Summer Fun

School's out and we are ready for a fun packed summer! Hopefully, the summer weather is here to stay. Last week we had snow advisories. In June! I don't want heat wave like the East Coast, but 70's would be nice!

This week my mom and grandma are coming to visit. We are really looking forward to it. My grandma is near 95 so they are staying at a nearby motel instead of here at the house. That gives her a quiet place to rest if things get crazy around here. (Crazy at our house? No, never!) Plus that gives us access to a pool, (I haven't told them yet in case it rains) which the kids will love.

We are also preparing for a garage sale to happen next weekend. I haven't ever been a big garage sale girl, but our garage is full of junk, um, I mean treasures, waiting for someone else to buy. In the past, we have moved, and thus purged things in the process. Since we are going on four years here, you can imagine what we have collected! So a garage sale it is! I am sharing the weekend and our driveway with a friend and my sister in law. Hopefully, it will be nice weather and we will send the boys with our sons camping. Then we have half the kids to entertain, and I must say, girls are easier to entertain than boys!

I'll leave the rest of our summer for another post, because this one is getting lengthy. I will say that I am glad summer is finally here. It brings family reunions, water fun, birthdays, and lots of activity. This is one mom that is going to enjoy it while my kids are still small enough to want to stick close to home!

Peace and Quiet

Ahhhh....the banana bread is in the oven, and the kids are playing. That gives me a moment of peace and quiet, at least for now.

Peace and quiet doesn't happen very often around here. Unless of course, it's in the early hours of the morning when no one else is up yet! From the moment the kids wake up, to the moment the kids go to bed, the day is packed full of loud, crazy, fun times. So how do I cultivate moments of peace in our family? I schedule them!

I think it's important for everyone to have a little down time in their day. Even children. Since only two of my five kids take naps these days, I try to make nap time "quiet time" for my other three blessings. They can color, read, or even play quietly with toys if they want. Of course, it doesn't always work out that way. Sometimes you have to allow for life's interruptions. But I'll save that for another post!

And now for that banana bread!

He's Growing Up

Ahhhhh.....Spring rain. After a few sunny hot days, it is welcome here. There's something about a good Spring shower that calms the spirit. I love the smell in the air afterwards. It's different from Winter rain. Clean and fresh. Plus we don't have to break out the sprinklers to water the lawn just yet! April showers bring May flowers! Oh yeah, we still had snow in April...we're blooming just a little late here in the Northwest this year! Anyway, nothing like a Spring rain to help the grass, trees, and flowers grow.

Speaking of growing, I registered my third born for kindergarten yesterday. It's hard to believe that he will start school in the fall. In order to register him I had to dig out his birth certificate. In the process, I found some pictures of the day he was born. He was so tiny!

This is one right after he was born in that sweet moment that they first hand your baby to you.

This is him in back in December.

Next month he turns 5. There's an old saying "he's growing like a weed." I prefer to say "his personality is blooming like a flower." As sure as the seasons change, each new season of life brings change and growth. I am excited to usher my son into this season of life as he begins his school years. He is an eager learner, and I look forward to watching him grow.


There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven -Ecc. 3:1

Ab-sent Minded Exercise

Today I stumbled on to this fun blog called Three Kid Circus.
http://threekidcircus.com/threekidcircus/
She's holding a contest to win a Wii console plus the new Wii Fit Balance Board and Game.
http://threekidcircus.com/threekidcircus/archives/2008/05/in_only_six_min.html All you have to do to enter, is to tell a fitness purchase glory story. I have been admiring the new game so I thought I'd give it a shot.

I was actually never really one for exercise, until I had five children in under seven years. In order to keep up with those kids, I kind of have to be in shape, or at least live a pretty healthy lifestyle. Honestly, it wasn't ever very hard for me to lose the baby weight. I had to make the extra effort for those last few pounds every time, but all it took was a little hard work and they eventually came off.

My problem area would be my abs...who doesn't want rock hard abs like they show on all those exercise infomercials?? But I HATE sit ups! And whenever I do crunches I wonder if I'm doing them right. So one night when I was watching late night tv after having one of my kids I saw a program promoting the "Ab-doer". It looked simple enough. Sit down, use the bar thingy (that's not the technical term, I'm sure) and move back and forth, round and round in a variety of exercises to melt off those love handles! I just had to have it. Three instruction tapes included!

Well, I will tell you that I actually thought it was working...for a while. Then I realized that my abs were just as soft and squishy as before and it became an extra chair in my laundry room. It's actually moved with us three times now I think. Just can't seem to say good bye. As for my exercise routine now? It consists of Pilates and Yoga. Not to mention keeping up with 5 kids ages 6 and under! That's why the Wii program caught my attention. I think it is something I could stick with. And who knows? Maybe have a little fun too!

Exercise and a healthy lifestyle are very important to me as a mom. I hope to pass that message along to my children. I may never have rock hard abs, but at least I have the energy to keep up with my kids. That's what matters to me. : )

Happy Mother's Day!

Ten things I love about my mom: (Not in any specific order)

1. She loves me unconditionally
2. She is always there to listen
3. She is supportive of my decisions (even when they make no sense and come back to bite me in the butt!)
4. She goes out of her way to come and visit me
5. She helps me financially when I am in a pinch
6. She gives helpful advice
7. When she hugs me she takes an extra squeeze before letting go
8. She lets me cry on her shoulder our into the phone when I need to
9. She is an active grandma : )
10. She has shown me how to be a loving mother.

Thanks for being such a great mom! I love you!

Ten things I love about being a mom:

1. Hugs and kisses
2. Prayers at bedtime
3. Reading together and story time by the fire
4. Tickles and giggles
5. Making owies better with kisses and band aids
6. Watching my children discover new things
7. Little yellow flowers picked just for me
8. Singing songs together
9. Watching each child develop their own personality
10. Spending one on one time with each of my children
11. Catching my children being good and praising them for it
12. Watching my children being loving towards each other and growing closer as friends

Ok...so I couldn't choose just ten. The list could go on and on. I am so thankful for my five blessings from heaven. I love being a mom! Happy mother's day to me!

Trust and Obey

Lately I have been working with my 5yr old on obedience. He's a good kid. It's not that he acts out a lot or does a lot of bad things. He just has been a little stubborn lately in the way that he responds to me when I ask him to do or not do something. His dad calls it "sassing". That's pretty much it. I say something and he is quick to come back with "but I wasn't" or "I didn't" responses. It's getting very old, and I have finally started to show him that there are consequences to not respecting mommy. I am trying to be consistent with him, or there will be consequences for me, the older he gets. Not to mention when he becomes an adult out on his own and needs to respect his boss, or other authorities.

That being said, I have been thinking a lot about my own views on obedience. I am always telling my children to "listen and obey." I believe that God asks the same childlike response from me. He wants me to listen to His instructions, and obey them without questioning Him. It is called trust. I need to trust that God only wants what's best for me, just like my children need to trust that I only want the best for them. When I don't listen and obey, there are consequences. Consequences that not only effect me, but those around me that I love.

So, while I am working on my son's "listen and obey" skills, I am also asking God to work on me. Hopefully, with time, God will cultivate obedience in both of us.

It's like the old familiar hymn says:
Trust and obey, for there's no other way
To be happy with Jesus,
But to trust and obey.
(Text: John H. Sammis 1887, Music: Daniel B. Towner)

Friendship in the Valleys

I have a lot of close friends that are going through difficult times right now. Often, the Lord will place their burdens on my heart so that I can carry them in prayer. I am certain that when I have gone through my own valleys, they have been faithful to carry me in prayer as well. True friendship is like that. Words needn't be exchanged. You can just sense that they need prayer.

This psalm is my prayer for my sisters in Christ this morning. It goes out to you with all my heart. May you lean on Jesus as you walk through the valleys, for He is there with you. And when it seems like you can't go any further, He will carry you. I love you and am praying for you always.

Psalm 23
The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.