Well, the truth of the matter is....

that the volcano was a very fun project and all of the kids LOVED it!!!

The girls did a great job decorating the volcano and the first eruption was rather tiny.

And there was cheering for more!!

We erupted that volcano at least 4 times.

Live Blogging...The Volcano Saga Continues

The volcano was really starting to take shape...
Things were moving along quickly...

It was almost time to start painting....

And then we read this....notice the part that says "allow to dry overnight."

And that's how I ended up doing this!

The Play by Play

Just in case you wanted to know the play by play of what's happening at our house right now...we're in the middle of Emma's 9th birthday party.
Emma wanted to have a "science experiment party." Hmmm...definitely an interesting theme. Amy asked me if I had any ideas for activities/science experiments we could do and I quickly informed her that she was on her own with that one :) So Amy came up with the grand idea of making a volcano that explodes.

And so...she's a little stressed out right now because you can imagine how involved that is. She keeps calling everyone "honey" in this very forced nice voice. Ha!

Notice who is doing most of the work.

She has lots of willing help and then there's me over here in the corner not being much help at all other than to giggle at the thought that she actually thought this was a good idea. She is currently lining the girls up, so that can each take their turn wrapping the volcano with plaster. The girls are having fun....we'll see how this turns out! Maybe I'll post a video of the "explosion."

Just Thankful

I am so thankful for my two kids! I just have to tell you and I think it's important for me to remember, you know...for when they're not so great :)
Anyway, my kids have been such great sports about this move. We've lived in this house for a little over a month and they have both adjusted beautifully. And their behavior has been just outstanding. We've worked so hard to get to where we are right now and it's nice to be able to enjoy the fruits of our labor just a little bit. I'm sure the tide will turn soon enough, but right now there is just a lot of peace in our home.
Tonight was a perfect example. Ryan's traveling, which should have meant an extra stressful night for me. But I was able to paint a "room" tonight (I put that in quotes because it's more like a little nook where my desk is between the kitchen and the dining room...I guess I really need to take a picture to explain it). Okay, back to my point....I was able to paint a room tonight while Christian played on his Leapster and colored a whole array of pictures at the table. McKenna pushed her babies around in there strollers and every now and then she would come over to see what I was doing and she would inform me that I had "paint" on the "wall."
It was just a great night. A fun bathtime followed and then we had a really special time at bedtime loving on each other and talking to Jesus. It would have been absolutely perfect if McKenna didn't HATE going to bed these days. She screams and shouts "no bed. rock me" whenever I lay her down in her bed. And she cries and carries on and makes this mommy feel terribly guilty for not rocking her for the next hour. I do usually rock her for a little while when she asks and it's the sweetest time because she loves to rest her soft little hand on my face. But she just won't fall asleep like that so I have to put her in her bed after awhile and then the screaming begins all over again.
But really, it was a fabulous night. There simply aren't words adequate enough to express my praise to God for the two precious gifts he's given me.
And the best part of the night is that daddy is on his way home right now. We weren't expecting him until tomorrow :)

An Update...

1. I know, I know...I've been the worst blogger lately. Life is just catching up with me these days. I've just got too much to do and some things just aren't getting done and blogging seems to be one of those things (and Ryan would tell you that laundry is also one of those things). I used to blog during nap time when McKenna would sleep for two hours and Christian would have quiet time by watching a show, but with the addition of two extra kiddos in the afternoons, I just don't have that time anymore. And that's okay because I'm enjoying the craft/homework time that we have instead. I should have taken a picture of the craft we did today because it turned out really cute!

2. Did you know that Abby and Nate and Emma are coming in just two more "sleeps????" Well, that's just about all we can talk about around here. Christian was still awake last night at 10pm when I went in to check on him and I asked him why he was still awake. He told me that he was so excited that Abby & Nate were coming that he couldn't sleep and that he just wanted to scream! Ha! Isn't that hilarious? I don't think I've ever seen him so excited about something. He even has matching outfits all planned out for himself and Nathan.

3. This picture has nothing to do with anything, but I just thought it was funny how she had the box propped up on her foot. She seriously sat there like that for about 10 minutes with her foot up in the air while digging in that cereal box (which quickly turned into a disaster and I'll never let her have an entire box of cereal again!)

4. This is just a sneak peek of the playroom. I love it so far and I did get it painted and put back together by the end of the day on Sunday (which I think is the last time I posted about it). But I can't show you the finished project yet because I just got the lights that I ordered in the mail today. And I just finally got some pictures on the walls, sooooooo You're going to have to wait a little longer to see the entire thing!

5. Who knows how long you'll have to wait. I've got a cold and so does Christian, McKenna and Ryan. Daddy's traveling and I've got the cousins coming this weekend and two birthday party's planned. Emma's turning 9....like I can't even believe I just typed the number nine in the same sentence with Emma's name. And McKenna is turning two very, very soon but we're going to celebrate while the cousins are here this weekend.

6. And speaking of McKenna's birthday.....guess what??? You're all invited to her party and you don't even have to get in your car to drive here, although I would love it if you would! I'm still figuring out the details so I'm going to keep you all in suspense for now, but it's going to be fun!!

By the end of today....

The playroom will no longer look like this.
And the dining room will no longer be the temporary playroom.
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I love the end result of painting a room, but the process is a disaster!

The Makeover (Kitchen and Family Room)

So do you want to see what I've been working on????

BEFORE (when the old owners owned the house)

AFTER

I'm still waiting on the rest of my drapes from my seamstress (aka...my mother). They should arrive today :)

I don't think the color is showing up right in this picture. Obviously, it's red, but it's not really the shade you see in this picture.

BEFORE: This picture was taken the first night we saw the house.
AFTER: We changed the cabinet hardware, which made a huge difference. I hardly even notice the green counter tops anymore (which we will not be changing for a long time). I think they almost "go" with the room at this point.

Another "after" picture!

What do you think?

I am Speed

I never dreamed when we got a Wii that I would have to limit Christian's time on it or that he would ever become a video game obssessed kid. I didn't think Christian would be able to play games on the Wii independently and we really didn't buy it for him, I bought it for Ryan. BUT I guess I was all wrong. I think it's safe to say that Christian has a slight obsession and I now have to carefully monitor just how much time he spends pretending he's Lightning McQueen.

Case in point:

Christian went to bed last night around 8:15pm. At 10:30 pm he came downstairs to talk to me because he had been thinking about something.

C: Mommy, when can I get a real car. Like the kind of car you can drive on the road?

Me: You have a real car. It's your Powerwheels Jeep.

C: No, I'm talking about a real car that you put gas in and you drive on the road. I want you to buy me one of those.

((And I'm thinking....am I seriously having this conversation with a four year old???))

Me: Well, it's against the law for kids to drive cars.

C: I would be a really good driver. I win in my Lightning McQueen game sometimes.

Me: We are not going to buy you a real car so stop thinking about it. The law says you can't drive until you're 16 and plus cars are too expensive.

C: Are race cars expensive because that's the kind of car I want when I'm 16!

OH great!

Have I mentioned....

...that we've had a little extra pink in our house lately??? We've been having the best time hanging out with "K & K" this past week and they'll be joining us every afternoon for the next couple of weeks. McKenna adores having two girls around to play with. The first words out of her mouth every morning are their names. She wants to know if they're here yet. Christian loves having other kids to play with and I hate to admit it, but I think I'm a better mom the more kids I have. Does that even make sense? For me, I just seem to get more accomplished with the more I have to do. And with a few extra kids around I do a much better job of purposefully reading books, doing crafts and playing games. It's terrible how I have gotten into the habit of letting my own kids sit and watch too much TV, but I would never let someone else's child do that. So it's been a positive change for all of us.

And wasn't it just glorious to have some warmer weather this past week? We were loving it!!! I've got lots of painting plans for this coming week. We'll see how much I actually get done. I have got to take some pictures to show you what I've already done. Painting is a lot of work, but the end result is so worth it!

See ya!

Encouraging missionaries in Haiti!

Want to send a little encouragement to some missionaries in Haiti??? It's so easy, thanks to blogging.

Check out THIS blog and THIS blog and leave them a note of encouragement. Thank them for serving Jesus! All of these families had the opportunity to leave and come back to the States, but they have chosen to stay. I think it would speak volumes to them to start getting hundreds of comments a day from people just telling them that they're praying for them!! And let me know if you find any other blogs of missionaries in Haiti.

Perspective

I definitely could have done without the water pouring out of my ceiling yesterday thanks to our whole house humidifier that we now know doesn't belong up in the attic in the first place.

And then there was the two inches of water I discovered under the sink today when I went to get something out while I was cleaning the stove (the last thing left to clean in this house).

And to add to all that frustration, there were muddy boots carelessly thrown on the floor. You know how it is when one little thing like that can set you over the edge just because of all the other things that have been doing wrong.

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And probably the most frustrating thing we've been dealing with is COMCAST. It's not so Comcastic around here. They've been to our house THREE times this week and our phone still doesn't work. I can call out (sometimes) but no one can call me. And our cell phone reception is sketchy at best and our internet seems to come and go. SO terribly annoying!!!

And then I see pictures like this. I've heard the cry of mothers on TV and I've seen the horrific pictures of dead people piled up in the streets. Oh God have mercy. Have mercy Jesus on these precious people! I've been thinking about them all day. Praying for them with my children. And I don't feel the slightest bit annoyed right now with the lack of phone service or the bill from the plumber or the newly discovered water under the sink. I'm just thankful that my boy with his muddy boots is safe and happy. And thank you Jesus that I live in this country! That I have clean water and that I don't have to feed my children mud just so that their bellies will feel full. Gratitude to the Lord has been pouring out of my heart all day, right along with my pleading prayers for the people of Haiti! THESE pictures will drive you to your knees.....lets pray and lets keep praying...

"The poor and the needy search for water, but there is none. Their tongues are parched with thirst. But I the Lord will answer them. I will not forsake them." Isaiah 41:17

Jesus loves McKenna

La-dee-da....just a bunch of randomness!

Well, I know exactly what I've got to get McKenna for her birthday that is quickly approaching...dress up clothes! She loves to dress up and has no official dress up clothes. No cute shoes or hats or dresses. So instead she'll find a winter had, a sweater and one of Christian's Rescue Hero gloves and many times she'll have on one of Christian's crocs or one of my slippers and that's what she parades around the house in.
And her absolute favorite pastime is pushing her babies or stuffed animals in her baby doll stroller. Christian loves to line the strollers up and have stroller races with her. It gets pretty wild, but we finally have a circle in the house(you know what I mean?) that they can race around.

And here is one of Christian's creations that he made at his Handy Manny Tool Bench. It's a bird house and he did it all by himself.

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And just so you know...after this weekend, our house will look nothing like it does in these pictures. I've been painting! Can't wait to show you.

The Best Moment from Christmas Morning

He thought we were done with the presents.

We saved it as a surprise for later in the day.
He was SO EXCITED!!!!! I mean, he even climbed onto the box.

And the part that I just love is that as he was opening it he said "I can't breathe" because he was so excited.

And I love it that he didn't fuss when McKenna helped him open it.

And then some more assembling!

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I love giving presents to Christian because he genuinely appreciates them. And he can remember who gave him every single thing that he owns. If someone gave him a shirt, he remembers who it was. And he loves to sit and look at all of our Christmas picture albums and remember the presents people have given him in the past.

P.S. And if you have kids, make sure you've read THIS book because it's helped me figure Christian out so much!!! "Gifts" is one of Christian's love languages.