What I'm Reading

For those of you who know me well, you know that pretty much everything interests me. That can be a huge problem in my life because I start a lot of stuff and try to learn about a lot at once. Then, I get very overwhelmed when I realize how much I've started and need to finish. My current book reads will give you a glimpse of what I'm talking about:

always reading: my Bible, I was reminded today in our theology class that we are meant to delight in this Book. It is amazing to me how I honestly do delight in it when I'm reading it, but as soon as I get busy with life, I can so quickly forget how wonderful and truly life-changing God's Word to us really is.
Keith is taking the staff and elder wives thru a theology class right now. We are using Grudem's Bible Doctrine (it's supposed to be the concise version of his longer Systematic Theology :). I am eating this class up. I have been so challenged to want to really know the doctrines that I claim to hold on to. I love having a husband who constantly challenges me to study God's Word and to know what I believe.

The class has gotten me so fired up to help women understand our faith better. In searching for a way to teach other ladies what I'm learning, but at an easier pace, I had a friend show me this next book that I'm reading: Practical Theology for Women by Wendy Alsup. So far, I am loving this concise book of theology. I have already been reminded of the tremendous impact that studying God has on our day to day life. The way I parent, treat people, how I choose to spend my time, talents, treasures, etc., all are affected by what I believe to be true. The Bible says that the "fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." I so want to be wise in all the areas of my life and it seems that to be wise I must fear the Lord and in order to fear the Lord, I must study His character.


Next on the list, Waking Up Dry...this one is for one of our sons who has got to be the deepest sleeper ever. He just doesn't wake up for anything, including when he needs to go pee. So, I am reading about the many causes of bedwetting and how to fix the problem. I'll keep you posted on this one :)

We are still in the prayer process of determining where Kade will experience Kindergarten next year. To understand the homeschooling option, I chose the biggest homeschooling book on the market, I think. What is wrong with me? But, it is loaded with every piece of information I could possibly want to know. Now it's just a matter of getting thru the whole book.

Also, I am reading a book about a certain nutrition plan that could eliminate Keith's need for oral medication for his diabetes. It's a book by Dr. Pompa. I have a friend who has been on the plan for one month and has seen a dramatic difference in her health. It would require major changes for us, so please pray that we will have wisdom and discipline if this is a route we should take.

And to top it off, I have Southern Living, Creating Keepsakes, and Labrador Retriever magazines on my bedside table.

How many of ya'll are as scattered as I am in your reading and other areas of life? Do you have the same problem that I do - where everything interests you and you want to do it all right then? And advice as to how to cope with this crazy character trait :) ?

Guess what? We brought home Gracie today - nope, not a baby like we usually bring home, but a chocolate lab puppy. I'll hopefully be able to post pics soon.

God bless!

Sacrificial Love

So, my mom is simply amazing and I hate that I don't tell her that more often. She and I can bicker back and forth with the best of them and I know I can be pretty ruthless with her about certain issues, but deep down, I am so very thankful to the Lord that she's my mom. I'm not just saying that to make her cry, though I know she will, but I truly think she is a gift from God and I just feel the need to acknowledge this truth tonight.

She retired last March from a job she had held for most of my life to be able to move near us so that she could be available to help when we needed her. Just in time, because I was a couple months away from expecting Brynlee, our fourth! It's just a God-thing that she was even able to retire when she did, really a gift from my late father, who would so not be happy knowing that he is the one who blessed her with the gift of being able to enjoy retirement!

Anyways, since she has retired, she has served our family soooo many times. This past week has been an extra special week of service for mom. She has worked overtime to take care of us as we've all struggled with the flu. I am sitting in a clean home with clean clothes, and I have pretty much been strapped to my chair all week. My kids have been fed every meal and been entertained and loved on. My hubby has had clean sheets put on the bed twice so that he wouldn't be sleeping with flu germs. I'm telling you, she has hardly had a chance to sit down. And I basically have had to make her stop to take a rest break. Otherwise, she would just keep serving. I teased her tonight that now I really know her full potential with how much she can get done in a day and I'm impressed :) She has modeled so many things to me through the years, but this past week will forever stick out in my mind as what sacrificial love looks like. Thanks mom, for loving us so well. You have made a bad week seem not so bad after all.




Love, your daughter.

Cute stuff going on

So, as most of you know, the flu bug has decided to take up permanent residence at our home. Kade and Brynlee had it last week and then Kamden and I have endured it this week. Between the flu and ear infections, we have been dealing with sickness for almost one month now. Now, I could choose to get down, but instead, I want to remember the good from the past couple of weeks.

Funny Kaleisms:
Put my juice in the Refrigerade so it will get cold.

Dad-gum-it and What the heck? - very cute when coming out of the mouth of a 2 1/2 year old, but we'll have to teach him pretty soon that everything granny says doesn't have to be copied.

What's up with that? (hand motions included) - He says this randomly when we're playing Candyland and he doesn't draw the icecream.

Tonight, he told Keith that "We need to pray for mom, daddy, that she'll be all better." Oh, he knows how to melt my heart.

And lately, we've been hearing the wonderful words, "Mommy, I just pooped in the potty!" from Kale. As of Valentine's Day, he has been wearing big boy underwear during the day. He has had a couple of slip-ups today, but for the most part, he has done an amazing job and made the whole training process really easy for Keith and me.

Something else that Kale has been doing lately that cracks us up is working really hard to be able to hop on one foot around the trampoline. He's actually good at it, but seriously, what made him even come up with that goal? He's so proud of it, he is constantly wanting us to watch him perform his trick.
I just love this picture of him jumping up high on the trampoline and looking towards the sky. We call him our "Joy" boy and with good reason. He is our happy, easy-going child that is full of energy and always looking to make someone laugh.


Kamden said something today that I have got to blog about so that I'll always remember it. I was telling him that we could pick up his friends Eli and Kasey for a Chuck E Cheese lunch to celebrate his birthday next month and he quickly interuppted me to say, "but mom, I have another friend, his name is Kade, and he's my best friend." He almost started tearing up thinking I was leaving this "friend" out. I said, "Kamden, are you talking about your brother?" and he said "Yes, I want him to be with me." He is such a loyal, sincere friend and brother.

As I have had extra time the past couple of days to just look thru pictures, I have been really taken by pictures of Kamden. He has the most sincere, precious face - I really am mesmerized by him.

Kade is really into learning sight words and doing phonics related activities right now. I love seeing him get excited every time he reads something. All of the boys are addicted to www.starfall.com right now. If you have young children, you've got to check out this site if you haven't already. It's awesome and keeps them educationally entertained for long periods of time. His logic continues to impress Keith and I. Tonight, after Kamden got the flu causing us to cancel the boys' trip to E. and Papa's, Kade came out of his bedroom with this thought:

Kade: "Mom, just one thing...since I feel good and Kale feels good, what about if we go to E. and Papas and Kamden stays here with you and daddy?"
Me: "Kade, how would you feel if you were the one sick and had to stay here by yourself while your brothers got to go to E. and Papa's house?"
Kade: "Well, I would like it because I would get to special time alone with mom and dad and I just thought that Kamden would like to have special time with you and dad since he is sick."

I'm telling you, he can be so quick to make a good argument and make it sound so sweet and logical. I have been amazed by his ability to do this from a very young age.

Here's a fun video of the boys dancing one night while we were at dinner together. If anyone knows the singer/title of song that is playing in the background, please comment and let me know. I would love to purchase it to have for the boys at home.

Ahi Tuna on a Bed of Spinach

Yes, that's what my man endured for love tonight. Here's the story...Keith and I head out for date night. We start off with a massage given to us by a sweet friend at Salon Ciao Bella. The massages were awesome - a perfect start. Then, we get in the car and begin the discussion of where do we want to eat dinner. Keith says, "I am craving mexican food...let's go to Pasado's." I say, "That sounds good, but why don't we head downtown and try something new?" You see, I love to try new things, whether that be a new adventure or new food. Keith, on the other hand, isn't so much into the new foods thing. But, for the sake of romance, he rolls with my idea. So, off we head towards downtown Austin and end up at The Belmont, on the recommendation of a good friend. Everything is going well until the waitress comes to take our order. Keith is just about to order a burger, but he, being such a gentleman, let's me go first. I ask her about a particular item and she says it's not the best, then goes on about the special of the night, Ahi Tuna on a Bed of Spinach with Pomegranate and Oranges. Now, I've never had any tuna except that in a can and NEVER with pomegranates, so I immediately say that we'll try it and just split it. Oh, the look on Keith's face as he tries to be a team player and still go along with my craziness, even though he has just lost out on a good Mexican dinner and now a good, juicy burger.

Then it arrives. And Keith tries a bite. And he gags. And he tries again. And he still gags.

I'm thinking I just tried my last "new" food for awhile, at least until the taste of raw fish leaves his memory.

The atmosphere was awesome though. And the service was incredible. They have live music there and you can sit outside on a patio in the middle of downtown...how cool is that? Afterwards, we walked up 6th to Congress and then all the way up to the Capitol building. What fun times. I so enjoy the downtown atmosphere. Being there makes me want to sell our home in the suburbs and move into an apartment in the center of the city.

Project 365 and Triathlon Training

I have been introduced to two new hobbies this month - taking a picture a day for Project 365 and training to participate in my first triathlon. I know, as if I need one more thing to do on top of loving the Lord, loving my hubby, loving (and training, correcting, rebuking...) my children, and loving the people the Lord puts in my life. This is a little tangent, but on the topic of loving those around you, I was reminded in my quiet time this morning how the Bible displays love as an action, not a feeling, most of the time - "For God so loved the world, that he gave His only Son.." - extreme action. To love is really hard, exhausting work. For me, love for my family fleshes itself out in doing the dishes, washing clothes, mopping floors, changing diapers, playing Candyland for the 100th time, studying God's Word, cooking meals, scratching backs, listening to lots of stories, teaching God's Word to my kids, did I mention changing diapers :), etc. How silly of me to get frustrated by those mundane tasks. Those are the ways God has allowed me to show my love for my family. I hope I can remember this tomorrow when I wake up and face the dirty dishes from breakfast.

Anyways, back to my new hobbies. Project 365 is where you take one picture a day and journal about it. You compile all of your pics and journaling in an album and that's it for your scrapbook for the year. Amazingly simple, yet I'm already playing catch up! What's wrong with me? But, I'm having a lot of fun thinking of what my picture will be each day to capture our family for that particular day. You can check out the concept on the Creating Keepsakes website, under Kit of the Month, Project 365.

My other hobby is exercise. My link for this new hobby is www.mapmyrun.com. It will keep track of how far each of your runs is and count all of those calories burned while you're exercising. Keith and I have been pretty consistent for the past three weeks with our running, usually around 2.25 miles each time. Also, the other day I biked 6 miles and then swam a total of 600 meters (26 laps). That liked to have done me in - is that the phrase? I seriously wanted to quit after the "warm-up" laps - they were not warm up in my book. The only reason I didn't is because I'm pretty competitive against myself and didn't want to be the only one in our little group of four ladies to quit. But, I have to tell you that I'm more than a little nervous about the swimming phase of the triathlon. And, to top it off, I hear that we're swimming in a dirty lake. I have no idea what is motivating me to do this.

My friend, Rachel, came to the house this week to take 6 mo. pics of Brynlee. Here are a couple of the pics...she does an amazing job.



It's 2:00 a.m. I better go to bed! Goodnight.

Splashin' Around with Friends

Brynlee had the fun opportunity to take her first big girl (in a real bathtub) bath with two of her sweet friends this past weekend at my bi-annual scrapbooking retreat. Here are a couple of pics that are sure to make you smile...





Needless to say, she totally enjoyed the new experience and so did us moms :)

I hope everyone had the opportunity to watch all of the inauguration events yesterday. What a moment in history to remember - I hope I remember to pray for Obama more than I remembered to pray for Bush. I was reminded yesterday of the tremendous responsibility the President has and how much prayer they need. It is fun for our kids to see young kids in the White House. I am hoping it will make my boys and Brynlee more interested in what is going on in politics.

Big Moments

A couple of milestones last week:

Brynlee cut her first tooth. (I don't have a pic of this yet because she is not big into showing it off just yet.)

I dealt with five poopies all before 10 a.m. - and yes, I only have four children, so this is a new record for such a short time. (obviously no pic of this :)

I began training for my first triathlon. Keith and I ran a little over 2 miles two different times this week and I ran at the gym one day for a total of 6 miles this week. That's huge for me because usually I tap out at 1 mile per workout. Here is a pic of Keith and I after we finished our first two mile jog.


The boys entered the Bakugan craze officially. Keith and I hid a starter pack for each of the boys in the backyard Monday night and made the boys go on a flashlight hunt. I gave each of them a riddle and they had to figure out where their surprise was located. We could hardly get them to go to bed that night because they just wanted to play with their Bakugan's.



I am doing this photo project called Project 365. It's where you are supposed to take a photo a day for the whole year and turn it into a book. One of the pics that Becky Higgins posted on her blog was one of herself taken thru the rearview mirror. It looked really cool and I was curious what I looked like while driving. Only thing is that Becky made it sound so easy to get the picture...wasn't so easy for me. It took me about 15 shots to get this one o.k. shot. And no, I was not driving while I took this picture.

I have been at my bi-annual scrapbooking retreat this weekend. The whole scrapbooking thing is a love/hate relationship in my life. I love the concept, but I don't get much done at all. This was the first time in a long time that I even attempted to scrapbook, and I am already dissapointed with what I didn't get done. But I am trying to be positive and enjoy the process. The one thing I do enjoy is the extended time I get with some really precious friends. Laura, Tomi and I put all of our babies (Lincoln, Truly and Brynlee) in a tub tonight for bathtime. The babies had a blast and we just enjoyed them already getting to bond with each other. We have laughed a lot, ate a lot, pulled a couple of practical jokes and gone for a walk - and scrapbooked a little :) I'll hopefully get to post pictures from this weekend sometime before the end of the month.

A Very Late 2008 Post

So, I know that it is really the 9th of January, but I am so dating this one the 31st just so that I can print a Blurb book that is nice and tidy and goes 1/1 thru 12/31. I have made a resolution to not stress myself out about anything to do with photos. It's so funny - I love taking pics and love looking at pictures, but I've found that everything that goes along with displaying the pictures that I take and love can easily add stress to my life. And that just doesn't make sense at all, so I'm putting an end to it. So what that I say I'm a scrapbooker but don't actually scrapbook. I really enjoy the thought of scrapbooking as much as I do actually scrapbooking. So what if I am just now finishing the "what our Christmas looked like" post - I should just be thankful that I am sitting here now trying to finish it and enjoying my first homemade iced coffee (thanks, Tomi!) I am so grateful that my life is so full of joyful, picture-taking moments that I just can't keep up with all of them!

Speaking of picture-taking moments, like all of you, we had tons of these moments in the month of December. I would say that I am going to try to be brief, but I would be setting myself up for failure. This is more for my scattered brain...so that I can remember all our fun times. Otherwise, I'll forget too quickly.

First off, here are a couple of pics from our Ministry Appreciation Event that was actually held right before Thanksgiving. The staff had such a good time putting together a skit that included Keith as Jeff Foxworthy, Nick as Howie Mandel, and Douglas as Ryan Seacrest. They were hilarious! The wives even got to get into the fun by being Howie's lovely ladies - keep scrolling to see our sexy outfits :)

Kade kicked off his fun times by helping daddy put up the Christmas lights outside.

Then, we kicked off December with our 2nd Annual Women's Christmas Event. We had to move it to a local hotel this year because we had maxed out at the YMCA last year. We had such a good time. We had over 225 women attend to enjoy a catered dinner and a comedian who wove the gospel thruout her skit. One of the coolest traditions at our ladies event is that the men serve us. Here is a pic of some of the men lined up at the door to escort the ladies to their chairs as they arrived.
Each host/cohost is responsible for decorating their table and providing the dinnerware. Here is the table that my friend, Dawn and I did together.
Then, the next weekend, we went to our city's Christmas night. It is crazy how many people can fit on our main street in downtown Round Rock. We did manage to sneak in a family picture in between losing one of our kids here and there. Our church put on a drama at the main stage two times during the evening and we had one of our favorite photographers taking pictures of families throughout the night. It was definitely a cool way to get into our community.
Some of my friends and I continued something that we started last year - we take our kids to one of the local nursing homes to sing songs for them and say their current memory verse that they're learning. We also have all of the kids take bookmarks that they pass out to the residents after their program is finished. I can't tell you the joy it brings to the residents to see these little ones performing and then to get a bookmark from them. Kale insisted on bringing his guitar and playing for them during the program. Needless to say, he was a big hit!


Brynlee with two of her closest friends, Lincoln and Truly. It's awesome to be babies...they made the residents smile just by being there.

Two of my favorite, familiar sites throughout the holidays...a fire going in our fireplace, and...
my family all snuggled together watching a Christmas movie. Could life get any better than this?We invited our neighbors over one night for a friendly gingerbread house family competition. We had family cheers and everything...so much fun.

Needless to say, this piece of art didn't win. Let's just say that I'm glad I got this picture when I did because I think the roof caved in within two minutes of this shot.

Thanks to my precious friend, Kendall, I finally found a sugar cookie and frosting recipe that made for awesome frosted sugar cookies! I truly enjoyed getting to cook with Kade a couple of different times throughout the month as we baked goodies for the kids' Sunday School teachers, Mother's Day Out classes and neighbors.

E. and Papa arrived with lots of gifts two days before Christmas. All the boys were eager to help them unload all the packages :)

The boys and I took some baked goodies around to our neighbors with an invitation to join us for our Christmas Eve service. I savored every moment of watching them go up to each door and knock on the doors. You'll notice that Kamden has on his favorite piece of clothing, a cape.
I had to intervene when Kale tried to take off with our neighbors plastic reindeer - we might have a little budding thief among us.

This was a sight I enjoyed seeing, a little girl stocking for Brynlee.
E. helped Kade and I make our birthday cake for Jesus. That is one of my favorite traditions we have so far as a family. Christmas day is the only day that the boys are allowed to eat birthday cake for breakfast - in honor of the One who has made our lives worth living.
We were able to get a couple of good family shots on Christmas Eve night. My sweet friend from high school, Megan, began last year sending the boys matching Christmas p.j.'s. She sent them to us early this year so they could get good wear out of them, but this is the first shot of them wearing them that I have been able to get. First off, the kids with their E. and Papa. We were so blessed to have them with us this year. It was different not being at their house, but it was a blessing to not have to travel with four little ones.


Our kids enjoying their Christmas gifts...


Celebrating the birth of our Savior...

We enjoyed a nice, relaxing day with granny and E. and Papa before they headed back to the Dallas area after our dinner. Our good friends, Bret and Tomi, joined us for dinner and stayed to hang out on Christmas evening. We tried to play a game with them, but Kale stood right next to us singing as loud as he could...he is definitely going to be our entertainer. Brynlee and Truly are only seven weeks apart in age, so Tomi and I are hoping they will be the best of friends. Here they are in their matching p.j.'s.

Our church closed down for the 28th since we did such a big Christmas Eve service. So, instead of visiting another church, our family went to Mt. Bonnel in Austin and had our own worship time and hiked together. We had such a nice time and the boys thought they could see the whole world from the top of the Mt.

Karen and Alan, who just found out they are having a little boy this year, came to visit us on the 29th (Mom E.'s birthday!) to do Christmas with them. They got the boys Batman and Superman p.j's with capes. If you know my boys at all, you know those went over very well...so well in fact that I can barely get them washed before they're asking for them again...thanks, Alan and Karen!We ended 2008 with our good friends, Adam and Kendall Brunson. Adam is the Small Groups Pastor at HCBC Pflugerville. He and Keith went to DTS around the same time. We so treasure their friendship and enjoy any time we get to hang out with them. They treated us to homemade pizzas, a party popper with confetti for the kids and smores! Addie is not in these pics, but she is Brynlee's other BFF who was born just a couple of days before Brynlee. Adam and Kendall have three girls now, so we are hoping that at least one of our boys marries one of their girls. Too bad we don't do arranged marriages in our culture...

And that's it....100,000 words later. 2008 over. And 2009 going full swing already. Whew...I just want to enjoy every minute God gives. I hope you had as many picure-taking moments with your family this past Christmas and had time to ponder the miracle of this baby Jesus we all celebrate. Happy New Year!