Life as it happens

The Best of 2010

2010-12-30T15:15:00.000-05:00

These are in no particular order...just the top happenings of the year.

1. Makiyah celebrated his first birthday in January. He has proven many times over that he is ALL boy. He loves to cuddle and be tickled. He still has the best laugh and can easily make you laugh. He's the social one of our two kids at this point. He and Amaya can play together like best friends and fight like brother and sister. I guess you can't have one without the other. His favorite toy right now is a horse. He got his first 2 haircuts this year..it was sad to cut off the curls but it needed to be done.

2. Amaya celebrated her 3rd birthday in April. We celebrated with a Dora and a princess party...(two different parties). She is my little sweetie and I've actually stopped calling her baby girl all the time...where has the time gone. I still do it every once in a while but not like I used to. This year we've spent some time doing "pre-school." I haven't been consistently doing it every day but we use every experience as a learning opportunity. This year has not been without trials...I think she breaks the record for fits and whining but it's been getting better in the last few weeks. She also loves to cuddle with me and one of my favorite things these past few months is her and I falling asleep together. She often wants to sleep on "mommy's chest." Gonna definitely let her do it until the belly is too big.

3. Chad has officially been at his job over 1.5 years now. It seems just like yesterday that he couldn't find a job and we are always thankful for this one.

4. Chad got 3 deer this year to stock our freezer once again. I'm looking forward to the jerky he is going to make any day now. I'm also going to try making some canned "bologna" with deer meat. It's not really bologna except it has different spices. I used to LOVE the stuff my mom made with ground beef so I thought I'd give it a try.

5. Chad finished our bay window in the living room. It has literally been taped off for 2 years now. He was going to finish it when I was gone about 2 years ago and didn't end up having time so he taped it then and finished it now...it actually didn't bother me (most of the time)...all things get done in due time. BTW: it looks beautiful!! =)

6. In March, I started my photo business: Joy For Life Photography by Elaine. It has been a blessing and has helped me to stay creative. I love being creative and love capturing that special photo for someone. I've learned that I am more creative than I thought I was.

7. In September we took a family vacation to St. Augustine. We took my mom and dad and really just had a relaxing time. If you received a Christmas card from us, the pictures were taken there. We didn't have much of an agenda and it ended up working great. Makiyah loved the beach and was just starting to say sentences but didn't always know what to say. During that trip we often heard...."blealkjlkeoidjfaoien;galkd..BEACH" (the first part of that means we had no idea what he was saying but he always finished it with a loud "BEACH"). He thought that every time we left the condo, we were going to the beach and it resulted in several meltdowns when he realized we were only going to the van instead. Amaya also could have spent each day, all day out there. She loved digging in the sand and getting all dirty.

8. While on our St. Augustine vacation I would have to say I planned one of the best surprises ever for Chad. See one of my previous posts. It worked out so perfectly and really couldn't have gone any better.

9. In November I went with my mom to Florida on a bus. I can say that I will NEVER do that again...hopefully we will either fly or drive next time. We contemplated both and then decided that it would be ok with her helping me with the kids. I have never been so miserable in my life. On the way down from Cincinnati on I was in 2 seats with the kids and for most of the night I couldn't move b/c if I did Mak would wake up and cry. The way back was much much better since my mom was able to sit beside me and take care of Amaya through the night but I would definitely fly next time.

10. In November I also chopped off 10 inches from my hair (you can see my shorter hair in the first photo). I donated it to Locks of Love. I didn't know if I had that much but I did. I was glad since I was ready to have it cut off. Now I'm ready for it to grow out a bit again...LOL.

10. In October we found out we were pregnant with #3 and yes it was all planned. =) We like to plan and space out the kids. After Mak, I really didn't know when I would be ready for a third. I can't say I'm totally ready now but that's why they are in my belly for 9 months so I can prepare. I'm already excited to meet this little one. When Mak was born, I told Chad that we should be surprised when we have our third and not find out the sex. He totally disagreed with me and now I think I disagree with myself. I want to find out. Only 7 more weeks till we know. At 13 weeks, this little baby already has legs and arms and little tiny finger prints....LOVE!

Some fun pictures from this year.

Shutterfly...Great Deal!!

2010-11-29T14:08:00.001-05:00

This is an absolutely amazing deal. I'm excited to announce that Shutterfly is giving away 50 free cards...so fellow bloggers...here ya go...check it out! Isn't it a great deal? I've used Shutterfly before and have been happy with the quality of their prints and services. I always choose my prints/cards in matte since I think it looks more "finished." I absolutely love their selection of Christmas cards in all sizes this year! I typically stick with the 4x8 size but because of this give-a-way I might just go with another size.

So far some of my favorites are:
Many Memories Tree Christmas Card
Glitter Glamour Joy Christmas Card
Pictures in Snow Christmas Card

Oh my goodness they are all soo nice this year!! REALLY! Go check it out for yourself: www.shutterfly.com

Shutterfly has great search options too. If you know what color(s) you are looking for, you just click on those on the left side of the screen and it eliminates all the ones you don't want...how easy is that? Also you can go directly to the size you want and not have to look through so many choices if you like to make it easier on yourself. You can also choose the amount of photos you want on the card and it will eliminate all the rest...again..soo nice!!

Here is a direct link to their CHRISTMAS CARD SELECTION...these all have photo options so you can add all your family and kids photos.

Seriously the more I look, the more I can't figure out just which one I'm going to get this year...yikes. =) I have to choose soon though.

One other gift I am thinking of giving this year is a photo calendar...what a great idea for grandma. I may just have to put all the pictures my kids throughout the year in that one...here is a link to their CALENDAR SECTION.

And just in case you are wondering...they also do photo birthday invitations...I'm a HUGE fan of using a photo for just about any invitation or occasion. Check out their BIRTHDAY INVITATION CHOICES.

Head on over to www.shutterfly.com and see what you can find for your Christmas cards and/or presents this year. =)

Our Vacation...The Surprise!

2010-09-26T22:54:00.000-04:00

We arrived in St. Augustine yesterday evening. Amaya kept asking if we were there yet..."mommy are we at the beach yet? Mommy are we in Florida yet?" I think the first time she asked we were in Columbus...about 1 hr from our home. =) Fortunately she forgets easily so she didn't ask constantly..just enough to still be cute. =)

So far we have only spent about 10 min on the beach (yesterday) and 20 min. today. I had a huge surprise planned for Chad for months now. I don't even remember how long it's been but when we knew the dates of our arrival here in Florida, I contacted some friends (David & Suzanne Anderson) who moved to Florida almost 2 yrs ago. I wanted to try to set up some time with them when we came. I also wanted to do it at the beginning of the week so that we would make sure we have time. Anyway, today worked out best for them so here is how it all happened.

Yesterday I sent Suzanne several texts and we agreed to meet at Planet Hollywood at Disney. I decided to keep our GPS with me in the backseat and give Chad just enough directions so that he had no clue where we were going. Yesterday I told him I had something planned for today but I wasn't going to give him anymore details. So today I told everyone they needed to be ready by noon. My mom was in on the surprise ..somewhat but my dad didn't know. Anyway, we started out going south of our location and Chad thought I was taking him to a place we had visited on our honeymoon. =) That was so fun. I tried to pry him to see if he had any idea and he didn't...so far so good.

We continued to travel south towards Orlando. He still had no clue...later he admitted that as we got closer to Orlando he thought..."we should have contacted the Andersons and met up with them" but he never voiced that to me. We finally get to Orlando and finally make it to Planet Hollywood (got stuck in traffic...tried to find a way around it and lost some time doing that..=).

The plan was for Trent to come out and see if Chad still recognized him...he's changed quite a bit since they lived in Bloomington. Keep in mind at this point, I still haven't told Chad anything about our trip. We were walking up to the restaurant and there was a huge alligator above the gift shop beside it and so Chad was busy looking at that. I knew the Andersons were in the gift shop so we just kept walking. Trent's girlfriend came out and walked up to Chad and said.."can you take our picture?" Which at that point, Chad finally looked at them and since Trent's back was turned he hadn't recognized him yet. When he turned around Chad did a double take and said..."well, no I can't take his picture" (teasing) and then he says..."wow, what a coincidence that you are here". hehe...it was so fun.

He didn't actually get that it had all been set up until David and Suzanne walked up...oh what fun!! I LOVE surprising people..haha I think it made me tear up a bit...but out of the pure joy of the moment. I haven't surprised him like that since his 30th birthday and his reaction was so great!

I love you honey. I love that I was able to surprise you today....and I love that we were able to spend time with the Andersons again! They are a special couple in our lives. Thank you Andersons for a truly memorable start to this vacation!

The Final Project...Cake Decorating

2010-09-03T10:41:00.000-04:00

Here is the decorating from my second night of class..the border and the finished piece (and yes that's a fish....made some mistakes on that one but hey it's a learning process right?) =)

AND HERE IS THE FINAL PROJECT...I WOULD SAY IT'S MUCH IMPROVED. =)

I don't really like my handwriting very much but it turned out ok...I'm sure if I work on it a bit more it would turn out even better. =) It was also supposed to have some leaves with the roses but I didn't have time to finish those and I thought it looked good just the way it was.

Cake Decorating....the steps

2010-08-26T23:03:00.000-04:00

My friend Karina asked me to take a cake decorating class with her and I must say it was a lot of fun!! I learned so much. I'm one of those people who hates to spend money on cakes especially when I feel like I should be able to make them. I'm also one of those people that know nothing about decorating cakes. My two favorite cakes that my mom used to make growing up did not have any frosting so I didn't frost much. I bought an instruction booklet a few years ago and learned the very basics...I mean the very basics. I never learned to do any flowers or how to smooth a cake so it was basically not a very good deal for me.

I took pictures as I frosted the cake for my final project...see for yourself:

1. I didn't take a picture of this step but the first thing you do after baking and cooling a cake is level it. I got a really cool new tool to do that...so much easier than trying to take a knife which I used to do.

2. The second step is to pipe some frosting on the bottom layer to create a dam for your filling. As you can see my filling was simply a pudding cup...a trick I learned from class...love it!! =)

3. The third step was to put the top back on...I put it on "inversely" so that my new top would be completely flat (it was the original bottom of one of the cakes).

4. The fourth step was simply frosting the cake. I frosted the cake and smoothed it as well as I could with my spatula. As you can see it's not very smooth..that's what my cakes used to look like.

5. The next step was really smoothing the cake. The Wilton method is using a piece of parchment paper. I learned an even better method from my classmate. She told me about the VIVA paper towel. It worked great...see for yourself. Isn't it amazing?

Stay tuned for pictures of my final project and pictures of the second night of class. I didn't take pictures of the other two nights b/c I just didn't think they were that cool. =)

pretty girl

2010-08-20T11:54:00.000-04:00

Mak's first haircut

2010-08-20T11:48:00.000-04:00

On August 2nd Mak got his first haircut. I was very sad to see the curls go but as you can see in the photo below...he really needed it! =)

BEFORE

AFTER

From the Fair

2010-08-13T16:37:00.000-04:00

This is for all my single ladies out there....woot woot!!

New Comebacks For Old Come-ons

Everybody's doing it!

Really? Then you shouldn't have a problem finding somebody else.

You are so special.

Too special to waste my virginity on you.

Don't worry, I'll use protection.

You're gonna need protection if you don't get off me.

I love you.

Great. But love doesn't equal sex.

You don't know what you're missing.

Just the fear heartache, the diseases, the pregnancy....need I go on?

But I'm clean. I promise.

And I"m gonna stay clean because of MY promise to myself!!!

You've done it before. Why quit?

Because I can. Because I'm worth it. Because you're not.

Nothing bad's gonna happen, trust me.

That's right, because nothing's gonna happen.

You're still a virgin? What are you waiting for?

My wedding night. I don't need to practice with you to get it right.

THIS WAS OFF A LITTLE BOOKMARK FROM THE CRISIS PREGNANCY CENTER FAIR BOOTH. I THOUGHT IT WAS PRETTY GOOD. =)

A Fun Week

2010-08-04T14:19:00.000-04:00

Last week we had a lot going on.

It started with Sunday morning. I wasn't teaching so I decided to curl Amaya's hair. I love doing this!! She lets me play with her hair a little more now so I can actually do fun stuff. I don't know if you've noticed but I can braid it now so I do that when I can. Before she would cry the whole time I was braiding it so I didn't try it very much.

Next in the happenings was the fair. We went on wrist band night. So we had to ride at least one ride. Amaya really wanted to ride the Ferris Wheel but it had a long line so we stuck with the Carousel. I tried to do the video but it didn't work.

After the ride we went to the animal barns...Amaya loved the animals. Mak did too but only if we didn't get too close. He was a bit afraid of the big animals (and even the smaller ones too). That surprised me a bit but you learn something new every day. =) (Notice how Chad is holding his hand... that's because he had to force him)

And one final pic of all of us that night just as we were getting ready to leave:

How do we keep our marriage strong?

2010-07-30T10:02:00.000-04:00

by doing this......wooooohooooo!

Me on Marriage #3

2010-07-29T12:24:00.000-04:00

This is the last post in my marriage series...I've really enjoyed doing this. I love when God gives me inspiration for my blog. =) Leave me a comment...let me know your thoughts on my posts...I'd love to hear from you. Let me know how I can pray for you.

After all those things I explained in the last marriage post, Ephesians tells us to:

WALK IN UNITY

USE SPIRITUAL GIFTS

BE A NEW MAN/WOMAN

NOT GRIEVE THE HOLY SPIRIT

WALK IN LOVE

WALK IN LIGHT

WALK IN WISDOM

Paul actually talks about all these things (the above and the stuff from the previous post) BEFORE he talks about marriage in Ephesians.
I believe there is such significance in this. If we hold fast to what God has asked of us, our building will have NO choice but to be strong and storm worthy! Just look at the last three...walk in love, walk in light and walk in wisdom. How often do we forget these in order to be "right" in our marriage? Maybe if we forgot about being "right" in exchange for being "love," we would see different results. (Whew....God help me be reminded to walk in love through each discussion and/or argument)

AFTER Paul talks about marriage, he then gives us some great tools: the ARMOR OF GOD!!

This is how I put on the armor of God:

I put on the belt of truth.
I put up the breastplate of righteousness (to protect my heart)
I fit my feet with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace
I put up the shield of faith with which to withstand all the fiery darts of the enemy
I put on the helmet of salvation to protect my mind
I put up the sword of the spirit which is able to divide between soul and spirit.
for some added 'protection' I add these:
I put on the robe of righteousness for His name's sake
I put on the garments of praise for the spirit of heaviness
I thank you Lord that Your glory is my rear guard

The following is something I've confessed and prayed over our marriage and the marriages of my friends around me...God is at work!

PSALM 133

Behold how good it is for brethren (Chad & Elaine) to dwell together in unity!

It is like the precious oil upon the head,

Running down the beard, the beard of Aaron,

Running down on the edge of his garments.

It is like the dew of Hermon,

Descending upon the mountains of Zion;

For there the Lord commanded the blessing:

LIFE FOREVERMORE.

I encourage you this way:
...if your marriage is great and strong ....continue giving glory to God and speaking the word over your marriage..and above all else be obedient to Him.

...if your marriage is struggling...continue giving glory to God and speaking the word over your marriage..and above all else be obedient to Him.

...if your marriage is broken...continue giving glory to God and speaking the word over your marriage..and above all else be obedient to Him.

Love to all and thanks for reading!!

Me on Marriage #2

2010-07-22T12:11:00.002-04:00

I was really having a hard time deciding what to write on this blog. For some reason every time I sat down to write I had this huge block. So then I remembered ummmm...the reason I was doing this was b/c God gave me something I wrote in my journal..so me being super smart, I went back and read it and you know what...it was all there. Everything that I wanted to write, I had already written. LOL...sometimes I just need to stop and take a breath and realize God's in control.

The beautiful bride and her dad walking down to meet her man: Jessica & Bobby's Wedding

"It takes two to make a thing go right...it takes two to make it outta sight"

Going back to what I was talking about for our vows. I believe that just as God spoke, "let there be light and light was," when we speak our vows it simply is. The hard part to that is this thing called LIFE. After we speak our vows, how we choose to deal with life is how our building looks.

For example if I as a wife choose to neglect submission (i.e. respect, acknowledge his leadership, listen to him, praise him), I am building something with holes and something that will begin to crumble with time. If Chad fails to love me (no matter if the dishes are undone, dinner uncooked, laundry piled high), he is building something with holes that will crack over time. What the Bible says he must do: "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her." (Ephesians 5:25)

The key is to create a sure foundation and to follow biblical example. We not only look at the specific scriptures on marriage but on the ones preceding those marriage scriptures...AND we look at the scriptures describing Christ's instructions for the church b/c that is how He likens a marriage.

If you look at how the book of Ephesians is set up, Paul starts off describing our redemption, he then goes on with a prayer for our spiritual wisdom, next he reminds us of God's grace through faith...(are you starting to see what I'm talking about?) Next Paul tells us we were brought near to him by his blood...then he says Christ is our peace....OUR CORNERSTONE....THE MYSTERY REVEALED.

Paul then shows us the purpose of the mystery and how to have an appreciation for the mystery of Christ.
Before I begin my next part, I feel I must explain the above with a diagram...the way the I put the "blocks" is just how I see the Bible describing them...(I'm not a Bible scholar...just a lover of Jesus). =) I also did not finish the building because that is different for each marriage.

When we first are saved we start to see these things for ourselves: Christ's redemption for us, grace through faith, wisdom, and how we are brought near by Christ's blood. All of that doesn't change when we get married...BUT as a married couple....you have to build something together and it starts with your experiences as a married couple. You may have a "sure foundation" for yourself but what are you building together?

So in the last blog I finished with a story of Chad and I having an argument. We do really still love each other. =) It made me go back a while though and I realized that I needed to forgive him of hurting my feelings over 3 years ago...geesh.

Me on Marriage #1

2010-07-16T16:06:00.003-04:00

Just a pic from the most recent wedding I attended (last Saturday):

Why I want to post this: For the past couple years I have seen marriages that I thought could withstand (or were withstanding) anything....fall apart. I've seen couples divorced who I personally was friends with, people who I ministered to and in some ways it seemed like an "out of the blue" decision. I'm sure it was not a quick decision but it prompted me to write in my journal...at midnight one night. CRAZY I know but when the inspiration hits you gotta go with it.

One thing that really struck me is how these couples that I know have children who they put in the middle of their issues. Not only are the actions of the parents extremely detrimental to the children but to each other. I believe when a marriage happens a spiritual union happens also. In order to break that union you have to give a part of yourself away AND you tear a part of your children in the process. I really believe it must be a three-fold cord (you, spouse, God) and it must be checked for breaks and frays at all times.

In the breaks that I have seen or heard about...it typically is one spouse blaming the other for everything. That really gets to me.... I understand that a spouse can be terrible at times BUT in marriage no matter how you put it...it takes two. (I am not talking about abuse in any form here). I am talking about marriages that have simply fallen apart because one spouse simply quits and starts blaming. I fully believe in order for a marriage to work there has to be a humility from both sides. Humility must be present to recognize that neither is perfect and that always blaming will not build up. Humility must be present to realize when to give up your own wants and desires for the good of the both.

ALL marriages need to have both sides working FOR the marriage at all times. If you think about the vows you spoke...for better or for worse...most people only stay true to the for better part. Have you thought about your marriage (if you're married) and what you will do in the for worse parts? Have you thought about the words till death do us part?

Maybe it's really just being a man or woman of your word...maybe it's trusting God that He can bring good out of any situation...maybe it's taking the situation out of your own hands and trusting God to bring your spouse around...maybe it's letting go and letting God and being obedient to doing what He says to do.

What's really funny (or not really) is last night as I was starting to write this post, Chad and I had an argument. He said something about the kids that I took extremely personally. He was simply making a suggestion and I took it as a negative against me....ok so we all know this probably did not turn out to be very romantic...'nuff said'.

...to be continued...

A Big Girl and A Big Boy

2010-07-01T22:19:00.000-04:00

This post is about Amaya and Makiyah....

So I know the last post was all about Mak and it's made me realize how quickly he is growing again.
A few things that I didn't post that he does:

say amin (for Amen) after we pray
he looked at me yesterday morning as I was feeding him breakfast (grits..yum!) and puts out his hands and says "all none" (for all done)...now that's so cute to me...we've been doing that for a looong time and all we've been rewarded with is "aghhhhhh"....whines and grunts when he wants something.
He is started to recognize and say people's names.

I'm sure again I'm missing a few things but I just can't believe how quickly time goes....love love love him.

Now on to Amaya:

She truly is my big girl. In the past two weeks she has peed in her diaper 2 times and has been in underwear for nap time the past week. I still put her in a pull-up at night but she always keeps it dry. The not-so-good part of this all is that she now wakes up in the middle of the night to potty but actually it feels pretty good that she is able to do that. She also has been climbing onto the toilet and doing her business then wiping and washing her hands all by herself. The first time she did that was Saturday morning...even going #2 she has done a good job wiping...all I can say is wow! If you don't have kids yet...one day you'll have this proud feeling of your kiddo wiping her own butt. =)

She is such a sweetie and although she has her 3 yr old moments, my heart is so full of love for her too.

One thing she absolutely does not like: to be woken from a nap...she is in a terrible mood for a while then all of a sudden someone does something to make her laugh and it's over....totally a 3 yr old with no control over her emotions. I find myself being more and more patient with her...but at times I am super impatient and then it's not good.

On another note: Pastor Renee asked us to write our decrees for our life...I have to admit, I have not thought of what mine are for a while. I do believe I know what mine will be but I don't confess them every day. One thing I have been praying more recently is that God would make me more humble. I find that the more humble I am, the more I am able to do what God asks me to do.

Makiyah is 15 months...er I mean 17 months old.

2010-06-23T15:25:00.002-04:00

Ok ok so this post was supposed to be done 2 MONTHS ago. I wanted to do a post in honor of his 15 months.

So here is that update for Makiyah at 15 months to be followed by one of 17 months below:

15 months:
Mak loves climbing on the couch
He has 2 molars and 4 upper and 4 lower teeth
He loves my phone
He knows when he is in trouble and will run away from me

His words at 15 months:
meow
moo
turkey
oink
duck
apple
ball
boon (balloon)

Recognizes:
cow, cat, pig, dog, duck, monkey

Gives:
Hugs, kisses

Loves playing with his big sister Amaya.
He throws tantrums by stiffening his body and stomping his feet...it's pretty hilarious..when I'm not too stressed. =)
One of my favorite things he knows: how to spin. He will spin, make himself dizzy then try to walk. It's pretty cute.

At 17 months:
He obviously knows all the above and more.

He talks so much...much of it is just babble language but he can tell you a whole story and look at you like "what do you think about that?"

Right now his absolute favorite thing is: "bubbles"...no not those floaty things..."bubble" are bugs. He has a great eye and will play with the smallest of ants until it goes out of sight. He loves to play with a daddy long legs spider....can I say YUCK!

He has started to respond better to no but still has his little tantrums.

He has a mouth full of teeth now including two of his I teeth...the most painful ones to come in..I think.

He has a total of 12 teeth (I think). Since he is currently asleep I cannot confirm that.

He loves to climb on things..anything in fact. I've found him standing on the stove door several times (don't worry it wasn't on...but still scary).
He climbs on beds, couches, little chairs (not adult table chairs yet)...he keeps trying and trying something until he finally gets it.
He's climbed in the dryer when I left the door open.
He climbs on Chad or I when we are laying on the floor...(he learned that from Amaya)..she loves a good horse ride. =)
He still has not had his first haircut but I have to do it...it's in his eyes for pete's sake. I just don't want to mess up that pretty red hair and get rid of the little baby look.

words:
I believe his favorite word is Mommy...he now wakes up saying "mommy...mommy...mommy"
He clearly says Reggie
He mimics almost anything...the other day we were asking "where's reggie"...and he clearly repeated it.
He's not as quick to repeat things as Amaya was at this age but he takes in everything!
He loves...loves his Poppy (great-grandfather)...his eyes light up and he drops whatever he is doing and runs to him every time he comes to our house (love it...it's a really sweet thing to see and I think it makes Poppy feel really good) =)
He's finally started to say milk (at times) but still grunts for just about everything....he's not very patient.
He's learned how to navigate our porch steps without help...I think he falls halfway down each one but he's not very patient and doesn't want to wait till I can help him. =)
He's very curious and has many spills but has a way of holding his head so that he never falls on that.

So this post is getting really long...that's it for now...here's a picture of him meeting his cousin for the first time since she's gotten bigger. He's a loving little boy. =) Love this picture. Look at his little curls...I mean if you were me you wouldn't want to cut them either..would you? Isn't my niece super cute?...she's in a house full of boys too so she's the princess.

5 Years!!!!!

2010-06-15T16:20:00.001-04:00

So my last full post had pictures through our time together. For our 5 year anniversary Chad and I headed to downtown Bloomington to eat at Chipotle..then we walked around for a bit and got some yogurt at Campus Candy. We had a lot of fun just being together...it was actually kinda funny but when you don't spend a whole lot of time together without the kids it's hard to find stuff to do.

Sean and Samaria had offered to watch our kids for a date night...umm several months ago and we hadn't taken them up on our offer so what better time to do it then our anniversary. It was even short notice...and they still agreed. =) Thank you for that!! We love and appreciate you both very much!! Samaria also took these pictures of us...didn't she do a great job?

So I have a question for you all: I really like all of these pictures...I edited them all a bit differently and I can't decide which one is my favorite since I like all of them. I really want to put one of them on my living room wall so can you help please? =) (I apologize about the quality...I can't stand what it does to the quality when I upload them.) =(

Let me know which one you like the best in the comment section. Ok trying to number them is not working sooo...just number them from 1-4 starting with the top one.

Thank you to all!!

I have so many more blogging stories to post...I gotta get caught up...Memorial Day, Mak's milestones, a fun recipe, Amaya...etc..whew..I'm gonna do it soon!!

I'm still alive!!

2010-06-12T20:05:00.000-04:00

Just wanted ya'll to know I'm still alive...just been on vacation and been a bit more busy since it's summer. Still no excuse to not blog for a MONTH!! Yikes...please stay tuned!! Samaria took some awesome pictures of Chad and I on our 5 yr anniversary. They are frame-worthy. =) I will post later. The images are on the other computer.

Our Life....it's been 5 Years!!

2010-05-14T09:57:00.001-04:00

Happy Anniversary to us! 5 years ago today I married my best friend. It was a special day! The ceremony was absolutely perfect...NOTHING could have ruined that day..not tuxes coming in late..not a few tears early that morning..NOTHING!! God had designed that day and it was perfect!

Our ceremony was exactly as we wanted it...the praise team singing a few songs...the dance team dancing...then the fun part started. =)

We had a bridal party of 7...woohoo!! Loved that all my special friends were a part.

I love music so I had 3 songs...I'm a big fan of people that I know singing them so my sis-in-law LoraLee with her beautiful voice sang two...Pastor Renee sang along with her in one and then Patrick Harris and Katrina (Gilbert) at the time sang in another one....awwww...I can still remember. =)

Then we did our own vows that we had written...I wish I had them memorized still. I know I have them in a special notebook but don't know where that is at the moment. =) Something about love submission...blah blah...LOL haha...it was a big deal and Samaria helped make sure I had them memorized...I love that I have a picture of that in my wedding album...I will never forget how we practiced that day. (I held her hands and everything) haha

Then we had our first kiss....it was really special. (big smile!!)

All in all it was a super special day!! But the best part of everything was being able to finally go "home" with my husband...now that was a big deal.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY MY LOVE!!

a few pictures of us dating and married - check out all my different hairstyles...I don't think of myself as having many different ones but it's a little different in each picture..=)

This is the day we got engaged...in our old church parking lot...see I'm showing off my ring. =)

The next one (brown tone) is at Bonneyville Mill Park (I think this was the weekend Chad asked my dad if he could marry me)

The one where we are all bundled up is at the firetower where he took me to show me the "helicopter" seeds that fall off a tree...he had a whole bag of em and he dumped the out so we could watch them fall.
The next one was after we were married we were at Niagra Falls...I would soon find out I had my first teaching job at Cloverdale Elementary.
The next one was on our honeymoon.
The last one was on the cruise boat on our way to the Bahamas (my all-time favorite picture of us).

Then you ask why I have no wedding pictures...well simply cause I have none...they are all in an album. I guess I could take pictures of the album....maybe someday.

My Little Girl is 3!!

2010-04-26T08:20:00.003-04:00

My Dearest Amaya....I can't believe you are 3 already! You have been such a joy and blessing to Daddy and I. The past 3 years have not always been easy. At times it was even a bit scary when things were happening to your body that were out of our control. I am truly thankful that you are now a strong healthy little girl and that the only thing you have on your body is a scar to show what you've been through.
Amaya...you are always ready to learn and listen. I love how you take the things Daddy and I teach you and use them...just tonight you said, "Daddy let's go downstairs...vamonos". (You read Dora for your naptime book..enough said).
I cannot say enough how truly proud I am of you. Some of the things you like to do:
when I am praying in tongues in the car, you always want me to pray for you, Daddy and Mak...and you usually remind me to pray for me too. =) Sometimes you even "pray in tongues" too.
You love putting on the "full armor of God" (Ephesians 6). You can finish all the parts of the armor yourself...plus the few other things I add to that confession. You remember so much that I teach you sometimes I am amazed!
You know your numbers up to 11..after that it gets a bit hazy...
You know ALL your capital letters and 90% of your lowercase letters
You know about 70% of the sounds of the letters...something that makes me smile every time as you sound out letters. =)
You've started drawing our family on your doodle pro and you still include Teresa (something that also makes me smile). I love watching you draw and making the "stick figures".
You are beginning to color the items on a coloring page but still prefer to color with just one color and you don't care too much about staying in the line.
You love playing with playdoh and playing in sand can keep you occupied for a long time.
You love feeding the turkeys, deer and crows with Daddy and I love watching you two throw the corn..so sweet!!
You know the road signs and what a stoplight is for and usually tell me when ..."red means stop, green means go and yellow means slow down."
You also recognize when you see a bicyclist with a helmet on...and one that doesn't and of course we always talk about safety after that.
Your favorite songs: "This Old Man," "Jesus Loves Me," Jesus Loves the Little Children," and "Oh Come Let us Adore Him".
When I sing Jesus Loves the Little Children..I add a verse like this:
"Jesus Loves Miss Amaya
How He loves Amaya Kaylan
He died and rose again
So that she might have life
Jesus loves Miss Amaya Kaylan"
(As I am singing this the smile on your face is so precious...you look completely at peace and I can tell you feel so safe...the absolute best look for a parent to see.)
You understand how to calm yourself by taking some deep breaths. This is especially helpful before naptime and bedtime.
I could go on and on with all that you have filled our lives with but for now I will stop. You are our precious firstborn. We will NEVER stop thanking Jesus for you! We love you dearly!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MISS AMAYA KAYLAN!

I love you my daughter...love, Mommy

Beneath My Heart

2010-04-15T09:43:00.000-04:00

...is doing another giveaway. You've got to check it out. I've posted about it before....it's a giveaway from
LISA LEONARD DESIGNS....

HEAD ON OVER TO BENEATH MY HEART TO SEE HOW TO ENTER.

ONE OF THESE DAYS I MAY HAVE TO GET THIS PARTICULAR NECKLACE FOR AMAYA...SUMER ALWAYS CALLS HER "LITTLE LADY." IT'S SO CUTE.

Baking

2010-04-13T11:06:00.001-04:00

Busy times

2010-04-09T10:13:00.000-04:00

Last weekend we had an Easter Egg Hunt at our church...it was a super fun time and we saw lots and lots of families pass through. We had a giant bouncy and giant maze set up along with FREE FOOD...FREE EASTER BUNNY PICTURES (which I had the pleasure of taking)....DID I MENTION EVERYTHING WAS ABSOLUTELY FREE!!

It was tiring but sooo fun!! I took over 350 pictures that day plus more the next on Easter Sunday.

I've spent this week cropping and saving..cropping and saving...cropping and saving....and finally got done with the Saturday pictures and now just have to finish the Sunday pictures. If you want to check them out head on over to my photography blog: Joy For Life....Photography By Elaine.

Here's my kiddos and their Easter bunny experience...Enjoy! At first Mak's not too sure but then he's fine. =)

Mak is 14 months old

2010-03-25T22:40:00.001-04:00

Yesterday Mak turned 14 months old...he's my little man!
I wrote down these words that he "mimics" or says on February 18th...guess I missed the 13 month post. =)

WORDS:
stop..."dop"
dora
ma-ma
da-da
wow..."how"
deer..."da"
doggie (after ma-ma or da-da his new favorite word)
uh-oh
meow
moo
knows that outside is looking out the window
He signs more and tries to sign please.

HE LOVES:
patty cake
playing with toys
balls
animals
reading (when he wants to read and you're sitting on the floor..doing dishes etc, he will bring you a book and proceed to sit in your lap - maybe I already shared this, I can't remember but I love it!)
climbing
playing with Amaya
playing with Reggie
putting things in something and taking them out

He also knows when he's in trouble and tries to "run" away.
He has very "healthy" plumbing...taking only a few seconds to drop a bomb and then it's off to playing again. =)

We love our little man.
and here's my two favorite males (I may be biased but I think it should be a magazine cover)

Why worship?

2010-03-22T22:35:00.001-04:00

Why do we worship? What is the point of worship?
Yesterday during service I was once again reminded of why we worship and how dangerous it is to not worship.
I thought of myself about a year and a half ago when my world seemed like it was falling apart and how dangerously close I was to being at a point where I couldn't worship. It seemed like life was giving me lemons and I had lost the instructions for lemonade. I had lost focus of Him. I remember the negative feelings I felt at times even toward God. I remember knowing and feeling my heart closing off.
And then...I also remember how I felt when I was able to raise my hands and worship Him. I remember really feeling God's grace being poured out on me in spite of myself. There weren't that many bright spots of intense worship but when it happened, I can still remember it. I realized that I can worship and love in spite of myself and the issues of life that come to face me..I can be tried and tested and still yet I can worship! I most definitely have not arrived to some sort of glorious "happiness" but I can choose to have joy in spite of every negative thing going on around me.
So again going back to my first questions. Why do I worship? What is the point of worship?
I worship because HE is good! I worship because I am compelled by His love and grace. I worship because the Bible tells me to worship. I worship because I have two beautiful little ones and one handsome husband who need me to worship so I can love and give to them...even when I have nothing left.

PSALM 95
Oh come. let us sing to the Lord!
Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before His presence with Thanksgiving;
Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.
For the Lord is the great God,
and the great King above all gods.
In His hand are the deep places of the earth;
The heights of the hills are His also.
The sea is His, for He made it;
And His hands formed the dry land.

Oh, come let us worship and bow down;
Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.
For He is our God,
And we are the people of His pasture,
And the sheep of His hand.

This is why I worship for HIM and for them:

A Photo Shoot with the Pates

2010-03-18T15:53:00.001-04:00

I did a photo shoot with the Pates...great friends of ours for many years. Their little guy is so full of expressions. Thanks Pates for letting me take your pictures. =)

Again there are some more pics on Joy For Life .

The Little Mermaid

2010-03-17T23:28:00.002-04:00

Tonight as I was reading The Little Mermaid to Amaya, I had to think of our current series for life group. During the month of March, we have been talking about parenting. Tonight's lesson was on being a visionary, insightful and prayerful parent.
King Triton destroyed Ariel's treasures...all her hopes and dreams. It wasn't that there was anything bad about the things she had stored up..it was just different than the life he had imagined for his youngest daughter. It was part of his vision for her. How often are we like that as parents? Do we have visions of our child doing or liking something that we want them to do/like or are we always mindful of God's plan for their life?
Not only did he destroy her "things", he destroyed her dreams and hopes in just a few short moments. And what does she do, she becomes rebellious and turns to the sea witch. In his hopes of "creating" a great life for his daughter he does none of that because he is stuck on his own thoughts and dreams.
One thing we've discussed about being a visionary parent, is how important it is to hear God's voice when they are young so you can guide your children in "the way that they should go." It's not always how the parents would choose as The Little Mermaid shows us. Ariel often showed interest in the "world above" but King Triton was not understanding and wanted nothing to do with "her foolishness."

We also discussed being an insightful parent. An insightful parent has wisdom and watches their children carefully to see what is going on. This parent knows and gives the child room to be "emotional" when needed. Again...something King Triton failed to do until the end of the movie when he gives Ariel her greatest wish.

The last thing we discussed was being a prayerful parent. Even though it was the last thing we spent time on and we didn't leave a great deal of time for it...it is so so important. Growing up, I had no idea if my parents were praying or me. I've taken steps to change that for my kids. I want them to know that I am praying for them because I do it while they are around and when they aren't around. I don't want them to know in a prideful way but in a such a way that they feel that sheltering and comfort while knowing that I am covering them in prayer.
Just a fun little story about praying...often when I get in the car I either do one of two things. I either start singing Jesus Loves me (even when I am by myself...go figure...I am really a mom) or I start praying in tongues. Amaya almost always asks me..."Mommy are you praying for Me, Makiyah and Daddy?" I LOVE that! I love that she asks me. And then the best part is praying for them and whatever is on my heart in English.

Here are my little "Ariels". I really really love these little ones!
Amaya showing me her silly side...and Makiyah being his usually stinker self while getting into the groceries before I put them away.

Alex T photoshoot

2010-03-08T14:19:00.003-05:00

Here's perhaps my favorite picture I've ever taken. =) I saw this on another website and just had to re-create it. And yes these are Alex's toes. It was a lot of fun to do this photoshoot. His siblings were very helpful especially in creating this shot. He's going to have lots and lots of love and fun with them. I put a photo collage of some more pics from the shoot on my other blog: Joy For Life. That blog is dedicated to my more creative side. I don't want to combine the two since the design of this one is my personal "Life As it Happens."

I also recently thought of another creative "thing" to do. I love being creative. There's something that comes alive in me when I'm doing something new. I created some crocheted hair things. I love em...I even have more ideas of how to use them. Maybe sometime in the future, I'll give you something to "try out"...just leave me a comment and I'll see what I can come up with. =) This picture is of a crocheted head band.

Just some happenings

2010-03-05T13:45:00.000-05:00

So today has been a super busy day thus far. I made dinner for the Toohills...(smelled so good made me want the same thing for us tonight). Then at 9:24 we headed to IU to do a study for Makiyah. A little after 10 we headed to the Toohills to drop off the "wonderful smelling garlic fish and potato" meal. After chatting with Nicki for a few minutes we headed to Ellettsville for a Dora the Explorer Playdate.

It was a lot of fun for me to meet 5 new moms that I had not met before. All with great kids. It's fun when the kids are starting to say sentences and they can hold short conversations with you.

Now I am back home and need to get the kids to bed...so I can take a nap too. For some reason I'm EXHAUSTED. I've gotten a lot more done today than most days but still need to catch up on the dishes cause there's a super funny smell coming from the sink...=/

Some thing I love about living out here in the country...as I was washing Mak's bottle, I saw a wild turkey and two deer in the backyard. Right when I got home from the playdate, I saw two falcons or hawks (I've got to figure out what they are) flying in circles above our property. For some reason I am so impressed by these creatures. I love seeing them fly in our backyard when I'm doing dishes. =)

And that's the end of my ramblings today.....and no that's not blood...just some barbeque sauce that exploded when he was playing with it. =)

Joy for life...

2010-03-01T12:28:00.000-05:00

I prayed...I thought...I asked for help...I talked about it....and it came to me.

This has been something that's stuck with me for a loooong time. In high school I attended an Acquire the Fire event. At that event there was a speaker who talked about having YAKADOO...Joy for Life. I loved it and soon had an email address like this yakadoo33. =) I've since shut down that account b/c of spam but I still love the saying and while I didn't want to use Yakadoo, I decided on Joy for Life!
I did a photoshoot with baby Alex T. yesterday and it was so much fun...I took a ton of pictures. I LOVE taking pictures. I always take a lot to make sure I get at least a few!

If I were wealthy...

2010-02-23T12:15:00.001-05:00

This post was inspired by Lara's post a few weeks ago. She asked what would you do if you had more money.

Here is my list.
1. I would eat mini baby-bell cheese everyday (I can probably do this now but it's bit pricey).=)
2. I would get a pedicure every other week.
3. I would get a manicure every week with the latest nail polish.
4. I would buy the freshest food (or have my own greenhouse so I can grow veggies year round).
5. I would have a relaxing bubble bath every day while someone else watched my kids.
6. I would have a personal trainer at the Y where I would learn how to swim.
7. I would get a haircut every month along with a scalp massage (that sounded so good when you posted it Lara).
8. I would get an hour long massage every week.
9. I would own many necklaces and bracelets to match every outfit.
10. I would have 10+ more pairs of shoes.
11. I would go on major shopping trips every month or every other month.
12. I would buy the most comfortable shoes for Chad.
13. I would have someone else style my hair for a special event every week.
14. I would own an medium sized SUV that is washed and cleaned every week.
15. I would DEFINITELY hire a housekeeper.
16. I would build a bakery/coffee shop.
17. I would build our garage that included a natural light photo studio.

18. One more thing I have to add...I would buy all the "pretties" in the world for my little girl. She does love her "pretties".
Wow, my list is extremely long....but that's what I would do. What would you do?

Just another bump in the road...

2010-02-20T22:58:00.000-05:00

My name for my business is not going to work after all. I thought I was being so clever...turns out my clever is also someone else's clever and someone else's and...well you get the picture.

So far literally ALL the names I've liked for my photography business have been taken by several other people. There is one name..that's a maybe..that hasn't been used. But it's not totally a keeper. It's a bit frustrating but just a little bump in the road.

If you have any suggestions let me know...there may be something in it for ya if I happen to choose your name. =)

On another note, the other day I heard a song from probably my favorite group of all time. I've been watching, listening to this group since their son was around 1 (I think). He is now 18+ so that's a looong time. They are a Southern Gospel group. I think one of the main reasons I like Jeff and Sheri Easter is that they write real songs. They sing with passion and really mean what they say. The song I heard the other day was one of their newest songs...(BTW: I can't wait to get their new CD). I think my family owns every single CD/cassette they have ever released. They are definitely a favorite among all of us (well, Alice, and my mom and dad that is).

Here is the song I heard recently: Born to Climb
the video is just black on this youtube link and the song plays twice...it's not a 7 minute song..just in case you wonder. I know many of you may not like this type of music so I'll post the words...I think the song has so much meaning especially when you know that Sheri was diagnosed with breast cancer in June 2008 and spent much of the next year undergoing treatments/surgeries for that. She is now Cancer free! Praise God!!

I cannot find the lyrics so I guess you will just have to listen. =)

Look at the beautiful snow!!

Superbowl Party Pics

2010-02-18T14:48:00.002-05:00

Hey all...here is the link to view the pictures from the Super Bowl Party at City Church.

We had a lot of fun even though the Colts lost. Enjoy the pictures. Feel free to share them with whoever was there that night.

Super Bowl Party

Some of my first pics...

2010-02-15T09:18:00.000-05:00

Here are some of the pictures from the party yesterday...the lighting wasn't the best but I had fun and took a TON of pictures. You don't have to ask me twice to snap away.
One of my favorites of the two grandmothers of baby Julia (Marty & LoraLee's little baby). It is so fun to see some pink and purple in their house. Don't get me wrong I love my nephews, I just love that God has blessed them with a little girl too!!

So frustrating...I'm trying to put captions under these photos and I can't...arg...so here they are.
First picture - grandmothers
Second Picture - Birthday Boys Jack & Andrew and cousin Marty (he just got in there - he was helping them unwrap...=)
Third Picture - Another birthday boy, Elijah
Fourth Picture - Nephew Tristan
Fifth picture - Nephew Brodie

so excited......

2010-02-13T10:39:00.000-05:00

about...

my new camera

and my new

business.

Here's what may be my logo...not sure yet.
But that is my name.

It will probably be a little different design.

I just wanted to get the name out there.
What do you think?

Still so much to think about..

but just wanted you to know!

My latest Photo Shoot

2010-02-09T10:45:00.000-05:00

Here's my latest photo shoot of Makiyah...enjoy!

He wasn't very cooperative but you couldn't tell by these pictures...I was trying to get a rustic look.

How do you think I did?

BTW: My dream is very close to being realized!! If you don't know what I mean, I'll post later.

GO COLTS!!

2010-02-06T08:00:00.001-05:00

My Warning Label

2010-02-05T14:54:00.000-05:00

So the other day, I saw this warning label on my lemonade mix.
Allergy Warning: May contain traces of milk, eggs, tilapia, coconut, wheat and soy.

Ok, this is on a lemonade mix...tilapia, eggs?? What is up with that? WEIRD!

This got me thinking, what would my warning label look like. This is what I came up with:

Warning: May contain spontaneous bursts of frustration, joy, laughter, flatulence, and shouts. Not responsible for outbursts of affection and bits of anger.

I'm sure there is more I could add but for now this is it. You heard it here...it's my warning label.

Makiyah's 1st Birthday!!

2010-02-02T10:16:00.000-05:00

Makiyah turned ONE last Sunday. I've been a bit busy this past week so I've been behind in posting this. I CANNOT believe he is already one. Maybe it's because he's so little still or maybe this year has just simply flown by. Whatever it is, it's just CRAZY!! As always I like to write my kids letters on their birthdays. Here's my letter to Makiyah followed by some first birthday pictures.

Makiyah, you are my little man. I love to call you my man Mak..not to be confused with "my wonderful" who is your daddy. I love you so much. This year has been a bit of what seems like a roller coaster. Just over a year ago, we welcomed you into this world. You were 12 days early and your birth was much easier than Amaya's....we came home from the hospital after just one day. (Partly because I felt so good and partly because we didn't have insurance). I have to confess we were a bit caught up in Amaya's "boo-boo" experience. Just days after you were born she had her second surgery which didn't prove to be successful. So over the next several months, life was hard. You didn't sleep much. Daddy didn't have a full-time job and Mommy was stressed out A LOT! Mommy didn't quite give it all to God. In April Daddy got a full-time job and in June Amaya had her third surgery which was SUCCESSFUL! In July, God spoke to me (Mommy) and told me that you will make people smile. Up to that point, I had cried many tears of frustration and tiredness. That day I cried tears of joy. You were born in the midst of a very hard time in our life, but God used you to bring many, many smiles. You have a great belly laugh that always makes Mommy and Daddy laugh too. You find delight in the smallest things (even the toilet water). You wobble around on your two little legs and as soon as you fall, you take off crawling at full speed. I love how you try new things without the slightest hesitation. You absolutely love to play with Amaya. You squeal with delight when we go in her room to wake her up. You immediately start talking to her and have lots to say. You don't always appreciate when she wrestles with you but I'm sure one day you will like it more. You laugh a lot at her and she likes to make you laugh. I love how you two play together. Amaya wants to give you hugs and kisses each day before naptime and bedtime. You don't always appreciate those either. You have a bit of a temper and don't like when we take something away from you...particularly something that you have been chewing on that's not safe (it's like you already know). You even bit daddy really hard the other day and got so mad your face was completely red. We'll have to work on that temper a bit as you get older. One thing that I absolutely love is your 'cuddles'. You love when mommy or daddy holds you. You can sleep that way for a long time. We pray for you each day. We pray that God will impart to you wisdom and life and strength! We pray that you choose to follow God's will for your life! We love you our little man Mak!!

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY!
(Both of his birthday parties happened on days that the Indianapolis Colts so we were always in Colts attire.)
The first party (top picture) was with my family (in Shipshewana) - we had a monkey theme for that one. That birthday party was shared with two of his cousins: Brodie and Joshua. My favorite birthday picture is the one on the left from that party. Love his smile!
The second party was on his actual birthday with Chad's family. I made the cake a fish since that was his first non-family word.

Authenticity

2010-01-25T22:09:00.000-05:00

I am reading a book on parenting right now. The chapter that I am reading is on being an authentic parent. This chapter hits home for some reason. When I read this below. I felt like it was so true for me.

After reading the beginning part of the chapter last night. I had to question myself. Do I keep my word with my kids? Do I do what I say I'm going to do? This not only is for my kids but my relationships with other too.

I know since I've had kids it is harder and harder for me to remember what I've promised other people. Sometimes months down the road I remember something I promised to someone and I never gave it to them or did what I said I was going to do. I realize that makes me a not-so-good friend. I am endeavoring to be a more authentic parent and friend. Just like you can lose the trust of your kids, your friends can lose the trust of you if you don't follow through. YIKES! I sincerely apologize if I've promised you something and I never followed through.

This is kind of a hard pill for me to swallow. I am a do-as-I say type of person. If I know I'm not going to do it, I don't say it. I think now when I say something it takes so much more effort to follow through with it. I know I've said I would do something for someone that normally would take 10 minutes of my time (without kids)...with kids it seems nearly impossible. I hate that feeling. I hate letting people down. I hate being one to not follow through.

I especially hate when someone tells me something and doesn't follow through. I have a hard time trusting that person. Why should it be any different for me? Why should people trust me when I'm not following through either?

This is life check time for me. I want to be totally authentic to my friends...to believe the best of everyone. Most of all I want to be totally authentic with my kids. I want to follow through on every aspect, even when it means I will have to do something that I normally wouldn't do.

I will speak and mean it. Lord help me be authentic and to follow through with what I speak!!

This Year in Words

2010-01-20T11:25:00.001-05:00

These are my TOP 10 vision words for....

2010

Expansion

Contentment

Blessing

Peace

Health

Patience

Gentleness

Influence

Self-Control

Discipline

Lord I thank you for a prosperous new year. I thank you for expansion and blessing this year. I thank you for being content in whatever situation I am in. I pray for peace to cover me each day that I live. I ask you for strength to make healthy choices...to have patience and gentleness with my children. I pray that I have influence over others and that my life is an example that reflects your glory. I pray that I exercise self-control and discipline in reading the word and making good choices in my life.

Another Fabulous Giveaway.....

2010-01-19T11:48:00.001-05:00

Beneath My Heart.

Head on over there and check it out. Beautiful stuff!!

A beautiful day!

2010-01-08T16:08:00.002-05:00

it's just a "no word" post.

Struggling Today

2010-01-07T15:54:00.000-05:00

I have this great idea for a post I want to do but it will have to wait. I'm doing a bit of research for it so instead I will post that I'm really struggling today.

Everyday I put Mak down for his nap and I think today will be the day he sleeps like he's supposed to. Then 20-30 min later I get really disappointed when he wakes up screaming again. Don't get me wrong he's really a happy baby. It's just that when he's awake, I get nothing done.

I feel like my house is always a mess...well, I don't just feel it, IT IS! This week, I've constantly had to encourage myself with "all things work together for our good." It's a scripture from Romans but also a song that Jesus Culture sings. In the midst of my own crying, I have to remind myself of that cause going through this is no fun at all.

I'm just tired of always having this hope and then it be turned to disappointment each day. I've always wanted this blog to be about my life, the struggles and the victories. Today is just one of those days. If you read this please say a prayer for me today.

Lisa Leonards Designs Giveaway

2010-01-06T14:45:00.001-05:00

I don't normally do two posts in one day BUT I found this great giveaway on another blog: Beneath My Heart. I've recently started reading this blog which I somehow found through another blog...not sure how. =)
I love her Goodwill re-dos. I'm hoping I can find the time to do my own projects one day...my biggest thing being my kitchen cabinets. They are well let's just say - not what I like at this point.

Anyway, back to the giveaway. Click on the link above and see for yourself. It's a $75 Giveaway from Lisa Leonard Designs.
These are really neat. I have to say my favorite one is the Mama Necklace.

The drawing ends tomorrow so hurry over!!

You have to go through the link from Beneath My Heart to see the giveaway.

Mak is on the move!

2010-01-06T11:18:00.000-05:00

Last night Mak took his first steps. They were very shaky but he took two with each foot. He's been taking one step with his left foot but has been very hesitant with his right foot.

I can't believe my little man Mak is at this stage already. It goes sooo fast. He's going to be one in just a few short weeks.

Here's a few more of his accomplishments so far:

He's able to stand by himself
He plays patty cake but prefers to "patty cake" someone else's hands
He says and points to "fis" (fish)
He says, "da da," "eggie" (reggie)
He loves pointing to things
He has a great pincer grasp
He has 7 teeth - 4 upper and 3 lower
He likes playing in the toilet
He loves to cuddle (especially with mama)
He naps 3 times a day (each about 1/2 hour long, unless someone is holding him then he will sleep for about 1 1/2 hours)
He loves to be tickled and held
He has the best belly laugh
He has the greatest expressions when you talk to him

He is such a sweet baby. I love you my man, Mak!!

My 100th Post Giveaway Winner!!

2010-01-01T23:08:00.000-05:00

...and the winner is....Sabrina.

Thanks to those of you who commented on my 100th post. I appreciate you!

The Final Moments of 2009

2009-12-31T20:43:00.001-05:00

....what a year it has been. We are sitting in our living room watching Slumdog Millionaire. We've never seen it so we decided to get it tonight. We just returned from a week long trip to Shipshewana. We were visiting my parents for the holidays. All week, I've been trying to decide what we should do on this last night of the year. We didn't have the energy to do much so home is where we decided to stay.

Chad and I are ringing in the new year together while the kids are asleep. Amaya did not get a good nap today so she was out about the minute her head hit the pillow...literally. =) Staying at home has become commonplace with our young kiddos...it's not too bad actually. I do look forward to partying in the new year in the future. =)

HAPPY END TO 2009!! I WILL POST MY SCARF WINNER TOMORROW!!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-26T17:57:00.001-05:00

It's so crazy how Christmas is so far away for so long and then all of a sudden it's over. We had a great time with family.

We started celebrating on Dec. 12th with Chad's work celebration.
at this event we had dinner and since they had a live band that was playing folksy / bluegrass music we did a FUN circle dance. It was a blast!!

On December 18th we had our life group party.
at this event we sang Christmas carols at two different assisted living places. We narrated the Christmas story (including some of the kids). This was also fun. I wish we could have spent more time at each place but it was a special night. After caroling we headed back to the house where we have our life group and we enjoyed some soups and exchanged Christmas presents. It was a night of much laughter!!

On December 20th we celebrated with Chad's family.
This is always a fun time. Chad's mom likes to give special gifts. She made these Santa bags or HUGE stockings for each family and they are filled to the brim with fun gifts for the whole family. It's always fun to dump them out and see what's inside. Amaya was also fun to watch since this was really her first year enjoying the presents she opened up.

On December 24th we celebrated with our kids.
This had to be the highlight of my Christmas season. Earlier this year, I found a toy kitchen at a re-sale shop. I had been looking at new ones that were good quality and looked cute. =) The ones I liked were all over $100 and there was NO way I was spending that much on my 2 yr old daughter. I would rather be putting that money in a savings account for later. Sooo...on my birthday in Sept. my good friend Nicki (who I had just had lunch with at Olive Garden to celebrate me) called me and said she saw a toy kitchen for $40. Anyway, instead of going home I went to the store and purchased it. It's huge and Amaya calls it her house. She didn't get to play with it much since we left that day to come to Shipshewana.

On December 25th we celebrated with my family.
My family Christmas is always a bit interesting but very fun!! This year for our gift exchange we gave gifts to the person who was just younger than us. The youngest person then had the oldest person which is my dad. Our family spans from 1 month old, Julia to my dad who is 64. That's all 37 of us!! At this celebration we usually have issues with the kids running around like crazy but my mom had a great idea this year! She blocked off the path and thus put a stop to most of the chaos. My family loves to sing so before we opened gifts we sang some Christmas Carols. We also played a couple games and ATE AND ATE!!

...and now we're done.

We had a great time at each event. I'm so thankful for family and friends!!

DON'T FORGET TO ENTER MY 100TH POST DRAWING!! DRAWING ENDS DEC. 31ST!

100th POST.......and a giveaway!

2009-12-21T09:05:00.000-05:00

Wow...this is my 100th post. Yay...I've been blogging for almost 2 years now. WOW again!

Here is a pic taken around the same time I started blogging (with Amaya).

Taken last Sunday (we were wearing the same colors).

So I've been thinking about this post for a couple weeks now. I've been so busy with planning things and getting the Christmas shopping done that blogging has been put on the back burner.

Almost two years ago, I started this blogging thing. I had been thinking about it for a while and I finally decided to do it. Amaya was 9 or 10 months old and she gave me lots of interesting things to talk about. I can't believe she is going to be three in a few months. Time flies!!

It's kind of exciting to be writing the 100th post. That means that I've written a lot. Some posts have been short but the main thing is that I've stuck with it. I wasn't sure when I started how it was going to go but here I am almost two years and another baby later. =)

So much has happened in the last two years. I am glad I decided to write about it all. It's fun for me to go back and read about it.

Now on to the giveaway. I was talking to a friend of mine, and she suggested I do a giveaway. What a GREAT idea!! Thanks Karina! Since I've started blogging, I've also started crocheting. It's something that I really love to do. I don't have a whole lot of finished projects but some of them have been bigger projects and have taken me longer to complete. So far, I've done 3 baby blankets and some scarves.

Are you ready for the giveaway?

.....it's a..........SCARF! Since, it's still in the process of being completed, I don't have a picture of it at this time but it's lime green color.

Just post a comment below and let me know how long you've been reading and you'll be entered into the contest to win my giveaway.

Contest ends New Years Eve (December 31st)!

Random Happenings & the Kids

2009-12-10T15:03:00.000-05:00

The other night I was washing dishes and Chad had taken Amaya to our back bathroom. Makiyah headed down the hall (I thought he was headed after them). I didn't check on him right away and then I heard, "Honey, Do you know where your son is?" Soooo I went to check on him and he was happily splashing in the toilet.
So crazy, cause Amaya never once touched the toilet so I don't really think it's a big deal...well it is now!

For the past several months we have been trying to get Amaya to say, "Yes Mommy" and "Yes Daddy" when we ask her to do something instead of "No I don't want to". We've done that over and over with hardly any results. Well that's all changed in the past week or so. She has been saying "Yes Mom" (not mommy) when I ask her to do something. It's not always in the right context but it's definitely a start. I would say she's said it at least 10 times now. Woohoo!! All that hard work is paying off.

Makiyah officially has 4 teeth. Two upper and two lower. He can give you a big toothy grin now. Love it!

Amaya has been accident free for over a week now. (Except for at nights...still not sure how to tackle that one).

Amaya loves to do crafts now. She asks to do a craft about once a day. I guess that's my own fault - now I just have to get stuff for her to do....(I don't mind it too much...that's the teacher in me. =)

Amaya asks for "something special" about every day now too. I tell her she can have something special for certain things she does (i.e. telling me she needs to go potty. cleaning up after herself. etc.) The problem with something special is that it's usually candy...gotta think of other something specials.

Mak is a stander by himselfer (ok that doesn't make sense but I like to rhyme.)

Speaking of rhyming...I love saying things that rhyme. Even things that don't make sense. Chad often laughs at the things I say. What's great is that I have a two year old and almost 1 yr. old that love it. =)

I love nicknames a few that I use now and then: Mister Lister (for Mak), Mister Lou (for Mak), Missy Lou (for Amaya), Bitty Boo (Amaya). When Amaya was younger, I would call her Missy (a nickname that Chad did not look favorably upon so I added the Lou. I just can't seem to help it....

Bittersweet

2009-12-09T14:30:00.000-05:00

So I think Samaria and I are thinking alike on our blog posts. I read hers today and we had the same idea: to blog about this weekend.

This Saturday, we had our final service at the old Cherry Hill Church building. It was bittersweet. It was not as sad as I thought it might be. I have some really great memories in that old building. That's where I learned so so much. That's where I was filled with the Spirit. That's where I learned how to pray. That's where I was a part of the first School of Theology (now called Outpouring School of Ministry). That's where God changed my life forever. That's where I met Chad, my amazing and wonderful husband! That's where I spent many many hours in the basement teaching and loving on the kiddos. That's where I spent many early mornings in 6am prayer (I must confess - I spent some of those early ones sleeping for part of the time until my body adjusted to getting up that early- heehee).

What's so cool about all these memories is that I can take them all with me. Nothing that I've learned is stuck there in that old building. I am glad that the next phase of City Church has begun. Although the name is no longer the same, Jesus is still the same! He never changes. The things that I have mentioned above that I've learned, have only gotten better over the years. I was a part of some of the initial stages of some of those things and I'm happy to announce that much improvement has been made.

The other night when I was sitting in the old church building, it just wasn't the same. There were no pews and the stage had been changed. Before we got there on Saturday, I had been visualizing us sitting in the pews and when I got there, I realized that there were none anymore. What was great, was the Eric Johnson was back to lead the praise team for a couple songs and that brought back many memories. That was a fun time on the praise time. I had a chance to sing on Saturday but with the kids and Chad having to work, I missed out. It would have definitely been fun!

Christmas Pics

2009-12-04T16:22:00.001-05:00

We recently had some family and Christmas pictures taken by Darcy Holsopple. It was absolutely freezing but we still got some great ones. I made a new blog header out of some of my favorites. Not the one on our Christmas card this year but still some very sweet pictures.

I haven't been the best at blogging lately..I apologize. This week started off kinda crazy. Chad came home sick on Monday and then stayed home Tuesday all day. At the end of the day, I saw Pastor David and he asked me if I was going to email life group (something I do every Tuesday) and I said, "Oh yeah, today was Tuesday, wasn't it." It just didn't seem like it.

Today, is officially day one of my sleep training for Makiyah. He's been a good night sleeper for a couple months now but his daytime naps have been horrible. I can't get anything done. Today I've let him cry it out both times. So far the first nap it took him 2 hours to fall asleep and he just slept about 1/2 hour. This nap, it took him about 40 min to fall asleep and we'll see how long he stays asleep. I gotta stick with it so I can have some time during the day to do things I need to do: Like blog (haha), dishes, laundry, clean etc...

If ya think if me, you can pray that I have the patience to see this through. I committed myself to 2 full weeks of this...I CAN DO IT!!

Whine or Worship

2009-11-28T09:00:00.003-05:00

Today on the way home from my "Black Friday" shopping experience, I heard a little message on gratitude.
The lady said, "You have two choices in life, either whine or worship."

I immediately applied that to my life...in the past year, I've done a lot of whining...

...I've whined and wondered where God has been in the midst of Amaya's surgeries.
...I've whined and wondered where God was in the midst of Chad's job search.
...I've whined and wondered where God was when I had Makiyah and every day seemed like it was so hard b/c he didn't react the same way to "sleep training" that Amaya had.
...I've whined and wondered why I didn't have any close friends.
...I've whined and wondered why Chad didn't love me "in a better way."

Can you hear all the whining? waaa waaa...

The past few weeks, I've made a conscious choice to be a worshipper...I'm gonna worship because whining keeps me in the same place.

...I'm worshipping because I know that Chad loves me and takes care of me.
...I'm worshipping because I do have great friends here in Bloomington and around the world (Siberia for one..my little T plug).
...I'm worshipping because God has created all babies differently and Makiyah is "one-of-a-kind."
...I'm worshipping because God opened the door at the "right" time for Chad to get his job - one that he loves.
...I'm worshipping because God was still God in the midst of all of Amaya's surgeries and she is now completely done with the need for any surgery.
...I'm worshipping because God asks me to worship simply because He is good!!

Thank you Jesus for a wonderful Thanksgiving and time with family!! It wasn't quite what I expected but it was still a great time with family!!

A new Baby Girl

2009-11-25T08:25:00.001-05:00

Today I thank you Jesus for a new baby girl: Julia Noelle Weaver!

I thank you that she is healthy.
I thank you that she has fully developed lungs.
I thank you that she has a healthy cry.
I thank you that she is a girl.
I thank you that LL's recovery is swift.
I thank you for a complication free birth.
I thank you for the precious gift of life.
I thank you for answered prayers.
I thank you that her brothers will transition well to having a new baby in the house.

Yesterday, I got the message that my brother, Marty and LL had their baby. I knew it could happen at anytime but I didn't know it was happening yesterday. IT WAS A GIRL!! I am so happy for them. I know LL has wanted a girl and I prayed that one day they would have a girl. When I got the txt, I started shouting and doing a little dance and Mak started crying...OOPS! I've been buying stuff for what I was hoping was a little girl. They had done an ultrasound but she had hidden her goods (good girl). =) Hopefully I'll get to see her on the way home from Shipshe on Satuday!

Weaver Family Count
Boys: 13
Girls: 6

Today I thank You, Jesus

2009-11-24T12:41:00.000-05:00

for....

1. My health!
2. My kiddos - Amaya and Mak!
3. My husband and the love he has for me!
4. My family both here in Bloomington and in Shipshewana and surrounding areas!
5. Sustaining me in times of hardship!
6. Changing my outlook on life!
7. Always loving me!
8. Always remaining faithful!
9. The ability to have bonfires just about anytime we want to.
10. My garden and the produce I get from it!

Picture of our backyard...just a fun pic that I pulled from Memorial Day of '06. We played some "field day" games. LOL...hilarious!

Severly Tested

2009-11-23T08:12:00.000-05:00

Last night this baby severely tested me. Yesterday I told Chad that I am so thankful that Makiyah sleeps through the night now. So what does he do? He was awake from 3:24 to 6:10 this morning....argh. I am a sleepy mommy this morning.

So here is my list of thankfulness

1. Jesus I thank you that Makiyah sleeps through the night and that his sleeping habits are getting better!

2. Jesus I thank you for a husband that gives me the time away from the house when I need a break!

3. Jesus I thank you for this new day!

4. Jesus I thank you for the little things in your word that cause my faith to grow and revelation to come to me!

5. Jesus I thank you for the house that you have given Chad and I!

6. Jesus I thank you for the land that surrounds our house!

7. Jesus I thank you for the ability to pay our bills on time!

8. Jesus I thank you for making us tithers and givers!

9. Jesus I thank you for the promises of Malachi 10 in regards to giving and tithing!!

10. Jesus I thank you for you - for dying on the cross for me and never changing the amount of love you have towards me.

Being Thankful

2009-11-22T15:21:00.006-05:00

Today I made a pact (in my head)...I am going to post every day until Thanksgiving with my top 10 list of what I am thankful for. Today's message at church was about being thankful and I realized that I need to be more thankful. I need to remember what God has done for me and my family!

Today's thanksgiving will be in remembrance of some things that God has done for Chad and I.

1. I am thankful that God supplied a 2 week honeymoon with exactly what we wanted!
story: Soon after we got engaged Chad and I discussed our honeymoon. We decided that we wanted to be in the mountains and on the beach and if at all possible we wanted it to be 2 weeks long. How we were going to do this was a mystery to me. A week after this conversation a dear friend came up to us and said, "I would like to give you my beach condo for a week." About a week after that another dear friend came up to us and said, "I would like to give you my timeshare - it's good for a week." In the midst of this discussion, a family member said, I would like to give you $1000 towards your honeymoon. All that happened within about two weeks after our initial conversation. That had never happened to me EVER! We went to the beach, the mountains and finished in Washington DC. It was actually a little longer than 2 weeks!

Picture from our honeymoon

2. I am thankful that God supplied a full-time job for me about 8 months after I graduated from IU.

3. I am thankful that God answered our prayers for a healthy first child (I was praying for a girl). Amaya was born in April of 07.

4. I am thankful that God has blessed us with several vacations that we didn't have to pay full-price for.

5. I am thankful that God answered our prayers for a healthy second baby (I prayed for a boy). Makiyah (Mak) was born in January of 09.

6. I am thankful that God answered my prayers for red hair (I honestly don't know where it comes from other than God answered our prayers).

7. I am thankful that God speaks to us and let's us know that He loves us. (When we were praying for Makiyah we wanted a nickname and we asked God to show us one. He showed both of us a picture of a sky...so Makiyah became "baby sky" until he was born.

8. I am thankful that God sustained us through several months of being unemployed except for a couple part-time jobs.

9. I am thankful that God opened the door for a wonderful full-time job that Chad loves while at the same time continuing to some degree his work at the church.

10. I am thankful that God provided for almost $30,000 of medical bills since last November.

I have a loving and compassionate God! Thank you Jesus!

Not Me Monday

2009-11-16T14:08:00.001-05:00

This is my first time of doing this "not me" Monday post. What the heck...why not try it...I find it hilarous!
The past few weeks it was not me that has been watching Days of Our Lives because I got hooked on the "baby switch" story. It was not me that watched it online when I missed an episode. It was not me that gave my husband updates - just in case he wanted to know. It is definitely not me that is taping it right now because I would have missed a few minutes while putting Amaya to bed. It was not me last night that had to give Amaya a shower 15 min before leaving for church because it was not me who allowed her to have a huge sucker getting it all over her hair and clothes. Nope definitely not me. It was not me who saw Mak playing in the toilet while giving Amaya a shower (it was clean) thankfully! It was not me who YELLED at Chad to come get Mak - I would definitely not do that.
It was not me who showed up 20 minutes late to a Children's ministry meeting. Not me cause I'm always on time. It's not me who is known for being tardy...that's not me..you must be talking about someone else. It's not me who has stacks and stack of laundry - all clean - in the bathroom and a load in the washer. It's not me who should be doing that right at this moment. It's not me who is using my free time to blog a bit. I would never do that...not me! and...it's definitely not me that threatens Amaya with spanking for peeing in her pants...I would NEVER do that. I would never allow something like that to happen in my house. It's not me who says "Be Quiet" to Mak when he keeps crying while I'm trying to watch something on TV...definitely not me! It's not me that made fun of my husband last night for saying something (not funny). I wouldn't laugh at my husband and make him feel bad...certainly not me!!and it's not me who would post an interesting picture of my daughter on my blog...

Trick or Treat with City

2009-11-15T15:11:00.000-05:00

I've been wanting to post some pics of Amaya and Mak in their costumes. So here ya go. Mak was a little frog and Amaya a lady bug. We had fun at the event hosted by our church.

A Recipe and A Revelation

2009-11-11T11:43:00.000-05:00

RECIPE
Last night I made one of the best Fish meals I've made in a long time. I don't make fish very often since I don't have many good tried and true recipes. I served it with a side of asparagus. I got my most recent issue of Taste of Home's Simple and Delicious and I decided to try a recipe out of it. It was "simple and delicious." For any new and seasoned cooks, I recommend both of these magazines: Taste of Home or Taste of Home Simple and Delicious. I've had a subscription for several years now and I love it. I told Chad I might not renew one of them so I can get another magazine but just thinking about that makes me kinda sad...not sure if I can do it. =)

Crumb-Topped Baked Fish (My variations in parentheses)

4 Haddock or Cod Fillets (I used Tilapia - I got these at Wal-mart, they were individually frozen)
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 1/4 c. seasoned bread crumbs
1/4 c. shredded chedder cheese (I used Parmesan Cheese)
1/4 c. melted butter
1 T minced fresh parsley (I used 1 t. dried parsley)
1/2 t. dried marjoram
1/4 t. garlic powder
1/4 t. dried rosemary, crushed

Place fillets on a greased baking sheet (I used a Pampered Chef stone); season with salt and pepper. In a small bowl combine the remaining ingredients; pat onto fillets (just the top). Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes (I did 20 min b/c the stone takes longer to heat) or until fish flakes easily with fork.
Makes 4 servings.

Asparagus (Found at Simply Recipes)

1 bunch of asparagus
2 T the most exquisite Extra Virgin Olive Oil (I used what I had)
2 T fresh grated Parmesan (I used the bagged kind b/c I used all my fresh with the fish recipe)
1 t. lemon zest - freshly grated lemon rind (I used lemon juice since I had no lemons)
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Prepare the asparagus by rinsing them thoroughly, break off any tough white bottoms and discard. Cut into 1 to 2 inch sections, slicing at a slight angle (I left mine whole).

Fill a medium sized saucepan half way with water, bring to a boil. Add the asparagus and reduce heat slightly to a simmer. Parboil the asparagus for exactly 2 minutes. Drain the hot water. While the asparagus are still hot, toss them in a bowl with the olive oil, Parmesan, and lemon rind. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm or room temperature.
I didn't follow all of the above boiling directions. Below is what I did.
(Fill a big pot halfway water. Once it's boiling, put the asparagus into the water for 3 min.)

This meal gets a ***** rating from me. This was YUMMY!!!

REVELATION (this is from an email I sent to my life group today)

On Sunday Pastor Kim, asked us to pray, "God give me the courage to allow you to get in ALL parts of me." This really spoke to me. Have I given all parts of my heart to Him? Have I given Him the those deep, hidden areas of hurt, bitterness or whatever it may be. Sometimes we don't even know until it's revealed to us through the word and a specific message that God has for us. I pray that today, you have the courage to allow God to get in an area that you have kept from Him.

A few days ago, I was reading in II Peter 5 and I read these scriptures for it seems like the "first" time. I've read it a lot more than that but my eyes were opened anew to it.

"Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, / casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you." II Peter 5:6-7

I had always read these two scripture separately. They are on two different pages in my Bible and I don't think I've ever read them together. (Crazy!) I've never attributed my humility with casting my care upon Him. I've prayed for God to make and keep me humble but have been keeping things that "I need" to take care of. That's definitely something in my "chest of drawers" that has been hidden - it's in one of those lower drawers...that ones that don't get opened much. I pray that through this Braveheart Series (this is our October topic at City Church), our true hearts are revealed and in turn made stronger as we turn and give our all to Jesus!

Some of our recent happenings

2009-11-09T14:10:00.002-05:00

Today, I took some pictures of one of Amaya's favorite activities. I got the idea for this in the Montessori

Catalog I get. It has some fun activities - that I have to buy of course - but who needs to buy anything when a few baby jars and pyrex measuring cup will do just fine. (Don't get me wrong, I'm sure I'm going to purchase a few things when I start "pre-schooling" Amaya. Right now though, I can improvise.)

After I attending the IU game in Wednesday night, I had some popcorn left which I mistakenly left on the toy box. Nothing is safe anywhere in this house at the moment with a super busy 9 1/2 month old boy.

Yesterday after church, I wanted to get some pictures of Amaya and Mak while playing outside. Amaya was a willing participant but Mak not so much. I'll have to post more pics soon. She was so cute. At one point, she had a big stick in her hand and was heading down the driveway to "school." This totally corresponds with her, "I'm six" statement whenever you ask her how old she is. (haha)

A Year Ago Today

2009-11-05T09:22:00.000-05:00

Exactly one year ago today, I was calling the doctor at about this exact time because Amaya had this HUGE abscess on her neck that kept getting bigger and more infected as time went on.

At 11:30 was our Dr. appointment and from there we were sent directly to Riley Hospital in Indianapolis to wait for HOURS! We had fed Amaya some snacks at the Dr. office and because of that she had to wait 6-8 hours for her surgery. They called it emergency surgery but waiting 6-8 hours didn't quite seem like an emergency. She did really well for not having anything to eat and drink for that entire time.

What an awful day that was - one year ago today.

Thankfully today she is healed, healthy and whole! We have been released from Riley and don't have anymore check-ups in the future. I am thankful for the Doctors that we saw while we were there: Dr. Engum did most of the procedures and I can't think of the other doctor who did her last surgery close to her ear. I am thankful for God sustaining us in the most difficult time I have ever been through! God's grace and mercy and LOVE are amazing!

In case you're just joining and were wondering what happened....here is a link to some of what we experienced over the past year: Previous Post on Amaya's Riley Experience

In Response to Seasons of Friendship

2009-11-03T10:22:00.001-05:00

My good friend Samaria recently did a blog post: Seasons of Friendship. As I was commenting on her blog post I realized that I should just do a response to her blog post. I had a lot that I wanted to say in her comments section (almost more than what she had written). LOL

Here is what I wrote in response to her blog post:
So first, I had this whole paragraph written and my computer shut down. So frustrating cause I put a lot of thought into it. =) Anyway, I agree with you on your evaluation of friendships. At this point in life, you want friendships that will stick. It's easier to believe in the good of the other person because you think they are more mature. Sometimes this is true and sometimes this is not. I think of our friendship and I know that we've survived some rough times. I'm thankful that we've rekindled the fire of our relationship (even if just more recently). Life brings so many changes: dating, marriage, children and in the midst of all that, you face life's issues - some that are extremely hard. A true friend will ebb and flow with you through those times. A true friend will give and respect the space needed. A true friend will be there to embrace you when the time is right. Friendship is definitely not cookie cutter. (Ok ok...I'm thinking I should blog a response to this so that I don't write more than you...haha) I have so many thoughts on this. GREAT BLOG POST!

When I read Samaria's post, I was reminded how at the beginning of the year, I was praying a lot for friendships that "stuck." Friends that I could trust no matter what I was going through. There are times in life that we need alone time. There are times I need friends more than ever. There are also times I need friends to give me space. Sometimes I need a friend when my kids are "acting up".   Sometimes I need a friend to give me space when my kids are acting up. Sometimes I need a friend to sit with me and just talk about nothing and not expect anything in return after I have a baby. Sometimes I need a friend to stay home and give me the space needed right after I have a baby. Like I said in response to Samaria's post: "friendship is not cookie cutter," there is no formula.

As I'm writing this, I am realizing how much I need friends to give love and respect my need for space. I have this God given desire to sometimes be alone at times, to sometimes be with one other person and to sometimes be with a whole group of people. Like I wrote earlier, at this point in life, I need friends that understand and respect this and in spite of their agreement or disagreement with that statement, can still love me. One thing I have learned from friends is that I cannot depend on them for my happiness. That has to come from God alone. God alone is what can give me that eternal joy...not matter what happens in my friendships.

Proverbs has many great verses about friendships. A few that really stick with me:

Proverbs 27:17
"As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend."

Proverbs 27: 5-6
"Open rebuke is better than love carefully concealed. Faithful are the wounds of a friend."

As I read the second one, I think about how a faithful friend will "rebuke" when needed and will be there to help you pick up the pieces. There are so many good verses about friends and God knew we would need His word to lean on through life! Thank goodness for His word that never changes!

Sex and the City #2

2009-10-28T11:25:00.002-04:00

All this month we've had a great series on SEX at our church, City Church.
You may be wondering what kind of church does a series on sex. Well, it's a church that's right on with what God wants His kids (us) to know. I can't tell you how many times this past month I've seen "sex issues" on TV. On Dr. Phil, The Doctors, Dr. Oz....you name it, it's probably been on there at least a couple times this past month.
So many times I've watched part of these shows only to be disappointed with what they are presenting. It doesn't line up with God's word and no one wants to stand up for presenting sex within a marriage. All the talk shows only mention your "partner." For some reason I don't like that word. Chad is my partner yes but he is so much more than that. HE IS MY HUSBAND, the one who God has chosen for me, who He created for me. Therefore, I will call him, Chad, my HUSBAND!!

One thing I absolutely love is how God had already designed sex to be great in marriage. Here is why God gave says He gave us the gift of sex.

(These are from Intimate Issues)
1. I gave the gift of sex that you might create life. (Gen 1:28)
2. I gave the gift of sex for intimate oneness. (Gen 2:24)
3. I gave the gift of sex for knowledge. (Gen 4:1)
4. I gave the gift of sex for pleasure. (Prov. 5:15, 18-19)
5. I gave the gift of sex as a defense against temptation. (1 Cor 7:2, 5)
6. I gave the gift of sex for comfort. (2 Sam. 12:24)

When I saw all of these reasons I was amazed. I knew about 1, 2 and 4 but I had know idea about the rest of them. I love how God has so many "surprises" for us even after we have been saved for years. The Bible says: (I Corinthians 2:7) "But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory."
I love how the word of God is a mystery that can only be revealed a little at a time. I love how we did this series at church to reveal these mysteries to me at this time.

What about you, what new mysteries in God's word have you discovered lately? Maybe some from this series? Maybe you're reading this and you've discovered a new mystery...if so let me know.

Sex and the City

2009-10-25T17:13:00.000-04:00

When you think of a title like that, what do you think?

Do you think movie that you would never watch?

Do you think, yeah what an awesome movie?

Do you think...that's a church doing a series on SEX?

Well, I think the last one. This past month has been all about SEX. That's right S.E.X. You didn't read it wrong. You read it exactly right. We've been talking about God's design for sex at our church, City Church. When I think about the TV Series Sex and the City, I get disgusted (honestly). I could never watch it because it was just a bit much for me. Even thinking about the movie, there was never even a second that I would have thought about watching it. Maybe that's not so for some of you. Growing up the way I did, I never talked about sex much even with my friends. I thought about it some and wondered what it would be like on my wedding day but it was not a subject of discussion.
Of course as that day got closer I thought about it more, but even then it was very guarded. It was guarded so much so that it was almost too much. (Now I'm not saying that if you're single, you need to be thinking about sex.) What I am talking about is: God's Design for sex within a marriage. (Check back for that post in a few days).

Sumer (a good friend and co-leader of our family life group) told me about this wonderful book: Intimate Issues by Linday Dillow and Lorraine Pintus. I've read some good books but this one is by far the most informative, straight-forward, and point-blank book on sex that I have read. Before I got married, I read Intended for Pleasure (totally recommend if you're about to get married) but for after you have kids and after all the honeymoon stuff dies down (and yes it does), you need something, someone to give you advice. You need someone who's been there.
Come'on be honest...who of you is going to go to your pastor (if you're a christian) and ask them about some of your most secret sex questions? Anyone.....anyone? (Think Ben Stein here). Ok, so there are not many people who would want to do that. But you still have questions. Right?

The book Intimate Issues talks about the top 21 Questions Christian woman have. It does a fine breakdown of the Song of Solomon. Even if you have read it while thinking about your spouse, you've never read it the way they describe it....I'm pretty sure about that one. =) I think Sumer will agree with me on this one. =)

Stay tuned for more on this......

One thing that irritates me..

2009-10-22T14:10:00.000-04:00

So I'm going to be completely honest here. =)

I was at the chiropractor a few days ago getting a much needed massage (a blessing that came as a result of all of Amaya's surgeries). As I was waiting, I saw a couple with two small children that reminded me very much of my own. The girl looked almost like she was Amaya's age and the boy looked a bit older than Mak.

Since I love watching kids, I smiled as I watched the kids begin to play. Then as I proceeded to be polite, I said hi and I asked how old they were. The mother and father both looked at me with a "very polite" look: "She is 2 1/2 and he is 11 mo." I say, "I thought they looked about like mine. I have a 2 1/2 yr old and a 9 mo. old."
This was followed by some polite stares that said, "please don't talk to us again...I don't know why you talked to us in the first place." YIKES!

After that small uncomfortable conversation took place, I was called back and given that much needed massage. But as I thought about the exchange that took place, I remembered how I had tried to strike up a conversation with the father once before with the same result. Some people are just super grouchy or super stuck on themselves...or perhaps they've had something bad happen and they don't want to talk to someone who looks like a teenager and shouldn't be having kids ?? I'm trying to give them the benefit of the doubt but for some reason that irritated me at the time. I'm supposed to be loving and giving...I guess that doesn't mean other people will be the same.

I think the thing that gets me the most is that looking at them, they looked like a very friendly couple. They look like someone we (Chad and I) might have a lot in common with. This gets me thinking about the "vibe" I give off when I'm around people I don't know. I always try to smile a lot and engage in some conversation - even if it is just about our kids...at least we have that in common. I hope I'm always friendly. =)

On another note: my pretty girl (otherwise known as Amaya) "called" some new people today. We have this alarm clock that looks kinda like a phone and anything that looks like one, is one. =) So she is calling people and telling me who she is calling. She always wants "Mommy" to talk to them first (that's a good sign - cause mommy will have to see who she is talking too and make sure it's appropriate). Anyway, so today she called, Sabannah (othewise known as Savannah), Sabwina (otherwise known as Sabrina) and Bwenda (otherwise known as Brenda). I'm not sure when she saw Savannah last but it must have left a good impression on her. =) Sabrina was in the nursery on Sunday night and she's talked about that night since then. Brenda baby-sat for a bit over summer so Amaya just remembers her and always wants to say hi, but hardly ever does...silly girl.

What are they talking about?

2009-10-21T08:55:00.000-04:00

So Samaria and I were talking about getting ideas for blog posts and I'm STUCK!

Here is one of the ideas we talked about that I've seen before.
Go to your picture files go to the third file and find the fourth picture and blog about it. Well, I have to say the fourth picture was not a good picture so I went to the third pic and it included my mom and she would rather not be on here soooo I went to the fifth picture.

This is a picture of my brother, Mervin on the left and my bro-in-law, Doug on the right. They were getting ready for my brother, (DeWayne) Dewey's wedding.

What do you think they are talking about?

Wisdom

2009-10-09T09:00:00.003-04:00

This morning as I was reading in Proverbs, I am once again reminded of just how cool God is.

Proverbs 8:11
For wisdom is better than rubies, and all the things one may desire cannot be compared with her.

Proverbs 8:30-31
Then I was beside Him as a master craftsman; and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him, Rejoicing in His inhabited world, and my delight was with the sons of men.

Proverbs 9:10-11
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. For by me your days will be multiplied, and years of life will be added to you.

Wisdom: Delights in me!
Wisdom: Everything my heart desires cannot compare with her!
Wisdom: the fear of the Lord is only the beginning!
Wisdom: will multiply my days!
Wisdom: will add years of life!
Wisdom: speaks excellent things!

I am so thankful for God's wisdom in my life. What really stood out to me this morning is how wisdom is better than rubies and that all the things I desire cannot be compared with her. It made me think of all the things I was desiring right now. Things I want to happen right now...things I want to change. All those things cannot compare to wisdom. I then started thinking how important wisdom is. "She" (as the Bible refers to wisdom) was there at the beginning, when God was forming the earth, as a master craftsman. Wisdom was daily HIS delight. Wisdom also delighted in the sons (and daughters) of men. Wisdom was with God and wisdom is with me, helping me and guiding me.

I then had to think of my precious kids, how I desire them to live for God and give their hearts to Jesus. As I read the scripture: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom", I had to thank Jesus for those "words of wisdom." One small fear I've had: will my kids serve the Lord with all their heart? Will they choose to live the life that He has given them? This scripture quieted those fears this morning. When my kids accept Jesus as their Lord and savior, the fear of the Lord will be deposited in their hearts...when they have that fear, it is only the beginning of wisdom. It is only the beginning.....

Creepy...

2009-10-06T15:38:00.001-04:00

So I was looking for some pictures of pillows today and I came across these...anyone else think these are a bit creepy?

My pretty girl!

2009-10-04T15:53:00.001-04:00

Just couldn't do a post all about Mak and not do one for my pretty girl Amaya.

For all you Bambi lovers out there here's a good story:
This morning Amaya saw a deer outside and she said, "Mommy I go chase the deer?"
I said, "No, Amaya...we have to go to church."
Amaya said, "Daddy, kill the deer?"
....and mommy laughed!

She knows her daddy....

I forgot to add earlier: She is almost fully potty trained now. I was training her but was always putting diapers on her when I went out. My sisters came last weekend and because we were so busy she spent the entire weekend in diapers. On Tuesday after they left I put her in her underwear pants (as she calls them) and she has not had a "full" accident since. She has started to pee in the undies but has stopped. That has been the extent of her accidents. I am so proud of her. This is a big step. I still put her in diapers for nap time and night time so that is the next step.

I went to church today and she stayed dry so YAY! Now I have to try it when I go grocery shopping....she had a diaper when I went Friday but she stayed dry the entire time...woohoo.

Mak is 8 months old and moving

2009-10-04T15:45:00.000-04:00

Makiyah is 8 months + now.

He started officially crawling at 7 months 3 weeks. I can't believe it. He never went through the army crawl phase like Amaya did. He just decided one day that he can get up on all fours and take off. He actually took his first two "crawls" the day before Labor Day. I know I shouldn't compare him to Amaya but I do. =) Amaya was at least 9 mo. old before she did the actual crawl. I've heard this is typical - boys do things fast (physically) than girls.

He's already starting to pull himself up on his toys. He doesn't have the strength to always stay there. It's actually a bit humorous. He will fall and lay there for a bit and get the biggest smile. I have to laugh b/c typically in that situation a baby would cry. He is anything but typical.

A few months ago when I was praying for Makiyah, the Lord spoke to me and said that Mak would make people smile. We had a bit of a rough time when he was a newborn and baby so it actually made me cry to hear that (go figure). =) Anyway, he's been making me laugh and smile ever since. I love the Lord!!

Mak has two teeth now but I'm still nursing. I am excited to make it past 9 months (the time I quit with Amaya because she simply had no more interest).

My handsome man, Mak!

Reflections

2009-09-24T15:23:00.000-04:00

Last night we had our amazing life group. I am finding that more and more I leave with "nuggets" to think about over and over during the week. I am so thankful for our "family city group". God is doing something!

Not only has it been a blessing, it has been a challenge. It's a challenge in a good way. God challenges me to think and reflect on me. Last night, I believe Jeremy was talking and he mentioned two things that people do - it was two opposite things...both negative things -JUDGING AND BEING JUDGED.- I realized I've been on both ends of that. Judging and being judged for decisions that I have made. This is so negative and does not create any sort of lasting friendship. Our series this month has been on the book, Walk Across the Room by Bill Hybels.

Sidenote:
My friend, Samaria just wrote blog post on a book that she really loved. Check it out - that book is next on my list of reading material. Sounds great Samaria - thanks for the blog post.

The book I mentioned above (Walk Across the Room) is one of the greatest books I've read in a while. I often have a hard time reading and finishing a book (I do have to mention that I still have a few pages to finish in the book). I usually start and read the first 2-3 chapters and then I lose interest. This book along with the series at life group has really been a kick in the rear to change some things in me that needed changing.

So going back to last night's life group (have to go take care of the kiddos for the time being - love being a parent - just need to adjust to the interruptions) I'm back now several hours later.

Last nights life group we talked about how "friends" like to judge one another especially in the church instead of going through life's lessons with one another and being there for each other. I've been guilty of this so many times. I have such a high standard for myself that I often forget that I put that on other people too. I often think I can't make any mistakes and when I do, I beat myself up. This is not what God intended...he intended for GRACE to be present every day that I live. Going on the other side...being judged is just as bad...it creates a place where you can't trust and where you have a hard time loving.

The easy solution here is just LOVE! Love those around you! Let God's love change your heart! LOVE! LOVE! LOVE!

Ok so this is really hard to do...REALLY REALLY HARD! Especially if you try to go at it alone. Change is hard anyway you look at it but I think this is one of the hardest things to change. You have to change your vision and how you look at the world.

Lord give me eyes to see like you see. Give me a vision for those around me. Change my heart and my mind to be pure and holy before you and before others. I ask you to take any judgment out of my heart and replace it with love. Help me to extend grace to my friends and any new friends I make. I love you Jesus!

Yuck!

2009-09-22T09:53:00.000-04:00

It's been a bit of an eventful morning around here. Not with the kids this time...it just involves a spider.
I'm not a fan of spiders...I shudder just thinking about them. Anyone with me?

The other day I noticed two little black spiders on our ceiling but forgot about them since it was lunch time which is always followed by nap time preparations. (side note: I think we had some spiders hatching in our house b/c this is the third spider I've seen in just a few days). This morning I was checking my email and I noticed something out of the corner of my eye...it came down and slid underneath the keys on the computer. It was so subtle that i barely noticed it...but then I remembered the spider that had been living on our ceiling. I hit the key that I thought it went under and then went to take care of one of the kiddos (I believe Amaya was sitting on the potty).

Then I came back and thought I would just forget about it. HA...not really! I cannot stand spiders...I don't like the thought of spiders, I don't like to see them, I don't like them near me...ICK! (Arachnophobia - I think I saw that movie one too many times)

So I proceeded to lift the entire laptop on it's side and I hit all the keys and finally I saw the little legs sticking out of the keys. (Another shudder from me). I hit the key gingerly so it would leave the computer keyboard but so I wouldn't squish it. It was a fast one...it scurried out and went who knows where.
At this point I had a decision to make...do i just pretend that all that never happened and sit down and finish my emailing for the morning? Or do I try to find it?

I almost did the first one but then I decided that I would constantly be checking all around me to make sure it wasn't crawling on me. Soooooo with a fly swatter in hand, I picked up all the things around me and finally something moved. You should have seen me as I moved everything, you would have thought it was a huge snake. I was ready to jump back at any moment. LOL In fact I did retreat after I first saw it but then SMACK! I got it on the first try.

No spider is going to survive my deadly fly swatter. Now if only I knew where that last spider was... =/

Amaya and Mak Comparison

2009-09-12T09:00:00.001-04:00

Hey all...I just thought I'd do something fun. Everyone is always saying how much Amaya and Mak look alike so I did a comparison.

What do you think?

It's a New Day!

2009-09-10T09:13:00.000-04:00

What a beautiful morning! The sun is shining. Amaya is enjoying her new favorite show on TV - Clifford! Mak is taking a nap and I'm enjoying this time blogging.

One of our (Chad and Mine) goals for the next few months is to run/walk a 5K charity event. Bloomington always has a lot of running events in the fall so we'll just have to see what we want to support. (I haven't actually checked it out so I'm hoping there are some in Oct. so we have time to get ready.)
One of the reasons for our goal is to lose some weight. I figured it out...between the two of us we would like to lose 35-40 lbs...WOW! That's a lot. We can do it. I recently stepped on the scales and realized that I gained weight since Mak has been born. This wasn't a complete surprise since that happened with Amaya. I really had to work at losing the weight after she was born so I figured I would have to do the same this time. I was hoping I wouldn't have to but didn't quite work out that way.

At least now Chad and I can work on our goal together. It's hard when you have a busy life but I want to make sure I am healthy to enjoy my kiddos when they get older.

My second goal (which will take longer) is inspired by what I read on Darcy's blog yesterday. Check it out. It's a beautiful story! Love this blog - our kiddos are about the same age and seem to be a lot alike. =)

So my goal is to grow out my hair and donate it. I've done it once and it was a great feeling but actually very hard to let go of my hair. I did like my short hair once I had done it. The first time I did it - it took me a while to grow it out - couple years so I think I have at least a year and a half left. I had been thinking about doing it so I had only gotten my hair trimmed the last two cuts but usually I get to a certain point and then want a change again. This time I'm going to do it!! Thanks Darcy for the inspiration!

Leaving you with some of my favorite pics of Mak and Amaya from the last week.

Here is Amaya after I curled and "styled" her hair....just having fun with her hair. She doesn't let me play with it very much so I take advantage of the times she does. =)

Amaya

2009-09-07T10:00:00.005-04:00

I'm just dedicating this post to by beautiful girl Amaya.

These days there is so much I forget to post about. She is getting so big. She says so many things now and I can't keep track of them all. For some reason recently she's become a bit camera shy so I try to capture other images of her. Here we were outside playing while Daddy was parking cars for IU.

Just thought I would add a couple funny sayings of hers:

A computer is: on-cue-ber
Tony the tiger is: Tiger the Pony

I love my little girl!

Mak at 7 months

2009-09-06T09:00:00.014-04:00

Makiyah is now 7 months (ok over 7 months) Here are some cute pics I took close to his 7 month birthday.

Isn't he handsome?

I'm so proud of him...he can finally sit up on his for for a few seconds. He has started to get up in the crawl position and just rock. And he has his first tooth now...in honor of Teresa's birthday. =)

Marshmallowkaylan & Lammie

2009-09-05T15:50:00.000-04:00

We welcome the newest members of our family:

Marshmallowkaylan and Lammie (or Lambie).
Born: August 26
Weight: 14 oz.

Thank you grandma for taking Amaya to Build-A-Bear to create our new family members.

Amaya had a lot of fun and she chose a cream lamb.

Here is the conversation Amaya and I had when I asked her what she wanted to make with Grandma.

Me: "Amaya what color do you want your BEAR to be? Black, Brown, Light Brown"
Amaya: "Just brown Mommy"

Me: "Do you want your bear to have a skirt?"

Amaya: "No"

Me: "Pants?"

Amaya: "Yes"

Me: "What color pants?"

Amaya: "Red"

Me: "What color shirt do you want the bear to wear?"

Amaya: "White"

Me: "All right, that's my girl! Red and white."

Amaya: "Look Mommy like this bear" (she shows me her "IU" bear that has a red shirt on)

I must say (for you Samaria) my little girl is a smart one.

Here is Amaya pushing her new babies out of the store.

Mak @ 6 Months

2009-08-25T15:44:00.000-04:00

Makiyah,
You're six months old already. Actually 6 1/2 months. So crazy. It really seems like yesterday you were born. I don't want to go back and repeat those early months but I can't believe how fast time flies.

At six months you can:
Flip over front to back and back to front.
You can move yourself around by flipping. You don't want to stay in one place very long.
You laugh and laugh! You have a great belly laugh and I can make you laugh almost any time I want to.
You have already managed to wiggle out of the bumbo (thankfully w/o hurting yourself, even though it was on the hard kitchen floor.)
You finally sleep through the night.
You take pretty good naps throughout the day too.

Finally finishing this at 7 months
You move backwards - not quite a crawl but almost.
You definitely love your mommy - ME =) a lot! When you see me you almost always want to be picked up.
You love when Amaya plays with you - you don't even mind when she lays on top of you. You just laugh as we are trying to discipline Amaya and let her know that she can't do that. Silly boy.

You make mommy smile.

Hello, I'm a parent, and I survived.

2009-08-25T15:29:00.000-04:00

I just finished this email to my life group...thought it was good posting material.

A few weeks ago I wrote about persevering. I've had to persevere just to get this email written. I looked at the time it autosaved: 11:46...right now it's 3:01. WOW!! That's how my day has been. Mak just cried (intermittently) for about 2 hours while I in the mean time tried to figure out what was wrong. He was asleep each time I put him to bed (4x to be exact) and then each time woke up screaming....ahhhhh.
This is definitely not a joy of parenting...I won't even joke about it. I know you've all been there (well except for the Warsaws). =)

So now, after tylenol and teething gel he is finally asleep. Is he getting teeth, you ask? I have no idea but if that's why he was crying at least we're covered.

Today I have no great message about something the Lord gave me...I just simply survived...I am a parent.

Anyone else have those, "Hello, I'm a parent and I survived" days?

Life is fragile....

2009-08-06T12:36:00.005-04:00

So many hardships we face in life are so small compared to the big picture. What is the big picture?
The big picture is this...if we know Christ we have and know what happens after death.

My sister just lost her mother-in-law last night. Her husband lost his mom and their kids lost their grandma. She was just 61 years old. She was supposed to be around for many, many more years.

When I think of them my heart breaks today. I am sad for their family. I am sad that she went home so soon. At the same time that I am sad, I know that she has found her eternal home in heaven. She is singing with the angels. What a glorious time she must be having. Although we have tears here on earth, she is smiling - no longer in pain, no longer hurting.

Do you have that assurance today...the assurance that when you die, you will go to heaven? Do you know Him, the one who loves you with a love like no other.

Father, I lift up the Hershberger family to you. In this sad time give them a comfort in knowing you. I ask you to wrap your loving arms around them and speak to them words of life and love. I ask you to give them a peace in their minds and help them remember the things they loved about Mary and the good times they had with her here on earth. I ask you give comforting thoughts to the grandchildren - Cole, Aliyah, Brodie and Sydney, and children, Brad, Doug and Jill. Give them a greater understanding of your ways and your love. I pray also for Paul her dear husband for years. I pray comfort and peace for him. Thank you Lord! In Jesus Name I pray, Amen.

There is coming a day,
When no heartache shall come,
No more clouds in the sky,
No more tears to dim the eye,
All is peace forevermore,
On that happy golden shore
What a day glorious day that will be!

Wow...so behind

2009-07-23T19:57:00.006-04:00

I've been a terrible blogger as of late...I did want to share a some pics of a photoshoot I had with Darcy Holsopple Photography. Wish Chad would've been with me..he had to stay behind since he has a full-time job now.

Me and the kids

I wanted one of us running b/c Amaya is always saying, "run mommy run."

My man - Mak

My girl - Amaya

the sisters....

Amaya

2009-06-25T15:01:00.004-04:00

Had my very own photoshoot today with Amaya. =) I was just having fun taking pics outside of my pretty little "big girl." Here are a few of my favorites from today.Isn't she a cutie?

I call the one in the middle her "bad girl" pose. I'm not sure what she was doing at the moment I took the picture but it made me laugh. In the bottom one she is sitting by Mak as she is telling him what is on her puzzle pieces.

For laughs: Today I asked her if she wanted to go outside and she said, "I don't know..maybe. I guess so." Totally funny because she LOVES to go outside.

My little girl

2009-06-22T09:11:00.002-04:00

For some laughs:

Yesterday I asked Amaya a question and she looked at me and said, "actually, yes." It was so funny because it fit whatever I asked. What a cutie.

When Amaya has something she doesn't want me to take away and I take it away, she looks at me and says, "Mommy don't take it away." (in a little girl whiny voice). It's usually not funny at the time but when I think that she is only two years old - it makes me smile.

Amaya's progress:

Amaya is doing great!! She is off antibiotics and last night when I asked her if she was hurting anywhere she smiled and said, "yes." So that really means no. It had been more than 6 hours since she had any pain medication so it looks like we're past that part too!! When I was asking her if it hurt anywhere she first pointed to her other side and then she smiled and said, "No mommy this ear is fine." When did she become such a big girl?

She's still sleeping @ 9:21 this morning so I think she has enjoyed a night of no medication interruptions - as did we!

The incision by her ear looks absolutely wonderful. I can't say the same for her neck but it looks like they had to stretch the skin to close it.

I'll have to get those pics posted so you can see.

Good Bye Riley (Children's Hospital)

2009-06-11T20:12:00.004-04:00

The title is appropriate because we finally found out what has been causing Amaya's neck to become infected over and over and over and over. No that's not a typo. Her neck has had a small infected abscess about every 10 days since February. In fact it became so common that we didn't even get too concerned about it.

The neck infection procedure:
It would look great like it was healing up. A couple hours later we saw a little white spec about the size of a pen tip. A few more hours it was the size of a kernal of corn and then by the next day it had usually tripled or quadrupled in size and then sometime in that day we would have to "pop" it to allow the pus to come out. The last two times this has been horrible. The second to last time she threw her arms up so hard and unexpectedly that I bit my tongue which left a nice red mark for several days. Not a fun time for either of us.

Timeline:
June 2008 - Chad and I noticed a small pea-sized bump under the skin in Amaya's neck. We decided that we would talk to the doc next time we went.

November 2008 - On a Thursday we noticed that the bump under her skin had gotten noticeably bigger. By Friday evening we were really concerned since it seemed to have doubled. We had an appointment on Sat. morning. She started antibiotics right away. By Sunday afternoon it started turning red. It was more red on Monday and by Tuesday afternoon had started to get really "tight." On Wednesday it had started scabbing and we noticed the first signs of pus. Wednesday at 10pm she had her first surgery which left a gaping hole in her neck.

December 2008 - Infection returned again - another round of antibiotics

January 2009 - Second surgery

March 2009 - Infection returned again and again - antibiotics again

May 2009 - Infection returned again about every 10 days - no antibiotics

June 10, 2009 - YESTERDAY
We went to Riley for a scheduled surgery on her neck. This surgery was supposed to last about an hour and then we could come home again. (In and out in one day). We were in the waiting room and the nurse came to give us and update and from the look on her face it seemed like something had happened. She told us that Dr. Engum would come talk to us as soon as the surgery was done but it looked like they would have to continue to work on her.
As Dr. Engum was working he found that the trac that he had taken out in January had completely returned (not a good sign) and that it was connected to something up near her ear. This was not his specialty so he called in another surgeon for Ear Nose and Throat. At the time that he was talking to us the other Dr. was already removing Amaya's left tonsil to see if the Branchial cleft (pharyngeal arch) ended in her tonsil. Disclaimer: I really don't know if I have all the medical terminology right but this is what I remember. We waited for another 2 hours or so and then we were called down to another floor to talk with the other Dr.
He said that they didn't find the end of trac in her tonsil so they would have to do another surgery cutting at the front edge of her ear and up the back and then coming back down again. (An S shape) He explained that there were risks associated with this surgery. The facial nerve could be damaged. At worst she could lose some function in the left side of her face. At best the nerve was not near the trac and nothing would happen.

From that point she would be in surgery another 3 hours.

WOW - 3 hours! So long to wait to see your little girl. I was never worried about the surgery but the facial nerve thing did worry me a little bit. I was sitting there and I realized that I really did have peace about the surgery and to me it didn't matter how long it took. I wanted them to be thorough and I just wanted this whole ordeal to be done. It's been almost 7 months to date from the first surgery to this one.
We waited and then waited some more and then they ended up being done sooner than they expected.

This is a whole lot of info so I will update more later. It's been a looooong two days for everyone involved. The important thing is that this evening Amaya finally gave us a full real smile something she hadn't done since yesterday morning.

Here are some links to some older posts concerning this subject it starts from the oldest to the most recent. All of these posts were sometime in Nov. and Dec. 2008.
Our Recent Journey
Sunday Updates
More Updates
Our Riley Appointment
Amaya Updates

Riley Update

2009-05-12T15:49:00.002-04:00

We had an appointment for Amaya at Riley almost two weeks ago now. Dr. Engum told us that we would need to schedule another surgery so he can try and figure out what is going on in that little neck of hers. =/

I'm not very happy at this news since this is the THIRD surgery that she has had since Nov. I know in the big scheme of things this is not big but I think about my life and I have NEVER had a surgery and she is just TWO.

Thankfully our insurance should cover everything since Chad just started his new job two weeks ago now so we don't have a whole lot saved up.

Please pray for Amaya for complete healing. This has been one of the most frustrating things I have ever experienced in my life. Probably the most. I want to understand what's going on.

Chad and I both want it to heal up completely without any recurrances. We were just talking the other day about getting a second opinion. When is the right time to do that? How do you do that? Our doc. says, he just doesn't understand what's going on. What we want to say is, "FIGURE IT OUT!!"

"Many are the afflictions of the righteous but the Lord delivers him out of them all." Psalm 34:19

Thank you Lord for your unfailing love. Thank you Lord for your mercy and grace in times of frustration. Thank you that you hold nothing against me. I trust you Lord to deliver me.

Keep Me focused...

2009-04-30T22:04:00.002-04:00

on you Jesus!

Today was one of those days where I was just plain tired. I know when I am tired my mind seems to wonder. I think about so many different things and then it turns negative.

We had another Riley appointment for Amaya today so we got up early. I didn't get to bed until about midnight and then Mak got up around 6 and then didn't go back to sleep like he normally does. Didn't really matter because I knew we were going to be driving soon. Anyway, I got back and almost fell asleep while feeding him. I knew I should take a nap but had 5 loads of laundry to do and dishes and a messy house. If it had just been the dishes and messy house I would have said forget it. Couldn't do that b/c you see we are leaving for Shipshewana tomorrow as soon as Chad gets off work.

Chad has a new job!

2009-04-27T22:42:00.002-04:00

Finally...Chad has a new job. After months of praying and frustrations on my part, he finally has a job. I have to admit that I believed a door would open but my hope was getting thin.

He was called last week to talk with a company he had interviewed with in Dec. That job that he interviewed for at that time was phased out of the company because of budget issues. They told him at that time that he was their #1 candidate and that they would call him if something else came up. It came up and his first day was today. PRAISE GOD!!

When he went to talk with them on Wednesday, they asked him how much he would like (money-wise) and he gave them a range and then came home and told me all about it. =) A few hours later they offered him the job. They salary they offered him was +$5,000 what he had asked for.

What an awesome blessing!! For a while now it's been a struggle financially. When Chad told me about our budget, I got worried because we were short several hundred dollars. I say this because in all the months that we should have fallen short, we never did. God faithfully provided as His word says. We have been faithful in our tithes and offerings. On top of that, we also started giving to our church building fund. (Totally Chad's doing on that part. I definitely did not have the faith for that.) I often have a difficult time when it comes to finances. I worry when I shouldn't! God has always taken care of us....ALWAYS!! We've had two prophetic words given to us about God's favor being on us! That is truly the case with us!!

On Saturday, Chad was mowing and he found lots and lots of mushrooms on the edge of our property...just another way that God's favor is on us. =) It's a little funny to think of finding mushrooms as God's favor but it was a great ending to an already great week.

Days that end in Y - #2

2009-04-06T13:56:00.003-04:00

So I said it was to be continued...here is more.

While I'm so thankful for God's grace in my asking, I want to be more trusting. I want to trust Him and never doubt. I want to be so in tune with Him and always know without any doubt that He is going to take care of us.

I have a difficult time looking at Him without thinking I have to do something.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith
---and this not from yourselves---
it is from God.
Ephesians 2:8

There have been so many times, I beat myself up about what I haven't done, what I'm supposed to be doing. In whom do I put my trust? God asked me simply to believe Him. So many times I'm trying to please man because it makes me look better. Jesus help me please you and you alone in ALL things!

So this weekend, Rod Aguillard gave my husband and I word from the Lord. He said the Lord's FAVOR is surrounding us.

Days that end in Y

2009-04-05T23:16:00.004-04:00

A song by Jeff and Sheri Easter is the inspiration for this blog posting.

So many times over the last months, I've asked God why.
Why has Chad not found a job?
Why are we going to Riley for Amaya?
Why is Amaya's bump (boo boo) on her neck not going away?
Why am I going through these things?

Why Why WHY?

I've often felt guilty for asking why. I thought asking why meant that I didn't really trust God. I thought it made me a bad person - less of a Christian. It's been a battle that I've had a hard time talking about. I am not used to opening up about these things. I have this problem with appearing weak. I often think I shouldn't be feeling this anymore. I should be this way or that...problem is I don't so it's this crazy cycle of negative feelings...condemnation....mistrust. Some of this turned to bitterness because I didn't deal with it.

All along, if I would have just asked God to show me what to do, He would have taken me to Job. This past week, I read a friend's blog and he mentioned a scripture in Job. So I finally went to Job, to the book that is all about loss and a testing. I wanted to see how Job responded to God.

To my surprise, he asked God why all the time in the first 13 chapters that I read. Then yesterday we had a leaders meeting at Church and the speaker, Rod Aguillard, spoke on this subject...one thing he said that really spoke to me.
You can ask God why, just don't charge Him....basically don't blame Him

Wow, how freeing that is. Thank you Jesus for your grace!

Aren't you glad that He waits patiently? I am so glad that He didn't give up on me. He truly loves me so much and He is always waiting with His arms open wide.

To be continued...

Yummy Soup

2009-03-26T12:19:00.003-04:00

This is an excellent recipe. It is actually a Pampered Chef recipe but I've changed a few things along the way. My revisions are along the bottom.

Chicken Posole Verde
1 T Olive Oil
2 Garlic Cloves
1 can White Hominy - drained
2 c. Chicken Broth
1 c. water
1 c. Med Green Enchilada Sauce
1 t. Oregano
2 c. Diced Cooked Chicken
1 c. thinly sliced green cabbage
2 T chopped fresh cilantro
1 lime

In a med. sized pot, saute pressed garlic in olive oil for about 1 min - stir constantly or it will get hard. Add rest of the ingredients to the the pot. You can save the cilantro and cabbage for garnish.

My variations: I don't always have enough chicken broth so I add extra water and some chicken bouillon (chicken base). How much you add depends on how salty you want it. I also add some cilantro as it cooks. I also add about 2 cups cabbage as it cooks and then save some for garnish. Sometimes I add more or less chicken depending on how much I have.

This is one of my favorite soups!!

Just some ramblings....

2009-03-20T10:24:00.001-04:00

Here is my beautiful daughter Amaya smiling at her daddy

Last Thursday during her nap I saw her on the monitor and she was putting her hands inside her diaper and then wiping them on the bed. I was very concerned since there is always a chance that she is what we call "poopy." =) So I had Chad go up there to check. He was making noise and she heard him so she started running to the other end of the crib and by the time he got to her she was completely naked.....LOL. Sooo funny!

Last Thursday night Amaya was crying as I put her to bed saying, "rock-ie a little bit." That's what she says when she wants either Chad or I to rock her more. Usually when we put her to bed she has already been rocked so tonight was no different. I gave her a "talking to" and told her that Mommy and Daddy go to bed just like Amaya. She said with her big tear filled eyes and voice, "and Makiyah." So I said yes and she actually went to bed without a big fuss. Lately it's been more of a challenge but she's always fallen asleep on her own. After I told her that we went to bed too she actually seemed to understand. Again I'm amazed at my daughter...and yes Samaria, "she's pretty smart, I must say." =)

Wednesday a week ago we had a great couples life group. The discussion was about fighting fair. We talked about things that have worked for us and things that haven't worked so well. It made me think about how I deal with an argument. I often shut down and don't say anything. Growing up there was no room for discussion in the arguments I saw. I really don't like to argue so I would rather say nothing. It doesn't mean I'm not angry or mad inside, it just means I don't express it. A few weeks ago, I was praying and the Lord told me I need to "speak more." I know this is so true. I pray that God helps me to open up and talk more to express myself better. I have so many thoughts on the inside of me. God made me this way and it's ok. I have to tell myself this over and over.

Pastor David reminded me of my ring story....if you've never heard it, let me know and I'll post something about it. It has to do with an argument Chad and I had shortly after we were married. It's pretty crazy.

Proud Papa

2009-03-16T14:35:00.003-04:00

...that's what I think God is when we realize (with joy) that only God could have caused a situation to turn out a certain way. He looks down on us like a PROUD PAPA because He sees our joy and happiness.
The inspiration for this blog post comes from a friend who sent an email to me today. It came through facebook and totally made my day. The subject of the email was 'From Death to Life.' In the email was a story of how the doctor wanted them to schedule a DNC (scraping the uterus) because he was sure their baby had died. Instead the parents requested an ultrasound...and what did they see? A beating heart. Oh and the story does not end there...that baby with the beating heart in the ultrasound is now a healthy 5 day old. All of the above took place last summer.

As I was reading that email, I just thought of how God must have been looking down at that moment and just smiled like a proud papa does when something happens that his kids really like.
Even as I write that it doesn't seem to do justice to the way He feels about us.
I love that she sent me that email because even as I'm sitting here typing this, I feel His overwhelming love for me!!
God loves me...He loves me....He loves me....HE LOVES ME!!

Thank you Jesus for dying on the cross so that I can "feel" that love anytime I want. Thank you Jesus for being totally selfless and willing!

I pray that you have moments like this today, that you have moments when you can feel His overwhelming love for you! I pray that you feel that love right now!

Good-bye Goober

2009-03-12T22:11:00.003-04:00

This past week our outside dog Goober went to doggie heaven. On Tuesday morning Chad was out and about with Amaya and I was at home when our neighbor called to let us know that Goober had died and was outside his house. She liked to go over there at night since his renter liked to let her inside. We still don't know what happened. It could simply be old age. Chad said he thought she was about 15 years old. Here is a pic of her about 5 weeks ago with Chad and Amaya in the last big snow storm we had. I wasn't that attached to her but I am sad that she is no longer around. She's been around ever since I've known Chad and it was always nice to see her when I got home at night. I also found comfort knowing that she chased the coyotes away. She was also great with Amaya and other kids. I'm finding that I do miss her.

Cute Sayings by Amaya

2009-03-07T19:14:00.005-05:00

1. "Whoa...what was dat?"
She said this after we went over a little hill in the van. Must have tickled her belly.

2. "No daddy that's my potty."
This is what she said to Chad when he was sitting on the toilet. LOL

3. ""No Zinger that's my too-ooys (toys)."
We were at Chad's grandmothers's house and her dog was smelling her little stroller with her dolls in it and she wanted to let him know that they were her things.

4. "Barack Omama...Yay"
I have to set this one up for you. On the day of his inauguration, we were listening to a talk show pretty much all afternoon where they were talking about him. (Chad and I hadn't talked about him much so she never heard us say his name.) I had a doctor appointment so we were in the car listening to another talk show when all of a sudden she said, "Barak Omama." It was so funny and totally out of the blue. Obviously she can't say it quite correctly adding to the humor of it. Later that night we were watching TV and they must have said his name because all of sudden she said the above phrase. We laughed so hard.

5. "Amaya Kaylan Bolltors"
Yep yep she knows her full name...can't quite pronounce her last name yet but it's not exactly Smith ya know. =)

6. "Makiyah Lane Bolltors"
And she knows her brother's name too.

7. "He's eating"
This phrase started almost the day we brought Mak home from the hospital. Everytime I start to feed Mak, she says it with a shake of her head..it's quite cute.

8. "See you in the mo'nin"
Every night when we tuck her in bed, we tell her, "we'll see you in the morning." One day she was playing with her baby dolls and her baby doll pack and play and she put (more like threw) her baby doll in the pack and play and said, "see you in the mo'nin"

9. "Turn off the moon"
She calls the light in her room the moon. So every night after we tuck her in, she says this.

10. "I drink all my milk"
This one isn't so cute but it is the first full sentence that she said.

11. "Good Job Amaya"
We use this phrase a lot - (positive reinforcement) so she started saying it when she accomplished something or said something that she felt was good. =)

I can hardly believe I have a little girl saying sentences. Time flies so fast. I look at her and I'm totally amazed at her. God has blessed us so much!! One day you have a baby that says a lot of things in mumbo jumbo fashion and the next you have a toddler that is saying sentences.
I hope you all enjoy a good laugh because I do every time I think about these!

Update on Amaya

2009-03-07T18:31:00.003-05:00

I posted Thursday about starting Amaya on antibiotics. On Friday the lump under her skin in her neck had grown so after talking to our doc at Riley we decided to go see him on Friday. He was perplexed as to why it had returned this time because he had completely tied off the tract that was supposedly causing the lumps or cysts in the first place.
He stuck a needle in the lump to see if he could draw any puss or fluid out. Nothing came out which is good. He explained that the tissue was just inflamed - causing the lump. He also noticed what looked like one of the stitches poking through the skin. They were supposed to dissolve but didn't so that is potentially what the infection is from....which would mean that it's not same thing as before...Praise God!

It is good to hear some potentially good news (meaning it's not the same as the original infection).
Have you ever wondered when you're finally going to get some good news about a situation? It can be trying at times.

So many things...

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

Amaya had surgery for the second time at the end of January. Tonight Chad and I both noticed that the surgery scar had a bump under it. Bumps are why she had surgery in the beginning. Right now I'm frustrated and a little concerned that it seems to be returning again. If you are reading this, please pray for my little girl...we appreciate it!
I'm tired of giving her antibiotics.

So this week has been a week of not getting stuff done.
Yesterday I started washing dishes. When I was almost done, it was time to feed Mak. So I never drained the water.
Monday, I went to Walmart to get some ingredients to make soup on Tuesday. I still have not made the soup. The soup requires a lot of chopping and cutting up so it takes time and I still have not made it.
I started clearing off my huge kitchen counter...it gets cluttered again before I'm even halfway done.
Tonight I started washing dishes and well the water is still there. I had Mak in a carrier the entire time and was doing a little "go to sleep dance."
There's a ton of laundry in our bedroom needing to be folded....

....this post is halfway done and guess what? Baby Mak needs me

Ever have one of this weeks? Whew....

Here's the most recent pic of our little man.

Makiyah Lane Bollhorst

2009-02-22T21:10:00.003-05:00

Our family with Grandma

He is the reason that I have not been posting for so long. I have just a few minutes before Amaya goes to bed so I thought I would try to post a few lines.

Me and baby Mak the day after he was born

So Makiyah birth was definitely less stressful than Amaya's. When we brought him home from the hospital the first two days were pretty good but after that we had some more stressful times.
There were a few nights that he cried for several HOURS not just minutes. It was quite different than Amaya. I remember just one time that Amaya cried like that and it was for about 1/2 hour. So it was stressful but in the words of Dora the Explorer, "WE DID IT."
Last week for 4 nights straight he slept between 3 1/2 hours to 5 hours straight. As you can see from my previous post that's a big deal....REALLY!! All of you new moms and dads out there understand this.

Here are some pictures from the past 4 weeks. He's 4 weeks old already! I can't believe how time flies. Ok so I was going to post more but duty calls....

More pics...

Life with baby Mak

2009-02-21T20:48:00.002-05:00

This says it all. =)

Update on Amaya....again

2009-01-18T19:10:00.005-05:00

My last prego picture before baby.

Amaya kissing "Baby Sky" a week before he came. I was almost 37 1/2 weeks.

I wrote this post a while ago and just now got around to finishing it (Feb 22). Since this post the infection that I wrote about below never fully healed and came back again the same day Makiyah was born. Amaya had the second surgery 4 days after the birth of Mak. Hopefully this has taken care of all these infections!!
Chad is still looking for a job but for now he's doing what I did before the baby was born.

Let me just begin to say, Praise God for His faithfulness. I believe in thankfulness and I'll start with that. This week, I was reading some scripture that really blessed me. I've for the longest time had a scripture in my head that was not very uplifting. With everything that's been going on, I haven't been thinking a lot of positive thoughts: The scripture was "hope deferred makes the heart sick." I've at times felt sick b/c I'm trying to figure out what is going on. It's felt at time as if God has left us high and dry...I know in my heart that this is not true. I know He is always near and always taking care of us...there are times, when He is a little more hidden. This is definitely one of those times.

Here is the scripture I was reading this past week (way more uplifting and encouraging to me):

It's been a trying past few months to say the least. When Chad was given the opportunity to find a "full-time" job outside the church, we were excited. For me that excitement has waned quite a bit as the job searching has turned up empty handed. We seen about 20 letters of "I'm sorry, we've hired someone else for this position. We wish you the best as you continue your job search." It's nice that they sent a letter but it is quite disheartening to get all these letters. Chad then applied for a position that he actually would have gotten but since all this stuff has been happening with the economy they have phased out the position at this time.
Anyway, then in Nov. Amaya had that infection and surgery at Riley. It healed up nicely and we thought all was well until just a few days before Christmas the infection came back again. It healed up again and we even had an appointment at Riley just this past Thursday. Everything was fine at that time, Dr. Engum gave us some plans if it should come back again. We didn't think much of it, thinking it might come back after a while not so soon (aka last night). Chad was giving Amaya a bath and she protested as he washed her neck and there it was again, "signs of infection." Thankfully Dr Engum was "on call" last night and we were able to talk directly with him. He put her on another antibiotic.
Right now the infection has come to a head and is ready to drain again, a not so fun process for Amaya. She pretty much cries as we put a salt-water warm compress on it so that it opens up.
It's been so frustrating to watch her go through all the painful processes. It's also frustrating that our baby boy is due in just 2 weeks and now sometime in those weeks she is supposed to have another surgery. I'm not sure at this time all the details of this surgery so I will post later.

Your prayers would be greatly appreciated as we prepare for this new baby and another surgery for Amaya (hopefully the last one). I've been trying to find a way that Amaya will be able to stay at our house during the time the baby comes and we are in the hospital. It's been a little stressful thinking about it and now on top of it, she'll just have had surgery unless this little on is born before Amaya has it.

We don't know the actual date of the surgery since the doctor wants the antibiotics to be fully in her system before, he schedules it. He wants the area to heal so that it is not full of infection when he does the surgery.