That's Us!

I love that my husband is a graphic artist/web designer! He does amazing work, but I especially love it when he puts his skills to work for our family pictures. This picture collage was created for my grandparents in Seattle to get a glimpse of our family with updated pictures. And, if you've looked at my blog lately, then you'll recognize most of these picture. Oops. :)

She's 3 Now!

Sorry for the lame title, but I had to be consistent. Equal-opportunity parent and all. :)

Our little girl is three now! And, she's already talking about being 4~LOL! Something about having an older brother makes you want to be older, I suppose. However, she does NOT want to turn 5 because then her brother will be 8 and he believes he will be getting a dog when he turns 8. It's apparently something that my husband told our son when he was 4 and he has NEVER forgotten it. Bear, on the otherhand, does not like dogs, so she has informed me over and over that she will not be turning 5. It's so funny how little ones' minds work, isn't it? (And, how brothers inform their sisters how old everyone will be when certain things will happen--just a disclaimer in case you thought you'd start bombarding me with how to teach a newbie 3 year old how to do math on her own!)

Our little girl is a lot like her mama as my parents keep reminding me. I chose to take that as a compliment as I'm sure they intend it! ;) She's definitely strong willed yet is working on being compliant even when she doesn't want to. She loves to laugh and have fun and tell silly stories. She isn't super into dressing up with pretend clothes, but when she does she either wants to be a princess or a warrior. She likes to pretend to be a baby gorilla or a frog. (Don't ask me why because I don't know.) Dora is a favorite show along with Diego and Veggie Tales. She's learning how to build and use her "magination." She likes the Wii but REALLY likes to design her Mii character which she calls her "customer." She's a busy bee and loves going up and down the stairs at her grandparent's house. If I'm on the phone, then she always wants to say hi to whomever I am talking to, but that's the extent she normally wants to talk. If she gets a snack from the pantry (with permission, of course!), then she always gets one for her brother as well and says, "Which one do you want? They are both the same." Apparently, something she hears a lot. She's black and white--either she likes something or she does NOT. Prayerfully that will serve her well in the future as she stays the course and isn't persuaded by the world's standards. (Romans 12:2) Thank You, Lord, for the precious gift of our baby girl.

"The LORD bless you
and keep you;

the LORD make his face shine upon you
and be gracious to you;

the LORD turn his face toward you
and give you peace."

~Numbers 6:24-26

That's what I get for "making" her smile at me when she was looking at her present!


Now, she's ready for posing!

He's 6 Now!

My son is 6 years old now. In some ways it seems like a lifetime ago that he was born and in some ways it seems like yesterday. I'm sure most people feel that way about their kiddos. He's an amazing kid with great energy and high spirits. He's sensitive to hurting people. He loves to read and do math and learn and do school with me--hallelujah! It's important to him to be obedient and he struggles with failure. He adores his little sister and loves the role of "big brother". If football is on TV, then he's sitting there with us watching it and yelling at the players. Soccer is his national past time--our little Pele Jr. His baby teeth are coming out faster than the new ones are growing, so he has a slight lisp now. He is very gifted at memorization and that has helped him memorize more Bible scripture than I ever knew at his age. He loves hugs and cuddling and tickle wars. Pancakes are his favorite food in the whole world. And, donuts from his grandpa. He shares his sugar free gum with me and often gives sister the biggest piece of their shared treat. He's an amazing child of God and a future warrior for His Kingdom. Thank you, Lord, for the gift of our son!




This was him telling us all the things he could buy with the $6 he got from his grandparents! So animated!


Our soccer star! Go Colts!


Daddy and son

Rainy Day Activities

My kids were quiet. Too quiet. Many of you know that feeling, I'm sure. So, I went to investigate. Here's what I found:





I'm not sure if it's an invasion or an exodus.



But, I am loving the angels fighting alongside the turtles.




And, the trio airplane with the transformer one.



Don't forget the army men...even the one sleeping. (Although, when I asked Josiah about the one laying down, he said that "he's not sleeping. I knocked him over on accident, but he wouldn't stay up, so I just left him.")



There are cannons...



And carts with wheels...



And torches for nighttime attacks.

I think he has us covered. I'm so glad for preparedness. And rainy days!

Ciao,
J

Catching up

It's been awhile since I posted last. No apologies. No excuses. But, so that you can forgive me, here's a photo montage of our last few weeks. We've been very busy...

Practicing how to blow up balloons




Showing off mad monkey skills


Creating Castles


Losing teeth left and right


Finding new ways to nap




Turning 6 years old


Turning 33 years old


Making lots of playdoh food




Soccer Awards


Tickle wars


Building a plethora of Trio sets




And, most of all...just being cute!

Fingers and Toes and Polish, Oh My!

My daughter (2 years old) wavers between wanting to do everything her older brother does including getting dirty, wrestling, football, obstacle courses and jumping off of everything to being a girlie girl by wearing pretty dresses, having her hair up in a ponytail with a cute bow, helping mommy cook in the kitchen, and playing with her babies.

Today, she wanted to be in true form of feminine awareness. I decided to paint my toenails (with free polish from CVS, of course!) during the football game. My daughter came in from playing football in the backyard with her brother and saw my toes. She immediately sat down and extended her feet saying, "Mommy, me too, please!"

My toes are dark blue (I'm pretending I'm young enough to pull that off, but notice I refrained from painting my fingernails blue too) and I knew that Daddy would not love the idea of his two year old with blue nails, so I remembered that I had a pale pink bottle of polish (also free from CVS) in the bathroom. After convincing Sarah that pink would be so much prettier on her than blue, I painted her itty bitty teeny tiny nails for the very first time. So fun!



So, here's our beautiful results...(ignore the fact that my skin tone is already winter death white even though it's only November 1st):



And, of course, she liked it and wanted her fingers painted too.



These days give me glimpses of fun bonding in the years ahead...

Ciao,
J

Novel idea...

I find myself getting so busy with my day-to-day life of being a stay-at-home mom that I sometimes forget the real reason that I am staying home...to be with my kids. To raise them up in a godly home, to train them up the way the Bible instructs, to impart godly characteristics and wisdom into their little minds, to love them and be patient with them unconditionally and to reflect Christ's love to them at all times. Wow! Sounds like a huge job and IT IS! But, thankfully, because this is God's charge to me...He will give me the insight, the strength, the wisdom, the courage and the perseverance to work at this job everyday. To try, try again! His mercies are new every morning and He extends His grace to me every time I ask (and even when I don't ask but need to)! My kiddos are not perfect or even close to it. I am not perfect or close to it. I struggle every day...many times a day with:

1. impatience and pride
2. being curt and demanding
3. not taking the time to listen to my 5 year olds looooong story about why he needed to hit his sister
4. expecting my 2 year old to not spill her drink 6 times a day
5. allowing the "house work" to rob me of my joy of being with my kids

My list of internal struggles could go on and on, but I don't have to dwell on those. I don't have to beat myself up over my mistakes or bad choices. God doesn't beat me up over my sins. He welcomes me with open arms as I draw near to Him. He restores my soul. He builds me up with whispers of encouragement as I lean on Him for strength and wisdom. Hallelujah!

Today, I asked my kids what they wanted to do this morning. I haven't asked them this question in awhile. Normally, I pick what we do based on what chores I need to complete or lessons that need to be taught. However, today I felt a prompting in my spirit to ask them what THEY wanted to do. My son's obvious answer to anyone who knows him was to go play in the backyard with the soccer ball...together. So, that's what we did. :)

My little man is growing up...

My son lost his very first tooth on Friday! Well, he didn't actually lose it. He finally pulled it out after wiggling on it for two weeks. Now, he's got a gaping hole in the front of his mouth, but he's pretty proud of himself for growing up. Mommy's proud too but a little sad as well. This is just the beginning...


Sarah wanted to show her teeth for the camera too!

Ciao,
J

Amazing how a new haircut...

can change someone's look so much! My son's hair was SOOOOO long before I cut it tonight. We weren't trying for a new look or adopting a fad hairstyle. Just laziness on my part and lack of social awareness of my son's. He's only 5, you know! :)

Anyway, here's our before and after pics!


(I love the punk rock look though!)

(And, now he looks like my little boy again...)