One more.....

I have to add this one last tidbit! Last night Katie and Emma were not wanting to go to bed. So they kept coming out with the normal, "I can't sleep.....I need a drink.......When I get older can I get married....." You know all the normal things to get out of bed for just five more minutes.

Well after an hour and a half of this we were wearing thin and running out of things to say to them. The last time Katie had come out for another...."just one more drink". Brian just laid his head in his hands not knowing what to even say or do. It was then, on her way back to the room she turned and said "Enjoy your show!".

Are you kidding me!

Brian and I just looked at each other in shock. I was a mouthy kid, but I don't think I would have even been bold enough to say such a thing after an hour and a half of constant disobedience. But I am sure my mom will leave a nice comment that will state otherwise:)

Kids say the funniest things:)

With three girls in the house there is constant talking. There is never a lack of conversation around the table at dinner time. So I thought I would share some of the things that you would have heard if you were a fly on our wall today.

Last night Katie awoke with a bad dream. At the time she said she didn't want to talk about it. So this afternoon at lunch I asked her if she could remember what her dream was. I wanted to be sure that it wasn't something that we needed to address to be sure it didn't happen again.
So she tried to relay what it was, but it wasn't making any sense to her dad and me. So we weren't really paying that much attention since we had the feeling that it was getting a bit exaggerated! That was when she ended her story by saying..." It scared me to heck!" Excuse me! What was that?? I think she wanted to say that it scared the heck out of her. We told her that wasn't a nice thing to say and began to take inventory of where she could of heard that....certainly not from me! hahaha...

Then at dinner this evening Katie was re-inventing the tacos I had made for dinner into her "special recipe". She watches allot of cooking shows and she was doing this in her best professional chef voice.
Brian said "Katie, I think you watch to much cooking on T.V" To which Emma replied "It's because we have a remote Daddy!" Well I guess she is right!
And keep in mind this was all in one day! Just wait until Addison starts talking! Oh Boy!

Do you have the number for Jenny Craig?

Yesterday was a beautiful day here, so I took the girls outside to play around. We were kicking a ball around and having a great time! We decided to play a game of Simon says and then we moved on to hide-and-seek. It was Emma's turn to count so I hid behind an old milk jug that is out on our front porch.
When she was done counting she looked over at me and said " Oh mom......you can't hide there, you are to big!"

Christmas Pictures 2007

I know what you are thinking?!? What a cute picture! I have to agree, but I'm sure that you will appreciate it even more once you know the background story. To start Grandma Hartzell hand made their prairie pj's, and they turned our so cute. However on this day that we decided to take this picture for our Christmas card.....well lets just say it wasn't ideal.

1. My husband was working 2nd shift so Grandma and I were on our own. We were out

numbered!

2. This make-shift photo studio was in living room of our small two bedroom apartment.

3. Our youngest Addie Grace had RSV.

4. I couldn't understand why the other were so grouchy, that is until I took their temperature and realized that they both had fevers of 102!

So I am glad that we took the time and went to the trouble because I do believe that my children were born in the wrong era. Don't you think they look like they could be in the Little House on the Prairie books? It turned our well, but boy what a headache we both had after this was over! Thank you to Grandma Hartzell for her creativity and Love that she had for our little girls!

Worship

( Addie Grace and Mommy, Camping in our tent)
"And he pitched his tent having Bethel on the west and Ai on the east: and there he builded an alter." Genesis 12:8



Worship is giving God the best that He has given you. Be careful what you do with the best you have. Whenever you get a blessing from God, give it back to Him as a love gift. Take time to meditate before God and offer the blessing back to Him in a deliberate act of Worship. If you hoard a thing for yourself, it will turn into spiritual dry rot, as the manna did when it was hoarded. God will never let you hold a spiritual thing for yourself, it has to be given back to Him that He may make it a blessing to others.

Bethel is the symbol of communion with God; Ai is the symbol of the world. Abraham pitched his tent between the two. The measure of the worth of our public activity for God is the private profound communion we have with Him.

Rush is wrong every time, there is always plenty of time to worship God. Quiet days with God may be a snare. We have to pitch our tents where we shall always have quiet times with God, however noisy our times with the world may be there are not three stages in spiritual life-Worship, waiting and work. Some of us go in jumps like spiritual frogs, we jump from worship to waiting, and from waiting to work. God's idea is that the three should go together. They were always together in the life of Our Lord. He was unhasting and unresting. It is a discipline, we cannot get into it all at once.

~~~~~~From: My Utmost for His Highest, Oswald Chambers



As I read this exerpt for this book this morning, I became convicted. As a mom I have struggled with this idea of Worship as a way of life. After all how in the world can making mac and cheese and changing countless dirty diapers be pleasing to My Lord?!?



Before kids I was very active in my Church and I loved it. However once kids came along that skreeched to a halt! After all we are blessed if we get to even attend church between all the sick kids! So how am I to Worship My God in this stage of life?



I think that I have begun to answer this question. I need to have the attitude of Worship in all I do. It's easy to loose focus when you are stuck inside these long winter months just passing germs from one host to another. But I believe that God makes no mistakes and He has me here for such a time as this.



My ministry right now is my family. My husband and my girls. After all I have no idea what God has in the future for my children or my children's children. I have to be sure to start a Godly legacy that will carry on long after I am gone. Life now is just a short part of God's plan. I forget we were created for Eternal Life with Our God and Savior. This is just a blink of an eye.



So I carry on! Changing diapers for the Christ, Serving PB&J for the Savior, Laundry for my Lord!!! Will you join me:) I may make us all up some t-shirts!!

The night I fell in Love!

My memory this week is all about the night I fell in love eight years ago this March. Brian's family had attended our church for a while, but since Brian had been in the Marine Corp I didn't meet him until he moved home after his duty ended.

He began attending a bible study we held at my parents house for the college and career aged group. At first I have to admit we didn't get along so well. At that time in my life I didn't care for men and I really didn't want to marry a big headed Marine! In fact he began hanging around a group of friends that my sister was also involved with and I told my mom, "You need to keep an eye on Erin, that Brian has been hanging around!"

Well a few weeks passed and he came to a work day we were having at our church. We were painting the basement and a lot of the group were getting out of hand and I was having a fit because there was paint every where except the walls! He took me aside and said "You really need to calm down, it's not that big of a deal...it will all get done!" That night I thought to myself......If he can tell me what to do, and I'm not even mad, he must be the man for me!

Well my sister and then boyfriend, now husband, set us up on a date. I thought why not, I have nothing better to do! We had ha good time, just the normal dinner and a movie. But there was just something more there!

I came home and my mom was in her room. I walked in and told her I was home, and by the way..... I am going to marry Brian. She was shocked I'm sure but she didn't miss a beat. She just replied "alright, glad you had a good time....see you in the morning".

Well we did get married, in fact 6 mos to the day of our first date! We didn't want to waste any time I guess.

I am so thankful for God working in my heart to see that that Big Headed Marine was the one HE had sent to care for me and give me three of the most beautiful girls in the world.

I Love you Brian and I always will!!!!

Snow Day!!!

Katie Playing in the Snow

Eskimo Emma

Sisters and Best Friends:)

Getting ready to go outside.......yes, I made them potty two times before dressing!

Thank you to Great Granny and Big Papa for the Christmas money that we used to but these snow suits! They Love them, it helps them stay all warm and dry.

It's almost Valentines Day.......

Emma Claire, always ready for her closeup!

Kaitlyn did not want her picture taken, So I'm sure this will make wonderful blackmail in the future:)

What a cutie pie, if I might say so myself:)

And we all know what that means?!? Time to get the Christmas pics off the camera and on to the laptop! I know I'm just a little behind, but none the less here they are. Hope you enjoy! This Christmas was really nice. We were able to enjoy almost every moment even though it did go faster than we would have liked. My Brother David was able to come home, and we were all so very grateful for that. This was his first year that he was away from home and he wasn't able to make it home for Thanksgiving. These pics were taken Christmas eve after our candlelight service at our Church.

Merry Christmas 2008!

Kaitlyn Rose

Emma Claire

Addison Grace

My Brother's Anniversary

It has been one year since my brother, David, left for the Marine Corp Basic Training. One year ago we were wondering how he could make it threw this long and hard journey. Would he be able to escape injury like so many stories we heard of? Would he be able to find something deep within himself to get him threw this? No, he would find something or should I say Some One, who would get him threw this time.

We were all wondering what he would do with his life little more than a year ago. He was struggling to find purpose for his life. He didn't like school and college was proving to be just as much of a mismatch for him. We all knew that he was very smart and talented, he just needed to find his niche in life. We were all praying for him to find something.

One evening he came over to hang out at our house, which wasn't anything new. But this night he has something to talk about. He wanted to talk to my husband Brian about the Marine Corp. My husband was also a Marine so David knew that Brian would be able to give him some insight. As we talked I could feel the Spirit leading the conversation. It all felt like it was falling into place. It was then that we realized that now a greater mission was in order........get mom to approve!

I called her the next day, then I began to lead the conversation. When by my surprise she said "what do you think about the military and David" ......you have got to be kidding me I thought!" Well actually, he was here last night talking about just that". It is so amazing how God goes before conversations like this one and begins working in hearts.

So that is how it all began and within weeks David was on a airplane headed for San Diego, CA.
He made it threw boot camp with no injuries and a new found confidence that he was lacking before. He had become a man. We are all so proud of him. Now he and Brian share something that none of us civilians could ever understand.

I'm so proud of my men in my life:)

You know your a mom when........

..............You judge how productive your day was by how many diapers you changed!
..............Your husband can't get the cap off the children's tylenol, but your 16month old can!
..............You get excited at the thought of going to Wal-mart, by yourself!
..............You will take a kiss from your kids, even if it's covered in PB&J!
..............You have a date with your husband, away from the kids,
but all you can talk about is, THE KIDS!
..............You begin to see Sunday School as free babysitting!
..............You get excited about free toilet paper!
Its the most wonderful job in the word, as well as the most exhausting:) But all in all none of us would trade a moment of it.

A Kodak Moment, Well almost:)

We are reading a book with the girls before bed every night. It is a book on Psalm 23 that explains every verse in a story that kids can understand. I just love it.
Well tonight we were finished with the story and there is a list of topics to talk about with your kids at the end of every story. One of the things at the end of this particular story that they wanted them to do was list something they loved about each one in the family.
I sat with tears in my eyes as they told their dad that they liked when he came home from work and kissed them and said how much he loved them. Or how they liked it when their baby sister smiled at them and chased them around the house.
I know great kids right! I was so proud that something I was doing was getting threw. I haven't been wasting my time or my blood, sweat and tears!
Then I asked Emma what she loved about Katie, she paused to think, when Katie said "here let me tell you what you love about me!". It was so funny it was hard not to laugh!
I guess this is the sort of thing you remember the most. They do love each other, as long as it is Katie's way:)

If you like to save money , Check this out!

I love to find a good deal. It is such a rush, I think that I may need an intervention......but I don't have time for that now.
Anyway, I have heard of these people who print off coupons and get stuff for little to no cost, but I thought that it was just too good to be true. Well a friend suggested that I check out this site, www.moneysavingmoms.com it is the real deal. They even have a site that they work with that can download coupons to your Dillons card so you don't even have to print anything off and remember it at the register. I tried it tonight and paid 1cent for a 4 pack of toilet paper! It was sooooooo cool, I can't wait to go back. I hope you check it out, its really not as hard as I thought that it was. Let me know if it works for you:)

We have it so easy! Is that all about to change?

I think that my new years resolution should be no more news! Watching the news tonight really had me thinking and worrying and then praying.
Cessna is talking more layoffs.......we missed them so far but will we next time? Then this poor boy who has been missing for 11 years and guess what he was home schooled. So now they are talking stricter regulations for homeschooling. Because Lord knows that without the government keeping tract we may just loose our children! I can hear it now..." Honey where is Tommy?"..."well now that you mention it I haven't seen him for 11 years".
The economy is plunging and don't even get me started on our new administration! All of these changes had me thinking. ......Lord we have had it so easy!

I feel like my Faith has been spoon fed to me. All of this wonderful information so easily available to us and really with no resistance. Is this all about to change? Will I be ready? Will my children be ready?

I think that this new year it will be my mission to first and most importantly to leave this World in my Father's hands. I can put my trust in HIM. Not in a president or legislators. And then to prepare myself and my children to follow Christ with reckless abandon.

The words to one of my favorite song come to mind.......This world is not my home, I'm just a passing through, My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue;The angels beckon me from heaven's open door, And I can't feel at home in this world anymore!

The joys of Homeschooling

Well Christmas break is long been over and we are trying to get back into the swing of things. Since school is a new thing the girls love to do it and are often begging me to get the books out. Well today I was working with Emma and we were talking about opposites.

The point was to connect two columns of pictures with a line. eg: a Tall giraffe and a short mouse etc. Well she was doing quite well until we came to a picture of a duck in a pond. The picture on the other side that was supposed to be connected to it was a duck outside of the pond. They were wanting her to say "wet" and "dry". Not Emma! She understood the one in the pond was wet, but when I asked " What do you call this one?", pointing to the picture of the other duck she said...." Not wet!" It was so cute and really it was right. Oh well!