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