I strive for this verse:

"Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: "Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all." Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised." Proverbs 31:28-30

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Josiah...a missionary??


So the other day, Josiah mentioned that he wanted to know God more and said that he was going to pray for God to reveal Himself to him more. After his shower, Josiah came up to me and said "Mommy, I prayed in the shower to God and you know what he is trying to tell me?...I think He is trying to tell me that He wants me to be a missionary when I grow up." My heart is so excited! I know my son talks to God and loves Him with all his heart. I know that Josiah is only 9 yrs old but he has the faith and love for God greater than his age reveals. He has such a tender heart for God and I love to watch his relationship grow in Christ! Frank and I have said for years that God has something special for each of our kids. I'm not surprised by this desire or calling to be a missionary because Josiah is my child that carries his bible to read most places. He will take it to the ymca and read it while talking to moms in the play structure while I'm running. I had a woman confront me outside of the ymca one time telling me she knew me, or rather knew my son Josiah. I didn't recognize her at all. She said that Josiah has been talking to her for awhile now at the y about Jesus! I loved that she told me that! He is my sweet boy who really does not want to see anyone perish because they don't know God. Thus, I don't doubt that maybe God really did speak to him in the shower and maybe it is exactly God's calling that my little man will grow into a man of God and will go to another country and preach the Gospel. Yes, it is true, my God has a special plan for my sweet Josiah and I'm delighted and blessed to be his mother.

Monday, January 24, 2011

How Judah is entertained during school hours.

Today I'm starting to feel sick. I have a head cold...the hurting head, running nose, sneezing, kind of cold. I just feel crummy all day although I did manage to make it to the gym and run a quick 3 miles. I am feeling worse tonight so I will head to bed here shortly and try to sleep off this cold. The kids are all healthy though.


So while I'm working on school with the older boys, Judah enjoys being pushed around in a basket by his sister! H sure loves the ride and is very entertained! I believe Aliyah enjoys it just as much too!

Here he is waiting for her to come back.

Starting to get impatient sitting!

He does smile and gets excited but during the rides he sucks on his fingers and enjoys it!



My sweet girl!

And here is a picture of Aliyah's babies that she very tenderly tucked into bed on her floor. It was so cute I had to take a picture.


Well I'm about to hit the sack here shortly. First I will print out the application and fill that out for the adoption agency. I am so anxious to officially start the process to bring home our daughter!

Friday, January 21, 2011

Homemade Graham Crackers

Yum!

chocgrahamcrackers3sm.JPG


The above picture isn't mine, but do look just like how mine turned out! I made some chocolate graham crackers tonight to take to Josiah's cubscout meeting. I was hoping to bring some home. I was wrong. The boys gobbled them up so fast! Thus the reason I didn't have my own picture of them! I made regular honey ones last weekend! I liked the honey ones better because I thought they were less dry. I will make some cinnamon graham crackers tomorrow. These are so very simple to make, taste yummy, and sooo much cheaper than store bought ones.

Camping inside


So tonight I decided to let the 3 older kiddos get out their new sleeping pads that Santa brought and their sleeping bags to sleep on the livingroom floor. They were so excited! They love sleeping on the floor all together! Maybe next weekend I will allow them to make a fort and sleep in it, but tonight I was just too tired after getting home from scouts to make such a fort. This will have to do for now.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Aliyah is reading!

Aliyah read her first small book today! It is just a beginner book in a small series that I found at a thrift store. I have used this with the boys as well to help them to read. I am not teaching her to read early so that I can out do other moms nor does it make me feel like a better mom that my daughter can read before she is 5 yrs old. I am teaching her reading and math, on a kindergarten level now because she begs daily to teach her! Also, it helps her to focus on something so that she stops trying to bother Malachi during school. When she isn't doing busy work, she will sit and talk with Malachi and will try to get him to play with her when he should be working. It is challenging though, to be honest, trying to get used to homeschooling a 3rd child with my time. Every week we are progressing a little better. So without further ado, here is what she read tonight:

Tim Can
Tim is a can. Tim is a tin can.
Tim can bat. Hit it, Tim.
Tim can run. Run fast, Tim.
Tim can hop. Hop! Hop! Hop!
Tim met Sam. Sam is a pot.
Tim can help Sam. Tim can help Sam hop.
Tim has fun. Sam has fun.
Hop, Tim, hop. Hop, Sam, hop.
Hop! Hop! Hop!

PCS Orders....We will be moving :(

So we officially received orders to go to Fort Lee, VA in July for Frank to complete Captain Career Course. He will graduate from CCC right before Christmas this year and at that time we will move to another base. We should get an answer as to our new duty station sometime in September this year. It sure will be interesting to make 2 major moves along with going forward with the adoption. I have no idea how the specifics will turn out for this summer move as we plan, at this time, to try to put our things in a storage unit and rent a furnished apartment. We will take advantage of being close to Washington DC to take the kids touring the city and seeing the white house. However, I will miss Colorado Springs terribly. I will miss the mountains and the elevation....oh these beautiful mountains in which we can go hiking practically in our backyard. It will be sad to leave them. By far, geographically, this has been my favorite place to live. And once again, God has provided me with some awesome friends here as well, and it will be sad to say goodbye to them too. It will be a new adventure for us as we embark on another move.

Monday, January 10, 2011

Aliyah taking Judah for a ride!

I was busy cleaning up and went to check on Judah. I left him with Aliyah in her room. This is what I found, Judah being pushed around by his sister in a broken doll stroller....and enjoying it! I had to run and get my camera!





New Year's Resolutions

Ok, so how many of you make New Year's Resolutions to have them fall by the wayside before half the year is even over? I'm guilty of that one. However, a new year does make me want to set goals to strive for and achieve to become a better wife and mom. So here is my list:

1. Spend more time with God, daily in prayer and reading His word.

2. Pray daily for my husband and kids.

3. Be a better wife by finding new ways to "show" my husband I love him and appreciate him.

4. Spend quality time playing with the kids daily.

5. Pray with the kids and teach them more about God.

6. Organize and keep organized all cabinets in the house.

7. Learn to make at least 2 new meals a month.

8. Read to my children daily.

9. Read for pleasure once again.

10. Complete sewing projects that I have in mind.

11. Possibly start a craft business on etsy including sewing projects and baked goods to help raise funds for our adoption.

12. Begin a family tradition of game night once a week.

13. Put together a better organized daily school schedule.

14. Teach the older boys how to cook meals on their own.

15. Add some fun field trips to our homeschool schedule.

16. Run a 50 mile race in the fall.

17. Train for the 50 mile race :)

18. Go on dates with my husband, 2-4 a month.

19. Update both blogs more consistently (adoption blog soon to be announced).

20. Take time out of my day to appreciate my children and my husband and not worry so much about cleaning.

So there you have it. I hope I don't fail myself. I have a lot I really desire to work on to be the best wife and mother that God desires of me and most importantly I desire to grow closer and stronger in my relationship with God. I look forward to this new year of changes!

Bathtime for Judah!

Judah loves water! It is so cute to watch him put toys in his mouth and try to crawl in the bathtub after other toys! When he takes his bath, it has become a splash-zone! Watch out!






And this picture I threw in here because it is just cute :)


Sunday, January 9, 2011

Homemade Wheat Bread

I found this great homemade wheat bread recipe that I love. It is very simple and the only thing that I change is that I use all 3 c. of freshly ground white wheat (similar to whole wheat with a softer texture), rather than using half all purpose. You can use what type of wheat you like. It has great flavor and when cooled before cutting, it turns out beautifully. My kids love to eat it plain, with a little butter, or peanut butter. My husband loves this bread toasted! Homemade bread is cheaper and tastes so much better in my opinion than shelf bread. Go ahead and give it a try! You wont' regret it!



Now doesn't that look delicious?!

Peanut Butter Cups

I found a new creamy, rich, chocolately, peanut buttery, yummy goodness of a recipe this year...Homemade Peanut Butter Cups!!! These are delicious and the kids had a blast making them!! Check out the pics and see the recipe that follows:








Peanut Butter Cups
(as found in Rachel Ray magazine)

8 oz milk chocolate, chopped (I used dark chocolate)
4 T. unsalted butter at room temp.
3/4 c. natural peanut butter (I used Jiff creamy but next time I will try with homemade peanut butter)
1/2 c. honey

1. Place 12- 2 1/2 in baking liners on a baking sheet (I used silicone cupcake holders). In a double boiler, melt the chocolate. Reserve the pot of hot water to keep the chocolate liquid , as necessary.

2. Place about 2 t. of the melted chocolate in a baking cup, swirling to coat about halfway up the side of the cup. Repeat with the remaining cups. Refrigerate until set.

3. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter until fluffy, about 2 min. Beat in the peanut butter and honey. Transfer the mixture to a resealable plastic bag and snip off one corner.

4. Fill the chocolate cups about 3/4 full with the peanut butter mixture, smoothing the surface. Refrigerate for 15 min.

5. Top each peanut butter cup with melted chocolate to enclose, smoothing the surface. refrigerate until hardened. To serve, remove the candies from the baking liners.


Christmas 2010....posted a little late.

We had a nice Christmas this year but definitely missed Frank. He was able to skype with us Christmas eve and Christmas day though so that was great! We spent Christmas day with my brother, Andrew, then later for dinner we went to a friend's house and had a great time with friends! We tried to do most of our traditions while Frank was home for R and R in November and hope to enjoy a nice Christmas this year with him.

So every year we buy something new to add to our lawn outside for the Christmas season. While Frank was home in November, he bought the presents down below. Josiah really liked the penguins we saw, so we bought them since they were 50% off. Aren't they cute?!


Here is Malachi helping Judah with his new Christmas present. He loves the music and enjoys dancing while standing!

And the older boys with some more Knex. We are still working on getting these suckers together! It would go quicker if daddy was home to help them!



And all the princess dolls for our little princess :) Princess Tianna from the Princess and the Frog movie has become her favorite Princess now that Aliyah knows that her sister will have brown skin like Princess Tianna. How sweet!


So I started a new Christmas tradition in our family. For the past 3 years now, I have stayed up late a few nights before Christmas, sewing the kids pajama bottoms. Then I wrap them up and they get to open them Christmas eve. This year I found guitar material for boys and girls so I had to get it since it was matching!! I think they all look adorable in their matching pj's :)







Pasta time!

Have you ever made pasta? Well I love my pasta roller that attaches to my kitchen aid. It makes pasta thinner than I can roll it out by hand. I love to use this for homemade lasagna noodles but you can also use it for ravioli or pirogies. Here is Josiah helping me out in the kitchen making pasta for some lasagna!







Judah 10 1/2 months old!


I just had to add some of these pictures of Judah. He surely is growing so fast!!! He loves his bananas and will try to shove half of one in his mouth at once! It is crazy! Isn't he just adorable?!