Status updates

I have been taking a break from Facebook recently. Well, I've been checking in occasionally in the evenings, but for the most part I've been good. I thought I would share some of my status updates that I haven't posted lately....

• A child up with a nightmare at 3:15am and staying awake until 6am which happens to be the time I need to take my shower makes for a very. tired. momma.
• Joe had to hide the oatmeal cookies I made yesterday because if I know where they are the likelihood that there will be any left at the end of the day is very small.
• My girls have grown at least 1/2 inch in the last 3 months. We measured them this morning.
• I LOVED working in the flower beds at church and home on Saturday. However, I was so stiff the next day I wasn't sure I was going to be able to get out of bed.
• Babies make me smile.
• Kindergarteners can be amazingly mean at times.
• I think I will count how many times I say "no" today because that is just what you tend to do when you are hanging out with a 2 year old, 3 year old and 19 month old all day. I'll count my "good job"s as well and see if they balance out.
• We are thinking of sending the girls to camp next summer. I have gotten so excited just reading the websites!!!
• Loved Colton Dixon on American Idol last night!

things that have made me smile this week...

• Being in church. After missing 3 of the 4 last Sundays I actually got to attend church this past weekend. It made me smile. We will dwell on that instead of the fact that Nathan had vomiting Sunday night. I remember telling Joe at 1am how thankful I was that it was Sunday night and not Saturday night. I think the Lord knew I needed to be in church. And maybe, hopefully (dare I even think it?) Sunday night's episode was the last "hurrah" for this very long flu season at our house.
• Wandering my "estate" and looking at all the blooms...in the middle of March!!! Feels much more and looks much more like May here.
• Being treated out to dinner with friends last night and hearing Nathan request bacon as his side dish with his fried fish. Nathan's motto in life "You have not because you ask not". He settled for the green beans with bacon instead.
• A three and a half month old's smiles and coos.
• Stylish hats on my two girls. Even better...the hats were only $1.50 each! Woohoo.
• Feeling the breeze rush through my house and feeling the cool air as I fall asleep at night. Alas, we had to turn the air on last night. My poor John, John was breaking out in hives because his allergies had gotten so bad. This is a new development to his hay fever that began last fall that I will would go away.
• Crayola Stories Interactive DVDs. I have the Undersea Adventure one. And the sweet almost 3 year old at my house everyday LOVES it!
• Fresh baked bread. We won't mention that the reason I am making fresh baked bread is because I am totally out of bread. It is easier to make it than haul for kids 2 and under to the store.
• my turquoise blue toe nail polish!
  

Spiritual Milestones

There are many spiritual milestones I enjoy celebrating when I see them in my kids. The first, and by far the most fulfilling and comforting to me as a parent, is when they make the decision to choose Jesus and have a personal relationship with Him. I have been tremendously blessed to see all four of my kids make that decision already. After they make that decision, the next one that I cherish is getting to hear my kids read the word of God. I look forward to their baptisms and watching them grow in their faith, but aside from maybe when I see they've truly made their faith their own, hearing them read God's word is second only to that initial decision to follow Christ to me. Maybe it is because the Bible has had such a powerful effect on my own relationship with God. God's word truly transform and there is something supernatural that happens when we read it and take it in. So I always long for the day when my kids can read well enough to read it on their own....their first step to getting to experience that transformation by reading it themselves. My Nathan did that this past week and it made me tear up. You may find that odd, especially considering that after he read it his comment was that he wanted to rewrite John 3:17 instead of John 3:16 because it was shorter (a Cub Scout assignment he was working on), but knowing that my child can read God's word by himself brought me so much encouragement and comfort. In the days ahead in his life, he always has something to turn to whether I am with him or not. When he feels like God is silent, he can open His word and know that He is not. "For the word of God is living and active...." Hebrews 4:12

Boys will be boys...

I love my boys. I was just commenting to Joe this morning how my boys have surprised me. For example, my boys are much more huggy and snugly than my girls were at this age. Could be personality differences or just a boy thing...hard to know for sure but I think it might be a boy thing.

And then there are things that are not that surprising but still, for some reason, catch me off guard...like today next to the deli counter at Kroger. I spied the coleslaw that we'd had a few weeks ago at a church event. It was delicious. I know, right? Delicious deli coleslaw? But, yes, this was so good I had to get confirmation from about 3 different people that it was store bought and not homemade. Joe went to get some the other day and they were out. Evidently it is pretty popular. So I saw it today and headed to the deli line to get it. (Unfortunately, it wasn't as good this time around..sad...) Anyway, the boys and I were waiting for the chatty guy in front of us to get his meat for the week, and Nathan starts his chattiness. Actually he wasn't starting, he was launching into a new topic. Nathan: "Mom, did you know that farts and burps are actually gas leaving your body?" Me: "Umm, yes, Nathan, I did know that." Nathan: "Yeah, see there is gas in your body and there is this round...." I won't go into any more details about what he said because, frankly, it gets rather graphic. I just stood there somewhat speechless with my eyes getting big paralyzed into silence. John pipes up : "Nathan, I don't think that is appropriate right now." Me: "Um, yeah, what your brother is saying. And where did you learn that?!" Nathan: "Beakman's World". Evidently Beakman's World covers all topics of science. And now the deli gal knows all about how the body works too....

Oh, and completely side topic....another child down with the stomach bug tonight. Here's hoping I won't miss church again tomorrow. That would be 3 out of the last 4 Sundays that I have missed. Yikes, someone might start wondering about their pastor's wife...

Thursday tidbits

So here's what has been going on here today:

• Another call from the school, another child comes home....sigh.
• I bought John a new pair of jeans today thinking they would be big on him, but get us through spring and fit him great next fall. But, alas, they fit him great right now. Size? 12! And at age 8 my John-John is no longer little.
• Nathan got a new pair of jeans too...size 10. Again, thought they would be too big...sigh... (in fairness, I think they are a "big" size 10).
• We have Girl Scout cookies in the house. Mmmmm.....
• Nathan told me the interrupting cow knock-knock joke this morning. By far one of my favorite knock-knock jokes. I laughed again...never do I tire of hearing a good knock-knock joke.
• I am truly embarrassed by how many clothes I bought at our local second hand store today. But it got warm and after literally 5 cloth changes the other morning for the girls we realized that they desperately needed some new clothes for this spring and summer. And at $1.50/clothing item I am totally not embarrassed by how many clothes I got for such a little price.
• I am knitting Joe a blanket. It is camouflage color, of course. I am only a few years late on my promise so hopefully I will get it done by the end of the year.
  
• I am in my Colts blue today and feeling homesick for my Hoosier state. I find it odd how something like a favorite football player leaving my favorite team can bring on those feelings.
• Joe just shared something really hilariously with me, but I can't share it with you. Sorry...
  
• Speaking of Joe, he offered to fry up some deer steak for supper tonight. I think I will take him up on his offer....

Fevers, and sneezes, and vomit, OH MY!

It is a gorgeous spring day outside and my windows are open and the Lysol can out. We have had sickness in our house literally for weeks. A couple of weeks ago we had a vicious respiratory flu go through four of the six of us and we really haven't all been well since. I was one of the two that didn't get the flu, but my body finally waved the white flag of surrender last week to the germs that had been plaguing us. I didn't have a voice most of last week. Just when I felt I was in the final stretch, I got the stomach bug with accompanying fever that Ashley brought home at the end of the week. The pretty much flattened me over the weekend. By Sunday night I was feeling more myself and noticed the sneezes of the youngest. And so it has begun again....Nathan and Ashley are down for the count with this cold. Fortunately it is just a really, really bad cold so far so no more school has been missed. So I say a giant "HELLO!" to this spring day. Welcome, welcome, welcome warm weather, robins and germ free (well, mostly) seasons!

And then there were four...

The sun is brightly shining into my house on this gorgeous leap day. And the sound of wind gusts and birds singing are coming through my open windows. And on the inside? Sounds of 23 month old giggles, 18 month old squeals, an almost 3 year old enjoying her snack and a three month old snoring sweetly...like only a three month old can. Yes, my house is overflowing with babies. Even I, who had 4 children in under 5 years, have never had this many, this young. We are finding our groove, learning patience and are all becoming very flexible with our wants. I am truly enjoying my job. We are learning our alphabet and where all our body parts are (well, probably not all our body parts). We've been singing (only a little as my voice has also decided to give out this week) and reading. And we all enjoy our quiet time in the afternoon. I've managed to have them all asleep at the same time for at least an hour each day this week. Nothing can make you feel like a very accomplished babysitter as that! Of course, if I put that on my resume I am sure I would get funny looks, but I know all moms can appreciate that. Time to clean up from snack time...

Morning Greetings

These were the first words out of my beloved offsprings' mouths to me this mornings:

Sara: I don't know what to do with my hair. (It is picture day.)
Ashley: This is what I have so far. What do you think? (She has been slightly obsessed with a number game the last 24 hours.)
John: This is stuck. (Consumed with his erector set.)
Nathan: Mom, I don't want to be nocturnal. (Well, son, I would prefer that you weren't nocturnal as well.)

Yes, good morning to all of you too....

Moments on a Rainy Thursday morning

• I just finished the dishes. My reward is this post!
• I love surprises.
• John is wearing a blue t-shirt for his spring concert on April 4. He is super pumped about this concert. It has an American theme so all the kids will be in the colors of the flag.
• Nathan was really hoping his teacher would be back today. He evidently didn't enjoy his sub yesterday.
• I had forgotten how much 18 month olds and 2 year olds have sympathy for each other. One of them is teething so the other has joined in on the complaining this morning.
• Crockpot beef stroganoff for supper tonight. Oh yeah...
• Tween drama this morning...evidently someone stole someone else's hair idea. Wow, I obviously need to expose them more to hairstyles because I am pretty sure I have seen the updo with a hair clip done before.
• The word stroganoff reminded me of Ashley's spelling bee. She placed 5th in the school bee. Not bad considering her school is grade 4th-8th. It is also not bad considering how embarrassingly little she studied. So glad I will have someone to edit my blog posts in the future. I think I have at least 10 words I've misspelled so far.
• Feeling like summer this morning since I had fresh highlights put in my hair last night. Usually only the sun in July can accomplish what Honey did in a little over a couple hours last night.
• It is quiet. Hmmm, wonder what the munchkins are up to.....
• Look Miss Karen, we found Nathan's stuffed animals. (Wish I could share a picture of them with you because they are so stinkin' cute!)
• Celebrating the news with a good friend of a new pregnancy. Ahh, I love the anticipation of new life.
• Speaking of babies...I have a new niece! A big congratulations to my sister-in-law and brother-in-law Kristen and James! Now if we could find some time in our calendar to make the drive over the IN it would be even more awesome. The calendar is looking a little grim for that thought. Major sickness at this Horn house interrupted our plan to visit last weekend.
• I love new opportunities...especially when they involve sharing Jesus with a lot of people!
  
• Singing with the Newsboys this morning...

Recent Events....

One of my favorite Christmas gifts from Joe this year was a published copy of the first couple years of my blog. I love it! And with the enjoyment of reading it came a new enthusiasm for blogging. Well, I am obviously at a different stage of life than I was back then because I just can't seem to post as often. Oh well...it is what it is. So here are the bullets for the recent events....

• I braved the grocery store for the first time with my two little daycare kids this past week. They are 22 months and 18 months. The key to shopping with these two (and any two little ones for that matter) is a prioritized shopping list and speed. A prioritized list is key so that you get the absolute necessities (like milk and eggs in this case) before any meltdowns or fights begin. Speed, because well, even I get bored and agitated when I am in a store too long. It was masterful!to brag a little. I got everything on my list and by the end of the visit I felt like Lightening McQueen "speed, I am speed."
• Nathan came home and wanted me to help him fixed his snack. I quickly obliged and as we were fixing the snack he morphed into a French accent. I looked at him a little strangely and he whispered to me (so the mic wouldn't pick it up) that we were on a cooking show. I said " Ohhh", very quietly of course and then I oddly felt myself wishing that I had put some lipstick on....
• John brought his January journal home from school. I was really excited about this month's as he had told me over several breakfasts that he was plotting what he was going to write that day. He did not disappoint...
• Ashley started her second round of basketball. I, sadly, won't get to go to all her games this time around. Funny thing...the siblings think that it is punishment to have to go and sit at a basketball game. This is a very sad thing for this Hoosier, but the hubby and I agreed that we have "tortured" the other siblings enough so we will trade off and only one of us will be at each game.
• I believe Sara has reached the age where she finds me completely embarrassing. However, she is smart. She won't admit that I embarrass her because then I might embarrass her even more. Who knows where she got that idea? I would never do that. Really!
• Joe and I have become slightly addicted to a show we discovered on Netflix. You know when we are addicted because the bedtimes get obscenely late for us and the mornings come way to soon. One of the actors is the guy who played Briscoe County Jr.. Loved, loved, loved that show and makes me sad that I can't get it on Netflix. Joe and I used to it every Saturday morning when he was in seminary. Ahh, the memories....
• I have been auditing the books for the PTA and I love it! I know I'm weird. But I really am enjoying myself. It was been, ahem, well several years since I was an auditor and it reminded me that I really did love the work and just simply hated (HATED!) the travel.