The Get-Along Shirt

I saw this idea on Pinterest. They had a x-large t-shirt and on the front was written in Sharpie marker: "This is our Get-Along Shirt". Shawn had a shirt that was in the donate box (too large for him) and I thought I'd give the idea a try. This last 3-day weekend was brutal with the kids screaming, fighting, yelling, destroying, being BOYS! It was just too much for this worn-out mama, so after hours of these two arguing, I implemented the get-along shirt:

At first they didn't know what it was and were ok being in it. After I explained to them that they needed to sit down and GET ALONG by telling each other kind words, all chaos broke out. Logan wanted OUT of the shirt and was begging Malachi to be quiet. Malachi liked being in the shirt by Logan and found it quite humorous to make noises to stay in the shirt longer. I hadn't really planned on that dilemma. However, we got it to work eventually.

After about 1/2 hour in the get-along shirt, and screams, hitting, tackling, and being re-positioned by the wall, they finally could sit still and be kind to each other. What an interesting (and humorous) experience!

Malachi LOVES getting attention from his brothers. He misses them severely during the day and it seems like they prefer to do other things without him when they get home from school. Zachary was so kind the other night to try to teach Malachi how to follow Lego directions to build a model set that Zachary bought. These are the moments I live for, even after a LONG day/weekend of the fighting and arguing.

Three Boys

My three boys. . . .

I could get all sappy and sentimental about how blessed Shawn and I are with our three sons but I won't. I'll let the picture speak for itself with out bright and bold our kids are. They have amazing personalities and are each unique. I'm so thankful my sister captured that in this picture. Jarin is starting to pursue photography more and has been practicing. Her photos are stunning and so she blessed me with some pictures of my boys when we visited this weekend.

Fun

The boys got a Wii Dance game for Christmas. I only had my phone for pictures and it's not good at all at capturing motion. However, you get the idea.

These are moments I cherish! While I wish I could be active and "doing" things, I'm so thankful that I'm HERE and PRESENT in the moments like this. Thank you God!

Zachary took his remote control snake to the museum yesterday to show it off. It was pretty fun to show other snake lovers. I had them pose for a couple of pictures.

This one is obviously posed since my kids wouldn't be frightened by a snake like this! :)

They split the Black tail rattlesnake into 2 species so the are both on display now. This is exciting for herpatologists and snake lovers. For others, it means, one more kind of snake in this beautiful world.

I love getting texts of my neices and nephews. Thankfully, my sister and sister's babysitter are so good at that. Man I miss these cuties, even with an Oreo face.

Malachi posed with the trantula today at the museum. It's off limits to only view, but he is getting more comfortable with the spiders. We have set up their birthday party (Logan and Malachi's) and it will be at the museum with our animal and human friends. The boys agreed (without much hesitation too) to ask for donations for the museum animals rather than presents. I asked them about the idea, thinking that a four and seven year old might not agree to such a giving idea, but they were actually good with it. That makes my heart happy. I hope my children continue to be giving and serving people. Speaking of serving, Malachi gets to volunteer again tomorrow at the museum. He just loves helping.

Lately

We celebrated Shawn's 32nd birthday. I had to run an errand so I brought him some breakfast in bed. Although I can make a pretty mean tasting pancake, he prefers fast food, so I bought him some McD's.

The boys did great throughout the day and even played nicely together. They have enjoyed the game Apples to Apples for awhile and they actually get along while playing it.

We don't have many friends or family around here yet, but Eric did come over for supper real quick and to play the Wii with Shawn against the boys.

Yesterday, I wasn't feeling well at all so I missed church. Logan came home and wrote me a letter. It says, "dear mom I already know your surgery hurt's a lot. I know you may like pink. I love you mom I always love you. From Logan To mom; ps- this is the only one dollar bill I have."

If that didn't bring tears to my eyes. . . oh my! That child is so sweet and compassionate. He has a heart for people.

I went to my cardiologist here this morning. He said pretty much what I'd suspected- the surgery wasn't successful in clearing my heart from the tissue that causes tachycardia. I don't know all the terminology or medical terms for the nodes, etc about the heart, although I've learned a whole lot more these last few years. He said the pacer was working 30% of the time when it should have been working 100% of the time- thus for me to not have any tachycardia. He was going to call my cardiologist at ku that did the surgery. More than likely I will need to have another ablation to burn the rest of the tissue. This was news I'd expected, yet hoped and prayed against. Thankfully I have healed from last months surgery so the wounds are much less painful.

Update: this afternoon my local cardiology clinic called and said that after consulting with the KU cardiologist, they think they might be able to tweak the pace maker thus maybe not resulting in another ablation. I go in tomorrow morning for this and so hopefully (praying and faithfully) this procedure will work as they plan and I can avoid another ablation.

Volunteering at the Museum

Brienna and Liam geared up for the K-State bowl game in Arizona. Sadly though, K-State did not win.

Liam is getting cuter by the day. I sure miss snuggling with this little boy. I need to find some friends with little babies that I can hold and rock all day while they rest. Oh wait, that's called daycare. . . . well, still maybe I'll find some babies to love here in Hays.

Malachi has had many opportunities to volunteer at the Sternburg museum. He LOVES the animals (especially the snakes) and probably could spend every day at the museum. Friday, though, Zachary and Logan got to volunteer and see what fun Malachi has holding the animals to keep them tame and also feeding them.

It's important that the animals are held and given attention so they stay tame and used to people and can be used for educational events. Each of the kingsnakes (Maynard and Cooper) that was with Logan tried to become a fashion accessory. I swear there is something with that child.  :)

They also held the hissing cockroaches.

The bat had cute little teeth as he munched his meal worms (yuck- I can't handle meal worms).

The spiny lizard that bit Malachi last week needed some attention too.

He really enjoyed his bathtime, even with giggling boys watching him.

Our friends were at the museum too, so after Maynard (kingsnake) took a bath, he was able to be held. Malachi and Zach did a great job educating the kids that were in the discovery room. It was so cute.


These are all phone photos by the way. I would hope my camera could take better pictures. We sure love the museum and our friends there.

And with that, I'll close today. It's Shawn's 32nd birthday and we haven't done much besides try to pamper him with attention and a little REST. He works so much and has been doing things for me and the family for awhile that he needed some time off. He loves fast food (bluck!!!) so I bought him some McDonalds for breakfast and KFC for lunch. We are going to have pizza for supper. Yum! I think his gall bladder might not be thanking him after today. I'm so thankful to have him in my life and also so thankful to celebrate this birthday with him!

A Year in Review 2012

I have kind of taken a bah humbug approach to writing Christmas letters. I do enjoy reading others' letters, but I just feel such pressure to show off all the grand accomplishments from the year and "brag" about what we've done. Honestly, we have been living more frugally this year, making progress on our debt snowball in the Dave Ramsey program. We are proud of this, yet also frustrated for some of the choices we made years ago with student loans and credit cards. Thus- no vacations this year or extragavent special events.

January 2012: SNOW SNOW SNOW. . . I stood at the door to take this picture.

We decided to use our 10th wedding anniversary as a grand celebration as a re-commitment of our love for God and each other. Plus, I love having any reason to get family pictures!

 

February 2012: Logan turned 7 years old:

Once again, another attempt at a family picture:

March 2012: Malachi turned 4 years old:

I also turned the BIG 3-0 but those pictures are gone. :)

April 2012: Easter time with the family:

May 2012: Bittersweet goodbyes to school friends and also school awards for Zachary and Logan. We loved Milford Elementary.

 June 2012: MOVING MOVING MOVING and Baseball:




July 2012: MOVING the family to Hays America; LOTS of transitions and new beginnings: (first time ever at the museum)

Zachary turned 9 years old on July 30th:


August 2012: weddings and our vow renewal (couldn't have asked for a better day!)

This was a sure thing that Malachi would jump into the pond after the frogs. We're just thankful he got pictures done first.

Starting at a new school, with new teachers, new friends, lots of transitions:

September 2012: RODEO TIME!

Debut of the RATTLESNAKES at the Sternburg Museum:

Cub Scouts, new troop:

October 2012: More Rattlesnakes

Getting to pet a live one:

The Rattlesnake Bowling Team:

Liam was born:

November 2012: Enjoying weather and settling in to our "home"

Watching Kelsie play basketball:

Getting to meet Liam and spoil Brienna with birthday gifts:

Christmas in Jennings:

December 2012: Christmas in a new home, new friends, my surgery,

What a year it has been. It's time to put this one in the books- literally (I get them printed for the boys as a keepsake.) Praying that 2013 brings blessings from God that we can lovingly bless others with. I'm excited for what is in store for our family and friends and know that in God, everything is perfect.