Second Time Around!!

I could not resist, I had to show you this AGAIN. This past week during Hannah and Logan's gymnastics class Luke and I went to feed the geese again. He would ask me, "are they going to eat me?" I replied that they would not eat him but they did want his bread. He even asked if I was going to "kick them in the head" if they tried to bite him. I reassured him that I would protect him, however I guess I did not fully follow through on my promise because once he got brave, he tried to feed them from his hand. Of course you know the rest of the story.....

I guess it did not hurt too bad, he was all smiles shortly after his goose attack!

Five Fabulous Feelings For Friday

This weekend is shaping up to be a nice, relaxing time. Actually I hope that we get a little bit of work done on the bathroom, okay I am not really the one who does the physical work, but you know what I mean. Here are a few things that I am grateful about....

1. We just got home from swimming at a friends house. The kids were so excited and had a blast. It is fun to watch them having so much fun.
2. We have had rain a few times this week. It has been wonderful after such a long time without rain. Really, I just like the Lord shows a little grace to our water bill.
3. We have no plans for this weekend which leaves it wide opened to get a lot done.
4. That I have a husband who can literally fix anything. On Wednesday night our fan motor something went out on our air-conditioner. Jason diagnosed the problem and fixed it as soon as the store opened. The amount of $ that we save because he either knows how to fix it or knows someone who can tell him how to is amazing. Everyone needs a husband or friend like that!
5. Luke is doing well potty training. The #2 has been a hold up for him. At the beginning of the week I almost gave up, but he has made progress. We will keep pushing through this literally!

Prayer for Today

What a difference one year really makes. Last year at this time, we were scared, nervous, worried, and ultimately mourning about our friends situation. I am talking about the Carr Family. For those of you who have not read his blog, you should take a look here. Today marks the one year anniversary of Wendy's death. We have known Matt and Wendy for about 10 years. If my memory is right, they even got married right around the same week as we did. We were involved in the same college ministry, went to the same newlywed Sunday school class, then the same young married class when we were both pregnant with our girls at the same time. They changed churches and we only then "kept up" with them through other friends or when we would run into them around town. However, when we heard what had happened to Wendy, we were devastated. At that time, their kids were 4 years old and 2 1/2 weeks old. I could not wrap my mind around that thought. I spent most of the week just crying when I thought about Matt and their kids. All week, Hannah kept asking what was wrong. Of course I tried to be discrete, but it just was not happening. We had told Hannah all week that Ms. Wendy was very sick. We prayed about it and finally decided to tell Hannah that Ms. Wendy was now with Jesus. I think it hit home so much because our girls were just a few weeks apart and we had known them for so long. This was Hannah's first experience with death. She had so many questions which again made me so sad because I knew that L, Matt's little girl had to have the same or even more questions. Hannah did really well and every night was diligent about praying for L and M, L's little brother. One day when we were driving, out of the blue Hannah said, "Mom, I bet when L sees you that it makes her sad". I asked "why". Then she broke my heart when she answered. She said "because I bet it makes her think that you are her mommy because she misses her mommy". In four year old terms, I knew what she meant. I knew that she meant that seeing other kids with their moms makes her think/wish she had her mom back. There were other times where she just amazed us with her words. One day she said, "I know that everyone is sad about Ms. Wendy, but we should be happy that Ms. Wendy is with Jesus now and her heart is healed". It was BIG at our house. Hannah and Logan, even though he did not understand, talked about it a lot. Again it just made me think of their family. I just thought about how Hannah would be a different little girl if I were gone or if Jason were gone. It did not make me fear death because I would be with the Lord, but it made me worry about the emotional state of our kids if that were to happen. Tragic events change who people are, in my opinion, ALWAYS. It was and still is a very sad situation, however the Lord has placed those two kids with a wonderful dad who seeks the Lord for every step of his day. The family is also surrounded by an amazing support group of family and friends. It has been a testimony of the strength of people praying when we see them at school or around town. Today as you go about your day, remember to pry for them. The Lord continues to use this situation as His people continue to pray!

Happy Fathers Day!

Happy Father's Day to all the daddies. The kids were excited about today. We went out to lunch after church with another family. After debating where to eat, we realized that with 5 kids and 4 adults would be better suited at a small wonderful Mexican food restaurant. Yep, you guessed it....Jason GOT to go to Taco Bueno after church. Okay, really our kids picked it, but he complied. After we got home, the kids gave him his present. I think he knew what he was getting, although he would not admit it because he knew it would make me sad. Even this morning Logan kept telling him that he would not tell him that we got him a "digital". He was right, we got him a digital picture frame for his office. Sorry babe, no power tools this year! The yard was mowed while the kids splashed around in the little pool. We grilled for dinner and again the kids played outside. It was a fun productive day.

Thanks Jason for everything you do to keep our family/home in order. I know that everyone else may have the same opinion of their own hubby, but I have to say that mine is the best around. I appreciate everything that you do for us. You are such a wonderful dad. The kids love playing with you, but at the same time, they know that you will enforce them when needed. I could not have asked for a better daddy and best friend. I love you!

Friday was a little Far From Fabulous

I realized that I did not post my Fabulous Fridays yesterday, but well to be honest we did not have the most fabulous day. I think I have mentioned before that one of Hannah's best friends was moving out of state. Their two kids, a little girl Hannah's age and a little boy stuck right in the middle of my boys, spent the day with us on Thursday while their parents packed and got things ready. We brought them dinner on Thursday night and let the kids play one last time. We had to run something by on Friday morning so they did get to see them again, but well to be as real as I can it was horrible. We have had friends move before. I remember when Hannah was about 5 months old my best friend from college, Danica moved to Russia to be a missionary with her wonderful husband Greg. I was very very sad, but it was a little different. I had just transitioned from working full time before Hannah was born to staying home. Danica did not have any kids and worked full time. I was used to not seeing her during the day. They also did not have any kids that Hannah was "attached" to. This time it hit home more. Hannah and Evie loved playing with each other. They have been friends since they were 2 years old. They have taken ballet together, been in cubbies together,same Sunday School class for the past 3 years, gone to the same bible study every week for years, done more lunches at Chick-Fil-A than I can count, and the list goes on and on. We used to pick up the girls after bible study and they would have lunch planned for us. It was very cute, unless we could not go that day, then it turned into a fit! The boys have loved playing with Walter too. It was a great set up with the genders and the ages. And to top it off, I really enjoyed Jennifer, their mom. She loved the Lord completely and gave great sound advice. I remember after Hannah was born being sad because we mainly had friends that worked full time. Of course I adjusted to having a baby after a few months, got out more, and of course found out that more ladies stayed home than I thought. But it is hard to find that one special family where both the kids and the moms get along well. Jennifer and I were past the hard parts of a friendship. I was not embarrassed when my kids acted up or when I could not control them in public. We always secretly laughed, at the appropriate time of course, at our kids. It was a great friendship. I think that I have been so focused on the kids missing each other that I did not pay much attention to the fact that I would be so sad. I have been worried the most about Hannah. She is sad but has said that she is not going to cry or she has also said that will play alone at church now because Evie has moved. I know she will play with other kids and be just fine but I do worry because the group that we run with has mainly boys that around her age. She and Evie has always been the only consistent girls in our little group of friends. So, all of this to say, my whole family was pretty sad on Friday. Jason and I did drop off the kids at the church for childcare and we went to Chili's by ourselves. It was great to get out but I am sure my hubby would have liked it if I were a little happier. We will get by and be just fine I realize that, but this is new for us. It will just take some getting out of our comfort zone again. So, Danica when you read this, between the lines it says to sell your flat faster than you were thinking and get home with that boy that my kids love so much. Of course they will love the new baby just as much too.

And here is why I am behind.....

Hannah helped pull down wallpaper

It started out just pulling down wallpaper in the bathroom, texturing our bedroom, painting, can lights, new fan, and new vanity top. We knew there was a small leak in the shower wall that needed to be fixed, but this is what it looks like now!

And, if you are going to tear out the shower because of the leak, you might as well make it a little bigger, tear out the wall between the vanity area and the shower/toliet area, replace the vanity, oh and bust out the concrete in the shower so you can move the drain to accomodate the new dimentions. Now I know that pulling down the wallpaper was a complete waste of my time since there is NO sheetrock left in the area.

Oh, and we have these "helpers" to korral during all of the work. They enjoyed the demo the most. They bring all of their play tools into the bathrom and "help" daddy. We will keep you posted on the progress. Lets hope it does not take months and months since all 5 of us are sharing a bathroom. Our last bathroom that was completely gutted took exactly 30 days from start to finish but I think Jason only slept a few hours a night. This one we have a little more time since we don't have a baby shower for a freind planned like we did last time.

It just was not his day!

Today Hannah and Logan had gymnastics so Luke and I went to feed the ducks while we waited for them to get out of class. Luke was insistent that he wanted the geese to "eat out my hand". One seemed friendly enough so I thought if he had a big enough piece it would maybe be okay. The first time Luke tried, the goose pecked him in the stomach. He whined for a minute then said he needed another piece of bread. I tried to warn him and tell him to just throw it on the ground but he would not listen. You would think he would not have wanted to come near that thing since it already pecked him, but I think it took two times around the block to get the point. That goose started pecking him while I was taking his picture. I had to use my foot to push his head away from Luke. I was looking through my pictures after we sat down and realized my finger was on the button while I was gently pushing the goose with my foot. The kids sure thought that was a funny picture. Even after that, he still wanted to feed them, but he did not want to let them eat out of his hand this time!

It's fun and games until...

IT'S ALL FUN AND GAMES UNTIL SOMEONE GETS THEIR HEAD STUCK!!

This week Luke started wearing big boy underwear during the day. Now, we are still far from being potty trained, but he is doing well. He, just like our other two, is bribed with mini M&Ms. He gets 2 for going pee-pee and 5 for pooping. Today Logan was going potty before we left for the store and Luke had run into the bathroom. I heard them laughing (never a good thing) so I headed to the bathroom. Luke met me in the hallway with his potty seat over his head. He thought it was so funny. I was not too concerned since I wipe it down after ever use with a Clorox wipe, but nonetheless it probably still should not be on his head. It was hard to resist. I grabbed the camera and then he started crying because it was stuck. After a few pictures, I had to pull it off. He cried because it pulled his ear. I hope this was a good lesson!

Sea World

Over Memorial Day weekend we went to Sea World. The kids did great given the fact that on Saturday we were there from 9:30am - 8:30pm and Sunday we went from 9:45am - 6:00pm. The boys napped in the stroller while Hannah just kept going and going. We fed the dolphins, the sea lions, the lorikeets, and went swimming. It was hot, humid, and pretty crowded. Saturday alone we were with another 35,000 people!! Because the park is pretty big you don't notice too much. We had a wonderful time. It was a much needed trip however it was fast and furious the whole weekend.

We bribed them with Shamu ice creams if they smiled for us!

The Lorikeets had to be one of their most favorite things, well besides the dolphins! They were so friendly. We went to the first feeding of the day which meant the birds were very ready for us to feed them. The kids absolutely loved it. The staff was wonderful and made sure each of the kids got to hold one. I think our kids would have stayed in their all day.

We went to the Viva show where the divers jumped off beams from the ceiling.

We looked over and one of the divers was running through the audience and came and sat by us. Our kids did not know what to think.

Can you tell, they were DONE with pictures!

Five Fabolous Feelings For Friday is Back!

Okay so it has been a few Fridays since I have posted my positive upbeat outlook for Friday. I am really, really short on time today but here goes......

1. My mom came in town for a short visit with the kids. Today I got to go to Sam's alone to do my shopping for the BBQ tonight at our house (which should actually be another Fab Five). I actually feel sorry for my mom because my kids don't leave her side. They fight over who gets to sit by her at dinner, who gets to sleep in the room with her, etc. Just to show you how extreme they are: I asked Hannah if she would like tomatoes and croutons on her salad last night and she told me she wanted "whatever Grandma Nita wanted". She was dead serious too. I had to wait for her to ask my mom what she was having on her plate so I could make Hannah's. We don't see her much, but my kids are like magnets on her when we do!


2. We are going shopping tomorrow for our bathroom tile. The best part, our wonderful adopted grandparents are watching the kids for a little while. I cannot imagine taking them into a quiet tile place. Home Depot is the extent of their home remodeling shopping since it is LOUD in there.


3. My house is clean. I realize that after tonight it will not be, but was good while it lasted.


4. Tonight we are having a BBQ at our house. It is actually bitter sweet because it is for some good friends who are moving out of state in a little over a week. They have a little girl Hannah's age and a little boy around the ages of my boys. The girls are in the same Sunday school class, same bible study class, we eat lunch together, and go on other play dates together. My heart already breaks for Hannah. This will be her 1st "real" close friend who has moved. I don't think she quite understands. She asked me the other day if we would still go to her friends birthday party ( they will be about 10 hours away).


5. Today is only supposed to be in the 90s instead of 100+. I never thought that would be such a big difference, but it is!! And the wind stop blowing 50mph like yesterday!! Great BBQ weather!

Have a wonderful weekend!!!

BEHIND!!!!!!

It has been brought to my attention that I am a little behind on blogging. I realize this, but you know how in-laws can be.....really pushy. (Just giving you a hard time Amy!) Really I know that I am about two weeks behind. I have not even posted any pictures from our wonderful trip to Sea World almost two weeks ago. I have some really good excuses, but of course I don't have time to download any pictures right now. Part of the issue is that my sweet Luke not so gently removed/yanked out my wireless adapter from my laptop. We have not had time to replace it so my computer is stuck in one place when I am on the internet. I never would have thought that would be so debilitating! My other excuse is our room remodeling issue. I will have to post some pics soon, but our small paint, texture, and new trim has turned into more...a whole lot more! This past Saturday Jason tore out the WHOLE shower and well, the vanity and linen closet came out tonight. So, we are basically down to studs in the bathroom. If you don't know already, we have a way of complicating small things. Oh, and we have a BBQ on Friday night at our house (no our bathroom will not be done) and the guest list just hit 30 adults. Everyone has at least one kid so you do the math. I need to be cleaning instead of looking at this computer screen! I will try to upload some pictures soon but for now I will leave you with a post that I started over a week ago.

Beware of Dog!

I did not realize that I needed one of those signs, you know the one that says in bold letters, BEWARE OF DOG, but apparently we may need to invest in one. Our dog, well, she is not always my favorite, but she fits our family well. Don't get me wrong, I like her, but she is very, very hyper and she usually cannot help herself and jumps a lot. She is just now learning to be out of her kennel when company arrives. I guess she is just like my kids.....hyper and crazy when friends come over! Too bad they can't legally be put into kennels when they act up! To give you an idea of what our dog is like, this is what she does when she hears Jason pull up in the driveway.... Actually she jumps like this ALL the time. If she sees someone walk by, if we step outside, you name it, she jumps. She can jump high too. I guess that is the chihuahua in her. Don't ask me how, but her mom was red heeler and her dad was a chihuahua. Who would have thought?

The Friday we were leaving for Sea World, I was frantically running all around trying to pack for our trip. Jason was getting off early so we could leave and I needed to be somewhat close to being ready. The kids wanted to play outside so I opeened the door and noticed that our dog was hovering over something right off the porch. I thought it was odd that she was not going crazy that we were home. I finally see what is more important...a squirrel that is, dead in the grass. I knew that it could not stay where it was because my kids were going outside and my dog would not leave its side. I kept picturing Chris Farley in Tommy Boy where he hits a deer then puts it in his car thinking it was dead. It awakens and starts freaking out. I did not want to experience a squirrel bite in the event that it was not quite dead. I decided the best thing was to find a large bowl to put over it and let Jason mess with it when he got home. I find a bowl that I did not mind throwing in the trash and put it over the squirrel scared it would jump up and bite me (or the kids of course). We walk back in the house but Logan starts calling my name. I run back outside to find the bowl still in the same place I left it but Logan shows me a squirrel laying dead in the grass a few feet from the bowl. My mind starts racing. I then thought we have some type of squirrel epidemic where they are dropping like flies. After a freak out moment, it dawns on me to check the bowl. I get a branch,scared that I would get attacked, and pick up the bowl to find no squirrel. My wonderful dog had some how lifted the bowl and moved the squirrel to another location. I had to act fast. I search and search until I found the perfect solution...here is how things went down. Luke decided that he was going to use his tools on the deceased squirrel. He then asked if we should bring the squirrel a toy while Logan asked if we could give him some food and water. Hannah did not understand why her brothers could not understand what DEAD means. Here is our dog protecting her prize possession.This kept our dog out of the bowl until Jason got home to take care of it.

Luke had been spanking her over and over telling her not to bite the squirrel. She was not very happy with him spanking her because of her great kill. I was worried about our not so smart dog catching something from the squirrels. I kept thinking of the movie I am Legend when Wil Smith has to choke his own dog because it got the virus. I just knew that my dog had rabbies after it played with (okay after it killed)a squirrel.

The poor squirrel was lifted to his new home...the garbage.

The kids were amazed, actually they thought daddy was the hero getting rid of the squirrel.