I love HER…

I love this little girl so much. She makes me smile every.single.day. Don’t you just want to kiss those cheeks. And her little eyes make your heart melt!

Water Aerobics 101

So tonight me and Tony swam. I did 25 laps and Tony did 22. We were worn out. And then we went to our aerobics class. We thought it would just be really easy. HA! It was a WORKOUT!!!! It was hilarious. We did dancing in water to every country song you can imagine, we did the grapevine (I think that is what it is called) to Foot Loose. Me and Tony did so much laughing. As we were going he kept making all these weird facial expressions and he kept flexing his chest. He would make his voice like the guy from Rocky. It was so funny. At one point he was bouncing out of the water saying, I am a ballerina. Mr.TIPYTOES!!!! It was a great work out. And we cant wait till next Monday night. We are going to keep swimming every day. I have already lost 10 pounds. WWHHOOOOO! It has been so good for me to do the swimming. Me and the water. It is so peaceful under water. And I have been sleeping so good at night. When I lay down…I am OUT like a LIGHT! The best part of all of this. Me and my honey get 2 hours of FREE child care, and 2 hours of just us having fun, 2 hours of us laughing, 2 hours of us loosing weight together, 2 hours of stress relief, 2 hours of just me and my hunk of love! Yeah, can you tell I love him. I do. I really really do.

Anyways, enough about my love, the kids are all doing good. Well except for a few issues with my oldest. But we are working through them. One day at a time. We are praying about some more big decisions. And I think we have some answers, but before I share I need to wait about a week more. I know, I know so rotten to reel you in and then leave you hanging!

Something that I have really become grateful for lately is how the Lord can handle me. He can handle all my emotions. He can handle all my feelings. He can handle me. All he requires is that I leave it at his feet. I hope that makes sense.

Okay I need to paint some stuff for VBS. Hope everyone has a great night.

So what did all you moms get for Mother’s Day???? TELL ME!!!!

Happy Mother’s Day

Dear Mom,

Well first of all Happy Mother’s Day. I love you so much. More than my words can describe. You are the most incredible woman I have ever met. You are strong, loving, faithful, caring, full of wisdom, full of patience, peaceful, joyful, kind, giving, always putting others before your self, always thinking of what great deal you can get someone, and so many more things. I can honestly say that I would not be where I am today if it were not for your influence in my life. You always give a listening ear when I need to talk. You always give me sound advice and point me back to Jesus when I get frustrated. You allow me to cry on your shoulder when I am sad or happy. You laugh at all my stupid jokes. You are more beautiful every year. Your smile is contagious for others. You are trustworthy. The heritage that you have left me is awesome. I love to shop with you and listen to you think of all these people that need the deals that you find. You are so compassionate towards people. You are brave. Fearless of the unknown, and that just shows me the kind of faith that you have in God. I could seriousely write a novel about you. All the things you have done for me and my family and others. I have watched you walk some hard times, but your faith was never shaken. You remained strong. Amazing you are!

But the greatest thing that I am thankful for is the fact that from a very young age you taught me that the greatest thing in life is to know Jesus. And that is so true. The greatest thing is to know him. I am thankful that you taught me that. I am thankful that you always bring me back to the cross in everything. Thank you mom for everything. You are my hero and my role model and best friend and the best nana ever! I hope one day when my kids are old they can look back on me and say half the things I feel about you.

I love you with all OF MY HEART MOM!

Love,
ME

Garden 2008

So here are my garden pictures. I got a little bit of a late start with planting this year, but it is planted and everything is growing good. The only thing I want to grow still is garlic. Probably this weekend we will plant some.

Basil…my favorite herb! So yummy…

Cucumber

Squash

Tomatoes

Yellow and Green Peppers

I have a few other herbs growing up front. I am anxious to see how things grow this year. I did not plant as much this year because everything got SO big last year and it was really crowded. My neighbor down the street, just planted a huge garden. I wish I had more land to work with.

Sicker than a dog.

That is what I was today. Nauseated. Migraine. Fever. Stomach pain. The pain on my left has come back. I am feeling much better tonight. But it scares me, because I was so sick just a few months ago, and I don’t want that to happen again. Tony took the day off to stay and help with the kids. He is my angel.

We heard from Kim today by letter. And it was very encouraging. She is really learning a lot. She seems to be growing a lot. And I still cant wait to see what she becomes at the end of all of this. She was such an encouragement to me today. She wrote in her letter to me that the way she is making it is keeping her eyes focused on the Lord, and keeping all distractions out of sight. Boy did I need to hear that. It was like it was written just for me. I have been getting distracted with things lately. I think we all need to constantly remind ourselves where our focus needs to be, and we can do anything when are eyes are on Him and not our circumstances.

Lifetime Fitness+one mommy= RELAXED

So tonight we joined Lifetime again. And it did my heart good. I swam 10 laps. Sat in the Hot tub for about 30 minutes, and I felt refreshed. I get 2 hours of FREE childcare every single day. Like I said I cant always promise that I will work out. Because I could drop the kids off and just eat in the cafe, or get a pedicure, or curl up on one of the couches and read, or just lay by the pool…or workout. On Monday nights me and Tony are going to do Water Aerobics together. SO Funny huh. I can see us now in the back row trying to keep up with everyone. I am so pumped. I want…or I need to loose some more weight and I NEED a break from my kids every once in awhile. I really don’t want people to think that I don’t like to be with my kids. I love to be with them. But I also need to take care of myself, and this will do me good. So here is to Lifetime….my lifesaver!!!!

Nesting?

Well you know how when you are pregnant, they say that you nest towards the end. Although I am not pregnant…THANK YOU JESUS, I have been nesting….or So my HUSBAND says. I have rearranged every room in my house this weekend. Cleaned. Lysoled. Windexed. Vacuumed. Mopped. Scrubbed. Cleaned out. Donated junk. Shredded old papers. And the list could go on. Tony just kept saying, are you pregnant, what has gotten into you. Nothin’….just some spring cleaning. And if you know me, you know that I like to change my house around. And it usually takes a few times before it feels like HOME. Today when we were done, it felt good and it looked good. But by the time I was done, I was wishing that I had only a two bedroom house or something. Cleaning is so much work. AND I dont like to clean. I could think of so many things better to do with my time.

I had a bit of a meltdown today. The kids were fighting. Yelling. Jumping on everything. So I yelled…and I mean yelled. “Can we please have some peace for just 5 minutes” Ben my youngest son looks up at me and yells back “Mom your yelling, okay” And then it dawned on me he was yelling cause um, I was yelling. UGH. Motherhood. Sometimes it is just so frustrating. I just needed some quiet time. Never got it. You know the older ladies say, enjoy every moment with your kids, cause the time will go by and then you will miss those finger prints on the glass, and the toys. Can I just say, I dont think I am going to miss that. I dont think I am going to miss all the extra laundry, and cleaning all the extra fingerprints. I will miss my kids being small, and there cute voices, and there little hugs, but that is it. Dont get me wrong I love them to pieces, but you know. So after all that we definetly decided that we were going to join lifetime fitness again so that I can go for 2 hours a day if I want and have a break. I dont even think I will work out every time, might just sit in the hot tub or sauna, but I will be KIDLESS! I am telling you we moms need a break so we can recharge our batteries. How sad is that, I will be at the gym, but I might just be sitting on my butt in a hot tub. Oh well, at least I will be all recharged and able to handle all 5 little darlings! Who knows maybe I will get really inspired and loose that baby fat that has decided to stick around.

Rest…

Lord I’m tired
So tired from walking
And Lord I’m so alone
And Lord the dark
Is creeping in
Creeping up
To swallow me
I think I’ll stop
Rest here a while

And didn’t You see me cry’n?
And didn’t You hear me call Your name?
Wasn’t it You I gave my heart to?
I wish You’d remember
Where you sat it down

Chorus:
And this is all that I can say right now
And this is all that I can give

Bridge:
I didn’t notice You were standing here
I didn’t know that
That was You holding me
I didn’t notice You were cry’n too
I didn’t know that
That was You washing my feet

My Grandpa

So at the end of May me and Tony will be going to Seattle for a few days. While we are there we are going to see my grandparents. I have not seen them much since my parents divorce. They have been very sick lately. And my grandpa does not remember me. He has dementia. It makes me really sad. Actually I have gotten quite emotional lately about the trip. It will be a goodbye in a sense. I don’t know how much longer they will be alive. They just moved out of there beautiful home on Puget Sound. I will be sure to post pictures of it when I come back. They live in a retirement center now. I know they are not gone yet, but in my mind it will be like saying goodbye, because I don’t know if I will be able to go back for funerals….I know…I know I am jumping way into the future…who knows maybe they will live another 10 years. But it does make me sad that he will not remember me. It makes me want to make sure that I make the best use of all my days. Our days are numbered and we just don’t know how long we have on this earth. I want to make the most of them!

See I am normal…

So today has been exhausting. The kids have been so fussy. The girls are fussy. My house is…well I have dishes to be done, and I am behind on laundry. I am trying to get ready for VBS, my kindergartners graduation, 2 birthday parties, the gerbil cage needs to cleaned out, there are toys everywhere, I still need to cook dinner, We have church tonight, I need to mop my floor, I need to go to the grocery store, did I mention the dishes and laundry yet and I think my dog needs counseling since he thinks he is a cat! I am tired tonight. I am sitting here watching the kids jump on the couch, Kaitlyn keeps taking Krystinas toys away, my oldest just ran by outside with the water hose…..he must be up to something. Anyways, I am tired tonight. TIRED!!! I am watching all these monkeys run around and I am just thinking…wow there are 5 of them! I am not thinking what the heck am I doing with our 5th child in the house, please dont get that idea! ….I am just tired. I am normal. I have my days of being tired!

And I find this song…You are my hiding place. And I have to stop and regroup…and my trust is in you. I am weak tonight, but I know you are strong. And so tonight I need you to carry me Lord. Give me the strength for the rest of the day. Help me to completely rest in you Lord.