11-16-15 Birthday Party Post

Saturday night was Baby E's birthday party.

If you have never been invited to one of our birthday parties, I beg you won't be offended. And if you have been, but aren't regularly asked, again, it's not you... it's us!

When we celebrate with Tim's side of the family, it is automatically 26 people. TWENTY-SIX people!!! And 13 of them are seven and under. Gah! That's a lot of people, and depending upon our location, we often don't have room for much more!

I've mentioned before that I come from a pretty quiet and sedate family, so it's always an adventure to have all of us together. The evening usually starts out relatively quiet, but once you add in all the little kids, cake, ice cream, and toys- you have a recipe for chaos, that at times spirals into madness! Ha! The kids love seeing all their cousins and it is fun to hear all the squealing and playing as they chase each other around the house. I love moments like that. I know one day they won't all be running around. They will be sitting on their phones, or rolling their eyes at us 'older' people as we recount the glory days (i.e.- before they were born!)

My mother in law made this wonderful cake for my little guy! What a cute idea!

Baby E hasn't really had much sugar in his short little life. He doesn't get much fruit, as we stick mostly to vegetables for him. The sweetest treat he has had in our house is Nilla Wafers. I was curious to see how he would react to his first experience with frosting. When we put the cake in front of him he just poked at it for a few minutes. I put a little on my finger and touched it to his lips. At that point he understood that it was food and he stuck his own fingers in his mouth. He immediately glanced over to Tim and gave him a huge smile... Then he looked at me and grinned. The cake didn't stand a chance after that. 

He spent the next half hour eating cake and smearing frosting everywhere. He was one happy kid. 

Ten minutes after that he went into a sugar coma. He got a glazed over look in his eyes and started staring into space. The rest of the evening he was in a sugar-induced netherworld. When we finally put him in his carseat at the end of the evening, he promptly fell asleep. 

Welcome to the world of sugar, kid. 

He was pretty mesmerized by the candle and seemed pretty disappointed when we blew it out! 

Have you tried this stuff, Daddy?

He is looking so grown up. He is wearing his first pair of shoes...
I know, it only took a year, and third baby finally has shoes! 

Those cheeks!

These girls... best friends... 

11-15-15 Dedication

Today we had the wonderful opportunity to dedicate Baby E at our church. This is something we have done with each of our children. It is the chance for us to stand with our friends and family and affirm our faith and our commitment to raise our children in a way that will point them towards Christ's redeeming work on the cross.

Thank you to all who were there and to Pastor D for loving and praying for our family!

11-14-15 A short post for a long day

I'm pretty tired tonight. We had Baby E's birthday party this evening and we are all pretty exhausted. So tonight's post is short and sweet. I will write more tomorrow!

11-13-15 Birthday Party 1

Tim had to work late, but my sister and mom came for a visit to celebrate our little guy turning one! Our friend Jeremy came too!

We had dinner, and then put a small cake with a candle in front of Baby E. Since Tim wasn't there, I didn't let the baby eat any frosting, just cake! After that was present time. The big kids were more than happy to help him open and play with his new presents. As for Baby E, he really seemed to enjoy his new toys!

Thanks Mom, Aunt Julie, and Mr. Jeremy for a lovely evening!

11-12-15 My future grandkids

C informed me this evening that she is planning on having five children when she grows up. Three boys and two girls, and then she began naming them. From what I could tell they were all names of kids in her class.

Out of curiosity, I asked Big E if he was going to have any kids. He said he would have boys and he would name them George The Monkey, The Guy With The Yellow Hay, and A Dragon.

So far it looks like eight grandkids for me... And just so we are clear, our family is claiming those names now. We don't need more than one The Guy With The Yellow Hat in school at once.





Oh look, I found a picture of me taken a few months after I graduated college!

11-11-15 Milestones

Is there an 's' on the end of that word? Why yes, there is!

Today was a big day for milestones in our home. Baby E took his first steps!!! He was holding on to the edge of the bed, turned to me and started walking! He made it about three steps before diving into my arms!

He did the same sort of thing for Tim ten minutes later. He stood up from his little chair and headed towards daddy!!

I'm so excited for my little man! Great job, Baby E!!

Our other milestone was having out very first parent teacher conference at C's school. We discussed her report card, which was really good. We learned that she is very shy and soft spoken in class but over the past few weeks she has been opening up! She can count to 59, surpassing the goal of 31. Good for her!! The worst thing on her report card is that she needs to learn how to draw a hexagon. I'm a pretty proud mama. Considering she's the youngest in her class, she is holding her own! Good job, C!!!

11-11-15 The Red Cups

As I stood in line to order my drink, I saw a stack of unimposing cups sitting by the register. The first thought that went through my mind was, "I'm supposed to be offended but those cups, right?" After all, I'm a Christian, and for the past thirty years I have watched my beloved Christmas holiday get systematically whitewashed and conformed into the politically correct holiday season our culture knows today. But as I stared at them, all I could see were cups. Red cups. No social statement... no religious persecution... no emotional tug of self-righteousness. Just red cups.

If anything, I felt sorry for the poor designers at Starbucks headquarters, (the creative types locked away in a design studio, probably still paying off student loans from their prestigious design schools) who were tasked with creating one of the most boring disposable cups ever made. I'm sure hours went into deciding the exact shade of red, and the placement and size of the logo, but beyond that no creativity was needed. The end product- a red cup with a logo.

But ever since the red cups hit the stores, there has been no shortage of indignation from Christians. Believers falling on their swords because a large corporation decided to rebrand the appearance of their beverages. Boycotts have commenced. Social media campaigns have been launched. Hashtags have been activated. And quite frankly, I'm embarrassed.

Did you know that according to the International Labor Organization, in 2009 the average monthly wage in Pakistan was $255? That comes out to $8.50 a day.

Of the 2.2 billion children in the world, 1 billion of them are in poverty.

In North Korea, an estimated 50,000-70,000 Christians are imprisoned in labor camps. 

Since 1980, over 1.3 billion abortions have occurred worldwide. 

In 2013 more than 3.2 million children were living with HIV. 

There are about 20-30 million slaves worldwide. 

Approximately 100,000 Christians are killed each year for their faith. 

Should I keep going?

If our biggest "Christian" problem is that our five dollar drink is in a plain red cup at the end of the calendar year, then I think perhaps we have missed the point entirely.

I'm pretty sure that God doesn't care what color Starbucks prints their cups. Or perhaps he chose the nondescript red just to show us the shallow depth of our own faith and the utter extent of our failure. To show us that we routinely justify ourselves by our legalism, that we find our self worth in our self proclaimed holiness.

But let's be honest with ourselves. If we used even half the energy and money that we spend on trivial  problems like red cups, and "Let's keep Christ in Christmas" arguments, and we focused that passion and those resources on issues like the above problems, His Church would be a force to be reckoned with!!

Let's step out in faith, take verses like 1 John 3:17-18 seriously, and carry out the true message of this upcoming season. That Christ came to earth and lived life in a way we could never accomplish, and died a death we each deserved, so that through faith even the least of us might be saved. And with that assurance and with compassion, let us reach out into the world around us and impact peoples' lives in a tangible way. Let's feed the hungry. Let's clothe the naked. Let's love the orphan. So that through us, Christ may be seen.

So let the lukewarm have their red cups, let's set our eyes on something bigger! Let's set our eyes on Him!

If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. ~1 John 3:17-18 (NIV)

11-10-15 Off The Charts

"Off the charts!'

That was the nurses description of Baby E's head at his one year check up this morning. After measuring in the 10th percentile for height and 25th for weight, Baby E came in at over 49 cm for head circumference. On the chart that they track him on, the dot was a good half inch above the top line.

The doctor again reassured me that he is perfectly healthy and has no concerns. He noted Baby E's orange coloring and attributed it to his diet (the same was true for C at that age.) Baby E certainly likes his veggies... And any other food he can get his hands on.

The doctor laughed because the nurse had warned him that Baby E was very orange and when he asked her if his eyes looked normal she said she couldn't tell because he was smiling so much and his eyes were too scrunched up. Ha!

He wasn't concerned about the recent rash that he had. He says it is likely a food intolerance but not an allergy. So I should try to narrow it down, but I don't need to worry about it.

He got some shots, which Baby E did not approve of, but he handled it pretty well.

It was a good visit, and he goes back in three more months.

Good job, Baby E! Keep up the growing!!

I've noted before that I like to take a picture of them with their stats when we are at the doctor's office. This gets so much harder to do as they get older! Just stay still!

11-09-15 MOPS night

I've mentioned I love MOPS, right?!? Oh, only a time or two?

Well I love it. This evening we had a great meeting about thankfulness and seeing the good in life. Our speaker was encouraging and honest as she shared her testimony and pointed our focus to Christ. And as always, getting the chance to connect with fellow moms was incredibly refreshing!

We did a craft this evening, and I actually finished it before I left!!!

11-08-15 Love him!

11-07-15 Pet Store Shenanigans

C had been under the weather for the past few days so we spent a lazy morning watching a movie and then taking a nap. By this evening we were all a bit stir crazy so we decided to take a field trip to Starbucks. Once mommy and daddy were appropriately caffeinated we dropped by the local pet store. Pet stores are a great, fast, free activity for our family. The kids love animals, and the chance to see kitties, birds, fish, and snakes can easily transform an otherwise boring afternoon into a great adventure!

I have to admit that for me it is pretty hard to walk into a place with cats and not bring one home... One of these days... Sigh...

We ended up leaving after Big E managed to try to sit on the bottom of the shopping cart and somehow folded himself in half and got wedged between the metal bars. Yikes! Tim had to pry him out, but by that time all the novelty of the pet store had worn off. I wish I could have gotten a picture of that. He didn't get hurt, but it sure startled him!

11-06-15 Happy Birthday, Dear Son

Much like the day we first met, I held you tonight as you fell asleep. You weigh more now and your arms and legs and chubby body fought for room in my arms. Your head snuggled against my chest, your big blue eyes staring at me. As you drifted off, you got heavier, and your breathing got rhythmic. I watched you sleep, marveling at your perfect face, amazed for the thousandth time that I am your mother.

You had a rough start. For weeks we fought jaundice, your little body tinted yellow. After that you had RSV and the stomach bug at the same time. Then came the flurry of specialists checking your heart murmur and your calcium deposit. For my easiest baby, you kept us on our toes.

But you have been a joy. For all intents and purposes you have been a happy baby. You love your siblings, but are wary of their affection. You
think silly faces are the funniest thing you've ever seen. You love to eat... Constantly! You have an enormous head, which certainly adds to your charm. You love to be held, especially by me and when someone asks you to come to them you bury your head in my neck and smile. The only word you ever use with any consistency is 'no.' Sometimes you say 'mama' and nothing sounds sweeter.

I pray for you, that you grow up to be a man of God, possessing wisdom and integrity. That you have compassion for those you meet, show bravery in the face of danger, and see goodness when others can't. Those are the things I wish for you, my dear son.

I love you,

Mommy