So Proud!

It's Sunday evening. Eleven o'clock. You'd think that'd I'd be folding laundry, getting ready for another day of work tomorrow, or even sleeping in bed. No, I just walked in the door with my 2 year old. We just returned from the Children's Hospital Emergency room. Why? you ask. Diagnosis.... foreign object in the left nostril. Yes, my child shoved something up his nose. We couldn't tell exactly what it was. He said "mommy, crayon, my nose." It wasn't a crayon. It looked like a band-aid. Whatever it was it had the stench of decaying matter. That was part of how the story started.

Jeremy and I came home from our weekend trip and Chops smelled funny. We thought that maybe his teeth hadn't been brushed. We brushed his teeth and then gave him a bath. He still smelled funny. Just as Jeremy was brushing his teeth getting him ready to be tucked in, Chops said, "Crayon, my nose." I grabbed a flashlight, Jeremy held him, and there it was. So I was off to the emergency room. Exactly where I wanted to be for almost 3 hours on a Sunday night.

I guess it's just what happens when you're the mom of a 2 year old boy.

Wordless Wednesday

Saw this while doing dishes one Saturday afternoon. I guess my baffle wasn't high enough. He had the gall to jump up right in front of me.

It's been a while

11 days. It's been eleven days since my last post. For a long time I was posting at least 3-4 times a week. The Christmas season hit, and it feels like a lifetime since I've posted. So much has happened in eleven days. Now my crisis is where do I begin?

Last Friday Monkey had a field trip that I was able to chaperone. Jeremy and I both went and met his class at the Winter Wonderland. It was quite a display. They were able to see a live Nativity, complete with all of the stable animals including camels and donkeys. The kids had a blast, and I enjoyed seeing how much my little boy is growing by listening to his teachers, following directions, and being part of a class.

Last Saturday we sojourned out to fell our Christmas tree. Before we trekked out to the farm we stopped by my school for a visit with the man in red. The boys each saw Santa and told them what they would like for Christmas. After that we drove out with snacks in the van and headed out to cut down our tree. We arrived at about 12 and searched for about 1 hour. The weather couldn't have been better. There was a chill in the air - perfect for Christmas tree hunting. The sun was shining, the sky blue, and the energy in the air was filled with the excitement of Christmas. Monkeyman helped Jeremy cut down the tree. Chops ran around in the fields, and mom got pictures for the Christmas card. It was a Christmas miracle - everyone looked at the camera for the picture! Praise the LORD!

Today, after having a quick lunch of leftovers we were preparing to put the boys down for a nap. Jeremy was already putting Monkey down in his bed. Chops was finishing his food. When his bowl was empty he put it on top of his head. I was away from the table and spotted him. I guess he was trying to be accepting of all faiths, and decided to see how it would feel to be Jewish. It was one of those "so proud" moments. I couldn't pass up the photo opportunity - however gave him a stern talking to afterward about not putting dishes on his head.

Oy vey!

So that, in a nutshell, has been the past eleven days. So much more has happened there is not enough time or space on the computer to tell. I haven't fallen off the face of the earth. I just gave my fingers a much needed rest. Now - it's on to blogging the rest of December.

December 3rd

This afternoon the boys opened day three of the advent calendar. Today's item was a sheep. Jesus used sheep to describe people many times in Scripture. Sheep are dumb animals. They can die of thirst and be less than 10 yards from a watering hole because they don't smell water. They often become lost and are prone to wander. The only thing that keeps them alive is their shepherd. The shepherd's job is to tend and care for the sheep. He loves his sheep. The sheep also love their shepherd. They are familiar with his voice. He calls them and they follow him. They know that he cares for them and will protect them. Without the shepherd the sheep will face certain death.

Isa. 53:6
All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

December 2nd

Okay - so December 2nd is actually posted on the third. Sorry - we got behind. On the second the boys opened the door and found a shepherd. Among the poorest of society at the time, they had an undesirable job... keeping sheep. How appropriate that the Good Shepherd would be announced by heavenly hosts to these poor of society. Jesus came for lowly people - not very high on the status ladder. He came for those who may have been forgotten or looked down upon by the elite. They were among the first to hear the Good News directly from the voice of a heavenly chorus. What an amazing sight that must have been. Imagine, minding your own business in a field with the sheep, away from city lights. Suddenly a light so bright that you have no other choice but to shield your eyes appears. You receive news from the Almighty that His Son has been born this night to save the world. What JOY!

John 10:11 I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd gives His life for the sheep.

December 1st

Today we started our Advent calendar. The boys were eager to open all of the doors, although each day we are to only open one. Ah, the excited anticipation of young boys. This month will be a running record of our daily calendar. Watch with us as we open doors and add characters, animals, and heavenly hosts to our calendar, and wait with us in anticipation of an infant King.

Praise Him, sun and moon; Praise Him, all you stars of light! Psalm 148:3

A Visit from Friends & Pizza Production

Because of the Thanksgiving holiday some friends came down from their new home out west to visit family. During this weekend they stopped by to pay us a visit. Boy were my boys excited. They couldn't wait for their long lost friends to come to our house to play and have lunch.

They arrived, played, ate, and left all too quickly. In between herding children, making sure children were eating, and assuring that children weren't too wild and hurting each other, we actually got part of a conversation in ourselves. I guess we'll just have to finish it later. All in all, everyone had a great time, although the visit was way too short. We made plans to visit again when they come in for Christmas. We can't wait.

After they left the boys went down for a nap. While they were down I went shopping by myself to begin gathering Christmas gifts and a few baby shower gifts for a friend. It was fun to go out, but I was by myself and longed for the company of a friend. There was none to be had. My mom and sister were together shopping, and all the friends that are so close to my heart were far away by distance. So alas I took to my shopping alone.

My last stop was the grocery store to pick up a few things, which quickly turned into a weekly shopping trip. I HATE grocery shopping. I would do one trip for 5 months if I could. Yuck. Anyway - I was trying to figure out what to have for dinner, which is a constant nagging question in my house. I get stuck in the "What are we gonna have tonight?" rut. Toward the end of my trip I had a brilliant idea. Make your own french bread pizzas! Assembly line production at its best!

As soon as I got home and put the groceries away, the boys washed their hands and sat at the table. We explained the concept and the goal. They had a ball. Dad's job was to put on the sauce. Monkey did the cheese. Chopsy did the pepperoni, and I put on the mushrooms. Everyone's pizza was different, but oh so yummy. They boys had a blast and really enjoyed it. Monkey asked when we could do it again. Chopsy kept eating the pepperoni from the bag AND off of the pizzas.

We finished off the night with a popcorn party and a video - The Easter Carol... Monkey's choice. We tried to encourage The Star of Christmas - but he was set on the Easter Carol. Oh well.

BIG OOPS!

Not that anyone besides Heather reads this... but I made a BIG mistake the other day by posting her birthday two days early. It was written down on my calendar as the 26th. I don't know what happened because I've gotten it right every other year, right Heather?

Let's try it again -

Now -it's Happy belated birthday Heather!


So sorry I missed it.

(hope you like the pink enough to forgive me!)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Heavenly Father,
We are so thankful for all of the blessings You give us so freely.
We are so unworthy of Your love. Because You loved us so much You
rescued us from death by sacrificing Your only Son.
He is the greatest blessing and gift we could
ever receive. We are so thankful for Your gift of salvation.
May we live to glorify You and make You smile.
In Jesus' precious holy Name.
Amen!


Come Thou Fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise:
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above;
Praise the mount! I'm fixed upon it,
Mount of Thy redeeming love.

Here I raise mine Ebenezer;
Hither by Thy help I'm come;
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home:
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wand'ring from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood.


O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I'm constrained to be!
Let Thy grace, Lord, like a fetter,
Bind my wand'ring heart to Thee:
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here's my heart, Lord, take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.


Psalm 75:1, 9

We give thanks to You, O God, we give thanks!
For Your wondrous works declare that Your name is near.
But I will declare forever,
I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.

Psalm 107:1-
Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.

Happy Birthday Heather!!!!

Today is my dearest friend, Heather's, birthday.
She is 30 something years young. (Right, Heath?)
I just wanted to say - thank you for being born,
And even more so - thanks for being my friend.
You are so dear to me, and I love you tons!
I'm praying that the LORD blesses you beyond your wildest
imagination this year! Have a great birthday!

Love -
G

Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday, dear Heather!
Happy birthday to you!!!!

(I even blogged in pink - just for you- cuz you know "we need not pray about pink - it's always God's will")

Wordless Wednesday

Found this on Flickr posted by LuckyOliver. It's a good one.

A heart of thanks

Psalm 92

It is good to give thanks to the LORD,
And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High;
To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning,
And Your faithfulness every night,
On an instrument of ten strings,
On the lute,
And on the harp,
With harmonious sound.
For You, LORD, have made me glad through Your work;
I will triumph in the works of Your hands.

O LORD, how great are Your works!
Your thoughts are very deep.
A senseless man does not know,
Nor does a fool understand this.
When the wicked spring up like grass,
And when all the workers of iniquity flourish,
It is that they may be destroyed forever.

But You, LORD, are on high forevermore.
For behold, Your enemies, O LORD,
For behold, Your enemies shall perish;
All the workers of iniquity shall be scattered.

But my horn You have exalted like a wild ox;
I have been anointed with fresh oil.
My eye also has seen my desire on my enemies;
My ears hear my desire on the wicked
Who rise up against me.

The righeous shall flourish like a palm tree,
He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
Those who are planted in the house of the LORD
Shall flourish in the courts of our God.
They shall still bear fruit in an old age;
They shall be fresh and flourishing,
To declare that the LORD is upright;
He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.

OOOH video!

Okay - so hubby and I have played with the computer's video program and decided to upload a video for the blog. This video was taken this past week... hubby was late at work, which meant I had dinner with the kiddos after a long day at work. The boys obviously knew that I was exhausted and decided to have a little fun after dinner. This is one of the nights I was emotionally done and thought about how easy it would be in the short term just to let the boys have their way... however, I knew what price I would pay in the long run for the bad decision I would make. I determined to keep my wits about me and thankfully, hubby came home just in time. Praise the Lord for my husband!

Change for Sundays

In the summer and early fall our tradition was to spend the waning hours of daylight at a park getting out some extra energy. Since the kids don't get up from naps until after it's dark we have switched our tradition to movie night. Tonight we watched The Incredibles complete with popcorn and drinks. It doesn't work out any energy, however, it is a fun family activity. I guess this will do until the sun shines later than 5 pm so that we can get back outside and play. I miss eastern daylight time. The hardest day in the world for me is December 21st, the day with the least amount of hours of daylight.

I guess movie night will just have to suffice until spring.

Wordless Wednesday

Before sour halloween candy

after sour halloween candy

BRRRRR!

The leaves are all but gone from our trees - which is evidenced by our yard even after we raked last weekend. Somehow several of them showed up again, thanks to our neighbor's big sycamore tree. The weather has turned quite brisk, especially today. Today was the kind of day where your cheeks turn rosy red and your nose decides to drip after being out in the cold air for an extended length of time. The wind makes it feel like the temperature is actually 15 degrees colder than it really is. The fact the sun is set by 4:30 in the afternoon doesn't make it any warmer.

Knowing all of this my boys decided they wanted to play outside this afternoon after I picked them up. Cabin fever had finally got the best of them and they couldn't stand it anymore. As soon as we arrived home I grabbed hats for both of them and warned them that if they came off we would go inside. I had not one problem with a hat coming off. We played soccer and hide and seek for as long as the light would allow. We only got to play for a brief 25 minutes - but some was better than nothing. There is just something about being outside in the fresh air that helps boys - but especially my boys - expend their energy. It was fun. I couldn't get any pictures because the camera wouldn't focus due to lack of adequate light. That's what I get for living in the eastern US.

Ready, Set, Go!

Here lately, Chopsy has been letting us know that he's understanding the concept of going to the potty. Just last night I was getting him ready for bed, and he said "Tinkle, potty!" I asked him if he wanted to try the potty and he got up and ran to the bathroom. With a little help from mom behind him, Chopsy tinkled in the potty. WooHoo! He repeated the feat again today at two different times. I am amazed. I wasn't even going to attempt to begin this task until summer when I had enough time to devote to the entire task. Looks like Chopsy might be doing it for me.

It still leaves the poop situation to question. I'm not going to even attempt to tackle that until later. For now this is enough.

Way to go Chops!

Wordless Wednesday

I need to remember these times when they do get along.

Wild Life

I had the day off today, so we planned a day at the zoo. Jeremy met us there as a surprise and we spent the day seeing the animals. It was the perfect fall day. It was crisp and cool, yet sunny with a clear blue sky. We rode the zoo train for the first time since it's been up, and also saw some interesting work going on. Our zoo is doing construction to create a new area for the tigers and other hoofed animals. It's gonna be awesome when it's finished. They are also supposed to be adding orangutans and other animals to the zoo in the upcoming years.