A Blessed Life

Cutest photos ever

2009-05-24T18:25:00.001-07:00

A link to some of the cutest most amazing photos ever, taken by none other than my fabulous friend Allyson. She continues to amaze me with her artistry through photos, she is soooo talented!

www.blinkphotoblog.com

Reflection...

2009-04-20T12:46:00.000-07:00

So, today i had one of those moments that i just knew i needed to blog about. obviously i don't have those very often, much to the chagrin of some of my friends ;) But, anyways, today i took cole and camryn up to our church's coffee shop much like we do almost every week, and usually it is full with other moms and their little munchkins running around. But today we saw that there was a large crowd of teenagers in the park that is right next to our church, and when we got inside to the coffee shop to sit down and eat our lunch many of the students started coming in to buy drinks and such and i noticed that one of the girls had on an Olathe East Hawks sweatshirt. Well, since that is the high school that i graduated from i got kind of curious and asked her what they were doing in the park. She told me that they were having their senior picnic, and I told her that i went to Olathe East and so she asked me when i graduated and i told her 2000. She then said Oh, wow! as if that was a century ago, and then she started asking me about certain teachers and if i had had them when i went there. After i talked to her, and sat down at my table more and more students came in until pretty much every table around us was filled with them, and i could overhear many of the conversations talking about things like the upcoming prom, and games that they were going to go to later, and lots of laughter between friends. As i sat there i just had these crazy feelings of jealousy mixed with gratitude mixed with sadness mixed with joy. I know, im crazy, but basically i was having a serious moment. In nine years, my life has changed so much. But in so many ways it literally feels like yesterday that i was there. I just kept thinking that their lives are so full of potential right now,and in the next few years they are going to decide the path of the rest of their lives." The worries right now to them feel so huge, like who am i going to go to prom with and what am i going to wear, they are so ready to be done with high school and to be on there own, to leave their parents and have total freedom. But looking back it is so crazy to see how small your world view is in high school and how much can change in just a few years of "total freedom." With that freedom comes having to make your own choices, and as attractive as that sounds to a high school senior, with those choices come consequences both good and bad. I am so unbelievable grateful for the life that i have now, and the perspective that i have gained, but it definitely didn't come without pain and heartache and so many of those feelings are not very far below the surface. I am so blessed to have ended up where i am right now, my life could have looked so different. I also couldn't help but think as i sat there that in another nine years i am going to have a child in high school......CRAZY! I am just getting past that point in the lives of my kids where every day drags on forever, and now i am really starting to feel that whole blink and we are celebrating another birthday thing. Once they get into school the years really seem to blow by, i just can't believe grace is almost done with first grade!

So all that to say it was a day full of reflecting. Inside there are parts of me that still feel like a high school student, and then there are parts that feel like an old woman. ;) I guess this is all just part of the aging process. Mostly i am so glad that i have a God who has walked with me every step of the way, and even when i wasn't looking to Him for direction He was there waiting patiently. And with Him alone can i look into the next nine years and more with a sense of peace and expectancy.

haircuts

2009-03-21T16:33:00.000-07:00

So i know, i know i am a horrible blogger. and there is more updates than i could possibly do, so i am just going to start here. i have been thinking about cutting grace's hair for a while, and she has been begging me to do it for a really long time. i have held out because her hair was just so gorgeous and shiny...but really only right after she has washed and dried it. the rest of the time it was getting to be such a pain to take care of. so i finally just decided that it wasn't worth fighting her on it anymore, she really wanted it, it was hair and would grow back soon enough, and so why fight her anymore on it? well, i am sooooo glad that i did it because it is beyond adorable.....but it does make her look so much older, and she is already like a 6 year old going on 16 year old...but she loves it, and it is so much easier! so here are some photos from the big hoorah.

the finished product!

and of course little sister had to get in on the action too!

and brother too!

he looks a little like macauley culkin from home alone to me in this pic!

the ladies man and his main girls after their haircuts

could my children be any cuter??!!

I can't wait...

2009-02-01T13:37:00.001-08:00

...for spring so i can wear some of these super cute shoes!!

a sweet prayer

2009-01-26T11:22:00.000-08:00

As i have said before i am doing beth moore's esther study and it is awesome. i know people around me get tired of me saying things about the study, but when i am in one of her studies everything seems to relate. This week was no exception. On the first day of the study beth was talking about how sometimes temptation seems to be like a battering ram that incessantly bangs at your door daily. And we as followers of Christ need to stop trying to rely on our moods, and instead rely on a mind set that is on victory over the temptation. I have always had poor will power. I am really trying to figure out why, but for some reason i am just not good at setting my mind to something and sticking to it. It's weird because i am a strong person in other areas, but God has such a work to do with me still in the area of will. In the past it has been with some more self destructive things that i have dealt with, but right now to be honest it is with food, and staying on a healthy eating plan. I know everyone deals with this in some capacity, but i just feel like i have such weak willpower, and i need to surrender my will over to God and allow him to give me a powerful mindset that can overcome temptation. In the study beth ends her day by asking that we as women would pray a prayer of scripture for her and for each other. I thought it was amazing and just what i needed, so here it is.

My beloved sister, may God be allowed to work such steadfastness

of mind in you that "the bolts of your gates will be iron and bronze,

and your strength will equal your days" (Deut. 33:25)

Just some random thoughts...

2009-01-17T14:23:00.000-08:00

So I just wanted to post some things that i am really liking right now:

1. The Beth Moore Esther study that i am leading right now-every time I do one of her studies i think that this one is my favorite, and this one is no exception.....amazing! And i love teaching. And I love all the ladies that are in it with me.

2. This song that is playing which i heard on this blog that i regularly follow. She has no idea that i exist because she is totally a blog celeb, but everything she does is sickeningly cute.....but i can't get enough! (Also, i am totally not music savvy, so this song might be totally 2008, and everyone has already heard it, but i had never heard it and i LOVED it!)

3. The small group that Rich and I recently started in, and the fact that we are about to start studying one of my favorite books of the bible, Acts, in this group.

4. Iced Tea-Since i have chosen to give up pop this is pretty much all i drink all day long.

5. Slumdog Millionaire-This movie totally rocks. I love that they dance at the end. I think the girl in it is so gorgeous. And it is just an amazing story.

6. The fact that we are having our basement finished right now, and it will be done by the end of next week!! (pics to come soon)

7. The Bachelor-I am shamelessly addicted (thanks to Jenn for making me watch last season's finale) and i have strong opinions about which girls i like and don't like, so ask me anytime if you are interested.

8. The progress that i am making toward my weight loss goal

Plug for a friend

2009-01-08T13:22:00.001-08:00

So i have really begun to realize lately how i have some of the most creative friends ever. I wanted to give a plug for one of my great friends who has been my friend since high school, and i love her dearly. She and her husband moved to Virginia a couple of years ago so her husband could attend Virginia Tech's medical school which was a total bummer on my end, but very good for them. She is a teacher there, but is also an incredible photographer. Here is a link to her website, and if you know anyone who lives in the area of Blacksburg, VA who could use her, let them know!

First Monday of a new year...

2009-01-05T15:12:00.000-08:00

So a good friend of mine always said that she likes to start something new on a monday. So as the first Monday of the new year, i thought i would start my resolutions today. They really aren't anything different or out of the ordinary for resolutions. Pretty much they are things that i have been saying i want to do for awhile, and yes, i know that 99.9% of resolutions made in the first of January fail, but i won't let the pessimists stop me. i am going to do it anyway. and i thought i would blog about it so my friends, if i have any that still read my blog, could keep me accountable. So if you are reading this, i urge you to ask me about how this is going in a couple of weeks. My first resolution is, of course, to be more healthy. But don't worry, i know that is ridiculously vague so here is the action steps that go along with it.

1. Say bye-bye to ALL pop (sniff, sniff)

2. Eat a healthy breakfast (this may not sound like much to some of you, but i never eat breakfast, i just don't feel hungry at all early in the morning, and i am rushing around trying to get my kids fed and off to school, so it just doesn't happen.)

3. Do some form of real excercise for 20 min a day (again, not much but when you are doing nothing...)

So that is resolution #1, and resolution #2 is also pretty boring and non-original, but it is totally necessary. It is to wake up one hour earlier. The really good thing about this one is that i am going to be leading a beth moore bible study on esther starting this friday, and i soooo excited about it, and am a beth moore junkie, so i plan on preparing and doing my study in the mornings, while i eat my healthy breakfast ;)

So again, i welcome people's feedback and definitely need people to hold me accountable. And i would love to hear your resoutions if you are willing!

Best Friends for Life

2008-12-31T11:10:00.001-08:00

So I haven't written on my posts on here for a while, and today is not going to be much of an exception because i would never be able to do justice in words to what i am feeling as i write this one. Tomorrow, on new years day, our family will have to say goodbye for now to some friends of ours that over the last couple of years have become like family. Our friendship with the lichtenberger family really started when rich and i joined their small group, about three years ago. Then we have had the priviledge of serving with them on the student ministries team at church, and jeanna and i have been in various bible studies together. And through all of that, our children have grown so close too. As parents you want nothing more for your children than to grow up having such strong friendships with other kids that totally love jesus, and shelby and jesse have so been that for my kids. And precious lucy has allowed me to love on a baby when she would actually let me hold her (she is quite the mama's girl). But all in all this family has been everything that you look for in a friendship, and as so many of you know it is so hard after you are married to find those couple friends that both you and your husband become so close with. So even though i know that our friendship with the lichtenberger family is far from over, which is why i titled this post best friends for life, it is still so hard to say goodbye to them. We are totally grateful to God for intersecting our lives for these few years, and for all of the things that they taught us along the way.

Christmas Cookie Baking and snow...

2008-12-12T11:34:00.000-08:00

Hands down one of my favorite things to do at Christmas time is to make sugar cookies and decorate them. I love it. Usually we do it over at my mom's house, but this year we couldn't make that happen, so I decided to just do it at my house, and deal with the mess. We had to break it up into two phases over two days-baking one day, and decorating the next-but it was fun as always, and now we have these yummy cookies tempting us every day!

We had our second snow so far this winter this week. It was soooo beautiful. It only really lasted one day, and it ended up to only be like 2 inches, but you take what you can get right??

Here are some pics that i took out the front door.

FINALLY-An Update

2008-12-07T11:38:00.000-08:00

I know, I know, I am the worst blogger ever. All my friends in the blogging world have totally written me off as worthless. But if there is anyone still out there reading this, well, here is an update of the last couple of weeks and some pics to go along with them.

First are some pics of a trip we took to Union Station recently with one of my best and dear friends, Jenn and her children to see the sights there. There is the most amazing model train exhibit there that they were all totally enthralled with, and then, of course, the trip was not complete until they themselves got to ride the little train. It was a fun little trip, and I thought I might dress them cute so maybe, just maybe i could capture some good shots, but then i remembered, oh yeah, i am a horrible picture taker, and i have three little children who are going to have no interest whatsoever in taking pictures. Thus, this is what i got out of it.

Look at Kenna's face-is she having a good time or not??

Precious, i know...but horrible lighting.

Again, camryn and mya, not at all interested in the camera, and the crazy woman saying "look over here......say cheese.....over here"

So next set of pics are just some fun pics that i took of the kiddos playing in the leaves over at my friend Julie's house. It was freezing, by the way, so it was a short photo session.

The two older ones are totally precious, but of course, my precious 3 year old just can't quite get the idea of looking at the camera for the full ten minutes that you have to with our camera till the picture actually takes.

ALL RIGHT!! there we go......this one is totally going in the Christmas card!!

And then these last couple pics are at this house that we drove by and had to stop at because we I had heard about it from some friends of ours that these people have, like every blow up Christmas yard thingy that you could possibly have. It is not even arranged in an aesthetically pleasing way, they are just like on top of one another it is so crowded. They even have them all over their roof. I cannot even begin to do it justice in the photos, this is totally one of those things you just have to see to believe. But here are some pics

Halloween

2008-11-02T15:32:00.000-08:00

Happenings as of late....

2008-10-29T11:27:00.001-07:00

Yesterday i went on a field trip with Grace's first grade class to The Red Barn in Weston, MO. It was a chilly day, but very sunny and the fall leaves were gorgeous out there in the country. I love getting to go on field trips with her. It is so special to spend one on one time with Grace and really give her my undivided attention. Thanks to my amazing mother, who watched the other two children i got to have a great day and meet some of her cute friends who she talks about all the time. Here are a few pics from the day.

look at her in her precious hat, she is soooo beautiful!

looking at all the bees in the beehive

Grace and Isa, my friend Keri's daughter, she is the sweetest!

Some of Grace's friends from her class

After I got done with Grace's field trip i decided that while my mom was watching the other two kiddos that it would be a really good time to go vote. I wanted to make sure that i got it done, and i didn't want to have to deal with any lines or anything. Their was a line, but it moved really quickly and it felt so good to have done it. I know so many people are, but i am so passionate about voting. It is just so stinkin important for people to speak up and use their voice. So many people have sacrificed their very lives for us to have this freedom. So, also while we are on the subject i have a real pet peeve with the whole thing about being secretive about who you're voting for. I understand we shouldn't be up in people's faces like asking them to tell you, but if you are voting for someone to be the next President of the United States, why would you need to be secretive about it? If you believe in this person enough to vote for them, you should be able to tell others who and why you are voting. So here we go- I VOTED FOR JOHN MCAIN!!! I have so many reasons as to why i am voting for him, and if you want to talk to me about it, i would LOVE to tell you why I think he is the right choice.

And one last thing to leave you with-this is the book that i am reading right now....and it is AWESOME! Ask me about it!

One of the Best Nights Ever.......For Real!

2008-10-17T15:18:00.000-07:00

So my night out at the SYTYCD tour was truly aaahhhhmazing (sung, of course). It really ranked up there with one of the top shows that i have ever seen. I had been looking forward to this night for so long, and i was so glad that not only did it live up to my expectations, it exceeded them! One big reason for this was the company that i had for the night. My friend Jenn and I don't get to hang out near as often as i would like, and it was so fun to be able to share this unforgettable night with her. And then Lisa and Emeri, they are like my second mom and sister, i truly love these two. And then the dancing.......oh, what i would give to be able to dance like these people! I absolutely love watching people dance, and i like to think i have some semblance of rhythm, but it has always been my dream to be able to bust a move out on the dance floor. So here are a couple of the photos from the night, so enjoy!

about to pee our pants before the show we were so excited!!

Emeri got some awesome leg warmers!

We were so not ready for the night to end!

Friends.

2008-10-15T10:46:00.000-07:00

Friends, friends, friends. I am basically so excited i almost can't type this. Why you say?? Because today is none other than the day that i have waited for for almost two months........THE SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE TOUR!!! Now i just wanted to say that i actually am a new fan of this show, this is the first season that i have watched the show, but the first time that i watched it(thanks to the fact that my friends emily and allyson had been talking about it for like an entire year since the last season and telling me that i needed to watch it) i knew that this show and i were meant to be forever friends. Now i can't imagine my life without it, and i too am am in agony waiting a whole year till next season. Anyways, thanks to my amazing friend Jenn, who is also an avid fan of this show, the two of us are going to the Sprint Center tonight to see Joshua, Twitch, Katie, Mark and Chelsea.......oh, i am getting way too excited now.....! So this post is dedicated to all the other fans out there of this amazing show......and if you are totally clueless about it, but like dance at all you need to watch this show next summer. All the songs that are on my playlist are songs from my favorite routines from throughout the year. I will definitely be taking pictures tonight and i will be sharing those with you all soon.

Fun Times at the Ciderfest

2008-10-06T16:20:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday we went out to the Louisburg Cider Mill for their Ciderfest. We went with our family, my mom, my sister, and a couple families that are fast becoming some dear friends. We have gotten to know them because they both have sons that are in Cole's preschool class and daughters that go to Walnut Grove and are in first grade. The girls played on the same tball team this summer and now they are playing soccer together. These are some of the pics from our fun times this weekend.

Cole enjoying the all-important cider doughnuts and apple cider

Can i just tell you how much i love my sister?? She is so amazing. I enjoy every minute that i get to spend with her. And as you can see Camryn loves her Aunt Lindsay too!

Camryn is showing off her gift from nana-a ribbon halo!

love the orange pumpkins!!

this is my friend Kerri's daughter, Kora-she is one of the cutest babies ever!! She totally helps me get my baby fix lately!!

Amaya is her daughter who is in fourth grade, and she is the sweetest, most awesome helper, i wish i had one of her around at my house!

Luka and Cole have become great buds in their preschool class

Oh, the pony rides. She is such a cutie!!

Hope you all are having a great week!

2008-10-01T15:04:00.000-07:00

Beware-super lovey dovey photos alert!

So, last weekend one of my greatest friends, who also happens to be an amazing photog, Allyson, who a lot of you know, took Rich and I downtown to the crossroads arts district to some of her fav photo spots and took some amazing photos of the two of us. It was totally fun, and i am going to cherish these photos for a long time. I really loved them because you know when you go to other people's weddings after you have been married for a couple years or so, and you watch the groom and bride dancing or doing whatever, and they literally can't take their eyes off of one another? I am always a little sad thinking, oh....i really want to go back to that feeling! But when i look at these pics i still see some of that attraction physically, because, hello....my husband is a totally hottie! But I also see a deep love that only comes from 5 years of doing life together. We have had some definite rough times along our road, but so far when they have come we have pushed through and remembered to always fall back on what we know to be true-that Christ has got to be the center of our marriage for it to work, and it isn't easy, and there will be days that it definitely doesn't feel like love, but those times only remind me that Rich is not my God. I cannot find my fulfillment in him-there is only one God in my life, and he will never fail me. So hopefully you can enjoy this slideshow and sorry if they are too lovey dovey for you, but I am so thankful for Allyson's creativity and eye for capturing the moments. Thanks Allyson!

6 Word Memoir

2008-09-28T18:17:00.000-07:00

So my brother in law, Justin Moxley, preached this morning at church. He is amazing. This was one of my favorite messages that he has ever given. He talked about how we as Christians have been called out of a tomb, we have been made new. He used the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead in John 11. But the most amazing part of his sermon talked about Ernest Hemingway and how he was asked to write a six word memoir of his life. And after going into the mountains for some time, he wrote what some called his greatest work.
This was it-For Sale. Baby Shoes. Never Worn.
He then talked about how a magazine had done something like this where they asked people of all ages to write their own 6 word memoirs to describe their lives. He read some examples and they were all so profound. Then he talked about how we as Christians have a story of before Christ called us out of the tomb, and we have a story that He is making now. So then he had members in our congregation walk across the stage and hold up a sign with their memoirs of before Christ and then flip the sign over and they had the memoir for after Christ. It was amazing. He of course challenged all of us to write our own memoirs for before and after Christ. Usually I agonize over something like this and try to articulate exactly what i want to say, but for this i was able to write finish it during the service.
So here is my 6 word memoir of my life before Christ:
Always striving.
Nearly Living.
Completely Pretending.

And after Christ called me out of the tomb:
Totally Forgiven.
Still Striving.
Learning to Trust.

(By the way, i know there are 7 words in the last one, but i thought it was ok.)

Happy Birthday Camryn!

2008-09-28T17:24:00.000-07:00

My baby girl turned 3 yesterday...this is totally depressing...she is getting farther and farther away from a baby. My last one, and it is just so hard to let her grow up. But man, is she still cute. She is a total handful, way smarter than her 3 years, knows no strangers, can talk your ear off, and has the most beautiful Caribbean blue eyes i have ever seen. I call her my "precious", "peacher", or just "my peach". She is truly, truly truly a blessing to our family and just like each one of them she brings something totally unique and wonderful into our family.

It was beautiful weather yesterday and we had the family over for some soccer fun with the cousins, some ladder football, and great times with the family. Our family is so amazing.....really, amazing....and we always have a total blast when we get together. And the competitive spirit is always out in full force!

Soccer

2008-09-16T11:08:00.000-07:00

Both Grace and Cole have started doing soccer. Cole has been playing since he could walk thanks to his daddy, but this is the first organized thing we have put him in. He is doing Olathe Rush's Micro soccer program where he just goes for an hour a week and does basic drills and some scrimmaging. Grace was on a tball team this summer with a bunch of girls from her school, and we had so much fun, and she loved it soooo much that when those same girls invited us to do soccer we thought, why not? She had her first game two weeks ago, and it started raining towards the end and we all got totally soaked, but she did sooooo good! She surprised all of us with how well she hung in there, running up and down the field in the middle of the herd! She really has some good dribbling skills. Last week her game was rained out, but we are so looking foward to this week's game because it so fun to watch her!

The Best 5 Years of My Life...

2008-09-06T09:17:00.000-07:00

Baby, I love you more than ever, and words cannot begin to express how thankful i am to God for giving me the most amazing gift of an incredible husband. You have helped me to grow so much, and I can't wait to grow old with you. Happy 5 year anniversary!

So I was reading Beth Moore's blog today and her daughter posted on there an excerpt from a book called Devotions For A Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas. It basically so well put into words what i hope my marriage always looks like.

Personal worship is an absolute necessity for a strong marriage. It comes down to this: If I stop receiving from God, I start demanding from others. Instead of appreciating and loving and serving others, I become disappointed in them. Instead of cherishing my wife(husband), I become aware of her(his) shortcomings. I take out my frustrations with a less-than-perfect life and somehow blame her(him) for my lack of fulfillment.But when my heart gets filled by God's love and acceptance, I'm set free to love instead of worrying about being loved. I'm motivated to serve instead of becoming obsessed about whether I'm being served. I'm moved to cherish instead of feeling unappreciated.

So here is to a lifetime ahead of worshipping my God, and in turn, the other relationships in my life, primarily my marriage will be blessed!

Some great songs

2008-09-04T08:01:00.000-07:00

These are two songs that I am absolutely loving right now, mostly due to the words. They are soooo powerful, and i have found them to be so true in my life, and especially being a youth leader I think these songs hold a lot of truth for that age too. The first one is by Chris Sligh, who was an American Idol finalist, and is now a Christian artist. And the video is a new one by Casting Crowns. It is one that gets you, fo sho. I put the lyrics to the first one so you could read them. Hope everyone is having a good week!

Empty Me

I’ve had just enough
Of the spotlight when it burns bright
To see how it gets in the blood
I’ve tasted my share
Of the sweet life and the wild ride
And found a little is not quite enough
I know how I can stray
And how fast my heart could change

Empty me of the selfishness inside
Every vain ambition and the poison of my pride
And any foolish thing my heart holds onto
Lord, empty me of me so I can be filled with you

I’ve seen just enough
Of the quick buys of the best lies
To know how prodigals can be drawn away

‘Cause everything is a lesser thing
Compared to you, compared to you
‘Cause everything is a lesser thing
Compared to you, so I surrender all

Slow Fade

An amazing date night...

2008-08-30T18:21:00.000-07:00

Last night Rich and I got to go out on an awesome date. There is an awesome family in our church who have three teenage girls so they and a couple of their friends organized a night where they invited the children of the staff, elders, and youth leaders to come over and they played games, watched movies, fed them pizza and treats, and even made a little craft. It was the coolest thing ever!! This allowed Rich and I to go out on much-needed date. We went out to eat at Pei Wei, my favorite place ever, and we had the best conversation. Our small group is going through this class together that is called Financial Peace University by Dave Ramsey. We had our first class last week, and we can both say that we are fairly sure that this class has the potential to change our lives and our marriage forever. It is already really testing our commitment to unity, and really communicating with one another. So last night we were able to talk about some of our goals for things that we want to be able to do with our money. We discussed short term and long term goals and were able to list things out, from things as simple as a new mattress for our bed, and vacations we want to take, to saving for a down payment on a house. It was so amazing to talk together about these things and dream together about things we want to do together in the future. This class is already really testing us, and i know will continue to test us on our discipline. Both of us really have issues with discipline over long periods of time, and that is basically the key to the class really working. This isn't a quick fix solution or something that you can just choose a few points here and there and try to implement them. This is a full on, i am committing to dig deep and do the hard thing even when it gets really difficult and i really don't want to do it kind of thing. That is why it has the potential to be so life-changing. So after we ate we went to this walking path that is in Lenexa that goes around a brand new lake, Lake Lenexa. It is a two-mile walking trail that goes through some woods, and looks out on the lake, and it was right at sunset on one of the most gorgeous days ever. We continued just talking about all kinds of things, and it was just the most amazing night ever. One of those nights that you do not want to end.

This next week Rich and I will celebrate our five year anniversary, and it never ceases to amaze me how every year I have fallen more and more in love with him, and how unbelievably blessed i am to have him as my best friend in the whole world. There is really truly no one else i would rather be with to do anything-good or bad, fun or exciting, i want to share it with him. God has done such great things in both of our lives individually and as a couple, and it is humbling and amazing, and i am so excited to see what he has in store for us in the future.

I'M BACK!!!......

2008-08-28T15:29:00.001-07:00

.....but who knows for how long! Anyways, i thought that i obviously won't even try to update you with pictures, but instead just give you some recent ones. This week we celebrated Grace's 6th birthday! I just can't get over the fact that she is 6! She is starting to look so grown up! She started 1st grade, and is totally loving it. The day seems so long to me, but she absolutely loves school, and it hasn't even seemed to phase her. So here are some fun photos from her birthday celebrations!

Graduations and such

2008-05-22T10:44:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that my daughter is now officially a 1st grader! This just blows me away! She had a little music program and was absolutely the picture of cuteness and perfection singing every word and every action. This girl is such a genius. And she could basically run the family for me at any time if needed, she is so organized and always a step ahead!

Grace and her wonderful teacher this year, Mrs. Billam

Grace and Alyssa, a friend from school

And then there is my son. Oh, this boy is going to be such a heartbreaker one day. Just like his daddy. He was so sweet at his little program today, I just can't believe how time seems to be speeding by us, and sometimes i just want to be able to freeze time so that I can try to capture it. But alas, that is not how it works, and we just have to enjoy every moment!

Cole was by far the most handsome, and sweetest graduate of Legacy Christian Preschool's yellow room!

And here he is with his wonderful teacher, Mrs. Deb

And of course I couldn't leave this one out! She is just too cute for words to describe! Thank goodness she has one more year for mommy to enjoy her at home, i am so not ready to let her go yet!

What if the church...

2008-05-19T10:43:00.000-07:00

Our church is doing this amazing thing! Please visit this web site: www.whatifthechurch.net to learn more about it. I have been privileged to be a part of seeing this come about from the very beginnings and it really is one of the most exciting things i have ever been a part of. The best part of the whole thing has been watching how something that seemed way beyond anything we could ever fathom coming about because it was too big, actually come together, not because of anything that we have done, but because God has big plans for this city and He is just waiting for us to dream big with him and believe that He can accomplish it through us. Check this website out! Come be a part of what God is doing in KC!

10 Things I am loving right now...

2008-05-11T15:22:00.000-07:00

SO I thought i would actually do a post......go figure! Em i know you now only check this once a week but you will be proud, i miss you already!
So I decided to just post about some things that i am loving right now, so here they are in no particular order:

1. my van!!! Since i didn't really post about it, but most of you know, i have a new van. it is not really brand new, but new to us, and it is the most awesome van ever! the best thing about it is that the kids are separated and cannot touch each other which makes for such sweeter rides!

2. the amazing girlfriends that i have. i know that i have posted about this before, but it was refreshed in my mind this week because my dear friend emily was here for the first time since she moved away to orlando in january and it was so amazing to spend even the little bit of time with her that i did, and it is just so hard to grasp that she isn't just on vacation. But along with her i have some other amazing girlfriends that are truly an answer to prayer for me. Each one of them are so special to me, and i love them all.

3. taco bueno. i know this one is random, but i am totally loving this place lately!

4. Old Navy's new summer line of clothing-if you want to know more just ask me, according to Allyson I should be getting paid more for how i love to talk about their clothes.

5. DAVID COOK!! I don't need to say any more, if you don't know who he is, then i'm sorry. And Megan Matthews, i don't care what you say he is the best and he will win!

6. this amazing mix of songs that my husband made for me on itunes of 90's and early 2000's hip hop songs with artists such as Nas, Warren G, Outkast, and others. When i want to tune out the kids whining i put this on, and it also makes a great work out mix. Thanks babe, i love you!

7. On that note, yesterday was mother's day and my husband and children really made it so special for me, and I totally loved it!

8. Our small group is doing this thing for the next five weeks where we get to drop the kids off for childcare and have a date night with our spouse. we are reading a book together called The Love List, and on the fifth week we will all go on a group date together......um, how can you not love this???!!

9. watching Grace and Cole play in their first organized team sport: t-ball. They have only had practices so far, but they are doing so awesome! Especially Grace, she really suprised me with her hitting, she is awesome!

10. This verse from Matthew 5:14-16 from the Message translation:

Here's another way to put it: Your're here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers you don't think I am going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I'm putting you on a light stand. Now that I've put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand-shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you'll prompt people to open up to God, this generous Father in Heaven.

I am totally loving the Message right now!

Just when you thought you'd never hear from me again...

2008-04-16T11:10:00.000-07:00

Hey, I'm sorry about the last month, i have no excuse, i just got behind and then just was too lazy to get caught back up. So here are some pictures from the past month that i have been MIA. Some are from Easter, some are from my birthday which was on April 2, and some are from a trip that Rich and I took last weekend with some high school students from our church to Chicago for a conference there called Dare to Share. It was such an awesome trip!!

First Day of Spring

2008-03-20T13:04:00.000-07:00

Well, thankfully the little stomach bug that we had was only a little over 24 hours long. It was pretty bad with both kids having it coming out both ends if you know what i mean, (sorry i know that it gross and probably TMI but it has been our world for the last couple of days. Anyway, like i said i just HATE being cooped up for any time at all, and so I was SOOOO glad that today the kids were feeling better because God gave us the MOST BEAUTIFUL first day of spring ever, and we just had to get out and enjoy it. So we ventured out to the park by our church today to play, play, play. It was full of families all enjoying the gorgeous weather, and opportunity to let the kiddos run and play. I sat on the bench just soaking up all the sun i could, i just don't know how people ever live in places where they get hardly any sun because it truly is one of the best feelings in the world to feel the warm sun on your face, and with the winter that we have had it makes you all the more grateful that God created this big ball of warmth. So here are some fun pics of us enjoying the day.

2008-03-19T07:26:00.001-07:00

And now Camryn is throwing up......how much more can i handle??

Just not our week...

2008-03-18T19:46:00.000-07:00

So we have had a pretty rough couple of days. First of all last Thursday we had to say goodbye to our beautiful purple plymouth van. The transmission went out on it and it costs more to fix it than it is worth so we had to say a sad goodbye. We have known for a while now that both Rich and I's cars are close to the end of their lives, but we were hoping to push it off as long as possible. God has blessed our family soooo much when it comes to cars, the van was actually given to us as a gift from a family in our church who donated the van in the hopes that a family who needs it would get it. Well, when i got pregnant with Camryn i knew that we were going to need a car that could fit 3 car seats, and so someone on the church staff suggested that we were a family that needed a car. What a huge blessing!! It made it even harder to say goodbye to that van because to me it was just such a symbol of God's provision for our family. Well, again we are so blessed because my grandparents were actually planning on selling their van in April anyway, and so they are now going to sell it to us for a very good price. It is a good van that will get us at least another year if not more, and we are so thankful.

So back to why this is just not our week, this morning I had a friend who had offered to watch my kiddos for a little bit, but when i go to start Rich's car (which i had mentioned earlier is also close to the end of it's life, but we had really thought maybe, just maybe it would help us get by until we get this other van in April) and it wouldn't start. I tried for a about 15 minutes, and then i just gave up. So we just stayed here for the morning. Thankfully, I tried again at about 12 and it finally did start so we got to get out for a little bit, but i am still concerned with how reliable it really is. So then, we were going to try again tomorrow with my friend watching the kids, but Cole started throwing up tonight, and has been throwing up pretty bad all evening. So, I guess this just isn't our week. I feel like God is trying to send me a message that maybe I am just supposed to be spending time with the kids. I just HATE being cooped up in my house for any amount of time. Oh well, it is just part of it. This too shall pass. So sorry that i have not been updating the blog as often as i should. So hopefully all of you are having a wonderful spring break, better than ours. Talk soon!

I'm so excited.......

2008-03-10T15:54:00.000-07:00

and I just can't hide it!! I just have to share with you some fun, exciting news that happened to me yesterday. Back in January we were at my brother-in-law's house hanging out one evening and we got this call from a guy saying he was from Wydham Garden Hotels and Resorts and he wanted to let us know that we had won this drawing they did at AMC Studio 30 where one night that Rich and I were there we filled out an entry for. Anyway, the guy had said that we won a vacation package, but that was all he told us, he said he would email us the details the next week. well, we never got an email, and we never got a call. I was sooooo mad! I even got on the website for wyndham garden and sent them an email letting them know how upset i was for forgetting about us, and they never responded!! Then last night I get this call from a woman who says she is from wyndham, and i practically screamed into the phone because I was so excited!! So she proceeds to tell me the details of what we won, and it is roundtrip airfare and three nights and days in where????...........ORLANDO,FL!!!!! I was freaking out! Not only do I get to go on a virtually free, fun vacation with my husband, but I get to see Emily and Keith!!!!! I just couldn't be more excited! These kind of things just don't happen to us. Well, just wanted to share the fun news with you all.

Aquire the Fire

2008-03-04T10:19:00.000-08:00

Here are some pics of me and some of the girls at the Aquire the Fire conference that i went to this weekend. It was such a good conference, just like i knew it would be. The worship was so good (Micheal Gungor Band is so awesome), and the teaching was very convicting and inspiring at the same time. I also really loved just spending more time with my girls. I love them all and I am growing to love them more and more all the time. There is so much that I was convicted of this weekend, and I have a lot that I am still processing. I think one of my favorite parts was the breakout session that they offered to the youth leaders. It was really encouraging and informative, and just really cool to be in there with so many other youth leaders from around Kansas City. It was a really great weekend!

2008-02-25T11:39:00.000-08:00

Hello blogging world, i am back! We had a pretty low-key weekend, which was nice. Church yesterday was so great, Allyson led worship which i always love because she is so awesome. Then Justin preached, and it was just an amazing message about truth. He talked about how we all distort the truth so much in life, and try to sell ourselves as so much better and in the church people try and make themselves appear to be this super spiritual giant who has it all together. I really struggle with this I know. I think for a period in my life when I wasn't living for God I felt s though people within the church looked at me and pitied me, and were like "Oh, that poor girl, she is just making such bad choices, she really just needs to get her life back together" And so now I know that Satan uses that to make me feel as though I need to constanly keep up this super spiritual persona, and I just have so much pride sometimes with this attitude of "Look at my life now, it is so good right now" When in reality I am just one slip away from the pit, just like everyone else, not to mention that those kind of prideful thoughts are just as dispicable to God as those outward sins like partying and such. The truth is that my life is still a mess, and the enemy so wants to catch us in a trap of secrecy and lies, even if it is just lies to ourselves about how good our lives are. He just wants us to be honest before him, and lay all our mess at his feet. I know this is a daily thing, and I am going to really work on it.

SO, to switch subjects, so many of my friends are either pregnant or have little babies right now. It is so hard sometimes for me because I really do miss the sweet newborn stage, i don't know if it is just a phase that I am going through because all my friends are still in that stage. i am happy with our family the way it is, so I guess I just need to get the fix from all my friend's babies!

I am hoping to take some good pictures of the kids this week and post them, so be on the lookout!

2008-02-21T13:06:00.000-08:00

So obviously i have been absent from the blogging world, but this week it was not merely from slacking off. On Saturday I started feeling really tired and icky, and by the time that I got home from work that night I knew that I was pretty much full blown sick. So for the next two days I spent in my bed with a really awful case of the flu (not the stomach kind, just the fever, aches, feel like you got hit by a truck kind) and then strep throat on top of that. UUUGGGHH! It was bad. But thankfully my lovely husband was his handsome and charming self and helped by keeping the kids entertained so I could sleep, and he even took off work on Monday and stayed home, which he hardly ever does, and that helped so much. So it seems like everyone and their brother and sister and all their kids are sick right now! Oh, I just don't remember winter being this bad for this long last year. Today there was snow and ice pelting down for like two hours, and the streets are totally slushy and icy.

We had MOPS yesterday, but it was such a small group, im sure because of a combination of the sickness and weather. We have hardly had any meetings lately, our last one got cancelled because of the snow and it's hard because i feel like we have lost some momentum because of it. I just hope that March feels a lot more like spring, and not like a continuation of this freezing cold snow filled winter.

2008-02-13T13:47:00.000-08:00

I am so ready for spring! It was so nice to just have a really sunny day and even though it was only 42 degrees, it felt so warm because of how cold it has been lately. Supposedly it is supposed to be pretty cold all through February and March though, and Gary Lezack said last night that he thinks we will very likely have more snow soon.......oh, will winter ever end!!??
Well, today Grace is home from school because of parent/teacher conferences and so the kids have played hard all day together. I really love the relaxed pace that we get to have when she is home because I am not a morning person, and the kids would sleep until 7:30 or 7:45 if I let them, but on school days I have to wake them all up at 7 in order to get them fed, dressed, and out the door. And i have to say that I am ashamed of the number of days that we have been late to her school, even if it is just by a few minutes, it just seems like i am constantly pushing and pushing to get them out the door. Oh well, i guess that is just part of it, but it does make days like today extra nice.
So now I have some unashamed bragging to do on the part of my daughter, so if you want to skip over this part that is fine. But i just have to report on how awesome Grace's conference was today. Her teacher said that basically she doesn't even know what to conference on for Grace because she is just the whole package. She said not only is she extremely smart, which we have known (she gets that from her dad), but her teacher said that she is so respectful, she listens to directions so well, and she has the best attitude, and is inclusive and considerate to all the other kids in class!! Wow, we we knew that she was a great kid, but it is so good to hear that from someone else that is with your kid when you aren't there. So Rich and I are going to take her out on a special date to celebrate soon. OK, unashamed bragging is done.
I am really excited for youth group tonight. We didn't have it last week because of the snow and i really am missing my girls. I could never have anticipated how much i love these girls. It was such a suprise to me that I really love spending time with them. They teach me so much and i miss them so much when i don't see them. I am really excited because next weekend we have a conference called Aquire the Fire that we are going to on Friday night and all day Saturday and it is going to be so much fun! Rich and I drove a van of kids last year and it is such an awesome conference. The worship is so amazing, and the speaking is really good too. I think it is so awesome for the kids to see all the other kids worshipping, packing the arena because it makes them feel like they are not alone. I think Satan works so hard to make these teens feel like they are alone in their walk with God, that a relationship with Jesus is only something that weirdos and adults have. So it is so important for them to see that they can be such a powerful voice, and that their are a lot of other teens out there that love Jesus, and also that they aren't the only ones struggling. It always makes me think about the decisions that I made, and how different my life would have been if I wouldn't have decided to try to make it on my own for awhile. My life is just so much better with God in control!
Well, hope you all are having a good day, peace out!

Valentine Cookies, Scrapbooking, MTV

2008-02-09T20:31:00.000-08:00

So the last couple of days have been so great! Friday I had another really great session at bible study. basically this study just keeps getting better, i just can't get enough! Then the kids and I went over to my mother-in-law, Judy's house and the kids got to make and decorate Valentine cookies with their cousins. It was so fun and they had such a blast! Oh yeah and here is a great tip- next time you make sugar cookies, try substituting whole wheat flour for the flour, it is SO good! They tasted just the same! So these are some fun pictures of the cookie-making fun.

So then Friday evening and most of the day today I got to go to a scrapbooking crop with a bunch of wonderful ladies and it was, of course, so great! And, of course, i really didn't get that much done, but any progress is good, and i had a lot of fun!! but we did totally miss you em, scrapbooking just isn't the same without you!

So I am totally obsessed with this new show on MTV called America's Best Dance Crew. It is a show where crews that range anywhere from 8-12 members dance for judges. And the dancing is straight-up hip hop from the streets. It is SOOO amazing!! If you love dancing you have got to check it out, it is on thursdays at 9. Let me know what you think, Kabba Modern is my favorite crew so if you watch let me know your fav!

A blog-worthy story.....

2008-02-04T12:31:00.000-08:00

One of my blogger friends Carly entitled one of her posts Sometimes it's either laugh or cry.... The story that I am about to share with y'all is totally a story where I just have to laugh my head off or I'll end up bursting out in tears. So I was planning on going on a missions trip with my church to Jamaica in March, and I was really excited about it. The last missions trip that I got to take was to Mexico about 5 years ago. I am so ready to go again. So back to the story......I knew that to go on this trip that I needed to have a passport, obviously. And I actually have a passport that I got when I went to Europe in high school. But alas, it is in my maiden name, Hansen, so I found out that in order to get a new passport with my married name I had to send in my old passport with a certified copy of my marriage certificate. Ok, I say to myself, I have a document in my files that I am pretty sure is some kind of marriage certificate or file of some sort. Well, not so. (Sidenote-I am sort of an unorganized individual, especially when it comes to paperwork.) I got online and went to the site of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, or whatever came up when I googled kansas marriage certificates and promptly ordered one of these certified copies, and also bent over and paid the extra money to have it shipped pronto to mi casa because once I get it in the mail I have to send it to the passport agency to get the new passport, and apparently that takes 4-6 weeks! Whew! What the h?! what is the deal with our family and passport problems (we had a HUGELY crappy thing happen a couple years ago when my husband tried to get his passport, i don't even want to share because it will get me all kinds of worked up)!! Again, back to the story......SO on Saturday we receive a letter in the mail from the Kansas Board of whatever and they proceed to let us know that they have NO RECORD OF OUR MARRIAGE on file. So as I am flipping out I go and look at that document that I have in the file and......are you ready for this......it is actually our original marriage license that was NEVER FILED!!! SO BASICALLY WE WERE NEVER LEGALLY MARRIED! Can you freakin believe it?? And I am not done yet. First thing this morning I call the Kansas Board of whatever and ask them what I need to do to clear up this little problem, praying that they aren't going to make us go to the courthouse and get remarried. I just can't believe we haven't figured this out before now, HOW could this have happened? So the lady was very nice and said that all I had to do was take the license that we had to the courthouse of the county where we were married, and they would file it there, and they would send it to Topeka to the Kansas board of whatever. So I take all three kids to the county courthouse (yeah, picture that, it was funny) and they are very nice there too, and I think everything is going to be ok, until the lady looks at my license and says that the officiating pastor of our wedding (who happens to be my brother-in-law) signed the license in the wrong box on the license and didn't include the date of our wedding, which is the one piece of information that they absolutely needed in order to file the license. IS GOD MAD AT ME?? WHY??? So I call my brother in law and am on the way to his house to get him to resign and date this friggin license so that I can then take it back to the Johnson County courthouse and file it there, and then drive to Topeka to file it there......yes, this all really happened!.....and on the way I get a call from our youth pastor, James, and he tells me that the trip to Jamaica is canceled, so I really don't need the passport after all!! SO to end this totally crazy story, the license is now filed, and thankfully they are going to backdate it to the date of our real wedding so we won't have to get remarried. Done. I am so done. So now Rich and I just can't stop laughing about this whole thing and i'm sure our friends will never let us iive it down. So that is my story-feel free to comment and give me a hard time, i probably deserve it!

2008-01-27T12:13:00.000-08:00

So the week has just flown by and of course I am just now posting almost a week later, I guess that is just me...perpetually late. Anyways, we had a really good week this week, and I am happy to say that I think my attitude has really changed in regard to working out. I went to the gym 3 days this week and I truly enjoyed myself. I think a huge part of it was that the gym gives you a hour with a personal trainer as part of your membership and I had that first, and he helped me so much to set some really good goals for my workout plan and my nutrition, and he showed me some really good excercises to help me start out. Another good part is that two of my best friends belong to the gym too, and it really is such an encouragement to workout with a friend. It makes such a huge difference to have that person there to give you ideas of excercises, encourage you, and just to talk with so the time goes by faster. So I really want to keep up this commitment to my goal of better health, and I would appreciate any help or advice if anyone has it, and even if it is just a friend asking me if i am finding the time to get to the gym, that would be such a huge help, i know i can't do this alone.

The week ended last night with the Daddy Daughter dance at our church. This is the second year that our church has done one of these, and it is just the cutest and most awesome thing for the little girls. So Rich took Grace.....she has literally been talking about this for over a month!.......and for the second year in a row, my dad has asked my sister and I to go to the dance with him. At first you may think that my sister and I are just a little old to be going to this event......(and she is even a little older than me)........but I actually feel so lucky that I have the opportunity to have a special night with my dad where i get to get dressed up in a pretty dress......(which by the way I got the most AMAZING dress from White House, Black Market and it was.....$24!!!!....I know, can you believe it???).......spend some awesome quality time over yummy dinner at P.F.Chang's, and just soak in the time with my daddy that I love so much. And I know that we probably wouldn't take that opportunity to do all of that if it weren't for the dance. So I know that you are probably expecting me to post some pictures of this event, but unfortunately I left my camera at home, and Rich didn't get any captured either, except one of the two of them at the end of the night sitting in our kitchen, so here is that one, and next year I am vowing to get some better pictures. There is just nothing like a special date night with daddy!

2008-01-21T19:34:00.000-08:00

Today was a pretty relaxing day. Cole and Grace are really into playing games right now. They got this box for Christmas that has sets of cards for Old Maid, Crazy Eights, Go Fish, and Memory. Their favorite so far is Crazy Eights, Cole will play that game all day long! It is especially good for me when Grace ande Cole will play during the day by themselves, and it is so cute to listen in on them and hear the funny things that they say to one another while they are playing. Poor Camryn, she just isn't to the age yet that she can play so she gets yelled at quite a bit by the other two for messing up their game. I am sure she will be able to join in soon enough. I am so thankful for how well my kids play together, sometimes I am just amazed at how they will play for hours going back and forth between their rooms and trying on all kinds of dress-up clothes, I really should take more pictures because it is especially funny what the girls can convince Cole to dress in!

So Rich and I are officially members of a gym as of tonight. We have debated about getting a membership somewhere for most of our marriage, but have never done it, mainly because of the financial side of course, but we finally have decided that this is something we really want and we are going to make it a priority to get ourselves into shape. I am really excited, but also nervous. You know when you put off setting goals for yourself because you don't want to fail and you don't want others to know because you just might have to see them through?? Well, I have totally done that with my fitness goals for this year. To be just totally honest I have not really worked out at all my entire life. I just don't really like to excercise. I have always wanted to like it, and Rich is completely the opposite, he doesn't feel like himself unless he is working out, so I have always felt guilty because I didn't like it more. And you know how they say that when you excercise you're supposed to create those endorphin thingies that make you feel all good inside?? Well, somehow I don't think I have those, because it just doesn't happen for me! SO, all to say that this is a big step for me because I really do need to be working out. My youngest child is over 2 now so I really can't use pregnancy or having a baby as an excuse anymore (shoot!) and goodness knows having three kids in five years has done some damage on the body. And the membership is paid for now, so there is no more excuses. I am going to commit to making this a priority!! So if anyone wants to join me in the journey to a more healthier you, give me a holler and we can lament together when we are sore and encourage one another to get back in there!

Last of all I am sooooo excited because I just heard from my best friend Lisa in Arizona, and her and her husband Seth are expecting their first child this June, and they found out today that it is a girl!!!! Congratulations Seth and Lisa I am so excited to meet her!!!

Congrats Baby!

2008-01-18T19:55:00.000-08:00

So a few weeks ago I shared with you all about Rich passing his test in order to be certified as an EMT. Well, that was actually the last step in about 2 years worth of school and training. So tonight we had a congratulations get-together for Rich to celebrate all the hard work and sacrifice. It was at Jack Stack Barbecue (Rich's fav) with family and friends. Rich is so driven, and incredibly smart, and he is going to be the best (and hottest) firefighter ever!! I have said it before but I am sooooo proud of him for all that he has accomplished, and I am truly the luckiest woman in the world to get to be his wife. Rich has this personality that just instantly draws people to him, and he is completely unpretentious, giving, and hilarious. I love you so much baby and can't say enough how proud of you I am! Thank you so much family and friends for all your support and all the encouragement and love that you have given to Rich and I. We love you!

I know, almost a whole week.....

2008-01-14T10:50:00.000-08:00

I know, it's been almost a whole week since I posted. I am really, really going to try to stay more current on my posts. It has been a pretty quiet week this week because Grace and Cole FINALLY went back to school! I know that I am new to the whole school schedule, but I am really feeling like that Christmas break is soooo long! Especially that last week after New Year's when there isn't all the family get-togethers and such, and it could be that it's just my kids, but they both love school so much, and they do really well with the routine of it all, so it is so nice to get back to that. It is also really nice to have two mornings a week with just Camryn. She is so different than the other two, she has so much attitude and is sooo outspoken with that attitude. She has had like twice the amount of spankings since she was about 18 months than the other two did. I know it is so good for me to have one on one time with her right now. So last Friday we started bible study again, and it has just been so amazing already. We are doing Beth Moore's study Jesus the One and Only, and this is my second time doing it. The first time was a couple of years ago, and at first I was hesitant about doing it again, but watching the first video changed my mind, and I am so excited to go through and do it again at a different time in my life and see what God has for me this time. And anyways, you can never get enough of studying Jesus' life, right?? And this week we are starting MOPS back up, YES!! Talk about a long Christmas break, our last meeting was on December 3, and I miss it so much.

So over the Christmas break my parents got me a this hutch that my friend Emily was selling, and so we got rid of our huge desk that was taking up so much of our family room, and my amazing husband set up and organized the whole thing after I went to bed one night with all of my stamping and scrapbooking supplies!!! It looks so amazing, and there is a desk that slides our for me to work on, and the best thing is, the doors can close and it just looks like a beautiful cabinet! Oh, the things that get me excited! Anyways, because of this new workspace and organization I feel compelled to make and post some more cards, and I also just got a bunch of new supplies with some Christmas money. So here is the first card that I made the other day. I got the textured cardstock for the first time, and I just love it so much. And Amy thanks for the tip about groovy guava and tempting turquoise, it looks so good. Peace out!!

Thank you God for Amazing Girlfriends!

2008-01-08T08:36:00.000-08:00

i am so blessed with such amazing friends. last night we had a farewell dinner for emily because she is indeed moving away this friday. as i was driving home (and crying) I was just praying out loud in my car and thanking God for the amazing friends that He has blessed me with. I know that my friendship with emily is far from over, and i am so excited to go visit her in orlando, and I also know that God will provide new amazing friends for her there. i know that the next few weeks for her will be exciting and scary, and sometimes lonely, but I think it will also be a time of growing closer to God and leaning on Him for strength. Love you Emily!

2008-01-04T14:07:00.000-08:00

So, because I took a break from blogging over Christmas break, I thought I would share with you some pics of the good times that we had with all of our family. The kids received more gifts than should ever be received and I am still trying to organize all of them, but it was so much fun and we are so grateful to our family for how gracious that they are to us. These first few are of the Saturday before Christmas when we had our celebration with the Hansen family. It is an all-day affair but it is always such a special day with lots of memories (and presents...goodness!)

This is my grandpa Hansen and his wife, Marilyn, aren't they such a beautiful couple??

Camryn has this HUGE thing for my brother-in-law, Joe, she just won't leave his side, much to the disappointment of my sister, Aunt Lindsay, who always wants to hold her!

Camryn got this awesome tricycle from my parents, I can't wait till the weather is warmer outside so she start riding it!

Is this toy for Cole or for daddy??? Grace made this smowman at school for my parents and she was so proud of it!

And here are some pics of the kiddos in front of the tree on Christmas Eve

And finally, Christmas morning we spent here with just us, then we headed over to Rich's parents for a wonderful meal and some great family time. There are 12 grandkids on his side, the oldest is 20 and the other 11 are ages 10, 10, 9, 8, 7, 5, 5, 4, 3, 2, and the newest addition is one week old tomorrow! It is soooooo much fun to get all the cousins together, they have such a blast!!!

Another Year Gone....

2008-01-01T15:53:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone!! So it has been a very relaxing couple of days for us. I love having Rich home for a few days. Yesterday I did something that I have wanted to do for awhile, and my friend Emily finally convinced me to just do it.....I got my nose pierced! Yep, Em and I went down to Westport and I did it, and it was really fun, and not TOO painful. Then last night we went out to dinner with two of our favorite couples, the Cheneys and the Andersons, to one of our favorite restaurants, Texas Roadhouse! It was delicious food, and even better company. I can't believe it is getting so close to when the Andersons leave us :( .......when she told me they were moving it seemed like we would have quite a bit of time, but it has really gone so fast! Rich and I came home last night and cuddled up on the couch and watched a movie together to ring in the new year. I have been really trying to come up with some good resolutions that are realistic, but are also going to challenge and stretch me. Cause that is what it is all about right? How can I grow as a mom, wife, friend, child of God in the next year? So I will give a resolution for each of these roles, that are really only a few of the many that I fill.

1. As a mom I resolve to do much better at listening to my children, and really hear what they are saying-they have such an amazing perspective, and really good senses of humor too! I know how much they value my attention and opinion right now, and I know that that isn't going to last forever.

2. As a wife I resolve to do everything I can to support Rich in this new journey that he is starting on. First of all to just constantly be covering him in prayer. And then to strive to create a home that is always a safe and fun place to come home to so that no matter what kind of day he has had, he is excited to come home.

3. As a friend I resolve to open up my home and inviting new friends as well as old friends over more often. Growing up my parents always invited people over for dinner, especially after church on Sunday, and I really want to reach out to newer people at our church and make some new friends, as well as having lots of get togethers with those really close friends.

4. And finally as a child of God, the most important role that I have here on earth, I resolve to stay committed to spending time with God, especially in the Word. I am pretty good about reading when I am involved in a bible study, but outside of that I am not reading like I should, so I am going to do the plan where I read through the Bible in a year so that I have a plan outside of a bible study.

These are my resolutions for 2008. I know that you all who are my friends and family that I see often can help me keep these.

Back in the Blogging World

2007-12-30T12:18:00.000-08:00

Hello all! I obviously have been taking a break from blogging lately. I didn't expect the break to be so long, but it was definitely good to just take the opportunity to not be on the computer so much, because as I have said before I can get kind of obsessed with the blogging world, and checking everyone's blogs, and posting, and it has been hard, but very good to be away from that for a time. So, there are so many things that I want to share about since I last posted, but what prompted me to start posting again today was that I went to church this morning and we had a guest speaker there who is a friend of ours, Mike Ackerman. He and his wife, Erin, who I was in youth group with and was very good friends with in high school, are getting ready to move to Japan in a few weeks to do missions there. If any of you know me very well, you know that missions is something that is so close to my heart. When I was about ten was the first time that God got my attention regarding missions, when my mom went to visit some of my parent's friends who were missionaries in Kenya, Africa. When she came home from that trip she showed me all the pictures and I just cried over them. It was something that I had never felt before then, and I didn't know it then or understand it, but it was just the beginning of what God was doing in my heart and how missions would be a big part of that. Since then I have taken 3 different missions trips to different places, and each one has reaffirmed for me that God has something planned for me related to missions. I am not quite sure what that is yet, but He definitely won't let me forget it. When I first met Rich and he and I were getting to know each other he shared with me that he felt like God had called him to do something with missions before I ever shared with him the same thing about me, and so that was definitely an encouragement to me. Right now he and I serve on the extension ministries team at our church, and we really enjoy keeping up with the missionaries that our church partners with, and just trying to stay open to that global perspective that is so difficult to keep. We get so wrapped up in our own little worlds all the time, especially in this stage of life that it is so difficult to feel connected and remember that our God is SOOOO big, and He is working everywhere, and there are so many people who don't know Him, and have not even heard about Him! Mike did such an awesome job of conveying that message this morning. His message was titled "Gotta Go" and he gave three reasons why we all have to go. Our church usually puts its messages online so you can listen to them if you missed church, and I totally encourage all of you to go to this link and click on the place where it has the messages and listen to this message, because it was something I think that everyone should hear. I am so excited to see what God has in store for me and my family sometime in the future regarding missions and possibly physically going somewhere to serve in missions, but the real challenge continues to be for me to keep praying about how God wants me to be involved right now in His global kingdom and sharing the good news of His mercy and grace with all those who don't know. This was just so on my heart today that I couldn't wait another day to share with you all, so thanks for listening and it is good to be back in the blogging world! Stay tuned for some more changes regarding the layout of my blog, I thought it was definitely time to change it up a bit, what with it being almost a new year and all.......can you believe it is almost 2008??? Another year is almost gone!!! But I love the freshness that a new year brings. I am excited to hear from all of you about your Christmas season, and all that you have been up to lately!

2007-12-18T12:42:00.000-08:00

So, sorry to keep you waiting, but we had quite a busy weekend. RICH PASSED THE TEST! It is very exciting, and we are so close to starting the next process, which is the whole applying/interviewing process, which could take as little as three months all the way up to six months. And like with any decision we will really be watching for God's leading and trusting him to show us what job he wants us to take. I know a lot of my friends have made some tough decisions regarding their husband's jobs, but I love that all of them have been great examples of trusting God and submitting to their husband's leadership. Sometimes that is so hard to do, but it is what God calls us to do as wives. Our support and love for our husbands is so important to them.

Well, like everyone else i am sure, this week is pretty crazy. I am really trying to slow down and breath and savor each moment leading up to Christmas, because it used to be that it went so slow in the days and weeks before Christmas, but now it seems to speed by faster and faster, and then it's over, and we are cleaning up and we just have the memories. My friend, Jen, posted some awesome thoughts a couple of days ago about time that I am still thinking about. She talked about how invaluable time is, and what a gift from God each day is. So I am really trying to savor these special days of school Christmas parties, family get-togethers and birthday parties, and all the preparation and shopping for the big day. A word that keeps coming up for me that represents what this season is all about is peace. For my Christmas cards I knew that I wanted to use a certain stamp that had the word peace, because I think that Satan really tries hard to rob us of the peace that God gave us through Jesus, especially in this season. And he may try to do it through the kids being extra crazy because of all the excitement and lugging them around to one hundred different errands, or it may be the financial pressure of trying to keep up with buying presents, or it may be all the extra extended family time with people who you might not choose to be with if they weren't your family. And of course there is the combination of all of these things that all rob us of our peace. I can tell you that for me this year Satan used those darn Christmas cards to do it for me. Even as I am stamping the word peace (like 800 times!) I am feeling like i am going to loose it, because they have been so much work. But in the end it is the work that is put in to them that is the reason that I love to make my own cards, because they mean so much more, at least to me......oh, the irony! I love that in Isaiah one of the names for Jesus is Prince of Peace. He came to bring us peace, even amidst growing chaos around us, and I think it so important to show those around us His peace, even though so far I don't think I have done a very good job of it.

I know that I haven't posted pictures of the kids or any cards lately, but I will really try to do more of that in the next couple of posts. I will post a picture of my Christmas card here in a few days after most people who I am sending it to have gotten it. Hope you are all having a great week!

Prayer Needed

2007-12-14T16:26:00.000-08:00

OK, so I wanted to ask all of you friends and family for a special favor-to pray for my husband, Rich tomorrow. He is taking a test at 8:00am tomorrow morning in Topeka, KS in order to be certified to be an EMT. If you know our situation very well you know that Rich is training to be a fireman, a dream that he has had his whole life, and this is basically the last step that he needs in order to start applying to departments to get a job. He has been in a class all semester at Johnson County Community College three nights a week, and it has been a lot of work, but I am SOOO proud of him. He really is so incredible and I have all the confidence in the world that he has the knowledge that he needs to do awesome on the test, but it is a very HUGE deal in our world. He just puts so much pressure on himself, and he is a big perfectionist when it comes to work and school, so all of that stress and pressure is really taking a toll on him. So we would really covet your prayers on this big important day in our family. Thank you so much!

2007-12-13T16:48:00.000-08:00

Here are some pics that my friend, Jen took of my kiddos. Her parents own an ice cream store in Olathe that is AMAZING called Silas & Maddy's and so she took some pics of the kids eating ice cream, of course! So, do i not have talented friends?? I mean these pictures are stinkin' good, and i don't think it is just because they are of my kids! So, Jen, thank you so much for the precious pics and I miss you SOOOO much!!

Today we were at home all day again, this time due to a sick child. Cole was up all night throwing up, and then of course he woke up this morning as healthy as can be and wanting to act as if he wasn't sick. He couldn't go to school so he was upset about that, and i wouldn't let him eat anything except some chicken soup and crackers for lunch, and he was REALLY upset about that. So, it was a great day! I hate trying to keep the girls away from him all day, and trying to keep him still to just rest is nearly impossible. Well, i don't really have much else for today, rich is going to let me get out of the house for a while now that he is home, so i am going to take advantage of that!

Sucky weather and Fun Christmas Quiz

2007-12-11T13:27:00.000-08:00

OH, the cabin fever! I just cannot stand being cooped up in the house all day! This weather is so bad! So school was canceled today, of course, and it has rained all day long. Poor Rich, I just hate it when he has to work on days like this because I know he is just miserable. It didn't even end up to be as bad as they were predicting it to be, the roads are just fine, it is just stinking cold and rainy and ice is covering all of the trees. I guess there are places all over the midwest where it is really bad, and so many people don't have power, so I am so thankful that we don't have any of that. So since I had a lot of extra time on my hands I thought I would fill out this fun little questionnaire, because I absolutely love reading these when my friends send them to me, because I love getting to know fun things about them that i might not know. But all my friends give me a hard time because I am notorious for being the person who never replies back. So here is a little questionnaire that I received recently that I actually took the time to fill out.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper, it is so much more fun to open that way...and cheaper too!
2. REAL OR FAKE TREE? Fake.....I mean, come on..... the real ones are purely for people who live in really beautiful places that they can go and cut their own tree down. If you live in Kansas it is pretty ridiculous, in my opinion, to go to all the trouble of hauling a live tree home from the nursery or grocery store parking lot and deal with the watering and sweeping up of all the needles. Not to mention the fact that the trees are stinkin expensive and they are serious fire hazards, so Rich would never allow that.
3. When do you put up the tree? I posted a while back that I am definitely an advocate of waiting till after Thanksgiving to put the Christmas decorations up because I think it just takes away from Thanksgiving, and I don't like the idea that businesses try to capitalize on a longer Christmas season.
4. When do you take the tree down? Usually pretty soon because I don't have a really big house at all and it always feels so good to put away all of the decorations and do a really good cleaning and then it always feels like our place has gotten bigger.
5. Do you like egg nog? Yes, but not the non-alcoholic version, give me the good stuff :)
6. Favorite gift received as a child? I got a dog when I was about 7, my sister and I had asked our parents for one for years, and they finally gave in. It was a total surprise, and I will always remember that Christmas.
7. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes… I actually have two, one that is the Fisher Price one, and it is actually missing most of the parts, and the other one is a beautiful, but breakable one that my parents bought for Grace on her first Christmas, and I love it but I don't have anywhere to put it where my kids can't reach it. :(
8. Hardest person to buy for? My husband.....I am a total significant gift giver and it is so hard to keep coming up with really significant gifts, and he is totally the kind of guy that significance is lost on him, he is so easily pleased, and it is also hard to surprise him with anything, he always finds out what i am getting him.
9. Easiest person to buy for? My kids, they love everything, and they also want everything, which we are trying to work on....
10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? i don't think i ever received a gift i didn't like!
11. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail, definitely, but I also hand deliver quite a few.
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? White Christmas, it is an old movie musical, and i absolutely love to watch it and sing along!
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Usually the week before, and most of it we do only days before
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? no,i don't think so, like i said i always like to give really significant gifts
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Ham from Honeybaked Ham, and any kind of cookies or sweets, i have a HUGE sweet tooth.
16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? Clear lights
17. Favorite Christmas song? Strange Way to Save the World, or Breath of Heaven
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? All of my family is here, so I am lucky that I don't have to travel
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? On Dasher, on Dancer, on Prancer, on Vixon, on Comet, on Cupid, on Donnor & Blitzen, and of course, Rudolph
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? star
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas Morning, but I do have the kids open one package on Christmas Eve that is pj's that I have them wear that night.
22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? That some people forget the REAL reason for Christmas. :(
23. What I love most about Christmas? The wonder and magic that is found in every aspect of the season, and being with family and treasuring every minute of it all.

So, there you go, and any of you who are feeling ambitious, I would love it if you did this on your posts so I could learn a little about you!!

2007-12-09T15:39:00.000-08:00

Well, we are in day 2 of a pretty nasty snow/ice, wintry mix type storm. It snowed on Thursday and it was really beautiful coming down, and the kids just loved it. Then Friday it was just really cold. Then Saturday we woke up and there was a sheet of ice over everything. The roads weren't too bad, but it was bitter cold and i almost broke my leg trying to get to our car because our driveway was so slick! Then today I had to be at church early and it wasn't so bad then, just really really cold, but then during church it started raining ice again. Now I don't usually mind winter, it's not my favorite season, but i usually don't mind it. But this, this sucks! I am pretty much done with this! I am really hoping that it isn't a sign of how this winter is going to be!

In better news, church was really awesome this morning. It was really too bad that the weather was so bad because there was so many people not there. I sang in the choir, which I love doing, and the message was so good, and really got me thinking. So I thought I would share some of these thoughts with you.

First of all, let me just say that one of my favorite things about the Christmas story has always been the mystery and wonder that surround it. The idea that God would become a baby? That a 14-16 year old, poor, simple virgin would be chosen to be the mother of the son of God? That God would have Jesus, the king of all kings, the light of the world, be born in a dirty, smelly stable? That the savior of the world, the messiah that the people of Israel had been waiting for for hundreds of years would be born in a quiet cave in a seemingly worthless city to only an audience of animals??? For a lot of people these questions might be a barrier for them to believe that the story is real. But for me, these questions have always made me all the more drawn to the whole thing, and I actually love the strangeness of it all. Today Brian talked about how God becoming man, and all the seemingly strange details surrounding the story were purposed by God in order for Him to make a very real and relatable picture for us to remember. He talked about how God being born as a baby, growing up in a real home with a father and a mother was maybe partly in order to prove to us that he really can understand everything that we have ever gone through. Obviously being a mom, I am most intrigued by all that Mary went through. Brian mentioned a point this morning that really resonated with me, and I thought of many of my friends too. He talked about how we as women have such high expectations of everything (true??), and especially surrounding the birth of our children. Of course there are so many more things to have expectations about now than there was then, like a vaginal birth vs. a c-section, drugs vs. natural birth, which hospital we will give birth in, all the way down to who we will choose to be in the room for us during the birth. And we are usually pretty demanding about those expectations, and when they aren't met we are pretty dissappointed. But Brian asked the question of how Mary must have felt about the circumstances surrounding Jesus' birth. I mean she may not have had as many things to have expectations about, but she was giving birth to God's son!! I mean she must have had some expectations of what it was going to be like! And I just can't imagine that how it happened was at all what she had pictured. But overall throughout the Bible Mary is always portrayed as a girl of simple, but great faith. I guess I have a lot to learn from her because I don't know that I would have been as OK as I am now with the strangeness of it all if I had been the one giving birth in a barn. I have to imagine though, that when it says she treasured up everything and pondered it, she had to have been having a little heart to heart with God about what He must have been thinking, if you know what I mean!!

Anyways, I just thought I would share some of my thoughts with you today. Hope you have a good week, and I will try to not go so long between posts this time!

MOPS and Beth Moore

2007-12-05T13:19:00.000-08:00

So obviously tis the season for busyness! Sorry, my blogger-obsessed friends, that it has been so long since my last post, things have been a little crazy the last couple of days. This morning we had our last meeting of the semester for my MOPS group. It was also the Christmas meeting and we did a "Steering Team's Favorite Things" theme where all of the leadership team picked a favorite thing and then we explained to the moms why it was our favorite thing and then got to give one little one to every mom! We had tons of other giveaways too, and it took SO much work, but it was worth every bit of it because it turned out to be SO fun! All the moms had such a good time and I think they went away feeling pampered, and also, hopefully, a little more aware of what this Christmas season is all about, which is exactly what I wanted. My favorite thing that i brought was.....cheesecake!! I made it using a recipe from the Kraft Food and Family magazine and it was delicious!! I am so thankful for all the other moms on the steering team because without them our MOPS group would not be what it is. One sad thing about this morning was that it was one of my best friend, Emily's, last MOPS meeting. She is going to be moving to Orlando, Florida! It is really hard for me to imagine my life here without her, but I know that God has big plans for her there. And it is actually thanks to her that this blog was even started because her blog inspired me and lots of my other friends to start our blogs. And now that is ironically going to be the best way for all of us to stay in touch after she moves away, so cool how God works!

So, I found the coolest thing the other day! Most of you who know me know that I am sort of a geek when it comes to bible study. I LOVE to really study God's word with things like Greek and Hebrew word studies, cross referencing, and looking at every different translation that I can. So one of my favorite authors and bible study teachers is Beth Moore. Besides having some of the best bible studies that I have ever done, I just basically LOVE Beth. She is truly a fascinating woman of God. She is hilarious and she has the most infectious love for God and His Word that I have yet to find. SO it was so cool for me when my friend, Alli, told me that Living Proof Ministries, the ministry that Beth is a part of, has a blog!!!! And Beth and her two daughters Melissa and are the contributors to this blog!!! For me, this was very exciting. If any one else is a Beth groupie like me Here is the link to the blog.

I am really going to have to watch the time that I am spending online. Sometimes I go for days without spending a lot of time on, and then once I get back on it immediately sucks me back in, and I could literally spend hours blog surfing! So especially at this time of year I really need to make sure that my kids are my first priority, and that I am demonstrating that with my actions, and how much time i spend online. So with that, I must be leaving, we have youth group tonight and I am very excited!

Good Songs and Chick-Fil-A

2007-11-29T14:01:00.000-08:00

hey all! I have a couple of things to share in my post today. First of all I just have to tell you all about two new songs that I have heard in the last week that have really impacted me. I have always loved music and I really believe that God uses music and lyrics to speak to me regularly. So this week I was listening to Calvary 88.5 and they played two songs which both moved me to tears. The first one is a new Christmas song by this artist named Mandisa. She was actually a contestant on a season of American Idol and is now a Christian artist. The song is a duet with Matthew West, and it is called "Christmas Makes me Cry" I know it sounds like kind of a depressing title, but this song has the most amazing lyrics that just totally put into perspective the amazing blessings that most of us have during this time of year. The other song that has become a new favorite of mine is by the artist that I have talked about before on my blog and I am actually going to see her in concert tonight....Sara Groves. The song is called "How is it Between Us?" This song totally speaks to how we as moms and wives get so busy doing so many things and God so often gets left out of our days, and then we are left feeling empty. It is just a simple song that has such an awesome message. So I just thought i would share those with you so you can hopefully hear them in the next few weeks.

The other thing I wanted to share with you all is about Chick-Fil-A. So if you know me very well you know that I LOVE this place! I am usually there at least once a week. Besides having the best chicken ever, they are just a company built on integrity. The CEO of chick-fil-a is a Christian man who travels around speaking at different events, and most of you know that they are one of only a few businesses left that doesn't open on Sundays. Well, last week my mom and I were eating there and Camryn fell backward in a chair and split her head open. It was pretty bad and there was a lot of blood, but she turned out to be ok, and it has healed up pretty well. But James, the owner of the Olathe branch, was SO awesome that day, helping us however he could and then he invited me and the kids to come in for a free meal just to let us have a more "positive" experience, even though it wasn't their fault at all. So we went today for our free meal and they basically rolled out the red carpet for me and totally served me the whole time! It was so awesome! So I just wanted to send out an extra plug for you all to go to chick-fil-a because i think they are the best!!

2007-11-26T10:44:00.000-08:00

So it is officially the Christmas season! Don't get me wrong, I LOVE this time of year. But I just really don't like the idea of starting with all the Christmas stuff before Thanksgiving. I think it takes away from Thanksgiving, plus most of what the big business and media is trying to do by starting Christmas music and other things earlier is to get as much money out of the consumer as possible. Because we all know Christmas is all about buying and receiving gifts, right??!! WRONG! SO, that is my little rant for the day. All to say that MY Christmas season has officially begun! And so I decided to change up the blog to reflect the season. I LOVE Christmas music. It is even hard for me to wait till now to pull out the Christmas music to listen to. I am going to a Christmas concert this thursday with two of my favorite artists, Bebo Norman and Sara Groves, so I am really excited about that!
Well, we had a great time with our family for Thanksgiving. Saturday we had a Thanksgiving celebration with my family in Wichita. I drove down Saturday morning with my sister and the kids. Rich stayed here because he had worked all night at a hospital as part of his class. It was a really awesome time for me to spend with my sister. It is so hard for us to get together, and lately I have really been missing her, so it was much needed time with her in the car just talking. We drove back that evening, and the kids actually did really good, they slept almost all the way home.
So, it is Monday again. Isn't it so much fun to try and get your kids back into the routine after a long break?? Getting Grace to school on time was such a chore this morning. She is just so slow in the mornings. All they want to do is watch cartoons, and meanwhile I am trying to loudly encourage them to get their clothes on and eat their breakfast. Oh, so much fun. And of course I have like 10 loads of laundry to do today, Oh the joy! We have the house pretty much totally decorated, but this is going to be the first year that we put lights on the outside of our house. My friend Allyson and I worked together to come up with a plan to have our husbands help each other put up the lights so that maybe it would actually get done, so we will see. Well, the kids have been asking me to play outside since grace got home from school so i guess i better let them play for awhile and enjoy this great weather while it lasts! See you soon!

Give Thanks!

2007-11-22T15:58:00.000-08:00

Enter his gates with Thanksgiving,
And his courts with praise.
Give thanks to Him; bless His name.
For the Lord is good;
His lovingkindness is everlasting,
And his faithfulness to all generations.

Psalm 100:4-5

Well, Happy Thanksgiving to you all! We had a wonderful night spent at my husband's grandparent's farm last night where 10 adults and 9 children had a slumber party of sorts. All the kids slept in one room on the floor in sleeping bags, and the rest of us stayed up and played cards and then slept throughout the house on air mattresses. We really didn't get much sleep at all, but it was very fun and the kids of course had a blast with all their cousins. Then we had an amazing meal today with close to 50 people. It was so much fun and many memories were made. I hope all of you had an awesome day with your families and remembered to give thanks to the God who pours out blessings on his children. Here are three things among so many that I am thankful for today.

1. The men and women who are serving our country in the armed services so we can have the freedom to celebrate holidays like today.

2. Of course my family-it is so easy to take for granted being able to share a hot, bountiful meal with people you love, while so many in this country are alone and hungry today.

3. Pumpkin pie, mashed potatoes, stuffing, rolls, etc, etc, etc......(yummm, I am getting hungry again!)

2007-11-19T14:40:00.000-08:00

So it is Thanksgiving week! First of all, what is with the weather?! This is craziness! Saturday and today were sooo beautiful! But, then Gary Lezac the weatherman says that it is probably going to snow on Wednesday night and on Thursday! Well, that is Kansas for you! So, our weekend was busy as usual. The kids played outside for most of the day on Saturday while I went to a Stampin Up Christmas card party at my friend Jenn's house. It was, of course, so fun as all Stampin Up parties are, and we made some really cool stuff. Then on Saturday night I got to go out for a girl's night with all of my best girl friends from high school and college. One of my friends, Jen, moved to Virginia in July, and she was back in town so I got to see her and hang out and it was soooo fun! We went to P.F.Chang's on the plaza (YUUUUMMMMM!) and then one of my friends, Brooke, her parents live on a condo off the plaza which has a room upstairs where we just got to sit and talk and hang out. It was just such a great time with friends who I don't get to see a lot!
Yesterday was very relaxing, just hanging out...watching the chiefs lose...again!!Oh well, I did watch the Amazing Race and my favorite couple won, so that helped!

So, today the exciting news is that Camryn has gone potty in her potty 3 times!!!! Once yesterday and two times today!! We are on our way to being diaper free!!!!!
I am so proud of her and I took this picture of her sitting on her potty, and i tried to keep it decent. We are so proud of her!

On my friend Jenn's blog she posts three reasons that she is thankful on every post, and it is just the coolest thing to read all the things because it really shows how God does bless us so much each day, even on those days that it is harder to find something. So in honor of Thanksgiving week I will be posting three things every day that i post this week. So here they are:

1. God's amazing heart of mercy (If you were at church yesterday you know)

2. My girl friends from high school who have been with me through so much and whose friendships I treasure more than they know. I love you girls!

3. The gorgeous weather that we have had this weekend!

Rough Day

2007-11-16T13:52:00.001-08:00

So, today hasn't been the greatest day. OK, honestly, it's been pretty crappy. Some of the reason why it isn't great have to do with my own choices and stupidity, like the fact that I have not been smart or careful at all about how much i have been spending lately and so we are really suffering the consequences of that. And I have just said some things today to different people that in hindsight I should not have said, and am now worrying over what the consequences of that will be and how to apologize for my own stupidity. But some of it has been just stuff that happens, like Camryn getting bitten on the face by another child today while she was in childcare for my bible study, and since then she has just been super crabby all day long.(not like i don't blame her). It just has been a rough day. So, tonight I really hope to go over to one of my friend's houses to do some scrapbooking to relieve some of the tension. We'll have to see what my husband says. I am glad it is Friday. So I am sorry to be a downer today, it's just been that kind of a day. oh, well, we all have them. Hopefully I will be in better spirits for the next post. See you soon!

New Baby Card

2007-11-13T16:02:00.000-08:00

This is a baby card that I have had made for about a week now for one of my best friends, Jeanna.(The picture is not that good because I took it with my cell phone instead of my camera, because my camera is not working right now.)She just had her third child today, Lucy Caron Lichtenberger, at 2:11pm today and I hear she is beautiful just like her mom! Jeanna and her husband James have been really awesome mentors and friends to us over the past year. They are also the leaders of our small group, and James is in charge of the student ministry at our church. So we get to see them a lot, which i love. I have really been praying for Jeanna and the delivery of Lucy, so praise God that everything ended up good and now they have a beautiful new addition to their already beautiful family! I can't wait to meet her!
Other than that news today has been pretty ordinary. But tonight is going to be really good because I usually work at Old Navy every Tuesday night, but tonight they didn't schedule me and so I am going to instead go to Borders and just spend a much needed extended time doing my bible study. I LOVE just going to Borders and sitting in the coffee shop and reading. I used to do this all the time pre children...ahhhh, how life changes......for the better, of course, just different. so, catch you all later!

2007-11-12T10:15:00.000-08:00

OK, so I am not so good at posting over the weekends. This weekend I worked a lot at Old Navy. It is definitely that time of year, because it is getting so busy. I really like working when it is like that though because unlike so many who work in the retail world, my goal is to just spread the Spirit of Jesus to every person who i see while i am working even is that is just through a smile. I just can't stand it when i am out somewhere and people have the worst attitudes,especially during the Christmas season. i know it can get stressful as it is busier, but I am going to try my best to be as positive as I can even on the busiest days.

Saturday night after I got home from work Rich told me that Camryn had thrown up like four times that evening and then she continued to be sick through Sunday morning so I stayed home from church with all the kids just in case they got sick too. Almost all of my friends have had this bug going in their families in the last couple of weeks, and I thought we were going to avoid it ,but no such luck. I am just praying that no one else gets it, especially Rich. I don't know why but I would rather be sick than for him to get sick. I just need him to be well, and he has so much more to be doing right now anyway with school and work.

So I know that most of my friends have posted this on their blogs today, but it is just so heavy on so many of our hearts today and the more people who read about it and say a prayer, the better. A couple at my church had a baby boy, Evan Michael, about a week ago and soon after he was born they discovered he had a heart condition. He has been at Children'g Mercy hospital in the NICU since he was born and he is undergoing open heart surgery to correct the problem this morning. The doctors say that he is a prime candidate for the surgery and that he has a 95% chance of coming through the surgery, but even so, it is going to be a long road to recovery, and their family could use all the prayers they can get. I have felt so connected to all of my friends and church family today because I know that we are all united in prayer today for the Vonmoss family. It is such a powerful thing to know that you are only one of such a huge number of people lifting up something in prayer, but that each prayer is absolutely heard by God and is so significant. Here is a blog that Evan's parents have updating on his condition and how they are doing.

So ending on a lighter note I finally got the CD of all the pictures of our family that my friend allyson took. You can see for yourself how amazing they are, and this is only a few. Thank you so much, allyson, for spending the time to take such amazing pictures of our family!!

Leaf Fun

2007-11-08T14:09:00.000-08:00

This afternoon we went outside to enjoy the beautiful weather and play in the leaves. The kids insisted on wearing their dress-up outfits. I just love the carefreeness (i know i invented that word) of kids when they play in the leaves. Pure joy. I am taking them all to get their flu shots later this evening so this joy is very short lived, i am sure. Cole and Camryn are usually fine with shots, they cry a little, but Grace is just a basket case. She has such a low tolerance for pain, and she usually cries for at least an hour afterward. I told the kids that I would take them to get ice cream and then go to Borders if they were brave. Well, hope all is well with all of you. Don't forget to keep leaving those comments, I just LOVE reading them!

Good Day

2007-11-07T19:41:00.000-08:00

Today was so good. We had MOPS this morning and it was SO fun! My friend Marietta, who is a hair stylist, and her friend, Tracy gave a presentation on fun make-up and hair techniques. It was just so awesome. They did an amazing job! I also got the privilege of being one of the models that they used, so I got to get a make-over. I wish I would have had someone take a picture so i could show you all. She did what was called a "smoky eye" on me, which is a very dramatic look for like a formal, and i honestly don't think i could even begin to try and do this look on myself if I wanted to, but it really was so fun. I think all of the other ladies really liked it and had fun too, I just love MOPS! The other AWESOME thing that happened at mops was that I won the meal! We always give away a meal with a drawing and today i won! So Linda Jensen brought me a meal, and it was FABULOUS! Someone bringing you a home-cooked meal has to be the best thing ever. So I still haven't done the once a month cooking that i was going to do with my mom. I am still trying to gather some recipes, so if anyone has any good ones send them my way please! Then tonight we had youth group and we started a new series on the fruits of the spirit. We had a longer small group time which was really good because I never feel like we have enough time. I could sit and talk to the girls forever. Well, I am off to bed after a very satisfying day!

2007-11-06T11:33:00.000-08:00

I know, I know, it has been forever since i last posted. It is actually not because I have been busy or anything, but simply because we haven't really had anything new and exciting going on in the last few days worth posting. We of course had a pretty busy and full weekend, but nothing really happened out of the ordinary in our family, except we did get some more family photographs taken by Allyson, but I haven't actually gotten to see them yet, so I will post as soon as I get all of them. So today Cole and Grace both had school and so Camryn and I hung out and I tried to work on my bible study. We just started this new study on prayer, and our leader Lisa is kind of just putting a lot of different stuff together to create the curriculum, and letting the Holy Spirit be the primary teacher. It was an awesome first week and the stuff that she has us doing this week are so awesome too, but I am finding it much more difficult to do with my kids awake then my other studies. I decided this is definitely the study that is going to test my will to get up in the mornings. Because we are really spending concentrated time in prayer it really has to be at a time when it is really quiet, and obviously that only comes in the early morning here before the kids get up. This is when i always feel like is the best time to have time with God anyway, but I just keep battling my selfish nature that wants to stay in bed until the last possible moment. I was doing pretty good for a while this summer, but I have really fallen out of the habit lately. So, I hope that through this study I can renew my commitment to giving the first part of my day to God.
So it really feels like November today, BRRR! I am always so ready for the cold weather to get here, and then I am usually done with it by early January. This is my favorite time of year though, I am already anticipating the Christmas season. Of course, if you look around, people try to start the season so early these days. It kind of irritates me because I know that the media and big businesses try to capitalize on the spirit of the season and begin their ploys to make you buy, buy, buy. I always am in constant battle to try and resist getting sucked up in everything else that comes with the season and just focus on what is most important-Jesus.
Well, we are off to the library to find the kids some books, I haven't taken them in a while and they have been asking lately. See you all soon!

2007-11-02T13:48:00.000-07:00

Check out this video: I Saw What I Saw

This is a music video from one of my favorite Christian artists, Sara Groves. I have told some of my friends about it, and it used to be on my My Space page, but I thought i would post it so everyone could see it. It is a video with footage from a trip to Rwanda that Sara Groves took, and her music and lyrics are always so powerful. I think she totally captures the feelings that you have when you go on any missions trip. This video made me bawl when I first watched it. I have a HUGE heart for the people in Africa, and it is my dream to go there someday. So enjoy the video and let me know what you think!
PS- You will have to push pause on my player at the bottom first, and I am not sure why there are 2 of the videos, but it took me forever to get this on here so I didn't want to mess it up by trying to take one off.

Halloween Fun

2007-11-01T10:39:00.000-07:00

So the night of candy mania is over! Seriously, this holiday is not very toddler and preschool age friendly. I know they absolutely love it, and they do look SO cute in their little costumes, but it is just hard. For instance-this year Cole wanted to be Spiderman, of course, because he is obsessed with Spiderman, and so we bit the bullet and bought the Spiderman costume, which of course, is not cheap. But the costume has a face mask with it that just has little holes for eyes, and so you can hardly see out of it. Cole didn't like that, so he didn't want to wear the face mask. SO i had the genius idea to go out and get a pack of face paint to paint his face like Spiderman, and mind you, I never got an E in art back in elementary school, I always got an S, (which really irked me because I thought E stood for effort, which I always gave great effort, the result just wasn't really good) ANYWAY, I am not an artist so I was pretty nervous to try to paint his face, but after about 45min. of painting I got it done, and I thought it actually turned out really great, but as soon as it was done Cole started running around like he does, and it immediately started to rub off! I was so mad, and I kept telling him...sit still! don't move around so much!......yeah right!! Well, it was what it was, and Rich was actually pretty impressed.

SO, Grace was Aurora, or Sleeping Beauty for those of you Disney princess amatuers, and Camryn was an adorable ladybug/butterfly thing. They all looked precious of course but it was pretty late when we got started, and cold, and they just have a pretty short attention span for this kind of stuff. But we went to Rich's parents house and then to my parent's house where they each had special treat bags for the kids, which were so sweet, and my parent's always do sweet things like that, and the kids of course love it so much, and the toys that they put in there are always so fun, and my parents are big on healthy foods, and so they have great snacks without sugar. Thank you so much mom and dad for the fun bags, the kids loved them! And my parents also had yummy vegetable beef soup for us that was a perfect way to warm up after trick-or-treating. So, all in all it was a really fun night, but I think it will get more fun as the kids get a little older. And of course the daily battles over the candy has begun....but I am determined to stay strong! Alright, hope everyone else had a safe and fun Halloween!

Picking the Perfect Pumpkin

2007-10-30T09:06:00.000-07:00

Yesterday evening we went to the pumpkin patch....finally! Actually the kids had already been once with dad, but the camera didn't have any batteries so of course we had to go again to get pictures!

So last week as i am driving home from Grace's school in the morning after i had taken her i see on the corner right by my house that they are putting in a STARBUCKS! If you know me you know that this is pretty much a cruel form of temptation because I already have to try and avoid them when I go anywhere because I would spend the better part of our salary on coffee. Now I am seriously considering quitting my little part time job at Old Navy that gives us a wonderful discount on clothes for all of our family to go work at the Starbucks that I could just walk to from our house so I could have all the coffee that I want to drink. Does this seem selfish to you all, or genius?? I would appreciate any feedback that I could get!

I am so excited that so many of my friends have started blogging lately. How could you not love this? It is so fun to express your thoughts and share pictures of your crazy and beautiful kids and venting about the crazy things they do. I am so thankful to my friend Emily for starting this trend with all of us because I just love checking in on all of you and hearing about your days and the crazy things your kids do so that I feel better about my life! There are still my friends out there that I really want to join the bandwagon, and you know who you are if you are reading this. Join in the fun!

BEAUTIFUL DAY!

2007-10-29T12:44:00.000-07:00

It is such a beautiful day! I just love fall! Well, today is another Monday. I just got back from Costco, which is basically one of the most awesome, yet also one of the most dangerous stores ever! They have samples everywhere that you have to stop and taste and the bakery there is a dieter's worst nightmare! Right now they have the most amazing pumpkin pie ever, and it is always freshly made...ummm yummy! I am already looking forward, or let me rephrase, daydreaming about Thanksgiving dinner. Is that a problem? I just love food! Anyway, speaking of food and dieting, I am dreading the whole Halloween candy thing. For days after Halloween I am battling with the kids about the fact that they can only have three pieces a day, and then my husband and I usually gain like 3lbs. each eating it too! I always end up throwing most of it out, what a waste! Oh well, the kids have fun trick or treating, and i definitely don't want to give that up because it is really fun to see them all in their costumes. Well, tonight I think I am going to take the kids to the pumpkin patch to get some pumpkins, and then we will come home and carve them. So I should have some cute pictures to share with you all tomorrow! See you soon!

2007-10-28T18:56:00.000-07:00

So it has been a few days since I last posted, obviously. It's funny because if any of my friends misses a day of posting i get so depressed, and I fully intended to post everyday it just hasn't happened the last couple of days. So to my fellow blogger-obsessed friends here is a quick update on life for the Ronnings in the last couple of days.

Friday was a really good day because one of my best friends Allyson, who is an amazing photographer, and i mean amazing, went out and took pictures of my family. I have been looking foward to doing this ever since she first started her little photography business a couple of months ago, and even though I didn't think it was possible, she exceeded my expectations. It was pretty dreary on Friday and Allyson didn't think the lighting was going to be very good, and I actually have only seen a few of the pictures, but they are SO awesome! I love them! If you are interested in seeing them here is the link to Allyson's web site, and if you click on blog you can view them. http://web.mac.com/inthemomentphotos So check them out because they are awesome. Thank you Allyson for being an amazing friend and for spending the time to take these awesome pictures!
After we took the family pictures we got to drop off the kids with my mother and father in law and then go out on a LONG awaited date. With the busy schedule that Rich and I both have right now it is so hard to find a night where we don't have anything and get childcare and get out on a date. So when we do get to go out I cherish every minute, and it doesn't even matter what we do, just that I am with my amazing husband and we are just enjoying each other's company, just us. SO, that was so much fun.
Saturday we had a day of lawn work. There is not much more exciting to say about this, it just was a lot of work, but now our lawn looks nice and pretty.
Today looked pretty much like a typical Sunday for us-we went to church and then watched football and relaxed on the couch for the afternoon, and then we went to our small group this evening.

So tomorrow we start another week, and it is probably going to be a pretty busy one what with Halloween and this year we have Cole's preschool party and Grace's party so it will be a full week. I am really excited though to see the kids in their costumes, they are always so cute! So look forward to all the cute costume pictures this week!

2007-10-25T13:29:00.000-07:00

Well, it is another beautiful afternoon and I had to include these pictures that I took earlier today. I am so lucky that Grace and Cole are literally the best friends ever. Sometimes it is funny because they act somewhat helpless when one of them is without the other one. Oh, they have their regular fights everyday, but most of the time they are attached at the hip. They have this just pure and innocent love for one another that I hope and pray that they always keep. They even say that they are going to marry each other (it is so cute when they say it i feel bad bursting their bubble by telling them that isn't going to happen!) They are so into playing dress up too, and not just Grace. Now it is usually Grace telling Cole what to say and what to do and Cole is sweet enough that he usually does it all, but Cole really loves it! (much to my husband's dismay) These pictures just perfectly capture their feelings for one another and if you can believe it the kiss was totally not planned and i didn't tell him to do it, he just did! Oh, one day he is going to hate me for sharing this with you all!

Well, today has been pretty good, pretty uneventful and routine, but usually that is a really good thing in this stage of life. We had another full day yesterday ending with youth group, where I had a really awesome time with my small group of girls. I so cherish the friendships that i am developing with each of the girls. Sometimes i just wish the time that we have to split off into small groups didn't have to end so soon because I feel like I could just sit there all night and talk to the girls and hear about what God is doing with them. What a privilege! Well, i am off to make some cards while my children are still sleeping. See you all soon!

PS-Does anyone do once a month cooking? I am planning a day next week to do it, and I just wanted whatever advice anyone could give me on it. I have never really done it, and I would love anyone's thoughts on the best way to go about it.

2007-10-23T11:57:00.000-07:00

Hey all! Today I had a really good morning. Grace and Cole both had school so it was my morning to just have Camryn. Did anyone notice that today is totally beautiful and the picture of a perfect October day?! I went up to the church coffee shop to work on my bible study like I usually do on Tues. mornings and I ran into a friend of mine that was in my sorority at Kansas State. She is one of the sweetest girls and I was so excited to run into her and to see that she has a sweet little boy that is almost one. i am always looking for more cool and fun mommy friends who love Jesus! I also shared with her that I have started this blog and she told me that she also has one and so I visited it of course as soon as I got home and I realized that i forgot something very important about my friend. She not only is cool and fun and loves Jesus, she is also HILARIOUS and her blog absolutely shows that. I am going to have so much fun obsessively visiting her blog! I hope she is ok with me sharing that with you all, because it just made my day today. The kids played outside for awhile this afternoon because as I said earlier it is just the most beautiful day today, and now they are taking a great nap so I can actually work on my bible study since I really spent most of the morning this morning talking and didn't get anything done. Tonight I am working at my part-time job at Old Navy so if any of you need to get out come visit me at the 119th and Blackbob Old Navy anytime after 5:15pm! Well, I better get crackin' on the bible study, see you all soon!

PS-Here is a picture of a card that I made a while back and love because it was made with one of my favorite stamp sets ever-Tall Tales!

Very Full Weekend

2007-10-22T10:38:00.000-07:00

Well, my son is four years old!! Cole had his fourth birthday on Friday. He is just getting more and more handsome. He is definitely my most energetic child and he is super athletic (all from his Dad, obviously) , but he can also be the sweetest boy ever when you get him by himself. We didn't have a big party this year, just a bunch of little ones with family. He didn't even know the difference, he just loved getting all the Spiderman presents! So on Friday we just went as a family to dinner and ice cream, and then I left for my night of scrapbooking with my girlfriends. I had so much fun, as always when I am with them all, and I got some scrapbooking done, which is good for me! I stayed up until about 4:45am which is the latest that I have been up since college, I think, but it really was worth it. We scrapbooked until 5pm on Saturday and then I went home and my mother and father-in-law came over for dinner to celebrate Cole's birthday. By the end of the evening I was done! After we put the kids to bed at 8:30pm I crashed! Then Sunday morning we went to church and it was a great service. My brother-in-law, Justin, gave the message and it was so great. I love when he speaks. The message was all about investing our time in the things that really matter, because we have so little time, and time is so precious. So often we just aren't intentional about the time we do spend, because we are just going through the day, rushing, rushing, rushing, and the moments just slip by.

After church there was a baby shower for a couple of my really good friends, Kristy and Jeanna. We ended the day with small group and the weekend was over! Here we are at the beginning of another week. Today is another rainy, and pretty chilly, day, so we are pretty much just staying in today and catching up on all that needs to be done to recover from the weekend. Another good night of TV is ahead! See you all soon!

PS-Just a funny thing, the page that I included is one I did this weekend, and it is of the first hours in the hospital after Cole was born! That is how far behind I am!

2007-10-18T20:20:00.000-07:00

Is there anything sweeter than your kids right after they have taken a bath and they get in their jammies? They cannot look any cuter! I just had to take a picture. Of course it was totally chaotic and insane leading up to this, trying to control them all in the bath is a joke! But they are all sleeping soundly now, and I too, am on my way to my bed. Good night!

2007-10-18T11:24:00.000-07:00

Hey all! Today is cleaning day for us. I have so much cleaning and laundry to catch up on. We are so busy during the week running to and from school and other activities that the cleaning just doesn't always get done. But I love those days that you just really get down and dirty and catch up on the cleaning, and then your house just feels so much better, for the next couple of hours that is!!! Yesterday was one of those days where we were just running from place to place, which is why I had no time to post. I am so excited because today is Thursday, which means that tomorrow is Friday, and tomorrow happens to be Cole's 4th birthday. I am planning on making breakfast for the kids, and then I have my bible study on Friday mornings. Right now we are doing a study called Attending the Bride of Christ, which is studying the true purpose of the church, and what God wants us to understand about it. I love my bible study. I am such a geek when it comes to bible study. I really soak up every bit of hearing from others about what they learned and how God spoke to them through the study for that week. Sometimes it is hard to keep up with the homework, but it is so worth it when I get there on Friday morning and we share together. After bible study I am planning on taking the kids to the park to play and get all their energy out. Then, when Rich gets home we are taking the kids to the T-Rex restaurant to celebrate Cole's birthday. He will love it! Then comes the most exciting part of all......I am going to an all night and all day crop!!!!!!!!!!!!! A group of my like all my best friends are getting together over at one of their houses and we are going to scrapbook all night Friday and all day Saturday until 5pm!! You just don't even know how exciting this is. Basically I live for these weekends because I get such good girlfriend time plus I might get like two or three whole pages done!!! My friends know that I am usually the one that gets the least amount of scrapbooking done because I am talking so much, but this weekend is going to be different because I am all business. It is going to be shorter than the ones we have had in the past and I will be getting there late on Friday, so I have to just shut my mouth and get some serious work done. Yeah right, since when was I able to do that! Well, I better get back to the mountain of laundry and vacuuming, ugh! Have a good day!

2007-10-16T12:36:00.000-07:00

Today I got to go on a field trip with Grace's class to the fire station! It was so much fun! This is the first time that I have been able to help in Grace's class, she has been asking and asking when I can help, but it is just hard right now because I have to find childcare for the other two kiddos in order to do it. She was just in heaven today though, it was so cute that she loved having me there! It was also really cool to tour the station. If some of you don't know my husband, Rich, is in his last class of training to be a fireman. He will start applying to different departments in January and hopefully start working in a station sometime next year! Right now he is in class three nights a week-Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday nights from 6-9:30pm. So basically he comes home from work, showers, and goes to class, and then he doesn't get home till about 9:30pm. So, I am putting three kids to bed on my own three nights a week. It gets really tiring! I know there are moms out there who do this a lot because their husbands travel or work late or whatever, and I totally admire them. It is just the hardest job ever to bathe and read and sing and get drinks for three kids. So this trip today to the fire station really made me feel better about doing that. His class ends in December so it is really a short time, it just feels really long right now. And my husband was basically born to do this job. As I was watching these firefighters I could just picture him doing it, and he just fits. This is what he was supposed to do. He has dreamed of doing this since he was a little kid and I know it is going to be the most exciting day ever for him when he finally starts working. I am a little nervous about the idea of him being a firefighter, but I have really been praying about it ever since we knew he was going to do it. I know God has everything in control and things will happen in His time so I just have to continue to trust him. Well, that is all for today, thanks for stopping by and hope you like the pictures!

My first post!!

2007-10-15T11:43:00.000-07:00

So, this is officially my first post on my newest creative outlet! I can't believe I am really going to have a blog, I always thought people who had blogs...umm, well, let's just say...I thought they had a little too much time on their hands. Well, maybe they do, but I was recently introduced to this blogging world by my friend Emily, who is one of those friends who you totally want to be more like because they are just so cool, and she has a blog, which I obsessively visit now, and then two more of my really good friends started blogs, and so here I am! I hope that this can become a place where I can share news and fun from our family, display some fun creative projects, and give my bloghead friends one more place to obsessively visit ;)! So, it is another Monday, which means that another week of craziness has begun, but it also means that my favorite night of TV is here!! Have any of you guys seen the show Chuck? This show freakin' rocks! I can't get enough! And then of course Heroes, Hello! And this other new show called Journeyman. All on NBC, and all add up to pretty much the only TV I watch, except for Thursday night on NBC of course...oh,and football...and of course PBS cartoons. Well, now that I have taken up two days worth of space, I will leave you with a picture of some cards that I did this week in my spare time. This has been a pretty good week as far as creative flow, so I have tried to take advantage of that and get some stuff done.