Girl Time!

My girls and I dropped Caden off at the Lumberyard this morning and had some Girly time together. We spent time reading at the Library, ate lunch at Burger King, and bought everyone some cheap clothes. I told Josh this Girly time will get expensive when we have 3 teenager girls! Oh Well--it is fun! I have been missing Macy, so it is good to spend the day with her today.
 

A New Day!

This was the front of our church bulletin on Sunday, and I have been holding the words close to my thoughts this week. For this stay-at-home mom it is getting to be a long Winter!

Great is Thy Faithfulness,
Great is Thy faithfulness, Morning by Morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided-
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

His compassions fail not,
They are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness. Lamentations 3: 22-23

I had crying kids till 9:30 last night(I think Julia and Noelle were having a contest to see whom I would rock the longest!)then I rolled into bed only to wake to the same thing this morning. I am thankful for HIS faithfulness. He will never leave me or fail me. I am whole and new in the morning, because of HIM!

Everyone have a great day!!

Sweet Sleeper

I've been going through old pictures and realized that I don't have any pictures of my fourth child sleeping since she was a newborn.(What is wrong with me!?) There is nothing more precious than naptime! Even more precious when it is done with 3 dogs and a baby!

The In-famous Barbie Guitar......

And Julia....

Made my Day!

I think I am terribly boring, but maybe I'm doing something right to get a card like this after 3 days of being housebound! Macy said, "Oh, I was just thinking about you."

What are we doing?

I know that most of Iowa is covered in ice right now.
Just a few pictures of what we are doing with all of our time "iced in".

Here is that "green" grass I mentioned earlier in the week. It is now icy grass.
It is actually fun to walk on and crunch.



Macy plays dog.

Caden - sword guy.

Plenty of TV/movie time!

Julia steals Macy's glasses.

Julia insists on cutting 1,000 pieces!

"Read to yourself!" ....says Mom, because she is tired of reading books!

Of course, the baby is playing baby.


Chief even wants inside.

Sliding and biking on the ice. Macy annoying Julia or somebody annoying somebody at all times!



Plenty of food...popcorn, hot chocolate, and baking Gingerbread cookies will keep us sugared up. And plenty of hugs to go around!

The Lumberyard is open, so at least we can look forward to Daddy coming home...will it be 6:00 or 7:00 tonight?

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Grass!

Is Spring here?

I highly doubt it!!

But it is refreshing to see some grass. Some of it even looked green today! Maybe that was just wishful thinking on my part!

Reflections

Today I thought about how much our family has changed this past year. The kids have really grown, probably Noelle the most because she was a baby with a pacifier at the beginning of the year and now she's a walking, talking toddler with a major attitude! Julia has changed a lot also, she has developed a taste for clothes, the color pink, fixing her hair pretty, dancing and singing. Macy changed to a school girl. She loves her teacher and the classroom setting, but usually gets off of the bus at night in tears because she "misses mommy". She loves, loves, loves animals. It is fun to watch her love for animals grow. Caden is all boy. He has grown strong and tall this past year. He loves to be outside, with his dad, wrestling his sisters (usually hurting one of them), or using his hands to take apart and put back together things with very small pieces.
Caden at ages 7 and 8

Macy at 5 and 6

Julia at 2 1/2 (08) and 3 1/2 (09)

Noelle at 10 months (08) and 22 months (09)

Christmas 2008 and 2009

Josh and I are definately older and wiser than we were last year! HA!

We made big changes this year by leaving Josh's job and a stable life in Northern Iowa to be small business owners in a rural community in Southern Iowa-back home for Josh. We trusted God to provide an easy transition and to bless our decision and he has definately been faithful in answering those prayers. Our hope is to continue to stand amazed and perplexed at what God is doing in our life. We know that many things will come and go in our lives throughout 2010, however one thing will remain the same...Hebrews 13:8 "Jesus Christ will remain the same yesterday and today and forever."

Snow in the house!

A new idea to get us through this cold, snowy day! Fill the bathtub with snow! I heard the idea on the radio and thought maybe it'd be fun for the kids. They put on gloves and boots and went to town playing in it. A lot of toys got buried in there, Macy made a dog, Caden made a block igloo...their little imaginations ran wild. Whew, we survived another snowed in day!

Mommy's Favorite Christmas Present(s)

Yes, the kids got lots of fun toys for Christmas. However, I wanted to show off MY favorite! Every hunters wife needs one of these pink/camo fleeces! I love it! It is a gift from my mother-in-law, and I told her I will wear it everyday! I think it is the perfect gift for Josh's wife and Caden's mom!

AND this Barbie Jam guitar--actually I bought it for Julia and it has provided much entertainment on these long, cold days. The headset really works, so I turn my worship music LOUD and sing and play the guitar and you can't even hear the "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" song it automatically plays over and over and over. I'm sure some of you think I am crazy--OK-I'll admit I am a crazy mom trying to survive the Winter..HA! Anyhow, I LOVE this guitar and my new fleece!

Back To School!

We were up with hot pancakes at 6:30 AM on this cold day! I was surprised how easily Caden and Macy were dressed and ready to go after 2 weeks of sleeping in! Caden insisted on carrying those big jugs to school to his class for his birthday. It was also Macy's treat day in Kindergarten, and she wanted to take Cheetos.

We had a fantastic Christmas break! We are humbled and grateful for the presence of God in our lives!

I asked Julia if she was going to be my big girl today w/out the other two at home, and she says, "Nope, I want to be your baby!"