Is It Really 2010?

Is it really January 11, 2010!! Aren't we all supposed to be dead or maybe driving around cars in the sky?!? I still can't believe it is the year 2010. But, I have a whole year to get used to it!

I thought of deleting this blog when I logged in this morning (after not logging in for over a year and half) to read a friend of mine's blog and comment on her amazing mommy tips! But instead, I hit "View Blog" and got to go on a little trip down memory lane. Even though I have written very little on this blog, it was so neat to go back and read those posts. I remember those days, but reading what I had written brought back so many memories that I wouldn't have been able to conjur up myself! So, I decided to keep the memories alive and try this again!

I kind of laughed at myself going on about how busy I was with 2 kids, then 3 kids, working a part time job, blah, blah, blah... Yes, I was busy, but not anything compared to now with 4 kids under 5 and a full time job. But, it made me realize that I will ALWAYS be busy and that using that as an excuse to not WRITE this stuff down is only hurting me becasue I don't get to record all of the precious memories that I am surrounded by EVERY day! So, for posterity sake... I post...

To be quite honest, Craig and I are hoping and praying for some change this year. No, not Obama's change... but a lift in our spirits, change in our lives, kick in our pants, etc. from 2009. When we moved back to Tulsa in September of 2008, we expected everything to work out beautifully! After all, we ended up back here only after REALLY trying to follow the Lord! So, of course, with moving back home and feeling very much in God's will, it had to go off like a well rehearsed musical, right? Wrong! The day after we moved in, we thought I was miscarrying and then found out about the high risk pregnancy on the first day of Craig's job and a week before I was to start my "new" job fulltime. Though it was a blessing that the baby was fine, but the stress of being on "semi-bedrest" with 3 small kids a fulltime job and a house to move into made me crazy even still. That is how it started and we spent the next 15 months trying to get things in order and fight battle after battle and make sense of our life here in this town we both love... but we are just now starting to come out of the clouds. I could go into the details, but won't. So many times during this last year I have cried and cried and asked "why Lord why?" I've learned to have compassion and tried to understand that when someone is going through a "funk" it is better to just let them be funky than to try to solve problems! But I'm a fixer and I want everyone to be happy, so that just didn't work for me. And I had 4 kids to take care of and a life to live... I don't have time for funk... And, one more thing, what reason, EXACTLY, do we have to be funky about? We have 4 healthy beautiful children (when so many cannot even have 1) and we both have amazingly good and stable jobs (when so many don't) and I could go on and on. We are amazingly blessed far beyond what we deserve... So, what is the matter now? Ok, I'm done with that last venting fit! :) I think the biggest issue was that we were missing being a part of a church family. That was such a part of our lives in AR that it was hard to come here and have that stripped away so suddenly. And then with nothing to replace it. We are just now (hopefully) finding what will be our church home.

I am pretty sure that things have been on the upswing for the last several months now. Praise God! Thank you for answering my MANY, MANY prayers! We had a good fall, holidays and new years with lots of good plans for 2010. We are through having babies and made sure of that. 2010 will be my first year to not be pregnant at all since 2002. Yeah me!!! I feel like we are starting a new chapter of our lives and am so excited!

The kids are amazing and everytime I get upset or stressed out, I am reminded the very next moment of how BLESSED we are. And each one of them brings me joy every day in their own little ways! Emma will be 6 in April and I just can't belive it! She is growing into such a pretty girl. She is so full of personality and loves to talk. She loves to do crafts and draw. She is in Kindergarten at Metro Christian and loves it! She is learning to read and she loves to make books out of paper and my stapler. She is so creative and a great big sister! Gracie just thinks the world of her and Emma loves to just play with her for hours. Noah will be 4 at the end of this month and he and Emma have become the best of friends and play together very well. Noah loves his big sister's imagination and all the games and make-believe scenarios that she can come up with. He just plays right along and fills whatever role of her imaginary play she will let him. He is our most sensitive one with fragile feelings. He still gets up at about 5:30 everyday. He is a BIG daddy's boy, most likely due to the fact that he gets a couple hours of daddy's attention all to himself every morning since they are both early risers and the rest of us love to sleep! He is going to Metro as well and is in P3 there. He is learning to love Jacob and we are starting to see signs that they will be the best of friends, but they still fight MOST of the time. Jake just turned 2 and is still not talking. Not that he would have time to get a word in edgewise with Emma and Noah, but it would be nice if he would try. We are getting ready to start speech therapy to help things along though the docs are not worried about him at all and his development is right on target or advanced in every other area. The ENT said this was amazingly common for boys in large families with an older sister. Imagine that! Jake is my sweetie though. He had a really hard year too. With the new baby and move and all that. But he is coming out of it and learning to not throw fits and instead give hugs and kisses. He is such a smartie and tries to tell me so many things but they just come out as the cutest jiberish I have ever heard. He even shruggs his shoulders and uses all kinds of hand motions when he talks. He is every bit of drama that his older sister is, for sure! But he always comes at me with his lips smooched together for a kiss! I wish that would never change, but I know it will. Now, Grace is a hoot! That is all I can say. I think she is going to have the most personality of all of them, which is saying alot because they all have big personalities. She is such a sweetie and always smiling and laughing. She never wants to be in a room by herself. She always wants a thousand people around her. When the kids get crazy, she wants to be right in the middle of the floor with them in the action and gets mad at me when I hold her back for her own safety! She is my smartest 9 month old by far. She says mama and dada and waves hi and also waves by while saying bybyby... She and Jake go to the Church at BattleCreek and her teachers just love her there. Who wouldn't!? She is the finishing touch on this family and we can't imagine life without her and we are so thankful she is here!

So, that's the kid update and here we are, the 2nd week of 2010... Here's to an amazing year full of all kinds of good stuff! I can't wait!

I'm Trying

I'm one of those people that has a list a mile long of new years resolutions... So far this year, I am not doing that great with any of them! It seems that life with 3 little ones goes by at light speed and somedays Craig and I barely come up for air. I think sometimes, that maybe I should just stop and enjoy the stage I'm in with the kids instead of worrying about what needs to get done and what new years resolutions haven't been met! I think I'll work on that NY resolution a little more! ;)

The kids are just growing so fast! I'll post some pics soon. Emma is just so funny. Everything she says (outside of sassing :) is hilarious! She made me "dinner" the other day, but before we could eat our french fries, eggs, potato chips, brownies and cookies (all plastic food in case you were wondering what I actually feed my kids!) she told me to "Wait, Mommy! We can't eat until our guest-es gets here!" And just this weekend, she asked Craig if he would "come enjoy her for dinner"! And of course he did join her... Noah is really starting to talk! He is putting sentences together and suprises us with a new one every day! Emma makes fun of him sometimes and says he is learning to talk (which she gets reprimanded for), but it is amazing that he is talking seeing as most of us can't get a word in when she is in the room! Jake is so big. You know how you have those moments with babies - you look at them one day and you're like "man, he has really grown, he just looks so big!" We had one of those on Saturday. He really is growing fast. he will be 3 months old on Saturday and fitting tightly into his 3-6 month clothes. He isn't sleeping through the night yet, hopefully that will happen soon. But he is a very, very happy baby. You can catch him smiling most all the time and when he isn't, you can persuade him to very easily!

Craig and I are struggling with wanting change right now. We have both always liked change, but we have to be careful because we seem to always get the 3 year itch... We miss Tulsa, would like to be closer to his or my parents, worry about schools for Emma, etc. But we want to be where God wants us and doing what He would have us do - and we really aren't sure where that is right now. We both feel like AR is not home, but of course the Lord could show us otherwise. I did actually look for jobs in OK, there were a few, but not sure we are ready to take that step yet. We are just going to pray about it and see what the Lord has in store for us this year! I may still be sitting here posting in Van Buren this time next year and if that is what the Lord wants, then so be it!

My New Years Resolution!

Ok, you might be thinking... is this joke? Are my eyes deceiving me? Did she actually post on her blog?

No, this is not a joke and you aren't going crazy... I am actually posting for the first time since I set up the blog last Spring! Sad... yes, I know. Give me a hard time, I deserve it! One of my lesser, but still important NY resolutions this year is to consistently post on this blog at least once a week. I have to give props to my friends who do blog consistently, after reading some of your blogs I realized how cool this was to be able to have a journal of your family and your life! So here we go!

Life with 3 kids has been treating us pretty well... Yes, at times it is crazy, but I really think it would be just as crazy even if the baby wasn't here. He just causes it to be slightly more crazy, but slightly is barely measurable! ;) He is such a sweet baby...

Our holidays were very nice. We spent Thanksgiving with Craig's family and they were nice enough to make the drive to Van Buren so we didn't have to travel with a 3 week old. We had a great time and lots of good food. Then my sister and sweet husband threw me a 30th surprise birthday party, and yes, it was a surprise. I didn't figure it out till we got there. And what a special surprise! It really made turning 30 less painful! I really appreciated everyone who came and especially those that made a drive from Tulsa or Kansas City! It was a Luau to remember... Craig, and mostly Becky, did an awesome job! We spent Christmas with my family and yet again my parents were so kind to come here instead of us dragging ourselves and our many children to Tulsa. We had a great time and the kids really enjoyed Christmas this year. The memorable gifts for Emma were her ride on airplane and Barbie vanity. For Noah, it was, without a doubt, his shake-n-go race track and cars! Hours of endless fun! He also liked his ride on airplane too! For Jake, well, I think he slept while we opened gifts!

On New Years eve, we spent the day and early evening in Tulsa with my mom and dad. We left around the kids bedtime and were in bed ourselves around 11pm. I don't think we have seen the new year rung in since kids... But that is life... sleep is a priority for SO, SO many reasons!

So far, 2008 has been busy. Work started back up for me and Craig as well as school and all our various activities. Last weekend we had a Leadership Conference at church that kept us busy and up late, but was well worth it. Hoping for a relaxing weekend coming up!

Thought from a Starbucks Cup!

This is an email that Craig sent out, that prompted me to get this page set up today since it has been on my to do list for, I don't know... a year! Anyways, here are some thoughts from Craig...


Here's a blog from a guy who doesn't have a place to blog ;)

This quote was written on the back of my Starbuck's cup this morning:
"Growing up, my parents always said, "You will leave this world the same way you came into it: with nothing." It made me realize that the only things we do in this world that count are those things that make the world a better place for those who will come behind us."
-- Tyrone B. Hayes (Biologist, herpetologist and National Geographic Emerging Explorer)

Now, for all I know, this gentleman may be a fully devoted follower of Christ. However, Starbuck's is definitely not a Christian organization (don't hear me wrong, I love their coffee and enjoy going there, but I'm pretty sure Jesus is not their focus). This just struck me because it's one of those times where you see wisdom in an unexpected place. His thought of you will leave this world the way you came into it is almost a straight quote of Job 1:21. Then, his thought about "the only things we do that count are those that make the world better" immediately reminded of Piper's book, "Don't Waste Your Life". Several times in that book Piper talks about a plaque that hung in his kitchen growing up, which said something like, "Only one life, will soon be past; only what's done for Christ will last". Of course, this thought also lines up with biblical truth (1 Cor 3).

I recently heard a sermon from Rob Bell (thanks Jeff) discussing the fact that we can find truth anywhere, and this is evidence of that. One of my thoughts after that sermon was that I agree that we can definitely find truth anywhere, but the litmus test for determining truth is the word of God. In this case, I can apply this thought from a Starbuck's cup because I believe it to be true based on scripture. Of course, my thought on making the world a better place will also be shaped by the Word of God and could be different from the author of the quote, but one of the other things that Bell brought out is how this can be a connecting point with those who don't know Christ yet. This could definitely be a starting point of a great conversation with another Starbuck's patron because we both agree on this! Maybe an opportunity to help someone see that the Christian life is also meant to make a difference in the world (making disciples, offering our bodies as living sacrifices, loving our neighbor, etc.)

The other 2 quick thoughts I had were: 1) this is evidence of man being created in God's image with knowledge of his commands written to our heart. There probably aren't many people who would disagree with this thought, and it lines up directly with the Bible. 2) This challenges me to live out my faith (i.e. James -- my deeds are evidence of my faith). There may be many outside of the church who don't know Christ taking this to heart (Feeding the hungry, helping the sick, etc.) Amy brought up just the other day how in Romans 2, Paul mentions that because of the hypocrisy of the Jews, God was blasphemed among the Gentiles. It's just convicting to me, and it challenges me to seek God's grace to enable me to live and love like His Word tells me to, bringing Him glory!

We are finally catching up with the times!

So many of our friends and family have blogs that we love to read and stay up to date with! Now, after my many excuses of not having time to keep up with it, we are finally joining in the fun! So here is the latest...

Noah is getting so big. He is 15 months now! His little personality is coming out more and more every day. His new favorite word is "NO" and he loves to say it in response to any question asked of him. Here is a picture of him on Easter Sunday. For those of you that have been praying for his eyes, continue to do so. They are a little bit better, but still have issues now and then. I hope to take him to a different doctor this month where hopefully they can give him a vision test and communicate with me a little more than our current pediatric eye doc. He still doesn't quite understand about the new baby. When I patted my stomach the other day and told him there was a baby in there, he looked at me quizzically and then lifted my shirt and looked underneath!

Emma just turned 3 in April and her father and I can hardly believe it! She is constantly chatting about something and has an amazing imagination. She is definitely girly, but loves her cars, firetrucks and trains just as much. Of course, she gets a lot of influence from her baby brother and 2 boy cousins, Isaac and Eli! She is hoping that the new baby in mommy's belly is a girl because "she already has a baby brother"! Below is a picture of her at Easter this year. Her best friend is still Baby Jaguar for those of you who have had the pleasure of meeting him, and she has become so motherly in the last few months. Everything that mommy does to take care of Noah, Emma does to take care of Baby Jaguar. Too cute! And I guess it is good preparation for the new little one! One last thing on Emma... the other day I had to run a quick errand to drive thru and pick up a prescription, so I loaded everyone in the car without shoes on. Of course, Emma immediately asked why they didn't have shoes on, so I said, "Mommy just has to run a quick errand and we aren't getting out of the car, so you and Noah can stay in your bare feet." To which she quickly replied, "Mommy, I don't have bear feet, I have girl feet and Noah has boy feet." Once again, I stand corrected!

Craig and I are doing great. Craig still loves his job and not much has changed there. I am now 14 weeks pregnant with our third and finally starting to lose the nausea. We should find out what the sex of the baby is in about 3 weeks, so we are excited. I am still working from home about 15 -20 hours a week and really enjoying it. We don't have any big plans for the summer except a few trips to visit family.

A friend of mine uses her blog to keep a list of the things she is thankful for each week, I am going to be a copy cat and do the same thing because I think it is such a great idea. And, I constantly need to be reminded, in the midst of my complaining, of how blessed we truly are! So here goes my list for this week...

- For my husband, who let me take a hot bath last night while he bathed the kids. He is always selfless when it comes to me and our family, no amount of Thanks will ever do.

- For my sister, who I talk to every day and can't imagine a day without her.

- For my mom and dad, who took us to Branson this last weekend where we had a fabulous time and the kids really enjoyed themselves.

- For my friend Krista, who let me vent yesterday about something I can't vent to just anyone about!

- For my friend Laura, and the wonderful dinner we had on Monday night. I love our times together of getting away and chatting for hours. And thanks to John and Craig to for watching the little ones! ;)

- For my job, it always gives me a few hours a week to break away from the routine.

- For American Idol, yes, I said American Idol... It is our 2 hours every week of watching the boob tube when the kids go to bed, and we always enjoy it! And no, I just don't have a fav yet... love Jordin, but Melinda is so good too! And what about Blake?!? I just don't know...

- For the rain, though I am ready for summer sun, the rain this week was nice and of course I LOVE storms!

- For nap time, I was actually able to take an hour nap on Tuesday afternoon this week. A necessity for being pregnant in the first trimester, but not a reality on most days with 2 little ones.

- For everyone who has supported me with a Walk for Life donation! We really do have some generous friends and family!