Wordless Wednesday

Southern Cousins

Our southern cousins were here!

Hannah, Elizabeth, Christian, McKenna and Adam!

We made the most of the 48 hours they were here and had lots of fun.

Especially these two buddies!! Hopefully we'll get to see some more of them this summer! We miss you guys and have been listening to the special CDs you made for Christian!

Thanks Grammy and Grampy!

Christian was just a little excited to receive a birthday package from Grammy and Grampy in Illinois.
They had great timing, it arrived on his birthday (I'm just a little behind in blogging).

A tractor! He loves tractors and was so excited to get a new one! Ryan had a tractor collection when he was growing up, so this was special to him too! Ryan loves to see Christian play "farm."

Thanks Grammy and Grampy! We miss you guys!

VBS was awesome :)

Christian loved it!

No pictures of Nathan because he didn't love it :) Actually he had a great week and had a good time, he's just not much of a performer which was just fine.


Nathan, Carter and Christian

Always up to something.

I love this picture! Love to see kids worshiping God and having a good time!

Anessa and Emma were totally into VBS this year. Emma practiced her memory verses and knew all the motions to every single song.

And look at those precious eyes of Abby's. I was so proud of her. She didn't have a pre-existing friendship going into the VBS week, but that didn't bother her. She had fun and made friends anyway.


Emma

Abby

Christian

It was a great week and I'm so thankful for all the volunteers that made it possible!

**~TNT Fireworks~**

Yahoo!!! Just in time for the 4th of July! A coupon for $10.00 off a $50.00 purchase of TNT Fireworks! Go HERE to register and then they will immediately email you a printable coupon. This coupon can be used at any TNT tent and stand location (they're usually found in parking lots like at Walmart or Kmart) or at any Supercenter (I'm guessing that means Walmart and maybe Target). You know I just had to post this ;)

fABuLous!!

I can't even believe how fabulous this picture is! I was at my friend Holly's house when I spur of the moment asked her to take a picture of all five kids together because she has a good camera and she actually knows how to use it ( the same cannot be said of me). It wasn't planned. So she threw a blanket over her couch and tada.... Isn't she amazing!?! Now if only I would have planned out their outfits. I can't get over how much McKenna and Abby look alike. Thanks so much Holly! I can't wait to put it up on my wall!!

The Saga of the 4 Wheeler

(( The first picture of Christian on his new four wheeler.))

He had a "Power Wheels" four wheeler for 2 years. He basically rode it everyday, unless it was snowing or raining. He loved that thing and pretty much rode it into the ground. It was having some issues so he asked for a new one for his birthday... a real one. We explained that they cost a LOT of money, way more money than we would normally spend on a birthday. So Christian volunteered to sell basically every toy he owns so that we would have the money to buy a four wheeler. We did NOT sell all his toys, but since he was willing, we did sell some.

And after lots and lots of searching and wheeling and dealing, Daddy found this little beauty on Craigslist and the rest is history!


I took this picture while I was riding on the back! Definitely a funny feeling when you're completely at the mercy of a five year old driver.


Christian's not allowed to drive McKenna yet, so Daddy took her for a spin.

PopPop got a ride.

And...

I still can't believe this....

....Grandmom got a ride too!

It's been so much fun! Christian loves it! Emma, Abby and Nathan were here and they LOVED it! Aunt Angel was so generous and purchased a proper helmet for Christian to wear. We just need to exchange it for a different size. Apparently Christian has a big head. So it's been fun, fun!!! And just for the record, I think Ryan loves that four wheeler just as much as Christian does :) and that's pretty much why Christian got it (because Ryan wanted it too).

P.S. I do have one neighbor who thinks we are bad parents for letting our little child drive that big 4 wheeler. Whatever :)

A new kind of gratitude....

I've always been thankful for our country.
I can't even count the number of times I've prayed and thanked God that I was born in this country.
We are blessed.
Abundantly.

Yesterday that gratitude sunk a little deeper into my heart.

I have the very early stages of Glaucoma in both eyes.

If I lived in Haiti or Africa or maybe even Canada with their fabulous universal healthcare (I'm being sarcastic :) I probably would be going blind before I ever found out I had it. Once you start to lose your sight with Glaucoma you can't get it back.
It's too late.

So for the past 24 hours I've had a lot to think about.
A lot to be thankful for.
We have great insurance that will cover most of this. Well, except for our outrageous co-pays, but I am NOT going to complain about that!
That's a small price to pay.
I'm just thankful!

It's extremely rare for someone my age to develop signs of Glaucoma.
I'm thankful my sister's doctor caught her warning signs and because of that mine has been caught in the earliest stage possible.
The prognosis is good :)
I just will be going to the eye doctor about as regularly as I go to the dentist (every 6 months). No treatment yet.
We just wait to see if it gets worse.
That sounds fun doesn't it?!

So hip, hip, hooray for the USA!
WooHoo for awesome doctors!
Yahoo for incredible medical technology (Bet you didn't know that they can do an ultrasound of your eye!)
Yipee for prevenative care!
And thank you Jesus for all of the above.

Busy, Busy :)

It's been a super fun, but very busy week this week.
Amy's kids have been here and my goal was to spend time with them and not worry about all the other stuff.
So....I'm totally behind on blogging, laundry, mowing grass, my house is filthy, I haven't looked at my Sunday School lesson for Sunday......
But..... I have played, made lots of meals, emptied the dishwasher a million times b/c we keep running out of spoons. I guess I need to get more spoons. We've gone to Vacation Bible School every night, which means we have been getting to bed at about 10pm. Exhausting, but very fun!
McKenna must be worn out because she's still asleep. All the big kids spent the night at Grandmom and PopPop's new house, so I got a little break. I guess it's not really a break since I've been trying to round up all the kids laundry and pack their suitcase again (they leave tonight).

There is something so sweet about the relationship between Emma, Abby, Nathan, Christian and McKenna. It's hard for me to actually put it into words. I mainly just see it through their interactions with each other. When ever McKenna is hurt or upset, she'll let the cousins hold her and comfort her. Usually she just wants mommy. And Christian will sit on the couch and snuggle with his cousins. He doesn't do that with anyone else. There is a love and a compassion that they have for each other that goes pretty deep. I've watched them take care of each other all week and this is new for me since Christian doesn't usually try to take care of anyone. But this week it was okay if Nathan got his Mater (it'a a Lightning McQueen character) cup. And Christian got new chocolate shampoo for his birthday and he made sure everyone got to use it. I think I could have moved out for the week and Emma could have held down the fort. She's so mature and helpful and she adores both Christian and McKenna. It's been a fabulous week. I hate for it to end and hate even more the 3 hour distance that separates us.

I have to remind myself that the relationships that these cousins have were not always this way. They were built through tears and trials and I thought I was going to loose my mind. I remember feeling like I had failed all of them over and over again. I remember all the sticker charts that used to cover my fridge in an effort to just bribe everyone to get along :) So this has been good. Good for my heart. Good for me to see the beauty that came out of the ashes of those stressful days just a few years ago. God has been reminding me that his refining fire is hot and stressful, but the result is peace and beauty. To Him be the glory!

**HaPpY 5th bIRthDaY CHriStiAN **

It has been a wild and fun weekend!

We are in love with this boy and he's in love with his new "real" 4 wheeler!

We celebrated with a Lightning McQueen birthday party last night.


I don't think I've ever enjoyed a child's birthday party as much as I did last night! It was perfect.

Happy Birthday Christian! I'm so thankful that Jesus blessed us with you're precious life five years ago today! I love being your mommy! I can't wait to see what God has in store for you this year!

Good News

Christian just told me that I can still kiss him when he's five! Thank goodness because we only have two days left of him being four. And it's making me very sappy and I've been trying to kiss him and hug him all weekend!

Preschool Graduation

Christian graduated from preschool (even though he's going back next year) and it was a very special event!
This group of kiddos were all strangers just nine short months ago and now they are our friends. Each one of those sweet faces have helped Christian grow and mature this year in ways that he never would have at home. Some of them have become best friends. Some of them have taught him the fine art of sharing. Some of them have brought him encouragement. A few of them demonstrated what the time out corner was for (so he didn't have to find out for himself :) and one of them taught him a of the hard lessons of friendship and how you have to let unkind words go and forgive even if someone else thinks your coloring looks like scribbling. We're thankful for all of it. Every good and every bad experience helped Christian to grow. These kids are precious and I'm so glad I took the time to volunteer in his classroom so I could get to know their names and little personalities too.

Christian had a hard time paying attention to his teacher during the program because he was so excited to see us in the audience. He pretty much stared at us the entire time, despite the fact that I kept pointing to his teacher in an effort to get him to pay attention.

A rare moment of focused attention, but isn't he handsome???!!

I was so surprised when he got up to play the bells. I had no idea he was doing that and was shocked at how good all the kids did!

Christian with Mrs. Miller and Mrs. Crouse

Proud of our little "graduate."

This was supposed to be a group class picture. Ha!

Christian and some of his buddies! We're going to miss those guys!

I can't wait to see the new friends God brings into Christian's life next fall. One of my biggest prayers for him is that he will have solid friends who will influence his life in a positive way and I pray for teacher who love Jesus and who will let their light shine in the classroom. It's never too early to start praying about next school year. God definitely answered our prayers this year!

Another first...

It's been awhile since McKenna has had an official "first" but she finally had corn on the cob this week. It was a little tricky but then she figured out that laying it on the table made it less slippery and she finished off that piece and another one in no time. She officially loves corn on the cob. Her Grampy will be proud :)