Six on Sunday

1. I got the cutest picture of Cori at the chiropractor, but it's on my phone and I have no idea how to get it off. The kids have all been getting adjusted since they were born. But this was the first time she crawled up on the table by herself and laid face down for Dr. Ryan.

2. Joseph's skin is slowing clearing up. It looks much better today than it did a week ago. This definitely means no dairy and no wheat for mama.

3. Thursday, my Bible Study group finished up our current study...Sacred Influence. What a wonderful opportunity to spend time weekly with like-minded women, wives and mothers...and it was a wonderful book on being a positive, encouraging influence in our husband's lives.

4. Charlie got to have a sleepover at grandma LuAnn's on Friday night. She had a blast and has already asked about getting to stay again.

5. Saturday morning, I got the privilege of spending over $50.00 to fill up the minivan and over $90.00 at the grocery store...for only 4 bags of groceries.

6. So, I am failing on my plan for the 100 Day Challenge (starting and keeping 3 habits daily for the next 100 days). My 3 habits were - taking my vitamins, reading my Bible, and taking at least one photo. I think in the last 13 days, I have completed all 3 a total of 3 days.

My resident carrot peeler.

This is what Joseph looked like at the beginning of last week. His skin is now looking much better.

My very own Cinderella.

God bless!

Lent 2011

I am not nearly as prepared for Lent as I would like to be. I did go back and look at my plan from last year...more to get an idea of what worked and what didn't. My fast last year from Facebook and Twitter went well. I actually never went back to Twitter. I don't remember exactly, but I'm sure I failed on the fast from Internet on Sundays. Since last year, I have reworked my schedule quite a bit and had been getting up before everyone else and spending time with my Bible and Him. The early rising all went away at the end of my pregnancy with Joseph and hasn't really returned.

I feel like I constantly struggle to fit it all in. Right now there are days that everyone gets feed and clothed and that's it. Lent this year will probably be more difficult with Joseph still waking a few times a night and we are currently struggling through some major eczema issues. So, I'm going to be realistic and fit some of the things I'm already doing into my Lenten plans.

Plans are...

Fasting -
No Facebook.

My original plan was to give up snack foods and excessive snacking between meals. I feel like I am hungry all the time...nursing a little one does that to me. I haven't snacked really since Sunday besides fruit and veggies between meals, so I'm thinking I will just continue this at least through Lent.

With Joseph's eczema, which seemed fairly cleared up last week and is now back and really bad again, I've been eliminating foods here and there, but haven't been real good about it. So what better time than Lent to be serious and sacrifice for my child. He looks so rough, it makes me sad. This means...no dairy, no wheat, no soy. I'm also doing no eggs and no peanuts...at least for a few weeks. I know dairy is affecting him, but it seems like something else as well, so we will see. This will need to be an ongoing sacrifice as long as I'm still nursing.

Prayer -
I will be consistent with bedtime prayers with the girls and would like to start praying with Joe daily. I'm already working on getting some individual devotional time in each day as part of my 100 Days.

Giving/Community - 
I'm thinking, we should have friends and/or family over a few times during Lent for a meal, dessert, fellowship, etc. I think I'll plan on 3 or 4 times during Lent.

Have a blessed season as we prepare for Easter.

God bless!

Multitude Monday

A very random list...

...a few sprinkled blessings from the last few weeks.

716. Girls doing dishes and doing a pretty good job

717. Their faces

718. Visiting Travis

719. Girls behaving

720. Time to chat with my mom

721. 3 year old's drawings

722. Little books for little hands

723. Children loving books just like mama

724. Charlie peeling carrots

725. Cori always waking happy, even when it's early

726. Charlie walking around for days saying.....Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego

727. Remembering stories from Sunday School

728. Last minute weekend trips

729. Girls having extra time with "The Tickle Monster" (grandpa)

730. Playdates

731. Library trips

732. Late night grocery runs

733. Early morning kitchen floors

734. Creativity at the table...mangos and peanut butter, pickles and ketchup

735. Tax stuff to the accountant

736. Getting on the same page

737. Setting plans to pay off big things.....the house

Have a blessed week!

Cori - 19 Months Old

Cori is our laid-back girl who surprises you with a tantrum every once in awhile.

She's a big copycat that always wants to do what her big sister is doing.

She has been a pretty good helper in the kitchen just like Charlie.

Her favorite thing right now is buckles, buckles, buckles.

If it is unbuckled, she will buckle it...carseats, booster seat, swing, everything.

Thankfully, our little biter hasn't bitten anyone in quite awhile.

She is still not talking much, but manages to get her point across...at least to her mother.

Her current vocabulary includes...mama, daddy, baby,

cheese, tickle, hi, bye...and a few more I can't think of.

She loves her baby brother, but doesn't always like that he takes some of mama's time. She has been asking to nurse off and on for quite awhile. I let her try about a month ago, but she couldn't remember how.

She is still a wonderful nap-taker and actually my best sleeper. 

God bless!

Menu Plan - Week of 03/07/11

Not sure if this interests anyone, but the following is my tentative menu plan for the week. I just plan for supper and have a rough idea of breakfasts. For lunches, we normally eat leftovers or sandwiches.

Monday - Chicken Pot Pie
Tuesday - Tacos
Wednesday - Chili
Thursday - Taco Twist Soup (for my Bible Study group, we will probably have leftovers for supper)
Friday - *not home*
Saturday - Crockpot Chicken
Sunday - Chicken Spaghetti

God bless!

Charlie - 3 3/4 Years Old

It's hard to believe we have an almost 4 year old.....

.....an almost 4 year old going on 15.

We are working on manners, being polite and realizing we don't always

have to have the last word (a trait she gets from her mother and I realize just how annoying it is now).

She is a wonderful helper in the kitchen...

...making cookies, baking bread, setting the table and doing dishes.

We have been working on a very little bit of 'school' and some days go better than others.

She will rarely say the alphabet all the way through or even count to 10 in the right order.

But it is more of a stubborn issue than a she doesn't know issue.

She loves puzzles and her Memory game.

She remembers everything and can relay a conversation from weeks ago...

...kind of scary!

God bless!

Joseph Jr. - 2 Months

Where have the last 2 months gone?

Baby boy is growing like crazy. He weighs somewhere around 13 lbs.

He will be catching up to his sisters in no time!

We have been seeing a lot more smiles, sounds and smiles out of him.

He nurses about every 3 hours.

But I do normally get a little longer stretch out of him at night...sleeping

4 to 6 hours at first, then up every few hours.

His sisters love him. Charlie likes to play peek-a-boo and really loves it when

he smiles and talks to her. Cori is always giving kisses and hugs.

(I see Cori here. What do you think?)

(I think it's time to start using the buckles.)

Updates on the girls coming soon as well.

God bless!