Game on

You can relax, the wait is over and I coughed up the $2.50 to continue to bring you pictures of my darling children!!  The recurring monthly fee has spurred me on to get the blog published in hardcopy, however I need some time to reload the pictures to the 2007-2008 posts first!  I think I deleted them without knowing what that meant the last time I hit the limit!

That said, if you want a copy of the hardback blog, you'll have to let me know and I can give you a price if/when I finally get it done.  Although the book will be free to anyone who babysits so I can work on getting the photos back up!!

In the meantime, here are some of the things you would have missed if I wasn't so cameraphone-happy...

When Emma saw this picture on my phone, she suspiciously asked "when was this taken?"  I explained it was taken Monday night when she was sleeping.
"Why wasn't Toby sleeping?"
"He was being naughty and wouldn't go to sleep?"
"So, if you're naughty you get to stay up late?"
Um, I guess!

 We told Toby if he ate some broccoli he would be strong like Daddy.  He believed us for two bites and then showed his muscles...

He is thrilled with the "new" bike he got at the yard sale.  I'm so impressed with how much my kids embrace used or handed down stuff.  They think it's like a personal gift from the previous owner!

Saturday Emma started ballet again.  She was excited and couldn't wait to show off the legwarmers I got her!

 Apparently though her bangs (fringe) is growing out well and now needs restraining, hence the new "updo" she modeled after ballet as we put up the Christmas tree...

 We had to get new lights before we could decorate the actual tree, but the kids were not very patient and looked for something else to decorate...

Later that night Toby was not keen to go to bed, so he chose to sleep on the floor, as we discovered when we came up to go to bed!

Sunday, after church we got to hang out with PB for a bit.  The kids went and sat at this table and asked PB if he wanted to come to their "meeting"!  Quite literally one of the most patient (and busy) people we know, of course PB went...

The conversation was hilarious and I tried to record it paparazzi style...

Reached my limit

So a funny thing happened - turns out I reached my limit of free storage of pictures for the blog!  1GB is all you get for free, and we're there.

I suspect I reached it a while ago and deleted a folder from Picasa online, without realizing that is where the blog pictures are held!  That's why there's no pictures in the early posts anymore.

The solution, a monthly fee!  $2.49 per month for 25GB of storage, is not really a big deal, but I'm wondering about the future.  Where do we go from here?!

The blog is essential - it's how I share our lives with my faraway family, and at least a few others (though I'd love to hear from you too! ehmnews@gmail.com).  So do we abandon the old posts and use the storage for the future?

I'd secretly hoped that one day we could print the blog out.  So many stories and memories, that no photo album could manage.  If you know where/how to get that done, please let me know!

Until then, I'm not quite sure!...

End of an Era

Last night was a bittersweet event as we parted ways with our '92 Nissan Maxima.  

I bought the Maxima back in 2004, when I first moved to the suburbs.  Scott and I were dating, but I had no idea if that was going to be a long-term thing, same with my position a work, so I opted for a cheap run-around that would not be a big financial commitment.

The car served me well and I only stopped driving it in 2007 when Emma was born.  Scott gallantly gave me his Explorer to drive to the hospital each day as West Philly is not a place you want to break down in!

Ironically, the Maxima outlived the Explorer which died in 2009!  And Scott continued to drive the Maxima when I got the mini-van.

The Maxima had plenty of signs of aging:

• The AC has not worked in a couple years
• The alarm [sometimes] goes off when you open it, only to be stopped if you open the trunk!!!!
• We had the one window "sealed" because if you wound it down, it wouldn't come back up

and we long ago had invested more than it cost in repairs!  So in the summer, when it looked very shaky on its last legs, we invested in a 96 Chevy Tahoe and have since wondered what to do with the Maxima.

On Saturday morning before our yard sale I listed it on Craigslist (free local classifieds online) with Scott's number.  But before the yard sale even started a professional picker had shown up, bought a few things and was browsing our table.  He looked down our driveway where the Maxima was inconspicuously parked and said "Is that for sale?"  "Why yes!" I answered and called Scott over!

You know I don't believe in coincidences, and there really was no way for this guy to know we were selling the car, so I have to think that God sent him our way so we could keep making our steps toward financial peace.

Last night we met Vic and signed the car over in exchange for a perfectly reasonable amount, and will save a bunch on car insurance and registration fees to boot!  Our home looks strangely grown up without our hoopdie car parked out front.  We'll all miss it for a few days (including the kids who enjoyed driving around with the windows down in the heat of summer!)

Life Is Hard So You Can Grow

Sometimes I find myself pitching a fit, not dissimilar to the way my kids do!  Sure, the words and arguments may sound a little more sophisticated, but the reality is I just want my own way.  I'm sure that never happens to you, but should it, this was helpful for me, and it may be for you... ;)

Life Is Hard So You Can Grow

by Rick Warren

Many religions and New Age philosophies promote the old lie that we are divine or can become gods. Let me be absolutely clear: You will never become God or even a god.

That prideful lie is Satan’s oldest temptation. Satan promised Adam and Eve that if they followed his advice, “you shall be as gods” (Genesis 3:5 KJV).

This desire to be a god shows up every time we try to control our circumstances, our future, and people around us. But as creatures, we will never be the Creator. God doesn’t want you to become a god; he wants you to become godly, taking on his values, attitudes, and character. We are meant to “take on an entirely new way of life — a God-fashioned life, a life renewed from the inside and working itself into your conduct as God accurately reproduces his character in you” (Ephesians 4:22-24 MSG).

God’s ultimate goal for your life on Earth is not comfort but character development. He wants you to grow up spiritually and become like Christ. Becoming like Christ does not mean losing your personality or becoming a mindless clone. God created your uniqueness, so he certainly doesn’t want to destroy it. Christ-likeness is all about transforming your character, not your personality.

God wants you to develop the kind of character described in the Beatitudes of Jesus, the fruit of the Spirit, Paul’s great chapter on love, and Peter’s list of the characteristics of an effective and productive life (Matthew 5:1-12; Galatians 5:22-23; 1 Corinthians 13; 2 Peter 1:5-8).

Every time you forget that character is one of God’s purposes for your life, you will become frustrated by your circumstances. You’ll wonder, “Why is this happening to me? Why am I having such a difficult time?” One answer is that life is supposed to be difficult! It’s what enables us to grow. Remember: Earth is not Heaven!

Many Christians misinterpret Jesus’ promise of the “abundant life” (John 10:10) to mean perfect health, a comfortable lifestyle, constant happiness, full realization of your dreams, and instant relief from problems through faith and prayer.

In a word, they expect the Christian life to be easy. They expect Heaven on Earth.

This self-absorbed perspective treats God as a genie who simply exists to serve you in your selfish pursuit of personal fulfillment. But God is not your servant, and if you fall for the idea that life is supposed to be easy, either you will become severely disillusioned or you will live in denial of reality.

Never forget that life is not about you! You exist for God’s purposes, not vice versa. Why would God provide Heaven on Earth when he’s planned the real thing for you in eternity? God gives us our time on Earth to build and strengthen our character for Heaven.

The Mommy Rhapsody

The Parent Rap

Happy Anniversary

My grandparents are celebrating a big anniversary, and I have a special message just for them!

Click on the image below to see it full size!

Thanksgiving

Those of you who know it was Thanksgiving on Thursday, and therefore Black Friday the next day, have probably been expecting a tale of plenty of eating followed by plenty of shopping.  Well, I'm here to tell you that this year Thanksgiving was just the opposite!  

Okay, not totally opposite - I ate a lot of food, and hats off to Julie and Ellen for an amazing dinner followed by dessert at Christina's, then more dessert and Polar Express at Mrs. T.'s!

But as for the shopping - that part was 180 degrees from last year! I did not shop at all on Friday.  I did take Scott's glasses to be repaired after Toby removed both lenses, but that was free!!

We also visited Melissa and Keith, who welcomed baby Leighton Kruze last Thursday.

But it doesn't stop there!!  Not content with not spending money, we also decided to make some money!  After week 3 of Financial Peace University, where Dave Ramsey says to sell whatever you can to pay off debt, we decided to hold a yard sale.  But we thought it would be much more fun to join others and invited the whole FPU group to come sell with us!  8 families did...

We made some money, and also cleared out the basement so we can start to make a play space for the kids.  There were some big things that didn't sell, which I'm told will go quickly online, so I'll be on that this week.  Scott sold his old Maxima!!  It was a little unexpected, but we recently got him a Chevy Tahoe, old but in good condition, so we planned to sell the Maxima anyway!

I also made a huge decision, to part with the baby clothes I had kept.  I only kept the really nice stuff, most of it barely used. I gave Toby's clothes (and my post-partum clothes!) to Melissa and went through the three huge space bags of Emma's to sell.   

Of course, going through it brought back many memories.  I could tell you when she wore almost every item, and likely have a picture of them all too!

Needless to say, I kept a few things, for Emma to see when she's older, and maybe even have for her kids.  Ever the fashionista, she wanted to try and wear most of it, but even she had to admit it was too small.

 The dress was huge on her even then!!

It was so cold at the yard sale on Saturday, barely 40f and windy!  People came, but nowhere near the numbers we hoped.  Still, we acted on our new focus of becoming debt free and had a lot of fun and camaraderie doing it.  The clothes will go on consignment, so someone else can sell it!

This year I am very thankful for family.  I can't believe I've been back at work for 18 months now, and it would be inconceivable if it weren't for the love and help of Scott's parents.  It's also that time of year when I think about Christmas past, and start wishing we could be with my family for the holidays.  Unfortunately, now that the little monkeys are both over 2, the price is extortionate, so at best we are hoping to make it over for Christmas 2013.

Whether near or far, I'm thankful for the family we have, and one day, maybe I'll know how to express it!

Picture blast

These cool connectors should spare my sofa cushions from becoming forts!!

 Toby likes to vary his TV watching position!

Emma messing with my phone!

Wreck-It Emma!

No words needed.

Sunday afternoon, while I went grocery shopping...It's dark by 5pm now!

This is Toby first thing this morning.  He only wakes up like this after a full night's sleep!!

Big girl

I don't know if I told you about the big treat on Emma's birthday.  I took the afternoon off work and picked her up to go shopping at the mall.  

 Rocking her new boots!

I was so excited about it, and looking back it may have been because I got to skip work to go shopping, but I was really anticipating a new phase of shopping for Emma.

Until now, when we have bought clothes, I've held them up to judge the size, or gone by the age in the label.   Sometimes I might even slip them on over her clothes, or in a corner somewhere, have her try them on properly! 

However, age 5 is the crossover from 5T to Small, so there is a new world of big girl clothes opening up. And so, this was her right of passage to the whole world of shopping, and a part I thought she would love - the fitting room, specifically the big mirror.  

We had a lot of fun in Target, looking for things...

But I have to confess, I found more for me than we did for her - though in my defense, I had a bigger giftcard to spend than she did!!  And we had a good time trying on, but she really still wanted to spend her money in the toy department!

In the end though, it was one of very few times we've been out by ourselves and I was pleased that Emma felt special and asked to go on a date with me again.  "But not shopping!"

Perfectly acceptable

Some days I long to be perfect.  Not so I can be better than other people (and even thinking like that would reveal pride, an imperfection!), but because it grieves me so much to disappoint others.  When that happens, and my [often] deep flaws are revealed to people, I find myself wanting to withdraw into a place of solitude (i.e. "run and hide"!), where I can try to avoid making mistakes.

Unfortunately that's not possible.  Even hiding away can hurt people that love you!  And so continues walking the fine line of being yourself, being real, and being aware of how you impact the people around you.

I try to remember that relationships, with all their mess, confusion and chaos are God's will for our lives.  The tension in our relationships is an opportunity for growth in "how will I respond?"  (And nowhere is this more evident than in  parenting - can I get an "Amen"?!!!)

On my way to work this morning my mind kept returning to something Liz Curtis-Higgs talked about at the conference. 

Her primary focus was Ruth, a Moabitess.  For those of you who aren't familiar with the Moabs (as I wasn't) they are descended from Lot, who as you may recall was involved in the whole Sodom & Gomorrah scandal (read Genesis 18 onwards).  So, being a Moabitess, was not something to brag about, at least not around Israel.

But Liz also referenced a few other women in the Bible, namely...

• Tamar: tricked her father-in-law to getting her pregnant, which was in desperation, but still bad.  (read Genesis 38)
• Rahab: was a prostitute, but she protected God's people and was spared the fate of the rest of her people (death) and was welcomed into Israel.  (read Joshua 2)
• Bathsheba ("Uriah's wife"): She slept with King David while her husband was at war.  David later had her husband killed to try and cover-up his indiscretion. (read 2 Samuel 11)
• Mary: was a virgin when she became pregnant with Jesus Christ, but to the people around her, that was probably not what they thought!  Even Joseph needed to be told by an angel not to condemn her. (read Matthew 1)

What is significant about this group of women?  They are the only women who were named in the lineage of Jesus Christ (Matthew 1).  Each one of them would likely be would discounted them from our minds as suitable women to be related to Jesus Christ, Son of God.  Whether personally or through their "upbringing" they were socially questionable choices.  But not in God's mind.  He is in the business of redeeming the broken, the guilty, the flawed, and giving them new hope and a future.  (The more broken, the more glory they bring to God.)

If God can bring about a spiritual and moral rebirth in these women, you need to know that he can do that in you, and I, no matter how imperfect we are.

It is by God's grace, in providing a substitute to take our place on the day of judgement - the only perfect person, that we become acceptable to God.  We don't become perfect when we put our faith in Jesus as our Savior, but we join God's family, full of other imperfect, but faithful individuals who allow God to show his redeeming work in our lives.

And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
Phillipians 1:6

So, while I'm still a work in progress please be patient with me!

Bookworm

This morning I got the kids up in the usual way.  Emma first - I go in and sit on her bed, which usually wakes her up, but she pretends to be asleep until I say "Behold, here lies Sleeping Beauty!"  to which she responds "I'm not!" but still does not move or open her eyes.  Yet she lays there until I plant a big kiss on her cheek!  Then she'll immediately get to important matters - what she wants to wear!  (Which she changed her mind on when it came to getting dressed, but was just fine so no fuss!)

Toby on the other hand is usually FAST asleep in my bed.  Nothing wakes him, so I don't!  I simply take off his PJs and put on his clothes until I have to sit him up and change his shirt!  Depending on how much sleep he got he will either fight with me, playfully, or whine about it!  I try to err on the side of caution time wise!

Anyhow, Emma usually "forgets" socks, so today I handed her a random pair I grabbed out of the drawer.  (Often she will deliberately wear odd socks - but I don't care!  I just want her dressed.  I must be getting more relaxed in old age!!)  As I walked out the room she said "Mom, do these socks say happy?"  (My Mum is now realizing that these are the same socks they bought her over 2 years ago, with various words on the bottom!  Yes, they are not really white anymore, but they still fit and have no holes!) 

Anyway, back to my response.  "What letters do they say?"  "H-A-P-P-Y."  Then yes, they say "Happy".

(Let it sink in...)

In case you are just waking up yourself, you might have missed the fact that Emma is able to read!  I'm not just talking site words here.  The same girl who was able to spell "flamingo" to me in the car by sounding it out, is now applying herself to reading, and blowing our minds!!

For her birthday we got her some kindergarten reading books.  I heard my niece (who is two months younger) could read and my sibling rivalry kicked in (hey, at least I can admit it!), and I ordered the books kids are using in the school she'll start in September.  I figured we'd try and get her familiar with reading herself by then.

I took out the first of the 10 books and read through it with her.  She liked it a lot.

Then she wanted the second book, so I gave it to her, and taped it as she looked at it for the very first time (honestly)...

I realize there are many kids reading at her age (at least in my family!), but what's incredible about this, is that we haven't really "taught" her!  Okay, I have been getting her to sound things out for a while, but this is beyond that!  I expect Nanna and Pops may have been doing some reading since Scott's mom was the only one who read to her for many months as a baby!  But otherwise it's also carefully selected TV (love Super WHY!) and a natural intelligence that frequently outwits us!

Toby does not want to learn how to read right now, but if Emma does, I bet he will!!

School Picture

Here is Emma's latest school picture.  I'm always amazed at how expressive she is in every situation!!

Quote of the Day

Last night, about 9:30pm, Scott and I were watching TV in the living room while the kids played upstairs "until we come up to put you to bed"!  We were both exhausted having worked a whole day and then Scott was painting up at church, getting it ready for the big Thanksgiving celebration this weekend!

Anyway, we hear a little voice on the stairs...

Toby:  Guuuyyysss... (Slow and drawn out for dramatic effect!) I have pokey things.

Us: What??

Toby: I have pokey things!

Me: (internal thought) uh-oh!

I leaped up (quite literally), realizing that he had the box of drawing pins I had left in Emma's room and had thought just an hour earlier "I must remember to take them downstairs, lest Toby should get them."

Thankfully, he had not done any damage to the house or himself by that time, so I removed them from his possession.

Don't judge me - unless you have a boy, in which case I know you've underestimated them too!!

Happy Birthday Emma Hope

Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday dear Emma
Happy Birthday to you!

Behind the scenes

I know you didn't forget that tomorrow is Emma's birthday!  Can you believe she is going to be 5 already?!  In all honesty, I can barely remember her as a baby.  She seems to have morphed into a teenager a little fast.

We celebrated on Sunday with a party at the church. I invited all of the girls in Emma's class at school, as well as the girls she is friends with from church - 14 of them in total!!  What can you do with 20 little girls?  Have a rock concert of course!!

My philosophy behind my kids birthday parties is to give them 2 hours doing something they love with their friends.  Toby got to play ball and run around.  Emma, well, what does she love more than being on stage and the center of attention!

I got Emma a cute, rockin, outfit which Emma agreed is "rockstar-ish" as was her hair!!  She decided she should wear sneakers, as "it is a rockstar party"!?  The girl has more opinions than socks!

We scheduled the party for 2-4pm at church.  Now, on a Sunday, there are a few other things going on!!  We had to wait until the second service was over - usually aroun 12:15pm, but then people hang out for a good half hour.  We had to wait and then flip the place.

We cleared the stage, brought in a kids drum kit and an old keyboard!  Emma's pink inflatable guitar was on a stand and the pink inflatable mic was ready for vocals!

Because we were running late on the room setup, we kept the kids in the lobby until the "show" was ready!  This actually built a lot of anticipation with the kids and parents.  Scott came out and took Emma in so she could make a grand entrance.

Shortly after the doors opened and the kids went in and gathered around the stage.  (I'm describing it in detail because I was so flustered I did not have my camera on hand :( !!)  Then our friend Judy, on the real mic announced the birthday superstar and Emma appeared from behind the backstage curtain!  It was really great, and all Scott's idea.  

Judy played some songs on her guitar and had the kids play along on the real instruments and rock out on the inflatable guitars.  They had a great time and when Judy was over the kids got to rock out to Emma's favorite songs from Vacation Bible School and my friend (and Emma's favorite adult) Michele lead the kids with that.  

I could not have done it without them, natural entertainers, and Annette, Emma's sunday school teacher who hung around to help us set up and stayed to help me with the craft I'd gotten for the girls to make.  

Toby was given permission to come to the party and be the only boy, because he's "my brother and I love you!"  We also had help from another church friend Kevin who helped set up and with the music.  It was a team effort to flip the church, but it was great.  

I did get a few pictures and some video, but it was crazy and we lived in the moment for a change (that's code for running around like chickens with their heads cut off!)  Here they are...

With Lainey and Abby

 These kids love to rock!

This was a totally spontaneous pose with Talia from school!

With "Miss Michele"  (seriously, I think she might be more excited at seeing Michele than me when I've been away!!)

Time to say goodbye, with Sienna from school, who, according to her mom, "loves her some Emma!"

Each day I try to count the blessings of having Emma for a daughter, and the amazing little girl she is.  Having a party where Emma would run around yelling and giggling with her girlfriends, feeling like a superstar was not even on my radar even 4 years ago, but it is certainly a joy to behold.

Women of Purpose

Friday morning I dropped the kids off at Nanna's and joined Scott's cousin Bevin on the road, headed for the annual Women of Purpose conference in Hershey, PA.  (It's no coincidence that they put a women's conference in "Chocolate Country"!!)

It was really tough for me to go actually, I was having very strong emotions about leaving the kids - though thankfully they were not so concerned and let me leave without guilt!

We made it there in record time (thanks to lead-foot Bevin ;) and found some seats for the first session.

I'd been looking forward to this for literally a whole year, since we found out that Liz Curtis-Higgs (author of Bad Girls of the Bibles) was returning as the keynote speaker.  Liz was the speaker in 2010 and I just loved her.  She is funny, funny, funny AND has an incredible way of presenting scripture with insight and detail.

And she did not disappoint!  Speaking on the book of Ruth (just 4 chapters, but so much more than I ever realized!), Liz started out with some amazing words from God. 

Here's a brief look at some of what she said on Friday night...

Ruth, from Moab, a despised people in Israel's eyes, had married the son of an Israelite couple who moved to Moab to flee the drought in Israel.  After they were married 10 years, both the Israelite sons (who Liz nicknamed Wimpy and Frumpy, based on the Hebrew meaning for their names!) and father had all died.  This left Ruth, her mother-in-law Naomi and Orpah, the other brothers widow, childless and without a provider.

Naomi opted to move back to Israel when she heard the famine was over, thinking her kin would take care of her.  She told her daughters-in-law to go back to their families where they could likely remarry and have kids.  Orpah went, but Ruth wanted to go with Naomi.

Naomi did not want this.  She probably realized that her kin would not welcome a Moabite in their midst, and she could impact Naomi's help, however Ruth was not to be dissuaded;

But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.” When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.
Ruth 1: 16-18

God saw Ruth's faith, and though she was not an Israelite, He moved in the heart of Naomi and her kin to where Ruth was not only accepted (Naomi said to her, “Go ahead, my daughter.” Ruth 2:2b), esteemed and loved, BUT (Liz kept referencing these big "BUT's" of the Bible!) she was also one of the women in the lineage of the Lord Jesus Christ, the great-grandmother of King David to be precise!

In the book of Ruth, Ruth is "redeemed" by a family member of Naomi's, a Godly upstanding man named Boaz.  As Liz reflected on the story she demonstrated how Boaz's response to Ruth, acceptance, protection, provision and love, mirrored Jesus's way with us.


When Liz (we're on first name terms now!) spoke about Ruth, I identified with this young woman.  She was a foreigner (check), who had adopted a new culture that included following God (check), had no blood family around (check) and did not have a squeaky clean past (check and check)!   And yet God so loved her that none of that mattered.


And yet I find myself often thinking that God could not possibly accept me, and all my flaws, and failures and past. 

When she had finished, there was an altar call. For those of you not familiar with evanglical church, an altar call is where the preacher invites anyone and everyone to step toward the "altar", the place of offering for God.  I went forward and sat on the floor, in front of the stage to pray (it's ok, others did it to!!).
  
So, as I sat before God, in a room with more than 3,000 women, but very much alone, I poured out my heart to Him.  At first I was not sure what I was struggling with, but the more I talked (and cried) the closer I came to understanding this desperate need for validation, to know that I am His and I am acceptable.

For a long time I wasn't.  He could not accept me while I lived independently, seeking to satisfy my own wants in my own way - that's sin and being holy, God could not accept me.

But then I realized that Jesus could atone for my sin, His death and resurrection was available to me to pay for my sin and wipe my slate clean.  I asked Jesus to do that for me, and I believe He has.

This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

Matthew 26:28 

God gave Jesus to die for our sins, and he raised him to life, so that we would be made acceptable to God.
Romans 4:25

I was so thankful to have my closest friends there with me, to speak against the thoughts of self-doubt and speak truth into my life.  And so I left with a lighter load than I came.

We went out for a bite to eat, and slept in the nice hotel before returning for session 3 this morning.  On my way in I found the entry form for the raffle to win the Hershey gift basket, and put down my info so if nothing else I would get email updates on the other events in the district!

We took our seats and waited for the morning session.  Before the "main event" I popped to the bathroom, as you do!  On my way back a friend texted me "You better share that chocolate. Lol!"

I just knew somehow I'd won the basket.  I walked a little quicker back to my seat to see the modest, but still pleasing basket of goodies!  With disbelief I asked my friends if I'd really one, which I clearly had.  I was in a pleasant state of shock - I don't win much, and there were so many women there!

I smiled as we began to sing with the band and I entered into it with so much more heart than I had been able to on Friday afternoon.  And as I looked at the words I was singing, and sang them to God with absolute conviction, I felt God whisper to me (you know, that quiet little voice that reassures you in times of need) "The chocolate is a gift from me."

You probably fall in to one of two camps at this point:
1) You think I'm "hearing voices" and are ready to call an institution, or;
2) You know that my eyes immediately filled with tears as I "got it", as I felt that acceptance that had so alluded me before.  

Whichever camp you're in, you need to realize that there are no coincidences or happy accidents.  God is a master orchestrator and takes much delight in bringing joy to His children.  I'm not good at "feeling" God, nor am I great with intangible concepts.  But a basket of chocolate, God knows even I can feel that!

And here endeth my happy story today... with a picture of me and Liz (!), whom I encourage you all to check out online, in a book or DVD!

(and my gift from God!!)

Evening Commute

This was part of my view on the commute home the other day.  Ignore the fact that I was taking a picture while driving for a minute, and look at the colors of the sunset!  It's the perfect hour to be driving home, like the sun is beckoning me to follow it West!

And when I cross the bridge, heading down the other side toward the airport, there were lights everywhere, with the cool sunset.  I couldn't take that picture because I was driving really fast and I'm already scared of driving over bridges!  (That's pretty reasonable - the consequences of get knocked off the road on a bridge are much worse than anywhere else!)

Am I going soft?  Maybe, or maybe I'm making the most of a 40 minute drive in heavy traffic with people who are not nearly driving fast enough!

Charted

Scott and I are trying to teach the kids the value of money, and earning rewards.  I say trying because we briefly discussed it after a session of Financial Peace University (which is really making a HUGE difference, by the way) and then I launched into some undefined reward system when I needed to get the kids moving one day!

Here's the basic premise:  the kids get a star sticker each time they complete an assigned task.  When they have 10 stickers they will get $1. 

So far the kids are highly motivated by the sticker reward!  They get to stick it on the chart...


(Who knew Toby would be the one to stick them in a straight line!!)

On one occasion a sticker was removed for bad behavior, but I have since deemed that to be cruel and harsh.  (Read "You are Special" by Max Lucado for reasoning behind that!)

Here's where our "system" is still a little undefined - we randomly offer stickers for things, mainly as bribes!  They will sometimes get stickers for getting their shoes on (when I'm running late and they are dragging!), last night Toby got one for taking Emma her drink because I couldn't and she was being lazy!  And the latest sticker task (which is totally worth it!) is for when they sleep in their room all night! 

So, it needs a little refining, but we'll get there.  A bonus is that they both like to count the stickers and say the colors!

Photo blast

What with the storm and a bunch of other stuff going on I have not had time to download pictures for you!  I'm only squeezing it in now because it's only going to get worse over the next few weeks!!  So, ready?  Here goes:

Last Monday, we got the kids ready to head out in the pre-storm...

And headed over to Nana and Pops house for breakfast, where Sophia enjoyed torturing Toby...

a lot!!

That night, we never lost power for more than a couple of seconds, but Emma was awake in bed for one and got very scared.  She ended up passing out on me about 10:30pm!

On Tuesday the kids and Scott were home, and the kids had a grand old time on the horse!

Here's how it goes, from a previous time...

And while I was at work they all headed to help clean-up at church.  Pastor Bob sent me these pictures of how the kids were helping...

It's deceptive - the church was spared thanks to some good preparation!  But since it was closed, what better time to clean the rugs!

On Wednesday (Halloween) we joined Scott's cousin Bevin, her husband Tom and the kids BFF's Lainey and Paige for the evening at the indoor playground.  I'm sure I've explained why we don't observe Halloween, so I won't bore you again (unless you ask!).  This was great though, because there was no one else there, so the kids had free reign of the place.  

On Thursday, the kids showed their appreciation for the t-shirts Grandma and Grandad sent over from Italy! They both fit, but as you can see, Emma is a little thicker in the middle!  (Looking back it's been that way ever since they put her intestines in, so I wonder if her abdomen will ever grow to catch up!)

That's it for now! 

As if you could ever forget, it's Emma's birthday next week and she'll be turning 5.  We can hardly believe it, even if she can.  She's very adamant about keeping growing no matter what we say!  Stay tuned for pictures from her "Rock Star" party and what I predict will be the ultimate gift!

I don't know if you've looked back at the early posts recently - if you have you'll notice that all the pictures are missing.  I discovered this on Saturday and am not sure how to fix it.  It's quite distressing for me, as I often look back and find the details on things.  Let's hope it can be resolved!

Storms

I got this response from a colleague in Long Island, NY today:

Yes I made it through the hurricane. Today is my first day back to work since when the hurricane hits us last Monday 10/29. I have to say it was pretty scary for us New Yorkers. We are not use to these types of hurricanes. A lot of people lost their homes in long island that were either on the water or if they were close by the water they had major flooding. Also, areas in New Jersey were destroyed especially seaside heights, a very popular vacation spot in jersey. The boardwalk & original rides were wiped away along with homes. Very sad. But, now we have another situation going on here… is shortage of gas. The lines are wrapped around blocks, people are sleeping in their cars waiting for the gas trucks to come ..it is crazy. I am still waiting to get gas for my car. I have some for now but, you know that will eventually run out. We are hoping things will be better this week with the gas supply.

One more thing added to this whole hurricane disaster is that we are suppose to be getting a Northeastern storm on Wednesday with heavy rains and winds….unbelievable! This can cause more problems with power out again and flooding.

I can't even imagine the conditions for people along the coast, many not even able to return to their homes, let alone work. I naturally think about those with kids or extra medical needs and feel so bad for them especially.

I know it can be easy to say 'how can God let this happen?" and that's a question we often default to when bad stuff happens. It's actually not a "bad" question. In fact I challenge you to take it to God in prayer.

You see, bad things are not evidence that God is not loving. Quite the contrary. The very fact that God has not wiped mankind off the face of the earth in response to our rebellion and faithlessness is a sure sign of his love for everyone.

The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.”

Genesis 5:1-7

Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth.

Genesis 5:11-13

But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

Genesis: 5:8

You know the story: Noah, a farmer, faithfully built a giant boat according to God's instruction (despite living in the middle of dry land and it never having rained before!). God sent two of every kind of animal to join Noah's family on the ark, and they were the only survivors of the flood that came up through the earth and down from the sky.

After the flood receded,

Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it. The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: “Never again will I curse the ground because of humans, even though every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.

Genesis 8: 20-21

God has kept this and so many other promises to us, despite the vast majority of people rejecting Him.

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

2 Peter 3:9

For Christ-followers, who are heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, we need not fear death, because we will move into our inheritance. And it's an open invitation to become a "joint-heir" by asking Jesus to be your Savior.

For everyone else, rather than cursing God for allowing the trials to come, it would be better to be thankful that they are still alive and still have time to turn to God, before the final day of judgement.

Now I know why you're supposed to stock up on nonperishable food
before storm. It's because your supermarket might lose power and then
have no food for you to buy when you do get to go grocery shopping!

Quote of the Day

Em: remember when I was a baby and they stuck my tongue to my nose?

LOL, she was with us on the weekend when we showed someone her baby
pictures. I corrected her - they stuck her tongue to her lip!!

Molly

I think I mentioned before that our neighbors have a dog called Molly.  Still a puppy, she is a bundle of energy!  In fact,the kids don't go in their yard to play with her because she affectionately jumps all over them and they don't like that!

However, they will stand at the fence for ages waiting for her to come outside, so they can "play" with her!  How? you ask.  Let me show you...



I'm not sure who gets more exercise, but it seems like a win-win!

The silly dog likes to eat leaves which the kids will feed her through the fence!  I don't think she really eats them, before you dog-lovers comment!! 

We also threw the ball for her,but she only brought it back once, so we had to stop that came!