Goodbye 2015!

The year is gone...where did it go?  Boy, time sure does fly when you get older.  I never understood people saying that, but it is SO true!!! 
We have had an awesome year, despite me not blogging about it!  Here's to hoping I turn over a new leaf and blog more, right?  I really do have the best of intentions, and then life happens. 

Here are the highlights of our year:

• The twins' graduated preschool.  Oh my, my kids are growing up so much!!  I can't even believe they are now halfway through Kindergarten. 
• Henry started preschool at a local church.  I can't even begin to express how much this has helped him.  I am forever grateful to his amazing teachers.  They are truly angels I believe God put in our path.  Isn't it amazing how he sends us just who we need?  When we ask?  I fail to ask so often, but I am learning to pray more and rely on myself less!
• Which brings me to the most significant change this year brought-a new church! I absolutely LOVE our new church.  It has helped me grow so much, and has had so many positive impacts on our family.  Henry has struggled there, and I think I have realized it's because the Sunday school teachers change weekly.  He is VERY routine oriented.  I am going to continue to work on him adjusting.  Overall though, I love everything about the church.  It just seems alive to me.  I don't know how else to explain it.  It's a preacher that's our age, and he and his family don't just talk the talk, they are living by example.  I know everyone isn't perfect, but it is refreshing to see people trying.  I feel like I have chosen to worship in the past with people who say one thing on Sunday, and live completely differently the rest of the week.  As a family, we are reading our Bibles regularly and the kids are learning scripture like crazy.  I think we are moving in the right direction, which makes me happy!  Our church only plays worship and praise songs, so I absolutely love that.  Emilynn and I especially love them and listen to them as much as we can.  I can't tell you how happy it makes me to hear those little voices singing worship songs!!!  I think my favorite church moment of the year though was one Sunday when Emilynn's Sunday school class made little shofars.  If you aren't familiar with a shofar, it is a trumpet that comes off the head of an animal in Israel.  Our pastor plays the shofar each week, and it is very moving.  At the end of the worship service this particular Sunday, Emilynn's class came out and played their little paper shofars for the congregation, and the pastor played the large shofar with them.  It was so moving and made this Momma so proud, I had tears in my eyes.  Enough about our church for now, but I can't say enough good things, obviously!! 
• We got a dog.  Enough said about that!  I'm kidding.  She is a good dog, just still a puppy and very rambunctious. 
• We did not take a major vacation this year, but did several 'staycation' type outings.  We went to the lake several times, went to the train museum (which is in our little town and we had never gone-so sad!), went to a dam, did Monkey Joes, and probably other stuff I'm forgetting!  I don't think the kids missed out.  We don't do big vacations each year because it is pricey!
• Henry & I took my Dad to physical therapy a lot for his two shoulder operations.  I have to say, I really enjoyed the time with my Dad visiting going back and forth.  I really like being off from working so I can help my family where needed. 
• I have done lots of volunteering at school!  Dustin calls me a nerd.  Ha!  I love it!  I want to be near my kids.  I think it's important they see me taking a big interest in their school and investing myself there as well.  We love their school as well, but I won't get on another long tangent right now! :-)
• We are doing some bathroom remodeling in both our bathrooms.  We are ending this year with a torn up house.  Next year the house can only get cleaner!!  Right???  I don't know why this feels significant to me-just had to throw that out there.
• We had a construction birthday for Henry in February.  The twins just had a birthday at the movie theatre, which was so much fun!  Lots of friends came and I think they felt so special.  I enjoyed it myself!
• We have been roller skating twice for birthdays.  The twins are pretty good at it!
• Speaking of birthdays-my sister threw my nephew a huge carnival birthday party.  Oh my word, the kids LOVED it!  It was fun.  I may or may not have loved running the snow cone machine & popcorn maker. 

Well, I am sure I am leaving out tons of stuff....but the kids have given me all the free time I think they are going to!  :-) 

I am looking forward to 2016 and the fresh slate that January 1 brings.  I am looking forward to many things, but immediately I am looking forward to snow tubing next weekend for my sisters Alyssa & Amanda's birthday, and next month 12 of our family is headed to a Jason Aldean concert!  I can't even wait!!!  I love concerts so much.  Our little family of 5 is going to take our first ever vacation with just the 5 of us this year in May-so that is fast approaching as well and I can't even begin to express how excited the kiddos are about finally, finally going back to the beach!!! 
We have lots of things to look forward to, and so very much to be thankful for.  We are blessed beyond measure. 

Sunday Scripture

I have GOT to get back into a regular blogging routine!  It's my only hope for the kids' to have some journal/scrapbook of what all is going on in our lives, as the baby books haven't been dusted off since the twins were ummmm....9 months old I think???  Bad, I know! 

What better way to get back into blogging than a Sunday scripture???

"All have sinned and fall short the glory of God."  Romans 3:23

I love this scripture right now because my kids go around quoting this one all the time.  I love hearing it in their little voices, finishing it off with "Romans 3:23".  It's so cute!  I LOVE that their teacher has them memorize scripture every single week.  I love that they get excited about it, and ask me to show them in the Bible where it is.  Just another thing I love about their little school!!  We have done some scripture memorizing at home, but it's more consistent at school, thankfully!  Life gets busy at home sometimes.  :-) 

Enjoy this beautiful Sabbath day! 

I also have a preschooler!

As if it wasn't bad enough that I have two kindergarteners, I also have a big boy preschooler this year!  Yep, Henry started preschool Wednesday.  He is in a half day church preschool not far from the twins' school.  I looked at a couple of places for him to do some very part-time preschool just a couple days a week.  This school was my first choice, but they did not have any 3 year old openings.  In fact, 1 person was ahead of us on the wait list.  I told the director I would be praying for divine intervention and I would expect her call!  It was something about it, I just knew if it was meant to be, God would pave the way.  Low and behold, last week she called me and told me they had a spot for Henry!  One child had to pull out of the class, and the person ahead of us on the list had found another school.  She laughed when I reminded her that I knew she would be calling!  Ha!  Actually, I had just prayed and left it up to God.  I spent a couple of days running around getting Henry's paperwork in order.  I also took him shopping for a new outfit (yay for summer clothes being on clearance now!) and backpack/lunch box (also on clearance-yay for Target!).  I let him choose everything and hoped it would get him excited about class.  He had his first class Wednesday and did really well.  He had a good day and when I picked him up, he asked me if I would bring him back to "his little school" again.  Oh, and we had no potty accidents.  Yay again!  I am hoping it continues to go well.  There are 13 little ones in his class and his teacher is the sweetest lady.  Her name is Mrs. Maryrose but Henry calls her Mrs. Ma-wy Wose.  It's so cute.  His helper is Mrs. Tammy but he calls her Mrs. Happy.  The school had a little breakfast for parents Wednesday since it was the first day of school so everyone could get to know each other and also make sure their kids were okay before leaving them for the first time. 
I have to say, I didn't know what to do with myself without Henry!  With no kids.  My husband suggested going home for a nap.  I was too keyed up for that.  I also didn't feel like cleaning....I just didn't really want to go home.  I went to my grandma's and drank coffee with them instead.  I was just so nervous he wouldn't have a good day.  I didn't want it to be a bust.  I was so relieved when I picked him up and it had gone well! 
So now, I have a preschooler who goes from 8:30-12 as well.  I have decided some days I will come back home to clean, and some days I will stay in town and just park and walk, or go to the library to read.  I may also just work on my latest project- being the box tops, Campbell's soup, and Tyson labels coordinator for school.  Yep, I will be clipping and mailing stuff in.  I agreed to take this over for the PTA group at the twin's school because it is something I can do on my time/schedule.  I can't commit to a consistent weekly volunteer time because I have too much going on with sick family members and having Henry home a lot.  I hope it doesn't get too overwhelming!  We will see. 
For now, my car is rolling along all day and I am happy!  I am loving the school stage more than any other ones so far! 

May We Never Forget

I was in a college class when I first heard about 9-11.  We were promptly sent home as the college shut down.  I remember watching t.v. all day long...well into the night.  Just glued to it. 
This year I am attending a ceremony at the twins' school in remembrance of every life lost during that tragedy.  The school puts a flag out to represent each life lost and there is a ceremony that follows. 
The twins' know what happened on 9-11, and they have been learning "God Bless America".  It is so precious to hear such innocent little ones sing it.  They may be singing it during the ceremony, I am not sure. 
I hope everyone takes the time to pray for those who lost a loved one or were injured on that day, and also all the emergency responders who worked tirelessly to save lives. 
May we never forget.  May we teach our children so although they may not have lived through it, they never forget. 

A Tale of Two Kindergarteners!!

Well, I have two kindergarteners.  How did THAT happen?  We are almost done with our third week of school, and it is going great!  After one solid year and a week, Carson finally decided to quit crying about having to go to school.  No more clinging, crying, being peeled off Momma each morning.  You have no idea how much this relieves me.  I would literally get a knot in my stomach each morning before waking him up.  I can't even describe how awful it was to get him ready and to class.  This year started out that way, but he quickly began loving school.  In fact, he had a dr.'s appointment this morning, and he insisted I get him to school before gym class or else he would "miss out on all the fun."  I mean, he barely let us stop for a bite to eat on the way home.  He was fussing the whole time in the dr.'s office that it was taking WAY too long and we would miss class.  I can't say how happy this change has made me!  Emilynn began the year just fine.  She has had about a week of tearing up when I drop her off, but we are working through that.  It is nothing like what Carson used to do, so I hope it passes quickly. 
As far as class goes, I am thrilled with what they have already learned, and their teacher is awesome!  She is so sweet, yet very firm and strict.  I am amazed at the scriptures they have learned and the counting they are doing.  I think we are off to a great year. 
I really can't say enough about how much I love their little school.   From the moment we pull up in the mornings, they are so loved and so encouraged.  The principal gets them out of the car and walks them to the door.  With all of Carson's anxieties, he will sometimes piggy back him in, sometimes he has a piece of candy as a treat for the kids.....whatever it takes to get them excited about starting their school day.  At 7:45 a.m.  Just saying for all who know me-that is early y'all!!!!  We leave home between 7:15-7:25 each morning.   I have to say....and I never thought I'd say this....I am now used to getting up early and going to bed early and it is much easier.  I don't dread it.  I never thought this would happen.  I have had to cut myself off of fiction books for now.  They are too tempting to make me stay up late!!  Anyway......
Once inside, either the librarian or lower school director will walk them to their class.  Today both were tied up, so another teacher headed that way offered to walk Emilynn to class.  I just love how everyone works together and it is like a family.  I am thrilled with them learning Bible verses and prayers, and their music, religion, and etiquette teacher is a preacher- so all of that is Bible based.  Yay for God in school!!!  That makes me happy! 
The twins also get to go to art class this year, which makes them sooooo happy!  They knew the art teacher because his room was right by their preschool class and now they finally get to go paint and such with him.  They are beyond thrilled about this.  Apparently, painting is super-cool!  Especially at school and not at home (so says the mom who has had lots of painting messes to clean up!). 
All in all, it is going better than I could have ever hoped.  I can't believe I have kindergarteners!!!! 

I have a new computer!!! Plus other updates....

• I have a new computer!  Yay!  Actually, I had the money  saved several times to get it, but being a mom, I kept deciding it would be best to use it for stuff for the kids, school, paying on our debt snowball (Dave Ramsey fans will know all about that!), use for next year's vacation....you get the idea.  So, it finally came to a point that I had to have a new laptop.  It is very frustrating to try to do bills, etc. on a tablet.  We had to get a headlight for my car, so we combined that with a Walmart trip to get my new computer.  Well.  Is it just me or is everything complicated at Walmart?  I had researched the computers online, knew the one I wanted, all I had to do was run in and grab it.  Oh for life to be that simple.  The computer I wanted that I had budgeted for was not in stock.  Despite the Walmart website saying this store had them.  Sigh.  The sales girl and I found a comparable one for only $50 more.  Sold.  Then we get to the register and the price rings up wrong.  She and I both agreed it was supposed to be a lower price, I mean the sign clearly stated the price.  The box stated the price too.  The manager, Bob (really his name), kept on and on about how the number on the box didn't match the number on the sign-you know how these things happen at Walmart.  After emptying the whole entire computer case under the display, we find one that rings up correctly, and Bob busies himself pulling the incorrect prices off the others.  Never mind the sign that has the wrong price right there by the computer.  This is how these things happen apparently.  I pity the next customer buying this PC, but I had to go.  Kids waiting. I am just happy to have my computer at the right price!  I don't know why I felt the need to share all that, but I guess because it is SO frustrating to shop at Walmart and I try to avoid it at all costs!!!   Oh, and I get to the car and Henry has lost the ball we just got him at the restaurant and is frantically searching for it.  Emmy is screaming she has to go potty and can only go at home.  Dustin looks frazzled.  This is my life folks. 
• Tomorrow (well today actually) we meet our Kindergarten teacher.  She is new and I am excited to see how she runs her room.  I am also excited to see how the kids interact with her.  I peeked at her room a few weeks ago and I think Carson is going to like it especially.  I am still sad our beloved Mrs. S is now in Florida.  :-(  I really think she would have been awesome for Henry.  I am just praying for him to get a great teacher who will understand how to bring out the best in him.  He is second on the wait list at a church preschool near the twins' school.  I am praying for divine intervention on that!  If not, he will be there next year I guess.  I have wrestled with what to do with Henry for school and finally had to give up and give it to God. 
• My sister Tori's wedding is just a month away.  I must admit, I thoroughly enjoyed helping her with bridal pictures and have enjoyed so much of the process.  My sisters are all so grown up now!  This is our new phase of life and a different kind of relationship with each other.  It seems like just yesterday I remember her being born (I am twelve years older).  Emilynn declared she looks like Elsa in her wedding gown.  Coming from a 5 1/2 year old, that is a HUGE compliment!  I was on gown duty for pics and Emmy was on bouquet duty.  It was fun. 
• Okay, so I don't know how to even type this without tearing up.  We found out last week that my Dad has cancer.  It's really surreal to think about it.  I guess because my Dad has always been such a fun Dad and so full of life and energy.  It really, really makes you realize that cancer doesn't care who it strikes.  No one is immune.  I have had many family members with cancer, but for some reason this really hit me hard.  I guess just knowing how much my kids adore Poppy, it kind of changes my perspective.  I mean, Emilynn worships Poppy.  We left his house Sunday and she says to me before he is even out of sight, "I can't wait to see Poppy again and just give him a big squeeze."   She absolutely thinks the sun rises and sets with her Poppy.  On a positive note, he has a great prognosis and should make a full recovery.  We just did a Bible study at church- One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp.  I highly recommend it.  The idea is to be thankful in all things, even the hard things.  Find joy in everything.  I have to say that I am extremely thankful my Dad has a job that requires regular physicals.  Otherwise, who knows when he would have gone to the doctor, and who knows how long his cancer would have been undetected.  So even in the darkness and trials of life, I am giving thanks. 

I think that is all for now.  Once I get some pics loaded on this computer-maybe I can share some and I will definitely be able to blog more without having to use the tablet and touch screen!  Yay for that!  It doesn't take much to make me happy.  :-) 

Countdown to school!!

Well, I am still blogging from the tablet, but Dustin says we may be getting a new computer for me soon-yay!  I think he's tired of sharing his tablet with me-ha!

We are down to about 3 weeks until school starts.  Yikes!  I don't know if I'm ready for getting up early 5 days a week!!  I plan to start us all going to be early and getting up early next week.  That means I need to start cooking bigger breakfasts again....and pack lunch 5 days a week.  Well, four really cause they always buy on pizza day.  I feel like it's crunch time!  We have bought clothes, shoes, and that type of stuff we needed.  I just need to make a Costco run for lunch supplies, and get the dr.'s visits done.  I am dreading those, which is why I think I keep putting that off.  Oh, and the supply lists need to be bought too, but I let the kids do that last year, which was really fun.

Dustin and I celebrated our 11 year anniversary Saturday.  I can't believe we are in the double digits now.  I feel old.  :-)  It feels like yesterday we got married, but then I think about all that's happened since we got married and it feels like we've been together forever.  I mean, we've bought 2 houses, had 3 kids in 2 years time....need I say more?   I am so blessed to have such a wonderful hubby!!!   We spent the day back to school shopping and going to eat dinner.  It was nice to just hang out.  We don't get to do that all the time anymore.

We don't really do gifts for our anniversary, but I did get a new clothesline last weekend, which I think was an awesome gift!  Yep, it doens't take much to make me happy!!  I have been wanting a pulley clothesline for forever and my hubby made that happen.  I love it!!  I will have to post a pic sometime.  It's the little things, right?

Well, I am out of time, as we are heading to the library to see a magician this afternoon, but will post more later....hopefully from a new laptop!

Summer happenings....

Wow, I can't believe how summer is rolling right along!!  Another month and school will be about to begin!!  Despite not taking a vacation this year, we are having lots of fun doing things around here.  Also, with all the recent shark attacks in shallow water, I am kind of glad we are staying from the beach this year.  :-)

Speaking of sharks, we have been enjoying shark week.  If you haven't heard about shark week, you must be living under a rock!!   Hahaha. It's on the discovery channel and I've been amazed at how much the kids have enjoyed watching it. I did not see that coming!!

We have been doing so much stuff at the library by the kids' school.  I guess I just assumed all libraries were like the one in our town with a very limited selection.  Boy was I wrong!  There are so many books, DVDs, CDs, books on CD, etc.  We are loving their programs too-weekly storytime, and lots of guests lined up for summer.  A magician is next on our list of stuff to see there!

We have our first loose tooth!  Emilynn has a tooth that's wiggling!!   It's caused much excitement around here!!

Today is a day the kids have been anxiously waiting for-the Minion movie comes out!  They have waited and waited.  We are going to see the matinee, and Daddy will meet us there-in the theatre.  Not ideal, but the only other time was 9:45 pm. and I wasn't doing that!!  We could drive 45 minutes to a larger theatre with more shows, but I really didn't feel like that, plus it would be more gas and higher ticket prices.  No thanks!!!  I like our little local theatre just fine.  Local is a relative term when you live in the country.  By local, I mean the theatre is about 15 minutes from the house.
They have a kids' pack which is also nice.  The kids get popcorn, drink, and candy for $4.50.  Otherwise we could not afford concessions!  We have yet to take advantage of the summer movies for kids for only $1-2 but we will before summer is out.

That's all we are up to-just sleeping late, doing whatever we feel like for the summer!!
I hope to get a few more fun things in- like swimming at the lake at least twice (we are going once next week with the twins' best friend from school, Genevieve.  Hope to go again with cousins because that was so much fun last year!!).  I am also hoping we can hit up the drive-thru zoo with my mom and grandma, ride the ferry to Williamsburg, and we will probably go to Monkey Joe's or somewhere fun after the kids' check ups for school.

Oh, and we are cast-free!  Yay!  She still has a splint to where when she's going to be playing rough or running around-which is most of the time.  She told the dr. that she liked to sit and play with baby dolls.  I was like, "Oh no, that is NOT true!"

Well, I am off to feed my troops lunch and figure out how to occupy them until time to go to the movie.  To say they are excited is an understatement!!

More later....it is harder to use this tablet but I am getting more used to it and seeing how long I can go without another computer.  It is funny because when it broke I decided I needed a new one the next day.  Then I realized it was a want and not a need since I could technically do most everything on the tablet.  I do miss my music and pictures.  We will see how long I hold out!!!

Happy Friday!!!

All my broken stuff....

Here's a super-quick update, from Dustin's tablet.  It is currently the only working electronic device we own. My Kindle fire and laptop went out the same week.  Sniff,sniff.  We will see how quickly we replace those items.  The frugal part of me likes to see how long I can live without stuff like that before replacing, i.e. saving money!  We just replaced the living room t.v. this week because I could take no more!!!  Our room had become a living room of sorts with toys and crumbs everywhere.  I am happy to have my room back!
I honestly miss my Kindle fire more than anything but I pulled out my old school Kindle, the very first one Amazon put out.  It started up just fine, so I will use that again.  An added bonus-the kids don't want to use it because it has no apps or games!  My Kindle is mine again-yay!
Enough about electronics-I just wanted to share why I have been absent on here.
I am getting used to using this tablet with it's keyboard, so I hope to be back on more often!!  I have several posts planned anyway!!!

Our summer vacation so far!

Oh my, summer is busy!  The first few weeks we just sort of hung out and had no rhyme or reason to our days.  I quickly realized we needed the structure that school provided.  We are doing more things now to try to keep some structure and ward off boredom. 
I am happy with nothing to do and to just play things "by ear", but we were having lots of lots of fights around here!  I mean, knock-down, drag-out fights.  Thankfully (I don't want to jinx myself!), that seems to be less and less.

One huge change is that Emilynn had her 3 week check up, and got a waterproof cast last week!  Yay!  Her arm is healing nicely, and she is set to get this cast off July 1.  Last week we swam 3 times in celebration of her waterproof cast.  I think all casts for kids should be waterproof.  The insurance companies disagree-and there's an extra charge for it.  Insurance companies definitely rule the world-but the waterproofing was WELL worth the extra fee. 

Another huge change at our house is that we got a puppy.  Yep, you read that right.  I can't believe it either.  She was a gift from my sister Tori and her fiancé to the kids.  She is a mix between a beagle and setter, but really looks more like a shepherd.  At any rate, she is super cute and really sweet.  She just hangs out by the door waiting for the kids to come play with her.  I think she's going to work out fine, despite my initial reservations about having something else to take care of!  She is absolutely NOT coming indoors, but she doesn't seem to mind that either.  I will have to post a picture soon of Cowgirl Rose Ruby.  Yep, that's her full name given to her by the kids.  It's Rose for short. 

We are doing all kinds of reading around here, and we are going to not only our little library, but now we are joining the twins' friend Genevieve at her library as well.  Let me tell you, I may be a nerd-but I was in heaven with the huge selection of books at the new (to us) library!  We have lots of trips there planned!  Now I just have to keep books from two libraries separated, but I keep them in different bags.  We have misplaced a few library books from time to time, so I am trying to train the kids to put them back in the bags for each library when done.  We'll see how many we misplace.  It's always fun turning the house upside down searching for books.  Each of my kids is doing a summer reading challenge to read two books per day.  That's a lot of reading we are doing!  I don't think you can read too much. 

Speaking of our friend Genevieve, we have been swimming at her pool once and we are going again this week I think.  I am so thankful for the wonderful friends the kids have made this year at school!  It is also nice to find another stay-at-home mom that we can connect with to do things during the day.  

Oh, and as for our bucket list-we have crossed a few things off our list.  Kool-aid is one of them.  We have made 3 pitchers of kool-aid!  Yep, we know how to live it up around here!  :-) 

I think it's safe to say, we are enjoying summer so far-cast and all! 

What happened to me?

Okay, so blogging every day in May was an epic fail, huh?  Actually, I forgot about blogging!  I guess we had too much going on! 

I am hopefully back now. 

A few updates:

~Emilynn had her 1 week check up last week.  Her arm is healing great.  She will get the cast off next Wednesday, and we'll go from there as to whether she needs another cast or maybe just a splint.  I have mixed feelings about that.  I honestly wish it was casted if there is any slight chance of reinjury.  She is rough.  She has hit that cast so many times on stuff or fell on it.  A splint would be so much more flexible though as far as activities go.  She has cried the past two days asking me to get the cast taken off.  I need some more (cheap) ideas to keep us busy and our minds off what we can't do- swim, go a friend's pool birthday party Sat. , etc. 

~Henry got sick over the weekend.  He was covered in hives and a rash.  We still don't know what he had a reaction to.  He also has an ear infection.  Lovely.  We really know how to keep things entertaining around here! 

~My sister and I (and my Dad, and sister's fiancé, Blake) are having a yard sale Saturday.  I have a good pile going.  I am keeping the clothes I have to sell for the bi-annual consignment sale I sell stuff in.  Clothes don't sell too well at yard sales I've found.  This all means I have 3 different piles of stuff going, and I'm working on getting my shed organized once and for all.  That will be an accomplishment!  Once that is done, I can move stuff out of our bedroom and get it painted and organized and re-done.  Everything is taking so many steps!  I will be glad when it is all finished!! 

~I am going to TRY, try being the key word, to get up early and exercise before Dustin heads to work.  I have got to get a better morning routine going!  We are being bums!  I guess that's allowed when school first gets out.  I can see that we need some of the structure back though that school provided.  I have to figure all this out! 

~I went to cousins Morgan & Dylan's t-ball games Saturday.  Oh my goodness-it was so entertaining.  I loved how it was set up and the coaches were so positive.  It really moved fast too.  For a split second it made me want my kids to play there.....but only a split second.  I could not drive that far (45 min) every Saturday morning!  Although all 3 of my kids, plus Morgan & Dylan would be on the same team!  I thought that aspect was neat. 

~Our garden is still not planted.  It is really nobody's fault and so many things have factored in to the delay.  Last night over dinner we decided to scrap the plan for the big garden, and just plant the 28 tomato plants we already have in a small patch by the house.  We went and got the tiller from my father-in-law and got one row tilled before the tiller broke.  So, back into the house went the tomatoes, and back to my father-in-law's went the tiller.  We are on plan C now, which I don't know what that is!  The kids asked and I said it was probably to just buy Hunt's tomatoes!  It definitely was causing Dustin & I too much stress!  We will see what we do next! 

Well, I have lots of housework to do.  It never ends around here! 

The broken arm saga...

How in the world did Emilynn manage to break her arm?  Sigh.....It was such a simple thing.  The very day school let out, she decided to climb on the doorway playhouse that we have.  She told some other people (but not us) that she was pretending the playhouse was on fire, and she had to jump off the roof.  ??  Anyway, she fell and landed with her wrist bending back behind her. 
She came to me crying, and right away something looked "off".  Literally.  Her arm started in one direction, then jetted out to the side.  It also had a weird "U" shape in it.
Dustin was in another room, so I was calling for him.  Meanwhile my mom called to tell me that she wasn't going to be able to help me clean on Tuesday like we had planned because Hunter had broken his pinkie at school and had to go to an orthopedic doctor the next day.  
I told her I may be headed their way (they were at KidMed) because Emilynn had just hurt her arm. 
Dustin checked it out and we both agreed she needed an x-ray.  Emmy and I loaded up and headed to KidMed.  We stopped at a McDonald's and picked up Poppy from Amanda.  He headed back to KidMed for the second time in just a few hours. 
We got there and got all checked in, and they took the xrays.  I honestly thought maybe it was just sprained badly or something. 
The nurse practitioner quickly came back in and said it was broken in two places, and we needed to be at the pediatric orthopedist's office at 7:45 a.m. the next morning, prepared to have surgery to fix the breaks.  They then put a little temporary cast on her arm and gave us orders not to eat or drink after midnight, and off we went.  I spent the ride home trying to figure out babysitters for the boys for the next morning, although most people were asleep at this point since it was 11:30 p.m. 
We got everything straight and dropped Poppy off, and got home around 12:30 p.m.  I think I slept about 3 hours that night, cause I was afraid I'd oversleep and we needed to be up by 5 a.m. to leave by 6 a.m.
Emilynn, I have to say, was in great spirits through everything.  She has a high pain tolerance, and a positive attitude, so she was a happy girl. 
We walked into the dr.'s office and even though the receptionists weren't expecting us, they were so kind and helpful and great with Emilynn. 
We then headed to the hospital to check in with the surgical waiting folks.  We didn't have to wait too long before we were taken to a pediatric surgical waiting area, which had color books, crayons, books, and t.v.  You know t.v. is a luxury for my kids these days!  It was nice and kept us occupied. 
Of course we met all the pre-surgery people- anesthesia nurse, anesthesiologist, and the doctor performing the surgery.  Then, it was time for her to go.  She popped right up and went with the anesthesia nurse.  I had to ask her could we please have a hug & kiss!  The stinker. 
She was so brave walking down the hall hand in hand with the nurse. 
We headed out to get our pager and wait some more.  Does anyone else find it bizarre you get a restaurant style pager now at hospitals? 
Anyway, Dustin wanted to get her a treat from the gift shop, so we did that and then a volunteer came to get us and said the doctor was on the phone.  I freaked because it had not been long at all.  He was just calling to reassure us that everything went well and it was done!  Awesome.  We then waited a bit before we got to go see her in recovery.  She came to with a huge smile on her face and was doing great.  She chose a purple cast, and got a sling like Poppy had with his recent surgery.  She had a popsicle and then we loaded her in a wheelchair and headed for home.  She wasn't supposed to eat much since she had the anesthesia, but she ate applesauce, 4 chick-fil-a nuggets, a handful of fries, and sweet tea.  She was hungry!  She kept all of that down, then had some pizza for dinner.  I guess she was making up for her fasting time! 
As far as her pain goes, she has been in some pain, but not too bad.   She has been great about telling me when she's in pain so I can give her meds, and I've been giving her something before bed so she can sleep well, which she has.  We all have! 
It's been a whirlwind couple of days, that's for sure! 
She has been having fun soaking up all the attention from everyone-and collecting signatures on her cast.  This has definitely changed the summer plans for a few weeks anyway, as she can't get it wet, or get sand or anything in it.  Also, I don't think it's a good idea to do anything too rambunctious, so their Monkey Joe's trip is definitely postponed.  I guess we will work on the more calm items on their summer bucket list! 
We go back next week for a follow up, then again in 3 weeks for a new cast that will be waterproof!  Wahoo!!  I have no idea how long she will wear it after that.  I do feel sorry for her because the cast is above her elbow, so she can't straighten her arm.  I feel like that could get annoying after a while. 
We will see. 

As far as cousin Hunter goes, he broke his pinky playing kickball at school.  They didn't call my sister or anything, they just found out when they picked him up that he was hurt.  His orthopedist, a totally different doctor, decided he needed surgery as well.  He had his surgery yesterday, to reset his finger.  He is in a soft, wrap type cast.  They are "broken bone buddies", although he was not as happy as Emilynn yesterday when we saw him.  I hope he will be happier in the next few days!  It is cute because they've been talking on the phone "comparing war stories" I suppose and giving advice to each other.  Emilynn told him to be sure to ask for a red popsicle when he woke up from surgery! 

Who would believe they would both break stuff on the very same day, and both have surgery???  It's a strange turn of events, that's for sure! 

We started with a bang!

I said I was going to post every day in May, and by golly-I am! 

I am so tired I don't know that I have a coherent thought right now. 

School ended Monday, just a mere 48 hours ago, and already we've had.....

1 broken arm (2 places broken)
1 unplanned surgery
2 casts
3 babysitters for the boys
12 visitors stopping by to check on our girl
too many texts to count checking on us

and at least 150 pixie sticks full of sugar- thanks Meme!!!!! 

I think it's safe to say we started summer with a bang!!! 

Craziness!!!

Just a quick post-last night and today has been crazy!!!  Emilynn fell and broke her arm in two places last night right before bed.  She has surgery this morning.  I got about 4 hours of sleep last night, so I will post more details when I get a chance!   Poor girl is in a cast up past her elbow. 
My nephew Hunter also fell and broke his pinky at school, in an unrelated event!  So random, them both breaking something the very same day.  He is having surgery tomorrow. 

More then.....

Big things happening today!!!!

Today was graduation day!  It was such a cute little program the kids did.  I am surprised I didn't cry!  I held it together though.  I am sad the year is done.  Will I feel that way each and every year's end?  I don't know.  I've never done this before!  I do know that I hope Carson doesn't fight me every single school day next year! I also hope Henry will quit being stubborn and finish his potty training so he can go to pre-school.   Those are my hopes for the fall!  :-)
I am SO proud of my little graduates though, they have come so far this year!!!  We are so blessed to have gained so many new friends, especially their patient, loving teacher, Mrs. S.!  I couldn't have chosen a better teacher, especially to help with Carson's school anxiety.  We are looking forward to Henry having her as well! 

Something else is going on today.  Something BIG.  Bigger than Pre-K graduation! 

It's surgery day!  The cleft palate surgeries started today! 

You can go to www.stji.org to follow the progress.  Just scroll down and there's a place you can click to see pictures from the first day.  

Here is a picture from the site........isn't she absolutely precious?  I am honored to have helped in a small, small way.  I can't imagine the hope these parents feel. 

Sunday Scripture

When I was thinking of what scripture I wanted to post today, I really wasn't sure.  I don't have a particular scripture on my heart.  What has been on my heart is a bit of sadness for one of Dustin's co-workers, who lost his 31 year old son to cancer.  The gentleman is such a wonderful friend to Dustin and a great example to everyone, as he is a devout Christian who really "walks the walk."  I cannot imagine the pain he is going through to lose a child. 
It is my hope he can find some comfort in scripture and knowing that he WILL see his son again. 

As a parent, again it amazes me to think that God gave his only son to save us from our sins.  Amazing love. 

I am reminded of one of my favorite worship songs....Amazing Love by Chris Tomlin. 

It goes-

Amazing love.
How can it be?
That you my King
would die for me. 
Amazing love.
I know it's true.
It's my joy to honor you.


Amazing love indeed! 

Saturday Ramblings...

I love Saturdays where we don't have anywhere we HAVE to be.  Today was one of those days!  Dustin got up and decided to work in his garage and around the yard.  I got up at a glorious 9:30 a.m.!  Wahoo!  That never happens!  I got up and headed to a yard sale some friends were having.  I had debated going, but I was sure glad I did!  I got so much good stuff!  I got the boys 12 or so shirts for school in the fall, and a couple for this summer.  They are all like brand-new and are Gymboree and Janie and Jack brands.  I got myself 6 shirts, all of which are Ann Taylor Loft and so comfortable.  I paid $25 for all of it.  I could have gotten much more probably, but I had put myself on a budget.  I do wish I had had more time to look through my size stuff, after I got home and realized how comfortable the Loft shirts are!  I checked out their website and oh my!  They are very expensive shirts.  No wonder they are comfy! 

We basically just piddled around the house/yard all day, then decided on the spur of the moment to head to town and watch a local parade that Dustin's uncle was the grand marshal of.  The kids love a parade, and it is cheap, free entertainment!  I have to say, the kids loved the parade, but it was only about 15 things in it, and that was it.  You blinked, you missed it.  They didn't realize that, so it was fine.  His uncle received a lovely plaque and it was a nice honor for all of his service to the community.  He really helps so many people and is such a wonderful example of having a servant's heart.  That is why we felt lead to name Henry after him. 

After the parade, we took the kids to see all the tractors that were in town for the Homecoming weekend.  Oh my, my kids LOVE a tractor.  We went to each and every one and oohed and ahhed over them all.  Then we went to the train museum in town.  Our kids also LOVE trains.  We are probably the only people who see a train crossing and actually hope a train is close!  We have to stop, roll down the windows, and just enjoy watching it go by. 
The train museum is free and we have never been in it.  We probably wouldn't have gone today, but the kids saw it was open and asked.  They got to go in several trains- two engines and a caboose.  The caboose was the favorite for sure.  Henry cried and cried when we had to leave.  The indoor museum had some running model trains too, which were neat. 
I am glad we finally made it to see this local attraction.  I am sure we will go back at some point. 

The last highlight of my day was a nap!  I don't even know how that happened, but I laid on the couch for a minute and woke up a couple of hours later!  Another wahoo!!!!! 
It was amazing! 
We topped the day off with Applebee's and some play time with the kiddos, and bed.  It was a lovely way to spend a low-key Saturday with the family.  :-) 

Last Day of Preschool!!! And the cutest Mother's Day gift idea!!!!

Today was the day-the last day of preschool!!!  Graduation is Monday.  I have to admit, it was kind of sad!   Just knowing that that particular group of kids won't ever be together in class again-so much is changing next year.  We will miss some friends-I think the hardest thing will be having Carson and his best pal Genevieve apart.  Sniff, sniff!  She is younger, and will be in class with Henry next year if he can ever, EVER finish potty training!  We will still see her at school, and hopefully do some play dates this summer!  We have literally been out of school for about 2 hours, and have had one good knock-down, drag-out fight between the kids.  Oh, summer will be fun!! 

Anyway, here is the gift we got from school for Mother's Day. 

Isn't that the cutest idea?  I love it!  It's an "ice cream" sundae, but it's really bath salts, a bath puff, and straw, all in a nice glass.  I am totally copying this idea! 
The poem says "This sundae is not for you to sip, it's for you to relax and take a dip."  Or something like that-so cute! 

Oh, and in case you are wondering....Yes, that is a chicken house in the background!  I'm classy like that!  :-) 
We actually rode home the "country way" and stopped by a field where Papa was bailing hay-the kids like to watch.  It's like a surprise every time a bale pops out!  You may be from the country if someone says they are "bailing hay at the chicken houses" and you know exactly where that is! 

Summer Bucket List

Here's a picture of the summer "bucket list" the kids came up with.  It is on the fridge right now.  We have already gone to pick strawberries, and been to the Y once.  I guess we are well on our way since the last day of school is tomorrow! 

And yeah, I am not sure what's up with the kool-aid.  I guess my kids are deprived??  Trust me, they get plenty of sugary drinks.  I guess just not "kool-aid". 

I am thinking it would have been cheaper to just go on a vacation, once we pay for all these "staycation" options.  Actually, a lot of it will be free or really cheap.  The Yankee Candle shop is really cool and they have certificates to make their own candles there-fun!  The ferry is free as well.  Twin Lakes is cheap, library is free, playdates are free-although I am not sure we can catch up with their whole list of friends.  It should be a fun summer nonetheless!!!  :-) 

Pictures from the First Day of Preschool

I thought I would share a picture or two from the beginning of school since this week marks the end of preschool.  My how the year has flown!!!

Ready to go with the backpacks they chose. 

Walking in to class.  What a big milestone! 

T.V.-less

Well, our living room t.v. is definitely shot.  This means the kids haven't had their shows since Friday.  I honestly can say, I much prefer it this way.  They truly do not fight as much without t.v. (I had noticed this before when we didn't have t.v. for one reason or another).  They also play and are much more creative without it.  We aren't planning to run out and just replace it right away, because that really doesn't teach a good lesson in my opinion.  We will instead wait a bit.  I mean, I don't know how long we will wait, but there are just other things we had planned to purchase/pay for and the t.v. wasn't one of those things.  I certainly don't think it warrants taking money from our savings account to replace.  We will just see how long we can do without.  I mean, honestly, I think things have gotten a bit ridiculous with t.v.s in everyone's bedrooms in the home.  We never had t.v. in our rooms growing up.  We had 3 major channels, and on good days PBS & Fox.  I think I was about 12 when we got one of those HUGE satellite dishes and we really thought we were something!  We still only had one t.v. in the house, so you had to agree on what you watched.  Now, we do have a t.v. in our bedroom, which I honestly debated for a LONG time.  Dustin really wanted it more than I did.  I must admit, it IS nice at the end of the day to watch a show and relax.  I mostly read at night though, which is what I told the kids they will have to do!  :-)  I have been letting them watch one bedtime show on our bed at night.  I think they will appreciate t.v. much more now, to say the least! 
On the way home from my sister's house on Saturday night, Carson said, "I wish I could move and live with Aunt Amanda 'cause she has t.v.!".  Ha! 

Strawberries!!!

We picked strawberries today, and despite my best efforts to remind the children the berries to pick, I still ended up with lots and lots of white or orange berries from Henry.  Oh well.  It was a lot of fun, and was one of the things the kids put on their "summer bucket list".  I hope to freeze plenty for smoothies, since they are a staple around here!  I have modified our smoothie- here is what we do now....

apple juice (I just eye ball everything.  They always turn out yummy!)
yogurt (I like Stonyfield brand in the big tubs)
frozen strawberries
spinach
honey (local)

These are so refreshing and the kids always ask for them.  I like that we get in a serving of spinach this way, and local honey.  Carson especially loves them.  I also love how our Blendtec blender makes these!  You have no clue about the spinach or yogurt (which I don't like normally).  It grinds everything up so well!  Definitely worth the investment! 

Anyway- I hope to get even more berries to freeze before the season is over! 

Maybe I'll even make a strawberry pie!  Yum!

Be sure to get plenty of berries before berry season is over for another year!!!!!!!!! 

There is nothing like a fresh berry right off the vine!  I honestly forget about germs, etc. and just enjoy a few fresh ones!  The kids love to pick and I help them a bit.  We all leave happy!  :-)

Guatemala

We have recently had the privilege of helping raise money to provide much needed cleft palate surgeries in Guatemala.  A team from right here in Virginia is going in a week or so to perform 40 surgeries.  A ten year old girl at church decided she wanted to help raise money for surgeries, and we decided to help her out!  The team is doing 40 surgeries, and they cost $250 each.  Paighten set a goal of funding 2 surgeries.  I had kind of set a goal of 5, but didn't say anything.  Well, two were paid for in almost the first week just from church donations.  Then Paighten went up to a goal of 5.  I am so happy that we went past that too and made enough for 8 surgeries!  Wahoo!  Paighten set up a bake sale, and my three kids plus Cousin Hunter set up a lemonade stand very early on a Saturday morning last month.  It was hard to get the kids up so early, but they were troopers and had a good time!  Each had their own job- Carson sold strawberries, Hunter got lemonade for people, and Emilynn did sweet tea.  Henry didn't have an "official" job.  He helped where needed.  The kids sold $70 worth of goodies!  Paighten's bake sale was a huge success.  I am blown away by how generous people were and how supportive they were of this ministry.  I can't imagine being a mother and not being able to provide your child the medical care they need.  I hope and pray that these mothers, babies, and families will be touched and will know that even though we have never met them, we love them and Jesus loves them.  People do care.  I have always felt a pull towards missions and am so thankful that I am at a church where I can be hands on with missions and make a real impact and see real results.  Paighten's grandma travels to Guatemala several times a year, and it is my hope to one day go as well.  For years I have wanted to go on a missions trip and when my kids are a bit bigger I hope to go.  For now, I will do all I can to help because if it was my child, I would want someone to help me. I think sometimes in America we tend to forget how ridiculously blessed we are.  I mean, here I am stressing about getting the kids shots for school in the fall.  What a blessing I can just take them and get that done!  Sometimes cooking dinner is a pain, but wow-we have running water at our disposal and a freezer and fridge full of food!  Laundry is piled up and always annoys me- when in reality the problem is we just have too many clothes!  We are immeasurably blessed with everything we need and a huge abundance in fact. 
Which brings me back to Guatemala.  Yesterday at church, our family was each given a bracelet.  It didn't cost much at all I am sure.  It was made with string, but in beautiful colors and designs.  It means more to be than any jewelry I have been given, aside from my wedding rings, because it was lovingly made in Guatemala by a boy.  It is a thank you gift of sorts for us helping them fund their surgeries.  I was not expecting such a gift, and it truly means the world because it was made with love.  It is something I will treasure. 
As I have found with so many things, we do things and we think we are blessing others.  In reality, we are the ones who end up so blessed! 

Sunday Scripture

Happy Mother's Day! 

What is more fitting than Proverbs 31 for Mother's Day??? 

This is one scripture I read so very often. 

I challenge everyone to read it in it's entirety.   I also enjoy reading the Proverbs that corresponds to the calendar day each day.  For example, today is the 10th, so I will read Proverbs 10.  There are 31 Proverbs, so it's just a fun thing to do I think.

"Charm is deceptive, and beauty if fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised."
                                                                    ~Proverbs 31:30

Procrastinating!

Okay, so I am always waiting till the last minute for stuff.  Today was no exception.  Actually, I have done better the past few years because I HAVE to have some sleep these days to function with the kids.  I think I'm getting old-haha!  I used to not require so much sleep! 

We got in late, so I got up a bit late, then went to town to buy Mother's Day gifts.  Now, we live in an extremely small town so I have to be a little creative.  :-)  Anyway, I found some good stuff (in my humble opinion) and also ran into my mom & Aunt Debbie.  I actually let them pick out their gifts- easy peasy.  They wanted plants.  I knew that.  My mom got this tree, and then we spent a while trying to get the thing into my car.  I finished the rest of my list, then started Landon's birthday cake.  With only 6 hours till party time.  Yikes! 

I think they turned out okay.  As long as I have a plan, I can usually make it the day of the party no problem. 

Here are a few blurry pictures from my cell phone:

A Paw Patrol cake

Cupcakes-not sure why I can't turn the picture. 

 

Now we are ready to "Paw-ty!" 

Some Random Stuff....

It's baseball day!  The kids are so excited to be going to a minor league game tonight, although I don't think they quite understand what it's all about.  We are heading out after school, so I am trying to get everything ready to go.  I am actually packing light for once.  I am only taking in my camera & ball gloves.  No food smuggling today.  Shocking, I know!  Cousin Hunter is going with us, and we are meeting Morgan, Dylan, and also Genevieve from school there.  It should be lots of fun! 

Henry asked me today, "Mom, did you finish my potty training?"  Uhh...no!  I told him he has to poop in the potty too.  Funny boy. 

Our t.v. is messing up.  Urgghh...that is such a pain!  I hate when electronic stuff doesn't work.  I really do. 

The twins' teacher has been out sick for two days.  Today when I left, Carson was getting a piggy back ride to the other preschool class from the principal.  I thought it was so cute!  Everyone at their school is so sweet with them.  I am glad we chose this school and have no regrets. 

At some point I need to bake a cake for my nephew's party tomorrow.  Not sure when I'll do that....but we'll see!  I always seem to get them done, even at the last minute! 

Have a great weekend! 

T.G.I.F.! 

Happy Birthday "Baby" Landon!

Today is my precious nephew, Landon's, 2nd birthday! 

He has been such a sweet addition to our family.  It's been so fun to watch him grow the past 2 years, and also watch my children interact with their cousin.  They each have a different relationship with him. 
Carson likes to be his "babysitter" and will follow him around the entire time we are at my grandma's "watching him" and reporting on what he's doing.
Emilynn does pretty much the same thing, but less of it.  She will mother him a bit though and report back to "Aunt Bamanda" what "baby Landon" has done.
Henry...oh Henry.  He and Landon have a love/hate relationship.  Henry likes to bully Landon because he's the only one smaller than him.  We are working through this, and actually they seem to be getting along much better the past month or so (thankfully!).  They both have a tendency to get into mischief, so I keep telling them if they would ever join forces rather than fight, they would REALLY get into some stuff! 
I am sure this coming year, as they are 2 & 3 will prove that to be the case! 

We are anxiously awaiting Landon's Paw Patrol party on Saturday!!! 

And as an Aunt, I am looking forward to watching him grow in the coming year and see all the new stuff he can do!  I mean, I love babies, don't get me wrong.  But I really love it more when they are about 2-3 and can start talking and interacting so much more.  It should be fun & also to see someone else going through the "terrible twos!"  Haha!  It seems like just yesterday I made his Mickey Mouse Clubhouse birthday cake. 

Happy 2nd birthday baby Landon! 

The Farmer's Market

I went to the farmer's market for the first time today-another sign of summer!  I love the farmer's market!  I discovered our local one last year.  I know in big cities people seem to say the markets are pricey.  Our little local one is not pricey at all.  Last year I used to take $20 and see how much I could get for that.  I think this year I will try to do the same, but I may also plan my grocery shopping after the farmer's market, so I can do part of my list there and just fill in from the store afterwards.  Instead of spending an EXTRA $20, you know? 
Anyway, here's what Henry & I got today...

1 bag of lettuce (gallon size bag)- $1
2 bars goat's milk soap (my favorite for me)- $3 each = $6
4 thornless blackberry bush plants $3 each = $12

So I spent $19 today.  They also had some green onions, eggs, homemade dog treats, homemade skin salve, kale, and maybe some other stuff I forgot. 

As the season goes on they usually get more farmers and have homemade breads/scones, local honey (the farmer said he was going to collect some in June), and various other veggies and fruits (blackberries were one of my favorites last year- maybe in a few years I'll have my own from my new bushes!). 

I couldn't stop there, so Henry & I also went to the strawberry patch to get some of the first berries of the season.  Yum!!! 

It seems like just yesterday these were my strawberry pickers:

 

Look how little they were!  They were just a mere 16 months old or so there!  Oh my goodness how time flies!!! 

 

Swimming!!!

It's swim season again!  Tonight was our first night back at the Y.  The kids had splash day at school yesterday, so they kept asking if we could go to the Y. 
It was nice to get back in the pool and into the swing of swimming!  We sadly found out that our wonderful teacher is not at the Y anymore, so we are going to be "breaking in" a new instructor!  Actually she is very experienced and really sweet, just new to us!  We talked and hope to start lessons back soon, as Emilynn is anxious to start again. 
Carson was upset that he didn't have a yellow neck band, so I told him he had to work hard to get one.  We'll see.  I don't think anything will override his fear of water.  He did go under a little tonight, and wanted his yellow band for it!  :-)  Silly boy. 
Henry did really well too.  Except for drinking too much water!  He didn't mean to, and it choked him a bunch.  He was more cautious than last year, which is understandable since he fell in my sister's pool last year.  I think he will turn back into a water baby though. 
Anyway, the school countdown is on, and swimming is in.....feels like summer-don't you think???  :-) 

Let's Stop Comparing Ourselves to Other Moms

Okay, so does anyone else follow the Royal family?  I think they are precious and like to keep up with them. 
As I was reading on one of my favorite blogs last night (www.moneysavingmom.com), she had a post about how we should stop comparing ourselves to Duchess Kate.  It really made me think because without even thinking, I had done just that!  When I first saw the pics of the family leaving the hospital, I was of course drawn to them.  Then I honed in on one thing, her high heeled shoes.  Oh my!  I just kept staring at them. 
I don't know about any other moms out there, but I was NOT in a state to wear heels 12 hours after giving birth.  Actually, when I had the twins my feet were so swollen they looked like they would pop if you touched them with a pin.  Four days after the delivery, we were heading home.  Thankfully there were no photographers to document that occasion, because my feet were too big for shoes.  I left the hospital in December with snow on the ground wearing the yellow socks they give you with grippers on them.  They got wet as I got in the car and I rode the rest of the way barefoot.  My dear husband had gone to Walmart and bought two giant pair of men's shoes for me to try to wear home, to no avail.  There was no way my foot was going in them! 
Anyway, my point is that I, and I'm sure many other moms out there, did NOT look like the Duchess when we left the hospital.  But does it really matter?  Nope, I realized that honestly, it doesn't! 
It's funny how we compare ourselves to others, when in reality, Duchess Kate probably would have preferred to don her sweats, slipper socks (although even I admit shoes would have been a nice addition to my leaving hospital attire), and a ponytail. 
So instead of comparing ourselves to others, we should just be happy for them in their situation, and be content in our situation as well. 
We are enough!  Sweats, no shoes, and all!  :-) 

Sunday Scripture

This passage is painted above the altar at church in huge letters-and is the motto at our church....

"Those who honor me....I will honor."  ~1 Samuel 2:30

Do you honor him? 

Teacher Appreciation Week

Don't forget teachers next week!  They are so important to our children's future!  It's teacher appreciation week all week.  I plan to surprise the twins' teacher with a few little treats next week.  I am sure pinterest has lots of fun ideas!  I hope to do some chocolates, a note of appreciation, maybe a gift card, maybe some 31 stuff....who knows. 
I have surprised her all year with things because I know her job is tough!  Seven 4 year olds is not for the faint of heart.  Some things we've done all year so you have ideas are:

• Her favorite candy bar- I did this a lot.  Just when I thought she needed a pick-me-up.
• Her favorite McDonald's drink
• a Starbucks gift card
• a basket of green treats for St. Patrick's Day
• colorful dry erase markers for the classroom (something she mentioned in passing, she was surprised I remembered!)
• 31 pen holder with her name on it (the oh-snap bins are what I mean)
• 31 utility tote
• Hallmark ornament
• nice hand lotion
• warm muffins for breakfast
• a vacuum for the classroom (another something mentioned in passing)

You get the idea.  Just some things to help out because teachers spend SO much money of their own on their classes. 

You may be wondering how I knew some of her favorites.  Well, I sent in a little questionnaire I found online at the beginning of school.  It has helped so much!  I will try to post it before the next school year starts.

Also, her birthday is the last week of school, so I hope to do cupcakes or something for that as a surprise. 

It's fun to treat people who mean so much!  We have had an awesome year with Mrs. S! 

We also treated those teachers who are forgotten at Christmas- the librarian, music, religion, and computer teachers. 

I kept meaning to send something for the sweet office ladies who help me so much but it hasn't happened.  Maybe next year when I see them daily I will do better! 

Also, I didn't spend a ton of money on stuff.  Some 31 things I earned free with parties, found the little stick vacuum on a great sale, etc. 

I think teachers just appreciate you remembering them! 

May To-Do List

I love lists.  I always have a daily to-do list, weekly, monthly, and yearly goals lists.  I know...I'm weird like that!  The problem is if I don't, I will forget stuff.  I'm sure it's mommy-brain and not my age, ahem.  Here's what I hope to get done in May: 

• field trip to zoo with twins
• make a summer "bucket list" with kids of stuff we want to do, since we are "staycationing" this year
• clean out my storage shed- ahhh....a huge one.  It's got to get done for several reasons.  First of all, my sister and I are having a yard sale June 6.  Secondly, it just needs it and I have WAY too much stuff.  Thirdly, I need to make space for some furniture from our bedroom that I'm moving out.  (We are re-doing our room, slowly but surely.  The first step is moving out the furniture as it's too cluttered.  I want to simplify!)  I have started cleaning the shed, and hope to work on it every day!
• Blog every day. 
• Go to a minor league baseball game with the twins
• Go see my nephew, Hunter play baseball, and go see my niece and nephew, Morgan & Dylan play tee-ball
• make a birthday cake for my nephew, Landon
• have a few date nights with Dustin (we have one tomorrow for a wedding we are going to)
• make it to church every Sunday, even when Dustin is on call and I have all 3 kids by myself!  I know this sounds silly to some, but I have Henry who cries when I leave him at church and it just gets crazy and stressful and hard to handle alone.  Don't judge!  :-) 
• Keep the laundry and dishes caught up-another HUGE one!  We'll see how this goes. 
• Do something special for the twins' teacher for her birthday :-) 
• Plant all of our garden
• pick strawberries with the kids- and freeze plenty/make jam to last the upcoming year. 

I think that is all I have planned for May so far.  I'm sure other stuff will pop up!

Weekly Musings

Hi Blog world!  I am definitely a sporadic blogger of late.  I have decided to challenge myself to blog every day in May!  We will see how that goes! 

I am going to try to change the font on there also-it's driving me crazy, so chances are it's hard for others to read as well. 

I also just uploaded a bunch of pics to the computer-so maybe I can post more pics and change the pic too! 

What have we been up to though???

Well, school keeps us so busy!  I know it's only 3 days a week, but wow!  I can't even imagine how next year will be.  It's weird to say next year, when in actuality it is truly only a few short months away! 

In other school news- Mr. Henry may be going 3 days a week next year.  I have met with the twins' teacher and we have discussed at length Henry being in the class.  I just don't know if this Momma is ready for that or not!  Henry desperately needs more interaction with kids his age though.  I feel like it isn't fair to Henry to deny him this opportunity just because I am super-attached to my baby.  And to quote my Granny- I don't care if he's 40 years old, he will always be MY baby!!!  :-)  I think it would a great introduction to school with such a wonderful teacher!  We just LOVE the kids' teacher this year, and I have tried to show it by spoiling her and giving her lots of treats to show our appreciation.  I should post some of my ideas on here in case anyone else wants to spoil their childrens' teachers as well! 
Henry is actually warming up to the school idea a little bit, asking for a John Deere back pack!  I don't care what it costs, I will have to find that boy a John Deere back pack!  Our main hurtle will be fine-tuning his potty training.  He does okay with peeing.  #2's are just not happening in the potty right now. 
Have I mentioned potty training is my least favorite thing?  Just saying.....

Our baby calf is doing great, and we have settled into a schedule of feeding her twice per day.  She is so sweet and will be hard to part with.  She may be staying on full time at our house!!!  As we went to feed her this morning, the kids were busy playing with their cousins and we spent about 2 hours just playing.  It is easy for that to annoy me at times, but after I thought about it, it IS my job to stay at home with my kids.  I had nothing else pressing except laundry and housework.  Why couldn't I sit and listen to the kids laughter and take a break myself for a while?  I think sometimes we forget what our true priorities should be.  So what if I don't finish my to-do list today?  The most pressing thing on it was catching up the laundry, which let's just be honest, may never happen!!!! 

I am rambling, but does anyone else's kids eat non-stop?  I mean, truly I don't know what we'll do when the kids are teenagers.  Last week we had a playdate with some cousins over, and the kids ate a block of cheddar and several pounds of grapes in one sitting!  I am constantly amazed at how much food kids can eat.  We can never have enough milk, cheese, grapes, and apples in this house! 

Well, I am off to do more laundry and cleaning.  I will post more soon, and apologize for the complete randomness of this post.  Just whatever thoughts cross my mind......
More later!

It's April already???!!!???

It's April already?  Where has the year gone so far???  I cannot believe the kids finish their first school year next month!  Oh my goodness, it makes me kind of sad.  I will miss their teacher next year, she has been so good with them!  We may send Henry to her next year, one year early though, so who knows?  First I have to finish potty training him.  He does okay, but we need to work hard on it and be more focused. 
We have been so busy around here with so many different things.  I am trying to get in a better routine every day, so hopefully blogging will become more regular around here!  And I still have not uploaded any pictures from the camera.  I am such a slacker sometimes! 
Here is what's been going on in our neck of the woods.......

• Last week was very busy with a BBQ benefit dinner we did for my sister's brother-in-law.  He fell through a roof in January and is unable to work.  I am so glad we are able to help people when we can.  We kind of have our BBQ dinners down to a science.  Everyone has a job and they just get it done.  I honestly didn't work near as hard as my parents and sister, and I was exhausted so I know they were!  As always though, we do something to bless someone else and I think it really ends up blessing us instead. 
• Dustin and I had a date night last night.  I have to say, I love date nights!  I honestly hadn't really given date nights much thought until one day when the twins were much smaller and Henry was about a year old.  My mom watched the kids for us to go out, and she said she was going to do that for us once a month.  I have to say-it was the best gift anyone has ever given me!  Until that point, I think I felt bad asking anyone to watch the kids for us to just do something frivolous like having some free time!  I now know how important it is to get that free time.  I always return fully refreshed and recharged.  I think the kids enjoy the break from us too!  It helps that they love all their babysitters-my mom, my sisters, and my cousin Brandy.  I don't even mind spending money on a sitter or dinner because I feel like it's an investment in my sanity and marriage!  There is also something to be said for eating a meal without having fourteen arms/hands pulling on me, throwing their castoff food into my plate, having 37 trips to the potty...you get the idea.  Anyway, I highly recommend date nights!  :-)  Just saying....
• My Kindle Fire battery won't charge!  Fooey!  I have a message in to tech support about this.  The kids have been burning it up playing Apps.  I hope it isn't a goner, cause I honestly don't think I can live without it for long!  I may have to kick it old school and pull out my old Kindle, the very first one ever made!  I wonder if I could live with that one until my birthday in September??? 
• Oh my goodness.  I forgot to post some extremely exciting news.  Y'all.  Amanda, Alyssa, and I are going to see Luke Bryan!   I have wanted to go see him for YEARS.  I have never been able to get a ticket.  I am SO excited!!!!  Alyssa wanted a Luke Bryan ticket for her birthday.  That was the only thing she wanted and he was nowhere close by.....she didn't get one.  It was so much fun to surprise her with a ticket (I didn't pay for it-just to be clear!  But I did help petition on her behalf to let her go with us!  )  Of course we had to be a little mean at first and just tell her we were going and see what she said.  Hehe.  We also have one more ticket that I think my brother-in-law or one of my sisters may use.  I cannot wait!  I love concerts! 
• We have a new addition to our family.  It's a furry addition!  We are the proud owners of our very first baby calf!  She is so sweet, and is really warming up to us I think.  When we cut our timber, one goal was to build a small calf pen to raise baby calves.  Well, the pen isn't ready, but a neighbor had a cow die right after having this baby.  We are bottle feeding her twice a day and keeping her at my father-in-law's farm.    Fun times!  The kids are in love with her and have named her.  It's a doozy.  Bonnie Elsa is her name!  Bonnie is my mom's name and we got her from a man nicknamed Bunny, so Bonnie just made sense, right?  Then Emilynn had to add the Frozen factor in there.  I just call her sweet girl. 
• Is anyone else working on their gardens yet?  We have the spot disked up, and have half of our fence up!  I am excited!  I hope I am still excited this summer when I am hopefully over run with tomatoes, squash, etc. and canning/freezing like crazy! 
• I keep meaning to write a whole post about church, but I just have to say-we LOVE, LOVE, LOVE our new church!  Yes, we have a new church.  How we found it is a story and testimony in and of itself, but it is amazing.  And it feels like home.  I feel like I am finally where I am supposed to be.  My sister and her family love it too.   God continually amazes me.  He knows just what we need! 

On that note, I am off to do some vacuuming and cleaning to hopefully bless my family!   Although the kids are out of school after today for all of the rest of this week and next week....so I'm not sure how long it will stay clean.  I think I have job security for sure!  :-) 

Sunday Scripture

I want to get back into doing my Sunday Scriptures! 

Here is this week's-and yes, it's a day late!  I chose to spend yesterday outside all afternoon with the kids instead of inside! 

Today's scripture is from Hebrews 9:27-28. 

"Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him." 

Our sermon at church was about salvation.

Are you saved? 

Quick and Filling School Breakfasts

I'm pretty sure it's a known fact that the kids and I are NOT morning people, early risers, or anything of the like!  However, I know with school they need to head out with a good breakfast in their bellies.  Since school started,  we have been working hard at getting up early, and eating a nice filling breakfast.  I thought I'd share some of my ideas for quick breakfasts, because we do not use a microwave, and we don't eat cold cereal for breakfast either.  I don't have anything against cold cereal, except that it isn't very filling for breakfast.  When I do buy it, which isn't all the time, it's mainly a treat or snack.  No one uses it for breakfast around here.  I know some people probably think it's impossible to have a good, quick breakfast without microwaving one of those pre-packaged meals. 
I have found it's very easy to do these things, it just takes some prep work ahead of time.  'Cause let's just be honest, I won't be up frying bacon, sausage, and eggs every morning at 6 a.m.!  I do cook those things some mornings-but certainly not every morning.  I have found that on Tuesdays and Thursdays especially, I like having something fast for breakfast because Dustin is the only one eating at 6 a.m. those days! 

Fruit ~  First of all, I think it's important to have plenty of fresh fruit for the kids to eat with breakfast.  My kids love apples, grapes, and mandarin oranges.  I also keep bananas on hand.  Emmy is my only watermelon eater, and depending on the day some of them may eat strawberries-but they aren't in season anymore so I don't really buy them often.  Applesauce is good too if you are out of fresh fruit. 
A smoothie is also another option for a fruit side option, and you can use frozen fruit.  I also love putting fresh spinach in smoothies, which is the only way spinach gets eaten around here (myself included). 

Meat ~ As far as meat goes, I take a big package of homemade sausage, patty it out, and fried it ahead of time.  I will even go ahead and freeze it cooked.    The night before, I just pull out however many patties we need and let them thaw overnight.  In the morning, I just pop them in the oven or toaster oven to warm them up.  Easy, yummy, and filling.  I've never tried freezing cooked bacon, but I may to see how it does.  For bacon, I just fry up and leave in the fridge till we need to warm it.  I do this for BLTs for supper too, or club sandwiches.  A big time saver. 

Breads/Pancakes ~ Biscuits can be made ahead of time and frozen in a big Ziploc bag so you can also pull out however many you need.  If you are going to the trouble of making biscuits or pancakes, you may as well make a big batch and have more for later.  I usually pop the pancakes in the toaster, and it heats them up nicely.   I have not tried making waffles, but I got a waffle maker a couple of years ago and really need to try making my own Eggos! 

      My kids love banana bread, so I try to keep that in the freezer, either in mini-loaves (it takes one mini-loaf to feed them for breakfast), or in muffins.  We also like blueberry muffins, but banana is definitely the favorite.  Let's face it, bananas are much cheaper than blueberries-so that's a no-brainer.  Also, it helps keep you from wasting them when they get too brown.  If I don't have time to make bread, but the bananas are brown, I will take them out of the peel and freeze them until I have time to cook them.  It works just fine and ensures we have no waste.  You can also throw them in a smoothie straight from the freezer. 

• A tip I just recently learned and have loved is that you can go ahead and mix up your muffins, put them in the muffin tins, then pop them in the freezer uncooked.  Once frozen, pull out the tins and pop the uncooked muffins in a freezer bag for later.  You can do a big variety, then when you are ready to serve muffins, just cook the ones you want.  I have tried this and it works great!  It's a good time saver, and also nice if you want to cook just a few of each type of muffin. 

Eggs ~ I know eggs are a protein also, but I think they deserve their own category!!!  Eggs are the last thing we eat all the time for breakfast.  You pretty much want these cooked fresh, but it doesn't take long at all to scramble eggs.  My kids will eat eggs reheated, although I don't prefer them that way.  Fried eggs seem to be easier to store and just reheat one or two to eat the next day on a biscuit or however you want to eat it.  I keep boiled eggs in the fridge for me, but I am the only one in the house who likes them that way. 

~ I have an overnight cinnamon roll recipe that is really good, and you pop them in the oven in the morning.  Yum! 

~Breakfast casseroles are great for making ahead.  Except my family doesn't like them.  Fooey! 

~I have also made and frozen quiches for eating later.  Again, my family doesn't like them.  Are we seeing a pattern here??? 

~Another option-Burritos!  Dustin likes breakfast burritos.  I don't really care for them, but I make them for him.  I put eggs, sausage, and cheese on them.  I freeze them and just pop out however many the night before.  They can be heated up in the toaster oven quickly, or he can take them with him and microwave them at work.  Yes, we sometimes use other people's microwaves in a pinch.  :-)  Not often though, ideally.  I also freeze burrito "packets", by putting the cooked ingredients in a snack sized Ziploc bag.  We then just thaw a couple overnight and put them on a fresh tortilla in the morning.  These work great either way you do it. 

~You can also cook some type of home fries or hashbrowns fairly quickly.  I am not sure why I don't do that more often, maybe I will add them in the rotation.  I recently started making my own hashbrowns from leftover baked potatoes.  So easy! 

~Oatmeal is another great option.  You guessed it-it's not popular here.  Not sure why.  Maybe a texture thing?

I have a recipe for a breakfast pizza which I really want to try.  I will have to share if it's good and family-approved. 

I have learned that it isn't nearly as hard as I thought it was to get a good breakfast on the table to fill up my family.  Here are a few meal combinations that seem to work well and the kids like...to give you some ideas.  I just have had to change my routine and make sure I plan for breakfast, instead of just waiting until we wake up and figuring out what to fix/grab.  Now, I meal plan all 3 meals of the day, instead of before just actually planning dinner. 

• Sausage patties, banana bread, fruit
• Eggs, fruit
• Overnight cinnamon rolls, fruit
• Pancakes, bacon, fruit
• Eggs, Bacon, fruit
• Eggs, Sausage, fruit
• Banana bread, fruit
• Eggs, biscuits, bacon or sausage, fruit
• Sausage, muffins, smoothies

You get the idea....it's basically all the same stuff, just shifted around for variety. 
If we are running late, Health Valley makes organic cereal bars that the kids really like, and we can eat those on the go, maybe with some applesauce squeezies or some other easy to grab items. 

Hopefully this may help everyone avoid those pre-packaged breakfast items that have so much sodium and preservatives and ingredients you can't pronounce.  Not to mention how expensive they are!   For a treat I bought some of the breakfast "lunchables" for the kids.  They did not like them and they were a big waste of money.  I was fine with that since I don't like the ingredients in them anyway.  Now, they will eat a lunchtime lunchable like nobody's business, but I try to let them only be an occasional treat.  I will have to do a lunch post as well!!!

And maybe, just maybe I will become a morning person!  :-)