FIRST LAUGH!!!!

Seriously...you missed it.  Every single one of you!  Nathan let out two of the biggest laughs I've EVER heard from a baby before.  Even Nicole and Hannah were laughing at him.  It was perfectly wonderful! 

24

It's amazing the difference 24 hours can make.

24 hours ago, this was what our house looked like.

 

I don't have a picture of today, but let's just say it is much different.  Hannah is playing with play-doh, Nicole is looking at a magazine, and Nate is happy to be getting some attention.

24 hours ago, Nicole I were both battling a stomach bug.  We had been up all night, along with Jeremy who had Hannah in bed with him because,well, she couldn't stay in her bed.  Jeremy was a great sport and help in the middle of the night, even though he had a very important day at work the next morning.

When day broke, so did the videos.  We watched movies and videos all day long.  We generally limit ourselves to one 1/2 hour video a day, but hey...there's always exceptions to the rule, right?

So far, Hannah, Nathan and Jeremy haven't shown signs of getting this nasty little bug.  I am still praying they won't.

Thankfully I had both my mom and my mother-in-law to help me yesterday.  My mom went to the store and brought us some much needed supplies like juice, gatorade, crackers and soup.  She also did an incredible amount of laundry for me.

Valerie came over and helped me disinfect my bathrooms and clean the floors.  I won't go into details, but it was needed. Grammy found a happy little helper though:-)

I'm sure Hannah didn't understand what was going on, but she also loved "vegging out" on the couch yesterday:-)  And, somehow, Nathan knew his job was to sleep as much as possible and he did!

Praise the Lord, we are 100% better.  It's amazing what 24 hours can do!

I am tired of doing the dishes
I am tired of sweeping the floors
I am tired of washing, folding, putting away clothes
I am tired of putting toys and books away
I am tired of not feeling well
I am tired of saying no
I am tired of being tired

I am NOT tired of this

Or this

I am never tired of him

or her

or her

or him

On the days that I feel tired of my duties....I am always encouraged by the ones I work hard for.  The ones I work to keep clean clothes on their backs, clean dishes in the cupboards, crumbs off their little feet, and discipline in their hearts.  Days like today when I still don't feel that great, when I feel like I can't keep up, it's moments like these

 

  

  

 

that bring a smile to my face and remind me that I am blessed, far more than I could ever deserve. 

I love my family.

Blood

Nicole has been asking me lately where her blood is and what is  blood.  So, we took the opportunity to talk a little bit about our bodies.  Last week it was rainy and we were sick, so I had to be creative and come up with some inside activities.  I traced the girls on a large sheet of paper and then we drew in our hearts and blood, and our basic digestive system.  Go ahead and ask Nicole what happens to her food when she eats it...I dare you!  :-) 

Anyway, here are their little bodies

The sheets are hanging up in my laundry room now.  Every time Hannah walks out there she screams with excitement, runs over, points and says "ME!!!!" She's learning a lot through it too.

The girls got to color themselves.  But I found Hannah trying to do it like a chimpanze.

Someone tell her she's suppose to use her hands to color...not her feet.

Something else we've been doing since we've been sick, stuck inside for almost 2 weeks (we've been out a couple of times)  is potty training.  I wouldn't confidently say that Hannah is day-time trained, because I'm still nervous to take her to the store without a diaper on...but we are getting close.  I figured she might as well be wearing undies while we were stuck inside so much, and it seems to be paying off.  We'll see.  I hope it sticks and she doesn't regress.  But, for now, she's wearing undies except to nap and at night.  Every times she uses the potty is one less diaper for me to use:-)

And...I just saw on one of my favorite blog fiddledeedeemom that Focus on the Family is offering a free 6 month subscription for Thriving Family magazine.  I've never read it, but thought I'd give it a shot if it's free.

Faith like a child

A conversation between Jeremy & Nicole yesterday at the park while Nicole was sitting all by herself on the swing with the wind blowing her face in her hair.

J: Hey Nicole, what are you doing?
N: Praying for the wind to stop.
J: Oh...
N: When Jesus makes the wind stop, I'll stop praying.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Another (non-spiritual) converstion with Nicole as we head to Five Guys (a hamburger joint that lets you snack on free peanuts).

N: Daddy, when I get to Five Guys, I'm going to eat A LOOOOOOOTTTTT of peanuts.
J: OK
N: Hey Daddy?
J: Yes Nicole
N: I like peanuts
J: I know
N: Hey Daddy?
J. Yes Nicole
N: Peanuts are a good snack.

Thinking of two friends

and wishing we could have a girls night together again. 

Nicole and daddy at Home Depot

It's the first Saturday of February...so do you know what that means???  Home Depot kid's workshop. 

Jeremy's been talking to Nicole all week about this, so by this morning, she was super excited to go build something with daddy again.  Hannah was scream "YAY" when she heard Home Depot, but she didn't realize she wasn't going.  Thankfully though, she didn't pitch much of a fit when they left. 

Anyway....Here are some precious pictures to share.

Adorable Nicole, waiting for her supplies, sitting on an upside down bucket.

Peyton and Caulder also came (with their daddy)

 

 

Cute little buddies with their finished projects.

Nicole got another pin for her Home Depot apron and a certificate stating she finished the project. 

When they got home, we took off to the neighborhood park.  It's a beauiful day today (yes...be jealous you northerners!).  I wanted to share more pictures from the park.

Baby Legs

Baby Legs are a popular and pricey brand name product for leggins you can slip on a baby, toddler or even pre-schooler. They generally sell for $15-$25. I've always been intrigued but never wanted to pay that much for something I didn't think would get used just a couple of times.

About 2 months ago, my friend Kirsten showed up to a softball game with some of the most adorable baby legs on her little girl. Come to find out, she made them herself out of socks!

I then found a tutorial online here. I gave it a shot the other night and they didn't turn out to bad (but they also aren't great). Nicole LOVED them and knew what to do with them right away when she saw them yesterday morning.

The thing that I like about this tutorial is that it has you make a little cuff to keep the bottom of the leggin in place. I'm not sure mine will hold up in the washer, but they were cheap ($1.19). If you want a better quality baby leggin, check out Kirsten's site.

These leggins are cute for a couple of reasons.  One...if your little one is still in diapers, you can keep their little legs warm while not needing to peal tights on and off during diaper changes. Two, if you have an older one, like Nicole, they are super cute and fun to wear...and three....they can even be worn on their arms if they have a t-shirt on and it gets cool in the evening.

Sammy and His Shepherd - A book recommendation

Our family has been reading a chapter from this book at bed time with the girls.  It might be the best children's book I've read.  We simply love it.

The book takes each verse of Psalm 23 and explains it through a story of a little sheep named Sammy who loves his gentle Good Shepherd.  Sammy befriends another sheep from another flock who has a very unkind and unloving shepherd.  A shepherd who even wants to kill her because she is worthless.  Before the unkind shepherd strikes the poor sheep, The Good Shepherd steps in and offers to purchase the sheep.  The bad shepherd calls this little sheep worthless, not worth saving and sickly.  The Good Shepherd says that he loves her and wants her to be one of his sheep, so he pays the price for the sheep, brings her into his flock and gives her a name, Precious.

Sammy and Precious walk through the book and Sammy teaches Precious about the Good Shepherd, how he loves his sheep and takes care of them.  Here are some examples (Spoiler alert...)

*Before Precious is part of the flock, she and Sammy speak several times and sort of compare Shepherds.  Every time, Sammy walks away, grateful for a Shepherd that loves him, protects him, keeps him safe and healthy, and give him water and food.   Precious walks away sad and wishing to be part of the good shepherd's flock, but doesn't know what to do about it.

*As the sheep walk through a dark valley on their way to new pastures, Precious becomes afraid and Sammy says, "Our shepherd is always before us, leading the way.  When it is dark and you can't see him, just listen for his voice....You'll know his voice because you belong to him"

*Near the end, Sammy must teach Precious a valuable lesson, that is difficult to share and hear.  He says, " I used to get annoyed with other sheep all the time. And I had no mercy toward the weaker sheep.  It irritated me that they took so much of the shepherd's time and that we all had to help them....our shepherd taught me what I'm going to tell you.  Here it is, and I hope you'll never forget it: there are no annoying sheep, just annoyed sheep."  He reminds Precious of one thing that all the sheep have in common, "Our good shepherd bought every one of us. We all belong to him."

Each chapter is about a page and a half, perfect for bedtime reading, then there is a "Talk About it page" in the back of the book that correates with the passage we just read.  Usually there are more verses to read from the Bible, and questions to ask your children and discuss with them.


Ah...I feel like I'm doing a horrible job explaining this book....it's so good.  I think we will read this for years and years. 

I'm going to share a portion of Chapter 2
He Makes Me Lie Down in Green Pastures
(this is before Precious has been bought.  She is in her yucky pasture with her mean shepherd)

...Sammy was startled when he heard Grandma's kind old voice.

"Sammy", she said, "do you understand why your friend can't lie down and rest?"

"No, ma'am"

"Let me tell you about sheep," Grandma said, "We cannot lie down and rest unless four things are done for us."

..."First...we must not be afraid.  We are easily frightened because we're helpless.  Think about it, Sammy.  We have no way to defend ourselves.  One dog or coyote can terrify a whole flock of sheep.  Without a shepherd to protect us, we are too afraid to lie down."

..."There must not be any bickering with other sheep in the flock.  We can be very cruel to each other.  Bigger, aggressive sheep bully weaker sheep.  Bossy sheep push the others away from the best grazing places.  When we're squabbling, we can't lie down and rest.  But our shepherd stops our silly fights.  Then we can rest."

..."We must be peaceful.  This means we must be free from flies and parasites swarming around our heads and up our noses.  Those pesky bugs drive us crazy.  I've seen sheep shake their heads and stamp their hoofs trying to get rid of them.  I seem to remember that you had a problem with nose flies once....a good shepherd applies a special oil to his sheep.  This oil keeps the bugs away.  Then we are peaceful and we can lie down and rest."

..."The fourth thing we need is food.  We cannot lie down if we're hungry.  A good shepherd clears the pasture of rocks, prepares the soil, and plants grain so that his sheep will have plenty to eat.  Look at your friend's rocky pasture.  There's not much grass there.  Now look at our beautiful green pasture.  Sammy, why do you think there is such a difference?"

"Because we belong to a good shepherd who prepares green pastures for us.  I'm glad I belong to our shepherd."

Grandma nodded in agreement. "I've belonged to him for a very long time, Sammy, and every day I am more thankful that he makes me lie down in green pastures."

The book ends with the sheep going back home, down through the valley into the original pasture. Precious says to Sammy, "You have shown me that the more we know our shepherd, the more we become like him.  He is good and merciful, and when we live with him we become good and merciful, too.  Being with him changes us from silly sheep to faithful followers....I will dwell in our shepherd's flock forever.  I know that even if I stray away, he will come after me and bring me home because he loves me and I belong to him.  I can't wait to tell other about him."

You can buy the book here
You can read an actual review here.

Is she running for office?

That's what someone asked me at Sam's today as they watched Hannah walk up and down between the little benches saying "Hello" to everyone who was sitting eating their pizza or hotdog.

Hmmmm...maybe she will one day?

And, Here is a link to a funny story about why stay at home moms don't take showers. The lady is a funny writer, I had fun reading some of the stories about her children last night (she has 6 and just found out unexpected #7 is on the way...). I don't know who she is. I followed the link from my friend Kirsten's blog. Although this hasn't happened to me (yet)...it is what I think about each time I try to take a shower when there is no other adult around....