What to write about

I wish I had the problem of not knowing what to post about...unfortunatley my life is so crazy busy right now that I have a million things to post about but not the time.
Things like...

- My kids are on spring break this week and that is always an extra adventure!
- I just got back from spending 5 days with my sisters in Michigan (where it snowed...while my home was enjoying 90 degree weather I was FREEZING with barley above freezing weather).
- How much fun I had with my sister Jodi and Joy and my friend Stacy without any of my kids in MI!
- My husband survived with ALL four kids by himself while I was gone...he even did Sarah's hair!
- We are getting ready to leave the country in 5 weeks to move to Southeast Asia!
- My husband found out on Friday (while I was in MI) that he would have hernia surgery on this last Tuesday (remember, we leave in 5 weeks!)
- He had his surgery yesterday and has been blissfuly unaware of much going on around him due to pain pills that I am hoping he has leftovers of so I can take one when he is better! :)
- Our house is for sale (and people generally want to look at times that aren't so opportune but will happen because we REALLY want it to sell!)
- We are packing, sorting, buying plane tickets, saying good-bye's, and going to a million doctor and dentist appointments before we leave!
- Potty training my daughter
- Celebrating Kolby's birthday with a party that he invites literally EVERYONE he sees to. (Thankfully most people know to wait for mom's invitation and not just go off of him!) :)
- How much we love our family right now...especially as our time gets closer to leave and not see them. My sister-in-law and brother-in-law have 2 boys and one on the way...YEA...but we will miss them, so we want to spend as much time as we can with them! :)
- My cousin is getting married on Saturday after a whirlwind engagement (2 weeks!)

Believe it or not, my list of things could go on...but I think you get the idea!
I will have to remember this post in the event that I ever do have a brain block and need something to write about...this could supply me for months! :)

Happy Birthday Stacey!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY STACEY!

We have known each other for such a long time. We pretty much grew up together. My sister and her were best friends...I was the big sister! Then she married my husband's brother. In the last few years we have become much more than sister-in-law's...we are friends...very special friends. I cannot imagine being aThomas without her!

Here are some things I LOVE about Stacey...

- she is a very giving person (she is constantly doing things for others...it lets others know she loves them and is thinking about them,..so wonderful!)

- she is so much fun to be with (how else would we have come up with the tinationary...find out that everytime you eat jellybeans you drool...or laugh so much in public that we draw attention to ourselves!)

- her family is very important to her (she has 2 wonderful boys...another on the way...and she does such a good job taking care of them. My kids would often rather be with her than with me!)

- she is a good cook (we all know Jon likes her cooking better,right?)

- she is a great listener (we have had many talks...as many as 14 times on the phone in one day...although that was a little extreme...stayed out talking until the middle of the night...we never run out of things to talk about and she is always ready to listen!)

- her relationship with the Lord is obvious (it is neat to look back over the years and see how much the Lord means to her. To listen to her as she talks about what God is teaching her and what she is learning. She is a great encouragement in that way!)

- she is a HUGE encourager (what else can I say?)

My list could honestly go on and on. But overall, I just want to tell you Stacey that I love you. You are a wonderful sister and friend to me. God has blessed me with your friendship and love. I can't really even imagine what it is going to be like without you in my life to have those daily talks, shopping trips, crazy family holdiays, and the special times we share. I will miss you when we leave for overseas in a few weeks...but I will always Love you, I will always be proud of you, and I will always count you as more than just a sister-in-law. ( I have to stop now becuase I am starting to cry...)

Happy Birthday! :)

A cell phone...in the mind of a 7-year-old!

I overheard this one-sided conversation between my oldest son, who was on the cell phone and my next son who was at home:

Andrew: Kaleb, want to hear a secret?
Hold the phone real close to your ear, are you listening?
(at this point I could just imagine him burping really loud...we were at Target)

Then I hear this: HHHHHHHHHHHHH

Andrew: Did you feel that Kaleb?
I will do it again, HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Can you feel it? I am breathing hard! Can you feel my breath?

Who knows what cell phones might do in the future...smells...feel breathing...the sky is the limit...at least in a 7-year-olds mind! :)

I'm Weird?

Stacey tagged me to do this fun...weird thing!

THE RULES: Each person tagged must state 6 weird things about themselves. Next, those who are tagged are to write a blog of their own 6 weird things as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 more people to be tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave a comment that says you are tagged in their comments and tell them to read your blog.

1. I drink Diet Coke almost every morning when I get up...it is my coffee!

2. I didn't like coffee. I have friends who LOVE it. We often went to Starbucks. I would say to the Starbucks employee, " I don't really like coffee, what do you suggest?" Yes, I got many strange looks. I decided I wanted to like coffee (hopefully to fit in better at Starbucks). So then, I asked the employee's, "I am trying to learn to like coffee, what would you suggest?" Yes, even more strange looks.
Now, I am a pro (as long as I am ordering the one thing that is my favorite). I walk in and say, "Iced, Tall, Nonfat, No whip, White Mocha!" It has taken me awhile but I now like coffee...(although, I will probably still take a Diet Coke over it any day!) :)

3. I get nervous after I speak (rather than the normal...before!)

4. If the bed isn't made when I go to bed...I must make it first, before I will get into it.
I like to sleep in it with the sheet up over the blankets, head OUT! My husband likes to sleep with the blankets all jumbled and his head UNDER! Yea, makes for some interesting nights!

5. I love to read, it is my way to keep my sanity sometimes. Here is why that is weird...where I go to read...
- IN the bathroom, door closed, toilet seat DOWN. (They still find me here, but can't get to me!)
- IN the van. not running. sitting in the driveway. ALONE. (I have only done this when my husband is home...and even then it took them quite awhile to find me!) :)
- IN the guest room. door shut. (it is normally shut, so if I can get in there without anyone seeing me I am good for about 5 minutes at least!)

6. I don't mind washing the laundry, folding the laundry (which is good with 6 of us to keep up with!), but when it comes to putting it away?! I would rather clean the bathroom (which we already know it NOT fun with 3 small boys!). I don't know...Weird?

Now, I tag, You, you , and You! Try it, it was alot of fun! :)

Living in the Bathroom

Have you ever felt like you lived in the bathroom...really just spent your entire day in there?

I have come up with one reason for everyone to do that at some point in their life (not because they want to, but they don't have much of a choice) and 2 more reasons moms do!

Reason #1 (for everyone) - When you are sick. You don't have much choice!But it will go away eventually and life will return to whatever kind of normal you live.

Reason #2 (this is a mom one) - When you are pregnant (no I am not, so don't get any ideas). It is amazing how such a little person can push so much on your bladder that you are literally going ALL DAY LONG..and all night too! I think that was one of my favorite things after having a baby (besides the baby itself of course) was that I would once again have control of my bladder (well except when I laugh really hard or sometimes when I sneeze...goodness, am I turning into my mother?)

Reason #3 (also for moms) - POTTY TRAINING! Already I have made it through 3 boys (and can I just say here that cleaning their bathroom has got to be the WORST job in the whole house. I honestly don't think they know they are suppose to hit the water...and the smell that seems to be a permamnat fixture in there...oh the joys of being a mom to three boys!).

So, now it is my daughter's turn. We have been trying for a little while now but she hasn't been too interested. It all changed yesterday when she told me she had to go... we ran into the bathroom..and she went! Then she did it again...and again! IT HAS STARTED! THE BEGINNING OF THE END OF MORE-THAN-7-YEARS-WITH-KIDS-IN-DIAPERS! Okay, maybe I am getting a little bit ahead of myself...obviously she isn't potty trained yet, but at least she is training!

But her excited to go potty means spending much of the morning in the bathroom. In fact, about 2 of the 4 hours she was up this morning was spent in the bathroom. This could be in large part to the fact that she had panties on (princess panties...and yes. it matters!) and I did not want to find little puddles on my furniture, carpet, beds, etc. Therefore, about every 5-10 minutes (this might seem extreme, but she drinks a TON and if I waited even a minute or two over she was already wet!) I asked her (very excitedly) if she needed to go potty...she would jump up and we "ran" to the bathroom to go potty. From there we did everything from singing to playing piggy's with her toes to reading books to playing peek-a-boo to you name it, we did it to get her to stay on the potty long enough to go! Fortunately, each time she was on the potty she went quicker than the time before!

So, as happy as I am that she is going, that she is in panties (she only wet about 3 times this morning which is GREAT!), I am SO thankful to have put her in a pull-up and down for a nap. Now maybe I can go more than 5 minutes without looking at a toilet and singing... :)

Thank you, your welcome...Please?

Please and Thank...words that must be apart of my kids vocabulary on a regular basis! Sometimes I feel like a broken record constantly reminding my kids to say these important 3 words!

After having 3 boys and now having a girl I would have thought I had it figured out on how to get them to say these words. Nope. Not with Sarah.

She does say Thank you...and...Your Welcome. Here is a typical conversation with her regarding these words:

Me: Here is your milk Sarah (oh that is another thing...she does NOT like water or juice or anything but milk. So, we give her a cup of 3/4 water and 1/4 milk! She likes it and reminds us to put the water in if we forget! The doctor said to do it, that way she gets her water and milk! Sounds gross...but she likes it!)
Sarah: Thank you mommy
Me: You're Welcome Sarah
Sarah: You're welcome...you're welcome...you're welcome...mommy, say you're welcome.

So, she definitely has you're welcome down.
She is also great at reminding others to say Thank You!
For example:
She is currently filling my lap with all kinds of things (cards, books, polly pockets, necklaces, etc). With each item she hands me she says, "Say Thank you mommy". I say thank you, she says you're welcome, you're welcome, you're welcome...(and it keeps going from there).

It is good to know that she can be greatful for what she has.
However, getting her to say please...that is another story!
SHE. WILL. NOT. No matter what we do (believe me, we have tried many different things).
She is very good. She is so cute. She has her own mind!

Any suggestions?? ;)

I Would Have...

IF I HAD MY LIFE TO LIVE OVER - by Erma Bombeck

(written after she found out she was dying from cancer)

I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for the day.

I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.

I would have talked less and listened more.

I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained, or the sofa faded.

I would have eaten the popcorn in the 'good' living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.

I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.

I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband.

I would have never insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day becuase my hair had just been teased and sprayed.

I would have sat on the lawn with my grass stains.

I would have cried and laughed less while watching television and more while watching life.

I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn't show soil, or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.

Instead of wishing away the nine months of pregnancy, I'd have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.

When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, "Later. Now go get washed up for dinner." There would have been more 'I love you's" more "I'm sorry's".

But mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute...look at it and really see it...live it and never give it back.

STOP SWEATING THE SMALL STUFF!!

Don't worry about who doesn't like you , who has more, or who's doing what. Instead, let's cherich the relationships we have with those who do love us. Let's think about what God HAS blessed us with, and what we are doing each day to promote ourselves mentally, physically, emotionally.

I have been thinking lately about how quickly life goes by, how important it is to enjoy the little things in life. To take time to stop and "smell the roses".

I don't know that I would ever insist the car windows be rolled up becuase my hair has just been teased (that just isn't my style...). But I do want to have fun and think about the life the Lord has given me and appreicate each little thing, not get so wrapped up on what needs to be done!

He's at it again!

This morning, my oldest son had another attack of organization-have-to's!
(remember the refrigerator?)
This morning (before school) it was the snack cupboard (which is generally a mess because the kids are the ones in there to get snacks...) that got to be to much for him!
He came out to get breakfast, opened the cupboard shook his head and began organizing it!

It is now all nice and neat, everything has a place!
Maybe I should think about hiring him out to others...who cares if things aren't in a place you cannot find...it looks great! :)