A Christmas Eve Milestone...

She rolled over! Both Mommy & Daddy were watching, so that was cool. I kept trying to get her t0 do it on video; but she only will if the video is not playing. Silly girl!

My 100th post and a Merry Christmas song

Kinda cheesy, but I actually enjoyed this music...

Straight No Chaser - 12 Days of Christmas

I don't get no satisfaction

All the women who read this blog will probably understand what I'm about to say easier than the men. Not trying to be stereotypical or anything, but it's a plain fact of life that men & women are very different in pretty much every way.

For those men reading who don't "get it," :) women are 99% emotional creatures. We crave the relational response, and when we don't have that in our lives, we feel empty, lost, frustrated, etc. Typically when a woman says "I don't even know why I'm crying (hurt, upset, depressed, etc)," that's what she's talking about. There's an emotional hole that is empty somewhere.

So yesterday, I found myself irritable all day. Nothing I could really put my finger on, it was just plain "yuck." Add that to the discovery that we had no hot water, so I couldn't take a shower, and my kids who hadn't had a bath since Wednesday night couldn't get clean either. So I can't do dishes, laundry, the list goes on and on. You name it, it aggravated me!

Now Marc has been super busy with work this last week due to the holidays. We haven't had a "real" conversation in about a week or so. After we did some rushing around getting dinner out & last minute stuff, we found ourselves home with the kids in bed & a little bit of free time. He was having some rare time to himself at the computer, and I made the comment, "How long are you going to be doing that? I'm emotionally starving over here!"

Now I wasn't totally serious, and we had a good chuckle...then we settled down to have some good conversation. The only problem for me, was, I was getting the emotional attention I craved, but still feeling like there was something I just couldn't put my finger on. I was enjoying our chat, but it just didn't satisfy me. (Poor husbands....they have it so hard. I mean, if I couldn't even figure it out, how is he supposed to figure it out?)

That's when I heard that still, small voice in my ear: "You're not satisfied because only I can give you what you need right now." It was so profound that I made the comment to Marc, "I think I just need to have a good chat with God instead." Later on, as I was having some quiet time, I came across this passage of Scripture:

Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare. Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live....Isaiah 55:1-3

Satisfaction. I had never before really understood this passage, though I've read it many times. "Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters..." "Listen, listen to me..." "Hear me, that your soul may live..."

Come and get your satisfaction. It never disappoints.

The Uncles of Nashville

We took a quick trip this weekend to see my brothers in Nashville. We had such a nice time; I wish we could have stayed longer! We got to eat yummy Italian food at their restaurant, see the lights at the Opry Hotel (from a distance, anyway), visit the Opry Mills Mall (to replace the jacket we both forget to bring for Zachary), pet the sting-rays (or whatever you do to sting-rays), & cheer on the Steelers at the Steelers/Titans game (John & Marc from the stands, the rest of us from our nice warm home). Of course, my camera batteries died, so I didn't get many pictures, but here are a few.


Zachary explaining the life cycle of a tree to Johnny.

Not the best picture, but the only one of Mikey and the kids. Uncle Mikey's sleeping bag was the favorite this weekend...

She just loved her Uncle Johnny...talked to him like crazy!

Can't wait to see them again soon!

Marc's parents come to visit

Alternately titled "Let's go do something crazy like drive up the mountain for 90 minutes only to discover that Clingman's Dome is closed for the winter." (but we still had a crazy-good time!!)

The snow was beautiful up on the mountain, especially during our drive. I wish it would have been safe enough to get out & take pictures on our way up at all the snow & ice on the trees...so beautiful!

Nana & Kenna enjoying a snuggle & trying to stay warm!


Zachary kicking snow around. He had SO much fun!

Back at the house. It's always a challenge to get them to smile at the same time!

Kenna just talking away to her Papa.

We had such a sweet visit with them! We are so glad we live close enough to do this now.

Random pictures

Here is Nana & Kenna enjoying her first carousel ride (with help):


Zachary's first bowling experience (see the orange gutter ball way back there!):



My friend caught Zachary getting our little lady all ready for a night on the town. Just a little too young for lipstick, I think!

Christmas card wanna-bes...

This year, I decided to go with one of those multi-image Christmas cards. Here's why:

The second to last one was the best of them, but didn't really show off my beautiful little girl like I wanted. Christmas picture taking is definitely an exercise in futility.

Restaurant.com discount

Just wanted to pass along a link from Coupon Cravings about an 80% discount on gift certificates from Restaurant.com through Christmas Day.

I bought 2-$25 gift certificates to restaurants in town a few months ago, that's $50 worth, for $4.00. I haven't had a chance to redeem them yet with the baby & everything, but they're good for a year.

Restaurant.com has participating restaurants in all parts of the country. Just be careful to check the restrictions on your gift certificates before you purchase; for a $25 gift certificate, you usually have to purchase $35 worth & it doesn't include tax, drinks, etc. Still worth it for me, especially now that Z is eating so much! And I don't like to share. :)

Think before you speak, I mean, write...

I was reflecting last night about my "i know that you know" post.

And I just want to give a retraction. My desire for my siblings to marry & have babies was purely selfish & just so my kids could have someone to play with when we visit family. No pushiness here. I certainly don't want anyone to marry the wrong person, or settle when there could be someone really awesome out there, or get married just because. Didn't want anyone to think otherwise.

So, I'm happy with the family situation as it is (but will certainly welcome anyone who is welcome by said siblings). Peace out.

I know that you know that I know that you know you've always wanted to know these things about me.

• I still hear these "phantom cries" in the night sometimes. It must be that with all the crying & screaming I heard from Kenna in her first 11 weeks, my brain just hasn't gotten over it. I just got up from the computer to be sure she really wasn't crying.
• When I eat a packet of fruit snacks, I always eat them in the same order. Yellow, orange, red, and then purple. If any color is missing, I skip it & go to the next color in the list. I'm not sure if this qualifies me for some psycho award...?
• Deep down I have a weakness for school supplies.
• My new favorite vegetable is baby lima beans. I could eat a whole package by myself, and indeed, I almost did tonight. Shamelessly.
• I'm totally procrastinating on the Christmas cards right now. All the other delays up to this point were valid (i.e. printer issues, etc), but this one is just. plain. procrastination.
• I have never felt so alive & free in my entire life. As Martha would say, "It's a good thing."
• I'm ready for one of my 5 other siblings to get married & have some cousins for Z & K. Well, Katie, you'd better wait a few more years. :) But the rest of you...
• I'm learning a lot about prayer right now. And about the God who answers it. He is amazing.

O Christmas Cards

Hum along....

O Christmas cards, O Christmas cards
How I dread the thought of you
O Christmas cards, O Christmas cards
And yet I love to get them, too

It seems to take so extra long
Now I have to sing this song

O Christmas cards, O Christmas cards.....
I guess I'll send you out again!

All He wants for Christmas

All He wants for Christmas....is us. Our hearts, pure and unashamed. Consider this post:

"As I have thought about what present I want to give Jesus this year for His birthday, I have thought that perhaps He would be pleased with love from my heart. But not just love for Him, but generous, spilling over, lavish love shown to all precious people he has brought into my life. I have resolved to love those who don't especially love me. I want to send special notes of love to those I appreciate. I want to cover any tension in my family this Christmas with love and grace--for the sake of my great appreciation for His unconditional love......

"But love, unconditional love, that says, "No matter what, I am committed to you. I will love you. I will be loyal to you. I will accept you and I will be generous to you, not because you deserve it, but because I didn't deserve it and Jesus still loved me. I will love you for His sake. I will love you because His spirit fills me and when I am obedient to Him, I must love."
So, this Christmas, let us please Him. Let us forgive those who have wronged us. Let us put aside bitterness and malice and choose love. Let us cover over the flaws of those in our lives with His love, because it is the best gift we have to offer him." Read the rest here....

I have been living some hard, deep things right now. Pondering them in my heart as Mary did. They are for me to know and for you probably never to find out. But they are making the real me richer and better off for having experienced them....

Is something wrong with this picture?

At the corner of my desk right now are a few papers that Z has brought home from Sunday school the last few weeks. I've been saving them because they have some neat ideas on the back of how to continue teaching what he's learned the previous Sunday...but because we've been traveling, I haven't gotten to look at them lately.

So this is the paragraph I just read:

"Remember the story of Jesus' birth by making "babies" in swaddling clothes. Remind your child to wash his or her hands. Open a can of breadstick dough, and have your child pull the breadsticks apart. Help your child wrap a hot dog in each portion of the dough, leaving the top of the hot dog unwrapped as the baby's head. Bake according to the package directions. Say a prayer of thanks with your child, and enjoy the snacks."

Does anyone else see anything weird about this? Maybe it's just the picture of the hotdog/breadstick on the page in front of me, or maybe it's the mental picture of trying to tell my 3 year old (who thinks he knows everything anyway) that we're going to pretend that this hotdog is a baby and the bread is the swaddling clothes.

Then we're going to eat the baby? I'm sorry, but I just don't get it. As I type this, I'm laughing so hard at this ridiculous idea that I keep having to backspace to correct all my typos.

Should I draw a face on the hotdog before I eat it, or would that be going a bit too far? :)

I just love randomness.

Ok, here goes!

• Zachary's new favorite cereal is Post Alpha-bits. Do you remember those? I haven't been able to find them for a long time, then, all of a sudden, they show up on the shelf at Wal-mart. He hasn't eaten anything else for breakfast since I bought them.
• There's nothing better than a cookie swap.
• My itunes just went from playing an AC/DC song to playing a worship song. I was thinking, "is this my music?" Guess the spousola added some music of his own!
• My new favorite blog is www.themikefoss.com. Check it out when you have some time. Yes, it is a little political, so be forewarned. This is my blog, after all, so you get to read what I want to write about. :)
• I just realized that our neighbor has been "borrowing" electricity from us for the last 35 days. We agreed to let him plug an extension cord into a plug outside a month ago...he told me (rather mumbled) something about the power company needing to come check something so his power would be out & could he plug this cord in to check the lights in his house? Now that I realize what has happened it all makes sense, and I feel really foolish. He's been borrowing my phone every few days for the last month; you'd think I would have noticed. I guess he's moving out tomorrow, so there's not much to be done. But my power bill doubled from last month. (swallowing hard) I guess the Lord is teaching me about having a generous spirit. And if that's the case, I can trust him to provide for us.
• I mean, I know I can trust Him to provide for us no matter what, not just to teach me to have a generous spirit. Well, anyway...
• My itunes just shuffled to a song by Hillsongs...the first line says "I will bless the Lord forever, and I will trust Him at all times." Is this You speaking, Lord? ha ha, talk about randomness!
• Ok, so I just have to post some of the lyrics from the rest of that song: "You are my Shield, my Strength, my Portion, Deliverer, my Shelter, Strong Tower, my Very Present Help in Time of Need." (copyright: Hillsong Publishing)
• Ah. He has made me glad.

Sometimes I forget

Sometimes I forget...how AWEsome our Christ is. I was reading this passage from Revelation chapter 1:

"Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades."

Now, I'm not sure about you, but when I read this description of my Savior--I mean, really read it--I was blown away by the thought of Him. And next came the thought, "He loves me? No way."

Yes way.

Quiet time.

I feel I've been a bit quiet in the blogging world lately. I've been pondering a lot of things in my life. One of which is the amount of personal information I share on my blog.

More than anything, I want my life to be transparent. In the sense that I am honest about my failings as well as my accomplishments & blessings--not to show any sense of false humility, but to draw others to Christ by showing that I need Him so much. But I also feel that I have a problem sometimes with blabbing too much to too many people, to the point where I start overdoing it. Is there a point when you can be too real with others? I think there is, but am not sure where to draw that line. Especially because I originally planned this blog to be more of a "family & friends" website where people can find out what is going on in our family and all the cute things our kids are saying & doing.

Anyway...I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm sitting back for awhile. Looking deeper into my heart to see what it is the Lord may or may not want me to share, instead of sitting down to the keyboard & (pardon the gross-ness but I just couldn't think of another term) "throwing up" my junk all over everyone who reads it.

I'm not sure what that means for this blog, but I guess we'll find out together.

Quick thinking.

Last week, Marc & I took the kids Christmas shopping. It ended up being one of those nights where you look at each other & say "What were we thinking?" :) It was past dinnertime so we decided to stop at Taco Bell to grab a quick bite to eat.

TB is one of our favorite places to eat as a family. Cheap, a little bit healthier than french fries & burgers, and did I mention cheap? Z is pretty familiar with the menu, but he always gets one of two things there off the less-than-a-dollar menu.

So it totally cracked us up when we all walked into the restaurant. Z walks up to the counter and before we could say anything, tells the cashier, "I need a large combo!" It was so cute...of course, he charmed everyone behind the counter!

In "Kenna news," I don't think I've mentioned here how things have changed drastically in the last 2 weeks. For the Better. (insert "Hallelujah Chorus" here) One day, she just woke up & decided to be happy. She doesn't cry all day & half the night like she did for the first 11 weeks of her life. She's started sleeping almost through the night...I can easily get her to sleep for 6 hrs at a time. On Saturday night, she slept 9 hrs straight!

Now I know this probably doesn't seem exciting to any of you, but for me....well, I feel like my whole world has opened up wide again. Possibilities await me. Free time abounds. Well, not quite! but you get the picture! She is a happy girl, smiling all the time, "talking" to us regularly, and today, she laughed for the first time! I can't even tell you how much joy she brings to us...she is such a miracle!

Mommy love, part 2

Well, hubby love, too! Aren't they adorable?

Yesterday was a little frustrating for me. I was trying to get so much done, since I was out of town & had tons to put away & get settled in the house. Zachary was still missing his dad (who was at work) and just needing some extra attention that I was not giving. He kept pestering me, testing me, you name it, just to get my attention, which I wasn't willing to give at the moment.

My boy's love language is quality time. He just wanted to be with me. He finally got through to me when he said, "But Mom, I need you."

I'm so grateful that my heavenly Father doesn't wait until I'm exasperated and frustrated to come to me when I need Him. I think that being a parent is more about God teaching me how much I need Him and how much I don't know what I'm doing than it is actually raising my kids. The more I realize I need Him for everything, the more I can train my children to depend on Him for everything in their lives.

And after all, isn't that what they really need? When all is said & done, I don't want my kids to think that it all ends with Mom, but with Jesus.

Mommy love, part 1

The kids & I shared a room with my sister this week while we visited in Dothan. (Thanks, Katie!) It was a big room, so that wasn't a big deal. As a matter of fact, Zachary slept on a pallet in Katie's closet! He had a blast...

Anyway, one night my sis & I were reading before bed. I got ready to turn the light out about 11 pm, late for me. Something happened, I'm still not sure what, but somehow I completely knocked her lamp over. A really pretty, pink, ceramic, LOUD lamp. Which subsequently woke up my peacefully sleeping daughter. (who, by the way, has been sleeping 6-7 hrs at a time for the last week--Thank You, Lord!!)

I was initially really aggravated; being really tired myself, I just wasn't in the mood to feed her or rock her or anything. But you know, also being a Mom and having no choice, I did it anyway. :) As I nursed her and held her close, I just had one of those moments. You know, those moments as a mom where time stands still for just a second. And you realize, this moment is only just that....a moment.

I sat there holding her, wishing that I could somehow freeze this moment in time. Somehow immortalize it. Maybe even get it bronzed? Is that weird?

And then I thought of my mom, and how she tells me to cherish every moment, because it goes by so quickly. I think back over the last 3 years & realize I have no idea where the time went with Zachary. And how quickly the next 3 years will go with Kenna.....I'm not ready. I want time to stand still, to hold her as a baby forever. As long as she's sleeping through the night, anyway. :)

Tag!

I got tagged by Nikki! This is a photo tag game & I had to post my 4th picture out of my 4th picture file. This one will take you back...

This is a picture we took for Christmas the year Zachary was born...trying to get a nice one for our Christmas picture. This one didn't make it! But Z has such a cute look on his face, like "mom, get this hat off me!" I think Z was 4 or 5 weeks old here.

Well, no time to tag anyone else. Kenna is crying! Thanks, Nikki, for tagging me though...it was fun to look back at some old pictures!

Snow & sweetness

This was Zachary at 13 months enjoying one of the many big snowfalls we used to have. I have so many pictures of him enjoying the snow while we lived in IL.



Here he is this morning, enjoying the tiny tiny bit of snow on top of the car. (can you see it?) He's been asking about snow for a few months now and was so excited to touch it. Poor kid, we took him away from his snow playground!


And here's the sweetness. I came around the corner today to find them holding hands, with Kenna just looking at him like he was the greatest big brother in the world. Of course, that could be because he gave her cinnamon toast for breakfast this morning. You really can't leave him alone for a second with her--you never know what he's going to do!! Lesson learned....

Something to chew on

Check out this thoughtful post from my sister. Forgetting what is behind...

What a great reminder. I was just thinking about that the other day when I read the passage in Hebrews 11:32-12:3. Paul mentions all those heroes of faith, then says "in light of everything they've done, let us throw off everything that hinders..."

I've been really thinking about what that means for me, throwing off everything that is not Christ or does not point to Him. That is a lot of things for me. I mean, really, how many things in our lives don't glorify Him?

The New Living Translation of the Bible says in Hebrews 12:1 "...Let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sins that so easily trip us up." This makes me think that it's not just sin that hinders our running free for Him; it is other things, the "cares of this life" that choke the Word that is trying to grow in the good soil of our hearts.

Sometimes it's not just bad things that hinder us, but the good things done in a wrong way. Like too much time on the Internet (my biggie), or reading too many novels & not enough of the Bible, or being lazy when we should be productive.

Something I'm dealing with right now is overeating. It's so easy for me to not think about what I'm putting into my body because I'm breastfeeding & starving all the time. I have so many extra calories I can take in because of that, but I'm not choosing the best calories. I felt the Lord gently speak this to me the other day. I mean, not only am I not glorifying Him with my body, a temple of His Spirit, but I could be losing those pregnancy pounds instead of just maintaining my weight.

Then in Hebrews 12:2 Paul says "We do this [running our race with endurance] by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith."

I guess you could call it "food for thought." Ha! I'm feeling rather corny today. (wow, truly didn't mean that pun but it was funny nonetheless!)

Caught on camera

Some cute pictures of my little girl...

Here she is showing off how high she can lift her head up during tummy time:


Showing off her beautiful dress & cardigan sweater that she wore to church today: (I am having a blast dressing up a little girl!) oh, and tights, too! As a side note, I just have to say I am proud we made it through the whole service without spitting up or pooping on this dress...

Trying to get a sweet picture of the kids...didn't work out so well. She went from looking sweet in the picture above to telling us exactly how she felt!

And, drumroll please......she is finally smiling!!! I don't think I've mentioned this on my blog, but she's been smiling very selectively at Daddy only for the last 3 weeks. In the last 3 wks, I think I've received about 3 smiles from her; Daddy has gotten about 10 times that.

But the last 2 days, she has been smiling like crazy! And look at what a beautiful smile it is:

Plus I just love that purple headband! I promise her smile is even sweeter in person; it's so hard to catch on camera. There's nothing like these sweet babies when they smile back at you!

My day with 4

Yesterday I watched a friend's children for her...plus my own. I have to say, the day went so much better than I expected! (not that I didn't expect the children to be good, because they are all naturally good kids, but because I wasn't sure how I'd handle it)

All 4 kids are under the age of 4...the funny thing is, my friend figured out I could have actually given birth to all 4, how their ages worked out. That would be a bit crazy, I have to say!

This picture doesn't quite describe what I walked in on since I caught it too late, but here is Easton leading the other 2 kids in worship songs. It was super sweet! You can see Zachary is clapping his hands & when I walked in, Easton was directing them all with his hands...funny! It's so neat to see kids praising the Lord when you're not looking.


Yes, I actually had a chance to take pictures of my day. That tells you how well it went! Here they are having fun coloring. (well, I think they're actually having a serious discussion about which colors to use...)



Sweet Makenlee

Z-man

Easton...he was coloring his picture for his mom!

Did I mention I went to bed at 9 pm? :)

The Birthday Boy

Zachary's good friend Michael came over for a birthday playdate. I just didn't have it in me to have a birthday party, plus we really just forgot to plan something in enough time. But a playdate still counts, right? They decorated these birthday cupcakes & had a great time. I think they ate more sprinkles than they put on the cupcakes!


Blowing out his birthday candle. Again, showing my lack of planning, he is blowing out his "1" candle. He didn't seem to notice that it was a 1 instead of a 3! This was the first year he's really gotten into his birthday...he told everyone that day it was his birthday, even the people at the post office that morning! He had a blast blowing out the candle and asked us if he could do it again!

Showing off his new Barney DVD, Let's Play School. A bargain we found for $2 at an antique store. Marc hates Barney but I don't mind it...good thing I'm the one who has to see it all day! He is obsessed with school lately so this was a good choice for him.

He said "Diapers!" when he opened this gift. Poor kid, thought he was getting diapers for his birthday (a bummer anyway, but especially when you're potty-trained!)....

Oh, here it is! A Little People ferris wheel, courtesy of Duck Duck Goose. He's played with this toy at his grandparent's house & just loved it. I was glad to find it on sale.

He got a few other small things. The cutest part of it all was when I brought his wrapped presents downstairs...there were only 4 of them. He started passing them out to me & Marc like it was Christmas time! So sweet! You should have seen his face light up when Marc told him that all those presents were just for him....precious.

What is this world coming to?

....never thought I'd see the day when you can use your credit card to get a can of Coke from the machine.


(This was at the zoo, by the way)

Happy 3rd Birthday, Zachary!

Birth-day, 2005!





1 yr old, 2006

2 yr old, 2007

3 yr old, 2008!

Hope you have a special day, little guy!

Musings on the day before his birthday

This time 3 years ago, I was in the hospital getting my labor induced with Zachary (due to suspected preeclampsia). We were a little frightened but mostly excited to GET THIS THING OUT OF ME--I mean, give birth to our precious baby boy. :) 8 weeks of bedrest will do crazy things to a person...

3 years ago today, I had no idea what being a mommy would look like or sound like or feel like. Now, I know. And it's been the best 3 years of my life so far. Well, I mean, starting tomorrow, it's been the best 3 years. Let's not count the actual labor & delivery if we don't have to. :)

In case I forget to post this tomorrow, Happy 3rd Birthday, Zachary! I love you.

A couple of cute pics of the kids...

My friend Melissa took this picture of Zachary at our house while she was watching the kids for me. It turned out so good!



Kenna enjoying her bumbo seat for the 1st time. Z thought it was really important that she wear his hat! I don't think she liked the hat so much--she was smiling in the seat before that!



Z on the way home from a playdate. We had so much fun & he was so tuckered out! He fell asleep with his hand in this bag of cheese cubes. My little man is getting so huge!

I am a nerd.

Only nerds take pictures of their groceries.

This was my Walgreens trip. Total cost after rebates: $2.69 for 2 packs of diapers, 1 mascara, & 4 bags M&Ms.

This was CVS. I paid nothing for this, plus earned $5 to use on my next trip. 2 pkg pull-ups, 1 wipes, 1 expensive saline solution.

Food City: $13.29 for 5# apples, 1 Jif PB, 7 bags frozen veggies

I also went to Kroger, Walmart, & Sam's Club but didn't take pictures of those trips. In all, I spent $115 for 2 weeks of groceries. Still over my $100 budget, but I stocked up on some good stuff.