It's the Holiday, season, and we've watched some Holiday movies like most American families. So we were in the kitchen at my brother and sister-in-law's house the other day, and they have a little yorkie yipping dog. He's actually really cute, and doesn't yip much at all. Anyway, he's nervous around my kids and tends to growl a little when they get too close. So Cam was on the floor bending over trying to convince him she was going to be nice. She was talking in that sweet little 3-year-old girl voice, when Winston started growling with that tiny little pip squeak growl. It was quite a "little" scene. So Cam leans in closer, puts her arms out, and says,
"Does somebody need a hug?"
ROFL! (I've never typed that in my life, but now that I know what it means...) I was laughing so hard!
The challenge: Name that Holiday Movie...
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Test #3
So it was a nice Saturday night, the kids were all in bed early, and I contemplated what I could do with the next couple of hours while Kurt finished up his sermon. Hmmm..... So I decided to bake some loaves of bread to bring to the Foundry in the morning. I had tons of rotten bananas, and cans of pumpkin, and I'm always prepared with the baking necessities. So I begin. I work the pumpkin bread first. There I was, happily bouncing around the kitchen, enjoying the process and the thought of ministering to those growling stomachs in the morning. 3 loaves in the oven, working on my first batch of banana bread, and suddenly, the mixer turns off, and ALL of the lights go out. It's completely pitch dark. I can't see my hand in front of my face. "KURT!!" I yelled. I was a little startled, and wanted him there. I fished in the drawer for a lighter, found one, and started lighting candles. As soon as things were under control, I realized the predicament...the oven doesn't work without electricity (of course)...ugh.
This is the dilemma I faced. From a human perspective, "AGH!" I just worked for the last hour plus to bless the lovely single people of the Foundry, and now it's all going to be wasted!!! Frustrating!
OR, I could take a godly perspective, and realize that God's sovereign hand was directing the electricity problems, and in the midst of His grander plan, He had not even overlooked my bread baking in the oven. In fact, He superintended me baking the bread and knew exactly where I would be in the process when HE turned out the lights (and turned off my oven...)
So, what was my response??? Thankfully, I think I've been learning my lessons... and I quickly recognized that God had complete control of the situation. I suppose I took my cues from my sweet hubby who reminded me of this. He prayed with me that the electricity would come back on (for my pumpkin bread!), then waited with a dramatic pause, hoping his prayer would be answered immediately (and being funny). Well, it didn't work as we had planned, but at midnight, when we were both asleep and the electricity turned on, Kurt graciously got up and turned on the oven. At around 1:00, I pulled it out of the oven, and the bread looked great. The Lord was kind, and when we tasted the bread in the morning, the texture was perfect!
(backing up) While we waited for the electricity to come back on, Kurt brought down the Bible and a devotional we have been reading at night together. He opened it to December 13, and began to read by candlelight. Before he got too far, I stopped him and told him to be serious... I thought for sure he was making it up to be funny... Here it is. It is from Spurgeon's,"Faith's Check Book" (see for yourself!!). It's titled,
"Evening Brightens into Day".
"It shall come to pass, that at evening time, it shall be light." Zechariah 14:7
I'll quote parts of it. "It is a surprise that it should be so; for all things threaten that at evening time it shall be dark (ugh, I know). ...the dark will not deepen into midnight, but it will, on a sudden, brighten into day(YES!!! and please, sooner than later). This promise shall assist our patience. The light may not fully come till our hopes are spent by waiting all day to no purpose (uh oh...).
Anyway, a little humor to add didn't hurt my perspective. And again, was this just a silly coincidence that the reading for THIS night was so ironic? Not a chance (haha). This too, was God's divine plan and certainly made the evening lighter (haha) and joyful, though my bread at this point was seeming a bit hopeless. Anyway, the Foundry enjoyed the bread, and we came out with a good story to tell.
What a simple truth to grasp. God is in complete control over EVERY circumstance. Nothing escapes His notice, and nothing falls outside of His control. He is not surprised by anything, nor does he take a "hand's off" approach. He directs our steps, and puts each little obstacle in our path, and all for our good. Simple. Obvious. Yet, I've found (and shared with you!) that I MISS THIS. The irritating things that go on around me get to me, and I am slow to see God's hand in many things that happen. Don't miss it. God holds the world in the palm of His hand, and directs each event, to the smallest detail. Every death. Every birth. Every car accident. Every earthquake. Every hurricane. Every sermon you hear. Every annoying driver. Every long wait in the doctor's office. Every blog you read. Rest in His sovereignty, and life is certainly sweeter!
This is the dilemma I faced. From a human perspective, "AGH!" I just worked for the last hour plus to bless the lovely single people of the Foundry, and now it's all going to be wasted!!! Frustrating!
OR, I could take a godly perspective, and realize that God's sovereign hand was directing the electricity problems, and in the midst of His grander plan, He had not even overlooked my bread baking in the oven. In fact, He superintended me baking the bread and knew exactly where I would be in the process when HE turned out the lights (and turned off my oven...)
So, what was my response??? Thankfully, I think I've been learning my lessons... and I quickly recognized that God had complete control of the situation. I suppose I took my cues from my sweet hubby who reminded me of this. He prayed with me that the electricity would come back on (for my pumpkin bread!), then waited with a dramatic pause, hoping his prayer would be answered immediately (and being funny). Well, it didn't work as we had planned, but at midnight, when we were both asleep and the electricity turned on, Kurt graciously got up and turned on the oven. At around 1:00, I pulled it out of the oven, and the bread looked great. The Lord was kind, and when we tasted the bread in the morning, the texture was perfect!
(backing up) While we waited for the electricity to come back on, Kurt brought down the Bible and a devotional we have been reading at night together. He opened it to December 13, and began to read by candlelight. Before he got too far, I stopped him and told him to be serious... I thought for sure he was making it up to be funny... Here it is. It is from Spurgeon's,"Faith's Check Book" (see for yourself!!). It's titled,
"Evening Brightens into Day".
"It shall come to pass, that at evening time, it shall be light." Zechariah 14:7
I'll quote parts of it. "It is a surprise that it should be so; for all things threaten that at evening time it shall be dark (ugh, I know). ...the dark will not deepen into midnight, but it will, on a sudden, brighten into day(YES!!! and please, sooner than later). This promise shall assist our patience. The light may not fully come till our hopes are spent by waiting all day to no purpose (uh oh...).
Anyway, a little humor to add didn't hurt my perspective. And again, was this just a silly coincidence that the reading for THIS night was so ironic? Not a chance (haha). This too, was God's divine plan and certainly made the evening lighter (haha) and joyful, though my bread at this point was seeming a bit hopeless. Anyway, the Foundry enjoyed the bread, and we came out with a good story to tell.
What a simple truth to grasp. God is in complete control over EVERY circumstance. Nothing escapes His notice, and nothing falls outside of His control. He is not surprised by anything, nor does he take a "hand's off" approach. He directs our steps, and puts each little obstacle in our path, and all for our good. Simple. Obvious. Yet, I've found (and shared with you!) that I MISS THIS. The irritating things that go on around me get to me, and I am slow to see God's hand in many things that happen. Don't miss it. God holds the world in the palm of His hand, and directs each event, to the smallest detail. Every death. Every birth. Every car accident. Every earthquake. Every hurricane. Every sermon you hear. Every annoying driver. Every long wait in the doctor's office. Every blog you read. Rest in His sovereignty, and life is certainly sweeter!
Who's in Charge?
The other night the girls were sent upstairs to clean their disastrous room. Being asked to do such a thing doesn't generally bring out the sweetest attitudes in them... So we could hear them arguing a little (typically about who is doing most of the cleaning, and who isn't). Cam is usually caught playing or doing something she shouldn't be doing while the other two get irritated because she's "not helping". Anyway, Kurt walked up to check on them after hearing the arguing, and when he was just outside of the door he heard Cam say something. With all of the three year old authority she could muster, she blurted to Kinley (who had likely just charged her with not helping),
"I AM IN CHARGE OF THIS ENTIRE FAMILY!!!!!!!"
"I AM IN CHARGE OF THIS ENTIRE FAMILY!!!!!!!"
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Another Test (I think I passed!)
I promise you I don't starve the girl. She just really likes sour cream.
I've been thinking recently about letting Macy feed herself. She likes it far better than me feeding her, but I don't know if very much of her dinner makes it down the hatch. She's sure happy about it though.
Who wants to pray??? Mommy asked. Macy raised her hand to volunteer. I know what you're thinking. "Uh, looks like you've already been eating...and now comes the prayer?" Yes, often times this is how it happens. I'm busy making sure everyone's got what they need, so I let them start eating. Then we pray when we're all sitting together. Check out her sleeve. Maybe I overdid the sour cream in the burrito.
Here's a random picture of my phone. It's actually not so random. If you read yesterday's blog, I talked about the test I failed. See the number on the phone? 135:42?? That's 2 hours, and 15 minutes. That's how long I waited on hold with Costco CUSTOMER SERVICE today. And no one answered. I hung up. HOWEVER, I did not become frustrated, but saw this as what the Lord had for me! Yippee! The music and customer service message got to be irritating on speaker. The lady (okay, the recording) kept saying, "Customer service is very important to us. Someone will be with you shortly." (HAHA!!!) And you know why I was calling? Because I received someone elses Christmas cards today. Cute family, but they won't be able to send out their pictures unless someone notifies Costco that I have them.
I've been thinking recently about letting Macy feed herself. She likes it far better than me feeding her, but I don't know if very much of her dinner makes it down the hatch. She's sure happy about it though.
Who wants to pray??? Mommy asked. Macy raised her hand to volunteer. I know what you're thinking. "Uh, looks like you've already been eating...and now comes the prayer?" Yes, often times this is how it happens. I'm busy making sure everyone's got what they need, so I let them start eating. Then we pray when we're all sitting together. Check out her sleeve. Maybe I overdid the sour cream in the burrito.
Here's a random picture of my phone. It's actually not so random. If you read yesterday's blog, I talked about the test I failed. See the number on the phone? 135:42?? That's 2 hours, and 15 minutes. That's how long I waited on hold with Costco CUSTOMER SERVICE today. And no one answered. I hung up. HOWEVER, I did not become frustrated, but saw this as what the Lord had for me! Yippee! The music and customer service message got to be irritating on speaker. The lady (okay, the recording) kept saying, "Customer service is very important to us. Someone will be with you shortly." (HAHA!!!) And you know why I was calling? Because I received someone elses Christmas cards today. Cute family, but they won't be able to send out their pictures unless someone notifies Costco that I have them.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
The Test (I failed)
You wake up in the morning ready to start a new day, refreshed and re-energized. Sometimes it's hard to see what's coming, and sometimes it's too late and you don't know what hit you. I'm having a difficult time even gathering my thoughts enough to make sense...it's been one of those days!
So the day started with me waking up Reilly and Shea to get ready for school. Very normal. A few minutes later than normal, but not bad. Shea rolls out of bed, but Reilly immediately notifies me,
"Mom, my throat hurts like three times worse than it did yesterday."
"Okay, go back to sleep. I'll take you to the doctor later." (The pus pockets we found last night on his tonsils made me think the morning would be like this, but I still tried. That's my mother in me!)
Shea gets off to school, then Kinley (early day for p.m. kindergarten), then we get ready to go to the doctor. I should've taken them in their P.J.s. By the time we got there, there were no seats left in the waiting room. And this is a TINY office. I think they have one doctor, and I think he took his lunch break when we got there. Cam brought a back pack, but only three little books in it. We read. All of them. Then we waited. And we waited. Everyone else had been called in. The kids were antsy. They were climbing all over the chairs, laying down, getting up, poking each other, climbing on me, being silly, being mean (to each other), and asking, "HOW MUCH LONGER??!?!" The first time they ask that question, it's not too irritating. But...
"Reilly?" The nurse was standing in the doorway.
"YES!!!!" I thought to myself. Maybe we'd get through in time for some shopping at Ross, which happened to be across the street.
So we went into room one to wait for the doctor. We waited. We read books. All three of them. We waited some more. We ate Teddy Grahams. You might think that since Reilly was feeling sick, he'd be a little more mellow than usual. Not a fighting chance. He had all his energy, no fever, no other symptoms besides the sore throat. In that next 45 minutes of waiting, you can only imagine what happened in that pill box of a room. We used every available "toy" we could find. We read ESPN magazine (Macy too-looking for dogs). They took turns sliding across the floor on the doctors stool (the fun kind with wheels) until Reilly crashed on the floor, making quite a loud noise. Then, wanting to do something productive, I cleaned Reilly's ears with the swabs. I made a math multiplication chart to help Reilly with his twelves, and quizzed him. We ate the applesauce cups. We tore apart the paper sheet on the "bed", and made it "snow". Then we really got creative. We inflated a couple of gloves. After putting my ring on the glove (and exhausting the "high-fives", boxing, etc. glove-fun), I discovered something pretty cool. I took the glove, twisted the palm part (like an expert balloon art person) to make a head, then wrapped the thumb around the "neck" of my puppet. I made a chubby pillsbury doughboy looking person! The kids thought it was great, but all fun only lasts so long, and in doctor's offices, the fun lasts less long. Reilly finally hit exaggeration mode, to the extreme.
"Mom, we've been waiting here for like 10 hours!!!!! When are they going to come in???" Again, the first time they say this, it's not so bad. But by like the 10th time, when I'm thinking the same thing, it just doesn't help the situation.
"Okay Reilly, please don't ask again. I have no idea. There's obviously a lot of people that need to be seen today."
So the kids had exhausted me, and exhausted every possible "toy" in the room. Macy had climbed up and down off of the bed at least 15 times. I was beat.
FINALLY, in came the doctor, swinging the door open without knocking. Hit Cam. It could've been bad, but he just hit her foot. Startled him though. At this point, I should have realized that the Lord was testing me. Refining me. Putting me through the fire. I hadn't passed the test yet, so on came the next phase of testing.
"So, who are we seeing?" (I point to Reilly) He reads the nurses notes.
Checks Reilly's glands. Looks in his ears.
"Open your mouth and say, AAHH."
"AAAAAHHHHHH."
He walks over to the counter. Starts writing.
"Um, is that a prescription?"
"Yes."
"Are you going to swab his throat?"
"No lady, someone used all the swabs." Just kidding. He didn't say that.
"Nope."
The end. He walked out. That was it.
I went to the nurses station, paid my $10 co-pay, took the prescription, and left. I still hadn't passed "the test".
I went out to the car. Someone had "created" their own parking spot, right behind me, perpendicular to my van. Okay, not right behind me, but close enough. I had to make a 20 point turn, and with each cranking of the wheel, I was getting mildly more irritated. I should never open my mouth at these times, but I couldn't help it.
"WHO in the WORLD thought it was a good idea to park right there???" There were seriously 10 available parking spots. This was NOT one.
So I get turned around. Since the exit driveway only allows me to turn right, I plan to drive around the next little shopping center to the next driveway, so I can turn left, the direction I want to go. Only there's someone sitting in her big old SUV, facing me, not moving, looking down, not caring that I'm sitting in front of her, staring at her, waiting for her to move. Okay, so I'm not that mean. I quickly resigned to having to make a right turn, and driving two miles before any u-turns were legal. Okay. So we made it.
I check the clock. There's still time for Ross before the kids get home from school. I check my phone messages.
"Hi Julie, this is Mrs. Fitzpatrick. McKinley is here with me and she is sad because she said you forgot to give her money for the holiday shoppe and we're going at 1:00 today. If you're home, you can bring her money before 1:00." It's 12:40, I'm out of gas, I want to go to Ross, and I'm 20 minutes from home. Forget it. I call back and leave a message.
I hit the gas rather hard, and Reilly comments, "OOOOO, Mom, you're speeding..." Just enough to get under my skin. "No, I'm not speeding, I'm just starting off fast." Two seconds later, I was speeding, but only by a few MPH. So we head for Ross. Instead of waiting at the light (to turn in to the front of the parking lot), I turn right, not realizing that because of the construction, the left turn entrance is now blocked by a new island in the middle of the road. Another 1/2 mile down the road, another u-turn. Finally, we make it to Ross.
My throat starts hurting. Ugh. Not enough to stop me from shopping. I never think about this beforehand, however, Ross is the WORST for checkout lines. I saw it when we came in. After 25 minutes of shopping, we find a couple of things, and head for the door. When we get to the front and see the line, I decide it's not worth it to wait in line for my purchases. We leave. (The kids are confused). Oh well. I still haven't passed the test.
We get home, just in time for the kids to be getting home. 20 minutes later, I call the school. "I'm waiting for Kinley and Shea Gebhards, and they're not here."
"Oh, they're sitting out front waiting for you to pick them up."
What??? How does this happen? They've been walking home from school for weeks now, and they "forgot" today?? (it's a half-day, which is once a week, but hasn't thrown them off all year...) I load up all of the other kids, and we head to the school to pick up the girls. "What happened?" I asked when they got in the car.
"Don't you pick us up on Wednesdays?" (I wish you could have seen my face)
"Uh, no, I haven't done that all year." No need for further discussion. Stranger things have happened.
Well, that is the test that I failed today. It wasn't until I sat down and started writing this that I realized that I was missing something. Something like, the sovereignty of GOD??? Kurt and I had a lengthy discussion about this very subject just LAST NIGHT. How can that be? I went through this whole morning not recognizing my circumstances as being from the Lord. Every mis-parked car was HIS doing. Every new island in the road was HIS doing. The long line in Ross? Yep, even that. Wow. It's a little embarrassing to think that we had that conversation last night, and here I was, getting irritated with so many "little things" that He designed for my day. Tomorrow, I will see His hand in whatever comes my way, and will thank Him for refining me!
So the day started with me waking up Reilly and Shea to get ready for school. Very normal. A few minutes later than normal, but not bad. Shea rolls out of bed, but Reilly immediately notifies me,
"Mom, my throat hurts like three times worse than it did yesterday."
"Okay, go back to sleep. I'll take you to the doctor later." (The pus pockets we found last night on his tonsils made me think the morning would be like this, but I still tried. That's my mother in me!)
Shea gets off to school, then Kinley (early day for p.m. kindergarten), then we get ready to go to the doctor. I should've taken them in their P.J.s. By the time we got there, there were no seats left in the waiting room. And this is a TINY office. I think they have one doctor, and I think he took his lunch break when we got there. Cam brought a back pack, but only three little books in it. We read. All of them. Then we waited. And we waited. Everyone else had been called in. The kids were antsy. They were climbing all over the chairs, laying down, getting up, poking each other, climbing on me, being silly, being mean (to each other), and asking, "HOW MUCH LONGER??!?!" The first time they ask that question, it's not too irritating. But...
"Reilly?" The nurse was standing in the doorway.
"YES!!!!" I thought to myself. Maybe we'd get through in time for some shopping at Ross, which happened to be across the street.
So we went into room one to wait for the doctor. We waited. We read books. All three of them. We waited some more. We ate Teddy Grahams. You might think that since Reilly was feeling sick, he'd be a little more mellow than usual. Not a fighting chance. He had all his energy, no fever, no other symptoms besides the sore throat. In that next 45 minutes of waiting, you can only imagine what happened in that pill box of a room. We used every available "toy" we could find. We read ESPN magazine (Macy too-looking for dogs). They took turns sliding across the floor on the doctors stool (the fun kind with wheels) until Reilly crashed on the floor, making quite a loud noise. Then, wanting to do something productive, I cleaned Reilly's ears with the swabs. I made a math multiplication chart to help Reilly with his twelves, and quizzed him. We ate the applesauce cups. We tore apart the paper sheet on the "bed", and made it "snow". Then we really got creative. We inflated a couple of gloves. After putting my ring on the glove (and exhausting the "high-fives", boxing, etc. glove-fun), I discovered something pretty cool. I took the glove, twisted the palm part (like an expert balloon art person) to make a head, then wrapped the thumb around the "neck" of my puppet. I made a chubby pillsbury doughboy looking person! The kids thought it was great, but all fun only lasts so long, and in doctor's offices, the fun lasts less long. Reilly finally hit exaggeration mode, to the extreme.
"Mom, we've been waiting here for like 10 hours!!!!! When are they going to come in???" Again, the first time they say this, it's not so bad. But by like the 10th time, when I'm thinking the same thing, it just doesn't help the situation.
"Okay Reilly, please don't ask again. I have no idea. There's obviously a lot of people that need to be seen today."
So the kids had exhausted me, and exhausted every possible "toy" in the room. Macy had climbed up and down off of the bed at least 15 times. I was beat.
FINALLY, in came the doctor, swinging the door open without knocking. Hit Cam. It could've been bad, but he just hit her foot. Startled him though. At this point, I should have realized that the Lord was testing me. Refining me. Putting me through the fire. I hadn't passed the test yet, so on came the next phase of testing.
"So, who are we seeing?" (I point to Reilly) He reads the nurses notes.
Checks Reilly's glands. Looks in his ears.
"Open your mouth and say, AAHH."
"AAAAAHHHHHH."
He walks over to the counter. Starts writing.
"Um, is that a prescription?"
"Yes."
"Are you going to swab his throat?"
"No lady, someone used all the swabs." Just kidding. He didn't say that.
"Nope."
The end. He walked out. That was it.
I went to the nurses station, paid my $10 co-pay, took the prescription, and left. I still hadn't passed "the test".
I went out to the car. Someone had "created" their own parking spot, right behind me, perpendicular to my van. Okay, not right behind me, but close enough. I had to make a 20 point turn, and with each cranking of the wheel, I was getting mildly more irritated. I should never open my mouth at these times, but I couldn't help it.
"WHO in the WORLD thought it was a good idea to park right there???" There were seriously 10 available parking spots. This was NOT one.
So I get turned around. Since the exit driveway only allows me to turn right, I plan to drive around the next little shopping center to the next driveway, so I can turn left, the direction I want to go. Only there's someone sitting in her big old SUV, facing me, not moving, looking down, not caring that I'm sitting in front of her, staring at her, waiting for her to move. Okay, so I'm not that mean. I quickly resigned to having to make a right turn, and driving two miles before any u-turns were legal. Okay. So we made it.
I check the clock. There's still time for Ross before the kids get home from school. I check my phone messages.
"Hi Julie, this is Mrs. Fitzpatrick. McKinley is here with me and she is sad because she said you forgot to give her money for the holiday shoppe and we're going at 1:00 today. If you're home, you can bring her money before 1:00." It's 12:40, I'm out of gas, I want to go to Ross, and I'm 20 minutes from home. Forget it. I call back and leave a message.
I hit the gas rather hard, and Reilly comments, "OOOOO, Mom, you're speeding..." Just enough to get under my skin. "No, I'm not speeding, I'm just starting off fast." Two seconds later, I was speeding, but only by a few MPH. So we head for Ross. Instead of waiting at the light (to turn in to the front of the parking lot), I turn right, not realizing that because of the construction, the left turn entrance is now blocked by a new island in the middle of the road. Another 1/2 mile down the road, another u-turn. Finally, we make it to Ross.
My throat starts hurting. Ugh. Not enough to stop me from shopping. I never think about this beforehand, however, Ross is the WORST for checkout lines. I saw it when we came in. After 25 minutes of shopping, we find a couple of things, and head for the door. When we get to the front and see the line, I decide it's not worth it to wait in line for my purchases. We leave. (The kids are confused). Oh well. I still haven't passed the test.
We get home, just in time for the kids to be getting home. 20 minutes later, I call the school. "I'm waiting for Kinley and Shea Gebhards, and they're not here."
"Oh, they're sitting out front waiting for you to pick them up."
What??? How does this happen? They've been walking home from school for weeks now, and they "forgot" today?? (it's a half-day, which is once a week, but hasn't thrown them off all year...) I load up all of the other kids, and we head to the school to pick up the girls. "What happened?" I asked when they got in the car.
"Don't you pick us up on Wednesdays?" (I wish you could have seen my face)
"Uh, no, I haven't done that all year." No need for further discussion. Stranger things have happened.
Well, that is the test that I failed today. It wasn't until I sat down and started writing this that I realized that I was missing something. Something like, the sovereignty of GOD??? Kurt and I had a lengthy discussion about this very subject just LAST NIGHT. How can that be? I went through this whole morning not recognizing my circumstances as being from the Lord. Every mis-parked car was HIS doing. Every new island in the road was HIS doing. The long line in Ross? Yep, even that. Wow. It's a little embarrassing to think that we had that conversation last night, and here I was, getting irritated with so many "little things" that He designed for my day. Tomorrow, I will see His hand in whatever comes my way, and will thank Him for refining me!
Monday, December 8, 2008
That's in reference to the announcement of #6
Reilly and Macy-Boo
Having some fun...
The two little sissies, in rare form
Daddy and Macy-Boo- how she loves her daddy...
Not a flattering picture, but the only one of the two of us...how did that happen?
The way our family traditionally takes walks.
The sweet sissies! They do love each other!
Shea love
The leader of the pack!
Sunday, December 7, 2008
As Requested...More Pictures!
Crazy Daddy! This is Kurt 99% of the time... crazy, fun and a great daddy!
This is Shea and Macy. They have the sweetest relationship. Macy absolutely loves her big sissy, and gets so excited to see her, especially after Shea returns from school. Shea pays such sweet attention to Macy- it's no wonder Macy loves her!
The boys (seriously outnumbered) often go out back to throw a ball around. Usually a baseball. They need their "guy-time". We all understand.
The crazy kids. What did you expect? (see pic #1)
One of the family pics (of course not the Christmas picture- we wouldn't want to spoil that for you). Wouldn't it be awesome if we had a brunette baby??
Friday, December 5, 2008
Family Pictures
Sweet Kinley asked for a picture of her with her big leaf
Shea and mommy
Ry-Man without the goofy smile! It can be done!
Sweet Camdyn Kya
Silly Macy Boo!!
We finally had some "real" family pictures taken, thanks to Matt Floreen! We had such a fun time with him and I wanted to share a little here. We took hundreds, so perhaps I will post more later. Thanks MATT!!
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Kurt's Food Fads
A thought occurred to me while driving home from shopping at Wal-Mart and talking with Kurt on the phone. He asked me to stop at Ralph's- he had a "specific request" (his words). I had already passed Ralph's, so he told me not to go back. "What did you want?" I asked. "Well, I was really hoping you could pick me up some wafer cookies with peanut butter inside and chocolate on the outside." Hmmm... he has mentioned "wafers" a few times recently, but never in the 11 years we've been married has he mentioned wafers prior to a couple of weeks ago. This made me think of the phases of "snacks" Kurt has been through. When he's in a phase of a certain snack, you can bet we won't run out. His supply is spilling over in his office, my kitchen, his car, etc. Let's start at the beginning.
1. WATERMELON Jolly Ranchers. These were the absolute favorite when we were dating. He had them everywhere. In his car, in his pockets, in his house, etc. And he tried to convince me. To no avail.
2. Lucky Charms. This one comes in and out periodically. Typically a night time snack. When it happens, it is every night for a month straight, and he gets like 6 boxes at the store at a time. And he's VERY possessive of HIS Lucky Charms. He'll share them, if you find where they're hiding and ask nicely.
3. Peanut butter on marshmallows. This was a trend about a year ago, and it was tough for Kurt to go a night without this favorite.
4. Creme Savers. This began many years ago with strawberry flavored, but has altered to raspberry now. I don't think I know one other person on the planet that likes these.
5. Peanut butter and banana sandwiches. This was another night-time snack for a while. He ropes the kids into some of his food fads, and they took him up on this one.
6. Raisin Bran. From Lucky Charms to Raisin Bran (???). I have no answer.
7. Ice cream with peanut butter, bananas, oreos, and whipped cream. This is a summertime treat, typically. I don't know that I can ever remember Kurt eating ice cream (at home) without every one of these items.
So there it is. A little insight on my "sweet" hubby. Mind you, he eats LOTS of vegetables. And gets his exercise. He's doing the "push-up and side plank" on Wii Fit at this very moment, and working up a sweat. Go Kurt!!
1. WATERMELON Jolly Ranchers. These were the absolute favorite when we were dating. He had them everywhere. In his car, in his pockets, in his house, etc. And he tried to convince me. To no avail.
2. Lucky Charms. This one comes in and out periodically. Typically a night time snack. When it happens, it is every night for a month straight, and he gets like 6 boxes at the store at a time. And he's VERY possessive of HIS Lucky Charms. He'll share them, if you find where they're hiding and ask nicely.
3. Peanut butter on marshmallows. This was a trend about a year ago, and it was tough for Kurt to go a night without this favorite.
4. Creme Savers. This began many years ago with strawberry flavored, but has altered to raspberry now. I don't think I know one other person on the planet that likes these.
5. Peanut butter and banana sandwiches. This was another night-time snack for a while. He ropes the kids into some of his food fads, and they took him up on this one.
6. Raisin Bran. From Lucky Charms to Raisin Bran (???). I have no answer.
7. Ice cream with peanut butter, bananas, oreos, and whipped cream. This is a summertime treat, typically. I don't know that I can ever remember Kurt eating ice cream (at home) without every one of these items.
So there it is. A little insight on my "sweet" hubby. Mind you, he eats LOTS of vegetables. And gets his exercise. He's doing the "push-up and side plank" on Wii Fit at this very moment, and working up a sweat. Go Kurt!!
Monday, December 1, 2008
Multi-tasking Momma
Besides getting some Christmas shopping done today, I gave Kinley a hair-cut, helped Shea with her homonym homework, Reilly with dictionary definitions, read to Cam, and made parmesan-crusted chicken with crescents, broccoli and potatoes for dinner. Nothing fancy or out of the ordinary (it sounds fancier than it was). The multi-tasking part of the day made me laugh a bit. I was starting dinner, and was on facebook for a few minutes. A "chat" conversation started with Kim G. about little munchkin #6, when another conversation popped up with Liz. We were conversing about schooling options. Then the phone rang. It was Kim G. We chatted on the phone (ending the on-line chat), when another conversation popped up with a sweet mentor friend of mine. Of course the kids were still talking to me intermittently as well. So I was talking with Kim G., chatting on-line with Liz and another friend, when the other phone line rang. It was the babysitter. "Kim, can you hold on for just a second?" (it was the second time the sitter was calling and I wanted to confirm her coming, and I knew it would be quick). I caught myself then and had to laugh- I was in the middle of four conversations at once, two phones on my ears... oh, the wonders of modern technology! And I apologize to any participants who felt like they only had a quarter of my attention...
Here's the "half-way" haircut. We went short, after Kinley saw an old video of her when her hair was short and cute. I'm happy- short hair is so much easier!
Here's the "half-way" haircut. We went short, after Kinley saw an old video of her when her hair was short and cute. I'm happy- short hair is so much easier!
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