Wordless Wednesday

Hometown Parade

This parade was a couple weeks ago but it has been so busy that I didn't get to share them.  I had gone to visit my friend Leigh in the hospital and was so proud of David for getting the kids up and ready to go to the parade.  They were so excited and Andrew told me all about it when I got home.  David even got the kids dressed and pulled Grace's hair up in a ponytail...such a good daddy.

I was kind of sad to miss taking the kids to the parade.  Our parades aren't full of homemade floats like the ones I am used to from my hometown but just going is fun.  I read in the paper the next day that the trash company won in their division.  Not sure what that says to you about our parade but if the trash trucks win for driving in the parade it must not be much.  Later that night we went and watched the fireworks and ate a funnel cake.  The kids got light up swords...those people make a fortune on those things.  They are the cheapest, most flimsy things I've ever seen and the ones we bought were $5 each.  But the kids had a blast playing with them in the dark waiting for the fireworks to begin which made them worth every penny. 

Pumpkins and Apples

Yeah, I know....finally!  I have pictures of the kids with their pumpkins and making their apples.  I am putting a few on here but you can click here to see all of them if you want.  The kids loved their pumpkins but I couldn't really get good pictures b/c they were excited.  Grace also had on one of Andrew's old shirts because it is a play/sleep shirt and it has a doggy...her favorite.  I realized later that I could have tried to put cute clothes on her and possibly fix her hair.

We had fun with the caramel apples...the only problem was forgetting to butter the wax paper so they wouldn't stick.  We only had 3 that stuck before we realized it.  The kids had a blast.  At first, Andrew didn't want to and we were fighting to try and get the kids over to the table but after they started dipping the apples they didn't want to stop.  Hope you enjoy looking at all of our pictures.  We love sharing our fun activities with you.  Also, in the album of pictures is letter activities that we did and building with blocks.  Andrew made a cube and made sure the door was on the outside and the windows and little boy and called it his house. 

UPDATE: What do you think?

UPDATE:  I actually changed my background again and I like this one but you can still be honest if you want.  Hopefully tonight I can add a new post with pictures.

So be honest...what do you think about the new look of my blog? I was getting ready to post some pictures of the kids with their pumpkins from our garden and making caramel apples but thought I would try out a fall background for my blog.  I absolutely loved the other one so tell me if you don't like the changes.  Is it annoying that I change my blog with the season????  I can take it!  Tell me whatever you want.  I'm working on figuring out my photoshop so I can change the picture at the top into a banner with text as well.  On my computer the colors look good together but I don't know if it looks good to everyone else since we all have our brightness and contrast set up differently.  I will upload the pictures tomorrow of our activities from the weekend!

crafts, apples, and pumpkins....not!

So today I was going to upload some pictures of the kids doing a craft or making caramel apples and picking pumpkins.  That was before I got the call to go to Heather's house b/c she is in labor and is now at the hospital with her husband anxiously awaiting their new little bundle of joy to arrive.  This little guy has 5 siblings waiting to welcome him home and that's where I am.   I'm hanging out with all of her kids plus mine just waiting. Hopefully it will be quick and painless (as long as she gets the epidural she was waiting on earlier).  My kids and I will pick pumpkins another day and make caramel apples later and then I can upload some exciting pictures for you to see.  Hope everyone is having a great week.

Spaghetti

When Grace eats spaghetti we have to strip her down to her panties.  She loves it and usually eats 2 or 3 bowls plus the garlic bread, of course who can pass up garlic bread?  Here she is with a goofy picture.  She actually doesn't get too messy but she drops alot and if she had clothes on it would be all over her clothes.  Here she is with her goofy smile enjoying her spaghetti...notice that no one sits next to her.... :)

And here she is cleaning up the table after she dropped some off the spoon.  Yes, she is actually licking the table and yes, I encouraged her to do it again so I could have a picture!

Rock Picnic

The kids were having a rock picnic on the front porch.

  I don't have a lot of time to post b/c I am running out the door to church for a meeting.  Saturday night we went to see the fireworks and Grace was less than pleased to be there.  The fireworks were too loud for her and she kept saying, "Too loud, back home!"  We told her to just cover her ears which she did for the entire time, about 15 minutes.  We got through it with no tears but she wasn't thrilled about it.  Have a blessed Monday!

Grace talking

Another random post....Grace has been talking a lot...A LOT!  The other night her daddy was holding her in her room and she said "Mi Mou, my woom."  Translated that is "Mickey Mouse, my room."  She saw a mickey mouse figurine in her room and to be honest I didn't know that she would even remember who mickey mouse was.  We don't watch him on tv so it must be from our trip to Disneyland and looking at the pictures.  It was so cute.  Of course she came and got me because daddy wanted me to hear what she said.  This morning when I was getting her out of bed I got her to say Jesus Loves Me!  It sounds a little more like "Jesu wub me!"  I love hearing her talk and the fact that everyday is about 100 new words.  She has just been waiting to get all these words out.  When she started talking is was mostly phrases instead of single words and now she is using sentences.  Of course, we are probably the only ones that understand what she is saying.  Yesterday, she tattled on Andrew..he kept saying he didn't do anything but she said "bubba kit me" and then she demonstrated what happened by kicking the couch.  We have a hard time not laughing at her b/c she is so funny.  She loves eating apples and calls them 'bapples' not sure why the b is at the beginning.  I love hearing her talk and find new words.  It's nice that she can finally communicate with me without screaming her head off.  Now we will work on using words with Andrew instead of just hitting him!  It's another busy weekend around here so bear with me.  This whole month I work all 3 services on Sundays so I'm only home a couple hours so I try not to spend too much time on here. We go to church on Saturday night instead.  Not sure about this weekend b/c I want to be with my family on Saturday night and they want to go see the fireworks that night to celebrate our town.  I want to go to church but don't want to miss out on the fun with them.  This doesn't happen every weekend so we'll see!  Have a blessed weekend!

Papa's loafers

Here is a picture of my dad's loafers.  He always wears them without socks...even with jeans.  He was kind enough to send me a photo!  Thanks Papa Rick!

The kids have been playing together a lot lately with much less fighting...though it still occurs.  They love to pretend to be doggies and also play in their kitchen.  When daddy comes home at night, their favorite game to play is mommy and daddy.  They pretend to be mommy or daddy going to work.  It's funny b/c when Andrew plays mommy going to work he sits at the table with a snack and says that he has to eat before he goes so he doesn't get hungry at church.  I'm always looking for something to eat before I leave to work on Sunday nights.  Amazing what they pick up on.  Last night I was singing to the kids in the bathtub and it was so cute b/c even Grace joined in and sang parts of it...I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart!  Where?  Down in my heart!  Where?  Down in my heart! I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart!  Where?  Down in my heart to stay!  Of course they sang the down in my heart and Grace's was more like down heart!  Adorable!  Have a blessed Thursday and hopefully you will hear from me again tomorrow!

And the winner is.....

Papa Rick!  Yes, my dad wears loafers with his shorts and no socks.  According to his comment he left, he still sees nothing wrong with it!  Go ahead and wear your loafers with pride dad!  Andrew is obviously following in your footsteps!  Andrew also has your chocolate addiction....he got a dollar last week so we went to pick out candy and he asked for a Hershey's chocolate bar.  It is his absolute favorite.  And Grace, well she got something from you as well....her love for oreos!  Of course right now she is in a phase where she only eats the creme out of the middle and leaves the cookies.  Don't tell her but I bought her the really cheap chocolate cookies at the store.  She's too young to know the difference.  Here is a picture of my dad with Andrew when he was a newborn.  I promise you he has on shorts and loafers but you can't see them.  I couldn't find a picture of him with his feet showing. 

Shoes

Andrew received these shoes from someone and I laughed.  Not because they are loafers...although does anyone still wear loafers?  I've seen old guys wear them to work (sorry to offend). Also one other person in my life wears loafers.  And in fact this person wears them just like this.....with no socks and with shorts!  Can you guess who this person is????  Those of you that don't know my family...I'm sorry that you can't really join in but stay tuned for tomorrow when I upload the picture of who Andrew takes after!!!!

This is the second year he has worn these shoes.  I tried to put them away until they fit but he wanted to wear them even though they are too big.  They are a little dirty and worn b/c they are on his feet so much...playing in the sand, dirt, riding bikes.  You name it.  I do not let him wear them anywhere except at home and he is usually ok with that....thank goodness!

Conversation with my kids

Just had a conversation with my kids and thought I would share:

Me: Gracie who is your favorite person?
G:  Bubba
Me: Andrew who is your favorite person?
A: Daddy
Me:  I wish I was someone's favorite person
A: You are Grannylou's favorite person!
Me:  Thank Goodness! 
A: Mommy, we all have persons that we live with and love with and that's our favorite.

For those of you that don't know, Grannylou is my mom and I am so glad to be her favorite (the honor I share with my brother).  I just thought it was sweet when Andrew said we all have persons we live with and love with....kids are so cute!

Women of Faith

This weekend I attended Women of Faith in Anaheim. It was really good.  I took one of my friends from church and we were so excited that we found a parking lot just a short walk away and it was only $5 a day.  Isn't that awesome!  We also stayed with my husband's grandma which was great b/c we didn't have to pay for a hotel.  God blessed us with those because neither of us really had the extra money for parking or a hotel. 

I decided to upload a couple scrapbook pages I made a while back or Thanksgiving last year (I'm behind) and of Grace going to her mommy and me class called Itty Bits.  It's not super exciting or creative but since I haven't put any scrappy stuff on here lately I thought I would find a page and post it.  I'm hurrying back to church to work again tonight so have an awesome and blessed day!

Thursday

Today was my first day back at SMILES, my bible study for moms.  This session we are doing the Beth Moore study "Esther."  I am super excited.  It's about how tough it is to be a woman.  I can't wait to dive right in and come out more confident with myself and my faith.  I am so thankful to have a church with awesome studies every year. 

Grace went into her classroom this morning and never looked back.  She was completely content didn't even say goodbye.  Andrew on the other hand had a hard time which kind of surprised me.  When I picked him up he was crying for daddy.  I think he is used to daddy checking him out on Sundays and he was confused.  I felt so bad for him.  Next week I will prepare him for what will happen the next morning when we go.  He is all about being prepared and knowing and I just assumed he knew.  We briefly discussed going but I never mentioned what room he would be in.  They both have awesome teachers that I work with every week.  I am so thrilled to be able to know them and have a relationship with their teachers.  It makes it easier to leave them each week.

This afternoon while I was working out (yes, I said working out), Grace had the keys to my van and I kept hearing a honk but didn't realize it was coming from the garage until I went out there to get ice and the locks were going crazy.  I was a little freaked out and then realized she had taken the keys to bed with her.  Crazy little obsession she has with car keys.  She was in her bed all the way at the other end of the house.  Friday and Saturday I will be gone to Women of Faith in Anaheim. David and the kids are on their own for a couple days.  I am so excited to be going and sharing in this with so many women.  Have a great couple of days.  It will be a few days before I am on here again so be patient with me! 

{Oh, and just a little extra...I started using a new editing system here on blogger and it doesn't have a spell check yet.  Bear with me if you find mistakes.  I'm blessed with the time I am able to get on here and do this so I don't take the time to check it....sorry for the possible mistakes today and in the future!}

Wordless Wednesday-Fishing with Papa

The kids got certificate for catching their first fish and Grace actually caught a fish before Andrew.  He was a little upset about that.

I went to visit my friend Leigh again today in the hospital. She is pregnant with identical twins and it is a risky pregnancy due to the fact that the babies are in one sac rather than each in their own. That involves a lot of risks....if you google it, the information can be overwhelming. Anyway, I have been praying for safety for the babies and of course for Leigh and a healthy delivery. I decided to share a couple pictures...Leigh if you are reading I hope you don't mind. I just want everyone to see how beautiful she looks with these little babies in her. In this picture she was 27 weeks (I took them last week) Below is also a pic of the gourmet cinnamon roll that I took her (doesn't it look yummy?) and then a pic of the two of us. Doesn't she look beautiful? I will update more about my family this weekend. Nothing too exciting...Andrew has a cold and isn't feeling the greatest. Other than that everything is good!

Friday Morning Update on Baby Katie

Click here to go to Heather's blog and read the latest update!

Baby Katie Update

I don't know what any of this means, nor do I have very many details (hopefully I am getting all of this right) but I do know that God is in control and he is bigger than any daily problem or medical problem we will encounter.  We have many praises about Baby Katie.  She had another scan done and the results were no abscesses and that he brain was there...the doctors once again are baffled.   I don't know the next step but I know there are still issues with her brain to deal with and learn more about.  If you read my previous post you will know this is wonderful news.  If you haven't read it yet, considering it was like an hour ago, please go back and read it so you will understand this.  We still need to pray for healing.  I'm sure they still have to endure a lot and won't be heading home anytime soon as she had surgery just last night to insert a drain for the fluid.  Continue to pray for this family.  It has been quite a rollercoaster the last few days but God has heard our prayers.

This is from Heather:
Katie Update! MIRACLE!!! They've just done a CT scan on Katie's brain and found NO abcesses!!! No deterioration of her brain, the surgeon came out of the CT room and embraced annie and richie and said "do you want to see a beautiful CT scan? Their gone, her brain is perfect and she is 75% healed". There is small amount fluid on top from where they flushed out the abcesses yesterday! God reigns! He's bigger than this! He's glorified Himself and were all witness to His might and His power! And He's baffled doctors again, who are in shock! Spread the word!!! And anyone who questioned the power of God's people banning together in prayer, this should set the record straight!

Prayer Warriors

Ok people...get on your knees.  My best friend Heather's niece is in very serious condition. They have found abscesses on her brain that they cannot remove.  So much has happened since Tuesday morning and her status changes almost hourly.  I am copying Heather's most recent update from her blog.  Feel free to check her blog to find any updates and I will try to post them here as well.  Here is what she wrote earlier:

Katie Update as of  10:00 am Sept 3, 2009

Okay guys, here's the latest. I was there at CHOC for a few hours last night. Annie and Richie are holding up as well as can be expected in the situation. They are amazingly strong people for what they're going through. As you know they cant fully remove the abcesses because they've taken over half her brain, but they did put drains in to drain the abcesses and flush them out. That procedure went extremely well for what they're dealing with. She is stable and they're waiting on MRI results today which is huge and pathology results as well. Thank you so much for your continued prayer and support, it is appreciated more than you can imagine. Katie is an angel, she is astounding doctors, nurses and all of us with her strength.

Jesus hasn't changed! He STILL reigns!!!

We will continue to praise him in this storm.  I have been singing that song since I got the first phone call.  This is heart wrenching and I wish I had the words to make them feel better.  I wish I could make it all go away.  God is bigger than all of this and He is the only one to get everyone through this.  I stayed with Heather's kids last night so they could go visit with her sister.  They aren't allowed up to the room b/c of swine flu but they met in the lobby to offer support.  I will go back at a moment's notice if they need me.  Please also pray for Heather and Annie's parents as the are stuck on a cruise ship (due to the hurricane in Mexico) and cannot get off until tomorrow morning and will be flying back to LAX tomorrow late afternoon.  This is very hard for them knowing they can't even be there for their daughter when she needs them most.  Also, pray for Heather and Chris as they are expecting a child in a few weeks.  It is such a joyous thing but their family is going through such a hard time it's hard to be as excited as they were on Monday.  I know this is a lot of prayer requests but please pray for whatever you feel led to pray about.  We want as many people to know about this little girl as we can.  You can read Heather's original post here http://halfdozenblessings.blogspot.com/2009/09/wordless-wednesday-exception.html.  It explains in more detail what happened from the beginning. 

Wordless Wednesday

My daughter's latest obsession...she even put one on her baby doll that basically just dissolved about a minutes after we put it on!

Talking

Grace has been talking up a storm.  She can pretty much say anything she wants.  The key word here is 'wants'.  I think my favorite thing to hear her say is "Baby Einstein."  She loves watching those movies so we hear those words a lot. When we take Andrew to school she always says, "Bible" because he went to bible school in July so now when we say school she always says bible.  This last weekend at church they learned about Jonah and the whale and she brought home a page to color and it showed a whale about to eat Jonah.  When I picked her up from her class she said "Mommy, bite!"  She obviously got something out of her lesson that day.  We've also been doing the lessons here...on the back of the coloring page they send home is a short bible lesson to do with your kids.  I generally do these while they are in the bathtub b/c they are stuck having to listen and can't go anywhere.  It's hard to keep Grace anywhere for any length of time.  Anyway, the lesson taught that God Loves Me.  Grace started saying that phrase as well, except it was more like God Me.  And if you tell her to say God Loves Me she says...No!  Me.  I guess she will learn that God loves everybody, not just Grace.  Last night we played duck, duck, goose.  It wasn't your typical game but we played and it was cute b/c Grace would walk up and hit us on the head and say DuckGoose, DuckGoose....it was really cute.  It's so fun to hear her talk and learn new words.  Just thought I would update you on Grace and how much she is growing up.  It is a very random post and I'm not even sure if it all makes sense considering how many fights I have broken up just to write this.  It's getting harder and harder to come up with things to write about so be patient with me and this blog.  I'm trying to find some new things to do on here.  I want it to stay focused on the kids but I don't always feel like there is anything to write about...I guess I feel like I am boring everyone with our daily activities.  Maybe I can take more pictures of special things the kids are doing so that I will be more inspired to write.  I know, huh, more pictures?