Called Out One

A little quote

2012-01-27T13:39:00.000-06:00

This week as I was doing my Bible study I came across this quote and wanted to share...

"But when we put our life on hold, we rob ourselves of daily victory and daily joy."

It just struck me and stayed with me all week. What are you putting on hold right now...your job, losing weight, making that phone call...what if you just did it...how many blessings would you have, or how much peace would wash over you.

Be victorious today, don't wait...do it.

I am not crazy, really...

2012-01-26T10:14:00.000-06:00

Thank you all for the sweet comments I got after yesterday's post. I feel the need to clear some things up...
1. I am not crazy despite what some family may think, ha! Well, I am a little crazy some days, but aren't we all! No, I am not selling all my earthly possessions and moving to some 10th world country no one has ever heard of before, but that thought is truly tempting to me.

I think I wasn't super clear yesterday, when I referenced "stuff" in my post, yes some of that referred to physical stuff, but I also meant the "stuff" or lack of better word, the crap that weighs you down like sin. So I am trying to rid myself of extra physical stuff and sin.

2. After reading "Interrupted" I feel like I have a different view of how I want to do ministry. Honestly, I have been thinking a lot about what we in the church world call "living missionally." I was having a hard time figuring out how to do that yet make sure people were coming to Christ. The book really helped me see how to connect the two and what to put more emphasis on. I feel less guilty in one respect and more ambitious and intentional in another.

Now on to prove why I am not crazy, or maybe the reasons why I am some days crazy...

*All captured by my mom on her last visit here*

Dear Jesus, You are wrecking me...

2012-01-25T10:03:00.000-06:00

*Caution-as you can tell by the title Jesus is wrecking me, in a good way. So this post may be a little spotty, and disorganized at best, but wanted to share with others who might also be getting wrecked...*

Last August, Eric went on a mission trip to the Dominican Republic. He had an awesome time meeting the people our church sponsors there, working on the building projects, and bonding with his team from church. Since returning Eric has not shared a whole lot about the trip, I hear occasional stories, I saw pictures and videos, and sometimes he brings up how good the food was. While Eric was gone on the mission trip I was mentally preparing myself for him to come home and start tossing all our earthly possessions because it sickened him how much we had. I was trying to figure out what I could part with, what the girls could go without, and maybe that he would want to sell the house.

Well, none of that really happened. Since his return we have had a lot of conversations about our stuff, we have given away a lot, thrown a lot away, and we plan on having a rummage sale in the Spring. So although we don't talk daily about our stuff, I think about it constantly. Now, not to get way off topic or defend myself here, but I do think comparatively speaking, especially to people in the Dominican, heck yes, we have a lot of stuff. But compared to others and most our age, and most with kids, we probably rank in about average. Do I have things and clothes I don't use all the time, yes, but I am starting to part with those.

Come the holidays and we decide we are going to give gifts that matter, gifts with purpose, and just pear down all together. By Christmas I was so sick of stuff. I am very grateful and super thankful for gifts and the sentiments behind them, but again, I felt this dirty feeling when I looked around our house, or my closet. I just want to purge all the time- purge our stuff, I hate throwing up :)

Now enter this book...

My mom introduced me to it. I love Jen Hatmaker, really I do. I have done all her bible study books and I truly love how when you read her words you feel like you are talking to your best friend. She is sweet, sassy, and totally honest in her writing. Jen and her husband, Brandon, are in the ministry, so I have learned a lot from her, too. I got the book and started reading it, I couldn't put it down. I dreamed about the book, I dreamt about the ideas, and the whole point of the book at night, I would lay awake at night and think about how to apply all of this to my life. I felt wrecked by this book.

Then on Monday, Leading and Loving It launched their virtual "Just One" conference.

It was awesome as always, but again, I felt totally wrecked by the speakers. Everything they talked about was convicting, but in a great way.

Now I am about to embark on this...

My mom has read it, and has warned me, "don't read it unless you are willing to change your life." "You will be convicted." And from all the millions of tweets I have read about it, I am totally getting wrecked again. But I am excited.

I guess to sum it all up, I have had this stirring inside me, something I still can not put my finger on, or give a name to it. I am sensing a change, and for me I hate change. I am sensing a shift in the way I view and do ministry. I am sensing something bigger than me being in the works, and I am trying to hold on so when the ride starts I am ready. I am in awe of people who have such a strong relationship with God, that I am craving that. One of the things that I have been feeling convicted about is, is not even feeling convicted. Things just slide right off me like no problem. How sad is that...I should feel worse or feel something, but sometimes I just don't. But I am beginning to. Change is scary, especially when you don't know what it is that is going to change. But that is all part of the wrecking process. I need to be stripped down to the bare minimum to be built back up stronger than ever.

Dear Jesus, you are wrecking me, and I love every minute of it...

DaySpring Winner

2012-01-23T09:35:00.000-06:00

Thank you all for entering the DaySpring giveaway! Trust me, I wish you all could win! But the winner is...Randi at Our Modern Day Fairytale...congrats!!

Have an awesome Monday!

Dayspring Review and Giveaway!

2012-01-18T07:50:00.002-06:00

One of my goals for 2012 is to send more handwritten notes. I used to do this a lot, you know in the days before kids, the days when you had time to sit in the card aisle and look at every single card and pick the perfect one. Now I feel like my card picking time consists of going straight to the 99 cent cards and grabbing one that doesn't look too cheesy or juvenile. Real personal, right?

So when I saw that the girls over at InCourage and DaySpring were looking for some folks to review some cards for them I thought what a better time to get my new goal on track and go! I used to work at a Christian Bookstore when I was in high school and I remember I loved looking at all the DaySpring cards we had. When no one was in the store and I had a chance to just browse, I would always make my way to the card aisle and read all the cards there. A lot of my paycheck went right back to the store each month! I remember thinking back then, "wow, they really know how to say it." And I have to tell you that 10 years later {yikes, old moment!} they still know how to say it! Sometimes the best cards are the ones you don't even have to write anything in, because the card expresses your thoughts and feelings so well.

The pack of cards that I chose to review {Simply Marvelous} I feel like do just that...they express wonderful thoughts, emotions, and sayings. Nothing about them is corny, or Chriastianeese...they are truly wonderful. They are something I would feel comfortable sending to people who are not followers of Jesus or who are just starting out on their spiritual journey, something those recipients would enjoy reading and they would not feel pressure or guilt.

So along with the card review we are supposed to say who we are going to send some of the cards to. This for me was a no brainer for the first one. Two years ago Eric and I went to a church planting assessment out in Oregon and we had a marvelous time. Since then I have wanted to write the sweet couple that runs the program we went through. Honestly, I have just not taken the time to just sit and write them. But now I am going to send them a beautiful Thank You card courtesy of DaySpring. Another card I will be sending is to a great friend whose birthday is at the end of the month, she is turning the Big 3-0! And lastly, I am going to send a card to the kindest person I know, Liz. She is the most generous and sweetest person you will ever meet. She remembers your birthday, anniversary, and other special dates in your life, and she always sends a card saying "thinking of you." So I want to return the favor for the last 13 years, and tell her I am thinking about her.

I can't wait to get started! And the wonderful people at DaySpring also sent a card organizer in the box. The organizer is so sturdy, and pretty! I can actually see myself using it and being prepared each month with birthday, anniversary, and just because cards.

Now here is where your day can be brightened...DaySpring has been awesome enough to give one of my readers a $20.00 credit to purchase some awesome stuff from them! How great is that?! So to enter the giveaway just simply...
-leave a comment on this post
And if you want to...
-Blog about this giveaway, then come back leaving another comment saying you did that!
-Go to the DaySpring website and check out their cool cards and come back telling me which ones you would choose
-Leave a comment telling me 3 people you would send a card to

The giveaway will be open until midnight {cst} on Sunday, January 22. The winner of the $20 DaySpring credit will be announced Monday morning! Good luck!

{I was not monetarily compensated by DaySpring or InCourage for my review, all opinions and views expressed are completely my own.}

Girls in Glasses

2012-01-11T09:30:00.000-06:00

**Have no fear, there are no lenses in these**

What We Have Been Up To...

2012-01-06T10:20:00.000-06:00

Organizing! All this week we have been reorganizing, decluttering, and making some of the rooms in our house more functional. It's been wonderful, stressful, relieving, overwhelming, and just plain old good for us to do.

I also completed two Pinterest projects this week. They were pretty easy, but things I have been wanting to do.

I was bad and didn't take any before pictures of really anything! I would probably be too embarrassed to post them! And some of the afters, we are not 100% finished organizing, but we are making progress.

After we moved into our house Eric put up some nice shelves for us to use in the playroom/office, which really was a playroom that a had a desk in it where my computer sat. There was no functional office in there. The room used to be used for a master bedroom, but the closet had no doors, so that is where we hung the shelves and placed the desk. It's nice that it sits a little bit more back in the room. So we have been talking about getting another desk, or doing something to make it more functional. Eric decided to build us a desk under the shelves, so we had a work station and not just one desk. We did this last night at like 9 o'clock, ha. Again we still need to finish organizing the desk and shelves, but here is what we have so far!

On Pinterest I kept seeing these cute picture frames turned message boards. I thought how cute to leave notes for Eric, or reminder messages. So this week at Target I found some document frames and plate/picture holders on the dollar spot, I was so excited! I also found some scrapbook paper and stickers for super cheap at Walmart, too. So yesterday when I was making them, I was talking on the phone to my bff and exclaimed, "oh crap! these are plastic not glass!" It never even occurred me to get glass, I was caught up in the whole excitement of the project. The plastic works fine, not sure for how long it will work, and it does bend easily when you write, but it's okay for the temporary!

In the kitchen...

In our bedroom, please don't mind the dusty dresser, oh my!

One of my resolutions this year was to be more organized. One thing I find myself doing is making random piles on my kitchen counters, especially after getting the mail. I usually think I will go through stuff, only to pitch it a week or two later. So again, on Pinterest I found this cute, easy organization project. File box + Files = Easy to organize the mail! This seems like a no brainier, but it struck me as genius when I saw it. The chick that posted it also put her monthly calendar on the front, but I like mine on our fridge.

Files things according to...bills to pay, store ads, coupons, etc...

Along with organizing and cleaning we have managed to have a little fun, too!

It snowed here, just a little bit on Sunday night/Monday morning. So Eric took the girls out to play while I was at work on Monday. It was really windy, cold, and the ground was frozen, so they didn't stay out long, but they had fun making footprints in the front yard. Today it is supposed to be 50 degrees?! Such random weather!

Hope you all had a great week! Happy Weekend!

12 Goals and Resolutions for 2012

2012-01-02T10:13:00.000-06:00

I have been sensing a need for change in every area of my life from probably August 2011 to now...and I am sensing this need of change in a lot of other people, too. From Facebook updates, blog posts, Twitter postings, I think people are craving change, craving to do things differently. I don't feel like 2011 was an exceptionally "bad" year for me, but it was a wake up call in some ways for me. I realized I am not the super, Type A organized chick I used to be, I want to be, but it was not happening in 2011 for me, which caused a lot of headaches and unwarranted disagreements between Eric and I. Some may view this as weak or wimpy, but raising more than 1 child is really hard, hats off to every single one of you with kids, whether you have 1 or 15, good grief, how do you do it?! Raising Molly and Lucy has been the hardest thing I have ever done in my whole life, yet I love every single minute of it. So having some time to reflect on last year and looking forward to making some changes this year, I find 2012 full of possibilities, full of risks, rewards, and whatever else God has in store.

I am not a huge resolution person, but I have realized without goals, I truly achieve nothing, and that statement has been pretty obvious in my life. So with no further ado here are my goals, resolutions, and hopes for 2012...

1. Spend time daily with God- This should be a given, but it's not in my life. I need to cut the excuses and just do it. I am part of a Bible study that has a lesson everyday and I usually find myself on Friday night cramming to finish before our Saturday meetings. Not this year, I am doing it one day at a time.

2. Be a better helpmeet for Eric- Both of us working for the church has its ups and downs, not going to lie. It's busier then we both like, but right now we believe God has us placed where he wants us, so we are relying on him to make it work in every area of our life. But this does not give me the excuse to be a lazy wife. Eric and I have been together going on 13 years. Eric captured my heart when I was 15 and he still has every bit of it to this day. I need to show him that daily, allow him to feel my love for him.

3. Be a better mom to Molly and Lucy- I get caught up in doing things that I often miss out on the moments with them. I hate that Molly tells me sometimes "I will be there in a minute, I am checking my email." Dagger to the heart...not this year. This year Mom, Molly, and Lucy are going to have some fun!

4. Along with being a better mom, I am going to date my girls- I felt like everyday before Lucy was a date with Molly, but since Lucy, our dates have been few and far between. I can tell when Molly needs some one on one time, and this year I am resolving to do something about it.

5. *My Biggest One- Run a half marathon, yikes!* This is my biggest challenge by far! I have never run more then 3 miles before, so I am truly relying on God to help me get through this! I have not worked out every single detail yet, and training is going to be hard because we no longer belong to a gym, so running outside in WI, in winter, probably not going to happen! So details on training, etc are still to come, but I am excited and scared all at the same time!

6. Read 6 books this year- I am sure most of you are like I read that in a week, ha! But for me reading is hard, I am not a reader, but with my new Nook, I am going to be! So look for my book reports :)

7. Create and Stick to our budget!- Eric and I are skilled in the Dave Ramsey school of money, which I totally believe in and think it works. But we are not skilled in the sticking with it part. So this year, we are creating a working budget, and sticking with it!

8. Write more handwritten notes- I used to send Eric cards all the time when we first started dating, and then after we got married, I would pick random people at church and send them cards, then I stopped. I love getting a little piece of mail, because that takes way more effort then an email. I love emails, too, but there's something about a hand written card.

9. Be organized daily- I love that Eric is a pastor...but part of being a pastor is keeping track of everything, I mean everything! If we buy paper towels, we have to save that receipt for our housing allowance. It's a nice benefit, but it's a pain to keep and file everything. I used to be so good at this, I would do it right away, and at the end of the year all I had to do was hit print and send it off to the tax guy. This year I have a stack as high as a mountain that I need to sort through because I just threw stuff in a pile. Keeping better track of our pastory stuff will be so helpful and cause a lot less headaches next year! And also, making a weekly grocery and menu list! This is something I used to do and be good at, now we have the same discussion everyday, "what's for dinner?" I am sick of it! I want this area of my life to be organized! And also with church stuff...I need better boundaries of work and home, my kids hate being drug to the office with me, so I need to better about separating church, work, and home life. Gee, this one is a biggie for me!!

10. Don't put off today what can be done tomorrow- Does that make sense?! I usually procrastinate about things, like a lot! But I want to just get it done, the dishes need cleaned, I have the time, just do it, don't wait until tomorrow. I am trying to make more of a conscious effort to use my time wisely in every area of my life!

11. Love our neighbors- I love our house, I love our street, I love our little village, but I don't know my neighbors names. I know the ones beside us, and a couple across from us, but I want to be effective in our neighborhood and get to know them all. So I am thinking a block party is in order, maybe??

12. Eat healthy- What type of resolution list would this be if this wasn't on there?! I am sick of eating crap because it's in my house, or because someone made cookies, I don't want to always be tempted with this. I am part of a healthy eating/healthy living Bible study called First Place, it's awesome, so hopefully this helps, I lost 4 pounds our last session. I always want to instill good habits in Molly and Lucy.

So there are 12 things I will be working on this year. At first I had a hard time thinking of 12, and now I am like oh yea and this, and this, and that, ha! I hate change, I really do. I hate the thought of doing things differently, but for some reason this year seems different, maybe I am caught in the hype of the New Year thing, but I don't care, if I can feel like I am back on track then it's worth it, I will drink some more kool-aid then! So any tips on any of these please feel free to share! Happy 2012!

So long 2011, Hello 2012!

2011-12-31T20:27:00.000-06:00

I have been trying to think of something brilliant to type all day...but being gone all week, traveling today for 6 hours in the car with the girls, and trying to get back into our home routine...well, really, I am lucky I have gotten this far in the post!

Looking back at 2011 some of it is a blur, and some of it stands out very clear to me. Some days felt like the movie "Groundhog Day" and other days felt like they were "Fast and Furious." 2011 brought us 2 kids, well Lucy was born in Dec. 2010, but really understanding what it is like to raise 2 kids didn't hit us till 2011. We went through our capital campaign at church which was awesome and we are still seeing the blessings from that, personally and through others at The Ridge. We celebrated another year in ministry in Milwaukee, 4 years have flown by! Molly started school, our big 4K student! Lucy has learned to sit, crawl, stand, and walk in 2011! I could go on and on, but if you have been with me for any length of time, you know it all!

Maybe because I am getting older, or just wiser, but I am actually excited for a new year. I am excited at different possibilities, opportunities, relationships, who knows, the sky is the limit! In 2012 I pray that I truly allow God to lead even when it is so uncomfortable and I do not want to go there, I pray I do, I pray for boldness in proclaiming Christ's name, I mean really, what do I have to lose?! I pray that I am a better wife, mom, friend, daughter, blogger :) I pray that I give way more than I take, and that people want to know what's different about me, I pray my light always shines for Jesus no matter where I am, at home, in public, or even at church.

I have some resolutions I am going to make for 2012, I normally don't do that, I usually say "lifestyle changes." Which I do have some of those, but I need some goals, I need to no longer be content with being content.

So to end out 2011 I want to say a huge thank you to all the readers of this blog, whether you comment or not, whether you stop by weekly or monthly. You all have encouraged me in more ways then I can count, your words are heartfelt and genuine, and I love every single one of them. I pray I can be to you what you are to me.

Happy New Year to you and yours!

We Gotta Let the Light Shine

2011-12-22T21:49:00.000-06:00

I am doing a short study on the book of John with some fabulous ladies I know. I love studying the Bible, thinking how God inspired every single one of those words on those pages, how he used some very random people to tell his story, just amazing to me. Tonight as I was finishing up some questions for tomorrow's discussion it's like I was smacked in the face with some truth.

Not get back on that soapbox about Christmas and Happy Holidays, but one thing that gets me is that Christ can be celebrated more than just one day a year, which I know that, you know that, but it's the others that don't know that {ADD Moment-nope not referring to Lost}. We should celebrate Jesus every single day, like seriously, every day. I am just so bothered that people don't do this, you know. Anyways, this year has really made me look at Christmas totally different. Last year I felt way more emotionally tied to Mary, just having a baby myself, I am sure most of it was hormones, but truly, I felt like I could totally empathize with her. This year I have been going through "Truth in the Tinsel" with Molly. We have been studying every aspect of of the Christmas story, like every detail you usually pass by, or skim over. It's been awesome, I have gotten so much out of it, and I am the adult :)

So with all of that said, and coming across this verse tonight and really meditating on it..."The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it." John 1:5, and then this verse..."So the Word became humanand made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness.And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son." John 1:14

Full of unfailing love and faithfulness...wow, really, wow. If we are to imitate that, I have a lot of work to do! So with Christmas coming remember to shine your light in the darkness, be extra nice to that chick at the mall you would like to say some things to in line, give up that last cookie at your family Christmas party, shine Jesus everywhere, and not just on Christmas, every day.

This song might give you some encouragement, it does for me...

Molly can dance and sing!

2011-12-21T12:41:00.000-06:00

On Monday Molly had an open house for her dance class and her first Holiday program at school. Eric went to the open house and took some pictures and video, and then we all tried to enjoy the 4 and 5 year olds happily singing with a one year old who just wanted to run everywhere! Then of course when I turned my camera on at the program the low battery flashed on my screen, of course! I think that was God's way of saying "just enjoy the moment!" Which we did, and then at the end of the program they did a slide show of all the kids and everything they have learned and done so far this year, talk about a tear jerker! My word, I was doing the ugly cry where no noise comes out yet your shoulders are shaking really hard! I blame it on the sappy music and seeing my kid growing up before my eyes!

Here are some pics and some videos, some are long and some you might get motion sick from watching, ha! Someone let us borrow their really nice HD video camera, so I brought it home, plugged it in and thought we were good to go. Well, we would be if plugging it in in the microphone slot charged the camera! Eric wasn't exactly thrilled, since our video camera was dead, so our other options were a little flip camera that is another friends and our regular camera that takes not so great videos. So it wasn't a great video night in the Ferguson house!

Enjoy!

3rd row up

Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer...

Okay so update...I had like 3 more videos, but they won't upload, so enjoy these two!!

Randomness, it's all randomness...

2011-12-19T13:26:00.000-06:00

So today is one of those days that you just have once in awhile, or weekly in my case! My head is swirling with everything that I need to finish for church, for home, for Christmas, for {insert the blank}. But I am not feeling overwhelmed, I am feeling excited and happy.

*Tonight is Molly's 1st ever Holiday Program she has ever been a part of . I am so anxious to see her sing and be merry on stage with a zillion other little 4 and 5 year olds.
*I am almost finished Christmas shopping, we literally have one more thing to get, I am pretty sure, and maybe one exchange for something else but we are almost finished.
*Not that we don't every year, but this year we really put a lot of thought into most gifts, or at least tried to, so I am really excited for people to open their presents. Especially since we don't have a million dollars or hundreds to spend, we really tried hard to make what we got meaningful.
*I can not believe I am about to go get supplies for church on January 1st...what?! I feel like it still is the beginning of December or something.
*We have had one little snow so far this year, and nothing in site for Christmas either here or in Ohio, where we will be. It doesn't feel like Christmas without snow!
*Speaking of Christmas...not to start a debate or be all PC on you, but it truly, 100% does not bother me that people say Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas...gasp, what. Nope, I am not bothered one bit by it, and really, I am tired of hearing about it. I look at it this way, Christmas and New Years are so close together it's easier to say "Holiday" then Merry Christmas and Happy New Years, kill 2 birds with one stone. And no, they are not always taking Christ out of Christmas...okay, off my soapbox...but seriously y'all, not trying to offend any of you, just needed to get that off my chest.
*I am loving Pinterest...I tried to not succumb to it, I tried staying away, but I am so glad I didn't! I am pretty realistic with my crafting/sewing abilities, so I don't get that sucked in with trying to make things, but it is fun to see what others are making!
*Lucy was caught slapping a baby in the Nursery yesterday and she tackled a 3 year old and took her baby doll. My word! To her defense, she likes baby dolls and she has never really been around a little baby before. I told you she was a bully!
*I am working on my goals for 2012. I always try and say "lifestyle changes" but I think I need some goals now! One is a big one for me, like a physical thing that I keep telling myself "you are aiming way too high!" But I can't get it out of my head!
*I hope and pray you all have a great Christmas/Holiday season :)

Hopefully tomorrow I will be back with pictures and maybe video of Molly!

Whatcha Going to do With All Those Christmas Cards

2011-12-15T20:51:00.000-06:00

I love this time of year for many, many reasons. One is because of the Christmas cards and letters we get. As much as I love Facebook and the ability to see your pictures everyday, there is still something special about getting your picture snail mail style.

But come January and you are taking down the tree and decorations, you are always left wondering what to do with those cards. You feel bad throwing them away, because that's someones face you are pouring day old coffee grounds on. Yet you are not sure where to stash them, so you either pitch them now or wait til June, feel justified and pitch them then.

I have a solution for you this year!

You know those cute flip photo albums...

Source: Amazon

Put the cards in there, one per slot. Then either by yourself or as a family, pray for those people. You will have a little prayer album all year. You can choose to flip the pictures once a day, once a week, or once a month. Now you won't feel guilty for getting rid of or forgetting about those beautiful picture cards and you are also covering someone in prayer. How cool!

Then next year you can replace their old card with the new one :)

Merry Christmas carding!

Happy 12 Months to Miss Lucy! {2 weeks later, ahem...}

2011-12-14T20:00:00.000-06:00

Well, most of you know that our Lucy turned one on Dec. 2! Her first year check-up was last Thursday and I finally got around to taking her 12 month picture today...all in good time, right?! Truthfully, I could not find the stickers for the life of me, and I had to turn my house upside down like 10 times to find them. So frustrating, but worth it, and now I don't care where they go!

Lucy here is what you are up to...
-You weigh 27.5 pounds, at least we think, you wouldn't sit still on the scale to save your life! You are off the charts, but as the doctor nicely says, "greater than the 95%"
-You are 30 1/2 inches long...95%...which is great, your height and weight are finally starting to match up
-Your head is 44 cm...I am not sure what percentile, they didn't say
-You are still in a size 5 diaper
-You are still wearing all 24 month and 3T clothes...depends on brand mostly as to which one
-You are not a fan of shoes, even once we found some to fit your thick feet, you don't like wearing them for too long
-You are a kissing fool, you will kiss anything, literally anything...the cat, the couch, the window, a person, your highchair, you name it, you'll kiss it!
-You wave "hi" and "bye" to anyone and anything, the moment you walk in a room you start waving even if no one is there!
-You are the master imitator...you imitate it all, my favorite so far is the cat meowing! But you try to act like us, well, you really try and act like anything you can
-You love watching movies, when we turn the TV on for a movie you climb up in your "Lucy" chair and sit so still, usually you are holding a baby doll or a stuffed animal, it's so cute!
-You can say no no, yea yea, bye, duck, quack, woof, you try and say Molly and meow, at least you say the same noises when you see Molly and the cat, you also say there, it sounds more like "der" but we get it, and you try and say so much more, it's pretty darn cute
-You are a little bossy and you have mastered the art of the temper tantrum...it's a little scary how well you can throw yourself down and scream and kick and carry on
-You love to wrestle, again a little scared you might be a bully, but you do enjoy a good elbow drop :)
-You are on the go all the time, nothing is safe with you around
-You are attached to me, deep down I love this, but by the end of the day mommy needs a break!
-You go through sleep cycles of sleeping really well for a couple weeks, not sleeping so well for a couple weeks, right now we are in the not so well...yawn!
-You get excited to pick Molly up from school everyday, it's funny to watch your face when she runs out of the door and right to you!
-I am sure there is plenty more I could say about you, Lucy May, but I will stop bragging :)

We love you more everyday!

At this point she realized the sticker peeled off...

Happy 12 months and almost 2 weeks, Lucy May!

A Year Full of Lucy

2011-12-12T16:25:00.000-06:00

{I have been wanting to sit and reflect on our year of Lucy-ness...I haven't really been able to put into words what this last year has been like or meant to me, but I figured I should at least try before this next year passes and she is two.}

Dear Lucy May,
When I found out you were on your way shocked would not even be able to begin to describe how I felt. I was afraid to love and get to know you since Daddy and I had just a month before experienced the loss of another baby's life. I honestly had come to terms that Molly was going to an only...and then God went and blessed us beyond our wildest dreams. Once I knew you were healthy and staying put I truly began to grow with you. You restored faith and hope in my life. You helped me heal and I truly believe you stitched my heart up one stitch at a time.

You sister has been crazy about since day 1. She would always lift my shirt up and slightly yell "Lucy May, Lucy May, Lucy May!" I think that's why you giggle still today when she yells that at you in the playroom. You have loved her, too. When you would hear her voice you moved to whatever side Molly was on, when you were born you would move your head, now you run to her. I have truly loved watching your relationship with each other grow and form. I never had a sister, so watching you two is truly special to me.

Your daddy is truly outnumbered now in our house. But I don't think he minds one bit. He has a very soft spot for you, the baby, the youngest, our little healer. He can make you laugh like no one else, he can soothe your pain with one kiss, and he can try and be stern with you, but it just never seems to really happen. To say you have him wrapped around your finger is an under statement, he just plain old loves you.

As for me, well, I am just smitten with you. I know what it is like to love my first and my last baby, and I feel spoiled because of that. Molly had me as a new mommy, you have me as a new mommy to two. I am not sure which one is better! I look at your sister Molly and I think of faith, I look at you and I think hope. I look at our family and I think blessed and cherished.

My life has not been the same since you arrived. Your birth was exciting and a little painful, your first 9 months were laid back and relaxed, then after the 9 month honeymoon you have turned into a walking, talking, sassy, bossy, sometimes bully, sweet, wonderful, beautiful, ornery, sneaky, and just plain fabulous little girl. I am proud to be your mommy and I am so excited to see this next stage of life with you! I love you, Lucy May!
Love,
Momma

Lucy's {1st} 1st Birthday Party

2011-12-07T09:54:00.000-06:00

I am still here, I did so well posting last week and then well...

Last Friday was Lucy's 1st birthday! We had a ton of fun with some special friends that came to celebrate with us. We did a really, really small gathering at our house for the actual day, because when we go to Ohio for Christmas we are doing a family one there. It was a crazy day because that was also the day we set up for the book fair. I walked in the door like 20 minutes before everyone arrived, not good, a little stressed, but we pulled it off.

Here are some pictures I took, Eric took some with his IPad2 and took video, so I will have to have him send me the video of her eating her cupcake!

I woke up a 1 year old!

Thanks Papa and Neesie!

From Mommy, Daddy, and Molly

Our spread! Minus the pizza :)

Thanks for the moral support on the banner, you know who you are!

Can you tell our theme was cupcakes?!

More moral support thank you's! The favors!

No one is really in the mood, ha!

She was and still is fighting a cold, poor baby!

Someone is loving the camera!

A little smile!

I tried changing her socks and she kept yelling "no no no!" And hit my hand!

Singing...

Our little friend, Miss M!

Oh my word, I love it!

Presents after a nice bath to get cleaned up!

Notice Molly is even supporting the cupcake theme, haha!

There was Lucy's first party, I am sure the second one will be fun, too! This week is Book Fair week and it has been stressful and fun! When I am there helping the kids and talking to them I love it, trying to get more volunteers, well, not so much fun! I want to be a cheerleader at the school and just love these kids, how do I get that job?! It's been heartbreaking seeing some of the kids there, and also scary because those kids are going to be Molly and Lucy some day!

Tomorrow we go for Lucy's 1 year check up, hopefully they can tell us why we haven't slept through the night in 2 weeks! Have a great day!

{Early} Christmas Celebration

2011-11-30T19:45:00.000-06:00

After Thanksgiving lunch/dinner we put up our tree and started decorating our house. Which I still need to take a picture of...we usually do this the day after Thanksgiving but this year we needed to do it earlier, so we could celebrate with my mom and Phil.

On Friday morning in Molly and Lucy fashion, everyone was up by 6am...we opened presents, Eric had to make a battery run for some toys, and he stopped to get some yummy doughnuts at a little bakery in our village. Then on Friday night we went down to the village to sing Christmas carols and see Santa ride in on his fire truck. Last year it was so cold, and Molly got an ear infection, but this year it was unseasonably nice, in the 40's. Our surrogate WI grandparents, Brian and Chris also came and shared in the fun with us. Molly loves her Mr. Brian and Ms. Chris!

Helping wash the dishes after our big meal on Turkey Day!

{Pretend} Christmas morning!

Lucy's new chair for her birthday!

Our little elf

Here comes Santa...

Seriously the best gift, ever! She hasn't put it down!

Who doesn't love Santa!

Because I am busy at the office...

2011-11-29T13:11:00.000-06:00

You all can enjoy some more pictures of the girls :)

Someone got their very own tree this year!

Happy Thanksgiving Day!

Molly took our picture all by herself!

Happy Monday!

2011-11-28T12:47:00.000-06:00

It's a happy day in our house this Monday! Back to routines, schedules, and the countdown to Lucy's 1st birthday begins! Miss Lucy will be turning the BIG #1 on Friday! Wow, a year has flown by! We are going to do an actual party when we go to Ohio after Christmas, but we are having a few close, close friends over on Friday night to celebrate a little!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and you were able to spend quality time with family and friends. My mom and step-dad flew in to visit. While here we celebrated Thanksgiving, Christmas and Lucy's 1st birthday! It was so much fun and time just flew by!

Also last week Eric surprised me with a new computer. I thought we were going to go wait in line on Thursday at Wal-Mart, but instead Eric found a great deal on a better computer and it was only $20 more. So I am very thankful we did not have to stand in line and fear getting peppered sprayed if someone else wanted the same computer! Some people are just crazy! So I am really trying to get used to this new computer, and it's funny how at first I was like "a computer is a computer, no big deal!" And today at work I am now finding myself clicking all sorts of icons I have no clue about, I have shifted the screen like 20 times, still having no clue what I am doing and I lost all my church emails, and have to start all over again. But still, I am very thankful to use a computer that works, even it works a little too well!

Also last week during our Christmas celebration Eric was the blessed one to receive an iPad2 from my parents. And I was blessed with a Nook Tablet. Normally we are spoiled but not this spoiled! So we have been having fun with our new gadgets and I am half way through my 1st book already on my Nook!

My mom sent me all her pictures she took while here, so I will be sharing some of those with you all. Starting with today :) Enjoy!

"I Surrender"

2011-11-22T06:00:00.000-06:00

A couple weeks ago we had a really powerful moment at church. We asked people to surrender something that was holding them back, or that was weighing them down. Sometimes when churches try and do powerful things like this you never know what type of response you will get, will people play along, will they take it seriously, will it flop, etc. Our people this particular week really were just truly awesome. We had one of those moments where you want to bottle it up and replay it each week. It was moving, and indescribable. The Spirit truly moved and it still gives me Jesusbumps to think about it.

One of our fabulous singers sang this song from Jesus Culture while people were surrendering their sins and it just added to everything, so powerful, so very powerful. This song is long, but it is so good. Play it while you are cleaning or doing the dishes, and make sure you have some tissues because you will need them. Seriously, if God doesn't move in your heart when you listen to this, listen again.

What You Missed-Bullet Points and Pictures

2011-11-21T11:55:00.000-06:00

Well, it has officially been 1 week since my computer said the sad goodbye. The good thing is that it's not totally dead, we can still retrieve pictures and documents off of it, thank you Lord! But it has truly been hard not having access any time that I want on it. I have been getting more done around the house, playing more with the girls, and going to bed really early. So I guess it has its ups to it, too. The girls have not fully adjusted to the time change, we are literally up by 5 am every single day, yes, every single day. So by 10am I feel like it should be nap time already. So in a nutshell here is what has happened over the last week...
-Lucy continues to amaze us with her sneakiness, seriously, she looks cute, but she is sneaky! We are going to have to watch her at all times!
-Molly has now been to 3 birthday parties in the last 2 weeks, our gift budget is getting blown away!
-My mom and step-dad are flying in this week to celebrate Thanksgiving, Christmas and Lucy's {almost} 1st birthday, we are very excited to see Papa and Grandma!
-I am half way finished with Christmas shopping, hooray!
-A lot of our gifts have meaning behind them this year, we ordered stuff from The Mercy House and our friends adoption fundraiser of selling coffee. I love reasons behind gifts!
-I am getting very excited to put up our Christmas tree and decorations!
-We are going to see Santa this week in our too cute little downtown. He will be riding in on his firetruck Friday night and it looks like it shouldn't be too cold this year.
-I started "Pinning." I have no clue what I am doing! For those of you wondering if this is some weird habit, no it's an addiction, ha! Pinterest has been the craze for awhile now, I resisted the urge because as much as I wanted to jump on board and do it, I knew I didn't have the time to commit to it, but after lots of peer pressure, I gave in. The good thing is I know I am not really creative, so I don't get so caught up in trying to make a lot, I am realistic pinner!
-We have parent/teacher conferences on Wednesday, and I am nervous it's either going to be really good or really bad! Molly has been an emotional wreck lately, which I am assuming is normal for being 4, but she is either happy or punching someone. We ride this roller coaster daily, so any advice on 4's, please tell!
-The Book Fair is 2 weeks away! Remember I am the one who signed up to be the Chairperson this year! I think it's going to be successful, hopefully! We have more than half the spots filled, so that's progress, but we still need some more volunteers or I will be working at the book fair a lot!
-Molly's first concert at school is coming up, I am so excited to see her sing on stage!

Alright, I think that's all, I left out some boring details, so if you were bored reading that list, then you know how exciting my life is! I am hoping to get around real soon to see what you all have been up to!

You think her hair is going to be red?

We can't tell...

You are right, that didn't end well!

Miss Thing!

See ya, Mom, I am off!

This is what happens when you think you don't need a

morning nap, especially since we had been up since 5am!

It's that time of the year...

2011-11-16T07:27:00.000-06:00

I know you are thinking Thanksgiving, nope, Christmas, nope again...it's that time of the year my computer decides it has had enough! The last 2 years around Thanksgiving time my computer calls it quits...luckily the last 2 years it has been saved, but not this year. Last week my screen started flickering, then everyday after that it got a little worse until finally on Monday half of the screen was black and the other half looked like a strobe light. Awesome :)

It finally went kaputs yesterday, the screen was totally black, awesome again! We found one we want to get since I don't need anything fancy, however it does not go on sale until the day after Thanksgiving. So now I am left to using Eric's computer in the mornings before he goes to work and at night when he gets home, and that's if he remembers to bring it home with him, ha!

I hope you all are enjoying this time of the year, we are. Despite being busy, we are really enjoying this stage of life we are in...that made me sound really old! Lucy is about to turn one, yikes! And Molly is fun exploring the age of 4, who knew there were so many ups and downs to being 4?! I feel like we ride an emotional roller coaster daily, ha! I guess she is preparing me for when she is 13!

Anyways...I love this time of the year, whether you have your tree up now, or wait until later, I feel like the world got a little nicer and more joy is in the air. I just love it :)

Well, until next time, which is hopefully soon, have a great day!

Happy 11 Months to Miss Lucy!

2011-11-10T08:02:00.000-06:00

Last week Lucy turned 11 months old...I am coming to grips with the fact that she will be 1 in less then a month. I am pretty excited for her to turn 1, with Molly I seriously was depressed for about 2 weeks, I cried everyday and just moped around. But with Lucy, I am excited, probably because Molly has paved the way with knowing what comes next in each stage.

Our last week has been crazy with Eric's brother being hospitalized, Lucy getting a little virus that spread to me and Molly, and poor Lucy has had diarrhea for the last 9 days, I am praying today is the day she is healed of this awful virus! Despite having the Big D for the last week, Lucy is still smiley and happy. So cleaning up after Lucy literally means bring in the cleaning crew, the poor kid has taken 4-6 baths a day, changed clothes more times than I can count and now is getting a little diaper rash. But I think we are on the mends, hopefully!

Lucy you are 11 months old...here is what you are up to...
-You have been walking for almost 3 weeks! You walk everywhere, and now you are trying to run a little, which is hilarious!
-When someone tells you that they love you, you blow them a kiss, it's so sweet!
-You are saying mom, dada, bye, no no, yea yea, baba, and I think you try to say Molly at times, you usually make the same noise when she comes over to you, but truly you jabber all the time, you like to tell us stories, and shake your finger at us, it's pretty funny!
-You love lift the flaps books, you think it's so cool to see what is underneath there.
-You are still so happy, smiley, laugh a lot, and are very sweet.
-You eat all the time, you love pretty much everything we give you!
-You never want to be left out of anything, I mean anything! If you feel left out you yell until you feel included.
-You and Molly play really well together, she is very sweet with you, and is constantly "mommy-ing" you, it melts my heart on a daily basis.
-Life has not been the same the last 11 months, you have brought us pure joy and we love seeing you grow, explore, and discover the world around you!

A little update on Eric's brother, Matt...he is out of the coma, off the vent, and now out of ICU, he has pretty much made a complete recovery for the most part. He has been moved to a different part of the hospital for now, and then after he is released, we are not sure what is next, so if you could pray for next steps for him. He needs a lot of guidance from God, which I know God will provide him, Matt just needs to listen and follow now. Thank you all for your continued prayers, again, we are so blessed by you all!

Sorry to Leave Y'all Hanging

2011-11-04T18:59:00.001-05:00

Thank you all so very much for your prayers, wonderful words, and thoughts for our family. Every single one of them is appreciated and felt!

Right now there really is no change in Matt's condition. The most important thing is to get the ammonia out of his system which could take days or weeks. After that is cleared out then they will begin the process of taking him off the ventilator and out of the coma. Matt is semi-responsive, not sure anyone was expecting him to open his eyes or shake his head, but it was nice for Eric's family to see that. However, the doctors need him more relaxed and sleepy to completely do everything they need to. So he is fast asleep now, and hopefully talking to Jesus about some things.

Yesterday Eric decided to just go back to Ohio for a couple of days to be with his family. Which I had absolutely no problem with, until about an hour after he left...then the stomach flu hit us! First it hit Lucy, then a little time later me. I think being sick as an adult is worse then when you were a kid! So I thought I was being smart and called a friend to come get Molly so she wouldn't get sick. Our wonderful surrogate grandma Chris came right over and took Molly. I told Molls she was going to have a sleep over at Brian and Chris's house, and she was thrilled, and clueless that Mommy kept running back and forth to the bathroom.

Then this morning Chris called me to say that Molly got hit with the bug in the middle of the night. I felt awful! But Chris reassured me that Molly did great and it was totally fine. So Molly got dropped back off this morning. The good thing about this bug is it seems short lived. I am over it, Molly is over it, and I think Lucy is for the most part. Lucy has a cold and is getting another tooth, so I am guessing that is attributing to her many diaper changes, too.

So I am glad Eric went to be with his family and I pray he avoids this bug. Especially since he is preaching on Sunday. So I have been trying to Lysol and Clorox everything before he gets back here tomorrow.

Again, thank you all so much for the prayers and concerns, it means the world to us! I will keep you updated when we know more, right now prayers for Matt to pull through and totally turn his life over to Christ would be awesome.

Please just pray...

2011-11-02T10:51:00.000-05:00

I have taken many prayer requests to my blog over the years, some very personal, some for others I love, and some for our family. Today I am asking that you pray for my brother-in-law, Matt.

Right now Matt is in a medically induced coma, and is on a ventilator. His organs are either shutting down or going crazy, his liver level has exceeded dangerously high, and today they are testing for brain activity, so if in some sort of a miracle, we can see what the recovery will be like. Matt also has ammonia secreting from his liver into his body, so they are trying to fight that off with some strong medicines.

Right now we are in a wait and see pattern. Eric and I are staying put until we know more, or until they try to bring him out of the coma and off the vent. Matt is stable for the most part, and that's because he is in the coma and they can regulate his body easier that way then if he was awake.

This didn't just happen one night, there were many things that lead up to this, but for the sake of Matt's privacy, I am not going to say what those things are. But nonetheless this is very difficult for Eric's family. My in-laws have literally been to Hell and back with Matt over the years, and right now I am sure they would say they are there again. It's hard for us being here and they are there, back in Ohio. But we know right now we need to save our trip there for when it truly matters. It will be touch and go until we see more progress the medicine is making in his body. I am not going to lie, there a chance he may not make it, and there is a chance he will make it, but his quality of life may be drastically different then it was on Sunday. So many unknowns right now, which also makes it difficult.

So please pray for God's will to be done whatever the outcome, and that we are all at peace with what the outcome is. Pray for the doctors, nurses, and other medical specialists that are working on Matt's case, and please pray for Eric's parents, Eric, and his older brother, Scott. My prayer is that God is glorified through this entire situation, that every step of the way is guided and directed by him and that we feel his presence at all times.

Thank you all so much, I truly appreciate you praying for our family. I will keep you updated when we learn more. And on a joyous note...Happy 11 months to Miss Lucy.

Happy Halloween and Trick-or-Treat!

2011-10-31T14:29:00.000-05:00

Happy Halloween! Or as it is fondly known in our house, free candy eating time!

We endured a cold, rainy trick-or-treat time last night, but it was fun! Eric's parents were visiting the last 4 days, hence why no blogging :) So Eric's mom went with me, Molly, and Lucy trick-or-treating, and Eric and his dad stayed back and passed out candy and hot chocolate to the kids and adults that came our way. It was kind of sad, not a lot of people participated in handing out candy on our street, so we didn't get a lot of trick-or-treaters. Even if you are not a Halloween fan, it's still a great way to connect with your neighbors. Hopefully next year! I am amazed at 2 things about Halloween in our neighborhood...
#1- How many people decorate their house, and then don't hand out candy, really?
#2- How many people still do not understand the whole porch light rule! On means you give out candy and Off means you do not, it is that simple people! So many people had theirs on, but no one came to the door, and so many had theirs off, yet kept walking out to give out candy. On or off people, really!

Molly had a blast and looked cute in her Sleeping Beauty outfit. My step-mom, Denise aka Neesie, made the girls' costumes this year. Molly was Sleeping Beauty and Lucy was a little fairy. We wore them to a Halloween party at Molly's school last week, and everyone commented on how cute they were, I know, thank you :)

It was so cold and with the down pour of rain, we decided to forgo Lucy's costume, she wore flannel pajamas, a winter jacket and hat wrapped in a fleece blanket in the stroller, but Molly wore her costume. The crown made it about 2 houses, then she took that out. Molly was so funny, if someone gave her a piece of candy that she didn't like, she would kindly give it back to them and ask for a different piece, ha! At least she always said thank you!

Whether you trick-or-treated already, don't partake in Halloween, or what have you, I hope you get some candy at some point today, because candy always taste good, especially when it is free!

Being goofy!

Did you notice the haircut :)

Short and sassy!

Getting ready to head out Trick-or-Treating!

Wordless Wednesday- All Grown Up

2011-10-26T10:32:00.000-05:00

~Molly~

My Circle Girl!

2011-10-24T08:05:00.000-05:00

My dad's wife, Denise, fondly refereed to as Neesie here, since when Molly met her a couple years ago she could not say Denise, so what she said sounded like Neesie, and it has stuck ever since. Anyways...Neesie is pretty handy with a pattern and sewing machine, so I asked her to make some matching dresses for the girls. So when we were home last I picked out some fabric and handed the project over to her. And she went a little rogue on the project and made the sweetest little outfit for Lucy. Unfortunately there was not much fabric left for Molly, whoops, so next time Molly will be the grand prize winner. But for now, Lucy wins :)

The matching shoes were a complete coincidence, I swear!

Waiting for Daddy to come home!

Taking It To You...

2011-10-18T13:08:00.000-05:00

Our church is in the process of buying land to build a building, Lord willing. We have one more meeting before the city to see if we get the green light. But in the meantime we have begun to work with engineers and architects, and probably some other people that I am just not aware of. On Thursday this week I get to sit down with some of the architects and tell them what I would love to have and what we absolutely need. I have never done this before, so I am a little scared and nervous, because building a building is permanent, so I keep thinking "don't mess this up!" I have been touring different kids areas in churches the last couple weeks, mainly looking at the area I oversee, check-in and Birth-Age 5. I have seen some awesome things and some boring rooms.

So while I am compiling my list I thought I would ask you all...most of you are moms and/or most of you attend church, or have been to a church before. What are some of the things (either your church or another church you have been to) in a children's area that you think are must haves (like structurally, not so much toys), things you couldn't live without at your church, or this is something you really like about your kids area. I need help and ideas! So here you go, I am taking it to you all...sound off!

Infant Loss and Remembrance Day

2011-10-15T12:21:00.000-05:00

I never knew what a significant day October 15th was until I lost my own baby. I never really thought I would be effected by miscarriage, but I was. I never knew how much one little baby could change your entire life, your entire faith, until it happened to me.

Growing up I never really knew about miscarriage other than my mom had a couple. But no one really talked about it, or how it breaks a family's heart. No one prepares you for the hurt, or the loss, but I am not sure you ever are truly prepared for any situation in life. I think all books, ideas, and theories go out the window when you lose a child, no matter their age, infant, toddler, or adult. I saw this first hand after my brother died. Everyone grieves differently.

When Eric and I found out that we were in the process of losing our baby I understood how people just want to shrivel up in the corner and not come out again. I was so devastated and honestly mad at God for allowing us to see and hear this little one's heart beat just a week before we found out their heart beat was slowing down and would eventually not be there anymore. I thought how cruel, how cruel of God. I am not sure if it would have been better to not have never heard it, or if it was good to have heard it. I am still torn to this day about it.

Losing our baby rocked my world, seriously it did. Everything I thought I knew about God changed. I was just so confused, mad, frustrated, and hurt. Then the healing began, and my faith completely shifted and changed over time. And yes, we did get pregnant very soon, which we were not expecting. And I do feel incredibly blessed, but I still wonder about our lost baby. Were we having a boy or a girl, would they have blond hair or red hair, curly or straight, tall or short.

What I do know about our baby was that we were blessed however long to carry a miracle from God, a miracle that allowed its mommy to love God more than ever before and truly own her own faith. A miracle that drew its mommy and daddy closer together, and made us love our family even more. A miracle that makes me appreciate life with a true genuine attitude. A miracle that proved to me how precious life is and how short our heart beats truly are. A miracle that I thank God for allowing me to carry for those short 9 weeks. Those 9 weeks were filled with love, hope, sadness, and restoration.

Today I am letting the world know that I had a baby, that is now in Heaven, and one day we will be together again.

Reunited and It Feels So Good!

2011-10-14T15:14:00.000-05:00

I had great plans of reminiscing about Eric and I's last 4 years here in Wisconsin. October 12th marked 4 years of living in the cheese state. But that didn't happen this week because I was busy with life and part of life means family...I got to spend some precious time with some of my precious family. If you have read my blog for any amount of time you may have realized that I am related to another blogger, Holly from A Pearl Among Diamonds.

Holly has a beautiful sister, Katrina, and they are very close. Growing up I always wanted to be one of their sisters, too. Since I never had a sister I always thought of them as my sisters. We used to swim in their pool, do gymnastics together, and every year we would have a cousins weekend together, where all the cousins and moms would hang out. I miss those days! But we all grew up, got married, moved away, and had kids. So now time to spend together comes few and far between. But I still secretly wish I could be sisters with Holly and Katrina. I don't think I will ever outgrow that childhood fantasy!

Holly, her hubby, Anthony, and their two girls, Lainey and Kyndra were passing through Milwaukee to get to Minnesota. So they were able to stop and spend the night and stay part of this morning hanging out with us. Molly was so bummed to go to school because she was having so much fun with Kyndra. Hopefully we will meet up at Christmas so they can play again.

Holly did way better than me at taking pictures, so you will have to make do with my couple pictures that I have. Also, let me state for the record, I didn't shower or do any make-up for these pictures, however, Holly looks fabulous as always!

Molly and Kyndra before Molly went to school

Lucy and Kyndra playing

We had too many cameras going on! Which way to look?!

Family

Did You Know...

2011-10-10T13:07:00.000-05:00

Did you know that October is Pastor Appreciation month? Well it is! Although personally I feel you should encourage your pastor monthly, weekly, etc, but what a great reason to do it now since the whole month is dedicated to appreciating you pastor!

Being married to a pastor I feel like I can shed a little light on what a pastor goes through. Some common myths people may have about pastors...
1. They only work on Sundays, not true...sadly many pastors never take a day off, which leads to a lot of burn out.
2. They are the only qualified ones to pray at church functions...again not true. Anyone can pray! And please do so!
3. People tell them all the time what a great job they do on Sundays, or any other time during the week. I can only speak for my husband, again not true. Yes, he does have people tell him that he did a good job, but it's not the same as someone who rarely talks to him telling him how God's word has impacted their life.

All joking aside, being a pastor is a pretty lonely job. Yes it is absolutely filled with wonderful moments, life changing moments, and great memories. There is no doubt about that, but it also is filled with loneliness, depression, and lots of questioning. Pastors have one of the most important jobs in the entire world, one day they will answer to God for the lives of the people they ministered to. That just scares the bajeebies out of me right now.

So could your pastor use a little bit of encouragement? The answer probably is yes. During this month make sure you send your pastor a little note or email them, and tell them what a good job they are doing, or tell them a specific time that something they said during a message really spoke to you.

Appreciating someone is free and takes a little bit of time, but the impact it has on a person truly is priceless and long lasting.

"Good words are worth much, and cost little."

George Herbert

Happy 10 Months to Miss Lucy!

2011-10-07T10:47:00.000-05:00

Last Sunday, Lucy turned 10 months old! The last month or so has been an interesting month for us. Lucy is often referred to as cranky pants, crankapotamus, cranky mckcranker, you see the pattern. We thought it was teeth for the last 5 weeks or so, but nothing has broke through. So I finally broke down and took her to the doctor on Wednesday, since we also have not been sleeping for the last 5 weeks or so. I was at my wit's end! Diagnosis: The Youngest! She is an attention hog! Which is hilarious because we often feel like Molly gets jipped at times because we pay a lot of attention to Lucy. The doctor said Lucy may be going through separation anxiety, too. She goes to bed just fine, but wakes up between 2-3am every night, let me say that again...every night! We have tried crying it out, but nothing seems to work. She cried one night for over 3 hours, it was torture, for all of us. Oh and yesterday she woke up with green snot everywhere and a cough! Really Murphy's Law?!

So anyone with suggestions...anyone ever deal with separation anxiety? Lucy never cries when we leave her somewhere, never cries at church, never cries with a babysitter, but wakes up at night with separation anxiety? I don't know, Molly never did this, so we are charting new territory.

So Miss Lucy here is what you are up to...
-At the doctor's they weighed you, you now weigh 27lbs 2 oz, you gained over a pound this month!
-You still love and adore your sister! Which I love watching you both interact together, and Molly loves you, too. She calls you her best friend, and loves playing with you, most of the time.
-You love the cat, and it's hilarious to watch him tolerate you.
-You love kids, you are the most social one in the Nursery at church, you play with anyone and everyone, and even try to play with the big kids.
-You have stopped eating any and all baby food. Since you got your teeth you have done away with baby food. Which has now brought upon it's own challenges...what to feed you! Since there are still some things you are not allowed to have, but we manage and you love about everything you eat!
-You still just have your bottom 2 teeth, but I swear any day now you should be getting like 10 more, your top and bottom gums are all white!
-You say dada, mama, baba, no-no, yea-yea, and jabber all the time. You have really enjoyed yelling the last couple weeks, you usually yell dada real loud and it's hilarious to me, sometimes a little annoying for daddy!
-You never want to sit down in your car seat, it almost takes 2 adults to get you to sit down, and when we get you out, you practically get yourself out. You don't mind once you are in it, but boy oh boy get you out when the car stops!
-You have taken a couple steps here and there, but you can stand on your own for like 10 minutes. You know you are supposed to go forward, but you aren't sure how it all works together.
-You love to shake your head yes, and you look like a broken bobble head doll!
-Whenever you hear anything that sounds remotely like music you dance, you shake your arms, head, and you try to get your while body groovin. Again, hilarious.
-You love to pull everything off the bottom of the kitchen island, all my bowls, pitchers, etc. You think it's funny, I think it's not so funny!
-You really are a sweet baby when you want to be! You know you are the youngest and should be getting all our undivided attention, and when you are not getting it, you let us know about it.

Although the last 5 weeks or so have been extremely trying and exhausting, I wouldn't trade it for anything. I keep telling myself when you are 16 I am going to long for these days again, maybe! But really I am trying to take it all in and know this too shall pass, and it will probably pass too quickly! We love you Lucy May!

Celebrating Our Little Village with Some Family Time

2011-10-06T10:09:00.000-05:00

Last Friday our little village had their annual homecoming parade. We decided we would go so our girls could have some fun, we could interact with some other villagers and just make a family memory. What the parade lacked we made up for with laughter, smiles, and old fashion fun!

The parade was pretty short, which was good since it was chilly and really windy out! Molly loved the cheerleaders and getting candy, Lucy loved the band, and my heart was so overjoyed with having a great time with my little family that I had tears in my eyes in the entire time we were down there.

It really felt like I was living the dream, sitting in our lawn chairs, watching all these teenagers walk by and seeing how happy Eric, Molly, and Lucy were. I felt like I was home. Right where they are, is home for me. I am sure this sounds like all cheese, especially since we were watching a silly little parade, but it's true for me. I couldn't tell you the last time I felt that happy, and so overjoyed and over blessed. Life is good! God is good!

Then on Saturday our little village had their annual "Hay Days." Again, nothing big and glamorous, but it made for an awesome family memory. Our little downtown street was shut down, kids were enjoying food, fun, and silliness. Molly got to go pumpkin bowling, which she totally cracked the pumpkin down the middle, and ride in a little cart pulled by a miniature pony, we ate great tasting kettle corn and Molly saw some kids from her class at school, so she felt pretty cool. We ate lunch and came home and relaxed. We had an awesome fun filled family weekend. We have been so busy lately with ministry stuff, that it was nice to stop and take a moment for ourselves. I wouldn't trade being in ministry for anything, well, maybe for some more family time, but I do truly love serving God and the people at The Ridge, and I feel thankful our girls are growing up in the ministry. But I am also thankful for the moments we have together as our little family of 4.

At the parade

A little cold!

Does this hat make my face look round?

At the Village Hay Days!

Pumpkin bowling!

Go Brewers!

Even Lucy had some fun!

Pony ride!

Molly at the Dentist!

2011-10-03T15:09:00.000-05:00

Let me state for the record, yesterday Miss Lucy May turned 10 months old! Good grief! So I will give her her very own post tomorrow, hopefully if she cooperates for some pictures tonight, because last night she was not having it!

On Friday we took Molly to the dentist for the 1st time ever. I know, I know, I am like 2 years late on getting her there. Part of my reason for waiting was because I truly didn't know how Molly would do, she normally does not freak out about things, but you never know! And also, I was scared to death she was going to have like 10 cavities. Even though I know what she eats and she brushes her teeth, that was my silly worry. I guess it would make for a good story, but I will let someone else tell that story!

I made an appointment at a dentist office just for kids. I wanted someone trained to work with kids in this area, so if she did freak out they would be prepared. The waiting room was incredible, even Lucy didn't want to stop playing to go back in the room. Molly climbed up in the chair with no problem, the hygienist explained everything that she was going to do and use. Molly got to pick a new toothbrush that they used on her when cleaning her teeth. I think she picked bubble gum for the fluoride and toothpaste options.

I am not sure the technical term of this, but the little straw they use to suck your saliva out of your mouth, at this dentist office it was called "Mr. Thirsty." I thought it was cute, Molly was less than amused. That was the only thing she did NOT like at all. The lady kept telling Molly to give it a kiss, so Molly did like twice, then they used gauze or something to wipe her teeth off. And she did so well they were able to get all her x-rays, something I guess they might wait till the next time, but they were able to do them now. The dentist said Molly's teeth look good and healthy. She could tell before asking that we don't do juice. I am not against juice, Molly is like me and if it's in the house that is all she will drink. So we just refrain except for special times.

Molly got to pick out a prize in the prize box and let me tell you these prizes were nice, not like bouncy balls or anything, she got a {fake} My Little Pony, but she does not know the difference! Overall it was a great experience, the dentist and her staff were super nice, and I think Molly had a good time. She was glad when it was done, but who isn't at the dentist office, really now!

Showing off those pearly whites!

We were in the sports themed room!

Lucy wanted to check things out!

That daddy is so silly!

"Where oh where does my little time go, oh where oh where can it be..."

2011-09-30T10:16:00.000-05:00

I have had numerous times this week I wanted to share stuff with y'all, but then time past so quickly and we moved on to the next thing.

This week Molly started dance, I signed on as the official Chair Person of the book fair at Molly's elementary school {insert clueless look here!}, Lucy has officially decided sleep is not a necessity, the cat got away {well, someone grabbed him and returned him}, last week I hosted a Mocktail party for Pastor's Wives/Women in Ministry in the Milwaukee area, tonight is homecoming in our tiny, cute village, so we will be going to the parade, Molly goes to the dentist for the first time ever today...and my brain is fried trying to think of what else is going on!

Life has been fun and crazy! I am ready for a nice, settled down routine. I am so ready for Lucy to sleep again, so is Eric. He has been a HUGE help with rotating the night routine with her.

And speaking of Lucy she is up way early from her nap this morning, so I will leave you all with some pics to enjoy! Have a great Friday!

Good thing she is cute!

Uh-oh! My newest project!

This is an AWESOME book!

Read this in a couple of days! Wonderful, wonderful book on body types!!

Sisters

2011-09-26T13:36:00.000-05:00

A sister is someone who loves you from the heart,
No matter how much you argue you cannot be drawn apart.
She is a joy that cannot be taken away,
Once she enters your life, she is there to stay.

A friend who helps you through difficult times,

Her comforting words are worth much more than dimes.
A partner who fills your life with laughs and smile,
These memories last for miles and miles.

When she is by your side, the world is filled with life,
When she is not around, your days are full of strife.
A sister is a blessing, who fills your heart with love,
She flies with you in life with the beauty of a dove.

A companion to whom you can express your feelings,
She doesn’t let you get bored at family dealings.
Whether you are having your ups or downs,
She always helps you with a smile and never frowns.

With a sister you cannot have a grudge,

She is as sweet as chocolate and as smooth as fudge.
Having a sister is not just a trend,
It is knowing you can always turn to her, your best friend.

Poem By: Shiv Sharma

To: Molly and Lucy,

May you always love being sisters.

Love,

Mom

Teacher Gifts

2011-09-20T05:00:00.000-05:00

A long time ago, maybe a month ago, how sad! I told you all that we were making a teacher gift for Molly's teacher, what better time to share that craft with you, a month after school started, ha!

Molly loves mod-podge and sticking things together, so I took some inspiration from some other glue projects we have done and came up with a pencil bouquet.

Here is what you need...

Someone got a little excited and started early...I got this little glass vase

from Goodwill for 49 cents

Shredded tissue paper

Slap some glue on the vase...you can never have too much!

Start sticking some paper on the glue, however much you want on there!

Put a second coat of glue on the vase, it will all dry clear, so no worries!

Waiting for it to dry!

I used some floral foam I had around the house to stick the pencils in. I couldn't find foam to fit this particular vase perfectly, so I balled up some leftover tissue paper to help secure the foam. It worked great, and you can't see it through the glass!

Voila!

Then I found a bag of M&M's in my cupboard, and I have no clue why they were there, or why I had not eaten them yet! So I used another jar I got at the Dollar Tree, remember my favorite store! I filled the jar with the M&M's, used some ribbon and a scrapbook tag I had leftover from another project to create this...

Yummy!

Our teacher gifts for this year! What teacher can't use pencils or M&M's!

Enjoy being creative and giving out cute gifts!

Playing Catch Up

2011-09-19T15:23:00.000-05:00

Like I stated in the last post...we are currently without Internet at home, and it's killing me. No, I don't have any cute Facebook status updates to post, nope, I am not really missing Twitter, and no, sadly, no awesome blog posts, it's just that little thing called work. See, I work 2 days in the office, and the rest from home. But when most of your work is connecting with people through email, etc...it's a little difficult to do without the Internet, throw in a husband and some kids in there, too, recipe for disaster folks.

So I am slammed with some work, but I am trudging along. I can not wait to have a connection to the outside world back in our house on Wednesday. You really don't know what you have till it's gone! Anyways...I thought I would show you what we have been up to lately. I knew it had been awhile since I downloaded pics off of my camera, so I did that today. And wow, we are really boring! I only have a couple new pictures to share, ha!

Last week I got two little pumpkins at Wal-Mart for the girls to have. I am waiting for Aldi to sell theirs, they are cheaper than any other place here, and they are always big, too. So I got these tiny ones for the girls, and decided to let Molly paint them. She had a good time and I was going to add their names on them, but haven't gotten around to it yet, and Molly already put them outside.

Our very Fall looking pumpkins...all purple with a little bit of pink mixed in!

While Molly was hard at work, so was Lucy...eating!

This past weekend one of our friends celebrated her 30th birthday with a Murder Mystery...the murder happened at the Homecoming Dance. So we all got dressed up and went to play detective! It was a lot of fun!

Eric was a math teacher, "Teach Tanner" and I was "Gabby Backer." The class gossip and socialite.

Don't look too closely at this last picture, this was the only "gown" I own and it's almost a 7 year old bridesmaid dress from my best friend's wedding...it was a little bit of a squeeze to get into, but I made it and even ate a piece of pizza while solving the murder!

This week we literally have something every night, some nights 2 or 3 things going on, except tonight, we have nothing, hallelujah! Molly starts dance next Monday. I am excited for her, and I hope she knows some girls in her class. I know some other girls were going to the Tuesday class, but with our schedule on Tuesdays, the day both Eric and I work, and have small group at our house, there was no way we could throw dance in there. I hope she loves it just as much this year as she did last year!

Alright, better get back to work! Lunch time is over :)

I'm Lame!

2011-09-17T11:01:00.000-05:00

So a couple weeks ago we had a tree limb fall in our backyard...the size of the limb could have been a small tree itself. It ripped all of our power lines off of our house. It was lovely, actually, ha! It was pretty funny, the day was beautiful, not a cloud in the sky, sunny, and boom! The energy company guys said it was the best day for it to happen because they could come out right away. Since then our Internet has been incredibly slow, slower than normal, even though we pay for high speed, it's like dial up. So we called to inquire and there was nothing our current company could do for us. So we cancelled our service with them.

And now we don't have Internet, lovely again. But it's coming on Wednesday! So I am at the church office trying to play catch up real quick!

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Just for the record...

2011-09-10T14:09:00.000-05:00

I just wanted to make sure I documented that on Thursday (9/8/11) Lucy started saying mama!! A big thanks to her older sister, Molly for coaching her, and saying it over and over again. Usually Molly says "hey mom" about every 3-5 seconds, so it was about time Lucy picked that up, too!

I am so happy that Lucy says mama! And I know they say that babies at this age are just jabbering and really not saying it to mean it, but my kid is smart, she says dada when Eric walks in, baba when she sees her bottle, and mama when she sees me. She's a genius :)

Have a great weekend! And GO BUCKS and GO STEELERS!!

9 months and 4 year check ups, and other fun things!

2011-09-08T09:59:00.000-05:00

When Molly started school I thought I would have all of this free time and get a ton accomplished during those 2 1/2 hours...haha! What a silly thought! Insert a fussy baby, who after I wrote last "oh she's a great sleeper, blah, blah..." is now not sleeping a wink, craziness at church with starting a new 25 week series, yes, 25...and trying to keep up with being a mom, wife, counselor, friend, and human! But I am enjoying and trying to take in every single minute of it all!

Yesterday we went for Molly's 4 year check-up and Lucy's 9 month appointment. It was interesting being in the same exam room for one hour, the 4 of us together. The girls did great! Poor Molly got 3 shots and the flu vaccine, and she was not very happy with the shots. Lucy got 2 shots and the flu vaccine. Neither one of them really liked the flu vaccine in their nose, but it's better than another shot!

Here are the stats...
Molly- 46.5 pounds-greater than the 95%, and she is 42 inches tall-90%...she passed both her vision and hearing test, and we are told she is doing everything a 4 year old should be doing.
Lucy- 26 pounds (maybe a little more, she could not sit still to save her life!)-basically 100%, haha! But they said greater than the 95% to be polite, and she is 29 1/4 inches tall- 90%. And her head is still in the 25-50%, which I find hilarious because I can not find a headband to fit her head without leaving a mark! And they did the 9 month assessment on Lucy, and she passed with flying colors. The only thing is her right foot, it goes out at a 90 degree angle, but it's actually correcting itself the more she walks around. So we are supposed to watch that, but the doctor thinks it will be "normal" by the time she is 2. Don't worry, it doesn't stop her from getting around!

Praising the Lord for healthy kids!!

Here are some other fun things...
Molly still loves school, and we have not been late once! I know we are only on the 5th day of school, but that's good for us :)

After 2 years of not wearing jeans, the strike is over! Molly wore jeans, willingly to school on Tuesday! Hallelujah! And she wore them again on Wednesday! I think it helps that she sees the other kids in her class wearing jeans, so she is okay with them, too.

Molly got a Barbie jeep for her birthday and she loves driving it around. Lucy also enjoys riding in the jeep with Molly, and actually throws a royal fit when it's time to get out. She loves playing the radio and hitting all the buttons, and probably feeling like a big girl all strapped in and tooling around. It's been fun to watch them drive around!

Here are some pictures, enjoy!!

Happy 9 Months to Lucy!

2011-09-03T10:27:00.000-05:00

Yesterday Lucy turned 9 months old! I am slowing getting used to the fact that she will be turning 1 sooner rather than later. Lucy is so funny and ornery all at the same time! She is definitely the youngest by always trying to get your attention, and she never wants to be left out of anything!

Miss Lucy...here is what you are up to...
-You are wearing all 24 months and 3T clothes, hopefully you stay the same size because all of Molly's Fall/Winter clothes that you will be wearing are this size!
-I am guessing you weigh around 26 pounds...we go to the DR's next week, so we will officially find out then, and I know for a fact that you are a lot taller!
-You are cruising everywhere and can stand by yourself for about 5-15 seconds at a time. You are getting braver each day to let go of things and grab hold of something else to stand or walk with.
-You are a climber, anything you can climb you do...stairs, chairs, and our stone fireplace hearth. We have tried child proofing the fireplace but you rip it all off, so you are on your own now, kiddo!
-You love walking with anything that moves, walking toys, the bitty baby's changing table, anything you can push that won't fall, you will walk with it.
-One of the more funnier things that you do is pretend to sleep. When you are supposed to be napping and you aren't, I will go in and lay you back down, but the moment that door opens you lay down real quick and close your eyes. It's hilarious, and really hard not to laugh when I am trying to get you to nap!
-About 2 weeks ago you decided 6:30pm is a good bed time for you, you were going to bed around 7pm, the first couple nights I was worried we would be up at like 4am, but you actually are sleeping longer now. You typically sleep from 6:30pm-6am. Sometimes a little later, so thank you!! You are still taking 2 naps a day that last between 1 hour-2 hours at a time.
-You have the biggest, roundest blue eyes ever!
-You don't mind taking walks in your stroller but once we get to where we are going you want out.
-You have both of your bottom teeth! And I think you are working on some more, or you just enjoy being crabby!
-Overall you are a very happy baby that loves to dance, waves to everyone you see, and likes to be cuddled!

Molly's First Day of 4K!

2011-09-01T10:47:00.000-05:00

Today was the day...Molly's first day of 4K. We went Monday for a parent's meeting, yesterday for Molly to meet her teacher and see her classroom, and then today for school! The 4K class started a little later today than their usual time, mainly because with most parents dropping off for the first time, they were trying to have less confusion and chaos with the whole school dropping off all at once. But tomorrow we get to experience the real deal with having to be there on time!

Molly was so excited to go to school, she was dressed by 6:45am, and we didn't have to leave today until 9:15! It made for a long morning of "when are we leaving?" and "are we going to school now?"

We tried to take a lot of pictures, but Molly was not really having it, but she did well for being so excited and just wanting to be there already. Her classroom has a play kitchen in it, and that's the first thing she went to yesterday when we visited. I think the hardest part for her will be if the kitchen is not open to play with during certain activities. We also met Molly's speech therapist for this year. She was on the playground this morning and heard Molly's teacher say hello to her, so she came over and introduced herself to us. She seems really nice and fun. Molly will go to speech two times a week while she is at school, but the therapist told us today that she is going to come to the 4K class once a week already, so that could counts towards Molly time, too. Which is great with us. I don't want Molly to miss anything in class or with her friends.

I didn't cry when we left, I wanted to, I almost did, but I didn't. I know it's good for her, I am really excited for her, but this is a huge new chapter in our lives. No more picking up and going when we want to, now life revolves around school. But I also have more time with Lucy one on one, too. I can't believe Molly is in school! I still don't feel old enough to have a 4 year old that I drop off everyday, but I do! So I guess that does make me old enough :)

Here are some of our first day of school pictures! Enjoy!

Music Makes Me Smile!

2011-08-29T12:41:00.000-05:00

I wouldn't necessarily say I am musical, I come from a musical background, various aunts, uncles, cousins all playing instruments, singing songs, even my parents are both musical with singing and playing, but we are not like the Partridge family or anything! I didn't grow up singing around the old piano, or playing a symphony with my brother. I play instruments and sing, but not in public. I used to, not anymore, but music has still been and will continue to be a big part of my life.

I love music, there is really no other way to put it. Music is like a band aid for my soul, if I need cheering up I will listen to music, if I want my day to start off on the right foot, or should I say note :) I listen to music. When I work out I pretty much always listen to music. Music is the background noise for my life. I also love to dance, which will never happen in public, but we have many rock-out sessions at our house, sometimes multiple ones during the day. Eric is musical, too. For those of you that know him, you may now pick yourself up off the floor from laughing. The man has no rhythm and couldn't carry a tune to save his life, but he is constantly singing, whistling, and making up words to songs. I guess you could say he appreciates music and not that he is musical.

I want music is be apart of our girls' lives, too. I don't care if they sing in a choir, or play an instrument, but I want them to feel moved when they hear a beat, I want them to sing out their heartbreak in a song, I want them to shout for joy when they worship God with a song. Sometimes at church when I can't be in service, I will sneak out to "go to the bathroom" to just stand in the back of the auditorium to listen to the music.

As a staff at The Ridge we took a survey about a year or so ago. It asked several questions about when you feel closest to God, and my top 2 were singing worship songs and being outside. The singing one didn't surprise me, but being outside did. I wouldn't say I am outdoorsy at all, but it made sense. I am like Eric with music, I don't always long to be outdoors, but I appreciate the beauty of nature and everything God has made.

Needless to say I just plain old love me some music. Here is one of my favorite songs right now. It's almost 2 years old, but for some reason, only God know why, it's striking me now as a favorite. Take a quick listen, maybe grab the kids or your spouse, and rock out a little bit.

"We know where the Spirit of the Lord is

The Spirit of the Lord is there is Liberty

We know, living in your freedom

Living in your freedom, we see your glory

We know where the Spirit of the Lord is

The Spirit of the Lord is there is Liberty

We're yours and yours is the Kingdom

We are yours and yours is the Kingdom

You are the fire through the night

You are the flame that burns inside

We need your presence more than anything

And you're all that we want

And you're all that we need

You call us closer to your heart

Lead us Lord to where you are

We need your presence more than anything"

A Challenge for the Chicks

2011-08-22T20:01:00.000-05:00

Yesterday Eric was speaking at church and I was able to sneak in the back once things in the kids area got settled and I was finished telling the Bible story to the Pre-schoolers. I try not to be one of those people that walk in late and try and find a seat, I just stay towards the back and listen. Sometimes I can not even see the person I stage, so I just soak it all in with my ears. Yesterday I could see Eric, see his passion for God and for His people when he was up on stage. It never gets old listening to Eric preach, and I still get butterflies in my stomach when he goes on. I am constantly praying for God to speak through him and for people to pay attention.

After the first service someone came up to me and said "I was watching you while Eric was speaking and I could see the love you have for him in your eyes. I don't go looking for that you know, but I know it when I see it." At first I was like "you were watching me?!'' Hopefully I didn't do anything embarrassing or adjust anything I shouldn't in public, ahem. So after the weirdness went away a little bit, I really thought about what this man said to me. And it really challenged me.

I am the first to admit I do not always longing gaze at Eric...sometimes I have annoyance in my eyes, or just pure frustration in my eyes when I look at him. I am not always perfect at loving Eric, or always speaking great things of him in public. I never speak harshly of him, but I do joke and make fun, maybe a little too much at times.

So here is my challenge to you, and to me...what do your eyes say about your husband? If people saw you looking at your husband what would they say your eyes are like? Do they show love, compassion, affection? Or annoyance, frustration, and irritation?

It's a pretty sobering thought because you never know who is looking at you...

Sunday Confessions

2011-08-21T13:17:00.000-05:00

I have had a hard time lately putting together posts, oh trust me, there is plenty to talk about or that I want to share, it's just when I try to articulate or elaborate, my thoughts become ramblings, or make no sense at all. So I thought I would do a list, in no particular order, what's been on my mind lately...

-I have a new obsession...the Dollar Tree, I LOVE that place, seriously in love. The Dollar Tree closest to me is almost as big as a small grocery store, it's insane, yet incredibly addicting. I am marveled at what all you can get for a dollar, yet it gets me in trouble because I am like it's just a buck...$50 dollars later! Okay, not that bad, but I can see myself getting there!!

-I am scared and excited all at the same time for Molly to start school. I know it's going to be good for her, but I just know her sensitive little heart is going to be broken, and I want her to maintain her innocence of not knowing some grown up kid stuff, but I am sure all of that will be busted through on her first day. I am really not the sheltering type, but right now I want to protect her and her little heart, but I also know it's time to let her go. Which has brought me to my next point...

-Routines...we are starting some new routines at our house. At first I was like oh this will be great for Molly, but really, it's selfishly for me. I am so out of routine, yet have never really been in one. I struggle daily with being planned or being spontaneous. It's like I want to go to the gym and work out, yet I want to be able to say to Molly and Lucy, pack up girls we are going to the beach! I struggle with being too rigid. So I am really trying to figure out a good routine for our whole family come school time and Fall time. One thing we are going to start doing is a daily devotion with Molly at breakfast. I got a Preschool devotional book at half priced books-another store that gets me in trouble! Molly decided she wants to read the devotions during breakfast each day. So before school and starting this week, we are going to read them at breakfast. Hopefully it will give us something to think about and talk about during the day, too. We are also buckling down and doing a chore/behavior/God time chart each day, too. Molly does pretty well with picking stuff up and helping out, but we could always be doing better. Including myself, I need to make a daily chart for myself to keep on track, and also Lucy will get used to seeing how things are done, and some day she can have her own chart.

-Lucy has a tooth! On Wednesday I was at the grocery store and Lucy put my finger in her mouth and I felt something sharp and pointy, and sure enough, the corner edge of her tooth is popping through.

-Lucy is also trying to walk, boo-hoo. She will hold onto furniture and go and back forth taking steps, she will walk with a walking toy, not perfect, but she can go about 6-8 steps before falling to her knees, then she proceeds to "walk" on her knees!

-Lucy clicks her tongue every time she sees the cat, it's so cute! At first I couldn't figure out what she was doing, then I realized it's because I do that when I call him. So her tongue clicks a lot during the day!

So really my mind is filled with trying to better myself as a wife, mom, and Christian. I am trying to strive for more, be more, do more all for His glory. It's a hard reminder sometimes of why we do the things we do, but when I put it all in perspective, I get it, slowly, but I get it. This is my last week with Molly being home. She starts school on Sept. 1. But we get to meet her teacher on Aug. 30. We are making her teacher a little gift, because I am not above bringing the teacher a gift on the first day, I used to be a teacher, I know how to play the game :) I can't wait to share with you all how it turns out! Have a great Sunday!

Molly's Princess Tea Party

2011-08-16T12:20:00.000-05:00

Saturday was the BIG day in our house...the Princess Tea Party finally happened! Molly would ask everyday when her friends were coming over, and they finally did.

Here is what we did...

First, we dressed up like a princess

Someone else wanted to dress up, too!

Then we took some more pictures

All the goody baskets set up and ready to go...

inside them were...

Pink Feather Boas

White Gloves

Big, gaudy rings

Containers to make body glitter gel

Little Princess Fairies that were pre-made

2 Candy Princess Bracelets

Each one had a crown on it with the first initial of the little girls

Our little table we borrowed, it worked great!

Where most of the party was

The gift/cupcake/craft supply table

For those of us who do not have a cool cutter thing,

I bought these pre-cut shapes and wrote on them

I was going to order a cake, but made cupcakes instead

All the craft supplies ready to go

The infamous pinata!

And another picture

First activity-making crowns and wands

"Pin the lips on the Prince Frog"

It was pretty funny watching them try to pin those lips on

The pinata, it's all fun and games until someone gets

slammed in the eye...which happened at our party!

Princess Lunch and Tea Party time!

PB&J, melon, strawberries, cheese stick and pink lemonade

Picture time! We are going to send these out with our thank you cards!

Playing musical Princess chairs

Cupcake time!

Present time!

We also played hot potato with Princess music, but I was getting lunch around and we didn't get any pictures of that. And we made body glitter for them to take home with them. It was fun! We used Aloe Vera and non-toxic glitter, and mixed them together. It turned out cute! Molly had a blast! She pretty much just thought it was fun having her friends over, so we could have planned nothing and she still would have had fun! I enjoyed the party planning and prepping a lot, but I now know why people rent a bounce house or go somewhere!

The Birthday Princess

2011-08-12T05:00:00.005-05:00

On Monday we asked Molly what she wanted to do for her birthday, she could pick anything...this is what she said, "I want to go see the elephants at the zoo." Really?! I know if someone let me pick for my birthday, the elephants would be way down on my list! But not Molly, she was determined to visit the elephants. I was so glad that the weather cooperated, and it was nice and breezey, a change from the unbearable heat and humidity we had been dealing with. We got to the zoo around 9:30am and left at 1:30pm. It was fun, entertaining, mainly Molly entertaining us, and a great day. I am glad my mom was here to enjoy it with us, since Eric was gone. But Eric did call home Monday night to tell Molly Happy Birthday, and that he loved her, then when I talked to him, he was like "this is 50 cents a minute, I gotta go!" Haha!

Going to bed a 3 year old...

Waking up a 4 year old!

At the zoo!

One of her favorite things to do

Brownies in the shape of crowns!

Excited to blow those candles out!

Now these are from my mom's camera...

Lucy is 8 months old, and a couple days {ahem}

2011-08-11T20:51:00.000-05:00

On August 2, Miss Lucy turned 8 months old! I then a couple days later took a picture to document it, and now over a week later, I am blogging about it, ha! I tell ya what, when your husband leaves the country for a week, your schedule goes right along with him!

Lucy you are 8 months...here is what you are up to...
-You never stop moving, I mean never, even when you are sleeping there is constant action! You love to crawl, pull yourself up, and take some steps here and there! It's craziness! We child proofed the stone fireplace, but you ripped it all off, and now you sit and climb on it.
-Despite all the movement you still have plenty of rolls to love on! Which I am happy about!
-You always want to make sure someone knows you are around, you are constantly chattering, singing, making random noises, anything to grab some one's attention.
-If you hear anything that remotely sounds like music you bob your head, it's pretty funny.
-You love shaking your head no, you shake it all the time.
-You still pretty much say dada all the time, a couple baba's here and there, but all I hear is dada...how about mama some time :)
-You love Molly to pieces, and anything she is doing you think you need to be doing the same.
-You just had a sinus infection, 2nd one in your little life, and now you have your first ear infection...the sinus infection settled in your ear! It's been pretty rough the past few days. So hopefully this new medicine kicks in soon!
-You are so sweet and you love to cuddle, yet you love your freedom and independence. When we try to get you to sit, you push your legs out and go hard as a board! I keep thinking you might be laid back, then I remember you are the youngest, and that won't happen!

Molly turns 4!

2011-08-08T21:42:00.000-05:00

Dear Molly,
Today you turned 4 years old, and that makes mommy feel old. I remember when you were born like it was yesterday. I remember all the sounds, smells, feeling of anxiety mixed in with excitement, and just plain not knowing what it was going to be like to be a mom to this little person I held in my arms.

Over the last 4 years we have been through a lot Miss Molly. I am still learning to be a mom every single day, so thank you for constantly extending me grace and mercy when I mess up. You are the sweetest little girl that I have ever met and I know I am not being biased, okay, maybe just a little. You have a precious heart and you genuinely love people. You have never met a stranger and you are not afraid to hug anyone. Which scares mommy just a little, but I know your hugs can brighten anyone's day up, so I am willing to share that with others. You are a natural comforter and you extend such empathy at a young age.

Every day is an adventure with you, and I love being able to see you grow, learn, and gain self confidence. You are starting school this Fall which makes me feel all the things I felt when you were born. I know your sensitive little heart is going to get broke when someone doesn't want to play with you and that makes me so sad. But I also know this is part of the growing up process. I will feel the same when you are 16 and some boy breaks your heart.

For now I will enjoy and tear up at your precious prayers every night, your silly faces and constant questions. Although some days you wear me out, I would never trade a single moment with you for anything. Thank you for being so sweet and loving. I can't wait to see your relationship grow with your sister, and your friends over the years. I also want to do whatever I possibly can to foster a relationship between you and God. I want to lead by example and teach you things it has taken me 20 years to figure out. Your daddy and I are so very proud of you and we love you with all of our hearts. Until next year, keep it simple and sassy Miss Molly!
Love,
Your very proud mama!

24 Hours Ago...

2011-08-03T07:05:00.000-05:00

A little over 24 hours ago Eric and a team of people from our church left to go to the Dominican Republic for 8 days. They arrived there safely last night, but with the hurricane/tropical storm expected to hit, I am not sure what is in store for them today. Our church supports GO Ministries, one of the places we work closely with is in the DR. We have built a feeding center and a church there. Now the team will be working on building a medical center. They also will be feeding people at the feeding center and doing 3 VBS's. Along with working in the 110+ heat, no biggie!

I am really excited for the whole team, but especially for Eric. He has never been out of the country on a mission trip before, neither have I come to think of it, so this experience I am hoping will be a great one for him!

So I am single mom-ing it for a couple of days. Thankfully my mom and Phil are flying in Thursday, then Phil goes home Sunday, but my mom is staying until the next Thursday. Yesterday I worked so the girls had their normal routine of our babysitter coming here, today we are running some errands this morning, Molly has school pictures this afternoon, and then we are going swimming with some friends. So at least we are busy and not sitting home alone.

Yesterday Lucy turned 8 months old! Oh my word! I will post pictures and do a little update, hopefully some time today, maybe I should take the pictures first! :) What, I don't have it all together, what?! I know :)

Molly's birthday party is chugging along, I think all we have left to do is order a cake, get some balloons (which if you remember, I HATE balloons!), and finish the treat bags. I think I missed my calling as a child's birthday party planner, ha!

I can not believe Molly is going to be 4 next Monday! I also can not believe school starts a month from yesterday! Alright, better get going...have a great day!

Princess Dance Class

2011-07-29T14:39:00.000-05:00

This summer we signed Molly up for a "Princess Dance Class." There was really nothing Princess-y about it, nor was there a lot of dancing. At least at this age she doesn't really care about either one of those! I mean she would have loved to dress up like a Princess at each class like the course description described, regardless, she still had fun.

Last night was the last class and parents were allowed to come in the room and watch them. Here are some pictures from her class...

Just a Regular Old Party Planner

2011-07-28T08:37:00.000-05:00

Still here...I have just been wrapped up in planning Molly's birthday party for this year. This is her first real party with friends, every year we have celebrated with family in Ohio, now we are moving onto friends! I feel like she is too young to have a party with friends...I guess she is going to be 4!

Let me just state that Eric and I are not into character people like Dora, Princess, Sesame Street. Sure, we don't mind if Molly watches that stuff, reads books about it, but we just are way too generic to be sporting Dora shirts and Elmo shoes. It's totally cool if you all do, we have nothing against that, but characters are not for us. Well, at least we thought that...now with hand me down clothes and toys, we are more a character family than we once wanted to be. So with that being said the theme for Molly's birthday is...compromise, haha...we are having a "Princess Tea Party." I wanted a tea party, Molly wanted Princess stuff. So we combined the two, and haven't looked back since. Well, until we went to buy the invites, Molly kept asking for all different things at her party, so I had to keep saying "It's okay if you want Strawberry Shortcake, but that means no Princess." "It's okay if you want Hello Kitty, but that means no Strawberry Shortcake." So we some how landed back on Princess.

So I have been researching all sorts of things to do with 6 little girls for 2 hours, and I think I have so much planned that we won't get to all of it! But I would much rather have too much to do, than not enough. Eric and I are putting this shin dig on all by ourselves. Eric is leaving next Tuesday for a mission trip, and won't be back until after Molly's birthday, so we are doing it once he gets back and a couple hours before a wedding he is performing, so not a rushed day at all, ha!

I am excited to see it all come together, and I have actually enjoyed the whole party planning gig way more than I thought I would, now I am having to stop myself from buying more and planning more! I hope the girls have a good time and all the parents enjoy the kid free 2 hours :) I know I would!!

I can't wait to share more with you about the party before and after! Until then, I am off to finish things that I can no longer due now that Lucy is crawling! I had it easy living in an apartment when Molly crawled, now living in our house, there too much for Lucy to explore!

All of this for $20!

2011-07-24T18:07:00.001-05:00

I love to go to garage sales, or as this part of the country calls them, rummage sales, or in the south, yard sales, if it's a sale, I am there! I don't go too often because dragging two kids around who could really care less about the bargains and steals you are acquiring is no fun. So when I get the chance to kid free shop, whether garage sale or not, I am all over it.

During vacation my MIL and I put claim on Friday morning that we were going garage sale-ing. The year before we went and we found some great deals like Coach purses for $5.00 and trust me they are Coach not Goach :) So this year we were determined to find some great deals again! Here is what I got for $20!

Here is all the loot...

~Rod iron plate holder

~Over 6 feet of white/ball/flowery decoration with lights already strung on it

~Fall wreath

~Christmas decoration "Ho Ho Ho"

~4 thick plastic plates, plus matching serving bowl

~"Boundaries for Kids"-hardcover, "Boundaries for Kids"-workbook

~4 pairs of sweat pants/leggings for Molly

~1 pair of jeans for Molly

~Pink sparkly Converse shoes for Molly

~Huge rod iron Christmas decoration with greenery

~Lime green vase

~Bird picture canvas

~Care Bears bag for Molly

~How to be a Fairy book for Molly

~Crock Pot cookbook

~Oven cookery crock

**Missing from Picture- 2 kids books, bag of misc. Hello Kitty items for Molly**

I had a ton of fun! This one lady's sale was awesome, she knew how to price everything not so ridiculous, but sadly she was the 2nd on we hit, so we were like "OK, pace ourselves..." I wish I would have gotten more from her since the last ones we went to were real duds! I am hoping to hit a couple more before the summer ends! How about you, do you like sale-ing?

Amish Country

2011-07-23T14:26:00.000-05:00

Well, the train veered off the tracks there for a couple of days, but we are back on board...

While in the great state of Ohio for our family vacation we went to visit the beautiful Amish people of Holmes County, Ohio, with my in-laws. My MIL rented a cottage for us to stay in for our night there, and the guys had their tee time set before we even left. There's a really great and challenging golf course down there called "Black Diamond", I am not a golfer but when I dropped the guys off and saw the first hill, all I could think was "they are going to flip the cart going down that thing! Man, I wish I could see that!" I know, that's awful, but trust me, you gotta see this hill.

It was nice to get away from getting away...but this get away went so fast! But I did enjoy seeing all the beautiful farms and the country view was breath taking. I really enjoy the simple lifestyle the Amish lead. I don't know a ton about Amish folk, just that they make great apple butter and sturdy furniture. And they are probably the hardest working people ever, but something about their lifestyle seems appealing to me.

The cottage we stayed in had a pool and the girls loved the water! I think Lucy liked it more than Molly. We also took a train ride through an Amish farm, which left me with more questions than when we started...trust me, long story :) Then it was time to go back to my in-laws for our last day of vacation.

The view from where we ate lunch at

I bet you didn't know Ohio had hills!

The cottage we stayed in

These horses were right across from our cottage

This says it all!

Getting ready to hit the pool!

Tomorrow I will show you everything I got for $20 at some garage sales, I am still pumped about it one week later!!

What's Happening Now...

2011-07-20T10:19:00.000-05:00

I thought I would take a brief time out on playing catch up and tell you all about what's going on now...

-Lucy is now pulling herself up in her crib and crawling! She has been working on the crawling for awhile, but on Monday when I came home from work she was actually moving forward and really going. So we decided to call that the official date of her crawling. She still loves to roll around everywhere, that is faster for her, but she is getting faster at crawling. For awhile now Lucy would roll over or semi-crawl over to your leg and pull herself up. But today Eric went in her room after she woke up and she was standing in her crib. So now it's time to lower the crib mattress and put the baby gate up in front of the stairs.

-My friend, Elissa, now has me hooked on My Fitness Pal...it's a free site that you can log in all your food calories, and any time you exercise. On the food part they have tons of food already entered in, so if you eat out you can type in "McDonalds Cheeseburger" and it already has the calories counted for you. And if it doesn't have the food you ate in it's database you can either enter all the nutritional info yourself, or just enter the calories and it will add it to your food diary. And for exercise you can log in when you do laundry, carry your baby around, etc. I haven't gone that far yet, I am trying not to get over-obsessed with all of it. I am really trying to watch my calorie intake based on what I eat. I think exercise is important, don't get me wrong...but the calories burned doing laundry are just like a little unwritten bonus for me. It's been great so far and I love that I can do it from my phone as well as the computer and it's syncs right away with the other device you are not using. Try it!

-Speaking of counting calories and getting healthy...I know most of you followed me on my little getting healthy journey and to just update you all...I never made my goal of 140lbs...I was 2 pounds away, then started a new birth control pill and gained 7 pounds right away. I have never gained weight while taking the pill, I have actually lost weight before. So with this sudden weight gain I was pretty down. I wish I could have enjoyed the gain by eating brownies, cookies, and all sorts of bad things for you. But I didn't even get to do that. So these last 9 pounds (2lbs I still had + 7lbs gained from the pill) have been really hard to shed. Like really hard. So then I kind of fell off the wagon a little bit and figured oh well, and I enjoyed some ice-cream, and sweet treats, and pop. I had been doing so good by not drinking pop, then I started drinking Diet Coke everyday and sometimes 2 or 3 times a day. So last week on vacation I tried to live it up when eating, knowing when we got back I was going to get serious about losing these 9 pounds and starting to exercise again, something I had not been doing regularly. No more excuses, no more pity parties, back to the grindstone of getting healthy and staying that way. I have not had pop in 3 days, and I feel pretty good. I have stayed under my caloric intake since starting My Fitness Pal. It's been fun and a challenge all at the same time.

-Lastly, I have been reading Francis Chan's new book "Erasing Hell" and it is really good! I like Francis Chan anyways, sometimes he is a little over my head or out there, but overall I enjoy his writing, and his new book is no exception! It talks about the reality of Hell, despite another well known pastor and his latest book, and it's a lot to take in, but it really puts Hell at the forefront of Christianity. He uses a ton of scripture to back up his writing and not just in a way to make it say what he wants it to say, he is using it properly and authoritatively. I got about halfway through and started re-reading the beginning again. There is so much to take in and think about it. I think you all should check it out!

Well, my quick catch up has turned into a longer post than originally planned! Now off to the gym with the girls! Have a great day!

Grandma Comes to Visit

2011-07-19T14:18:00.000-05:00

Once we came down from our wonderful high from the 4th of July parade we had a staff retreat in Chicago on Wednesday and Thursday. My mom was so gracious to fly in and watch the girls for us. Since we are both on staff, we both had to be there. Thankfully my mom didn't mind coming to hang out Molly and Lucy.

So I really only had Friday to hang out with my mom and the girls. Since we were leaving Saturday for vacation. On Friday we took the girls to the Children's Museum. We haven't been there in a while, but Molly ran right in like we go on a daily basis.

It was a lot of fun! I thought because it was a nice day most people would be outside, which I am sure most were, plus Summerfest was going on here...*sidenote-Milwaukee is home to the world's largest musical festival, 10 days of bands and fun...* But I forgot about all the day cares and summer camps that take field trips. Now, I am not a huge crowd person, let alone when there are a ton of kids around. But we managed and still had fun!

My mom took some great pictures, but I don't have them downloaded yet, so you will have to settle for mine :)

4th of July~ 2011

2011-07-18T15:54:00.000-05:00

I know I say it every year, but parades up here are HUGE, I mean HUGE! People set their lawn chairs out like 2 nights before the parade begins. To me that's crazy, to all these cheese heads, it's normal! Each year our church, The Ridge, has walked in the New Berlin parade, last year we did 2 parades, which went well, but taxed a lot of our people, including our band that we pull on a flat bed trailer while they play. So we decided to do the New Berlin parade again this year and to make it awesome, I think we did! We had around 200 or so people there to represent The Ridge. All you could see was a huge sea of red shirts. We were in the back again this year, which is a little discouraging because by the time we get going people are leaving, but hey, we have won every award there is, they have to make them up for us now. So the judges might be a little sick of us, ha!

Our band did a great job, our people did awesome handing out can koozies, beach balls, candy and little Ridge card invites. It's such a neat thing to be a part of, I can't help but swell with pride thinking about our people and their love for their church, well really their love for God. I pushed Lucy and my friend, Andrea, pushed Molly in the strollers, they both slept the whole time, it was wonderful! Despite the fact that parade started at 1pm on the 4th of July and it was like 100 degrees I think everyone had a great time, and despite putting sunscreen on 3 times, I still got burnt, but it's all good now! After the parade we had about 35 people over for a cook-out and firework watching. Lucy loved the fireworks, she was not scared at all, and kept banging on the tray of her stroller for me. Which I am glad, normally she gets startled easily, but she really liked them! I hope you all had a great 4th, too! Once I get back on track, I am sure I will read many of your posts about your 4th!

Long time...no blog!

2011-07-16T17:08:00.000-05:00

I am still alive, I promise you that! I had no intention of letting this whole thing go for about two weeks! I feel like once the 4th of July hit it has all gone down hill from there in lightening speed. We just rolled in from vacation and now it's time to unpack, start laundry, get things around for church tomorrow, and eat some pizza, because my fridge is bare!
So stay tuned...this whole next week I am going to play catch up with lots of pictures and stories! Until then, have a great weekend!!

Two Girls-Same Dress

2011-07-05T20:14:00.000-05:00

Molly at 9 months...

Lucy at 7 months...

Happy 7 Months to Miss Lucy!

2011-07-03T19:35:00.000-05:00

Yesterday Lucy turned 7 months old! We are now closer to age 1! Wow! I am actually excited for her to turn one, trust me, I love this age now and I am not wishing it to go any faster than it already is, but I can't wait to see more of her personality and what she will be like!

Lucy~here is what you are up to these days...
-You were weighed on Friday at the dermatologists office...they weighed you sitting up? I have never seen that before, so if it was accurate, you weigh 24 pounds 9oz.
-The dermatologist said you have eczema, and gave us a prescription to try, we go back in 6 weeks. Long story short, that doctor needs to learn some bedside manners, mommy and daddy and were not impressed with our visit, or the diagnosis.
-You are wearing all 24 months clothes, however there was a pants mix up one day and you wore some 4t shorts just fine. Haha! Hopefully those were sized wrong!
-You are still in size 5 diapers
-You are trying to crawl so badly, I mean so badly! You get up on your hands and knees, rock back and forth and then usually fall. That's a lot of weight to support! You have been rolling over both ways for about 2 months now, but you just now figured out you can do that in your bed, too. So we have been up numerous times a night helping you get unstuck in your crib!
-You have no teeth yet, but I am convinced one is trying to come through...but your gums are ALL white, so it looks like you have teeth from away, but none yet!
-You are waving now, except you wave your whole arm, not your hand. You are a very enthusiastic waver, too. You love to wave to your daddy when he walks in the room. One night at 1am you were hungry, so I was feeding you and you kept waving to your daddy, I was a little worried you weren't going to go back to bed!
-You typically go to bed around 7pm and wake up anywhere between 5-6am.
-You typically take 2 naps a day, each lasting about 2 hours, and sometimes a little snooze before of after dinner.
-You still LOVE all things Molly!
-You are usually a content little girl and love to smile and laugh. You play shy, but I don't think you are. You love graham crackers and puffs. And you are obsessed with the cat.
-We love you Lucy and can't wait to see what the next month brings us!

A Tribute to Elissa

2011-06-29T21:17:00.001-05:00

{Instant friends}

{Bonded through ministry, forever and always}

{My heart is better for knowing you}

{Sisters, not friends}

{Your laugh is contagious}

{Your smile genuine}

{You truly have a heart for God and for His people}

{Amazing Wife and Mommy}

{Best friends}

{One person could be overpowered.
But two people can stand up for themselves.
And a rope made out of three cords isn't easily broken.

Ecclesiastes 4:12}

{Elissa, her husband, Michael, and baby boy, Masen are moving and my heart breaks and rejoices all at the same time. In ministry you have very few and far between safe friends, and Elissa is one of mine. It's been a rough week to say the least, but I know God has great things in store for her family and for her. Please be praying for this special family as they have a lot of new transitions going on in their life. And as Lucy loses her little boyfriend :) Mase and Lucy are only 3 days apart!}

Flashback

2011-06-28T17:03:00.000-05:00

I am still in my foggy state, although it's clearing a bit :) I thought for today I would leave you some blasts from the past, Molly-style...enjoy!

June 2008-First trip to the zoo!!

June 2009- Trip to Chicago

June 2010-At the Ginger Bread House, yumm!

June 2010-Cousin Picture, Molly and Mandy

June 2011-Catching a butterfly on her finger

June 2011

Monday Fog

2011-06-27T15:23:00.000-05:00

Today I feel like I am in an absolute fog. I could literally sit and stare at a wall for hours and be completely content. It's just been one of those days, weekends, and all last week. I think everything is catching up with me. We have been really busy, like way more busy than I like, and something needs cut. I am trying to determine if this is a busy season for us, or are we just busy because we don't have our priorities set straight. When I am home, Eric is gone, when Eric is home, I am gone. Between counseling clients, weddings, parties, work, and ministry stuff it's nuts here! I can not believe this weekend is 4th of July already! Wow! Since I am pretty much worthless right now...I will leave you with some pics :)

Yumm...a spoon :)

Molly has been obsessed with Care Bears lately

This is what we came up with from our photo session last week

She is trying so very hard to crawl

My little cheeser

Big Girl in the tub

I pulled the girls down to the farmer's market in the wagon, and my wrist is so sore!

Have a great Monday!

On a Whim...

2011-06-22T23:05:00.000-05:00

Well, as you can see I got a little antsy. I am changing it up around here. I had my last blog design for a year and a half...wow! That shows how indecisive I can be...and that I hate change. But I feel like I am ready now...but don't get too comfy with this one quite yet. I just picked one to pick one. I have been strongly encouraging my husband for over a month now to help me create a new look for my blog, he has a lot of creativity, talent, knowledge on the computer, and no time. Therefore, it has not happened yet! But I went out on a whim and changed it anyways...just like I went out on a whim tonight and had the girls' picture made. Why did I think that was going to go over well??

Murphy's Law tagged along for the photo shoot. The girls were so happy and politely waited for our appointment, then the camera turns on and they looked scared, grumpy, mad, and were not having it. Then the session ended and they both were as happy as little clams! I am glad my expectations were really low for this shoot, and also my coupon I had only allowed me to choose one pose. Trust me, there weren't that many good ones to choose from! If Molly was smiling, Lucy wasn't, if Lucy looked happy, Molly looked really mad. The poor photographer did everything she could to make them happy! Oh well, we tried!

Hope you all are having a great week...I am off to bed, I have stayed up way too late!

Hillsong United Concert

2011-06-21T10:31:00.000-05:00

Last Monday, Eric and myself, and another couple from The Ridge went to see Hillsong United in downtown Milwaukee. I tell you what friends, we experienced Heaven on earth for a night. Seriously, if Heaven is anything like what we went to, I will be so happy! It didn't feel like you were at a concert, well, the atmosphere at first did, with the crowds of people, the tickets, etc. But once they took the stage it was like one great big night of worship, it awesome. They sang for over 3 hours and all 3 hours were incredible!

If you ever, I mean ever get a chance to see Hillsong United, please, please do it! I mean if you like that kind of stuff, even if you don't, you will be a fan by the end! I was so impressed when they had a time of decision making. They focused on 3 things...1. Love God with all your heart, accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, 2. Get a Bible and read it! 3. Get involved in your local church. All the people in Hillsong United started out in their youth band and look at what it has grown into! So they really pumped the local church in an amazing way, and that's something you don't hear at a lot of Christian concerts.

We had incredible seats, thanks to my fast thinking husband. We were two rows from the floor and maybe 50 feet from the stage, if that. I could go on and on about how awesome it was, so y'all just need to go and experience it yourself!

Just a little fun fact...my blog is named after a lyric in one of Hillsong United's songs!

Father's Day 2011

2011-06-20T13:05:00.000-05:00

I hope you all had a great weekend and a great Father's Day! We celebrated a little early...since Sundays are just downright crazy for us, and all of those in ministry, or highly involved in their church, we usually don't plan anything to do on special holidays, or plans get adjusted, and readjusted many times. So this year I just decided on Saturday afternoon that we were going to celebrate the father in our house on Saturday night!

I am so glad that we did! It was a nice, relaxing, and calm evening. I was prepared, something I haven't been lately, and it was just so nice to sit back and relax. I made dinner, and we picked up special treats from the cutest coffee/bake shop. Molly picked out our sweet treats, she chose a chocolate doughnut, a piece of turtle cheesecake, and a cut-out cookie all decorated for Father's Day. We all sampled each treat.

Our gifts this year were simple and nice. A new polo shirt, a movie, and a coffee mug. Which if you know my husband, this mug will be lost by next week. But he needed a new one, since he lost the last one!

I also made shirts for the girls to wear at church on Sunday, they said "I love daddy." Those were a surprise for Eric. I ran out of time to stitch around the letters, so I still need to do that, but they looked cute, if I do say so myself!

At church we had kegs of root beer we ordered from Sprecher's. I had never heard of Sprecher Brewery until we moved here, but they are known for their root beer and orange cream soda. You can tour the brewery and get free samples, something we really want to do. I think the dads enjoyed the free root beer, and so did everyone else that grabbed a glass, or two!

Isn't this cookie so cute! And it was delicious!

Molly's message to Eric, haha!

Matchy-Matchy Father's Day shirts

Hope you all had a great day!

Welcome to "The Grand Tour" Part 5

2011-06-17T09:41:00.000-05:00

Today is the last day of the tour! It's been fun, but a lot of work trying to find pictures and explain what has happened over the last year. But I am really glad I have taken the time to do it! I hope you all have enjoyed seeing another side of our crazy life! Today you are going to see the transformation of our yard. Let me just say we have gone from the ugliest house on the street to pretty much a really good looking one! I had a hard time finding before pictures from the backyard. Just imagine an overgrown jungle of grass, weeds, trees, and Lord knows what else, and mix in a falling down rock wall. For the front yard just keep in mind when looking at the after pictures that Eric ripped out over 30 bush and tree stumps by hand before we could do anything. It's been a lot of hard work, but it's all been worth it! Enjoy!

It's been a long year of house and yard work, and we aren't finished just yet, but we love our home!

Welcome to "The Grand Tour" Part 4

2011-06-16T15:26:00.000-05:00

Today you will be visiting our bathrooms and our basement! Happy visiting!

What you all did not see in some of these pictures...
-Linen closet in bathroom, linen closet in hallway, another closet in the hallway beside the half bath
-Wash sink in the half bath/laundry room
-New tub/shower in the full bathroom that we put in
-Huge storage area in basement-normally organized, right now a mess!
-Another full bath in the basement, which is on the list to get re-done this winter, but for now it's gross!
-Another bedroom in the basement-on the list to be re-finished this winter, along with the entire basement, hopefully!
Tomorrow is the last day of the tour...you will see the before/after of the outside of our house!

Welcome to "The Grand Tour" Part 3

2011-06-15T08:55:00.000-05:00

Today you will be visiting our playroom/office...

Tomorrow you will be visiting our bathrooms and basement!

Happy visiting!

Welcome to "The Grand Tour" Part 2

2011-06-14T14:16:00.000-05:00

Today you will be seeing our three bedrooms on the main level...which after editing our master bedroom I realized I totally left out one side of the room, whoops! Enjoy!

Welcome to "The Grand Tour" Part 1

2011-06-13T15:40:00.000-05:00

I didn't forget! Just busy! Without any further ado...here is the beginning of "The Grand Tour" of our house...a year later.

Today you will be seeing the living room, kitchen, and dining area. Enjoy!

Tomorrow will be the bedrooms!

Before I even knew...

2011-06-09T09:19:00.000-05:00

Last year when I was pregnant with Lucy I found myself wandering the aisles at Goodwill and stumbled upon the $1.49 bin. In that bin was a beautiful little flowered dress, with a big green bow. At this time I didn't know if Lucy was a Lucy, or a Blake (our boys name). I went out on a whim and bought the dress. I figured what the heck, if I have a boy, he'll still look cute in it. Just kidding...I figured we would just pass it off to someone else. The dress is size 18 months, and I knew it would fit perfectly this Spring/Summer. My kids just grow like that. So when we found out Lucy was a Lucy I was so excited. So I have been saving this dress for her to wear, and now that it is warm enough I decided to dress her in it on Sunday. Well, good thing we did it last Sunday because it was a little tight on her!

Right Now...

2011-06-08T14:48:00.000-05:00

I now it's been forever since I have last updated...last Saturday counts as forever, right?!

We have not been up to a whole lot, but I figured I would go old skool and bullet style our life for y'all...

It's been HOT here, like too hot for me...100's, gag! So as much as we have been trying to get outside and expend some energy, we have been cooped up inside due to the heat.
It's supposed to be 60 here tomorrow, what?! How do we go from 100 to 60? I don't know, but I LOVE it!
I have some really cute pictures on my camera that I need to upload to the computer, yet haven't found the time nor the energy to do it. (This bullet point is just sad, and pathetic!)
We had our last Ridge Group gathering at our house last night, well, our season for groups is over for the Summer. I will miss having everyone here each week, but I am looking forward to having a break from having 30 people in our house each week.
We received all the paperwork for 4K...man, there's a lot of forms to fill out! There is a form in there to help out with the PTO and I think I am going to sign up. Hopefully I don't regret this!
I feel old signing up for PTO!
Eric and I are going to see Hillsong United on Monday and I feel like a kid at Christmas time!
I was on the radio again yesterday, and while I was in Ohio, I was on again. I am really enjoying this little gig, thanks Jodi!
I have been growing my hair out...well, I have not had a hair cut since October, sad, I know...and now I am in desperate need of a trim, or a new style...hmmm...
We are having a couple over for dinner tomorrow night that we met at the park a couple weeks ago, they have 3 boys...this will be interesting!
I need to put all of the stuff back on the shelves in our office that I took down last week...it's all still sitting on the floor, whoops :)
All next week I will finally be posting pictures of our house...a year later! So stay tuned for "The Grand tour!"