Mud Puddles and Son Shine

Giggles

2011-04-02T07:40:00.000-07:00

Random Catch Up

2011-03-20T18:59:00.000-07:00

We have been busy! Busy, busy, busy! The days seems to mesh all together mostly; laundry, school and meals. We are really looking forward to May when school winds down and school break for the summer.

A few moments from the past month or two...

A funny story; we were all sitting down at the table for school and I was having a moment of frustration.. when all of the sudden I look up and this is what I see. Up until this day.. my daughter has not drawn a square, circle or anything structured but scribbling and today I look up and here she drew a little person (with HAIR!). I can't remember when I've giggled so much.. SO funny!

Caleb and Asher made their very first Pine Wood Derby cars this year for Cub Scouts. They worked hard and had fun racing with their pack. We have a strategy for next year.. this year.. umm.. well.. they had fun! :) And this little guy is turning 6 months on March 22nd.. can't believe it! He is a happy little guy (although, sleeping at night is not his best attribute, but thankfully his cuteness makes up for it!)

Sending the kids outside come March and this is what I find.. yes, I think children can grow weary of snow as well. It has been a loooooong winter!

My newest addition! So blessed by my fabulous husband who bought me this for our upcoming 10 year anniversary. I was amazed how crazy it is to go shopping for a quality sewing machine; it was kind of like buying a new car.. really. In those terms; I think I went from a Civic to an Accord.

OLD MACHINENEW MACHINE I'm so excited to finally have my own sewing/crafting space now as well. I can't believe how much a difference it makes to not have to put everything away after sewing on the kitchen table. If I need to drop what I'm sewing and move on.. I can do so without having to pack and unpack again all of my goodies.

My time is up for now.. more later!

Isaiah 5 Months

2011-02-03T09:44:00.000-08:00

Too many glasses!

2010-12-27T15:46:00.000-08:00

Just a quirky post here and an idea. There are pet peeves that tend to grip me at times around the house. One particular peeve as of late is TOO MANY GLASSES around the house. I was noticing that even though we have quite a few in our cupboard by the end of the day they are all gone. 5 drinking people in the house times 3 meals= 15 glasses, not including snack glasses.

The problem with reusing glasses is that we never can remember whose glass is whose and with cold/flu season in high gear I hate to take chances to have them drink out of someone elses glass. Today I came up with a solution.. I took my handy dandy dry erase marker and wrote all of our names on our glasses.. easy peasy; problem solved!

Merry Christmas 2010!

2010-12-24T11:24:00.000-08:00

Christmas 2010 Patrick, Shari,

Caleb 8, Asher 6, Avery 4 and Isaiah 3 months

Avery's Birthday Blizzard 2010

2010-12-12T12:44:00.000-08:00

This picture doesn't really do the storm justice.. but yesterday, Dec. 11th, 2010 we got our selves a bonafide snow blizzard on Avery's 4th birthday!

Preparations were in the works for a "tea party" birthday celebration w/ friends in the morning..

Alas.. the party was canceled due to the dangerous road conditions. But, little Miss Avery took the news so well; I was so proud of her. The wonderful thing about having a larger family is that you can still get away with playing birthday party games together. We decided the tea party must go on! Here are some pictures..

Tea Pot Cupcakes

Playing "Pass the Teapot" w/ our stuffed animals...

Paper doily fans..

and of course and Tea Party!

Not too much longer after the above picture.. Avery was feeling sick and Patrick had to head out in the 16 1/2 " snow blizzard to take her to the Urgent Care. There were cars stuck on almost every block Patrick crossed; we prayed before he left and we were so thankful that God answered our prayers and they didn't get into any trouble while they were out. Avery and Daddy made it home safely with prescription in hand. :)
We ended our day watching Frosty the Snowman with bowls of popcorn. Overall, not exactly the birthday we had planned; but we were blessed, thankful and so happy to be home together safe and warm. God is so good!

Isaiah 2 Months and a sibling photoshoot gone bad..

2010-11-17T19:26:00.000-08:00

This little guy is already 2 months old today! He always saves the best smiles for when Mama is holding him.. thus these are the best I could get today.. actually picture 2 was the winner but as you can see he covered up the 2!I thought taking photos of 3 children was tough.. throw 4 in the mix and you're almost always going to have some sort of mishap.. this is as good as it gets.

Kid Speak..

2010-11-17T18:19:00.001-08:00

Avery tonight after Isaiah's bath, "Mom, when is the baby going to turn into a girl?"

A "new" normal...

2010-11-03T18:49:00.000-07:00

We are finally getting a bit more adjusted to our "new" normal way of life as a family of 6. Things are much busier then I ever anticipated but we are still content and so thankful for every blessing God has given and the grace He has given us to trust in Him in the midst of this busy season.

Isaiah is now 6 weeks old.. it always amazes me just how fast those first weeks go by. He is still a very mellow little fellow and loves to smile and coo to his big brothers and sister. Not sleeping through the night yet, but we've got some pretty good stretches of sleeptime where he is only waking up once.

I caught this moment the other day with Asher and Avery having a "tea party" together. These moments won't last long either.. best to get it on camera :o). Our newest technology has brought Grandma in our living room all the way from Florida. We recently joined the world of Skype and video calling. The kids are having so much fun with it and love to show Grandma new projects or things they've been up to at home. Isaiah also gave Grandma a few smiles today.

One of the best things that has come from adding another little one to our family has been that simplicity has become a necessity. A blessing in disguise. It has allowed me to enjoy more moments with my kids, invest more time in my family as we homeschool and realize that I can't do it all but I can let some things go to hold other things closer; like these beautiful children God has gifted us.

Blast from the past..

2010-10-20T18:59:00.000-07:00

While rummaging through the boxes the other night when I found my Brownie uniform, I also found a dress from when I was a little girl and Avery begged to try it on. I love the complete frilliness of this pink retro dress. So sweet!

Scouts

2010-10-19T16:41:00.000-07:00

After long debates over what activities the boys should take part in this school year, it was finally decided that Cub Scouts would be a great activity for the boys to be a part of. I really hope the boys enjoy it; already they are reaping some of the character fruits of the Boy Scouts. Caleb came home the other night with a BIG grin on his face as he announced that they are required to tuck in their shirts at meetings (note: the boys do have their shirts un-tucked in this picture; Mom was clueless!). He thought this was pretty neat, that he had a specified way to wear his uniform to show respect to the Scouts. :o)
Oh, and lookie what Mom found while reminiscing through some old boxes of hers this afternoon! Yup, this gal was a certified Girl Scout at one time. Actually, I was a Brownie, if we need to get technical. Troop 488, yessir.

I'm so excited for the boys as they begin their scouting journey. I love the Boy Scout motto and dedication to serving God and Country. I also love that the character traits that they are learning can be so easily applied to God's word as we relate to serving others as He has called us to do.

Thrifty Monday.. Mama's got a new pair of shoes..

2010-10-04T13:33:00.000-07:00

and so does Avery! Ah, the thrill of the hunt.. I am a thrifter at heart. I think even if we had the choice to buy brand new 100% of the time or used.. I would still go thrifting. There is just something satisfying and feel-good about buying a $70 sweater for $5. The only disappointment as of late is finding Patrick clothing at thrift stores.. either men are not as generous with their donations or Patrick is just a tall guy who is hard to thrift for. We went thrifting specifically for him this morning and came back with only 2 shirts (we were going on a little birthday shopping spree per his request).

Side note; a little ditty to sing to yourself as a new Mom to now four children.."When you have more then four, make sure you count them before you head out the door". Our first outing as a family of 6 to the thrift store and we forgot little Isaiah in his stroller one aisle away. (BAD MOM! I know.. we learned our lesson and well! No harm was done and it was for only a moment but I still feel sooooo bad!)

Anyhoo! Mom and Avery did come away each with a great steal of a deal on two pairs of shoes:

Talbots black loafers: $3 (like new!)

Girls Primigi Mary Janes: $1.50 ($50-$70 retail)

Thrifting is also a family affair.. Patrick even works for Goodwill Easterseals :o) (the headquarters not the store.. but we LOVE our discount!)

Cloth Diapering Update

2010-10-02T10:48:00.000-07:00

Just thought I'd give a little update on the whole cloth diapering adventure. . How is it really going? Believe it or not we love it! We are definitely not at the nitty gritty stage as far as the "poop" issue goes, that will be our next adventure 5 or 6 months from now. So far so good at the newborn stage. Isaiah does really well with his diapers and doesn't fuss any more/less about them (the wetness,etc.). Actually the Fuzzibunz that we bought are SUPER absorbent and most of the time we need to take the liner out to see if it's been wet or not. These work great for at night! The prefolds (old fashioned cloth w/ covers) work well in between washing the others. The covers we use (Bummis) have not leaked yet (nor have the Fuzzibunz).

I remember having a friend tell me she was going to cloth diaper and I seriously thought she was nuts! All that laundry, ickyness and mess.. who would want to go through it all. I really thought it would be way too much work. But, now that I am seeing the process and reaping the savings benefits I wouldn't go back to disposables again.

Isaiah Thaddeus Ley has arrived!

2010-09-25T18:57:00.000-07:00

Isaiah Thaddeus Ley was born on September 22nd (on Patrick's birthday!) at 3:55pm, 9lbs 14 oz. (yes, he's a pretty cuddly little guy :o) ) and 22" in length.

Isaiah was due on Sept. 16th, which made him 6 days overdue! This is actually my average length to go overdue. We always talked about how crazy it would be if he actually arrived on Patrick's birthday and each day it seemed like a closer reality. We had a Dr. appt. that Wed. morning to make sure baby was doing ok (non-stress test ultrasound) and it turned out just like Avery's induction, I had very low amounts of amniotic fluid so they sent us right over to the hospital.

We are so excited to have him home and completely blessed by God's provision of this beautiful little baby boy!

So I got a little carried away with the long holiday weekend..

2010-09-07T11:00:00.000-07:00

Sewing! I was browsing the Internet as I usually do for fun craft/sewing ideas when I spotted the baby lounge pants tutorial. I thought this would be perfect for new baby boy (9 days to go! or.. more); whom I'd been a little concerned about him being Mr. Big Bottom w/ his cloth diapers. I had, much earlier, bought a couple cute pairs of baby pants that were super slim and probably won't work out now that we've switched diapering plans.

I must tell you, the only other clothing project I've worked on was the rouching of my maternity shirts, which wasn't really putting any major clothing piece together, more like embellishing it was. So I was a little apprehensive at first, but it looked so easy I figured it was worth a shot.

Mill End Textiles had a fabulous sale over the weekend and I purchased the fabric for these prints for only $6 in total..
7 pairs! If you can see the brown pair camouflaged into the chair.. I actually used a t-shirt of Patrick's to make this pair.

I think with a little change in the pattern sizing and elastic size I might be able to make a few fun pairs of PJ pants for the other kiddos for Christmas. Caleb was interested in the camo pants and said he'd like to match his lil' baby brother.

I'd really love to take sewing class on making clothing specifically. I need to learn much more about the world of sergers, patterns, etc..

Cloth Diapering??? Are you CRAZYYYY?

2010-09-02T10:32:00.000-07:00

Yes, we have decided to brave the ins and outs *no pun intended* of cloth diapering. I've already gotten alot of "wow! you're so brave" or "wow, you're crazy!". But, then again, I've always loved a bit of a challenge :o).

I think the hardest part of the decision was figuring out which cloth diaper to choose. I did quite a bit of research and we decided to go with Fuzzi Bunz cloth diapers for the majority of our diapering. It was an investment but that will be evened out easily in 4 months of use and the diapers are sized to fit from 7-30+ lbs, so there is no need to purchase any further diapers after our first initial expense. I did end up buying two "classic" Bummis diaper covers to use with some pre-folds as "back up" if we end up running out of diapers more quickly then anticipated during the newborn diapering days.

What I do love about the cloth diapers (they arrived yesterday!) is that they are SO SOFT to the touch. Today's cloth diapers are much more absorbent then previous years and more adjustable for less leaking.

I'm looking forward to spending less of our monthly budget on diapers and also wipes.. yup, we're going cloth there too. I just whipped up some flannel wipes over the weekend on my sewing machine and bought some natural soap/oil to make wipes liquid. I figure we'll probably save close to $45-50 month in total.

The environmental issue of diapering is not such a motivation with us.. but hey, I guess there's the added bonus of less waste too!

Caleb's 8th Birthday (belated post)

2010-08-22T11:50:00.001-07:00

I am just getting around to updating a few pictures and noticed that I didn't get a chance to post Caleb's 8th birthday pics. I still can't believe my oldest is 8! Time flies when you're having fun :o)

Auntie Michelle bought the boys 2Barrel of Monkeys for their birthdays.. and she made it on the "Wall of Fame" for hooking all of her monkeys together. When I was little I never knew the actual rules of the game.. that you were actually supposed to link up the monkeys playing with one hand and picking them up off of the table with your first monkey and linking them altogether.Playing street hockey with cousin Isaac in the alley..

First Trip to Como Town..

2010-08-22T11:34:00.000-07:00

I have fond memories of heading to Como Town (old school Como Town, that is) when I was a little girl; so it was fun to be able to have the chance to take my kiddos there for the first time last Friday. We decided to skip out on the MN State Fair this year (the heat, the dust, the 9 months pregnant mama) and take the family to Como Town as a special treat this year. It was a fun day!

Duluth w/ the Family

2010-07-11T15:27:00.000-07:00

Baker's Square Pie Eating Contest

2010-07-10T11:27:00.000-07:00

We thought it would be fun to check out the Whiz Bang Days kids fun day.. and part of the fun was a Baker's Square Pie Eating Contest. The boys were up first and even Avery jumped up on stage last minute. The competition was tough.. but the boys each got a $5 bonus card from Bakers Square for participating.

Avery was so lady-like and took mouse sized bites in a lady-like fashion.. *unlike her mother and grandmother; see further pics..

Oh, and did I mention that the pregnant woman won this round? I'm not sure if I should feel shame or pride? But, hey, I got a certificate for a free Baker's Square pie out of the deal :o)..

4th of July 2010 in Excelsior

2010-07-05T08:38:00.000-07:00

We finally made it back to Excelsior this year for Fireworks and it didn't disappoint; we always have such a great time. Love to hear the MN Orchestra and relax by the lake before the fireworks. We still have our killer parking spot that we can get out after the fireworks in 5 minutes.. worked great once again! :o) Rain was forecasted but by the time the MN Orchestra played the clouds started to clear and the sunset was beautiful. We're so thankful for our freedom and the opportunity to celebrate it again this year! Happy 4th of July!

Asher's 6th Birthday

2010-06-30T11:02:00.001-07:00

Caleb and Asher w/ Cousin Aiden.. HOWDY!

Cowboy meets Cowboy Cake...

Horseshoes.. Panning for "gold"..

Our little cowpokes..

Up Nort' w/ Friends Father's Day Weekend

2010-06-30T10:48:00.000-07:00

Avery's favorite friend, Jonah.. she and he continue to insist and reaffirm to each other that they will be getting married.

Rice Crispies and a day on the lake...

Daddy and Avery..

Funny story here.. Patrick checks Craigslist every so often for a cheap boat so he can go fishing with the boys; so the other week I told him, well, we could talk more about it and pray about it.

So we were on the dock at our friends' the Bergs cabin and low and behold we look ahead and here is a small un-manned boat heading right our way towards the dock. We all giggled furiously that here was our answer to prayer! :o) God had sent us a boat!

The men did go take the canoe out to tow the boat to shore so it didn't get too far away from shore and tied it on a neighboring dock. Alas, it wasn't meant to be because someone did come and claim it the next morning. Oh, well.. I'm sure there are bigger boats out there somewhere that will be floating our way someday. :o) The classic "CHEESE" photo...

A not so bad, "CHEESE", picture..

Caleb was pretty excited to be able to go on the big pontoon slide this year.. the last time we were up at the cabin he had a big old cast on his arm 2 years ago.

Caleb's First Sewing Machine Project

2010-06-30T10:35:00.000-07:00

For many months Caleb has been begging to be allowed to try out the sewing machine. So we finally found a project that would work for a beginner his age and we went to work.

He decided to make a foldable velcro pouch for his mini-skateboard collection..

Another Scrappy Project.. Black Apple Dolls

2010-06-13T06:34:00.000-07:00

I have been finding so many fun projects online lately that require mostly fabric scraps from my scrap-pile and this was the latest addition, Black Apple Dolls. I found the idea and tutorial on Homemade by Jill , I just love her crafting blog.. so many cute ideas!

I figured since I'm in the crafting mode lately I should make a few gifts.. I'm hoping to give these to Avery for her Birthday/Christmas since they run so close together it's nice to have a few homemade gifts to even out our budget. I've also been browsing through the fun world of Felt Food.. SO cute! This might be an upcoming post.. :o)

Tie Dying w/ the Kiddos

2010-06-10T08:14:00.000-07:00

I did a brave thing the other day when it was raining.. we ventured into the potential stain- producing oasis in the land of tie dying. I've always thought it would be a fun thing to do with the kids and finally decided that Caleb and Asher might be old enough to proceed safely in doing so.
Avery was napping peacefully as we approached our project.. I figured 3 year olds and tie dye might be a dangerous combination.

Asher was so careful.. he did a great job!

Tada!
(Avery still had a couple of t-shirts made for her since she couldn't join in)

Oh, and we couldn't forget baby..

Crafting with Mom..

2010-06-05T14:40:00.000-07:00

We may have a future crafter on our hands.. Avery just loved working side by side with Mom this afternoon crafting together. (and yes, this is the illusive Mom picture that is always missing from our blog; swollen and almost 7 months pregnant but alas still a photo opp. I suppose)

There's just something about popsicles and Summertime..

2010-06-05T14:36:00.000-07:00

Sheep Mobile

2010-06-04T13:24:00.000-07:00

I love to browse Etsy and find super cute handmade creations for craft inspiration. I was browsing the other day and came across this cute sheep mobile. The crafter had listed hers for $88.00! I went to Michaels and purchased $2 worth of felt and $1 worth of emroidery floss. I just used leftover batting for my stuffing and leftover sticks from the photo frame project to hang them from. The clear string I used is stretchy craft string so when the baby wants a little entertainment we can just pull on it and it bobs up and down and around to make the wee sheep dance.
From $88 to $3 bucks!

Some more baby sewing and such..

2010-05-31T10:01:00.001-07:00

I found a really easy tutorial on sewing a baby changing pad and "clutch" to carry diapers. I had been looking at buying one at Target but they were listed at close to $30. I knew I had seen some handmade ones online and decided to search for an easy tutorial online; I found one at Click, Cluck, Sew that was super easy to follow.

I also liked the idea of not having to wipe down my changing pad all of the time.. instead I can just simply throw it in the washer and not fear tons of germs hanging out on it because I would hardly ever remember to wipe the vinyl down.

I'm hoping to make another one to alternate out when the other is in the wash...There is a built-in pocket on the bottom to store a wipes container/bag and a couple of diapers. I used chenille on one side (the changing side) and a fun fabric on the other.

A little velcro to close it..and presto!
I was also browsing the internet for some fun wall decor to fill up the freshly painted walls that were empty and do so on a low budget and found this cute idea at Blue Cricket Design. I already had the ribbon.. all I needed to purchase was the curtain rod at Target/$4, 5- 5x7" photo frames/ $1.99 each and a few sticks or other dried foilage, etc.. (I still might add/rearrange it a bit.. not quite exactly finished) Oh, and also add a few photos! :o)

I was a wee bit afraid of this project as I hadn't worked too much with elastic and sewing yet.. but it turned out to be pretty simple. I found this tutorial for a homemade changing pad cover at Prudent Baby. I just used a bit of fun fabric, terry cloth and elastic. The contoured changing pad covers usually run anywhere from $17-25 a piece.. I bought a yard of each fabric for $10 total and I'm pretty sure I can make one more with the remaining fabric or remnants from other projects.

Now on to altering Caleb's too-big swimshorts!

My Macho Man

2010-05-31T09:58:00.000-07:00

This is what I came home to the other night after being away... my macho man running barefoot on the treadmill. I told him it might be going on Facebook.. but decided to play nice and post it on our blog :o)

Baby Boy Ley

2010-05-24T11:08:00.000-07:00

Today I had my Level 2 ultrasound; a plus side to being termed as "advanced" maternal age (yes, at a whopping 35 years of age!) was the chance to see our little baby boy in 2D for free! :o) Can't quite tell if he looks more like Asher or Caleb.. I think I see Asher's nose.

Funky Fabric Flip Flops

2010-05-23T15:31:00.000-07:00

Now that our homeschool is closed for the summer (WOO HOO!) my crafting has accelerated and it has been so fun to get back into the swing of my favorite hobby. With the aid of some great crafting blogs I have found quite a few budget friendly projects to work on.

One day while browsing a favorite craft blog of mine, One Pretty Thing, I found a super easy and fun tutorial on fabric flip flops. I already had a pair of recently purchased $2.50 flip flops from Old Navy, a bunch of fabric scraps from old projects and my trusty sewing machine. The only purchase I made was to buy 39 cents worth of embroidery thread.

After choosing 3 patterns of fabric I cut out 2 strips of each fabric; 1 1/2" wide by 7" in length. I lined them up accordingly and laid them one by one on top of each other (slanted and messy looking is best) and sewed them side by side together. Once together I sewed lines down length wise over the 6 strips. I then cut 2 more strips 1 1/2" by 7" (same size as the others) to use for the toe (thong) of the sandal. (you don't necessarily have to have fabric between the toe) I took the embroidery floss and made some (messy) stitches tightly whip-stitched and sewed the fabric for the toe first. Whip stitch the sides on the sandals next..and you're done!They were so simple to make.. I bought another pair of flip flops for Avery for $2 at Michaels and made her a pair too!

Sock Monkeys R Us

2010-05-10T12:22:00.000-07:00

Been sewing, sewing, sewing up a storm lately getting the nursery ready. Just finished the sock monkey quilt/bumper set. There are so many fun tutorials online that keep me inspired.. baby burp cloths, nursing covers and taggie blankets, oh my!

It's 9:30pm..

2010-04-30T05:50:00.000-07:00

It's 9:30pm, my 3 year old daughter has gotten out of bed 22 times to use the bathroom; I am working vigorously on a sewing project and my temper is starting to flare. Back turned I hear a clip-clopping someone coming out of her room AGAIN. This time she's gonna get it! I turn and was just about to do just that when... this is what I see....

I started laughing out loud instead!
Niiiice and consistant.. but I love these humorous moments in parenting.

Update on Baby Ley.... It's a...............................

2010-04-22T11:10:00.000-07:00

Easter 2010

2010-04-18T15:06:00.000-07:00

A Fun Outing and a FREE Bike!

2010-03-27T12:19:00.000-07:00

Today we headed to Robbinsdale City Hall for their annual Easter Egg Hunt. Last year we went for the first time and scored 4 free Twins tickets and the kids had fun so we decided to head back again. The only sacrifice made in attending the event is the extremely LOOONGG line. But, Patrick was wise and said we should head there an hour early and just let the kids run and play baseball at the park while we waited in line. Boy we were glad we did! Asher picked a big winning egg and won a FREE bike! Not only free but his favorite color.. ORANGE! He was so cute.. the when the ladies opened the egg they started screaming and Asher about jumped out of his socks and ran to me. Needless to say, he got over it quickly and proceeded to go claim his bike. :o)

Dusted off my sewing machine..

2010-03-18T13:00:00.001-07:00

I dusted off my sewing machine this afternoon after being inspired by Homemade By Jill 's blog ; she is currently doing a series of maternity fashion re-makes.. taking old clothing and making them into cute maternity fashions. This is very budget friendly to me and thought it would be fun to try it out!

This particular project was to turn an extra large (tent-ish) t-shirt or tee into a rouched look. I had bought this regular (non-maternity) shirt at Old Navy for like $3 and it was pretty big a little too flowy and decided it was the perfect experiment to see if I could pull off the project too.

I didn't take a before pic but here is the after..

Super simple!

2010-03-13T14:17:00.000-08:00

My Stick Family from WiddlyTinks.com

Avery's 3rd Birthday

2009-12-12T11:57:00.000-08:00

Avery celebrated her 3rd birthday on December 11th.. it's hard to believe our little girl is already 3!

We headed to Build a Bear Workshop to find a bear to dress up for Avery.. the boys brought along their bears to dress them up and join in the fun too.

Grandpa thought it might be fun to buy Avery a fish for her birthday.. she later said she was going to take her fish out to play; needless to say Ms. Fish is placed very high up on her dresser.

Grandma got Avery a new baby doll complete with backpack accessories.. she loved running aroudn the house with her new baby.. you know baby-wearing is ALL the rage right now.

A "Mini" Extreme Home Makeover

2009-11-21T19:18:00.000-08:00

We just finished a few renovations on our home and thought I'd share a few of the before/after pics. We had to be ousted from our home for most of this week due to the trace lead found in the windows. So it felt a little bit like an episode of "While You Were Out" or "Extreme Home Makeover" when we returned after the work was completed.

Here a few of the "before" pics of the front walk

*a picture of our Sunday paper left on our front "dirt" step.. during construction..

and... AFTER! (minus the railing that is soon to be finished)
Here are a few before/after pics of the windows:

Master Bedroom: Before

(alot if not most of our windows had extreme warping and at times mold from the excess moisture in our home... see below pic)
After!Before:
After!

Kitchen: Before *This is the window that we were most excited to replace.. it was completed rotted underneath

the sill and the crank out windows did not stay shut anymore.After!!!
Before:
After!Before:
After! Boys' Bedroom: Before
After!!
Avery's Bedroom: Before

*Avery's windows were almost impossible to open in the summertime; her's were not the only windows like this.. Caleb could not open a single window in our house the windows were so tight and difficult to open. It actually worried me at times that if there was ever a fire that they wouldn't be able to open the windows to get out.

After!!
Living Room: Before
*This is a pic of our living room picture window before.. it was the only updated window that our house had been given before we had moved in (all of the other windows were put in along with the house in the 50's).. cosmetically it looked fine.. but if you look closely you will see the bend in the window slider. The contractor said that the window did not have the support it needed when it was replaced and therefore the window began to bow down.. thus creating HUGE leaks in our front living room.
After!

*Here you can see there are now two 2X4's supporting the window.. so that will not happen again.We are SO VERY thankful and give glory to God for His provision to have been able to make these much needed renovations on our home!

Fall Colors and Weather.. at last!

2009-10-24T17:42:00.000-07:00

We finally had a beautiful Fall day to enjoy together before winter comes back again. It really feels like we almost skipped Fall this year.. I miss it. We decided to head to Minnehaha Falls.. it was a gorgeous day to visit. We also were blessed when we arrived, we had forgotten to bring change for parking and just as we were about to decide what to do about it.. a very generous man offered to give us his ticket that had quite a bit of time left on it. :o) It does still make me smile when God provides in even those seemingly little ways.. we still give Him praise!

Missing!

2009-10-23T11:21:00.000-07:00

A tooth! Asher would be sooooo disappointed if I failed to post about his FIRST missing tooth! The tooth fairy did have a little mishap as the tooth was offically lost sometime that same afternoon. I reassured him that she found it and encouraged him to go check under his pillow. He returned quite delighted with 2 shiny quarters (the tooth fairy had an increase this year!).

Fall Family and Leaves 2009

2009-10-20T14:32:00.000-07:00

Our traditional Fall Photoshoot went off without a hitch.. thankfully the snow melted and we still got in before it was too late..

Avery helped out quite a bit this year..and of course, so did Asher.. :o) (comedy relief)

Caleb was the biggest trooper and has raked and bagged the yard already twice this year.. I'm beginning to love the years of child labor that have begun :o) I labored the child.. shouldn't he labor for me also??

Samuel, Samuel!, Samuel!!!!!

2009-10-11T19:17:00.001-07:00

Do you remember Samuel when he was a young man in the Old Testament living with the prophet Elijah and God was calling for Him in the night. I believe it was three times He called and each time Samuel went running to Elijah thinking that he had called him. It took him awhile to hear and respond when God was calling.

The other day I was thinking about how cute it is when Avery grabs a hold of my cheeks when I am not paying attention to her as she's talking and turns my head towards her. The more I reflected on it, I realized that I do the same thing with God. My sights get focused on something new that catches my eye, or a worry that is plaguing me, a fear that I'm sure will be the end of me and on and on it goes. All the while.. the Holy Spirit is calling to me, "Samuel.. Samuel.." and God is gently grabbing a hold of my cheeks and saying "look at me!".

First Day of School!

2009-09-28T18:50:00.000-07:00

We started school today and as tradition would have it here are the pictures from the front step photoshoot...

Caleb- 2nd Grade

Asher - Kindergarten

and.. the best shot I could get of all three on the steps.

There are more pics from our first day of school and such on our sister blog.

Get ready for..

2009-09-24T18:14:00.000-07:00

a ridiculous amount of photos from our visit to Cape Coral, FL to visit Grandma/Mom.

Sporting snorkeling gear.. we had so much fun diving for treasured "spoons" in the pool! Avery had fun picking (bushels full of ) flowers by Grandma's pool..

and of course, swimming in the pool too!

Oh, and Asher learned HOW to swim!!! :o) Yeah, Asher!!!!

Sunglasses were in!

We also had a wonderful visit with my step-brother Justin and his beautiful wife, Jessica and cute as a button lil' baby Caleb!

The kids happened to find a beautiful rainbow right outside our front door one evening after dinner..

Caleb went fishing for sharks with Grandpa Jerry and caught a pretty big sailfish!

We went to Sanibel Island to swim at the beach one day and here is what we read upon arrival..

we were brave, though, and did end up swimming quite a bit..

Mom and Avery at the beach..

Asher boasting his shelling finds..

The bruders..

It rained one day almost all day (unusual we hear in FL) so we went to the Imaginarium
where we scored free passes because our Science Museum membership in MN. :o)

(Avery attempting to pack herself along for Mom and Dad's getaway)

Patrick and I were blessed with 2 fabulous days alone

together on Sanibel Island.. a little island about 30
minutes from Ft. Myers.
And we concluded our vacation celebrating Patrick's 32nd birthday, what a perfect ending! :o)

(to the tune of that old camp favorite)

2009-09-15T05:56:00.000-07:00

Hello Mudder, Hello Fadder.. Here we are in Cape Coral,FL
Weather's great here, sun is shining,
Kids are swimming, there's no whining,
It's mid September, there's no school, please don't report us but the kids are in the pool.

(My first mobile blogging attempt)

A Good Read.. for Children AND Adults

2009-09-07T07:51:00.001-07:00

I was browsing through our church library the other day and came across the book, "A Child's Look at the 23rd Psalm" by Phillip Keller. Explores the meaning of the twenty-third psalm in which Christ's love for his followers is likened to that of a shepherd for his flock. What a comforting picture of God as our Shepherd. Would definitely recommend!

I know it's tough, Dixie..

2009-09-05T14:08:00.000-07:00

being a part of the family circus...

What made me cry..

2009-09-02T06:10:00.001-07:00

Now I know why Jesus said "Let the little children come and do not hinder them".. the closest humanly form of God's likeness in faith and in love. Love unconditional.

The other day we were in a quiet retail store shopping when we approached the check out counter. There behind it was a woman not at all attractive by worldly standards, someone who probably has been harshly treated by a cruel world, someone who I wouldn't have usually paid attention to that day.. of, course, I was cordial.. not unkind but not interested. She was quiet and not very talkative. It was then that I saw God's love. While I was busy shooing the other 2 children and getting out my wallet.. Avery slowly but surely began to smile and talk with her. She was not very receptive at first and didn't interact.. but gradually Avery began to break through and the woman began to smile. It was then I began to notice her, we found out her name was Marie. We said "hello" and what a pretty name Marie was.

We walked away and it wasn't until a day or two later that I thought of the incident and began to cry. I wonder how many people like Marie that I pass by and don't notice.. and I thought of Avery and her unconditional love and kindness for her.. how simple it is to actually step back and take notice of those who you meet and show God's loving-kindness. I thought of myself so underserving of God's unconditional love and kindness but yet I was accepted, loved, forgiven.

Phillipians 2:1-11

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy,
complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.
Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,
but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

I walked in on Avery the other day...

2009-08-29T13:21:00.000-07:00

in the bathroom going potty.. she turned herself completely around to face the toilet.. the screeching sound came from down the hallway.. I walked in and asked Avery what she was doing.. "I'm driving!".

Sculpture Garden

2009-08-18T13:15:00.000-07:00

It was a beautiful in the neighborhood and we decided to head to the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden this morning..

One of these years we WILL get a fabulous picture taken together.. I just know we will.. maybe before they head off to college we will master the art of everyone looking TOWARD the camera and SMILING at the EXACT same time..

Boy meets cherry on a spoon..

Boy meets "slide" sculpture

Baby girl looking so pretty staring at her toesies..

Upon returning Caleb asked to take a picture of the above..

"Watermelon Meets Clementine??"

Little Miss Sunshine

2009-08-16T13:41:00.000-07:00

Little People Fest

2009-08-16T13:39:00.000-07:00

Why blog over Facebook?

2009-08-05T22:50:00.001-07:00

I was contemplating the ins and outs of blogging and my lack thereof lately and surprisingly still came to the conclusion that blogging is still better then Facebook. Why?

1. It's personal. Not just anyone stops by usually only those with a keen love for my family and interest invested in the comings and goings of the Leys. (not just random "friends" I met through a friend of a friend whose aunt knows my best friend's dad and just happened to find me on Facebook)

2. It is a little more time consuming then a status update, I'll admit, but I am a bit more free to write down a little more randomness and rambling thought.

I think "I'm back".. will try to update more seriously.. definitely need to update the homeschool blog soon. Can't believe it is August already and I'm already searching out winter boots for the kids on Ebay. Is it wierd that I do clothing "nesting" in August?

If you buy a pair of shoes, you just might need a shirt to go with it.. and when you have a shirt to go with the shoes, then you just might need to buy the jeans to go with them, and when you have the jeans to go with them, you just might need to buy the winter jacket, snow boots, mittens/hats. That is my frame of thinking come August. Wierd, I know.

Did I mention it is 1am right now? Nitey nite.

Froggie goes for a ride..

2009-08-05T22:47:00.000-07:00

The boys took the neighborhood frog out for a spin on the remote control boat this afternoon..

Lemonade Stand

2009-08-05T22:41:00.001-07:00

Caleb and Asher decided to be entrepreneurial (I love spell check on Blogger, by the way) and manage a Lemonade Stand at our garage sale last week. We were completely out of disposable plastic cups; so the boys had to use reusable (hey, we're "green") cups. This of course led to sponatneous laughter from the grown ups when a shopper walked away with one of our cups and left Caleb speechless and shocked at the abusurbity.

Grandma's Red Readers

2009-06-30T11:23:00.000-07:00

Batter Up!

2009-06-19T17:22:00.000-07:00

Caleb, after being out last season with a broken arm, has finally made his baseball debut! :o) He's lovin' it and the fact that Dad is his coach this year! (the man works 80+ hours a week *no kidding* he is our HERO! We love you, Daddy!!!!)

New Roomie

2009-06-19T17:18:00.000-07:00

Oh, and did I mention that we have new roomies? One of my bestest friends from High School, Apryl and her hubby Rich have moved into our finished basement. We are enjoying the fellowship and the kids love em'!

A Girl and Her Dog

2009-06-19T17:17:00.000-07:00

Camping Taylors Falls Summer 2009

2009-06-19T17:12:00.001-07:00

Before and After

2009-05-23T14:40:00.000-07:00

Before:

After:

Wow, never realized what a difference it would make to FINALLY have the roller blinds taken out! Just bought some fabric and whipped me up some curtains on this fine Memorial Day weekend. :o) Next stop: paint!

Some Kiddo Pics..

2009-05-17T15:11:00.000-07:00

Avery recently graduated from her toddler bed to her big girl bed..
(she still looks sooooooo little in that big ole' bed!)

Caleb had his big "Skateboard Clinic" last Saturday.. it's the first time he's really been
super passionate about some sport in specific, it's really neat to see him show his independance (Mama's not too
entirely convinced about the whole skateboarding idea but she's warming up!) and enthusiasm about it.

Caleb mowing the lawn for the first time (w/ Dad supervising, of course!)

My little buddy Asher is going to be 5 next month, my how the time flies!

Priceless

2009-05-04T15:16:00.001-07:00

Running shoes= $60
Double Stroller= $70
Dog w/ Leash= $80

Racing your spouse down opposite blocks.. one husband racing w/ double stroller 2 kids and dog down one block, one spouse solo on the other= PRICELESS

A to Z randomness..

2009-05-02T19:53:00.000-07:00

Ugh.. I'm so not into bloggin' as of late. Been too busy outside enjoying sunshine and my family.
I guess a little randomness will do..

My A to Z list of things that are, that were and may be...

A- Asher, age 4 years 11 months, has conquered his worm fear http://leyfamilyblog.blogspot.com/2007/05/terror-in-backyard.html
B- Book worthy.. as of late, my nose has been stuck in books.. lots of them!
C- Caleb, age 6 years 10 months, just fell out of a tree this afternoon (he's ok.. but BIIIIG scratch on his back..)
D- Dad, Daddeo, Daddo.. is working, working, working.. and we LOVE, LOVE, LOVE him for it!
E- Effort, it is with exxxtrraa effort Mom is forging through the month of May homeschooling while the weather continues to become more summerish (ok, springish)
F- Fastidious.. I just like that word, there I said it.
G- God! He's so good! I praise Him for providing for our family.. for feeding us with His word.
H- Hospital.. Avery had a seizure last month, we praise God that she was ok and it was only a febrile seizure. (refer back to letter "G".. )
I- Ice cream.. what flavor? Ben and Jerry's Phish Food
J- Just about to celebrate 8 years of wedded bliss with my beloved.. love you, baby!
K- Keeping busy with Avery, age 2 years and 5 months, potty trained/ing, talking and talking
L- Lovin' and lovin' homemade granola as of late
M- Micah Daigle- Her mom is running a half marathon (she just started running just a few months ago for the first time!!) Her daughter has Crohn's disease and she running for the Crohn's Colitis Foundation.. I would love her to be able to raise the full amount for Micah! Here's her story http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/micahdaigle and how you can help http://www.active.com/donate/napa09minnesota/napa09CDaigle
N- Not really motivated to finish this at 10:30pm but I will press on..
O- Oh, did I mention Asher has learned to snap at the tender age of 4? He's soooo proud.
P- Park.. the park.. it's back, or the weather conductive to the park anyhow. YEE HAW
Q- Quirky me, I still need to sing the alphabet song when I stop at a letter to figure out the next in succession..
R- Running. Yes, still plugging along.. not marathon material, but getting my dose of exercise a few times a week. (lost 15 lb's this winter, lots of w-o-r-k at age 34, metabolism slllloowwwing)
S- Shari, yup, that's me.. um, hmm, I feel like I should be M- Mom, sometimes a little disconnected from Shari..
T- Talked waaayyy too much this month and ran down to 30 minutes the last week and a half of our phone billing.. I. did. make. it. with. much. struggle.
U- Usually asleep at this hour of the night.. a little closer to ZZZZZZ
V- Very addicted to Cameron's French Vanilla Roast, my guilt-inducing budget splurge
W- Wipes, almost done with em', last child allllmost potty trained, but still don't think I could live without out them.
X- Xtremely out of juice here, only 2 letters left
Y- Yawn
Z- ZZZ's are calling

Nite. nite.

Look!

2009-04-09T07:09:00.001-07:00

Last weekend at church we talked about the cross and how there are those who say over and over they try to believe but can't and his response was to "look", just look. Look at the cross.. what is it? What did He do? How could He do it? What kind of love was it that He bore those sins for me? I was meditating on that this week and for the first time I saw my sins on the cross and realized the freedom and thankfulness I felt in that moment. I'm so undeserving and His grace is unrelenting.

Sin has lost it's power.
Death has lost it's sting.

Happy Easter, truly a Happy Easter...

Easter Egg Hunt

2009-03-28T12:44:00.000-07:00

We headed out this morning to go Easter Egg hunting at the City of Robbinsdale's annual hunt. It was organized a bit oddly.. it was pretty nice afternoon for a hunt but it was held indoors instead of at the very large park right outside the door.. so most of the pics I took were outside in the verrryyy long line that we waited outside of the City hall.

There was a bunny handing out treats while we waited..

Daddy and Avery walking around the park.

Inside they had baskets that the children dug out 5 eggs each from and then proceeded to the next counter where they got their prizes. We did make pretty good in the end with Asher scoring us 4 free Twins tickets :o).

A Man, His Toothpaste and His Duct Tape

2009-03-18T11:53:00.000-07:00

Just what is exactly about men and duct tape? (*a remedy to the break in the toothpaste tube)

2009-03-06T12:04:00.000-08:00

http://graceandrew.blogspot.com/2008/10/sooner-than-later-updated.html

I am terminal

2009-03-05T11:20:00.001-08:00

and even you are terminal. Did you know that at some point in our life we will be, not might be terminal, in other words.. we are all in the process of dying. At some point in our life we are terminal. For some it is at 27.

For an amazing testimony please go here to listen to the amazing lesson from Andrew-Mark's life..http://www.wretchedradio.com/podcast.cfm?pid=194
or to their family's blog
http://www.graceandrew.blogspot.com/

I've reflected in some previous posts a little bit on suffering and the sovereignty of God.. and I've come to see more and more clearly that this testing, these fiery trials truly reveal what lay hidden beneath. I'm praying that the Lord will continue to help me grow in faith and trust in Him. Though, I am here now, my life IS terminal at some point and I want to pray, seek and give glory to Him in all circumstances. To be prepared in season and out of season to give Him glory.

1 Corinth. 3:11-13
For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw--
each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.

Who Would've Thunk It?

2009-03-01T15:52:00.001-08:00

Caleb asked what the longest word in the English language was today.

Answer: Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis

What? A lung disease contracted from volcanic ashes.

God is So Good

2009-02-28T13:03:00.000-08:00

I caught Avery singing "God is So Good" into the microphone this morning...

2009-02-25T10:03:00.000-08:00

"It must be understood that there are no nominal, halfhearted, lukewarm Christians in Russia or China. The price Christians pay is far too great. The next point to remember is that persecution has always produced a better Christian- a witnessing Christian, a soul-winning Christian. Communist persecution has backfired and produced serious, dedicated Christians such as are rarely seen in free lands. These people cannot understand how anyone can be a Christian and not want to win every soul they meet".

Richard Wurmbrand, Founder of Voice of the Martyrs

Wordless Thursday?

2009-02-12T08:53:00.000-08:00

A Lunchtime Conversation..

2009-02-09T09:20:00.000-08:00

Caleb: Mom, Guess who is the most important person in our nation?
Caleb (answering himself): Obama the President

Mom: Yes, you're right, he is a very important person.. we need to remember to pray for him and all of the important decisions he makes.

Avery: Obey Jesus.

Mom: Yes, we pray that he will obey Jesus.

Potty Training is Really Overrated..

2009-02-05T10:02:00.000-08:00

Potty Training Day 1:
0 hits 5 misses

But who's keeping score anyway?

Perspective

2009-02-02T11:13:00.000-08:00

Some days I am blessed with an altered perspective from my daily day to day thoughts and today was one of those days..

I was praising God that..

-my husband can preach the gospel safely on the street without being beaten or hit by rocks (or killed for that matter)
-I have more then one Bible safely stored upon my shelves
-my family members don't disown us because we believe in Jesus as our one and only Savior
-I have a church that is located in the very heart of a metropolitan city clearly visible and accessible instead of hidden inside the back room of a pastor neighboring 2 villages away

It can be so easy to forget, there are very few, if any, mainstream news reports, articles, etc. that show there are believers who are persecuted and condemned for their faith in Christ in other parts of the world.

Out of all of the things that lead me farthest away from the truth of God's word and empathy for the persecuted.. it would be the distractions of this world and my tendency to be lured by "things" and "stuff". Our pastor mentioned this in his sermon this past weekend,

It’s astonishing how blind prosperity makes us to the miseries of the world. God has some remedies for that kind of indifference. For example, it says in Hebrews 13:3, “Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body.”
How does that work? He says that there are people that we should care about who are imprison and mistreated. We tend to forget them. So he says, “Remember!” And he says: “As though with them” and “since you have a body.” So how does it work? It works like this: You have a body and sometimes it hurts. When it hurts, remember that there are people right now who are being mistreated—who are hurting much more than you. Imagine yourself in their shoes, and treat them the way you would want to be treated.

http://www.persecution.org/

Cowboy Tuff Caleb and His Partner Lil' Rascal.. aka Lil' Asher

2009-01-30T15:01:00.000-08:00

The boys just got their first cowboy boots from Auntie Katie.. legend has it that their Dad owned a pair when he was a wee lad and would not take them off even when it was time for bed.

Summer, where art thou?

2009-01-29T20:51:00.001-08:00

In this deep, dark, cold cave that I live in (ok, so it's not that bad) currently.. I have been reminiscing in my photo archives and found inspiration to write the 25 things I love most and yes, miss, about summer... 1. The feeling of the coolness of the grass on my bare feet and the luring scent of freshly cut grass
2. The warmness of the sun after returning from a dip in the pool (I do not avoid the sun.. it is my friend, my really good friend, read between the lines.. PLEASE COME BACK again!)
3. The park. ( no further explanation or adjectives needed)
4. Mr. Freezee's ice pop tubes
5. Along w/ #4, sitting out on the front steps with all 3 kids eating our Freezees

6. 4th of July Excelsior, MN.. Minnesota Orchestra serenading us into patriotic bliss.. picnicing..kids up WAYYYY too late.. the popping of fireworks in our ears... (can you hear it?)
7. Trips to the beach.. yes, I am aware it's not a real authentic beach here in MN.. BUT you can dig your toes into it and close your eyes and pretend.
8. The invention of aerosol sun spray (yes, bad for the environment.. but oh, SO good for the mother of 3!)
9. Days when our wardrobe consists of simply swimsuits
10. Date nights at the pool w/o the kiddos

11. Trips to the Como Zoo
12. Starlit nights that don't leave you frost bitten as you gaze
13. Kombocha tea on a hot summer's day
14. The warmness of concrete under my toes while chatting outside on my phone at naptime
15. That glorious and wonderful first day when you can roll your windows down (how I do wish the Honda Odyessy would have installed back windows that roll down before 00', though..)

16. Flying kites (ok, so we've never technically been able to fly a kite w/o the help of Aunt Katie.. but we DO enjoy the process of TRYING to get the kite up in the air)
17. Our summer trip to Bayfield to visit my sista and family
18. State fair goodness (see below)

19. Campfires and firepits and the smell of smoke on your sweatshirt after a brisk evening warmed by the fire.

20. Sporadic playdates accompanied by many strains of joyous squeals and laughter had by all.

21. Summer visits with Grandma

22. Marshmallow gooeyness

23. Pink Lemonade

24. Daylight savings time

25. Flip flops.. my favorite designer creation

Avery-isms..

2009-01-29T20:41:00.000-08:00

One day this week Mom decided on a special "treat" of Happy Meals for the kids.. and Mom not feeling so stellar on the healthy foods for the week sighed and asked Avery, "How was your Hamburger?". Avery, "Eat Fresh!"

Avery loves to play with her brothers dive-action figures in the bath and today she says, "Superman, diaper change?" and promptly put him on the changing table (a.k.a. the soap holder).

A Birthday..

2009-01-28T06:27:00.000-08:00

My dad came over to our house to celebrate his birthday the other day. I thought it would be cute to say something clever about his age.. such as, "78 is great!". Well... 78 IS great.. except when you're just turning 77.
Sorry, Dad! I'm sure 78 will be just as great as 77..

Right now..

2009-01-27T11:35:00.001-08:00

Right now my heart is burdened for a missionary family with whom I sat next to at table at a meeting only 2 months ago who is now on the field in another country and I just received word that there have been bombings only a few miles from their home and they have been interrogated by the officials and Bibles confiscated.. their children being led with them by guns around their home.

Right now my heart is burdened for a friend whose daughter is in the hospital..
and another friend whose daughter will be undergoing major spinal/brain surgery next week.

Right now my heart is burdened for my step father's health after a major surgery and my mother..

Right now God has given to me a precious gift.
Humility in the realization that my "cares of this world" are so pathetic at times and so very unworthy of the time and devotion I spend on them. That I need to devote more of my time.. because..

right now God has given me a precious gift.
Prayer.

It is not a meek offering thrown out. I wonder if I'll ever realize, because so often I doubt.. how much prayer works in the lives of believers and those around them?

Romans 12:12
"Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. "

Eph. 6:16-17 "and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints"

Lord, I pray that my eyes would remain open and that they would hear and not be blinded by the cares of this world.. but would be filled with the cares of Your kingdom and the cares of those around me.

A Dedication (or two) on Valentine's Day to My Fabulous Husband..

2009-01-23T10:51:00.000-08:00

I remember, 7 1/2 years ago looking In Your Eyes and knowing I would always be By Your Side. We talked about buying a house and what we'd buy If I had a $1,000,000 but decided on little Pink Houses were cozy enough. You asked me " Come Away With Me and maybe Sail Away with Me into the Sunrise." We had a few kids now and a few years gone by but every Friday I'm (still) In Love.. how we love to walk in Fields of Gold and watch the children run. I want to Thank You for providing the Tupelo Honey and Ice Cream. We both know that Sometimes You Can't Make it Your Own and I'm blessed to know that we're still One after all of these years.

I did it..!

2009-01-23T09:19:00.000-08:00

I. ran. 5. miles. without. stopping.
today.

very inconsequental, very non-world record worthy, trivial..

but.. I DID IT!

Fruit

2009-01-20T11:07:00.000-08:00

I've been thinking a lot about fruit lately.. not the food type of fruit but spiritual fruit and how what I reap can be passed down to my children. I have been reading in Genesis and the story of the fruit in the garden I have been meditating on a lot.

"So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. " (italics mine) Genesis 3:6

I was thinking about how she looked upon the fruit and contemplated her sin and then decided to disobey God anyway.. she then not only sinned herself but "she also gave some to her husband". I think about how I worry so much that my children eat healthy foods and grow strong but then how I sometimes neglect the "spiritual fruit" that I am passing on to them by my own thoughts, actions and attitudes.

"Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. " John 15:4

I know I need to spend more time making sure that I am abiding in Christ, that my fruit may be from the true vine and His Word, that the fruit that I produce I can show to my children and have them taste and see that it is good.

"He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit." Jeremiah 17:8

I need to be like a tree planted with my roots in the stream of Living water, never ceasing to bear fruit.. that my children may see and desire to be planted by God's word and promises.

Sometimes I become discouraged and fainted hearted about my failures in parenting but I also find that in those seasons it is when God is seeking to bear the most fruit in my heart.

Kid Speak...

2009-01-20T05:57:00.001-08:00

This week we were working on our memory verse at church with Avery...

Mom: Can you say your Bible verse?

Avery: ".... two masters!!"

("No one can serve two masters")

Mom: Who do we serve?

Avery: "Avery!"

Ai yi yi.. we've got some 'xplainin' to do...

Homemade Hummus

2009-01-19T07:52:00.000-08:00

I could not believe how easy it was to make homemade hummus.. and it tastes just like store bought (if not better) and cost effective. The tahini should last for quite a few batches and we usually have (ALOT) of garlic on hand, lemon juice and olive oil.

HUMMUS

14 oz. canned chickpeas (rinsed/drained)
2 Tbsp. tahini (ground sesame seed paste)
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
2-3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 garlic clove crushed

It would have been really nice to use a food processor but we don't own one yet.. so I just took my time mixing with our blender and it worked just fine. Serve with pita bread or veggie sticks.

Bible in a Year

2009-01-17T05:56:00.000-08:00

My friend, Christy, inspired me this year to read through the Bible chronologically and all the way through it. Although I'm pretty sure I've read the entire Bible, I have never read it in it's entirety in order of the events recorded and written.

I found an awesome website that takes you through the plan each day with the day's reading online AND... you can LISTEN to it!

http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/devotions/chronological/?date=2009-01-01

Homemade Granola/Measuring Math

2009-01-15T11:31:00.000-08:00

I originally meant this to be posted on our homeschooling blog but mistakingly posted on this blog.. to be honest was a bit too lazy to repost the whole thing over there.. so here ya go.

We are in-between our Math curriculum right now as we decided half-way through our year to switch from Singapore Math back to Abeka for the remainder of the year. So while we are awaiting our new Math book to arrive in the mail we decided to work through some concepts that we haven't spent time on this year. Yesterday we reviewed reading time and measuring time and today we decided cooking was in order to keep our house warm in the -17 degree temps outside!

Our Math concept today was discussing fractions and measurements. I began the lesson with 3 paper cookies and we broke them (cut them) up one at a time by 1/4's, 1/3's, and 1/2's. We then moved on to our measuring cups and compared the same fractions we used in our cookie discussion.

Caleb carefully measured all of his ingredients, picking out the correct measuring cups/spoons for each.

Asher was greatly anticipating the yummy results of our homemade granola!

Granola With Coconut and Berries

Recipe:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup shredded coconut

1/4 cup oil

1/3 cup maple syrup

Grated Lemon Zest of 1 Lemon (or lemon juice)

2 cups old fashioned oats

1/2 cup sliced almonds

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

(you can add more nuts if you'd like and flax for you health nuts!)

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 cup dried berries

Directions:

Preheat 375

Spread Coconut on baking sheet.. bake 10 minutes.. stirring often. Take out and place in bowl.

Bring oil, syrup and lemon to boil over med. heat and remove from heat. Place the remaining ingredients in a bowl except coconut and berries (will be added last after baking granola) and mix well.. add syrup mixture with dry ingredients and bake for 15 minutes. Mix berries/coconut and granola together and store in a container for up to a month.

Cabin Fever

2009-01-15T11:18:00.000-08:00

For those of you who are Floridians.. yes, it is -17 below today (not counting windchill) and yes, Cabin Fever is ramp id in our house. PLEASE send 5 one-way tickets from MSP to FT. MYERS... ASAP!

Kid Friendly Grown Up Food...

2009-01-12T12:05:00.000-08:00

What would be the top food picks for your kids? My kids love pizza and mac and cheese. I found a "grown up" version of these two recipes recently and have received a 5 fork rating from all five forks at our table.

The first came from Cooking Light's Dec. issue.. Double Mushroom Pizza.. so you mushroom haters (I know you're out there) might pass on this one, but if you love, love, love those shrooms like I do you will love this recipe.

Double Mushroom Pizza

Ingredients
1 (10-ounce) whole wheat Italian thin pizza crust (such as Boboli, *DO use this brand.. it was REALLY YUMMY!)
Cooking spray
1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
1 (8-ounce) package presliced cremini or button mushrooms
1 (6-ounce) package presliced portobello mushrooms, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
3 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 cup 2% reduced-fat milk
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons grated Asiago cheese
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 large plum tomato, thinly sliced
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 375°.

2. Place pizza crust on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 375° for 5 minutes. Remove crust from oven (do not turn oven off); set crust aside.

3. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray; add 1 teaspoon oil to pan, swirling to coat. Add mushrooms to pan; sauté 8 minutes or until moisture evaporates. Stir in thyme; spoon mushroom mixture into a bowl.

4. Add remaining 1/2 teaspoon oil to pan, and reduce heat to medium. Add garlic to pan; cook 45 seconds. Combine milk and flour in a small bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Add milk mixture to pan; cook 2 minutes or until thick, stirring constantly. Add Asiago and pepper, stirring until cheese melts.

5. Spread sauce over crust, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Top evenly with mushroom mixture, tomato slices, and mozzarella. Bake at 375° for 10 minutes or until cheese melts and begins to brown. Cut pizza into 8 wedges

The other recipe was also a Cooking Light find..

Ziti Spinach, Cherry Tomatoes, and Gorgonzola Sauce

Ingredients
4 ounces uncooked ziti
1/2 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
6 tablespoons half-and-half
3 tablespoons Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
1 cup fresh spinach
Preparation

1. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain.

2. Heat extra-virgin olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add cherry tomatoes, salt, crushed red pepper, and minced garlic to pan; cook 1 minute, stirring occasionally. Stir in half-and-half and Gorgonzola cheese; cook 2 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring constantly. Stir in spinach and pasta; cook 1 minute or until spinach wilts, tossing occasionally.

Generations...

2009-01-09T19:33:00.001-08:00

There has been something heavy on my heart lately.. my children, my sin, my responsibility to train them up in the Lord. Actually, my journey began about 2 years ago when I read the book, "Shepherding Your Child's Heart" by Tedd Tripp. It was really life changing to me for my own struggles first and foremost. I realized that I was coasting.. coasting through my walk with God. I was sitting in the back pew and feeling very, very comfortable there.

I had a huge conviction from the Holy Spirit that I was becoming luke-warm in my faith and feeling quite satisfied with my luke-warmness. I was also "satisfied" with where I was in my walk as a believer (note to self: ANYTIME you feel satisfied with your walk.. RUN FOR THE HILLS cuz' the devil is hot on your trail) I felt that I wasn't one of those "sinners' anymore.. Hey, I go to church every Sunday, I love to read Christian books (and of course my Bible) and listen to Christian music and hang out with my Christian friends. I guess, in a sense, I had the naive thought that I could also coast through parenting my children as well.

God truly convicted me of my complacency, my negligent heart, my sinful behaviors and attitudes toward my family. I wasn't seeking Him or His word to help me see my need for Him.. my need for the only One who can satisfy. I was still and still am, a sinner saved by his AMAZING GRACE.. (the song never meant much to me growing up.. but now it rings so clear and true). I am not a "perfect" Christian now or will I ever be, but Jesus is the potter and I am the clay.. He is making me into a vessel that is not as lumpy as it used to be.. His hands molding me each day.

Now, I cling to His promises for my children.. that they may hear His Word and it will draw them to the cross as it did me.. to convict them of their sinful hearts that they may "bear the yoke in their youth" (Lam. 3:27) and draw near to Him.
There is a song by Sara Groves, "Generations" , that really convicts me of the great responsibility I have as a parent to train my children up and be the Godly example of a mother to them.. How can I expect my children to reap Godliness and understand sin when there is sin in my own heart that I choose to ignore?

(*if you would like to listen to this song.. turn up your speaker volume..)
Generations Sara Groves

I can taste the fruit of Eve.

I'm aware of sickness death and disease.

The results of her choices were vast.

Eve was the first but she wasn't the last.

If I were honest with myself, had I been standing at that tree,

my mouth and my hands would be covered with fruit.

Things I shouldn't know and things I shouldn't see

Remind me of this with every decision.

Generations will reap what I sow.

I can pass on a curse or a blessing to those I will never know.

She taught us to fear the serpent.

I'm learning to fear myself

and all of the things I am capable of

in my search for acceptance, wisdom and wealth.

To say the devil made me do it is a cop-out and a lie.

The devil can't make me do anything when I'm calling on Jesus Christ

Remind me of this with every decision

Generations will reap what I sow.

I can pass on a curse or a blessing to those I will never know.

To my great-great-great-granddaughter, live in peace.
To my great-great-great-grandson,live in peace.
To my great-great-great granddaughter,live in peace.
To my great-great-great-grandson,live in peace, live in peace.

Remind me of this with every decision

Generations will reap what I sow.

I can pass on a curse or a blessing to those I will never know.

Eve was the first but she wasn't the last.

69 Cents

2009-01-09T11:45:00.000-08:00

A trip to the thrift store and $.69 equals alot more fun then you would think...

A Quiz

2009-01-09T11:43:00.000-08:00

Do you see something "missing" in this picture?

A Brief Interlude from Winter..

2009-01-08T12:14:00.000-08:00

Ahhhh...

Yes, that does make me want to inhale the Hawaiian Tropic oil.. breathe in.. breathe out!

Along with this brief interlude, I will include my top 10 reasons for loving *ok, so tolerating,and surviving* MN Winters:

1) I realized today while outside that my backyard looks just as beautiful as my neighbors yards covered with buckets and buckets of snow...

2) Anti-lock Brakes.

3) Snow + 2 eager, antsy, cabin feverish boys= Hours of play outside in the white stuff

4) I will attempt to steal Jenna's fave.. Kicking slush/ice mud off of the back of my tires!

5) The cardio benefits of taking your kids sledding UP and down VERY , STEEP hills

6) This winter, I'm thankful for a 6 1/2 year old who loves to shovel sidewalks :o) May this love continue for the next decade or so.

7) 30 degree days... can we say "BALMY" and "TROPICAL"?

8) I'm starting to run out of things to love.. but just wait a moment..

9) Chai Tea.. it just doesn't taste as good in the heat of the summer.

10) Target's propensity to display Spring attire the first of January every year.. oh, but it does give me hope that Spring will come.

The Shrider's Visit!

2009-01-05T11:51:00.000-08:00

Auntie Michelle and cousin Isaac came for a visit last week and we had so much fun!
Building ginormous marble mazes.. (with a little help from Auntie!)

Making Snoopy Snow cones with Auntie and Isaac.. (they still taste pretty good 20-some years after I first tried my own Snoopy snow cones machine!)

Hulk hands were a big "hit".. (no pun intended.. ok, so maybe intended!)

Avery loved spending time with "her" Izik. :o)

Seriously an amazing video...

2009-01-01T15:52:00.000-08:00

I just had the opportunity to watch the video the Bethlehem Star. Seriously, an amazing video.. you can order it at http://www.bethlehemstar.net/ or watch segments on YouTube like the first one below. They are currently sold out online of the DVD, but I'm hoping to order it when they restock later this month.

It's not a "Christmas" video.. but an AMAZING documentary that I would HIGHLY recommend on the star of Bethlehem that pointed the 3 magi to the Messiah. Very scripturally sound and it's simply amazing to see the discoveries that have been made with technology and astronomy.

An introduction states..

"THE STAR OF BETHLEHEM FASCINATES. For millennia, believers, scoffers and the curious have wondered at the Biblical account of the Star. The Bible recounts unusual, or even impossible astronomical events at Christ's birth. For many doubters, the account of the Star is easily dismissed as myth. For many believers, it's a mystery accepted on faith. But what happens if we combine current historical scholarship, astronomical fact and an open mind? Judge for yourself..."