Growing in Rejoicing - Luke 10:20

been a long hard summer

2011-08-31T19:15:00.002-05:00

I'm not blogging here much right now ... its been a rough summer ... rough year I guess ... feel free to visit me at:

www.asijourneythroughloss.blogspot.com

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

Words I Can Relate To Today

2011-05-17T12:49:00.003-05:00

For it was not into my ear you whispered but into my heart.
It was not my lips you kissed but my soul.
~Judy Garland

No one sees the broken heart
That lies beneath my smile
No one sees the loneliness
Thats with me all the while
Silent tears gently fall
That others do not see
For my precious child
Who meant the world to me.
~Author Unknown

My blood, my breath – all you ever needed
My heart, filled with a mother’s love
the moment I knew
My arms, never to hold you close
My eyes, never to behold you face
My ears, never to hear you cry
My soul– the only connection to you
I have left.

By Christine Grabow,
Mom to Jordan Grabow,
Miscarried April 29, 2002

There is a sacredness in tears
They are not the mark of weakness, but of power
They speak more eloquently than 10,000 tongues.
They are the messengers of overwhelming grief
Of deep contrition and unspeakable love.
~Washington Irving

For those few weeks-- I had you to myself.
And that seems too short a time to be changed so profoundly.
In those few weeks-- I came to know you. . . and to love you.
You came to trust me with your life. Oh, what a life I had planned for you!
Just those few weeks—
When I lost you. I lost a lifetime of hopes, plans, dreams and aspirations. . .
A slice of my future simply vanished overnight.
Just those few weeks-- It wasn't enough to convince others how special and
important you were. How odd, a truly unique person has recently died and
no one is mourning the passing.
Just a mere few weeks—
And no "normal" person would cry all night over a tiny, unfinished baby,
or get depressed and withdraw day after endless day.
No one would, so why am I?
You were those few weeks my little one you darted in and out of my life too
quickly.
But it seems that's all the time you needed to make my life so much richer
and give me a small glimpse of eternity.
~By Susan Erling

Please
by Amy Cady 3/99 for Hope 1/10/99

Please do not ask if I am better now -
Know that I am not.

Please do not simply ask, "How are you?"
I am grieving. My child is dead.

Please do not ask my husband, "How is your wife?"
Comfort HIM.

Please do not say, "Has it already been three months?"
It feels like three years to me.

Please do not make less of my baby's life by saying, "You'll have more."
She was the one I wanted.

Please do not tell me, "Time will heal."
Time is a four-letter word.

Please do not say, "God knows best."
I am angry with God.

Please do not say, "She is in Heaven."
I want her here.

Please do not tell me how great your life is -
I am living a nightmare.

Please do not tell me about someone else's healthy new baby -
It's like a knife through my flat, empty belly.

Please do not say, "You look as if you were never pregnant!"
I WANT to look pregnant. I want to BE pregnant.

Please do not keep silent and not mention her name -
She was real - do you not think so?

Please do not ask, "What do you need?"
I need my baby.

Please do not say, "If there is anything I can do..."
Please just do it. I can't ask.

Please do not ask if I am better now -
You know that I am not.

2011-05-11T16:11:00.001-05:00

Liberty John
Due Date July 1st 2005
Angel Date Nov 15 2004

Elijah Lee
Due Date March 27 2008
Angel Date Sept 7 2007

Eden Sky
Due Date April 2011
Angel Date Aug 2010

Journey Peace
Due Date Nov 29 2011
Angel Date May 2011

Losing A Baby: The 10 Worst Things to Say to a Grieving Person

2011-05-05T14:39:00.001-05:00

In my own grieving and searching today I came across this beautiful blog

I want to thank Danielle for her bravery in her blog ... so many people just don't know what it is like to loose a baby or a pregnancy ... so many say things with out realizing the hurt they cause.

Losing A Baby: The 10 Worst Things to Say to a Grieving Person: "I came across this article this morning and thought I would share. The Ten Worst Things to Say to a Grieving Person 1. I know how you f..."

Unspoken Grief

2011-02-08T10:02:00.005-06:00

What a beautiful and brave momma I have met in Devan, a new online friend and blogging mommy. She birthed in her sweet heart, the idea of a community of support for anyone touched (directly or indirectly) by miscarriage, stillbirth & neonatal loss. Certainly, as mommas surviving misscariages we can understand the need for such a community. But I love that she includes spouses, grandparetns and friends in this community. So often loved ones are at a loss as to what they should say, and in that confusion they can often say unhelpful things. I plan to pass along her new online community to as many sources as I can. Not just to friends and family, but to doctors, nurses and ERs.

I invite you to join us at the new online community:

Unspoken Grief

Why must they grow up so fast?

2011-02-05T21:02:00.010-06:00

Was able to visit over coffee with Jo, a sweet bloggy friend, tonight who has the sweetest teeny tiny bundle of joy! I can remember each of my kiddos as tiny bundles ... those newborn smells and new born noises ... they grow up and learn so much so fast! I know thats not a bad thing ... its how God designed human beings, but every now and then a momma has to sit back and sigh as she remembers those sweet newborn days. My youngest is now 2, but her newborn days are well recoded on her blog

Do you ever wonder about your grandparents or great grandparents and how many of them never even owned a camera ... so never really had any pictures to document their kids growing up. My grandma has one 6 month portrait of my mom, but then almost nothing else till grade-school. Its a different sort of thing for me to imagine... but then my kids tell me I am addicted to my camera. They have to withstand several photo sessions each year and I love to look back over them.

April 2009:

Dec. 2009:

July 2010:

Dec. 2010:

And how is it that my sweet little bundle

is now this wildly active 2 year old

And how could THIS sweet little bundle

be 15 years old already?!?!?

James 1:1-11 - Consider Trials a Joy

2011-01-21T12:45:00.000-06:00

Good Morning Girls!

2011-01-17T12:33:00.000-06:00

I simply love the idea that Courtney and Angela had to start Good Morning Girls! I love the facebook group that I've joined with other women from all over the country. We keep each other accountable to having our own quiet times and trying to daily read scripture.

From now until March we are also looking at 2 verses in the book of James each day (5 days a week). Its a fantastic way to kick off the new year, by digging deeper into God's Word. Feel free to join us: gmg-winter-session-begins-today

New Year ... New Study

2011-01-16T12:25:00.001-06:00

I've found a few online resources to help keep me in the Word this year And I thought I should share them with my friends who are also online:

One Year Bible Blog

Momstoolbox.com

Good Morning Girls

Matthew West - The Motions (With Lyrics)

2011-01-08T19:40:00.000-06:00

my absence

2010-10-23T02:49:00.002-05:00

Well, between another miscarriage(back in Aug) and getting kids settled back to school(in Sept) and all the chaos of keeping up with this wonderful family (everyday) I've been lacking in keeping up with online stuff ... my apologies... but then not really cause this crazy chaotic beautiful family is my primary job :-)

I have managed to continue snapping pictures as we go. I've been posting those over at memoriesfortoday.blogspot.com Please visit us over there. And I am planning to begin participating in the new Bloom Book Club book study over at thebloombookclub.blogspot.com. I hope you will join us there too!

Real Moments to Remember

2010-08-24T20:36:00.001-05:00

I have been blessed and inspired by reading Jeanette's blog, A Moment with M.O.M. At times she posts about real moments in their home

We are truly blessed as moms to see these real moments in life, our lives, our children's lives and the lives of those around us. So I'm trying to also begin capturing some of those every day moments that make my life so special and unique. I want to rejoice in my everyday moments ... they may not be spectacular or earthshattering events ... but they are the memories my children will carry with them into adulthood.

So, this morning after dropping our eldest daughter at the stable where she works, I stopped at the grocery store with a very short list of a few things we needed. My youngest wanted to come along, but did not want to change out of her princess nightgown. I decided that did not matter, she could shop in her nightgown. She spotted the "baby carts" right away. In her limited vocabulary she uses the term "baby" to mean any thing small or little. Usually I don't have the luxury of allowing her to push one of those. Usually I have more children with me, and a much longer list ... but today it was just this sweet little princess and me and our list was short, so away we went ... and before we finished I just had to snap a picture of her with my phone:

I'm learning to cherish and rejoice in these moments ... It was just a trip to the grocery store for 10 items, but for my youngest it was a huge moment, as SHE pushed the cart and SHE helped place the items into the cart. She told her siblings, her daddy and her grandpa about it over and over later that day. I'm glad I had a phone that could take a picture and capture the memory. But even more importantly I'm glad I didn't rush through my morning to do list. It would have been easy to say no to the "baby cart" and we probably would have finished our trip in half the time, but we would have missed this memory.

Completing Him Challenge - Week 4

2010-07-07T16:36:00.001-05:00

This weeks Marriage challenge is:
Admire Your Husband

If you are a blogger write a post all about your husband and what you admire in him and then show it to him! He will smile! If you are not a blogger, list the things you admire about your husband in the comment section and show it to him! You may THINK he already knows the things you admire about him - but I'm afraid we don't tell our husbands often enough how much we do. So here's your chance to selflessly gush about your man! And don't forget to link up over at The Women Living Well Blog

Here is what I admire about the man I love:

- Allen has such a gentle calming presence. His voice, his touch ... no matter what the circumstance he can put me at easy.

- He reassures me and our kids often of his love and delight for us. We know he loves us, but it is so so nice to hear it regularly.

- Gotta say I those muscles ... and not just because they are so attractive. He can carry my over packed suitcase with easy. He can open any jar or container I hand him. He can lift a four year old in one arm and two year old in the other and still master several flights of stairs!

- He is such a hard worker and cares very much about doing a good job at whatever he is working on. He is a wonderful leader and provider for our family.

- He has the amazing ability to fix things! I've only called a plumber once in our 17 years of marriage. Stoves, washmachines, toilets, electrical wiring, cars, trucks and old lawn mowers ... he understands it all.

- He cares very much about treating others with kindness and respect. And I adore that he is teaching that to our kids.

- He cares deeply for our extended families and goes to great lengths to make sure we spend time with them. Family is very important to him and close to his heart.

- He is an amazing listener ... I knew this long before I married him, even before I dated him. He is a great friend, cares greatly about what his friends think and feel.

- He has the most amazing eyes!!! And when he smiles there have always been these tiny lines in the corner of his eyes ... not sure how to explain it except that I am so drawn to those eyes! And two of our boys have almost exactly the same eyes.

- He has studied me and knows me like no one else. He sees my feelings, he cares and he listens. He has always let me be just me. I am completely comfortable to be just me with him. He knows when I need encouragement, and when I need silence. He knows when I need his tender embrace but also knows when I need my own space.

- He makes me feel safe, protected and cared for.

VBS = FUN

2010-07-01T12:12:00.000-05:00

This digital slideshow made with Smilebox

Calling all busy moms with hungry kids!!!

2010-06-28T04:24:00.005-05:00

Updates and Apologies
So, sorry for the delay, but need to push my little contest back a week ... last week we were crazy busy with VBS at our church, then friends here from out of town, and 4th of July preparations then celebrations and just for fun, mid week my 11 year old needed a quick trip to the ER for stitches ... life is never boring here. But with all that going on I did not get much of a chance to blog, so I will try to do better this week and will pick a winner on Sunday July 11th.

original post
Do you know what you are making for dinner tonight? Do you know if you have the right ingredients on hand? I have more often than not found myself at 6pm looking in our pantry, in our fridge and in our freezer trying to figure out what I can quickly make. Poor planning, I know. We are a busy family ... meal planning (along with laundry folding) has long been a short coming of mine. But the kids do get hungry ... every night ... and I find my self wishing I had planned better, so instead of a last minute meal scramble we could sit down and enjoy an evening meal together.

But the good news???
I think I have found a solution to my meal planning problems:

Dine Without Whine

Are You Ready To Make Family Meal Time A Priority?

The best way to make family meals a reality is to begin menu planning. You can look through recipes, decide what to make, and create a grocery shopping list with the ingredients you need. An average home manager spends about 1 1/2 hours a week on this task.

Don't Panic! I know what you're probably thinking. "Menu planning sounds awfully important, but I don't have an extra hour and a half each week to devote to this!" That is okay... I have found the menu planning experts! Let them plan your menu for you each week. Their weekly menus feature:

Main Dish Recipes For Dinner Every Night Of The Week

Suggestions & Recipes For Side Dishes

Brunch Ideas For Saturday & Sunday

Two Dessert Recipes To Be Used Anytime During the Week

Access to the Members Only Bonus Area - featuring e-books & tools you are going to LOVE

PLUS:

Each menu will include a grocery list (categorized by aisle) that includes all the necessary ingredients to prepare the recipes in the weekly menu plan. All you have to do is cross off any items you may already have on hand - add breakfast, snack or lunch items you may need and you're ready to shop.

What a blessing to know that a fellow blogging mama has decided to use her talent for organization and nutritious foods to help those of us who struggle with meal planning. Christine aka The Menu Mom has created fantastic menues and corresponding shopping lists!!! I printed my very first menu and shopping list this weekend! And am hoping to share over this week with all of you how much I am enjoying using Dine Without Whine. Maybe even share some pictures of the yummy meals we make and I'm hoping a picture of my family sitting down to dinner together!!!

Christine has several membership options listed on her site, something to fit everyone's needs. But for one of my lucky bloggy friends Christine has a free membership waiting. If you would like a chance to win a Dine Without Whine membership please visit her sample menu and then leave a comment here to let me know which one of her recipies you are most excited to try. If you have any menu planning tips you would like to share with me, please feel free to leave those too. On Saturday evening I'll use www.random.org to draw a winner from all those who leave comments on this post.

Happy Monday Everyone!

Completing Him Challenge - Week 2

2010-06-23T16:06:00.005-05:00

I love the idea that Courtney came up with for this summer. Please join us over at The Women Living Well Blog to share in this challenge with us.
This weeks challenge is simply to Remember. Remember the day you entered your sacred vows. If you are a blogger, please post pictures from that day and share your story. Then link up over at Women Living Well

Hard to believe its been 17 years! Did we really ever look that young? Our kids laugh when they see our wedding pictures. We were just talking last night about what if someone would have told us when we got married that 17 years from now you will have been pregnant 7 times and have 5 children, or that you will homeschool your children, or any number of other things ... our life is so different than what we imagined and we are ever so grateful that God is in control!!! I'm so blessed to know and love this man! so proud to be his wife! And as much as I enjoy thinking about our future together, I can't help but wonder how different it will really turn out from we are imagining today.

Completing Him Challenge - Week 1

2010-06-14T10:29:00.011-05:00

It's Week #1 of the Completing Him Challenge, hosted by Courtney over at Women Living Well.

Proverbs 5:18b&19 tells husbands "May you rejoice in the wife of your youth. A loving doe, a graceful deer - may her breasts satisfy you always, may you ever be captivated by her love."

The challenge this week is to remember those dating days ... those days of courtship before you were man and wife, back when he first captivated your heart and you captivated his. Share pictures or stories from your dating days. So here are a few of our dating memories:

As you can see (by the prom attire) we were indeed highschool sweethearts. Its hard for me to believe that this picture was taken over 20 years ago. There are a lot more photos from those days ... but I just have to find time to scan them in. We have 5 kids now, so time is something I'm a bit short on.

This picture was taken at his graduation party. He graduated 2 years before me ... this was such a bittersweet day for me. Happy and proud for him, yet I knew it meant having to say goodbye soon as he was joining the NAVY. Long distance relationships are tough, but God knew what He was doing. We grew closer through letters and occasional phone calls. Those were most certainly not easy years, my heart ached for him every day. I remember wondering if something that hard was really "worth it" ... was it worth the loneliness till we could be together again? We were engaged just after I graduated and married the following summer. If I could go back in time I would tell my then teenage self to hang in there because it is so much more than "worth it". I could not have even imagined the life and blessings that God would bring our way. I still thank my hubby for making me his wife, for waiting through those lonely times till we could be together.

Completing Him Challenge Begins

2010-06-07T22:44:00.008-05:00

This summer I am joining in with Courtney from Women Living Well in her Completing Him Challenge. Here's a short video describing the challenge:

I want to be the woman my husband needs. Do you? I know we love our men and sometimes in the mundane routine of life we forget to nurture and care for them.

Would you like to join me? Click here to visit Courtny's blog

Growing up ...

2010-05-25T20:07:00.001-05:00

Each year at our church we hold a senior banquet to celebrate our graduating seniors, at that event we also recognize and welcome the incoming freshman to the Senior High youth group. So, how did my first child become one of those incoming freshman? Not sure how I feel about that ... especially since in my mind she should look about like her little sister did that night.

I wrote more about it and my thoughts HERE

A friend of mine, designing blogs

2010-04-24T07:37:00.004-05:00

Just thought I would pass along kudos for a sweet friend of mine

If you want a blog makeover or just some extra sparkle to your page, she is the one you call.

Tea Party for Sick Kids

2010-04-15T22:54:00.000-05:00

Zeke had a temp of 104 the other day ... today its 99.9 and he is definitly feeling better, however both Mary and Mom now have fevers of 103. Z has ben very sweet trying to make Mary happy. He wanted Mary to come have tea party with him downstairs, but she was laying in bed with me feeling misserable and kept saying "no, no, no". I told Z maybe if he brought dishes up here he could pour water in them in my bathroom and play ... Mary liked the water idea ... And i think playing with cold water is making her feel better. And Mikayla put a chewable tylonal on a plate, like a treat, and Mary finally took a dose of it without fighting us!

Jim Bob and Michelle on Josie's Hospital Release - A Very Duggar Life : TLC

2010-04-06T23:38:00.001-05:00

Jim Bob and Michelle on Josie's Hospital Release - A Very Duggar Life : TLC

Posted using ShareThis

He is Alive!

2010-04-04T08:31:00.002-05:00

Easter

2010-04-03T20:20:00.005-05:00

My friend Jennifer has a gift for words and for sharing God's truth. I was so inspired by her post on Good Friday. One of my kids asked yesterday "whats really so good about it, if its the day they killed Jesus?" A tough discussion for sure ...

But we came to this conclusion ... Good Friday is indeed good because without the Good Friday there could not be an Easter. Without Jesus' sacrifice we would not have the hope to see heaven. I truly do find myself as a loss for words when considering the love and sacrifice of Christ Jesus.

I know there are many different thoughts on Easter Eggs, but I personally just love the idea of new life beginning ... we are invited to receive new life in Christ. And when we dye Easter eggs I just love to see all the brilliant colors together. I wonder if God ever looks over the earth, over all the new lives he has created and just enjoys all the different colors gathered together ... Maybe I'll ask him one day.

Our Compassion Kids!

2010-03-27T14:01:00.001-05:00

We have sponsored 3 kids through Compassion International for several years. We let the kids pick a country and then tried to find a child similar in age. Mikayla writes to a girl her age in Guatemala,

Gus writes to a boy in Thailand the same age as him

And Owen writes to a boy with almost the same birthday as his in Bolivia

We dream of one day traveling to one or more of hese countries to meet our sponsored children in person, but for now we pray for them and think of them everyday. We wonder what their day is like and talk about what would be different and what would be the same as our day.

Sponsor a Child

When Mary and Zeke (our two younger children) get a little older we will add two more Compassion kids to our family, so they can each write to a child too.

I was searching the Compassion website the other day and realized there is much more we can do to help Compassion International beyond sponsoring a child. There are other important programs like:

Compassion Sunday

Leadership Development Program

Child Survival Program

And on Compassion Internationale's website you can read wonderful accounts of how God is working in the lives of the children we sponsor and also in the lives of the people sponsoring:

On Pastor's Story

How MercyMe's Bart Millard was inspired by his young son

20 years after being sponsored, a Thank you

There is also a wonderful Compassion Blog

I ♥ Faces - week 12

2010-03-22T01:32:00.001-05:00

This week at I ♥ Faces their challenge theme is "Angles". I confess that on first glance at the line up of weekly challenge themes I thought it read "Angels" and said "guess I'll skip that week since I've never photographed an angel" ... then realized I read it wrong (phew...)

So off I went to find a photo with a creative or interesting angle ... ended up looking at pictures from 4 years ago! It was a really fun trip down memory lane. Man these kids grow really fast! So here is my entry of our 4th child, Z. He LOVED talking to himself in this mirror. I guess this day he was really cracking himself up and I remember my daughter saying "mom, I wonder what he is telling himself thats so funny"

I guess he could qualify for the challenge even if it was angels, since we think he is a gift straight from heaven itself (but then I'm a bit biased, I'm his mom). If you would like to see a much more recent shot of cute little guy click HERE

If you want to see some more fun pictures from the I ♥ Faces Angles (not angels) Challenge or share one of your own click on the button below:

Undo

2010-03-21T11:31:00.002-05:00

I must admit that this is my daily (sometimes hourly) prayer:

So greatful for the love and mercy of our great God!

I ♥ Faces - Constructive Feedback

2010-03-19T11:01:00.001-05:00

I decided to enter a picture I took of Mary last summer over at I ♥ Faces

Vist Mary's blog to see my entry and read the feedback and please do go visit I ♥ Faces

The Dead Sea Scrolls

2010-03-13T19:25:00.001-06:00

Last night I had the pleasure of attending the opening night of the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit at the Science Museum of Minnesota. Thanks, Dad, for taking me along as your guest!

It was an amazing evening, I took quite a few pictures but neither my pictures nor my words will even come close to the greatness of this exhibit. If you are in MN, please do put this on your must do list.

Cameras and photos were not allowed inside the exhibit but my dad was an invited guest to the "Premier Private Reception celebrating the opening of the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibition", so I took plenty of pictures there. For the reception they served us delicious flavors and aromas from the middle east. There was also lively music from Mark Stillman and Voices of Sepharad. The Science Museum did an excellent job transporting our senses of sight, smell and taste to the area near Jerusalem where the Dead Sea Scrolls were accidentally discovered by shepards back in 1947. Not only the food, but the music, the drinks, the whole atmosphere was wonderful!!! It really set the stage to take in this great exhibit.

We were also honored to hear Dr Eric Jolly, President of The Science Museum of Minnesota speak and then we heard from Shuka Dorfman, from the Israel Antiquities Authority, where the scrolls are cared for, preserved and housed when they not part of an exhibit. Another blessing of the evening came just at the end of the exhibit. After seeing the actual pieces of the Dead Sea Scrolls we were lead into another room, where we were transported back into this century. On display was information about and some of the actual folios from The Saint Johns Bible. I did not realize until I saw some of those pages what a great undertaking this is that has been commissioned by St Johns Abbey and University right here in Minnesota. If you have not heard about The Saint John’s Bible, which is the world’s newest hand-scribed illustrated Bible, and the first to be commissioned in 500 years, please visit HERE to learn more and even see some of the pages.

Compassion Bloggers Trip 150 square

2010-03-02T16:18:00.001-06:00

2010-02-24T18:30:00.000-06:00

Sisters

2010-02-01T11:22:00.003-06:00

I'm so glad that my girls each have a sister to do fun things
like braid and brush hair and giggle

I have fond memories og growing up with sisters, too:

Isaiah 43:18-19

2010-01-27T20:40:00.003-06:00

A wonderful new person in our life shared this verse with me today and told me she will be praying it for me:

Isaiah 43:18-19

18 Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.

19 See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert
and streams in the wasteland.

I am so touched by her! Her heart for the Lord shines so bright and she has such a gift for encouraging! We are greatfl to know her and her family.

The Bloom Book Club

2010-01-25T22:16:00.004-06:00

How exciting to be joining The Bloom Book Club once again for a fantastic book and thoughtful discussions.

Join us on the Ning site to discuss the first 99 pages of Same Kind Of Different As Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore.

Here are some questions being discussed on the Ning site:

How did Denver's story impact you? Did it shock you?

Do you ever have the urge to do something, but for some reason you don't, like Ron did on page 23? How does that make you feel when you think about that?

What stood out to you about Deborah?

How has someone forgiving you made an impact on your life?

In what ways are we choosing to lead a radical, crazy love life like Deborah lived?

This week, we want to encourage you to pray for people by name like Deborah did for the people she served at the homeless shelter.

Please join us in answering these questions and sharing this book with those in your life.

I ♥ Faces for Jan 18th

2010-01-19T19:48:00.006-06:00

This week at I ♥ Faces, the theme for their weekly challenge is Family. Here is my entry, two of my kids with their grandpa and cousin ... out for a ride with the sled dogs. Their grandpa (my dad) is a great winter outdoorsman. He loves to get his grandkids out in to the woods, the wild, the snow with him ... and they love to be there with him. Its a blessing both ways!

New Family Blog!

2010-01-17T14:25:00.003-06:00

My plan for 2010 is to use this blog for book/bible studies, like
the ones I am enjoying here:

... and in the mean time those who care to keep up with our family info and pictures can find all of that at:

http://memoriesfortoday.blogspot.com/

Haiti

2010-01-13T22:13:00.003-06:00

My friend (& local news reporter) Trish did a touching blog entry on Haiti with links to organizations you can help through:

http://offcamerawithtrish.blogspot.com/2010/01/reporter-and-mom.html

Happy New Year! Cards are still in progress

2010-01-10T14:40:00.001-06:00

Yes I know we are a bit past Christmas, but not that far really. I had great intentions to get cards out before the new year ... especially since we moved this summer ... but here we are Jan 9th and we are still printing, stamping and licking. Good thing we have the kids to help us get through all the cards

These are hitting the mail box first thing Monday morning! Email me if you would like me to send you one.

More Merry Christmas!

2009-12-26T20:55:00.002-06:00

Pictures of our kiddos on Christmas Morning!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-24T13:42:00.001-06:00

Well, I tried to order photo Christmas cards and messed up the online order ... so those won't be here till January now ... ooops! But we did put together a 2009 Year in Review slide show to share with our friends and loved ones:

Make a Smilebox slideshow

25 Days of Christmas Ornament - #16

2009-12-16T13:11:00.003-06:00

25 Days of Christmas Ornaments - #12

2009-12-12T20:56:00.008-06:00

Cookie Recipie Exchange

2009-12-12T17:29:00.000-06:00

Jessica over at The Mom Creative has graciously decided to host a cookie recipie exchange!! I'm so excited!!! I happen to love love love Christmas cookies.

To join the fun be sure to put this button on your blog post with your cookie recipe and then link the permalink (the post link, not your blog link) on the MckLinky back on The Mom Creative. I can't wait to share my favorite recipe and check out yours!

My husband grew up attending a Moravian Church, a wonderful little country church actually. And there was a delicious cookie that my mother-in-law made and still makes every Christmas: Moravian Sugan Cookies. You can even buy these pre packaged someplaces, but the ones she makes are thicker and much tastier if you ask me. They quickly became my favorite Christmas cookies.

MORAVIAN SUGAR COOKIES
----------------------

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
1 1/4 cups flour
Topping
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Soften butter with sugar, baking powder, vanilla and salt. Blend in egg and flour.

Grease or butter 2 cookie sheets well. Spread half of the dough out on each cookie sheet to make a 10x8 inch rectangle (one for each sheet).

Mix together ingredients for topping and sprinkle evenly over the dough.

Bake at 350°F for 12 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown along the edges. Allow to cool 2 minutes, then cut into 2 inch squares. Cool on wire racks.

Makes about 40.

If you would like to read more on the Moravion tradition please click here or here or here

25 Days of Christmas Ornaments - #11

2009-12-11T20:56:00.005-06:00

Miss Mary wanted to be in the school Christmas show

2009-12-10T20:35:00.002-06:00

25 Days of Christmas Ornaments#10

2009-12-10T11:29:00.005-06:00

She is giving away what????

2009-12-09T17:36:00.004-06:00

Did someone mention a give away?
Oh, a Mck-Giveaway??
Really???
What might that look like?
Perhaps like this????

Really? Really!
No, Really??? Yes, Really!!
Visit MckMama's blog to learn how you can enter to win this HP Touchsmart

25 Days of Christmas Ornaments #9 and Happy Birthday to the Man I Lovve!

2009-12-09T01:28:00.003-06:00

25 Days of Christmas Ornaments - #8

2009-12-08T09:28:00.002-06:00

I just love the ideas my friend Carrie comes up with!! First the Alphabitty Moments and now 25 Days of Christmas Ornaments. This week she mentioned that we could focus on homemade ornaments ... I'll have to keep looking to see what other homemade ornaments I can find, but I came across this darling decoration that my kids love. It was not homemade by me, but by a friend of hubby's family who is very talented with wood ... that counts, right?

Please visit Carrie's blog to see the MckLinky and take part or just to look at all the beautiful ornaments and stories that other bloggers are posting.

Oh and look its snowing here!!!!

I ♥ Faces for Dec 7th

2009-12-07T20:59:00.003-06:00

This week at I ♥ Faces, the theme for their weekly challenge is "Sweet Dreams" , everyone is invited to post a photo of a person sleeping ... I happen to love sleeping babies and I looked back over many many sleepy pictures of my sweet kiddos as newborns. But instead of using any of their newborn photos, I decided to use this one I took just a few day ago:

I had laid our two youngest kiddos down for naps each on one side of our big bed ... but when I came to check on them only 15 minutes after they had fallen asleep this was what I found ... they seemed to neither one have ever awakened but had gravitated towards each other ... my heart just melts!

Click on the button below to visit the I ♥ Faces website, where you too can join in the fun and share your favorite sleepy heads with us!

25 Days of Christmas Ornaments - #7

2009-12-07T13:27:00.003-06:00

25 Days of Christmas Ornaments - #6

2009-12-06T06:17:00.000-06:00

I just love the ideas my friend Carrie comes up with!! First the Alphabitty Moments and now 25 Days of Christmas Ornaments. Please visit her blog to see the MckLinky and take part or just to look at all the beautiful ornaments and stories that other bloggers are posting.

I've always loved hanging candy canes on the Christmas tree, and a few years ago my mom bought me some very pretty glass ones. They look so yummy that I have to warn the kids they are not edible. If you hang them just right by a light they really do sparkel (I'll try get a better picture showing that some other time). But one of the other things I like about candy canes is the story behind them ... go ahead google it sometime!

The true meaning of the Candy Cane

Look at the Candy Cane

What do you see?

Stripes that are red

Like the blood shed for me

White is for my Savior

Who's sinless and pure!

"J" is for Jesus My Lord, that's for sure!

Turn it around

And a staff you will see

Jesus my shepherd

Was born for Me!

25 Days of Christmas Ornaments - #5

2009-12-05T17:26:00.002-06:00

I just love the ideas my friend Carrie comes up with!! First the Alphabitty Moments and now 25 Days of Christmas Ornaments. Please visit her blog to see the MckLinky and take part or just to look at all the beautiful ornaments and stories that other bloggers are posting.

This is not exactly an ornament I place on my tree but it is an ornament that has graced our front door every year of our marriage. When we were first married we lived out near Seattle WA, where Allen was stationed in the US NAVY. Those first few months were horribly lonely for me, being new to the area and new to married life. Allen was gone for both my birthday and thanksgiving that year, but I did find some treasured friendships in some of the other wives. One friend in particular taught me much over the years. She is a shinning example of a Christ loving mom, wife, woman of God. I still treasure our friendship. And every year when I hang this wreath I can remember picking out the ribbon and ornaments and buying my first hot glue gun ... she helped me make this wreath and many other fun things while our husbands were out to sea. It was especially fun to hang it on our new front door this year!

25 Days of Christmas Ornaments - #4

2009-12-04T17:26:00.009-06:00

25 Days of Christmas Ornaments #3

2009-12-03T17:26:00.000-06:00

25 Days of Christmas Ornaments #2

2009-12-02T09:17:00.004-06:00

I ♥ Faces for Dec 1st

2009-12-01T17:42:00.003-06:00

This week at I ♥ Faces, they are much more about photos from "behind" ... Why? Well, maybe because We ♥ Tooshies!

Our little Mary was covering second base while playing ball with her siblings and cousins a few months ago on the field on the Metrodome in Mpls ... yes that is really where we celebrated my sister's twins birhtday ... on the MN Twins home field. (well, it used to be there home field but that is a whole nother story ...)

Click on the button below to visit the I ♥ Faces website, where you too can join in the fun and share your favorite tooshies with us!

25 Days of Christmas Ornaments #1

2009-12-01T09:03:00.008-06:00

I just love the ideas my friend Carrie comes up with!! First the Alphabitty Moments and now 25 Days of Christmas Ornaments. Please visit her blog to see the MckLinky and take part or just to look at all the beautiful ornaments and stories that other bloggers are posting.

For my first of the 25 ornaments this season I chose my purple angel ... my mom and I are trying to remember if we bought her on a trip to Brazil or a trip to Chile back in 1980. We lived in Argentina then ... I would have been 8 or 9 years old. I remember these pretty hand made angels being sold at an outdoor market. We just can't remember which country. My favorite color has always been purple, so naturally I picked out a purple angel. My sisters each got one, too. One chose pink and one chose yellow. It was no where near Christmas time, but we bought them anyway and later on they adorned my mom's christmas trees for years. We each put our own color on the tree every year ... till we were to teenagerish to care about decorating the tree I supose. After I got married my mom let me sort through her christmas boxes and take many of the ornaments that were mine, so Allen and I would have ornaments for our first tree. I love this little purple angel and I hang her with warm memories each year.

Happy Advent and a Merry Christmas Season!

Five Question Friday ~ Nov. 20th

2009-11-21T09:31:00.003-06:00

Five Question Friday is a blog carnival started by Mama M - hop over to her blog to see who else is playing!

The Rules? They are simple:

Copy and paste the 5 questions listed at Mama M's blog each Friday to your own blog post, answer them, and then link up at Mama M's blog!

Okay? Here we go...

Questions for Friday, November 20th:

1. Are you a Black Friday shopper?
I know those deals a really good, but the noise, the crowds, the chaos ... I just can't handle it. Also, my hubby usually works that Friday so I'd have to take 5 kids with me ... that would be ridiculous!

2. What was your favorite childhood toy? (Think Easy Bake Oven, Cabbage Patch Kid, Shrinky Dinks, etc.)
My sisters and I did love doing Shrinky Dinks, but I think my favorite toys were my StarWars stuff. At least thats the stuff I remember playing with the most

3. Favorite Christmas movie?
I guess its not really a Christmas movie, but it used to be on TV near Christmas every year and we often watched it with my grandparents, Sound of Music

4. What is the "must have" item on your Christmas list this year?
I could really use a new coffee maker, but also asked for money so we can get window treatments for our windows in the new house (I know, my Christmas list is so boring)

5. Do you go all out with decorations or do you keep it simple and classy?
I used to go all out ... but as each child came along I've gotten simpler and simpler. This year we might do a bit more again. Its kinda fun decorating in a new home.

Hope everyone has a very Happy Thanksgiving week!

Toys at Ebeanstalk

2009-11-19T12:51:00.004-06:00

Ebeanstalk Announces their Cutest Kid Playing-With-A-Toy Contest. Do you have an adorable picture of a child in your life plaing with a toy? Or take a picture of your little one playing with a toy, and email the picture to emily@ebeanstalk.com. It's just that easy.

You could be 1 of 10 lucky winners to win a $50 gift certificate at ebeanstalk this holiday. Entries will be chosen on their cuteness-level.

Privacy is ensured! Entrants will not be spammed. Do not send your address for privacy purposes - just email the picture and the FIRST name of your child.

All my blog readers will receive a 10% discount at ebeanstalk of any purchase. Enter the code ebeanstalk100 at the cart!

Ebeanstalk is a website dedicated to selecting great, safe toys for 3 year olds and toddler toys. They rely on the opinions and feedback of bloggers and moms around the country. Also their team of child experts help to pick out kids toys...but you be the judge!

Please visit these links:

kids toys
toddler toys
toys for a 3 year old

Our daughter has thouroly enjoyed playing with this toy from www.ebeanstalk.com:

Its called the Sort n' Learn Pelican from Tiny Love. I have always thought that Tiny Love makes great toys. Even without the cool shapes and sounds she loves this toy, because its a bird and she has this facination with birds! But when the talking switch is turned on, this talking bird toy tells her which shape and which color she just put in his mouth ... pretty cool, ha?

If you ever have to direct well meaning aunts, uncles, grandparents or other gift buyers as to the types of toys you want them to give your children we highly recommend you send them to ebeanstalk
Happy shopping!

Mastocytosis

2009-11-17T13:09:00.004-06:00

Many of you may remember that Zeke had a tough time a few years back, on going diarrhea, leg pain, no growth or weight gain for a whole year, leading to a diagnosis of failure to thrive and malnurished. We went round and round from doctor to doctor, saw hemotologists, oncologist, rheumatologist, orthopedics, endocrinologists, dermatologists and allergy specialists.

This is his caringbridge site if you ever want to read up on what it took to get a diagnosis: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/zeke

Once we ended up with his diagnosis of Mastocytosis we went round and round again trying to fiure it out. We are greatful and thankful for the many helpful medical people along the way! And now that our life is pretty normal and Zeke's symptoms are pretty much under control I have had time to meet other moms with Mastocytosis kids. One of those moms, blogs about her life and has compiled a great explination with great links, you can see that here: http://mastomama.blogspot.com/2009/11/about-mast-cells-and-mastocytosis.html

All moms of MastoKids would love to share awarness and info about Mastocytosis, one of my other favorite sites is: http://www.mastokids.org/

Thanks for taking the time to be aware!

I ♥ Faces for Nov 17th

2009-11-17T09:50:00.006-06:00

This week's theme at I ♥ Faces is "Autumn Beauty"

It is all about capturing a photo of a person surrounded
by the beautiful colors of autumn. Since we live in MN
we have great colors to photograph!

Click on the button below to visit the I ♥ Faces website, where you too can join in the fun and share your "Autumn Beauty" with us, or just come on over to enjoy all the beautiful fall pictures!

And feel free to visit this post to see more beautiful fall colors and my family enjoying them.

Five Question Friday ~ Nov. 13th

2009-11-13T11:53:00.006-06:00

Five Question Friday is a blog carnival started by Mama M - hop over to her blog to see who else is playing!

The Rules? Simple:

Copy and paste the 5 questions listed at Mama M's blog each Friday to your own blog post, answer them, and then link up at Mama M's blog!

Questions for 11/13/09:

1. What is your favorite "eat" on Thanksgiving?
Its a tie between the turkey and the cranberries. Mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes tie for second.

2. What is the name your best girl friend and the best trait about her or how you met (or heck, both!!)
I find this question difficult ... not sure I have just one best friend ... There are several I consider my best girl friends, all a blessing at differrent times in my life.
But there is only one of my friends I cannot remember how we met ... I've just always known her. Her name is Mary, she grew up just down the street from my grandparents. Whenever I visited I would see Mary and as we grew older we'd spend weekends at each others and we'd write letters. She was (and i guess still is) almost two years older than me ... She taught me about lots of stuff ... a great "big sister", we would tell people we were "cousins". We also go into our fair bit of trouble together ... boys, 4wheelers, sneaking out ... I could go on, but I won't :-) When I was looking at colleges I felt completely overwhelmed, ended up attending the collage where Mary was, felt good to have her near by. Hubby and I got engaged that year and Mary was thrilled to be my maid of honor, and last year we named out baby girl after her. Ahhh ... friendship ... a great gift from the Lord!

3. What would you say is one of your "weirdest" quirks?
I can't sleep without covers, even in 100 degree heat, I need at least a sheet or I can't fall asleep.

4. What is your favorite genre of music? (Hip hop? Classical? Rock? etc.)
I am very eclectic ... can listen to and enjoy many kinds of music. But I do tend to choose hymns or praise music if its left up to me.

5. Are you a Night Owl...or an Early Bird?
Oh .... sooooo ... Night Owl!!!! Get me past 11pm and I get a total second wind, am good rill 2 or 3 am. But then I can easily sleep till 10am too. My mom is the exact same way, guess its hereditary.

Veteran's Day

2009-11-11T14:09:00.008-06:00

I was so excited when my boys brought home the red, white and blue papers from school to fill out. Their school was planning a special Veteran's Day Chapel Service and they wanted the kids to fill out papers about any relatives they might have serving or who have served in the military. We are very proud of our family's military vets, so we set right to work filling in dates, ranks, and listing who served in which branch of the service. I was also able to find photos of each family member in their service uniform.

Their daddy, my wonderful husband Allen, served in the Navy for 8 years in the 1990s, on a submarine:

Their Papa Roger served in the Army, in the Signal Corps in the 1960s:

Their Great-Grandpas (both my grandpas) served in the Navy and Air Force during the 1940s and WWII:

I'm so pleased that the school my boys are attending has chosen to honor our service members this way. I mentioned to my dad that we were going to have this special Veteran's Day service and he offered to pick up my Great-Grandparents (who live an hour away) and bring them down for the morning. How wonderful!!! They had a fantastic time. And Allen's parents (who also an hour away) drove to be here this morning also. And Allen used his last vacation day of the year, so he could attend the service with his boys too.

I'm so proud of these men in my life ... I wish I had even remotely appropriate words to express my gratitude, but at the moment I can not find any ... so I'll let the pictures speak for me:

Mary, Mary Our Pumpkin Fairy

2009-11-02T18:32:00.004-06:00

If she were older I am sure that our little
Mary might not like what her siblings
have been chanting all day:
"Mary, Mary our sweet pumpkin fairy"
But for today she just giggles and enjoys the attention!

Five Question Friday ~ Oct. 30th

2009-10-30T11:39:00.006-05:00

I love amazing women who can mother 5 kiddos and still be wise and witty and write wonderful blog posts. Ok honestly I'm jealous :-) As a mama to 5 adorable kiddos I just can't seem to keep up (let alone be wise or witty), but Mama M. gives me hope and she has a fantastic idea every Friday on her blog:

Every Friday she posts 5 questions we can copy to our blogs and answer ... fun to read how our bloggy friends answer the questions too. Then head back to Mama M.'s blog and link up in Five Question Friday post

1. What were you doing the last time you really had a good laugh?
Listening to our four year old ... He says the darnedest things,
Like trying to convince us that a submarine would get us to Disney World quicker than an airplane (he is not a big fan of airplanes). Oh and he tells us he will grow up to be a farmer, but not just any farmer ... he plans to have a big yellow barn, with yellow cows, who where yellow shoes. I'll post a picture if we ever see a yellow cow ... or a cow in yellow shoes

2. Who was your first CELEBRITY crush?
Han Solo ... I loved Star Wars movies

3. What is one talent that you wish you had?
household organization

4. How often do you and your spouse go out w/o the kids? Is it frequent enough?
Well, we did go out last Friday night to a silent auction/charity dinner, but we could not remember the last time before that ... so no, certainly not often enough!

5. What colour(s) is your bedroom?
Still working on that ... We just built a new house and before we moved in I let the kids pick their bedroom colors and we got their rooms all set. I guess all that choosing and painting was too much and I just decided to leave my room the tannish/offwhitish of the rest of the house until I come up with what I want ... I really am decision challenged

I ♥ Faces for Oct 27th

2009-10-27T18:16:00.006-05:00

I really do enjoy the weekly photo challenges at I ♥ Faces even though I've not had enough time to enter lately. This picture of my sweet little Mary in her Tinkerbell costume at Disney World last week fits perfectly with this weeks Dress-Up theme!

OH! Isn't she just the cutest little toddling fairy you have every seen?

Click on the button below to visit the I ♥ Faces website, you too can join in the fun, or just come on over to enjoy all the pics!

And feel free to visit Mary's blog to see more cute Tinkerbell shots and lots more from Disney World!

Fall Photos!

2009-10-27T01:34:00.002-05:00

I figured that if I shared the photos that did not turn out in my previous post, I should probably also post the ones that did turn out! I think we did good:

My sweet Rosebud

Our adorable Gus-Gus

Very handsome O

Z-man, our champ!

And tiny little Mary girl

All of us together:

My family and photographs ... hmmm ...

2009-10-26T19:02:00.013-05:00

Hi, I'm Heather and yes I can admit it ... I'm a photo-aholic. I love photography!!! I love photography books, photography classes, those great coffee table books of gorgeous pictures, and of course taking my own pictures (especially pictures of my children). Unfortunately for me, my children do not share my love of all things photography ... I mostly blame their dad for this and he gladly accepts the blame. He does not really like having his picture taken and his attitude has certainly rubbed off on our offspring. Hopefully they will also inherit his lack of allergies and very gifted mathematical senses ... I guess we'll have to wait and see about those.

But it was a gorgeous day here today and we have almost reached the end of the beautiful fall colors, so I wanted to get my crew outside to take some family pictures. Now, never mind that half of us are coughing and the other half have runny noses and sinus headaches. Boy am I glad that today is a Not Me Monday!
Becasue I could never be the mom who takes her kids out and snapps dozens of pictures of them while they are not feeling 100% Nope not me! And just what might happen ia a mother might think of doing that? I'm so glad you asked, this is what might happen if a mother might choose to torture her kids in such a way:

turned heads

closed eyes

itchy tushies

and adorable tounges hanging out

And if that was not bad enough I would certainly NOT then try to put the camera on a tri-pod with a timer and get a full family picture with my hubby and I in it too ... I would know better than that:

And after all that fun I would never turn to my hubby and say "its just the location ... lets try a different spot" Why would I ever think that would help?

Boy! Am I glad that today is a Not Me Monday! Please join us over at MckMama's blog for tons more fun and therapy with Not Me Monday! cofessions

Disney Vacation!!!

2009-10-24T10:35:00.003-05:00

I got to spend my birthday at Walt Disney World with family and friends! I must admitt that I am a Disney addict! I have fond memories of going as a child and teenager and now even fonder memories of seeing my children and teenager enjoy the Magical Kingdom. Here are a few quick pictures from our trip, but much more is posted over on Mary's blog

Auntie Katie

2009-10-07T18:42:00.003-05:00

There is a blog I would like all my friends and family and readers to please visit. This young woman, Katie, is caring for a family of 13 I believe, besides all the others she is trying to help and feed and encourage. My heart leaps with joy to see this woman as Gods hands in the world this way. Praise the Lord for those who place their lives in HIS hands and answer HIS call.

Amazima Ministries International

I know that you will not only be touched but also encouraged by how the Lord is at work in this woman's life. Please take time to pray for Katie and her children and all those involved. Pray that God might show each of us how He wants to use us. Pray that we might be open to the big steps and the little steps he calls us to.

Adoption has been a ministry very close to my heart since high school. Two of my dearest friends placed their babies into wonderful loving adoptive families while were teenagers. I have seen what selfless love this takes. I have also seen the unexplainable joy in the eyes of some friends who are now adoptive mothers. God can use all of us in this ministry.

Not everyone will be called to adopt children but there are so many many other ways to reach out and help. Perhaps it is as a prayer warrior, pray for birthmoms, here in the US and overseas in suffering countries. Pray for moms who are offered abortions, pray that each mom would hear that there are others who long to hold these babies. Pray that these moms might recieve adaquate health care but also emotional care as this is such a difficult road. Pray for the waiting families whose hearts are aching to hold the children they are waiting for.

Perhaps God can use your time or finances to help orphans or birthmoms. Crisis pregnancy centers here in the US and orphanages abroad are always in need of financial donations and heartfelt prayers. Prayer is needed for the governmental officials and processes involved, please pray that God would send His angels into those places to smooth the road and the processes that need to take place so children can be united with their forever families. Please pray for the children waiting in foster homes or orphanages. Pray that God might send wonderful foster parents or orphanage helpers to physically and emotioanlally care for these children in God's name. Again, these are areas God allowed me to have a glimpse into as a teenager. I had a friend who spent quite a bit of her life in foster care, my eyes were opened to many of the flaws in the foster care system, but I also saw that there are some wonderfully kind and giving people involved in helping children in foster care. And I was blessed to be able to be part of a short term mission trip to an orphanage in Mexico. I love, love, love, how big our God is!!! He is present in every corner of the world and He calls His people to step up and help these orphans.

Think about it ... God is the ultimate example of an adoptive Father. He makes us His children and makes us heirs to His kingdom in eternity.

Missing Missy ...

2009-09-18T23:34:00.004-05:00

My "sister" Missy was a real light in our lives. She fought some amazing battles in her life and yet God helped her shine like one of the brightest lights I've ever known. I have days when I still can't believe she isn't here. I wish like crazy for more time with her! But I could never wish her out of heaven. She is beautifully healed there and in Christ's very presence ... amazing!

One of the battles Missy fought was years of medical problems and many hospitalizations due to a Mitochondrial Disease. Tomorrow morning we are taking part in a Mito Walk in our city to raise funds for and awareness of Mitochondrial Diseases

The United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation is represented by countless volunteers who operate more than 60 local chapters, groups and ambassador programs and offers support to all sufferers of mitochondrial disorders. Please visit thier website and learn more at www.umdf.org

Chapter One discussion

2009-09-17T18:18:00.002-05:00

Crazy Love (chapter one) from Pete Wilson on Vimeo.

I am so blessed to read the words in this book, Crazy Love by Francis Chan. I hope all of you can join us as we read and then come on over to discuss with us online what we are learning and how God is speaking

Crazy Love & Bloom

2009-09-15T17:01:00.000-05:00

I need to share a few things with all of you out there who might by chance be reading my blog ... I want to tell you about a fabulous book and a great new website!

I stumbled across this amazing book titled Crazy Love and then across this great website, Bloom, filled with ladies who were starting a book study on this very same book. Wow! do they have this all so nicely pulled together and I believe your life will be greatly blessed if you come on over and check out Bloom

You can read about the book Crazy Love by Francis Chan HERE

and take part in an online discussions and an online community OVER HERE

New Toy!!!

2009-09-09T13:23:00.003-05:00

Picking toys is not easy and now there is a toy website called ebeanstalk, dedicated to selecting good, safe baby toys. BUT they need help from moms who are lucky enough to play with toys on a regular basis -Hey! Thats me!-

They sent us a toy to try out and review. Its called the Sort n' Learn Pelican from Tiny Love. I have always thought that Tiny Love makes great developmental toys. We own quite a few Tiny Love toys at our house

Our Mary love love loves birds! It was one of her very first signs. So even without the cool shapes and sounds she loves this toy! But when the talking switch is turned on, this talking bird toy tells her which shape and which color she just put in his mouth ... pretty cool, ha? Well, we think it is. And we are having great fun playing with this toy. Gets a big old thumbs up from our family! And so does ebeanstalk. If you ever have to direct well meaning aunts, uncles, grandparents or other gift buyers as to the types of toys you want them to give your children we highly recommend you send them to ebeanstalk

How did my baby get to be 15 mos old???

2009-08-29T09:30:00.002-05:00

15 months ago today our sweet Mary was brand new!

It seems like only yesterday in so many ways, but here we are today:

She can babble, wave, clap, climb and even walks when she wants to. We love to hear her say "mama" and "dada" and "CAR!!!". As far as she is concerned every animal she sees barks and she should be able to follow her brothers anywhere they go. She loves to point out that everyone has a nose and she has an odd fasination with poking people and dolls and stuffed animals in the eye. She does a very cute little wiggly dance when she hears music she likes, and we all melt when she gives us hugs and kissses!

I will rejoice ...even today

2009-08-25T21:59:00.003-05:00

1 Thessalonians 5:16
Rejoice always;

Oh boy! Have I repeated that verse over and over today. I will be honest here ... Its been a bad day at our house today. I wanted so badly to crawl in bed and just hide under covers. Several of us have summer colds, I think I'm coming down with mastitis, and the boys just had one of those days when they could not agree about anything ... and I mean every thing lead to an argument today. By the time my hubby got home I was fit to be tied, I wanted to run away (just for a little while of peace and quiet). But I was too tired and ache, so I just sat in my truck in the drive way, laid the seat back and closed my eyes while hubby fed the kids supper.

When I see verses like these I am reminded that we are to rejoice in the Lord, not when we feel like or when things are going well ... we are just simply to rejoice in the Lord, always. No matter the circumstnaces, no matter the feelings ... those do not affect our salvation after all and they don't change our great God. So even when I'm sitting in a clinic waiting room or listening to children argue I will rejoice. I serve a great and awsome God!!!

Isaiah 29:19
Once more the humble will rejoice in the LORD;
the needy will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.

Luke 10:20 (New International Version)
However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."

Ecclesiastes 11:8
Indeed, if a man should live many years, let him rejoice in them all, and let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. Everything that is to come will be futility.

Philippeans 2:17-18
17But even if I am being (AM)poured out as a drink offering upon (AN)the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all.
18You too, I urge you, rejoice in the same way and share your joy with me.

2009-08-23T14:02:00.000-05:00

Make a Smilebox photobook

I ♥ Faces for Aug 17th

2009-08-17T19:24:00.003-05:00

I really enjoy the weekly photo challenges at I ♥ Faces
Here is my photo for this week's challenge:

WEEK 32 - Aug 17th - "Bubbles"
All photos entered this week must include a bubble of some kind. I thought of getting very creative and wrapping kids in bubble wrap or something like that but decided to take the easy way out today ... just too tired to get creative and used a picture we took of Z on our last trip to the children's museum.

Click on the button below to visit the I ♥ Faces website, you too can join in the fun, or just come on over to enjoy all the bubble pics!

If you want me to ...

2009-08-07T18:59:00.002-05:00

And here is the music to a beautiful slide show, with the lyrics:

my new luxury tub ... turned baby soother

2009-08-03T22:39:00.003-05:00

When building our new house my dh got a slightly larger and nicer than normal garage ... his splurge. I on the other hand reserved my splurge for the master bath. I love my hot water! Nice big walk in shower, nice whirlpool tub, heated floors ... I know, I know I'm spoiled ... but just so you know - I do share.

After a very hard morning and lots of whining from them and from me, here is where we sat, for an hour! The tears stopped, the whining stopped and they giggled for a whole hour!

I love dinner time!

2009-07-31T20:20:00.004-05:00

I ♥ Faces for July 27th

2009-07-28T21:40:00.001-05:00

I've really been enjoying playing along
at I ♥ Faces weekly themes. This is:
WEEK 29 - July 27th - "At The Beach"
All photos entered this week have to be beach-related. There will be just one category (you can enter either a Kids photo or an Adults or a mixture of Kids and Adults.)

Click on the button above to visit the I ♥ Faces website, you too can join in the fun, or just see a whole lot more beach pictures!

Praying for Stellan

2009-07-27T13:25:00.002-05:00

I'm at a loss for words ... my stomach churns, and I am falling on my knees in prayers ... please join me in prayers for dear little Stellan and his mama

I've been reading many many blog entries asking for prayers for this sweet little guy, so thought I would post links to some of the here for others to visit:

MamaBear

Twinsanity

Boy Crazy

Waiting For Happy

CF Husband

Extraordinary Ordinary

Hilary

Mommy Diaries

Follow The Journey

Minnesota Jo

There are really so many many more blogs posting words and prayers for Stellan. Just try googling him or check out the trends on twitter or head over to Pooh's Corner and see the MckLinky she has set up for all of us praying

Morning Has Broken

2009-07-22T06:46:00.004-05:00

Beautiful hymn to start my day!
And some beautiful pictures taken from
my livingroom and my deck this morning

Morning Has Broken
Words by Eleanor Farjeon (1881-1965)

Morning has broken,
Like the first morning,
Blackbird has spoken
Like the first bird;
Praise for the singing,
Praise for the morning,
Praise for them springing
Fresh from the Word.

Sweet the rain's new fall,
Sunlit from heaven,
Like the first dewfall
On the first grass;
Praise for the sweetness,
Of the wet garden,
Sprung in completeness
Where his feet pass.

Mine is the sunlight,
Mine is the morning,
Born of the one light
Eden saw play;
Praise with elation,
Praise every morning,
God's re-creation
Of the new day.

© Copyright David Higham Associates

You can hear the music here:

Mud Pictures!

2009-07-21T21:59:00.006-05:00

They enjoyed a bit of football ...

before they began to slip slide in the mud...

oh mud ... gloroius MUD!

And then I decided that it looked like they were having way too much fun without me ... so I just had to join them:

What a day to remember!

Mud Football and other boyish things

2009-07-21T18:13:00.005-05:00

Many of you also check in on my baby girls blog from time to time. So, you get to hear alot about the cute baby things happening in our house and recently you heard about Mikayla and the mission trip she is on.

So today I thought I would show you the boys! Actually what happend was, is rained this morning. Since we are living in a new house and still waiting for our landscaping and sod to arrive ... when it rains we live on a acre lot of MUD. What do you suppose boys want to do when their entire back yard is all mud?

hmmmm... they look so innocent here, don't they?

Well, stay tuned because after I get my kiddos fed and ready for bed I'll be back to show you how those innocent boys ended up looking like this:

We really did have fun!

Not Me Mondays!

2009-07-20T21:04:00.003-05:00

I'm so very glad to be back online ... While moving from our old house into our new house (about 25 miles part) we were without cable, internet and phone service for a little over a week ... we're glad to be back up and running! Still LOTS of unpacking to do, but we are getting there and once again I can take part in:

But this week MckMama is changing things up a bit and we will instead be doing:

This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what her and everyone elses kids have NOT been doing this week.

My child would never figure out how to climb on the back of the sofa and open our music room window and climb out onto our front porch, especially NOT after being told it was time to stay in the house. And when I went out and carried in this child he certainly did NOT tell me, "but maaaaaaaama, Mary said I could". Please keep in mind that Mary is his 13 month old little sister.

This very same child would never great our guests out in the front yard in his birthday suit ... No, never! My children are always polite and properly dressed, one of them could never sneak by me and out the door completly naked!

This child's big brother would never stomp and pout about when being grounded from his bike and skate board because of hitting his brother and then tell his mother "in another family it wouldn't be ME they would punish! They would punish the kid who started it!" My child would never think like that, my children are always calm, quiet and well behaved.

That child's big sister did not stomp down the hall once while yelling "awwww mom, you are no fair! You never let me color on people!" Keep in mind she wanted to draw with marker on her three year old little brother. I know, I know, I'm such a terrible and unfair mother.

Got moments you'd like to share? Get off your chest? Then please come joing us at MckMama's blog for Not Me Mondays! each week.

I ♥ Faces for July 20th

2009-07-20T18:11:00.003-05:00

This week they are veering away from the typical faces at I ♥ Faces and focusing on feet instead ... how fun is that?! There is only one category you can enter and it can feature adults or kids (or both)…but the main focus needs to be on the feet more than anything else.

Here are some of the most precious feet I've ever seen (or kissed for that matter)

She just loves to be in the music room, especially if her big sister is in there practicing her harp or piano. Her sister is away this week but I caught these little feet in there today going through her sister's sheet music folders. I just had to snap a few photos before I cleaned up her mess.

Mary/Mikayla

2009-07-19T21:25:00.004-05:00

Pictures of Mary today in a dress that Mikayla wore 13 years ago.
Yes the picture that Mikayla is holding up is a 13 year old photo of herself!

And if you think of my girls this week please pray for Mikayla as she is on a week mission trip with Youth Works and Mary and I are missing her terribly!!!! (yes we know she only left a few hours ago! But feels like a week already)

MckPicknic

2009-07-18T21:56:00.004-05:00

I only got a few pictures at the MckPicnic event before my camera quit working ... major bummer!

But please allow me to direct you to my friend, Jo's blog wherer there are many wonderful pictures: click HERE

And don't forget to check out the blog of the wonderful lady who brought these:

Ahhh .. Dirt!

2009-07-13T23:37:00.003-05:00

Yes indeed there is hours of fun to be had in this new back yard! Who knew dirt could be soooo much fun! I bet my son's daddy knew!

Warning!!!

2009-07-04T11:54:00.002-05:00

Warning ... Blogging break due to moving!

If and when my sanity returns I will resume blogging

till them here are a few pictures of the process:

Having a livingroom picnic:

Big kids will be painting their rooms today:

Zeke in our back yard ... um ... I mean our back DIRT

A Thousand Word Thursdays and Mysteries of Motherhood

2009-06-25T10:39:00.008-05:00

I've found a great new meme over at Jen's blog, perfect for photo-loving me to participate in:

A picture certainly is worth more than a thousand words and do you know anyone who takes more pictures than me? No I didn't think so :-) So join us on Thursdays for looking back at meaningful photos from our archives. But today I'm not digging into my archives at all ... well perhaps a bit into the archives of my memory. Here are a few photos I snapped as I lay in bed early this morning:

For moment in time, in my drowsy waking moments I had a total flashback ... back probably 13 years. Our youngest laying there cuddled up with me flashed me back to when I would wake up and see my very first child snuggled up to me. Of course once I got up this morning here is where I found my oldest, I just had to take her picture too (as she was working on writing yet another book):

Can you believe how quickly they change from that sweet baby smelling, nursing, snuggling, needy baby stage to the adorable, talented, independent and energetic teenage stage? Did I blink? How did this happen???? Its seems like just yesterday I was waking up to a quiet house snuggled up with my first little girl. We were the only ones in the house as my dh, her daddy, was in the Navy and out to sea and it was just the two of us, Mother and Daughter. At least it feels like yesterday, yet I can remember the day she sat up without support for the first time (on our old couch), I can remember her first steps and her first taste of cake (both at her first bday party), the first day that I heard those daring words "I wuv u mama" (while driving to a playdate in Tacoma, WA). I remember her confusion as we moved across the country when she was three and her mixed emotions at the birth of her first sibling. I remember her first day of preschool, her first sleep over, her first time on horseback, her first harp lesson ....
How is it that all of that could have really occurred and yet I feel like it was only yesterday she was nursing while snuggled in my arms. Hear my long sigh here as I chalk it up to being another one of the mysteries of motherhood.

Ahhh ... Motherhood ... I think I speak for most if not all mothers when I say we had NO clue what we were in for.

I have mornings like these from time to time. I feel nostalgic and a bit weepy, remembering the first days of each my five children's lives. I'm blessed beyond measure! And I could get swept away in all the emotion if I allowed myself, but God has called me to motherhood and each of these five blessings needs me in different ways today. God willing they will each continue to grow and change, to meet new challenges and over come new obstacles. I will cherish not only the photos likes these taken this morning but also the ones only taken in my mind ... moments never photographed but truly never forgotten.

For today I will head out to be Kitchen help and Editor to my teenage daughter as she bakes and writes; I will be Coach and Cheerleader to my 10 year old as he trains in gymnastics and practices for his next baseball game; I will be a Naturalist with my 7 year old who loves everything about the outdoors and animals; I will try to understand race cars and tractors as my 3 year old tells me again and again about any number of car parts and farm machinery; and I will be mommy milk and a source of comfort and safety to my little one year old as she follows the lives of her older siblings. How does one person fill all of these rolls? I guess I'll never really understand it. So, again I just chalk it up to another one of the great mysteries of motherhood and praise God for the blessings I am surrounded by today and in my memory.

Not Me Monday! (or umm Wednesday)

2009-06-24T21:19:00.000-05:00

Its NOT Monday again??? Already again??? It can't be! Want to play along with us? Want a healthy dose of free, funny, and oh so refreshing therapy? MckMama came up with the hilarious idea to take our not-so-proud moments and spin them around in a delightful therapy session! Come join us!

So Here We GO ...
... No I did NOT start this post on Saturday lest I forget all I have to NOT write about. But then NOT get it posted till Wed. Hmmm ...

No, I did NOT learn this week that we will be closing on our new home July 3rd instead of July 15th! This is NOT great news (ok, it really is) and I did NOT hyperventilate when thinking of all the packing and sorting and decluttering I still have ahead of me.

No, I have not been allowing my almost potty trained 3 year old to run around the house and yard buck naked. You see when he wears clothes he pees in them but if he is naked he always makes it to the potty. Simple solution now that our land is no longer a frozen tundra. Simple solution while we are at home ... not so simple when we are out and about.

No we did not leave my sister's poor nanny with 10 children Thursday night when we went to benefit dinner for THIS wonderful non-profit. And no I did not get to meet THIS wonderfully talented artist:

No we did NOT take all 5 of our kids out to a wonderful campground last weekend for tons of fun in the water and sun and then deny them the pleasure of actually camping. We drove 5 miles down the road and slept at grandma's house instead. While at said park I did NOT employ the talents of THIS wonderful new bloggy friend to take gorgeous pictures of our little Mary which you can see here and here if you would like.

No, my children did NOT get tons of mosquito bites while 'camping'. But hey, we are Minnesotans, we can live with mosquito bites. What I don't want to live with is tick bites. I did NOT feel worried about a few of the bites on our little Mary for most of the week (oh yes I did) And on Thursday they did NOT start to take on that target sort of look and she did NOT start to run a fever (oh yes she did), so off to the Dr's office we went to hear what I feared: she might have lymes disease. So now we try to get her to take antibiotics three times a day for the next 21 days... UGH!

And just before Mary's Dr appointment we did not stop to play at one of our favorite parks and take this picture:

While at this park our 7 year old did NOT fall from the playground and knock the wind out of him. And he did NOT continue to complain of the pains into the night and I did NOT take him to my chiropracto/friend who quickly expected a broken rib and xrayed him to find that yes in deed he broke a rib (T9 to be exact) and he also fractures a vertabrate (L5 to be exact)

No that really was NOT enough excitment for this mama! Oh yes! Yes it really is!!!! Lymes Disease and a broken rib are really just too much at once.

But I did NOT come home only to get my son settled with an icepack on his back and proceed to make these signs to put along side the road that leads to the location of my great grandpa's 90th birthda party.

And no I did NOT promise to deliver a healthy dinner meal to my friend MckMama and then arrive almost an hour later than planned. Sorry about that, dear. And NO her darling charming little Stellan did NOT flip back into SVT as I arrived (oh, unfortunatly yes he did, but is doing much better and at the time of typing he is snuggled safly into his own bed in his owen room)

And then in my panic over the nearness of our house being done I did not decide to let the kids pick out the themes and colors for their bedrooms. Nope, I did NOT take all 5 kids to Home Depot, Menards, Lowes and then another Home Depot to look at paint colors and border ideas. Take my advice here ... 5 kids is toooo many to take with you into those sorts of stores.

Hope you are having a fantastic Not Me Monday or Wednesday or whatever!

I ♥ Faces ~ June 22 ~ Boys!!!

2009-06-22T09:21:00.005-05:00

WEEK 24 - June 22nd - "Let's Hear It For The Boys!" It's the week after Father's Day and we'd like to keep honoring the special men in our life for the rest of the week.

All photos entered this week at I ♥ Faces should have a boy or man in them (no girls allowed this week). So come on over to I ♥ Faces and share a photo of that special boy in your life with us or just come take a look at all the amazing photos there.

Here is my entry for the Kids Category:

I took this picture just before the boys left with their dad to goto a "pirate party" hosted by our church. They had so much fun, really getting into the pirate theme. And I had fun editing it in Picasa ... still loving the sepia look.

And my entry for the Adults Category:

I took this picture earlier this year on a flight to Seattle. I love to watch my hubby being a daddy. He is so present with our kids and their needs. And I especially love when I come across these snuggling, sleeping moments.

What A Great Way To Spend Father's Day

2009-06-21T23:31:00.006-05:00

Back in March my grandpa turned 90 years old! But we waited till today to celebrate. Living way up north in the 'frozen tundra' means not everyone wants to come to your birthday party in March ... cause it might be like 20 Below zero and there might be 20-some inches of snow and ice on the ground ... but June is pretty safe and what better day to be surrounded but all your kids and grandkids and friends than on Father Day!

So, Happy Father's Day to all the father's in my life!

'The Guys' enjoying the gator:

Our Mary enjoying the flowers:

And Zeke enjoying the dirt:

My boys and my dad by their 'hunting shack'

2009-06-19T19:22:00.004-05:00

I had the honor and privilege of attending a fundraising dinner for A Way To Grow tonight and had the great pleasure of meeting the entertainment they had arranged: Ms. Sheila Raye Charles ... What a voice! What a story!

Fun in the pool?

2009-06-16T15:41:00.004-05:00

Found a great little blowup kiddie pool from Oriental Tradding Company (for 3.99) but also bought 2 dozen small beach balls. When I don't want to put water in the baby pool, no problem - fill with balls. We've brought this same pool inside to play with in our livingroom on rainy days. Pictures below are of Mary while at the camp ground, but her big brothers enjoyed it too

And not to worry - they do enjoy it with water too, as evident HERE on Mary's blog

Mary in photos

2009-06-16T13:52:00.000-05:00

Please do visit my friend Carrie's site to see her brilliant photography, but also notice the sweet cute adorable baby in a purple tutu! We had so much fun at that shoot! You might also want to head on over to Carrie's blog about her campground and her little cubs.