Diaperheads

Life Happens

2012-01-18T16:21:00.000-05:00

How shameful!~ I have once again neglected to write. Life happens...ALOT around here! lol!
Seriously though, we are in full swing with school and I am contemplating, actually really praying about bringing home the other three for home schooling. Not sure about it yet still praying but trusting God will show me the right path to follow. In the mean time we have a birthdays coming in the house.
The twins will be 8!!! Can you believe that! NOPE I am in denial that my babies are turning 8. Sniff! Sniff! They are so grown up and it makes me so sad. Oh I know it;s just life but they are my babies and it went way too fast. I long to hold and snuggle with them again but now they are almost too big for my lap. I miss rocking them to sleep...sigh!

Feb 14, 2004

Jaron 3 1/2yrs, Kris 21 months, and the twins 3 weeks old...one day home out of the NICU!

We were blessed to bring them both home the same day!

THE BEST VALENTINE'S DAY GIFT EVER!!!

July 2011 at my parents cabin in West Liberty, KY.

Jaron 11, Kris 9 and the twins 7

My how time flies.

I LOVE MY DIAPERHEADS!

It's Christmas Day Fun

2011-12-25T14:34:00.000-05:00

The Diaperheads have been greatly blessed! Besides what we got for them they were blessed by my parents, Sean's Mom, two Aunts and a dear friend of ours we will call our "Secret Santa". Thank you MD! So enjoy some pictures. Honestly each person sent us money to get them the things they have wanted, asked for and desired. I have no idea who at this point bought what but I can say the kids were definitely blessed and all are happy! We also used some of the Christmas money to do some fun things with the kids that we normally would not have been able to do such as our trip to the KY Horse Park and a family trip to the movies with popcorn and soda (we never buy anything from the concessions stand so this was a great treat! BTW the movie "Tin Tin" was GREAT!!!.) :~)

Gifts from Santa. In our home Santa only brings one gift and the stockings.

The favorite gifts this year.

Santa brought a baby that pees and poos!

Santa brought the Angry birds shirt and the DS game! Oh yea!

Jaron excited about caprisuns....actually it was a decoy for a gift.

Diapers! For her Baby Alive Doll

Resident Spy

Santa's gift to Kris! Kris has wanted this dragon FOREVER! He was VERY happy as you can see!

Jaron~Very excited about his new Lego and Halo kits.

Waiting patiently to open his gifts.

Santa's gift to Eli!

Modeling her boots!

BTW the kids also got much needed clothes such as pjs, undies, jeans, socks, ect....they were thrown aside in all the excitement! :-) I love being able to bless my kids and surprise them with EVERY thing they wanted and more.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T22:13:00.003-05:00

Christmas....it's NOT about the presents, santa, the tree or lights, it's NOT even about spending time with family. It's all about Jesus! It's about the gift God gave us by sending us His son. The Son of God, the only TRUTH in this world. With out this gift all would be futile. Jesus is the reason for our celebration! Tonight we watched "The Nativity Story" with our 4 children and spoke once again to them about the true reason we celebrate Christmas. They had many questions and I am so thankful we were able to answer them. What a blessing we have been given. I hope if you are reading this that you have the hope that only Jesus gives. May you all be blessed! Merry Christmas my dear friends!

Christmas is coming...

2011-12-22T19:27:00.002-05:00

...and I am already exhausted. Thankfully all of the wrapping is done! :) YAY ME! Never have I ever had it all wrapped up before Christmas eve. It is such a blessing! This month has been full of blessings...large and small, monetary and non-monetary. God has been so good to us! This will be a short post with lots of pictures just so you know!
Haven't been on here much, been trying to do lots of fun activities with the kids and spend every moment I have with them. I have come to the realization that I NEED to spend as much time with them as I can. I have always known that they will grow up and out of the house faster than I think but it's hit me that I will have 2 in the double digits this coming year and I want time to slow down just a little. So this week Sara had her first Christmas dance (interpretive dance) on Sunday during our candle light service and then Monday we caught up with my dear friend Angie and went to see the Southern Lights at the KY Horse Park in Lexington. We had such a good time. Here are a few pictures of those events...

Sara's Dance

She and the other girls did such a great job. We are very proud of her!

Angie and me.

I look like a wild woman. It was raining while we were there,

I was in severe pain with my knee and I kept thinking TAKE THE PICTURE Jaron!

I love my Diaperheads!

Kris and Eli. Kris said he was scared to death. He had to sit on the camel's hump which I think made him even more nervous.

The boys and I were goofing off!

My zaney elves!

This was the highlight of Sara's night. She was so excited about riding the pony. She asked me again if we could get her a horse for a pet.

A Message from Kris

2011-12-09T13:00:00.001-05:00

A friend posted this video on Facebook and as I watched it I felt as if Kris would want you to know this. I do know every parent of an autistic child would want you to know this for sure! I DO!!!

My Job

2011-11-26T10:27:00.001-05:00

So I sorta dropped the ball yesterday...I am going to claim turkey coma on that! LOL!
So today I am thankful for my job. I may only work a couple of days a week but it is definitely a blessing to our family! I care for an elderly woman who has dementia/Alzheimer. She is a sweet woman and the grandmother of my friend Marty who I have spoken about a few times this month. Such a blessing to care for her.

2011-11-24T07:00:00.000-05:00

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

The Taken for Granted Things

2011-11-23T10:39:00.001-05:00

TOday the day before Thanksgiving I am thankful for things that we often times take for granted. So may people in the world do not have the necessities of life... food, clean drinking water and shelter. I am very grateful for those things as well as these:

* Shoes
* Clothes
* The two cars we have...they may not be glorious or a status symbol but they work and that's all that matters!
*Television - I know strange thing to be thankful for but it does help my children find time to veg out!
*Fenced in back yard
* Internet access (we have had times with no technology available to us and it was terrible!) We rely so much on the internet now days that we take it for granted. I am thankful for technology for sure!

These are just a few things I am thankful for today!

9 Months of Heaven

2011-11-22T07:00:00.000-05:00

Today I am thankful for the 9 months of heaven on earth that I had 14 years ago. For 9 months you were growing in secret, kicking, moving, full of hiccups and lots of dancing to your Daddy's songs. You were the twinkle in my eye and you stole my heart as soon as I heard the beating of your little heart. Feeling you dance to the voice of your daddy. I am grateful today!

I am grateful for the precious moments after your birth of holding your little body, caressing your precious head and twirling your long hair in my fingers. Kissing your brow one last time. I am grateful today!

I am grateful for the way God made His presence known the day we placed you forever in his arms. The way the wind blew and it got warm as we played the dedication song at your funeral and how when the song ended the wind blew very hard and the cold air came back, as if the angles had left with you. Feeling the comfort of God holding me while I cried into His shoulder. I am grateful today!

I am grateful for the nurses that were caring enough to place you in the outfit we brought for you to wear home and how they cut a few strands of your hair for us. How they were so caring that they took your hand and feet prints for us. Today I am grateful

I am forever grateful for those precious 9 months of carrying you in my womb and close to my heart.

Happy Birthday

Seanpatrick Eugene Kelly

Provision

2011-11-21T08:59:00.001-05:00

God always provides! He is faithful! Beyond faithful! He never fails us! He is my everything!

I am thankful for a God that cares so deeply for the sparrow and yet cares even more for me. He knows my every need, want, desire and the Word of God tells me that "He will supply all of my needs according to HIS riches in Glory!" (Phil 4:19). I am thankful for HIS PROVISION! It may not always be how or what I expect but He always provides! Thank you Lord!

Sunday

2011-11-20T07:00:00.000-05:00

I am thankful today, Sunday, because it is a day of worship. It is a day we as Americans take for granted. We live in a free country where we can worship in open spaces, in public spaces with no fear of retaliation. I am thankful that I live in America but I am even more thankful that God has freed me from my sins, has broke the chains of bondage and has set me free to worship HIM! I love to sing His praises! I love to worship Him and I love to be in His presence. I hope today that you have declared that today you will be in a church service and will be worshiping the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords!

Saturday

2011-11-19T00:23:00.001-05:00

I LOVE SATURDAYS! I love them because it is the one day of the week that we all generally get to sleep in. Saturdays are generally days to relax, watch cartoons and snuggle with the kids...well when they let me. Today I am thankful for Saturdays!

Flowers

2011-11-18T07:00:00.000-05:00

I LOVE FLOWERS!!! All kinds of flowers! Today I am thankful for the beautiful flowers that god has created.

Days Off

2011-11-17T07:00:00.000-05:00

I, like everyone else, enjoy days off from everything!

Today I am thankful for this day off!

:-)

My Extended Family

2011-11-16T07:00:00.000-05:00

"The family. We were a strange little band of characters trudging through life sharing diseases and toothpaste, coveting one another's desserts, hiding shampoo, borrowing money, locking each other out of our rooms, inflicting pain and kissing to heal it in the same instant, loving, laughing, defending, and trying to figure out the common thread that bound us all together." ~Erma Bombeck

Ronnie

Jeannette

Bryan

This month is half over and I am enjoying this adventure of sharing things I am thankful for. How could I ever get through a day, week, month or year without my extended family? By that I mean my siblings....Ron, Chris, Jeanette, and Bryan and their families. I love my brothers and sister so very much. They all live in Florida where I am originally from. We grew up in a close knit family with me being the oldest. For the longest time it was just Ron, Chris and I. Oh how I prayed for what seemed like forever for a sister, even wishing on a star and not long after that God blessed me with my little sister and then with our baby brother Bryan. We had such great times when we were younger. I have many cherished memories of our times sliding down the stairs on mattresses, swimming in our pool, playing football together, playing "cars" in the dirt with my brothers, playing "house and babies" with my sister...oh how I miss them terribly.

Chris

Each of them are unique, fun, loving and crazy. They have always supported me and been there when we needed them the most. They were there when Sean and I got married, lost our little boy and celebrated with us the birth of the diaperheads. I can't imagine my life without them in it. We don't get to see each other as much as I would like but I am again thankful for Facebook. Through Facebook we are able to see what's going on with each other, share pictures, chat and tease each other through our comments. They mean the world to me as do their families. I am so thankful to have my three baby brothers and little sister and pray that God would bless them abundantly.

Ron, Chris, Jeanette, and Bryan

I LOVE YOU!!!

Things that are Yummy

2011-11-15T07:00:00.028-05:00

Just a few of the things that make me happy and I am very thankful for.


Who can resist chocolate and almonds? Not me!

Oh so heavenly!

Peanut Butter Pie from Yoders. This stuff is to die for!


New FAVORITE salad

The salad: Apple pecan chicken salad with pomegranate dressing with blue cheese crumbles! Oh my word this is awesome! What's even better is you can get a half salad. Just YUMMY! BTW you can get this at Wendy's.

My Salvation

2011-11-14T07:00:00.001-05:00

So thankful that I was introduced to my loving Savior Jesus Christ. Without Him in my life I am nothing.

I place all of my trust in Him. Everything I do I do to glorify my Lord!

All that I have in my life comes from my Heavenly Father.

My Dad

2011-11-13T07:00:00.000-05:00

My Daddy is the best Dad in the world! He is such a hard working man. He has stood by his family from the start. He is also a Veteran. He has an amazing story of how God spared his life twice when he was in the army. In one instance he was in Korea and his troop was being sent into battle, he got pneumonia and was not able to ship out with them. The troop was ambushed and all of the men were killed. In the 2nd instance, he was training and jumped out of a helicopter and was running through a field. His leg got caught in a gofer hole and he broke his leg...compound fracture that required surgery. His troop was sent to Vietnam the next day and they were ambushed in the air, no one survived. It truly is amazing what God will do to protect a person.
Had he gone on either of missions I and subsequently my children would not be here. So I am thankful that God protected him and gave me such a great dad! As you can tell in the photo my kids just adore their "MacMac". I love you dad!

Thankful for Forever Friends

2011-11-12T07:00:00.001-05:00

So earlier this week I was writing out this post about a few of my best friends. Unfortunately through a glitch that I probably caused, I lost everything, 2 hours of writing and editing and I just have to say I was NOT HAPPY! So this time around I am just posting pictures of those special friends that are life time friends that I cherish and love. Each of them mean the world to me. Some of them bless my socks off with their love, support, encouragement, gentle words of wisdom and just plain ole friendship. I am just thankful to each of them for being such great friends and thankful that God orchestrated our meeting. Ladies without you in my life it would be dull and boring. I love each and every one of you!

Angie and her son Cameron

Elaine with her husband Tim and their three children; Jo, Sam & Kayla

Leah, my friend and SNL.

Marty

L to R - Me, Deanna and Jessica

Michele and her son Marcus

My Mom

2011-11-11T07:00:00.001-05:00

I am thankful for a praying Mother! My Mom is the best. Mom goes by three different names, Delight, Mom and Grandma Deedee. She was very young when she had me but she chose to keep me at a time when girls were being shipped off to relatives and having their babies given up for adoption or even abortion. My Mom and Dad chose to raise me, sacrificing a LOT. At that time it wasn't ok for pregnant teens to continue through school so Mom had to drop out. I am proud to say she went back to school got her GED and went on to technical school and got her Cosmetology license. She has owned her own business and it succeeded. She sold it a few years ago but still works there. My Mom has supported every thing I have wanted to do.

Mom swimming with Sara and the other grand-kids.

My Mom has raised 5 children and has 2 in heaven. She also has 13 grandchildren and one in heaven. She is more than just my Mommy though, she is one of my best friends. Many people do not have a Mom they can say they are friends with and enjoy spending time with but I do. She encourages me and supports me. My kids just adore her as do her other grandchildren. This year a dear friend of mine lost her mom and I can not imagine not having mine in my life. We sometimes talk daily but generally it's at least once a week. My heart breaks for my friend and I keep her in prayer all the time. Watching her walk through this time has made me realize that I need to cherish the time I do get to spend with my Mom and make time to call her more often.

Mom and my niece Anna.

Here she is in her new home in KY last year. This year the construction was completed.


My sister Jeanette, Mom, Sara and I, 2 yrs ago after a girls day out.

I am so blessed to have her in my life!

My Man

2011-11-10T07:00:00.003-05:00

This is my handsome man the day we got married...almost 14 years ago. Best decision I ever made was to marry this man. He loves me unconditionally even when I have been terrible towards him, he always forgives me and never holds it over my head. How many can say that about their spouse.

I can not imagine my live with out him in it.

The picture on the left is the day we were voted as pastors of Creal Springs AG. I can not believe how small the kids were...that was in 2006. My have they grown! Sean is a wonderful father! He laughs and plays with the kids. He was always nervous that he wouldn't make a great daddy and I can tell you he makes the BEST DADDY in the world. He loves each of them, supports them and loves to be with them. He puts them and I above anything he could ever want. Sacrifices much for his family! Thank you Sean! I love the picture below! He is such a great dad!

Sean is more than I could of ever dreamed of or prayed for. He loves the Lord, love me and the kids and loves his family (mom and siblings). He has a beautiful voice, an infectious laugh, a loyalty to his friends that most do not have, is sensitive, quiet thinker, awesome preacher/teacher and is the SMARTEST man I know. Sean is not just my husband but my lover and best friend. He is everything and more to me. I am not just thankful today for him, I am thankful every day for my wonderful husband. I love you Sean Patrick Kelly!!!

Flavored Creamers

2011-11-09T07:00:00.001-05:00

Let me start off with saying, I am and have not ever been paid for this endorsement with that being said....I LOVE THIS STUFF! If they want to send me free products or coupons I will gladly accept them! :) hehe. Seriously though, I LOVE this creamer. It always makes me happy when it returns to the stores during this time of year. It's like eating pumpkin pie with a cup of coffee. It is fabulous! YUMMO! SO today I am thankful for flavored creamers like Pumpkin Pie Spice!

My Baby Girl

2011-11-08T07:00:00.002-05:00

Today on this journey of thankfulness I am thankful for the precious gift I received almost 8 years ago. My baby girl Sara Joy Kelly! She was born so tiny, 4 lbs 8 ounces and was must 16.5 inches long. She wore baby doll clothes for weeks...the preemie clothes were even too big for her.

Sara holding Uncle Chris' hand. She was 1 day old.Wearing her sporty sun glasses. She was under the UV lights for a good week. She was born breech and was bruised from her heels to her shoulders. Poor little thing. I felt so bad for her. But was so thankful she was alive and doing well. She was our little mouse. When she was born all you could hear was a little squeak that sounded like a little mouse.

Sara was 3 days old when I was allowed to hold her. I was only able to hold her for 20 mins because her heart rate went wild and her body temp dropped. It was a scary time. Sara and Eli were 8 weeks early. Sara had to have 2 blood transfusions and it took her longer to reach the same milestones that Eli did. In fact they kept Eli in the hospital 3 days longer just so they could be released the same day from the NICU to come home. They were in the hospital a total of 3 weeks and they came home on Feb 13th.

Sara's first bath. As I undressed her her little umbilical cord fell off. She was so tiny inside the little tub. We had to keep her wrapped in a blanket while we washed each part of her. It is a very cherished memory!

Jaron had found a tree frog and placed it on the raft. Sara LOVED it.

She would laugh every time she touched it.

In this picture Sara was being DRAMATIC. Pretending to cry because the frog jumped off the raft.

Right before this picture she was laughing when it jumped.

This was taken last Oct. I was whispering in her ear to smile.

June of this year. We went on a hike at Broken Leg Falls.

My little fashionesta!

CHEESE!

As you can tell today I am thankful for my baby girl. Yes I call her that, she is the baby of the family...by about 5 minutes.....and she is my little girl! I love her more than words can tell. The Lord told me two years before she was born that I would have a girl and that I would name her Sara. Little did I know that her great grandma on her daddy's side was named Sara as well. She loved it when we told her that this week. She has been learning about her family tree at school so that was a fun fact for her to share.
I am very blessed to have my precious little girl! She is a spunky little princess who loves to wear beautiful dresses while she plays ninjas with her brothers! She has great faith. When she prays she just expects it to happen. A few months ago she prayed for dresses and she was blessed with many dresses. Some she has been waiting to wear because they are holiday, as in Christmas dresses. She loves SHOES! OMW the girl loves shoes like her Aunt Jeanette and her Great grandmom! So today I am thankful for my little Sara!

Medicine

2011-11-07T07:00:00.000-05:00

Arthritis STINKS! HURTS! and is just NOT nice to the body! I have arthritis in every joint and some days I can barely move and am in so much pain I just want to curl up in my bed and cry. Other days I am stiff but not in severe pain. This past week I have been in terrible pain but I push forward. I am thankful for medicine!!! Th medicine I take for the inflammation makes my days a whole lot better! When I forget or run out of the med I can really tell a difference...which is why I was in so much pain this past week.
Medicine is one of the BEST inventions man has ever created and today I am thankful for the scientists that create it and being able to use it!

My Friends

2011-11-06T07:00:00.078-05:00

I am so thankful for my friends! I am blessed to say I have many in my life. Some are life time friends, the ones that no matter the distance or time, as soon as you get together it's as if you've never been apart. I have different types of friends...ministry friends, blog friends -people I am friends with because of blogging and would love to meet in person (a few I have and am so grateful to have them in my life!), and others. I am blessed with many lifetime friends and I am thankful for all of them. A few that come to mind right now are Angie, Marty, Deanna, Michele, Jessica, Elaine and Leah. Today I want to dedicate this post to my friend Martha (Marty). Today is her birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARTY!!!

She is amazing, an encourager and a prayer warrior. We met at MSU (Morehead State University) and became instant friends. You know the kind where you meet and immediately know that you will be friends for life...yep that's the kind. Honestly most of my college roomies are FFL friends. We have been friends for 17 years!! Marty has been by my side through so many of life's ups and downs. She was there when Sean and I started dating, she was there the day he proposed, there the day we got married standing in as one of my brides maids (matron of honor...she did get married 4 months before me). She was there the day I gave birth to Seanpatrick, she and her mom came to the hospital to support us. She came to my room where I was holding him and she was able to see how beautiful he was. She was there the day we buried him as well. A true support she and Michael were for us. Marty celebrated with us the births of our other children and us theirs. She has been an encourager when we were struggling in ministry and when I just needed someone to listen and pray. We always have a great time together and thankfully our children love each other as well. When we lived miles apart we took turns taking vacations to see each other, we have also gone on vacation with them (a VERY cherished memory). I am positive my life would be very different without her in it.
So today is her birthday (Happy Birthday Marty)! I am so thankful that God placed you in my life 17 years ago! You have been such a constant friend, through good times and bad. I only hope I have been the same kind of friend to you as you have been to me. I know God has some great things planned for you! I love you and thank you for your friendship over these years! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Quietness

2011-11-05T07:00:00.006-04:00

SHHHHHHH! Listen to the quietness! Let your mind go blank and just be!

Yes I am thankful for quietness. Now that we are home schooling Jaron and the other three are in public school I am very thankful for the times that the house is quiet. Times when I can just sit in quiet and those moments to clear my mind are rare and inbetween. I am always thinking about what we will teach or do next with Jaron. Then the door bursts open with the other three at 3 pm and it's time to adjust my thoughts to getting homework started and finished, getting dinner done, baths and then bedtime...naturally all of this occurs between the time they get home to bedtime at 9pm. In those 6 hours this house is LOUD! So today I am thankful for those rare moments of complete peace and quiet.

My Boys

2011-11-04T07:00:00.002-04:00

Today I am thankful for my three wonderful, crazy, loving, tough, gentle, strong, caring, loving, funny, energetic boys. Oh there are a lot more adjectives I could use to describe my boys but those are what comes to mind immediately. These three boys are everything I believe their oldest brother Seanpatrick would have been had he not died. These boys make me laugh, cry, scream, smile, and laugh some more. Just Tuesday we were sitting in the living room and honestly I do not remember what they were talking about but I do remember that they were giving me a hard time. I looked up at them and there they were all sitting next together joking and laughing. Had I had a camera at the time I would have captured the moment. But instead I just sat and looked at them taking in it and making it a mental picture I will never forget. My thought at that very moment....Lord let them always be this close...brothers and friends for life!
You may not believe me but I am thankful for my little angel Seanpatrick as well. Oh how I wish he was here with us but I am thankful for the 9 months I had with him. Yes he was only in the womb but I remember distinctly how he responded to my reading stories to him and Sean's singing to him. How he would move to be near Sean when he would lay his head on my stomach and would talk to him. The moments after his birth, all was quiet sadly but those precious moments holding him, brushing his long hair, looking at his precious fingers and toes. Those moments I am grateful for and very thankful that God allowed us to have those precious months and minutes with our first born.

I love my boys!

You know what I just realized as I am writing this that I chose to be thankful for my four boys on day four of thankfulness! LOL!

Kristofer being the lake monster.

Eli being the corn field monster.

Jaron our very mature preteen!

Wow did I just say that...man do I miss my little boobear!

Dishwasher

2011-11-03T07:00:00.001-04:00

Yep going there! For 13 years of marriages, 4 children and 3 moves we lived without a dishwasher. I am SUPER THANKFUL for the dishwasher we have been blessed to have for the past year. Oh it's not perfect, I still have to rinse and occasionally have to rewash dishes but all in all I LOVE IT! Makes my life a lot less "busy" and I can spend more time goofing around with the kids. So today...Day 2 of thankfulness I am thankful for my dishwasher!

My Pups

2011-11-02T07:00:00.000-04:00

Today I am thankful for my pups. We have two right now and I would LOVE to add another one but it is just not possible right now. One day I will have a little long hair Dachshund.

Bentley is a 3 yr old Schnauzer. He is our little guard dog, always in charge, on guard and ready to attack anyone that comes to the door. He is loving in his little way but is not one to cuddle. He hates the vacuum and as soon as I bring it out, it's an all force attack against it. He isn't always the fierce attack do. He LOVES playing fetch. Lovers playing with balls of all size; from small bouncy balls, to tennis balls, beach balls and even foot balls. If you have it in your hand and he thinks it's a ball he will being ~~barking~~ telling you immediately..."Throw me the Ball!" Very loudly and won't stop till you do. Bentley has a unique story, he was sold to a man who loved him but lost his house in foreclosure. Becoming homeless and unable to take him he left him in the house with another dog. For how long we have no idea. The original breeder went to visit her sister and they stopped by this man's home to find the house locked up and could hear the dogs barking. What they found was deplorable! They got in through a door that was unlocked, found them with no food, drinking toilet water and living in their own feces in a bathroom. She took the dogs home, gave them baths, fed them and got the two dogs the medical attention they needed. This woman being a truck driver could not keep either one of them and put them up for adoption after they were nursed back to health. We were blessed to be chosen to take him home with us. We were prepared to pay her and adoption fee but she refused when she heard we had 4 children. So Bentley came to live with us when he was just 10 months old.   Such a rough start but he as adjusted and is very much a part of our hearts and family.

Then we have our Oddie. We believe he is part Poodle and maybe Maltese but we have no idea and really don't care. He is the complete opposite of Bentley. He LOVES to cuddle, loves to play, is our comic relief, doesn't know anyone as a stranger and if you come to our door he believes you have come to only see him. He is my shadow most days and will follow me every where I go. Will lay near the tub when I am in the shower or the door of the bathroom until I come out. He "needs" to be near me and sometimes it does drive me nuts specially when I am trying to cook dinner and he trips me. You can go out the door for a second and when you come back in to the room it's as if we have been away for days. Oddie is 18 mo old and I truly hope that he stays the fun loving puppy that he is. He brings me such joy! As I write this he is laying on my lap licking my elbow. He is such a little lover and always happy.
    These two are more than just our pets but our family members. I am not a nut who dresses them, although Sara loves to. Bentley doesn't mind it but Oddie hates it. We crate them when we leave home but otherwise they are allowed to be where they want. They generally sleep with me which is not a problem since Sean generally works the over night shift but when he is home the bed gets a little crowded. Generally they will hop down or just sleep at my feet other wise they like to get as close as they can specially during the winter.
   So today I am thankful for my puppies. Ok so they aren't little babies anymore but they are to me my pups and they bring us great joy!

30 days has November

2011-11-01T07:00:00.003-04:00

So we begin with day ONE. Well believe it or not I am very thankful for this past year. Things are different and yet the same. Last year at this time we were candidating and waiting to hear what the church had decided. The fun thing is we are going to be candidating again this month! OK so some of you may not know what I mean. Candidating is when a church invites a pastor to come and preach, meet the congregation and generally they will vote to decide if they want you to be their new pastor. On Nov 13th we will be going to a church about 30 mins from here and Sean will be preaching the AM and PM services. We are excited about it! Although Sean has been teaching Jaron in depth Bible lesson since we started home schooling him and he has been able to preach/teach in children's church he has not been able to preach to a congregation.
I am thankful for this past year of healing, regrouping and learning to trust the Lord in new and deeper ways. This year has been tough emotionally, mentally, physically and even financially but through it all God has been there providing everything I have need personally as well as what our family has needed. Sometimes we must be thankful for the tough times and during those times something God has been really impressing on my heart and reassuring me of is that He is there and will NEVER LET US GO!

November is here...

2011-10-31T21:47:00.000-04:00

and my plan is to actually blog every day this month. Yes I actually said that! LOL! Now to follow through may be the hard part. But this month my plan is to share something each day that I am thankful for. The posts may be short, long, funny, sad, but everything will be something I am thankful for. So tomorrow we shall start a new adventure, #1 to get me back into blogging regularly and #2 (most importantly) to share all the things I am thankful for!

Proud Parents

2011-10-21T17:40:00.000-04:00

We are so proud of our kids! They have worked very hard the last 9 weeks and all 4 of them have straight A's and are on the honor roll. Even Jaron who is being home schooled has really worked hard and his projects, reports and tests have all been A/Bs. So tonight we are treating them to where ever they want to go for dinner. Naturally they chose Mc D's. Not my 1st choice but this is about them tonight. I won't be eating it. I am on a journey to lose weight so I will pick something at home to make for myself.

Great Job Kids!

Books

2011-10-18T18:58:00.000-04:00

So this home schooling adventure we started on has been just that...an adventure. Jaron has mastered everything I had planned to do in math up till Dec which means I am scrambling to get the next units organized and ready. I had planned to take Christmas break to get the next semester planned out. Such is life I guess. Actually he has done so well that everything I planned up till Dec has been done and so I have felt a bit overwhelmed as of late.
So yesterday I prayed and asked God to help me come up with the next units for math, science and history and He answered! YAY! Jaron will be learning about minerals, gems and earth science, medieval times and castles, and for math we are finishing up fractions this week and will start on percentages.
This morning I prayed that God would provide some other ideas and or books that I could use to continue on this adventure we are on and after Jaron completed his school work we were headed to the library. But on the way we stopped at the Goodwill. I had this thought, that just maybe I would find a couple of books that would be helpful. But what I found was so much more! We were blessed to find history, health, reading, science all by Abeka, then we found another American History book that was a public school book that was probably used when I was in middle school. Yes that was a long time ago but it is still very reliable. I plan to use it as a baseline and add to it. Just very thankful! God has truly been taking us on an adventure of trusting Him to supply all we need to teach Jaron this year. I have 3 kids in public and I am praying about home schooling the other three next year. SO many things are happening right now that I am just waiting on God to direct my steps and show me all I need to know and do. I do not want to be out of step on this at all. It's a HUGE under taking so waiting on His lead is of utmost importance!

Thank you God

2011-10-11T21:46:00.000-04:00

Yep this kitty knows who to thank and so do I! OK so here's the deal and it may not be a big deal to you but we have gone from 3 to 10 channels. How...well we were blessed with a newer model used TV. This new TV does not need a converter or extra equipment to pick up channels with the digital antenna. So tonight we tried a channel search and was very surprised that we no longer only get ABC, CBS, & ION but we now get those plus FOX, NBC, & KET. Granted it's not good to watch too much TV and we don't. Our kids spend time reading books, playing outside, playing board games as well as computer games so don't write me and tell me how bad TV is for my kids. They are very well rounded children.
Just thankful for the little things and sometimes it is the little things that really do make a difference in our lives.

Oh how I Miss You...

2011-10-09T18:42:00.000-04:00

...my dear dear camera! Ok so I had no idea how much I would miss not having a camera till it died. Seriously, I take pictures almost daily. Some make the cut and I add them to facebook or to my blogs but this shall not happen for a while. Our camera died. Just died. Not sure exactly what happened or why but it will cost more to fix than to purchase a new one. Either way we do not have the money to get a new one so we are camera less. I makes me sad that we are missing little things the kids are doing. SO if anyone feels bad for us and wants to bless us with a new one, let me know!

Is it Really October?

2011-10-05T19:18:00.002-04:00

My oh my where is this year flying off to? It truly needs to slow down a little. SO many things are taking place in our family it's just nutty. Let's see....

   * Sean got a promotion to shift manager and with it a raise...YAY! We know God is behind it completely!
   * Sara got a new teacher after her first teacher quit.
   * Kristofer's teacher got a promotion and he will be getting a new teacher as well. (This is huge for him because the idea of change does not excite him, it actually makes him very nervous and fearful. We are praying that this will be an easy transition and that the new teacher will arrive soon.)
   * Sean has passed 3 of his courses towards being ordained with the Assemblies of God.
      He has 6 more courses to go and then an internship of sorts.
   * I am learning more about Jaron and it is helping me in teaching him.

Those are just a few of the things going on. The saddest thing for me personally is that our wonderful camera died. Some kind of electrical glitch that will cost more to fix than to purchase a new one. I am praying that we will be able to come up with some extra money so that I can get a new one. I so miss taking pictures and naturally it's Fall...my favorite season of the year.   My parents are coming up for a week vacation. YAY! It means we will get to spend some more time with them. Not the whole week, they need time alone in their finished country cabin, but we will spend time with them. Can't wait! The kids are so excited about seeing them. SO AM I! Ever moment is cherished, life is not a guarantee and you never know what will happen next.
    I am watching my dear friend Michele is walking through a very difficult time. She just lost her mom due to a sudden illness. I have watched 4 of my dear friends lose their mom and another her father. I know my time with my parents is precious. So is the time my husband has left with his mom who is in her mid 80s. We are trying to figure out a time and plan a vacation to NY to visit her and his siblings. We are hoping to go in the spring. It may mean that we won't be able to go to FL for my niece's graduation and that is tearing my heart up but Addie, Sean's Mom is just as important and we know just based on age that our time with her is actually a whole lot shorter. So hopefully everything will work out and we will be in NY in April. That would be fun! The kids are all old enough to handle riding the train and going into the city. They would be completely amazed! :) Praying it all works out!

What's Happening

2011-09-27T22:41:00.000-04:00

Oh my am I so behind on writing. Guess home schooling is taken a lot more of my time than I thought. We are having fun. At least that is what I hope Jaron is having. Right now he is learning the 50 states and their placement on the map as well as the abbreviations. He is also learning about inventions and inventors, fractions and a little early American History. We are reading a book together called, "Point Blank" for literature.
Today was physical day for him. He is barely ever sick so this was the first he has been to the doctor since we moved here. The boy is growing so fast! He has grown 3.5 inches in a year! WOW! He is 11 and standing 5 ft 3.5 inches. I know he is still growing so who knows how tall he will be. My oh my!

Face Plant

2011-09-17T22:24:00.000-04:00

My baby was riding his bike the other day and some kids were playing with a basketball that got away from them and rolled right into the bath of his bike. I thought for sure he broke his nose but thankfully he didn't. I have to say having three rough and tumbling boys, we have been blessed with NO broken bones! Their guardian angles that God has placed in charge over them I am positive work over time! (Ps 91:11)

Solar System Fun

2011-08-30T14:20:00.000-04:00

Here is part of the project Jaron is doing for his Solar System unit. The 2nd part of the project he will be "teaching" his siblings about each of the planet by sharing the interesting facts he has learned by giving them a speech. He just doesn't realize it's a speech ~~yes I am tricky~~ I am smart!

The Long House

2011-08-29T22:04:00.000-04:00

Well home school is in full steam ahead. Last week Jaron started his history lessons and he chose to start with the Primitive Americas. This is one project he has done...a long house. He did a really god job coming up with the plan and using things around the house to create it. He is now studying Mayan, Aztec and Inca history. He is also working on a science project. He chose Astrology for science for the first unit. We have watched comets fly by and the international space center...which is suppose to be able to be seen again Friday at 8:58pm. Can't wait to get all the kids to see it. Hoping the skies will be clear for that. SO now he is doing his project for space. He is creating a solar system that we will hang from his bedroom ceiling. He is doing a great job on it. So proud of him!

We also are keeping up with our walking. I would love to say it happens daily but it has been 3 times a week so far. This week we are striving for 4 days and go from there, This is something we say last week. The pine cone looked like it was covered in dripping dew. But when in all actuality it was covered in sap! So glad neither of us took it down! Although that same day Jaron did grab a sap ball off a tree and ended up covered in sap. Which was hilarious. I had to laugh. He always seems to learn the hard way! Here is a picture of the sap that he took off the tree....

Walking

2011-08-20T15:10:00.000-04:00

So this past week Jaron and I started a new routine. Not only are we home school which is a whole new adventure but we have started walking together every morning after we drop off the other three at school. It's a great way to start the day and enjoy the park as well.

Jaron decided the second day that he would bring the camera and catch some of the scenes as we walked. I absolutely love these four pictures that he took. We are walking a mile every morning and I have to be honest it is hard on this woman! It's been so long that I intentionally walked a mile at a fast pace. It's getting my legs and bum in shape I can tell you that! I can feel it! But after this past week I have realized I must take it easy because my knees which are in terrible arthritic condition can't take the pace we have been doing.

So starting Monday we will just go a little slower. I don't want to stop walking. I need this terribly! I am so out of shape and I have got to get this weight off that I have been holding on to for let's say 3/4 of my life. So taking it slow, enjoying nature and time alone with my son just talking and laughing.

These precious ducks were great to watch! They stuck together and the fact that there were four of them made me think of my four kids immediately.

Doesn't this picture just capture the moment!

And it Begins...

2011-08-11T21:50:00.000-04:00

...school that is! Oh my word I am exhausted and its only day 2! Seriously, I have been preparing for 6 weeks to home school my oldest son. The first few days I have just wanted to go slow, get a base line as to what and where we need to start (besides what I already have planned) and the boy is wearing me out! He is so eager to get school done I am shocked! I get up at 6AM to get my bearings before waking up the crew. I always intend to spend time in the Word and prayer first but so far that has not happened. I think partly because we haven't gotten into the school rhythm and partly because Momma is NOT and I stress NOT AM MORNING PERSON!
   Anyway, so I get the other three diaperheads up and the next thing I know Jaron is up and ready to hit the shower. WHO IS THIS KID???! Seriously, last year I had to threaten ice water to get him up and moving. I pray this doesn't change this year! So I get the kids ready and take off out the door to drive the younger three to school. Come home and feel like I need a coffee IV just to get moving.
    Jaron first words are, "What I am doing today?" I want to say go to bed so I can go take a nap but instead I set him up with some grammar and math tests. Yep I am testing him already. It's how I plan to make a baseline. So far he is doing great. Headed to the library today and he picked out two books that go along with what he will be learning in history the first 4 weeks. So proud of him! :)
   This afternoon/early evening he was making fruit art. It was quite interesting and actually made me laugh...well here take a look:

Mr Happy

Mr. Dull

Mrs. Grumpy

Mr. Dead


The Pear Family

I absolutely love this! I especially love the family picture! Mr. Dead is hilarious to me....his guts are laying in front of him. Ok so I have a warped sense of humor but ya got to admit this is cute! He was checking to see if our pears are ripe yet....nope....not yet!

Gardening

2011-08-01T11:19:00.001-04:00

Gardening through pictures!

Below are some of the grape tomatoes I harvested this morning!

The Grape Tomato Plant

It is loaded with ripening fruit! YUMMO!

Our 3 zucchini plants. Not sure where the third one came from because we only planted 2 that we can recall!

Zucchini flowers are so pretty!

Two baby zucchinis are growing. They won't loose their flower bulbs for another few days. Can't wait to pick and eat these.

Yummy tomatoes! I have 4 tomatoes this size or larger ripening! They are going to taste so great with grilled cheese or on a hamburger or in a salad or just sliced, peppered and devoured! :)

Sara's watermelon plant. Sean accidentally ran over it with the lawn mower and we didn't think it would survive but it has and is growing strong. In fact it now has 5 flowers and hopefully those flowers will produce lushes pink watermelon!

The last pictures are from our Asian Pear tree. It is extremely heavy with fruit. They are not yet fully ripe but by the end of Aug. if not sooner we will be eating from this tree. This is only part of what the tree looks like. the other side of the tree is even more loaded with pears. Can't wait to share the harvest with friends and neighbors!

This last picture is an example of what happens when we do not trim around the fence. Sean thought I had planted something so he did not cut it back. Now we have grass seeds growing...at least that is what I think it is. It reminds me of when Flick from "A Bug's Life" is harvesting the grass seeds! Love that movie!

Lego Creations

2011-07-28T11:01:00.000-04:00

This is just a post of the creations Kris has made with his legos. Some he has created and recreated...or upgraded as he says. Enjoy!!

Gardening

2011-07-27T16:53:00.000-04:00

This summer we embarked on a garden journey once again. Not knowing how fertile the ground here was we makde sure to use organic compost and planted some tomatoes and grape tomatoes, zucchini, peppers and carrots, oh and a watermelon plant. Well the zucchini hasn't done as well here as it did in IL but we have harvested a few. It was the first time we have ever planted carrot seeds so we were all excited to see how many would come up. Well we planted a lot but only a harvested a few. But they sure where good! We also have a few sunflower plants growing and soon will harvest those seeds as well. We have harvested a few grape tomatoes and one pepper. The grape tomato plant has over 120 tomatoes that are all starting to turn red ... YAY! My other tomato plants have 4 green ones that are still growing, they are about the size of a tennis ball right now. I can't wait to start eating fresh organic home grown tomatoes! My favorite!!! :-)

Sara and I pulled her carrots. Now we wish we had planted more. Had no idea this is all that would come up. Next year we will plant the whole package of seeds!

We had a few mutant carrots but they sure did taste good!

New Tastes

2011-07-21T22:46:00.000-04:00

So this summer has been the summer of new tastes for one of our children. Kristofer has had oral and texture struggles since he was little. Certain foods, tastes, smells, textures, and even the way those foods look could send him into major gagging and even at times vomiting. Some foods I would have to cook while he was out side or at school such as hamburger. The smell of it cooking would send him into major meltdowns.
This summer I told him I wanted him to try something new every week. It actually started earlier but I have pushed a few things this summer I didn't think I would get him to try. But it has paid off! Here are just a few things he has tried this summer:

Chocolate covered bananas with nuts. He wasn't fan of this at all.

Nutella on graham crackers. LOVES IT!!! In fact this is a huge step for him. To put something like Nutella or even peanutbutter on something other than a spoon and eat it together was a forbidden task till this summer. He has fallen in love with it. I am so happy about this because Nutella although has cocoa in it is made from hazelnuts and I have found a way that he can have a "sandwich" for lunch at school now. It also made this week's picnic at the lake enjoyable for him and the other kids. :) YAY for Nutella!

Peaches! His first try was tonight and he LOVED them. The ones we had were a little bruised so that upset him but the parts I was able to cut off with no bruises he LOVED! Oh and something about fruit you have to understand, any fruit with skin on it such as apples he always has to have the skin taken off. So when I explained you eat the skin on peaches he was a little dismayed due to them being fuzzy but we washed them and took the fuzzies off and they were good to go. YAY!

Plums...NO WAY! TOO GROSS! Just not a favorite of his but he did try it as well! The fact that he is willing to try the new fruits is remarkable. I am excite because everything he has tried has new and different textures, tastes and smells...very big deal!

Ah yes can not forget the pineapple. THANK YOU SPONGE BOB! Kris loves Sponge Bob. Has since he was super little. I told him if he was going to be a Sponge Bob fan then he had to try pineapple. I know what was I thinking?! But he tried and wasn't so sure about it. He said he wants to try it again so that's another big step. Now if I could only get him to eat something other than chicken strips or tenders. Just another meat source other than chicken or bacon. Those are literally the only two mean sources he eats. Anyone else out there with picky eaters have some helpful suggestions?

God's Dresses

2011-07-19T21:25:00.009-04:00

Our Bubble Princess!
This blog entry is about our princess and her prayers!

Lately I have been hearing, "Mommy I want...." a lot around our house. I have just about had enough of the diaperheads asking for all kinds of things, mostly toys but my daughter Sara has been asking for a new dress.Wanting the kids to learn something about prayer I have started telling my kids take their needs and desires to God in prayer. They are all old enough to pray and ask the Lord to supply their needs and wants according to His will. So a few days ago when Sara asked me for a new dress I told her she needed to pray that God would bless her with dresses she likes. Well she prayed :) and God supplied! God heard her prayers and blessed my daughter with 12 beautiful dresses and a beautiful winter dress coat! Not only those items, but some other wonderful things such as new shirts, ponchos, fall and winter jackets to name a few. I hung the dresses up around her room to remind her that God didn't just bless her with ONE dress but with TWELVE beautiful dresses! She was so excited! So was I! She tried each of them on and modeled for her Daddy and I!Isn't just like God to not only answer His child's prayer but do it abundantly!!! I can't thank God enough for how He has made Himself real to her but also me once again. :) His word tells us,

"And my God will supply all your needs according
to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus."
Phil 4:19

Last Adventures.....

2011-07-15T23:48:00.005-04:00

...with Kaelyn and Grampy Mac took place this week. They packed up and headed back to Florida yesterday. It was a sad day for the kids and I! We have greatly enjoyed having our family here in KY. I took the kids and spent three days this week hanging out with them. Took the kids to the lake and they had a great time swimming and then headed to the house.

I hope the memories the kids made playing with their Grampy Mac will last a life time! Grampy Mac teaching Eli how to make hand birds.Whistling with Grampy Mac.

The next day we went searching for barn quilts .......and found some fun places to take pictures as well.Kids at the Memorial Park in W Liberty Ky. They loved checking out the real tank. Then we stopped in a field that had this very large boulder that the kids wanted to take pictures on. It was a very fun afternoon!

I have a bunch more pictures that I want to share here on my blog. I will be posting more as the days go by. I believe this has been one of the best summers for the kids and for me. We have had such a great time. Summer is almost over :( 3 weeks left and our new adventures will begin.

Summer Adventures

2011-07-11T22:26:00.005-04:00

This summer has just about flown by. I can not believe that we are now in the count down till school starts. For our family this year it will be filled with all kinds of changes. Not only has our oldest, Jaron completed elementary school he is now considered a pre-teen, middle school age student. He is in those middle years where it is hard not only for him but for us. This school year we are onto a new adventure! HOME SCHOOL! Yes home school. Wow did I just really say that? Oh my word what am I thinking?! Seriously though, I have wanted to home school my kids since Jaron was a toddler. With the younger ones being so close in age it just was never something I felt I could accomplish to the best of my abilities so this year we are starting with Jaron. Although I have full confidence in the school system here we want to have a stronger influence in his life during these young preteen years. So 3 of them will be heading off to elementary school and Jaron will be home with Sean and I. But I get ahead of myself don't I!

I mean this post was suppose to be about our summer adventures...My parents, brother Ron and 3 of his kids, as well as another niece Kaelyn came up for a couple of weeks from Florida. Kaelyn stayed here in KY with my Dad as he continues to work on his wonderful cabin. Last week we were blessed to have Kaelyn come and stay with us for five days. I use to watch Kaelyn when she was younger, she was like a big sister to the kids from the time Jaron was born till we moved to IL in 2006. So having her with us was a real treat (smile)!! They all got along really well and for that I am grateful. Sara was in heaven having her older "girl" cousin here to spend time with.Yesterday we took a detour before heading out to the cabin. Along the way I found a bunch of the barn quilts but only stopped this time to take a few pictures. I do plan to head back to take pictures of the ones we missed along the way. We headed to Broken Leg Falls in Menifee Co, Ky. What a beautiful place.Kaelyn and Sara on the way down the trail to see the falls.

Sadly my camera batteries died while there so I didn't get as many pictures as I wanted but here are a few I did get as well as some of the barn quilts I found along the way:Right along that line of concrete directly under that rock ledge there is a dirt path that you can walk along all the way around the falls. It wasn't moving very fast just a gentle stream that day but all the rock walls were definitely wet and slimy. The kids LOVED walking under that ledge!
My diaperheads...and Kaelyn was once part of the crew, a little older but most definitely like a daughter to me. I love this picture of them because of how the sun rests on Kristofer. He was so excited about being there. Part of the adventure of going to places like this is Kristofer's excitement. He wants to see everything as fast as he can and it doesn't matter if what and how he wants to see it is dangerous or not. This picture was taken after he had gone to look at every aspect of the area with Sean or I after him to keep him safe. The picture almost looks like an angel is sitting next to him or he is sitting on the angels lap. I know he keeps his guardian angel on guard at all times. I am thankful that God "places His angels in charge of him...us"!
This was our favorite find I believe. Kristofer and Eli were amazed that in that little hole was a small pool of water that was flowing down the rock wall. They as well as Sean and I had to put our hand in and feel the water and look inside. Had the camera batteries not died I would have figured out how to take a picture of the inside just to see if we could see where they water was coming in. The water was very cold, clear and refreshing to wipe your forehead with. The kids naturally wanted to taste it but we said, "NO WAY!"

More Quilts

2011-06-29T21:28:00.004-04:00

Found at a tomato farm in West Liberty.

Morgan Co. just off Hwy 519
Just off I-64 on Hwy 801

Love finding these beautiful quilt patterns! Hoping to find more this summer.

My New Love...hobby

2011-06-24T14:44:00.004-04:00

As of late I have come to truly appreciate the beauty of barn quilts. Basically the barn quilts are to bring awareness of quilting I believe. I will have to do a bit more research to find out how and when they started. Fish Hatchery in Morehead, KY

Clearfield, KY

Morgan County, KY
Cross Roads (aka Farmers KY)

Farmers, KY

Clearfield, KY

Bath Co, Kentucky

I would like to collect as many barn quilt photos as I can either take or get from other people that have taken them. I think they are beautiful!

Pranks

2011-06-07T19:39:00.003-04:00

For the last weeks the kids have been driving me nuts with these plastic bugs. Well I found them today and played a prank on the kids :) Love torturing them...lol! Kris found them and just laughed!

The Make Shift Pool

2011-06-05T20:43:00.004-04:00

The kids were desperate for some water fun this hot weekend. So we purchased some water guns and a hose and the kids have had a blast this afternoon. Although I believe in these pictures they are trying very hard to make it appear that they need a pool ... LOL! Little do they know that we are planning to get them one, not a big one just one they can get wet in.

And the Award Goes to.....

2011-06-02T16:21:00.007-04:00

JARON DANIEL KELLYHe did it! He graduated Elementary School with flying "A's" in all subjects, in all grading periods and his final grades for the whole year 98-101%!!!! How awesome is that! We are so PROUD of him! Today was the 5th grade graduation ceremonies at his school.

Here he is walking across to receive his Certificate of Completing Elementary School :)

To his and our surprise Jaron received not one but 5 awards this year! FIVE!!!! WOWSA!!! Talk about a proud Momma moment! :) I couldn't stop smiling and neither has he!
His first award was the Presidential Academic Excellence Award signed by Pres. Barak Obama and a letter from the President as well! He had to work hard for that! Having a GPA of 3.5+
(his was 4.0) all year, receiving high marks on on his state academic testing, recommendation from the teachers, guidance counselor and the principle.
VERY PROUD MOMENT!!!
Jaron had to point out the Presidents Signature!
He received awards for Jr Beta Club and Academic Team.

In each class 1 or 2 students were chosen for a Citizenship Award and our Jaron received one!!!
Way to go Jaron!!
After the initial ceremony we were released to take our children home if we desired to. Before doing so we were to meet in their classrooms. There, Mrs Miller handed out their rewards that had not being given out during the ceremony, their report cards, a special poem she had written them (which was beautiful and made me cry!) and another award that the students themselves voted on. There were only 5 given out and once again Jaron was chosen :) This time for the Best Student of Social Studies/History.
His wonderful 5th grade class!
Jaron and Mrs. Miller...she has been a fantastic teacher , Jaron really enjoyed being in her class.
I can't believe the school year has come to an end. We are very proud of Jaron but are equally as proud of our other three children as well. I truly can not believe that this coming fall we will have a JR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT! Seriously, where did the time go? I want him to be that cute bumbling 2 yr old that was in love with kittens and lizards again...sigh!

Kris' 9th Birthday...a little late

2011-05-27T22:51:00.005-04:00

UGH!! ok I know I have been pretty busy lately with all kinds of stuff...2 jobs to be exact. But I can not believe I forgot to post pics of Kris' birthday. SO I will just post a few pictures for now. I have a variety of things I want to write about and I will in the next week or so. My 2nd job just ended so I should have more time to write again. Although summer is just about upon us and the kids are getting out for summer break ... 3 school days left :)This year was exciting for Kris. For the first time in his life he asked to bring a cake or cupcakes to school to share with his classmates. So I headed to the store and found this awesome dragon cake made of cupcakes. The kids thought it was great! He was so excited and embarrassed at the same time. He loved sharing the time with his friends. I just loved that "HE WANTED" to share it with them.
2 months before his birthday Kris designed his own cake, drew out a picture with labels of what he wanted on it. So I purchased a little choc cake and he helped me decorate it. Lollipops, tootsie rolls and gum drops in the shape of 9. He loved it :)

Tantrums vs Meltdowns

2011-05-03T18:30:00.002-04:00

Lately we have been experiencing a bit of both here at home with Kristofer. Sometimes it's hard to figure out which he is having and other times it's very easy. Sometimes....
Meltdowns usually consist of crying and lots of tears. Generally all do to being tired or overwhelmed or even frustrated because something (homework) is just too hard.
Tantrums involved lots of grumbling, mean words, throwing things, hitting things, stomping around the house, hitting the wall or even hitting himself with no direct reason that I can tell.
Either one breaks my heart because generally I have no idea what may be the real reason behind it. Like yesterday we had the tantrum of all tantrums because I told him he HAD to do his homework. After two hours of working on it and grumping, not focusing, ect he finally finished what should have taken maybe a half hour. Now mind you during this time I was also working with 3 other children getting their homework done as well. Thankfully 2 of the three generally accomplish it on their own until it's time for them to read to someone.
So after those 2 long hours I thought ok we are home free. OH NO! I was so WRONG! He continued to get mad, throw things, stomping, saying mean things...YES TIME OUT was used ALOT as well as losing privileges. He spent quite a bit of time in his room.
Once he calmed down for a little bit then started the crying. I was like ok what in the world is going on tonight. This is not generally his normal behavior at all. Well it all came down to him finally getting out what was upsetting him so much. He apparently found something at school and showed a little girl in his class who told on him. The teacher made him throw it away and he had wanted to use it to make a robot. So for 4 hours we got the grump. Once he was able to verbalize what had happen at school his mood changed and he was happy again.
Sometimes being a Mom is tough! We have to know all things, be all things, do all things and if we can't we get blamed for all things....ugh!

The Child You Didn't Dream Of

2011-04-20T08:21:00.000-04:00

Another create article on Autism. Please take time to read this!

The Child You Didn't Dream Of

Autistic Teen Named Prom King

2011-04-19T08:10:00.001-04:00

Thought this was an interesting story! Autistic Teen Named Prom King

Autism Now: Robert MacNeil Shares Grandson Nick's Story

2011-04-18T10:12:00.001-04:00

Check this out! It's a wonderful piece about autism and how it affects Robert MacNeil's grandson Nick. Just click on the link below!

Robert MacNeil Shares Grandson Nick's Story

This is TOTALLY worth the time to watch.

The Misunderstood Child

2011-04-12T00:19:00.003-04:00

The Misunderstood Child
[A poem about children with hidden disabilities]
by Kathy Winters

I am the child that looks healthy and fine.
I was born with ten fingers and toes.
But something is different, somewhere in my mind,
And what it is, nobody knows.

I am the child that struggles in school,
Though they say that I'm perfectly smart.
They tell me I'm lazy -- can learn if I try --
But I don't seem to know where to start.

I am the child that won't wear the clothes
Which hurt me or bother my feet.
I dread sudden noises, can't handle most smells,
And tastes -- there are few foods I'll eat.

I am the child that can't catch the ball
And runs with an awkward gait.
I am the one chosen last on the team
And I cringe as I stand there and wait.

I am the child with whom no one will play --
The one that gets bullied and teased.
I try to fit in and I want to be liked,
But nothing I do seems to please.

I am the child that tantrums and freaks
Over things that seem petty and trite.
You'll never know how I panic inside,
When I'm lost in my anger and fright.

I am the child that fidgets and squirms
Though I'm told to sit still and be good.
Do you think that I choose to be out of control?
Don't you know that I would if I could?

I am the child with the broken heart
Though I act like I don't really care.
Perhaps there's a reason God made me this way --
Some message he sent me to share.

For I am the child that needs to be loved
And accepted and valued too.
I am the child that is misunderstood.
I am different - but look just like you.

Our Son Kristofer

2011-04-09T12:15:00.006-04:00

Autism affects each family differently. For us it's just a way of life. I expect the same things from Kristofer as I do the others. I make only small exceptions or make small modifications for him but when it comes to behavior he has to tote the line so to speak. I understand that the spectrum is so wide that it affects each individual differently. Many autistic children and adults are not able to speak while some with the use of computers are able to speak. Some have other issues they contend with such a aggression, seizures, over the top sensory disorder issues and other things.
Our son is able to communicate just like any other person...thankfully! He is a remarkable child, loves to build with legos, robots and dinosaurs are his favorite things and he is just now getting into drawing and art. He for all purposes seems like a typical child who is a little shy. But if you sped more time with him you will notice the pacing, rocking, hand flapping (occasionally), lack of eye contacted (almost immediately), does not initiate play with other children (again occasionally he will) and other typical autistic characteristics. We are blessed that he is not aggressive. Some autistic children are and it is usually not out of meanness but it is how they respond to certain stimuli or situations.
I share these things because there is a popular organization that would like for people to fear, pity and think of autistic children/adults as less than human. That organization is Autism Speaks and with good reason Autism Speaks does NOT SPEAK for us! Here are some reasons - from Autistic Self-Advocacy Network that my friend Angela DeRossett shared in a note on Facebook, Angela is also the writer of Homeschooling the Chaotic Family:

"1. Autism Speaks talks about us without us. Not a single Autistic person is on Autism Speaks' Board of Directors or in their leadership. Autism Speaks is one of an increasingly few number of major disability advocacy organizations that refuse to include any individual with the disability they purport to serve on their board of directors or at any point in their leadership and decision-making processes. In large part due to Autism Speaks’ public relations strategy of presenting Autistic people as silent burdens on society rather than human beings with thoughts, feelings and opinions.

2. They use fear and stigma to try and raise money off the backs of our people. Autism Speaks uses damaging and offensive fund raising tactics which rely on fear, stereotypes and devaluing the lives of people on the autism spectrum. Autism Speaks' advertising claims that Autistic people are stolen from our own bodies. Its television Public Service Announcements compare having a child on the autism spectrum to having a child caught in a fatal car accident or struck by lightning. In fact, the idea of autism as a fate worse than death is a frequent theme in their fund raising and awareness efforts, going back to their “Autism Every Day” film in 2005. Indeed, throughout Autism Speaks’ fund raising is a consistent and unfortunate theme of fear, pity and prejudice, presenting Autistic adults and children not as full human beings but as burdens on society that must be eliminated as soon as possible.

3. Very little money donated to Autism Speaks goes toward helping Autistic people and families: According to their 2008 annual report, only 4% of Autism Speaks’ budget goes towards the “Family Service” grants that are the organization’s means of funding services. Given the huge sums of money Autism Speaks raises from local communities as compared to the minuscule sums it gives back, it is not an exaggeration to say that Autism Speaks is a tremendous drain on the ability of communities to fund autism service-provision and education initiatives Furthermore, while the bulk of Autism Speaks’ budget (65%) goes toward genetic and biomedical research, only a small minority of Autism Speaks’ research budget goes towards research oriented around improving services, supports, treatments and educational methodologies, with most funding going towards basic research oriented around causation and genetic research, including the prospect of prenatal testing. Although Autism Speaks has not prioritized services with a practical impact for families and individuals in its budget, its rates of executive pay are the highest in the autism world, with annual salaries as high as $600,000 a year."

Now here's the deal...first off my son is fully a human with feelings that get hurt very easily. Thankfully he doesn't hold a grudge for long and easily forgives but he doesn't forget who hurts him. He was not stolen from us or his own body! He does not have a missing link either. My son, our son, is perfectly whole! He learns differently, sees things differently, does things differently...WHAT IS WRONG WITH THAT??? He is NOT retarded or have brain damage! He doesn't need to be cured! I love him the way he is. Do I wish the things he struggles with weren't so difficult for him? YES! But I would say the same thing about my other three children who have their own struggles. We all have things we struggle with! Even as adults if we would just fess up to them!
Will I say I wish he was a typical child or what society says is a "normal" child? NO! If I wished away autism out of his life he would not be the child I love. God makes all things perfect!

"You alone created my inner being. You knitted me together inside my mother. I will give thanks to you because I have been so amazingly and miraculously made. Your works are miraculous, and my soul is fully aware of this. My bones were not hidden from you when I was being made in secret, when I was being skillfully woven in an underground workshop. Your eyes saw me when I was only a fetus. Every day of my life was recorded in your book before one of them had taken place." (Psa 139:13 - 16, GW)

I believe our son was created by God and was NOT an accident what so ever! I am not looking for a cure what I would like to see is more research done on therapies that help children and adults to reach their full potential. I can not say that I believe that immunizations caused his autism. Do I feel that there may be a link, it's possible but I really do not know nor at this time do I care. Ok some of you are going to ask why I do not care about this...honestly I don't have time to. Oh I wonder but there is NOTHING I can do about it now. I have 15 nieces and nephews and 4 children of my own and out of those 19 children only 1 is autistic! They all had their immunizations at the recommended times and yet only our son Kristofer is autistic. So are the immunizations the reason he is autistic...I don't think so.
I do not find autism as a curse. Yes it has changed our lives for the BETTER! Yes there are times it is stressful especially when he was under 5 and we were still struggling to find out what was the issues. Which is another post all in itself and you can read about it here and here. I would never change Kristofer in any way I would however like to change how people think of autism and how they think about my son!

True Life- "I have Autism"

2011-04-09T08:15:00.000-04:00

I do not watch MTV, mainly because we do not have cable or satellite but a friend posted this link on Facebook. I found it very moving. This episode is about 3 teens who all have autism and what life challenges they face. It is 45 mins long but well worth the watch!

http://www.mtv.com/videos/true-life-i-have-autism/1554937/playlist.jhtml

"Different Not Less" Temple Grandin

2011-04-08T08:26:00.000-04:00

2011-04-06T09:00:00.001-04:00

Best movie out there! Read the book or check out the movie! The movie truly gave me insight into our life with Kristofer and with other children we know. Dr. Grandin Temple is an amazing woman who is a Professor at Colorado State where she is a colleague of my brother-n-law Dr. Eugene Kelly. She has written a variety of books and is an advocate for autism. It is difficult to even gain access to her or anywhere she speaks. Check out more about her HERE

Rethinking Autism

2011-04-05T09:00:00.000-04:00

What is Autism

2011-04-04T09:00:00.000-04:00

Facts About ASDs

Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are a group of developmental disabilities that can cause significant social, communication and behavioral challenges. People with ASDs handle information in their brain differently than other people.

ASDs are “spectrum disorders.” That means ASDs affect each person in different ways, and can range from very mild to severe. People with ASDs share some similar symptoms, such as problems with social interaction. But there are differences in when the symptoms start, how severe they are, and the exact nature of the symptoms.

There are three different types of ASDs:

Autistic Disorder (also called “classic” autism)
This is what most people think of when hearing the word “autism.” People with autistic disorder usually have significant language delays, social and communication challenges, and unusual behaviors and interests. Many people with autistic disorder also have intellectual disability.

Asperger Syndrome
People with Asperger syndrome usually have some milder symptoms of autistic disorder. They might have social challenges and unusual behaviors and interests. However, they typically do not have problems with language or intellectual disability.

Pervasive Developmental Disorder – Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS; also called “atypical autism”)
People who meet some of the criteria for autistic disorder or Asperger syndrome, but not all, may be diagnosed with PDD-NOS. People with PDD-NOS usually have fewer and milder symptoms than those with autistic disorder. The symptoms might cause only social and communication challenges.

Signs and Symptoms

ASDs begin before the age of 3 and last throughout a person's life, although symptoms may improve over time. Some children with an ASD show hints of future problems within the first few months of life. In others, symptoms might not show up until 24 months or later. Some children with an ASD seem to develop normally until around 18 to 24 months of age and then they stop gaining new skills, or they lose the skills they once had.

A person with an ASD might:

Not respond to their name by 12 months
Not point at objects to show interest (point at an airplane flying over) by 14 months
Not play "pretend" games (pretend to "feed" a doll) by 18 months
Avoid eye contact and want to be alone
Have trouble understanding other people's feelings or talking about their own feelings
Have delayed speech and language skills
Repeat words or phrases over and over (echolalia)
Give unrelated answers to questions
Get upset by minor changes
Have obsessive interests
Flap their hands, rock their body, or spin in circles
Have unusual reactions to the way things sound, smell, taste, look, or feel

All of this information is from The CDC. You can also find out even more info about diagnosis, therapies and other topics by visiting the CDC site on ASD.

Wretches & Jabberers

2011-04-03T09:00:00.001-04:00

A few days ago a friend of mine posted a link to Wretches & Jabbers. I had no idea what it was about to be honest. I knew it had something to do with autism but had never heard of it. It is actually a movie about the lives of Tracy and Larry. I am hoping to get to see the movie. If you would like to see the trailer or learn more about this movie that will be out this month in AMC theaters check them out here. Both Tracy and Larry are autistic. They never had a chance to experience all the therapy advantages that our Kristofer has had. I am SO VERY THANKFUL that he was born in 2002 than 20 years ago or even more! They both write their own blogs and I have to say reading them has been very insightful and interesting! Just click their name and I have linked it to their blogs... Tracy or Larry

Rethinking Autism

2011-04-02T09:00:00.000-04:00

April is Autism Awareness Month

2011-04-01T21:07:00.005-04:00

If you have read this blog for any length of time you know that our Kristofer is autistic. He doesn't fit most of the "typical" symptoms list and there for I will NOT share those typical symptoms. At least not right now. I will sometime during the month list the typical list that advocates like to stress but Autism is a SPECTRUM disorder. Just like a rainbow there are varying colors of autism so to speak, each children/adult is different, each with his/her own special capabilities or stepping stones they deal with daily.
I hope to post something different every day for the full month. I hope to bring awareness and acceptance. Our son is not dumb, retarded or useless. He IS smart, happy, creative, energetic, loving and affectionate. He has friends and although he learns differently and doesn't always respond to his name being called he does HEAR your comments when you stand behind us in line at Wal Mart and he does notice your stares when he is having a little difficulty getting out what he wants to say. He doesn't need your sympathy but he does deserve your compassion and understanding!
His name is Kristofer and he is autistic and I do NOT want to change him! I love him for who he is and he is a blessing from God!

Jaron is 11

2011-03-30T00:37:00.003-04:00

Truly time needs to slow down! My boy is 11. Seriously!!?! I so want to go back to when he was a toddler and full of curiosity of the world around him. Now he is 11 and before I know it we will be teaching him how to drive ...ok let's just focus on being 11 for now!

Oddie & Bently

2011-03-29T22:00:00.000-04:00

We are very blessed to live in a home that allows pets. When we moved from IL the kids and I were afraid we would have to give up all of our pets. Thankfully we were able to bring our dogs and they were allowed to be in the house :) Something we were not allowed to have in IL. Earlier Monday morning I kept hearing Oddie digging and when I went into the bathroom I found him in the bath tub. Naturally as soon as I turned the water on he jumped out...he hates baths...but for some reason he wanted the mat out because as soon as I took it up he stopped digging and hopped out.Bently is wondering why Oddie is in the tub!

Sara is always telling me that Bently doesn't like her and that he never sleeps with her. Well tonight I finally got proof that he does sleep with her :-)

Life...

2011-03-27T13:00:00.000-04:00

HAPPENS!!! Back in Feb I had my first car accident. I was for sure that the van was totaled but it wasn't! THANK YOU JESUS! We were able to get the van fixed and just got it back from the repair shop. I just about did a dance right then and there when Sean was handed the keys and we were able to bring it home. I have always wanted a smaller family car but I have to confess I LOVE my van. More room and no children complaining that someone is touching them.
The same day I had my accident (thankfully I was not seriously injured) Sean had a 3 day stomach bug, he hasn't been that sick since he went on a missions trip to Honduras and I was pregnant with the twins! That weekend started two weeks of yuck. Eli got the flu, then Sara, Jaron and thankfully Kris never got it. Kris did have double ear infections. Just when I thought Eli was getting better his fever came back with a vengeance and back to the doctor we went. Diagnosis...ear infections. He missed 6 days of school.
Sara on the other hand was not getting over the flu so we headed back to the doctor after day 6 of no school...this time strep and ear infections and just when I thought health was back in sight she had a terrible reaction to her medication. It started with throwing up 2 hrs after taking it. It just assumed it was because she took it on an empty stomach. The next day she took it with food and an hour later she was throwing up and this time it lasted for about 2 hours. I was at my wits end. All I could think was oh no she has the stomach bug again. You see she is the one that got Sean sick with the stomach bug in the first place so it was a logical explanation. But day three of meds and within 25 mins she was throwing up and it didn't stop for 5 hours I knew something was wrong. She wasn't doing this over night so I knew it had to be a reaction to the meds. After an hour I called the doctor and they confirmed my thoughts. We waited a day and started new meds and that made the world of a difference.
She lost 7 lbs and was out of school 11 days straight. I haven't seen her that sick in a long time. It really was starting to scare me. But thankfully they are all healthy now ... YAY!

Happy Days

2011-02-27T12:54:00.004-05:00

Our Eli has mastered riding his bike. He was so excited! The next day I went out with him and took some pictures so he would always remember the day he learned to ride without his training wheels. Thankfully it was one of the rare days we did not have snow and it was warm enough to go with out a jacket.

Keep your Mouth Closed

2011-02-02T00:13:00.003-05:00

Lately we have had some issues with being nice to each other with our words. The kids are starting to feel the affects of so many snow days and cold weather. They NEED spring and summer to come. A friend of mine posted this picture and I just LOVE IT! I plan to print a few of these off and post them through out the house and make the kids memorize what it says. If anything maybe they will stop all the name calling, picking and teasing each other. I know it's driving me nuts! Or maybe they are nuts and I am going crazy??!?

Twin Pack

2011-01-31T08:01:00.004-05:00

I absolutely LOVE the above picture! These two spend half their time arguing and picking on each other! The other have is pictured below :-) I prefer the loving, hugging picture but the one with attitude does show part of their personalities!

On Jan 22 we celebrated the twin pack's 7th birthdays. YAY! I honestly can't believe my babies are 7 to be honest. WE started the celebration early that morning. I woke up with fire in my throat and ears and temp of 102. Not exactly how I wanted to start the day that is for sure. Turns out I had strep throat and double ear infections again. UGH!! That's twice in less than 7 weeks. Nasty stuff I tell you, just nasty! Anyway this isn't about me! So we started the day with giving them their presents from us. The LOVED them. We gave Sara two small horses and the larger stuffed horse she is holding up in the picture below. Sara is big time into horses. For Eli we got him a blue Hero Factory character he had been begging for since Christmas and a Iron Man 2 Lego kit that he and Jaron worked on for the rest of the day.
One thing we have always tried to do is keep them as individuals. Which is pretty easy to do since they are not both boys or girls. I always make them individual cakes. This year I tried something different and it didn't work too well. Like I have said many times, I am NOT a baker. But regardless the kids loved their cakes! I don't think there was any left by morning. :)
Oh where as the time gone? I miss my babies! Yes all 4 of my kids will be my "babies" but I really miss actual babies! I miss that baby snuggle time! But I do enjoy my snuggle time with my now 7 yr olds. Really, seven, seriously...oh how time flies.

10 Autism myths

2011-01-04T12:17:00.003-05:00

Saw this post today at Circle of Moms and just had to share it. I did not write this just sharing it. You can read other great posts at Circle of Moms as well.

10 Autism myths

(Click title to go to original post)

Katherine - posted on 12/28/2010 (14 moms have responded)

My friend bamsmom2001 wrote this and it really resonated with me. In honor of Autism Awareness Month, I wanted to share it with all of you.

Myth #1: Eye contact is impossible for someone with autism.
Some people with autism find making eye contact with others difficult, but others have no problem whatsoever.

Myth #2: People with autism can't show affection.
My son is the biggest snuggle bug ever! Being able to snuggle up has never been a problem for him. For some, it is, but not all.

Myth #3: If a child is progressing, he never had autism.
This is not true. It takes work and patience, but progress is possible!

Myth #4: People with autism cannot communicate.
If someone with autism is nonverbal, they have other ways of communicating. Sign language, pictures, computers, etc. are all forms of communication. Just because a person can't talk, it doesn't mean they can't communicate.

Myth #5: Autism is the result of bad or neglectful parenting.
The "refrigerator mother" myth has been around for some time, and I'm actually surprised it still exists. Almost every parent of a child with autism I've met is very kind, loving, and incredibly patient. They also spend much of their time feeling needlessly guilty about their child's autism, so this myth is less than helpful.

Myth #6: If you have autism, you can repeat the whole phone book or know what day of the week April 23 will fall on in 4 years.
While most children with autism are very smart, an autistic savant is rare. We can all thank the movie Rainman for this little myth. So in the future, please do not ask a mom to get her kid to perform parlor tricks for you.

Myth #7: Children with autism do not want friends.
All children want friends. Some can show this is a better way than others, but I think all children want a friend. Alot of kids with autism just can't figure out how to go about it.

Myth #8: Kids with autism don't get their feelings hurt.
If you've ever seen my son's face after a kid has refused to play with him, you'd know this is not true. They might not get mad and yell at someone, or sit down and cry over it, but it's just as easy to hurt a child with autism's feelings as any other. Please remind your children to be kind.

Myth #9: Better discipline would get their acts together.
Boy, do I love that one! I've been told on many occasions that all I need to do is spank him. Another good one, "Let me keep him for a few days, I'll fix him." You can't spank or yell autism away any easier than you can spank cancer away.

Myth # 10: If a person with autism can't communicate, he can't understand you either.
If someone tapes your mouth closed, do your ears plug up as well? Comprehension skills and expressive skills can develop at different speeds and often do with autism. Just because a child can not say "I love you" does not mean he doesn't hear you when you tell him you love him.

*************************************************

Ok it's me now, let me just say that our Kris blows most of these myths away. He does have eye contacted now...after many years of intense therapy he does have eye contact...not always and most definitely not with strangers-just enough to say hi and that's about it. As for affection, no he isn't a "huggy" kid but will accept hugs if you ask him. In general no he doesn't want you to touch him but he may "bump" into you and that's his way of letting you know he loves you.
Myth #9...oh my gosh that is one area I would like to take a paddle or blet and beat some sense into some people. Family members included!!! I don't know how many times I have heard "if you would spank him more" or "let me take care of him and he would stop all this"! Got news for ya....he has grown up now and although he still has some issues when it comes to behavior, its a constant and I mean daily reminder of telling him what is and isn't appropriate or acceptable. It has been draining at times yes but worth every second. He isn't a bad kid he just doesn't understand that it isn't ok to do certain things at certain times.
I could go through each myth and blow them apart with examples of our Kris but I won't. Only because at this very moment I have a TERRIBLE headache but also because I do not have to for your benefit. My boy, our boy is not any of these things. Yes he might struggle in some areas but who doesn't!!!
I love Kristofer more than life it self. I knew from the very day he was born he was going to be special. God told me so just never knew what He meant and honestly still don't. I just know he is my baby and will forever be my baby who just keeps surprising me with all his progress and abilities :)

Happy New Year 2011

2011-01-01T12:28:00.002-05:00

2011! Seriously 2011! Honestly I remembering as a little girl thinking that when we go to 2011 we would have flying cars and hover boards. But alas we do not. Last night we had a small family party. Well not exactly, we had chips, pizza, soda and watched the ball drop. The kids danced around a little and laughed at Sean and me when we were dancing for a few seconds before he had to leave to go to work.
I am exhausted to be honest. Had a very rough night that I am not going to go into here today. Let's just say my puppy was sick, my daughter is now sick because I shared my cold :( and Kris had a rough night settling down. Not how I wanted to start this new year but if this is all we have to deal with for the year I will be very happy.
I am looking forward to what this year will bring. I am praying it will be all good but should it bring sadness I will trust the Lord to watch over me and turn it for good.

Lord I pray this year be filled with health, happiness, prosperity, peace, rest, direction and guidance. Amen

Whine your blessings

2010-12-30T13:57:00.002-05:00

Yes you read that right! You see as of late some of the statuses I have seen on Facebook have irritated me to no end. Here are just a few:

"I hate having a job!"
(REALLY? I know a lot of people that would love to have it if you want to quit!)

"Got a new car, hate that it's a 2010 and not a 2011!"
(Seriously?! Our van is a 1994, 270K miles, has two broken door handles, no heat or A/C...wanna trade? Don't get me wrong here I am VERY VERY THANKFUL for the vehicles we have! Go here to read about how I feel about my cars.)

There are a few others that people have posted that I won't post here because I know that they read this blog and to be honest I do not want to hurt their feelings but they really need to get a serious reality check. I believe it's all about perspective and if I sat down and wrote out everything I wish were different I would be whining instead of being thankful for what God has done.

There's a little song we use to sing in Sunday School called "Count Your Blessings" and the chorus goes like this:

"Count your blessings name them one by one, count your blessings see what God has done, Count your blessings name them one by one, Count your many blessing see what God has done."

I have days that I do whine about what I don't have but want but those days are far and inbetween. Our family is very blessed. In fact despite what I thought our Christmas celebration was going to be like turned out to be the best Christmas we have had in a variety of ways. I plan to share pictures and other things about the events of this past week in the next few days. But today I just couldn't take one more person whining about something that they are blessed with! I was sharing some of the statuses I have seen lately that have been irritating me to no end to Sean and he came up with this little parody. It is quiet funny. Enjoy!

WHINE ABOUT YOUR BLESSINGS by Sean Kelly

(sung to the hymn, “Count Your Blessings”)

When upon life’s pillows you are self-absorbed

You got a new Chevy but you want a Ford

Whine about your blessings, spew them one by one

And it will surprise you how ungrateful you’ve become

Chorus:

Whine about your blessings, whine them one by one

Whine about your blessings till the day is done

Whine your blessings… whine them one by one…

Whine about your blessings till the day is done!

Are you ever burdened with blessings untold?

Mounds and mounds of silver when you cry for gold?

Count your every instance when you get short-changed

And don’t be surprised when you turn out deranged.

Chorus

So amid the blessings whether great or small

Do not be content for God should give you more!

Whine about your blessings, others nerves you’ll grate

Wallowing in self-pity till it’s way too late!

Great night!

2010-12-23T16:55:00.003-05:00

So last night was our church's Christmas candle light service and children's program. It was FANTASTIC! Great message, fantastic worship, kids did wonderful. Jaron had his first speaking part and did excellent. So proud of them. Even Kristofer did great...a wise man on crutches. Oh yea, you see over the weekend Kristofer took a tumble down the stairs and bruised his ribs. Then on Sunday afternoon he tripped and bruised his heel bone and Achilles tendon with a slight sprain. He was on crutches for a few days. Did fantastic on them and used them last night. Today he has not been using them and seems to be doing a lot better.
So last night Jaron was one of the narrators, Sara was an angel, Eli a shepherd and Kris a wise man. They all did fantastic. So proud of them!
Today was cookie day. I guess I could make this a seperate post but I have decided not to. You see I woke up once again sick. I just got over and finished antibiotics for strep and double ear infections. I was just starting to feel better and today I get slammed. Actually it started last night with my sinuses burning but I am sure you don't want to know the details. Seriously though I woke up feeling like a mack truck hit me. :-( I do not like being sick! Specially when we have special visitors coming to visit for Christmas.
Anyway on to the cookies. You see the cookie below well that is suppose to be a gingerbread man for santa. Note to self next time take the time to make sugar cookie dough instead of purchasing the pre=made dough at the store! Our sugar cookie cut outs well had issues and because one giant sheet. Kids just laughed but I know Kris was very disappointed in the gingerbread man.

Our sugar cookie cut outs...SO SAD! But they did still taste good!

Then I got creative with the sugar dough and added snickers bites and crushed candy canes. Don't they look yummy! They are!

To finish off the batches we made chocolate chip cookies. All in anticipation of our special guests!
Of whom we have not spent Christmas with in 5 years. My parents are coming, my parents are coming! YAY!!! I can't tell you how excited I am about this. My brother Chris and his wife Leah and their two kids and my other niece Anna whospent the summer with us is also coming our way. SO excited to see them!!! They should be here sometimes tomorrow night and will stay for a week. YAY!!!

Introducing RG

2010-12-10T16:10:00.005-05:00

Kristofer has been working on RG all week. He started by finding some bottle caps,
light bulb and the jar. Then he set out to go to work creating his newest robot.

Through out the week he has added and changed different parts. This morning as soon
as he got up and dressed for school he was back to working on RG. You can see the
changes he has done....oh wait "up grades" as he calls them.

The air freshener container is the robot's (RG's) gun.

When he returned from school he was ready for more "up grades." This time he added an air tank (pill bottle) to the back. The finished RG at least for now is below.
I am always amazed at what he creates. When asked what he wants for Christmas this year all he says is a robot creation box. In layman's terms...a box filled with craft stuff, a glue gun, glue sticks, googley eyes, pipe cleaners, other odd shaped items ect... This is one amazing kid we have been blessed with.

Kris' Aircraft

2010-11-27T15:10:00.004-05:00

Well he's at it again :) He really does amaze me with his creations. Now he is starting to show Eli how to do it. He has a hard time letting Eli do it alone or create what he wants. Kris' creative mind is always working. This was another creation he made yesterday.

Mommy Daughter Day

2010-11-27T14:31:00.003-05:00

Sara has been asking all week for a day that we do girlie things. Just her and I. So today we made home made pumpkin facials which was very simple to do. Sara's comment was, "Mommy I smell like pumpkin pie." Which I had to agree with her on. We also painted our nails with a clear coat to make them shiny. She enjoys these fun things that we can do with each other at home. I do love a professional facials of which my favorite place is at Just Skin in Venice, Florida but this special time with my beautiful little girl means the world to me.

Creations by Kristofer

2010-11-25T16:22:00.003-05:00

As you know from previous posts our Kristofer is on the autism spectrum. He is very high functioning and because of God's hand on him and therapy he is doing fantastic. Well one of his favorite things to do is build. We had an IEP meeting this week and I learned that he has been building at school and his special ed teacher of whom I love, has been giving him extra time to unwind with her by building something before heading back to his normal classroom. Of which I am very pleased with! It helps him prepare mentally to contend with the large group setting.
He is my recycling king. Today on Thanksgiving he was constantly asking me when we would have our Charlie Brown Thanksgiving Dinner which equals popcorn, pretzel sticks, jelly beans and toast...minus the toast. I explained to him that we would be having dinner with the Shorts and that seemed to make him happy.
I went looking for him and found him building ... no surprise there :) What did surprise me is that he had found the hot glue gun and was using it...correctly!His newest creation is below. He calls it his stick man robot and hover craft. I think he did an excellent job creating it. To us it may be junk but when he sees odd shapes and items he sees a masterpiece.

Isn't that the same thing God does with us! He picks us up and out of the trash...often times we are throw aways by society's standards or ours, washes us off and there begins the start of a new creation of which He is faithful to complete. Today I am thankful for Kristofer and his building/creating abilities. Love that boy!

40 Things

2010-11-24T22:23:00.001-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving! For 40 years I have celebrated Thanksgiving. Some years I do not even remember, for I was too young. Many years I was barely thankful for what I had but today I am very thankful for even the smallest things. So I am about to attempt to write out 40 things, one for each year I have been alive of things I am thankful for.

I am thankful for…

1. My ever faithful Lord and Savior

2. Jesus’ love and forgiveness despite my failings.

3. My husband, I love you Sean!

4. Strongheart Jaron

5. Kristofer the conqueror

6. Tenderhearted Eli

7. Princess Sara

8. My Angel Seanpatrick…you may be in heaven but I am forever thankful that I had 9 months to get to know you and can’t wait to see you in heaven!

9. My parents..Mom & Dad…A constant reminder of what love can do and how you can overcome the many things that life throws at you.

10. My 3 brothers and my sister…memories of my childhood : )

11. Best friends – In no certain order… Angie, Michele, Deanna, Leah, Marty, Jessica

12. New friends

13. A warm place to call home.

14. LIVING IN KY – We love it here!

15. My dogs – Bently and Oddie…what a pair you are!

16. Two cars that are paid for!

17. New Haircuts!

18. Warm winter coats

19. Crock shoes

20. Diet soda

21. veggies and dip

22. Turtle cookies…as Kristofer says, “Sweet glory” they are good!

23. MY DISHWASHER : )

24. Modern technology

25. Seasons of Rest

26. Dolls…I love dolls.

27. Klove radio

28. Facebook – connecting with old and new friends

29. Board games-Scrabble

30. My wonderful neighbors.

31. Video games

32. Playing Uno and Pacman with Sara

33. My granmother’s ivy that is growing strong and I have had for 9 years.

34. My ceramic Christmas tree that was my great grandmother’s.

35. Living less than 3 minutes from the stores I shop at.

36. Redbox…yes I love cheap rentals.

37. Pumpkin Spice Coffee and creamer

38. The ability to walk without crutches or a cane.

39. Pain medicine

40. Ability to worship in a free country without fear of being attacked or thrown into jail.

WOW I did it! I knew I could but with all the storms we are facing and going through I wasn’t sure I would come up with that many things. Oh I have so much more I am thankful for mainly all that God has and is continuing to do in my life and in my family.

Happy Thanksgiving my friends!

Happy Birthday Seanpatrick

2010-11-22T01:01:00.005-05:00

We Place You in His Hands

Tiny life so fragile, sent to earth from heaven's gate

Blessed our lives for just a little while,

a testimony of His grace

No harsh words were ever spoken, to dim your precious brow

We know you're in the safest place, in the arms of Jesus now

We give you back to God, we place you in His hands

We place you in the hands of the Father above

Knowing He will keep you safe within His love

We place you in the hands that calms the raging waves

Knowing that He is still able to save

We give you back to God, we place you in His hands.

Today is our son SeanPatrick's 13th birthday. Will I ever stop counting the years that he was taken from us? I don't know. I wish I could say yes but the truth is, I probably will always count the years. I know one day I will hold him in my arms when I get to heaven. Every year I post something about his special day. This year I am just posting the song that our dear friends Gary & Rhonda Gray and Christy Cain wrote and recorded for us to play at the funeral. If you would like to read more of what took place and why we do not have him you can go here to read about it.

Saturday Morning Breakfast

2010-11-13T09:33:00.002-05:00

I love Saturday mornings. They usually mean I get to sleep in, usually only another 3o minutes because my kids don't know the meaning of sleep in on a weekend day. In when we lived in Illinois we made it a point to always have a family breakfast loaded with pancakes, eggs, bacon, toast (sometimes), grits, coffee and sometimes OJ. YUMMO!! Since living here in Kentucky that ritual has sorta go to the way side. Mainly because Sean's work schedule changes and he now works on Friday nights and comes home exhausted on Sat. mornings. :( We are hoping that changes soon. He has applied for a position with the school district as a Alternative Education Assistant teacher. It would be full time, during the day and we are praying it will be more pay. The hours alone are better and we are really praying he gets it. He likes his job he has but hates the hours but thankful for the job!
Anyway today I decided instead of trying to sleep in when the kids were being rambunctious I would get up and get breakfast going and surprise Sean when he came in. He was happy :) The kids were excited! Kris woke up and was like "Is that bacon I smell!" then came in and said, "You are the best Mommy in the world!" All because I made bacon lol!
I enjoy mornings like this with my kids. I know soon things will change and they will be staying at friend's homes and getting up to go to work or leaving for college...ok getting ahead of myself, I mean geez Jaron is only in 5th grade...by time does seem to fly by!
OH yea before I forget! We are so PROUD of Jaron! He made the academic team at school. He was pretty excited himself. He is a smart kid and I think this is really going to boost his confidence. So proud of him! WAY TO GO JARON!!!

November is Dedicated to Being Thankful.

2010-11-03T09:42:00.000-04:00

November…where has this year truly gone? I feel like every year passes by so quickly anymore. Maybe it’s because I am getting older but honestly I think it has more to do with I am so busy being Mom that I blink and the year disappears. So in three weeks from tomorrow we will be celebrating Thanksgiving. Honestly Thanksgiving should not be set to just one day but be a life style. The last couple of days I have been thinking about what I am thankful for and how I want to go about sharing it. I thought about doing 30 days of Thanksgiving and then I thought no I will just do Thankful Thursdays. But that just didn’t appeal to me as well. I even considered making a list of things I am thankful for. Which is something we need to do, the Bible tells us to “count your blessings name them one by one.” But that isn’t really what I want to do either. Oh I probably will make out a list this month and share it. Actually I plan to do that anyway but I wanted to take some time to really share what I am thankful for and why.

So today on my way to take the kids to school (which was much better day than Monday) I was thinking about what I am thankful for and it was instantly…I am thankful for our van! Actually I am thankful for the provision of our vehicles! You see Sean and I have been married almost 14 yrs which surely doesn’t feel as long as it sounds. In the time we have been married we have been blessed with 4 ½ vehicles. I mean given, tax free, payment free, gifts from God. Sure they were all used but every time one has died God has supplied another one. I say 4 ½ because with our van we were blessed with ½ of what it cost. We are very blessed right now that we do not have any car payments!! When we found out our then large car (Lincoln Town Car) was turning into a compact car because our family was not only increasing but increasing with twins, both Sean and I said ok God you are blessing us with twins, our children are doubling (from 2 to 4 children) we said, Lord you have to provide. We were blessed when we found our minivan that sits 7 and then were blessed with half of the money. I will not post all those who have blessed us because although we are VERY, VERY, VERY GRATEFUL for their obedience to God and for blessing us, we believe they were an agent of the Lord and I am sure they would not want to be named or “glorified” for blessing us.

Relatively each vehicle has been in good to excellent condition. Some have need a bit of work but most have been tag and drive. When I sit down and think of all the ways God has come through it encourages me to know that if He did it before He can and will do it again. He always supplies what we need when we need it. Sometimes it has gotten pretty dark and the storms seem to rage with hurricane force winds but all He has to do is say, “Peace be still,” and the storm ceases to exist. Right now a storm is brewing and it is starting to get dark here (and I am NOT talking about a natural storm) I mean we need Him to speak, “Peace be still,” and come to the rescue. I am not asking Him to wipe away our debt or bills, I am asking Him to give us the means (whether better paying jobs (a job for me) or a large financial gift) so that we can tend to what needs to be tended to.

So today I chose to be thankful for the blessings of our payment free, older, in need of some repairs, vehicles! As long as they run, are safe and get our family to where we need to go I will forever be thankful for these blessings!

How Not to Start the Day

2010-11-01T12:02:00.003-04:00

Today was a day of odd things happening. It is never a dull moment in the Diaperhead house I can tell you that! This is how my day started...

5:18 AM Oddie (our puppy) woke me from a great dream (I was dreaming we owned a big old farm house, Sean was pastoring a church again and I was helping him).

5:25 AM Pull Oddie up on the bed and he ended up sitting on my head and licking my face. :) I love puppy kiss just not that early. Oddie snuggles under the covers and I fall back to sleep.

6:30 Alarm goes off...late. It's ok, really, I don't need a full hour to get all 4 kids up, dress, fed and ready for school.

6:45 Laundry Monster strikes again! SERIOUSLY! Who is eating all the socks and Jaron's jeans??? Searched through Jaron's room and the laundry room for 15 minutes searching for his jeans and socks for the kids.

7:00 Return from the basement adventure - I really hate the laundry monster! While searching the dogs found Kris's pet frog (dead) and brought it upstairs. :( Which has Kris whimpering in the corner of the couch. When asked what was wrong (I was unaware) BIG crocodile tears start streaming down his cheeks. I spend 10 mins trying to calm him all the while trying to get the other 4 diaperheads socked, shoed and out the door with their daddy of whom disappeared during all this saddness about the pet frog.

7:15 Kids are FINALLY in the van and headed to school with their dad. (Shew! Thank God they do not ride the school bus...it comes at 6:30 and it would most definitely mean I would be getting them up at 5 AM UHM NO WAY! )

7:15 I begin to make smoothies for Sean and I. Not two seconds later and the blender explodes (not sure what happened ~ seriously!) my response at this point was "REALLY?" I now have berry smoothie covering me, the walls, cabinets, floor (dogs enjoyed) and counter top...not to mention the mess all over the blender!

After cleaning up that wonderful mess, I start cleaning the livingroom and slam my big toe against the exercise bike...OUCH! THANK GOD I have no feeling in my feet (it's actually sad - I have neuropathy in both feet and lower legs) but on days like to day I am thankful for now feeling. 2 hours later I look at my big toe and I now have a huge dime size blood blister on the tip...OUCH! Still can't feel it (thankfully) but now I have to poke it and drain it and pray it doesn't get infected. And yes it has to be drained...it's too large to just let it be.

So where is that restart button anyway??? BTW if you want to see where I found this wonderful picture of the laundry monster go here. I do have to say now that I look back over the adventures of the morning I can laugh! Like I have said...there is NEVER a dull moment in the Diaperhead House!

My Baby Girl

2010-11-01T02:00:00.000-04:00

Today I want to share a little bit about my favorite little girl! That little girls is my precious, loving, compassionate, animal loving, sweet, strong willed, Princess Sara. I have ALWAYS wanted my very own little girl. From the time I was small enough to play with dolls I always wanted a baby girl. That's probably why when my little sister was born that I claimed her as MINE and refused to let other people hold her. From the time my sister was just a few weeks old I was bound and determined to have her in my bedroom with me! You see there are nine years between us. By the time she was a teen I was leaving for college in KY. I hate that I missed those 5 years with her. She was my maid of honor in my wedding and it was never because she is my sister, it's because I truly wanted her in my wedding :) and I had the honor of being in her wedding. I love her to death! I am thankful that she was there encouraging me to push when Jaron and Kristofer was born. She watched as they were born :) A very special time for us as sisters, a time I cherish very much. But this post is not about her it's about Sara.
Sara is very special to me. You see after we had Kristofer (our third son ~ remember I have one in heaven who would have been 13 on the 22nd of Nov this year) we weren't sure we were going to have anymore. But one night at the alter as I was praying I felt the Lord tell me I would have a daughter and I would name her Sara. When I shared it with Sean all he could say was, "Well I guess that answers our question on more kids." He was smiling! It was a few months later that we found out I was pregnant and a few months later that we found out that she wasn't coming alone :) She had a brother in there with her.
From the time we found out we were having twins and till now, Sara has been a very strong independent dominant child. I said earlier in my description that she is a strong willed child and most people associate those words with behavioral problem child. But this is FARTHEST from the truth when talking about my Sara.
Here is a definition and some other words to describe strong willed.

strong-willed - having a determined will; to be resolute, firm, single-minded, purposeful, fixed, intent, persistent, stalwart, persevering, tenacious, steadfast, unwavering, immovable, headstrong, unflinching, strong minded, self willed.

I pray daily for each of my kids and I pray that when it comes to Sara and her faith in God (of which she loves Jesus and many times ministers to her Momma without knowing it) will be all of these words that describe her to a tee! She is our little miracle :) She and Eli were born 8 weeks too early, she was born breech bag intact (doc had to break her umbilical sac), was bruised from heel to mid-back, needed a couple of blood transfusion and had a harder time breathing than Eli did. But because of the personality God gave her she over came those obstacles and is a beautiful 6 yr old who loves school and loves to socialize :)
I had Jaron take the pictures of us today. The above picture, where it looks like I am whispering a secret in her ear was taken accidentally and I think it is most definitely my favorite picture we have together. Jaron is a very good photographer for his age! He even told us to move from where I wanted the picture taken just so we wouldn't have the sun in our eyes. We are truly blessed with our diaperheads!

Today's Devotional

2010-10-31T14:45:00.003-04:00

Faith Becomes Sight

Every morning I get up and read through my email specifically looking for my daily devotion that I get from CrossWalk ministries. Today's devotion spoke deep to my soul and I just wanted to stop and share it with you. I have included just a portion of the devotional today (the part that really spoke to me). I hope you enjoy!

"Have faith that whatever you ask for in prayer is already granted you, and you will find that it will be" (Mark 11:24).

When my little son was about ten years of age, his grandmother promised him a stamp album for Christmas. Christmas came, but no stamp album, and no word from grandmother. The matter, however, was not mentioned; but when his playmates came to see his Christmas presents, I was astonished, after he had named over this and that as gifts received, to hear him add,

"And a stamp album from grandmother."

I had heard it several times, when I called him to me, and said, "But, Georgie, you did not get an album from your grandmother. Why do you say so?"

There was a wondering look on his face, as if he thought it strange that I should ask such a question, and he replied, "Well, mamma, grandma said, so it is the same as." I could not say a word to check his faith.

A month went by, and nothing was heard from the album. Finally, one day, I said, to test his faith, and really wondering in my heart why the album had not been sent,

"Well, Georgie, I think grandma has forgotten her promise."

"Oh, no, mamma," he quickly and firmly said, "she hasn't."

I watched the dear, trusting face, which, for a while, looked very sober, as if debating the possibilities I had suggested. Finally a bright light passed over it, and he said,

"Mamma, do you think it would do any good if I should write to her thanking her for the album?"

"I do not know," I said, "but you might try it."

A rich spiritual truth began to dawn upon me. In a few minutes a letter was prepared and committed to the mail, and he went off whistling his confidence in his grandma. In just a short time a letter came, saying:

"My dear Georgie: I have not forgotten my promise to you, of an album. I tried to get such a book as you desired, but could not get the sort you wanted; so I sent on to New York. It did not get here till after Christmas, and it was still not right, so I sent for another, and as it has not come as yet, I send you three dollars to get one in Chicago. Your loving grandma."

"As he read the letter, his face was the face of a victor. "Now, mamma, didn't I tell you?" came from the depths of a heart that never doubted, that, "against hope, believed in hope" that the stamp album would come. While he was trusting, grandma was working, and in due season faith became sight.

It is so human to want sight when we step out on the promises of God, but our Savior said to Thomas, and to the long roll of doubters who have ever since followed him: "Blessed are they who have not seen, and yet have believed."--Mrs. Rounds.

Kingdom Carnival

2010-10-30T22:53:00.003-04:00

So tonight was the Kingdom Carnival for the kids. We had a blast :) One of my best friends, Marty, (we have been friends since college and she and her husband live here in town and we attend their church right now) did a great teaching tonight about how we are like pumpkins but even more about how God puts a smile on our face and we are to shine it for all to see. Another point was that through our smiling and shining our light for Christ is a form of praising Him and we do NOT want to let the rocks cry out for us!
After the teaching we then went to eat. We had a great chili and dogs night and the BEST cheese cake ever! Cookies for the kids. There were a good 30+ kids in attendance and they gobbled down their dogs and chips faster than I have ever seen. As soon as they were finished they were off and running :) They had a great time. There were velcro walls, big slides, a climbing thing and a bounce house just to name a few oh and face painting. At the end the kids were all gathered around and they played a question game and if the kids got them right they got a prize. They all left with prizes (bubbles and slap bracelets) and bags of candy.
There are many Christians who are adamantly against Halloween in that they do NOT even like the idea of a church having an alternative party for the kids in their church and community. Personally we do not allow our kids to go trick/treating and we do not celebrate the night at all. Although I am against celebrating all the evil that Halloween has become I am not against a church taking the opportunity to reach their community. I do believe that if a church is going to do an alternative to Halloween that they need to share the gospel and stress the importance of worshiping the Lord. Of which was definitely the theme of tonight's events.
I unfortunately did not bring my camera but Whitley did and took lots of fun pictures. Here are a few that contain our kids or us.
Naturally she got us while we were eating~UGH! But that chili sure was good :)
Here the kids were answering questions. They really had a great time and are getting to know the kids at the church. It's hard going from the PK kids where everyone wants to be your best friend to being the new kids in a church and your parents are not the pastors. This whole transition has been hard on all of us. NOT because we think being the PASTORS or being the top leaders is the most important thing but just the change of a new home, new school, new jobs, new church, new friends...new everything. Just been hard. But between last nights dinner get together with the young families of the church and the fun we had there (oh guess I didn't share about that till now). Last night, we as well as 4-5 other families with young children were invited out to one of the couples homes for a BBQ and get together. The town's trick or treating event was held and this gave all the kids an outing. A great way for our family to get to know more people in the church!
Anyway, the transition has been difficult but we are thankful for this time of rest. We do not know for how long this season of rest will last but for now we are enjoying it. It doesn't take the longing for ministry away at all. We are trusting God to open the doors He has prepared for us. Until He does we will rest and wait.

Oct. Happenings

2010-10-27T12:52:00.006-04:00

So as of late we have been enjoying the fall color and going to the pumpkin patch here in town. The kids are adjusting to life here in Kentucky and love it. Which really makes us happy. Despite all the hardships we are enduring right now and I will not go into that here, we are blessed. Blessed with family and friends, blessed with happy kids, blessed with wonderful support for Kristofer in his school, blessed with great neighbors and that is what we focus on. God knows our hearts and He knows what our family needs. We place all of our trust in Him and His plan and pray that it will all come about and will be known to us as well.
So here are a few pictures of what we have been doing...After a fun time at the pumpkin patch we headed home and enjoyed time with Sean (he didn't go on the outing w/us he had work the 3rd shift so he was sleeping). The kids LOVE carving pumpkins and so we took that time to talk about what it means to be a Christian and used the following little saying as we scooped out the seeds.
Being a Christian is like being a pumpkin. God picks you from the patch & washes all the dirt off of you. He cuts off the top & scoops out all of the yucky stuff. He removes the seeds of doubt, hate, greed. He carves you a new smiling face & puts His light inside of you for all the world to see.
After carving and scooping of which the kids loved! This was the first year that Kristofer enjoyed getting his hands in the pumpkin and pulling out all the seeds and such. There was no melt down, no crying and no screaming about being messy. That was such a blessing for our family. All in all Kris is really gaining ground when it comes to sensory stuff like this. :) Kristofer wanted to help pick all the pumpkin flesh off the seeds and helped me rinse and dry them. He was most interested in helping me prepare and bake the seeds. When they were done he even tried a few. Which is you know Kristofer personally you would know how HUGE THIS WAS! For kids like Kristofer who have serious issues with smells, texture and tastes of different foods for him to even put it in his mouth was a major milestone. I am so proud of him for trying. Although he did not like them he did try. Of the rest of the kids Eli and Sara LOVED them. In fact Eli asked if I would buy another pumpkin just to make more roasted seeds :) I told him just as soon as they drop in price we might just do that. Maybe this time I can get Kristofer to try pumpkin pie or pumpkin muffins :) Ya never know! He might just like them!

Imagination

2010-10-05T17:04:00.003-04:00

Before anyone turns me in for cruel punishment you have to know that the two munchkins were pretending to be dogs. This is from this weekend. These two ended up filling our dogs cage with pillows and blankets and "played dogs" for a good hour or so. At one point they even put Bently and Oddie in with them. Yes those are tails ! They both were not feeling well this weekend. Headaches, sore throats and fevers but that didn't stop them from playing dogs. Kristofer decided to make more robots. This time he found some chicken wire we had in the shed. He made two, one for Eli and one for himself. He is so creative! You really have to look closely in this picture of him with his creation.Eli has been asking since Thursday if his glasses were ready. Well today the office called and we high tailed it to pick them up. He was so excited he made me take a picture of him as soon as we got home. I think he looks just darling. The glasses are a dark blue and they make his bright blue eyes just pop.

My Little Recycling Inventor

2010-09-25T12:12:00.002-04:00

Kristofer loves robots. He thinks, eats and sleeps robots. If he has tape or glue what ever little objects he can find will be turned into a robot. Lately he is saving my recyclables and is using them to create his one of a kind robots. The one above is made from a juice bottle, bubble bath bottle, water bottle, soda can, spout off the water bottle and a brownie box. When he is not building robots he is making his own robot costumes (see below). His creativity and excitement to build and create is awesome! He amazes us all the time with his latest creations.

Holy Kids

2010-09-14T23:56:00.003-04:00

My little man Eli! He has been begging me to pull this tooth out since May! Seriously! He hates being last for stuff like this. His twin sister Sara lost both of her top teeth this summer and he has felt a little left out. Today his big brother yanked it out. He came screaming into the living room, "Mommy it's out!" and then came the worried voice..."Will the tooth fairy find me?" I reassured him that if he put his tooth under the pillow he was sure to find some treasure under it in the morning :)
A dear friend, Deanna, posted this under this picture I placed on Facebook with the same title, "In more ways than one! They are being raised in the ways of the Lord." I agree with her 100%. I am not perfect! Never have been and never will be. But what I do know is that we are doing our best to instill faith in God and teaching our kids about His ways and how important it is to pray daily. To be thankful for the little things and rejoice with their siblings when something good happens and be compassionate and want to pray for each other when things are not so good. The Bible tells us to "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." Prov 22:6
I pray that all four of my kids when they get older will serve the Lord. That doesn't I want them to go into ministry. That is an individual walk. Sometimes you hear people say, "Jonny will one day take over the family business." That is not something I am forcing on my kids. Yes I want them to serve the Lord but they don't have to be a pastor to do that. I am also not saying that I would discourage them from full time ministry. It's a rough job, consists of a lot of sacrifice but is SO WORTH IT! So for now we will keep teaching them God's ways, teaching them what the Bible says and keep praying over them daily.