Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas with family and friends. It's nice to have my family close all the time. This year we got to celebrate with Jeff's brother and his wife and their 4 kids after two years of them being in another country. Seems the celebrations have come and gone and life was a whirlwind for a few weeks!

Now we are on to the new year and what 2010 holds for this family...

Celebration mixed with sadness!

We found out last Monday that we are expecting baby #4! It's crazy when I stop and think about all this means. Especially when I think about all the birthdays we will have during that time of year. The baby will be born at some point in the summer when Jacob will be turning 3, Seth 6 and Josh 9! I guess that is how God wanted it to be because I wasn't exactly planning that. We are excited to see if we'll be having a boy or girl this time. You know what my heart desires and so does the Lord... He and I have had many talks since finding out!

Tuesday we were sad because of the 2 year Anniversary of Jeff's Mom passing. He was sick and had been running a fever for almost 24 hours at that point. So he didn't get to go down and visit his Mom's grave but we thought about her and talked about all she meant to so many people. He struggles so much because he was always so close to his Mom and it was hard to watch her suffer in the end.

We also just celebrated 2 years of my Mom being cancer free! It's been such a blessing to see her be aggressive in her treatment and fight this thing with all she has. What a terrible disease but what courage she has shown in the face of it. I can't imagine life without her and hope I never have to!

Thursday was Jeff's 35 birthday and he was still very sick with a fever. I hoped he would be feeling better by the weekend so we could get out and celebrate. He was feeling better but by that point Seth was running a fever and then Jake. So we will have to put the celebrating off a little longer. Once everyone is well we will take him out and do dinner. I know he is looking forward to it as much as I am!

Giveaways are awesome!

Go check out Mary's giveaway at Owlhaven...

http://www.owlhaven.net/2009/10/05/october-family-feasts-giveaway/comment-page-2/#comment-38198

I'm super excited to see who wins and I hope it's me :o)

I loved my Grandpa

I don't want to try and write something about my Grandpa all over again because it's still a bit emotional for me. So here is what I wrote in the memory book online...

As a girl I remember thinking my Grandpa was a very important man because he was the Pastor of our church. When he spoke, people listened. I also thought he knew everything about God and the Bible. He studied more than anyone I knew!

There are also the memories from the good times we spent with my Grandma and Grandpa. I will never forget spending the night and having yummy snacks like popcorn or bread and milk in a cup. There were the times laying on his bed playing with Andre the dog. The times out in their pool. Every couple weeks he would stop by our house to visit and we knew there would be a treat involved... most likely a Kit Kat Bar! We also enjoyed going to Burger King to get a whopper because Grandpa loved a good hamburger.

As I've gotten older I've come to realize just what an important and special man he truly was. It was so amazing to watch the relationship between him and my kids. My boys loved Great Grandpa and the times spent with him. It was always cute when Great Grandpa reached for his wallet because my boys knew he was about to give them a dollar! He would roll the ball with them or take them for rides in his chair.

Grandpa, we will never forget the good times we had with you. Thank you for loving us, believing in us and encouraging us no matter what life brought our way!

Here are some pictures from the graveside service. It was so emotional but I felt such honor for him and his service to our country!

I loved seeing the flag...

Such a cool thing to hear and see

She played so beautifully

Folding the flag

Presenting it to my Grandma

Probably the strongest woman I know

Grandma, Mom, Uncle Steve, Aunt Karen and Uncle Matt

The kids were trying to process the whole thing

Family is a blessing

I feel very blessed to have such a large family! Since I was a little girl we've always been closer to my Mom's side. On that side there were 9 grandkids, 7 girls and 2 boys. I used to love getting together at my Grandma's house for Holidays. My Grandparents had a pool and we would swim from morning til evening! I will always look back at those times and be thankful.

As I get older, I appreciate my family even more. I've come to realize just how special each of them are to me. We're all grown now and have our own lives but we still make time to get together and celebrate life. You should see it when all of us our there together, it can get pretty crazy and loud. I guess some of the noise may have to do with the 9 great grandkids ranging in age from 13 years to 1 month old.

Recently we all got together to visit with my cousin, Danah and her daughter, Aylah. We don't get to see them much because they live in Wisconsin now. It was also a blessing to have my cousin, Jen and her baby girl, Emma who was just days old. Here are some pictures from that night...

8 of the great grandkids

He said "Mom, we need a baby girl!"

He said "Mom, we need two baby girls!"

Isn't she the cutest thing ever?

The men of the family

My Mom with baby Aylah

I couldn't resist taking pictures of her!

Three generations of wonderful women

Tony and Kristi... they just got engaged last night!

Some students steal your heart...

Student ministries can be very tough but so rewarding! I've had such a great time loving on these students and pouring into their lives. Anyone who knows me well, knows how nervous I was to jump into this area because I was so used to working with babies/children. I knew I had life experiences to offer these students, girls especially. I just wasn't sure how receptive they would be of me. It was amazing as I jumped right in and started serving. God truly blessed my life with each and everyone of them.

As time has gone on, I've poured into different lives and seen such growth. Wow, some of them have amazing talents and gifts. I've been to High School summer camp twice and what an experience! Jeff and I had the opportunity to do GO in 2008 and what a blessing it was. We trained with the students to do GO in 2009 but had to step away at the last minute with the passing of my Grandpa. It was tough but we knew family comes first in all areas of ministry!

All of this to say there are certain girls who steal your heart and make you so proud. Since I started a few years ago, I've been impressed with Ashley. She seemed wise and mature beyond her years. I've seen her serve as a member of the praise band, leader for Jr. High students, put in hard work for the GO trips and above all else a girl with a big heart who loves the Lord. She also reminds me of myself years ago when I was young and in love. She knows she wants to be a wife and mother and is praying that in God's timing she will marry the man of her dreams, Casey. I'm so glad God has given us the chance to get closer in the last few months. I feel so blessed to be a part of her life! I'm looking forward to the things God has planned for her.

This pic is not one of my favorite pics (because of me) but she looks cute...

Round One... ding, ding

So lately Jeff and I have really felt like we're under the attack of the evil one. We just started back with High School small group in our home and a just last month felt led to start a college age ministry at our church. I should have known that satan would find that troubling and do everything in his power to tear us down and destroy our efforts! After all, when you're reaching people, especially students for Jesus Christ, that is just going to tick him off.

One of the first big blows was when Jeff got a pay cut of 5% at work. We weren't happy but what else could we do. So we praised the Lord that Jeff even had a job! The Lord in return gave Jeff a small raise by being able to take on HR stuff in California.

The second blow came when they announced that they would no longer be covering the health insurance for families of employees and only covering employees at half as much as they used to. Unfortunately we couldn't afford that because it more than doubled our rates to over $1000 per month. As of yet we still haven't found a new insurance plan that fits us just right. We are truly praying about what God would have us do in this situation and that He would protect each one of us until then! We cannot afford any more medical bills at this point.

There haven't been huge blows since then but just little nagging pinches, pokes and kicks...

All three boys and myself got sick. Seth got so bad that he had to see a doctor, fortunately they were nice and only charged $60 for seeing the doc without insurance.

Jeff's car died on Saturday night as we were leaving for church and the new battery cost us $80.

The boys have been disrespectful and argumentative lately. Which causes Jeff and I to be on edge with them and each other.

There are so many more things that pop into my head but I'm not going to list them all. I just want to get the point across that WE ARE NOT going to let the evil one get us down! God has called us to to serve HIM and that is exactly what we plan on doing with our whole life.

Changes are being made and every attempt to kick the devils butt is happening. Because "As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD!"

Triple Birthday Bash... part 3

Finally, here are the pictures of Josh's birthday. Am I old enough to have an 8 year old?

I forgot I don't have pics of him with his cake because my battery died. I will have to ask my Mom to send those over.

His metal detector from Gram and Big Papa

Opening his gift from Arianna

Celebrating with his 2nd grade class...

his teacher gave "spankings"

Triple Birthday Bash... part 2

Now for Seth's birthday... can't believe he's 5!

The friends with Chuck E. Cheese

He enjoyed that cake... (note to self, never get black/blue frosting again!)

Big Papa helping Analiah get the frosting off her nose

He loves this girl!

Triple Birthday Bash

Summers at our house are always crazy, not only do we have all the usual summer fun and activities planned, we have three boys with birthdays to celebrate! I thought maybe I could catch you up on what those looked like and how we celebrated this year. I'm going to have to do it in three posts though so I can fit all the pictures in. First we'll start with Jacob, his birthday was tough because we were dealing with the fact that my Grandpa was so sick. In fact, we found out just before the party that he would be going into hospice care the following day. So it was as if we were celebrating a little life and dealing with the possible loss of an older one all at once! God is good and pulled us all through...

Riding his new bike from Gram and Big Papa

Loving on Grandma at the party

He loves his cousin Lexie

Too much cake!

Blowing out the candles

Playing games at Peter Piper Pizza

Been so long...

It's been so long since I blogged, I almost forgot how to log in. I really want to be here but I just can't find myself saying much.

I guess I can share a little bit about Seth's first week in Kindergarten though. The very first day he had some good stuff...

Monday, first thing out of his mouth "I didn't even go to the Principal's office today!"
Later on ~ "Lunch is the best part of school!"

Tuesday he fell asleep in music at some point and lost his lunch box somehow. Then the cafeteria was closed by the time I picked him up so we couldn't find it. He ended the day by being on yellow!

On Wednesday he had a tough time because the assistant tossed his lunch before he was completely done. That set him off and he began to cry his eyes out. The principal had to call me and have me talk with him to calm him down. He begged to come home but I wouldn't give in. He's got to learn I can't come get him any time he's upset! He came home on green though.

Thursday went great and he got a green star!

We'll see what happens today. He seemed hesitant to go...

Doesn't he seem so tiny in that uniform?

I think his back pack weighs more than he does!

In Memory of my Gramps...

Recently my Grandpa passed away and it was so tough. He was an amazing man who served his country and his faith for many years. I think I'm ready to talk about some of my memories and stories...

He loved talking about being in the military and was proud of his accomplishments! He often told funny stories of the things that happened. I remember only a couple of times him telling us of the darker, deeper stories of men being blown up in front of him or the guy next to him having his arm shot to pieces. I think he wanted to protect us from those scary real life moments as his granddaughters. I always will remember him as being a brave man!

Another thing he enjoyed was preaching the Gospel and sharing God's love. He was the Pastor of our church for over 20 years. I remember if we were at their house on a Saturday we had to be sure to stay out of his office and be a little more quiet because he had to study. I thought for sure he must have known the Bible from cover to cover because he studied ALL the time. As little girls, my sister and I would often fall asleep during the Sunday evening service while he was preaching and he enjoyed teasing us about how boring he must have been! Then later when we were having dinner he would ask one of us to pray for the meal and as soon as we would say "Amen" he would start snoring, turning the tables on us!

Every time I pass a Kit Kat Bar I think of him because it was his favorite. He would stop by our house every few weeks and as soon as he pulled up we knew there would be a treat for us. He would either have them tucked in his shirt pocket or a brown paper bag. It was the best!

My Grandpa has also been a part of so many of my memories... He baptized me on my 6th birthday. He and my Grandma were at all of my birthday parties. They attended my High School graduation and he was so proud. He and my Uncle Steve married Jeff and I. He was at the hospital for the birth of all three of my boys and was beaming about having another Great Grandson.

I am so thankful for the time my own boys had to spend with him because they have wonderful memories of their Great Grandpa! He was always spoiling them with toys and money. He was a wonderful Great Grandpa and I know they will cherish those memories!

What an amazing man... I thank God for giving him to me as a Grandpa!!

Feels like forever

It's been so long since I posted here. I've missed you blogging friends but facebook has stolen so much of my time from you! If you're on there, stop by and say hi.

We've had lots going on while I was away...

~ Celebrated my 28th birthday
~ Celebrated my 9th anniversary with Jeff
~ Celebrated with 2 friends as they brought babies home
~ Attended a wedding for two sweet friends
~ Enjoyed 2 wonderful weeks of spring break with Josh
~ Enjoyed 2 Fridays in a row with hubby being home
~ Started the GO missions training with the HS students at church

There's probably more but my mind can't process it all right now. I'll be back to share more later. Just thought I better update a little so you didn't think I was gone forever :o)

Can you believe he's the first?

With three boys in our family you would think this wasn't anything new. Monday we were visiting at Grandma and Papa's house and I heard a smack and then crying. The kind of crying where a Mama knows something is definitely wrong. I guess my Mom said "Someone's going to need stitches" and I didn't even hear her. I was so focused on getting out there to see what happened.

Come to find out, Josh was "teaching" Seth to golf with a big piece of wood. It was actually one of those rods that you hang your clothes on in the closet. Unfortunately for Seth his head became the golf ball! Josh felt horrible and was patting Seth on the back saying, "You know I would never hurt you on purpose, right Seth?"

We decided to head to urgent care because we only have to pay a $20 co-pay there. Plus, we thought we might get in and out quicker and be on our way. We sat in the waiting room for about 25 minutes and then went back to the room. They came in, cleaned it up and put some numbing medicine on it. We had to wait another 15 minutes for that to kick in. Then the doc came in and got all ready... let the freak out begin! Jeff, Grandma and I all tried to hold him down while the doc sat back and waited. I was getting frustrated that he wouldn't give us a hand. So after a couple minutes he said he was done and it just wasn't going to work.

We got to the ER and the waiting room was packed! We waited to be seen in triage for about 30 minutes. They told us it would probably be about a 2 hour wait. What to do with a kid that has blood running down his face for 2 hours in a dirty, infected waiting room. We asked if we could go grab something to eat and got the okay. Seth was excited to find cheese pizza in the cafeteria and even more excited to have strawberry milk with it!

Back in the ER, we were entertained by another family sitting next to us. They laughed and joked with us about life. Grandma and Seth played one of his favorite games where you draw shapes, numbers and letters on his back and he figures out what it is. Great education while filling time. It took a little over 3 hours before they called his name but we made the most of it and there will always be memories of that night!

Sorry, that ended up being longer than I intended it to be! Here's what you get when you mix two little boys and a rod...

Kicking back in the ER waiting for the doc...

Unsure of what's to come and starting to worry...

He's crying, we're smiling... great photo!

He's not out of it but laying so still after making a deal with Grandma...

Smiling to make Mom happy...

He wanted one up close so you all could see how brave he is...

The deal Grandma made with him... A $10 toy from Toys R Us!

As for Me and My House...

Thursday started out a little rough. Josh woke up and realized he hadn't done his homework the night before so that sent him into a tizzy trying to get it done. Then Seth woke up very cranky and only wanted some "Mama Loving" (as he calls it). Jacob was just an innocent bystander unfortunately and cried because that's how he deals some times! We got the homework finished up, packed a lunch and we were headed for the garage.

By the time we got in the van, everyone was in a bad mood, especially me. Then it was arguing because Seth's seat wasn't in the right spot and it had to have been Josh's fault. Josh then yelled at Seth because he wasn't the one who had moved the seat but thought I had. You get the point!

I had finally had it and said loudly to the children and anyone listening... "That is it! Satan you don't have a place here and I will not let you control our day. You will not come in my house because we serve the Lord and you need to get OUT!" The kids looked shocked because I've only done this a few times in the past and usually I do it quietly. I then prayed and took Josh to school.

The day went on and I thought nothing else about the situation. Until later that day when my three boys and the two I babysit were all in the backyard playing. They were playing just fine until something set one of them off and the arguing began. This is what I hear Seth screaming in the backyard...

"Satan came in! Satan came in! He's needs to get out!!"

I could only imagine what my neighbors were thinking! Josh came running in to make sure I could hear what was happening. I guess it really hit home with Seth and he was not going to let Satan come back to our home and mess with us!

I love that my children take these things so seriously because the evil one is lurking about and wants to control and derail our days. I once heard Beth Moore say that God has a plan for your life but the Satan does, too! It's so scary to think about and so real. We need to guard our hearts, minds and homes from his evil plots and schemes and if that means kicking his butt to the curb once in a while... you better believe I will!

Tag

Directions:
Open up the 6th picture folder on your computer.
Post the 6th picture in the folder and tell the story of it.
Then tag 6 of your friends.


This is a picture I took of my Grandpa with Jacob last summer. My Grandpa has been pretty sick for the last ten years. We have had some close calls and never thought he'd still be here but he still keeps right on kicking. I snapped this picture so Jacob would have some way to look back and remember his Great Grandpa. Makes me feel so blessed that my Grandparents are involved in my kids lives!
Thanks for tagging me Kim!

I'm tagging... Mom, Sherry, Julie, Jen, Jodi and Shawnette

The sky is falling

My son Josh is a hypochondriac and I feel for him, I really do. Last night I was leaving Starbucks after a night out with some of the High School girls and ended up having to pull over because I got so sick. My mind was racing and felt like it might explode... my mini van is messy enough without brains splattered all over! I honestly don't remember all of it and think I gave my sister a bit of a scare. She kept asking these strange questions and I have a feeling I was talking crazy. Sorry Sherry!

I'm so blessed to have parents that live close by. They met me about half way and my Mom drove me home. Anyway, as soon as my Mom got me in the door Josh heard what was going on and started to panic. I heard him say, "Does she need to go to the ER?" I was out of it after that but Jeff says he immediately started saying he was sick and couldn't make it through school the next day. This happens whenever one of his brothers gets sick. He mysteriously ends up with the same thing!

Jeff and I laugh inside because it really is pretty funny. We are onto him though. Jeff said this morning he was actually crying as he got out of the car and would not look back! I will pick him up in about 10 minutes and we'll see how the day went. I have a feeling he's all better now!

Prayer

Jen posted something amazing about her girls praying today and I loved it... Go check it out!

We have talked with the boys about prayer so many times. We try to help them understand that it's not all about asking but also about thanking and praising. They've gotten better but once in a while they get in a rut and can't seem to get out.

Thinking about kids praying reminds me that Jacob said his first prayer about a month ago and it was so sweet. We've been trying to read the Bible in the evening with the boys and then we start with the youngest and make our way around to the oldest for prayer time. Jeff was going to start with Seth but since he's not the youngest, he was offended. He wanted Jacob to go first. Jeff told him that Jake was too young to pray. I disagreed and gave it a try, here's how it went...

Me: Dear Jesus
Jacob: Jeeeesus
Me: Thank you for this day
Jacob: Tank ooow da
Me: I love you
Jacob: Yu ooow
Me: Amen
Jacob: Ameeeee

It melted my heart to hear him saying those words to the Lord. I think it's a great start!

My own photo shoot

I entered Jake in a photo contest on Regis and Kelly again this year. Here are some of the photos from our own little shoot...

This is the one that was entered in the contest

Not enjoying Mom's photo shoot

How sweet is this one?

Trying to hide by the table

He's just a hunka hunka burnin' love...

When you become the parent

Since Jeff's Mom passed away just over a year ago, I feel like there have been some role reversals in the relationship between Jeff and his Dad. It's hard to see him go through all the changes involved with loosing a spouse, especially when he was so dependant on her. We've tried to be supportive but it's not always easy. I feel like in so many ways, Jeff has become a father to his father. He looks to him for advice, support and daily care.

He is making some tough choices right now and while we dont' always agree with him, we still have to respect him. All we want is for him to be happy but to also follow the will of God and what He desires for his life! Pray for our family as we continue to deal with this situation!

Mother of the year

I will NOT be winning this award! Today I was doing things around the house, taking care of 4 little boys and talking to my mother on the phone. Then it hit me... Josh got out of school 10 minutes ago and I totally forgot! Thank goodness we live about a minute away. I had to run out of the house with kids that were half dressed and shoeless. I called the office and asked them to let him come out to the van so I didn't have to walk up. Ugh, some days I just can't get it all together!

This life of mine in 2009...

Looking ahead into this year...

I will celebrate my 28th birthday!

My hubby and I will celebrate our 9th Anniversary!

Jacob will celebrate his 2nd birthday!

Seth will celebrate his 5th birthday!

Josh will celebrate his 8th birthday... how did that happen?

Seth will start Kindergarten and Josh will start 3rd grade... I'm not old enough!!

My Mom will celebrate her 2 year fight with breast cancer and all that goes into that!

My Dad will hit the BIG 5-0!

We are praying that my sister finds the Man of her dreams!

My BIL & SIL will come home from South East Asia... can't wait to hug them!!

We have lots of friends having babies and I can't wait to cuddle them close :o)

We will continue to pray about how God might grow our family!

These are just a few of the major things that will go on. I don't want to bore you with all the little details of our life :o)

I know God will continue to love on us and bless us in major ways and I can't wait to see how He plans on doing that. We'll have our share of ups and downs but that's what makes life such an adventure!

Christmas Morning

There's a First Time for Everything

My kids have never been to see the snow. I know, it's so sad since we live about 2 hours from where it snows each year. We set our goal that this was going to be the year and we made it happen. A couple weeks ago we loaded up and headed north with my parents and sister. The boys couldn't wait to get there. We were all pleasantly surprised that they lasted almost 4 hours in the wet, cold snow. It was a wonderful day and they were exhausted by the time we were done!

Are we almost there?

Making snow angels

Seth by the snow dude

Poor Jake... all he could say was "Uh, oh!"

From the snow he was made and to the snow he returned

What a long day...