Caden and God

We were driving in the car and the kids both had Tootsie Pops. As I look in my rearview mirror and like any good mom it's adjusted so I can see the kids not out the back.... I capture the following conversation.

Caden (looking out his window and up into the sky): "God, I need your help, can you please make me stronger so I can bite into this sucker."

With a look of confidence and determination Caden puts the sucker back in his mouth between his molars and bites down. Next thing I hear from the back

"YEEESSSS!!!! Thank you!"

Oh to have the faith of a child.

Busy

Caden: Mom, what are we doing tonight?

Me: Nothing, we're just staying home.

Caden: You mean, Dad isn't going to work or to poker? And you're not going to work either??

Me: Nope.

Caden: We'll be home as a family, all of us????

Me: That's right!

Caden... much dancing and yelling of "YES!!!" ensued.

Can you tell we've been pretty busy.

Dancing

My sister Caitlin and her husband Sam came over for a visit yesterday. Caitlin is a dance instructor and a member of Storling Company. She taught the kids some ballet moves yesterday and they have not stopped talking about it.

We went to the library this morning and made a stop at the bathroom. Aliyah is currently being potty trained so I was focusing my attention on her. Caden decided to use the restroom and went into the stall next to Aliyah and I. Here is the converstion that ensued:

Caden: MOM! I can't do it, this potty is too tall.

Me: Okay, hang on one sec let me finish up with your sister.

Caden: I can't, I have to go.

I began to hear noises one might hear as someone relives themselves. I quickly finished up with Aliyah and walked into the next stall.

Caden: Mom, I've got it. I just did relevé like Aunt KK taught me and I got it.

Glad he's a quick learner. Thanks Aunt KK.

Espanol??

The other evening our family was dining at Wendy's. We were enjoying our meal and conversation when Caden points to a father and son sitting at a table close by...

Caden: Mom, those guys are Spanish.

Me: Really, how do you know that.

Caden: I just do.

Me: Were they talking in Spanish?

Caden: Yep, that's how I know they are Spanish.

Aliyah pipes in... (remember she's two, so I'm writing how she speaks)

Aliyah: Dose guys Spanish.

Me: Yes, they are.

Aliyah: I go talk them?

Me: No, stay here... they are eating their dinner and we won't want to bother them.

Aliyah: No I talk them.

Me: Please obey Mommy and stay in your chair.

Aliyah: I go tell them...

Me: What do you want to tell them.

Aliyah: CINCO!!!!!

Marriage

Daniel: You know why I like you so much?

Gretchen: Ummmm, no? why?

Daniel: I think when I beat Mario I won't want to play it again.

Gretchen: Okkkay.... I guess you can trade it in if you want. But, what in the world does that have to do with why you like me so much?

Daniel: Well, cuz I can't ever beat you. You're my "game" but I won't ever be able to beat it. It makes life interestingly great. I won't ever get bored.

Gretchen: Phew, well I'm glad you won't be trading me in.

Love you babe!

You Just Gotta Laugh

So Daniel is out of town for three days. I know that's not extremely long... but for us... it's long. The kids must have something built in to their systems that tell them to start acting up as soon as Dad walks out the door for a trip. It's only been 3 hours since he left and it's been CRAZY! Case and point... Aliyah doesn't want to walk from the car to the house by herself. It's 3 degrees outside, I get it... but my hands are full of grocery bags and I can't hold her. So instead of moving quickly to get inside because she's freezing, she stand outside in the driveway screaming and crying. Wonderful. Aliyah ends up in time out. A few minutes later I ask her to take her shoes to the shoe basket. For some unknown reason this proves to big a huge insurmountable task, much crying and fussing ensues. She gets warned that if she doesn't make a good choice to obey she will get disciplined. With extreme amounts of crying she turns to pick up her shoes banging her head on the wall then turning around to come to me and bangs the other side of her head on the door. SERIOUSLY! I just started laughing... I couldn't help it. I scooped her up and we decided to do the shoes together. I walk out of Aliyah's room to hear Caden yelling.... "MOMMMMM, MOMMMMM, MOMMMM." (extreme panic in his voice) I round the corner to see him peeing all over the top of the toilet seat. WHAT! He has never ever done that before. He told me he had to go so bad and just forgot to lift the lid. Once again, I just start laughing. What can you do. As I'm cleaning up the accident, Caden just keep repeating, "I'm so sorry mom, I'm so so sorry. It won't happen again. I'm so sorry mom." Oh motherhood.

Every Milestone Should be Celebrated

Caden has been potty trained since 22 months. He is now almost 3 1/2 years old. We have yet to conquer staying dry at night. I know this is often something kids struggle with for a long time. We've been chatting with Caden for weeks now about how he needs to stop using a diaper cuz he's a big boy. Last night as I was putting him to bed, I mentioned again how he needed to stop using a diaper and just get out of bed to use the bathroom whenever he needed to. I really didn't think anything of it.

5:15am Caden's door opens. My body is startled awake and I think "No. Way. He is not getting up for the day."

5:16am Caden heads for the bathroom and uses the potty and head back to his room.

5:17am I'm so excited that HE DID IT, that I feel wide awake.

5:18am Caden steps on a matchbox car on his floor, slipping and falling right on top of a plastic saw.

5:19am I bolt from my bed as screams and cries come from Caden's room.

5:24am Caden is settled in bed.... and I am wide awake.

I did eventually fall back asleep and we celebrated at the more godly hour of 8am. This afternoon we went and bought Caden "big boy" nighttime underwear aka Pull-ups and a special surprise aka a airplane. He was so excited about his new big boy night time underwear that he's been asking to wear it all day. Right now he is sitting next to me asking to go to bed so he can wear it. I'm looking forward to another success. It's the little things, right?

Caden's First Snowman

On another note.... our daughter Aliyah is the sweetest little girl. Over the past couple of months we've dealt with a major case of the terrible twos. She's a very independent little girl and has no fear, this has lead to some very challenging situations. The past couple of days have been very rewarding. She has awakened every morning with a smile and a song. Throughout the day she has been very compliant with "Okay, mommy" and "Sure, mommy i do that." Her sweet spirit is starting to shine through and makes both Daniel and I so proud. She is growing up and already turning into an amazing little girl.

Our Amazing Little Princess

Superheroes

Conversation between my son and my nephew.

Caden: Isaac, who is your favorite... Batman or Spiderman.

Isaac: Ummmm, (long long pause) I think.... (long pause) I think I like gray.

Caden: No Isaac, that's not a choice. Batman or Spiderman

Isaac: But I want to choose gray, that's my favorite.

I guess Batman and Spiderman must be new Crayola colors.



Isaac and Caden

Snow Day

It's a blizzard, quite literally. I was a little skeptical with all the hoopla and school/business closings. This upstate New York girl grew up with lake effect snow, we didn't get snow days! Blizzard like conditions were the norm, or so I remember. But man, we got a lot of snow! Daniel stayed home despite the storm not starting till mid morning and I'm so glad. It changed very quickly to heavy snow that accumulated fast. Daniel very diligently worked upstairs in our office till about 4pm. I'm thankful for a husband that doesn't cheat the system and really did stay focused while working from home. I do wish at times he wouldn't be so focused and would come play with us... but I think I'll take a dedicated worker over a slacker. Way to go babe!

Memories from today:

• Caden woke up from his nap, looked out the window and said, "Mom! There is so much snow. It better stop or there will be no snow left for later days."
• We spent our snow day baking and playing. It was really nice not to try to get any household stuff done and just enjoy our day together.
• We made a lemon cake and jello jigglers.
• We had a movie night with VeggieTales
• Aliyah had her fingernails painted for the first time. She keep looking at them and smiling then asking all three of us to look at them. It was so sweet. She is getting so big! I love my little girl.
• Caden has a large chapped red spot on his cheek. I asked him what it was from and he said, "It's from my sleeve. I use it to wipe my nose and my cheek doesn't like it."

Yesterday during nap time, Caden decided not to sleep. He was very quiet for about and hour and half, but I have a rule with him that he has to stay in his bed for 2 hours. Excessive I know, but he's a clock watcher and a smart boy, and I want to give him plenty of opportunity to be able to fall asleep. I told him he could get up when the clock said 3,3,0. So he sat there for 30 min just watching the clock. When it finally turned to 3:30 he started yelling for me.

Sidenote: Caden doesn't get out of his bed. No matter how many times we tell him what time he can get up, it's very rare that he actually climbs out of bed. Instead, he just yells and yells and yells until someone comes into his room.

That day I decided to see how long the yelling would last. "MOMMMMYYYYYY!!!!", over and over and over again. Different voice inflections, different volumes, different pitches, and different variations of the word mom. Kinda of humorous... kind of. The clock was going on 8 minutes when I finally went upstairs. I walked in and stood in his doorway with my arms folded and a scowl on my face showing my displeasure with his yelling. As soon as he saw me he folded his arms across his chest and said, "Mom, I am very frustrated with you. You did not come when I called. I've been waiting and waiting and calling and calling and you did not come. I am very very frustrated." He had the cutest little pout on his face and was being so serious, I couldn't help it. I burst out laughing. I was laughing so hard I couldn't talk. He saw how "funny" he was and quickly got over his frustration... and helped me get over mine.

A Sunday

I love Sundays. I love Sundays because they usually involve sports and a nap. Somehow Sunday naps are different then any other nap during the week, or even on a Saturday. They seem cozier, sweeter and just more restful. I was really looking forward to my Sunday afternoon nap today. Daniel lead worship this weekend, which makes for a very busy morning. There are three services at our church, which means Daniel is up and out of the house by 6:30. Directly after church Daniel had a basketball game, so we ran out to grab some lunch and rushed back for the basketball game. I love to watch my husband play basketball. But watching basketball with two very active toddlers is not really that much fun. I can't relax... I worry about Caden throwing a ball onto the court during play, or Aliyah dancing her way to center court completly oblivious to the players running around her, or one of them tripping on the bleachers and falling to their death. See... can't relax. Needless to say because of this I missed THE ACCIDENT. I heard a collective gasp and I look over to see my husband laying on the floor very slow to get up. He was touching is mouth very tentatively, I thought he had chipped a tooth. Then I saw blood, lots and lots of blood. He was quickly helped into the restroom and the team followed him in. I sat in the stands wondering if I should run like a very concerned wife right into the restroom, or calmly wait for a team member to come get me. I wisely choose the latter. Here's what had happened... Daniel was scrambling for a loose ball and fell onto the floor as a very large opposing team member fell on top of him slamming his face into the court. An old scar on Daniel's chin was reopened by the force of the blow. So... my beautiful Sunday afternoon nap... yeah, didn't happen. Instead we spent two 1/2 hours in urgent care. But I choose to see the positive and enjoy the fact that I got to spend a few hours with my husband without kids and very little interruption. It was as pleasant as an urgent care experience could have been. Six stitches later, we came home. Thank goodness for parents who live close and could take the kids home for nap time. It wasn't my ideal Sunday... but it was a good one nonetheless. It's been a Sunday of being thankful for the little things and realizing how much I am blessed with.

A memory I want to remember:

• When I came home from getting my hair cut, a cut that included bangs... Aliyah just kept staring at me. Then she walked up and said, "Haircut Mommy?" "Yes, mommy got her haircut." She slowly climbed up on my lap still looking at me very inquisitively, then reached up and pushed all my bangs away from my forehead and said "OH, hi mommy." Such a sweet baby girl. I love her with all of my heart.

An Update

It's my goal this year to blog more. I don't always have lots to say, but writing memories down is important. So, that's my plan.

Our household has gone through big changes over these last six months. I started working part time. It's been wonderful! I work for a pregnancy resource center. I wasn't looking for a job it just kind of fell into my lap. I am the event coordinator. It's the perfect blending of a my skills and a passion for saving the lives of babies. Not only is it my job, it's my ministry. The kids have adjusted amazingly well. I only work out of the house two days a week and the rest I do from home. It's perfect. The kids spend one full day with Nonnie and one half day with a friend of mine. It's a perfect set up. I am so blessed to be working for such a great ministry and to have amazing friends (AMY) and family support that allows me to follow my heart.

A little update on the kids...
Caden is one amazing little kid. He is so inquisitive and so smart. He loves everything boy...army guys, wrestling, exploring, superheroes and sports. He loves to read and learn. He is so ready for preschool, but he just turned three. So I've been teaching him a little at home and trying to stay ahead of him. He has an amazing memory. If we're going grocery shopping I give him a few things to remember and he always reminds me. Helps this mommy brain out alot!

Yesterday I told him that the snow was a perfect consistency to go make a snowman. We've had a lot of snow, but it was the fluffy kind, not good for packing. Now that it's melted a little it's perfect for packing. So I said, "Caden, the snow is perfect now for making a snow man. Let's get our snow stuff on and then "WE" can go outside." He ran around the room screaming with excitement. I left the family room to go gather up the snow stuff. When I walked back in Caden was sitting in front of the television pulling the WII off the shelf. I asked him what in the world he was doing and he said, "I'm taking WII outside!" WHAT?? "Mom, you said you'll get our snow stuff on and WII can go outside, I'm taking him with us." I couldn't stop laughing. He hears everything!!!!

Aliyah is Miss Independent. She is so active, rarely sitting still. She is all girl. Loves to dress up like a princess and play with her babies. She had grown up so fast. Sleeping in a big girl bed now. She loves to sing and she loves to talk. She gets overpowered alot by her very social and talkative brother, but she's starting to hold her own. She can be quite the cuddle bug at times and I love it. She loves to ride her bike. She also loved to wrestle with her dad and play chase. One of my favorite sounds, her laughter. Makes me smile just thinking about it.

I think that completes my update. I'd update about the hubs... but there really isn't anything new to say. He enjoys his job and he's still a completely amazing and wonderful husband and father. :-)

Thinking and Trying

Caden and I sitting here on the couch. He's staring off into space, eating a Rice Krispy Treat and drinking water. I'm checking my email and catching up on blogs.

Me: Whatcha thinking about?
caden: (long pause) WordWorld
Me: Really... what about Wordworld
Caden: (again, a along pause) Just about Wordworld, that's what I'm thinking about. Nothing else mom.

I love my kids.

It was getting a bit crazy and I was feeling a bit burnt out, then Daniel took off 2 1/2 weeks between jobs. Now I feel refreshed and ready to pour into my kids lives. It's still challenging, but my "I'm done" attitude is put on the shelf for a while. I've been really working hard on changing my attitude and remaining positive despite what the circumstances are around me. It's hard work, but such a better place to live.

This week has been interesting. Not only was I flying solo again after 2 1/2 weeks of bliss, but both kids contracted Hand Foot and Mouth disease. What a way to come back from vacation! At the beginning of the week as I was cleaning the house and feeling a really bad attitude growing and growing, I started to pray, saying "God, I'm really trying to have a good attitude here, could you help me please!"

And the response I got, "No, you're not. Try harder." WHAT!!!! Are. You. Kidding. me! Try harder????

But then I really thought about it. He was right (go figure) i wasn't trying all that hard. In fact I wasn't trying at all. I think I just thought that if I thought I was trying, then I would be.

But I was only thinking about trying hard, I was actively trying. It was all in my head. So I started actively trying to stay positive and guess what... it worked! My bad attitude went away and the kids and I had a great morning cleaning the house.

I love my kids!

Growing Up

Conversation in the van with Caden.

Caden: Mom, when i grow up I going to be a mommy.

Me: No silly, only girls are mommies. You can be a daddy.

Caden: No mom! I want to be a mommy

Me: Caden, you can't be a mommy. Only girls are mommies, you're a boy so you have to be a daddy.

Caden (with tears welling up in his eyes): Mom, I want to be a mommy not a daddy.

Me: why?

Caden: I want to grow big big big and be a mommy so I can drink coffee every day.


Kids say the darndest things! :-)

Red Faced and Laughing

Tonight we had the pleasure of attending a JBU choir concert. They are doing their spring tour and it started in Kansas City. We all went out to a local church to hear them sing and to hear my younger sister Johanna sing a solo. She was amazing!! The choir was good too, but she was amazing. I'm so proud of her!

We got there before the concert started and we were chatting with the Musgrave family. They have a 12 year old son, Dave, that is friends with my youngest sister Laura. Caden has been around Dave a few times and has had so much fun with him and has since dubbed Dave as "my best friend." Needless to say Caden was so excited when he saw Dave. He asked to sit with him and would not stop talking about everything and anything. Even when we asked him to be quiet he wouldn't quit waving and saying "Hi David." And he was still sitting right next to him. Dave's a good sport to put up with the friendship of a two year old.

So onto my red faced moment... The concert was about to start and Caden was now sitting with us. We started cramming food into his mouth hoping to keep him quiet for at least some of the concert. Caden is a talker and likes to talk to everyone and doesn't understand why there are times talking isn't allowed. That is a forgein concept to him despite our best efforts. Even his whisper is loud. So the food was working... until I saw the "i have to go to the bathroom" squrim begin. Daniel quickly took him out to use the restroom as the choir was lining up at the back of the auditorium to make their entrance. They came back down the main aisle as one of the pastors was introducing the choir.

Caden comes running down the aisle, gets to where his "best friend" David is sitting and yells out for all to hear "David, I did it!!! I went potty!!!"

Oh Lord the mortification! I just had to laugh and say "Yes,that's my son." He wanted to share his excitment with Dave and apparantly the whole church.

Spring??

I am sitting here in my family room staring at the clock just waiting for the kids to wake up from their naps. No this is not what I typically do during nap time. Usually I'm praying that the kids will sleep extra long, as nap time just seems to go by very fast. But today is different... you see here in Kansas City we have had over 90 days of temperatures under 40 degress. Translation... we've had snow on the ground or coming down from the sky for about 3 months. WAAAAYYYY TOOO LONG!!! Today it's sunny and warm. The sky is blue and I can actually hear the birds. So here I sit waiting and waiting for my kids to wake up so we can go play at the park. So instead of spending my time just staring at the clock, I thought I'd update.

Caden: He is such an amazing two year old. He is in a very independent "I can do it" stage. But not in a bad way. I ask him to help in any way and he typical response is "Sure mom I can do that." It just makes me smile every time. He is just so excited about life and finds such joy in everything he does. He is a talker, and it's amazing the things he comes up with and it's amazing the things he repeats. Yeah, we're learning to be careful with what we say as we never know when he will repeat it. He loves his sister so much and the first thing he wants to do every morning is go get her up. Funny how that can't wait to be with each other, but then they drive each other crazy being together. It's fun to watch him become more of a little boy and not just a toddler any more.

A Caden story: During nap time one afternoon Caden was taking an especially long time to settle down and go to sleep. I had already been in his room twice to remind him not to play and to go to sleep. I went in again with a stern look on my face ready to give the final warning before a more serious punishment was administered. I stood over his bed my face close to his and said, "Caden, this is your last chance. No more playing, no more talking, no more singing. You need to close your eyes and go to sleep. Do you understand?" He looked at me and said, "Ooooo Mom I like your earrings. They new ones?." I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing and said, "No Caden these are not new earrings. Did you hear what I said?" Caden replied, "yes, I go to sleep... but Mom I like you earrings, they very nice." I walked out of the room laughing and laughing. Kids do say the darndest things.

Aliyah: Wow, talk about being independent. She wants to do everything by herself and she wants to do it when she wants todo it. We have a stubborn one on our hands . Yet, she is such a joyful little thing, of course when she wants to be. :-) She laughs and smiles all the time and loves being a "big girl". She's been walking since about 10 months and now at 14 months she pretty much runs every where. She is so fast I can't take my eyes off her for a min or I lose track of her. She is a little daredevil and isn't really afraid of anything. From throwing her body off the slide, or trying to walk down the stairs like a big kid... she will try anything. Especially with an older brother to copy.... we have our hands full with her. She loves to dance and run around the house which is just a joy to watch. She has become our entertainment and it's so much fun.

The new news with us...
Daniel is currently looking for a new job. He has really succeeded in his current job but began feeling like this wasn't what he wanted to do for years and years, and the upward mobility was very limited. So we've entered the job search world again. Thankfully we're not jobless, which makes searching a little easier. But it's still a daunting task, so prayers would be apprecaited.

Me?? Well, I finally feel like I have a handle on being a mom. Having two kids 15months apart... wow! it was a tough first year. But now, it's great! I've started focusing a bit more on myself... it's amazing how quickly you lose sight of taking care of your self when you have two small children. I'm currently working on getting back into shape. Which I feel like is the mantra of many moms but so far I've lost 14lbs in 8 weeks. And I have to say... I'm pretty proud of myself. Now I'm focusing on starting to run again and hopefully will sign up for a 5K soon to give myself some motivation.

So that's the update on the Miller family, I'll post some pictures of the kids soon as they are growing and changing very fast.

Do you love me?

To set the stage... Caden often receives treats for being an exceptionally good listener or for obeying while we are out and about. I was beginning to realize that he thought he deserved a treat every time I said, "Good listening Caden" or "Caden I'm so proud of you, that was a good answer". He would instantly say, I need a treat or I need a sticker, another means of rewarding. So I decided to just give him a treat every so often just because and I prefaced it by saying, Caden because I love you so much I want to give you this treat. He loved it!

Well, yesterday on our way to church. We're singing in the car and out of the blue this conversation occurred.

Caden: Mommy, do you love me?
--Making sure I heard him correctly--

Me: What did you say?

Caden: Mommy, do you love me?
-- Feeling mushy that he would ask me that, bless his little heart!--

Me: (sweetly) Yes! Caden I love you so so so much.
-- Pause for effect--

Caden: Ok, I need a treat!

WHAT!!!!! :-) Wait a minute! That's not how it's suppossed to work! The little conniver. I couldn't stop laughing. Of course that only encouraged him. But oh man do I love my little guy!

Stories, stories

I know my posts are primarily about Caden, but he is the only understandable talker right now... so we have lots to post about him. Aliayah is walking like crazy and she is so fast. She loves to play with her brother and follows him around everywhere. She's quite the little drama queen already, which can be amusing and frustrating all at the same time. She will be one in less then a month. I can't believe she is that "old" already. I have pics posted on facebook of our recent outings... but here is just a few things that have occurred recentlywith Caden.

While looking at a Christmas tree at the library, Caden blurts out,

"Mom, mom come mere... it's a cracker man!"

I walked around the tree to see what he was talking about... oh a nutcracker. :-)

This one is only funny because it's past the moment. While eating lunch today (which took him an hour), I was strongly encouraging him to take more bites. I was losing patience very quickly as every meal right now is a fight. I picked up his fork and said,

"Caden this is your last chance, take this bite or you will have to get a spanking."

His repsonse,
"Mom, I dont want too.
I said no mom. I said no.

(pause)

Mom, you go to time out. To time out Mom." This was said while pointing very fervently to the time out chair. Yeah, funny now, but not so funny then.

Another library story... as soon as we walked into the library he found a Bob the Builder Christmas book. He grabbed it and said

"Lets go mom, give it to the lady and go home."

I guess that's all he wanted. I said I wasn't ready yet and told him to go back to the kids section and he could read it until we were ready to go.

Well, he missed the go back to the kids section part and plopped right down in front of the check out counter on the floor and started reading the book.

Of course reading the a Bob the Builder book can not be done without singing the theme song as loud as you can. "Bob the builder, can we fix it. Bob the builder, yes we can!"

At least the staff thought he was really cute and not loud and obnoxious.

I think we are going to making a scene more frequently, lets just hope I can find the humor in the situation. Speaking of making a scene, I have one more story, but it will have to wait for next time.... it's about a midget and Caden. Ya sounds like a joke... it's not.

The Climber

The following is an actual conversation that took place this morning. Setting the stage... I am upstairs in my room on the computer while the kids are downstairs in the play room, playing.

Caden: Mommmmmyyyyyy!!!

Me: Yes Caden.

Caden: Come mere

Me: I'll be there in a minute

Caden: Come mere, help me

Me: I'll be right there

Caden: Help me, I stuck

Me: Okay I'm coming


Silence for about 25 sec.

Caden: Mommmmmyyyyy!!!

Me: Are you still stuck?


Caden: Yes, help me



I take about another minute to finish up what I'm doing. Seeing as there is no urgency in his voice, he's not crying and he often likes to pretend like he is stuck so I can "rescue" him and pull him out. Often times he is lying in the middle of the floor with nothing around saying he is stuck. So I wasn't hurrying.


As I enter the play room, this is what I see.


Maybe next time I'll respond a little faster

Stay at Home Moms

Those of us who are stay at hom moms have probably heard from a working mom, "Wow, I could never do that. Kudos to you for being able to stay at home with your kids. I just wasn't made/wired like that." Now let me first say I fully respect working moms. It's challenging enough to stay at home, but to work and then come home and still have all the home stuff to do... wow, that's alot. But for us stay at home moms, here are my thoughts.

Honestly, I don't think I'm "made" to stay at home with my kids either! There are days (like today) where everything is challenging and cleaning up the breakfast dishes has taken forever, just in time for the lunch dishes to start piling up. It's only by God's grace that I am "made" to stay at home with my kids. It's a hard job, one you never really have a break from. I found myself grumbling and complaining this morning and saying, "I can't do this one more day." Then I saw my little ones playing together and giving each other kisses and joy filled my heart.

I'm right. I can't do this another day, but through God's strength, I can. I wouldn't want to miss out on all the little things. Staying home is hard and tiring and there is always more to do, but staying home is a priviledge and one I won't trade for anything.

I will thank God that I am "made" for being a stay at home mom and try my best to enjoy all that entails.

God give me the patience to love my kids through everything and enjoy my "calling" as a stay at home mom. Thank you for the opportunity to be here day in and day out with my kids.

Time Away

This week Daniel and I celebrated out 5th wedding anniversary. We were able to take three days and trek our way to Hermann, MO. It's about 3 hours east of Kansas City, and is considered "wine country." Now while I know it doesn't hold a candle to Napa Valley, it was absolutly wonderful. We took our time driving, stopping when we wanted to see or do whatever we wanted. Those with kids know, you don't stop if you don't have to. Getting to the destination in a timely fashion is all that matters on a roadtrip. So to be able to take out time was a lot of fun and seemed to set the tone for the whole trip. We stayed three days and two nights at Hermann Hill, a bed and breakfast in Hermann. It was absolutly wonderful... relaxing... refreshing. We did a few wine tours and wine tasting. We took alot of naps, and slept in in the morning, and stayed up late at night, took a bike ride. It was simply wonderful. You forget as a mom how important it is to be a wife as well. Being a mom can wear you down so much that you forgot or simply don't have the energy to be a wife. It wad great to just be able to focus on my husband and remember what it's like to just be a wife and not have the mom demands at all. Did I mention how wonderful it was?? :-) It was the perfect amount of time away. By Friday evening I was ready to hold my babies again. We started our trip home only to have one of our bikes fly off the bike rake as we were going 73mph down the highway. Not the best ending to an incredible weekend. The wind was really really strong and it caught the bike just right and ripped it off the bike rack. Thankfully no one was hurt, and the bike was in decent shape considering the accident. We were able to retrive it.... unfortunatly we had borrowed the bike... yeah not fun. Sorry Scott!!! But other then that our three days away were amazing and rejuvinating. It's amazing that we've been married for 5 years already. It's been the best 5 years of my life and I look forward to what the next 5 years hold for us.