Tea Time

Mine ALL Mine

I just love how he makes my heart skip a beat!

He raked the yard for me... nothing sexier if you ask me! :0)

She Makes Me Laugh

Sitting on the back porch, while eating our cheeseburgers soaking up every last ray of todays mah-vel-us sunshine, we riffled through my basket of seeds. "If you could have a garden all to yourself what would you plant Kat?"

"Pretty Flowers! These ones." My middle girl, hands covered in paint, ketchup & potting soil thrust a package of sweet peas into my hand and continued to dig deeper into the basket. For a few minutes she intensely studied a different one. "No Mommy, I want these ones!"

"Alright I'll plant the sweet peas in my garden." I smiled, Daddy calls me his sweet pea...

My silly Kat thrust a grubby little finger into my face, serious as a heart attack "Okay Mom BUT we BOTH get to smell them."

Thank you Jesus for this little mess who makes me laugh!

A little later after being told she had to pick food for her garden she was tossing aside packages left and right. Apparently vegetables aren't as exciting as flowers. "No.... no...... no......... no..........." She was completely uninterested. Suddenly her little eyes lit up, "These ones!!!" She exclaimed, hugging a package tightly to her chest.

"What?" I can't imagine what veggie this child has suddenly picked out so excitedly.

"Pickles!!!!!"


Thank you Jesus for this little mess who always makes me laugh!

Kayli and Santa

On Kayli's birthday she asked to go to the mall to eat at the little chinese resturaunt. For whatever reason it's her favorite place to eat and so what is a Momma to do other than make her birthday girls' dreams come true? While we were there we walked around a bit, of course we saw Santa. She was absolutely scared to death of him... still... anytime we walked by him she would cling to my leg and 'hide.' As you can imagine then, I was surprised to hear her excitedly exclaim... "LOOK MOM, IT'S SANTA!!' Without even looking up I replied, "Kayli, I thought you were scared of Santa."

"NO Mom, not the fake Santa, its the REAL one."

Looking up what did I see? None other than the jolly old man himself. Or maybe it was just a big fat guy with a real white beard in sweats looking for a piece of bling bling in a jewelry store. But don't tell Kayli that. 

My sweet sweet girl made me laugh till I almost peed my pants. (Durn C-Sections!) I wonder if that guy gets that reaction alot? If I had another adult with me to help with the kids I probably would have approached him to see if he would come talk to my daughter.

Could you imagine the childhood memories that would have made?

Setting out milk & cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve... now that she thinks he is real after all!
Seeing him at the jewelry store will make a believer out of a six year old for sure!

Kayli's Favorite Game

Kayli likes making scary pictures with the x-ray "Hey Mom, pretend to be a monster getting ready to eat me."

FYI: My hair looks good in comic book... ;0) I've got the hair to be a super hero. I have officially lived.

Kayli was apparently trying to strangle me in colored pencil... 

"Hey Mom, let ME be the monster this time..."

glow worms... 

Riding Bikes at Grandma's

Hope it doesn't bore you to death but I'm going to keep posting these journal entries just in case something horrible happens and we loose the real thing. Gotta love the security of an online copy! :0)

(underneath Kat's hand reads "Grandpa is blowing leaves off the blacktop."
Bottom left corner reads "This alien is down from space and is trying to get back up.")

My sweet Kat obviously mixes reality with her imagination.
Love that I get a sneak peek inside her head with this!

Purple Underwear & Journaling



I have been going through things trying to find stuff I don't need anymore. I'm trying to get rid of junk to make my life less stressful these days. A pile of scapbooks I didn't like because they weren't the type that had the nifty plastic page protectors found themselves thrown in my yardsale marked $1 each.



I took them back out of the yardsale when they didn't sell with the brilliant idea to turn them into journals for my kids.  At ages 5 & 4 they aren't quite ready for a whole lot of heavy writing so I figured they could draw pictures instead. I didn't exactly come up with this idea all on my own. I'm pretty sure I read about it or saw it somewhere at one time and mentally filed it away for later. Now is later. So whoever it was out there who originally game me this idea. Thanks!



Both my girls were SO excited to get to pick out their own journal! I asked them to think of something that happened this past weekend that they didn't want to EVER forget? After they shared I asked them to draw a picture. (& yes that is our laundry hung out to dry on our old dog run...
...you might be a redneck if...)



Kayli sure put a whole lot of concentration into her drawing... look at that girl think.

I actually had them both turn to the back of the first page for this first journal entry. We are going to go back to the first and let them draw self-portraits. I figured we'd make it our goal to start every year with a new journal from here on out. Kayi is working on her 'kindergarten' journal right now.

In case you are wondering why we are journaling on the back porch, its because it just now turned cool enough to enjoy the great outdoors in our area and we are soaking up every minute of it.



When the girls were finished I had them dictate to me the story behind the picture they drew.
I wrote it all down word for word. No grammar edits allowed!



As usual Kat kept getting distracted...

Kayli's finished journal entry.. she wrote the names and arrows herself.
Yes I noticed we need to work on our lowercase d's!



She was so proud of her artwork and let me tell you she giggled the whole time she was working on it.
The purple underwear thing sure does make her laugh!



For the record the only truth to this story is the part about Mommy trying to make Kat laugh.
And there you have it. Memories my girls will never forget... purple underwear and all!

My Chalk...

Chalk.

It can be oh so beautiful!

Chalk can make masterpieces

worthy to be treasured forever.

Unfortunately,

no matter how elaborate the masterpiece,

if its made with chalk,

it can't be treasured for long.
All it takes is a little water
and all the hard work is gone.

My sweet little girls are little pieces of chalk.

Brittle.

Easily Broken.

& only temporarily mine to treasure.

And so I handle them gently,

take care not to break their spirits,

and treasure each and every moment.

For all to soon the current of life

will sweep them from my grasp

onto bigger & better things.

This post comes to you in part by:



Please hop over to their blog{ www.iheartfaces.com } to check out a lot of awesome chalk photo's!

Worth running for....

Katherine Marie...

Currently sitting comfortably as the middle child in our family.

She does not like to run

at all

not even a little bit.

On our adventures she is always bringing up the rear.

Quite frequently she will sit down in a puddle of tears

declaring her poor legs incapable of carrying her a step further. 

On nature hikes... 

at wal-mart... 

anywhere excessive walking is required.

Quite recently we were at a local park enjoying a beautiful day of family togetherness.

It had been a long day and Kat's poor legs were tuckered out.

She was pleading for Daddy to carry her.

She couldn't possibly make it a step further! 

The air around us filled with something

my kids had never heard before.

A sweet tinkling sound.

Suddenly Kat perked up... "what's that?" she asked.

"Why darling that's an ice-cream truck."

Someone's eyes lit up, 

and suddenly

 two tired little legs found some energy.

That little stinker took off running so fast the rest of us couldn't keep up!

Being a clumsy little girl is what Kat is known for so of course she

face planted in the grass... her little body wasn't used to running at lightening speed! 

Without a tear she jumped up and kept going.

I couldn't believe what had gotten into this little girl of mine! 

Apparently...

...Ice Cream...

is totally worth running for! 

GeoWhat?

I have the coolest husband in the world. Seriously! The other day out of the blue he asks the girls if they want to go on a treasure hunt. Not sure where he was going with this I thought I saw the opportunity for a nap looming in my near future while he played with the girls in the backyard.

Uhm... not exactly.

Instead I found myself in the car asking just as many questions as our two overly excited little girls. Where are we going? What do you mean we are going to look for treasure? What kind of treasure? Are you crazy? {OK so maybe it was just me asking that last one!}

My wonderful husband ended up leading us on a real treasure hunt, seriously. We followed a 'map' on his phone and really and truly found a treasure. A little box hidden under a bridge in a local park, overflowing with odds and ends. Complete with a little log book to sign to show we had been there.

Our very first geocache find!
Please ignore how horrible my 'roots' look in this photo.
I'm obviously WAY overdue a trip to the salon...
its not gonna happen anytime soon so I hope they don't bother you that much!

Apparently, {you're not going to believe this!} there are hundreds and thousands of these little 'treasure chests' hidden all around the world just waiting to be found.

It's called geocaching... and it is super fun!

I can't think of a better way to spend a fun family afternoon. And just because I am the coolest person in the world ever* I figured I'd give you step by step instructions on how to plan a fun filled geocaching afternoon.


*Or, you know, the coolest person who ever told you all about geocaching.

First you head to www.geocaching.com Here you can decide which cache(s) you want to look for.

I make a list on the computer of all the cache's we want to find in a day trying to plan a 'route'. { You can pay to get an upgraded membership that is supposed to do this for you but we have the basic and by using the map feature we don't have any problems making our own.}

Enter coordinate's into your gps device. (We used an iphone application.) Once you get to those coordinates look high and low... it can get tricky.. and of course the coordinates aren't always right on so thats where the fun comes in!

When you find your treasure (technically called swag in the geocaching world) you always leave behind more treasure swag for the next person. A few things we have used include small stuffed animals and toys, gaudy pins from Mommy's jewelry box, silly bands, samples of Avon lipsticks and perfumes, and all sorts of other things. Remember one person's trash is another person's treasure swag!

A word to the wise: if going geocaching anywhere outside of the blacktop jungle, don't forget insect repellant... trust me itching your legs until they bleed is no fun. Don't ask me how I know! Also, it may be worth your while to familiarize yourself with the leaves of poison ivy and other such botanical evils!!!

Mosquito netting around the littlest geocacher in your group completely optional!

While out on the cache route you may be presented with the opportunity to indulge in a little spontaneous history lesson if you feel so inclined!

Thanks to earthcaches your adventures may lead you to some really cool finds, like for example your husband may or may not discover he lived a couple miles down the road from a cave when he was a child without ever realizing it! EarthCache's are super cool and super informative and great if you're a homeschooling family or just a family who likes supplementing public education with fun family learning adventures. This particular day we learned all about geology and how caves are formed! I'm sure we'll be back over the years for more in-depth hands on studying!

Many cache's are hidden at parks so feel free to pack a picnic lunch!

Taking along a grill and talking your hubby into grilling up some yummy turkery burgers is, of course, completely optional and may or may not lead to an interesting afternoon sitting and chatting with a homeless dude so drunk you can't understand a word he is saying....

This concludes our GeoCaching Tutorial... now get out there and find a cache with your kids. You won't regret it!

PS) I am pretty sure this geocaching discovery is a direct result of this decision we made several months ago. As you can see, so far we are reaping great benefits as a family from our decision!

Blogging.... my anti drug

I haven't ever divulged the boring details of my everyday life, nor the semi-psychotic stream of consciousness bouncing around in my head because I am neither witty nor interesting at all. Plus I suffer from being a whole lot shy. That being said, at this current season in time I am home alone 24/7 with a five year old, a three year old, and a growing belly. Maybe I shouldn't have shared that.... {DISCLAIMER: If you are a stalker creeper kinda person considering tracking down and preying on me and my family you are officially forewarned that wouldn't be your wisest move. My man is ex-militarty. So is my Dad. They'll both hunt you down. Not to mention my mad wrestling skills combined with my sharp nails are a lethel combination... just ask anyone dumb enough to have challenged me in a friendly game of chicken in the pool. STAY AWAY} Anywho... the point is I am going absolutely crazy. Yes, I do have a college student who technically lives here, but shocker of all shockers she has a life and doesn't have time to stay home and converse with me to keep me sane. Since she's not legally mine, I can't force her to... :0) I have decided for sanity's sake to write to share my thoughts and feelings with the world because even if no one reads a word I write hitting publish makes me feel better!
Just yesterday my husband had the audacity to tell me I should consider asking my OB for some kind of drug to help me "chill and get through the day."
Yeah,

he went there.

You see, a few days ago my sweet angelic children asked for permission to go outside and play after breakfast. Not willing to waste even a precious drop of milk (do you realize how expensive it is?!?) I told them they could after they completely drained their cereal bowls and dissapeared back into the bathroom where I was scrubbing sticky toothpaste out of the bottom of a drawer. I was so deeply engrossed in attacking the toothpaste scum it took me a while to remember to check on my angels. My angels weren't there. Their milk was though. I found them playing outside. I don't know how they got out the back door without my help but they did. Mentally planning their punishment I went to the window to call them inside and in doing so found a fist sized hole cut into my screen window. I may have turned purple at this point, my memory is a little fuzzy. I did manage to croak out a GET IN HERE NOW!!!! Of course Kayli knew why I was upset and immediately blamed the small hole on her sister who admitted guilt. Let it me known my eld
est is normally very bright. On any given day she astonishes me with her brains. In this moment however she was stick stupid. {Kayli my darling, if you stumble across and read this later in life please realize that I know stupid is a bad word and forbidden in our house and Mommy shouldn't use it; but darling, there just isn't any other explanation!} Instead of coming to the door she went to ANOTHER window and started climbing through a HUGE hole cut into the screen. I am quite certain I was most definately purple at this point. There may or may not have been actual smoke rolling out my ears. There may have been a fair amount of yelling as well....

More recently my three year old gave her dolly {my personal favorite of the dolly's of course} a hair cut that landed her {the doll not the three ye

ar old} promplty in the trashcan. She also managed to cut a handful of her bangs off. The very same bangs I have to shield from a trim every stinking time we go to grandma's house. {Question: Does every Grandma obsess about giving their granddaughters bangs or is it just my Mom?}

It hasn't been long since I painted their bedroom a cheery shade of yellow but its back on my to-do list again due to some artwork....

These tragedies followed by a constant batter of " don't do this, don't do that, don't touch that, get off there, get out of here, be careful, because I said so, DON'T... STOP.... LOOK OUT!!! " needless to say I was ready to dig my own grave last night. Bedtime was in sight. I was about to wearily cross the finish line for the day. I sent the kids to the bathroom for pull-ups and to brush their teeth. I hung back in the bedroom putting away laundry. I've been sorting through and boxing up cold weather clothes while simultaneously sorting through and hanging up the warmer weather clothes. Laundry... the absolute WORST part of changing seasons! Can I get an amen? As I was putting the finishing touches on laundry for the night and talking to my husband the girls were once again making mischief when they were supposed to be brushing their teeth. This time with nail polish. When I found the mess and realized their wasn't a drop of nail polish remover in the house I kinda had a mommy melt down. {Am I the only one who does that?} Problem is this time my hubby was a witness via the phone... that's why he recommended I ask for medication... medication?!? I don't need medication. I just need to vent... so thats why I'm here... venting... blogging ... it's my antidrug.

P.S.} For the record I do keep an eye on my kids but seriously there are times when a Mom's gotta blink... and pee.. I'm 27 weeks pregnant so I pee alot... It's amazing what they can do with a mere milisecond!

The mundane...

My butt has never been more numb. 

My children have never watched more non-stop veggie tale cartoons nor consumed more junk food. 

I have never slept in the back of a car at a rest area period, 

let alone for so many consecutive nights, 

spanning multiple states. 

I have re-watched episodes of Survivor I've already seen. 

I washed out the inside of the most disgusting truck EVER. 

I laundered a months worth of a man's dirty smelly clothes. 

I have gone way to many days without a shower.

I have lived out of a car packed for a two-day trip for over a whole week now.

I organized a teeny tiny area to be used as a bedroom, kitchen, dining AND living room. 

Dreary burdensome activities for some... 

regardless... 

I can't recall a time when I had more fun! 

For me there is nothing better than sharing life 

{no matter what it consists of } 

with the man I love.

Simply sharing 

the mundane...

Have I ever missed that! 

Our Crazy Fun & Insightful Weekend

Oh the sweet sweet joy of friendship. Of getting our girls together and listening to them giggle and play. Of laughing until your belly aches. There is no greater gift that can be given than one of friendship!

This past weekend we enjoyed spending time with some of our nearest and dearest friends. I got my first ever manual driving lesson - oh what an experience that was! { For those wanting to learn I highly recommend finding a teacher who remembers which pedal is the clutch! :0) } We took our children to chuck-*-cheese {a place I utterly can't stand} and had a BLAST acting like kids ourselves. See.... I don't have a picture of my kids with the big mouse but here I am with him!

We even found Bruster's {a yummy ice-cream some ministry friends of our introduced us to this summer} and enjoyed HUGE ice cream cones because it was raining and the second scoop was free! We had a grand time!

We were even were given the opportunity to share the calling God has placed on our lives. In Sunday School that morning we studied a passage in Nehemiah. The chances of us turning to this passage on our own wasn't very likely; however, God put us where we needed to be to learn from it. The passage was Nehemiah 2: 5-20 A brief synopsis is that Nehemiah heard about the problem in Jerusalem {city was a mess the walls needed to be rebuilt} so he snuck in the night to survey the damage and to see what needed to be done. Nehemiah then got people involved to get the work done that God had called him to do, despite those around him who didn't exactly believe what he was trying to do was possible.

Isn't it amazing how God puts you exactly where you need to be in life?

I wrote the other day about how we are currently trying to raise support to go on a 2-3 week mission trip to Africa. This passage sheds light on exactly where we are. Just like Nehemiah heard about the problem in Jerusalem we have heard about the problem in Africa. There is no one to teach and mentor the children as they transition into adulthood. They are not being ministered to in those crucial teen years... The picture of Nehemiah surveying the damage in Jerusalem in the night is a picture of what we are trying to do when we go to Africa for a few weeks. We will be going to see for ourselves what is being done and what is being left undone. In a sense we will be going 'in the night' as well because we have decided not to share with my family what exactly we will be doing or where we are going. {I feel confidently that I can speak about this publicly online and my Mom never find out because she NEVER gets online. If you read this and you know my Mom please refrain from turning the light on for her. We will tell her after we make a final decision as to what EXACTLY God is calling us to. Trust me, its better not to get her panties in a wad over maybe's and possibilities....} Anyways, in the passage Nehemiah goes on to get people involved to get the work done & actively did what God had called him to do. I suppose we will be there soon, but for now we are preparing to go into the night.

If you want to support us in this decision please pray for us. Pray that we will not take a step in any direction that is not exactly where God wants us. Pray that we will be able to get into different churches and share our calling and raise monetary support quickly. Can we come to YOUR church? {We can't get to Africa quick enough!} We really REALLY appreciate your prayers.