Dec 20, 2006

11 years!

 


"I wish I could tell you the day, the hour, the minute my love for you became real. I only know it seems I've loved you forever."

December 16th was our 11th anniversary. When I said my vows to Joel, my heart was overflowing with love and I remember thinking, "I can't possibly love this man any more!" Little did I know that my heart would grow and so would the love within it.

"Love is what makes two people sit in the middle of a bench when there's plenty of room at both ends." Joel, I will always sit in the middle of the bench with you! :o) Posted by Picasa

Nov 11, 2006

RARRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!

Man Mom! and you thought you had big geckos in Florida! Get a load of the lizard I found in my living room, just waiting to scare us, and waiting and waiting and waiting.... 
"Ho-hum, I'm a bored little lizard just looking for someone to scare."

 

I explained to my little lizard that perhaps she didn't look verocious enough and made a suggestion that she should get into an attack position before scaring me. Ready, set...ACTION!

 

"RARRRRRRRRR" -wooo-weee! THAT did it! I'm scared all over again! (By the way, do lizards say, "rarrr"? Oh, well. This one did, and it sure scared the bologne outta me!) Posted by Picasa

Nov 6, 2006

Prayer


I just wanted to share something that I just read because it was so encouraging. I haven't been feeling too well for the last several days. I've been sick, weak and exhausted. This morning, I sat down to read the Bible and quietly whispered, "Lord, please give me something. I'm so tired and so exhausted and I don't even know how to ask for help." Then, I "just happened" to open my Bible to Luke 18:1. It says, "Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart." I guess you could say that I've "lost heart." I haven't been talking to the Lord like I know I should and I've completely worn myself out trying do everything on my own. In my stupidness, I've even thought, "Well God knows my heart. He knows what I'm going through," and have continued racing through my days. So, my excuse for not praying has been God's omniscience. How silly! I take a wonderful attribute of God and instead of praising Him for it, I use it as an excuse to not talk to Him. Well, as I continued reading the chapter about the parable of the widow who was persistent upon asking the judge to help her with her legal matters, it occurred to me that this is how we should be with the Lord. I read something interesting that said, "If an unrighteous judge responds to constant pressure, how much more will a great and loving God respond to us?" My persistent praying is to help me grow in the Lord, not because He needs to be reminded of my needs over and over again. Of course God knows my heart, but He wants me to pray because it helps me to grow closer to Him. How can we see the Lord working in our lives if we are not praying?

Nov 2, 2006

Daniel 2:21 "And He changeth the times and the seasons"

 
 
Miss Annie was enjoying a beautiful fall day last week. She had fun collecting leaves and examining them. She loved throwing them up in the air and watching them fall to the ground. When Daddy and Mommy had a leaf fight, she thought that was hysterical. I love her little giggles!

 
After throwing leaves in the air for the 987th time, she thought it would be fun to run through the leaves. She took off as fast as her little chubby legs would take her. She was giggling and listening to the crunchy sounds beneath her feet. It's so much fun to see the excitement in her eyes when she notices something for the first time. She loves to be outside. I'm sure we'll have lots of snowy pictures to share very soon. I can't believe Christmas is just around the corner! Posted by Picasa

Oct 28, 2006

My Mikey is FIVE!

 

I can't believe that my little, drooly face, baby Mikey turned 5 years old this week. It seems like it was yesterday that I took him to have this photo taken. I walked into the photo studio and laid him on this big blue bean bag chair. As soon as I laid him on his belly, his forehead went straight down. He decided that he needed a quick snooze. I had enough sleeping pictures of him and really wanted an awake picture of my little man, but there was no way that he was going to pick up that little head off of that comfy bean bag chair. The photographer and I were calling, "Mikey....ohhh Miiiiiiiikey, come on baby, wake up and look at Mommy." He would try so hard to lift his head and then it would just go right back down. Since he was having his picture taken in the mall, he was displayed in the window for all to see. There was quite a crowd gathered around that window. Everyone was giggling and "ahhing" over my sleepy, little baby laying in just his diaper on that big, ole bean bag chair. After a few more attempts, my little 6 week old baby finally found the strength to lift his head, just for a second, and this was the photo that was captured.
 

And now, my 5 year old little man proudly holds his head up high displaying the age that we can now refer to as, "a WHOLE hand."

 
Mikey enjoyed all of his gifts but none so much as the gift that he received from my in-laws. They had put several different toys in a bag for him. The first thing that he pulled out of the bag was a little robot. "Awwwwe-thum," he said. He dug back into his bag and pulled out a set of match box cars. He smiled big and went digging for more treasures. The next thing he took out was a set of coloring books and crayons. He was thrilled with that! Coloring is one of his favorite hobbies! But, none of these things earned the squeal of delight as the next item that he was about to pull out of the bag. The tissue paper went flying, and his head was buried into the bag. All we heard was a huge gasp with a series of giggles. And, this is what he pulled out......(drumroll, please)..........


 
TIC TACS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! No other birthday will ever compare to this one. Being five is good, or in the words of my sweet Mikey, "Awwwww-thum!"
 Posted by Picasa

Oct 18, 2006

School time or Snack time?

 
 

Little Annie-fannie thought it was snack time when I said, "School time" and didn't she just weeble-wobble right on over to Matt, set her yogurt covered raisins down next to him, and watch him do math. Man, oh man! will she be disappointed when she understands what I really said! -SCHOOL? not SNACK!...big time bummer! Posted by Picasa

Oct 12, 2006

Mikey the Sleepwalker

 
 

The other night, Joel and I went upstairs to check on the kids before we went to bed and this is what we found along the way. Mikey had gotten up to go the bathroom. Apparently the journey back upstairs was just too much for him, so he had to pull off at a rest stop. He takes after his daddy. There was a time that I found Joel standing on our bed in the middle of the night. When I asked him what he was doing, he informed that he was changing a light bulb. I said, "Um. Honey? We don't have a light over our bed." He looked around and said, "We don't?" I said, "Nope." So, he stepped down, crawled back into bed and fell fast asleep. Help! These sleepwalkers scare me! Posted by Picasa

Oct 10, 2006

Emma's testimony

 

Last night as I was tucking Emma into bed, I prayed with her. I said, "Jesus, I pray that when Emma is old enough to understand what you did for her on the cross that she will ask you into her heart." When I said, "Amen" and looked up, she was staring wide-eyed at me and said, "I ready did ask Jesus in my hawt." I gave her the same wide-eyed look right back and said, "YOU DID?" She said, "Yup. Mommy dis is my froat?" She then pointed to her neck. I said, "Yes, that's your throat." Then she pointed to her chest and asked, "And dis is my hawt?" I said, "Yes, that's your heart." She said with great authority, "Yup, so Jesus lives in dis hawt." I said, "Well Emma, when did you do this?" She thought for a moment and said, "Ummmmmmmmmmmmmm, On Fursday." (didn't even know the child knew names of the days of the week) I said, "Wow,on Thursday?...ok and what did you say to Jesus?" She said, "I said, 'Jesus, could you come in my bunk bed?" I lovingly corrected my sweet girl on her obvious confused state and started off with, "Emma, honey, you can't..." Suddenly she interrupted me with a loud burst and said, "MOMMY! then I said, 'COME INTO MY HEART...HALLELUJUAH!'" What more could I say? I gave her a hearty "Hallelujuah" right back and walked away with the biggest grin on my face. Posted by Picasa

Sep 28, 2006

Vote

How about my new outfit for the blog here, folks? Is it a thumbs up or thumbs down? Now, before you go getting all critical on me, let me explain. After I uploaded all those orange pumpkin pictures, it occurred to me that orange and pink don't match. So, I tapped into the ole template menu and found this one. I realize that this is the same one that you used, Mom, but since no one goes on yours anyways, I figured I was good to go. (I'll just let everyone think I came up with this color scheme all on my own.)

Pumpkin Pickin

Picking a pumpkin is no easy task! Growing up in my house, the rule was, "If you can carry it, you can have it." When the kids were told this, Matt took off for the monster pumpkins. He wasn't out there just to get a pumpkin, he was out to prove his manhood! Sadly, the first set of pumpkins that he embarked upon could not even be remotely budged by him. He sure was huffin and puffin, giving it all he had, though! He then moved one step down. These pumpkins were still a stretch for him. He would bend over, get it an inch off the ground and drop it with a heave. He even tried to roll it up his legs like the strong men do in their competitions. I said, "Let me clarify the rule, 'If you can carry it and it makes it to the car IN ONE PIECE, then you can have it." Finally, he found one that was just his size...barely! He carried it a little way, stopped, put it down and took a break. Picked it up, go another two feet, stop for a break. Pick it up, go another foot and a half, break time again. I'm happy to report that he and his pumpkin made it to the car safely.
For Mary, picking her pumpkin involved much, much more! -like ridiculously more!!!!!  It had to be just the right shade of orange, it had to be perfectly round, and the stem not too long but not too short, it had to be smooth, no bumps, and absolutely NO dirt on it whatsoever. (considering the birthplace of a pumpkin, that one by far was our biggest challenge!) She walked around, touched, and picked up just about every single pumpkin! She critiqued them all. Needless to say, she was the last one to pick out hers. Mom and I said, "How about this one, Mary?" "Oh, I love this one." "Hey Mare, if I was going to get a pumpkin, I would definitely go for this one!" "This is IT, Mary! I found THE PERFECT ONE!" Finally, we resorted to, "Time to go home, Mare." With that said, she bent over, picked up the pumpkin that she was closest to and went on her way. (I don't know why I didn't think of that WAY sooner!)
Mikey didn't care about his manhood. Nor did he care about shape, color, stems, bumps, or dirt. He picked his out and was ready to go get an ice cream.


Emma followed Matt over to the monster pumpkins. Only Emma would challenge her big brother to a strength test. We told her how strong she was and whisked her away to "baby pumpkin land" where she found one just her size.

And last but not least, our Annie...first of all, I don't know why she looks like Casper the friendly ghost in this picture but it was the only one I took of her and her pumpkin. When she entered the sea of pumpkins, she squealed, "BALL!!!!, BALL!" She found herself the tiniest pumpkin and was just delighted with it. She would only hang onto her pumpkin for a few seconds because she was absolutely convinced it was a ball. She threw it, we would give it back to her, and say, "No Annie. This is a pump-kin, that's puuuhmp-kin." She'd throw it again. As we were standing just outside the tent, Annie's pumpkin went rolling by with her running after it yelling, "BALL!! BALL!!" I've given up. This afternoon, she threw it down the driveway and screamed, "BALL!" Let's just hope we've got her convinced before she plays her first soccer game.

Sep 27, 2006

Guess who found my lipstick?


My little "stinkerbell" found my lipstick and decided that it was her perfect shade. One swipe around the lips wouldn't do. She went for 3,467 swipes around the lips. After I confiscated the lipstick, I went for the camera. I said, "Now, look at mommy's camera and say, 'One year olds don't wear lipstick'!" Somehow, I don't think she will be heeding that.

Sep 24, 2006

Happily Ever After



Wednesday, September 20th was my Papa and Grandma's 59th wedding anniversary! I love looking at their wedding picture. (I wish I had taken a picture of it to post here.) The year was 1947. I think it would be so neat to grow up in that generation. My grandmother's dress was beautiful. The only way I know how to describe it is romantic. Beyond her beautiful dress, you are drawn to their sweet smiles and eyes that sparkle for each other. It is precious to see that 59 years later, their smiles are sweeter and their eyes even more sparkly! They love each other dearly and it is obvious with the way that they care for one another. When I look at them, I look forward to growing old with my honey.



Ahhh, youth. Remember the carefree days of rolling down hills and running back up for another round? I can't tell you how many times they rolled down this hill. And they did it with the same excitement and giggles on the 10th time as they did the first. If I dared to attempt this, I would either
A.) have tossed up all my celebration cake -a major disappointment! OR
B.) still be laying at the bottom of that hill.


Emma wanted to pick flowers for Great Grandma. The problem was that she decided to pick one right out of Great Papa's garden that he spends hours tending to! I said, "EMMA! quick throw down that flower!!!!" Now, just lean over and smile.


We had a special time at Papa and Grandma's. Oh, I didn't tell you who was all there. It was Aunty Mary, Mom, all of us and Grandma's brother, Uncle Lou. (who wanted me to give you a warm hello, Kristine!) It was a wonderful day! Wish you all could have been there...well not really or we would have had to share the lemon, raspberry cake.

Sep 20, 2006

The Happiest Day in Mary's Life




Mary's dream of playing the violin is about to come true. Grampy and Grammy took her to the music store to get her very first violin, yesterday. This was a big surprise for her. We met Grammy for lunch and then Mary went home with her. She had no idea that Grammy was about to take her to the music store. I kissed her goodbye and she climbed into Grammy's car, just happy to spend a day with her. I told mom to call me as soon as they got it. A little while later, my phone rang. I answered it, and all I heard on the other end was a high pitched, squeaky violin sound and then lots of giggles. Mom told me that when they got to the door of the music store, she bent down and told Mary why they were there. Then mom said, "Mary's eyes got as huge as saucers and she was just grinning from ear to ear." This is truly a dream come true for Mary. When she was 4, she saw a young girl play her violin in church. Ever since that day, she has been asking to play the violin. Mary has always loved music and I think she is really going to do well with it. Watch out, Reptevia, my Mary is the next "fiddler on the roof!"

Sep 17, 2006

A "Mate" Moment (ok and that would be pronounced "ma-tay")




Our friends, Mariano and Becky came over this weekend. We had a blast, drinking coffee and mate. (and again for those of you that did not read my subject line. That is pronounced "ma-tay".) "Mate" is a tea that they drink in South America. Mariano is from Argentina and so he introduced us to the whole mate experience. I have to admit that while I was drinking through the straw and passing it to the next person, I felt like we were doing something illegal. But rest assure, it is legal, it is tea and actually...it is good! Mariano said that when they all gather together in Argentina, they would just pass this cup around and people will take turns sipping it. So, that's exactly what we did. After about the 4th time around, Beck and I returned to our coffees while Joel and Mariano continued on. Joel went nutty with the whole mate experience. I mean, don't get me wrong, it was good and all, but to Joel "mate" is his new best friend. He absolutely LOVED it...like weirdly loved it. We'd be in the middle of a conversation and he was sitting in his chair, sipping every last droplet and suddenly, he would burst out and say, "OH MAN! I just love this stuff!" We would slowly look his way and smile and continue on our conversation for another minute before he'd burst out, "AWW MAN! THIS STUFF IS AWESOME!" Again, he got the pleaseant smile, as if to say, "We're glad you're enjoying it, now calm down."

So, after about the 20th time of this, we were like, "ALRIGHT ALREADY! WE KNOW, YOU LOVE IT!!" Because of this new found love, Joel wanted to know if they sold it here in the United States because he wanted to go out and immediately buy his own mate. Well, he didn't have to go far cuz Beck and Mar presented him with one of his own today. I think that is truly the best gift he has ever received! I swear he is sleeping with his sippy cup right now! So, thank you to Beck and Mar. Until our next "mate moment"...

Sep 14, 2006

Psalm 19:1


Psalm 19:1 "The heavens declare the glory of God;" This verse kept running through my head when I took this picture. I will never stop being amazed at the sunsets that God has given us. Sometimes, I feel like Heaven must be right behind those clouds. I hardly ever use the word, "awe" because that word demonstrates such power. In this situation, however, it seems fitting. I truely stared in awe at the sky that night. It had just rained. The fog was lifting off the mountains. The sun was setting and the colors filled the sky. It was breath-taking! It makes me wonder, if the sky on earth can be this beautiful, well I can't even imagine the beauty that we will behold in Heaven some day!

Sep 4, 2006

Our Baby





Our little "baby" isn't so little anymore. I'm realizing how quickly she has grown from "baby" to "toddler" over night. Annie is definitely her "daddy's girl." When he comes home from work, she squeals "DAD-DEEEEE" so loud, I'm surprised you guys down south can't hear. (tried to be REAL vague concerning your "where abouts"...don't want to blow your cover, unlike some other people I know!) Annie started playing "mommy" today. Problem was that she picked a dolly that was just as big as she is and she was trying to lug it all around the house. -now,maybe she knows how I feel! She is also into the "shy" thing. If she does something cute and Joel and I stand back and watch her, she will ever so slowly look up at us and then cover her face with the back of her hand. It's so funny to me that a one year old will get embarrassed over the proud looks that her daddy and mommy give her, but not the least bit embarrassed to be wearing a diaper. The other day, we all climbed into the car. I put Annie into her car seat next to Mary. Mary glanced over at her and then exclaimed, "Look Mommy! Annie only has 3 rolls down her arms instead of 4!" Yes, indeed our baby girl is growing up and if 3 rolls down the arms instead of 4 rolls is a sign of growing up, then maybe, just maybe, there is hope for me yet!

Sep 1, 2006

Nannie Annie or Mary Poppins?





Welcome to Aunty Annie! She is staying with us for a little bit. I told the kids that Aunty Annie was coming and she was going to be helping Mommy around the house while we home school. Then I said IT! Emma will never ever let me forget it...I said, "It's kind of like having Mary Poppins come live with us." Emma's face broke out in the hugest grin and I do believe that she heard the "Hallelujah" chorus playing. She said, "MARY POPPINS COMING TO MY HOUSE?!!!!" Emma is still waiting for Mary Poppins to show up. She even asked if Mary Poppins could sleep in her bed. I've given up trying to convince her that I was just using Mary Poppins as an example and she will NOT be making an appearance. I think I may just throw on a goofy little hat and trench coat, grab my umbrella and go outside. I might as well go ring the door bell and stand there with my toes pointed outward. If ya can't beat em, join em, right?

Aug 31, 2006

Another celebration

Now that you're done singing "Happy Birthday" to Joel, go ahead and sing "Happy Anniversary" to our friends Kenny and DeAnna. Today is their 10th anniversary. We've known them for about 10 years now. They had just gotten married a few months after us. Check out her blog and get singing: www.bellandmilly.blogspot.com
Happy Anniversary, guys! We love you :o)

Somebody just had a birthday





Ok, first of all, those are not my chubby hands covered in chocolate handing Joel a birthday present. My chubby hands covered in chocolate were occupied taking that picture. Yesterday, was Joel's 32nd birthday. Now, if you would all join me in singing "Happy Birthday" to my honey. Stand where you are and join in, come now, stand up, let's go...don't be shy. Doesn't matter where you are, home or work, school, library....just stand where you are and sing.
DO IT!!


"Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Joooooooooo-el. Happy Birthday tooooooooo-hoo-hooooooooo yoooooooooooooou."

Aug 29, 2006

Who is that masked man?




A couple weeks ago, we went to Six Flags. Obviously, the boys were in all their glory meeting the super heros. So, we're standing in line waiting to meet Batman when I noticed dork man in the red. I did not see any children in that room begging their parents to have their pictures taken with him. As a matter of fact, they weren't even looking in that guy's direction. So I had compassion for the poor guy, and brought my boys over to meet him. I walked over there and said with great excitement to the boys, "LOOK GUYS!!!! It's.....um....ahhhhhh, um, Mr. Lightning-bolt Man!!!!!" Well, that super hero looked at me like I had just called him Wonder Woman and said, "UT! It's FLASH!" Well, excuuuuuuuuuuuse me, Flash! But I don't recall you cruising around in the Batmobile nor do I remember you saving Lois Lane from any burning buildings!

Oh and one more thought! does the guy in green have his mask on upside down? I think someone was a little pressed for time and forgot to look in the mirror before he hopped into his little green number!

Aug 16, 2006

Here comes the bride


Emma's favorite past time is playing in the dress up box. It's not unusual for Snow White to join us at the dinner table. The other day, I called her into my bedroom. I took my wedding dress out of the closet and held it up and asked, "Do you want to try this on?" That little girl gasped in the entire oxygen supply for planet earth and squeeled, "YES!" She had quite the time playing in it. When I showed Joel these pictures he said, "When (and if) the real day comes for her to get married, my mind will always remember this vision in my head."