Art

Don't forget to join us for our fundraiser to Bring Baby Hugs Home!! Don't forget when you click on Cheryl's link to go to the party titled Baby Hugs Fundraiser and click BUY next to that!!! 


So recently, we turned these crayons into art. I saw this on someone's blog, that they'd found on pinterest (no I haven't jumped on that bandwagon yet, but I'm sure I could if I tried hard enough).
   










We took 4 boxes of crayola crayons (we being me and kyley mostly), and we grouped them together into like colors that we thought would look good together. Then we hot glued them to the top of a canvas. (3 actually) Next we rigged up a cardboard box with tin foil in the bottom to catch our splatter, and I turned on the hair dryer and pointed it toward the crayon points to melt them and let them drip down the canvas. Simple as that :) Now, go try it and enjoy yourselves so I can see more pretty artwork.

Random - Asher

Don't forget to join us for our fundraiser to Bring Baby Hugs Home!! Don't forget when you click on Cheryl's link to go to the party titled Baby Hugs Fundraiser and click BUY next to that!!! 


This is Asher and how he thinks he should use his swing.



    My boy has some beautiful lashes


Asher's first soccer game with daddy


And his first time in the grass... he was less than thrilled.

Playin' with his toes on the back porch

Help Bring Baby Hugs Home!!

Y'all I am so excited to be a part of this. And I'm even MORE excited that YOU get to be a part of this!!!


I've been so tremendously blessed to know Malerie  since highschool. She was a beacon of light to me in some hard times in my life and I'm so grateful that God allowed us to get to know each other way back then (feeling old yet Mal?)

Malerie and her sweet husband Kevin are amazing. If you don't know them, you should. They are such sweet, gentle, humble people and you'd be so blessed to know their hearts. They have a passion for God's word and His people and it's apparent in their lives.

So here is where YOU come in.

Malerie and Kevin are in the process of adopting from Korea.

As we all know, adoption can be expensive, so they are working as hard as they can to raise the money they need for their expenses.

Another sweet friend of mine, Cheryl has offered to have a fundraiser for them.  Cheryl (also an amazing woman of God, y'all I am so blessed with amazing friends!) is an Independent Scentsy Consultant and she has so generously offered to give 100% of the profit made from these sales to Malerie and Kevin for the purpose of their adoption!! 
Here is a bit of what Cheryl had to say about these products:

With the days growing cool, we are preparing for Autumn and the coming winter months. Thinking of the Holidays as they approach quickly leave many flustered. Not anymore...Scentsy is the perfect gift for everyone.

Scentsy warmers will brighten any room- safely because it's powered by a light bulb- and fit any decor you have in mind!

Our scented wax..If you've not tried them, once you do, you'll fall in love with them (and they are economical). Frosty "Whiteout" confures images of icy cold mint and crisp apples. Love to horseback ride? "Weathered Leather" is a mix of suede, leather and oak. As many scents you can imagine will be found in 1 of 80 scents!

NEW to Scentsy...You can now layer Scentsy fragrance in the most fun and personal way with our new Scentsy Solid Perfumes! Five amazing scents to choose from and take with you to all your holiday parties!

Finally, children can choose their favorite scent too, as we introduce more scented paks for the adorable Scentsy Buddies to go along with our NEW Scratch the Cat and Patch the Dog....but don't forget about our old friends, Ollie (elephant), Molly (monkey), Lenny (Lamb), Penny (pig) and Ribbert (frog)!

Be sure when you place your order, go to www.meltingmoments.scentsy.us and click "Buy" next to "Baby Hugs Fundraiser Here". 100% of the profit will be donated towards this family's amazing journey!!!

Please email me at mrsbes@yahoo.com or call me at 410-241-8992 with any questions about Scentsy you might have.

Are you excited yet???

If you've never tried Scentsy,  this stuff is AMAZING. I've clumsily spilled the wax several times and it doesn't burn so it's safe for kids, and there is NO FLAME. I love that! 

If you want to know more about the product you can also check out Cheryl's Facebook Page.

SO, get out there and get shopping, and let's help bring Baby Hugs home!!!

Don't forget when you click on Cheryl's link to go to the party titled Baby Hugs Fundraiser and click BUY next to that!!!

6 months old!

Asher, you are 6 months old!! (and 3 days)

I cannot believe how fast you're growing! It seems like just yesterday you were born!

You love to roll over from front to back and back to front.

You are very good at sitting up on your own now, though I still leave the boppy behind you or stay close by because when you get excited you fling yourself backwards into the floor and then you're not so excited anymore.

You still wear a size 1 diaper, but I think that will be changing VERY soon.  You are wearing 3-6 month clothes and some just 6 month, and I've even had to put away some of the smaller 3-6 month things.

You LOVE your toys and your brother's toys as well. You love when he plays with you, or when Kyley plays with you as well.

Kyley still thinks you are like a baby doll and she can play "house" with you. She likes to carry you around and pretend to put you to bed and you think she's the funniest thing.

Just this weekend (2 days ago!) You started making actual syllables instead of squeals. You are saying "ma" very well, and it's funny to watch you study our mouths as we talk and mimic the movement.

Your toes are one of your favorite toys, and chew toys at that.

You want to crawl so badly, but you need to work on your strength in your arms and torso first, but that will come soon enough sweet boy. You want to be able to 'hang' with Kyley and Elijah and go wherever they go.

You've been trying a little bit of food here and there, though we aren't pushing the issue. You've so far had banana baby food, and banana baby puffs and cookies to play with, though you aren't really eating them, I put them on your tray while we eat so you can practice picking them up.

You LOVE cups. You want to steal anyone's cup that you see, and you love your own cup if it has something yummy in it (so far I've only put breastmilk or water in it, and you much prefer the milk haha)

I am so in love with you sweet little man, I can't wait to see what the next six months brings as well.

For your viewing pleasure :)

Asher is learning to say "ma" :)

Work In Progress.

I have so many things I want to write about, but I just can't put them into words. I've pondered this post for almost 2 weeks. And my blog has been silent. That was almost the title. SILENCE.

Forgive me in advance for the wordy post. It's not my typical style, but I can't do anything but obey what my spirit feels right now.

I am... a work in progress.

I don't understand the things God is doing in my life, but I know this. He is working.

So many times I've sat down to address the issue of faith, here on my blog, but I just cannot seem to get the words out right. But now's the time.

Several  years ago, God gave me a vision. A vision of our future. A vision of our third child, one of hope and fulfillment of His promises in our lives. He spoke life into existence in our hearts years before it was time to be fulfilled.
A few months before I got pregnant with Asher, I saw this same exact vision, so vivid, and so real.  I got anxious, and excited. God was stirring up something in me I didn't understand. I was longing to be pregnant and have our 3rd child more than ever now.

In late June 2010, I had another vision. This time also very vivid and real.  God gave me a date, a time, and confirmed the gender he'd revealed to me in the earlier visions.   With this date in mind (March 15, 2011 at 4:53am to be exact and HER name was to be Kinsley Faith) I thought He was crazy, it was already late June and I'd already have to have conceived or done so right around this time to get pregnant and be due by then, and I just didn't see how that was possible.

But I believed.

And on July 6th, I took a test at 9days after ovulation and sure enough it said pregnant. (not everyone can get a positive that early, I just happened to)

So began our intense journey of faith.  Derek and I both felt through this entire pregnancy He was leading us and guiding us to homebirth. We stepped out in faith and went with what we felt He was calling us to. We believed in Him. We believed in His sovereignty. We prepared to have a little girl. We gave away all of our boy clothes, and washed and put away all of our pink, girly things in the drawers as March drew near.

We had faith.

March 15th was on a Tuesday, and when I started having contractions on the Sunday before, I prayed, and asked God to continue to guide us and lead us in His will. I knew it would be a long few days before she was here.

So Tuesday came and went. And there was no baby.  Um... excuse me God...??? What is going on here?????

But I believed.

Finally, during the wee hours of the morning on March 17th, I felt like it was time. Yall, let me tell you, even as I labored, I sang to "her" and spoke to her and encouraged her through the birth process.

I REALLY believed.

And birth was amazing. Derek told me as soon as he was out... "It's a boy!" And I questioned him, because ya know, sometimes things are swollen and you never know... "For real?"  He confirmed it for me, and as I turned over to pick him up, I called him by name. "Hi sweet Asher" I said.

I'll be the first to tell you how in love I am. I am head over heels in love with this little boy. He rocked my world, in a good way.

But, can I be honest with you and tell you that I had to grieve? Not right away, I was too blown away by the whole experience of birthing at home and having a new baby and being absolutely smitten with him.
But as the weeks and months passed by, I felt a sadness, and I realized that it was something I needed to deal with inside of me.

I felt like God had lied to me. I questioned my ability to hear from Him. I questioned my relationship with Him. I questioned my sanity even sometimes. My grieving has nothing to do with not having a little girl. We are blessed either way. But I had to grieve the loss of the solid FAITH I'd found suddenly shaken.

There are days that it is hard. When Kyley pulls out something from the tiny little girl stuff I had sorted and put away... I silently cry to myself and wonder where I went wrong.  For a few weeks in the beginning, when Elijah would ask about Kinsley (because that is what we'd prepared him for!) and I had no way of explaining to him how he would understand, it was HARD. But again I say, he is my WORLD.

I ran hard after Him during this time in my life, and I've asked many questions. I won't know the answers to many of these questions, but I can tell you this... He is working, and I am a work in progress.


I have no idea what God's purpose was for all of that in my life, but I know this. I passed the test. I ran hard after what He was showing me and I fully believed in His words to me, and I don't say that to pump myself up, but to tell you that HE sustained me during that time. HE gave me the faith to stand up to those who questioned me. and HE saw me through the time when everyone thought I was insane because it turns out, hey, he's a boy.

I ran hard, and He caught me in His grace.

I can't begin to tell you that this journey is over, I still have moments of doubt and fear of the unknown since that time.
Just last week Kyley shared her heart with me, and she broke mine into pieces in the process. She said "Mommy, I was so excited when I woke up and Asher was born, but I was kinda sad that he wasn't a girl."

Sweet Jesus, be near to her.

In six months, she'd never spoken a word of that until this week. I told someone earlier in the week about it and said, ya know, I am so glad she shared that with me so I know that she's grieving in her own way, but I could have went a million years without hearing those words.

God has a perfect plan, and maybe it's only to see my faith and trust. I have no idea. But He does.

I am a work in progress. He continues to shape me and mold me through the things I experience and deal with on a daily basis.
Yes, sometimes I will question Him, I'm human and I'm a sinner, if I wasn't I wouldn't need Him.
But I know this much: No matter what I go through I'm going to run hard after Him and into His sweet grace.

And in case you were wondering... I adore my sweet boy and wouldn't change things for the world. :) 

Coolest Win Ever

Ok, I am officially in LOVE.   I won these sweet beads from a blog giveaway over at We are THAT family. They came from this sweet little etsy shoppe! The Adopt Shoppe
Go check out the amazing stuff. I promise you won't regret it!!!

These particular beads, are handmade (fair trade!) from Uganda! They are teaching women to make a living for their families by making beads out of magazines! how awesome is that?!  I love them!


   








 

busy week, tired mommy!

No pictures today! Sorry! I just wanted to say hi and update!

We had revival last weekend, so my week last week and into this week consisted of planning lessons, buying props/prizes, organizing help, making sure everything was ready for the weekend, and pulling off 4 services in 3 days. It was a LOT of work leading up to it, but we had a blast and God is so good. The kids had a lot of fun and even a few adults got in on the action a few nights. I probably won't share any pictures on my personal blog from anything we do there, but you can check out the Lakewood Kids BLOG if you are interested and there are also links on the Lakewood Kids FACEBOOK PAGE.

My intentions were to start school on Monday, but with the long weekend we had, I decided to put it off until after Labor Day, so we will start this coming Tuesday so that I have time to make sure my lesson plans are done, etc. Kyley is so excited about starting school, and I must say, so am I!!! I can't wait to see what this year holds for her and Elijah as they learn and grow!

During the week, all 3 kids have come down with a cold, so my last two days have been spent mostly working on things I need to do online to catch up, and snuggling a grumpy baby who has a stuffy nose and can't breathe well and just overall doesn't feel good. He's so pathetic, but I'm happy to say that he seems to be slowly on the mend. The older two have stuffy noses, but haven't really acted much different than normal so I'm hoping we got by easy this time.

Asher is sitting up so well now, we still don't leave him by himself because he does still fling himself backwards at times, but he's doing great! And last night I laid him on his tummy and he got his legs all pulled under him and held his torso up with just his arms and knees. YIKES, he can't be starting this yet!!!  He LOVES his toys and loves to talk to people, he will squeal at you if you pay him any attention. I love all the smiles and giggles we are getting these days!!!

Better is...

Some of you may remember THIS POST.

Recently, we were at the first night of revival at our church and Elijah had to go potty right as service began (surprise right???)   So as I was waiting for him to come out of the bathroom, I was enjoying the praise band from the foyer, as they were playing "Better is One Day"

A few minutes later, Elijah emerges from the boys restroom singing at the top of his lungs... They'd reached the chorus by this point (come on, sing it with me, better is one day in your courts ,better is one day in your house...)Anyhow, they'd reached the chorus and Elijah is trying his best to keep up and sing along and he blurts out this gem...

"Better is one day in your courts, better is one day in your mouths..."  Yes, my friends, he said MOUTHS instead of house.   Hey it sounds alike right?


I wish I had a way to document every single thing the kid says, he cracks me up all day long, every single day!

Back to School

So I think we are FINALLY ready to jump into FIRST GRADE! I cannot believe how quickly time flies! 

We got our finishing touches on our curriculum in the mail today, and so we are shooting to start on MONDAY! yay!

After much consideration and prayer, I decided I wanted to go with Horizons. I feel like this is where God was leading me, and so I believe we're going to have an amazing year! 

   







And what would back to school be, without awesome back to school cookies to celebrate?

Look mom!!

Look what my sweet boy is learning to do :)   Did I mention I'm in love with this little guy? :)

   

Asher's favorite toy (first edition!)

This kid LOVES this toy. 

   

He attacks it when he sees it and it keeps him entertained for good lengths of time, score for mommy!


Truth be told, I bought it back when Kyley was little, she only played with it a handful of times and so I put it away for future kids.


I apparently forgot where I "put" it while Elijah was little because just recently I found it in a box of Kyley's old toys I'd kept for our next girl while I was going through stuff for our recent yard sale.





So I cleaned it up to make sure it was germ free when I gave it to him, and gave it to Ash-man, and he's had a blast with it ever since!

5 months old (yesterday)

My sweet little man is 5 months old! I can't believe how quickly time flies!

I've put away almost ALL of his 0-3 clothes, and he's finally filling out the 3-6 so they don't look like they are falling off. He's still wearing a size 1 diaper, but I don't know how much longer that will last either!

He weighs in at a whopping 15 lbs!
He has been rolling over from back to front occassionally, and he loves to roll from his tummy to his back.
Just in the last week or so he found his feet and loves to play with them.
He's starting to sit up on his own for brief periods of time, but he's not sturdy enough for me to just leave him there yet.
He's showing a lot of interest in our food, so I'm sure he's going to LOVE when we let him eat solids in a month or so, but until then he's still nursing on demand.

He is a drool machine, though no sign of teeth just yet, we'll see though. My other two haven't cut teeth until 10 months or later!

He loves Kyley and Elijah, and he lights up when they talk to him :) I just love it.
He is ticklish and I love to hear him giggle when someone finds a tickle spot!

Asher man, we love you so much!!!!

Mosquitos.

Holy Cow Mosquitos Batman!
I'll spare you all the images, but apparently my youngest has a pretty adverse reaction to mosquito bites. YIKES!
We knew Elijah was allergic (though Kyley is not and her skin seems to be more sensitive?!), but his reaction wasn't bad.   But Asher has raised the bar. His reactions to them are ridiculous!
Anyways, so I'm looking for some advice.  I'm looking at a few different type of bug bands (bracelets that repel mosquitoes) but I don't want to waste my money on something if it doesn't work. Which is where you guys come in!I came across a 3 pack of these type bands at CVS this week. It was the only package they had, so I grabbed them, though we haven't had time to try them out yet. Have any of you tried these?


I also found these, and I believe these are like one we bought for Elijah a few summers ago and I felt like it worked well but it was pretty stiff and Elijah hated wearing it.


ButI have also been looking at these...

and these...



Do any of you have any experience with them? I really am not sure if they work or not, which is why I haven't committed to buying any certain one yet but I have to do something because my poor boy is covered in bites and they swell up and get hard with a knot in them and just look awful :( poor baby :(

Yard Sale and Yard Hard Work.

I have to give MAD props to my hubby and a few of our great friends today.  All week we've been planning on having a yard sale today. I'd been working in the shed organizing and going through stuff to sale all week long. Cleaning out closets, dressers, anything I could find to get rid of "stuff" and simplify our lives.  I'm so tired of clutter, it drives me INSANE!  It just so happens that at the same time I've been pricing the curriculum I want to order for Kyley this year (yes a little late I know)  So we made that our goal, to fund our curriculum for the year through the yard sale.  When I added up everything I was going to need for curriculum, the most I was going to need was right at 270.00.    Can I tell you that GOD is good ?  Because He is.   Our grand total today:    272.00!   No lie.    And on top of that, I have a whole shed full of stuff we still need to sell that didn't sell today, and we're going to set up again next week to try to get rid of that, and after that, what is left we'll donate because I don't want it back in my shed!
We stayed up all night last night working on last minute things (ok I was, the boys watched movies all night to stay awake).  We started setting up about 530 this morning, and bless him... Tim stayed all night and all day with us.  And we were doubly blessed that our sweet friend Marlon brought us lunch in exchange for something his wife wanted that we were selling :)

And then... the yard work began. Earlier in the week we had gotten a letter from the city about weeds etc. Which is hilarious because we'd JUST cut our grass the week before so it was pretty low, but whatever.  So we set to work to get everything done before the city comes back out on Monday to check... Yay.     Derek, Tim, & Will have been working their booties off to make sure our yard is in tip top shape and I am so blessed to have a husband who will work hard to make things the way they need to be, and that we have friends willing to lend a hand.   I've done what I could throughout the day while nursing a babe but the truth is, when you have a newborn, it's HARD to do anything other than hang w/ the baby.  Oh well.   Anyways, I'm thankful for our hard working crew nonetheless.  

Hope you guys have had an awesome Saturday as well!

Potty Training TRAINED!

I've been meaning to update this for a few weeks now, because I've been writing about it for so long.  

Elijah has been a whole MONTH without a diaper during the day or night.   We still have a few random accidents, but it's mostly if he is trying to get to the bathroom and can't get his clothes off in time etc. He is doing GREAT! 

I knew he could do it, but he had to decide for himself that he was ready.  He's been dry for almost 2 weeks at night even and I've caught him getting up at night to go to the potty and getting back in bed!  

I'm so proud of my big boy!!

Wedding Day!

We are so excited to be a part of Savannah and Peden's big day!  We have watched these two grow from teens in high school, to the adults they are today and we are so blessed to call them friends.   Happy wedding day, we love yall!

(photo taken by me, at their engagement shoot)

a jumbled up mess.

Today is the first day in over a week I haven't felt like my head was going to explode. We have so much going on and so many things to do right now that I have neglected the blog, partly because I was too busy, and partly because I haven't had time to think about what to sit down and write.
My brother & sister in law (and niece) have been in town for a week, so we tried to see them as much as possible, while juggling painting our children's area (it's going to ROCK!) , pre-wedding prep work for some of our awesome friends who are getting married on Saturday, and then normal work/house/kids that we do on a daily basis.
Oh and did I mention that our 8th anniversary was this past week? I'm so blessed to be married to my amazing husband, and it's been a wonderful 8 years!

Anyhow, I have a lot of pics and a lot of other things to post about but I need to organize those thoughts and put them into words. Hopefully I'm back to my normal schedule soon :) 

Why yes, yes they are

   

Crowd Tap?

Do any of you guys participate in this site?


I stumbled upon it through some facebook friends and I think it's a pretty neat idea.

Basically, you join the site, you get to participate in actions and discussions and earn points which upgrade your level, and "cash" which you can trade in for amazon gift cards.   Often these actions will allow you to try a specific product for review and questionaires by that company.

The best part about it is, that any cash you redeem, they automatically take 5 % of it and give it to a charity of your choice, and then match that amount as well!  Pretty cool if you ask me, since all I have to do is click a few buttons here and there and answer some questions here and there.

I chose to donate to To Write Love on Her Arms  which I have written about before HERE and HERE
What a super charity to be able to donate to, just by answering questions. I love it!

Soooo... if you're interested, join me.  At least join and try it out, you can't beat free products to try and anything you earn goes to charity and it doesn't take hardly any time at all (unlike some survey sites etc)

4 months old (and almost a week)

I took the picture last week when he was first 4 months old, that should count for something right???



What a big boy Asher is getting to be, and so much fun!
He can giggle, and he loves to watch Elijah and Kyley play.
He holds on to a few toys and loves to look at things that are fun and colorful.
He coos and talks to you in his own way and he LOVES to squeal. Silly boy.

He is trying so hard to sit up on his own, but his poor little torso is so long he just can't get good control over it yet, but I have a feeling it won't be long!!!

He is still sleeping well at night, but oh how much sleep is he NOT getting during the day which probably causes his nights to be so good.

I can't believe how big he's getting already!!!   Here is the pictures I posted at 1,2,3, and 4 months old together.


(sorry for some reason it put the pictures in out of order, but you know what I'm going for here :) )

My Supermen!!!

A new adventure

We are so excited about the things God is doing in our lives, and in those around us, and I wanted to share one of those here today.

Recently we've been given the opportunity to serve in a children's minster position at a local church. We are beyond thrilled to see what God is doing through this.  If you guys wouldn't mind checking out the blog  and following it we'd appreciate it!!!
We also have a facebook page and a twitter (@lakewoodkids)  Thanks so much guys! You are all awesome!

Why I'm here.

*also written several years ago on my MySpace blog, but I wanted to share here*


Have you ever wondered why we were put here on this earth?
Isaiah 43:7 says...  "Everyone who is called by My name,
      Whom I have created for My glory;
      I have formed him, yes, I have made him."
and Colossians 1:16 says... "For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him."
These scriptures tell us that everyone called by His name is created for His glory- and in Colossians it tells us that all things created in heaven and on earth are created by Him, through Him, and for Him. So we have all been placed here for His glory.
What exactly is glory?
According to www.dictionary.com  the word glory can be said to mean

..> ..>

1.	very great praise, honor, or distinction bestowed by common consent; renown

..

2.	something that is a source of honor, fame, or admiration; a distinguished ornament or an object of pride

3.	adoring praise or worshipful thanksgiving:

4.	resplendent beauty or magnificence.

5.	a state of great splendor, magnificence, or prosperity.

..

6.	a state of absolute happiness, gratification, contentment, etc.

..

7.	the splendor and bliss of heaven Our job is to bring him glory- we were created to worship Him!

 This brings me to the point of this blog- a song I love.
The chorus simply says "To worship You I live, to worship You I live, I live to worship You."
I live to worship Him- worship doesn't mean we have to sing to Him constantly- it doesn't mean we have to jump up and down and shout, it just simply means for us to bring Him glory.  We can do that by allowing our minds to be transformed, and living as a representative of Christ.  We once had a saying in our youth group about things we did or said, to know you were bringing God glory, we'd say " as a representative of Jesus Christ... (fill in the blank with whatever action/word/thought you were having or contemplating)" and if it wasn't something that would reflect good on the name of Jesus, then we probably shouldn't do that.
Romans 12:1-2
 1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
It is our job to bring Him glory- are you reflecting that in your life?


The lyrics to the song...
Away away from the noise
alone with you
away away to hear your voice
and meet with you
nothing else matters my one desire is
 To worship you I live
to worship you I live I live to worship you
To worship you I live
to worship you I live I live to worship you
oh oh
 Away away, away away from the noise alone with you
Away away to hear your voice and meet with you
It's been a while but heart my heart cry again
: To worship you I live
to worship you I live I live to worship you
To worship you I live
to worship you I live I live to worship you
To worship you I live
to worship you I live I live to worship you
oh oh

Is this your hearts desire? To get away from the noise.... to get alone with Him...to bring Him glory?

Father, I thank You for your living Word and your perfect will for our lives. Lord I pray that you will mold me and make me into the person you have created me to be- Lord help me to refocus my life and get alone with You, worship You, and bring you glory. May your will for my life and that of my family's be manifested in us through our worship of You. Amen.

Finally! Success!!!

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you may remember THIS post.

Oh boy has this been a long time coming...

I'm so excited to say that we are FINALLY done with diapers for Elijah! At 3 years & 3 months old almost to the day (we started on the 4th full time)  He has been without a diaper for a week now.

I couldn't be a prouder mommy to this sweet boy. He goes on his own, without help (unless he needs wiped) and he's only had a handful of accidents and they were mostly a timing issue or at night when he can't wake himself up to go yet.

We'd been going diaper free at home for several months but not out of the house because he couldn't be consistent in telling us he had to go, and my stubborn boy would not settle for "trying" to go every so often, he only goes when HE needs to.

He may be stubborn, but when he was ready, he was ready. I'm so glad to be on the other side of the hill (ok well mostly)

Lord, please let Asher not be as stubborn and make things so hard on mommy. lol.

Anyhow, to celebrate his new achievement I think I'm going to order him these...



He is going to be so thrilled, he loves Phineas and Ferb right now, so this will make his day :)

Answer's to life's questions?

I wrote this post on my myspace blog many years ago, but felt it was worth sharing here. I love hearing God's voice and this is just one example.

* Please note that throughout this blog , the use of "Daddy" is not directed at my earthly father, but yet a term of endearment between my Heavenly Father and the personal relationship i share with Him.*

Answers....


Daddy, why does death hurt so badly? Why does it bring so much pain? Death to our earthly desires, death to our will for our lives as opposed to Your perfect will, and death to our old way of thinking...? All of these types of death bring forth strength, but Daddy, physical death, where is the strength in that? The joy of the Lord is my strength, I am quickly reminded by your sweet, still voice. Your joy... it shall be my strength. But Lord, where shall i find such joy in death? Your reply to me is resounding in my mind. "My child, my joy is found in my resurrection," You say. So I ponder this for a moment.

Resurrection, what does it mean?

1. the act of rising from the dead.
2. (initial capital letter) the rising of Christ after His death and burial.
3. (initial capital letter) the rising of the dead on Judgment Day.
4. the state of those risen from the dead.
5. a rising again, as from decay, disuse, etc.; revival.

Another source cites resurrection as a revival from inactivity and disuse.

Revival from inactivity? But Father, what does this have to do with my grieving? What does this have to do with my hurt and pain? "Listen closely, My child," You reply, " your mourning for a life resurrected to be with me is only the beginning my dear. Your earthly desires, your personal will for your life, your way of living, all of this is merely the beginning. Your mind in these states is at a moment of inactivity. Take heed my dear child, and draw close to Me. Rise above this earthly world full of traps and snares, and hold your head high. Rise above all circumstances, all inactivity, all disuse, and be resurrected by My power! Be revived my child, oh that I might use you to do something great for My kingdom."

My girl

Well, this is my 300th post! I had something else planned but I can't get it finished in time to post before today, and I already haven't blogged in multiple days, soooo instead I'm going to share a few pictures with you, and I'll write my "300" post later :)


   

a picture worth a thousand words.

I just never want to forget the sweet things our kids do. And oh how I wish I'd had my camera on me last night.

We pulled up to church and Elijah immediately began protesting going to play in the playroom. We let him stay in service with us (Me, Derek, and Asher) through most of worship, and he started getting restless torward the end of worship so I took him to the room and gave him a snack and he stayed to play with the other kids. I went back to service. 

Not long after, guess who was hungry and wanted to be fussy? :)  So again, I get up and leave and go to the nursery to rock Ash and feed him.  Elijah finds me in the nursery (there are adjoining doors)  He hangs pretty close to me and eventually looks at me and says "mommy, i wanna go to the sanctuwary" and beeline's for the nursery door. I get him to stay and he protests "but mommmmmy, i wanna learn about jesus!"

*melt my heart*

so I finally get Asher situated, and we go back to the sanctuary, Elijah going with me this time. We sit down and get still, and Josh was finishing up his sermon. And praying over people etc and he opened the alters for prayer.  Derek goes down to the alter to pray, and Elijah watches intensely.  Next thing I know, Elijah is asking me to go pray. I nodded at him and he ran as FAST as he could up to his daddy and kneeled beside him, rested his head on the stage and didn't budge. I got up and stood in the back of the sanctuary so I could see him at all times, in case he tried to get distracting, but he never moved. It was THE. CUTEST. THING. EVER.    I really wish I'd had my camera. REALLY REALLY wish I had.

And one more thing I don't want to forget so I'm going to throw it in here...  last night before church we went to visitation for a friend's dad at the funeral home. We take our kids with us, they are very aware of what death is, and what it means, and we don't hide that.  Anyhow, as we're going in the building Elijah matter of factly states.  "I don't be died.  I be safe daddy."   I'm not sure where he comes up with some of this stuff, but he's so smart!

mini me Elijah

 

anyone else think they look alike?  I can't wait to see who Asher looks more like as he gets older. He's already changing so much!

WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER!

Ok, ok so you don't get a chicken dinner... BUT I do have a winner!



Precious 3 said...
I wrote a blog post. I wrote it 5 times, and really feel it should be written again, but it's going to have to wait LOL. But here it is!

http://philippians48myprayer.blogspot.com/2011/06/edify.html


(remind me to tell you a story about this later!)

June 22, 2011 5:27 PM

Congratulations Jen! You've won a $20 credit to DaySpring! I'll email you the code shortly!

And a special shout out to my mom who was the only other person to enter. You rock!

in which I speak about coyotes... (kinda)

Kyley is such a funny kid. I just love her.

Last week she came to me and said "Mommy, I can spell coyote!"  and then showed me her paper. I wish I'd taken a picture of it to post here, but me being the bad mommy I am sometimes didn't think to do so.

Her paper read     " KYOT"   - It makes totally sense. She knows Ky is her name, well the first part at least, and what her nickname is, and so it must be followed by an O and a T to make the ote sound in the word right?

She's getting smart, and figuring things out, unfortunately that word doesn't follow normal rules and cannot be sounded out phonetically, but we are proud nonetheless.


Another Kyley funny I don't want to forget.  The other night we were driving in the van, and Kyley, Krissy, and Elijah were all in the backseat and Derek was next to Asher. Derek looks back at them and starts talking to Kyley about conviction (though not with that word). He said "Kyley when you do something wrong, do you know it's wrong?  Do you hear something in your head that tells you it's a bad idea?"   Kyley responds : "No, I just hear you in my head daddy"  So he then poses the same question to Krissy.  Krissy says " No, I just hear you too" (great minds think alike? and hear voices in their head alike?)

Gosh I don't think the funny things my kids come up with will ever get old. They are so much fun!!!