Playing in the mud

Today during school we made mud bricks out of clay, sand and straw, similiar to what they would have used way way way back in the day to construct the tower of babble. The kids thought is was a lot of fun. We also finished reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I rented the orignal movie and they thougth it was fascinating. I was hoping the kids would prefer the book over the movie, but Hollywood won.

The past two days our bible lesson has been from Job 38. It has been perfect for all of us considering has and is happening as a result of the hurricane. #1 asked us the other day, "Why is God being so mean by creating this hurricane". I am so thankful that though I can never answer all my child's questions, I trust and enormous God who can provide peace to comfort during times of confusion. He is and will always be sovereign.

Made a mess

WARNING: the spell check is not working

I used the monster mommy voice today. #3 always seems to find a way to make the biggest mess. I'll admit it gets furstrating at times. Well I was about to get the girls out of the tub when the phone rang, it was my man, I kept the call under a minute and returned to the bathroom to find #3 standing on our white bath mat squirting a the whole bottle of Blueberry smoothie kids shampoo all over the floor. I had just picked up a handful of dirty clothes (with a wet diaper in them). I hit the wad of clothes on the bathroom counter in furstration and said, "No, NO NO!" (yes in the monster mommy voice) She totally knew better. Then I realized there was white pieces of like snow all over the bathroom. When the wet diaper hit the counter it busted it and sent the unsantitary filling all over the place, the blinds, the sink, the floor, stool, the basket that holds the clean towels, every where. Gross, I mean gross, little beads of tee-tee jelly stuff on everything. "Nice", I say out loud & #2 giggles because she thinks the whole episode is funny. I am not only frustrated at #3 but also myself! Needless to say, the girls got an extra long bath while I cleaned the entire bathroom. Oh and as I am on knees cleaning the toilet, #3 looks at me and smiles and says, "Mommy smile?" Yes I smiled. The bathroom is clean, my kids are precious & we had a wonderful rest of the night.

Incredible

I tasted heaven today. Woke up early this morning to get ready for church. My heart was heavy and Christ asked me to lay my burdens down. I did and oh what a release. He is so in control. Got to church, it was INCREDIBLE. Experiencing worship with other believers is indescribable. Seeing men and women, old and young, raising their hands and praising the Creator, it is so beautiful. Sometimes when I am praising our God, I close my eyes and imagine people all over the globe, raising their hands, bowing down, surrendering all their love and affection to the King of Kings. That is what God desires, global worship. And I then I open my eyes and I am filled with purpose. My heart burns with desire for all to know Jesus Christ as their Savior. Not just know who he is, but experience who he is. I selfishly long for heaven, but there are so many who still need to hear.

The splendor of a King, clothed in majesty
Let all the earth rejoice
All the earth rejoice

He wraps himself in Light, and darkness tries to hide
And trembles at His voice
Trembles at His voice

How great is our God, sing with me
How great is our God, and all will see
How great, how great is our God

Age to age He stands
And time is in His hands
Beginning and the end
Beginning and the end

The Godhead Three in One
Father Spirit Son
The Lion and the Lamb
The Lion and the Lamb

Name above all names
Worthy of our praise
My heart will sing
How great is our God

How great is our God, sing with me
How great is our God, and all will see
How great, how great is our God

Turning 2

It's official, no more babies in our house. #3 is now a toddler. Today we had her party. It was a lot of fun. Last week it felt like 100 degrees outside and the humidity has been horrible. Woke up this morning and it was actually cool outside! I was so excited. The weather was just perfect for the party! She was so precious the whole time, and a little shy, which is unusual for her. After every gift she said a sweet thank you to each person. She would not hit the pinata, her daddy ended up having to bust it open after the big kids whacked on it for a long time. It was a tough one. Here is some free advice, don't put nerds in a pinata, our drive way had tiny nerds sprinkled all over it, and #3 sat on the ground trying to pick up each little one and put it in her goodie bag.

Back in the day

As I was taming my naturally curly hair around 10 am today I had this thought, what if I lived back in the 1800's. What would I look like without hair gel, neutrogena self -tan, & eyeliner? Would I just braid my hair everyday? Would I have a uni-brow? As I am typing this, which my man has no clue what I am writing, he asks, "Would you think I am a sissy if I shaved my armpits? You don't like them and they are just so bushy." True I don't like men's arm pit hair. If he does not feel like snuggling at night, all he has to do is expose the pit while he uses his arm to prop up his head and I get the hint loud and clear. Really it is a joke between us. Ok I am dog tired. I vacuumed today for 5 hours, only taking a break to eat lunch. The kids knew I had an agenda and they stayed out of the way. #3's second birthday party is Saturday and my in laws are coming in town tomorrow. I had not dusted the house in quite a while. I vacuumed under, over, across and in between everything in the house, I mean everything. Felt so good.

kinda crazy

(This photo was taken several months ago, she's a mess!)
Ok, so today was kinda crazy, well not really it just felt that way. Me and the kids ran errands this morning and #2 had gymnastics. Before gym we went to a school supply place. I opened the door to get #3 out of the car and her hair was already a wreck. She left the house with 2 piggy tails and at that point it was one and a half. So I hurriedly pulled it back up, the part was no where near straight, she moves around way too much plus I was in a hurry. The supply store was calm, they were all pretty obedient. #2 did great in gym, she participated in everything, lately she has only done exercises she was personally interested in, didn't matter to her what her teacher was asking her to do, she only did what she felt like. Seeing her respect her teacher today made me feel really good and I let #2 know it. #3 ate Poptarts while #2 did gym and of course Poptart jelly was smeared all over her cheeks and some found its way onto her dress. Then we headed to Ci's Ci's Pizza Buffet for lunch. The kids love it. We all made a trip to the bathroom room to wash up and while I am helping #2, #3 decides to peak under the stall while a lady was using the "potty". Sorry I quickly say and rush out. While eating #3 refuses to use a fork to eat her pasta and marinara sauce, so now she is looking pretty trashed and her nose is runny as well. After Ci's Ci's we head to Ross to do a return, I bought a Christmas gift for each kid (really cute new lunch boxes) and they never had a clue! Now on to the grocery store. #3 got so excited when she recognized the parking lot, she knows that the store means FREE cookie. She squealed with excitement and said, "cookie cookie!". Ms. Betty who works in the bakery was back today. She has been out for almost 3 months. The kids were so excited to see her. She handed each child a chocolate chip cookie, their favorite. So far they were having a great day. We get to the produce section and #1 slipped on the floor and fell flat on his face. I never get fearful when they get hurt but seeing him lying on the floor and crying, I'll admit it scared me. Turns it he got a small knot on his head and his knee was all red, Ms Betty even came and checked on him. As we recovered and headed down the next aisle, I notice #3 has her cookie all wadded up in a ball an she is just chomping on it. Chocolate is all over her face, and of course on her arm, outfit and leg! The child loves to be messy. I reach in my purse for a wet wipe, it wasn't there, they were in the car. Oh well, she was a sight, runny nose, chocolate face, piggy tails barely hanging on, and her dress was decorated with smears from every piece of food she had put in her mouth. I honestly thought she had gotten neater lately. I don't know. The rest of the trip was normal, #1 & #2 running down the aisle, me threatening consequences if they don't stop, #3 constantly standing up in the cart trying to crawl down and be free like the older two. Me saying over and over, "sit down, I mean on your bottom, all the way, sit down". One thing I do love at the store is how when we finally reach the check out, all 3 love helping me unload the cart. #3 fell asleep on the way home. We made today a review day for school. I am happy at what all he is retaining. Tomorrow hopefully we'll make it to the library. We begin our day at the dentist. #1 can't wait, #2 is pretty anxious.

I am off to bed, but here's a last thought, next time you eat at a buffet, look around, you know you see some pretty interesting people at buffets.

Help is on the way!

Just over a year ago I had a young girl from Honduras come and help me every other week, I would pay her hourly to do all kind of things around the house and it was divine! Well she quit because she found more consistent work, but tonight I got word she could come and help me out again, every other week, I got teary eyed by the news, I am so excited! My prayers have been answered! Whoo-Hoo!

We begin another Chapter in our Weaver curriculum tomorrow. I am still loving it. It is so hands on, lots of Science Projects and Social Studies, it is a lot of fun. #1 is still not interested in reading. I have been reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to him and we are both really in to it. He loves to be read to, but he doesn't put forth much effort when he tries to sound out words on his own. It will come. I am just going to relax about it and try not to rush him.

We had a fun time outside this morning. Started off with a some yard work and by lunch the kids were in the buff (#1 still in his briefs) running around squirting each other with the hose. I love days like that. They love days like that. MaMa K (grandmother) walked over, she lives next door. She sat down on the front porch and giggled awhile at the kids. It was miserably hot and humid, but all it takes is a long garden hose and a cheap plastic kiddy pool to make you forget the heat. Quick funny story, 3 years ago I told #1 I was going to buy him a kiddy pool, he got so excited and he told a friend that his mom was going to get him a Kitty and Pool!

Good night!

Whoa

No, our kids are not making fun of Asian people, they are trying to keep their eyes open from the flash of the camera. #1 cannot take a decent picture inside. Every time the I take a picture inside his eyes are half closed, so he had the idea to prop them open. They put a show on for me yesterday. It was really crazy. This picture makes me laugh, so I thought I would share it. My man and I recorded the whole season of Brat Camp on our DVR and we are finally getting around to watch it tonight. Whoa! That is all I can say.

Read an article today about some children being mistreated in India. I was sitting at the table with #2, eating popcorn while she drew rainbows and egg shaped people, picked up a magazine a friend had given me, and I came across this story about child slavery in India. When I reached the end, I laid my head on the table and wept. #2 was confused and asked me why I was so sad. It was hard to find the words to explain to my 3 year old why mommy was so upset. It's hard to understand why God would allow it, why am I so blessed, and what do you do once you are aware of stuff like that. I guess trust HE is ultimately in control, praise Him for everything and pray. I know he doesn't love me more than those poor innocent children & why he has blessed me like he has, I will never fully understand. I know he created me for a purpose and that is not to serve myself. The battle with myself is daily. It always will be, it is a choice to fight it and I pray I will continue to. sharedhope.org & ijm.org

Ok, I am off to play bit of boggle on games.com.

Looking for Love

Today marks the end of the second week of school. I am feeling a little less overwhelmed and #1 is still really into it. He especially loves the bible lessons. He will talk on and on and on, and he ponders it and trys to really figure out just how enormous our God is. #2 could care less, every now and then she surprises me and butts in with a little phrase of how much God loves us. She makes me smile. I love how her brain works. She is very artistic and emotional but unlike her brother, deep thinking is not a pass time of hers. How free that must be! I am SUCH a deep thinker, I could over analyze how to prepare a hotdog, my mind can really be a trap. I love seeing the differences and all 3 kids. Their personalities are completey different and unquie. I am truly blessed.

SO on to over ananlyzing. I headed to the local grocery store tonight after the kids went to bed. I have a major head cold, and it had been a while since I visited Kroger on a Friday night. A lot of singles there purchasing beer and eying every decent woman around, it was quite comical. I mean I have been married now for almost 8 years, I barely remember what it felt like to be single but I remember one thing, looking for love, even when in a relationship wanting to connect so deeply, to love that person and feel completely loved by them. I mean think about it, what are most songs written about, Love? We all desire to be loved in the deepest most initmate way. On the way home I was pondering this. I have known this but really needed to review it again, mull over it and rethink it and so on, see this is what I do. It is no accident no mistake people are like this. NO one perosn will ever satisfy that longing in our hearts, it is Christ and Christ alone. Certain people, even I guess certain things, can put bandaids on it, but the truth is when that person fails, it is Christ alone who can fill that void. I know so many times I have looked to my man to be the provider of that endless unconditional love that I naturally crave, he fails me, he always will just as I fail him, God never never never does. I mean never. It seriously blows my mind. My man just enhances it, he can't provide it. Peace, I mean real peace, that is what I gain from knowing this. "God you long for me. You desire my love and affection. With a grateful heart I will give it to you, and through you I may love people more than I ever could on my own. May your love consume me. In all that I do, In everything Lord, my I glorify you."

Well I am off to bed. Good night!

My little ninja

I managed to get out the camera and get a quick pic of my little #3 attacking me, shouting HEEE-YAHHH! The funny thing is, she's wearing an orange knitted pumpkin cap, #1's new shirt (tags still attached) and she is trying to slice me with a blue Power Ranger Sword. She is quite aggressive and goes after #2 & #1. They think she is a bit of a pest right now, honestly they are right. She is just so adorable and funny, it is easy to forget and look over her pesky little ways.

School was awesome today. We studied electricity. #1 was really interested and absorbed a lot. #2 wasn't interested so I did not push it. She was exhausted and fell asleep on the couch around 5 pm. Oh, (follow me as I jump around) some how during school the phrase "falling in love" came up. #1 explained to me that sometimes a boy will look at a girl and fall in love. So I asked him what kind of girl did he want to fall in love with and marry, His list :

#1's wife : (He wants her to be)
Compassionate, (his definition is: helping others when they need someone to help them)
Loving
Like my mom
She needs to have a playroom for our kids, #1 quote "I'll probably be the guy who paints that room. Flames and Power Rangers, and maybe some other things for the girls"

Then he said, "When I get married, we'll all still be a family right? I mean all of us, a family until we die."

Yes, until we die.

Sleepy Head

I slept late today!!!!!!!!!!!! It was so nice!! So, today is second day of the second week of school. Yesterday was hard motivating myself and #1 to get a lot accomplished during "official" school hours. We had such a busy morning with grocery shopping, car washing, and just stuff that by the time #3 took a nap, we were all exhausted. Today went real well. His handwriting is really improving and he memorized Matthew 5:14 really quick along with our address.

I am driving myself crazy with trying to decide which blog service to go with. SO many options, each one has different perks. What I really want is to be able to blog and scrapbook all with the same service. I want to create different albums and mini scrap books on the computer and do away with all the papers, glue scissors and stuff. It is just to messy and takes up so much time. My man says I can do it if I study to be a web designer. No chance so that so I have to take what I can get. Ok, I am feeling really random and here comes #3 needing her mommy to save her day, well she probably just wants some juice but it feels better to think of it the other way.

My first Gala

This is me, my man and his parents at a Gala held by the World's Children's Home, http://www.worldchildrenscenter.org/. This was my first Gala, and I had a lot more fun than I thought I would. I am pretty tired so I don't feel like saying too much. I look forward to our second week of school. OH! Today was #1's first day in Upstreet at our church, http://www.buckheadchurch.com/. Kid's Stuff followed his class and it was a blast. Our church TOTALLY ROCKS! It is amazing how creative they are. Our whole family loves Kid's Stuff. It is like a Saturday Morning Show put on for elementary kids at our church, with singing, dancing, skits, humor for all ages, it's awesome. Each month they focus on a different virtue and #1 has already memorized it! I am so proud of him. Ok, I have got to head to bed.

Getting it all done

Ok, so the first week of kindergarten is over at our house. Let me reflect on how I feel. Tired, mentally and physically. Let's start on Monday. I am so pumped to start our first week of Home School. I am up at 6:30 a.m. and out the door to jog. I am feeling good, I have got my mini ipod pumping the praise music and my last thought as I enter the house at 7:30 from my glorious morning run is,"The ONLY goal for my day, for my week -Glorify God in everything I do." Simple, keepin it simple. Get in the house and things are going smoothly but I begin to stress. See, so moms sew Halloween costumes, some moms smock, I make elaborate birthday invitations. Our #3 is about to turn two and I designed this complicated and extremely cute, I must say, invitation and I had to get it out that day. I needed to get pictures developed, haven't done that since last December!, so we head out to Wolf for the one hour turn around. While we wait we waste time in Big Lots, this is a big decision for me, see I am always pondering how to best utilize my time. Well, I couldn't come up with a productive way to spend our time so we head to Big Lots, why I have no clue! SO anyways, there is a point to this story and I will get to it eventually, The kids are every where in the store, especially # 3. #2 is constantly whining and #1 he is bossing and stressing I am going to leave the girls behind. (He is already over protective) Finally I had had enough. Last week we spent a lot of time running around trying to find school supplies and I hate shopping with #3 right now. I just can't focus on anything when she is out with me. Ok here is the climax, we get back in the car and #2 starts whining about going and getting the pictures and she & #1 keep arguing and I start to doubt everything, should I send them to school, is this the right thing, can we all really tolerate each other this much, then I loose it and go off. I park to car and turn around to face them. I begin with #2 and tell, (yell) to her just how much I can't stand her whining. Then I move to #1, who is crying like a scared little boy, then I see #2 smirking and trying her hardest not to laugh at me. Ok, that really did me in, needless to say I had words with ALL of them. Then I sat in the car, which was blissfully quiet and began to realize just how far from my goal of the day I was. How did I get to this. My cell phone battery was dead, and I just kept thinking, if I could just throw this thing across the parking lot a few times I would feel so much better. But I didn't I drove about 20 feet, stopped to car again, yes I am still in the parking lot, and God provided me the strength and the words to beginning healing all of us right then and there. I was calm and became full of peace, and was able to express that I had valid frustrations and I needed them to realize it, also I needed to create stronger consequences to help enforce that some of those behaviors cannot be tolerated. Then I began with #2 and told her all the special things I loved and adored about her, she began to beam like she was winning a beauty pageant. She was just glowing, no kidding, I mean glowing! Then I shared some love with #1 and he got teary eyed, and of course #3 got her special fair share, and she just asked to look at another book. Then I drove about 10 more feet, stopped to car again and turned around to face them and say I was sorry. "Father God thank you for forgiving me, always, It amazes me that you can conditionally love me with all my faults and stupid ways. I know I am blessed, and those blessings have a purpose which is the same as the burden on my heart, I want to be completely used by you to bring glory honor and praise to your worthy NAME! May all that I have and all that I do be for you. Thank you for using me to accomplish your task. Thank you for each child we are blessed with. Thank you for complimenting me with my man, he is so much more than I ever deserved. "

Please excuse me, this is my first blog ever. My man has been encouraging me to do this for some time. I hope that other home school moms might find this. We began #1 in kindergarten this week. He is home schooled and we are using the Weaver Curriculum Volume One. LOVE IT! The first day # 1 pretended he and #2 we orphans. He had just put his baby sister down for a nap (We only begin Home School once she is asleep) He named me Ms. Mommy and asked if we'd adopt them, of course I said yes. It was an incredible day. Day two: #1 came up with the idea we were in Secret Spy Agent School, he cracked me up all day long! What a character. He had already memorized his memory verse, I was shocked - Gn. 1:31. #2 Has been keeping up with us. Every now and then I loose her as she drifts off to color color land. That child would color all day long! I love how artistic she is.

So here is it Friday, I got up 4 of the 5 mornings to exercise, dreading it each time but loving life once I was out to door. The fresh air, the sky, all the trees, it makes me come alive! I honestly do feel a bit overwhelmed, infact my man's shoulder got wet by a little break down from me once he got home. It is hard keeping the house somewhat clean and straight, cooking, teaching, paying bills, researching, planning, running errands, I know it sounds like I am whining now, but I am not, am I ? Bottom line-I am just going to keep on keepin on, I know who is in charge I know what he wants me to do, and he will accomplish it through me and long as I stay willing.

Ok, ok , Ok, enough. Good night!