Drugs, PolkaDots and Muck Boots

I finally took all three kids to the doctor on Monday after two weeks of snot, coughing and whining. Everyone, including Mommy, are on antibiotics (drugs). After taking the kids to our WONDERFUL family doctor, Adler, I discovered that I hadn't made an appointment to get established as a patient (silly Mommy). After dropping the kids off with Eric I headed to urgent care. I couldn't resist popping into the Goodwill Store next door. I darted in with only 10 minutes to spare. I wanted to look for a tea pot for Kayla's birthday. Instead, I happened upon these TOO CUTE muck boots for $3. YIPPEE!



Apparently they go with anything, including jammies!



Today was Luke's "Polkadot Party" at school. He has no polkadot clothing in his closet, so I adapted this idea from a Martha Stewart magazine. I cut circles out of felt and made button covers.




Happy Tuesday!
Now I'm exhausted and everyone is caught up.
I hear my pillow calling!

Easter Weekend Fun, Continued

Our first family egg hunt...

We waited in the kitchen while Daddy hid eggs in the family room.

Kayla got a minute head start!






Even Krista found an egg!



Thanks Nana & Pappaw for the candy!



What fun!



Unfortunately, I have no pictures of them from Sunday. We were all tired and the kids had horrible runny noses. I made an appointment to have their pictures made at Target next week.
The girls were dressed up so beautifully for Easter Sunday and Luke was so handsome.
I couldn't help sneak a couple of peeks at Daddy during service and offer little prayers of thanksgiving for our family.
We spent Sunday lunch with the Bibby's and had the most delicious ham and all the fixings.
What a wonderful weekend we spent in celebration of our living Savior!

Easter Weekend Fun

I decided to do an egg bag this year instead of an egg basket.
I found these 1/2 off at Hobby Lobby ($1.50) and couldn't pass them up.
Saturday I could hardly wait for the kids to finish their lunch to do our project.

Luke is AMAZING!
When he proclaimed, "I can do it myself." I chuckled.
I decided to see how far this confident four year old could get.
I handed him the picture of what it was supposed to look like,
and turned my attention to Kayla's bag.
We continued working chatting all the while and before I knew it....






Kayla had some help from Mommy: she glued, I placed. :-)
We had so much fun, especially in anticipation of our first egg hunt!

Show and Tell

Okay, so maybe I'm not a part of the real show and tell Friday group, but I could help sharing this with everyone! This little apron is way too cute! I also took some dollar store wooden spoons and painted them pink and green to match. I'd already taken the pictures by the time I remembered the matching spoons. This is one of few sewing projects that I have done, so I'm very proud of myself (watch out my head is expanding). I started on it last night and finished it this morning. I can't wait to make another one, but that is for another day.

Titus 2 in Action

...They (the older women) are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.

Titus 2:4-5

Visit this link:

Renaissance: Grandma doin' what Grandma's Do

Thanks, Rebecca, for the wonderful pictures!

God's Little Boy

I watched Luke outside on the deck yesterday and marveled at the little boy who seemed so much older than his four years. He spent nearly an hour enjoying his snack outside, watching the birds and talking to our dog, Amber. I sat there captivated by him, watching his head turn from this way and that, seeing him enjoy being outside. It was such a sight that I snapped fifteen pictures, but will share only a few.
As I watched him I recalled these words from his book, "God's Wisdom for Little Boys":
***************************************

God's Little Boy Is...

CONTENT

When you go outside and you're still as can be,
And you take time to notice, to hear and to see,



Then all wonders that God make for you
Will bring peace of mind and contentment, too.

A little Krista, Kayla, Luke and.... Dyson?!

There's nothing more beautiful than a sleeping baby...


We love "Miss Emma"!!!
When we lived in Burlington I used to get my hair cut in a gal's home. Jenny did a great job and I never got a bad cut, so you can imagine how anxious I was to find another hair dresser. I asked some of the gals from our church and was disappointed to learn that most hair cuts cost between $23 and $28. Then I found "Miss Emma". She is a super cute gal from the Lafayette Church who was in beauty school at the time and has since graduated. She has done such an amazing job with my less-than-ideal hair. :-) Did I mention she cuts my hair at Mom's? I cannot begin to tell you how nice it is to be able to get my hair cut and still take the kids with me.





I can't stop raving about my Dyson. Is this for real? YES! Luke can actually vacuum with the Dyson. It's so easy, even a 4 year old can use it. He has been begging to use the new vacuum and we figured the hallway was the best place to start- quick and easy for me to go back over what he missed. Here's the funny thing: I didn't have to re-vacuum. The Dyson still works even the when handle is almost level with the floor. AMAZING!
Luke could hardly push our other vacuum, let alone actually VACUUM with it.

Soldier Down

Well, today is the first day I've been able to come out of the bedroom. I started feeling tired on Wednesday and by Thursday I knew I was getting sick. I stupidly started trying to get laundry done and managed to get four of the six loads washed and only one of those four put away. I have three loads of clean clothes still in the baskets. UGH! I just hate getting behind and even worse having wrinkled clean clothes. UGH! Anyone not busy on Monday? :-)

The silver lining around my dark cloud of sickness has been Eric. He has managed the house like a pro. He took great care of me. He kept me on the NyQuil as directed (which is WONDROUS stuff- it's the "mommy medicine"- knocks you out so you don't hear the kids). Not only did he take care of me and the other sick kids (Luke & Kayla), but also cleaned the kitchen and living room. Krista survived as well :-). Really he did a great job and went above and beyond. I stayed drugged in the bedroom, sleeping for two days. How humbling.

Well, my kids seem to have grown at least two inches since I've been sick. I will take it easy tomorrow. Eric will go to church and I'll keep the kids here since the older kids are still snotty (gross). Monday I'll begin to tackle the mounds of laundry and prepare for my visit with Rebecca. Yippeee!

Food and Fun at the Bibby's

Tuesday was "fun in the kitchen" day.

I splurged and got this sandwich cutter at Meijer that I have been wanting for a while now.

It didn't waste anything and cut the crust off perfect. The kids were thrilled to be able to eat the dinosaurs and disable them from roaring by starting with their heads. :-)

For dinner I made Lasagna Roll Ups.

Lasagna was the first meal Eric taught me to make. (Yes, you read that right. Eric taught me how to cook.) So I found this recipe and made it my own.

Instead of layering noodles, cheeses and sauce in a pan; you lay the noodles out, fill them and roll them. This is a wonderful kid recipe. Luke loves to spoon the cottage cheese mixture and roll them. I even let him dump the meat sauce on top.

We had a good time and Daddy got a good dinner.

Fort Wayne Trip

For the second part of Eric's birthday celebration we headed to Fort Wayne to see our wonderful friends, The DeVol's!



We treated the kids to Wendy's on our way

Full bellies....


I can't say enough about Jessica's cooking.
Jessica made some wonderful dishes that I am eager to share.
Saturday morning she let Luke help with the celery for dinner.



Jocelyn is ADORABLE and quite the little ham!


I couldn't resist snapping this of Kayla and her hands in her "pawkits"


The newest member of the DeVol Family
Ethan Erik


The boys on the couch
Luke, Sammy & Uncle Damien


Euchre!


Jocelyn, Luke & Sammy


We had a blast! Their house is beautiful and I was sad to leave.
We're already planning another trip this summer to the zoo!
Hopefully June will come quickly!

Happy Birthday, Eric!

Eric celebrated his 30th birthday last week. I surprised him with a party instead of bible study on Wednesday night.
Hot wings, salsa, pizza rolls, hot sauce,
hot pickles, olives, Mom's cheese spread,
beer, wine and rum ........

TUMS, PEPTO, TUMS, PEPTO......

Geezer (formally known as stud muffin)

The Bamboo and The Fern

When the Planter planted the fern and the bamboo seeds,
He took very good care of them.
He gave them light. He gave them water.
The fern quickly grew from the earth.
Its brilliant green covered the floor.
Yet nothing came from the bamboo seed.

In the second year the fern grew more vibrant and plentiful.
And again,
Nothing came from the bamboo seed.
In year three there was still nothing from the bamboo seed.
The same in year four.
Then in the fifth year, a tiny sprout emerged from the earth.
Compared to the fern, it was seemingly small and insignificant.
But just six months later, the bamboo rose to over 100 feet tall.

It had spent the five years growing roots.
Those roots made it strong and gave it what it needed to survive.
The Planter does not give any of His creations a challenge it can not handle.

All the times we are struggling we are growing roots.
Don't compare yourself to others.
The bamboo had a different purpose than the fern.
Yet they both make the forest beautiful.


Good days give you happiness;
bad days give you experiences;
both are essential to life.

All about Krista

Little Miss CAT

Okay, so she won't take a bottle, but......