Praises...

Talking to lots of faraway people this week. It seems like since the big kiddo went back to school the phone has been a permanent fixture on my ear. This can have it's down falls like extra "Hi-5"'s on the On Demand, half the 14 framed photos I have being dropped behind the million pound piano, a certain 16 month old learning he can climb into the computer cabinet and toss out the monitor, not to mention pull all the thumb tacks out of the tack board in the back of the cabinet. Which leads to it's own special list of praises...

Having cable TV with a DVR for rerunning the same show as needed as well as noggin, discovery kids, and pbs sprout on Demand.

My piano weighing so much that there is no chance of it tipping over with a 3 year old and 16 month old sitting on top.

I did not hear any breaking glass, so I think all pictures behind piano are intact.

The fact that I mostly cleaned out the computer cabinet not so long ago so there wasn't as much to pick up off the floor as their once might have been. (although it's probably due to it's clean state that he thought he could climb in!)

The thumbtacks did not poke him before I was able to pry each one out of his tight little grip.

The computer monitor still works and is in one piece.

The boys have gotten along very well and have been so much quieter since school started, could be they are simply in stealth mode without the extra set of eyes present!

Finn took off his diaper before climbing into the damp sink to brush his teeth.

My boys have the cleanest teeth in town. They are averaging 3 to 8 brushings a day...is this a good obsession?

Lily has successfully ridden her bike back and forth to school this week. This is the first year we're letting her do this and I'm just a little nervous, but she seems to be doing well.

She is also enjoying fifth grade so far! Prayers that that is a year long thing!

Finn's amazing hugs..they make up for a multitudes of climbing adventures.

Dax explaining to me why every night he must climb on me and wiggle his way into the middle of mommy and daddy in bed. "it's warm and it's safe and I like to be in the middle of you twos."

An evening out with friends, both business and pleasure! I greatly enjoyed my evening out with grown up chatter!

Feeling a little freer after handing over some church duties that I have greatly enjoyed for the last two years to a good friend who so kindly stepped up to take a turn at the reigns. Thank you Nicole, Traci and I are loving you right now!

My kids friends. Lily got to go spend some time watching the big premier of Cheetah Girl's One World with her friend, Bayley. Dax got a sweet phone call from his buddy Max. I love that these friends are good kids with parents I like!

A 3 year old that loves his sister so much(at least tonight) that he tried to convince us not to "make her go to Bayley's" because "Lily doesn't want to go to Bayley's, she is scared of Bayley". Truth be told the kid wanted to watch the Cheetah girls with his sis. At least he didn't think it was as cool to watch it alone... good cover little guy! Is it sad to admit we watched it even though she wasn't here?

God is answering prayers through people who don't even know it. Now if I will only open myself up.

A husband I enjoy talking with anytime we have quiet moments where we can actually hear each other!

Another first week of school that has gone well. It's the beginning of fall, probably my favorite time of the year...the smells, the leaves crunching, the football games echoing from the High School, new shows coming back on, being able to where long sleeves, shorts sleeves or anything you want! I know this year fall is a little harder without my Dad, especially for my mom. I pray that the memories that circle around us will be good ones that make us laugh. I pray that my mom know just how grateful we are to have her in our lives and how much we miss being close enough to hug her.

I am so grateful for unlimited long distance and bloggy connections!

Sunday in the Parks with babes

This morning in church (at the park) I couldn't resist reaching into my bag for my camera during the service. I asked my husband if he could hear the shutter. He said yes, but "it wasn't obnoxious". I couldn't help documenting how my yard sale find was enhancing my boys church time...and how the sunlight was streaming so beautifully through the trees...

Who would have thought that a pop up table with drink holders would give me a good 10 extra minutes of quieter church moments. I then took this one so that I could remember to ask a question about fruit snacks... If Welsh's fruit snacks are made of real fruit and can be counted as a serving of fruit, if your child eats 6 bags a day, does this fulfill his fruit/veggie requirement? =)

At that point I was feeling guilty that I was taking pictures during the service and decided that parental voice inside my head that was tsk tsking and saying something like, "how disrespectful to be snapping kid pics during the service" got the better of me and I put away the camera. I did this just in time to hear the minister begin the sermon and my darling son say "Hey, can you wind this up?" I looked up, slightly horrified, to see the minister glance our way and Dax handing Mike a wind up car. At that moment I just prayed that no one else heard him, although it was quiet, and his voice wasn't so much. So if you were there, did you hear him?

So, I made it through the service. I actually got a lot out of the sermon after my kids went to Sunday School and Mike and Finn took a bit of a walk. I even thought how can I blog this. It was on God's timing, which I'm getting to be a big fan of, although I do still struggle with patience. Maybe one day I'll re listen to that sermon and write a little ditty on how great it was. I digress. Seems I'm standing all innocently during the benediction. Ok, not exactly standing, I was more perusing the grassy areas around us, searching for all the toys and garbage we had littered the land with, when my girlfriend came up behind me and pointed out a grand photo moment. How could I help at the prodding of friends, not get the camera right back out. At least the service was over when I took it out this time and took a few shots of my kids and hers playing in the dirt. Nothing says Sunday morning at church like burying your feet in the dirt!
She had to take her little people home for a bath I just took mine to a little dive/diner for breakfast. As my kids would say, "God made dirt, dirt don't hurt". They picked up that little piece of wisdom from their dad. It's a phrase he commonly uses it when he picks the pacifier up off the ground and sticks it right back in Finn's mouth. (If you're ewwing right now, come back after you have three kids and it won't bother you so much!)

Hey look, it's fruit of the day #2! The decor may not be much, but the food is good and the people are nice and don't mind our mess. We've been going here alot after church this summer. We fill everyone up then drive around till the little ones fall asleep so that we can all have Sunday afternoon naps. God did say Sundays were a day of rest, right?

After rest we headed out in search of sand to refill the sand box. Still a no go! My son is going to have convulsions if he doesn't get sand soon! So we got ice cream at Dairy Queen instead and headed to a local park. Ice cream seemed to divert Dax from a sand fit. In the four years since we've lived here my husband had never been to this park, he wasn't even sure how to get there! How sad!

Here is Finn coming down the slide on his own. This was the shot I got as he sped down. May not have been what I was after, but I love it!

I tried to get a nice picture of all three of my kids together. This really ought to be a regular segment of my blog until I get it right! Marci's attempt at three kids in one frame" If you look carefully, they are all there...

Ok, so maybe two out of three?

Or if all else fails, lets just do them one at a time... Just to answer your question, because I don't scrapbook and someday I will actually print this blog. When I post so many pics in one blog I can just hear the "why does she post so many huge pictures?? " And just so you know, since getting my new camera for Christmas I have taken more than 5000 pictures, so actually I'm sparing you quite a bit! 5000+ pictures and I have printed exactly 5. Does someone have some sort of print phobia help or advice? I'm in need!

Olympics, Praises, and Stinkin' Marshmallows...

So, tonight, once again I find myself watching the Olympics on the edge of my chair. Michael Phelps. His name is sort of a sentence all on it's own. It says strength, determination, faith. What struck me though, and I'm not sure if I'm totally alone in this thought, was what about his mom? There she was in the stands, you could see her beaming, her pride in her son just brimming over. I guess maybe because I'm a little too old and well, just not exactly constructed for Olympic competition that I wouldn't necessarily put myself in Michael's shoes. Maybe it's because I am the mother of three amazing kids who I think could do anything. That I could jump into hers.

Maybe I have an Emmy award winning actress, or, well, do they have Olympic medals for climbing? Maybe I have a Nobel peace prize winner or the inventor of something incredible. Maybe this is why I immediately identified with Michael's mother. Without her, would he be where he is? Without God would she be where she is? It is not just a work of coincidence or of nature. I can't for a minute believe it's a simple fluke. God sent this child to this mother and this mother saw his gift and gave him the tools and the love he needed to fulfill his gift. She had to have allowed God to work through him. She had to have faith to hand him over to the pool. I did a little Googling on Deborah Phelps and found this interesting article on what kind of kid Michael was. It wasn't what I expected. He was not a scholar, or a well behaved little child. He suffered from A.D.H.D. and he was not a favorite of his teachers. It wasn't till he was almost a tween till they discovered his gift. I guess what I'm slightly bummed about is that in my googling I could not find some wonderful interview in which Michael and/or Deborah Phelps give all the glory of Michel's amazing gifts to God, because in my mind, that is where they belong. I had to remind myself that he seems to be a pretty humble guy and it's really not my business to judge his faith based on results of Googling "Michael Phelps faith in God". That is between he and the big guy. Back to the mom thing..so here is my question, and maybe a bit my paranoia. What if each and everyone of our children has a gift like Phelps? What if each of our beautiful babies has the God given gift to do something of greatness? What if Deborah Phelps had listened to his teachers and just chalked him up to a kid with issues that would never be able to focus on anything? What if she'd never taken him to the pool?

What about my kids? How do I know what their gifts truly are? I know Dax and Lily have gifts with body art and sharpies. I know that Lily used to hoard all sorts of things I deemed garbage in order to create art with...what if deterring this hobby because it drove me nuts was derailing her gift? What if Dax's monkey like climbing and insane upper body strength are leading him to greatness? What if Finn's champion fine motor skills will create a fine surgeon. What if somewhere in Lily's incessant talking there is hidden the cure for cancer? Or if Dax's "secret" Bean Car is the answer to the alternative fuel quest? What if I'm squelching them? What if I'm annoyed by the very skills that could facilitate my kids 8 gold medals? Help!

I then found this quote from Debbie Phelps. "As I look back, one of the hardest things I had to do with raising my son and both my two daughters was to trust they would be okay without me always by their side as they grew older. Like all mothers, we just want our children to be happy, safe and to excel in what they enjoy most. And as a mom, we do everything we can to make that possible."

And I thought...ok, I'm right there with her. And, I'm open. I'm struggling hard to listen to God's voice, to open my eyes to his plan for not just me, but for them as well. I'm praying fervently and now I will add to that prayer not just for him to use them for his perfect works but to open my eyes to the great gifts he has instilled in them. I will continue to pray for the resources to help them to grow those gifts and his grace in not allowing my mistakes to derail his plans for them. I will mostly remind myself daily that his love for them is bigger than mine could ever be, than I could ever even fathom. They are not mine, they are his. He put them in my care because that was part of the master plan. these children are perfect for me. Michael was perfect for her. Even our failures will teach them, will be part of His great plan.

I would be so incredibly proud to be Michael's mother. Honestly though, I am more proud to be Lily, Dax, and Finn's mother, because they were formed by His hands to be pieces of my heart, and for that I give God all the glory!


Praises...

Another beautiful summer day.

A very handsome, healthy new life!

A baby with the best hugs ever and one new tooth!

A husband who will take two kids to the store and make dinner

God's way of keeping me here instead of driving all the way to Indiana just to get a horrible cold and not be able to hold that beautiful little boy!

Everyone in my house having pretty good attitudes even with all the sneezing a nose blowing going on here (sorry if that was too much info)

The delight kids get out of $10 inflatable swimming pools

Chatting with mom and her having such a pleasant night last night with my brother and sister in law

Getting my hands on the DVDs for our new Bible Study. I'm only partway into the first one, but I'm already amazed by how in depth it is! I've not done Beth Moore before...this ought to be a new world for me!

Making the time this summer to dive into His word and listen better. I pray i can keep going as school starts

Lily's incredible excitement about going back to school (even thought the discussion of it is endless!)

Being able to sit and watch the Olympics and enjoy the time with my husband (at least between interruptions from half sleeping children!)

Life. How it just keeps going and how it's filled with such beauty if you choose to open your eyes to it!

Dax quote of the day....

"I NEED ONE MORE STINKIN' MAR SH MEL LOW!!!

Please! Please! justonemorestinkingmarshmallow!

I just need another marshmallow, just one, please

snif snif, mumble in a whiny meek voice... "I just wanted one more marshmallow, just one stinking marshmallow"

Too many kisses and a quote from Dax...

Dax and Lily got to go with Nana and Aunt Carly to the Beach water park today! We used to have season passes when I was a kid and my brother Dosh used to life guard here. It's fun when they get to spend the day playing in the water.

Finn with his tubey ears and I stayed back and went to visit My brother in law's family. I feel like sometimes we don't get to spend enough time hanging out with my sister in law and the girls so it was nice to have some play time for the littlest cousins.

Uncle Jeff taught Finn the word "Fish" and now he's requesting his own tank.

Baby cousin Allie who is just 2 1/2 months younger than Finn was not overly keen on my guys in your face love and affection. My boy is a hugger, a kisser, and a nose finder. He doesn't really get the fact that other babies may not really enjoy his type of contact affection. Allie is a sweet little thing who is happy as punch till some big brute of a boy wanted to hug her. She seemed to like when he fed her puffs though. He just had to find his way in the door! He however did not like when his mommy was holding a crying Allie, oh no, not even a bit. (forgive my bad picture taking, seems those were more just get'em while no one is crying pics, no artist value there!)

Tonight I decided to try more positive bedtime tactics because lately my middle child has become a slight bit of a tyrant. So tonight We had a little exchange that went something like this..

Lily, Dax, and I were sitting at the kitchen table finishing off a treat after VBS before bed. My mom had put Finn in bed a few minutes before we got home so he was already peacefully sleeping and I did not want world war III getting Dax to bed in the same room. So I said "ok guys, were having a race! The first one of you that can take off your shoes, set them beside the door, get up the stairs go to the bathroom and hop quietly into bed wins! Are you ready?" Dax says, "Finn won" So much for positive parenting...