Trials

Funny how we begin a sermon series at church about James, and suddenly life hands you a full deck of trials.

I started getting sick Wednesday night. Just achy and blah. Thursday, due to said blahness, I locked my keys in my car at work, but didn't realize it until the day was over. Thankfully two co-workers who live near me were both in the parking lot still, so I was able to get a ride home. On the way home, my babysitter calls and Ethan is having some issues. I called the doctor, but it was too late in the day to get him in. My co-worker dropped me at my babysitter's house, where Brad picked all of us up. We went home to find NO spare car key for my car. :( So while Brad took Ethan to the clinic, my cousin (thank goodness she was home) took Addie and I back to my school to meet the locksmith. We were all glad to see the bed after that crazy night.

Friday proved to move Ethan and I deeper into illness. It's so hard being the mom at times like this! I'm pretty sure I had a fever when I took him to the pediatrician, and I was miserable, but God got us through!

We've just been chilling out all weekend trying to get better. I finally got medicine today. And I am so thankful for the day off tomorrow. Brad has been AMAZING taking care of everyone! Addie has been able to stay healthy so far - and she got to spends LOTS of time with Grandma and Grandpa this weekend.

Which brings me to my next bummer: my uncle and cousin were in this weekend from out of state to visit with my dad. They are some of my closest family members and I cherish every moment with them. But, I didn't get to spend any time with them. :( It's been so hard having to stay away from Mom and Dad's house, but at least they all had some good quality time together this weekend.

Here's to a better week.

Be blessed.

Ahhh...Friday!

We decided to stay in tonight, although we did order out and treat ourselves to some Friday night pizza. After pizza, we played a family game of CandyLand. Ethan won!! :) (although he tried to move daddy's piece as a joke several times.....and then said "daddy, when we're done with this game, can we go shoot hoops?!") Love that boy!

Addie wanted to start working on her valentine's for school. She got about half of them "addressed" and then it was on to other things. This experience tested my patience for sure. :)

I played in a students vs. staff basketball game today at school. We raised money for heart disease. I wanted to be a cheerleader, but was told they needed more female staff to play, so I needed to play. Oh my, I so cheered in high school for a reason. And I have a whole new appreciation for basketball players. Holy moly. I was pooped. We'll see how sore I am in the morning. :)

Bring on the weekend...

February 6th thoughts...

I'm really not sure if more than 3 people read this. But, whatever. It's an outlet sometimes, so I shall write. :)

About the kids:
Addison attended a birthday party this weekend. She came home with a pink butterfly face painting that covered her entire face and flowers painted up and down both arms. She looked pretty darn cute, but it also made me realize that she's growing up. Fast! She also had a TON of sugar. We're talking way more than typical 5-yr-old party fare. We definitely had a little talk about self-control. :)

Ethan continues to make us laugh. He is just so funny. He comes up with the most hilarious things to say and do at the most random times.

About life:
We started studying the book of James at church this morning. One major point that stuck out for me was "God wants to shape our character so that we grow up to maturity in faith by working through...life circumstances." How true. How appropriate to hear at this time in our lives. I've been trying to be more diligent about digging in to the Word, and it has struck me in the past couple of weeks how much more spiritually mature I could be. I feel like I was living on the faith that I had grown up with and developed along the way, but had sort of hit a rut. I let my life get so busy and filled up with little things that really didn't help me grow spiritually. So now I'm trying to be better at filling my life with God.

Please continue to pray for Dad - for a miracle. Praise Him for good days we've been able to spend with Dad recently, and definitely for all the good times we've always had with Dad. Pray for Mom - for strength, comfort, peace. Thanks for my aunt, who is giving so selflessly of her own time to help take care of Dad and the house, etc. And many Thanks for all the people who are giving of their time, talents, and touch. We are so blessed. (you can check out their blog for a daily update - my mom is so good about that)

Be blessed.

Whew

The past month of my life has been a whirlwind. Staying "on top of things" is next to impossible. Full-time teaching, full-time parenting, full-time daughtering... (yes, that's a word for now!) We started a new checklist system to try and get more of the little things accomplished. It is motivating (I'll share more about that another day), but this week has been so busy that only 2 things have gotten checked off the list. However...semester grades were turned in today, so that is a huge load off my back.

Please continue praying for our family. Dad is doing okay - he has good days and not so good days. But I am encouraged every time I visit because he is more himself these days...cracking jokes and having a great spirit. Mom is amazing - she takes such good care of him and the strength God gives her is amazing.

My friends are soooooo great! Little messages from various people remind me that we are truly loved and so blessed. So many people willing to help in any way possible - and I know they mean it.

I'll leave you with the verse I chose to memorize for our women's ministry Scripture challenge:
"The Lord longs to be gracious to you; The Lord waits on high to have compassion on you. The Lord is a God of justice; How blessed are all those who long for Him." ~Isaiah 30:18

Thank you!

To all the nurses and doctors who work on holidays: THANK YOU!

Quote

"Wherever you go, GOD is already there."

I saw this on an ornament tonight and I loved the saying. I think I may go back tomorrow and buy the ornament.

Emotions

So I've had a few really decent days. Today, I must admit I've been a little emotional. It probably doesn't help that one co-worker chose to tell me sort of a "bad" cancer story. Really? It didn't sit well with me.

Then, I received text messages from two different people saying they were thinking of me and praying for me. And in the morning, a teacher friend brought me a Starbucks peppermint mocha (YUM!) and a gift. God is so good - He knows just what we need.

Please be praying for Dad. They are still unable to locate the source of the cancer and therefore cannot properly treat it. He is scheduled for surgery next week to basically do a biopsy of the larger mass. The bad part is this surgery is going to be pretty invasive. He will be in the hospital at least one night if not two. But it's a necessary surgery to hopefully start providing some answers, and ultimately, relief of some of the pain.

***

Now, let me talk about my kids - this is usually a pick-me-up. :)

Last night, I was rushing Addie to get in the car because I was freezing. (and tired) She said, "but Mommy, I'm trying to catch a snowflake on my tongue!" I literally stopped in my tracks. To look at the world through a child's eyes! I immediately joined her in our quest to catch the intermittent snowflake on our tongue. What a great reminder from an innocent mind - take time to stop and see what's right in front of you!

May you catch on snowflake on your tongue and giggle like a toddler!

The 6-letter word

I had a catchy way of writing this post about 3 days ago. Now that I'm finally sitting down to the computer, I have no words.

When someone is sick, we take it for granted that we can go to the doctor, get some medicine, and be better in 3-10 days. Then, there's the c-word. It has six letters, and whenever we hear it, it throws us for a loop. It was the 6-letter c-word that we heard a little over a week ago regarding my dad. For those 3 of you who occasionally check this blog, you can find out the details at my mom's blog to the right ("Mom and Dad"). I don't have the patience and time right now to make a formal link within this text. :)

Some days I think I will use this blog to share some of me feelings. Other days I am realistic and know that it's quite possible that I will not update very frequently.

I said on facebook this weekend that we were able to spend some quality time with my brother and his family for my niece's birthday party. We are so blessed. God is good. Someone said it was amazing I "could still praise God." This kind of took me by surprise. I don't feel like it's a matter of "still praising God." If you were in my position and felt the hand of God on my family and felt the strong covering of prayer that we feel....only God can give you peace and strength and comfort and unconditional love in times like this. Times when we adjust to a new "normal" (after being so used to calling on Dad to do whatever). I truly have an amazing family, and only God can take credit for that. We are so incredibly blessed. God truly is so good.

It's been a while...

Not sure if anyone is even checking this blog anymore....but now that it's summer I feel like I want to maybe write a few times...we'll see.

Addison just turned 4. Holy moly. It's been an emotional roller coaster the past few days - for example, on her birthday when she woke up, I said, "Happy Birthday!" She replied, "Am I 4 now?" Me: "Yes!" Addie looks down at herself and starts crying, "But I'm not taller."

At 4 Addison loves:
*ice cream
*lemonade
*dancing
*all things princess
*puzzles
*dresses

And she is not fond of:
*food all mixed together (with the exception of most salads and tacos)
*cars going too fast anywhere near her
*loud noises (other than her own mouth)
*the Chic-Fil-A cow at the mall

Ethan is hilarious. He makes us laugh so much. At 2.7 he loves:
*balls
*telling jokes
*singing
*playing guitar (pretend as of now)
*pizza
*quesadillas

He is not so fond of:
*his sister telling him what to do
*vegetables
*the idea of potty training
*change

Have a blessed day!

The Importance of Love

We visited with friends the other day. While the visit was good, it was also quite sad. One of our friend's days on this earth are extremely limited.

On the way home, I was overwhelmed by what seems like such a simple truth: You can never spend too much time with the people you love.

Next time I begin to think, "should we really bother that person again?" I will reevaluate my thoughts and be thankful that I get to "bother" that person again.

Blessings.

The deep freeze

My camera is sitting here waiting to be plugged in so the completely full memory card can be downloaded. Sorry, once again, no pictures. Apparently I've chosen to spend my time reading other blogs than downloading pictures. Oops. :)

I'm just rejoicing in the new additions to a few of my friends. So exciting for them!

Ethan is finally walking. Just tonight he's decided to do it more often than crawling. Maybe we can finally move him up to the toddler nursery on Sunday. He might like it better in there?! (he begins getting upset when we open the church doors...as soon as we walk through the Kid City doors, he starts crying...he does eventually settle down after we drop him off, but we always sit near the back in case our number comes up on the screen to go get him.)

He is a funny kid. Very clingy, especially with his momma, but it's all good. He makes funny faces and loves to giggle. He is getting irritated at his sister because she knows how to push his buttons. (and this is only the beginning...)

Addison is getting more and more ornary. She's really maturing these days and just seems to know "stuff." It's crazy. For instance, the other night I was trying to get her jammies on her. She would not cooperate with me whatsoever. I was trying so hard to remain calm and enjoy her sense of humor. I was trying to get her to stand so I could zip her jammies up. She was trying to lay down. So she made her whole body limp and was pushing against me trying to stand her up. Then she started giggling. When she proclaimed, "yee-haw" I lost it. Totally had to laugh at that point. Even now I'm laughing just thinking about it.

Some random Addie facts: she loves sandwiches, she sleeps in a "big girl bed" now (really a day-bed because she has a convertible crib), and she actually went pee in the potty last night (okay, so not at all today, but we'll take baby steps!).

I just realized my post title has nothing to do with my post, but you can deal! :) Just know that it's incredibly cold!! :)

Blessings.

Christmas time updates

If there is anyone out there still checking our blog, here is a new post just for you! :)

*We have been spoiled with presents. And we still have one more day of Christmas gatherings tomorrow. I already filled 3 bags with some "outgoing" toys in order to make room for the new stuff (just don't tell the kids). :)

*Christmas has been great. We've had some fabulous family time with people from both sides of the family. It's been wonderful. My brother, sis-in-law, and adorable niece were here for 3 days so we spent tons of time with them. Addie just loves her cousin. She gives Ava hugs all the time and is very motherly with her (though she is only 18 months older).

*Ethan is still not walking. The most steps he's taken in a row by himself is 3. But he'll get there. He is just in no rush. He'd rather climb and roll and crawl. He has a very fun-loving personality. And he loves to eat.

*Addison is maturing more every day. She talks so well. We just switched our TV and internet provider today and she was playing the xylophone for and telling stories to our technician. So cute. She's very meticulous and stubborn, but oh so cute and sweet. And she gives the best hugs!

*We are excited to be on break for a while. I definitely needed a rejuvenating period to prepare for the long haul before spring break. Brad is enjoying our new TV with tons of stations and movies to watch! He's been going crazy as we haven't watched many movies since the kids were born.

*One of my dearest friends, Jenn, is leaving for an 11-month mission trip next week. We were able to get all of us together last weekend and it was only when she was ready to walk out the door that we both realized this would probably be the last time we saw each other for almost a year. As hard as it was to say goodbye for now, I must say that I know without a doubt that she is following God's will, and I so respect her for that. I ask for your prayers for Jenn as she embarks on this journey, trusting fully in the Lord for provision and guidance. She is an amazing woman. Jenn, if you read this, I love you!!

Thanks for reading. God Bless!!

My current favorite sound

My kids laughing...together. :)

Ethan turns one!

I'm smiling so big looking at these pictures. Our precious little boy is so adorable. And he was sooo fun to watch eating his "pupcake" (addie's term). Addie just picked at hers last year, but Ethan dove into his. So fun.

The first picture was the infamous teddy bear picture. Last one. I only did them for the first year for each child. I didn't think we'd make it through this one. He's only laughing because he kept trying to climb off the couch, so I would all but throw him in the corner spot, snap the picture, and catch him before he fell off the couch. All in the name of a good picture. And I was determined to do the picture at that moment because he was so happy having just gotten up from a long nap. But no one else was home to help me. But alas...tmi.

I'm tired.

Brad is supervising a football game tonight. I took the kids over to his school for a while after dinner so we could see everyone and get some nice fresh air. I was trying to get Addie to say "go, _____" (their mascot), but when I said "go..." she said, "Irish!" :) Beth, our babsitter and her husband are huge ND fans. Guess they've been working on cheers during circle time?! :)

Seriously no energy to write. So, that's it for now. At least you got pictures of the cutest little 1-yr-old in the world! :)

Overheard

On the way to the store today, Addie playing: "This little piggy went to Walmart..."

Maybe we go to walmart a bit too often?! :)

Hope to post more soon. Ethan's birthday party was so fun and he was hilarious. Loved his cake and his hand-crocheted (sp?) baseball from my aunt and his wooden firetruck (homemade with great love from his "GGpa"). Pics soon, I hope.

Love to all! Go with God!

A day off

No, not for fun. I took the day off to spend with Ethan, who had a fever and wasn't allowed to go to daycare, and needed his Mommy. Daddy was the father of the year who picked Ethan up from Beth's yesterday morning because he had a fever, took the rest of the day off to be with him, and even took him in to the doctor to make sure he didn't have his 3rd ear infection in just over a month. Thankfully, this one is just a cold, but this is round 3 of sickness since school started. He is really breaking in the new germs. ugh.




On a positive note...Ethan is going to be ONE YEAR OLD in a week! Woah! Cannot even believe it's been a year. He is so cute and precious. Much quieter that his sister and much more calm than she ever has been. He prefers to sleep a lot. Her, not so much. But anyhow...



It's been so crazy busy trying to fit everything in. But I highly value quality time with my kids, so I place much more importance on fitting that in than some of the other things that may need done (like, say, cleaning the bath tubs). :) No, really, we're trying to enjoy our evenings as much as possible. The weather has been so great. Wonderful for evening walks. And playing outside. Some of my boys at school had a football game this week that happened to be about 5 minutes from our house. So we took the kids over and watched the first half of their game. Both kids liked it. Although one half was good enough, Ethan was more than ready to hit the sack when we got home.



Wanted to put some updated pictures on here for all to enjoy. God Bless and SMILE! :)

We bought a new 9 cube shelving unit to help organize our mountains of toys and books. Addie and Ethan decided it would be fun to help Daddy put it together. Daddy decided to show Addie how to use power tools. :)

Addison went with me and we both got hair cuts a couple of weeks ago. Addie got at least 2 inches cut off (and I actually think she needs a pinch more already trimmed off). She does a great job of letting Rachel cut her hair. Rachel was more than happy to pose for a picture and even said it was okay to be on the blog, but Addie wouldn't take a decent picture whenever Rachel leaned over to be in it. So, you'll have to settle for Rachel's arm. Addie has very fine, thin hair. I'm not used to that because I have always had very thick hair. So if you have any tips and tricks for fine little girl hair, please share.

Addie loves to make Daddy go down her slide. What a great papa he is! :)

It's rare to get a crawling pose with no paci in mouth, so enjoy this shot:

Ethan finally decided he could crawl off the blanket, through the grass, and over to the slide to see what Sister is up to. They had a blast together. I'm always amazed at how the 2-yr-old mind works. So creative.

Little update

Not a whole lot to say, just thought my few faithful readers might want to see something new on the blog. :)

Everything's going well for us. The kids love going to Beth's. She loves them. We love her. It's a really good set up. And Addie is already learning so much (including how to be more whiney, but I don't know if I should blame that on daycare or the "terrible twos"). She does a great somersault now (and to think we were going to pay for gymnastics...ha!), sings a fabulous rendition of the ABC's, made binoculars and can actually say the word pretty well and knows what to do with them, and the list goes on. :)

Ethan just turned 11 months old. Holy cow! I tried taking his 11-month teddy bear picture yesterday. Um, not so much. I got two pictures, but I think one is blurry because the boy just kept trying to climb off the couch. Brad tried his best to get him to stay without Brad being in the picture, but it was hard. Addie used to pose for these pictures, Ethan tries to run. One more example of "no two kids are alike." He is getting more and more adventurous. He loves to crawl around and explore and climb on and over everything. He pulls up to things, but has no interest in cruising or even walking. But I'm not worried. he's so cute! He is complimented constantly by Beth and her husband about how sweet he is. Let's hope he stays a sweetie! :)

Brad loves his new job. And I love his new job because he actually gets out of the office at a decent time. (thank you brad's co-workers for being good examples!) :)

I finally know pretty much every student's name. Although there are 2 or 3 girls that I look at and want to call on when they are volunteering, then I have to call on someone else because I can't think of their name. argh. I'm learning lots about my students, which is sometimes good and sometimes not so good. We learned yesterday from one of our boys that he struggles sometimes in school basically because he's hungry. Not much food at home due to lack of money. I was in tears after hearing him talk and knowing that this was his reality. So sad.

Next time you think about it, pray for those less fortunate than you. And maybe even find a way to help someone out.

Thanks for reading. :)

I took breakfast for granted.

Last Wednesday morning, I cried as Brad pulled out of the driveway with our kids, on the way to their first full day of daycare and I prepared to head up to my school for my first official teacher work day in two years. I went back to the same school with most of the same people, so that in itself wasn't all that bad. Leaving my children behind for the entire day, and knowing that it would be every weekday, wasn't so fun. What I realized last week as I restarted my teaching career is that I miss breakfast the most. That's what made me cry the most. How it used to be: Ethan would get up and I would feed him. Addie would either get up right after or a long time after, depending on the day. So I would either eat while Ethan finished his bottle, or I would eat with Addie when she got up. Regardless, it was such a pleasant time, so peaceful, kids happy after getting a good night's sleep, more than happy to eat their breakfast. Sometimes conversation (of sorts), sometimes just sitting and being with each other. I know I'll still have those moments on weekends and breaks, but still...I took breakfast for granted.

On to the babysitter news...the kids love it!! Addie always wants to stay when I go to pick them up (which is sort of good and sad all in one if you know what I mean). Beth is our sitter and their are only 5 kids there - 2 of her own, our 2, and 1 other boy. All 3.5 and under (Ethan is the youngest by a year). Beth is so caring and creative. We get little report cards each day which is so nice to know what our kids did that day and what they ate, etc. We feel so blessed to have found her. And all of us go to the same church, which is nice.

The downfall: After 3 full days, the kids get sick. It starts Friday with a low-grade fever for Ethan that eventually gets high enough by Saturday night that we're making a trip to Redi-Med. Ethan has a double-ear infection. By Sunday midday, Addie is getting a fever and acting dumpy. Trip #2 to RM. Thankfully, hers was just viral and ear infections are not contagious. So, one big fat whiney weekend we had here. All day Sunday the kids just want to be held. And they're crying. Lots. Now, what to do about Monday. It's my 3rd day of school and Brad's 1st. Thanks to my mom, who came to stay with the kids Monday a.m., so I could teach all morning and get stuff ready for the sub for my afternoon classes. It all worked out. Everyone's feeling better today and Beth didn't have to call us. And so far, kids are sleeping. Here's to making it through the night.... :)

School is going well for both Brad and me. After 4 days with students, I finally feel like I'm getting back in the swing of things. Although I cannot believe I don't have all my students' names learned yet. I always sort of prided myself in learning names fast. 2 kids + 2 years off school has turned part of my brain to mommy mush. :) Brad is really enjoying his job. He works with some great Christian people, which is a huge blessing. He's only had 2 days with kids, but so far so good.

I want to make sure I say a huge thank you to all of our prayer warriors!!! This transition period has been amazing, thanks be to God!

I need to go to bed now. If you're still reading, thanks for sticking with this way too long post. I guess I'm decompressing. :)

bunches of thoughts

Ethan is 10 months old. Woah!! And, he started pulling himself up this week. We're in trouble now. Earlier today I was folding laundry while the kids played. I hear Ethan cry a frustrated cry (I could tell it wasn't a cry of pain), so I go to the kitchen to find him standing at the chair Addie had climbed into and he was so upset because he didn't know where to go from there (not to mention he was tired, which made it that much more frustrating).

Addie is going to be the child who never stops talking. I mean, I am super thankful that she does talk and that at 2 years old you can have a conversation with her and that's all well and good. But I tell ya, the girl talks just to hear her own voice, I'm pretty sure. (ok, ok, so that might be hereditary...but I won't mention what gene pool it comes from) The other day, I kid you not, she did not stop talking from the time she got up to the time we got to my cousin's house (and then she only stopped long enough to get adjusted to the situation and other people there). In the car she said, "I have an idea." me: "what's your idea?" A: "I have an idea." me:"wow! what is it?!" A: "I have an idea." Me:"okay, cool." A: "I ask you a question?" me: "okay, what's your question." A: "I have an idea." no way, really?! :)

Fun with cousins:

It is really exciting to think about what great things God will do with my children's lives. As they each grow and develop their personalities more and more, I wonder what ways God will work through their lives. I pray that we are good examples of God working in our lives and that we always encourage them to let Him work.

Tonight is a girl's night out with 4 of my fabulous friends from college. We are actually meeting in our college town and then deciding which of our old eateries sounds best. I'm excited to spend time with them as it does not happen nearly enough!

This weekend is Grandma's auction. Apparently her will was to auction off all of her stuff, maybe to eliminate troubles trying to divide everything up between 8 kids and their families. I want to ask for prayer that everything goes smoothly. I'm a little concerned that there will be hard feelings somewhere along the line, and I hate to think that a bunch of stuff could get in the way of family. I know it could be neat to have something that has real history and tradition to it. But, again, it's just stuff. No offense to any of my family members, please. But I hope we all remember that God and family come first way before any material possessions.

School starts next week for me. I am definitely excited. Our new babysitter is going to laugh at my detailed information sheets she had us fill out. But at least she'll know what we normally do. I know, it's going to be more of an adjustment for me than for the kids, but it'll be fine. I've got lots of support in my teacher friends, who will get me through the day. I've been to my school a few times and took the kids with me once to go pick up my keys. Every time I'm there, it feels right. And every time I talk to our sitter, I am reassured that she is the one to watch our children every day. Btw...thanks to all who have been praying for us and our transitions.

Brad is enjoying his new job. He's with the same corporation, so he knows a lot of the people. He just moved from the middle school level to the high school level. He's been made to feel welcome and he's excited about working there. Though he's a bit frustrated in feeling like he has to ask a million questions because he's the "new guy." But, we all know that if you don't ask, you won't know. Although sometimes ignorance is bliss, eh?! :)

I don't know how often I'll get to blog until I get adjusted to going back to full-time work outside the home (and blogging at school is pretty much not an option). But keep checking back because I do not plan on completely stopping.

One last thing...prayers for Brad's stepdad. His health is currently not very good and I know he and Brad's mom would really appreciate all the prayer they can get. Thanks.

I was actually looking for a different verse to put here, but found this instead and thought it was a good one to share:

"Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way." ~Romans 14:13

Anxiety

First, look at the cutest kids ever: Getting ready to go to the pool...
Still a cheeser...I love pigtails on her, but they don't last long...
Ethan is king of facial expressions...short on time, but I'll try to get a better one of him soon... :)

The kids are waking up, so I gotta go. But I originally set out to talk about the anxiety in our house right now due to school starting back up which means both Brad and I are going back to work. Pray for us. Me - the transition of staying home for two years and now leaving my kids every day in someone else's care. Brad - the transition of becoming a HIGH SCHOOL COUNSELOR!!! He's super excited, but nervous about starting a new school with a different age level. More on that later.

Smile! God is good! :)