In the Dog House

Today the "flu" hit Malachi! UGH! His daycare provider called me around noon to tell me that he was vomiting all over and wouldn't stop. Just what we needed right now! So, it looks like it will be a bit LONGER before I see my new niece. :( I felt a little selfish today when I had to leave work. I felt bad that I was upset about having to leave when I was getting so much done. Its frustrating to finally get a day to catch up with my students and have to be pulled to do something else or in this case- go home. I need to do better about putting things into perspective and realizing that I am a mommy and that's my legacy.

I promise I'll get recent pictures uploaded as soon as my major case study assignment is done. Right now, I should actually be working on that, but I'm taking a break. Here are a few pictures of Miss Spoiled Suzie Q and our new "dog" Malachi. When Malachi was feeling a bit better, his favorite pasttime was to ruin something and then hide in Suzie's kennel. I guess he took going to the dog house literally!

This marker has been hidden since the couch incident because I sure couldn't find it after that, but somehow its reappeared now.






I might note that I think its pretty amazing that a 2 year old knows how to use a puke-bucket appropriately. As soon as we got home, Malachi said, "mommy need bucket." I thought, "surely he doesn't really mean a puke-bucket. Does he even know how to control that until he gets to a bucket???" Sure enough, I scrambled around to get it all ready just in time for him to put his snack in the bucket. YUCK!!!!! But, nice for the clean-up. Too bad he didn't have that mastered at daycare. :(

Beautiful Boys

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving that was jam-packed with family, friends, and LOTS of traveling. We survived. I'm catching up on rest today and we're getting ready to go full-gear into December this week, getting excited about Christmas approaching. We got our Christmas tree RE-decorated today. No matter how creative we try to get with it, Brady seems to fix it to make it beautiful.

A few Sunday's ago, I took these pictures of the boys. They were actually in a picture-taking, loving mood.
















Is it sad that my dog has met my niece before I have!? Brady took Suzie to KC for the weekend instead of staying here to take care of her. So, technically, she got to see Miss Brienna before I have. However, I do doubt she had the quality interaction that I will when I get to see her.

Prayer and Prayer Boxes

Well, Shawn took me to the doctor yesterday and I could have swore I was ready to die with how achy and sore I was. But. . . alas- just more of a flare up of the CFS. Strep-test came back negative so we're chalking it up to stressed induced overactive immune system trying to kill me off! I'm feeling better today. I made pancakes for the boys and we had a good (although rowdy) breakfast. I was praying for a bit of sleeping in, but Malachi jumped in bed at 6:30am saying, "Daddy gone Mommy! Where Daddy at!?" I couldn't convince him to lay back down with me for just a little bit longer. Logan was up and going too, so there was no use avoiding the morning.

I wanted to share a project that I created (probably not the only one out there, but the only one I've seen). When I used to work in the kindergarten classroom in Topeka, I saw more than my eyes and ears probably could have handled. Those babies had dealt with more real-life situations than I had in my early age of 23 years old. So, I used my hour drive to and hour home to de-sensitive myself and use it as prayer and devotion with God. I had always had a conviction that I'd tell someone that I'd pray for them and then a few weeks later hear news about them and feel so guilty about not doing my Christianly duty and avidly praying for them like I'd promised. So, I made little index cards with everyone's names on them. At first it wasn't too many. It was mainly friends, family, and my baby kindergartners. I would shuffle through them on my way to Topeka, praying for specifics or general needs. It was a good reminder and it kept the prayer on my heart.

As there got to be too many more cards, I decided to buy a box to put my cards in. Thus became the beginning of my prayer box.

All over the box, I marked verses from the Bible that were specific to prayer, such as:
* 1 Timothy 2:1, 8: I tell you to pray for all people, asking God for what they need and being thankful to Him. I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up their hands in a holy manner, without anger and arguments.
* Isaiah 65:24: Even before they finished praying to me, I will answer their prayers.
* James 5:16: The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results.
* Proverbs 15:29: When good people pray, the Lord listens.
* Mark 11:24: Believe that you have recieved the things you ask for in prayer and God will give them to you.
* 1 Thessalonians 5:17: Pray without ceasing.
(There are many more verses on the box, but you get the meaning.)

Also, as I read devotional or inspirational books, I would write down my favorite quotes on colored cards so that I could read them and be reminded of them.




Here's an example of our cards: ours is old, but still in use. Sometimes when I stop praying so often for people or their prayers have been answered, I still keep their cards in the back of the box so I can be reminded of Gods answers to prayers.

Here are just a few of the ones that I use right now. I pray very specifics for the gals in my Bible study, members of my church, family, friends, strangers. . . . etc.

This is my OCD organization system. :)



If you would like your very own prayer box, to be delivered or mailed to you, I would gladly provide that for you. I have 5 boxes left from when we made it as a craft in Bible Study. So, the first 5 people to email or comment on this post, I will gladly mail or deliver the box to you. :)

Have a very blessed and happy Thanksgiving season. We have so very much to be thankful for and know that God has blessed us in abundance.

Brienna

I miss Brienna even though I've never met her yet. The distance seems immense and this awful sore throat is getting the best of me. She is the most beautiful baby girl.



And she has VERY VERY proud parents.

And a very proud grandma.


I can't wait until I can meet her. I'll go to the doctor this afternoon to see if there is ANYTHING else under the sun that I can do for this achy, sore-throat feeling. I am wondering how Bella will do tomorrow when she gets to meet the new princess of the house. :)

Brienna Jo

Brienna Jo

7 lbs 13oz

20.5inches

10:05am

I might be a little biased, but I think she's the cutest darn baby girl under the sun. As soon as I feel better, she's gonna meet the best auntie ever!!!!! :)

Gifted?

This past week, Zachary qualified for the gifted program. It was a long time coming and finally a relief to just have answers and know that he'll be accommodated for now. We don't want to brag or "toot our own horn" because if you've ever been a parent of a child like Zachary, you would know that there are immense challenges with raising a child that is intellectually above their age. I, personally, do not like the label "gifted" but know that not much will be done to change that since its universally understood. I feel like EVERY child is gifted in their own unique ways and its just a label that I feel that every child should have. Well, even though the IEP didn't go as I would have liked at this point and time. I feel like he is not completely going to be accommodated for, it still is finally on a legal document that will transfer over when he does come to Riley for Jr high and High school. Anyway, this is him this morning.

He might be "gifted" but he's still a little "fashion-challenged." :) And, he does have arms- they are just behind him. I just realized that about this picture. It makes it even funnier.

Ready for the Weekend

Today kept feeling like a Friday somehow. Yet, I have one more work day before the weekend. This week has been especially rough with the digestive issues I've been having. Its been sooo painful, but I'm back on a few meds to hopefully help that. My immune system is starting to rev down and not want to attack everything I eat.

Shawn has had a rough go at work. Long story short- there are just some people out there that are not Christianly workers.

Zachary has his IEP (Individualized Education Plan) tomorrow. There is a lot of "what to do" questions that I have and I'm wondering how it will go. Preferrably, we'd like to see him accelerated full-time but I know there are some others that would probably have differing opinions and I'm nervous about that. He's been doing a little bit better emotionally, but today somehow got very angry at something at school and poked holes all over in his nice shirt with a pencil. URGH!

Logan earned his first ever badge last night at Awanas. He was super excited (more than usual). He exclaimed in a shouting voice, "Mommy, your very first kid got his very first badge." Zach quickly deflated that balloon as he told Logan that actually he wasn't the very first kid. Logan softly muttered, "Well, at least the second kid got his first badge!" He's so adorable.

Malachi has been having a rough time lately with the kids at daycare. I'm also getting frustrated trying to figure out how to make him be better behaved. He's been screaming almost every morning, not wanting to go to daycare. He says, "mommy stay home me!" He gets a lot of time-outs and now is in a "mad chair" a lot. The other day, he threw a block and hit another little boy in the face. ouchie! So, I'm trying to work to give him more expressions to use rather than, "I'm MAD!" or "I don't like that." We've been really strict at home, but I think that he gets the example from his brothers and he runs with it. So, we've definitely got our work cut out for us.

The boys have been rough-housing a LOT lately, especially with this awful cold weather. Logan got nice bruise that he's been sporting:

Caught Green-Handed

I wonder who got into the markers tonight an colored all over our couch and coffee table????

I mean, I only found colored pencils. So, the guilty marker was no where around. Can you see the childish drawings ALL over our coffee table???

Now, he might still be a little upset with the coffee table from the incident last week where he battled it and the coffee table won. He's still got the black eye to prove it.

And, he sure didn't want to admit that he'd seen a green marker anywhere. "No mommy. I not do it." Oh, these hands????

But I drew just a LITTLE bit on the couch.

I really was just making an artistic coloring for you. I thought you'd be so proud.

Just a little got on to my nice Sunday shirt. No worries though. I'm your last little boy so no one else to hand it down to right now.

Ah . . . .Malachi. . . remind me to give your babies markers when I'm spoiling them someday. I hope you will be able to put it into perspective like I have. I love you and am so darn smitten by your cuteness that it really is hard to be mad. I mean, shouldn't mommy have been keeping a little closer eye on you instead of scrapbooking Zachary's popcorn thank-yous???? :)

Thanks for the prayers for the test. It went. . . I'm waiting on results. . . I feel confident, even though I left a little early. I about died of exhaustion. Who in their right mind schedules 4 HOUR tests???? Ugh!