You know, about 2 years ago I took the boys to a new pediatrician. I had to fill out some paperwork to see if they were on the correct level for their age. One of the questions I was supposed to ask them was "tell me the name of a friend." Then in parenthesis it said, "not the name of a family member." I thought that was one of the weirdest things I had ever seen. I think of my brother as a friend. Many siblings consider each other friends. I figure they want to make sure the child understands that the word friend is different than family but I think it can totally apply to a family member. I would consider my dad a very good friend. He is a better listener than most people I know and FAR surpasses most men I know. In fact, I would be much lonelier woman if I couldn't call and talk to him every few days. The man's "daily word limit" doesn't seem to apply to him. Well, I guess I do luck out there because my mom doesn't talk a whole lot; so he has plenty of words left when I call. LOL
Anyway, I was thinking of this because today Thomas and I were talking about friends. I don't know how we got on the subject but I said,
"Thomas do you have any friends?"
Thomas replied, "Yes."
"Who are your friends?" I asked.
"Zach," he immediately replied.
(Zach is in his classes at church.)
"Do you have any more friends?" I asked curiously. He always says Zach so I wanted to see if he felt that he's made more friends.
He looked thoughtful for a few seconds and then said, "You."
I just about cried. It was so sweet. I think I'll keep that in my heart and maybe on paper so that one day when he's 16 and I "annoy and/or embarrass him" I can look back on that memory with fondness. What a sweet kid. It was especially sweet considering that he's a COMPLETE Daddy's boy. LOL
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Monday, February 26, 2007
So much to say...so little time
Sometimes I don't have much time to blog or don't have anything interesting to share. Other times I don't blog because I have too many things to say and it gets overwhelming considering I have about 5 minutes a day to share information my friends and family may actually find interesting...This will probably be a 10 minute spurt....
I just have to get this story off my chest. It may come across as very strong. Just a warning.
"Save the whales kill the babies" was a very eye catching bumper sticker years ago. Recently I had my own epiphany while looking for a second dog.
One of our dogs, Nakita, died about 5 months ago. At first Ginger seemed alright but now we can tell she is really missing him. So, we possibly want to get another dog. This can't be just any dog mind you. This dog must be a dog who is very cautious of the road, (because we don't keep Ginger fenced and we wouldn't want to fence this one too) stays on the property, not an alpha dog, and about 10 years old or so. (we DON'T want a puppy! Too many kids to train. We can't handle training anything else right now) A few weeks ago I was trying to find a dog in one of the rescue places. I made a call to one rescue place but she informed me that their agency and most other agencies would only give dogs to people who were going to keep them inside. I understand. These groups have spent time and money to save animals and want to make sure people aren't going to let them get killed or let them run away. They want good homes for them. I respect that. Then she gave me an idea to call one of the "kill shelters" and see if they had a dog that would meet our needs. Here's what got me...I couldn't find a dog on any of those sites either but what I found floored me.....
There are pet adoption agencies that have rescued dogs and cats from being euthanized in kill shelters and are putting them up for adoption. The guidelines to adopt are so strict that you'd think you were adopting a CHILD for crying out loud. The adoption request/information sheets are PAGES long. Then it dawned on me...these people have spent LOTS of time and money to make sure a dog isn't euthanized but babies are euthanized in abortions every second of every day.
Well, that's different you say....yeah it is....babies are MORE IMPORTANT than dogs and cats. These people couldn't conceive of anyone ridding the world of an "unwanted" dog but many people support the ridding of an "unwanted" human. People, we have our priorities ALL MESSED UP!!! Try telling a animal rescue organization...
"well, it's probably better off to euthanize it because the people didn't want the animal anyway."
"we had the kittens aborted because we just weren't ready to take care of kittens right now"
"we are just waiting for our finances to get better before we take on the responsibility of new pets"
RIGHT!
The animal rights activists would be ALL OVER THAT!
Just wanted to stir the thinking pot.
more posts later- much lighter ones, I promise.
I just have to get this story off my chest. It may come across as very strong. Just a warning.
"Save the whales kill the babies" was a very eye catching bumper sticker years ago. Recently I had my own epiphany while looking for a second dog.
One of our dogs, Nakita, died about 5 months ago. At first Ginger seemed alright but now we can tell she is really missing him. So, we possibly want to get another dog. This can't be just any dog mind you. This dog must be a dog who is very cautious of the road, (because we don't keep Ginger fenced and we wouldn't want to fence this one too) stays on the property, not an alpha dog, and about 10 years old or so. (we DON'T want a puppy! Too many kids to train. We can't handle training anything else right now) A few weeks ago I was trying to find a dog in one of the rescue places. I made a call to one rescue place but she informed me that their agency and most other agencies would only give dogs to people who were going to keep them inside. I understand. These groups have spent time and money to save animals and want to make sure people aren't going to let them get killed or let them run away. They want good homes for them. I respect that. Then she gave me an idea to call one of the "kill shelters" and see if they had a dog that would meet our needs. Here's what got me...I couldn't find a dog on any of those sites either but what I found floored me.....
There are pet adoption agencies that have rescued dogs and cats from being euthanized in kill shelters and are putting them up for adoption. The guidelines to adopt are so strict that you'd think you were adopting a CHILD for crying out loud. The adoption request/information sheets are PAGES long. Then it dawned on me...these people have spent LOTS of time and money to make sure a dog isn't euthanized but babies are euthanized in abortions every second of every day.
Well, that's different you say....yeah it is....babies are MORE IMPORTANT than dogs and cats. These people couldn't conceive of anyone ridding the world of an "unwanted" dog but many people support the ridding of an "unwanted" human. People, we have our priorities ALL MESSED UP!!! Try telling a animal rescue organization...
"well, it's probably better off to euthanize it because the people didn't want the animal anyway."
"we had the kittens aborted because we just weren't ready to take care of kittens right now"
"we are just waiting for our finances to get better before we take on the responsibility of new pets"
RIGHT!
The animal rights activists would be ALL OVER THAT!
Just wanted to stir the thinking pot.
more posts later- much lighter ones, I promise.
Friday, February 23, 2007
I LOVE GEORGIA part II
This is also one of the reasons I love Georgia. This was the view out of our living room window this morning. Amazing! God is the best artist. Thank-you Lord for blessing us with this house and property and for continuously giving us views like this.
-ADL
Thursday, February 22, 2007
I LOVE GEORGIA!
I feel almost human again! Could the reason be that the sink is empty and the dishwasher is loaded? Could it be because I'm almost caught up on laundry (still one load to fold)? Or could it be because the kids and I spent about 4 hours OUTSIDE today! I think it is the later although the other reasons factor in too. The fresh air and sunshine does me a WORLD of good.
It was 70 degrees this afternoon and the kids and I had a FABULOUS time playing outside. Gideon lacks shoes. oops. I hardly ever put them on my kids till they start walking well but now that we are going to be outside more I need to get him a pair. The pair I got him a few months ago are too small. Anyone need ADORABLE baby loafer type shoes in size 3?
The good news was that it was warm enough for him to go in his sock feet in the morning and barefoot this afternoon. We spent the day climbing trees, swinging, sliding, running briefly in the woods, and hiding (and telling stories) in the wheat grass that is in our fields. (that is taller than Thomas in many places) That was really fun. It was like being hidden from sight and still being able to look up at the gorgeous blue sky God gave us today contrasting with the gorgeous green trees.
The good thing (not the only good thing, a good thing) about Georgia is that spring comes before the calendar says it's supposed to. Growing up in northern Ohio spring comes, maybe, in May or sometimes June. Okay it comes before that but it's not really WARM or anything. Here we are in the 60s in March and sometimes the 80s, but definitely the 70s, in April. I LOVE IT!! Winter is so loooong in Ohio. It's so short here. Granted I do miss being able to go sledding and build snowmen but seeing the daffodils bloom last week reminded me why I love this state!! The warm fresh air reminds me of summers of my childhood. It's funny how smells can take me back to memories so quickly. One whiff of the air today and immediately I thought of my family grilling steaks in the summer while Jay (my brother) and I played football or Frisbee in the yard. (usually we grilled hamburgers but I loved when we did steaks)
We had steak for dinner tonight (of course) and i got to play Frisbee with the kids plus the little escapade in the wheat grass.
It's funny though. Even though I have lots of fun with my kids every spring (hiking, walks, etc) the first whiff of spring air belongs to my past...a little town in Ohio where the yard was filled with kids playing football and my dad was tinkering with cars in the garage, where mom and I made salads after we went uptown to the small butcher's store to buy fresh meat for dinner, and where the sun set while we were running barefoot through the grass or the field next door (and my mom telling me to put shoes on because I might step on a bee- by the way- I STILL don't wear shoes anytime I can help it and I have only stepped on 2-3 bees in my entire life)
Thank-you God for good memories and wonderful smells and beautiful warm pre-spring days!!!
Love and blessings!-
Angela :)
It was 70 degrees this afternoon and the kids and I had a FABULOUS time playing outside. Gideon lacks shoes. oops. I hardly ever put them on my kids till they start walking well but now that we are going to be outside more I need to get him a pair. The pair I got him a few months ago are too small. Anyone need ADORABLE baby loafer type shoes in size 3?
The good news was that it was warm enough for him to go in his sock feet in the morning and barefoot this afternoon. We spent the day climbing trees, swinging, sliding, running briefly in the woods, and hiding (and telling stories) in the wheat grass that is in our fields. (that is taller than Thomas in many places) That was really fun. It was like being hidden from sight and still being able to look up at the gorgeous blue sky God gave us today contrasting with the gorgeous green trees.
The good thing (not the only good thing, a good thing) about Georgia is that spring comes before the calendar says it's supposed to. Growing up in northern Ohio spring comes, maybe, in May or sometimes June. Okay it comes before that but it's not really WARM or anything. Here we are in the 60s in March and sometimes the 80s, but definitely the 70s, in April. I LOVE IT!! Winter is so loooong in Ohio. It's so short here. Granted I do miss being able to go sledding and build snowmen but seeing the daffodils bloom last week reminded me why I love this state!! The warm fresh air reminds me of summers of my childhood. It's funny how smells can take me back to memories so quickly. One whiff of the air today and immediately I thought of my family grilling steaks in the summer while Jay (my brother) and I played football or Frisbee in the yard. (usually we grilled hamburgers but I loved when we did steaks)
We had steak for dinner tonight (of course) and i got to play Frisbee with the kids plus the little escapade in the wheat grass.
It's funny though. Even though I have lots of fun with my kids every spring (hiking, walks, etc) the first whiff of spring air belongs to my past...a little town in Ohio where the yard was filled with kids playing football and my dad was tinkering with cars in the garage, where mom and I made salads after we went uptown to the small butcher's store to buy fresh meat for dinner, and where the sun set while we were running barefoot through the grass or the field next door (and my mom telling me to put shoes on because I might step on a bee- by the way- I STILL don't wear shoes anytime I can help it and I have only stepped on 2-3 bees in my entire life)
Thank-you God for good memories and wonderful smells and beautiful warm pre-spring days!!!
Love and blessings!-
Angela :)
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Mostly Normal Days
Well, as normal as you get with three young boys. It's constantly hoppin' over here.
I've been trying to catch up on laundry lately. These last couple months have been so physically draining that I'm actually behind on housework. I know some of you just went into cardiac arrest...but it's true. It all started in December when we all had the stomach flu and the laundry alone was CRAZY; not to mention all the carpet cleaning we did. (I think we steam cleaned at least twice, plus all the scrubbing I did for the small vomiting Gideon did everywhere.) Then we got about 1-2 weeks rest and the whole pink eye NIGHTMARE started. About 5-6 weeks later it's finally gone and all my extra energy went with it. The laundry, the meds, the stress, etc. drained me good. (not to mention that I haven't really slept through the night more than 12 weeks in the last 5 years) Judah still wakes up every night. He is much more polite and less needy these days (he just crawls into our bed or lays on our floor in my sleeping bag) but I still know, most of the time, when he comes down. Gideon still doesn't sleep through the night but that's something that will just have to happen naturally because Michael can't go without sleep right now. (or mostly ever really)
So, everything hitting at once just drained me. I would most appreciate prayers for strength and patience because most of you moms know we're not at our best when we're tired. I don't want to get too lazy and have to work harder at training later but I just can't give 100 percent right now.
On a lighter note we did some simple beginning addition at "school" today and Judah really enjoyed it. He wants to do more later. We also are working on their verse for Cubbies tonight.
Michael got up at 3:30am this morning to get some office work done. INSANE, but he couldn't squeeze it in anywhere else. When he's training someone the hours are LONG and then the paperwork and phone calls can't all get done in the evenings.
Well, I need to go. Laundry and kids are calling my name.
BLESSINGS!_ Angela :)
I've been trying to catch up on laundry lately. These last couple months have been so physically draining that I'm actually behind on housework. I know some of you just went into cardiac arrest...but it's true. It all started in December when we all had the stomach flu and the laundry alone was CRAZY; not to mention all the carpet cleaning we did. (I think we steam cleaned at least twice, plus all the scrubbing I did for the small vomiting Gideon did everywhere.) Then we got about 1-2 weeks rest and the whole pink eye NIGHTMARE started. About 5-6 weeks later it's finally gone and all my extra energy went with it. The laundry, the meds, the stress, etc. drained me good. (not to mention that I haven't really slept through the night more than 12 weeks in the last 5 years) Judah still wakes up every night. He is much more polite and less needy these days (he just crawls into our bed or lays on our floor in my sleeping bag) but I still know, most of the time, when he comes down. Gideon still doesn't sleep through the night but that's something that will just have to happen naturally because Michael can't go without sleep right now. (or mostly ever really)
So, everything hitting at once just drained me. I would most appreciate prayers for strength and patience because most of you moms know we're not at our best when we're tired. I don't want to get too lazy and have to work harder at training later but I just can't give 100 percent right now.
On a lighter note we did some simple beginning addition at "school" today and Judah really enjoyed it. He wants to do more later. We also are working on their verse for Cubbies tonight.
Michael got up at 3:30am this morning to get some office work done. INSANE, but he couldn't squeeze it in anywhere else. When he's training someone the hours are LONG and then the paperwork and phone calls can't all get done in the evenings.
Well, I need to go. Laundry and kids are calling my name.
BLESSINGS!_ Angela :)
Monday, February 19, 2007
Happy Birthday Judah!!
Well, You'll have to withstand a little reminiscing because I can't believe that the little screaming bundle we brought home from the hospital last week is FIVE years old today! Even though he had terrible colic for months I was so in love with him. When he came up out of the water (we did a water birth) his skin was so dark and his hair was so dark. Michael turned to me a few minutes later and said, "where'd we get the Mexican baby?" I love being a mommy. sigh-
anyway, no time for reminiscing because I have to get this post done and then get our day started. We did Judah's party yesterday. Peter came over after church and hung out with us till late afternoon. We picked up pizzza and we ate lunch first. Then we did the cake.
In our house the cake is done much different than other places. (heeheehee) First of all everyone gets a turn to blow out the candles. This comes from having boys so close together. So Judah went first, then Thomas, and then even Peter wanted to. Judah got one last turn before we took the melted wax, I mean candles, out of the cake. The second thing that is vastly different at our house is, that we cut each piece of birthday cake exactly where the person wants it. You should have seen the look on Peter's face when he was asked which piece he wanted. I guess he expected me to just cut the next piece over for him.
We opened up presents after that. Before they started the presents Judah told Peter that he wanted to share 2 presents with him. I was touched and then got nervous because I thought Judah might change his mind once Peter opened them. So, I explained to Judah that it would be GREAT to share like tta with Peter but that no matter what the gift was he couldn't take it back. Judah passed Peter 2 presents.
After gifts they played pin the tail on the donkey. They didn't get the whole no cheating part. LOL Next was a pinata. They had great fun. I, on the other hand, got wacked in the side of the head with the stick we were using and besides a bruise felt sick for several hours after. LOL
The boys spent the rest of the afternoon playing, eating popcorn, and watching one of Judah's new videos. Everyone had a great time.
Today I figured that I would take the boys to the bank (to cash Judah's checks) and then to the store to pick out presents. I'm sure it will be a fun day! MY BABY IS FIVE!!!!
Blessings!- Angela :)
Blessings!- Angela :)
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Friday, February 16, 2007
ATTITUDES
About a month or so ago Thomas was having bad attitudes almost on a daily basis. It was really driving me crazy. My happy, artistic, friendly child was angry, argumentative, "mouthy", and generally just difficult to get along with. It took great patience just to spend a couple of hours with him. During this time I prayed A LOT. I tried to watch the way I spoke to him (not that I always did that perfectly. I tend to be a bit sarcastic), discipline as needed ( and that was needed a lot), try to get him to speak in a respectful voice, etc. (most of the time through clenched teeth)
Well, one day I had just had enough. I said, (with a very loud voice) "THOMAS! I'm going to take your bad attitude -and THROW IT AWAY!" I proceeded to pretend to snatch the bad attitude from his heart and hurled it into the air (figuratively of course). He thought it was so comical he forgot to be angry and argumentative. I was so surprised at what I said (I didn't set out to say that) that I forgot to be frustrated. THis began a new game we have when any of the kids, or I for that matter(ahem), have a bad attitude. We say, "Take your bad attitude and THROW IT AWAY and put on a good attitude!"
Now, right after we started that I was thinking about how this related to what God says in His Word. I want to teach my children the godly way to do things not just a "good" way of doing things that may seem good in the beginning and be conterproductive and cause more heart issues later.
I was asking myself if this was a Biblical response to a bad attitude. Immediately I thought of the "put offs" and "put ons" in the New Testament...
Colossians 3:8&9 -But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds,
Romans 13:12- 12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.
Ephesians 4:22- that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts,
Ephesians 4:24- and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.
Colossians 3:12- Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering
Colossians 3:14- But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.
So, I came to the conclusion that a bad attitude is a part of the "old man" and we should put it off (or take it and throw it away!- as we say in our house) and put on a good attitude and with the good attitude comes love, servanthood, and respect.
I'm glad that God gave me this visual reminder to put things off in my own life and to put on the things He wants me to "wear".
Hope that all of you have a great weekend! Love and Blessings!- Angela :)
Well, one day I had just had enough. I said, (with a very loud voice) "THOMAS! I'm going to take your bad attitude -and THROW IT AWAY!" I proceeded to pretend to snatch the bad attitude from his heart and hurled it into the air (figuratively of course). He thought it was so comical he forgot to be angry and argumentative. I was so surprised at what I said (I didn't set out to say that) that I forgot to be frustrated. THis began a new game we have when any of the kids, or I for that matter(ahem), have a bad attitude. We say, "Take your bad attitude and THROW IT AWAY and put on a good attitude!"
Now, right after we started that I was thinking about how this related to what God says in His Word. I want to teach my children the godly way to do things not just a "good" way of doing things that may seem good in the beginning and be conterproductive and cause more heart issues later.
I was asking myself if this was a Biblical response to a bad attitude. Immediately I thought of the "put offs" and "put ons" in the New Testament...
Colossians 3:8&9 -But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds,
Romans 13:12- 12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.
Ephesians 4:22- that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts,
Ephesians 4:24- and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.
Colossians 3:12- Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering
Colossians 3:14- But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.
So, I came to the conclusion that a bad attitude is a part of the "old man" and we should put it off (or take it and throw it away!- as we say in our house) and put on a good attitude and with the good attitude comes love, servanthood, and respect.
I'm glad that God gave me this visual reminder to put things off in my own life and to put on the things He wants me to "wear".
Hope that all of you have a great weekend! Love and Blessings!- Angela :)
Kids Say The FUNNIEST Things
I always enjoy reading my friend Tonya's posts over at The Kissack Chronicles because she puts down the funny things her kids do or say and I end up laughing for days.
These are some of my kids latest things...
We were lying in our bed with Judah and Thomas the other night. They were supposed to be going to sleep but they were wiggling around. Judah kept turning over. We told them to lay still. A few seconds later Thomas sat up and we told him to lay down. Then we asked him what was wrong and he said, "everyone is trying to bother me." well son, not everyone....
Where does he get the dramatics from? Anyone care to take a stab at it???
This morning I woke up to a sweet child saying, "Mom I pooped and there's poop on my shirt." A groggily opened my eyes and sat up. I looked at him and said something like, "you know, this just makes me want to go back to bed and not get up." I did get up, of course, and got my glasses. He was still standing in the living room where I told him to be still till I got back. I was getting the baby wipes when he said, "I just don't know what's going on with me today." I burst out laughing. It was too funny.
Judah said something profound the other day. He was taking care of his stuffed animals and apparently the monkey hit the frog, or something like that. Anyway, I said, "what are you doing?" and he said "Monkey hit the frog. I need to spank monkey so that he can be kind."
I think he may be getting the point finally. A wise friend of mine told me, years ago when we had Judah, that children may want to be good but you have to discipline the flesh and get the will to submit before you can see all the sweetness that they wanted to show all along. It reminded me of that when Judah said he had to spank him so he "could be" kind. Interesting.
Anyway, I will probably write more later. Right now I need to go hold a cranky baby whose snot is flowing...
BLESSINGS!- Angela :)
These are some of my kids latest things...
We were lying in our bed with Judah and Thomas the other night. They were supposed to be going to sleep but they were wiggling around. Judah kept turning over. We told them to lay still. A few seconds later Thomas sat up and we told him to lay down. Then we asked him what was wrong and he said, "everyone is trying to bother me." well son, not everyone....
Where does he get the dramatics from? Anyone care to take a stab at it???
This morning I woke up to a sweet child saying, "Mom I pooped and there's poop on my shirt." A groggily opened my eyes and sat up. I looked at him and said something like, "you know, this just makes me want to go back to bed and not get up." I did get up, of course, and got my glasses. He was still standing in the living room where I told him to be still till I got back. I was getting the baby wipes when he said, "I just don't know what's going on with me today." I burst out laughing. It was too funny.
Judah said something profound the other day. He was taking care of his stuffed animals and apparently the monkey hit the frog, or something like that. Anyway, I said, "what are you doing?" and he said "Monkey hit the frog. I need to spank monkey so that he can be kind."
I think he may be getting the point finally. A wise friend of mine told me, years ago when we had Judah, that children may want to be good but you have to discipline the flesh and get the will to submit before you can see all the sweetness that they wanted to show all along. It reminded me of that when Judah said he had to spank him so he "could be" kind. Interesting.
Anyway, I will probably write more later. Right now I need to go hold a cranky baby whose snot is flowing...
BLESSINGS!- Angela :)
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Happy Valentine's Day
Well, yesterday something interesting happened to me. I would like for everyone to keep in mind that I'm using satire here. I am serious but in using satire you make a MUCH BIGGER deal out of something to make it funny.
I was going through the checkout line at a local store yesterday when the checkout lady wished me a Happy Valentine's Day.
I almost laughed. Thank goodness my brain is in slo-mo these days or I might have said, "what?"
I mean, I thought it was a day for people who love each other to show they care. The fact that we even NEED a HOLIDAY for this is pitiful in itself. Does my husband NEED a day set aside to show me that he loves me? No, he can do that any day.
Birthdays (including Christ's birthday) are different. They are a day, set aside, to honor and celebrate someone's existence. I thought Valentine's Day was set aside for lovers or family members (because growing up my mom and dad gave me and my brother candy on V-Day) to celebrate their significant others. I am NOT the check out lady's valentine. I am solely the valentine of Michael J. Lorraine. ok, ok, and my kids....
Now I know some of you are thinking...."WHAT?!- She was just being NICE to you." I know she was. I didn't make fun of her or glare at her. I just found it rather odd that a total stranger would say, "Happy Valentine's Day" to me.
I mean, wasn't she worried that it might OFFEND me? What if I didn't choose to celebrate that holiday? What if I had just lost my husband? What if I was one of the ANTI-Valentine's Day people?
Isn't that what we do at Christmas? We say "Happy Holidays" in case the person doesn't celebrate it, doesn't believe in God, or hates Christmas. We don't want to OFFEND anyone, right? So, I say what's good for Christmas is good for Valentine's Day. The next time a total stranger wishes me a Happy Valentine's Day I'm going to smile sweetly and respond, "Happy Holidays".
Maybe one day it will sink in that we should focus on the people showing kindness part and less on the part that offends us. Anyway, Happy Valentine's Day! Merry Christmas!- oh and babe you'd better have bought me some chocolate and flowers because, after all, it IS Valentine's Day!!
-Angela :)
I was going through the checkout line at a local store yesterday when the checkout lady wished me a Happy Valentine's Day.
I almost laughed. Thank goodness my brain is in slo-mo these days or I might have said, "what?"
I mean, I thought it was a day for people who love each other to show they care. The fact that we even NEED a HOLIDAY for this is pitiful in itself. Does my husband NEED a day set aside to show me that he loves me? No, he can do that any day.
Birthdays (including Christ's birthday) are different. They are a day, set aside, to honor and celebrate someone's existence. I thought Valentine's Day was set aside for lovers or family members (because growing up my mom and dad gave me and my brother candy on V-Day) to celebrate their significant others. I am NOT the check out lady's valentine. I am solely the valentine of Michael J. Lorraine. ok, ok, and my kids....
Now I know some of you are thinking...."WHAT?!- She was just being NICE to you." I know she was. I didn't make fun of her or glare at her. I just found it rather odd that a total stranger would say, "Happy Valentine's Day" to me.
I mean, wasn't she worried that it might OFFEND me? What if I didn't choose to celebrate that holiday? What if I had just lost my husband? What if I was one of the ANTI-Valentine's Day people?
Isn't that what we do at Christmas? We say "Happy Holidays" in case the person doesn't celebrate it, doesn't believe in God, or hates Christmas. We don't want to OFFEND anyone, right? So, I say what's good for Christmas is good for Valentine's Day. The next time a total stranger wishes me a Happy Valentine's Day I'm going to smile sweetly and respond, "Happy Holidays".
Maybe one day it will sink in that we should focus on the people showing kindness part and less on the part that offends us. Anyway, Happy Valentine's Day! Merry Christmas!- oh and babe you'd better have bought me some chocolate and flowers because, after all, it IS Valentine's Day!!
-Angela :)
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
100 hits!
I just realized that we have now gotten over 1oo hits in the last few weeks. While I assume that means people are reading and not just landing here by mistake I can't be sure because not very many people leave comments.
Defeinitely feel free to leave comments if you want to. To quote one of my friends on her blog re:comments "It lets me know that I'm not just talking to myself."
Of course, if you have no time to comment or nothing to say feel free to come back and enjoy it anyway. It's really for those who want to stay in touch better, so....have fun!!
Blessings!!- ADL
Defeinitely feel free to leave comments if you want to. To quote one of my friends on her blog re:comments "It lets me know that I'm not just talking to myself."
Of course, if you have no time to comment or nothing to say feel free to come back and enjoy it anyway. It's really for those who want to stay in touch better, so....have fun!!
Blessings!!- ADL
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Sorry Andie
I told Andrea, A good friend who reads my blog daily, that this story would be on here tonight but since it's so late she probably won't get to read it till tomorrow; hence, the title of this entry...
Anyway, I have a funny story.
We started going to our current church sometime in October of last year. I didn't get involved in any ministry things there, including choir, because Michael has wanted me to concentrate on being a wife and mother for the last few years.
On Sunday I decided to ask the worship leader, Chris, if he had a revolving list of people for special music on Sundays and, if so, could I somehow get my name on the list. (Keep in mind that he's never heard me sing.) So, I approach him right before the second service and ask him. He says, "I do have a list", then slightly pauses and says, "Is that something you like to do?" He looks a little nervous but covers quite well with that question and it's all I can do not to burst out laughing. Being a musician myself I KNEW that what he really wanted to know was if I could sing. LOL (laugh out loud) I immediately put him at ease by saying, "yes, (it is something I like to do) and I have led worship in several churches." I noticed the immediate relief in his eyes and body language. He didn't have a pen to write down my name and he had to go lead worship for the service so he told me to call him on Monday and leave him a message. I ended up talking to him in person on Monday and we laughed together when I asked him if indeed he wanted to ask me if I knew how to sing. I asked him if he had people "audition" for him and he said sometimes but since I had led worship in other churches he would skip that step. Michael was joking with me later that he was going to go to Chris and tell him, "you'd better hear my wife sing before you let her do special music. We've been kicked out of churches because of the way she sings." LOL - Michael's such a hoot!!
This may be one of those stories where you "had to be there" but I thought it was pretty funny. Blessings!- Angela :)
Anyway, I have a funny story.
We started going to our current church sometime in October of last year. I didn't get involved in any ministry things there, including choir, because Michael has wanted me to concentrate on being a wife and mother for the last few years.
On Sunday I decided to ask the worship leader, Chris, if he had a revolving list of people for special music on Sundays and, if so, could I somehow get my name on the list. (Keep in mind that he's never heard me sing.) So, I approach him right before the second service and ask him. He says, "I do have a list", then slightly pauses and says, "Is that something you like to do?" He looks a little nervous but covers quite well with that question and it's all I can do not to burst out laughing. Being a musician myself I KNEW that what he really wanted to know was if I could sing. LOL (laugh out loud) I immediately put him at ease by saying, "yes, (it is something I like to do) and I have led worship in several churches." I noticed the immediate relief in his eyes and body language. He didn't have a pen to write down my name and he had to go lead worship for the service so he told me to call him on Monday and leave him a message. I ended up talking to him in person on Monday and we laughed together when I asked him if indeed he wanted to ask me if I knew how to sing. I asked him if he had people "audition" for him and he said sometimes but since I had led worship in other churches he would skip that step. Michael was joking with me later that he was going to go to Chris and tell him, "you'd better hear my wife sing before you let her do special music. We've been kicked out of churches because of the way she sings." LOL - Michael's such a hoot!!
This may be one of those stories where you "had to be there" but I thought it was pretty funny. Blessings!- Angela :)
Monday, February 12, 2007
It's Baaaaaaack!!!!
Please pray!!! The pink-eye is back in the house. Thomas' right eye looked a little red yesterday but I thought that I was being paranoid because of the weeks long ordeal. However, this morning it definitely looked worse. AAUUGGHHH The laundry and eye treatments have begun again. This time I'm NOT using antibiotics!!!! We have been through 2 rounds and they haven't done the job so far. So, this time I am using a saltwater home remedy that comes HIGHLY recommended.
So far his eye looks better than this morning. It HAS to be better by this weekend because we are doing Judah's birthday celebration on Sunday afternoon. His actual birthday is Monday the 19th but Monday is Michael's busiest day so we are having his "party" on Sunday after church. The funny thing is that it won't be a really big party. I told him that he could have a big birthday party if he wanted to and invite the kids from his Awana class and Sunday school but (true to form) he said no. He just wanted it to be our family. (He always says that) Then he changed his mind and said that he did want a party. I was excited that he was making friends and I asked him who he wanted to invite. He said, "Peter". Peter is one of the kids in his class. I said, "who else would you like to invite? You'll have to point them out to me on Wednesday night." He replied, "Nobody else. Just Peter." So we invited "just Peter" who is actually a REALLY sweet, outgoing, cool kid. I like him a lot and I'm glad that Judah made friends with him. Judah will probably be one of those kids who has only a few friends but they are very close. Thomas will probably be the opposite. He is very happy when surrounded by MANY kids and interacting. Judah is kind of a loner so I'm really glad that he has made a friend. It took him almost 5 years to do so. :) :)
Anyway, we're getting a Diego cake from Walmart. Judah saw one on display and wanted it. This will be the first year I didn't bake his cake. I'm kind of sad but it's what he wants and it is, after all, HIS birthday! I also want to get a pinata. I have been waiting till the boys were old enough for one!!! We'll have to fill it just a little though because NO WAY am I filling it with enough candy to last my kids for days. Candy is a VERY special treat that happens a few times a year. Those of you who know my kids understand why. LOL LOL
Well I'd better sign off for now. Hope that everyone is having a good day! Blessings!!- Angela :)
So far his eye looks better than this morning. It HAS to be better by this weekend because we are doing Judah's birthday celebration on Sunday afternoon. His actual birthday is Monday the 19th but Monday is Michael's busiest day so we are having his "party" on Sunday after church. The funny thing is that it won't be a really big party. I told him that he could have a big birthday party if he wanted to and invite the kids from his Awana class and Sunday school but (true to form) he said no. He just wanted it to be our family. (He always says that) Then he changed his mind and said that he did want a party. I was excited that he was making friends and I asked him who he wanted to invite. He said, "Peter". Peter is one of the kids in his class. I said, "who else would you like to invite? You'll have to point them out to me on Wednesday night." He replied, "Nobody else. Just Peter." So we invited "just Peter" who is actually a REALLY sweet, outgoing, cool kid. I like him a lot and I'm glad that Judah made friends with him. Judah will probably be one of those kids who has only a few friends but they are very close. Thomas will probably be the opposite. He is very happy when surrounded by MANY kids and interacting. Judah is kind of a loner so I'm really glad that he has made a friend. It took him almost 5 years to do so. :) :)
Anyway, we're getting a Diego cake from Walmart. Judah saw one on display and wanted it. This will be the first year I didn't bake his cake. I'm kind of sad but it's what he wants and it is, after all, HIS birthday! I also want to get a pinata. I have been waiting till the boys were old enough for one!!! We'll have to fill it just a little though because NO WAY am I filling it with enough candy to last my kids for days. Candy is a VERY special treat that happens a few times a year. Those of you who know my kids understand why. LOL LOL
Well I'd better sign off for now. Hope that everyone is having a good day! Blessings!!- Angela :)
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Gratefulness List
Ther are so many things that I am grateful for and I thought I'd list a "few"of them for you...
I"m so grateful that I have a God Who cared enough to die in my place
I'm so glad that I have parents who love me and want to be in my life
I'm so glad that I have a husband who loves us and works hard to provide not only food and shelter for us but fun and encouragement too.
I'm so glad that my Mom and Grandma blessed me with a rich heritage in Jesus
I"m glad that my Dad was a great example of a giving, generous, guy who would do anything for a friend and who also taught me to wokr hard and finish what I start.
I'm SO glad to have 3 precious, special boys.
I'm so glad that, even though I make lots of mistakes, my boys still love me. (as Judah says "mom I very much love you!")
I'm so glad to be in a church where my husband and boys are thriving, and where there is MUCH emphasis on prayer.
I'm grateful to live in such a big house with lots and lots of land.
I'm grateful that I have enough land to do a nice sized garden with the boys this summer.
I"m grateful for the people that have spoken into my life over the years, especially the ones who don't know they touched me.
I'm grateful that God saw fit to give me a voice to sing His praise, a way with music, and the ability to play the piano, guitar, and trumpet.
I'm grateful that even when I'm feeling low God always show me that there is still a reason for me to be on this earth.
I'm grateful for those of you who are reading this blog because it shows you care about what's going on in our live as a family.
MANY BLESSINGS and love, Angela and "boys"
I"m so grateful that I have a God Who cared enough to die in my place
I'm so glad that I have parents who love me and want to be in my life
I'm so glad that I have a husband who loves us and works hard to provide not only food and shelter for us but fun and encouragement too.
I'm so glad that my Mom and Grandma blessed me with a rich heritage in Jesus
I"m glad that my Dad was a great example of a giving, generous, guy who would do anything for a friend and who also taught me to wokr hard and finish what I start.
I'm SO glad to have 3 precious, special boys.
I'm so glad that, even though I make lots of mistakes, my boys still love me. (as Judah says "mom I very much love you!")
I'm so glad to be in a church where my husband and boys are thriving, and where there is MUCH emphasis on prayer.
I'm grateful to live in such a big house with lots and lots of land.
I'm grateful that I have enough land to do a nice sized garden with the boys this summer.
I"m grateful for the people that have spoken into my life over the years, especially the ones who don't know they touched me.
I'm grateful that God saw fit to give me a voice to sing His praise, a way with music, and the ability to play the piano, guitar, and trumpet.
I'm grateful that even when I'm feeling low God always show me that there is still a reason for me to be on this earth.
I'm grateful for those of you who are reading this blog because it shows you care about what's going on in our live as a family.
MANY BLESSINGS and love, Angela and "boys"
Saturday, February 10, 2007
HOT GLUE
Normally I am not referred to as a "crafty" person (who who enjoys and does crafts ). Of late I seem ot be developing an interest in some crafts. I love watching my boys do crafts for school. They really enjoy them, especially artistic boy (Thomas).
Being that I am not into crafts I have never owned a hot glue gun until 2 Christmases ago when I bought one for the boys and I to do some Christmas presents for relatives. Since that time I haven't used it. I didn't throw it away when we moved because I figured that it might come in handy one day....
Let me just say, "HOT GLUE ROCKS!!!!" I love my hot glue gun. It has helped me repair 3 thing in the last month that I would have had to throw away. Gideon's crib screws were stripped on one side. Now the only thing that will ever come apart is everything BUT the screws. I also glued a coffee table back together a couple of weeks ago that the bottom had fallen out of. (because someone tried to squeeze themself into it) and yesterday I glued the attachment holder back on the vacuum cleaner. That was essential because Michael HATES to repair stuff. He has SO MUCH to do that he doesn't ever have time to fix anything. The vaccum got knocked over and the attachment holder broke off. A little hot glue and pressure later..."It's not goin' anywhere!!"
I think this stuff may have replaced duct tape in my favorite household item. LOL
I'm going to go enjoy the weekend with my wonderful family!!
BLESSINGS!-ADL
Being that I am not into crafts I have never owned a hot glue gun until 2 Christmases ago when I bought one for the boys and I to do some Christmas presents for relatives. Since that time I haven't used it. I didn't throw it away when we moved because I figured that it might come in handy one day....
Let me just say, "HOT GLUE ROCKS!!!!" I love my hot glue gun. It has helped me repair 3 thing in the last month that I would have had to throw away. Gideon's crib screws were stripped on one side. Now the only thing that will ever come apart is everything BUT the screws. I also glued a coffee table back together a couple of weeks ago that the bottom had fallen out of. (because someone tried to squeeze themself into it) and yesterday I glued the attachment holder back on the vacuum cleaner. That was essential because Michael HATES to repair stuff. He has SO MUCH to do that he doesn't ever have time to fix anything. The vaccum got knocked over and the attachment holder broke off. A little hot glue and pressure later..."It's not goin' anywhere!!"
I think this stuff may have replaced duct tape in my favorite household item. LOL
I'm going to go enjoy the weekend with my wonderful family!!
BLESSINGS!-ADL
Friday, February 9, 2007
Judah-isms and Thomas-isms
Judah is so funny! He cracks me up repeatedly throughout the day.
Yesterday we were sitting at the computer working on his fish game together and he said something about getting bigger.
I said, "You are getting bigger. You're not my little boy any longer."
He said, "No, I'm a BIG boy."
I said something like, "i know you are."
Then he said, "I'm going to grow up and be your Mommy."
heeheehee-
Last Sunday Thomas and I were in the bathroom at Taco Bell and another lady came in and occupied the stall next to us. Thomas is the WORST about blurting out absolutely anything in a bathroom. I've had to shush him most every time. He is just so curious. ( "what's THAT noise Mama? What is she doing?" ) Anyway, he stopped listening to the lady next door and proceeded to explain how he was going to grow up to be a girl. I told him that God made him a boy and that our sexes don't change as we grow up. We are what we are. He was very insistent though that he was going to grow up and be a girl. I was trying to hurry before the lady next to us thought we were crazy and/or liberal. LOL
Gideon's new pasttime is running over and straddling your belly when you are lying on the floor. He toddle/runs over and plops down on you (like he's sitting in a saddle) then he rins, drools, and sometimes squeals. He did it to Judah earlier and Judah got a kick out of it. They had this little game going and Judah looked over at me and said, "Gideon thinks I'm a cool brother."
yes he does. He loves both his brothers VERY much.
We praise God for our PRECIOUS boys!!
BLESSINGS!- ADL
Yesterday we were sitting at the computer working on his fish game together and he said something about getting bigger.
I said, "You are getting bigger. You're not my little boy any longer."
He said, "No, I'm a BIG boy."
I said something like, "i know you are."
Then he said, "I'm going to grow up and be your Mommy."
heeheehee-
Last Sunday Thomas and I were in the bathroom at Taco Bell and another lady came in and occupied the stall next to us. Thomas is the WORST about blurting out absolutely anything in a bathroom. I've had to shush him most every time. He is just so curious. ( "what's THAT noise Mama? What is she doing?" ) Anyway, he stopped listening to the lady next door and proceeded to explain how he was going to grow up to be a girl. I told him that God made him a boy and that our sexes don't change as we grow up. We are what we are. He was very insistent though that he was going to grow up and be a girl. I was trying to hurry before the lady next to us thought we were crazy and/or liberal. LOL
Gideon's new pasttime is running over and straddling your belly when you are lying on the floor. He toddle/runs over and plops down on you (like he's sitting in a saddle) then he rins, drools, and sometimes squeals. He did it to Judah earlier and Judah got a kick out of it. They had this little game going and Judah looked over at me and said, "Gideon thinks I'm a cool brother."
yes he does. He loves both his brothers VERY much.
We praise God for our PRECIOUS boys!!
BLESSINGS!- ADL
Thursday, February 8, 2007
Attitude and Perspective
Some (many) days attitude and perspective is EVERYTHING!! I don't mean that it takes the place of prayer or encouragment from the Word or friends but it does help us defeat the enemy as he tries to sway our minds into negative thinking. None of this is new to most of you. I was just thinking about it in relation to how my day has gone so far.
It started much too early (of course- LOL) with a precious baby and 2 preschoolers waking me up. Judah took Gid into the kitchen with him and I went back to sleep-very briefly. I was awakened yet again to Thomas not long after I shut my eyes. Most of you are probably wondering why I even bother to go back to sleep and be awakened every few minutes like a snooze alarm. Well, it's not that I mean to but I just can't wake up. My body is past the point of being able to run on empty. I have only slept all the way through the night about 8 weeks in the last 5 years. It's taking it's toll on me. I try desperately not to drink coffee because I don't want to rely on chemicals to wake me up so I just stay in bed until my eyes open on their own or the kids are crying for breakfast (which they usually want sometime between 6:30 and 7:15 am. ). Every once in a while I let them get ther own cereal but usually I'm not willing to clean up a mess upon awakening.
ANYWAY (long rabbit trail) I was finally awakened to an adorable 13 month old saying "Mama!" and flinging himself down on me and kissing my face. He hardley EVER kisses. I can count on 2 hands the number of times he's kissed anyone in his LIFE. He likes to hug and he likes to get kisses but he doesn't kiss back. So, needless to say, my eyes popped open in surprise and I proceeded to shower him with hugs and kisses.
The day went downhill from there basically. I just kept getting landslided with things to clean up and I tried to get a nap with the boys watching a video but they woke me up so many times I just gave up. (they weren't trying to wake me up but they are young and forget to be quiet) School was difficult because I was so tired and during school Gideon went on a rampage and got into one thing after another! I finally put him in his high chair and gave him some goldfish crackers to keep him mostly quiet. We finished school and did an early lunch. My body still isn't quite awake and it's about 1:02 pm. I guess I will have to go for the coffee.
As I was sweeping the kitchen floor a little bit ago (for the second time in 10 minutes) I was again reflecting on the fruits of the spirit and thinking about self control. God EXPECTS me to control my flesh even in the trying times. I was feeling like I was hopelessly failing in that regard today and then I had an encouraging thought... Those of us who have the Holy Spirit living inside of us have all that we need to overcome. He wouldn't have told me to have self control if it was not possible! I just have to give myself to Him afresh during the trying times and He will help me master the feelings and temptations. I definitely can't do it on my own in my flesh- that's why it's a "fruit of the spirit" and not a "fruit of the flesh". Some people can have mega self control in the flesh but eventually everyone will come to the end of themselves. I really do need Jesus, not just in theory but in practical everyday life.
I was also thinking as I was sweeping that this was a HORRIBLE day but just as I was about to finish the word horrible another word took it's place in my mind...the word challenging. This is how it went for those of you who are visual...This has been a HOR-CHALLENGING day. Immediately (not kidding) my feeelings seemed to "cowboy up". I am a person who LOVES challenges. I enjoy conquering things. The harder it is the sweeter the victory. So when God inserted the word challenge for me it completely changed my perspective. I had already prayed and asked Him for help earlier. thinking about my day as a challenge helped me to go from frustration, exhaustion, and defeat to a "perking up" in my spirit and body, a goal, and a HOPE. I reminded myself that He's given me everything I need to complete the challenge of this day. I refuse to let the enemy win battles today that start in my mind and with my attitude. Thank you Lord that you have made me MORE than a conquerer- and if you please Lord could the rest of the day be a little less challenging.
Thank-you!- ADL
It started much too early (of course- LOL) with a precious baby and 2 preschoolers waking me up. Judah took Gid into the kitchen with him and I went back to sleep-very briefly. I was awakened yet again to Thomas not long after I shut my eyes. Most of you are probably wondering why I even bother to go back to sleep and be awakened every few minutes like a snooze alarm. Well, it's not that I mean to but I just can't wake up. My body is past the point of being able to run on empty. I have only slept all the way through the night about 8 weeks in the last 5 years. It's taking it's toll on me. I try desperately not to drink coffee because I don't want to rely on chemicals to wake me up so I just stay in bed until my eyes open on their own or the kids are crying for breakfast (which they usually want sometime between 6:30 and 7:15 am. ). Every once in a while I let them get ther own cereal but usually I'm not willing to clean up a mess upon awakening.
ANYWAY (long rabbit trail) I was finally awakened to an adorable 13 month old saying "Mama!" and flinging himself down on me and kissing my face. He hardley EVER kisses. I can count on 2 hands the number of times he's kissed anyone in his LIFE. He likes to hug and he likes to get kisses but he doesn't kiss back. So, needless to say, my eyes popped open in surprise and I proceeded to shower him with hugs and kisses.
The day went downhill from there basically. I just kept getting landslided with things to clean up and I tried to get a nap with the boys watching a video but they woke me up so many times I just gave up. (they weren't trying to wake me up but they are young and forget to be quiet) School was difficult because I was so tired and during school Gideon went on a rampage and got into one thing after another! I finally put him in his high chair and gave him some goldfish crackers to keep him mostly quiet. We finished school and did an early lunch. My body still isn't quite awake and it's about 1:02 pm. I guess I will have to go for the coffee.
As I was sweeping the kitchen floor a little bit ago (for the second time in 10 minutes) I was again reflecting on the fruits of the spirit and thinking about self control. God EXPECTS me to control my flesh even in the trying times. I was feeling like I was hopelessly failing in that regard today and then I had an encouraging thought... Those of us who have the Holy Spirit living inside of us have all that we need to overcome. He wouldn't have told me to have self control if it was not possible! I just have to give myself to Him afresh during the trying times and He will help me master the feelings and temptations. I definitely can't do it on my own in my flesh- that's why it's a "fruit of the spirit" and not a "fruit of the flesh". Some people can have mega self control in the flesh but eventually everyone will come to the end of themselves. I really do need Jesus, not just in theory but in practical everyday life.
I was also thinking as I was sweeping that this was a HORRIBLE day but just as I was about to finish the word horrible another word took it's place in my mind...the word challenging. This is how it went for those of you who are visual...This has been a HOR-CHALLENGING day. Immediately (not kidding) my feeelings seemed to "cowboy up". I am a person who LOVES challenges. I enjoy conquering things. The harder it is the sweeter the victory. So when God inserted the word challenge for me it completely changed my perspective. I had already prayed and asked Him for help earlier. thinking about my day as a challenge helped me to go from frustration, exhaustion, and defeat to a "perking up" in my spirit and body, a goal, and a HOPE. I reminded myself that He's given me everything I need to complete the challenge of this day. I refuse to let the enemy win battles today that start in my mind and with my attitude. Thank you Lord that you have made me MORE than a conquerer- and if you please Lord could the rest of the day be a little less challenging.
Thank-you!- ADL
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
What a day!
I was awakened much too early by a happy baby. I was relieved that his squealing also woke up Judah who amused him while I napped in the living room for a while. At some point Thomas got up too and kept alternating between playing and snuggling with me on the Foof chair. Judah was busy with his computer game. It's called Fish Tycoon. It's a "real time" game which means that the fish get hungry and grow while you're not playing. This can be a problem if you are forgetful which is certainly not the case with Judah. He's almost obsessed with this game. It's actually a great game. It teaches good life skills. You own a fish store and you breed fish and make money. You are supposed to discover the 7 "magic" fish but we just tell them that they are the 7 special fish since we don't endorse magic in this house. (not the scorcery kind anyway) Anyway, you have to strategize so you can buy more expensive tanks that can hold more fragile hybrids. It's also fun to see what different hybrids you can come up with in the game. I have already won the game and Judah was REALLY fascinated with how many "COOL" fish you can get once you get the most expensive tank. He saved his money up (on the game) and finally got the best tank. He is well on his way to winning. He has discovered 3 of the seven special fish ALL by himself!! Amazing.
Anyway after offering him some helpful suggestions we ate breakfast and exercised. Then Gideon took a nap and the boys sat on the couch reading books while I cleaned the bathrooms and showered. It sounds like such a smooth morning doesn't it. HAH! What I'm leaving out (besides all the correcting and training) are things like: Gideon pulling a full bowl of oatmeal off the table which caused it to break and make a HUGE mess.
Changing diapers, picking up messes from destructo child, redirecting, redirecting, redirecting, (just during this brief typing I've had to stop about 8 times) pausing during bathroom cleaning because both boys had to go to the bathroom and one needed help. LOL LOL You see why I call this web site a glimpse into our crazy and chaotic world??
It's ok. I really do love being a Mommy and some days (months...years) are busier than others.
After all the chaos it was nice to sit down and do a little school this morning. We just did a craft and a circle paper. I was wondering what to do with all the extra cotton balls we bought during the pinkeye nightmare. Then I realized the boys never got to make real snowmen and, like me, they love snowmen. So, We cut out white circles for the body, an orange triangle for the nose, black circles for the eyes and smile, and brown rectangles for the arms. Also boots. We glued cotton balls to the white circles and assembled all the rest. They turned out really cute and it was a great hands on shape lesson.
Now I guess I'd better run! The boys want me to kiss them goodnight. They are going down for a nap. Gideon is fussing ot get out of his high chair where he has been for 1 1/2 hours. (he had to sit there while we did school. We gave him toys and he was happy to watch) BLESSINGS!-ADL
This is the 3rd day of
Anyway after offering him some helpful suggestions we ate breakfast and exercised. Then Gideon took a nap and the boys sat on the couch reading books while I cleaned the bathrooms and showered. It sounds like such a smooth morning doesn't it. HAH! What I'm leaving out (besides all the correcting and training) are things like: Gideon pulling a full bowl of oatmeal off the table which caused it to break and make a HUGE mess.
Changing diapers, picking up messes from destructo child, redirecting, redirecting, redirecting, (just during this brief typing I've had to stop about 8 times) pausing during bathroom cleaning because both boys had to go to the bathroom and one needed help. LOL LOL You see why I call this web site a glimpse into our crazy and chaotic world??
It's ok. I really do love being a Mommy and some days (months...years) are busier than others.
After all the chaos it was nice to sit down and do a little school this morning. We just did a craft and a circle paper. I was wondering what to do with all the extra cotton balls we bought during the pinkeye nightmare. Then I realized the boys never got to make real snowmen and, like me, they love snowmen. So, We cut out white circles for the body, an orange triangle for the nose, black circles for the eyes and smile, and brown rectangles for the arms. Also boots. We glued cotton balls to the white circles and assembled all the rest. They turned out really cute and it was a great hands on shape lesson.
Now I guess I'd better run! The boys want me to kiss them goodnight. They are going down for a nap. Gideon is fussing ot get out of his high chair where he has been for 1 1/2 hours. (he had to sit there while we did school. We gave him toys and he was happy to watch) BLESSINGS!-ADL
This is the 3rd day of
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
Picture explaination
People have been asking me for recent pics of the kids. These aren't all recent. They were all taken within the last 6 months. Our camera has been out of commission so we couldn't download them to share. Here they are!! Enjoy!
The bike pics and tree pics were taken in the fall.
The rest were taken within the last couple of weeks.
The chocolate face ones were taken a few hours ago!
BLESSINGS!!- ADL
The bike pics and tree pics were taken in the fall.
The rest were taken within the last couple of weeks.
The chocolate face ones were taken a few hours ago!
BLESSINGS!!- ADL
PICTURES PICTURES PICTURES
Taken this fall
fall pic- learning to ride- first day
falling down with a smile!
holding on like a tiger- 2nd day
look at us! We're up high!
I LOVE it up high!
a bit more cautious but still having lots of fun!
When can I climb?
I can see the world from up here!
Judah imitating a sloth (really)
Strike a pose!
Our SILLY crew!
"You've got the CUTEST little baby face!"
"I'm a walkin' man now!" (more like runnin')
enjoying the fireplace!
mesmerized by the fire
enjoying the evening fire in the fireplace
I'm too cute to make this much mess!
messy chocolate face!
Goooooooood Morning mommy!
I was awakened this morning by two boys climbing into bed with me. I was then awakened a few minutes later because they got up to play and I begged them to let me rest a bit longer. Then, about 10-15 minutes later I was awakened yet again by 3 boys. Judah had gotten Gideon out of bed. (for those of you who are freaking out, we didn't like it either at first but Judah is really careful ) He deposited Gideon on my bed and announced. "He wants you Mommy!" Time to nurse. Gideon was GRINNING from ear to ear with his 4 little pearly whites showing. He loves the attention his brothers give him and he also loves knowing that Mommy's nursing station is open for business. They also gave me my glasses and informed to to get up because it was "time for school". They LOVE homeschooling even more than I hoped they would. I did convince them that they should eat first and that I should eat first too. (It took a few minutes to do so.) After breakfast we did some school. They did a matching paper in their workbooks and then we did a craft. We made a number 2 man. The number buddies are a big hit. I got them off the internet.
For those interested here's the site: http://www.dltk-teach.com/numbers/index.html
She has lots of fun things on there for homeschoolers or for parents wanting to supplement their child's education. Or just for learning fun.
While I was cleaning out a closet the boys were supposed to be coloring their last paper. Was that what Thomas was doing? Noooooooo. I smelled the smell of burning plastic. I immediately panicked. (for those of you who know my boys you will understand why) I ran into the kitchen and checked the oven and microwave to see if they had put a crayon in either of those places and turned them on. Nope and both were cold and off. Then Judah said, "mom look what Thomas did." I was frantically trying to find the source of the smell before a fire erupted and burned down our house. (ok now I'm exaggerating a bit but I was nervous) Judah pointed up in our dining room. I looked and saw where the smell was emanating from....the chandelier. Thomas had colored about 5 bulbs with crayon and the heat was melting the crayon and causing the burning smell. WHERE DO THEY GET THIS STUFF??!!! Ok, even I have to laugh at the creativity on that one. I didn't freak out but I did discipline him for it. Not because of what he did but for 2 other reasons. #1- they are not EVER allowed to touch the chandelier- they almost pulled it down one time and it's a HEAVY one. #2- They are not allowed to climb on the dining room table.
Anyway, I removed the bulbs and by the time we got back from our errand in town the smell was gone.
See what I mean about Thomas being the creative one. LOL LOL
Well, I'd better run. Gideon is fussing in his high chair. I'm going to have to scrub him down too because the last time I looked he had smeared the chocolate graham cracker ALL over his hair, face, clothes, and high chair. I'm going to get a pic that I'll post later.
BLESSINGS!!
For those interested here's the site: http://www.dltk-teach.com/numbers/index.html
She has lots of fun things on there for homeschoolers or for parents wanting to supplement their child's education. Or just for learning fun.
While I was cleaning out a closet the boys were supposed to be coloring their last paper. Was that what Thomas was doing? Noooooooo. I smelled the smell of burning plastic. I immediately panicked. (for those of you who know my boys you will understand why) I ran into the kitchen and checked the oven and microwave to see if they had put a crayon in either of those places and turned them on. Nope and both were cold and off. Then Judah said, "mom look what Thomas did." I was frantically trying to find the source of the smell before a fire erupted and burned down our house. (ok now I'm exaggerating a bit but I was nervous) Judah pointed up in our dining room. I looked and saw where the smell was emanating from....the chandelier. Thomas had colored about 5 bulbs with crayon and the heat was melting the crayon and causing the burning smell. WHERE DO THEY GET THIS STUFF??!!! Ok, even I have to laugh at the creativity on that one. I didn't freak out but I did discipline him for it. Not because of what he did but for 2 other reasons. #1- they are not EVER allowed to touch the chandelier- they almost pulled it down one time and it's a HEAVY one. #2- They are not allowed to climb on the dining room table.
Anyway, I removed the bulbs and by the time we got back from our errand in town the smell was gone.
See what I mean about Thomas being the creative one. LOL LOL
Well, I'd better run. Gideon is fussing in his high chair. I'm going to have to scrub him down too because the last time I looked he had smeared the chocolate graham cracker ALL over his hair, face, clothes, and high chair. I'm going to get a pic that I'll post later.
BLESSINGS!!
Monday, February 5, 2007
Quick Quote
I heard this quote a couple of years ago. I can't remember if it was Dobson or somebody else but he was saying to a mother, "if you keep your boys inside all day you DESERVE what they do to your house."
NO KIDDING!- LOL LOL LOL
NO KIDDING!- LOL LOL LOL
Normal Monday
This was a pretty typical Monday for us except that I didn't get as much laundry done as I normally do and we added in a trip to Walmart. We did the normal vacuuming and dusting. The boys do most of the dusting now. Judah especially loves to work so he's a great help. Thomas is still learning. Gideon, not to be outdone, "helped" me vacuum. It was really cute. He hates being left out of anything. He can usually be found chasing down his brothers so he can be included in the fun. Or, he can be found completely demolishing the house. AAUUGGHH!! This child is worse than the others about that. I can pick up in one room and then go to the next one adn he's made a COMPLETE mess of it. Sometimes I stick him in his high chair just to get a break from feeling like I need to clean. I try to let it go but there's a point where injuries can happen. (LOL) Especially when I have 2 oher boys running through the house playing chase. HOW MANY MORE DAYS TILL SUMMER???!!!!! We really need to get out of this house more often. We would only I don't like to take the baby out when it's cold and also I'm a complete WIMP when it come to beingcold. So I don't like standing out in the yard "freezing" as Iwatch the kids play. So, that's why I'm trying to ignore the steady cleanup these days.
We bought some "school supplies" today at Walmart. Glue, scissors, workbooks, comstruction paper. Thomas has major artistic bends. Not towards drawing but towards being really creative in the way he dresses, colors, plays, etc. I want to nurture that gifting as much as possible. Judah LOVES to learn new things. NOTHING is too hard for him if he's determined to do it. EVERYTHING is too hard for Thomas. He's SO DRAMATIC!! I really don't know where he gets it from. Anybody want to take a stab at it? LOL
Well, I must run. Chicken is baking in the oven. The butterbeans are on the stove. The deep fryer (gasp I know I know) is warming up to fry the battered mushrooms, and the boys are happily playing together (HUGE GASP) on the computer. Gideon is running around destroying stuff. It's a good thing he's SO DARN CUTE!!!
Blessings!- ADL
We bought some "school supplies" today at Walmart. Glue, scissors, workbooks, comstruction paper. Thomas has major artistic bends. Not towards drawing but towards being really creative in the way he dresses, colors, plays, etc. I want to nurture that gifting as much as possible. Judah LOVES to learn new things. NOTHING is too hard for him if he's determined to do it. EVERYTHING is too hard for Thomas. He's SO DRAMATIC!! I really don't know where he gets it from. Anybody want to take a stab at it? LOL
Well, I must run. Chicken is baking in the oven. The butterbeans are on the stove. The deep fryer (gasp I know I know) is warming up to fry the battered mushrooms, and the boys are happily playing together (HUGE GASP) on the computer. Gideon is running around destroying stuff. It's a good thing he's SO DARN CUTE!!!
Blessings!- ADL
Saturday, February 3, 2007
Busy, busy, busy
Yesterday was such a crazy day that I didn't get a chance to blog. I had to clean all the bathrooms in the main house (weekly chore and if you're counting that's 5 bathrooms) and then we had to do our food shopping for the month. The boys did pretty good at the store yest. I was somewhat surprised since we were having a challenging day at home. They were great little helpers in the checkout line. They helped unload the cart and then handed me the bags to out back into the cart (I mean carts). Then we went home and I brought in the bags, set them on the kitchen floor and the boys unloaded everything from the bags while I put it away. We have a nice little system going that works quite well. (plus it keeps them from destroying more of the house while I work in the kitchen putting things away) We celebrated selling our house at dinner last night. A bottle of Martinelli's sparkling apple juice, frozen pizzas, breaded mushrooms, and little artichoke parmesean appetizers i found at Walmart while we were shopping. Michael and I didn't get to go out and celebrate like we planned because of the closing date being changed and also because of the pinkeye. (which looks good today so we will finish this round of new and much more expensive antbiotics)
Anyway, after dinner Michael went down to his office to finish some work and I nursed the baby and put him to bed. Then Michael played ROAR with the kids while I cleaned up and then we all played Alphabet Bingo. I had introduced that yesterday during school. IT's great because they can recognize letters and we also go over the sounds. It seems to work for all learning types. Visual can see the letters, audio can hear the letters, and kinestetic can place the penny on top of the correct letters. We also did a little number craft yesterday that was fun. I got it off the internet. We made a little number 1 man. The boys enjoyed that too.
Today is kind of a BLAH day. Michael did let me sleep in LATE> 9:30am. For those of you who think that's still early. It's about 4 hours longer than I normally get; so, to me, it's still a lot. :):):)
Better run. Someone needs me in the bathroom and i need to redirect the other one. BLESSINGS!
Anyway, after dinner Michael went down to his office to finish some work and I nursed the baby and put him to bed. Then Michael played ROAR with the kids while I cleaned up and then we all played Alphabet Bingo. I had introduced that yesterday during school. IT's great because they can recognize letters and we also go over the sounds. It seems to work for all learning types. Visual can see the letters, audio can hear the letters, and kinestetic can place the penny on top of the correct letters. We also did a little number craft yesterday that was fun. I got it off the internet. We made a little number 1 man. The boys enjoyed that too.
Today is kind of a BLAH day. Michael did let me sleep in LATE> 9:30am. For those of you who think that's still early. It's about 4 hours longer than I normally get; so, to me, it's still a lot. :):):)
Better run. Someone needs me in the bathroom and i need to redirect the other one. BLESSINGS!
Thursday, February 1, 2007
A little Comparison
The first picture was taken by my dad in Geneva, Ohio yesterday.
This second picture is not us. I found it on the web but it shows about the same amount of snow as we found in our yard this morning. We may have had 1/2 inch more.
Winter Slushyland
Now I know what it must feel like to walk in a slushy. We are experiencing some winter weather in Georgia today. I know, I know all you Ohioans are guffawing right now but it's our own version of snow. This is what is commonly referred to as wet snow. In fact by 8:00am it had already warmed up enough to rain. So it was raining at 9:30 when the boys and I went out to play in the slush-I mean snow. We still had lots of fun running around and throwing snowballs. We only lasted about 10-15 minutes though. Even Thomas, my HOT natured child surprised me with wanting to go inside. After we went in we drank hot chocolate (OF COURSE) and ate homemade peanut butter cookies. We made those this morning while waiting for Gideon to go down for a nap so we could play in the snow. I didn't want to take the baby out in the rain even for such a novel experience. It was a fun school day for us. We baked the first batch of cookies using canned peanut butter (still the all natural kind) and I actually let them burn. I hardly EVER burn anything that I'm baking. (exception being when there is total chaos in the house) Well I did this morning and we had just used the last of the peanut butter and the sugar. sigh. Then I remembered that we had a bag of roasted peanuts in the pantry. So I got those out and the older boys and I went to work shelling them. It was an even better "lesson" because we got to do it completely from scratch. I have an ultimate chopper (like a wonderful versatile food processor) so we ground them up in there into peanut butter. It was great fun. Then we borrowed some sugar from Michael's break room in the basement and made a second batch of cookies. They turned out good. It was a nice treat for the boys....OK for me too.
Then we had a little solid, liquid, gas science lesson. We got some ice out of the freezer, some water out of the tap and some snow from outside. Then we talked about water being able to be changed into solids, liquids, and gases. We melted the snow and then dropped some on the hot burner to make steam. Now it's in the freezer being turned back into ice. They enjoyed that. Well they enjoyed all the experimentation not necessarily me grilling them on "Is water a solid liquid or a gas? Is snow a solid liquid or a gas?" , etc.
Now they are upstairs watching Veggie Tales Jonah movie and I'm off to the basement to do my devotions while riding the elliptical machine. Sometimes multi-tasking is important if you have 2 important things that need done every day. I'm always trying to see what I can condense. Michael thinks it's funny that I blow dry my hair and brush my teeth at the same time. Hey every little bit helps. Blessings!!- ADL
Then we had a little solid, liquid, gas science lesson. We got some ice out of the freezer, some water out of the tap and some snow from outside. Then we talked about water being able to be changed into solids, liquids, and gases. We melted the snow and then dropped some on the hot burner to make steam. Now it's in the freezer being turned back into ice. They enjoyed that. Well they enjoyed all the experimentation not necessarily me grilling them on "Is water a solid liquid or a gas? Is snow a solid liquid or a gas?" , etc.
Now they are upstairs watching Veggie Tales Jonah movie and I'm off to the basement to do my devotions while riding the elliptical machine. Sometimes multi-tasking is important if you have 2 important things that need done every day. I'm always trying to see what I can condense. Michael thinks it's funny that I blow dry my hair and brush my teeth at the same time. Hey every little bit helps. Blessings!!- ADL
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