Warning - sad little video

We've been in the house for WAY too long, so I have lots to blog about it seems ;). Here's Noah last night. Stir crazy and I think his meds are making him very emotional. He said he wants his life to be different because he's been so sick. So sad! After this video he asked me if I was his real mother.What? He needed some snuggle time and some warm cookies out of the oven. It made all the difference. We're praying for some better days in the O house, the sooner the better!!

Uncovering some hidden blessings

We've been really sick in this house for a few weeks, the worst of it being this week, and Noah has been the sickest. Yesterday I decided to start putting away my Christmas decorations because I was going stir crazy. As I was looking for a spot to put my decorations I remembered a little door in the boys' closets. The door is so tiny I didn't give the space behind it much thought until I looked in.

Yay! What a treasure! I can get all my trees, decorations, and lots more. This was SUCH a blessing to me yesterday, because I really feel better emotionally when my house is not cluttered.


As I was starting to take down the decorations, Noah wanted to help. He's been feeling rotten and he was getting bored. I really did not want to let him help me though. I had a technique, I wanted everything wrapped carefully, and I wanted to selfishly do a task by myself because I had not had any "ME" time. But the little guy was so persistent, and he was so good at spotting just the ornament I was looking for. He carefully handed me tissue paper as soon as I needed it. He helped me carry the boxes of decorations up the stairs. Some were incredibly heavy, like the big tree box, and I really don't know if I would have gotten it up the stairs had he not been so persistent on the tail end pushing with his whole body. I did not ask him to do all that, I didn't want him to do it, but he did it so cheerfully and wouldn't take no for an answer. Once we got that big tree box upstairs I couldn't get it through that little tiny door for anything. I was so frustrated and disappointed because that space was so valuable. Noah kept trying to help and I kept saying, "stand back, you're in my way, I can do this!!". Finally, he says to me, "Um, mommy, why don't you try to turn this box this way" and he used all his energy and I rolled my eyes but helped him....and it fit....perfectly. Gosh I was humbled by his brains and his spirit and I couldn't stop praising him for all his hard work, help, and sheer genius in getting that box through that little hole!! Putting away decorations was so much easier with his help. really, a five year old made THAT much of a difference. He was so proud of himself and it just brightened his face, his mood, and he so needed that time with me to be helpful.

I couldn't help but think about our relationship with God. How many times does He want to cheerfully and eagerly lighten our load, ease our burdens, cleanse our sins, show us the better way? And how many times do we (I'm really speaking of me here), just want to handle it all on our own. WE know the better way, we can handle all the burdens, WE can fix the problems ourselves. We don't need that sin taken away because we need that ME time and don't want to change that. But God is ready, cheerfully, waiting for us to use Him.... to spend that time with us, and have His moment to be proud that He could help us. Thank you, God, for teaching me a powerful lesson through my child. God knows how to reach us, we just have to be moldable to those teachable moments!!

He's 4 and he loves to sing :)

I've never tried to post a video on blogger before so hopefully it works!! Today is Nathan's actual birthday, and I thought I would post a video of him at this age. Here's the words to his song, "When something's really scary, don't try it all at once, try it little, little, little!!!". He sings this when he's in his bed at night sometimes. So cute!! I love him at this age and I'm so thankful he let me capture his song on video. :)

Natey turns 4!!

Well, he doesn't actually turn 4 until Dec. 28th, but we were able to celebrate this past weekend with him. We had an early party because we wanted to make sure he could have all his little friends there, and we were even blessed to have my mom and dad, sister, and wonder twins attending! We had a blast at Udderly Delicious, a combination ice cream shop/miniature golf spot. It was all indoors, no one got hurt, I think it was a success.

When it got time for Nathan to blow out his candles, I just randomly gave my friend April my camera and told her to start taking pictures. I'm not sure why I did that, but I am so glad I did because she took some really great pictures!! I've included a few that really captured the excitement of blowing out a candle and devouring a cupcake. I LOVE these!

 Just a few things I love about our Nathan at this age...
1. He still likes to cuddle. He's not squirmy when he does it, he collapses his whole body into yours and will sit so contently. These times are getting fewer but I cherish each time he does it!
2. He's starting to behave better. The terrible twos that really travel into age 3 are starting to fade and he is starting to mature, be caring and sensitive about things. He's not always perfect, but it is easier to discipline now and I feel like he tries harder to listen and behave.
3. He's personality is just lovable. He's interested in whomever he's talking to, what they are wearing, what they are doing, he's sociable and personable.
4. He wake ups cheerful often singing at the top of his lungs. He loves to sing, but only if no one is watching him. If he catches you watching, he will ask you to look away so he can continue!
5. He loves his brother and they really do love and look out for each other. He is protective of Noah and misses him terribly when he's away.
6. He doesn't eat much, but when he finds something he likes, he devours it!! Kind of like the cupcake above!

I really could go on and on. We love our little Natey and are so thankful to have 4 sweet years with him! I can't wait for the years ahead and I know he will fill our lives with joy and laughter! Love you, Natey Mouse!!

Little friend party

Last Friday the boys invited their little friends over for a movie night. They were all so cute it was almost too much for me to handle. Above they are sitting on the couch watching one of the movies. No, they didn't stay there long, there was too much to see and do when you are ages 2-5!

My dream came true at dinner time. When we decided to build this house, I wanted one thing for the kitchen. I did not want a formal dining room, I wanted a place where I could have a big table where we could be ourselves, messes and all, and laugh and enjoy each other. I wanted plenty of seats so we could have lots of friends over.

One of the movies we watched was Polar Express. There's a fun scene in it where all the kids get hot cocoa so I thought it would be fun for us to mix up a batch up homemade cocoa mix. We learned about measurements/simple math and each little boy got to dump a special ingredient in. They also had to use their biggest muscles as each took a turn to mix up the massive batch of hot chocolate mix. They had so much fun and kept say, "my turn! my turn!!".  Sorry about the fuzzy nature of the pics, Eric had greasy pizza fingers!

After we mixed it up, we traveled back to the basement to finish watching movies....and drink hot cocoa of course!! Things taste so much better when you make it yourself. We had fancy little cups, and we spilled it all over the place, but it was so FUN!! I just love these little guys. I'm so thankful that their sweet parents let them come over for a memorable evening full of laughs. The two best parts....my heart was so full by the end of the night, and my boys slept like rocks they were so exhausted!! Can't wait to do it again!!

Catching up...

Sorry it has been so long since I have posted!!

Here's a new lady in Noah's life. She's sweet, she's young, and she's Noah's new speech therapist. I was really bummed about him having to restart speech therapy all over again. His previous therapist had released him, but his pediatrician felt like he would benefit from restarting. I was really worried about telling Noah that his evaluation didn't go so well and he would need to restart weekly visits. As I was struggling with this in my head on the way to the car after the test, Noah blurts out (as if he was reading my worry thoughts and rushing to put them at ease), "Wow Mommy, Ms. Kristy was SO nice!! I would love to come back and visit her again!!". I was so relieved! I told him not only could we come back and see her again, we would be doing it every Thurs.! He was so thrilled like he had won the lottery. Getting to sit to talk to an attentive and kind young lady...yep, you couldn't ask for anything better for Noah. I'm thankful for his positive spin...if he's happy, I'm happy!!

Book Review - Patsy Clairmont's Stained Glass Hearts

As part of my deal with Booksneeze, I am producing a book review for the book I received for free through them. Thank you Booksneeze! Here it goes...my first book report since college. Hopefully I will get better at doing these!

Stained Glass Hearts by Patsy Clairmont is very open and honest look at some of Patsy’s life journeys. Some are funny, shocking, and most are inspirational. Patsy is a well know Christian author and speaker who can be seen most often at the Women of Faith Conferences…which are incredible conferences by the way.

I have a very hard time reading books that are non-fiction, autobiographical type. I am a very quick speed reader if it is fiction and can devour books in a matter of hours if the book holds my interest. This book was a little slow for me, but I found it interesting nonetheless. Patsy was very raw in some parts discussing some of her struggles with agoraphobia (the fear of leaving your house). This especially hit home with me since I may have had a minor case myself when my oldest was a baby (sometimes not leaving the house for weeks at a time). I was also shocked at her brutal honesty of how selfish she was especially in her marriage. I think it was important though for her to include that so you could see how God transformed her and molded her into the woman she is today. We are all flawed, and all come from places where we need refinement (Romans 3:23 "We all fall short of the glory of God"). I appreciated that reminder. She had lots of other life stories that helped shape her, some were a little difficult to follow, but it was nice to read about how God has graced this woman’s life. One of the things I did really enjoy was the music, scripture, and poetry suggestions to go along with each chapter. I thought that was a unique way to get into her mindset. Overall I would recommend this book.  Disclosure in accordance with FTC: I received this book free from the publisher through a blogger program. I was not required to write a positive review and these opinions are mine.

I'm looking forward to my next book! Maybe a fiction one!

Disney or Bust!!!

Bags are packed, schedules have been made, ghetto sign announcing "Disney or Bust" has been created and hung!! Let the MAGIC begin!!! I will update stories and photos when we return. :)

Favorites List

Since this is the first week of kindergarten I thought I would share our "Favorites List". This is a little game I have been playing with Noah to try and get some information out of him from school. He tells me his favorite thing about his day, the next favorite, and so on, until he gets to his least favorite. For each on his list he would tell me a little story about each.

Noah's List from the first day (please note how ready he is to go to school...so excited!)
1. Most favorite - Snack time (this is no surprise because he LOVES to eat!)
2. Next favorite - Recess in the gym
3. Least favorite - Story time (my guess because he had to sit still)

2nd Day Favorites List

1. Recess at the playground
2. Snack time
3. Least favorite: Could not think of one. He said he loved everything he did. Yay!

My Favorites List for this week
1. Most favorite: Seeing the love that Noah and Nathan have for each other. Noah has worried about Nathan all week and really just loved on him in such a sweet way. I did not tell Noah this, but Nathan has been so sad without Noah here. The first day he did not move from the couch the entire time Noah was gone. He just held on to his blanket and watched TV. The second day he probably asked for Noah 400 times. He followed me around like a lost puppy dog and just wouldn't play with anything! If Noah knew how sad Nathan had been, he wouldn't be able to enjoy school.  He just cares that much about people, that he would rather miss out than know that someone is upset because of him.
2. Next favorite: Seeing how much Noah is enjoying himself. I love seeing the sparkle in his eye when he talks about school and the spring in his step as he is getting ready to go. He LOVES it and it makes the transition so much better for me knowing that he is happy.
3. I love how the school loves the kids and most importantly loves Jesus. You can see in their face, you can see in their actions, you can feel it when you walk through the halls. It gives me chills.
4. My least favorite. Letting go.

Orientation Day

Since today was the last day we had together before school starts tomorrow, Noah and I had some quality time on our porch with the red rockers. We just sat and rocked while Nathan was napping. We talked about silly things like toads ....and important things like what is college going to be like (for some reason he kept telling people all day today he was going to college tomorrow). So he's a little confused but I'm sure the pain I will feel tomorrow as I drop him off will be similar to those mamas who have suffered through their first weekend without their new college freshman.
After being out on the porch for a while, Noah stepped inside for a minute and when he returned he said, " I am sooo sorry! That took longer than I expected. I had to use the bathroom and THEN I had to wash my hands!" The way he said just made me laugh because he sounded so proper like a garden club lady. He sounded like a little man. :)

Today was great as Noah was able to meet his teacher Mrs. Fox. She's the one with the white jacket. She has a great smile and a kind voice. We both instantly loved her! Noah was so happy to see his seat, with his name, an apple, and a treat bag.  There are 10 children in his class, and I think that is wonderful.

Above are a few things I thought were special on the walls. One of the things is the chart labeled "Honorable Character". This is what the entire school will be using in lieu of the disciple card flipping they used before. Instead of using negative reinforcement when a child misbehaves (card flips), they reward the children for good behavior, and note areas that they need to refine. See this link if you are interested more. It is a really great system that you can even use at home. http://www.honorablecharacter.com/

I think all in all it was a good day. The teacher gave me permission to walk Noah to the classroom on his first day but after that, we have to drop him off at the front of the school. I think the two of us have a lot of growing up to do this week and I'm so glad we had some quiet time today to talk about toads and college. I'll treasure these moments forever.

Family Picnic Day

Today we had our Family picnic day for new families at Noah's school. This was for all age groups and for any family who would be entering the school for the first time. The picnic started at 11am. The kids just ran in the gym and just got to know each other in the beginning.

Noah got hit in the face with a soccer ball early on. A lot of the kids were much bigger than he was and he just wanted to be in the middle of it all. Here he is above after a few tears and a hurt ego.

Then here's Nathan....aka Mr. Grouchy "I need my nap" Pants. Eric and Nathan left after only being there for about 15 minutes. So that left Noah and I to go through 3-4 very long yet informative classrooms meetings about school procedures. They said Noah could stay in the gym and play with the other kids, but since he had already gotten hurt once, he stayed with me for the meetings (most of the younger children went with the parents).

Here he is...bored out of his mind!!!
Finally after what seemed like hours, we were able to sit down and eat the cookout food.

Noah nearly stuffed an entire hot dog in his mouth in the first picture, and I almost did the same with a burger!! All those classroom meetings made us famished!! Noah's first real impression of his school was not great, but I'm sure his orientation on Monday will be better...I'm praying!! I learned more about how much this school REALLY loves Jesus, and how hard they try to make this school accessible to everyone through scholarships and tuition assistance. It didn't seem like your normal stuffy private school. It seemed like I place where I know once Noah sees his teacher and new friends, and gets in his normal routine, he will grow like a weed!!

Books For FREE!

I have recently joined a group called "BookSneeze". When you join this group, they send you free books to review (and keep!) in exchange for an honest review on your blog. I LOVE to read, and who could pass up an opportunity to get all sorts of free books, just for a review?! I can't wait for my first one to arrive. I'll be posting my reviews soon! I'm not much of a reviewer, so this will be a learning curve and challenge for me.

What we've been up to

1. We have been so busy with the move I haven't had time to think!
2. We have been frantically cleaning, packing the old house, and unpacking the new house.
3. My camera is broken!! :( Boo! I fell in a creek and ruined it so I will just have to use phones pictures until I get a new one.

Please read on for more on what we've been up to....

Move day was Monday Aug. the 1st. The movers were wonderful...so careful and efficient. April Scott watched the boys for us ALL DAY...she played with them, fed them, napped them, and then bathed them. Then she delivered them with happy full hearts at dinner time. After all that, April and her husband Pastor Dustin graciously shared a carryout dinner with us and prayed with us. Our day would not have been possible or more special without these wonderful angels that God purposefully put into our lives.


There was no bath for me on the first night, or relaxing in the rocking chair! Just plenty of work that continues even still. Tomorrow we will turn the keys to the old place and finally be able to focus on getting settled in the new one.

The boys have been keeping themselves busy while Eric and I work doing things like .....

Catching bugs! The first picture is of a massive praying mantis. We kept him for a few days in our bug habitat and then let him go. But he's still hanging out  by the door....and did I mention he is HUGE!
The boys have also been catching tiny little frogs. The second picture is the sand /water table that has been converted to a frog pool with plastic toys being used as lily pads. The imagination and the grossness factor is overwhelming!!

Today I rode my bike to the mailbox to get the mail. This is just hilarious in so many ways but I really enjoyed it! I'm sure the neighbors were laughing at how unsteady I was (I used to be a great rider and now not so much). We are really looking forward to settling in, having some new adventures, and making this place the home we have always dreamed of having.

The Move Progress

As per my sister's request, I'm updating on our move progress. We are just days away from our move and there are boxes, boxes, and more boxes!! The boys have enjoyed the added challenge of having to maneuver through all the obstacles.... while we, the parents, struggle to stay upright. I can hear Eric crashing into boxes late at night trying to be quiet.

We have been trying to eat through our freezer and cupboard items for the past few weeks to cut down on expenses and make our move easier. It seems no matter how many beans we eat, they seem to multiply!!  Yuck! I can't wait to start cooking some home cooked meals again but for now all the pots, pans and dishes are packed up and the beans are a plenty!

Noah's snack today on paper plate and plastic cup. He thought it was the best thing in the world...saltines/peanut butter sandwiches, broken pretzels, and chocolate milk. Hey, at least it wasn't beans!!

The move has been exhausting, especially since Eric has been working and just finished being on call. I've had to do all the packing, but I am grateful for sweet friends who encourage us to stop and take breaks for our sanity. It has made this move much more pleasant and the boys think it is quite the adventure!

I can say for sure, however, on our first night in our new home....I will be filling this up with lots of bubbles and HOT water and RELAXING! Then maybe after the boys go to bed, sit on the front porch with this guy, holding hands in our rocking chairs....happy to finally be HOME!

Vacation Bible School

This has just been an incredible week, one unlike any other our family has experienced. VBS started on Sunday and went through Thurs. This year the theme for the preschoolers (the older kids had a different theme) was PandaMania. The children learned that God is wild about them, loves them no matter what, listens to you, watches over you...and just really the "what you need to know" about our awesome and loving Father. The curriculum was perfectly suited for this younger age group and was just pure genius to split the preschoolers into this group. There were stations that the children would travel through each night....opening/closing time, music, crafts, recreation/snack time, and bible story time. Eric and I served as teachers this year to the 4 yr old class and our job was to move the children from station to station....then each station had their own specially gifted servant that would run the station.

Above is the Bible story time. This is Mrs. Martha (she is AMAZING) dressed as Jonah. She had an opened can of tuna so the children would know how horrible it smelled inside that whale's belly. It was awe inspiring for me to watch her use all the senses to teach a lesson. Each night her stories had incredible and tangible visuals that reached these children like I would have NEVER thought to do. Her example showed me about truly getting to the level of the children and helping them understand these stories. I am certain the memory of these bible stories and the important lessons from each have been permanently planted in their hearts and minds forever.

Please excuse the poor quality of my pictures...I forgot my camera every.single.night. :( So this is the best I could do with my phone and I only have a few moments captured from the whole week. This is Mrs. Wendy and music time. This was high energy time that was fun and full of music that helped us smile, worship, and learn more about God's love.

My absolute favorite time of the night was the rest time for the VBS workers. Another ingenious plan by the Children's Pastor and his wife (Dustin and April - LOVE them and appreciate them so). This was a place where the servants of VBS, were served. A refuge was set up in the church's library where the workers were allowed a 20-25 minute break. There were fresh snacks and drinks each night! There was plenty of laughter, encouragement, and just a true sense of fellowship and love. I have never been involved with a VBS where the workers were actually pampered in such a loving way!

One of our biggest worries about the VBS week was our youngest, Nathan. Most nights we didn't get home until 9, so it was way past his bedtime and this was his very first VBS. We were blessed with an angel, who is a very smart mommy, that kept us all busy during the day so the boys would take very good naps before the big nights. Nathan did wonderfully and made a new friend, Mrs. Angie. The 2 yr old class had teachers that stayed one-on-one with this group so she was with him all week and Nathan was more than infatuated with her. The last picture above shows her spoon feeding him ice cream (he totally had her wrapped around her finger). The picture above that was sing and dance time. Most nights he would obsess about making sure he looked handsome enough before we left for church! So funny! It really was a blessing to not worry for even one second about him the entire week and just focus on our task. The attachment between them was hard to break on our final celebration night and there were tears by both. She has been sweet to offer to babysit him (and Noah) so we can go on a date night! Wow, another blessing!


This week, our family grew leaps and bounds in our relationship with Christ, with friends, and as a family. I am so thankful for our church and the people in it...there is a very special place in our hearts for all they have done for us and we look forward to serving there for many many years to come (we specifically picked out our new property so we would not have to change churches)!