the hokey-pokey is *not* what it's all about...

I have been reading through some of my older posts, and I am just amazed...what a blessed LIFE I live! There have been difficult days, and even times I doubted my trust in God. I can't believe all of the time I have wasted worrying about things that don't really matter (the hokey -pokey's)...what to wear, my weight issues, how clean my house is/isn't, what so-and-so thinks or said about me. Those things truly don't matter...the eternal things matter...my relationships with my Lord and my family, making sure my kids are safe and loved, loving others (strangers too). I wish I could just grab on to that concept and keep it in my heart every day! I have to confess that I have not been reading the Bible like I should. Kris always says that reading the Bible is like fuel, armor, and strength, and he feels powerless without it. I agree. I need to fuel up! In my older posts where I was reading every morning, I could tell that there was more joy and hope in my days. I need that again...

We had a good day today. The kids and I went to church, Kris went to sleep. He's started on nights again, so he sleeps from 8 am-4 or so in the afternoon. Tonight will be his 4th night in a row, so I know he has to be tired! We went to McD's for lunch and then Asher took a big nap. Katie and I folded clothes and she watched a movie. I have been working so hard to keep the house clean to get ready to show it, but I've decided it's almost impossible with an almost 2 year old! He's a MESS! (but we LOVE him!) I went to choir practice this afternoon and Katie went to Bible Quizzing, then we had pizza for dinner (so much for cooking at home today!). Kris just left for work, so the kids and I will be going to bed soon. :o) Night!

A little glimpse...

...of things to come...

...we can hardly wait...

Happy {HEART} Month!

I know I missed Valentine's Day, but the whole month of February (and every other month!) is about LOVE right? Here are my sweet Valentine's-Asher and Katie! We made sugar cookies, of course, and I made Katie a giant one to surprise her when she got home from school on Friday. I made the little plate of Scottie dogs for my friend, Marilyn, from church. She is a dog lover! We spent Valentine's Day mostly at church...I guess that's where we meet up with the ONE who LOVES us MOST!

I really enjoy cooking, so I think that I will be adding some of my favorite recipes and sharing some menu ideas...maybe Katie will read this blog when she is a mom and remember my cooking...

We are having Delicious Ham and Potato Soup tonight! It's rainy and cold outside, a perfect day for soup in a bread bowl! Here is the recipe:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Delicious-Ham-and-Potato-Soup/Detail.aspx

We're also having Toll House Pie for dessert. My friend Shanda made this for our pie auction at church, and it was WONDERFUL! I think I might serve it with our Schwan's Peanut Butter and Chocolate Ice Cream!
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Toll-House-Pie-I/Detail.aspx

One of our other winter/cold weather favorite recipes is White Chili. We were introduced to it by my friend Beverly, and it's just amazing! It's a little spicy, so if you're sharing it with kids, lessen the red pepper just a little. So good! We love it with Jalepeno Bread from the Wal-Mart bakery, or Jiffy Cornbread!
http://www.netcooks.com/recipes/Soups/Delicious.Creamy.White.Chili.html

While we're on the subject of soup, here's just one more of our favorites: Cheeseburger Soup (and yes, it's as "unhealthy" as it sounds! LOL!) So very yummy though!
http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Cheeseburger-Soup

Enjoy! (Love you Sis, if you're reading this 10 years into the future!)

Hey...how did February happen so fast?

Someone took January right off the calendar for me this year...what happened? Time just goes by too quickly. It seems like some weeks go by in such a blur. We have been really busy with church and house stuff. We're moving, maybe...someday! We have decided to put our house on the market. I lost my case management job back in January due to a RIF, and we had kind of been thinking about it before, but since then, we made the decision to "just do it". When we bought our house 3 years ago (it's an Alexander record, to have stayed in this house so long! Ha!) we were both working full time, with one child, and not really any plans to have more children realistically. I had decided that God would just have to be in control of us having another baby. Then Asher happened...what a miracle he is! Anyhoo...we had two full time good paying jobs and could afford our house three years ago. Since then I went down to part time and was recently laid off. Now I am just working part time at the church on a temporary basis, and hopefully (prayerfully!) going to be able to be a stay at home mom at some point! Yay! Church has been busy too. We're in pastoral transition, so things have been a little wild with interviews, board meetings, etc. We are hopefully very close to having a new Pastor!

Katie and Asher just keep growing and growing. Katie is about 7 inches from being as tall as I am...she's nearly 5 foot tall! She is already looking forward to 5th grade next year, so she can move up to the older class of 5th and 6th graders. Seems impossible that our tiny pink bundle who came to us almost 10 years ago could be so grown up. She is LOVING word search puzzles and still reads anything and everything she can get a hold of. She loves her American Girl dolls, Chrissa and Kit are never too far away from her. She is still just a jeans and tee kind of girl, with her hair usually in a pony or messy bun. She's really getting so pretty. I told her the other day that I really hope she has some of Aunt Jill's features...she seems to already!

It's hard to believe Asher will be 2 in just a couple of months. He can say so many words, he repeats almost everything! He seems really interested in potty training, and sometimes tells us when he has to go, or has already gone! He likes to sit on the potty! He LOVES his big sister. He just wants to be near her all of the time...she doesn't always like it! He loves for her to read to him, or just snuggle while they watch tv. She's getting better about getting along with him...I'm hoping we're turning a corner. For a while she really struggled with him getting more attention, etc. Asher loves ball, any kind of ball, he can say all the different kinds of sports with the word ball in it. It's really cute. He can also say Grandma, Grandpa, Meme, and Papa. He points at their pictures and knows who is who! He is a smarty!

I know I've said this like a million times before, but I really want to do a better job of keeping up my blog. I love reading the old posts, it's hard to believe that in June I will have had this 5 years...seems impossible!

Christmas!

We had a great Christmas this year! The kids had a great time and we got to spend time with all of our family. We spent Christmas Eve with Papa and Meme, Jill, Jay, Bryce and Megan, and Christmas night with Grandma, Grandpa, Crystal, Michael, Rylee, Reese, Reagan, Bobby Mary Ann and little Tre! It was nice to be together! We even had a white Christmas with snow drifts up to 3 feet!

Our little King of the Jungle!

I'm still here...

Hi. Just a quick update. We've been getting ready for Christmas! Things have been so busy! I am still having trouble downloading photos, and it just stinks. I have so many pictures to share. Katie and Asher are growing so much! Asher is 20 months old! It's hard to believe! Time goes by so fast! He is saying lots of words, Mama, Daddy, Sissy, Asher, Bubba, Santa, basketball, baseball, football (I think he may be turning into a sports fanatic like Dad!). He runs around everywhere and is into everything! He is so much more active than I remember Katie being! He's a maniac! We feel so incredibly blessed to have him, we are still in awe of what God has done in our lives! We started praying to have children in July 1999...by August 1999 we knew that our Katie girl was on her way...with Asher it took years...but he is here! We just feel blessed! I think Christmas this year will be really fun! Asher is so interested in the gifts under the tree! He has torn the bows off most of them! I don't think he has a clue what is inside though...he just thinks they are pretty boxes! He will so be excited to see TOYS inside on Christmas morning! Hopefully I will be able to upload some pictures after Christmas.

Fall is on the way!

I had such amazing plans to keep my blog updated more regularly, but I'm still having difficulty with my computer. I need to update new pictures of the kids, because they are growing so quickly!
I am glad fall is on it's way! It's my favorite season. I love everything about it...the cooler temperatures, pumpkins, apple cider, spice scented candles, colored falling leaves, and of course, Neewollah, here in our beautiful little town! I am excited for Asher to experience fall, and for Katie to have someone to play with during this great season.
We've been keeping busy, school is underway, and all of our school year church activities have begun. We have Wednesday night Caravan program, and Sunday night children's Bible Study. Katie loves both of them! We still have karate on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so we are pretty busy, but it's good to be busy!
It's good to be so blessed...God has given us so much! We are still struggling financially, but I know that He is taking care of us...He has shown us in so many ways lately...that he can take care of our every need...small and big!
I will try and upload pictures soon!

Goodness gracious...things have been so busy! I know that's a terrible excuse for not blogging, but it's true! It seems like the summer just flew by! Seriously, it seems like summer was 2 weeks long, instead of 12! School starts next week, and our Katie girl will be in 4th (yes-4th!) grade! She is super excited about school starting, and I am super excited about her not being bored to tears every day! Summer was full of activities her, but these last couple weeks of no activities revolving around her have been "boring"...apparently! She just got back from a couple days with Meme and Papa in Grove, and had a good time swimming with her cousins and watching the Disney channel. :o) Asher has just been growing and growing! He turned 15 months old last month, and got his first haircut AND started walking, all in the same week! He will be 16 months in a couple days. He's still a little wobbly with his walking, but he has learned to turn corners, get up and down from sitting, and even "runs" when he wants to get somewhere quickly (like out the front door!). He loves going outside, even when it's 100 degrees! I am really looking forward to some cooler temperatures so we can just go outside and stay for a while.
Kris started working a new schedule, he works 3-12 hour days on and has 3 days off, then 3-12 hour days, etc. We are LOVING it. We have never had so much time together as a family! It seems like it has given him some time to kind of catch-up on his "honey-do" list, too, which is a bonus for me! We had a big garage sale, re-claimed about 20 square feet of our garage, and now he has space to work on the woodwork for Katie's room. I started a big project of taking the wallpaper off in the kitchen, can't wait to paint...trying to decide between my favorite barn red and a mossy-sage green. :o) Our counter tops, sink, and flooring is a creamy color, and our cabinets are dark wood, so I'm thinking the green might look better...just not sure...anyhoo, I'm just glad to redecorate!
I'm still working part time as a case manager for foster care, but there are some rumors going around about layoff's in my department, and I would be first to go. I know it will be ok--whatever God has planned is ok with me. We're not quite where we wanted to be financially for me to stay at home, but sometimes we just have to trust, and know that God is God...and he knows what's best for us.
Well, I just wanted to pop in and update, because it's been such a long time. I really want to start blogging again more often...I just love it, and I know the kids will love reading it someday.
:o)

I have tried to post and update on the blog several times, but our computer keeps losing the connection. There is a certain little boy in our house who likes to tug at the wires on the computer...not sure who that could be...could it be this guy??? Yes...it could be...because he is into EVERYTHING! We are loving watching him grow and get such an amazingly fun and loving personality. If you ask him for a "snuggly", he will lean his forehead down to yours, and if you ask for a kiss, he will give you a big wet one! He is about ready for a haircut. We had planned to have it cut on his first birthday, but I just couldn't let the curls go yet. It is getting a little long though...look how tall his bathtime mohawk is!

One of the many reasons I haven't blogged in such a long time is because we have been incredibly busy. Katie played softball this year. She did so well! We are so proud of her. This was her first season to play softball, and we were nervous, because we didn't know how well she would do since she never played blastball or t-ball, or anything before. I think karate has helped her hand/eye coordination and everything else, because she is a good little ball player! I am amazed! She's much better than I was at that age! She is also still doing karate, and received her green belt uniform.

She is growing so fast. So far the "9" year old age has been a little challenging...I think she is trying out her independence, while still wanting to be our little girl who is the center of attention. I think as Asher gets more animated and fun, she gets a tiny bit more jealous...but she loves him so much, and is such a great big sister. They are like two peas in a pod, almost always together when we're here at home.

This morning.

This morning I am so thankful for sunshine, fresh air, and mourning doves. I walked out to start the car this morning, and it's absolutely beautiful! The first thing I heard was the doves singing to each other, and that just has to be one of my favorite sounds! I love hearing birds sing...cheesy...I know...but I love it.
I read some blogs last night (My charming kids and Bring the Rain <-------both linked over there) and I just had an OVERWHELMING sense of thankfulness for my healthy children and broken-heartedness for these moms. This morning I am just THANKFUL for my healthy children....so very thankful.

11 years...

...of us.

Happy anniversary, Baboosey!

So. Very. Blessed.

I just feel so blessed. I need to write it down, so that when I'm having a rough day, I can look back and KNOW that God LOVES me, He CARES for me, He GIVES so much to me. The most amazing thing is that God gave his ONLY son for me, to cover my sins, and someday I will be with him in Heaven. It will be more wonderful than I can even imagine. God has also blessed me with my family. I have the best husband. We've been married for 11 years today, and I am just so thankful for him. He is kind to me, he is understanding, he has a wonderful sense of humor, he has the best smile, and he tries so hard to be a good dad. I love my children, Katie and Asher are my world. They are beautiful...just amazingly beautiful...I am so blessed that they are both plump and healthy...that they can laugh and play...that they are happy...they both smile...so much. I am so very blessed.

Green Belt!

Katie received her Green Belt in karate last week! We were so proud! She was so excited! She has really stuck with this, and in July, she will have been taking karate for 2 years! We love you, and are so proud of you, Sis! :o)

Almost 11 months!

It seems impossible that Asher will turn 1 next month. He is such a little blessing. It's amazing how much he is like Katie and Kris. He loves to laugh, and make others laugh. He tries to be "cute" by doing funny things, just to see if you'll notice. He crawls everywhere, and pulls up to stand on anything that holds still long enough. He is into *everything*! He is so curious and adventurous...a true boy! We love you so much little dude!

Siblings.

Don't tease!

Little bird...you give me so much hope...we're so ready for spring!