Back to life, back to reality....

My brother was here for the weekend. He left yesterday afternoon. We had so much fun with him while he was here! But right this very minute I am blogging when I should be getting my house back in order. So for now, goodbye. I'll post more later.

Have a great day!

Spilling the beans....

Seems like everywhere I turn these days I read another article praising the health value and nutrition of beans. Sounds good. I'm thinking I'd like to have more of this awesome food source in my family's diet. One problem.

I've never eaten beans. I've never cooked them. I don't have a CLUE what to do with them. I have served refried beans for my husband when we have tacos, but they're just out of a can.

My mom didn't (doesn't?) like beans and never served them. So I grew up saying, "I don't like beans." But I never did really get around to trying them! When Henry was a baby I bought a can of black beans for him to try, and he really liked them. I tried them too but thought they were too salty, and I didn't buy them again.

And here is where YOU come in . . . . .

Anyone out there eat beans? Any suggestions, ideas, recipes, anything you'd like to share? I'd like to find a way to integrate some sort of beans into our diet. I might get a little resistance at first, but the kids are usually willing to try new things! Oh, and does anyone want to share with me what a lentil is? They are often listed along with beans and I don't even know what they are. I'm sure I can look it up on the internet, but I thought this might be more fun!

Thanks in advance!!!

Parents University--Finding Personal Time

Kat is once again hosting Parent's University--don't forget to hop over to her site to read more ideas or add your own!

I'm really anxious to see what everyone else has to say on this subject, as I struggle with this one too. However, I do have one great tip for finding personal time, and it's free and easy to do:

Put the kids to bed early!

My kids (all three!) go to bed at 7:30 p.m. every night of the week. There are certainly exceptions, like when we have friends or family over, but we do try to get them in bed around the same time as much as possible. They do tend to get up early (6:30 a.m. most days) but they don't sleep in any later even when they do stay up late (a phenomenon that makes no sense to me!). I do tend to be a morning person, so it works out well for me.

This is the best way I have found to have time to myself. After the kids are in bed, I can do whatever I choose. Some evenings Sam and I will sit down and watch a movie or the news together, or even eat ice-cream without the kids. Other nights I'll use the time to read something fun or take a hot and relaxing bath. Still other nights I actually use the time for cleaning the house--how sad is that? But I do enjoy a clean house, and I'd rather get the house cleaning done at night and have more time during the day to play with my kids!

I do find that when I take the time to do something that I enjoy (that doesn't involve the kids!), I am a much better mom to my children.

How about you? What do you do to find personal time in this crazy, busy world of parenting?

Here's a better shot . . . .

. . . . now can you see it? :)

Yes, I'm being intentionally difficult!

I haven't blogged in a while, so here are a few of the things we've been doing!

Bridget had her six month check up this week. She's 15 pounds, 15 ounces. No wonder she feels so heavy lately! :)

Last week we had friends over for a back yard picnic. Yes, it was nice enough to eat outside--and my boys were even wearing shorts! I LOVE TEXAS!
There was a Valentine's party at the local library. The kids were given cupcakes, snacks, beanie babies, necklaces, coloring pages and valentines from the librarians. Do we have a great local library or what?!?

Costumes were optional, but encouraged. The boys had their picture taken (in these costumes) by the newspaper photographer and made the front page of the local paper!
Birthday gifts continued to stream in for Jonah. I know for a fact that there is still at least one more gift coming (from my brother--he's bringing it in person this weekend!), so we're still celebrating the never-ending birthday. Jonah's not complaining.

Notice anything special about this picture? Besides the fact that I'm not wearing any make-up, that is. I'll be impressed if anyone can pick it out!

Happy Valentine's Day!

May your day be blessed!

He's got me there.....

Henry was having a rough night. He was shouting something about how he wasn't going to forgive his brother for some silly little offense. Jonah was crying because his feelings were hurt. I pulled Henry aside and was talking to him about how we want to be the kind of person for whom forgiveness and apologies come easily.

Me: "Remember, Henry, 'Our attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.' Don't you think that Jesus forgave his brother?

Henry: "Probably. But he never had to apologize."

Me: "What do you mean?"

Henry: "Well, if he never did anything wrong then he never had to apologize!"

Me: "...."

Parenting for Dummies-part 1

When you're babysitting a friend's toddler, and you're letting him play with play-doh. . . . . .

don't ever step away from the area, even if it's "just for a minute" to change your own baby's diaper.

Let's just say. . . . . "Lesson learned." :)

Out of the mouths of babes....

As we were driving in the van today the boys were listening to a new kid's music cd.

All was quiet.

Then out of the blue Henry says:

"So Mommy? God must be, like, even smarter than me."

Wisdom

James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

There is a situation in my life which I have been struggling with lately. I have asked friends and family for advice but to no avail. It is constantly on my mind, and I am finding myself in a bit of a funk trying to figure out what I should do.

Tonight I wasn't consciously thinking of this situation, but I guess it isn't far from my mind. Anyway, I came across this verse and was immediately convicted. I've been trying to solve this dilemma on my own. I've been so caught up in the details that I've completely forgotten to ask God what HE would have me do.

Oops.

So this evening, I am spending some good quality time with Jesus. I'm not sure that I'll get the answer I want, but I do know I'm going to the one who can give me peace!

When they think nobody is watching....

....boys will be boys.

Happy Birthday Jonah!

Samuel Jonah Jonah Jo-Jo Joey Jo-Bear Bear Bubba

Our little Jonah is three years old today! He is the happiest little boy that I know and always brings a smile to those around him. Jonah adores his big brother and little sister and has already established himself as the peacemaker of the family. He is easy going, obedient, funny and full of love. Jonah's greatest joy is being carried around (he is always saying, "Can I carry you?" It's so cute that we don't want to correct him) and sitting in laps. Jonah is blessed with a very tender heart. We are so thankful to have this sweet, funny, lovable little boy in our family!

at birth

six months

one year oldtwo years old
my big three year old!

Happy Birthday Jonah! We love you so much!

Weekend recap

We had a BUSY weekend.....whew!

Even though Jonah's actual birthday isn't until Thursday, we had a great party for him on Saturday. His friend Miss Linda (a zoo worker who just loves Jonah) put on an amazing (and free!) show at the zoo with some great little critters to pet/touch.

Then we played in the sand, saw a few animals and moved on to the party at home. Here we played pin-the-tail-on-the-lion,

enjoyed an elephant birthday cake,

and the kids all jumped on the trampoline, played with the bubble machine and tossed frisbees and footballs around. It was chaotic, loud and FUN! :) Jonah loved it all and had such a great time!

On Sunday, Henry was invited to a birthday party for one of his friends. We would have skipped it (it started at 3 and we had superbowl plans!), but Sam changed our plans, invited everyone to watch the superbowl at our house and Henry, Bridget and I headed to Chuck E Cheese for the party. That is Henry's favorite place in the world, so he definitely had a great time! (Henry is the one in the picture with the blue visor on. We made those at Jonah's party, and Henry hasn't taken his off yet-three days later!)

Then we headed home to host our last minute superbowl party! We had fun enjoying the company, eating way too many snacks and watching out for good commercials. Oh, and watching the game too, ha ha!

Jon and Kelly stayed awhile after the game for a few rounds of Guitar Hero (I'm pretty much a rock star!) and to play cards.

And here are just a few more pictures from the zoo!