the sum of it all

this has been our week.... drugs and doctor's appointments!

all the kids and i have colds. riley is recovering from an ear infection. it is swollen still, but no longer infected. i have an ear infection and caleb has a double ear infection. sleep has been spare around this house!

weekly scripture

we have all been a little under the weather around here... so to be honest, today was the first day that i reinforced our scripture with the kids.

"delight yourself in the LORD!" psalms 37:4

i realize that there is a second part to this verse, but since this generation of children is being tagged "the entitlement generation," i thought we would focus first on just delighting in HIM because of who he is rather than what he gives us.

this week's activity was more like a lesson in vocabulary. i wanted the kiddos to understand the word delight... we talked about the definition, but the most tactile thing i could come up with was cool whip!!! a cookie is fine, but cool whip makes it delightful!!!

delight: greatly pleased, satisfied, bringing joy!

we talked about the joy that our snack brought us and how that same joy or DELIGHT is what is found in the LORD!

when the snack was over, caleb leaned back in his chair and said, "now THAT was a snack!"
how good it would be for us to see the things around us on a daily basis and say, "now, THAT is my GOD!"

another attempt at hair...

this is one of my favorites!

allie has been going to the "hair blog" and asking me to fix her hair every morning! she loves anything with a ribbon!

time to celebrate!

caleb had his three year check up with the cardiologist today. i have to say that it has become so much easier now that his is three. he was very excited to go and "see a picture of his heart." he loved showing Dr. Laird his muscles and of course eating twizzlers while we waited!

i was so proud of what a big boy he was! and we are trying to let everyone know that we and you, if you'll join us, have a reason to praise God's name (not that He needs any more reasons, but he does deserve it!). There was no narrowing of the veins, and no scar tissue that he could see and we do not need to come back until he is FIVE!!! whoohoo!

Jesus, thank you for the gift of this precious life. thank you for your continued protection of him and thank you for entrusting him to us. we still hold him loosely, but lovingly! YOUR name is to be praised! Amen!

5 o'clock

i am hoping that our family is not the only family that hits the 5 o'clock slump. you know, that time of the evening when dad isn't home yet, the kids are hungry, mom is trying to balance cooking dinner and entertaining all the children! it is enough to make me pitch my own little fit and have a mommy melt down!

then, it dawned on me... why don't i take my two issues that work against one another and make them work together... and so the sous chefs were born! meet sous chef allie and sous chef caleb (he likes to do most things in his unders! HA!)

plastic knives are my new best friends. the kids get cutting boards and plastic knives and anything that needs to be chopped is their job! on this night i was making queso and they did all the work! i've also had them slice mushrooms, tomatoes, chicken, etc. it doesn't look good, but who cares... i'm a happy momma when daddy gets home and that matters WAY MORE!

i wanted to show you our indian fry bread from the same evening. it was soo yummy and super simple. what a great alternative to regular tacos. we piled taco meat, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, and sour cream on these babies and, WOW, were they great! this is another one of lance's grandmother's recipes... thanks gigi!
recipe follows:
2c flour
4t baking powder
1/2t salt
1T sugar
3/4c milk
combine dry ingredients. make a well and add wet ingedients. mix with hands. divide dough into 8 equal parts. roll it out to about plate size and fry in EVOO. it only takes about 5 seconds per side if oil is hot. serve immediately! enjoy!

riley updates...

riley is growing by leaps and bounds! he is NEVER still and rarely quiet!!

on this particular day, he did not want to leave the tent. oh, and if you're concerned about my parenting ability... that is not really medicine... it is an empty medicine bottle from allie's doctor kit! his other favorite spot is the toilet and the bathtub... he has been head first in both! LOVELY!

words he is saying: dawg dawg (dog), baba (bottle), da da (dad) mawmaw (mommy) nini (night), and we think he is saying aaee (allie)!

he walks EVERYWHERE!! sometimes he is moving so fast that he trips... he has two big ones to keep up with and he is giving them a run for their money!

weekly scripture

this week's verse is "children obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the LORD." - Col 3:20 what a great verse to help with discipline issues. i love it because it reminds them that they don't obey "just because." there is a deeper heart issue involved!

what better game to play than mother may i! the kids loved asking for permission and saying yes mam every time i said stop. when they got to the end of the driveway they said their verse!

i love this shot because they are helping each other remember the reference to the verse! caleb has asked to play again and again!

allie memories!

my phrase with allie lately has been: "you're my girl!!!" we also love to say to one another, "guess what? I LOVE YOU!"

we've had some sweet moments in the last week that i wanted to share.

i've been working out every other day to jillian michael's SHRED video (i know... nice name, right?) well, allie asked if she could "extercise" with me! we had a great time!
this was the cool down portion... don't you just love the tall socks and dress? HA!

riley even got in on the fun... he was dancing!

she has also LOVED having her hair done... GASP!!! who is this child? so i took full advantage of the opportunity and we've been trying some fun stuff. i found a GREAT blog on doing girl's hair. if you have a little lady in the fam you should check out the link on my side bar... it has been fun!

one more quick story: yesterday caleb exclaimed that he loved God with all his heart and allie told him he couldn't possibly! HA! i told her that he could and that mommy does. she replied, "well, i don't love God with all my heart!" i took a breath and stayed calm... responding with, "you know, babe, that has to be your choice, but you need to know that people that do not love the LORD walk in darkness..." before i could finish my statement she said, "mom, some people walk in darkness even though their eyes are wide open. but i don't have to... i can be different... i can walk in light... in His marvelous light!" and then she broke into song! it made me smile... thank you steve green and your hid 'em in your heart amazing cd! my kids are soaking it in!

dum, dum, da, dum

this past weekend we had the privilege of watching a great friend get married. lance and i both worked with chris "armadillo" walker at the towers for several summers and this weekend he married a beautiful girl!

it was added bonus that ashley, ben, and their cutie kids were there! of course we had to take pics for the blog... this is me trying to figure out how to work our new point and shoot camera!

not bad... everyone is smiling!!! aren't they a precious family!?

and here's my girl!!! she makes me laugh, she knows what i'm thinking before i say it, she gives sound advice, she understands when phone calls are few and far between, she's a great mom, and an amazing woman of God... if you can't tell... she's just wonderful!!!

oh, and, yes... this blog was about chris and his wife amanda... i had to steal this pic off facebook because the best picture i took of them was their back side as they left the reception... that is just pitiful!!

may the Lord richly bless this marriage and may His kingdom advance because of the partnership of these two great people!

reunion is sweet!

lance is home from his trip and all is well in our world! HA! the kids went with me to the airport with their "welcome home, daddy" signs. allie teared up when she threw her arms around his neck.

this picture was taken when we got home... if you can't tell it was WAY past nap time and everyone was grumpy! good thing that daddy came bearing gifts! :)

allie got this adorable pink and white hammock that was promptly hung under her loft bed.

and caleb was pretty excited about his Guatemalan soccer jersey!

he brought momma a little something too... so thoughtful! i got some coffee (yummy), a way cute purse, and some candy. they really know how to make good candy!

but the best gift of all is being together! we missed you babe!

tomorrow, tomorrow,

i love you tomorrow... you're only a day away! lance will have his feet in tyler by 1:00 tomorrow afternoon! yeah! i'm so excited i can not even stand it!

in the mean time... our letter this week is b and our verse is eph. 4:32 "be kind and compassionate to one another." today we cut pictures of things that began with the letter b. they were way better at this than i thought... if you will notice... allie found a bottom! HA!!!!once again they had a fun time... anything with a glue stick is fun!

and after a fun activity and a little nap my kiddos spent the evening with some friends so that i could have some down time!!! thank you to chris and sarah for a fun night away!

these are the girls from the small group that we are a part of. the ladies go out together once a month. tonight we went to Don Juan's for dollar taco night! it was yummy!

ramblings of a mommy...

most of you are aware that lance has been gone for seven days. he won't return until Thursday, making his trip (drum roll please) ten days long. he is in Guatemala with a team of staff spreading God's goodness to Guatemalan children and equipping the men and women there for camp ministry. although his day to day has changed drastically, ours has been much the same... except we are missing a vital piece of our family. Allie said it best today when she said, "but, mom, i just miss daddy because he is my favorite and he loves me well!" those really were her words!

i put on a brave face the first few days, but inwardly wondered how i would ever survive. i can not fill the place of daddy in my children's hearts. on Wednesday night, i burst into tears to hear the sound of his voice on the phone. we didn't think we would get to talk and the surprise of that conversation sent me reeling. i didn't even know what to say to him... there was too much! and like a lunatic, (at 9:15pm) i woke up my children so that they could hear his voice as well. my mom came for days four through ten and that is just what i needed. she kept me focused on other things and on making things fun for the kids. i didn't really even have time to pout! THANKS MOM!!

i have to say that the craziest moment actually happened in Kohl's on Sunday. i was returning clothes at the customer service desk, the kids were looking at the toys on a near by aisle and my mom was strollering (i don't know if that is a word) Riley back and forth by that aisle. when i finished my transaction i walked to that aisle and told the kids it was time to go. in usual four year old style Allie began to complain. i had walked about 10 steps past the aisle and bent down to speak to her about her attitude.
we finished our conversation and i hollered, "come on Caleb."
no response.
"Caleb, let's go!"
no response.
walk ten steps back.... no Caleb.
glance around. look down the aisles on either side.
look around the corner at customer service.
spot the restroom.
throw open the men's door. "Caleb"
throw open the women's door. "Caleb"
nothing.
if you've been in a Kohl's you know it is in a square. my mind was spinning with movie type scenarios of what could have happened. i started shouting his name at the top of my lungs.
women scattered all over the store.
i ran down the aisle to the front of the store and my mom started toward the middle of the store when we heard Caleb screaming.
i was still terrified wondering if he was screaming b/c someone had him.
a man began yelling, "he's over here. a little blond boy? he's this way."
but it wasn't until i wrapped my arms around him that i could breathe again...

it was a great reminder to me. I'm not guaranteed another minute with any of my children. they do not belong to me. they are Christ's and i have the amazing privilege of being there mommy while they are on earth. and i want to see it as such... a privilege... even on the hard, long days when daddy's gone and I'm tired! if one of my kiddos goes to be with Jesus before me, or (God forbid) is snatched up in a store, i want to know that i poured out all of the love, laughs, time, and energy that i could!

that's why -even though my mantel is covered in cars that caleb has had taken away for his disobedience this week- and even though allie crumbles into an emotional mess at the drop of a pin- even still....that's why tomorrow morning I will put my feet on the floor, drag my body to the kitchen, and be grateful that i have three beautiful children to feed breakfast.
and we'll start our day and be GLAD in it!

**side note: we still have no idea how Caleb got so far away w/ out my mom or i seeing him. best guess is that he walked along the back wall and then into the main aisle. i think he may have been following someone that he thought was me?? he was freaked out when i got to him! :(**

sunday snack!

who knew that jello + yogurt + cool whip +

sprinkles

would bring about so much joy!

my kids haven't enjoyed snack like this in some time!

it isn't getting warmer...

so we decided to make a snowman (thanks to this blog friend)!

didnt' they do a great job. i covered the boxes and helped a little with cutting circles, but they did the rest! and, yes, that is a real carrot nose!

we also pulled out the trusty playdough!

caleb is growing up b/c his attention span has really grown... look at all the bears he made!

staying warm...

we woke up this morning to 18 degrees! brrrr! how do you make the time pass with three kids inside all day???

make sweetrolls!!!
it was messy, but it was fun!!
and the end prodcut should be yummy!!!
the finished product. and, yes, these are the pioneer woman's cinnamon rolls! amazing! you can find the recipe here!

as for me...

and my house, we will serve the LORD! Joshua 24:15

we did our scavenger hunt today! can you find any houses in this pic?

rule 1: they had to take turns!

rule 2: you say the verse every time you find a house!

then, the teacher in me couldn't pass up the opportunity to work on our reading skills. i had the kids put the verse in order while working on site words.

we hung it in the bathroom where we would be reminded of it everyday!

it was a HUGE hit!!

new year... new things!

we made 2010 pancakes last week to welcome the new year. this is what we call "cartoon saturday" around our house. we don't watch much tv during the week, but we watch LOTS on saturday mornings!! (poor allie... she had a fever on this day).

lance is gone to guatemala for 10 days. we've made a countdown to when he returns! the * on day four is when my mom is coming... it is my own little countdown within the countdown. HA!

we've set some new goals for this year and one is to be more proactive in our parenting than reactive which seems to be the case more often. we were given this book for christmas (thanks kent and hannah) and are going to use it for the next 6 months.

there is a bible verse for every letter of the alphabet. we are starting with A and working our way through. the first one was the verse below:

i posted it in the kitchen yesterday and we talked about what it means. allie already knows it and was trying to teach it to riley this morning. it was fun to see their enthusiasm to learn... today we are going to have a scavenger hunt for paper houses that i am hiding in the house. every time they find one they have to say the verse! pics soon to follow i'm sure!