Just to remember - Olivia 1/19/2010

Whispering in my ear, so Rebecca can't hear... "Mom, did you know Rebecca isn't real?"

Me: "I did know, how do you feel about it?"

Olivia: "its ok, mom."

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Olivia: "Sometimes I remind myself of Samson. Not because of the long hair but because of my strength" - seriously had a hard time keeping a straight face on that one!

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Olivia: "Mom, did you know that Lazarus died and then 2 days later Jesus went to him and he UNDIED!" - glad we were in the car for this one and I could quietly giggle to myself.

How is it possible?

I took Olivia to visit her school today. How is it possible that it is time to think about school? I know its cliche' but there are days when I feel like she was born yesterday! And now she is 5!

She was so grown-up. Sitting with the kids at their table. Participating in all of their activities. She especially loved eating her apple at "fruit break" and eating her lunch at lunchtime. SHE LOVED her teacher, and her teacher was so sweet to have her join in the class!

I LOVED having the opportunity to observe how she acts in a classroom setting. She loved it! Didn't want to leave. She is sad that she has to wait until next fall to go back. She just seemed so big! Her daddy and I couldn't be more proud of her.

Quote of the day:
Olivia: "We have to go back to school soon! I'm starting to forget what my teacher looks like!"

January days

Filling our January days requires some MAJOR creativity around here... I SOOOO love the stage the kids are in, we have so much fun. Here are some of the activities I want to remember during this fun stage.

Olivia's tea party with Rebecca
Logan: "Sis, can I have a tea party?"

Olivia: {sigh} "Ok bub, but let ME pour the pretend tea"

Olivia the "super-sleuth" collecting clues in her clue-bag from Paris

We added some shelves to Olivia's room to help with the chaos, I mean organizational needs of a 5-year-old. Here is how she arranged everything. I think it looks great!

Logan's favorite hobby is Geo-trax

our "Snow Princess" - who also does ballet

Baking...

And playing outside. Have I ever mentioned that I don't care to play out in the cold? Oh the things we do for our kids...

Just a quick thought I wanted to share from my Bible Study lecture today. Our speaker shared a quote from C.S. Lewis:

"There are only 2 types of people in the world. Those who say to God "Thy will be done" and those to whom God says "Thy will be done""

It made me stop and think about the times in my life when I have tried to do things on my own. Not asking for God's direction and wisdom because I foolishly think I can handle it by myself. (lately, parenting. God has so graciously given me wisdom and direction in this area, in the past. why do I continue to go through periods of trying it on my own? I just end up frustrated and the kids end up frustrated. ) God is a gentleman and I believe He will step aside, allowing me to try things my way, which inevitably fail. (like trying to parent a 3-year-old without spending quality time in prayer over God's best way to handle it) At which time He is there to scoop me back up into His loving arms. I have found MAJOR comfort this week in John 10:29 "My Father, who has given them(us, his sheep) to me, is greater than all, no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand." Praise God I am NEVER out of his grip.

Another verse that I have recited out loud over and over this week (and its only Tuesday if that tells you the kind of week Logan is having):

"My children are taught of the Lord, GREAT is their peace!" Isaiah 54:13 (paraphrased)

Hugs from Indy!

Holidays 2009

Wow, I can't believe the holidays are over! Ours started early in December when Aunt Nancy and Uncle Dan hosted a SUPRISE birthday party for mom. She was TRULY surprised! I would mention her age but I want to live to see my next birthday, HA! My favorite part was when I called her and had to pretend we were in Indy but we were really at Nancy's waiting for her. SO FUN to be sneaky!!! but it wore me out! I have NEVER kept a secret for so long! (Except maybe Susie's party in college. :) )

Our Christmas celebrations started that evening at dad and Kathy's with Brad, Kerri and the kids. so much fun to have everyone together. Is it a bit much to ask me to remember my camera? YES! so no pics. :( Just fun memories of the kids playing, wonderful food, and great conversation!

Next came Christmas Eve, we celebrated at Tommy's grandparents and then we were off to church. The kids LOVED it that we went to church at bedtime! Ohhhh the little things in life.

Christmas morning was so much fun, first at our house then at Tom and Dotty's for a GREAT breakfast and celebrating.

On Saturday Mom, Aunt Nancy and Uncle Dan, Brad, Kerri and the kids came for an Italian themed Christmas celebration. YUMMY food!

On Sunday the 27th Brad and I took mom to Chicago to celebrate her birthday a little more. It was so much fun, yummy restaurants, shopping, and wonderful conversation. Are you looking for pics? you guessed it! no camera on that trip either! UGH! Am I flunking blogging?

New Year's Eve was spent at home, kids safe in their beds, us safe on the couch watching TV. I am starting to prefer it that way. Wow, I just realized I like to stay in on New Year's and I have been ordering hot tea lately in restaurants, what am I 85? yikes! :)

Just a few pics that I did get over the holidays.


Our holiday wouldn't be complete without mentioning that Rebecca now has more wardrobe selection than I do. Hmmm.... Here are Rebecca and Olivia all ready for church on Christmas eve.

I just had to throw this one in. I have absolutely NO idea what they are looking at, but it must have been very interesting. HAHAHAHA!!! oh and I LOVE kiddies in snuggle-bunnies!!!! (Brad and my word for jammies with feet, not sure where it came from but it sticks!)

Practicing with our new camera. Olivia can NOT get used to the flash! But Rebecca is always camera-ready!

ok, lets be real. Are most of the gifts Logan received meant for Tommy? He has been enjoying them just as much as Logan! Need I mention the after Christmas trip to Toys R Us for more Geo-trax? Not my idea... I just saying... However where did I stop in Chicago 3 days after Christmas? yep more outfits for Rebecca. sigh.

Happy New Year's blogging buddies, I pray that your year is filled with God's peace and joy.

My only resolution this year: To really LISTEN for God's voice. I know He longs to speak to me and have constant conversation through prayer. I also know that He is the "still small voice" that is only audible if I am listening. Sometimes I wish His voice could be heard like a mega-phone. But instead of asking Him to talk louder (which believe me, I have done) I am going to work on listening harder. I am so thankful that His grace is sufficient for me and that his mercies are new every morning.

Hugs!

New camera, ballet and melting a momma's heart

We have a new camera! yay! I have a lot to learn but so far so good! Keeping it VERY FAR from Logan! :)



My friend Katie and I took Olivia and Hannah to see the Nutcracker Ballet yesterday. The dancers were AMAZING!!! Olivia loved the girls but seemed pretty distracted and fidgety, come to find out she had a temp of 101 when we got home. :( but she is good today! It amazes me how fast kids bounce back.


Logan's new best friend. We take him just about everywhere. Along with Rebecca. {sigh}

This is quite possibly my favorite picture of my Logan. A BIG BIG smile that melts me every time. Almost makes me forget the boundary-testing going on these days. Almost. Nope I remember. But God is good, and once a challenging phase is over He helps me forget. I LOVE you bub, and I am SOOOO going to remind you of how you run to your room and slam the door when you get in trouble. :) I'm sure it will be so cute when I am recalling it to your children, but right now? Not so cute. So quit it.

Making ornaments for our tree. Olivia and Logan LOVE to do crafts. We have been purchasing the buckets of holiday craft stickers from my favorite store, that I try to stay away from ,that starts with a T. It is a really fun crafting time and it is a good way to fill our challenging time of the day 5-7pm, however, my vacuum is entirely overworked and starting to rebel. I bet when I change the bag I will find mountains of sticker papers.

By the way, I love how I put all of the effort to make my home look nice when people come over. When in all reality, I take a picture of my kids and you see the mountain of stuff that I never want anyone to see. Oh well, there you have it! what my counter REALLY looks like! A computer bag, lots of papers, bills, looks like a couple Bibles, more papers and I can't even decipher the rest. ugh. :)

Hugs from Indianapolis!

Family photos

My great friend Jamie is a GENIUS with a camera! Seriously. The picture above is one that she took for us recently. I love it! The fact that we are all looking at the camera is a sheer miracle for our family, I assure you! Thanks Jamie! Can't wait to take more pictures soon!

humbled and proud

A trip to the mall today proved to be a very humbling experience as well as an experience that made me such a proud momma. After attempting a trip to the mall at what would be nap-time (on a nap day, if he needs one, you get the idea) my patience being tried to the max, Olivia asked me to take the kids to the play area. To which I immediately said "no way, Logan is too tired" She seemed to be working on her persistence at the moment (the quote "If you don't succeed, try, try again" comes to mind), and I gave in.

Little did I know there was a little girl in the play area who DESPERATELY needed a friend. I won't go into the details, but let me just say it was both heart-wrenching and precious at the same time. I was both humbled at the thought of how big our God is, how small my little world is (I didn't WANT to take the kids to the play area, but He had a bigger plan) and that He has already started tugging at Olivia's heart. I was also very proud of how Olivia handled the situation, we had a big talk in the car on the way home. I was in tears, she was confused, Logan was saying "Sorry momma, I WILL listen" (apparently my tears come more often after he doesn't listen? learning alot about myself in this trip to the mall.) As I tried to explain my tears, tried to explain how wonderful God's plans are for our lives, trying to reassure Logan that he was not in trouble, I was just overtaken with emotion. I was truly humbled and so proud all in one.

Thank you God for giving us opportunities to show your love to others.

Thank you that Olivia is so sensitive to your voice.

Thank you for the honor of raising my children.

Random thoughts... 12/9/09

Yesterday I bought a new wall calendar for our kitchen. It has scenes from Italy (one of my top must-visit places!) It was only $1 from Target. Right now it is almost COMPLETELY empty. But by this time next year that $1 purchase will hold months full of appointments, milestones and reminders. It feels like we are starting fresh, not too busy for 2010 at the moment. At Bible Study Fellowship yesterday our speaker suggested that we really think about how we spend our time. If our days were like rooms in an attic, what would God choose to keep? The things we did for His kingdom. And what would he choose to throw away? Perhaps the busyness we can fill our days with that really just end up stressing us out. I am praying that God would remind us of this as we fill up our new calendar throughout the new year.

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Yesterday during snack time at Bible Study when it was Olivia's turn to share what was going on in her life, she chose to tell about how I shut my finger in the trunk in Grand Rapids. I wish there was some way she could convey the SERIOUS restraint this momma showed (only by the grace of God) while I was in such IMMENSE pain! Thank goodness God was there when I needed him (He always is) because I didn't know at the time that she would think this event was worthy of sharing with her class. :)

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What is up with our weather?

I'm just saying...

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That's it for now... hugs!

Gotta love PBS Kids!

Olivia: "Mom. I have a hypothesis. The smallest part of our bodies is the black part of our eyes."

Me: "wow, where did you learn the word hypothesis?"

Olivia: "Dinosaur Train"

Gotta love PBS Kids!

Great Wolf Lodge

(I apologize for the small camera-phone pictures.)

Great Wolf Lodge was AMAZING!!! It was so much more than I thought it was going to be and the kids loved it! We loved it too! (the parents, ha!)

I am already starting to plan our next trip (not until next year, but so excited already!) :)

This is a picture from their website


Not sure if you can tell from the pictures, but the lobby was BEAUTIFULLY decorated for Christmas! Loved it!