Happy Birthday Tyler!!

Today was Tyler's Birthday. He turned 4yrs old today. Hard to believe...last time I looked, he was still my baby TyTy.

He had quite a social little day today. He had many phone calls wishing him a Happy Birthday. Then he was picked up for lunch by his Nana, his choice of places for lunch??? Uno Chicago Grill. What a Tyler choice, only my sweet boy would choose a place like that. He then went to see Aunt Laurie at her work. He thought that was pretty special. Being the only one to go see Aunt Laurie.

My only regret is that I didn't take a picture of him today...

Until tomorrow...
Blessings!

Good Sport

These last few weeks, it has been really fun watching Jillian (Yes, another post on her) start changing into more of a Daddy's girl than a Mommy's girl. She has started to realize what the boys have known for a long time...Daddy is more fun than Mommy.

Most of the time when I am playing with the kids I try and make it a good learning experience. With Daddy, it's all about fun. He picks them up and throws them on the couch (even Jilli). He chases them around and around. He lets them beat on him (it's a rule that the boys can't beat on Mommy b/c I'm a girl). He will lay on the floor and be a JungleGym. All Jilli has to say is "You can't get me" and it's off and running. The boys just have to pull out their lightsabers and the battle is on. Daddy is much more fun than Mommy! Daddy even lets Jilli fill his pockets up with lots of fun kitchen utensils (we did put our foot down when she picked up a 6 in knife still in it's holder and tried to put that in Kevin's pocket).

Blessings!

It's a Girl Thing

Maybe it's a girl thing, but Jilli loves to read! The boys have always enjoyed it, but if given a choice between reading and slaying bad guys, of course they are going into battle!

Sunday, was a wonderfully relaxing day. We had an AWESOME message at church (like always), came home, ate lunch that the neighbors provided (see Leisa you made my blog, your famous!) and relaxed for the rest of the day. The boys watched their favorite movie (Star Wars) then battled each other the rest of the afternoon. But Jilli, pulled a chair over to the books, climbed up on it and read books to herself.

She is also VERY verbal. Micah was too at her age, but she likes to use BIG words. Sunday night, when I had made dinner Jilli was eating it and said (out of the blue) "Mmmm, I like this Mommy it's DELICIOUS!" Kevin and I both busted out laughing! A 2 1/2yr old telling me the food was delicious (by the way the food was delicious). She also says things like "that was totally awesome" and "that was wonderful". She just amazes me with what she says. For a baby that wasn't supposed to make it.....what a miracle.

Blessings!

Splish...Splash...

Yesterday while listening to one of my favorite talk programs (Family Life Today), They were talking about...When you ask God to give you patience, watch out, here comes trials because the only way to learn patience is though perseverance and the only way you persevere is through trials. Now, it would have been helpful if they told me this at 7:30am instead of 12:00pm because I had already, unknowingly, prayed that God would give me patience!

We started the day just like any other, up before the sun. The kids were on their stools wanting breakfast. I was more than happy to give them their cereal since I didn't want a repeat of the day before. I gave them all their cereal (Jilli wanted hers without milk). Since my daughter chose to go without the milk, I felt it safe to go change laundry loads (my washer and dryer are 10 feet from my kitchen). The next thing I hear is "Mommy, Jillian made a mess!" I thought, well the worst she could do is dump her dry cereal on the floor. WRONG! Tyler got off his stool to go to the bathroom and while he was away from his post, Jilli took it upon herself to steel his cereal (with milk). When Tyler got back (1 min later) and saw that she took his cereal he told her to give it back....If Jilli can't have it, than no one should have it....

The only reason my daughter is still with me today is because God taught me a valuable lesson. When angry, grab your camera. I know that sounds crazy, but I can't spank her with my camera in my hand, I won't throw my camera or even place it down firmly because I'm angry. I am gentle with it, I know how much it costs to replace it, I also know how fragile it is.

My daughter was bought for a price too, Jesus gave his LIFE for her (that's way more expensive than my camera) and I can't replace her, like I can a camera. So why do I treat my camera with more care? I think one reason is that my camera listen and obeys me the first time. Oh, I know there is the occasional outburst, when I ask it to do something it can't, so everything just shuts down. But for the most part it doesn't spill milk, but is also doesn't give me hugs and kisses. When ever I get upset about something that happened, I am now grabbing my camera to remind me that NOTHING is more important or valuable than my children.

Back to the patience thing....God decided to see if I had learned my lesson and he sent me another trial...meet Tyler's mess. What do you think I did??? There is a picture isn't there?

Blessings!

PS...Jilli did get disciplined, but not out of anger!

Crunch...Crunch...

Yesterday morning was one of those mornings that you feel like you are running in circles and get nothing accomplished.

All three kids had just gotten up and were watching their favorite TV show, so I thought that I could run up and take a quick shower. I came downstairs 10 min later to discover that my children had gotten hungry. I walked into the kitchen and crunch...crunch, I stopped not sure what I had stepped on. I had JUST vacuumed and mopped the floors! I looked down and I couldn't see anything.....then I looked at the counter top and realized what I was stepping on. Cinnamon sugar. My children had gotten out bagels, butter (a new tub which they CUT off the seal on top), butter knives, plates and Cinnamon sugar. They toasted the bagels put on the butter (way too much for human consumption, in my opinion...my husband and Father-In-Law might disagree with me though), then dumped (I mean sprinkled) the Cinnamon sugar all over the bagels....and floor. After they created their masterpieces they carried them to the table to eat. Yup, you guessed it the trail of sugar followed them.

Have you ever tried to clean up Cinnamon sugar?? It is like sand, it gets everywhere, but it has an element that sand does not...it's sticky when wet!! So I went to task of cleaning up the sticky crunchy mess. After it was all cleaned up I decided it would be a good day to get them outside to wear off some of their creative energy.

We had a lot of fun playing in the snow. We made a snow fort (in the side of a huge snow pile). We tried to sled, but the snow was too deep and fluffy. After about 2 1/2 hours of playing we decided to come inside. The kids came in first and I cleaned up the snow from off the sidewalk that we had knocked down while playing ( a pet peeve of my husband....snow on sidewalks especially when he has just cleaned them off). I came in about 10 min later, took off my snow clothes, put on my slippers, walked into the kitchen.........crunch...crunch, I stopped, not sure what I had just stepped on. I had JUST vacuumed and mopped the floors (again)! I looked down and didn't see anything....then I looked at the counter top and realized what I was stepping on. Hot chocolate mix.

Have any of you ever cleaned up hot chocolate mix?? It's like sand, it gets everywhere, but it has an element that sand does not... it's sticky when wet!! So I went to task on cleaning up the sticky crunchy mess.

I know, I know, some of you will probably say, you shouldn't have left them alone, even for 10 min. Which is true in theory, but all you mother's out there know that you can not supervise your children ALL the time. You would NEVER get anything done! Or maybe some of you do supervise your kids all the time and DO get stuff done, my hats are off to you, but I have a long range goal in mind. I WANT my children to take more responsibility, and do more things for themselves. They have their "jobs" that they have to do and no they don't do them just like me. Towels are folded the "wrong" way, but I still put them away just as they were folded. They usually miss a corner when dusting and when cleaning the bathroom, the faucet usually is streaked instead of spit shined like how I do it. When they put their clothes away the shirts are all cattywompus (remember that word Lauren??) in their drawers. But they are learning responsibility. So If I have an occasional mess that needs to be cleaned up, because they were showing initiative, then that's what I get and at the end of the day, if I look like Tyler, that's why...I vacuumed and mopped (three times) did laundry, dusted, washed some windows, did ,school, cleaned the kitchen (three times), made dinner, went grocery shopping, edited some pictures, made reservations for Great Wolf Lodge....then went to bed.

(Jen, I can write long blogs like you :-)

Blessings!

New Every Morning

"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed. For HIS COMPASSIONS never fail. They are NEW EVERY MORNING; Great is your faithfullnes." Lamintations 3:22-23

I can't tell you how thankful I am for new mornings. This morning with all the new beautiful snow, covering all the old dirty snow, it makes a new and fresh begining. A new day to try and be the kind of wife, mother and teacher that God called me to be. But it doesn't take long before I start to fail.

This morning I had two little boys standing at the side of my bed at 5:17am. One fell out of bed, and one got scared because the other one fell out of bed. So, in the bed they climb....then at 6:02am I had a little girl that started crying for me and the first thing I did was start to grumble about "why can't my children sleep in"... Then that 'still small voice' spoke and said "Lyn, why are you grumbling about the gifts I gave you? It's a new morning, don't give Satan a foothold by grumbling and complaining." BUSTED! I wasn't even out of my room and I was already sinning! That is why I love new mornings and freshly fallen snow. A new beginning a fresh start.

At 6:10am Kevin decided to get up and clear the driveway and side walks (dedication!), Micah was up and jumping into his arms wanting to go downstairs. Not long after Tyler and Jilli were standing up saying "I want to go downstairs Mommy", so at 6:20am this is what it looked like inside my warm house...

I decided that I should brave the cold in my PJ's, jacket and Kevin's shoes to take a picture of what it looked like outside at 6:20am (this is for all you who have kids that sleep in, or don't have to get out of bed before the sun gets up). Thank you Jesus for new mornings and freshly fallen snow (Yes, Jen R. I just thanked Jesus for snow:-)

Blessings!

Brrrrrr...

Saturday morning Kevin headed out to shovel the snow. Micah was quick to throw his snow clothes on to go help Daddy. Then Jillian figured out what was going on and she had to go out to "help Daddy too". I turned to my fair weather son Tyler and asked if he too would like to go outside. He said "no way Mommy, it's way too cold today". 3 minutes later, Micah was back inside saying it was too cold to help Daddy. I thought for sure the little girl would be in shortly after....I was wrong. That little stinker stayed outside helping Daddy until he was done shoveling. Jilli just showed up her two big brothers!! Look out boys, this little spitfire is tough!

Blessings!

just a few more...

Here are some of my other favorites from yesterday...

Sibling Love

It's not often that I can capture a picture with ALL THREE kids. They seem to sense when my camera comes out...they scatter. Lately I have been keeping my "little camera and lens" in the cupboard so that I can grab it at a moments notice, just in case they are all in one place at the same time. Yesterday was on of those moments. The kids were all playing in the living room having a great time. Then they were all playing on one of the chairs, so I saw my chance, grabbed my camera, and nicely told them to look at Mommy and this is what I got. I am pretty happy with the results!

Blessings!

Flash back...

I didn't take any pictures today...so I'm going deep and I am going to tell you about our camping trip in Oct. I don't think Kev and I will EVER forget it.

Kevin took a week off of work to go camping. This was our first family vacation all year. The kids were so excited that Daddy was coming with us this time and we ALL ended up with the flu! To top it off a very sneaky mouse ended up running loose in the trailer! I was laying in bed one night (at 3 am) and heard this crackle sound. Then I heard this crunching sound, so I did what every good wife would do... I woke up Kevin to have him investigate. The critter was up in the cupboard with all of our food. Kevin slowly opened the door and we saw the cheese curl bag had been ripped opened. We thought that we had him! so Kevin did what every good husband would do...he told me to pick up the bag and throw it out the door. I very quickly threw that bag out the opened door and Kevin followed swiftly behind it with a pan beating that poor little beast to it's demise. We very quickly discovered that the only thing we succeeded at was waking up our neighbors (with Kevin's quiet beatings). That sly little mouse managed to stay aloof for another 36 hours before life got a little sticky for him :-) The picture is of Kev and Jilli flying in an airplane together at the Airzoo...the only day we were not sick!

Blessings!

School

Today as part of our school, the boys baked muffins. We had a lot of fun (and mess), but it is a VERY easy recipe so Micah can read it and the boys can mix it together all by themselves. With just a little help (with the oven) we had wonderful muffins for after supper tonight.

Speakin of supper. My husband put together a wonderful meal for us tonight. I had to run to the store and by the time I got home he had everything ready to go and on on the table. He was so proud of the presentation of the bread I just had to take a picture of the bread.

Muffin recipe

1 box cake mix (doesn't matter what kind or flavor)

1 can pumpkin pie filling

That's it. Mix it together (no water or eggs) You can put whatever you want, like choc chips, brown sugar, raisins....into it and follow the cake box for cooking directions. The muffins are very moist. I am not a big pumpkin fan, but with some cake flavors I can't even taste it (sorry I didn't take pictures of the final product). Enjoy!

Blessings!

Slacker Blogger

I know that I have been slacking this past weekend. My sister and I have been working hard at putting together a "family vacation". When I say family vacation I mean my whole family. There would be 12 of us going. Hopefully it will all work out, because my children have now caught on to what I am doing. They are getting excited and talking like we are leaving tomorrow. Jillian saw the picture of the swimming pool (with diving board and slide) and said "Oh my, that is the perfect size for me". How funny! Then they saw a picture of the indoor hot tub and said, "Mommy, how can we play in that pool if we aren't allowed to splash?" The things they think of! Jillian was so excited she put her boots and Jacket on and said "let's go to the swimming pool." I had to tell her that we couldn't go right now and she got very upset. (In the picture she doesn't have any pants on because she is potty training right now, there is a pull-up on though.) It's going to be a long 6 months if they don't forget about the family vacation!

Blessings!

FRUSTRATED

I was planning on posting again tonight with new pictures fresh off the camera, but my my computer is ACTING UP AGAIN!! I can not get any pictures off my memory card. This is what started happening the last time my hard drive crashed on me. Hopefully it will decide to work tomorrow...if not, it's going through a window!

Missing Nala

In August we received a beautiful gift....a rottie carved out of a tree trunk which we lovingly named, wood Nala. Since the passing of our beloved Nala in November this "wood Nala" has taken a special place in our hearts. Kevin once joked with me that when I was missing Nala (which is all the time) to just go pet the wood Nala. What he didn't know is that secretly, I had already tried that, but wood Nala was too rough and I was afraid of getting slivers.

Yesterday I was coming down the stairs to find Jilli ON wood Nala. This is the first time she has done this. When asked what she was doing, she said "riding my Nala". You see, when Nala was still alive, Jilli would walk up behind her and hold on to her neck and tell me she was riding Nala. I guess even though the kids don't say it, they are still missing her too.

Blessings!

Do you ever wonder what they are thinking??

There are times when I sit back and wonder....what are my children thinking. Yesterday was one of those days. I have one child in particular that keeps me in the dark about the workings of his mind. When asked what he is thinking, he turns on his beautiful smile and just starts laughing. All children are special in their own way and each one has their own special components, but I just can't figure Tyler out and honestly I think he plans it that way. So if any of you have any ideas as to what my beautiful child was thinking when I snapped this picture, please enlighten me!

Blessings!

Help Me Up Daddy!

Children are so inventive and I am blessed to see it everyday. Yesterday all three boys were sitting on the couch. Daddy reading the newspaper and the boys each playing a computer. Jilli, being the typical girl, wanted to see what Tyler was doing. She couldn't get "high enough" too see the computer screen. So what does she do....she uses what is available...Daddy's feet.

Blessings!

Indoor Sledding

What do you do when it's 50 degrees and raining in January?? You go sledding. Thanks to Tyler we now have a new winter sport in our house. I tried to take some pictures of Tyler doing his new sport, but the kid goes down so fast MY CAMERA had a hard time focusing.

Do you remember this saying...."It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt". Well, my flying Tyler did get hurt. Poor kid was going to fast he went sideways and smacked his head on the banister. Good news...he is fine, bad news...no more step-sledding... We will have to come up with another (safer) indoor sport.

Blessings!

Nastalgia

I can still remember the first time I met Barber Bob. Kevin had never allowed me to meet the man that had cut his hair since he was a very little boy. It was his secret place, but one day he decided to take me with, to get his haircut. We probably had been married for about 5 yrs!!! Fast forward 5yrs....Kevin now takes his sons, like his Dad took him and his brother. As I sit listening to Barber Bob and Kevin talk, it strikes me how much life changes...yet stays the same.

The chairs the boys sit in are about 60 years old, the twirly red, blue, and white "sign" still spins outside the door. Men line up to have their hair cut. Barber Bob still takes this leather strap and slaps his STRAIGHT RAZOR against it before he shaves a mans neck/face (yes, he still trims facial hair!) The first time I saw him do that I just about came out of my chair! Yet, here we are three generations later. Now instead of Kevin, Chris (Kev's brother) and Kevin's Dad, you have Micah,Tyler and Kevin.

So sweet and sad because Barber Bob will more than likely be done cutting hair before my boys have boys.

Thank You Barber Bob for the walk down memory lane!

By the way...can you tell which one of the boys loves to get his haircut and which one doesn't??

Blessings!

New Years Eve

It always amazes me how much life changes when you have children. It used to be that we would get together with a whole group of friends, play cards and see who could have the first fart of the new year (did I just write that?)....now with kids it is totally changed.

Did we get to see the ball drop?? NO, Strawberry Shortcake was the viewing of choice. Hard to believe that 3 boys sat on the couch transfixed by it. Playing cards All night?? Not on your life...we only got to play two games. The only thing that was the same was the company (minus 3 couples, plus 5 kids). I guess that wasn't even the same...Oh well, we had a great time. All the kids but Jillian made it to see the New Year (horrible parents we know). Hopefully you all had a wonderful New Years!

Blessings!