Praises...

hhmmm...I vacuumed today?

My kids made it most of the day without fighting!

I cooked, Mike did dishes.

My brother being there

Bouncy Balls..big enough Finn can't swallow...occupy children for hours, those crazy things!

unexpected, old fashioned snuggles

Quotes & Memorable moments...

Laying in bed this morning when Lily brings Finn in shrieking (Lily, not Finn) because he has snot all over his face. Dax following close behind with a baby wipe in hand "I help clean up him, I help wipe upmy baby Finny" Followed by a wet wipe covering poor Finn's face. I just wonder what Finn thinks of his siblings...

Lily, can't reach the glasses in the cabinet managed to get food coloring from the highest shelf in my utility closet and thought it would be a great idea to mix it with water and use it for painting on the good table. Luckily the table is ok, however Dax's mouth, face, and lefr hand may be permanently blue.

The kids all playing in the clean laundry in the living room (where it is in baskets waiting for a flood...think it can go back down yet??) They got lost in the baskets, took me some time to find them this morning!

Praises...

Words of love from little boys before your eyes even open in the morning.

Getting to church before the sermon.

People who know where your kids are even when you don't.

Sunday afternoon snuggles.

Good returns.

No sleet..yet.

Dinner out with everyone...mostly behaving.

Sunday night phone calls with my mom & brother at once...still not sure I understood any of the conversation, but it always make me laugh.

Getting all the stuff out of the basement before the flooding really started....maybe the rain is done?

Quotes & Memorable moments....

Dax searching for his "baby bubber" this morning. Wanting to hold him and give him kisses.

Dax & Daddy hiding under the covers this afternoon, lots of giggles.

Giggles...I wish I could have a soundtrack filled with the kids giggling!

Dax flirting with every adult woman he could find between dinner and the mall. the waitress returning to our table way too many times simply to flirt with Finn.

Dax refusing to face our table because the table behind him was filled with tiny bedazzled cheerleaders.

Dax's love for Disney Princess fruit snacks, which he calls his barbie fruit snacks. I hope he was checking out the cute mini cheerleaders and not just admiring their outfits...

Praises...

Finding fun on Youtube and sharing it with my blog who no one has been invited to yet...but I'm getting there!

Staying up till 3 am playing!

A husband who just laughs at the fact that I was up until 3 am and lets me sleep in!

Lazy Saturdays!

God's Grace!

Wisdom and understand that come with age.

Family phone calls.

Reading books with Mini Men.

A day with no expectations.

A Husband who will read my blog and check the spelling since the silly spell check button has been broken for two weeks...if I'm inviting others in I have to have spell check!

Quotes & memorable moments...

"Oh Man!" or "Dang it!" Over used phrases by Dax anytime he doesn't want to do something.

"You don't love me, nobody loves me!" or "You just had me to be your slave" Over used phrases by Lily anytime she doesn't want to do something.

"Whhhhaaaaa" Overused phrase by Finn everytime something doesn't go his way.

"I love you, Mommy, night night" best phrase by Dax
"I love you, Mom, night." best phrase by Lily
"Mamamama" followed by deep breathing and snooring sounds. best phrase by Finn

Music that makes me feel...

Ok, so I was going to try to do this some cool way so I could collect songs on here, but as of yet I have no idea what I'm doing so every now and then when the mood strikes me I'll add some music and you can skip it or listen, doesn't make any difference...remember these are my joys!

Music is a praise, everyday. Music has been a part of so many "memorable" moments and there were periods in my life where those mixed tapes and lyric quotes made the world go round. The memories that come flooding back when you hear something you haven't heard in years is amazing, and I love how if you knew the words then, you never forget! In so many ways music has been a bridge for me.

This is a song I heard in Walmart today. It took me back years and years and made me smile! I have this tape you know..the whole tape..Boy meets Girl, they never were really cool, but I liked them, and I think they liked me, cause I bought their album and I wore my hair like the chick. (I might have even had those earrings)



Wow! I figured out how to do it!! Now I need to share more! Here is Dax's favorite youtube video and Lily's least favorite! This is actually a Laurie Berkner Song which would play on Jack's Big Music Show, but this is the only online version we could find and it makes us happy!



Just so you know....any music posted before this post was actually posted at the same time. I took a bit of my free time, you know, the hours between midnights & 3am and had so much fun playing on Youtube that I had to add some music to old posts...don't worry, there will be more in the future!

Praises...

Mom's Day out!

Taking only one child to the doctor at a time!

Being able to hear what the doctor says!

One tough little guy who didn't even flinch when lead tested!

Smiling faces

Doctors who care & listen

Cooperative children!

Knowing that somewhere several hours from my house my family sits eating really good popcorn watching a really stupid movie...knowing life just keeps moving...

Sentences dropped here or there that may not be much, but they warm your heart and make you feel loved.

Friday night snuggles with the little D man.

Learning that both my husband and my daughter have been secretly reading my blog behind my back...although they really were just making sure I hadn't posted pictures of them bending over with their behinds hanging out...I may have to post those pictures yet!

Top 20 country countdown on GAC..it's been a part of our Friday nights off and on for so long now it just kind of makes me smile, and it's great backround for writing.

Writing...maybe one day it will flow freely again.

Quotes & memorable moments...

Reading with Dax, realizing how much he actually knows. He knows all his colors. He's not color blind afterall...I was sure he was! He counts to 13, and actually understands the concepts behind the numbers. He can tell me there are 8 dark blue fish on a page...I haven't been giving that boy enough credit. He actually told me everyone in the families long names today...yeah, you know, this family "long names" is an understatement!

Room spinning. Dax and Lily being out of time outs long enough to spin around and around the room together. For a few moments it actually looked like hugging!

Dax serving up cheerios to Finn by the handful and after carefully placing each handful saying "there you go Finny, thank you, thank you so much"

Dax talking about his friends. I love that at two he is sure who his friends are! "Chloe & Noah are MY friends! MAX is my friend! And Maggie is my friend. Chloe is not your friend, she is MY friend! I see Mrs. Aaaadiiiissss tomorrow? I want go church tomorrow, see my friends!"

You'd think Dax was the only child in my house who could speak as much as he's quoted...but you know a two year old is about the best quote material there is. Finn's quotes are very limited, although I will find someway to catch his giggle, because that is priceless! Lily's quotes...well, I'm not sure I want to remember them forever at this point. She was incredibly quotable as a 2 & 3 year old. I'll keep listening, maybe I'll find some treasures!

Praises...

Pulling things off by the seat of your pants!

Having amazing people around me that make the aforementioned possible!

Babysitters who are consistent and so well loved!

A roof over my head and all the things I need right here.

65 kids with recorders who really are enjoying themselves. Recorder program is over!!!

Knowing my daughter will be able to recite all 50 states in alphabetical order.

Good teachers.

Being able to head off trouble at the beginning.

Valentines date with whole family for ice cream after the show.

Quotes & Memorable moments....

Tonight I'm calling this section...Mom the slacker forgot her camera!

Lily's show ~ Everyone wore red, white, & blue and sang & played patriotic songs. Lily looked so happy, she didn't even mind when her brothers yelled. Although I think I heard her "shush" them from the stage. We sat in the second row, really only feet from where Lily was standing. There was a staircase leading to the stage in front of us. Throughout the show Dax repeatedly wispered "I'm gonna go up those steps" "I'm gonna walk to Lily" Hhhmmmm...not sure if he totally wanted us to hear his plotting, but he was wearing that devilish grin. Lets just say we trapped him between us and when he looked as if he might have figured out he could fit under the chair in front of him and make a break for the stairs, we redirected his attention to Finn, whom he thought he should hold. They were quite cute sitting in a chair together. (wish I had some pictures to post) Finn had a quote of his own tonight, when we saw Lily come in he started to dance, held out both arms, started waving his hands frantically, yelling something that sounded remarkably in the neighborhood of Lily or "iiiyyyyyyeeee" as the case may be. Impressive for his ten months. Although it would be good since he can say both "bubba" and "Daaa" for Dax, which is very far from "Dada" After the show we headed out for Ice cream, everyone shared each others desserts and no one spilled anything (well, of course I ended up with caramel on my shirt, but what kind of treat would it be if it didn't end with a spray and wash treatment for me!). Overall a good Valentines Day, even if it wasn't exactly romantic! Still wishing I had my camera!

For Mike...

This is a back post..now that I know you're reading this and have figured out the youtube thing I thought I'd leave you a gift for Valentine's Day (I can just say I posted it Feb. 14th! The magic of Blogging!)

Feb. 14th, 2008 marks our 18th Valentines Day..is that amazing or what??

I am blessed to have a husband who laughs with me even on the bad days. Funny when this song became "our song" 18ish years ago we thought the words had deep meaning, and they did. We danced to it at our wedding and we thought it had great meaning, and it did. And now all these years later, I haven't heard the song in soooo long but the deep meaning in a '80's hairband song that most of the world has forgotten, still rings true. 18 years ago we'd barely begun to scratch the surface, but through the good and bad times you have always been there. How many times over the years did we write these lyrics back and forth to each other? Too bad we haven't listened to this for years. I'm adding it here so that it won't be so long before I hear it again!

Praises....

Michael

Still being with my first love after my second, third, and fourth loves have come into my life!

Youtube...for being able to dig up a bad video from 1989!

Bad English for singing a song that will forever touch my heart and bring back a million memories!

Aquanet for making the 1980's a decade to remember! Man those guys were hot! hehehe

Praises...

Happy Boys.

Forgiveness.

Hugs from teenagers who like you even when you've had a bad day.

Friends who care.

A husband who gets it...mostly.

Feeling needed.

Hearing Lily sing in the shower the song we just watched in a pretty touching video...knowing some of it sunk in.

Quotes & Memories....

Dax counting his Valentine's money from Nana "$20, $20, $20, $20, $20" Yeah, Nana's nice but not that nice! (They were all $1s)

Praises...

I'm back, after again skipping another night!

Kind people. The kind that are kind to people who aren't "friends".

Good test results.

Peace of mind.

Sisters in law...I only have two and have been blessed to have both. They are good people, with good hearts, wish I could spend more time with them.

Family

Silly coupons that come in the mail from a certain family member, it always makes us giggle just a little.

Brothers...yeah, they're kind of the same as family but they've been on my mind lately.

Watching my children grow.

Snowflakes that look just lke snowflakes should, lacey & glittery.

Cards & Prayers from so many to my parents, what an amazing thing.

Quotes & Memorable moments I wish I had on tape...

Dax's visit to Preschool. He did so well. He just jumped quietly into the group and started to play. I thought he might protest when we left, but he was totally happy.

Lily & Bayley coming home after the field trip....wow they have grown up! I haven't seen them together outside of school for a while. I like seeing Lily with a friend, she seems so much more grown up!

Finn ~ 22.5 lbs 27 inches...I'm writing this here mainly so if I forget to put it in the baby book at least it's somewhere! What a slacker mom am I!

Praises...

Getting to church on time without major meltdowns!!

Smiles on the face of a certain daughter while she sang in the choir
(dressed in a very pretty dress, even if she says otherwise).

Being in church together as a family, all of us wanting to be there.

Teenage girls who love my kids.

A class full of kids I know God has put on our journey for great purpose...and I love them too!

Feeling welcome in our church community.

Sunday afternoon naps!

Heat!

Quotes & memorable moments....

Finn dancing to any & all music played in church today. It was getting hard to hold him he was dancing so much!

Dax, "moommmmm, mommmmmy" in a very quiet voice with a big grin from the front of the church during children's moments.

Girls wanting to wake up Finn. Finn waving at everyone who would talk with him. Dax playing with big girls doing cat scratch mania to a carpeted wall at church...

4 am wakeup calls....when your lights flip on and a little voice yells "hey! It's time to play with GEROTRAX!!"