water bugs

sonatina op.36 no.1

still working on timing on this one, but she came a long way...

Guess who was the videographer?

hair addiction

I have scheduled hair cuts for the girls tonight. All three of them. All. THREE. of. them. My stomach is in knots. It is killing me slowly to think of those tiny blond curls dropping to the floor.

The word addiction can be defined as "what we devote ourselves to habitually". I can see things all around me that are addictions. I devote time to my computer, the girls' hair, food...do I devote the same time and attention to my God?

Psalm 86 1-3 reads, "Bend down, O Lord, and hear my prayer; answer me, for I need your help. Protect me, for I am devoted to you. Save me, for I serve you and trust you. You are my God. Be merciful to me, O Lord, for I am calling on you constantly."

I am thankful that God hears us, answers us, protects us, saves us, and shows mercy on us as we devote ourselves to Him. I know that I need this encouragement and God's help to devote, serve and trust God instead of all the other addictions I give into- things that have no importance in God's plan.

It grows back, right? That is what I keep telling myself. Asking the Lord to remind me of what is important will help me get through this, too. It will still be painful, I know. But I will get through it.

Guess what day it is?

Turkey sausage, eggs, biscuits and oranges oh and toast :)

Happy 100th day all!

outdid, outdone, ouch

Last night Ryan told me he signed up for the biggest guns competition at work. Coffee with cream came out my nose, I laughed so hard. Thing is, he was serious. Sorry honey:)

So, after making corn chowder, bbq pork chops and homemade french bread for supper tonight. I thought it time to start the 200 sit up challenge. So I put down the extra large coffee cup and had the girls sit on my feet and the big kids count. I made it to 30 before I felt like passing out.

The nine year old decides she wants to try. She got her second wind around 80 and completed a whopping 106 on her first try. SHEESH. I think she is adopted. For the record, wanna be big guns made it to 60. Not bad for a thirty something man who weighs a buck eighty soaking wet. Love you, honey:)

At this exact moment he is bench pressing my 35 pound babies.

Dare I dream of the 100 push ups ?

UPDATE: She is currently in the 200's on lunges. Ryan told her to stop at 200 and she said, "I'll stop when it hurts."

Cloud NINE!

Nine years ago this morning I got the best Christmas gift I have ever gotten. I love you so much little miss mismatched Maleah :) Happy Birthday my growing up too fast first born!

seven and nine year old wisdom

I was telling Maleah that I heard people on the radio talking about the best Christmas present they ever received. I told her that the best gift I was ever given was my first baby girl born a couple of days before Christmas and how the nurses wrapped her up in a stocking for me. "Yeah", Maleah said "And if I was born on St. Patrick's day they would have probably painted me green."

I was showing Gavin the scarves I have been attempting to crotchet. He looks them over and then says."Mom, if you have time today, make a hundred of these and we can sell 'em at a craft show for money."

Maleah is reading the back of the cereal bag and she says, "This is my favorite cereal and it is much cheaper than Honey Bunches of oats. I think Malt-o-meal is a much better value. They have a website, too mom. We could learn all about cereal."

We put the reindeer up in the yard and Gavin worried about it falling over. "We need to stake it, mom, do you have any stakes?" he says. "And we gotta figure something out about that star on the top of the pine tree, too. One big wind and whoosh it's gone for good."

Rescue

I am not sure how many of you have almost nine year old girls. But, you can be sure there is no chance of me ever buying a costume that I have seen in the stores or online for my nine year old little girl. They are better suited for much older girls or better yet the rag bucket and there may not enough material for a rag. I was soooooooooooo relieved when Maleah matter of factly decided that she wanted to be a puppy.

I dug out the old sewing machine and cut a huge blanket that I thrifted (and bleached) around her tallish, skinny, shape. Then, I whistled a tune and sewed it up. The result? She looked like gumby. She didn't want me to dye it green so I cut out the belly and added a black piece to make a tummy panel. Um, this is when my sister rescued me.




Stay tuned to see the final result!

School Days 2010

It is hard to believe I have a 3rd grader and a 1st grader. They were excited this morning. Not only is it the first day of school BUT they get to eat breakfast at school!

...a very very very fine house

UPDATE: Addi just came running into the kitchen with her camo binaculours and said, " I am going to get the BIG one."

I asked her, "What are you hunting? Deer? Pheasant? Rabbit, Fish, Squirrel?"

"She put her hand on her hips and looked at me, "No, mom, I am hunting forks and noodles!"

quote of the day =

mom "Nora do you want peanut butter on your toast?"

Nora looks at mom quizzically and bends and touches her toes, "No toes, mom, SPOON!"

Some time ago the big kids ransacked our old cd collection. One of their favorites is a mixture of Tina Turner and Joan Jett. Right now they are in their rooms cleaning away to "What's love go to do with it?" and "I hate myself for loving you".

And I am praying for no unannounced visitors. Where is that VBS cd when you really need it?

Go tell...

This might be an eensy weensy bit painful for those of you who have rythym issues. She is still working on counting:) Nerves didn't help much either. Thanks to the babies, you get distracted a bit.

Happy 8th birthday, Maleah!

You are such a blessing to us, dear daughter. Where did the last 8 years go?

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Cheer

A superb cartwheel and a collision...

GO MCM!

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Silent Night

Maleah has been playing piano for a little over 3 months now. Her first recital was held at Golden Living in Salem. She was nervous, but I think she did just fine;)