Best article I've read in awhile.

This was so helpful to me in a lot of ways, hope it blesses you as well.

Clogging.

Ok, I wanted to get the girls into gymnastics. Innocent right? Do you know how much gymnastics cost? Alot! So I made a couple phone calls and they're signed up for clogging, the poor man's gymnastics. Here's a taste of what they'll be learning.

O Holy Night!

Just got my kids out of bed to sing Christmas songs. This has to be my all time favorite verse of any Christmas song. Merry Christmas!

Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains shall He break, for the slave is our brother,
And in His name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we;
Let all within us praise His Holy name.
Christ is the Lord! O praise His name forever!
His pow'r and glory ever more proclaim!

I'm praying that people know me by peace and love and asking forgiveness in areas I know I need it. Chains are broken, we are free, no better news to live under. Peace.

Feisty.

The word of the day is feisty. Sometimes I can get feisty. I am a justice seeker, freedom fighter, zealot, kind of girl. I see things, I call them like I see them and then I want to make things right. Thankfully in these moments God has sent me Andy. I'll be on a roll, talking about how things 'should' be and he'll pull me into a quiet place. He'll say, 'sit down.' Then he proceeds to pray for me... things like, 'Thank you God for your grace, and mercy and peace, help us to love others how you love them.' Usually, I don't get it until I wake up the next morning and realize that His mercies are new every morning. In these moments I thank God for Andy and the balance He brings.

Occasionally I'll pray for Andy to be a little more 'feisty.' That's just between you and me.

A new favorite sweater and dating your dad.

Today was a great thrifting day. Andy would call it a 'bad' thrifting day. A day where I found everything I never knew I needed. Like the BBC 'Pride and Predjudice' on VHS. How could I pass that up.

This lovely new sweater-I have a thing for sweaters.

Thrifting wasn't the only fun thing. River has discovered that books are cool, and funny and will hold his 15 month-old attention. It was a beautiful 3 minutes let me tell you.

Tonight Andy took the girls on a fancy date out to dinner, complete with kitty cocktails and dessert. They were in Heaven and I can't wait to hear all about it.

It just doesn't make sense.

Everyday I do the same thing. I take a big dollop of moisturizer and spread it carelessly all over my face. The next 20 minutes I'm making this face because my eyes burn so bad. Why?

Do you have something you do on a regular basis that makes no sense? I'd like to hear it to know I'm not the only fool out there.

Recovery

Andy has lots of companionship through this recovery. It drives me crazy that our room is a hospital room/ office, but no one else seems to mind.

Could you live with just 100 things?

This article has peaked my interest. I lean on the minimalist side and appreciate the thoughts behind this. Who knows what the New Year will bring for our family?

Today is one of those days.

One of those days that makes winter worth it. The girls are playing happily, pumkin bread is warm and waiting to be cut into, and the snow is falling.

Tea Parties, Turkey and T-Advent.

I really wanted the title to be T's. Can't blame a girl for trying. We are freshly back from visiting family in VA for Thanksgiving. It was a blast! We always pack in alot ie... Christmas, Claire's B-day, family pics, visiting out-of -state friends and games, lots of games and lots of laughing.

On the way out we stopped and saw our good friends Matt and Abby in Indy, and Brent and Mary in Ohio. We stayed up too late, laughed a ton, and just hung out. Next stop was Virginia where we visited Kurt and Cindi at their apt. along with the rest of the fam. It was just a really good, special, family time. Are you wondering what the tea party was about? I finally had an official, girly, b-day party for Claire. As opposed to singing Happy Birthday over the pumpkin pie and turkey. We had 8 little girls over and played musical chairs, ate tiny finger foods and drank tea. I think it eased the trauma of turning 4 a bit.
Now we are in one of our favorite seasons, Advent. Today's activity was to make ornaments. Our sweet helper Katie, had fun with it too. They turned out nice considering the little thought and work that they required.

Happy 4th Birthday Claire Afton!

We love you!

Our very own drummer boy.

Growing up.

I remember the first day I brought Lily home, crying to Andy that she would one day leave and go to college.



I'm feeling that way again. Claire is coming up on her 4th birthday and was literally crying tonight before bed because she wants to stay little. So being the responsible, logical parent that I am, I started bawling right along with her.

Why do they have to grow up so fast?

Just so you know, I pulled it together and told her that birthday week includes cake every morning and a movie whenever
she wants. What other choice did I have, she was breaking my heart? I think I may have been dooped...

For the tens of tens of followers.

That have asked for pictures of our costume party, this is for you. We had a blast! Erin and Nicholas took first place as Wedding day Ken and Barbie. They looked perfect. Second place went to Megan and Annalee Loomer who came as us, that's 'River' she's holding. Third place went to Steve and Megan as the Amish couple. Honorable mention were Derek and Nicole as 'Dumb and Dumber.' We went on a hay rack ride, that's right people hay rack. At least Virginia was there to back me up. You can't possibly have a party without mafia and telephone. Good times, thanks for coming!

Quotes from the kiddos.

Me: Girls, tomorrow is a new day.
Claire: Yeah, with candy in it.

Happy Halloween!

Fall

Bundled.

Cozy.

Precious.

Guilty of the following;

1. Thinking I have no time in the day, racing through the morning and realizing at about 1PM that, 'yes indeed, I do have enough time.'
2. Drinking my body weight in iced-coffee, but not just iced coffee, it's the 3ft of whipped cream that does me in, then drinking a glass of water to feel better about it.
3. Reading the 'Count of Monte Cristo' instead of, you know, showering.
4. Making the same meals on rotation and Andy asking me to branch out. What's wrong with chili and spaghetti?
5. I still hate poopy diapers, they never get easier for me. Does this make me less maternal?
6. Loving that song, 'Hey soul sister, hey there mister, mister.' I know it's pop crud, I still love it.
7. I had made this ideal schedule that looked something like this; 5am- workout, 6am-devos/school prep 7:30 breakfast, kids ready, school from 8:30-12 with breaks and chores in there. We were successful about a day. Yeah. It looks more like cuddle til 8-ish, school done by 2-ish.
Oh the fun guilty pleasures.

Should I be blogging right now?

Definite no. We need milk, River is awake and Andy is gimpy after Sunday football, but.... There's things I need to write down. Andy had big plans for ski patrol and all sorts of fun this winter that will now have to wait due to this new knee injury. Lily is obsessed with her American girl magazine and has began a heart system. She puts one heart if she kind of wants something, 2 hearts if she definitely wants something and a bzillion hearts if she will hold it against us later in life if she does not get that horse and sleigh for her American girl. She stays up looking at the magazine with a flashlight and pen every night. It's adorable and reminds me of 'Miracle on 34th St.' Claire is reluctant to turn 4 because I have told her to many times to, 'stay little.' It was obvious I took that too far when she told me, 'she did not want a birthday.'
Oops. Well our little man, is now on the move. He's been officially taking steps for a few days now.He's in the unrolling toilet paper, knocking down plants phase, fun fun. Don't worry about me, my plates are spinning, but not crashing to the floor. Homeschooling is a highlight and has been a great choice for our family structure. Andy did all the teaching yesterday, being couchbound and all. I started teaching zumba again, and love the sweet women and bonding that happens. I also had my first counseling session last night. It's different than you expect. It's not so much, 'How did that feel when you were 15...?' It's more establishing with them who we are positionally in Jesus and the difference that makes in every area of life. Of course with me something had to go a little wrong. I had an asthma attach at the very end. Real professional, me gagging,coughing and puffing on an inhaler. She mentioned she had 4cats and a dog. I said, 'Yeah, that's probably it.' Off to buy milk. Peace.

If you're married or will be someday.

Tune into these. They are frank, provocative and Biblical. I have been convicted and encouraged. They're a great date or to take on your ipod. You won't regret it!

A few mistakes lately.

1. Tonight I rented 'Last Song.'
2. Yesterday I efficiently rose at 6 am and planned school for the day. I then efficiently crawled back into bed at 6:45 and stayed there til 9. Does this count as a teacher inservice?
3. Wanted to have the house smell 'fall-like', so I simmered apple peels and cinnamon, apparently way too long, and spent the next few days scrubbing that pan.
4. Was hurt that we were just going out to dinner for my b-day. I really got upset about this and let Andy know how hurt I was. He apologized as we walked into our friend's house and heard, 'Surprise.' Yeah, I felt really stupid.
Yay, for feeling stupid, it's so refreshing to lean on a perfect Savior, and realize it's not up to me or about me.

30 reflections upon turning 30.

Psych! All I have to say is that with three kids, an IRA and a minivan it's about dang time I'm 30. So I welcome you thirties, but take it easy, don't go too fast.

Girl's Trip to Prince Edward Island.

I am in a race against time to get these pictures in and memories written down. Tomorrow it's back to reality ie. school, cooking, diapers, you know, life. I did come home to a very sweet welcoming, complete with my b-day week schedule. That was an awesome treat. To sum up this trip, my mom spoiled us for a week. Here are the highlights;
1. The beaches were amazing!
2. Theatre and/or live music every night of this vaca is living my dream.
3. Seafood fresh and available everywhere!
4. The people were so sweet!
5. Reading 'Anne' as we traveled and seeing the inspiration behind my , and I think Lily's, favorite book.
6. B&B's
7. Mom and Lily. Yahzee, reading in bed, laughing alot, P.E.I. Preserves, 'I'll take your trash, this is the house, right through here is the carriage ride', sharing a bathroom with men, starfish, and so much more, thanks for the memories.
8. Making pottery.
9. Stopping anywhere and everywhere we saw something fun!
10. Coming home to a great Husband and kids that I missed, but appreciate all the more after little breaks! Not to mention an amazing mother-in-law who took great care of the family-thanks for the clean house, sheets, etc... Couldn't have done this without you guys.

River turned 1 today.

When I say I can't believe it, I really mean it. I of course took a trip down memory lane once the kids were all in bed. First I looked at the pictures of us having River. I love having babies. It may sound weird, but I love pregnancy, labor, delivery and the hospital stay. So needless to say, I got sentimental. I thought, ' I wonder what all our babies would look like next to each other at 1 year. ' Here you go. There is a definite resemblance, but each one is different too. We are enjoying River so much! He's cuddly, sweet and very chill. Happy Birthday River.

Guess what!

I'm up at almost 2, and so I'm going to blog. Why do I not realize that I don't have the 'magic Andy gene' that makes you able to drink an espresso at 9 and fall asleep like a baby, neatly at 12. My head is whirling. Josh Glidden, if you guessed I was pregnant, I do have other surprises(although I have to admit, another baby has been one of the thoughts in my over-caffeinated brain the past two hours.) I've also been thinking about homeschooling and, 'Do I have the chops for it?I'm praying for strength in weakness and trusting greatly in Jesus to provide wisdom to teach and train, which may sound like the dumbest or smartest thing to some, all perspective. I really can't express how much I am enjoying being a mom. It is beyond special and beyond words, can't part with any of them.I'm thinking about going to Prince Edward Island with my mom and Lily in just a week and am too excited. I'm remembering how I was anticipating meeting our third baby just a year ago, and how special that time was, and in disbelief that he will be a year on Friday. I know it's cliche', but where does the time go? I love that yesterday my mother-in-law said she was a great-aunt and Claire said, 'yes you are.' I 'm loving taking walks and listening to Mark Driscoll's doctrine series and praising Jesus for everything that He has done for me. I'm thankful I'm married to the best camp director ever! He loves Jesus, me and our kids and is doing what he was made to do, that's exciting!