Say What!?

Sitting at the dinner table the other night I was telling Justin how Emma's teacher had told me that her and this little boy from her class had become such good friends. They always play together and get along really good. I wasn't surprised to see Emma getting along so well with boys but was surprised as to her reason why. I asked her that night at the dinner table after telling her daddy about her new friend.

Mommy: Emma, why is Alex your best friend at school, why do you like him so much?"

Emma: " Well... because he's cute!"

Silence...

Daddy: " I never want you to speak to him again!".

Scary!

The heart of giving

I have to share this little story that as a mommy just touched my heart. At our church right now we are doing the operation Christmas child shoe box drive. You take an old shoe box, decorate it with some Christmas paper, and fill it with toys, candy, and things for a child who might not otherwise get a Christmas gift over seas. On Sunday during Katrina's first class she got to participate in stuffing some of these boxes. That day after we got home Justin and I decided to rearrange the girls room, which included taking apart their bunk beds to make two beds on the ground and doing a complete overhaul. It took quit a while but while we were working on that Katrina was busy working on her own little project. She kept coming upstairs and going on and on about how she needed this and that (various things) for her shoe boxes for the orphans. Were weren't really paying too much attention to her and didn't really know what she was doing. By the time we got done it was almost dinner time, we came down stairs to find Katrina at the kitchen table with a mess in front of her. She had been very busy. I saw scissors, tape, paper, card board, crayons, candy, more tape, just random things. I was like, what do you have going on here? She was like, Mom! these are my shoe boxes I am making for the orphans, I have to get them done. She had gone out to the garage and gotten two collapsed cereal boxes and one shoe box from our recycling bins and taped them back together, filled them with her used crayons, toys I was going to throw away (from cleaning their room), and a bunch of her Halloween candy out of her treat bag. She had even included a pair of her scissors in one box, intentional or not. She had drawn little pictures and taped them on top of the boxes. They were totally misshapen and, well, looked like a 5 year old had made them but I was just so touched. She was so concerned and had to get these boxes done and had so willingly filled them with her candy and her colors and her toys. She is our first child and I don't know if that has anything to do with it or not but she can be pretty selfish sometimes. It's difficult to get her to share anything with her sisters, even her dad or I, especially when it comes to candy. But she had just given it so easily, without thought to the cost to her because she cared, and was concerned that these little children who she does not know would not have presents for Christmas. I didn't know how to tell her that we couldn't turn the boxes she had made in and have them sent without breaking her little heart. So I didn't. We went to the store the next day and purchased everything we needed to make some 'real' boxes for the orphans and I just let her think they all went to the same place. That is the true heart of giving so freely of our 'stuff' that I think God would like to see from me sometimes. With concern only for the well being of someone else, true genuine concern, not with any motivation for myself or what I might gain, or concern for what I might loose or sacrifice. If only I could be more like a 5 year old sometimes.

Our Halloween Pictures

Here are our Halloween pictures. I am a little slow getting them out there I know but better late then never. The Sunday before Halloween the girls and I (Justin was still in Maryland) went to the Harvest party at church and even I got dressed up for the festivities! It was fun. We also went to the zoo on Saturday before Halloween to do a scavenger hunt there. They enjoyed that as well. On Halloween the girls went trick or treating through the neighborhood with Annabelle and Ella. We had a yummy dinner that night with Chris and Amber, and Luke and Liz, and Nancy aka: Nana. It was a fun time with friends. The girls were really cute, especially Addy, she loved carrying her candy bag around on her arm and walked almost the whole time. She didn't understand the collect now, eat later concept, she wanted everything out of the bag right then. It was cute. Enjoy the pictures.

HEADLINE: Bathroom Bandit Caught Red Handed!!!

It's her first offense so she was let off with a stern talking to!

Sick of being Sick!

Monday was a long tiring day. We spent the majority of the day at or traveling to various doctors offices. I had an appointment in the afternoon because I suspected I might have strep throat. Suddenly I got a sore throat on Thursday night, and unlike when I usually get a cold, it persisted over the weekend. I called Monday and got right in. I turned out I did have strep. While I was at the doctor with the three kids trying to manage them while filing out my new patient paperwork my wonderful husband showed up to rescue me from my frustrations. Good thing he did too because while I was being examined very suddenly Emma started saying she didn't feel good. She turned very pale, eyes glossed over, started sweating with fever, and then the vomiting started! I felt so sorry for her. She just felt horrible and I was so thankful that Justin was there to help me and her. I had already called their doctor on Sunday because since Halloween night they had all developed some type of nasty sickness. It started with little Addy and then went to Katrina and then Emma. It started with a nasty runny nose and then the eyes, I can only describe it as the nastiest snot draining from the eyes. It was gross. By Saturday Emma had developed a really severe ear ache. She was at Disney Princesses on Ice with her sister and Nana when it came on and she was in so much pain, I felt so bad for her. So I called and got them in on Monday. I knew it was bad, probably the worst they have ever been but when her pediatrician called Emma a 'petri dish of bacteria' I knew it was REALLy bad! Needless to say all four of us girls are on antibiotics and I think Justin is contemplating moving in with the neighbors for a few days so he doesn't get whatever we all had. It might be too late though, he was complaining of a sore throat last night. It's only November and I am already sick of being sick!!!

Momsense

Anyone who is a mom should check out this link to youtube. It's the William Tell overture for moms!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxT5NwQUtVM

Enjoy!

The Great Pumpkin Hunt

One Friday before Halloween my mom, me, and the girls meet Amber and her two girls at the local pumpkin patch for some fall time fun! Justin was on a trip to Maryland visiting his sister and her 4 little girls and celebrating his sisters birthday. He missed out on the day but we had a great time despite missing daddy's presence. They got to see many animals including a calf, donkey, turkeys, piglets, goats, sheep, geese, and chickens! Find their way through a hay bale maze, taste fresh made cider, ride the tractor, and find the perfect pumpkins!

The Importance of 'Daddy Time'

Having three little girls it is easy to see how important 'daddy time' is for them and just having a man in their lives to love them and invest in their lives. As soon as daddy gets home they want to have 'wrestle time'. This gives them a chance to exercise their muscles and show dad how strong they are. Mommy usually sits back and waits for someone to come to her when they get hurt, kiss the boo boo's, and send them back into battle. It amazes me how much they love to be physical and rowdy. They know they can be rough and tough and not hurt him. Now that they are older daddy takes them out on 'special daddy dates'. Just one on one time with dad to hang out, eat together, talk, play somewhere, go to the driving range or putting green, or whatever they want. They LOVE their special dates and can't wait to be the next one in turn. I can't imagine raising these three beautiful little girls without their daddy. There is something special about the love that he can give them, that will instill in them a sense of self worth and confidence in who they are. Only he can model for them how a husband should treat his wife and how boys should interact with girls the right way. I can't model that for them. When they start dating and considering who they may want to some day marry(not for a LONG time!) I hope that because of the love their dad showed them, and the example he displayed to them as a husband and father, they will choose someone like him.

Some Fun Photos

Sisters... ahh they are wonderful. Here are some great shots of sisters just being sisters and some of my other favorite pics from recent.

Our Little Student

We had our first parent teacher conference with Katrina's kindergarten teacher and were so proud of our little student! She got perfect scores on her first ever report card, she is in the highest reading group, and has tested above the level she should be at right now in all her testings. I was so proud not to hear anything negative and all good things and hear how smart her teacher said she was. Although she did say she reminded her of a 'smart airhead'! She can be a little ditzy sometimes she said! Oh well, we can't all be perfect can we!