Sometimes God starts talking to us and its easy brush off.

We might just ignore it because we think, 'God must be wrong. There is simply NO way I can do this. He is asking the wrong person. He doesnt know me as well as I know me.'

Some amount of time may pass and we think, 'PHEW! He gave up. He finally realized He was barking up the wrong tree.'

But, of course, that doesn't happen. He wisely gives us time. Works on our hearts and then starts talking again.

And right now what He is teaching me about the things He is asking is best described by this verse:

Zechariah 4:6
"'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the Lord Almighty."

Because see we are right...we cannot do it. We are not strong enough. We are not smart enough. We do not have enough energy. But He's just asking us to take the first step. To step out in faith...then He will do the rest...not with our might or our power...but with HIS SPIRIT.

And I also am reminded of this:
Psalm 3:5-6
"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all they ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths."
That's a great promise. And while its not easy, it is simple! Forget what you think you know...and trust what we know He has promised.

itchy

Tess and I took Tori to her allergist appointment today.

We got the news that I figured we would get.

She is not allergic to anything.

And I know that is good. But it doesn't give us any answers.

The dr. seems to think that the excessive drainage she has is causing the vomiting and diarrhea. Im not convinced.

We are going to start on Zyrtec and see if that helps the itching and the drainage and thus hopefully the rashes and awful diaper rashes.

Im really not trying to be negative...I know that comparatively this is a small thing...we are so blessed by healthy children...so blessed by active happy children...I do not take that lightly...but I do want relief for my baby.

So on to the Zyrtec! Im hoping its magic!

And on a VERY bright note....did anyone else notice how long it stayed light out tonight!?!?!

how is it Sunday?????

And while we are at it...how is February almost over? 

I think everyone in our house is finally healthy. 

Only one is still on an antibiotic and we are going through kleenexes at a much slower rate!

Thanks to the improved health we had a fun filled and busy weekend. 

Friday night Lauren, Avery and I were supposed to to go see Jack and the Beanstalk at the Blackhawk Children's Theater with the Price girls but poor Ellie and Amy got sick so my girls and I ended up going with Jordan and Sullivan. 

The play was very cute and the kids loved it. We love the Children's Playhouse and how you can meet the actors after the play. So fun for everyone.

Sullivan congratulating 'Jack' on a job well done. 

Lauren and the 'enchanted harp'.

(side note; Lauren looks so old and pretty here!)

The girls with THE GIANT.

He stole the show.

Avery performed in the dance show on Saturday. 

Could not have been cuter!

Cousin Alexa also performed. 

Brooklyn and Avery.

Ugh. Love her! But stop looking so old and pretty!

Today we had church, naps and then tonight our small group met. 

Im trying to gear myself up to head back to the routine tomorrow. But not before Jordan and I's Oscar Night tradition of watching and Oscar Winning movie instead of the awful awards show itself. 

Tonight's pick - The Departed. 

Super Safe

And she does it ALL THE TIME.

And it has the added bonus of the oven door crashing open under her weight. 

She really loves to hang on anything she can find with a handle or bar. 

I think she is going to really good at monkey bars. 

And I think Im going to have heart problems. 

good to know

Sullivan: 'Mommy, if I had two mom's...you would still be my favorite.'

EXACTLY!

yep

Going on under 3 hours of sleep. 

My brain has gone to a completely mushy, not all that great place. 

and so expect quotes today instead of real thoughts.

This one here...well it should be plastered in front of my eyes 24/7.

baby elephants

We had a great weekend after a week of 2 sick little girls.

Jordan and I headed off with the Price's for some ISU bball watching, dinner out and tons (and tons) of laughs. 

The kids had Rosanna and Isaiah all to themselves for about 24 hours. They too packed in a lot of fun. We are trying to soak them up as much as possible since they move ACROSS THE COUNTRY soon. Yes, insert my panicked sobs!

Anyway, now I am fried.

But I just have to tell you that in my mind there is nothing cuter than a baby elephant. 

And a baby elephant running???

forget about it.  

(I realize that was completely random but I saw the picture and all I could think was,
'I really want a baby elephant, but I bet Jordan will never let me get one.' so yeah, Im not thinking real straight apparently.)

Now its time to muster up some energy for game night and chocolate chip cookies with the kids.

A great way to end the weekend in deed. 

The latest

This is her latest 'trick'.

This old sewing machine is a side table in my dining room. 

It is massively heavy.

She gets behind it and cannot get out...SEVERAL times per day.

I just have to know...WHY?? Why would you continue to go back there if you cannot get out?

Heart Day 2012

Jordan and I have been anticipating this night for weeks. 

We've been keeping a secret from these 5 and tonight was the big reveal.

 But we started the night with individual mini pizzas!

All the fixins

We had 7-Up with Kool Aid ice cubes to drink.

Super fun!

 The grandmas came through big time with dessert! 

Thanks mom and Cindy!

Then we moved on to the main event...a scavenger hunt to the big surprise. 

(honestly Sullivan.)

Each one had a clue and it ended with the pink star on the globe pointing to Florida!

We are taking them to Florida for a week on the beach and some Disney time!

If you heard screaming from the middle of town, dont worry, it was just our kids!
Huge thank you to my brother Jeff for the sweet deal on the condo!

And now you will have to excuse me because I have a very hot Valentine date.

Happy, Happy Valentine's Day!

Its Valentine's Day!

We love Valentine's Day in our house. 

Lots of the day is cheesy and commercialized. 

But you dont have to make it that way. 

I love taking a day to make sure each of my Valentine's know how much I love them. 

I love dressing myself and them in red and pink. 

I love taking time out to celebrate love!

And with these adorable kids and my main Valentine how couldn't I?

And never forget that we can celebrate the greatest love of all on this day. 

The love of our Savior for us. 

The bible is full of love. 

The love He gave when He died for SINNERS. 

John 3:16

'For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. 

That whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.'

He gave HIS SON!

Romans 8:38-39

'For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels no demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.'

That's some pretty powerful love! Stronger than anything. 

Matthew 10:29-31

'Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father's care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.'

He knows the number of hairs on my head...no one else can say that!

Romans 5:8

'But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.'

He loved us first. He loved us as sinners. 


Zephaniah 3:17 
'The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; He will save, He will rejoice over thee with joy; 
He will rest in His love, He will joy over thee with singing.'
He rejoices in me! He sings about me! 

And I always think of this hymn when I want to feel wrapped in His love.

His love that cannot fail, cannot disappoint, cannot hurt me. 

His PERFECT love. 

HOW DEEP THE FATHER'S LOVE FOR US

'How deep the Father's love for us. How vast beyond all measure.

That He should give His only Son and make a wretch His treasure.

How great the pain of searing loss. The Father turns His face away. 

As wounds which mar the Chosen One bring many sons to glory. 

Behold the man upon the cross, my sin upon His shoulder. 

Ashamed I hear my mocking voice, call out among the scoffers.

It was my sin that held Him there until it was accomplished. 

His dying breath has brought me life, I know that it is finished. 

I will not boast in anything, no gifts, no power, no wisdom 

But I will boast in Jesus Christ, His death and resurrection. 

Why should I gain from His reward, I cannot give an answer.

But this I know with all my heart His wounds have paid my ransom.'

Happy Valentine's Day! 

Valentine's Eve

Its Valentine's Eve and lots of excitement is to be found in our house. 

The kids are pumped for their parties at school, to wear Valentine's shirts and receive candy, Im excited to go help with the parties and we are all excited for our special Valentine's supper tomorrow night. 

Lauren, always my organized planner, said she needed to take a drink along for her party. 

I told her she could take one of the Propel from the fridge. 

This is what I found...

She likes labels. And order. And planning.

I want to laugh and cry for her at the same time!

Torrance update

All of Torrance's tests came back negative. 

Which is good news. 

No nasty bacteria, no thyroid issue, no celiac markers. 

So we go to the allergist on the 27th. 

This is her latest thing...wrestling Tess. 

Its hysterical. 

She takes her DOWN!

And the giggling is my favorite! 

his cake

So like I said, he wanted 'the whole world' on his cake.

At one point he said he wanted to play RISK ON his cake. 

Thankfully he forgot about that. 

Mandy did such a great job on the cake. 

I was so excited for him to see it! 

 And he was so pumped. He thought it would be flat. 

Please notice his shirt...Grandma Cindy thought he needed a special shirt to match his cake! 

He loved it. 

I think he liked it Mandy! 

 Six years old! 

 Make a wish!!

(If you'd like to hire Mandy please visit...theroguebaker.com!

Sullivan's Party!

Ok, first. I had a crazy blog post earlier...basically yesterday I jotted down some notes of things I didnt want to forget about Sully's day. I meant to get back to it that night and do this post. 

However, I was WIPED and went to bed. 

So it posted. And if you read it...you thought I was crazy! 

Sorry. 

Here are the things I dont want to forget:

*It took Sully 4-5 times to get his underwear on in the morning. He was so excited he kept putting them on over top of the ones he was already wearing. 

*Out of the blue as we were watching someone playing the Wii on Saturday morning Sully says, 'you know what, there are 300 seconds in 5 minutes.' I told him he was wrong. Jordan said, 'uh, no he's not Becky, and he's better at math than you.'

*We asked Sully what his plan was when his friends arrived. He said first he would introduce everyone because they might not know each other. Hysterical. And so sweet. 

So on to his day...

He invited 5 friends. 

What a great looking group! 

Silly

He told me long ago he wanted 'the whole world on his cake'.

Mandy came through! 

So excited! 

 Lucky for us Papa Dennis opened the gym up so we had something to do! 

We played kickball and Papa was the all time pitcher. 

That took me right back to Junior High PE class! 

It was like being transported back in time! 

(Jordan's dad was our PE teacher)

After the boys left we had Sully's birthday supper...he requested earth pancakes. 

This kid is all about maps. 

Then he opened his gifts from us and he got to stay up late. 

He even ended up sleeping with us which NEVER happens. 

And I had feet in my face ALL. NIGHT. LONG. 

Love you buddy! 

Happy 6th Birthday Sullivan Joseph!

Again, without permission, you went and got older!

You are SIX Sullivan! 

Six!

Sullivan approaches life with an excitement that may be unmatched. 

Which looking back really explains a lot about the night he was born!

He was so eager to see what life could hold that he came out without the nurses, the doctor or even his mommy knowing he was here. 

(true story...if you dont know it, read it here.)

He drives me completely insane and makes me want to pull my hair out. 

He brings me to tears and makes me want to smother him in kisses. 

He is amazingly smart. Truly a wonder with math concepts. 

He sometimes cannot remember something I told him 3 minutes previous. 

He is the best and most protective brother. 

He is the most annoying and pesky brother. 

He has the LOWEST lows. 

He has the HIGHEST highs.

He is serious about his school AND his play.

He loves to set up his 'guys' and strategize.
He is becoming a great reader and is always sounding out words.
He loves maps and puzzles. 

He is skin and bones. 

Skin and bones!

He thinks his rib cage is his muscles....those aren't a 6 pack buddy! 

Sullivan is the messiest eater I've ever seen. 

He has the most beautiful, long dark lashes. 

He has the most captivating blue eyes. 

He has the world's WORST fake smile.

He has my favorite REAL smile. 

He loves time with his dad. 

He is SO competitive with him. 

This picture IS Sullivan. 

messy face, huge eyes, eye brows raised in excitement, no teeth, 

RIGHT. IN. YOUR. FACE!

Sullivan you are so full of life. 

I pray that you will never lose that. 

You fill our days with so much zest and our hearts with so much joy. 

You are our only boy and you do not disappoint!

You have all of our love. 

Every last bit of it! 

Happy Birthday, buddy. 

Happy, Happy Birthday! 

top 3

This picture ranks in the top 3 of my all time favorite pictures. 

6 years ago, right now

6 years ago right about 8:00 p.m. we had just arrived home from eating at Nana Rosa's pizza. 

I laid down on the couch and I believe I said something to Jordan like, 

'this is no false alarm, this is the real deal...time to get the bags.'

Those contractions were coming fast and hard. 

So fun remembering the night before I became the mom of such an amazing boy.

filled

The older I get and the closer I draw to Jesus the more I am 

learning that my mind and my heart are often at odds. 

My heart belongs to Jesus. Nothing can change that. Satan cant touch it. 

God promised that. 

John 10:29

'My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; 

and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.'

But my mind is a battlefield. 

And what gets in there can seep into my heart and make me forget who owns it!

Satan can get in to my brain, and find a foothold and if I let him he can take control.

 1 Peter 5:8

'Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.'

He isn't a passive opponent. He is the aggressor. 

I'm learning so much lately that my mind is going to be filled with something. 

It can be filled with fears, anxieties, worries, what if's and what might have beens. 

Put there by my adversary, who wants to destroy me. 

OR

It can be filled with scripture, God's promises, hope, joy and peace.

Put there by my Savior who wants to protect me. 

And that is my choice. 

I fill my mind with His word.

Or I leave it vulnerable to Satan's lies. 

I'm learning that just as Satan is proactive in his plan, I also have to take charge to allow God to fill my mind. If I am not in His word then I dont stand a chance. I'm not strong enough without that sword. 

Not even close. 

I love this verse...

Proverbs 4:23

'Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.'

Read that again.

I have to GUARD it. It doesn't just happen. 

And this one:

Psalm 119:37

'Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word.'

Go ahead, go back and read that one again too.

Our life is preserved, protected by His word!

Another:

II Corinthians 10:4-5

'The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.'

This one is like my favorite, go read it again:

We have weapons with DIVINE power. 

We are given them!

And they can demolish our strongholds. 

And we are charged to take captive EVERY thought and give it to Christ. 

If its not honoring to Him...it is sin. And that needs to be my guide for where I let myself dwell. 

Reading these verses makes me feel powerful against my adversary. 

We serve an amazing God who loves us so completely. 

He shows us how to feel peace, joy and hope. 

There is no substitute.

hate it and love it

collecting stool samples from my children is something i really hate


when i get the broom out and tori automatically goes to get the dust pan and brings it to me is something that I really love

His loving eye

'Found' this verse this morning...

Psalm 32:8

'I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go. 

I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.'

I love that...His 'loving eye' on me.

Doesn't that just help you in your day? 

So then on to today. 

Since Tori got sick with pneumonia in October she has not been fully well. 

She slept horrible for 2 months (thankfully is doing better there), 

has bouts of diarrhea 2, 3 sometimes 4 times a day. 

I mean blow out the diaper and clear the room diarrhea. 

She vomits multiple times per week. 

She all but quit eating. 

And her eczema is out of control more days than not. 

I find it nothing short of a miracle that she is the happiest most content child. 

We went to her 15 month appt today and discovered she has lost 2 lbs. since December. 

She actually weighs less now than she did at her 1 year well child appointment. 

ugh. 

So first we are testing for a number of possible bacterial infections, then celiac, checking out her thyroid and if all that comes back negative we move on to some much needed and overdue allergy testing. 

Hopefully we will get this figured soon! 

And I love knowing that we are under the watch of 'His loving eye.'

Go Pats Go!

Well Jordan's Patriots could not pull it out tonight but we did attend a very fun Super Bowl party with our Sunday School class. 

The kids all wanted to dress in jerseys...

We dont have enough Patriots jerseys so other favorite teams were brought out. 

My 'twins'.

I think Avery still has Sullivan beat in height but it is by a very small and rapidly shrinking margin!

Cutie!

She was so helpful to me at the party. Keeping an eye on Torrance and giving me a break from chasing her! Such a great kid. 

I don't want to forget how completely adorable she was in Sullivan's old Patriots uniform.

Honestly.

I also want to remember her hair...'Mommy, its like Rapunzel's hair!'

She's got him exactly where she wants him. 

Wait...so do I! 

I turned 17 the year we first started dating. 

So that means I've been with him half of my life now. 

And I love him twice as much now. 

And just for old times sake lets go back and look at these pictures...

4 years ago, another sad Patriots loss in the Super Bowl

And try not to bawl like I did...over the pictures, not the loss.

(side note...am I the only one that noticed that its almost impossible to even let your kids watch the Super Bowl because the ads are so incredibly inappropriate!?!?)