Sunday, January 31, 2010

Off to Neverland!

Little man just wasn't able to make it through the party. But he did make it long enough to get a hook painted on his face : ). We'll just have to try and eat some cake later!


There's my big girl...three years old! She blew out the candles for both her and brother.


Face painting at the party was a hit!

Here are the girls relaxing and chatting


The Neverland cake! I had a great time painting the little characters and decorating the cake.


More pictures to come! It was a great day! We had lots of fun getting faces painted, going on a "treasure hunt" and eating cake, ice cream, and snacks together. All the while we had Peter Pan playing in the background. I love planning my kids' parties...it's really fun for me...even though I didn't get much sleep last week : ). Happy birthday to my precious little ones! What a blessing you are!

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Finally...an address

Hey friends...this is a quick post. It's been a crazy couple of weeks. I was sick AGAIN last week and I'm still not 100%. Today is my little man's first birthday! A special day! More on that later...but please pray for him as he was running a 102 degree fever today : (. Lord, grant me peace! I'm also busy preparing for the big Neverland birthday bash here on Saturday. But I wanted to take a quick minute to pass on the address that will provide funds for a missionary family who lives in Haiti. They are using the funds to help those who were affected by the earthquake. This is a wonderful family, so you don't have to worry about this being legit.

Open Door Baptist Mission
1115 Pelham Road
Greenville, SC 29615
Attn: Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund

Thanks and God bless!

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Just Call Me Bop

I have a new name. It's Bop. Here's a little background. Sophie loves Veggie Tales. The two main characters....Bob (Bop) and Larry. Sophie has been Larry today. She's been calling me Bop. Sometimes she forgets and calls me Mommy, but then she corrects herself and goes back to Bop. Here's our conversation tonight as we were laying in her bed (me trying to get her to sleep):
I begin singing, "Go to Sleep Little Baby", which I sing pretty much every night...
Sophie: Ummm....Ummm...Bop...you're not funny.
Me: What?
Sophie: You're not funny.
A few minutes later I start to giggle at her...
Sophie: Bop...you're so funny!
We both start giggling. I try to get out of bed.
Sophie: Bop, I want you to stay here with me. I want you sleep with me in the bed.
Me: I need to get up and get ready to go to bed.
Sophie: No, Bop.
Me: Yes, I've got to go soon. I'll stay with you a little longer.
Sophie: Ok, Bop.
That's all I can remember! I wish I could remember all that she has said tonight...that girl is so funny! : D
Today is Sanctity of Life Sunday. I'm so thankful for the lives of my precious babies. Please pray that we would, as a country, value life and take a stand as a whole for the unborn.

Next week I'm also going to try and post an address for a missionary family who have been in Haiti for 10 years. They were protected during the earthquake, but want to help those in need. This will be a way for you to help supply families in Haiti with food and necessities effectively. It was posted at our church today and I will post it up as soon as I can! Stay tuned!

Blessings!

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

play date pictures

I love this picture of the boys. It captures their boy-ness so perfectly!

Sophie wanted to eat her craft (marshmallow "igloo" with white icing)...but apparently she wasn't interested in eating with her hands : )


The kids making their igloos. This was a great craft!

Jennifer with Jedidiah and baby Julia. Jed loved playing with Julia!

The end of a fun playtime! Remember the video on yesterday's post? This is what happened a few minutes later! Little man just passed out right there in the jumper!
I love playdates!






Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Play date

Today we had our monthly play date with friends at church. It was a great time for us moms to get together and the kids to play and have some fun. We also ordered pizza...yummmm.

Here's what little man enjoys. He jumped himself to sleep. Sorry it's sideways. I'm new at putting up videos : ). More pictures later...I've got some cute ones!

Monday, January 11, 2010

A moment...

I'm excited that I have a few free moments to sit down and blog and check email. The baby is asleep and my oldest is having "rest time", although I don't know if much rest is involved. A few minutes ago I heard her knocking on the door from the inside of her room. She said, "Mom....Mom...it's me, Mom." Cracked me up. I said, "Hey, Sophie. You still have to stay in your room." She didn't care for that, but she did stay in there. Last week was a tough week. Both kids were sick, Soph being the sickest. High fevers and throwing up. Spend the day after in the doctor's office or the hospital trying to rule out what was going on with her. We have it resolved now, but it was a rough day for Mamma. Carting two kids that aren't feeling well in and out of offices and the car and back again wasn't too fun. I'm thankful for the double stroller, that's for sure! The weekend was nice, even though I could feel a cold coming on. I did get to have some fun time with my mom and sister. We went to the movies, got some popcorn and coke, ate some chocolate, and had a great time. Saturday I actually got to go to Target by myself, walk around, look at everything, and got a few deals in the process. It was so nice.

Even though we had a toughie last week, I still see God's blessings in the middle of it. One God moment was while I was at the hospital. Soph had to get a chest x-ray...her first...and I couldn't go in the room with her. I had forgotten my cell phone at home, so I wasn't able to call the hubby and update him on what was going on. While I was standing in the hall, there goes my hubby, walking right past us! I couldn't believe it! I knew God had set that up, because I really needed some encouragement. I also didn't realize that it was lunch time. So we all got to eat lunch together and I was able to have a breather. I was so thankful to God for that. I have also been very encouraged about some changes that Joe and I are going to make this year. We've got a plan to work on our budget and are going to start implementing it. I think this will honor the Lord and help me to have some good boundaries for spending. I am excited about it. I think God is going to do a work through it. I am also encouraged because I've been losing weight! Yay! So far I've lost about 16 lbs. It's encouraging to see the numbers go down. I'm highly motivated and I pray that this year I'll really get a handle on it and get where I want to be weight-wise. I know God is helping me do this! I am also very encouraged by the support and prayers of friends around the world! God is good!

One last thing...I wanted to share a quick recipe that I did last week. It was a hit! But I will say that it's one of those where you put a little bit of this and a little of that...so there's not a lot of exact measurements. Hope you're able to enjoy it!

My Mom's Easy Meatloaf
  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 1 egg
  • oats (about 1/4 cup for 1lb beef)
  • minced onion
  • salt/pepper
  • sauce--ketchup, brown sugar, Worchestershire sauce (or soy sauce)

Set your oven to 350. Put your defrosted meat in a bowl. Add your egg, oats, and sprinkle desired amount of minced onion, salt, and pepper and mix it up (I used my hands). I like minced onion, so I put in a pretty good bit. I formed about 5 round, individual meatloaf patties and put them in a pan (about the size of a round hamburger pattie or, for children, a little larger than an egg). I used a cake pan, or you could use a cookie sheet that had raised sides. Bake for about 30 min. While it's cooking, mix some ketchup, about 1/4 cup brown sugar (give or take), and some Worchestershire sauce. I didn't have any of that, so I just substituted soy sauce and it was very good, too. Mix it up. When the patties are almost done, take them out, drain off the liquid that's in the bottom of the pan, and put your sauce on top. Cook for an additional 10 min.

Sophie LOVED this! And the portion was just her size. Cooking it in this pattie form also allows it to cook faster than if it were in a loaf pan. Hope you enjoy!

Blessings!

Saturday, January 2, 2010

2010...really?

Wow. It's 2010. It still hasn't quite sunk in yet. I can remember when it was time to count down to the year 2000 and what a big deal that was. Now it's 10 years later and it seems like it has just flown by! Here are some highlights of my first decade in the 21st century....
* Moved to Thailand in March of 2000 for a 2 year commitment. Moved back home almost 4 years later--December 2003. That time has impacted me in amazing ways...even now. Thank you, God, for leading me there.
* January 2004...went out on my first blind date with some guy named Joe Daniel. : ) You know how this story goes! Got engaged in May of 2004 and married October 16, 2004. Let me tell you...I NEVER expected God to do that...and that fast! But I'm sure glad He did!
* October 2005...Joe and I went on our first mission trip as a married couple to St. Petersburg, Russia. Great experience...and I was able to see what a great team Joe and I made on the mission field.
* November 2006...Joe and I took a short mission trip to Toronto, Canada. Another great trip. We love to travel together and serve the Lord in the process! I was also about 7 mos pregnant!
* January 30, 2007...Welcomed our baby girl, Sophia Abigail, into the world. What a joy she has been to us!
* Trips...Things slowed down a little after Sophie was born...but we were able to go to San Antonio, TX in June 2007 and Panama City Beach, FL in July of 2008. Both were great trips!
* January 26, 2009...Welcomed our bouncing baby boy, Isaac Joseph, into the world. He's got a smile that'll melt your heart!

Those are just a few of the highlights! It amazes me to see what God has done in just 10 years time. I feel confident that He will do a mighty work this year and the years to come. I've got some goals set and I'm praying for His help. Pray with me that I will:
*lose more weight
*get more sleep
*get physically stronger
*get Sophie potty trained
*spend more time with the Lord, grow closer in my walk with Him, share about Him more with others

Thanks and God bless!