Happy Memorial Day!

This picture is a good summary of life right now. I'm really enjoying it.

Trip

We're taking a trip back to Indiana this coming weekend for Tony's high school reunion. Fun times. :) We decided not to tell the kids (hoping to avoid the every-10-minutes-asking-how-many-more-days-til-we-leave business). Tony did tell them this weekend that there is a big surprise coming up later this week. Kaiya's had a few days to think about what it could be so I asked her today and this was her response:

Kaiya's guesses:

1) Chuck E. Cheese
2) Monkey Joe's
3) Carowinds
4) Disney World
5) Go Camping
6) Get on an airplane and go camping.

Kaleb's guess:

1) Chuck E. Cheese

The suspense is getting pretty exciting around here!!

Kaleb

Kaleb is getting bigger and was in quite the ornery mood last night. Here's a little glimpse into his personality.



We have started potty training around here. Our count of potties in the potty are pretty good... so its gonna get intense around here I think. Just want to have it conquered.

Save-a-lot Giveaway

Thought it was time for a fun giveaway!! You can read about the fun I had at the Save-a-lot grand opening here.

Win a $15 gift card to Save-A-Lot!

For those of you who live near a Save-A-Lot store -- leave me a comment with your favorite thing about the store and I'll pick a random winner on Tuesday -- comment entries need to be in by 11:59 p.m. on Monday, May 10th. If I don't know you... leave me your e-mail address so that I can contact the winner!

An old elderly neighbor couple passed away and the daughter gave us loads of their belongings (most of which were sold last weekend at a yard sale). She said we could sell or keep whatever we wanted. Here are a few interesting things among them:

This bag says Christian Dior -- but I can't find anything to authenticate it -- I've submitted it to a purse forum for some help... it is definitely old -- but who knows!

Then these toy boxers are interesting. They are probably from the 60s? They are similar to the Rock'Em Sock'Em Robots, but very different too -- as they are real people. I can't find a manufacturer or anything on them. I've been researching them w/ out much luck.This is the other thing she gave us...

9 bottles of old old whiskey and bourbon. This stuff is ancient.

A not-so-serious conversation

On the way home from small group last night I was listening to a worship CD from our church. The song was Jesus Paid It All. The line came: Praise the one who paid my debt and raised this life up from the dead. Kaiya asked me what debt was and why I was singing about it.

I'm thinking -- perfect opportunity to plant a few little seeds in her heart. So I start explaining to her that a debt is something that you owe someone. And I went on to say:

Me: You know how you learned that we all sin sometimes?

Kaiya: Uh mama. I need to tell you something. Remember that time that I rode my bike in the driveway?

Me: Yeah.

Kaiya: That was fun.

Me: You're right. That was fun.

Ahhh... maybe another time. :) Such a brief little window of opportunity and then her little 4 year old mind goes in a completely different direction. I had to smile to myself.

I wonder what God thinks of my 28 year old mind. Sometimes, my spiritual attention span isn't all that much better.

The Bradford Store

A few weeks ago (nearly a month now!) we went with friends up to The Bradford Store in Huntersville. It is a neat little family owned farm and store that has a variety of organic produce, milk, cheeses and grass-fed beef. We picked out some goodies to purchase and then roamed around the farm a little bit. The kids loved looking at the chickens.

Spookeo

I'm not a major conspiracy theorist or anything (although watching 24 has made me a little curious as to how much goes on behind the scenes in our country).

But I saw this website posted and had to check it out for my self. www.spokeo.com You put in your first & last name and it tells you lots of interesting stuff about you. It new that I like listening to Christian music. :) And it new that my mother-in-law is a nurse and that she has a swimming pool. And that we had kids. And that 4 people live in my house. Weird.

Check yourself out. :)

You can remove yourself too. You have to pull up your profile, copy the url address for your specific profile, and then click on the Privacy link at the bottom. It has instructions from there.

Red Robin

Thanks to Nannie for a night on the town with the kids! We had strict orders to take the kids to Red Robin for dinner a few weeks ago. It's hands-down the kids favorite place to eat. Here are a few pictures from the night.




He was covered in macaroni & cheese. And loved every minute of it. Thanks Nannie!

Sometimes it sucks.

Kaleb's reaction when he realized it wasn't his birthday we were celebrating...

Wordless Wednesday - Badger Hat

Photos by Ruthie

Wurkin'

Last week when I went to get Kaleb up in the morning he stood up in his crib and said: Wurkin' and shook his head. I asked him again what he said and he repeats: Wurkin' nose. And it dawned on me. He was telling me that his nose was not working. A little stuffy in the morning, I guess. :)

Imagination at work!

Save-a-Lot Grand Opening

I had the opportunity to attend the Grand Opening of Save-A-Lot here in Charlotte, NC. I received the invitation to attend the event with other local bloggers -- and if I'm being honest, I had to run the invitation past this fantastic blogger to make sure it was legit. :) Sure enough -- they found my blog -- probably because I post pretty frequently about saving money. It is something I really love. And that's really the hallmark of Save-A-Lot Stores -- they have figured out a way to put quality in the hands of the consumer and save them 40-60% off their normal grocery bill.

Save-A-Lot is headquartered in St. Louis -- a familiar place for me! It was great to meet several employees from headquarters at the event. I was impressed with the donations that Save-A-Lot made to local food banks -- $25,000 in gift cards was given to North Carolina organizations that fight hunger. I love that they not only donated to the Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina (very big in Charlotte), but also some smaller town churches that operate food pantries.

I was able to try a variety of the fresh produce and my kids are loving the box of Cheerios from Save-A-Lot. I was so glad I attended the event! It was also a great opportunity to meet some professional bloggers (I felt so amateur compared to the crowd I was with!). One of the ladies writes for Paula Deen. Another's husband does this for fun! I had a great time chatting and learning more about how these ladies took blogging to another level.

Even more exciting... for the North Carolina readers... here is a coupon for $5 off at Save-A-Lot! So start saving money!

No Nap = Tired = Sassy

I always have high hopes for the days I am off work. The kids have missed me all week -- in fact, the other morning Kaleb chucked a spoonful of oatmeal across the room when I told him I had to get ready for work. So you would think that they would be perfect angels, enjoying every wonderful moment of our time together. Negative. It was a terrible day. Kaleb cried incessantly from about 1:30 p.m. - 6:45 p.m. Kaiya did not nap and negotiated for an early bedtime instead of trying to nap. Not surprisingly, our evening ended with her being smart-mouthed with Tony and I. As I was tucking her into bed the conversation went like this:

Me: Why were you having such ugly words tonight?
Kaiya: Is because... I am sassy.
Me: Why were you being sassy tonight?
Kaiya: Is because... I am tired... and sleepy... and just a bit sassy.

At least she gets it. And I was quite proud of myself. I didn't even crack a smile when the "sassy" word came out of her mouth in that cute little ornery voice.

Weekend Videos

Easy post this weekend with some videos of the kids. I need to do something about my broken digital camera, but for now -- short videos will have to do. Here is one of each of the kiddos. Nothing too exciting, but entertainment for far away family.

A few thoughts on anxiety

We all have issues. One of mine happens to be anxiety. I worry, fret, pull my hair out, freak out over things that I can't control. It possibly categorizes me as a control freak as well, but saying I have a bit of anxiety just sounds better.

One of the most helpful tools that I have used to deal with the anxiety is by remembering that I have the choice of what to do with the anxious thoughts when they begin to creep in. I can choose to allow the anxiety to brood, or I can choose to replace the anxious thoughts with God's promises. A few months ago, our church did a series called Give Me Faith. During that series we were given a list of Faith Confessions.

I have these on my fridge and on my desk at work. When I feel it creeping up, I immediately start speaking these and replacing the anxious thoughts with thoughts that I know to be true. A few of them I have memorized in case I'm away from the list.

Here they are:

• I am fully forgiven and free from all shame and condemnation.
• I act in audacious faith to change the world for my generation.
• I have no fear or anxiety; I trust in the Lord with all my heart.
• I am able to fulfill the calling God has placed on my life.
• I am fully funded to do everything God has called me to do.
• I have no insecurity because I see myself the way God sees me.
• I am a faithful spouse and a godly parent; our family is blessed.
• I am completely whole physically, mental and emotionally.
• I am increasing in influence and favor for the kingdom of God.
• I am enabled to walk in the sacrificial love of Christ.
• I have the wisdom of the Lord concerning every decision I make.
• I am protected from all harm and evil in Jesus' name.

Just in case you were wondering... it is quite possible to pull your tongue muscle while eating peanut butter off a spoon.

Oops...I sure tried.

Well... currently tanking in the area of resolutions, but I am getting back on track. I have been blogging like crazy for our office at: yourhealingdiet.wordpress.com. And as a result neglected this blog a bit. My other excuse is that my digital camera has been acting up. And I'm not allowed to bring the office digital camera home anymore. :) I might have broken it once. Thank goodness we still had a warranty on it.

I do have a snazzy little "faux" Flip camera that takes videos. Got one of the kids playing in the snow today. We had a few inches last night! And this afternoon, half of it was gone. But we got out to the side of the house where the sun doesn't shine and got a little playing done. Here's the video. Mainly for family who misses these cute kids. The rest of the world probably won't be too interested.

New Thru 30

We've been reading the New Testament in 30 days with our church. I experienced one of the coolest moments in parenthood this week. I was sitting on the floor Wednesday night before putting the kids to bed reading my Bible. Kaiya runs to get her Bible and sits down next to me. She sits just like me and opens her Bible. My dad asked her what she was doing and she said: I'm reading my Bible just like Mama.

She sat with me the whole time flipping through her Bible while I finished my reading for the day. It was a good reminder that these are the things I want her to see. I'm modeling for her every minute of the day. I hope she sees more good than bad.