What's Not To Love?

I Love Lucy!

We Love Lucy!

Yesterday our family grew by one. Mike thought he could quench my maternal instincts for another baby by getting a puppy! We'll see how long THAT lasts, but for now she's the family's baby (that is when the rest of us can manage to get her out of Faith's arms.


Faith and her new best friend.

I love Lucy!

She's a Toy Fox Terrier, and is full of energy. But she's also EXTRAORDINARILY cuddley. She loves to chase her little rope bone, snuggle on someone's lap, burrow her head in your neck, or in your armpit . . . or . . .

(The video's on the next post is kind of dark . . . sorry)

It's Freezing!

99 Balloons

This video was sent to me via email.

It's a tear jerker, so get some tissues ready! But be amazed by God's unfailing love, even through the storm!

Low Moment

Yesterday, I was in my closet dressed only in jeans and a bra. I was bending over to get a shirt from the bottom shelf of my closet when I hear a little voice say, "Mommy, your tummy looks like a sad face."

Yes, it was Bella, referring to the rolls forming a "sad face" line in my gut.

Nice.

Do I even have to suck it in when I think no-one is looking?

Mmmm Mmmm Good!

This weekend, I had the privilege of experiencing two brand new recipes! Both EXTRAORDINARY! Saturday, Mike's Mom made us Lasagne soup, and Sunday, my mom made Nantucket Cranberry Pie! Delish!

LASAGNE SOUP
1lb italian sausage (browned)
2 c. chopped onion
2 c. chopped mushrooms
1 c. chopped carrots
2 T crushed garlic
4 T fresh basil
4 c. chicken broth
14 oz. can italian stewed tomatoes
10 oz. can tomato sauce
1 c. Mafalda or Capanella noodles
2 c. fresh spinach
mozzarella or provolone cheese

Brown sausage. Saute onion and mushrooms in sausage grease. In a large pot, combine all ingredients but spinach and cheese and simmer for 30 min. (Or put in crock pot on low for 8 hours or high for 4). Just before serving, add chopped spinach and sprinkle with cheese.

Maybe Shelly can use this for her next soup off! It's perfect for this gloomy winter weather we've been having!

NANTUCKET CRANBERRY PIE

In a buttered pie plate combine:
2 c. fresh or frozen cranberries
half c. sugar
half c. chopped walnuts

In a separate bowl combine:
1 c. flour
1 c. sugar
three quarters c. softened butter
2 eggs (beaten)
1 t. almond extract

Add the second mixture to the pie plate, but don't mix together! Bake at 350 for 40 min. or until done in middle.

If you like banket - you'll LOVE this! Top it with a little Cool Whip, and you'll be good to go.

If you want a really good meal! Make the soup and the pie . . . Mmmm Mmmm Good!

A Match Made in Heaven?

You be the judge . . . could she be the girl of his dreams?

Tongue Twistin' Fun

Today was another looooong Monday. Every other Monday starts early and ends late. It starts at a little after 6:00a with the morning rush which includes packing lunches, gym shoes, snow pants, eating breakfast, getting dressed, brushing teeth, doing hair, packing the daycare bag, remembering to write the check for Grandma Sue (the daycare lady) AND (more importantly) remembering to put the check in the daycare bag - and this all by 7:30a (if all goes as it should). Then there's the full day of work for Mike and me, the full day of school for Faith and the full day of daycare for Bella, which generally means - "no nap"! I pick the girls up at 5:00p, rush home to get a quick dinner on the table and leave for church AGAIN by 6:00p for GEMS (a girl's club for 3rd-8th graders). I quick help lead singing and large group while Mike gets the girls ready and takes them to church cuz HE'S got to be there for a 7:00p meeting.

As you can see, the above is a recipe for DISASTER!

So tonight, when I got home from GEMS with the girls at around 8:00, I got them in their jammies and was getting ready to read them a few night-time books, when I got the idea to have Faith say, "She sells seashells by the sea shore." She gave it a go, and it was HILARIOUS, cuz she said it totally wrong, but was CONVINCED she was saying it right! She started giggling when she realized she said it wrong, and so the giggling fiasco began . . .

Next was "Unique New York" . . . REALLY! Try to say it three times really fast! It's hard! You get a little You-neek You-nork action or a little New Yeek New York . . . and the giggling continues.

What got me crying (because I was laughing so hard) was when I introduced "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers" and Faith said, "Peter Pecker picked a pail of pimpled peckers . . ." HA! Seriously! She said that! Obviously she didn't realize what she said, but I had tears running down my cheeks I was laughing so hard. When I asked Bella to say it, she gave it the old college try a couple of times, but finally said, "Peter Piper got some peppers". I don't think she understood why Faith and I were making it so difficult, and laughing so hard!

I don't remember the last time I laughed so hard! And I REALLY don't remember the last time I had so much fun with Faith.

As I tucked her in tonight, she was asking if I knew any more. I figured I'd do a little online search, but I'd love it if my fellow bloggers would share a few of their favorites!

Cool Post-Holiday Tradition

Prior to Christmas I heard of a neat post-holiday idea, and thought I'd share.

Each year my family receives 50+ Christmas cards and pictures of many of our friends, families and acquaintances. In the month of December, they are hung throughout my kitchen on the cabinets. When the season comes to an end, however, I start to get overwhelmed by the Christmas clutter, and have to take them down.

But this year, instead of putting them in a box somewhere, or tossing them, I've added them to the basket that sits in the center of the dining room table. Now each night, after our dinner devotions, I let one of the girls choose a picture and we pray for that family.



It's been a neat opportunity to think outside ourselves, and pray for those who have become a special part of our lives. We also get the chance to talk about how we know them, where they live (we may even pull out a globe and find the state or country), and some things that are special about them. So, if we received a card from you, know that you'll be in our prayers! If not, send us a pic and we'll add you to the list!

By the way, this particular card is a sample from YouTopia Designs. My friend, Steph, makes beautiful cards and announcements! Check it out!

I'm Slowing Down.

The last several weeks have been good ones for me - and for my family. Since I haven't made separate posts for each one (as I should have done), I will do a bulleted list in lieu (for you Dana):

* I celebrated the fact that I actually KEPT one of my 2007 resolutions! I completed reading the entire New Testament in a year. Initially, I felt like a loser having this be my resolution . . . I really SHOULD be able to read the entire Bible in a year. But, you know what? I set a "do-able" goal for myself and I actually followed through! As a result, I have acquired a discipline that had alluded me for my entire life - daily devotions! God has truly blessed me through my readings, and, as a result . . .

* I've set a new goal for 2008! I am currently working on reading the New Testament and the Psalms and Proverbs in a year. This time, I am not ashamed or feeling any guilt. I've set a do-able goal - and I know that I am disciplined enough to follow through on it again. I'm already 15 days in, and have been tremendously blessed! I'll do a separate blog entry on some specific passages that God "gave" to me.

* Mike and I have also set the goal of making wider margins in our day-to-day living. I'm sure you all can relate. We live our lives "fast and furious" and seem to travel through our days at the speed of light. We misalign our priorities and end up doing things that aren't really important (kids in sports, spending time on the internet)- while the truly important gets set on the back-burner (time with our families, time with God). I'm not gonna lie, it's been hard to whittle away the "extras". We've had to say no to a lot of things that we really liked . . . but it has made the way open for the things in life that we LOVE and that are more important. I think that's why I haven't blogged much. It isn't that I haven't had time to do so, it's just that my time has been filled with things that are more important.

* As a result of our wider margins, I've actually been on time for things, had TWO REAL dates with my husband since January 1, have played board games, Barbies, school and house with my kids, ironed 8 of Mike's shirts and 4 pairs of pants (which NEVER happens), and kept the house relatively clean (Oprah can make a surprise visit to my house, and I won't be mortified).

I certainly haven't "arrived" in any regard - I know I won't this side of heaven. I also don't mean to come off overly proud. But I'm really happy with the balance I've been able to maintain over the last couple of weeks.

What Do YOU Think?

I recently received a comment on a blog entry I did last year at Christmas called Santa vs. Jesus. Read the entry here and Christopher's thoughts at the very bottom of the comments. For a direct link to the comment, click here. What response would you give to Christopher?

As Christians, we need to be able to defend our faith to people like Christopher. That is something that my generation, especially, was never taught to do. It leads me to be even more determined in my work to give our kids the tools they need to stand up to those in the world that oppose and even mock our saving faith in Jesus Christ.

How would you respond to Christopher's comments? How are you talking to your kids about this kind of thinking?

I'd love a flurry of comments in defense of our Christian faith . . . Nicole, Kent, Scott, Ty, Chelle? Any thoughts?

I HATE It When This Happens!

Just watch his eyes!

Christmas Program

Wow! We had our Christmas Program for church last night and it went flawlessly! Thank you God! And thanks to all of you who faithfully prayed for me over the last couple of weeks.

It has been extrodinarily stressful and overwhelming, and, to tell the truth, I've had a really cruddy attitude about it. I asked myself, "Why do I do this? The parents don't take it seriously and allow their kids to skip practicies. The upper el. kid (especially the boys) are less than thrilled. Kids forget their lines. The singing is less than stellar. . . " Coordinating about 150 kids, including preschoolers, lower el praise team, lower el as a whole, upper el praise team upper el as a whole AND adult choir, AND a skit was a bit daunting.

This past Saturday, I was freaked out at how bad practice went. I thought it would be a Christmas miracle if we pulled this off.

Well, that's what we got! The kids showed up (almost all of them on time), the upper el boys were coerced into at least mouthing the words, all the kids remembered their cues and their lines, and the singing was AWESOME! Many parents even said it was the best program ever! Wow!

I had a blast doing it last night. But afterward I began feeling guilty and repentant. I had had the WORST attitude about this program . . . and it turned out to be extrodinarily meaningful. I need to ask forgiveness for not keeping "the main thing the main thing"; for not trusting God to make it great (regardless of anything I did); for being annoyed with the kids etc. I am humbled that God allowed it to go so well despite my attitude.

So, for the time-being, I'm committing to doing it again next year . . . Hopefully I won't live to regret it!

Quote of the Day

Faith: "Mom, have you found the Lord?"

This was said in reference to the missing baby Jesus from one of our nativities.

Yes, you heard it right, Jesus is MIA at our house . . . hmmmm . . .

The funny thing is that she said it out of the blue. I was getting breakfast ready, and out came the random question. I thought I had a little evangelist on my hands.

Tis More Pleasant to Give Than to Receive . . .

The other day I was soooooo frustrated with the state of Faith's messy closet (filled mainly with toys etc) that I was suddenly full of energy to tackle cleaning it out.

I proceeded to drag anything toy or play-time related from both girl's rooms out into the living room. I told the girls that they were going to need to choose some things to give to little girls that didn't have very many toys to play with. I explained how we have soooo much, and that there are people in our own community that have very little. I talked about the fact that many kids won't get any presents for Christmas. I told them what the Bible had to say about helping the poor - the orphans and the widows . . . I talked about Jesus' example in doing this while he was on the earth.

I really thought I was getting through to them until Faith said, "But Mooooommmmm! At this rate THEY'LL be rich and I'LL be poor!"

That's the giving spirit!

Happy Holidays from our family to yours!

Check this out! Make sure your sound is turned up for the full effect!

Happy Birthday Dad!

Today is my dad's birthday . . . I won't mention which one it is . . . but it really doesn't matter, cuz age is about how you feel and not how old you are, right? If that's the case, I'd say my dad is more like 35 than 50 something. If you take a look at the pictures below, you'll see what a nut he is (I mean that in a good way, Dad).

Dad, thanks for being you! Thanks for teaching me to work hard and to do my best - always. Thanks for teaching me the value in going outside and getting some fresh air. Thanks for teaching me to play hard too - from softball to waterskiing to ice skating and sledding - you've always been a lot of fun! Thanks for passing on your love of classic cars to me - my heart still beats fast when I hear the sound of an old Mustang or Chevelle! Thanks for loving me always - through good times and bad. Thanks for teaching me to have a servant's heart, and to always be willing to help.

Most of all, thanks for passing on the legacy of faith in Jesus to me and to Chad and Shelly. Now it's our turn to take the baton and pass it on to our kids!

I love you, Dad! Happy Birthday! I hope the coming year is filled with many blessings for you.


Grandpa on the quad with Faith and Bella

Neeeeeeeewwwwww Recooooooorrrrrrdd! (an inside family joke)


Dad and Shelly iceskating in the flooded horse pasture

Hi Auntie Shelly!

My sister Shelly is living in Washington state, and hasn't had the chance to hold our nephew Blake yet. She asked me to record some of his sounds so she could hear them before Blake changed too much!

Here you go Shelly!

Love to you from Jared and Blake!

The Kitchen Pics - Finally!

Ok Little Miss Anonymous! Here are your pictures! Tee Hee! Sorry it took so long to post them . . . I've been a blog-slacker lately! I promise I'll try to do better in December!


The kitchen - shot #1 - notice all my fun new "junk" on top of my cupboards - 80% off at Hobby Lobby - Woo Hoo!


The kitchen - shot #2

Close up of our tile

The desk - Mike raised the middle cabinet and put cork board underneath it! Very handy!


Dining room - notice the recovered chairs and shnazy new curtains!


I'm no Martha Stewart, but here are the homemade curtains

Where Have I Been?

Oh my! I can't believe it has been three weeks since I last typed an entry! Please forgive me! It's been busy busy busy, as all of you can attest to as well.

Mike and I decided that we were going to give our kitchen a little face lift. We always get the bug at this time of year to upgrade something in our house. Last year we re-did the girls' bathroom . . . the two years prior were spent on basement projects . . . this year - the kitchen.

It all started with me ripping the wall paper off. Now, I only had a border and wall paper at the wainscoting height . . . but still, what was I thinking? I've decided - no more wallpaper - ever. After the wall paper was off, I decided to paint . . . and then Mike thought we should do countertops and tile backsplash. Changing the countertops meant I had to re-cover our kitchen chairs. And, as long as I was buying material for that, I decided to make valances as well (and - no - not the poof valances that you stuff with tissue paper - remember those?). It was fast and furious, but in less than three weeks, it's all done - just in time for the Thanksgiving Day celebration at our house Thursday. I'll post pictures of the finished project soon.

On a completely other note . . . I need to get on a soap box - just for a minute.

It started last week when a strange car pulled up to my house. I knew it was a solicitor, so I met them out on the sidewalk instead of letting them in my house. A young twenty-something kid came up to do a "survey" on the environment:
1. Do you feel that air pollution is a problem in your area?
2. Do you think the air is fresher inside or outside of your home?
3. Does anyone in your family suffer from allergies?
Well that wasn't so bad, I thought to myself . . . and then he asked for my name and phone number . . . hmmmm. He said there was going to be a drawing for a $500 shopping spree, and it was tonight. Apparently they only give four of these "shopping sprees" away each year. Whatever, I thought . . . he doesn't have my address, so what's it going to hurt?

Well, amazingly enough, I was the $500 shopping spree winner. I received the call that very night. I was very skeptical at this point, and was a little rude while grilling the overly-sweet girl on the other end. She said the only "catch" was that I needed to sit through a 30 minute presentation on Rainbow Vaccuum Cleaners. There's always a catch, but I thought $500 worth of goods that were "Kohl's, JC Penney's or Sear's-like" was worth a half hour of my time - especially with Christmas around the corner. So I scheduled our "30-minute" presentation . . .

They were scheduled to come at 5:30p tonight . . . but showed up promtly at 5:08p - Sweet I thought - the sooner they'll be done, and we can get to dinner. Well the presentation lasted until 6:30p . . . and it was very well done. Mike and I were terribly grossed out by the filth in our carpets. We were convinced that we "needed" one, but knew we didn't have the $2100.00 to purchase one (especially after our kitchen upgrade). Can you believe it? $2100.00!!!!!

So what that it was and hour and a half of our time? I was going to get $500 of free merchandise!

As soon as dinner was done (at 7:00p) I hopped on-line to check out the cool products I could buy.

First of all - the items that were shown were completely stupid and junky - hardly Kohl's, JC Penney's or Sears-worthy, with about one millionth of the selection. There were about 8 categories including; home accents, sports and recreation, apparel, jewelry and watches, kids gifts, womens and mens gifts, kitchen items, electronics, travel etc . . . and anywhere from 4-7 items under each category (just like our local department stores - NOT!). But that's not the bad part . . . the worst of it is that I got the items "free" but had "only to pay for shipping and handling" which added up to anywhere between $5 and $20 per item - which is really what the items are probably really worth. Oh, and don't forget the $5 transaction fee . . .

So much for my little plan. I should know better to think that anything sold door to door would be above board. The only reason I did the presentation (that was supposed to be 30 minutes) is for the $500 I could use for Christmas shopping.

I'm so stupid.

So, if someone comes to your door for a "quick survey" - just shut the door!

Grace

The other day Faith made a couple of bad choices in the words she used when we were in the van on the way home from the grocery store. As a result, I told her that when we got home I'd give her hot sauce - our standard treatment for a potty mouth.

She HATES hot sauce! She can't think of a worse punishment. So . . . the whole way home she was crying and blubbering and begging, "Please, Mom, No! I'm sorry for what I said" . . . etc.

When we got home, I sent her to her room so that I could administer the punishment - and the blubbering continued. At this point I was feeling more than a little exhausted (grocery shopping with two fighting siblings wears on you), and I just didn't feel like dealing with the screaming and bawling and begging for ice cubes that follows putting hot sauce on her tongue. So, I went into her room, sat on her bed and had a little conversation with her about grace.

I asked her if she knew what grace meant. She knows it's her sister's middle name, but that's about the extent of it. I explained that grace is when you deserve punishment, but it is taken away from you for no reason at all - just out of love. And then I extended grace to her. We talked about how she really deserved hot sauce on her tongue for how she had spoken . . . but that I was going to extend her grace this time, and ask her to be sure not to say those things again.

Then we talked about the Grace that our Heavenly Father gives to us, by forgiving all of our sins and wanting to be our Forever Friend. We talked about how we deserve hell, but that God made a way for us to avoid eternal punishment for our sins through his only Son, Jesus.

It was a really neat moment - a teachable moment. She certainly has a better understanding of grace, and of what God did for us when He sent His Son to take our punishment.

The only downside, is that the next time she was going to be punished or spanked for something she yelled out, "Give me grace, give me grace, I need grace!" This was also a teachable moment . . . sometimes we have to be punished for our bad choices. However I couldn't help but smirking a little.

Nature Walk

This past Sunday, our little family had the privilege of hanging out at my dad's house for the afternoon. It was one of the most beautiful days EVER, weather-wise; the fall leaves were in full color, the sun was shining, the temp was comfortable - it was the perfect day for a nature walk.

When I was little, the place where my dad now lives was the cabin that we would visit every other week or so. It consists of 80 acres of woods. My now step-siblings, Dan, Lia, Mike and Sara along with my brother Chad and I (Shelly was too little) would ride quads through these woods, collect leaves, build forts, and have all sorts of adventures. Many times when we were done with our woodsy adventures, Jackie would collect all of our treasures and make a nature basket.

Hanging out there on Sunday made all of those wonderful memories come flooding back. Watching my girls enjoy the many things that I used to love filled me with so much joy.

Thanks Dad and Jackie for a wonderful afternoon!

My dad, Faith and Bella on the quad. Notice the huge hornets nest they found on their adventure!


Grandma Jackie and their nature basket.

Tonight's Sunset

Are you an addict?

I am 60% Addicted to Coffee

I've always enjoyed coffee - my favorite being a hazelnut latte - but lately I feel as though my need for coffee is increasing. I used to drink about one cup a week. Now it's almost one or two a day.

How addicted are you? Click above and find out.

Welcome Little Blake Calvin!

This morning at about 2 AM, my brother Chad and his wife Kelly had their second little boy, Blake Calvin! He is 9lbs 1oz and 21 and a half inches long! Big boy! Here are some pics from his first day!


Proud Daddy!


Big brother Jared


I love this one of Chad and Blake! Wow!


Big Boy!


Kelly and Jared sharing a muffin for breakfast - doesn't she look great?


Baby boy Blake


Here are a couple of videos for my sister, Shelly, who can't be here to snuggle with him . . .

Today I Saw . . .

. . . the most beautiful rainbow I've ever seen!

When Pigs Fly . . .

. . . that's when I thought I'd jump in a pig pen, chase him down and pick him up. But, I'm 33 now, and this coming year is going to be a year of experiences for me. I started with this . . . turn your computer to the side for the full effect!



Well, he's not flying, but he's definitely off the ground!



Thanks to Pics By Lis for catching my first "experience" on tape!

"L" is for the love she gave...

The Husband is making his 1st "guest blog" since Mayo (in the spirit of unnecessary quotation marks). Tag? The Wife tells me she's been "tagged" and therefore needs to come up with self-descriptive adjectives each beginning with the letters in her middle name. Lynn. Sondra Lynn. My favorite 4-letter word. This should be easy.

"L" is for Loving. To her core, She Loves her family and friends - which we are blessed to have in abundance.

"Y" is for Yowza. I mean it. I'm into her - big time.

"N" is for Noisy - in a good way. Full of laughs and fills our house with fun.

and lastly,

"N" is for Natural. Nothing forced or artificial here. What you see is what you get - and in this case, it's all Good.

I was going to close with "nose picker". Seriously, it's a problem, but I wanted to end on a positive note...it's almost bedtime.

The Husband

My Husband's Opinion on the Previous Tag

Mike walked in while I was posting the last post, and he came up with the following off the top of his head . . . they came a little too quickly for my liking.

L - Lazy, Lumpy
Y - Yucky, Yellowish complexion
N - Naggy
N - Nasty

Thankfully he's kidding . . . I hope . . .

Tagged

I've been tagged by my sister, Sassy Sara . . . so here goes . . .

THE RULES:
1. You have to post these rules before you give the facts.
2. You must list one fact that is somehow relevant to your life for each letter of your middle name. If you don't have a middle name, use the middle name you would have liked to had.
3. At the end of your blog post, you need to choose one person for each letter of your middle name to tag.
4. Don't forget to leave a comment telling them they're tagged, and to read your blog for the rules.

My middle name, just like Sassy Sara's, is LYNN.

L = Learner - I love learning new things. I've always loved going to school - and even now, the thought of going back to college to finish my master's degree gets my heart pumping. I'm always reading books to help expand my knowledge of the Bible, or to strengthen my parenting skills (what Mom doesn't need that?)

Y = Yummy sweets are my weakness - especially homemade chocolate chip cookies - or just the cookie dough for that matter, Starbucks Java Chip Ice Cream (dad, you would LOVE this!), Whoppers, jelly beans, candy corns, Hot Tamales . . . MMMMMMMMM!

N = Naps - What can I say? I LOVE a good nap. Sundays are a given . . . but really any day is fine with me. Sometimes when Bella is down for her nap, I'll pop a video (a long one like CARS) in for Faith and snooze for a bit. Sleep is good!

N = No shoes for you (or me as the case may be)! - I hate wearing shoes. It doesn't matter if it's summer or winter. My feet were meant to be bare. In fact, I actually get benout (dutch word for feeling hot and claustrophobic) when I have to put on socks and shoes. This is a trait I have handed down to both of my girls.

Now, on to tagging . . . I tag L-M-N-O, Vacuum B4 Dusting, Groenhouse and Pure Joy.

Heavenly Blonde

Said by Faith randomly today: "Mom, when I get to heaven, will I be a blonde?"

Hmmmmm . . . does this mean she thinks that blonde is better? . . . that blondes have more fun? . . . that angels only seem to have blonde hair? Only she knows for sure what she meant . . .

The Tooth Fairy Visits Faith!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Again, sorry fellow bloggers . . . a combination of business and bloggers block has kept me from blogging as of late. But I'm back!

Today I turn the big 33! Yikes, the scary thing is that I remember when my parents were my age. They seemed so much older and mature and put together than I feel.

To celebrate, Faith and Bella made me a cake - Chocolate Mud cake with Holly Berries - my favorite! Notice the hosta leaves that she's using for oven mitts - so cute!




Also, the best birthday present ever was given to me last night by Faith.

Yesterday at church, the kids were presented the salvation message, and were challenged to make Jesus their forever friend, and to TOP - tell other people. Last night, as I was tucking Faith in, I asked her about Sunday school, and asked if she had ever asked Jesus to be her forever friend, and to come live in her heart. She said no, but when I asked her if she wanted to, she said yes right away. We talked about the salvation message in detail, and that Jesus took the punishment for our sins even though he never did anything wrong! All we have to do to be his forever friend is to pray the ABC's: Admit that we're a sinner, Believe that Jesus took our punishment when he died on the cross, and conquered sin when he rose again and Choose to be his forever friend.

She prayed the prayer with me. It was one of the most beautiful moments of my life!

It made for a very happy birthday.

Good Bye Sweet Dog!

Last week we had to say good bye to a very special part of our family - McKenzie the dog. She has been with us for almost 11 years!

During my first year of teaching I was on the playground during recess, and a little girl came running up to me, "Teacher, Teacher! This man gave me this dog and said I could keep it!" To say the least, I was less concerned about the dog, and more concerned about the random man lurking about. But by the time I knew what was going on, the man was gone . . . since then a 10 foot fence has been installed at the back of the playground!

Anyway, the dog was this adorable 8lb black lab puppy, who stayed in my classroom for the remainder of the day. Our class wrote journal entries and stories about how the dog came to our class . . . we had a naming contest and the whole bit. When school was done, I called Mike in a panic, not knowing what to do with the pup. I could see that something was wrong with her as she would not drink, pee or eat. I took her to the vet after school, and found that she had been beaten and was dehydrated.

I took the sweet pup home - just for the night, mind you - and then we were going to take her to the shelter. But long story, short, we fell in love with her and have had her ever since.

It was hard to say good bye, but she was old, sick and in a lot of pain. She was a wonderful protector and as loyal as they come! We'll miss you, Kenz!

There's a Kindergartener in the House!

I can hardly believe that my baby girl is in Kindergarten! She was so excited to go that she was up, dressed, bed made, breakfast eaten and teeth brushed in record time!


Here's Faith with her new teacher, Mrs. Wells. As you can see, Mrs. Wells is sporting the lovely necklace and bracelets that Faith made for her. I was told she wore them the whole day! The jewelry was made out of all little people holding hands - "They're the kids from my class, Mommy."


This picture makes me laugh everytime! I got to drive carpool for their first FULL day of Kindergarten. Notice the glazed look in Austin's eyes . . . priceless.


They were both asleep within a mile of the school!

Still Alive and Well!

Wow! I've been MIA for a long time!

It's been a busy couple of weeks . . . but as always God has been faithful!

At one point, just a few days before kick-off, I was down 10 leaders out of 15 for Sunday School. By kick-off, I had all the leaders but one . . . and by mid-week last week the last spot was filled. God is certainly strong when we are weak. When things look impossible, He says, "All things are possible . . ."

God provided a stellar group of volunteers! Almost half of them are men! How cool is that?

On another note, Faith started Kindergarten the week before Labor Day and is LOVING it! She's whooped by the time she gets home, but the entire dinner is spent talking about all the cool things she did that day. Her favorite thing so far is gym class and Spanish class - "In gym we played soccer, and my team cheered for me, which made me run faster, and we won!" "Buenas Dias Mama! Did you know that rojo means red and azul is blue?"

Last year, Bella cried each time Faith left for school. Now she can't wait to hang out with Mommy! "Is Thaif (Faith) going to school today, Mommy? Then I can go to work wif you!" Her favorite thing is packing a lunch just like Faith's and going to work with Mommy. By 8:30a, she's telling me how hungry she is! She hauls the lunch box out of the frige no less than 8 times between 8:30a and noon. Hysterical!

I'll post pictures of her first day of school soon!

I've missed you my fellow bloggers! It's good to be back!

OK, OK, OK

I realize that I've been an negligent blogger lately . . . my apologies!

This is the time of the year that I get super busy with all things Children's Ministries . . . and the Church Lady is running around like a chicken with her head cut off trying to get all the programming up and running by the first Sunday after Labor Day.

Although last year was way worse as far as busyness . . . this year is beginning to bring me a high level of anxiety as well.

RECRUITMENT - my least favorite word in the English language. I put it off until the last minute because I hate it so much.

I'm a visionary . . . I love planning for the year . . . deciding how things are going to look and run . . . coming up with all sorts of creative ideas . . . praying that kids will take a step closer to Christ this year . . . BUT recruitment is another story. Unfortunately it takes people to make the vision come to life.

I realize everyone is busy . . . and that sometimes volunteering is "just another thing" but why can't people see that there is NOTHING more important than leading our kids to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ!

We need 200+ volunteers for nursery, 60+ for preschool and 30+ for Sunday school . . . we have most of those slots filled, but not without a LOT of phone calls and "convincing".

Of my 15 Small group leaders for Elementary, I've lost 7 so far . . . and there's only a week before kick off.

That'll teach me to procrastinate!

Boofy Head - Part 2

This morning was the best boofy head I've seen in a while! I know I just posted regarding the boofy hair . . . but I couldn't resist adding this picture too!

Boofy Head!

This is my boofy-headed girl first thing in the morning! The "BEFORE" shots if you will. I don't think the pictures accurately portray what a ratted mess it really is in the morning.



And here are the "AFTER" shots. Who says moms aren't miracle workers? I love long hair on little girls . . . but I think I may keep Bella's at a bob for a while. I can't imagine what it would be like to get through if it were much longer!


Nice bruise in the middle of the forehead, don't you think?

Hello/Goodbye

My sister Shelly, and her new husband Kent spent the last few days with us after coming home from a six week mission trip to Guatemala. Click on their names to check out their adventures in Guatemala.

My girls have been having a blast hanging out with them over the last few days! Here are a few Kodak Moments from the last couple of days:

Tickles and Tackles



How Great is our God - Faith's favorite song.


We know that God has amazing things in store for Kent and Shelly as they move to Washington State . . . but we're really going to miss them.

Good excuse for a vacation, right? Hmmm, and on our way, we'll visit the Lia and Scott in Africa, and Greg and Katharine in Japan.

The Swim Nazi - The Final Day

My sweet Bella swimming with the help of Miss Jenny!


Bella in the deep end - BY HERSELF!


Faith jumping off the diving board - BY HERSELF!


Faith swimming across the pool - BY HERSELF!


Miraculous!

For those of you wanting to get in to the Swim Nazi - sorry! She's done for the season. But she starts taking names in April!