Daniel

Today, I found out some very sad news. This sweet crazy boy in the front of this picture, Daniel, passed into eternity on Saturday. He was one who had been coming to the Joshua Club (an outreach that we are involved in) from the time it started which is a little over two years. He heard the gospel several times and I remember a couple times when the gospel was being presented that he said, "I believe!" He had also said things that seemed like he was confused, hearing so many different things from other people. I pray that he is with our Lord now and that he didn't put off the decision to believe on the Lord Jesus. His parents called and said that Joshua Club meant a lot to him and asked a couple of the guys involved if they would be willing to share at the memorial service. Pray that the gospel would be clearly presented and that this will really be an opportunity to share the Lord with his family and the other kids that come to Joshua Club.



This is such a reminder that we don't know when will be the last time to share with a loved one the gospel of the Lord Jesus. May this be a reminder to all of us that our time is short and to take every opportunity that the Lord gives us to share his love and the free gift He offers to all - the gift of Himself, forgiveness of sins through His death on the cross, and eternal life with Him.

Landon is Three!

Landon is now three years old! These last three years have gone by so fast, and time seems to be speeding up! I am trying so hard to slow down and take in the sweet moments with my little Landon John before he grows up on me. I love that he still likes to snuggle and give me hugs and kisses. I love that he still likes me to help him with things and always wants me to play with him. I just love this sweet little blessing the Lord has lent to me.

Just how did he go from our sweet little baby...



To our adorable little one year old...



To our crazy two year old...



To our grown up little three year old? It seriously feels like yesterday in that delivery room laying eyes on our much anticipated, much prayed for little baby boy for the very first time. A moment I cannot put into words. Do you ever wish you could pause time or revisit a moment? That would be one of those moments. The day I finally got to hold and lay eyes on our sweet Landon. I'll never forget the way he looked deep into my eyes when he first heard my voice, like he already knew me, and he did of course, but it was truly amazing.



Now, this baby of ours is growing up and is all boy. Right now, this boy is still very into "Thomas" and any trains, so we had another train birthday party this year. He was very excited about his train cake...





He was so excited that his Nanny and Bumpa and uncle Josh came all the way from Iowa to come to his birthday party. We had such a nice time with them and were sad to see them go. He was so happy that Mamaw, Papa, Aunt April and cousins Layla, Finn, and Zoey could all come to his party as well. Landon was so excited about all his birthday presents. He received many trains including a Battery-powered James and a Spencer which he is very excited about, a Bullstrode the boat bath toy that pulls Thomas (so Thomas can be everywhere), a soccer ball, parachute guy, a take-n-go Thomas set (again so Thomas can go everywhere), and finally a train table complete with Tidmouth Shed. This boy is just a bit spoiled...



We are still working on the whole sharing thing. When other kids start to play with his trains, he usually starts grabbing any trains in reach and will hover over and hoard them. We are really working on this not being his first reaction... I pray this little boy of ours grows up to know the Lord and love Him with all his heart, soul, and mind.

Olivia at 9 Months

Olivia is now 9 months old! She is growing and changing so much.

Weight: 17lb 4oz (at the doctor's office, she had her third ear infection, poor girl)

Height: 29 inches

Diapers: Size 3

Clothes: Still 12 months

Sleeping patterns: Usually two naps a day, although she only took one today - hope that's not a new normal by any means!

- When she crawls, she likes to find any two little things, one for each hand, and crawl around with them. She will hold them forever, while she pulls up and does other things.

- She doesn't like baby food, I think it's a texture thing because she doesn't like applesauce by itself, but loves it on toast. Her appetite has really increased this month, I have been feeding her a lot more table foods and she loves about anything we are eating :) She got to try her first french fry the other day and really liked it.

- She got her first tooth finally a couple days after turning 9 months! I will be sad to see her gummy smile go. I'm guessing when I do her 10 month update she'll have all four front teeth - they are all just right there ready to pop out.

- She has said, "Ma ma" a few times. Every time she says it I'll grab my phone to record it and ask her to say, "Ma ma" then she'll say, "Da da" and smile - I think she has a sense of humor :)

- I love how she smiles with her eyes. She is always so happy and smiley.

- I love listening to her and Landon when I lay them down in the afternoon. She'll be talking and Landon will say something like, "say 'dada' " and she will say it, and then they both laugh. I just love seeing their bond develop.

- She was clapping at the Thunder game last Sunday, but won't do it again. I guess the excitement at the game was what she needed to get her to do it!

Mother's Day

I think Mother's Day will always be one of conflicted emotions for me. I celebrate both of my mothers. I am thankful that Seth and I both have such amazing mothers that have poured their love into us and sacrificed so much in the process of raising us, who continue to pour their love into us (I pray I can be a mother like this!). I celebrate the fact that I have two amazing children that bring me so much joy and fill me with a love that I can't explain.

...but no matter how much I celebrate these undeserved blessings, I also grieve. I grieve the one who first made me a mother, our little Samuel. How I wish he could be here to give me a card with his attempt at writing, "mom" with a little four year old's handwriting. How I wish I could hear his voice tell me, "I love you, mommy!" and oh how I wish I could feel his arms around me - the tight squeeze I know he would give me. How I wish he were here.

It's hard being a mother to a baby in heaven. It's hard to find a way to celebrate the fact that I am a mother to a baby that I only got to hold for a few hours. I wanted to be with ALL of my children on Mother's Day. So we did the closest thing we could, we visited the cemetery. We did this last year, and I think this is something I want to do every year on this day. We stood there staring at the sweet tomb stone, starting to fade on the edges, a reminder of the time that has passed without our little boy. Then, I once again noticed the engraving of Jesus holding a baby. A reminder I need every time I am here - he is with Jesus...

There were four other families there, in the "Angel Garden" while we were there. Some with children and some without. I grieved for each one. I grieved for the ones who weren't recognized as mothers on this day - who came here to be reminded of the fact that they are. I grieved for the ones who had children with them trying to maintain the memory of the short life lost and hoping that their children would not forget the brother or sister that was gone. I grieved for the ones that I know personally that were missing the children that they have lost.

Yes, Mother's Day will always be one of conflicted emotions, until the day that I see my Savior face to face. My Savior, who promises to wipe away every tear and who will lead me to the place of everlasting peace. The place where my Samuel lives. The place where there will be no more pain.

Menu and Easter Party Recap

We had a Neighborhood Easter Party this weekend. There were 18 kids that were able to come. We did the Resurrection Eggs for the Easter lesson. I thought this was a really neat way to tell the story of what the Lord Jesus did for us on the cross. I made my own based on this model. The kids really liked to look and touch each item from the eggs. Here are a few pictures from the party so you can see these sweet faces that I pray come to know our Lord as their Savior!

This is Katie - such a sweetie!

Sunday School Kids - Joy, Emily, Joey, and AJ

Dylan, Thomas, Edgar, Joe, Kyler, Omar, Nicholas, and Christian

Praising the Lord for what He has done for us as we remember His sacrifice on the cross, His victory over death, and the forgiveness that He offers to anyone who believes on Him.

...and here is my short menu for the week.

M: Cheesy ham and pasta bake
T: Italian Sausage Potato Roast
W: Chicken Enchiladas
R: Pasta with Spinach and Bacon
F-S: Kansas for the weekend!

Olivia at 8 Months

Weight: 17lb 10oz (35th percentile)
Height: 28.5 inches (85th percentile)
Diapers: Size 3
Clothes: 12 months
Sleeping patterns: Two naps a day and sleeping all night most the time.

- She is crawling and pulling up now. She always heads straight for the bathroom, so I need to remember to keep the door closed!

- She is eating more solids now. She likes bananas, avocados, and bread.

- She still doesn't have any teeth! I love her gummy smile though :)

- I think she is going to be a people person. She gives a big smile to anyone who will smile at her.

- She loves doing, "Pat-a-cake" and is trying to figure out how to clap, but hasn't quite figured it out yet.

Spring Time

Our two blue-eyed sleepy babies

The weather has been so beautiful lately! I love the spring. The trees are so pretty with all the different colors and fresh smells. I can't believe it's already April. I can't believe Landon will be three next month - time goes so fast!

A few things going on at our house lately...

With Olivia becoming so mobile, her sweet brother is becoming less and less sweet to her. He used to be able to pick which toys she could play with and he would even share his favorite trains with her... on his terms. Now that she can choose which toys to play with and when, it is a whole new ball game. Yesterday, the kids were playing in the living room and I stepped out for just a second and see from the corner of my eye, Landon carrying Olivia under her arms and then he dropping her into their room! She didn't even cry, but Landon and I had a long talk... I guess he was getting sick of her grabbing all his toys and thought it would be better to just get her out of the way. Lots of opportunities to practice sharing around here!

It feels like Landon has been constantly saying things that I want to remember. He was just pointing to his pinky finger and said, "This one is so cute!" :)

Oh, and Olivia pulled up on the couch yesterday! It's so cute, when we've went to get her out of her bed, she has been on her knees holding the bars of her crib. Love that girl ("gril" as Landon would say).

Look who's crawling!

Olivia has been scooting around the last couple of weeks, and now is getting the hang of this whole crawling thing. She's so good at it that she actually crawled off our bed this morning... Poor baby! Thankfully she was fine, but that had to hurt hitting the hardwood floor.

My compassionate boy

I have had a little cold or allergies or something and last night one of my ears plugged up - you know, that feeling like when you're on an airplane? No matter what I did I could not get my ear to pop or drain or whatever it needed to do to hear normally again. I was talking about it with Seth and Landon was around. Then, this morning, one of the first things Landon asked me (with such a concerned face) was, "Did your ear drain mommy?"

I just love how he notices things and is concerned for people. Now, he is not always this way, but I pray that he will come to know the Lord and notice the needs of others and serve the Lord in whatever way he is called to.

By the way, my ear still hasn't popped! Have any of you had this issue before and how did you get it unclogged??

Short Menu for the week

T: Chicken Capri Pasta (didn't get to this last week) with rolls
W: Lasagna with garlic bread and salad
R: Bierocks with salad
F-S: Volleyball Conference

Eye for an Eye

Don't let this sweet face fool you... "The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked who can know it?" (Jeremiah 17:9). Well, we got to know a little bit of it tonight.

Seth had just laid Olivia down for a nap and Landon was playing with some louder trains so Seth told him he couldn't play with those particular trains until Olivia woke up from her nap. Landon kept begging to play with them and this is how the conversation went...

Landon: "Can I please play with the noisy Thomas?"
Seth: "Not until Olivia wakes up from her nap."
Landon: "Please can I play with the noisy Thomas?"
Seth: "No, you may not. You need to wait until Olivia wakes up."

A little while later...

Olivia: "Waaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
Landon: "Olivia woke up, now can I play with my noisy Thomas?"

So Seth goes to get Olivia and notices the door is already opened.

Seth: "Landon, how did Olivia wake up?"
Landon: "I poked her in the eye... Now, can I pleeeaaase play with my noisy Thomas?"

Let's just say his little conniving plan didn't work after all. He didn't get to play with his noisy Thomas, and then had to go straight to bed for a little shut eye...

Everyday Life and the Menu for the Week

A picture of our sweet Olivia at the park today - she loves the swing!

Also, a few funny things Landon said this week:

If you have never heard the Thomas the Train song, there is a line in there that says, "Percy, pulls the mail on time."

Landon had his Percy train with three baggage cars connected to him. He pointed to the baggage cars and said, "Mommy, are these mail-on-times?" :)

Then, we were driving and we drove by a guy with a beard who was walking on the sidewalk. This is how the conversation went:

Landon: "Look! I see Jesus!"
Me: "No, that's not Jesus, it's just a man. Jesus lives in heaven."
Landon: "Actually, it is pretty Jesus"
Me: "No, Jesus lives in heaven, that was just a guy with a beard."
Landon: "Did you see him mommy, did you see Jesus?!"

A few days late on this, but better late than never, right?

M: Calzone with Salad
T: Ham and Cabbage Potatoes
W: Chicken Capri Pasta
R: Veggie Stir Fry over rice
F: Lime Chicken soft tacos
S: Baked potatoes with all the fixin's
S: Thunder Game!

Olivia at 7 Months

I was gone and really busy most of Olivia's 6th month, so here are a couple pictures and what she is up to at 7 months old.

Weight: 16lb 12oz (35th percentile)
Height - 28" (90th percentile)
Diapers: Size 3
Clothes: 6-12 months
Sleeping patterns: She usually takes two naps a day. She loves to have her monkey and blanket with her.
Nick names: Livy Lou, sissy boo

- She said her first word: "Da da" this month! She loves her daddy.

- She is sitting up very well now, and wants to crawl, but isn't quite there yet.

- She loves her brother - he can really get a belly laugh out of her :)

- She started eating some food, but isn't very interested yet...

Menu

I didn't get to try all the smoothies that I wanted to because I got to the store and they were out of pineapples and the bananas were really green. The bananas didn't ripen until the end of the week! I did try a few though, so I will let you know what I thought of those.



Avocado Smoothie: Definitely can taste the avocado, a little bit of a weird combination of flavors. I will say that the texture was perfect! I may experiment with this base minus the avocado...

Orange Cream Smoothie - Yummy! This was really refreshing. I think the quality of this smoothie will definitely depend on the quality of your oranges - mine were really sweet and perfect, but that's not always the case with oranges...

Groovy Smoothie - Nothing extraordinary, refreshing and simple.

I am going to attempt to try the rest of the smoothies I didn't get to try this week since I was able to get pineapples this week and the bananas I got aren't quite as green as the others. I would also like to try this Strawberry Smoothie

M: Chicken Cheddar Pizza roll em' ups (Didn't get to this last week - This turned out very good, very kid friendly)
T: Southwestern Egg Rolls with Spanish rice
W: Grilled Hamburgers with grilled potatoes and onions
R: Tomato soup and grilled cheese
F: Homemade Pizza
S: Chicken Breasts with balsamic vinegar and garlic over pasta
S: Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches

Florida

The kids and I had a great time in Florida. This was sort of a last minute trip for us, so it was a little crazy right before we left. We had a Valentine's Neighborhood kids club on Saturday and then left on Monday morning. Here is a picture from the club...



Anyway, it was hard leaving Seth for almost two weeks, but it was nice being with my family that I don't see very often for that long. The kids did pretty well on the airplane. Olivia slept most of the time and Landon watched a movie. He was almost asleep so I was putting away his DVD player and he woke up. Boy, was he cranky when I did that! He eventually settled down and we made it...





We spent most of our time at a condo in Fort Myers - it was so nice being able to all stay in the same place. We all had a part in putting this puzzle together. It was fun putting together a puzzle that was more than 24 pieces ;)



The weather while we were there was perfect - 80s most days and I don't think it ever rained! The beaches in Fort Myers were crowed, but they had the most pretty white sand. We visited Sanibel Island a couple of times. The shells there were beautiful and the beaches were really nice. We actually saw a dolphin only about 50 feet away from us at this beach! Landon loved playing in the sand more than anything. He loved making castles and then breaking them. He would get scared of the big waves. Olivia loved running her hands through the sand. Logan, her cousin, was so excited and loved the beach! It was so fun watching him, he would throw sand over his head and eat it and crawl everywhere - he had a blast. Poor boy though had to have stitches while were there! Clayton and Halle loved looking for shells, getting buried in the sand, and braving the big waves.







We found a fun train park that the kids (especially train lover Landon) really enjoyed. There was a miniature train that we all rode and a little water park. It was a lot of fun.











We rode back with my parents, so it was a very long trip for the kiddos. Nanny bought Olivia her first doll which helped - she loves it!



We had such a great time. Goodbye Florida!

Silly Conversations

Landon, Seth and I were each given a specific kid to pray from the Joshua club. Landon knows who we all pray for, but here's how the conversation went:

Seth: "Who does Landon pray for?"
Landon: "Carlos"
Seth: "Who does daddy pray for?"
Landon: "Juan"
Seth: "...and who does mommy pray for?"
Landon: "Two!" :)

Then, a conversation Landon had at the mall public restrooms today:

Landon (while he is peeing): "Beautiful!"
Me: "What?"
Landon: "Those bubbles are beautiful!"
Me: "Shhhh"
Landon: "Do you think those bubbles are beautiful mommy?"
Me: "Shhhhhhh!"

We were working with Olivia to say, "da da"

Seth: "Say 'da da'"
Olivia: "da da"
Landon: "Say, "Skippy John Jones, Olivia"
Olivia: "da da"

On our way back from Kansas after spending almost two weeks with my parents in Florida:

Olivia: Crying...
Me: "Why are you crying, Olivia?"
Landon: "She misses Nanny"

Menu Planning Monday

The kids and I just got back from a great trip to Florida with my family. We had a wonderful time and I hope to post pictures soon! We also stopped in Kansas over the weekend to meet our adorable new niece, Haven. She is such a doll!

I'm trying to get back into the swing of things after being gone for almost two weeks. So, here's a start - my menu for the week!

Breakfasts: Smoothie Week! - I'm going to try a new smoothie every day and see if i can find some keepers. Strawberries are in season now so there are some great sales on them! Aldi has some great deals on fruit this week here - Pineapples $.99, Oranges $1.49/4lbs, Strawberries $1.69, Apples $1.29/3lbs

M: Orange Pineapple Smoothie Recipe
T: Strawberry Wild Smoothie
W: Orange Cream Smoothie
R: Groovy Smoothie
F: Green Slime Smoothie
S: Tropical Smoothie
S: Avocado Smoothie

Dinners:
M:: Spaghetti - recovering from Florida trip, definitely cooking something easy tonight!
T: Quesadillas with Green Chicken Chili
W: Satay Chicken Stir-Fry with Snow Peas and Cilantro over rice
R: BBQ Chicken Sandwiches with a salad
F: Thunder Basketball Game
S: Chicken and Cheddar Pizza roll em’ ups with a salad
S: Slow Cooker Beef Stew

Menu

Well, just as the snow is beginning to melt, we are due for another big snow storm tonight! All this cold weather gets me in the mood for cooking. Here is my menu for the rest of the week:

T: Chili with cornbread
W: Chicken Parmesan over spaghetti
R: Toasted subs with homemade french bread and Creamy Carrot Soup
F: Turkey Enchiladas
S: Homemade Pizza with whole wheat crust
S: French Dip sandwiches

We've also been enjoying yummy warm rice pudding on these cold mornings.

Catching up

I can't believe it's been two months since my last post! December was quite a busy month, then I spent January trying to catch up and now it's February! Every time I have sat down to try to blog I usually have ended up doing something else because it felt too daunting. I will do my best to recap all that has happened these past couple of months...

1. We had a Christmas Party for the neighborhood kids and Sunday School kids. It was a lot of fun. We had 11 kids from the neighborhood and 11 from church. I pray that the Lord would be working in each of these little hearts.

2. Olivia turned 4 Months old



3. We got new windows



4. We went to a local Christmas tree farm to pick out a tree.





5. We had a nice Christmas in Iowa. I actually got to stay for an extra week with Landon and Olivia unexpectedly. We had a really nice time. Landon got a battery-powered Thomas train which he was very excited about and Olivia got a teddy bear "from Samuel."




6. Landon is out-growing his nap... and I am not. One day I was so tired I let him play while I slept (obviously I was not thinking). He finished off the cornbread muffins (I think there were five) and ate a little of the wrappers too.



...then he emptied the wet wipe box and made this artistic design on his train track.


7. Olivia turned 5 months old



8. Celebrated Christmas (in January) with Seth's side of the family



9. Kids got RSV, I got strep throat - were cooped up for a little over a week

10. We celebrated Seth's 28th Birthday



11. Got the biggest snow storm Tulsa has ever seen- cooped up for almost another week so far...


Here is "Snowy Olivia" as Landon calls her in this outfit...



10. We celebrated my 27th Birthday



11. Landon's prayer the other night, "Pray for Carlos, and for Gregory, and for Daniel, and for Potipher's wife, A-men"
Carlos, Gregory and Daniel are from Joshua Club and he has a movie about Joseph, so that's how he thought of Potipher's wife. I have no idea, however, why he associated them together - silly boy!


(Kids from Joshua Club. From left: Gregory, Carlos, Meme)

Anyway, we have had quite the busy last couple of months, but hopefully things will start to slow down and I will be back to posting more regularly. Hope you all are staying warm and enjoying your families!