Psalm 34:18

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.  Psalm 34:18

 

Wednesday I visited the doctor and we found out that our sweet baby we were expecting in February had passed away.  I hadn't posted about this pregnancy, and only a few close friends and family knew about it.  My hcg had not been increasing the way it should for several weeks, so we went through several weeks of blood tests and sonograms to confirm that we had lost the pregnancy.  Yesterday I had a D&C.  I feel pretty lost about how to feel.  This pregnancy was a complete and total surprise but Kris and I had started choosing names and dreaming of what the baby would look like, how much it would weigh-would it outweigh his/her big sisters and brother? Would this baby have my skin tone or Kris's, would he/she have red hair or blonde hair?  I know our sweet baby is being snuggled in heaven right now, probably by my Grandma Rench, or maybe by Jesus himself...it just hurts to not have him/her with us.  I know we will be ok.  I have felt the presence of the holy spirit through the entire experience, I know he has been holding my heart.

A few recent garage sale finds...just in time for Independence Day!

We have gotten to do a lot of garage sale shopping this summer, and it has been so much fun!  It seems like each one I go to has a few little treasures or things on my "wish list"!  I have been searching for 1/2 pint glass milk containers, and recently found these two cuties for $2.00 each!  One of them is from 1949, and the other is from 1946!  I have seen them at flea markets for $5-8, and just couldn't pass up the bargain!

At the same garage sale, I was able to buy two Ball Mason jars, with the zinc lids with the porcelain in tact, also for $2.00 each.  One of them has already made it's home in a red wire basket (that I bought at a GS a couple of years ago) on my kitchen table, love them!

 

And last, but probably the most festive...a set of four flag glasses for $1.00!  They aren't old, but they were way too cute to pass up! 

 

 

We are planning a relaxing day of the five of us just being together on the 4th.  Our neighbor told us that we pretty much have a front row seat from our front yard to the city fireworks display that is held at a park nearby!  Looking forward to Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Ribs,  "Red, Hot, and Blues" potato salad, some fresh corn on the cob, and just hanging out with Kris and the kids! 

 

Have a great 4th of July!

 

 

 

Summertime!

It's summer, and we're just enjoying it...blowing bubbles, eating Popsicle's, playing in the water, and sprucing up our outdoor furniture.  We have been to a few garage sales and found some really amazing bargains like a big girl bed for Claire that's super nice for $15.00 and 4 bistro outdoor chairs for $1 each!   Kris had two weeks of vacation before he started on the overnight shift, so we tried to just enjoy that time together as much as we could.  The overnights are a little rough on everyone but we are just so thankful that Kris has a good job. We haven't been on any exciting vacations, but we have traveled to Neosho, MO to visit my sister and her family, and to Grove, OK to visit Meme and Papa.  It's been a good summer so far, and we're only 3 weeks into it!  Hooray for summertime!

just a few things...

Today I just need to ramble a little bit...about black birds (and how much I despise them) and dreams, and weight loss, and my kids, and maybe a few other silly things.  I feel like I am missing so many things these days, mostly because it seems that I am just busy, busy, busy from morning 'til night! My three kiddos keep me hopping!  I want to treasure these days and memories, but some nights I go to bed forgetting all of the wonderful little blessings that might have happened on that particular day.  I really want to do a better job of recording those things. I guess I feel like if I don't have a picture to go with a particular post, then I should wait before I blog about it.  I need to let that expectation go for now, and just write...and record...and cherish these days.  So here goes... :)

Kris bought me a huge, 50 pound bag of black sunflower seeds for my backyard feeders.  I was so excited because I thought that good seed would attract good birds...well...I do have a few cardinals and finches, but my feeders are being taken over and overrun by black birds.  I have had the bb gun out and ready trying to get rid of a few, but I've missed so many times that they are no longer afraid of my feeble attempts to eliminate even one of them...ugh.  So I checked on birds and blooms, and it suggests making a caged feeder...so that's what I think I will try to do. Tweet, tweet!

Dreams...I woke up to a terrible one the other morning, and it really upset me.  I was telling Katie about it later that day, and she said that she still prays a prayer she prayed when she was little.  She asks God to "not give her any dreams, no good dreams or bad dreams, just a plain sheet of white paper."  First of all, it just fills my heart up that she still prays every night, even though she's 13 and isn't be tucked in every night!  Secondly, her faith is still amazing.  She truly believes that God will answer her prayers and protect her when she sleeps.  She believes in those prayers because God has answered so many prayers for her.  Before we had Asher she prayed every single night for, "mama to get a baby in her tummy, and let it be a girl and look just like me"  She prayed and believed, and got Asher first, but then Claire, who is so much like her, in EVERY way!  Even though she is truly a teenager now, she is still an amazingly wonderful blessing to us.

And weight loss (or actually gain)...I am on the wagon...prayerfully this time for good.  I have started tracking my food again on Spark People, and it just helps me so much. We bought a yearly gym membership at our local rec center.  It's a nice small gym, not crowded, and everyone has been friendly there.  Kris and I have been going about 2-3 times on the weeks we have gone, but we have missed a few weeks for various reasons (mostly because we would rather sit in our pj's cuddled on the couch watching Castle or Blue Bloods and eating ice cream or Krispy Kreme donuts) Ha!  I wish that were not true...but it is.  From now on I will be cuddled on the couch AFTER I've got in my exercise, and with a nice crispy carrot stick! I am going to try and blog about my progress again, and this time I hope there are no major surgeries to knock me off track!

And finally (maybe)...the kiddos...they are all doing really well!  Katie is settled into school, and she loves her church youth group. She is on the leadership council for the youth group, and gets to help plan events and projects.  She traveled with her school choir to World's of Fun for a singing competition.  She loved WOF, and seemed to have a really good time.  They did well with their singing, too.  She is still very enamored with all things Paris, France, and the Eiffel Tower.  She says that she and I and Claire are going to take an all-girls trip there when she graduates from high school...I think maybe I should have started a savings account for that a loooong time ago!  She is a dreamer, and an artist, constantly working on sketches and decorations for her room.  Like I mentioned above, she is 13, but she is still our girl...our sweet pea...and no amount of teenage hormonal outbursts can change that (and she has plenty...ha!)

Asher is doing great!  He had Kindergarten Round Up at the beginning of this month, and we weren't at all sure what his reaction to it was going to be.  We all sat together at first, and then they asked the kids to go with their teachers to see the kindergarten rooms, and the parents to stay for some more information.  I was so afraid he wouldn't go, and he approached the teacher veeeery slowly, but he did it!  He went with her, and LOVED the K room...mama was tearing up, Daddy was almost tearing up, but we all made it through it...and it wasn't even the first day of school!  Yikes...just thinking about it makes me have tears well up.  It will be ok!  He is still hugely into dinosaurs...he got the big Imaginext T-Rex that he has been begging for well over a year for his birthday, he was SO excited!  He is so easy to please, just the littlest things make him happy. Kris brought him home a handful of small dinosaurs from a garage sale and he was beside himself...he is just a joy!

And Miss Claire...I'm not sure where to start...she is SOMETHING else!  Kris and I agree that she is the most loving and affectionate of our three children, but she is also the orneriest!  She is into something at all times...and I'm not exaggerating.  The moment you look away she has found a writing utensil and is being an "artist" like big sis, but usually somewhere she is not supposed to be at all!  She gets into every cupboard and drawer, every closet and cubby...always "meddling" (as my grandma used to say of me!) The amazing thing, though, is how much she loves all of us.  She is truly happy to see any one of us who has been gone for any length of time walk in the door.  She gives the biggest smiles and the tightest hugs, and her kisses...oh...they are the best.  She puckers her lips, and says, "mmmmmmkisss" and then lays one on you, it's the best.  I know her getting into everything will pass...she's only 2 for a little while...so I will just treasure every mess!

I know I have said this 963 times before, but sometimes I am still in complete awe of God's blessings in our lives...who knew that we would have THREE amazing children?  HE did...and that's what I need to remind myself of every single day...HE holds my life, my future, my heart in his hands...and that is a pretty amazing place to be.  I am so thankful...just so thankful.

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Easter blessings!

Hi!  I just wanted to stop in and share a little bit of our Easter celebration with you!  Even though we decorate with bunnies, and color eggs, the true celebration is in the JOY of Jesus' Resurrection!  He is risen!  He is risen indeed!  I am so very thankful for the grace given on the cross for my sins.  Even if I had been the only person on earth, he still would have hung on the cross in my place...and that is so humbling! 

We tried to dye Easter eggs last night, and Asher was the only helper available!  Claire fell asleep in my lap while we waited for Katie to come home, and then she ended up staying at church for open gym night, so it was just Asher and I.  We had fun, and he was excited to have 30 eggs to color any way he wanted!  He did a beautiful job!

 

I didn't do too much decorating for Easter this year, I am still having trouble finding my decorating "mojo" in this home.  I love it, and I am so thankful for a great home, but it doesn't quite feel "like home" just yet! I know eventually I will get in the swing of things, and will unpack all of the boxes...ha...I am still working on that...and I will want to decorate everywhere!  Right now I'm just sticking to the top of the piano.  It's a nice, contained, small area that I feel like I can manage in a short amount of time!  Another bonus is that it is high enough that Claire still cannot reach up and snatch things! Ha!

 

 

 

Hope everyone has a blessed Easter weekend!

 

Green Day!

St. Patrick's Day is coming up, so I thought I would share a little bit of our spring nesting! I have found so many wonderful printables on Pinterest and I will try and include the links to each of them so you can print them too if you would like to!

 

The top of the piano is kind of my "decorating" spot now that the TV is on our mantle.  In our rental home, the living room is kind of a weird shape, and has an angled wall with the fireplace that made it difficult to avoid putting the TV there.  I was kind of bummed about not having a mantle to decorate, but it's fun to decorate the top of the piano too.  I collect milk glass and white dishes of any kind, so this is just a hodge podge of some of them that I've collected from garage sales and thrift stores over the years. 

This is my little Dollar Tree bird...the only one that survived last spring...ha...having a toddler in the house makes things have a shorter life span than normal! (I forgot to wash the dirt spots off of my cake plate from when I was watering the plants...ooops!)

 I love this chalk board...it's been moved around so many times and has had so many things written on it.  I usually try and put a message to myself on it to remind me what an amazing, blessed life I have. Even though I don't deserve it, God has been so gracious to me!

 I love these little lucky shamrocks...they were supposed to be a full sheet printable but I shrunk them down to make a little banner.  I just printed them, cut them out, and hot glued them to some cheery green ric-rac! You can find the printable here!

 

You can find this cute printable subway art at LollyJane!  I printed it out and mounted it on some cute polka-dot scrapbook paper I had!  I use this frame for all of the different holidays with printables.  I have used it so much that the little holder things have worn off the back and I have it all taped together back there!  Ha! 

 

I hope everyone has a great St. Patrick's Day week!  We are excited because our church is having "Green Day" on Sunday!  The youth are going to go out into the community and do nice things for people!  I am excited to see what God plans to do through our kiddos!

Claire is TWO!

Our sweet Claire turned two years old on February 18th!  We feel so blessed to have our sweet girl...she is amazing!  Just when you think she can't get any cuter, she gives you a "mmmmkiss" and a snuggle that will melt your heart!  She has started sleeping in her big girl bed, and does really well until about 4 or 5 in the morning, and then she comes to climb in our bed with us.  She is so big and tall, and wears a size 4T clothing, and can even fit in some 5T's.  We haven't started potty training, but she is showing some interest, so we might start to work on that this summer.  She loves, and I mean, LOVES Dora the Explorer!  We don't even have the NickJr. channel, but we have watched videos on Netflix, and she is just crazy about her!  She has a tiny Dora that Katie got her for Christmas that she carries around everywhere, and my sister recently brought her a little Dora figurine that has now become her BFF too!  She is so funny!  She can say almost any word that you ask her to repeat, and it's so cute to watch her point out all of her or your body parts! Ha!  She loves her brother and sister, and likes to be near one of them at all times.  She loves to dance, and dances like crazy to the music at church!  It's adorable to see her praising the Lord in her own little way!  We hope you always find a way to love and praise God, Pumpkin...it's the most important thing!  We love you so very much!

a little of this, a little of that...

Hi...it's almost spring!  I can feel it!  We have been seeing robins and other birds outside and that makes us very happy!  Most of our snow is melted and there are just tiny hints of new beginnings everywhere! So thankful for the hope and promise that spring and Easter brings! 

We have been keeping busy!  We have had company for three weekends in a row!  Kris's parents and sister and her kiddos came for Claire's birthday weekend on February 15th...they spent the night and we had a really nice visit.  I don't have any pictures, because I still didn't have a camera.  Kris took some pictures with his phone, and Jill took some pictures with her camera, but I don't have them yet.  Kris's parents got in a little shopping, and Kris took them on a tour of Wichita, Derby, and Rose Hill.  We were able to just visit and eat some yummy food together.

On Claire's actual birthday on the 18th, we took the kids to Chick-Fil-A and had birthday cake, it was a fun evening! 

We had a big ol' snow storm that week, so we weren't sure if our next weekend of visits was going to happen, but it all worked out! 

Charisse, and her two littlest, Evan and Meagan came for a couple of nights.  We went to the mall, Chick-Fil-A, and to Orange Leaf for dessert on Saturday, and then we invited them to come to our church with us on Sunday.  Our church trailer that carries all of the sound equipment was stuck in the snow, so we had limited sound, but it was still a great service!  Speaking of church (sorry for the tangent), we are just really feeling comfortable and are beginning to form relationships, we are so thankful that God lead us to Impact church!  Anyhoo (tangent over) we had a great visit with Charisse and the kids!

Finally, this past weekend, my sister, Crystal, and her kids, Rylee, Reese, and Reagan came to visit. Crystal and I decided that since both big girls were here together, they would do a great job babysitting all of their younger siblings...so...Crystal and I went SHOPPING!  We went to World Market and Super Target and we laughed, tried out our math skills, listened to music, and were able to just catch up a little bit.  I think we seriously started 900 conversations, but with 6 kids and both of our undiagnosed cases of ADD, I don't think we finished very many of them!  We had a really nice visit!  Our kids seem to be at the age where they are really enjoying each other.  Rylee and Katie are especially close, and I am so thankful for this! 

 

Claire was not dressed yet and Asher was still in his PJ's but I really wanted to get a picture of all of them together before they had to leave...I was running behind! 

 

I am really glad we have had so many visitors lately, it has really filled up my cup...it's running over!  I just needed to see some familiar faces and hug some familiar necks!  So thankful for our families and friends!

Longing for spring and a new camera...

I am having spring fever...big time...I told Kris the other day that I just need to SPRAY PAINT something...ha!  I am so incredibly ready for garage sale season, and ready to open the windows and let the fresh spring air in!  I am ready to get the kids outdoors and just let them run, run, run! 

In other news...my camera died... it just will not work anymore.  I have had it for 7 years, and have taken at least 10,000 pictures with it, so I suppose it was time for the old girl to quit.  I had the Canon Rebel XT...and I took it everywhere...and took pictures with it every day.  We are working on getting a new one before Claire's 2nd birthday...which is in just a few days on the 18th!  Since I haven't been able to take pictures for a couple of weeks, I thought I might share some old ones. I recently read about a blogger who lost her home in a house fire, and she was so very thankful that she had blogged and kept so many memories online...makes me want to blog about every minute of our lives!  Hope you enjoy this random stroll down memory lane...

Our Claire with her sweet thumb, June 2011...she was about 4 months old...so tiny and sweet!

 

My three beautiful kiddos before church one day...this picture makes me LONG for warmer days!

 

Our sweet smiley girl, about 5 months old.

 

Daddy teaching Asher how to call in a wild turkey, Spring 2011.

 

My mom and dad, summer 2010, I think.  They have been married for 40 years.

 

Another picture that makes me long for spring! Vinca, my favorite "unkillable" flowers :)

 

And one more summery picture...homemade strawberry shortcake, with strawberries from Mitchell Farms...and Grandpa Mitchell's shortcake recipe! Yummy!

 

 

We {heart} the ZOO!

We bought season passes for the Sedgwick County Zoo for the kids for Christmas, and we have just enjoyed it so much!  We have already visited about 5 times, and it's only February!  I can't wait to visit in the spring when the grass and trees are greener! 

Katie visiting with a little penguin!

Asher visiting with a mama mallard duck!

The beautiful flamingos!

Claire begging to get out of the petting area!

Asher visiting with a Canada Goose!

Katie just looking beautiful!

King of the Jungle!

Just a little hello!

 

 

 

Just popping in to say Hello!  I really have no excuse for not blogging, except that we have been a little under the weather with a stomach bug.  We are also still "adjusting" to the move, and it's kind of taken a toll on all of us.  We are struggling a little, to be truthful, so if you can say a prayer for us, it would be so wonderful.  We are still trying to find the right church for our family, and with Kris's work schedule, he is not able to go to church with us very often.  We have not really gotten to know anyone yet.  We have only lived here for 8 weeks, but some days it feels like we've been here forever by ourselves.  We miss our friends and church family in Independence so much. 

We are enjoying being together as a family, though, and it wonderful to curl up with Kris on the couch or all of us snuggle with Daddy at the end of the day.  We are so thankful to be together.  God has provided a way for us to be together, and has given us a great home to "borrow" for a while.  We are still waiting on our home in Indy to sell, hopefully soon! 

We recently had pictures taken by Joee Seibel at Moments of Grace and she did a great job!  If you would like to see more photos, you can visit her blog.  Claire was not in the mood for pictures, and didn't give us even one single smile during the session! It was really cold that day too, but we were really happy to have them taken!  If you are in the Wichita, KS area, Joee is really affordable and wonderfully talented!

Hats, headbands, headlamps, and hugs all around!

We visited Aunt Jill and Uncle Jay's home last weekend for our Christmas with them.  Meme had been in the hospital on the "real" Christmas Eve, so we celebrated a little late, complete with banyacalda, lots of yummy appetizers, and potato soup.  Meme and Papa gave the kids some hats for Christmas, and we had given Bryce a camo hat, so everyone sported their cute hats and I caught some pictures! We had lots of fun, and treasured our time together! 

A new year~2013!

I always look forward to this time of year, for renewal, a sense of order, and because things seem a little simpler and clearer in January.  This new year is different though, because it *really* is a new beginning for us.  Because of our move in December, we are still getting settled.  It's hard to believe we have already lived here for a whole month.  We spent our first night in this home on December 5th (with no furniture!) and now it's already January 9th.  We are still trying to get used to the changes.  There are so many things that I miss from Independence, especially our church family and our friends.  We have started going to a church here that we are enjoying, but sometimes on Sunday mornings my heart aches to hear Miss Erin's beautiful voice leading worship and Pastor Darren's words of wisdom and encouragement from Indy Nazarene.  I know this is silly, but I miss the muffins from our local coffee shop, Ane Mae's, and I desperately miss "coffee days" on Thursdays with my close girlfriends.  I know that God has a plan for this move here, though, and I know that it's a good plan, it's the ONLY plan that I want for our lives...so here we are...and it will be ok.

Speaking of plans...and changes...I have decided to JUMP back on my health wagon.  I have to confess that since my surgery in August I have gained all of my weight back plus 6 additional pounds.  I would love to blame it on the surgery, or the stress of the move, or the holidays, but honestly, it's because I have been eating a lot of bad food and not exercising.  I am one of those people who just has to be really intentional about things or I really slip.  It seems like as a Christian wife and mother of three, there are just SO many things to concentrate on that I feel like sometimes I need to let things go in order to be successful in other areas.  I know that if I am intentional about my health, however, that I will have more energy and JOY to put toward everything else.  I need to just really focus on this truth:  I feel better, am more joyful, and am a better wife and mother when I am healthy (exercising every day and not using my body as a garbage can).  I just need to get back to putting that 45 minutes aside for my exercise every day, and being intentional about the foods that I put into my body and into the bodies of the four people who I love more than anything else in this world.  I need to pray about it, I need to think about it, and ALLOW the Holy Spirit change me from the inside out.