He's 2!!

My baby boy turns 2 today. And he is a mess! He's little for his age...still wears size 12 month shorts =) But makes up for it in attitude. He thinks he's big enough to do everything the big kids do and that sometimes gets him in trouble or hurt. He has a few sentences he says. My favorite, just because it's the funniest, is"Oh my gosh". He loves bugs. If a door is open he thinks it needs to be closed. He likes going for bike rides(he sits in a bike trailer), and walks. He's not afraid of much. He thinks he's too big for a sippy. He also thinks he's big enough to sit on the potty. He loves bath time, especially if he sneaks into the shower with Ethan. He loves dogs/cats. And best of all is that his siblings LOVE him! He has rocked my world these past 2 years. And sometimes it was not the best. But God knew what He was doing when he placed Evan in our lives. I don't know what I would do without him. He's super lovey and so stinkin cute! If he gets in trouble or I'm comforting him after he's gotten hurt he'll pat MY back. Just like I do to him. What else can I say except he's awesome =) Happy Birthday, Evan!!

Katie update

It's been a little more than a month and I feel like a slacker. But life happens and I haven't felt motivated AT ALL to be on here. So, here's the deal. Katie had tubes put in her ears and adenoids out. She did great! We went back after weeks for a check-up and repeat hearing test. Her ears looked good but she failed the hearing test big time. Just her right side. So, the ENT wanted to get a CAT scan to make sure they were

n't missing something. The scan came back clear. Answered prayer. Now we get on with life and go back sometime after the first of the year for a 6 month check-up and another hearing test. She has started school and is doing awesome! She loves going to school every day with her brothers and her teacher is fantastic. All that being said...enjoy soem pictures =)

Katie getting ready to go back for surgery

First day of school

tears because I told her I would not buy her a chocolate milk =)

Eating ice cream is a full body experience for this guy

The biggest dorks EVER!!

Lord give me strength!

This has been one crazy week. And my emotions have been all over the place. We'll start at the beginning. For about a year now Katie has acted more and more like she can't hear us at times. She'll look at you like you're crazy and what you just said is the dumbest thing ever. She hasn't had any problems with her ears that the docs could see. She'll say her ear(the left one) is hurting and because she's cranky I'll give her some Tylenol and then all is better. Well, a few weeks ago she said her ear hurt. Always the left one. And this was the first day of the Summer Fun Club at our church. I gave her some Tylenol and off she went(all 4 went, hehe). I picked her up at 2:30 and her teacher said she had been complaining about her ear a little. We get home and she lays herself down for another nap. I notice some junk in her ear and think she has an ear infection. We make an appt. with a new dr. The diagnosis? A ruptured ear drum! So, we decide to see an ENT. That appt was Monday. The dr. was super nice and explained everything really well. Katie had her first REAL hearing test. The results? Fluid on her left and profound to complete hearing loss on her right! I almost cried. Not because I was afraid of what that meant but because I felt completely overwhelmed. With the combination of her hearing test and the fact that she had fluid in one the dr. suggested tubes in and her adenoid out. We'll do that next Thursday. No big deal. After things have time to settle down and the fluid in her ear is gone we'll go back for a repeat hearing test. Nothing is certain until it's been confirmed. And, right now, nothing has been confirmed except the fluid. So...Yesterday we decide to take a little overnight family get-away to a state park about a hour from the house. All was going great and we were having so much fun until the lights went out and the kids went to sleep. Evan sounded like he was having such a hard time breathing. He slept with me most of the night and I didn't sleep much. His breathing got better thru the morning but I noticed it was getting worse after we got home. He was running a temp of 102 and just having a really hard time catching his breath. So, we went back to the dr. After a breathing treatment, a chest x-ray and a steroid shot we leave for home. My poor baby has croup. Watching him breath these past 24 hours has been one of the hardest things I've had to do. Knowing I couldn't fix it was such a bad feeling. The meds have started to kick in and he's breathing and sleeping better than he was last night.

Next week will come with it's own set of adventures but right now I'm praying the adventures for this week are over.

Holy Cow!! Things have been busy!

I feel like I've been so out of touch with my blogging. Much has happened since Katie turned 4.

• school ended
• Knox Family Reunion at Fin and Feather(pics to come later)
• VBS
• Summer Fun Club at our church(every Tue/Thur from 9:30-2:30 for 6 weeks)
• Aaron and I put rails around our back patio and our front porch(pics to come later)
• Levi turned 6

Along with all that we make a weekly run to the splash pad with friends and have play dates. Fit in family time on the weekends and try to recover from the past 5 days. We wanted to take some short trips this summer but it looks like we'll only fit in one. Kinda sad about that. But for the most part the summer has been good. The kids aren't going crazy yet and neither am I. I hope you are having a great summer as well. And now...A picture of my crew =)

Katie's Birthday Picture Post

Happy Birthday Katelynn Anne!!

Living simply

Ok, so this might sound like I'm up on a soap box but so be it. How busy is your life? If you have kids how many different activities are they involved in that take you away from the home in the evenings? How many things are you involved in? I'll give you a quick run down of our week before I continue. Sunday's Aaron has orchestra practice at 8 am and LifeGroup starts at 9:15. We'll get home after our weekly lunch at Mazzio's(the only time we eat out, unless it's date night) around 1. M-F Aaron works 6:30-3:00 (home around 3:15) Ethan and Levi have school 7:45-3:15 Monday Ethan has an afterschool art class that runs 3:30-4:30(home about 4:45) T/Thur Katie and Evan have MDO 9:30-2:30 I work MDO Wed we have church 6-8:30 Thursday Ethan has piano 4:30-5:15 I try to make it to the gym for classes on M/F at 11 and T at 6:30. And mixed in this routine Aaron and I try to work in a date night. Not an easy thing when you have to find child care for 4. I try to have an evening with my girls and that happens about once a month. We might have a family thing or an extra church function. This might sound like an easy schedule for most but for us it feels a little too busy. Tuesday and Thursdays are the worst. I never really planned on 'working' out of the home. I like being at home every day(or at least having the option). I leave the house at 7:30 to take the boys to school. I have an hour to get done what I can before I need to leave to be at the church to help get the classroom ready for the day. We leave around 3 and go get the boys from school. It's after 3:30 when we get home and EVERYONE is starving! So I rush around to get dinner on the table and we're eating by 4:30. Except on Thur when Ethan has piano. We eat after around 6. We try to keep our weekends open for family time but that doesn't always happen. I will not be working MDO next year. I'm not even sure I'll put Evan in MDO next year. I lead a bible study on Wed. now and have decided not to do that in the fall. For us, it's all about simplicity. We don't think our boys need to be playing organized sports at the ages of 5 and 7. Playing catch in the backyard with dad is just as fun(and you don't have to deal with traffic or spend any money on gas to get to a ballfield). Katie doesn't need to be in gymnastics or dance when she has dress up clothes and a music player here at the house and a trampoline in the backyard. Evan really isn't big enough to do anything yet =) Aaron wrestles with the kids. We go on bike rides and family walks. We spend lots of time in our backyard with the kids digging in the dirt and pretending they're pirates at the top of their playset. We stay at home alot. The thought of driving somewhere everynight and paying, what sounds like a crazy amount to me, for someone else to spend time with my child is not appealing to me. I'm not sure what we'll do when they get older and start asking to play baseball with their friends or whatever. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. But for now, we're living simply and spending all the time we can with our children. Trying to make the most of the little time we have before they grow up. So, I'll ask it again. What takes you in different directions and away from the house? If a busy schedule works for you, then that's great. It does NOT work for us.

I need to practice what I preach! (or maybe not)

I've always said that letting your kids sleep with you is not a good thing. For more than one reason. And up until now I've stood by that. Up until now. And now that I've discovered the only way I'll get any good sleep at night is to let Evan sleep with us? I've changed my mind. Evan is back to not sleeping very well. It can be very frustrating most of the time because we've been dealing with sleepless nights for 18 months. That makes for a tired mommy. And when mommy is tired she can get a little cranky =) I'm not sure how to get Evan to sleep better. I don't want to let him cry-it-out because that takes FOREVER and he can get pretty loud when's he's mad. AND he's sharing a room with Katie. So...I bring him to our bed and let him sleep with us. Not sure why, but he sleeps so much better in our bed. I've always said I would never co-sleep with any of my kids because I didn't want to be 'that' parent. Well, I guess I am now that parent. But, here's the deal. As frutrated as I might get when it's 3 a.m. and Evan is being noisy I have to remind myself that at least he's here. So many couples have a hard time becoming parents to begin with and I've been blessed with 4 beautiful, healthy children. And then I start to think of my friends that have had to bury babies before they even got to bring them home. Or the families that get only a very short time with their babes. After thoughts like that I am very willing to change my way of doing things and let Evan sleep with me. So, I will no longer tell moms that co-sleeping might be a bad idea. Evan is big enough now that I am not worried about rolling over on him. And he sleeps between Aaron and I so he won't fall out of bed. AND...I don't bring him to our bed until I have tried for a while to have him sleep in his bed. That means I give up around 3 a.m. I still wish he would sleep all night ion his own bed. But if that's not how it's going to go down, then I'm going to enjoy snuggling my youngest. It won't always be like this.

A reminder for myself

My mother-in-law sent me something a while back. She wanted to encourage me(and her other daughters-in-law) in the parenting of our children. It's been a great reminder to me so I thought I would share. I'm not sure where it came from so we'll just say anonymous.

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking,"Can't you see I'm on the phone?"

Obviously not; no one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible. The invisible mom. Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more! Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this??

Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask,'What time is it?' I'm a satelitte guide to answer,'What number is the Disney channel?' I'm a car to order,'Right around 5:30, please.'

Some days I'm a crystal ball; Where's my other sock?'Where's my phone?, What's for dinner?
I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history, music and literature-but now, they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going, she's going, sh'e gone!?

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England. She had just gotten back from a fabuloustrip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when she turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said,'I brought you this." It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe.
I wasn't exactly sure why she had given it to me until I read her inscription: 'With admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.'

In the days ahead I read-no, devoured-the book. And I discovered what became for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work: 1) No one can say who built the great cathedrals-wehave no record of their names. 2) These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. 3) They made great sacrifics and expected no credit. 4) The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.

A story of legend in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man,"Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered be the roof? No one will ever see it." And the workman replied,"Because God sees."

I closed the book, feeling the missing pieces falling into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me,"I see you. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequine you've sewnon, no cupcake yo0u've baked, no cub scout meeting, no last minute errand is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become."

I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder, As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.

When I reall think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving,'My mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for 3 hours and presses all the linens for the table.' That would mean I'd built a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, he'd say,' You're gonna love it there...'

As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we are doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible mothers.

THE WILL OF GOD WILL NOT TAKE YOU WHERE THE GRACE OF GOD CANNOT PROTECT YOU.

For every mother that reads this, please remember that no job is more important than investing in the lives of your children.

A proud moment

Do you see this pretty little face? This is the face of my little girl. And you'll never guess what she did yesterday, Feb. 13th. She asked Jesus to live in her heart and be her best friend forever. A mom could never be more proud than I am right now =)



And as she waited for me to finish getting ready for church I heard her singing "I have decided to follow Jesus". It was awesome and I know there were angels dancing.

Control What You Can and Leave the Rest Alone

I'll start with a question...Has everyone enjoyed the weather we've had?? And more coming as I type this =)

Now on to the post. I want to say that I used to be the kind of person that got really irritated if the kids were out school because of the weather. Not sure why, really, but it bugged me. And still bugged up until this past Friday. Friday was a turning point for me. Thanks to my neighbor I made it to the store that morning before the next round of snow came. We were out playing in the snow by 11 that morning. I wanted to build the boys a snow fort. You know, the kind that they could crawl through. Umm, that did not happen. So, my wonderful neighbor(same one that taxied me earlier) came over and helped me turn the almost fort into a sledding hill. It was the most fun I've had in a long time. I like to stay in if it's cold out. But this day was different. 3 moms got together and spent hours 'perfecting' that home made hill. It took us 1.5 hours of sledding down that hill to get it ready for the kids =) Did I say how much fun I had? And that I LOVE my neighbors?? The kids joined us and we played outside until almost 3 p.m. And then we moved the party indoors. Had dinner and went out to sled some more from 7-8:30. It was awesome!! It was one of those days that made my heart so happy to see my kids with their friends enjoying life. We laughed so much. It was a day that I'll remind myself of if I ever feel like a failure as a parent.

This brings me to my next point...I cannot control the weather. I also cannot control when school is out because of it. I can, however, control my attitude and how I choose to spend the time with my kids while they're home. This is a new thing for me. I like having a schedule and it bothers me when it gets messed up. But to look at the bright side, at least we're all still in bed at 8. The boys told me today that they want to go back to school. My response? I want you to go back to school, too. Not because I'm tired of my time with them. (our attitudes have been great and the kids have been getting along really well) But because I know they miss the routine as well. They miss their friends and the business of school. So, we're all finding ways to get along with each other until things get back to normal. I don't think it's a bad thing to say I'm ready for the kids to go back to school. They know I love them and the time I spend with them. However, I need time to my self and they need time away from me. I need to be able to breathe and just sit with out some one needing me. I need to be able to rejuvenate so I can be that mom they deserve. When we're cooped up in the house with no option of going somewhere I think we all start feeling claustrophobic and that's when we start getting on each other's nerves. I'm starting to think God wants me to work on my attitude. We'll be out of school tomorrow for the 7 straight day. We didn't have church last Wednesday, Sunday, and we won't have it tomorrow night. I'll just keep reminding myself to control what I can and leave the rest alone. I will not let a little thing like 30 inches of snow and 2 weeks of unplanned 'vacation' get the best of me!

You're how old???

Yep! That's right. My oldest boy turns 7 today. I'd fill you in on all the things he's doing now but we'll just leave it at this...He's awesome!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ETHAN!!

blank brain

I think I'm suffering from a blank brain. Lots is going on and I'm staying busy but I feel like I have nothing to say. And what I do want to say doesn't seem significant enough to write about(like this is). So I guess I'll do a random post and talk about stuff. Who knows, you might learn something new about me =)

This is my 3 week working at our churches MDO. I LOVE it. The ladies are great! I'm in with the 4 year olds so the kids can be a challenge some days but over all it's awesome. I'm praying about what comes next. There is an opportunity for me to work the 6 week summer camp the church does and also to come back for the fall semester. Not sure yet what God wants of me.

I'm leading a MomTime bible study starting tomorrow. I kinda feel like a grown up. Or that I'm at least growing up. I'm really excited to see how God's going to work in the lives of the women that come, including my own life. It's the same study I did with my mom this past fall but it's so good I need to do it again. And a year from now I'll want to do it again. It's titled...Effective Parenting in a Defective World by Chip Ingram. It's awesome.

I'm trying to make it to the gym at least 4 days a week but that doesn't always happen when you have kids that get sick. Or at least don't feel well enough to go with you. I'm hoping that changes when Aaron goes back to working day shift. I'm working towards a goal of being able to run a 5K. My brother and I plan on running the St.Patty's 5K this year and so far I'm up to 1.25 miles. I have some work to do.

This is the start of week #2 of Evan sleeping ALL night every night. I'm still not really used to it. After all, it's been 15 months of wondering why he wasn't sleeping at night. I guess we've got it figured out. If anyone tells you that restless leg doesn't happen to a toddler they need to meet mine. Tbs of calcium/magnesium every night before bed has done the trick. Wonder why my pediatrician didn't suggest that before he gave me a script for a sleep aid for my 15 month old?? huh.

I amd so looking forward to what this year has in store for us as a family. I can't wait to see what happens!!

something to think about

Are you the kind of person you want your kids to grow up to be?

And he sleeps!!!

For those that don't know, Evan has had issues sleeping from the very start. And when I say issues what I really mean to say is...the kid hasn't had a staright nights sleep in 15 months. Up at least every 2 hours if not more and sometimes it takes about 2 hours to get him back down. And because of this I stay up waiting for him to wake up. I've missed a LOT of sleep because I've not wanted to go to bed only to get up 30 mintues after I lay down. Evan and I have spent lots of time on the couch the past few months. I have done lots of crying the past few months. Mostly because I'm so tired but a little because I'm frusterated for Evan. There came a point when I realized it was his legs that were keeping him from getting sleep. My first thought was that he had RLS. However, at his 15 month well check I was informed that RLS do not exist in a child this young. I was given a 12 day supply of a sleep aid. I thought that was odd because Evan doesn't have trouble GOING to sleep, he has trouble STAYING alseep. He messes with his legs like a child with an ear infection would mess with their ears. I wanted to address the issue of his legs. But I'm just a mom...what do I know? Anyhoo. I discussed his problem with another and it was suggested to me to try liquid magnesium/calcium. The childs bottle comes flavored(we got strawberry). And so last night was his first dose. And he was staying over with my mom. And he slept all night. We'll see how tonight goes but I'm very hopeful. He's also been congested for months now so we're making the switch from cows milk to goats milk. Just so happens Aaron couldn't have cows milk when he was little either, and was on goats milk. I think I'll have to have a talk with our pedi. For now, he's doing great and maybe I'll start making up for some of the sleep I've lost over the last 15 months. So, if you're up anytine during the night say a prayer for me...that I'm not ;)

Made for the Long Haul

Does this sound familiar??








Mom and Dad were watching t.v. when mom said," I'm tired, and it's getting late. I think I'll go to bed." She went to the kitchen to make sandwiches for the next days lunches, rinsed out the popcorn bowls, took meast out of the freezer for supper the following evening, checked the cereal box levels, filled the sugar container, put spoons and bowls on the table and started the coffee pot for brewing the next morning. She then put some wet clothes in the dryer, put a load in the wash, ironed a shirt and secured a loose button. She picked up the game pieces left on the table and put the telephone book back in the drawer. She watered the plants, emptied a wastebasket and hung up a towel to dry. She yawned and stretched and headed for the bedroom. She stopped by the desk and wrote a note to the teacher, counted out some cash for the field trip, and pulled a textbook out from hiding under a chair. She signed a birthday card for a friend, addressed and stamped the envelope and wrote a quick note for the grocery store. She put both near her purse. Mom then creamed her face, put moisturizer, brushed and flossed her teeth and trimmed her nails. Hubby called,"I thought you were going to bed." "I'm on my way," she said. She put some water into the dog's dish and put the cat outside, then made sure the doors were locked. She looked in on each of the kids and turned out a bedside lamp, hung up a shirt, threw some dirty socks in the hamper, and had a brief conversation with one up still doing homework. In her own room, she set the alarm, lais out clothes for the next day, straightened up the shoe rack. She added three things to her list of things to do for tomorrow. About that time, the hubby turned off the t.v. and announced to no one in particular,'I'm gon gto bed." And he did. Anything extraordinary here?....Wonder why women live longer?.... CAUSE WE'RE STRONGER.....MADE FOR THE LONG HAUL!!

I'm BACK!

Man, it feels like I have been gone a very long time. I've been busy and the bloggy part of my brain has been blank. However, I'm hoping this will make up for some of that. Here's what I've been up to....

Getting ready for Christmas Around the World!

Our Christmas was wonderful! The kids had such a great time and behaved so well at our Christmas eve service. It was awesome watching a few hundred people light their candles while singing an a capella version of Silent Night. I want to do it again! The rest of our Christmas was spent as a family until that evening. We went over to Aaron's parents house for family time with aunts, uncles and cousins. Such a good time was had by all.

Four of the best things that could have ever happened to me.

Aaron was off from the 24th thru jan. 3rd. We got tons accomplished during this time. A few finished items from our to-do list...he fixed the light in our shower, I resealed the tile in the kids bath, we fixed a loose tile in the kitchen and re-grouted, he finally placed the thresh hold between the kitchen and the den AND he and my dad built the kids a playset! That last one is huge. I have been waiting a long time wondering if it was ever going to get done. My dad came over around 10 a.m. and was gone by 4:30. And all that was left was the railing. I am so excited to have a decent piece of play equipment in our back yard. This also means we broke down the old nasty metal swing set that was doing nothing but taking up space.

In the beginning....

Giving Grandpa a hand.

TEAMWORK!!

Trying out the new swings. They passed =)

Daddy's little helper. Putting the finishing touches on the top

The nearly finish playset

I started a part-time job this week. Crazy, right? Well, I'll be working at the weekday preschool at our church so Katie and Evan will be right there with me. I replaced the assistant in Katie's class. I was subbing quite a bit last semester so I figured this wouldn't be much different. Except I'll be in the same class all the time. So Tuesday's and Thursday's I'll be a working mom. Totally not doing this for financial reason's and I'm not completely sure I'll continue doing this in the fall. We'll see how things are looking in May =) I am so excited to be involved with the other teachers though. Such a great group of women!

I'm going back to the gym in full force. I've been every day this week and even went twice today. I'm on a mission and I will succeed!

And Evan has been keeping me very busy. We now have to keep the bathroom door closed because this is where I find him if he's aloud access..

So there you have it. That's what I've been up to. How did you spend Christmas?