Photostory Friday: Make Way For Baby

And while you’re at it make way for mommy, she’s gonna need a little more room to squeeze by. This is what comes from deciding that your family does not feel complete and trying for one more. I am happy to say that after only 3 1/2 months of trying we are expecting baby number 4. I am dismayed to announce that baby number 4 is code for you are going to look like humpty-dumpty in 8 short weeks.

In an attempt to keep my very excited 4 year old daughter up to date on the baby’s growth I started out telling her the size of the baby each week. You know, “this week the baby is the size of a poppy seed, now it’s the length of a nail head…” all this has resulted in the weekly question on Elyse’s part…”What is the baby today?” My poor child thinks her sibling is metamorphosing into all kinds new things in it’s quest to finally become, and Elyse has her mind firmly made up on this, a baby sister.

Yesterday I told her it was the size of a bean, prompting this reaction from her. “Why is our baby a bean? I like beans, can we have beans for dinner tonight?”

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Monday Madness: My Thoughts Exactly

A few years ago we had moved halfway across Texas to work in a group home as house parents to Jr. High and High School kids. We had only been there 4 months when we found out we would need to be finding a new job. The rules of the particular place we were at were that you could not work there and have more than two biological kids. So when we found out we were pregnant with our sweet Elijah we were told “Congratulations! You’ll be missed.” The arrangement that we made with our employer was that if we found work elsewhere we would be allowed to leave even if she had not found a replacement for us. In turn if she found somebody else we would need to leave regardless of our situation.

We spent months looking nonstop for another job with no luck. (Well nothing that would pay the bills) We were stressed, overwhelmed and occasionally wondering where God was in all of this.

One evening, here I am six months pregnant, knowing that at any moment not only would we be out of a job but be homeless as we lived in the home we were working in… it had been a particularly emotional and stressful day. Elyse, who was 2 at the time was very fond of the song God is so Good, thanks to Veggie Tales. She walked around the house singing the words, “God is so good, God is so good, God is so good, he’s so good to me” all the time. This particular day as she was seated at the dinner table waiting for the food to be served. She started in on her beloved tune but this time was a little different than all the others. Out of her mouth came the words that I had been silently and un-admittedly thinking in my own head for weeks, even months.

“God is Okay…” was sung with such heart and feeling. My husband and I shared an amused look which, I dare say, showed just the slightest hint of agreement.

Well said, my funny little girl. I suppose if it’s in my heart I might as well tell it like it is. Leave it to the children to do so.

Who Done It, Ain’t Gonna Cut It

My oldest son cracked me up at Thanksgiving this year. The cousins were all together at my parent’s house. There are ten of them seven years and under so any chance to get the bunch outdoors is okay with us. It had been a full day as most thanksgivings go, lots of fun, lots of laughter, and very few fights, that alone being a holiday miracle.
Several of the oldest cousins had been contentedly playing outside for a while when it started to sprinkle. I was preoccupied with Elijah inside and had not noticed the rain coming in to ruin all the fun. My brother had called the kids in to wait out the weather.

A few minutes later I saw Isaiah and his cousin Seth heading back out the door. I called Isaiah back in and told him he could not go back out yet because it was raining. Immediately Isaiah piped up with the first line of defense.

“No it’s not.” And then quickly realizing that with one glance out the window, that could obviously be shot down, he took another approach. “Seth did it!”

I have to be honest; I looked for a lesson here in this anecdote. It was a cute story and surely there was something to glean. Shifting blame, perhaps, not taking responsibility? I dove into the bible to see what the word had to say about responsibility, I didn’t have much to learn here. Sure it’s a good lesson but I don’t struggle too much with trying to blame others, in fact I tend to blame myself for most things that go wrong. My husband and I have a continuing conversation, whether the kids are acting up, he’s having a bad day, his order came out wrong at a restaurant. I say, “I’m sorry.” Jarrod says, “what for?” “I don’t know, I just thought maybe I needed to be sorry.” He teases me and informs that I don’t need to be sorry for everything.

Now, I am way off subject here… sorry!

As I was reading through the normal lessons that spring to mind in the area of shifting blame, still looking for a springing board I got the ever so gentle tap on the shoulder from a very wise man. (God in case you didn’t get that) He reminded me of a lesson I need a lot in my life right now and once again, one of my kids helped bring it to my attention. Sure it was funny that Isaiah was trying to blame his innocent four-year-old cousin for bringing on the rain that was showering down on their parade. What’s not quite as humorous is what was behind his motives. Isaiah had decided he wanted to play outside and he was looking for any excuse he could find for why Isaiah should get to do what Isaiah wanted to do. Trying to convince me it wasn’t even raining, accusing his cousin in hopes that he could still go out and have some fun, and phooey on Seth.

Why do I fail to see the humor in this? My children are such glaring image of me sometimes. I do not like the reflection much these days. I want what I want and try my best to come up with all the reasons why I think it should be given to me. With not much concern for anything else going on around me. Who cares if somebody else ends up in time out as long as I get my time outdoors? Sure I’ll continue to think Isaiah’s declaration of “Seth did it!” as funny. It was very cute at the time! But I’ll continue to look at my often child like behavior and see if I can’t make it just a little closer to that of a budding woman of God.

List your blog for free at Home With Friends

God gives again

More of God’s Christmas blessings to our family include a Wal-Mart gift card for $25 left anonymously on my husbands desk at church on Wednesday and a $50 Wal-Mart gift card from a couple in our church given to us this afternoon.

Since we have been blessed with a little bit extra lately we decided to go out to eat after church today which we hardly ever do. Several members of our church were at the restaurant when we showed up and they were all gone by the time we were done eating. (We are always the last to leave the church). When Jarrod went to pay for our meal the cashier told us it had already been taken care of. Man God is good!!!!

List your blog for free at Home With Friends

Tiny Talk Tuesday: It Gets Strange Around Here

I overheard a conversation Elyse was having with God one day. I missed part of it. Here is what I did catch.

“Dear God… (and then she faded out for a minute, and then…) Do you hear me God? No buts God, no buts.”

I can’t imagine what he must have been saying but from the side of the conversation I did hear it sounds like God might need to spend some time in Time Out!

Isaiah asked to watched a movie the other day. It took his daddy a minute to figure out which one he was requesting when he asked very clearly for – The Lizard of Pause. After my husband caught on, together they enjoyed, The Wizard of Has (veggie tales).

For More Tiny Talk Tuesday go here

List your blog for free at Home With Friends

The LORD is righteous in all his ways and loving towards all he has made.

We moved 21 months ago to a tiny little town in Texas where my husband took a job as a part time youth pastor. He felt like that was what God was calling him to, but the part time job comes with part time pay (the church is VERY good to us though) So he also works construction full time but in this part of Texas wages are pretty low. My husband is a very generous person. I am not… God has taught me so much in the past 21 months. The county we live in is among the 25 poorest in the country. WOW! But man do these people know how to give. And it has been a lesson to me in giving out of your need. I am far from where I want to be in this area but I know God is just getting started with me.

I have already shared about our youth group coming together to bless us but the truth is God meets needs and often times our wants so often I have sadly lost track of all the times it has occurred. I thought I would post from time to time when he does provide for us, for my own record. And because I think you will not be able to help but be blessed when you see the hand God has in our life. It has been awesome, and at times even humorous just how God has chosen to bring about his good gifts.

Today at story time I was looking at all the adorable kids up on the steps in the library singing their songs and dancing to the beat. Like any good woman I was much more distracted by cute outfits then I was the movements of all the preschool dancers. I noticed that my 4 year old, who is about to quickly pass up her 4′10″ mother, was also about to outgrow her adorable corduroy overalls. And she just started wearing them. And the fact is she is growing so quickly that 3 months into her 4th year she is outgrowing all of her 4T outfits. Isaiah, on the other hand, at 3 years old is starting to have to share clothes with his 19-month-old brother who is growing into all the 2T things that Isaiah has not quite outgrown. He’s way to skinny for most of his 3T pants but 2T are just too short.

“That’s it”, I thought. “We need a shopping spree!” And with the presents we have hidden away in the laundry room there is little extra in the budget this month for extras. “God”, I said, right there in the middle of the library. “We need a Wal-Mart gift card, that’s all there is too it.” And with that settled I got caught up once again in watching my baby try to keep up with the motions to the songs as my bigger kids smiled and giggled their way to the end. When I loaded up the children in the car to head to McDonald’s to play with our friends as we do every Wednesday. My friend Jess pointed out an envelope left on my car window. Then she had to get the envelope for me as it was smack dab in the middle of my windshield and I did not feel like mounting the hood of the car to reach it. I thanked Jess, made a short joke about myself before she had a chance and got in the drivers seat. Inside the envelope was my requested Wal-Mart gift card (for $100) and an Unsolicited McDonald’s gift card. Now story time and McDonald’s is in a neighboring town 20 miles from where we live so I really only know my little group of friends there that we spend every Wednesday with. Not to mention they would be the ones who would know how invaluable a McDonald’s card would be. I know it’s from them. And it blesses me to no end that they thought of me this Christmas. But I am beyond blessed that before I had even formed a request to my heavenly father for something so specific he had already set things in motion to give me a good gift. (Matthew 7:11 – If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!) Merry Christmas to my family from the one whom, after already having given the gift of his son to us, still finds great pleasure in giving us more than we can think or ask. (Ephesians 3:20) Now if I could just get that mansion I have been praying for…

Have you ever

I got this from Jenn’s blog… I thought it looked like fun! Would love to hear what you have done! Mine are in bold

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland – WORLD (Nope, but going to Disney Land next months…. WOOOO HOOOO!)
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris (But only if Paris, Texas counts)
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked (not really but I did get picked up on the side of the road and driven to a gas station after running out of gas)
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language (my best friend and I made up our own language when we were younger and my dad and I made up our own sign language until we realized we could use the time we were investing in making up the signs to learn the actual signs)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung Karaoke.
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Seen the Lincoln Memorial in person
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92.Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Totally copied a post from someone else’s blog.
List your blog for free at Home With Friends

Back to the Basics of My Life

Hey everyone! I am trying to get back to some basics in my life… taking care of my husband, my children, and my house. I love to blog, to have a record of what goes on around here and to update friends and family. I also love to read other people’s blogs… Unfortunately when I do this I get sucked into the bloggy world and everything else around me goes unnoticed for WAY too long. So if I don’t come by and see you for a while or can’t comment on your blog right away please don’t be offended. I am just feeling a need to keep things simple and prioritized around here and the whiny voices of my children and mound of dirt on my living room floor are reminding me just what those priorities really need to be right now. Please keep reading and commenting if you like though and I’ll catch up with you when I can! Thanks!

List your blog for free at Home With Friends

Tiny Talk Tuesday: Here is what Bella had to say!

These are some of the funny things my 4 year old Bella said this week.

1. While sitting alone in the bathroom on the potty, “Dear God, please help God to take the poo-poo out of me. (This was not the first time she had prayed this). And help me to hold it all the time.”

When I asked her why she prayed the second part she replied, “so I don’t go in my car seat.” Which she had done on a long road trip recently.

2. After I put a blanket over her one cold morning she said, “Ahh, I could get use to this!”

3. Asking her usual question first thing in the morning

Bella: “Where are we going today?” (she loves to be out and about)

Me: “Nowhere.”

Bella: “Where are we going when you change your mind?”

For more Tiny Talk Tuesday go here

List your blog for free at Home With Friends

Quick Catch Up

I have been majorly absent from the blog world these days. I have been working hard on getting my house, kids, and life organized, in order and more pleasant. Details on how this is going will be coming soon to a blog near you. Sorry that I have not kept up with all my favorite blogs… or my own for that matter.

We are doing really well though. Last week we went to Arlington for my husband to attend a Youth Conference. He really enjoyed that. We got to see one of our former foster kids!!!! (In fact it was this very one.)Which was so incredible. We have not seen any of them for about 18 months. One of them lives not too far from the Dallas area so we went to his football game and dinner after. What a TREAT! And we stayed with a good friend of mine that I have known since I was 5. It was the first time our husbands had met and the first time Ginger had ever seen Hoss. So it was quite exciting to get to spend some time with them. And very nice of them to let us take over their beautiful home for nearly a week. Thanks Ging!

We were there during our 5 year anniversary so we celebrated a few days early with dinner at a nice restaurant while N’s brother watched the kids. My husband casually mentioned on the phone to his sister that we had planned to go to California for our 5 year anniversary (where husband grew up, I’ve never been) but that things just hadn’t worked out that way and we obviously would not be going. The day after we got home from Arlington we had an anniversary card in the mail from my sis-in-law letting us know that the family was pitching in to send N and I to California. They are arranging child care and taking care of everything else. WOW!!!! I mean great Big HUGE WOW!!!!! We are not sure yet when we are going but it is something to look forward to, VERY forward to… and we are. I promise to catch up with all you follow bloggy friends real soon. My house, and kids, and all are coming together slowly but surely and I am trying to stay on a good track with that. Pray for me, I’ll either dig my way out of this mess or get buried in it. LOL.

List your blog for free at Home With Friends