Just "hangin'" around

While trying to take a picture of my new 'do, the kids and I got a little distracted.  This is what I am doing instead of working!  haha!  Better get back to it!

Loving my silly babes,
M

Everything you wanted to know an more...

I stole this from my sister-in-law's blog a while back and thought I would post it now.  It kind of made me laugh to re-read her answers as I filled in my own.  Enjoy knowing everything about me you ever (or never) wanted to know!!

1. What time did you get up this morning? WOKE up at 5:40 but got up at 6:20 a.m.

2. How do you like your steak? magically turned in to pork or chicken?


3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema: Bridesmaids


4. What is your favorite TV show? C.S.I. - Las Vegas


5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be? London


6. What did you have for breakfast? Mini-biscuits and gravy and cherry/peach crisp


7. What is your favorite food? chicken fried rice


8. Foods you dislike? can't think of any.


9. Favorite place to eat? Chinese Buffet or Johnny's


10. Favorite dressing? Ranch or Blue Cheese

 

11. What kind of vehicle do you drive? Dodge Charger SRT8


12. What are your favorite clothes? jeans and cardigans


13. Where would you visit if you had the chance? Somewhere in South America


14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full? 1/2 full


15. Where would you want to retire? Somewhere warm and dry


16. Favorite time of day? naptime? haha!


17. Where were you born? Northeast IL


18. What is your favorite sport to watch? cheerleading

 
19. What is your favorite fragrance? Viva La Juicy and Pumpkin spice from Bath and Body.


20. What is your favorite face cream? Aveeno


21. Favorite baby/kids products? baby shoes and baby jeans

22. People watcher? Most Definitely.


23. Are you a morning or night person? Probably a afternoon/evening person?


24. Do you have any pets? We have a goldfish, Jax.

25. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share? Um, no.

 
26. What did you want to be when you were little? a singer/dancer and a boss. haha!


27. What is your favorite memory? The week of my honey moon, and any time my husband and my kids and I get to hang out together.


28. Are you a cat or dog person? dog person


29. Are you married? Oh, yes!


30. Always wear your seat belt? Buckle up, its the law.


31. Been in a car accident? unfortunately


32. Any pet peeves? Many:  top two are 1.  Liars  2.  People who only think of themselves.


33. Favorite pizza toppings? sausage & mushroom


34. Favorite flower? tulips


35. Favorite ice cream? chocolate always chocolate


36. Favorite fast food restaurant? Burger King


37. How many times did you fail your driver's test? None - I was a pro. ha!


38. From whom did you get your last email? A woman in my Mom's group.

39. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? Bergner's/Carson Pirie Scott.


40. Do anything spontaneous lately? maybe ;)


41. Like your job? most of the time.


42. Broccoli? Love it.


43. What was your favorite vacation? My trip to Europe and my honeymoon to Nashville.


44. Last person you went out to dinner with? My handsome hubby, Kev

45. What are you listening to right now? My babies talking to each other.


46. What is your favorite color? coral - and varying other shades of red.


47. How many tattoos do you have? 2

48. coffee drinker? definitely


Praying for energy after this post,
M

Who does that?

Today is the 10 year anniversary of the 9/11 horror.  What an amazingly awful day.  I can remember where I was, what I was doing, etc. when my mom called me and told me to turn on the news.  It was completely surreal, wasn't it?  Watching the coverage of that day 10 years later did not lessen the shock and sadness that overwhelmed me.  If anything, time only made those feelings more extraordinary.



Now I have a husband and children.  I can feel a broader spectrum of emotions than 10 years ago.
Who takes a plane, without a thought to the other human life on it and destroys it?  "Who does that?"   Who can hate to profoundly that no other person or persons is worth saving?  "Who does that?"  I can't think of anyone I know, besides satan.  And as I was watching footage of firemen racing to save lives of those in the towers I was taken over by awe and sheer terror at their bravery.  I thought to myself, "who would do that?"  "Who does that?"  Who would willingly go in to that building and save lives knowing theirs is so surely at risk?  Many people came to mind:

Jesus.  He, would surely race in to a destructing building, even if it was to only save 1 life.

Kevin.  My husband is brave.  He will stand up for people without thinking of the harm that might come to him.  He stopped on the side of the interstate a few weeks back to make sure a woman who was clearly being verbally (if not physically) abused was OK.  To make sure that the man walked away.

But, would I?  Of course, if it was my children or family in there I would run in at my own risk.  But would I for someone else?  I can't say for sure.  I would hope that I would trust God and follow where he lead me, even if it is in to obvious danger.

On this Sept. 11, I am praying for all those who lost family members.  I am praying for all those who live with that last memory of a loved one before they watched their demise on national television.  I am praying for all the emergency workers who were there to save and those who perished while trying to save.  I am praying for all those who continue to put themselves in danger to protect others.

God Bless America,
M

Yum

This is what I made yesterday.  This picture isn't of my exact cookies, but it looks a lot like them.  They are delicious.  I tried a new recipe, and it needs some tweaking but the cookies are still pretty tasty.  And the recipe makes a TON.

I love to bake.  I love to cook.  I love to create new meals and meal ideas.  YUM. 

Now, if only I didn't like to eat.

Trying to stay away from the kitchen,
M

Hard at work

I am not a hard worker...at most things.  I work hard to be a good mom/wife/daughter/friend, etc.  But in other areas of "work" I am sub-par.  All my life I have been pleased with "good enough."  This can be a bad thing, like when cleaning our house.  Or a good thing, like I don't get too worked up if the house isn't in perfect order. : )

My husband, on the other hand, is an extremely hard worker.  He will work from sun-up to sun-down and I never hear a complaint.  He truly takes the following verse and runs with it:

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men," Colossions 3:23

 Kevin is amazing in this respect.  He is just good at it.  If he doesn't like his boss (at his part time job) he doesn't slack off.  If he isn't super excited about a job he is on, he doesn't complain and drag his feet.  He works at it with all his heart and energy.  Kevin is my inspiration in this area.

I know so many moms who are good at keeping their house clean, keeping their laundry caught up, playing with their kids. getting their work-out, etc.  They seem to balance everything.  I am NOT one of those moms/wives.  I can cook.  I can keep our laundry caught up.  I love to play with the kids.  But that is about where my "work" ethic falls off.  I am praying today for continued improvement in this area. 


Do you deal with this work problem? 

I have Colossions 3:23 on my fridge.  I need constant reminding to work.  Get back to work.  Keep working.  Work. Work. Work. 

On that note, I think I will go clean up my kitchen!

Enjoying the work,
M

The joys of my heart

 The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song. Ps. 28:7

I love the verse above.  It is right up my alley.  My heart does leap for joy, and I LOVE to sing, so I definitely can give thanks in that manner.  There are 3 things on Earth (well more than 3 really, but these are the top 3) that make my heart leap for joy and make me want to sing to God in praise and thanksgiving.  They are pictured below.

Swimming with Dad!

Making faces...something they learned from their dad :)

This just makes me laugh.

This makes me laugh, too. :)

This just makes my heart swell!

I don't know why God chose to bless me with my amazing, handsome, strong husband.  But I am always thankful that He chose Kevin for me.  I know through my whole being that Kevin was meant for me, God wanted us to be together.  Kev is strong in all the places I am not.  Plus, he is super cute : )

To increase the blessing, God gave us these two little cuties.  Lexi and Max make me laugh, cry, shout, and all the emotional actions you can think of!  I don't know what my world would be like if I didn't have them. 

We just got back from a mini-vacation.  The kids had a blast, but were exhausted almost the whole time we were gone.  We did lots of swimming, visited a zoo, went to John Deere, and a semi-truck museum.  We ate lots of ice cream, pizza, and JUNK FOOD!  The kids loved swimming in the hotel pool.  They are both quite brave...a little too brave for this Mom's comfort!

They actually fell asleep this way!  They loved sharing a bed.

Have you seen cuter monkeys?

A little rhino riding at the zoo.

Learning silly faces.

Look at those gorgeous eyes!  She is one beautiful girl. : )

<3

Decked out in her Zezee's jewelry and making a silly face.

Sporting our new cowboy/cowgirl boots!

All in all it was one of the best weekends I have ever had.  I just kept thinking how amazingly blessed I am.  If my heart is so full of love for these 3, think how much MORE God loves them.  That comforts me and gives me such a feeling of peace.  One time I was struggling with some guilt over things I have done in my past.  I was sharing these guilty feelings with my mom (who is also amazing, by the way).  She said, "Do you think I love you less because you made those mistakes?"  I said, "No."  And she said, "Well, if I still love you, think how much more God loves you and still does."  When she said that it put everything in perspective.  Human love is so small compared to God's love.  I love that!

Loving my sweet family,
M

Oy!

I feel like I have been just busy busy busy lately.  TOO busy.  I need a break.

I get it this weekend : )  3 whole days with my hubby and my kids all together, no work, no nothing.  Just us.  I CANNOT wait.  I love that my husband is a hard worker.  However, his busy seasons are brutal.  He leaves by 6:30, if not earlier, everyday.  He doesn't get home until 7 or 8 every night.  It makes for a LONG day without my handsome guy and a long day for the kids without their dad.  But then a slower season comes and we get to see him on a normal schedule.  Until then I struggle with being a patient and fun mom.

This weekend, they will probably be angels, making me feel like a complete liar for telling their dad that they have been rotten!

 On another note:  We have been reading "Heaven is for Real."  It is an amazing book.  Whether you believe it is true or not, it really makes you think.  Heaven is so big and outside of our mindscape that I don't think about it much.  But since we started this book, and are doing a series of sermons at church about Heaven, I have been pondering this celestial place much more.  I believe in Heaven.  I believe it with my whole heart.  And since reading the book mentioned above, I have really started focusing on my faith. 

Do I have a child-like faith in Christ, God, Heaven, etc?  In some ways, yes.  I believe there is God, Jesus, and the Holy spirit, and that they live in some realm that is outside my field of vision, imagination, and understanding.  I have never "seen" God's face per se, but I have seen God's work.  God is so big.  I think as humans we cannot possibly fully grasp the largeness of God.  We focus on the small, the mole hills that we interpret as mountains.  Children see things and say things in a different way.  A direct way.  I want to be more like that.  They seem to know they are little, but that they are important.  I want that, too.

I want God to remind me that I am just a speck in eternity, an important speck, but a speck none-the-less.  I want to have faith that I am a small part of a much bigger, and more important picture.  I want to provide my children with an example of faith everyday.  And I want to make sure I am living my faith to the fullest. 


That is my prayer; to live in faith.  I am NOT living my faith the fullest right now.  I know it. 

Oy!  I had a lot to get out, but it looks like rambling now.  Sorry!!

Excited for a break,
M