God is faithful!

So the other day, my hubby's sunglasses (might I add - 3 week old expensive sunglasses) disappear... which is TOTALLY NOT my husband! I think he still has the same pair around that he had when we were dating 14 years ago (not that he still wears them - but he has them... he just doesn't "lose" things)!!

So we agreed that they would be found or returned if they had been "borrowed" by some mysterious person or one of my boys on a "treasure hunt". And we know that God is faithful - just His faithfulness is a little funny to me sometimes... you'll see why.

One of the things I MOST love about my new house is this:

An "in house" vacuuming system... this is all that I have to lug around to all three levels of the house and plug in and its WONDERFUL!!

BUT!!! It's also the job my husband has "claimed" for himself to do each week... yeah for the help, but bummer that I don't get to play with the "cool toy".

Anyways... last week he didn't get the opportunity to do his "weekly chore" so as I'm pondering what I want to do today I feel this "leading" that I should vacuum the house. And I'm thinking to myself... no, that is Fred's "job" and he's off tomorrow and he'll do it then. But still this nagging thought of, "no, I should do it today". SOOO I get going and start vacuuming the house.



All is going well and working up a good sweat - when I come to vacuum my room and again, that "leading" of "vacuum under the bed"... I normally do this in my big "monthly cleaning" so its really not necessary today, but again - that leading. So I do. Which was actually VERY easy with this new system!! :)

As I do, I bump a couple of things under the bed (other than boxes which are waiting until its colder outside to finish unpacking) so I look under the bed to see what I "bumped" and look at this:














Here's a better view....



In case you couldn't tell from the picture above... that's MY HUBBY'S SUNGLASSES and a book from our pre-bedtime book time (which you can read more about here) from the other night.

Like I said - God is faithful... just the figuring out of just HOW faithful He is can be a funny experience sometimes.

I can't tell you how many times we searched all around the bedroom the other day looking for his sunglasses and it wasn't until I was obedient to that "leading" to vacuum and then again to vacuum under the bed that I really understood what He was showing me in my obedience quest... I love God's personality :)

In the swing of things...

I'll admit it - I am very much a "creature of habit" kind of person...
- I tend to stick with the same haircut... because I know how to fix it.
- I stick with the same pair of jeans 'til I wear them out... because I love the way they fit!
- I get a routine going and its "tricky" to change...

Don't get me wrong - I get in "spells" and I have to change it all... my hair, new jeans, new makeup, new devotional notebook, move the furniture - all of it, just to have some change.

But I do love the "routine" of the kids going off to school each day, my sons TWO NAPS A DAY schedule, and being able to (kind of) direct my days as I need to (without continually having to redirect kids, break up fights and feed them snacks) - but this morning was THE BEST! Don't get me wrong - I love my kids and I love time with them - but I also appreciate time on my own.

So this morning as my hubby was getting ready to take the two older ones to school - my baby boy stood at the door with big tears running down his cheeks because he wanted to go somewhere too... so his loving daddy took him along with for the ride. Yahoo for Connor!!!

But an even bigger YAHOO for mommy - I got to work out, start the laundry, eat my breakfast, spend an UN-INTERRUPTED 45 minutes reading my devotion books, journaling, prayer, word time AND even a nice, long, hot shower - ALONE!!! It was wonderful...

I'm not sure what I can do for my hubby to make it up to him - but I'm sure he'll give me some ideas...

What's your idea of "heaven on earth"? :)

Treasure...

You know how everyone tells you to "treasure the time you have with your kids - because they grow up so fast"... after the events of this past summer (well, actually you could just say August) I think I'm realizing more and more how you have to "treasure" every relationship you have...

Here's my thoughts today - my daughter, is now 8 (soon to be nine) and I went to the grocery store today for the first time (since summer began) without her. She is normally my biggest helper (granted - she does ask A TON of questions and ask for a lot of things - but she's also great company and helps me more than I realized) - I thought I was TOTALLY going to enjoy only having one kid with me - but it was kind of the opposite.

I did enjoy only having one kid in the cart to watch over and buy snacks for - but it made me think back to when I only had Chayse in the cart and how "busy" life seemed then. I think my daughter is getting older when I actually miss her company as a "friend" to talk to in the store - as much as her asking for everything bugs me... I really did miss her company.

And I have to admit - I missed Colton too... 40,000 questions and all! It wasn't as much fun looking at all the "Cars" stuff without him. All I can say is - God is good and I appreciate what He's blessed me with and that He's gentle enough to remind me sometimes how wonderful things really are...

The next 1st day of school

Now it's Colton's turn! His first day of preschool (for this year) that he gets to go to EVERYDAY!! He's so excited! And he was excited that he got a different teacher than Chayse had when she was in preschool - hey, it's cool to be different when you're the 2nd child.
Posing for mom before we left the house
He wanted to pretend he was shy... but he's still cute!
Then his puppy had to check out Colton's cot for naptime and make sure it was ready. So Colton decided that puppy needed to take a nap - so he had to snuggle him for nappy-time (that's what Colton calls it)

And lastly, he went into his class, hugged his teacher and then found his "spot" at the tables - complete with his own name tag (to wear and one on the table) "Look Mom, I found my name!"
I think I'm going to miss him today... but I have Connor to keep me busy so far!

A moment from last night... "YOOK IT"

I was trying to post this last night, but couldn't get my wifi to work... oh well. You can enjoy it now!

After the HEIGHT of Connor's 2's behavior - he's two, he wants to get into everything and just learned that he can say "no" and how to run away when he knows he's in trouble... resulting in many moments spent in the time out chair.

So my new solution when I'm frustrated with his behavior is to stick him in what I call "the containment field" (Fred hates that name) - otherwise known as the high chair. He can't get out and I can keep him busy there while I get dinner ready or school stuff done. So last night after two consecutive time outs I put him in the time out chair (of which he replied "NNNooooo") - after about 10 minutes there I hear "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy - YOOK IT!" (That's Connor's version of "look at this" and here was his accomplishment:He balanced his phone (an old one that doesn't work) on his cup of milk and was quite proud of himself.
He then followed that up with his usual pose when he thinks he's cute (I don't know why he does it - but its Connor, what can you say!)

School has officially begun...

Today is Chayse's first day of school... last night we went and talked with her teacher (whom she loves) and this year (as a big 3rd grader) she gets a LOCKER!!!
which, as you can see, she is pretty excited about! She also loves the fact that some of her "friends" (really my friends) used to have the same teacher!!
So today, I got her all dressed up, did her hair, made a lunch (at 7:15 am - that's a change), packed her bag and got her ready for school... my little girlie!
THEN - her father took her off on his silver horse to school and probably messed up her pretty hair - but that's okay... the smile on her face is worth it.

so... no I may not have the "perfect-looking" little girl on the first day of school - but I know my girlie is happy! :) Her mom may be a little sad at how quiet the house is right now... but I know I'm sure going to enjoy that in about 4 hours when it's NAP TIME and I'll actually get some work done! YAHOO!!

The cheapest fun you'll ever find...

So this is my children a week ago Sunday (yes, Connor is in just a diaper - look at who his dad is!)... having TRUE hillbilly fun! The three of them are gathered around a paint bucket with about 3 inches of water and a Christmas candy cane (hollow) that my dad bought at Menards for "a buck" and Colton is using that cane to blow water on his brother and sister.

So I ask you... why do I spend PLENTY of money each year on toys when my children laugh and scream at a paint bucket, a cane that costs "a buck" and 3 inches of water??? Oh, the joy of childhood.

The funnier thing is - they want to go back again this Sunday because my dad found (just as we were leaving last time) a BIGGER bucket that I used to play with when I was little (no judgement please - yes, a bucket and a little water entertained me as well when I was a toddler!)