"

And so ends the story of the bOring softball game, and the boys who didn't end up watching too much of it. Sorry, Mom, I'm afraid they just might take after me.

When Life Gives you Lemons...Make a Funny Face!

2010-06-26T18:21:00.001-05:00

Need I say more?

Remembering to Laugh! (Out loud if possible)

2010-06-18T13:57:00.001-05:00

Last night we had some friend over for dinner. Dinner is always a circus, but when we have guests the problem only escalates. After an evening of the kids usual shenanigans we tried to sit down with our friends have have some human/adult conversation. Of course, it was one interruption after another. I was starting to get annoyed (yeah I know) when we were interrupted with this this gem.

From downstairs we hear a frantic voice...

Micaiah: "¡Ayúdeme, ¡Ayúdeme Help Me, Help Me!"

Greg: What's wrong?

Micaiah: "My undies are stuck!"

Greg: "Stuck where? In your bum, or in your drawer?"

Micaiah: "No! In the computer!!"

Without even a thought, about what may have just transpired, I tried to continue my conversation with our friends. I looked up and realized they were both giggling. Hmmm? Did someone just tell a joke, and I missed it? No....? Of course, they were laughing at Micaiah. But I hadn't even stopped to think that the ridiculousness we had just overheard might be funny. I guess when you hear odd things all the time, they begin to lose their hilarity. Sad. I decided then and there, that I didn't want to let these moments pass me by, and that I want to laugh when something if funny. Because, let's face it, even though kids are not always well behaved - They are stinkin' hillarious!

P.S. In case your curiosity is getting the better of you. I have no idea what happened with the undies in the computer.

A Week of Normal - In Pictures (and a few words too) - TUESDAY

2010-06-07T20:41:00.004-05:00

TUESDAY (affectionately.known. as.) Gramma Sally Day.

Since the kids were little they have spent almost every Tuesday afternoon and evening with Gramma Sally and Paco (Grandpa) Ron. I'm pretty sure my kids don't even know the real days of the weeks because of it. In our house it goes Sunday, Monday, Gramma Sally Day, Wednesday...and so forth. It has been a wonderful blessing for all of us. G.S. does many things with them that I would not do (or do not have the energy, patience, creativity, time...) and, of course, they love it (and her), and I get a generally peaceful (as peaceful as it gets with a baby) afternoon to get some things done (or not).

So since I am not with my kids Tuesday afternoon, I guess this post will be all about my Tuesday. Feel free to take a nap for the rest of this post.

Girl Lunch: A while ago my mom and I started one of the most wonderful traditions. Every other Tuesday she takes me out to lunch! How could we not love this? Everyone should start this tradition with someone that they love (and would also love to pay for your lunch). In the beginning I did protest, but now have become quite accustomed to the life of luxury. (after having said this, I have a feeling free lunch might be over as she is one of my most dedicated readers.) After we went out several times we added my sisters to our regularly scheduled program.

As soon as Gramma Sally comes to get the kids I hop in the car, pick up my mom, and on this Tuesday decided to go see "Aunt Mo" doin' her thing..making non fat, low fat, iced, java chip, mochachinos, with extra whip, of course.

Then My brother decides to try and crash Girl Lunch, not gonna happen buddy!

Restaurant choice of the week - Free State Brewery.

The reason Free State is the choice of the Week! These onion rings are the size of bagels, and just as good for you I'm sure.

Zayin has reached the age where if there is food near by, it needs to be in his mouth. Okay if anything is near by, it needs to be in his mouth. Here is my sister valiant attempt at keeping him entertained while we tried to talk.

Now I was hoping that this would be the part of the post where I got to talk about Tuesday evenings. We usually spend Tuesday evenings at Exit 2:9 (wow, we need a new picture and some major updating), but this Tuesday we ended up being called home early because Anya was coming down with strep.

*Nadvornik fun fact - In the past 1 and half weeks we have had 4 cases of strep throat, 3 cases of the stomach flu, and one mystery bug that prefers to remain unnamed. Yeah for summer vacation.

But despite the abnormality of my "normal" Tuesday it was still a wonderful day, spent with my wonderful family, eating WONDERFUL food. (Sorry guys, but you know that those onion rings deserved the biggest wonderful).

And for those of you that have been napping, it's time to wake up. I'm sure my next 20 posts will be kid related!

Little Boy

2010-05-26T17:46:00.001-05:00

The Mother of Boys - Anonymous

Praise to the High One for giving me joys

Peculiarly sweet, I'm the mother of boys!

Mud puddles, torn blue jeans, toads, whistles and worms.

The furred and feathered and whatever squirms.

Black knuckles, bats, arrows and thundering noise.

They're all in a day for the mothers of boys.

But, ah, 'tis a dear joy to turn the blue eyes

To the manifold wonder of earth, sea and skies.

And, ah, 'tis a dear joy to watch a small hand seize

The hand of God in the knowledge of these.

Spare me, oh High One, to praise Thee more when

This mother of boys is the mother of men.

A Week of Normal - In Pictures (and a few words too) - MONDAY

2010-05-25T14:03:00.000-05:00

This group of posts has been rolling around in my head for some time now. I was just never sure how to make it happen. I thought about posting every day for a week...but we all know that won't happen, and if I try and spread it out over a long time period I will lose interest. So I just decided that I will start posting, in no particular order, different days of our normal week.

Monday: Not everyone's favorite day of the week to be sure, but I have kinda grown fond of it. We start every Monday morning "Shoppin' with Papa".

I could probably write and entire post on my love for ALDI. (Sad, but true) We start the trip here and end at Checkers. I also have a lot love for Checkers, but no pictures to prove it.

Everybody in?

Slave Labor.

I usually push and send my runners to grab the food, but Ani wanted to be "in charge" of the cart this time.

"i-phone"

Papa always brings his i-phone and buys treats throughout the trip. Here Micaiah has a "meat tack" (stick) - (gross, I know, but so tasty). Papas just have a special knack for being able to get by all my Mommy healthy foods/no spoiling rules. Typical "Papa treats" may include, but are not limited to...turns with the i-phone, meat sticks, donuts, poptarts, popcicles, lunchables, kid's cuisine, soda, juice boxes, coin operated goodness (mustaches and rings are a huge favorite), and no shopping trip is ever complete without a coin operated pony ride.

Where was this when I was a child? I wasn't even allowed to put sugar on my cereal! Oh the injustice!

Of course Papa is not only along to "spoil" the kids, but to help entertain the crew and help me maintain some sanity while grocery shopping with 4 squirmy kids. I must say he does a fabulous job of both! Thanks Dad. When we started this 7 years ago, I had no idea how much I could look forward to grocery shopping!

The rest of our day is usually spent hanging out at my parents house. When school is in session we bring our books and Gramma helps with lessons. School is so much more fun when mom isn't teaching. When school is not in session we find a myriad of ways to entertain ourselves. Yesterday the mulberry tree was heavy with fruit. Unfortunately so were the birds, as they tried to drop gooey mulberry missiles at us from above. The kids, however, were not fazed and had a great time picking and eating all the delicious purple goodness.

I was going to make mulberry jam with their bounty, but I think more berries made it into their mouths than into the bag. We'll still try for a small batch. After playing and naps we all eat dinner together. Sometimes it's just us and other times it's a crowd (ok - I guess we can be a kind of a crowd on our own). But because of all the fun and family Monday had found a special place in my heart.

Baby Giggles

2010-05-18T12:13:00.000-05:00

Zayin...My quiet storm. So thoughtful and watchful. You seem to be absorbing and processing everything you encounter through those two beautiful blue windows.

photo by Angie Dykshorn

You are quiet and charming, though your lungs are well exercised. I often wonder what is going on in that little head of yours...are you preforming mathematical equations, or pondering the meaning of life? The way you constantly furrow your brow, it must be something weighty. But just when I think you are all melancholy and seriousness you break into the most beautiful smiles and giggles. You, Sir, are an "old soul", with a very silly sense of humor.

...And as soon as you can talk, I'm dying to know what you are thinking!

Hair to Share

2010-05-05T17:28:00.000-05:00

Today was an important day for me. I was going with my mom to get a hair cut. My hair was long, itchy, sweaty, heavy and tangly. I was ready for a summer hair cut. I wanted to cut my hair so that it would be just below my shoulders.

My mom and I walked to the hair cutting place. I think it was called Great Clips. In the shop I was signed up for my haircut. I looked at a few hair styles, but I ran out of time. I got ready for cutting. First my hair was combed out. Then she sprayed me with water and combed some more. Next she asked how I wanted my hair. So I told her... She asked me if I wanted to cut it a few inches shorter, so that I could donate it to Locks of Love.

Locks of Love helps kids with cancer get a wig for after their hair falls out. I was scared to cut it short, but I thought about all the girls with no hair. I wanted to do it! She asked me again, and I said "Yes! I'm sure!"

Before it looked like this. The old me!

After I looked like this. This is the new me!

This was a good Day...And I can still do pig-tails!

A Very Merry Un-Birthday To You!

2010-04-16T12:00:00.001-05:00

Charis' 8th Birthday Party...er...Un-Birthday Party!

"Im late, I'm late, for a very important date. No time to say hello, goodbye! I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!"

- White Rabbit.

From mid-February until last weekend this quote was on a continuous loop in the back of my mind. I love parties and planning around a theme (I know I've said this before). They are fun and exciting, but for some reason when it comes to my kids birthday parties, I drag my feet. I dread figuring out what weekend will work, who to invite, who not to invite, and using the postal service wears me out. When all those things are accomplished, the rest is actually fun!

So since we missed Charis' actual birthday, and any weekend remotely close to her birthday, we decided to have an UN-birthday party. We made the invitations with the quote above and invited her friends to celebrate their un-birthday's along with Charis.

After everyone arrived we loaded up the kids and drove them "through the looking glass" to Wonderland! (a.k.a. Gramma Sally's Garden). It's a land where nothing makes sense, but everything is Wonderful! We played several games...

Kick the Milk (A Gramma Sally original) There is no point to this game. You just run around and kick empty milk cartons. What could be better.

Fishing for Bugs - Instead of using bugs as bait to catch fish in water, you fish for (magnetic) bugs in the dirt.

Silly Hot Potato - A small package is passed around until the timer goes off. Whoever has the package when the time is up gets to open it.

Inside is a small gift and a piece of paper with something silly written on it.

All the kids then have to do/act out whatever is on the slip of paper. This one was make a funny face.

After all the games we loaded back up and returned to our house for a Mad Hatter Tea Party and un-birthday presents.

We also decorated "tea cups" for them to take home.

I didn't have many pictures turn out from this part of the party, but we will still have the memories. Though it would have been nice of me not to procrastinate, I loved that we could do Charis' party outside and that we could have a party that didn't focus completely on her. She still had a little "It's my birthday" syndrome, but much less than usual (thank goodness no tears this year).

Look Mama No Training Wheels!

2010-03-25T17:36:00.000-05:00

Anya has been wanting to learn to ride a bike without training wheels for a looooonnnnng time. I can't even remember a day of bike riding without her incessant pestering to "PUH-LEASE" take off her training wheels. I'll admit, I'd been dragging my heels. I knew I was in for a lot of work, and I wasn't ready yet.

Teaching Anya is...well...teaching Anya....*sigh*....I'm not sure anyone can actually teach Anya anything. No matter how hard I try, or what method I use she either seems to accidentally absorb the information, you are trying to teach her, or she doesn't. End of story. It's not rebellion, it's just the way she is. The strange thing is that she is usually equally happy with either result. I knew somehow this was going to be different. She wanted to learn, she neeeeeeeded to learn and not doing so would NOT be okay!

So I took a deep breath, pulled out the wrench and removed those training wheels, muttering under my breath all the while. *great parenting - I know* As soon as the wheels were off, she hopped on and adjusted her helmet. I held onto the back of her seat and gave her a little nudge. She forgot, unfortunately, that she was in control of her bike and we ran off the sidewalk nearly missing the neighbors tree.

I explained that she still needed steer as well as pedal, and things would go much smoother. She hopped back on, I grabbed her seat and she began to steer like a pro. However, she just let her legs dangle limply instead of using them to pedal. "You're doing great", I said. "Are you sure you know how to teach people how to ride bikes?" she replied. *mutter, mutter, mutter*

"Okay, you're gonna get it, hop back on and this time try to use your arms and your legs together". I try pathetically to encourage her. Because, really, I don't think she's gonna get it. I felt terrible, but I had no faith in either my ability to teach, or her ability to learn at that point. She then got back on her bike, turned her face to mine and smiled sweetly. I'm expecting a heartfelt "Thanks for helping me", but instead I hear, "Mom, I really think I could do this better on my own. I don't think you know what you are doing." I had to laugh. She's right. I have no idea what I am doing. So I let go. And she rode her bike.

It turns out she wasn't the one that needed to be taught. It was me that needed to let go.

Look What I Can Do!

2010-03-13T14:54:00.001-06:00

Presenting...

2010-03-10T19:55:00.001-06:00

...the newest members of the Nadvornik Clan.

Natalie Emma (Charis'). Natalie is a Silver Laced Wyandotte.

Maionne (My-ON) Sophia (Anya's). Maionne is a Mystery Chick. Anya was adamant that her chick be all black, including the feet. So we picked her out of a batch of "Rainbow Layers".

Gretel Louise (Mine). Gretel didn't have a middle name until now, but I felt bad because all the other chicks have middle names. All my female pets get the middle name Louise...so Louise it is. Gretel is a Barred Plymouth Rock.

And last, but not least...Ned Triceratops (Micaiah's obviously) Ned is also a Barred Plymouth Rock. Oh and don't let the name fool you, Ned is a hen. Roosters aren't allowed within the city limits.

These little guys are already so much fun. I spent the first afternoon just staring at them and watching them interact. I think I sat a watched them for over an hour, shamefully squandering away nap time on poultry voyeurism. It was ridiculously fascinating to see that they all had different personalities, and that they were in incredibly like the personalities of the children who owned them. Natalie is the ring leader, bossy and proud. She keeps all the other chicks in line. Maionne is loud! I cannot believe the amount of chattering and squawking that emanates from that little puff ball. Ned is a bit of a bully. He especially likes to pick on Maionne, pecking at her feet. I'm pretty sure he does it just for the ear piercing reaction. He is never disappointed. And then there is Gretel. Gretel is cool, calm and collected. Nothing ruffles this bird's feathers. Okay so that is where the similarities end.

Hopefully all goes well with these little guys and they provide some tasty eggs for us. If nothing else they will be entertaining, and yet another lesson in responsibility for the kids. As they grow and change I'm sure I will have many more stories to tell.

P.S. My kids do have other, more redeeming, personality traits. The chicks just didn't seem to mimic any of those.

The Beginning of the End!

2010-03-04T17:28:00.001-06:00

As if my house wasn't messy enough...(Can a house ever really be "messy enough"?), now I don't have cabinet doors to hide my junk! But, though it's not a pretty sight right now it signifies the beginning of the END of our kitchen remodel. Hooray!

Hopefully I will have some after pictures to post before the end of the year. I wish that last comment was sarcasm, but you never know...

Rock Chalk Valentine's Day!

2010-02-17T18:42:00.000-06:00

A couple of year's ago Greg started a little Valentine tradition for our kids. Instead of flowers, chocolate or tiny little cards with candy stuck to them, he gets the kids Jayhawk t-shirts. It's great because it's just in time for March Madness and there is no gooey chocolate mess to clean up afterward. To make this year a little more memorable we decided to do a scavenger hunt (a.k.a. I am much to lazy to wrap their gifts.)

It was a joint hunt so that everyone would get their presents at the same time. And so that a certain oldest child didn't dominate the game we put names on each of the pieces of paper and adjusted the clues to the individual's reading level.

Micaiah's had pictures on them:

Anya's were very obvious and easy to read:

Charis' were little riddles:

They each had several individual clues to figure out, and then the last one was a puzzle with 3 pieces (one for each kid) that formed a picture of where the present was hidden:

SUCCESS!!

It was so fun to see the excitement on all of their faces as the next hiding place or clue was revealed. They all got a chance to work together toward a common "gold" (goal). Micaiah was finally able to prove to his sisters that he could be a valid member of the "Nadvornik kid team" and Anya got to showcase her newly acquired reading skills. Charis was their cheerleader throughout and humored them when it took them "far too long" to figure out a clue.

Then after the scavenger hunt I gave them my present...

DESSERT FOR DINNER! (okay not really it's a German Apple Pancake, but it tastes like a dessert.)

And it was sooo good!

A delicious end to a wonderful family Valentines Day. Go Hawks!

I Am Not Eating That!

2010-02-16T10:00:00.001-06:00

Every Sunday night I pull out the computer and make out my meal plan for the week. Last Sunday I opened up Word, scheduled a few meals, and then got distracted. When I came back to the computer to finish my menu planning this is what I found, so helpfully added by my husband.

-Deep fried lard encrusted possum gizzards

-All natural soggy emu droppings

-Beets

-Mind over matter mutton brain puree

-Jellyfish eyeball retinal fluid infused bag balm on moldy toast

I'm not sure if this is a, not-so-subtle, comment about the meals I prepare for the family, but if so I'm not taking the hint. My favorite part is that he equated beets with the rest of disgusting inventions. So I bought beets and we had them with dinner last night! (All in good fun, right Peeter?) One must be careful messing with my dinner plans! Oh and in case you think these are things we just might eat, I do draw the line at "droppings", emu or otherwise.

*After reading this Greg wanted me to point out that though the girls in the family like beets, this was Micaiah's general reaction to them:

He actually got into trouble 3 times for pretending to vomit them back up onto his plate. See my kids won't eat everything either!

Miss Charis

2010-02-12T14:24:00.000-06:00

Oh Miss Charis, I am late with your birthday post and I know being late drives you crazy. I am sorry. How can two people, like us, who are so very much alike, be so different from each other as well? I am continually amazed at how much you really are like me. We have similar likes and dislikes, mannerisms and personality quirks. Sometimes I feel as though I gave birth to myself and I am getting to watch myself grow up. It's a very surreal feeling.

Your interests are unique for an 8 year old girl. You have wanted to be an archeologist even before you could say the word and have recently become interested in archery. You got your very own bow and arrows this year. You almost cried when we gave you the certificate to pick one out.. You just kept hugging and thanking me. This is huge for you because you have always been very reserved with your emotions. Much like your mother. I'm still working on that. I hope that you never feel that I am reserved toward you.

You are my little bookworm. You will devour anything and everything written on a printed page. Your favorites are mysteries and history - especially mysteries about history. Amelia Earhart is your hero. You even carry ladies gloves in your purse because you think that Amelia probably did the same. I love this about you!

You are unbelievably secure in who you are. In this way I wish I was more like you. You don't get upset when you are picked on by other people. I remember you coming home from school last year and telling me about a girl that was trying to single you out and make fun of you. You told me that you weren't worried about it because you knew that other people had bad days and sometimes they take their bad days out on other people. You said you were still going to be nice to her and pray for her until her bad mood was over. The next day you became her friend!

You are very responsible. I can ask anything of you and you will try to hardest to comply. It seems so natural for you. (I don't think I have a naturally compliant bone in my body.) You take care of Zayin, you help with cleaning, you are a peacemaker with your siblings and have even cooked a couple of meals for us. You have helped me immensely this past year when I was too sick to be much of a Mama, and when all my time was taken up with your new brother. I actually have a hard time remembering that you are only 8, because you carry yourself with a maturity beyond your years.

Now lest you begin to think that you are perfect (a personal flaw of mine) we both know that you aren't. (I think you get that from your Father). Though won't use this space to embarrass you by bringing up anything specific, please remember you are always growing. You will never stop learning and needing to learn. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight. It's okay not to have the right answer all the time, just keep seeking the Lord and He will take care of the rest.

Charis you are a sweet, intelligent, charming and amazing young woman, not just my little girl. I thank the Lord daily for letting my borrow you for a while.

Happy 8th Birthday, Girl!! I LOVE YOU!

Adventures in Eating

2010-01-26T17:24:00.000-06:00

One of the things that I want to do with my kids is to expose them to lots of different types of foods. They don't have to love everything on their plate, but if they don't try they will never know. I will often have the kids pick out something new/something weird to try at the grocery store. Then we go home and I have to figure out how to cook it. They have picked things like eggplant, kiwi, starfruit, tamarind pods, cactus leaves and fresh beets. Some are definitely stranger than others. A lot of them have become favorites - like Charis and Brussels sprouts.

Well once word gets out that you like to try new and different things people start giving you strange food items. And I do mean strange. Here is what we were given not long ago and I finally worked up the courage to cook.

RATTLESNAKE!
Now generally I am not very squeamish. I'm not afraid of snakes, but this kinda gave me the heebie-jeebies. It looks like a snake, but in keeping with what I'm trying to teach my kids, I tried not to let the creepy crawlies get the best of me. I talked my folks into letting me make it at their house by offering a free meal - ha! I was really amazed at my mom and how calm she was, she even took the picture above. She is not a big fan of snakes. We decided to debone it so we wouldn't have to worry about anyone choking.

I deboned, my mom chopped vegetables.

As nervous as I was in the beginning, once I got going it lost all of it power to make me feel woozy. It just became like any other meat, well any other meat with a billion little bones in it. I actually started to enjoy myself. Here was our finished product.

Menu:

Green salad with Raspberry Dressing

Rattlesnake in a Cajun Cream Sauce

Hand Picked Morel Mushrooms (left over from this summer)

French Bread with Homemade Butter (19 min. -that's for my dad)

It was so much fun to cook with my mom again and especially fun with out of the ordinary ingredients. Next on the list...Rock Mountain Oysters (thank you Dr. Kyle)

Robot Invasion

2010-01-26T16:41:00.000-06:00

Micaiah's 3rd Birthday Party

Micaiah is over the moon for Robots. It started with a favorite pair of pajamas that he wants to wear constantly. They are too small, but he doesn't care, he loves them.

So the theme for his party this year seemed obvious. I am a theme girl. I love trying to come up with different things to do with a theme. Unfortunately, I also get overwhelmed by lots of details and short time periods, so most of what I dream up never happens. And I'm pretty sure the kids never know the difference. As long as there is a cake involved, my kids are happy.

I didn't really decorate. I just put fun straws and pens out for the kids to use and then take home and put the craft out on the table.

Everyone making "Robots":

Anya putting a little spit and polish on her masterpiece.

Charis admiring her work.

Jonah not sure that his dad knows what he is doing.

This was going to be a robot assembly station, but...that time thing got in the way.

Then the cake and ice cream!

And a little something to take home.

3 - Where Blog Meets Scrapbook

2010-01-22T18:30:00.000-06:00

To my smart, funny, little...er..excuse me...big man:

Dear Micaiah,

You entered this world in a snow storm, and if weather has any bearing on personality a storm was perfect for you. You are fiery and determined. You challenge everything I ever thought I knew, or could know about being a mother. It often makes my job as your teacher quite difficult, but I see that with Christ in you, you have the potential to take on the world. -Lord please guide his steps and teach him to love you.

You do things differently than your sisters, as you should, you are all boy. There is something genetically imprinted upon your d.n.a. to like robots and dinosaurs, to make weapons and sound effects to your every movement. You are so so funny. With your dimpled cheeks and your "up to no good grin", you make me laugh out loud each and every day. This is not something I normally do, but you have a gift, and you know it. I pray that you are able to use this gift to encourage others and to lift them up, and are not tempted to use your humor to make fun of others differences.

You are very smart. Your computer and i-phone skills absolutely amaze me. By the age of 5 you will probably know more than I do about either. You know all your uppercase, lowercase and letter sounds. You are even beginning to string letters together to form words. My hope for you is that you will not let your intelligence be a source of pride for you. It is easy to think that those who "know" more are more, but that is simply not true.

You are loving. My favorite time with you right now is bed time. I crawl up into your cubby hole (an interesting feat I might add) and we begin with a song or songs (depending on who wins.) You always ask for five, I always want one, we end up some where in the middle. Then we have to give each other hugs, kisses, nugga noses (eskimo kisses) and licks (no we do not lick each other). Then we do " I wish I were!". This is something that has morphed from when I was little. My dad (Papa) and I would press our noses together and close our eyes tight, then we would say "I wish I were an owl!" and on the word owl, open our eyes wide. I'm not sure how that got started, but that's where I get my love of owls from. You like to add sound effect and other animals into the mix. You are very creative with this part. Your favorites include alligators and different kinds of bugs.

It's hard for me to remember that you are only 3 years old. I often expect more of you than your little 3 year old mind can keep up with. I don't do this because I expect perfection from you, or that I want you to be something that you're not. I do this because your are not just a little boy, but you are a future husband and a future father. You have been entrusted to me for only a short time on this earth, and I take this responsibility very seriously (with lots of silliness thrown in for good measure). And as you continue to grow and hopefully mature this is my prayer for you.

Ephesians 3:14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

I love you Micaiah David.

An Afternoon of Lessons

2010-01-15T14:53:00.000-06:00

It's hard for us to get school done around here. With a baby that isn't too fond of sleep, a preschooler that doesn't sit...ever, and girls that know every trick in the book for weaseling out of work, things tend to progress at a snails pace. My jobs seems to be that of a cattle driver...prod-prod, heyah! , move it-move it! It's a good thing I'm not a cattle driver, because my version sounds more like "cattle nagging", instead of driving. And it's probably about as effective on children as it would be on cattle.

On this particular day the girls went to a nature class in the morning and the boys and I went to Titus II (a women's group at church), so we were already behind schedule. On the way home I was stressed and the kids were tired and hungry. How were we going to get everything done? It's difficult enough when we have the whole day to work on school, but I had squandered away the morning on something I wanted to do, so now we had even less time. Spiraling into an ugly funk of self pity, I was about to start barking at the kids to start school when I remembered a verse from Proverbs 31 (My recent obsession.)

Pro 31:26 She opens her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.

For some reason I never felt like this really applied to bugging the kids to get things done. But I know I was being neither kind or wise in the way I was speaking to them. We had also been talking about the tongue at Titus II, that very morning, and I had just kinda tuned it out. Figuring that was for angrier people than me, or people that swear a lot. How blinding that plank can be.

So with a new outlook on our day and hopefully on life, we ate a quick lunch and then...went outside to play.

We managed to have a snowball fight,

build a snow man,

make snow angels

and get school done all before dinner without any "cattle nagging" from me. Granted dinner was at about 7:30 p.m., but no one went to bed hungry and we had a chance to make some great memories!

Stir Crazy

2010-01-08T16:13:00.006-06:00

We have 10 inches of snow on the ground. What else are we going to do?

Thank You to Aunt Sarah - From Charis

2009-12-28T19:11:00.006-06:00

Aunt Sarah is my Aunt. She is creative. This year for Christmas, she made me an American Girl. An American Girl is a fake girl that has a big adventure. My adventure was that I found an old Egyptian Bag. I found earrings, a necklace, and a dress inside. My book was about a girl that liked archeology, that was named Charis. I LOVE Archeology and Aunt Sarah knew that!

My sister's was about a girl that loved to get muddy and lose her shoes outside in the sun. She was home schooled so she had to finish school before she could go outside to play. One day it was raining before she finished school, when she finished school it was still raining. Her mother tried to cheer her up with a fort and tea party with me.

Thank you Aunt Sarah for the American Girl outfits and stories. I love them!

Give Thanks

2009-12-23T17:45:00.014-06:00

I Thessalonians 5:18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

I must confess. I could win the griper of the year award. I am a self professed half glass empty kind of girl. I have a tendency to think that my dry wit and self deprecating sense of humor are just "charming" parts of my personality, but now I'm starting to see how much of it is just whiny and ungrateful. Every time I complain, or "joke" about some "flaw" of mine, or my circumstances (a.k.a house and children), I'm not so subtly, saying "Lord - no thank you!" "I know that you made me, but I'm thinking I could have done better." Now, of course, I would never be so bold as to do this consciously, but isn't that what being ungrateful is? Saying "I don't like what you have given me, and given the chance I would have done it differently."

So as I started thinking about how I could change. How to begin a continual practice of thanksgiving and how to pass pass this a long to our kids (who are also amazingly gripey and ungrateful...hmmm...strange). Greg came up with Thankful Nights. It was something his mom had done with them when they were little and with a little tweaking we made it our own. First each child has an evening set aside just for them. They get their favorite meal and are exempt from dinner chores. After the meal we pulled out some poster board and wrote words to describe them following the letters of their names. We then went around the table several times saying why we were thankful for that person. And last we asked, the person of honor, a few questions about their favorite things.

I will try not to bore you with all the details, but here are a few highlights of the kids evenings.

ANYA (she won the coin toss)

Favorite Meal: Mac'n'cheese with mixed vegetables and hot chocolate.

Reasons we are thankful for her: Her compassionate heart (Dad), Her sweet kisses (Mom), She helps when I get hurt (Charis).

A couple of her favorites right now: Favorite place in the world - Georgia (because of Auntie Jo and her kitty), Favorite Book - Get Lost Becka (She wanted Charis to pick the Bible, but she picks that one!?)Favorite color - Black.

CHARIS

Favorite Meal: Homemade Pizza with Pepperoni and Mushrooms, brussel sprouts (which I forgot to make) and yogurt smoothies.

Reasons we are thankful for her: She plays servant with me. (Anya) Her quirky interests. (Mom) "I like she's not green." (Micaiah), Her ingenuity (Dad)

Some of her favorites: Favorite place in the world - Egypt (she wants to be an archeologist), Favorite Bible Story - Esther, Favorite Books - Meg Mackintosh.

MICAIAH

Favorite Meal: Chicken with sundried tomato pesto pasta, maple glazed baby carrots, and milk for dessert. (I added cookies for the rest of us)

Reasons we are thankful for him: His chivalry (Mom - he always holds the door open for me), His hugs and kisses (Ani), His many expressions (Dad), His snuggles (Charis).

A couple of his favorites: He wants to be a "piggy" when he grows up, Favorite book - The Great Thumbprint Drawing Book, Favorite color - GREEN!!

Thank you Lord for my funny, passionate children. Though we will probably never have a quiet or clean house as long as they live here, I thank you for the life that they bring to me, and the lessons that they teach me. You always know just what I need, even when I don't realize it. - Jeni

A Simple Signature

2009-12-17T19:43:00.003-06:00

WARNING: If you've read my previous post about the granola bars, then you've pretty much already read this post. I am a very slow learner.

I've been busy...really, really busy. I've taken on a lot of new and different things. Well, different for me. I've been trying to get back to basics in order to live a little more frugally. I started cloth diapering and making my own diapers. As you read previously I started making my own detergents (hated the laundry detergent, loved the dish washing detergent) and next year I want to have chickens, a garden and a bee hive. I'm also trying to make as many Christmas presents as I have time for. Okay, that I don't have time for.

Now I know that that just sounded like a huge blast on my own horn, but bear with me, that is not what I am writing about here. In order to do most of the things I've been doing I've had to research online. I don't know anyone doing many of the things I'm interested in. (Though if you are out there, I'd love to pick your brain. I have no idea what I'm doing.) So I've had to turn to the internet for my information. Mostly I've been hopping from blog to blog trying to gather usable ideas, and trying to find what works and what doesn't.

On most of these blogs, or forums, people have a personalized signature. They have a cute little picture of them and their dogs, babies, ducks, or whatever, and then their name and something underneath it. Their signatures usually define who they are. They say things like "Janet - baby wearing, cloth diapering, homeschooling environmentalist and Christian mother of 5.", or Jessica - Jesus loving, breastfeeding, home birthing, mother of 2 and wife to one. So I started thinking, who, or what, do I want to be known as? What would I put behind my name that defines me. Do I want to be defined as a cloth diapering, detergent making, chicken ranching, garden planting, bee keeping mother of 4? That ridiculous! I'm ridiculous!

I tried on lots of different signatures in my mind, but soon realized (once again - I told you I'm a slow learner) that the only thing that mattered was that I'm am Christ's, because apart from Him I am nothing.

"In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand" - Newsboys.

So here I am signing off -

Jeni - Christ's Alone

Sexy!?, and a Girly Fish

2009-12-08T16:01:00.012-06:00

The other day as Anya was getting ready to go with me to bible study I asked her to change her pants. She was wearing white pants. Anya and white pants don't generally mix. I handed her a pair of jeans and she squealed "Ooh I love these jeans, they make me look SEXY!"
WHAT!? (Now for the record these were just your average pair of wide leg jeans, nothing "sexy" about them). My immediate reaction, was probably not the best, instead of calmly explaining why they weren't sexy "No they don't!!" was all that jumped out of my mouth. My poor daughter's face instantly fell, in her mind I had just told her she was ugly. So after some consoling & back-pedaling her face returned to normal. She then looked up at me asked "What does sexy mean then?" ...Uhhhhh...? I'm generally not one to beat around the bush with my kids, but really, how do you explain "sexy" to a 5 year old, without opening an even bigger can of worms. Thankfully she "saw something shiny" and ran off. The question didn't leave me, of course, and after having some time to think about it, and after running it past a couple of other moms I asked Anya to come talk with me.

Me: Anya, do you remember asking me about the meaning of the word sexy this morning?

Anya: Oh yeah...what does that mean again?

Me: Well..you know how we talk about modesty?

Anya" Oh modesty, yeah! I get it!

Me: So you know what modesty means?

Anya: Don't have a clue.

Me: Okay, so when we have modesty in the way we dress, we try to make sure that our skirts aren't too short, or that your boobs don't show...things like that. There are certain parts of our bodies that we just don't show to other people.

Anya: Hmm...so like BRATS dolls.

Me: Yes, that's why we don't have BRATS dolls.

Anya: So...sexy...is just inappropriate?

Me: Well, yeah, that's a good way to put it.

Anya: Why didn't you just say so in the first place?

Me: I have no idea.

So the next time I try to explain something to my 5 year old, I will remember to use big words like inappropriate and all will be well.

A GIRLY FISH?

Another Anya story. I think I could probably dedicate an entire blog just to the random things she says. Life with Ani around is never dull.

My mom picked the girls up for a girls night out and a sleepover. She decided to surprise the girls by taking them to get their nails done. She wanted it to be a surprise, but was letting them try to guess where they were going by giving them clues. The very first clue was that it was "something girly". Anya exclaimed "We're getting a fish!?" Charis then corrected her (with pleasure I'm sure) by telling her that fish are NOT girly. Sulking Anya replies "They are to me. And it would have been my very first pet...Oh well I shouldn't have a pet anyway. I'm not very responsible."

Oh Anya, you absolutely light up my world!

Over the Hedge Nadvornik Style

2009-11-07T15:01:00.015-06:00

Before I head to Georgia and forget to post these. Here are our Harvest Party Pictures from this year. We went with Over the Hedge, not really because we have a huge love for the movie, but because we could make it work. (Okay the kids love it.)
I wasn't real excited to work on costumes this year, or to spend the money, but I couldn't just let it go either. I was really pleased to find a Cat in the Hat costume and a weird brown costume at Good Will for $1.99 each. Those, with some alterations, became the skunk and possum outfits. We made Charis' vest out of some leftover fabric from Zayin's bumper pads (I still need to post the after pictures from earlier this summer) and she made her own "patches" out of some other material we had laying around. Greg's outfit was supposed to be orange, but I had a green one and I just made a couple "patches" for it at well. He also had a bald cap with a comb over in his pocket that we never had the time to put together and put on his head. I made Zayin's outfit out of some felt and batting, and put some pajamas on underneath his shell. Mine was thrown together about an hour before we left. I'm still not fitting into my clothes, so the outfit that I planned on wearing got nixed. The pajamas were far more comfortable anyway. So it ended up being a really easy and cheap year for costumes, yeah!
Greg and I, minus the bear.

Here is Micaiah as Stella. He has no idea that, in the movie, the skunk was a girl. He is just in love with skunks and the idea of spraying people, something he does on a regular basis.

Anya decided from the beginning that the possum was her character, because she was a rock star. I didn't know what she was talking about until she informed me that "a rock star girl" (Avril Lavigne)did her voice. We tried to talk her into being Hammie, for reasons that should be obvious, but she would have none of it. Charis wanted her costume because she would get to pull the wagon with Zayin in it. She also like the girl scout because she had brown hair and freckles. Two things she is strangely obsessed with.

Zayin as "Vern" the turtle. And my mom, who amidst much protesting from me, did not dress up.

And of course I'm already scheming for next year. Alice in Wonderland, Pinocchio, or Star Wars...hmmm the possibilities.

Semi-Domesticated and Hopelessly Flawed

2009-11-04T09:34:00.011-06:00

A blog is such a curious beast. It is a window into our lives, but through this little window you are only allowed see what I want you to see. From the very beginning I purposed to write both the good and the bad, the interesting with the mundane, but sometimes this is so much easier said than done. The problem arises when I want people to perceive me as someone that has it all together and, that through Christ, I simply and elegantly glide through life, without a hint of difficulty. HA! Like I said, this is how I want you to perceive me, not necessarily how you do. So this being said I really had to battle my pride before posting this more accurate version of my Monday.

So without further explanation, my life without pretense...

As the weather turns cooler, and the days grow shorter, my desire to be domestic intensifies. I have visions of myself flitting about my home in a cute little apron, oven mitts on hand, and a smile across my lips. I dream of preparing cost effective, eco-friendly and healthy items my whole family can enjoy. So yesterday, that is exactly what I did...well almost.

I started with homemade granola bars. I had Charis help with this. We substituted whole wheat flour, for the white flour, and added pecans, almonds and flax seeds. We also used golden raisins, instead of regular ones and added a little black strap molasses to the mix. I tried to talk the Charis into dried cranberries, but she wasn't having it. Now had I stopped here, things may have turned out a little differently, but I'm a compulsive multi-tasker, and don't know when to say when.

So, while the granola bars where in the oven and Charis went to finish school, I decided to try my hand at both homemade laundry detergent and dish-washing detergent. What could go wrong? I started the process in classic blog form by taking a picture of all my ingredients.

Please note the clean counter tops and back splash (it's all part of the illusion).
I then began grinding up the soap and heating my water, making sure to take pictures along the way.

And this is where things started to spiral out of control. The ingredients wouldn't come out of the box, and then once they did wouldn't dissolve in the water, the timer for the granola bars started going off and they had to be cut into bars within 5 minutes or they would harden, Zayin woke up and wanted to be fed, and my helper had fallen asleep instead of working on school.

AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!

Now is the part of this post that I would love to say that I stopped, took a deep breath and moment to pray, and finished my tasks with the joy of the Lord in my heart. I, however, just gritted my teeth, put my baby on my boob, plowed forward and finished in a very angry and frustrated fashion.

I was determined not to let the circumstances beat me. How could I create the perfect post, when things weren't going perfectly? Yes, I did finish...
...but I didn't win. I was so intent on impressing all of you, that I forgot that my significance comes from the Lord and not from being the greenest, healthiest, and most put together mom on the planet (Yes I am extremely diluted). Once I am His, my search for significance is over.

Colossians 1:21-23 - (21) And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled (22) in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight— (23) if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.

I am His, enough said.

That Elusive Smile

2009-10-24T17:39:00.010-05:00

The beginning of a baby's life is always the hardest for me. The lack of sleep, the crying, 10,001 dirty diapers a day and the complete loss of personal space and time. I know they are cute, generally smell good, and are very cuddly. But until around 6 weeks of age they are little more than a very demanding house plant, all take and no give. Yes, I do love my babies and would fight to the death like a mother bear for them. And, yes, that is how I feel about house plants. But I get a little frustrated, as I'm sure many mothers do.

And then, when you least expect it, it happens, their first big "I know who you are, and I love you with every fiber of my being" smile!

I know that it's goofy and toothless, but for the first time it's for me, instead of just a reflex to tiny gas bubbles in his tummy. And that makes my mother's heart sing!

"Anyone...anyone...?"

2009-10-14T12:58:00.007-05:00

After a very simple, or so we thought, family devotion on the first commandment. Here is the conversation that transpired.

Okay, so may be it's time to cut back on the amount of time they spend on the computer?

Oh How Things Have Changed

2009-09-30T14:19:00.007-05:00

It's been almost a year since I first wrote about "My Little Clean Freak". I was so excited to finally have a child interested in keeping things clean and orderly. I could always count on Micaiah to put his clothes away, after he wore them, and tidy up his toys. Give the kid a dish cloth and he would dust for days.

And then one day he turned into...well...a boy. I'm not sure when it happened exactly, but at some point he morphed from a mommy pleasing little toddler into a "real" boy. This is not to say that boys can't keep things clean. In fact he still retains his need for order. He still lines up all of his cars and likes to help with laundry, we just do things a little differently these days.

Making sure the washing machine is empty.

Yes, he is naked. I would excuse myself by saying that we were potty training, but I don't think we were when this was taken.

And then last, but not least, Micaiah's new favorite - Bumper Vacuums.

So though things are not quite as simple as they used to be, they are a whole lot more fun.

One Month Down

2009-09-29T11:34:00.003-05:00

I can hardly believe that it has been almost a month (tomorrow) already since Zayin entered this world. Everything has been a complete blur. He is, for the most part, a very sweet and easy-going kid.

But, of course, he is still a baby and babies are lots of work. People keep asking if 1 to 2, 2 to 3, or 3 to 4 is harder and I'm not really sure. I still think 1 to 2 was the hardest transition for me to make. By the time you have others you are already used to dividing your time between kids, but I am curious what everyone else thinks. What was the hardest transition for you? How are some ways that you have dealt with adding subsequent children? Ok, not only am I curious, I'm looking for tips. I know only a couple people read this blog, so if you know people with several children that have some good ideas, feel free to send this on to them. Thanks. I'm looking forward to what everyone comes up with.

First Bath

2009-09-17T14:03:00.007-05:00

I've been meaning to post this for about a week now, along with some other things, but I am just too tired for words. So here are some pictures instead.

It's a Boy!

2009-09-05T14:53:00.008-05:00

We're home! This is our second day home with our new bundle of boy, and Jeni asked me to post an update. So...in case you haven't heard, this is how it went down...

Tuesday night we returned home from college group. Jeni had been having contractions about 10 minutes apart - but this was nothing new. We went to bed despite the activity. Jeni had gone to bed with contractions many times, only to wake up in the morning disappointed that nothing materialized. At 12:10AM she was still working on sleep and attempted to roll over to find a less uncomfortable position when she heard AND FELT a loud pop! She cried out in pain and soon discovered her water had broken. Somehow the combination of the rolling over and the baby stretching was enough to break her water...AND break her tailbone. We just didn't know it at the time.

During the brief (depending on who you ask - don't ask her) ride to the hospital, it was clear she was in the throes of deep labor. We got to the hospital at about 12:35AM. When the nurse checked her, the baby was all but out the door. They desperately tried to get her to breathe easy and not push so the doctor could get there - yeah right! Fortunately the doctor arrived "soon" and after a couple of pushes, Zayin Jude came into the world! He was born at 1:00AM - she was in labor for less than an hour!

I know you're gonna ask, so Zayin is pronounced just like it looks - "ZAY - in". Think "sayin". You can wiki or google Zayin for the meanings and significance, but in summary it means sword and sustenance and represents completion and rest as the 7th letter of the Hebrew alphabet. See Ps 119:49-56 for the "Zayin" section. Jude means "praise".

We're home and still struggling to reverse Zayin's days and nights. Our first night home was terrible! Jeni is also on crutches - not from the broken tailbone, but because her pelvis separated during labor. Not fun for her - not that a normal recovery would be fun.

Micaiah was the most excited one to see Zayin in the hospital (his face lit up and he exclaimed "I LIKE IT!").

Charis already has it planned out - she thinks she is gonna have to raise the other kids herself! Thankfully (for their sake) she will not have to. Since we've been home all she wants to do is play old Super Mario Bros. games with me.

Anya thinks he's just so cute and loves to hold him until her 3 second attention span runs out.

They are all still a little amped from all that parent-less time, but we are SO thankful for my parents, Jeni's mom, Noah and Sarah, and David and Monica, who all took shifts with the kids.

That's our past week in a nutshell. Once we get Jeni a donut pillow to sit on, she'll no doubt do some blogging of her own - which will probably involve correcting a lot of what I just typed. Thanks for all your prayers and support!

"Toot Toot"

2009-06-23T11:17:00.004-05:00

This is the sound we make when we catch one of our kids shamelessly bragging about one of their accomplishments or fishing for a compliment. So as I was getting ready to post about one of my most recent accomplishments "toot toot" was all that came to mind. I am not fishing for a compliment, but I am kinda proud of myself.

I have been working/slaving away in my kitchen for the last several days to make my very first wedding cakes. I had no idea how much work went into something like this and I have a whole new, gargantuan appreciation for people that do this for a living. The couple asked for a daisy themed, 4 tier fondant covered cake with a different filling in each layer. They were very specific about what the fillings should be. They wanted 1. pineapple (for them to save), 2. banana, 3. coconut, and 4. raspberry. They also wanted a chocolate grooms cake with raspberry filling and a sheet cake. Here is what they ended up with.

I didn't see the topper until the cake was already made, thankfully it fit.

Now for some reason Blogger won't let me add any more pictures to this post so this is all there it.

A little piece of our new normal

2009-05-29T14:09:00.012-05:00

In the past few weeks we have decided to take on a few home improvement projects. I really wasn't planning on blogging anything about it until everything was all said and done. But this blog isn't just about the cute, funny, more admirable things in our life, it's about our life and whatever it looks like at the time.

It's been in the plan, since we moved in, to knock down the wall between the kitchen and dining room. But it is amazing once you get started on one project how everything begins to snowball. We are now working on the kitchen, dining room, upstairs bathroom, downstairs bathroom and the little boys room. Needless to say we are living in complete chaos. I've had an oven in my living room for a week now.

I'm also finding an interesting phenomenon at work here, when one part of your house is in disarray how all the other rooms (not being worked on) get jealous. Every room in our house looks like a tornado hit. I'm actually not sure if I would notice if one did hit. So since my new normal is chaos and this blog is about our "normalness", and since I apparently don't have any dignity, I thought I would share some "before" pictures with you. I'm also including rooms that we are not actually working on just to give you an idea of how disgusting we really are.

So now if you are ever feeling bad about yourself, or your house, you can check out these pictures and smile knowing you would never let your house get this bad.

Micaiah hiding from all the noise of the deconstruction.

And last but not least the laundry for the last couple days that needs to be folded.

Overheard

2009-04-20T17:30:00.002-05:00

I love eavesdropping as my kids play and interact with other people. You just never know what you will over hear. For those of you that don't know Ani very well, she is not big on reality. Charis, her polar opposite, will only allow her imagination to go so far. It's a great combination.

Anya - "Charis, Charis, Charis, Charis,...CHARIS!"

Charis - "What?"

Anya - "Charis, pretend I don't know your name."

.....

Anya - "Papa did you know that we have an INDIAN in our family?"

Papa - "We do?"

Anya - "Yeah it's Aunt Monica, she's Indian. That means she's not even a human."

.....

Anya - (Speaking in the lowest voice she can muster.) "Hey Charis pretend I'm a boy."

Charis - "Okay."

Anya - "My name is Jared"

Charis - "Hi Jared, why are you wearing a dress?"

"Look Mama, I found a big sticker!"

2009-04-06T15:39:00.004-05:00

This cracked me up. I was laughing too hard to take a picture so I sent him to Daddy. I don't know if Greg found it nearly as funny as I did, but it was good for a little chuckle. Micaiah, on the other hand, was just confused at why everyone was laughing at him and his cool find. Parents are so weird.

The Results are In!

2009-04-02T17:23:00.005-05:00

Well it looks like our family is going to be an even numbered one(though
we will still always be a little odd). To the 37% of you that guessed we were going to have a boy - great job, please feel free to gloat! And to the 62% of you that thought we were having a girl - Well, I wouldn't buy a lottery ticket any time soon.

I do have to admit part of me is a little sad that this will be the end of our girl era, but the other part is relieved and happy. I didn't want Micaiah to have to be sandwiched between all those girls. Now he will always have someone in his corner.

Everything on the sonogram looked great, so thanks again to everyone that has been praying.

Baby Boy or Girl?

2009-04-01T14:37:00.003-05:00

Well I just found out today that we are having a sonogram tomorrow. And if all goes according to plan we will be finding out the sex of the baby. I've been thinking that we were going to have a girl until last week. Then I had two dream that the baby was a boy and I keep accidentally referring to "it" as a "he". Of course we have only had one sonogram where they could definitely tell us what the gender was, so I have prepared myself to wait if need be. Please give me your best guess and we will see who wins.