Finally!!!

I never, ever, EVER thought I'd see this day...and I'm not exaggerating here. I think the girls are potty trained, and that means no more diapers for us!!! We've been a diaper family for the past 6 years. And for one of those years all four of our kids were in diapers! I've been putting off the potty training because the thought of training 2 at one time was overwhelming for me. Last Sunday the girls realized that they were still in the 2 year old class at church. They have to be out of diapers to be in the 3 year old class. This motivated them to want to wear the big girl underwear that Auntie Emy gave them for their 3rd birthday in November. They've worked hard all week, and I think they'll be ready to go to the big girl class tomorrow morning. What a great award for their efforts! Now, is there a potty training award for mommies?

A Wedding Quiz, Dark Chocolate and Groundhogs

This post goes along with the previous post about Jared and weddings. Jared and I had this little conversation before he fell asleep tonight:

Jared: "I'm going to give my wife a little quiz before I marry her."

Me: "What kind of quiz?"

Jared: "A wedding quiz."

Me: "What will you ask her?"

Jared: "Four things:

1. Are you a Christian?
2. Do you love God?
3. Do you read your Bible?
4. Do you go to church?"

Too cute. I hope she passes!

And this has nothing to do with the wedding quiz, but I just thought I'd share with all of you what I'll be eating tonight. Phil doesn't study on Friday nights, so I made a batch of brownies for us to share later. He stopped by the store on the way home from school tonight and brought home this Dark Chocolate Truffle Flourless Cake and these Silky Smooth Dark Chocolate Dove Promises. Yum! Have you ever tried the Silky Smooth variety? They're incredible!

And this picture is for my mom, who, by the way, is celebrating her 37th wedding anniversary today!

She wanted me to post a picture of what we made in Friday Preschool this morning. Today's theme was Groundhog Day.

Pre-wedding Jitters

Jared has been asking me lots of questions about getting married. I don't why, but he's really interested in the subject. Last Sunday he told us that he wanted to stay here in Spokane with his wife, because he loves this area.

Today he asked questions about paying bills and supporting a family. I told him he needed to get a job so he could have money to pay bills and buy food and clothes. He thought about that for awhile; I could tell he was nervous. This was his response...

"So, when you get married, do they give you money so you can survive the first day?"

He must equate getting married with getting his first job--like they both begin on the same day. And I'd like to know who "they" are!

Yummies!

This morning I took the kids to a place called Jump and Bounce. We stopped by Krispy Kreme doughnuts on the way. Gracie and Lily wanted the chocolate-filled Valentine doughnuts.

The boys ordered doughnuts with rainbow sprinkles.

Caleb took a break from his doughnut to do a little "nose twitching" with Mommy. He also wanted to share his hat with me.

Now, off to Jump and Bounce!

Jump and Bounce

We enjoyed a wonderful morning at Jump and Bounce!

Jared is such a good big brother to help sisters up the big slides.

Caleb enjoyed running through the giant obstacle course.

Gracie liked the pretty pink flowers in the Toddler Zone.

Just Keepin' It Real...

Behold, the cabinet underneath my kitchen sink!

Blogging is an interesting thing. I've enjoyed using it to journal our family's life. Phil is going to make a hard copy one of these days so we can have it to cherish in book form. Won't that be fun?

I also enjoy "blog surfing" to peek into the lives of others and see what's going on in their homes. One of the things I've realized about blogging, is that people do it for different reasons. I find myself drawn to blogs that present life in a positive light. I feel the same way about visiting with my friends face-to-face. I much prefer visiting with friends who don't gripe and complain about their husbands and children, but encourage me spiritually. None of us are perfect or live in perfect homes, but getting together to chat about all the negative things going on in our lives does nothing to improve matters.

Another thing about blogging is that it's very easy to post what you want people to know about your life. I choose to write about the positive things that go on in my home. I realize it gives the impression that I have it all together as a mom. But the truth is, I don't! And that's not what I set out to do when I post here on my blog. When I look back on my years as mom, I want to remember the good times. I want to remember my kids doing craft projects with me, not the fact that almost everything I do with them backfires on me when they start arguing about paint colors, or who gets to sit on the stools, or who gets the pink sprinkles, etc. Just so you know my kids do fight. They argue all the time. They gripe, complain, hang onto me and whine, throw themselves on the floor and cry, and I do get upset. I also lack organizational skills, and the evidence around my home haunts me daily. I just don't want to focus on all of that here on my blog. Writing about it would only remind me of it later.

Last night I told my friend, Jenny, that I would post a few pictures here to confirm that I don't have it all together. :) So, without further adieu, here's the proof.

Enjoy...

Here's my sewing stuff. I know I'm really going to embarrass myself here. Not only do you see an unorganized mess, but there are 3-4 unfinished sewing projects stashed in that corner...

One of my kitchen counters...

My pantry closet--no rhyme or reason to the placement of anything in here...

My purse--not such a mess, but, I confess, that's bribery candy you see in there...

My bathroom cabinet...

My kids' closet...

Our boots and coats by the back door....

And here's the biggie. I saved the best for last...my bedroom closet and this morning's laundry. I was so tempted to straighten up the closet before taking this picture, but I restrained myself. As I took this picture, I asked myself,

Does it always look this bad?

So, there you have it! It's kind of refreshing to post pictures of my closets. Now I feel motivated to do something about the mess!

Need a Superhero?

Just give me a call...I have a few on hand.

Circus Tent Club

If you're fortunate enough, you just might get a special invite to the exclusive Circus Tent Club!

Once a member, you can enjoy a relaxing time in a very special two-room tent with pancake snacks and sweet, smiling faces.

There's even a pasture out back in case your sheep need to graze.

Simple Gifts

Wasn't Yo-Yo Ma incredible this morning? Click here to watch him play John Williams' new composition of "Air and Simple Gifts" if you missed it!

Once upon a Dollhouse...

Gracie, talking to her dollhouse: "I wish I was little and lived inside of you."

What girl hasn't dreamed of living in her dollhouse?

Me by Me

I was looking through a few boxes in the basement this afternoon, and I found this book from 2nd grade Scholastic book orders (1981). It was a fill-in-the-blank diary of sorts. Jared was excited to see that my favorite game was Twister.

I find it interesting that I wanted to give a million dollars to the "chirch," considering I didn't even go to chirch back then.

My favorite song was Sheena Easton's "Morning Train," or, as I used to call it, "9 to 5."

See How My Garden Grows...

Doesn't Jared look like such a big boy in this picture? As hard as it is for me to watch my children grow up, it's also exciting to see God at work in their lives every day. I'm noticing so many beautiful changes taking place in their little hearts. It's like watching a garden grow. I'm reminded of a song Kathy Lee Gifford sings on one of our lullaby CDs called, "I Love You up to the Moon"

Someday when you're older and taller than me,
I'll say, "I watched you grow like a beautiful tree."

Someday if you rise up and call me 'blessed,'
I'll say, "It was a joy to give you my best."

Anyone Need a Doctor?

It's so nice to have a resident doctor in the house.

Congratulations, Caleb!

Caleb won the Christmas coloring contest at our favorite grocery store! He won a $5 gift card. He chose to spend it on cookie dough ice cream and a chocolate Valentine heart. He doesn't look very happy here, but he is; he just didn't want to hold the ice cream because it was too cold.

My Precious Boy

Have I ever mentioned how much I adore my children?! The kids wanted to listen to The Singing Bible tonight as they fell asleep. A little bit ago Jared got up, came into the kitchen, grabbed his Bible and said to me, "Mom, can you just read me the whole Bible? When can we do another Bible study?" I love this boy! And I'm so excited that he loves God's Word. Every day in school, I read to the boys from Jared's Adventure Bible. Right now we're reading in Genesis. I read a couple of chapters to them each day. He calls this time our Bible study. Isn't this the sweetest thing?

God Takes Care of Me, Once Again!

I have to tell you about what happened to me last night. After dinner, I went to the grocery store to buy milk. While I was shopping, I heard, "Would the owner of a red Cherokee come to the service desk." I thought to myself, "this can't be good." I followed a man (who happened to have twin daughters with him) up to the service desk. He also owned a red Cherokee. The employee informed us that somebody had reported a "smoking vehicle that smelled like it was burning." I peeked outside the window and, sure enough, it was mine. The man offered to wait for me and check my car. When I popped the hood, this is what we found...

This is, I mean, was our radiator hose. He knew exactly what to do and explained to me what had happened, why the car was smoking, etc. He was able to slice the hose below the cut and clamp the remaining portion so I could make it home. He even followed behind me until I turned onto my street, just to make sure I made it home safely. I'm so very thankful that this man, an owner of a red Cherokee, was there in the store and was willing to help me. This was no coincidence!

My Sweet Boys

This is enough to melt a mommy's heart...

Caleb, with his arm around Jared

Jared, with his arm around Caleb

So Good to Get Out

We just read about the Chinook Winds in the concluding chapters of The Long Winter. Coincidentally, they're blowin' this way right now. This past Saturday it was 0 degrees at 9 a.m., but our temperatures are in the 40's this week. The snow is melting before our eyes, which means we'll have to deal with localized flooding now.

The kids and I got out while we had the chance and what a great morning we had! We headed up north to the county library (we usually go to the city library up the street from our house). I had a few books there on reserve, one of which made Lily squeal.

We hung out there and read for awhile, and then we stopped by Starbucks. The drive-thru was closed due to falling ice, so we went inside for apple juice and snacks. Lily brought her Nellie book (as she calls it) for me to read. We had a very cozy time sipping juice and reading Lily's new book.

On the way home, I had to stop by the bank to deposit the insurance check for our collapsed patio roof (gotta love home owner's insurance!). There, in the parking lot, we watched a crane lift snow out of a grocery store that had closed last week due to its roof collapsing. The crane lifted a giant canvas out of the store and we watched the "worker men" dump large amounts of snow into a pile in the parking lot. The boys loved this! I figured if they had to endure my reading a pink book about 2 little girls, watching this large crane at work was a nice balance.

The lady at the bank gave the kids lollipops...a nice ending to our morning outing. When we arrived home, our neighbor informed us that his cat was missing. He asked us to keep an eye out for him. Gracie has been walking around the house for the past hour calling out, "Kitty..." She loves kitties. She would really like for this kitty to be lost in our house. Of course, this freaks Jared out like you wouldn't believe. He's deathly afraid of cats.

All in all, we had a great morning out. A change of scenery does wonders!

The Nice Snow Plow Man

I don't know what else to title this post, because I'm very thankful for the nice man who drove the snow plow through this afternoon.

Phil went back to school today. As most of you know, we've had more than our fair share of snow this year. I would gladly give any or all of it to those of you who envy us. While Phil was out, the snow plow came through and did our side of the street 3 times, creating an enormous 4 1/2 foot berm right in front of our driveway. Phil always goes out right after the plow comes through in order to shovel that hard and packed-down snow. If you wait too long, it's nearly impossible to move. So, I put on my boots and gloves and headed out the door to find the snow shovel. By this time all of my neighbors were outside trying to remove the snow from their driveways, as well, and many of them commented that I seemed to have more snow in my driveway than any of them...hmmm...imagine that.

I jabbed the snow shovel into the berm and the snow didn't budge. I wanted to cry, thinking that it would take me forever to move that snow, and I had 2 sick kids inside the house. I chiseled away at the pile for a few minutes and then prayed and asked God to do something...anything. I didn't want to leave it for Phil, because by the time he got home, the snow would have been worse.

Then the most amazing thing happened. The snow plow drove by, but on the other side of the street. He had gone the distance of about 2 houses before he stopped, backed up diagonally past my house, moved forward, and then pushed his blade through the berm in my driveway. I don't know if I looked pathetic out there or what! I do know how to shovel snow. Maybe he realized that I had an incredible amount to shovel. I'm not sure what he thought, but I thanked him and then thanked God for His provision. It still took me about an hour to shovel out what was left, but I'm thankful for his help, nonetheless.

Dancing the Night Away

I know, I know...when it rains, it pours around here. With cousins playing on the computer last week, I wasn't able to blog much. Now I'm trying to play catch up. I forgot to post this hilarious video clip from Chuck E. Cheese. You can hear me and Phil in the background trying to get Lily in there with the others, but she wouldn't budge. Jared, Caleb and Gracie could see themselves on a t.v. monitor as they moved about. They sure keep us entertained!

A Few Birthday Shots...

We had a little family party for Jared tonight. We decided to have ice cream sundaes instead of birthday cake, because we had cake earlier in the week when his cousins were here.

He enjoyed opening his gifts--what kid doesn't!?

After dinner, the whole family played with one of his new games, Twister Hopscotch.

Happy Birthday, Jared!

I can hardly believe it! Jared turns 6 today. We're so thankful for him. He's a terrific big brother. He loves God with all his heart. He has a very soft, tender conscience. He's kind to others.

He's a thinker...always asking questions and concerned with details.

And he makes us laugh. Boy does he make us laugh!

We love you so much, Jared. We're thankful God placed you in our family. You bless our hearts every day. Your Daddy and I pray that you'll grow to be a man who loves and serves Jesus. Have a wonderful birthday, my sweet, sweet boy.

Poor Phil

Doesn't look like he minds too much.

Or does he?