Our New Favorite Game

Precious has been such a good girl at school that she got to draw several items out of the treasure chest. Just before Christmas break started she came home with a very disgusting- looking plastic spider(thanks Mrs. S). I HATE all bugs. Spiders, crickets, june bugs, and yes ladybugs. I'm proud to say I'm an equal-opportunity bug hater. My daughter knows this about me, but she also has learned a lot of sneaky things from her father. Her new favorite thing to do is to stand around the corner so I can't see her and throw the spider at me. You would think I would learn after a few times, but she is SOOO sneaky about it, it scares me every time. She's sneakier than you would think a 6 year old could be (probably sneakier than me). Mrs. S--I'm really happy that Precious is good for you at school, but please, please do not send any more plastic bugs home with her!

Oh Krispy Kreme guy you make me laugh!

While Christmas shopping with my sister in Wichita, we both decided we burned enough calories that day to enjoy a Krispy Kreme donut. So we went through the drive-through and got two original donuts and one small coke. Our total was supposed to be ready at the window. So we pull up and this is what happens:

Krispy Kreme Guy: That'll be $137. (with a completely straight face)

Me: Okay (while handing over my debit card)

He was joking and I completely missed it. I realized it as soon as he busted out laughing. It was one of the wonderful laughs in a day spent making memories with my sister.

Faith

Check out this link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pO6DXOsKOw4

Fall Fun

The girls had fun playing in the leaves.

I got to go to the Pumpkin Patch with Precious and her class.Precious dressed up as Tinker Bell.Sissy wanted to be Minnie Mouse.

Rah Rah

Here is some video of Precious cheering at the Orioles game.

"Not everyone can do great things, but everyone can do small things with great love." Mother Teresa

Marshmellow Me

Sissy: I wish I was a marshmellow. Then I could eat myself.

Me: I'm glad you're not a marshmellow because I would miss you if someone ate you.

Sissy: Okay, I wish there was a marshmellow me and a human me. Then human me could eat marshmellow me.

Super Precious!

Precious turned 6 on September 21. She wanted a supergirl party,

so we invited school friends to the "castle park" for some action.

I made capes so all of them could be super girls.

They each decorated their own masks.

At one point Sissy had hers on upside down. She was so

proud of it, I didn't have the heart to tell her, but one of the girls

finally did. She just turned it around and kept playing.

Sissy: Are we late?

Me: No. We're early.

Sissy: What's that mean?!

First Day of Preschool

Taking Sissy to her first day of preschool was a breeze. At least compared to taking Precious to kindergarten. She was excited to get to go to Precious's old classroom. It's funny how different the girls are. When Precious is at school, I worry that she won't speak up when she needs to and that she'll get lost in the rest of the class. With Sissy, I worry that she'll talk too much and get too rowdy with her friends. Sending either one of them to school isn't easy, but I know she'll be in good hands at First Baptist Preschool.

Dear Lord, Be with Sissy as she starts preschool. Help her to learn new things, listen to her teachers, and make new friends. Guide and protect her in every situation. Give her strength, courage, and wisdom as she goes through her day without me. I know that you'll be with her Lord, but remind her of that throughout the day. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Newest Realization

The story starts with my sister and I's plan to meet at the Sedgwick County Zoo Saturday with our four kids. As I pulled up to the zoo that day, everything was blocked off. I found out from a volunteer that today was one of very few days the zoo closes. They were very nice and gave the kids free popcorn and free tickets to get into the zoo some other time. But now, I had to figure out something to do with my two kids and my sister and her kids. We went to the park, ate at Olive Garden, and walked around the shops. After spending the entire morning telling Precious to listen and stop giving me an attitude, I realized something. I will not get to truly enjoy my kids company again until they're 25 years old!! Okay, I'm only half kidding. For the first few years of your kid's life, you make excuses for them. They're still learning. They're not old enough to know better yet. Well, my kids are past that stage. They SHOULD know better. If anyone has any advice on how to deal with a 6 year old with an attitude, I'm all ears!! Here was my attempt. I explained to Precious how when you're little the rules are there to keep you safe. ex. You don't touch a hot stove because it could burn you. I continued to tell her that the rules are for a different reason now. They exist to help her grow into the person God wants her to be. ex. Treat others with respect. This is actually working. All night last night and all day today, she has not whined, complained, or disrespected me! Okay, it might have something to do with Daddy threatening her with hiney spankings too, but I think I'll take the credit on this one. In the mean time, I'll keep looking forward to their 25th birthdays.

Great Girl Friends And Sisters in Christ

I wanted to take this opportunity to thank God for blessing me with such wonderful friends. When we lived in Hutch, I refused to make friends because I knew we would be leaving in a few years. It was hard enough for me to leave all of the friends that I had made in Pratt. So I spent the first years of both my kids' lives with only my husband to help me through it. Other's helped too, but we were pretty much alone in our everyday lives. When we got to Hutch Precious was 1 week old and of course Sissy was yet to be conceived. When we left Hutch, Precious was 3 and Sissy was 1 1/2. Let's just say those were some difficult times. Thank you hubby for being so wonderful and understanding during that time in our lives. Since we've moved to Augusta, I have been welcomed with open arms from almost everyone I've come into contact with. God lead us to an awesome church family. And I have made the best friends through MOPS, Bible study, and other activities. Friends that will tell you what God's saying to you even if you don't want to hear it. Friends that are there for you at all times. Friends that will sit in a booth of a restaurant with you and go through Romans 4 verse by verse so that you clearly understand it. These are the kind of friends that if you are lucky enough to come across in your lifetime, you want to grab on with all your might and never let go. Believe me I'm not letting go. I love all of you!

Lord, I'm amazed sometimes that you know exactly what I need at exactly the right time. I praise you for being so wise and sovereign. Thank you for connecting me with such wonderful, Christian friends that can help me grow in my faith. Help me to always cherish these friends and to help them in the same ways that they've helped me. In Jesus name, Amen.

Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart: so doth the sweetness of a man's friend by hearty counsel. Proverbs 27:9

Our First Visit from the Toothfairy

Who knew losing a tooth could be this much work?

After having a loose tooth for over a week, here is where we were.

So we started the "wiggling process."
And this is how much Precious liked it.

Finally, after DAYS of the wiggling process, it came out.

Trust me there was much drama involved.
Here she is with the pillow that the tooth fairy takes the tooth out of and replaces with $1.

SURPRISE!

Two very special things happened on my birthday this year.

1. Porsha came home from school and said she had something in her backpack for me for my birthday. A "gift" for Mom, not prompted by Dad or teacher or anyone. It was so rewarding for her to think of me on my birthday all by herself. She brought home a book from the library that she thought we could read together to celebrate my birthday. There's no greater gift than that.

2. When Daddy asked Alexa what she wanted to do for Mom's birthday she said, "Yell SURPRISE!" So when I walked into the room that afternoon, they all yelled SURPRISE and gave me my birthday cards and gift.

Thanks to my husband and kids for a wonderful day!!

I Found the Ghost

For the last few weeks our garage door would randomly open. I would run outside each time to see if there was someone driving by. I had heard that someone else's garage door opener could be programmed the same as yours and would therefore open your garage door too. There was never anyone around. I even worried while we were on vacation for a few days that the garage door would open and no one would be there to shut it. Well, today I found the ghost that keeps opening the garage door. Here she is:

We have the spare garage door opener in a drawer in the kitchen. Today just after the ghost had opened the garage door, Sissy asked me, "What does this button do?" She admitted to pushing it a few times lately. At least I know what's going on now.

First Day Gitters?

For me, not her. Precious started kindergarten yesterday. After meeting her teacher on Tuesday, she was so excited to go to school. The whole family loaded up to drop her off. Daddy took her into the school and she was off (Mom couldn't quite deal with letting go of her little girl in front of the rest of the school). I spent the whole day wondering what she was doing, if she was having fun, what she was having for lunch, etc., etc. The only thing I didn't worry about is if she was doing okay because I know what a wonderful person she has turned out to be. I know she makes friends easily, listens to her teachers, and enjoys learning new things. When we picked her up, she went on and on about playing in the gym, reading books, coloring, eating soft tacos for lunch. She didn't like the fruit, but she ate it anyway(that's my girl:) And she was even more excited to go back the next day. Except, she threw up last night and has been running a fever ever since. I had to call her in sick on her second day of school:( She's doing pretty good, but I feel so awful for her. Now she has to wait until Monday to do all those fun things again.

Lord, Please be with Precious as she has all these new experiences. Guide her in your ways when I can't be there to help her. Give her the confidence to make new friends and stick up for them when need be. Protect her from anything that she's not ready to handle yet. Grant me the strength and knowledge to deal with any problems she has along the way. In Jesus name, Amen.

Blissful Branson

We ended up in Branson for our quick vacation before school started. We spent two days at Silver Dollar City. The kids road ride after ride. Alexa even road Fire in the Hole with Jeremiah (Mom's afraid of roller coasters). We also rented a boat for an afternoon and cruised around Tablerock. When we finally booked our hotel, everything was booked because of a car show in town. We ended up at the Hilton located at the Branson Landing. There was shopping everywhere and a fountain and shows, even a train you can ride through the mountains. We all had lots of fun. Here's some pictures.

Me: "You know I'm going to miss you when you're in school all day."

Precious: "You mean I'll get to each lunch at school!"

Sissy as she's running down the stairs: "Mom, we have an emergency!"

Me: "What is it?"

Sissy: "The necklace is in a knot."

Good thing she knows what an emergency is:)

The kids have been begging us to go camping ever since summer started, so last weekend we popped a tent at the lake and roughed it. It was everything I remembered it to be. Hot....uncomfortable....hot! It was definitely worth it to share a special night with the kids. They have been informed that we won't be doing it again for a while though:)

Making Memories

Isn't it funny how it means so much to us when our kids get to experience something that we enjoyed as kids? I got to spent 4 days at El Dorado Lake with my parents and my sister and her family. My kids and their cousins got to bond while swimming in the lake, roasting marshmallows and catching lightening bugs. It's special for me because I got to enjoy those things with my cousins when I was a kid. I have such fond memories of just being silly with my cousins. I pray that my kids will remember those days and cherish them the way I do.

Our Legacy

My grandpa passed away around Christmas time. Since we have family all over the country, the funeral was postponed until June so everyone could make plans to be there. Because of this, we took an unconventional approach to the funeral. Grandpa was cremated and my uncle made a great pine box for the ashes. Grandpa worked for the Santa Fe Railroad for his entire working life, so there's a Santa Fe Railroad plate on the box. Grandpa always said to just bury him in an old pine box next to Grandma, so that's why the box was made of pine. The focus of the funeral was on what a great legacy Grandpa leaves behind. It was wonderful to hear about his life as a Christian and the dedication he instilled in his sons. My grandmother developed Alzheimers early in her life and Grandpa stood by her side until she passed 20 years ago. Even as Grandpa developed dimmensia himself, Grandma was always on his mind. I am inspired by his commitment to his wife and to Jesus Christ. I wish everyone would have such a wonderful legacy in their family.



















For death is no more than a turning of us over from time to eternity.--William Penn

Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.--Psalms 116:15

FREEDOM

Precious learned to ride her bike without training wheels the other day. I'm completely shocked for a couple of reasons. One because she should NOT be old enough to ride her bike yet. And, two because she is so timid, I thought it would take her a few more years. She can even bike ride with Jeremiah and he has to keep up with her. Here's some video of my precious girl and her new found freedom.

Miscellaneous

Check it out!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iueQU3sC2m8

No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him. 1 Corinthians 2:9

"For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11

In His will is our peace. Dante Alighieri

Dear brothers and sisters, whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything. James 1:2-4

Mini-Mozart

Precious has been asking me to take piano lessons for about a year. I had Grandma send home a book with the teacher's manual last time the kids visited and we finally got started the other day. I'm learning as she does. Who knows maybe I'll be a Mozart too:) She has picked up on it really well and even taught herself two more songs. I thought it would be a battle trying to get her to practice, but so far she's been practicing 4 or 5 times a day without me even having to prompt her. Here's what she learned in one day.

The Kind of Person Who Reads Books

I have never been the kind of person who reads books. My mother blames it on being the second child. She always read to my sister, but when I came along there was no more time for that. Who knows why, but I've always thought book readers were nerds (even in my adult-years reading sounds nerdy). When I started attending Bible study, I enjoyed reading my daily homework. I just figured that was different. Now I've been reading all kinds of marriage and parenting books and I actually like it. The other day I even bought a book at a garage sale like my sister always does. Am I a nerd now? I guess according to myself, I am. I don't think you'll find me reading romance novels any time soon, but if there's something I can learn from a book, I just might read it.

Biggy-Bigs

You know how mothers have their little nicknames for their kids. Well, mine for Sissy is babies-babes because she is supposed to always be my baby. Yesterday she turned 4! She informed me that she could no longer be my babies-babes. She would have to be my biggy-bigs. I wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. My little girl is growing up.

Squish, Squash, QUACK!

Most of you know Farm Chick. We took a trip out to her house to see their new ducks. Here are some of the pics. The kids loved them and had fun traipsing around in the mud and rain.

Me: I could spend forever with you.

Sissy: I'm never going to heaven with God. I'm going to watch for cars.

Do you think I'm getting through to her or just confusing her?

Love Dare Day 25

Okay, I'm taking it REALLY slow. Another good day on a rough topic. Forgiveness. The book made me look at it in a different way. It says, "Forgiveness doesn't absolve anyone of blame. It doesn't clear their record with God. It just clears you of having to worry about how to punish them." I've always struggled with why I should forgive someone who doesn't ask forgiveness or even feel like they've done something wrong. Even God doesn't do that! But that's exactly the reason why I can forgive someone who doesn't ask forgiveness. Because God will take care of their punishment. "You release your anger and the responsibility for judging this person to the Lord. 'Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,' says the Lord. Romans 12:19." Whew! Thank God that's not my responsibility. The book also says, "Great marriages are not created by people who never hurt each other, only by people who choose to keep no record of wrongs." I guess that means I should forget about the flowers J didn't buy me for Valentine's Day and the dishes he didn't help me with. Easier said than done, but it might be harder to live in the prison of unforgiveness.

Love Dare Day 24

Here's an update on how my Love Dare is going. Since my marriage is not in any danger, I'm taking it a little slower than was probably intended, but it's working out good for us.

http://www.bhpublishinggroup.com/lovedare/

Today's dare was about lust. They define lust as setting your heart and passions on something forbidden. Lust progresses from eyes to heart to action. In other words, what you think about becomes what you do. And then follows shame and regret. They say, "When your eyes and heart are on God, your actions will lead you to lasting joy, not to endless cycles of regret and condemnation." While sexual lust is not one of the sins that I struggle with, the book pointed out that there are many different kinds of lust. You know when you have a terrible day and nothing seemed to go right. Don't you have those things that you turn to to make yourself feel better? I like to buy new clothes or eat. I know I should really turn to God, but it's just not easy. I would also say that I lust after money. It's easy for me to say, "Life will be so much easier when we have more money." I feel like my natural tendency is to be discontent. That's one of the reason that I love to study Paul. He learned to be content in every situation. Even when he was in dungeons and being tortured, he was content. I know that's what God intended for me to have, I just hope I can do it sooner rather than later. The book says, "Focus on being grateful for everything God has already given you rather than choosing discontentment." CHOOSING DISCONTENTMENT. Is that what I do? It doesn't feel like it's a choice. I need to be grateful for what God has given me and CHOOSE CONTENTMENT. If only it were really that easy.

Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 1 John 2:15

Ear Surgery

I was mowing the lawn yesterday like the wonderful wife that I am (ha, ha) and suddenly a bug flew in my ear! I tried the obvious, shaking it out, but it was stuck. So I went over to the neighbor's house to see if she could get it out or at least see where it was. She could see it, but not reach it and the crawling was driving me crazy. Before I knew it, I was at the doctor's office hoping that they would be able to get it out because if not, they were going to send me to the ER. And I was not going to the ER for a silly bug in my ear. It did feel like a monster bug though. When they finally got it out, it was a little tiny wormy looking thing (YUCK!). They made sure there was nothing else in there and that the worm didn't do any damage and sent me on my way. I will be mowing the lawn with cotton balls in my ears from now on.

Oh why does it have to be this way?!!

Why is it that when your kids are home you long for some alone time, but when the kids are gone you miss them so much? The kids have been at Grandma and Grandpa's for three days now and I can barely stand the thought of not having them around for another two days. There's so much I could be getting done, but nothing quite seems worth doing without the girls here. Not having them around reminds me of how much joy they bring to my life. Joy that is easily masked by frustration because they didn't pick up the toys like I asked or they won't stop fighting with each other. It's a good reminder that I should spend more time just hanging out with them and less time bickering with them about what they did wrong. My babies are growing up WAY to fast!!

Porsha

Alexa

The Rules at Grandma's House

Precious and Sissy went to Grandma and Grandpa's house last night. Yeah, for me!! We met them in Salina for supper and on the way there we started discussing what we were going to eat when we got there. So this is how the conversation went:

Sissy: I'm going to have M&Ms.

Precious in her "duh, I can't believe you didn't remember that" voice: You can only have M&Ms for breakfast.

Because you can't have M&Ms for supper, but of course you can have them for breakfast. Only at Grandma and Grandpa's is that the rule.

This is how sneaky (or not sneaky) Precious can be:

Precious to me: Can I play on the computer?

Me: When I'm done, but you have to get dressed first.

Precious (out loud): You'll forget.

Sissy to J: Can we play hungry, hungry hippos?

J: Sure

Sissy to Precious: Daddy said we could play hungry, hungry hippos as long as I can be the pink one.

Already trying to manipulate her world.

Is Easter a gift-giving holiday?

I would have said no to that question less than one week ago. But in the last week of Beth Moore's Esther Bible study, she discussed each person celebrating their deliverance in their own way. Jews have Purim, some have an anniversary of their victory over an addiction, and some have Easter. Easter has always meant something special to me because it celebrates Jesus' resurrection. However, I have never thought of it as a celebration of God delivering ME from MY sin. I don't have an anniversary of victory or a specific date of significance, but there's definitely plenty of sin to celebrate deliverance from. So from now on, Easter, to me, will be my day to celebrate my deliverance. Like other holidays, I am going to celebrate by feasting, fellowship and gift giving.

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
—1 John 1:7-9

9 states, 32 hours, and 1,989 miles

That's what we crammed into a week of vacation. We had a good time, but I definitely don't recommend doing that with a 3 and 5 year-old in the car with you. We went to Louisiana via Oklahoma and Texas. Then to Missouri via Mississippi, Tennessee and Arkansas. Since we were so close, we snuck over to Illinois too. And then of course back to Kansas. Thank God for portable DVD players and video games. The kids barely whined or complained the whole time. One of the most interesting things we did was take a Katrina tour. Our guide took us through the entire town from the hardest hit areas to the least. The rebuilding is very slow and the guide said it will probably look very similar in ten years because most people aren't rebuilding. You can hardly blame them. Here are some of the pictures:

Precious and Sissy at the Plantation
(I actually sewed Precious's dress. I'll blog about it when I make Sissy's.)

The whole family at the plantation.

If you ask the girls, this is probably all they'll remember about the entire vacation.

"In America, there are two classes of travel: First class, and with children."--Robert Benchley

Love Dare Day 16

Well, as some of you know, I'm doing the Love Dare from the movie Fireproof. Today was one of those epiphany days. The book started out by saying, "You are to nurture the soil of your mates heart and then depend on God for the results." That makes sense and I had already learned that from reading the Love and Respect book. It went on to say, "Have you ever wondered why God gives you overwhelming insight into your spouse's hidden faults? Do you really think it's for endless nagging? No, it is for effective kneeling." That's the epiphany part. I hated the fact that I saw my mates faults and I never considered why I could see them. It finished by saying, "So turn your complaints into prayers and watch the Master work while you keep your hands clean."

Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers.
3 John 2

Cute or Scary?

A few days ago we had the much-awaited Daniel play date. He's Precious Princess's "boyfriend" who she says she's going to marry when she grows up. All three of them, Daniel, Precious, and Sissy, had a good time. At one point, they were playing in the garage, so I went to check on them. Daniel and Precious were slow-dancing. You know like you did in junior high (4 feet apart). It was so cute, I think. After we took Daniel home, I asked the girls what they did. Precious said that they played prince and princess and Sissy was the sister princess. I'm not sure if I still think it's cute or if it's starting to get scary. The girls went to Daniel's house today. This morning Precious picked out her shirt and said, "I want this one because I think Daniel will like it." What! My little girl is already concerned with what boys think of her. How do I stop this madness?

Where a kid can be a kid.

Chuck E Cheese was the place to be Saturday. My niece turned 7! Precious Princess had fun playing all the games and just had to ride the pretend roller coaster with her cousin. After a few hours wrangling kids at Chuck E Cheese, I promptly went home and explained to my husband how we NEVER need to do that. Hopefully Precious Princess won't get any crazy ideas.

J's parents came to visit Sunday. They took us out for lunch, went to an open house with us, and played and played with the kids. Sissy, however, did not have such a good day. First she fell down at the open house. She hurt her bottom so she thought. Until Grandpa pointed out that she had a scrape on her knee. Then she wailed because that hurt now that she knew it was there. So after that was all taken care of, Grandpa was pushing her on the swing. She let go with one hand and did a belly-flop on the ground as she fell out of the swing. She was just an accident waiting to happen and somehow Grandpa was around every time something did happen. Lets just say she wanted Grandma for a while.

Precious Princess got to enjoy some soccer with Grandma.

And they even played on their teeter totter.