The Moore Family

She said it best

2012-01-25T20:16:00.007-05:00

Many of you may have read this blog. It made it's way around Facebook fairly quickly. When I read this blog, I was standing in my kitchen and tears flowed like a faucet. It was as though someone was in my house, in my head, in my heart.
In light of this blog and the eloquent and honest way this woman shared her views on motherhood, I've tried to slow down and take note of these "Kairos" moments. If you talk to me on a regular basis, you will know that I feel like we live in a house of chaos that is cluttered with constant disobedience, backtalk, me spouting off, rushing & frustration...from all of us! But, I wanted to see if these Kairos moments were real now that there are three little ones, one husband and one Mommy who hasn't a CLUE what she is doing.
Today made me very aware of God's grace toward my doubting & ungrateful heart. My entire afternoon feels like it was a Kairos moment. My younger two took naps, I got some stuff accomplished, my oldest arrived safely home from school, she did homework on the computer while I did my Bible Study, the younger two woke up...happy...the girls quickly started playing together but doing their own thing with Big Sis painting (something so beautiful, I will take a picture to make sure I treasure it forever) & Baby Girl playing on the computer, Little Man was wandering so happily around eating whatever snacks he found & humming/chattering all the while...and I actually had time to sit and read!!! "These are Kairos moments" I thought to myself. These are moments given by God to let me know that all is not lost in our little family of five and to also make me very aware of His presence. His ear is attune to my woes, my insecurities, my desire to really enjoy my kids. The day ended with dinner as a healthy family of five, Daddy and his girls heading off to show love and support for cousins & the most treasured time with my boy. We sang, we laughed, we snuggled and read the story of creation. I noted every. single. KAIROS moment of this rainy & cold afternoon when my heart was completely warm.

Restoration

2011-03-25T22:12:00.002-04:00

I have often heard this term used in reference to marriages and testimonies of what God has done in other marriages. I will be quite honest and say I never fathomed it possible for mine. Here comes a lot of honesty and vulnerability.
Jeff and I have been married for almost 8 years. We started dating in March of 1996 and after 7 tumultuous years of dating we were married on July 26, 2003. The day was so gorgeous and I had so much peace as we walked into marriage together. I was certain this was the man God had hand picked for me. 3 children and some years later I was completely certain that was no longer the case. We had walked into a HUGE mistake and now needed to find a way out. You may be wondering what sort of things would lead to such a harsh conclusion...just to name a few: during our 7 yrs. of dating and frequently breaking up we had never learned how to resolve conflict, there was a lot of past hurt that I was convinced would never heal and I was certainly never going to forget (or let Jeff forget for that matter), we are very different people with very different interests. That's just the tip of the iceberg, or so I thought. There have been many conversations where divorce was a regular topic, no matter how many people told us not to let it in...we did...we felt we had no other option. I should say "I". Jeff was most always diligent to shoot the idea down.
A few weeks ago I heard a little something as I was venting to myself and I'm sure others about who knows what, but definitely something Jeff had done wrong. Looking back I feel it was VERY audible...the voice of God. He said clearly "You are the bigger problem in your marriage." WHAT???? I started processing this. "Okay God, I can see where you would get that idea. I have so much anger and resentment. I have excused myself from being the Godly wife you have called me to be and my excuses have been Jeff's sin. I hear what you're saying but what do I do with it?" I used that as an excuse to further prolong repentance on my part because I didn't know fully how to move past all the drama, baggage & pain. So until I had a clear plan of attack on all that junk, I wasn't going to move forward any time soon.
About 4 weeks ago I got a call from my Dad informing me that some friends of his were hosting a marriage conference at their church and would we like to go? Mom was going to be out of town so he would care for the kids and allow Jeff and I the opportunity to attend. At that time, Jeff was supposed to work a side job and in all honesty, I didn't want to invest any more money, time or energy in these marriage conferences. For now we had a way out...until the week of the conference when Jeff's side job was canceled and that audible voice of God, or my gut feelings toward our marriage got stronger and louder. So, I called Jeff, asked if he had any interest and called my Dad. Not only was he still willing to keep the girls, he also offered us his ticket as well as purchased the additional one we needed.
By this time, I knew God was at work, I could feel the nudging getting stronger. I even told Jeff that I needed to talk with him about some stuff, knowing I had to apologize to him. Man, how humiliating was that going to be. I still was in turmoil about what all of this looked like. I still had so much pain and still no answers as to where to go with that pain. I felt like I had to know exactly how to "move past" before I could move forward with the necessary repentance.
Friday night we headed to West Hills Community Church. Tensions were high, as usual. We tried to make small talk while driving through the torrential rains to get there on time. We arrived safely and took our seats...knowing no one but two other couples seated all the way across the room.
The conference was Family Life's "The Art of Marriage". It was six video sessions. There were skits in the videos portraying different marriages. One in particular was a couple in therapy and as they sat there laying out the misdeeds of the other, the room we were in was cracking up...Jeff and I were not. We were mortified. Someone had taken our life and put other peoples faces on it and portrayed it to this entire conferences. Not only that, but what that couple was experiencing was no laughing matter. The counselor in the skit plainly looks at each spouse and says "You are the problem!" They were baffled. He proceeded to say "There isn't A problem...YOU two are the problem." That's when everything started becoming very clear to me. God started peeling back the layers and giving me the clear answers to the healing that I had been asking for and using at my crutch to prevent forward movement.
There is so much more to say about all that happened but I will try and make things as concise as I can. This was the first marriage conference I had been to where God only spoke to me!!! This is pretty funny and yet sad at the same time. I will fully admit that I was completely convinced at all other conferences, sermons, etc. that Jeff was the reason we were there...there was something he needed to hear. Me, not so much! Not the case March 4 & 5. We were there for me and because of me!!! While I know there is a lot Jeff learned I heard nothing I thought he NEEDED to learn. There were so many simple points that God used to give me freedom from the past hurts. First of all, Jeff is a gift from God. I am sad to say that I had never viewed him, nor treated him as that. Despite his sins Jeff was created by God to be used by God and God was kind enough to give him to me to walk through life together. Secondly the conference encouraged us to revisit our vows. Again, sad to say I had never fully thought about what I was saying to him on that July day. All I knew was that it was till death do us part and that had begun to give me a total feeling of suffocation because all I wanted was a way out. Vows are a covenant and we had entered into a covenant and I had completely devalued all that the covenant of marriage means. We had to write a love letter to our spouse. Man, I haven't done that since probably the second year we dated. That really began the heart softening. I had to sit and revisit all the things I fell in love with all those years ago, what first attracted me to Jeff, all the things I was convinced were gone. I used that opportunity to confess my sin to him and ask for his forgiveness.
As the conference continued, two major points really lifted the veil of hurt from our marriage: the gospel and these words, "Your spouse is not your enemy. There is a greater enemy at work in your marriage and he wants to destroy it." Let me first address the gospel. Through this point I realized I had not just held Jeff to a higher standard than myself but I had placed myself in a place of NO blame...sinless for the most part. I realized I was the worst of the Pharisees and that in and of itself brought me to my knees. How could I look at the cross, with the Son of God on it and devalue it so much. That price, that great sacrifice was made because of ME!!!...not just Jeff and not just for anything he may have done in the past that I deemed unforgivable...but for my self-righteous, prideful heart that views myself as better than others. Whoops doesn't even begin to cover it. Once I grasped that, I was able to better understand and give credit to the work Satan has done to tear apart this God ordained union. Satan knew right where to get us and we allowed him to over and over, year after year. Not anymore!!! I am declaring this a Holy Union and Satan no longer has any influence here!!!
There were other influential points through the conference but it was through these specific points that I could almost physically feel the shadow and gloom over our marriage and home & most importantly, my heart, be lifted. I now have a full understanding of the word RESTORATION!!! I have joy in my heart, not just because my marriage is functioning but because through my marriage I am fully aware of my deep need for a Savior. The cross never looked so beautiful to me. I was never more thankful for that great sacrifice than when I realized how sinful I was and how much damage I had done, but that God laid everything out in His perfect timing and plan so that I could be right there, at West Hills Community Church, attending The Art of Marriage conference and fully see how deeply God loves me in spite of everything and because of that love allowing me to love my Gift from God better than I ever thought possible.
I am so thankful for Jeff, my holy sandpaper!!!

Our Sweet Baby Girl is THREE!!

2011-03-25T21:47:00.006-04:00

To our lovely Baby Girl,
You are such a treasure to us. You are a quirky, funny, sweet & intriguing little person & we are so blessed to be a part of your life!

And when Esau lifted up his eyes and saw the women and children, he said,
“Who are these with you?”
Jacob said, “The children whom God has graciously given your servant.”

Gen. 33:5

Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise

Matthew 21:16

Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God!

From Mark 10Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward.Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth.
Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them!
He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.
Psalms 127:3-5

Happy 3rd birthday sweet girl!!

6 Verses for our 6 Year Old

2011-02-08T14:24:00.000-05:00

It's hard to believe she's six already. Those people that tell you how quickly time flies in the lives of our kids sure are wise folks! So here is just a glimpse into the life of our sweet six year old & some verses of encouragement I pray she will carry with her throughout her life.

"I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb.

Before you were born I set you apart.”

Jeremiah 1:5a

”I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

your works are wonderful, I know that full well."

Psalm 139:14

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Do not depend on your own understanding.

In all your ways remember Him. Then He will make your paths smooth and straight.”

Proverbs 3:5-6

"For I am confident of this very thing,

that He who began a good work in you
will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus."
Philippians 1:6

”Grow in the grace of our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ.

Get to know Him Better. Give Him glory both now and forever. Amen.”

2 Peter 3:18

"...train the younger women to love their husbands and children,
to be self-controlled and pure,
to be busy at home,
to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands,
so that no one will malign the word of God. "
From Titus 2

Happy Birthday sweet girl! You are a light in our lives & pray you share that light with others as you grow!

Starting of 2011

2010-12-23T17:02:00.001-05:00

It's been a rough year to say the least and as you can see not much blogging has been done. So, here is my commitment to attempt to pick back up with the start of the new year. Not sure anyone even checks in anymore with Facebook around, but it's nice to journal a little of our life for those who enjoy it! See you in the New Year with lots of new excitement for our family!
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

New Stats

2010-04-28T17:53:00.003-04:00

All of the Moore girls had our check ups on the same day. Last Tuesday we headed in for some big stuff. I was having my first ultrasound and Big Sis was getting the last of her shots b/f heading off to Kindergarten in the Fall, then Baby Girl had her 2 year check up. Thank goodness Jeff was able to attend b/c I would've never made it on my own! :)

The drama from the shots, realizing Baby Sister didn't have to get shots and also having to give a urine specimen has finally worn off, but it definitely still comes up from time to time. We are all glad that day is over!

That being said, here are the stats on our growing girls!

Big Sis: 40 lbs., 3 ft. 7 in.

Baby Girl: 23 lbs 13 oz., 34 3/4 in.

due date, but we will know more on May 11I haven't scanned in our ultrasound photo, but the baby had a good strong heartbeat and is about the size of a grape this week. Dr. Lou think I may be a few days ahead of the Nov. 28thth at a screening ultrasound.

We are so thankful for our growing family and their health!! Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

A Prayer for Our Baby Girl

2010-03-13T09:23:00.005-05:00

Make me to know your ways, O Lord;
teach me your paths.

Lead me in your truth and teach me,
for you are the God of my salvation;

for you I wait all the day long.
Psalms 25:4-5

Happy Birthday to our sweet girl!
You are a joy in our lives!

5 years ago today...

2010-02-07T11:46:00.005-05:00

Make me to know your ways, O Lord;

teach me your paths.

Lead me in your truth and teach me,

for you are the God of my salvation;
for you I wait all the day long.

Oh, guard my soul, and deliver me!
Let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.

May integrity and uprightness preserve me,
for I wait for you.

Psalm 25: 4-5, 20-21

We love you Big Sis!

May your life continue to bring joy to all around you
and may you find your
joy, strength & hope in Jesus!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

2010-02-01T11:49:00.002-05:00

From the "Fix-It and Forget-It" Cookbook. If you do not have you...it is a MUST!!!!!

4 Chicken Breast halves (I put in two frozen breasts...yep, FROZEN)
2 15-oz. cans Black Beans, undrained
2 15-oz. cans Mexican stewed tomatoes, or Rotel tomatoes (I just did diced tomatoes to cut down on the spice so the girls could enjoy)
1 C salsa
4-oz. can chopped green chilies (I left these out as well)
14 1/2-oz. can tomato sauce
Tortilla chips
2 C grated Cheese
I added Sour Cream

1. Combine all ingredients except chips and cheese in large slow cooker.
2. Cover. Cook on Low 8 hrs. ( I cooked on high for 4)
3. Just before serving, remove chicken breasts and slice into bite-sized pieces (Mine just shredded and were so moist). Stir into soup.
4. To serve, put a handfull of chips in each individual soup bowl, ladle soup over chips, top with cheese (& sour cream).

It is wonderful...and gaseous! :)

Just Call Me "Martha"

2010-01-26T09:40:00.002-05:00

I've recently discovered such a love for cooking and baking. I find myself always looking for new recipes and browsing through my cookbooks. Last week I cooked all my meals out of a book my Mom gave me. When I started reading it I noticed she had dated it; 1979. It is called Better Homes & Gardens All~Time Favorite Recipes. These are def. some good ones!
Hope you and your family enjoy!

Gold Rush Brunch

2010-01-26T09:35:00.002-05:00

1 5 1/2 oz. package dry hash brown potatoes w/ onion
1/4 C butter
1/4 C all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
2 C milk
1 C sour cream
2 Tbs. snipped parsley
8 slices Canadian-style Bacon
8 eggs

Prepare potatoes according to package directions; set asides. In 3 qt. saucepan melt butter; blend in flour, salt & pepper. Add milk all @ once; cook and stir till thickened & bubbly. Remove from heat. Stir in sour cream, parsley & potatoes.
Turn mixture into a 13x9 in baking dish. Arrange Canadian bacon in a row down center, overlapping slices slightly. Bake uncovered @ 350 degrees for 20 min.
Remove from oven. Whip eggs together and pour on outside edges of Canadian bacon, over the potato mix. Sprinkle w/ salt & pepper. Return to oven. Bake until eggs are set, about 15 min. Makes 8 servings.

Chicken Divan

2010-01-26T09:31:00.001-05:00

2 10 oz. packages frozen cut broccoli
1 10 3/4 oz can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 Tbs lemon juice
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
dash ground nutmeg
1/2 C grated Parmesan cheese
2 C sliced cooked chicken
1/2 C whipping cream
1/2 C mayonnaise or salad dressing
Paprika

Cook broccoli according to package directions; drain well. Arrange in 12x7 in baking dish. Combine chicken soup, lemon jice, Worcestershire sauce, and nutmeg; pour half over broccoli. Sprinkle w/ 1/3 of cheese. Top w/ chicken and remaining soup mixture. Sprinkle w/ 1/3 of cheese. Bake, uncovered @ 350 degrees till heated through, about 20 min.
Whip cream till soft peaks form; fol in mayonnaise or salad dressing. Spread over chicken. Top w/ remaining cheese and paprika. Broil 4 in. from heat till golden, about 2 - 4 min. Makes 6 servings.

Sweet-Sour Karut & Chops

2010-01-26T09:28:00.001-05:00

4 med. baking potatoes, peeled & thinkly sliced (4 cups)
1/2 C chopped onion
6 pork rib chops, cut 3/4 In. thick
2 Tbsp cooking oil
1 27 oz. can sauerkraut, rinsed and drained
1 20 oz can crushed pineapple
2 Tbs. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
Dash pepper

In a 12x7 in baking dish combine potato slices & onion. Add 1/4 C water. Bake, covered, at 350 degrees till nearly tender, about 45 min.
Meanwhile, in a skillet brown pork chops on both sides in hot oil. In bowl combine sauerkraut, undrained pineapple & brown sugar; spoon over potato mix. Place chops atop. Season w/ salt and pepper. Bake, covered 45 min. longer. Makes 6 servings.

Porcupine Meatballs

2010-01-26T09:25:00.001-05:00

1 beaten egg
1 10 3/4 oz. can condensed tomato soup
1/4 C regular rice
2 Tbs. finely chopped onions
1 txp. snipped parsley
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 C water
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

In bowl combine egg and 1/4 C of the tomato soup. Stir in the uncooked rice, chopped onion, parsley, salt & pepper. Add ground beef and mix well. Shape meat mix into 20 small balls; place in 10-in skillet.
Mix remaining soup w/ water and Worcestershire; pour over meatballs. Bring to boil; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 35-40 min.; stir often. Makes 4-5 servings.

Resolve

2010-01-15T18:22:00.002-05:00

I don't know that I have EVER made a New Years resolution. I think I know myself well enough to know that I would just disappoint myself a few weeks in. This year, however, things seem to be going so different. This is not due to resolutions I made, but rather things that have been pressing on my heart and so I have resolved, not just for 2010, but for the long run, to make some changes to my life and our lives as a family. These are not BIG things by any means, but I feel they are really making a big impact...and not even on the outside but mostly on the inside...my inside!

A few days in to 2010 I decided to finally put aside my stubborn will against suggestions given by my Mom and start making the girls eat all meals and snacks at the kitchen table. They generally eat breakfast and lunch in the back room at a little kids table and snacks are carried all around the house. This has had the most obvious impact on the cleanliness of our house. I was CONSTANTLY vacuuming and sweeping and tiding up and griping at the girls to clean up after themselves. Now that all eating is confined to one space there is a two fold blessing: 1. I spend much less time cleaning and much MORE time with the girls. I use the time eating to talk together, read or just be quiet together. 2. I spend much LESS time following around griping at them. Not only was that a strain on me, but I can't imagine what it was for the girls.

With that in place, I am amazed at the peace God has given me and the confidence He has allowed me to have about my mothering. I LOVE my girls but I am not good at engaging them. There are always other things that distract me from what my real "job" is. So now that cleaning is limited to about 2x's a week I am freed up to sit down about 20 min/hr. to play with the girls. That doesn't sound like much, but it is and it makes a big difference in them.

The biggest change of 2010 happened on January 6th when Jeff and I started a "Read though the Bible" program laid out by our church. Yes, we started a few days late, but I tell you what, I CANNOT get enough of it. I have always been afraid of starting something like this b/c I have a hard time completing thing, similar to my fear of resolutions. With this study it seems that fear is gone. There is room for days of rest and reflection and CATCH UP! FREEDOM is what that means! Freedom from feeling condemned and like a failure! The other exciting aspect is that I'm actually using my study Bible. I never paid attention to what all those notes were b/c I just assumed it was over my head, but it has made the reading more understandable and accessible.

So my year is off with a bang. There are days that are still trying and difficult, but I feel much more hopeful than I have in years past. I will resolve to ALWAYS rest in the comfort and affection of the author and finisher of my salvation, not just in 2010 but for always!

Putting the 'Christ' in Christmas

2009-12-27T22:18:00.004-05:00

Big Sis was busy writing away, which is something that occupies most of her time these days, when she asked me how to spell Christmas. Taking this opportunity as a "teachable moment" I begin telling her how we have to spell "Christ" first and begin saying something like: "Do you know why we have to spell Christ first?", when before the whole sentence even left my mouth her sweet little voices said in a very stern manner, "I don't want to spell CHRIST"! WHAT? I thought we had really been lucky to have explained the nativity story and she really got it! I didn't even know what to say. So, I started to answer her with "Well, then we can't spell Christmas." to which she responded "Fine. I guess I'll spell Christ!"

The practicals

2009-12-04T10:29:00.002-05:00

So, after that reaction and after the sweet day I had with both my girls yesterday, I continued digging deep to find practical tools to teach this young lady how to own a heart of obedience. Here are a few ideas we plan to implement.
1. Charts and Calendars: (This was actually a request from Big Sis)

Purchase little chart pads at a teachers' supply store along w/ tiny stickers.
Everytime one of the children is kind, obeys w/o arguing, reads a book and so on, instruct them to add a sticker on their personal chart
when it is filled (typically around 20, maybe less for younger children) they can go to the "treasure chest"
The "treasure chest" is a little shelf filled w/ videos, dime-store toys or other items you may want them to have but don't want to hand out for no reason.
You could also set forth a specific prize to be obtained once the chart is completed.

2. Fruits of the Spirit:

Read Galatians 5:22-23
Have the kids create some "fruit bucks" Cut 9 pcs. of paper w/ different fruit of the spirit written on each.
When all 9 bucks have been earned, give them a fruity-tasting treat. Anything from fruity cereal, fruit salad, piece of cherry pie or strawberry ice cream.

3. Running Errands: When your kids dislike running errands and generally complain throughout the grocery store, dry cleaners or dept. store.

Give $1 in nickels b/f you head out.
Inform them that the last errand will be somewhere they can get a treat, ie drugstore, Target, etc.
Anytime they complain they lose a nickel
Whatever they have left in their bag they can spend.

I did this yesterday for the grocery store and it was AWESOME!!! Big Sis kept all her nickels and got quite a stash. She even got the lesson of going through the check out line and paying and getting her own receipt which was as exciting as her candy! She even said things like "Mommy, I'm thankful what I got, but I REALLY liked this one. But, I'm thankful what I got!" Along with "I don't like to complain much." Ha!

3. Play Money: If your kids are too young for the real stuff, try using play money from and old board game or a toy store.

Let them earn some money and take them shopping at "Mommy's Store" which is a supply of items you keep hidden somewhere for occasions like this.

Maybe stock yourself w/ fancy socks, hair bows, new football, silly string, etc.

4. Pickle a Privilege: Us an old pickle jar, clean it out and call it "Pickle a Privilege".

Fill w/ slips of paper w/ a variety of fun, extra-special privileges on them.
This is for those times when the kids catch us off guard and make some "just b/c I want to please God" choices.
Have them close their eyes, to make more fun.
ex. privileges might be a soda w/ dinner, sleeping w/ Mom and Dad, going to a Sat. matinee, choosing the net pizza topping, having a pillow fight, going to work w/ Dad, eating dessert first, or receiving a "grace card" (correction card).

5. Easter:

Buy an extra bag of colorful plastic eggs.
fill each egg w/ a piece of candy, quarter, or coupon for extra TV time or a special privilege.
Every time the kids make a choice that "defeats Satan" as Jesus did when He rose from the dead on Easter Sunday, they get to choose and egg.

These are just a few that stuck out to me. They are so helpful b/c Big Sis is highly responsive to affirmation and praise, so doing things this way, where she can see what her response gets her works really well! I hope you can pull from some of these!

Happy Correcting!!!

Creative Correction

2009-12-03T17:42:00.003-05:00

As stated on Facebook earlier this week, I was slapped in the face with my oldest's desperate need for some hardcore discipline. I've been floundering as of late and relying on my own strength and finding no success or peace. So, after a rough Tuesday, partly me, partly two children, partly Satan and mostly my sin, I decided I had to set some boundaries: not only for Big Sis but for myself. I am not creative, especially when it comes to discipline. I was certain spanking would work for my family and when that failed me I went to choices...that has breeded somewhat of a monster.
We purchased the book "Creative Correction", by Lisa Whelchel (Blair from the Facts of Life) when we thought we were in the Terrible Two's only to find out that Three was a force to be reckoned with and with the arrival of our second during that whole phase, everything sort of went out the window. So, back to Tuesday, as I attempted to go to bed early, I decided I must get the book out and see what it had to say. It is by far the most practical parenting book I have read. Some of the things are probably different for other people, but I needed step by step ideas to try. I browsed through and found some great stuff in the second chapter. Each chapter has a "Toddler Toolbox" full of ideas. This chapter was full of VERSES! Of course, duh and "HELLO"...why don't I think of these things? They are pages of verses dealing w/ different attitudes and sins we encounter, not only in our children but also in ourselves. When we tucked Big Sis into bed that night, we sat down and explained that things really needed to change in our home and that we want her to grow to be a Godly woman and Godly women start by obeying their parents and it is our job to cultivate an attitude of obedience to God from which comes obedience to us. Then I pulled out a few verses dealing w/ the difficulties of the day. That little girl SOAKED IT UP!!! We also explained that we exhibit these attitudes ourselves and even have them to one another in our marriage in front of the kids. We finished by reading verses from 1Cor. 13 about Love. Here are some references we read:
Arguing: 2 Timothy 2:23-24
Attitude: Proverbs 17:22
Complaining: Phil. 2:14-15
Listening: Proverbs 12:15
Obedience: Col. 3:20
Respect for Parents: Eph 6:2-3
Love: 1 Cor. 13:4-7

When I was walking out of Big Sis' room that evening, she looked at me and said "Mommy. Can we read more of that book tomorrow?" Wow...what an impact it makes when I actually take time to discipline, do it right but mostly do it Biblically!

Bed Head

2009-11-14T15:35:00.002-05:00

We had to wake Baby Girl last night b/c something happened w/ her crib (can't get a straight answer from Big Sis)...anyway, the bottom fell out so she was sleeping at an angle when I checked on her b/f heading to bed.

Here's her excitement at being woke up at 11 p.m.!

Check out the size of that fro!!!

Cappuccino Pot Roast

2009-11-11T17:21:00.002-05:00

Courtesy of Better Homes and Gardens this month, here is the recipe. I've yet to eat it, but it smells delicious. The aroma is filling my house as I type.

Ingredients:
3-lb. Roast
1 lb. carrots, cut in rounds
8 oz. onions
4 cloves garlic
2 jalapeno peppers
1 C strong brewed coffee
1 (1.5 oz) envelope beef stew mix
2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
2 cubes beef bouillon
1 bay leaf
8 oz. sour cream
1 recipe Gremolata (see below)

~Sprinkle roast w/ 1/2 tsp. salt & pepper. Set aside.
Combine carrots, onions, garlic and jalapenos in crock pot and place roast on top.
In med. bowl combine coffee, seasoning mix, balsamic vinegar, bouillon & bay leaf. Pour over roast in crock pot. Cover and cook on low 9 - 10 hrs.
Transfer roast to cutting board & let sit 10 min. Remove veggies w/ slotted spoon & place on serving dishes. Cut up meat & add to dishes. Remove 2 C sauce & add sour cream. Whisk together & spoon on beef.

Gremolata:
In small bowl combine
1 Tbsp. lemon peel
1/4 C italian parsley
1 chopped garlic clove
Sprinkle on beef.

The Stats Are In...

2009-11-10T20:38:00.005-05:00

...and Baby Girl is still a peanut! She had her check up appt. yesterday. She will be 20 months on Thursday. She is currently weighing in at 21 lbs. and 4 oz, 35 in. long. She has almost all her teeth except 2 yr molars. She loves to be held, snuggled, tickled, just about anything. She has so many words I can no longer keep track and is speaking 2 and 3 word sentances. Some of my faves are "You ok Mom?", "Sat?" (what's that?), "Oh, here it is.", "Where are you?" and the list goes on and on. Baby Girl was talking in the Doctors office and Dr. Tina was blown away by her speech. She's already recognizing things like Ariel, Dora and walking around saying "Backpack" and "Oh man" from Dora the Explorer. She loves animals still, has no fear of the street and is quite the climber.
Every time I look at her I smile. It's quite difficult to punish or discipline her because her spirit is one of joy and she can melt my heart so easily. She's got her defiant streak, more so than her sister did at this stage. However, different that her sister, she is breakable and I am so thankful for this. While I spend more time teaching her at this stage, I feel can see more progress and hope that it will be beneficial when she is 3 yrs. old.
She and Big Sis are finally starting to really play together. Big Sis is so good with her and genuinely loves being a Big Sister! I pray this continues as they grow!

During this season of thankfulness, I couldn't feel more blessed by God to have been given two beautiful girls to care for. While I feel inadequate for the job, I trust His plan for each of their lives and love seeing the milestones we discover every day.

New Big Sis-isms

2009-10-01T20:56:00.002-04:00

Seems she's on a roll again...here are some of her recent quotes.

After laying in bed with me for an hour, I hear a little voice right up in my face saying, "Mommy, get up, I'm freakin' hungry!" Not exactly appropriate, but who can't laugh. Later that day, after telling her cousin she needed some alone time, I came to see what she was up to and asked her what was wrong to which she responded, "Well, my leg just kinda hurts and so I have to 'lump' (meaning limp)...and...plus I'm just really freakin' tired." Again with outbursts of laughter on my end.

The next day we are driving along listening to Ernie sing "Rubber Duckie" for the second time in 10 minutes (because it's on the CD twice) and a little voice comes from the back and says "Boy! He sure likes ducks."

Yesterday, we had church and she went to a class. I asked her what she learned about and the answer came with great enthusiasm, "The Word. The BLE" Yep, the B-I-B-L-E.

She definitely keeps me going!

A September Saturday

2009-09-16T23:25:00.002-04:00

An AMAZING video summary of our weekend camping trip to the Stutte Property, courtesy of Amy Heater.

(Click "video" above)

The Gateway Cup Bike Race

2009-09-14T17:32:00.003-04:00

This is the second year we have been invited to tag along with the Wagener family to the Gateway Cup Bike Race at the Hill. This is the first year Big Sis has competed in the Children’s Race…and she was STELLAR!!!

We always manage to find a great place to set up and view the race. Each family brings a dish to share. This year we had two new families with us, Julie, Al and Alex and Aaron, Sarah, Charlie and Violet, along with Matt’s parents, who are regulars.

The kids love watching the racers whiz by us (and they create and fantastic breeze). The first was the women’s race, followed by the kid’s race. I was a little concerned as to how Big Sis would do because she is still a little nervous on her bike. I should’ve had more faith because when the girl’s race, ages 4-5 on training wheels, took off, she was like lightening. I was sooooo excited and ran beside her cheering her on. I happen to look around half-way through to realize we were in FIRST PLACE!!! Excitedly I cheered her to push a little harder, to which she just looked at me and kept on track.

I’m pretty glad she’s not overly competitive because it was shortly after this that a little girl came from no-where to take home the Build-A-Bear first prize. Big Sis still doesn’t know there was a prize for first and is completely pleased and content with her ribbon. She took it just about everywhere for the rest of the weekend. So, a third place win for a first time racer is quite the accomplishment if I do say so myself!

Looking forward to next year, praying for good weather now because we’ve been very blessed the last two years. And, who knows, maybe next year Baby Girl will be ready to blow the wheels off the other kids as well!

My First Day of School

2009-09-14T15:33:00.003-04:00

Each year, the students at Resurrection are sent home with a little story to tell of their first day of school.

Here is a re-cap...see her responses in Italics.

My First Day of School
By: Big Sis Moore

Today was my first day of school. I felt happy! I wore my tu-tu t-shirt and for breakfast I ate Lucky Charms. After that, I was taken to school by Mommy.

My teacher's name is Mrs. Luechtefield. My friend named Addison is in my class.

The first thing we did in school today was playing. I love playing! Then we cleaned up. The part of the day I liked best was when we spent the day together. But I did not like Mama leaving. When it was time to go home, I felt happy because I wanted to play. Tomorrow I will go to Joe Joe's house.

It's always so great to hear what she thinks about. Last year was a little more humorous since she was younger and a little more random with her answers. I can't wait to see how far she comes. I still can't believe I'm the mother of a Pre-K student...where does time go?!

Backyard Buffet

2009-07-13T12:07:00.002-04:00

Well, after almost 18 months of having our chickens, a baby racoon thinks we are running a Hometown Buffet. Yep, Thursday morning Jeff woke up to find the little critter demolishing two of our birds. He didn't even seem to mind Jeff taking pictures. Lucky for him, he was a cute little guy so Jeff was gracious and didn't kill him. Unlucky for us, he's got GUTS (more than our chicken guts) and came back for more this morning...leaving us w/ one lone bird and forcing us to begin purchasing eggs! :(

Show Off

2009-06-28T10:23:00.003-04:00

Baby Girl is quite the chatterbox these days, whether it's saying actual words, babbling or YELLING! Here are some of the newest words we've been working on.

GADGET's Garage

2009-06-27T23:25:00.003-04:00

Big Sis has the pleasure of attending VBS this past week. Her school put on a great program called Gadget's Garage...meaning God's Always Doing Great Exciting Things. For some reason she was a little hesitant at the beginning of the week, totally unlike her, but definitely warmed up by the end, as you can see by the video!

"Take that concrete"

2009-06-10T11:27:00.005-04:00

Well, our latest and greatest project has begun. Yep...we are still in project mode and this one is a doozie. As some of you know, we lost our back retaining wall in April. It washed away into our neighbor's yard. We've had two retaining wall companies come and take a look ,neither of which were too excited to take it on. If we were to hire them it would require removing our chicken coupe as well as our gardens. This is NOT what we are up for. Once again, Jeff takes on another weekend project. However, in order to put the wall back up, we have to correct the situation causing the washing away which is our drain in the yard. So, about two weeks ago, along with the help of our friend Matt, Uncle Steve and Jeff's brother Kevin, Jeff started tearing up the patio. The title of the blog is a direct quote from Jeff after jack hammering out a huge piece of the patio. His plan is to put in a trench drain allowing water to flow easier and then install at brick paver patio, which will be nice. And then it's on to the wall. Please pray for us as we undertake this. It feels like we will never own our weekends again to be together as a family...nor will we ever be out from under the expense of everything. We are relying on the wonderful community and family God has put in our lives, to help Jeff get this finished. All help and prayer is welcome!

2 Things

2009-06-10T11:23:00.001-04:00

Big Sis and I started learning a new verse last night. Psalm 100:2 "Obey Him Gladly". Conversation with a genius goes like this:
Mommy: "Do you know who 'Him" is?"
BigSis: "Ummm...Jesus!"
Mommy: Holy Cow!(in my head) "Good! Do you know what 'gladly' means?"
BigSis: "Ummm...like happy?!"

Okay, well that was a little too easy!

This morning, while sitting out on the front porch having breakfast she casually says, "School is boring." I just looked at her knowing she doesn't really feel this way. She continues and says "Yeah, you just have to do what your teacher says all the time!" Ha, Ha, Ha...guess we still need to work on that verse!

Progress

2009-05-20T20:18:00.004-04:00

As many of you know, our house has been in project mode for FAR TOO LONG! It started with the porch last April and has yet to stop, or have anything completed. However, that is about to change, hopefully by this weekend! Our original plan was that Baby Girl and Big Sis would share a room, love each other to death and be the Best of Friends. So far, none of that has come into play. And so began the room project upstairs.

We hired Tudor Remodeling (small plug for the Brother in Law) and took it a step at a time, much slower than I would prefer, but patience is not my virtue. Jeff and some friends tore everything out, cut a hole in the side of our house...make that two holes, installed a beautiful new window, and a HV/AC unit. David put in two closets and a doorway that is not only made for anorexics and hung the drywall. The paint went up on Saturday and Sunday and trim went down on Monday. The beautiful carpet was laid this afternoon!

It seems that things are looking up and if we have our way with it, Baby Girl will be in her room this weekend. We will have to sleep train her into her crib, but we will pray ourselves through that. The point is she will have a beautiful new room and we couldn't be more excited!

Here's hoping all goes well!!!

The Sisterhood

2009-05-19T20:09:00.000-04:00

The girls and I were driving down Lindbergh yesterday when we happened upon Hooter's right at a shift change. The "ladies" must have been having their shift meeting outside when Big Sis looked over and said...
"Oh Mommy,look at all those orange and white clothes!"
Me: "Yep!" (small snicker)
Big Sis: "Hmmm...they must all be Sisters!"
Me: "Yep!" (large snicker)

That's one "sisterhood" I hope she shows no further interest in! :)

Braggin' on Big Sis

2009-05-05T16:20:00.005-04:00

I had Big Sis' Parent Teacher conference this afternoon. For those who don't know, she is a first year preschooler at Resurrection Lutheran and she LOVES school! She is in a small class and they are the best of friends and are in love with their teacher Mrs. Kroutil. I've always been nervous about her entrance into school for a few reasons...she's a big personality, she's a leader and she's busy. I've always viewed these things as potential negatives because I feel like others have seen them that way and honestly, they can be a lot to handle when in full swing. However, since she has been at school, I've asked her teacher how she's doing and she always laughs and says "She's WONDERFUL! I don't see any of the things you are concerned about." That has been so reassuring to me.
Today was an incredibly proud day for me! Big Sis has come leaps and bounds from the beginning of the year. It's not that there were things she had to improve, but from where she was to where she is is actually a little accelerated...as I've always thought...and her Grammy Kathy ALWAYS knew! Here is the gist of what her teacher said:
She knows all her colors, letters (except T), and numbers up to 10 (which is as far as they have gone). This means, when asked to recognize she can do so. She is a nurturer, something her teacher is most amazed by. She says it's something she's never seen in her 7 years of teaching. Big Sis is always helping the students that struggle, always keeping them in line and making sure everyone is happy and getting along (this is soooooooooo me!). She is a sponge. Mrs. Kroutil has encouraged us to start early reading with her this summer. She is ahead of the game in this area and thinks we can get her there shortly and she will be really ready for next year with reading and writing...at least the early skills. Mrs. Kroutil referred to Big Sis as a "Model Student"! Can you believe it??? Just what every parent wants to hear.
I've always said that I think she could test up a grade. I've felt this way since she was about Baby Girl's age. She's always ahead of the game on some level, even when it comes to the people she has hung out with. Mrs. Kroutil said the same thing today. It was a comment to the extent of not being surprised if she was tested up in Elementary school. I wanted to jump out of my skin! I thought maybe I was one of those parents who just thought their kid was super smart...but thanks to her Daddy's genes, it's true! Only time will tell, but for now, I'm encouraged by my wiggly, busy, beautiful little girl!

Tart 'n' Tiny

2009-04-27T19:00:00.005-04:00

That's what I call my girls. They are tiny in size, but BIG in personality. I've been spending a lot of time lately reflecting on Baby Girl. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this age...really anything from birth to about 18 months. When I was pregnant with Little Miss, I spent the majority of the 9 months consumed with the fear of loving another child. I didn't think it was possible that my heart could be anymore full than it was with Big Sis. Then Baby Girl arrived, and as many of you who have more than one child know, it just all falls into place. She was beautiful, sweet, squishy and any other word appropriate for a newborn. And now, she lights up my whole world! She has such a hilarious personality, so different from Big Sis, which is so fun to experience. Big Sis is hilarious just because she exists. Her personality is bigger than she is and therefore most things she says or does, however non-intentional, manage to make me laugh. Baby Girl, on the other hand, seems to have the "Class Clown" personality to a "T". I know this b/c she reminds me so much of my middle sister, and Lord willing, she will be the middle child, so it only seems fitting. She loves to fake cough, sneeze, dance, laugh like a machine gun, play peek a boo and lately she really loves to look at you and show her teeth in the most hilarious smile ever! I can't seem to stop kissing and holding her. I loved on Big Sis all the time, but she was not a "hold me" baby. Baby Girl loves to be held and toted around. She cries when I leave her and chooses me over anyone else...I LOVE IT!!! (I should side note that she quickly stops crying after we are out of sight...she's not one of those screaming babies). She is a talking machine these days. Beyond the amazing number of signs that she knows and uses regularly to communicate, our house is filled with the sounds of her walking around and yelling Big Sis' name. Her vocabulary also consists of the following: Bird (in conjunction with the sign for chicken), Uh-Oh, ouchie, Hi, Hello, Daddy, Mommy, milk, night night, baby (which is Da Da) and a woof sound anytime she sees or hears a dog. She a freak for babies and animals, they are the joy of her days. She also loves her sleep. Now that she is off the bottle, she generally goes to bed at 6:30, sleeps until about 5 or 5:30, has a diaper change and goes down until 9 or 10. Her naps are about 3 hours and the rest of the day she is content to wander, play and get into general mischief. It has been a while since I posted, so I wanted to share these passing thoughts on Baby Girl. Sometimes second children get overlooked b/c we tend to be so busy with the older ones...so I thought I'd take an opportunity to dote a little.

Rapunzel

2009-03-31T19:25:00.006-04:00

I've never laid down when Big Sis was awake. There have been days I've taken naps knowing she's in her bed, even if she's still awake. But a few weeks ago, I was at the end of my "energy rope" and decided it was okay for me to take a rest if she was choosing to stay awake. So, down I went, on the couch in our back room, still lending an ear to what was going on in my room. Big Sis sat contendly on my bed watching a movie and about 45 minutes later the movie ended and I got a tap on my shoulder. I invited her to either lay with me on the couch or watch another movie...I was sooooooo tired! She responded that she really wanted to play. I thought this was okay. As I rested for another while, I could hear her playing and singing so sweetly and I was in heaven. She came back to me and asked for something (I can't remember what now) but whatever she needed was located in my bathroom.Time went by and I finally was able to drag myself off the couch. I called her to me and praised her and thanked her for letting me rest and playing so well. She smiled, oh so proud, and responded...
"I even cut my hair!"
"WHAT? Where?"
She turned her head to show me a nice size chunk off the side of her hair. I had straightened her hair the day before, so the cut was all too obvious. I started to giggle and asked her where she put the hair, so I could see exactly how much damage there was. She responded, "In the toilet.". This is even funnier because she followed exactly what she has seen her whole life...Mommy trimming her hair and putting the remains in the toilet so as not to clog the drain in the sink. I have to admit I was a little proud! I went to the toilet to find only ONE strand of hair. I was fully expecting a mess, but she did a wonderful clean up job. Anyway, I informed Big Sis that we were probably going to have to cut her hair pretty short to correct the incident. Tears began to flow and Big Sis exclaimed...
"I don't want my hair cut, I want it long like Rapunzel!"
I then asked the only logical question I can think of...
"Then why did you cut your hair in the first place?"
There was no good answer and I giggled and calmed her tears by calling my good friend who immediately came over, took a look and said it was easy to layer in the place she had cut. In hind sight, this was actually a good thing because her hair was looking a little scraggly and the layers gave a little umph on the days she leaves it curly. My friend, Corey, who did the correcting, has REALLY long hair. She explained to Big Sis that the next time she wanted her hair cut she needed to come see her in the salon and they would do it there, but in order to have really long hair like her or Rapunzel, for that matter, it was very important that she not do any more trimming herself. Big Sis complied and all hair drama was averted...for now that is! I'm certain at the rate we are going, this is only the beginning!

The Party

2009-03-25T10:00:00.006-04:00

Baby Girl's party was a huge success. We have a tendency to invite a ton of people to our girl's parties. This hasn't been an issue thus far because we've always had a good location, but this year, for Baby Girl's first, those facilities were not available. So, we were only left with the option of our home. Now, we've had a lot of people in our house many times, but not a lot of people AND a lot of kids. That was our Baby Girl's birthday party...LOTS of people and quite possibly even MORE kids! I think our final head count was about 63 people.

I started praying for the weather about 2 weeks in advance. Each day the forecast improved...it was AWESOME to watch prayers so obviously answered. We set up tables and chairs outside and had a few inside and the party was off and running. While I wasn't able to visit with everyone, I think all guests enjoyed themselves. The kids played outside with bubble, sidewalk chalk and the toys. We kept the food simple, burgers, hot dogs, chips and pasta (thanks Dina and John).Baby Girl thought her cake was perfect...for entertaining herself. She never really ate any, but the giggles came when she dug her way through the cake and then clapped afterwards (picture crumbs flying everywhere). Thank goodness for Grace Tudor, who crawled around and enjoyed the cake from the floor seats!Baby Girl got a lot of great presents. The older kids loved helping her open them, and Big Sis has thoroughly enjoyed the rolling Bumble Bee from Grandpa David. Thanks so much to everyone who attended. We hope you enjoyed celebrating with us!

Work Day

2009-03-18T18:01:00.003-04:00

A special day at work with Daddy! I'm certain she has a future in engineering

Happy Birthday sweet girl!

2009-03-13T17:28:00.004-04:00

It's hard to believe, but our Baby Girl is officially ONE!!!
Yesterday was her actual birthday and her party is on Sunday!
I'm continuing prayer for beautiful weather so we are not all crammed on top of one another, but regardless it will be fun!
Look for pictures of her party in the next week or so...until then...
HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY GIRL!!!
You are such a joy and we are truly blessed!

Papa's visit to Resurrection

2009-02-22T12:26:00.003-05:00

If you don't know me well, you may not know that I ADORE my Dad!!! He set a high standard for men in my life...lucky me, I found Jeff to match that standard. Anyway, my Dad and I have been best friends all of my life. I'm equally blessed by the fact that he owns his own business. Not only did this business provide income for me for about a year, but it also allows him the ability to take off work and do very special things like go speak to Big Sis' class. They bring in special speakers once a month and since I think my Dad is so great, I figure a class of 3 & 4 year olds would as well. Lucky for Big Sis it was also the day they celebrated her birthday at school!!! She was so excited. Papa came dressed in his full dress uniform and brought pictures, maps and his shadow box to explain what he did for almost 30 years of his life. He did an awesome job and the kids loved hearing about their friends Papa that worked on airplanes!!! He also shared some embarrassing stories and pictures of her Mama.

Date Night

2009-02-22T12:02:00.004-05:00

For months now, Big Sis has been begging to go on a date with her Daddy. So, I thought there was no better opportunity than sending them to the Daddy Daughter Dance hosted by the YMCA. To make matters more exciting, it was on the evening of her birthday and her best friend Jami was in tow! When we told her about the dance there was nothing sweeter than her face and the conversation that followed.
"Are we going to dance?"
"Yes we are"

"And are you going to be my Prince?"

"Yes I am!!"

The girls selected their fanciest attire and awaited for their "Princes" to arrive. The guys picked the girls up, we snapped a few pictures and they were off...with the biggest smiles and giggles!!! The evening was a blast for all. They had a nice catered dinner from Psghettis, music, pictures and a craft, and were even home in time for a decent bed time!!!

Hopefully we've begun setting the standard of many more dates to come in her lifetime!

She's Pink-a-licious!

2009-02-21T10:33:00.003-05:00

It's hard to believe, but our Big Sis is officially 4...and she's telling EVERYONE!!! It's quite funny because the day before her birthday if one would refer to her as 4 she would quickly correct you. But one day AFTER her birthday she told Jeff, "Daddy, you can't even hold me now because I'm 4!!!" She's going around telling anyone she sees, "Did you know I'm 4??"

Per her request, we threw her the most fantastic Pink-a-licious Tea Party, exclusively for girls. Not even Jeff or Papa were allowed! My Mom was generous and let us hold the part on her porch. It was a fun time had by all!!!

When the girls arrived they were treated to a manicure, blush, lipstick, glitter hairspray and a tiara. Thankfully it was a BEAUTIFUL day and they were allowed to head outside and climb the big wall outside Grammy's house. We headed in for tiny pink and white tea cakes, Pink lemonade, which they enjoyed serving each other from the little teapots, berries and pink cupcakes. Big Sis was spoiled in the gift department. Lots of new hair bows and Hannah Montana gear!

If you haven't read the book, Pink-a-licious, make sure and pick up a copy and grab Purple-licious while you're at it!

The Front Porch

2009-02-11T11:02:00.015-05:00

So after a long 8 month process, the front porch has finally been completed. It seems like just yesterday when I go the call at work that my wife had taken a nasty spill on the cracked up front steps and banged her face all to hell. Thankfully her beauty overwhelmed the superficial damage and she made a full recovery. Shortly thereafter, the mailman Brad stopped me and let me know that he almost busted it on the same step. Now we have a MAJOR problem. If a government employee would have become injured on my property, I was sure that there would have been some negative repercussions…so plans for the new porch began. At the end of April 2008 we gathered a group of dedicated volunteers to completely demo the entire porch including the eroded steps. Since my background is in commercial construction we were going to do this thing right…just in case I needed to land a helicopter on my front porch. After a long day, the porch was gone and in the dumpster, but the digging continued. Rittmeyer and I burned through a few 5 hour energy shots and completed the hand dug footing. The next weekend another smaller group of volunteers showed up to help slam a yard and a half of concrete into the footing trench. I needed to get the walls up fast so any rainstorm would not set me back (by covering up the concrete footing), so I borrowed all the Symons forms from my secret source and spent the next 10 days banging them all together. The end result was an 8” thick, 3’high wall that would support the 6” slab of concrete you would eventually walk on. The following weekend more volunteers helped push, pull, spill, walk, run, the concrete up this makeshift ramp and into the forms. The wall hardened over the next week while I planned and obtained material for the best part, the slab and steps. All of the slab forms went up with no problems because I would take pictures of the progress to work and have the carpenters give their opinions on how best to continue. Now the first part of July, it was time to schedule a concrete finisher, order the last truck of concrete, and beg my volunteers for one last hoorah. Thankfully everyone came through and the day ended with Big Sis learning how to finish concrete. She actually had first learned how step in it (an attribute she learned from me) and Reuben then calmly gave here the tools and told her to fix it, which she did as good as any 3 year old could finish concrete.
The final step to the porch was an architectural wall of brick that would surround the porch and cover the unsightly concrete wall while leaving the finished slab edge exposed. It took many months to finally get all the materials to make this happen. I guess the lag can be attributed to: other projects that needed to be attended to, money, & resources. Anyway, with the expert help of brick and stone mason extraordinaire Robert, all the brick is in. It has been a great experience and a great “curb appeal” improvement to house. A personal thank you is in order to all of our friends, family and community for getting us through this project...I'm on to the back patio next summer! jm

Choices

2009-02-03T11:11:00.003-05:00

Mommy: "Big Sis, when this show is over, please go clean up your room."
Big Sis: "Okay Mommy"

I begin cleaning the kitchen floor, on my hands a knees...something I don't do often enough.

Big Sis enters the kitchen...
Big Sis: "Mommy, I can help you!"
Mommy: "Is your show over?"
Big Sis: "Yes, but I can help you do this."
Mommy: "Would you rather do this than pick up your room????????"
Big Sis: "Yep!"

I'm not going to argue w/ a volunteer floor cleaner!!! It's all about choices!!!

Blogging Back-up

2009-01-25T09:47:00.005-05:00

Well, it seems there has been MUCH to blog about, and little time. Time is one factor, the other is that Baby Girl now sleeps upstairs in the computer room, so being able to sit and collect thoughts and funny stories is very limited. This is sad, because there seemed to be a drought on funny-ness in our house during the "Torrential Three's", but with the BIG #4 right around the corner, I feel like we're really turning a corner and the funny factor is returning.

In addition to fun quips by Big Sis, we've also had several firsts over these last months. We had our first dentist appt. in December, right before Christmas. It was a pretty exciting time of anticipation knowing that Daddy and I frequent the dentist (she doesn't realize we dread it). However, when the day rolled around and the hour approached, there were a few tears. I started to worry, but hoped they would pass...thankfully, with a nice smile and a personal hello from the office manager the fears quickly shook off and the excitement returned. She sat so well in during the whole exam. She had her own mirror to watch and even got to count her teeth on the flat screen TV above the chair. Besides a slight cross-bite, all reports were good.

About a week later, Big Sis also got her first professional hair cut!!! My great friend and "co-worker" with weddings has a great set up in her basement. So, New Years Eve day Heather and I loaded up all our girls and headed to Erica's. Heather and I both got cuts and Heather got a GREAT color, then each of the big girls got shaped up. It was pretty fancy to them and they enjoyed the special treatment. Big Sis has had a few trims in her life, but she unfortunately inherited my EXTREME slow growing hair, so this has been the first need for an actual, accurate job!

In Baby Girls world, she is constantly doing new and fun things. She has about 4 signs, babbles, pulls up, trying to stand on her own, loves babies and blowing kisses. Anytime she sees a phone, cell phone, hears a phone or sees a remote control her hand quickly flies up to her ear and she says "HI, HI"!!! It was a good laugh the first time this happened. She has almost 8 teeth, 4 on top and bottom. Unfortunately she's got pretty chronic ear infections so we had our first ENT appt. on Friday. We are scheduled for tubes on Tuesday morning. Thankfully she is still an extremely happy girl even with double ear infections about every other month. I can't believe birthdays are right around the corner. We've got Big Sis' planned and can't wait to celebrate the 1st with Baby Girl! Check back soon for pics. of that fun!

Baby Genius

2009-01-22T15:31:00.002-05:00

That's right ladies and gentlemen...

Our baby girl has all kinds of tricks now!

She's also up to 15 lbs 14 oz and 27 1/2 in. long

Check out the similarities...

2009-01-05T18:25:00.004-05:00

Rose Dorothy Fall 2006Baby Girl, Fall 2008
...that's an understatement, but here is what we discovered about baby girl, while we were looking through pictures at Christmas....

Rose, December 2006

Baby Girl, December 2008

Sweet Conversations

2008-12-30T19:40:00.002-05:00

My car rides have been anything but quiet and peaceful these days. They are often filled w/ a lot of requests to just sit still and be content and let Mommy sing Christmas songs. However, by the grace of God, I did not pull that card one evening driving along with Big Sis. Here is the conversation I'm so thankful I did NOT miss out on!

BigS: Mommy, did Santa visit baby Jesus at the manger?
Mom: (thinking to myself how bummed I am to already have to burst her Santa bubble) Well, I don't think so. Jesus' birthday is the REAL reason for Christmas and Santa is just a fun part of it.
BigS: Yeah, it's Jesus' birthday and he wants to be obedient to God...and he LOVES us.
Mom: (big smile) Yes! He sure does. Do you love Jesus?
BigS: (big smile) YES!
Mom: Do you know what else Jesus did?
BigS: He died on the cross and taked away our sins.
Mom: Yes he sure did! Do you know why?
BigS: Because He loves us!
Mom: Do you know what else He did?
BigS: He went to heaven!
Mom: Who is there with Him?
BigS: Grammy Kathy. But, how did she fly there?????????
Mom: (searching for a simple explanation of the soul and heaven) Well, we don't fly there, our souls go there and they are separate from our bodies. (best I could do under pressure)
Bigs: Oh! (pause............) Well, I just saw Santa at the manger at that house back there!!!!!!!!! :)

Ha, Ha, Ha.............

Ladies and Gentlemen...

2008-12-29T17:43:00.003-05:00

...introducing the next CHILD STAR.
Watch for her on Nickelodeon...and coming in 15 years,
"Dateline: Child stars, where are they now?????"

Sorry it's dark again!

Baby Girl on the move

2008-12-27T12:17:00.003-05:00

She's been on the move for a while, but here's a little footage!

On the bandwagon...or BLOGwagon!

2008-12-09T10:34:00.001-05:00

Jeff has jumped on in full force. Check out his blog, of which he is VERY proud of!!!

http://missouribackpacking.blogspot.com/

Leave him a note and check back often!

Thanks to Murphy Co...

2008-12-09T10:31:00.001-05:00

...our girls got to see Santa and we got a GORGEOUS tree! I'll post more about that later, but here are the pics. of the girls w/ Santa!!! SOOOOOOOOOOO cute!

Oh Yeah Baby!!!

2008-11-24T17:56:00.003-05:00

Check out this!!!!! Can you believe it!???!!!
Oak Grove, MO (outside KC)

Ha, Ha...

2008-11-14T16:50:00.002-05:00

Some recent conversations w/ BigSis:

Me: "How long before you obey?"
BigSis: "Um...six minutes??!!!" (smirk)

***************************************************************************************
Picking out her outfit today, her shirt says "My Dad Rules"
BigSis: "It could also say, Alway, Always, Always be obedient"!

I'm waiting to find a shirt that says this and I will buy stock in them!!!

Invisible Mom

2008-11-04T19:24:00.002-05:00

I usually don't read these e-mails, but tonight I took this time and I'm sitting here in tears. I read this after an afternoon of crying over Daddy not being home and defending myself to a three year old and wondering how she can't see all the fun stuff we do without Daddy and why that just isn't good enough.

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 satellite guide to answer, 'What number is
the Disney Channel?' I'm a car to order, 'Right around 5:30, please.'

I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes
that studied history and the mind that graduated suma cum laude - but now
they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's
going; she's going; she is gone!

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a
friend from England ..

Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, 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 Janice 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'd given it to me until I read her inscription:

'To Charlotte , with admiration for the greatness of what you are building
when no one sees.'

In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would
discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I
could pattern my work:

No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their
names. These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see
finished. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.

A legendary story 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 by
the roof? No one will ever see it.' And the workman replied, 'Because God
sees.'

I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, 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.' At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a
disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride.

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 really 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 three
hours and presses all the linens for the table.' That would mean I'd built
a shrine or 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, to add, 'you're gonna
love it there.'

As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're
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 women.

Hope this encourages you when the going gets tough as it sometimes does.

We never know what our finished products will turn out to be because of our
perseverance.

More Funny Conversations

2008-11-01T09:38:00.001-05:00

My sister relayed this conversation between BigSis and her cousin Rose the other day. She was brave enough to take them to Target and put them in a double cart! Here is what transpired...

The 2 monsters:
Rose from the cart: "E"...pretend I died."

E: "NO! Rose! You can't die in Target!"

Rose: Pretend! Pretend I died.

E: "No! No dying in Target, Rose, sorry."

Happy Halloween

2008-10-31T08:14:00.006-05:00

Little Bo Peep has lost her sheep
and doesn't know where to find them.
Leave them alone and they will come home!
Wagging their tales behind them! Happy Halloween to all our friends and family who check in on us! We hope you have a safe and happy evening!

Dressy Casual

2008-10-27T13:52:00.003-05:00

Jeff got tickets to a fun outing a few weeks ago.
I think it was called SciFest '08...but our theme was "Dressy Casual"...what is this anyway?
Well, we did our best to figure it out and had a great time!

Dina and John happened to be going to the same event! It was so fun!

Melody and "Regis"...I mean Matt were our guests.

Aren't we cute!!!!Me and my buddy Meldoy!

7 month Stats

2008-10-27T13:48:00.003-05:00

Baby Girl had her check up the other day. She is now weighing in at 14 lbs. 14 oz. and 26 in. long. She's fully mobile and pulling up. She's eating three times a day and now having snacks of Puffs and Yogurt Puffs...almost making her not want the baby food!!! All this growth, but still not sleeping through the night...aarrrggghhh!!!

Quotable

2008-10-27T13:45:00.002-05:00

BigSis has become quite quotable these days. Here are the most recent...

1. BigSis: "I'm 5!"
Me: "No, you're only 3"
BigSis: "Right, but then I'm 4, then 5, then 17!!!"

2. BigSis is talking to herself and playing make believe.
Me: "What are you doing?"
BigSis: "Tell my friends what to do!"
HMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!

Green Eggs and Ham

2008-10-15T09:04:00.003-04:00

Here is the accused "yucky" dinner that Big Sis and I made together. Maybe if she wouldn't CHOOSE to make our quiche green, she would be more inclined to eat it! It's all about the choices!!

Quote of the Day

2008-10-15T09:01:00.003-04:00

Here's the scene:
Dinner time, two nights in a row, Big Sis not wanting to eat. Mommy telling her that if she doesn't eat she gets nothing at the birthday party Monday night and no snacks at Community Group Tuesday night. Big Sis continues to refuse dinner forcing Mommy to take her plate and throw it away.

Conversation Tuesday night on the way home from Community Group:
M: What's wrong?
BigS: You didn't let me have any snacks at Jenna's house.
M: No Honey, you CHOSE not to have a snack by not eating your dinner.
BigS (without hesitation): Well maybe if you CHOSE to make something yummy I would eat it!!!

WOW...a harsh blow to my cooking by a 3 1/2 year old!!! Stings a little!

Where are you going...tell me where do you go?

2008-10-13T17:05:00.003-04:00

Or maybe "where DID we go?" would be a better way to put it. I feel like I'm completely playing catch up on life and the overwhelming factor in that makes me just not do anything. The reason? Two computer crashes in two months (I think). Yep...the first time we lost it, we let it sit for over a week and it turned out to be just our monitor! YEAH! One would think, until approx. a few weeks later the real crash came. A new hard-drive. Third one in the five years we've been married. So, in light of that, I feel I don't even know what to say about our goings and comings w/in those months.We've been a busy little family. Big Sis is still thriving in the attitude of a three year old and shows little signs of coming out any time soon. For those who read this that have three year olds, you can sympathize. For those who don't...BEWARE! She still has such sweet moments, especially when sleeping! :) We had a very sweet conversation a few nights ago. It went something like this:
BigS: Mommy, can God talk to us?
M: Well, yes, but not how Mommy talks to you. He talks to our hearts and teaches us that way.
BigS: But why can't we hear Him?
M: (In my head thinking "Darn good question". Real answer went:) "Well, we just can't but we know He's there by the things He shows us in our lives."
BigS: Is He still on the cross?
M: NO! Remember, He is risen and He's in Heaven!
BigS: When can we go to Heaven to see Jegus (her pronunciation) and Grammy Kathy?
M: I'm not sure.
BigS: Ummm...maybe tomorrow?
M: Nope (thinking, I hope not!)
BigS: Ummm...how 'bout in a few weeks?
M: I don't think so.
BigS: (with a growing smirk b/c she now knows she's prolonging our bedtime stuff) Ummm...how 'bout Saturday!!!

Just one of those moments I wanted to be sure I documented. They seem to be few and far between, probably more because of my sleep being fewer and farther between, and not only a result of the "terrible threes". We're working together though. She constantly reminds me of my sin...Oh yeah!!Then there is Baby Girl. She turned 7 months yesterday. We go to the Dr. for her check up on Friday so I will have stats for you. We've got our first ear infection. Thankfully, neither of my girls get crazy with the ear thing, it just interrupts their sleep. One might question what I would consider interrupted sleep for our wee one, but it just seemed different. I wanted to have it confirmed before I busted out the "Healthy Sleep Habits" book and did sleep training bootcamp on her. So, we're doing the 10 days of anti-biotics and we shall see what Dr. Tina says on Friday. Other than that, she's a busy little bee. She is crawling, waving, drooling, sitting up (from crawling), mimicking us when we say things, eating twice a day and whatever supplements she finds on the floor while crawling around and is an all around HAPPY baby!! I LOVE this age!Jeff had his wisdom teeth pulled. Thanks to those who prayed for that, it went AWESOME! He is so relieved. We are in the process of finalizing the porch. That project was put on hold over the summer, but we are ready to move forward and will post pics. when it is finished.

I am SWAMPED w/ the wedding stuff. I have a wedding each weekend in October and 1 in November. I believe I've already got 4 or 5 on the calendar for 2009. It's a nice little supplement and fun for me, but it is tiring at times. I've also taken on another little girl to babysit about twice a week. She is sweet as can be!The fall holds lots of fun things for us. We've already been apple picking, we've got two hayrides, costume parties, block parties and two out of town trips! A lot to look forward to, but a little overwhelming to see it all on the calendar. We were able to get away for a weekend in Chicago. Unfortunately, it seems that file of pics. has gone missing in the Great Crash of 2008 and will hopefully be retrieved! If that is the case, I will post when they are up.

So, there you have it. It's a lot in a few months and the crashes came at a most inconvenient time, but in this day and age...is there ever a convenient time to loose your right arm???...I mean your computer! :)

Go Cards!

2008-09-10T09:22:00.003-04:00

We got to take the family to our first Cardinals game...together that is! Jeff scored fantastic seats in the 21st row on the first level!
We had four tickets and since Baby Girl doesn't count as a seat we were able to take my niece Jadyn!
Here are the girls b/f the game! Check out the grin on Big Sis' face! A passer-by even stopped to admire her! :) Very proud moment for mommy!

The view from our seats! Fantastic...too bad the game didn't sport the same enthusiasm.
Family photo outside the stadium. The girls were AWESOME and we loved sharing this time with them.

My First Day of School By Big Sister Moore

2008-09-10T08:24:00.007-04:00

Today was my first day of school. I felt healthy! I wore a dress and for breakfast I ate cereal. After that, I was taken to school by Mommy. My teacher's name is Miss Kroutil. My friend named Lila is in my class. The first thing we did in school today was play. Then we played puppets. The part of the day I liked best was when we do puppets. But I did not like, hmmm...I liked EVERYTHING. When it was time to go home, I felt hungry because I wanted to build. Tomorrow I will paint. This is a brief summary of Big Sis' first day of preschool. The bold words are her answers to an activity they sent home with her. She started last week and has loved every minute of it!
Yesterday, on our way home, we were talking about her day. I asked her if she got to be in charge of anything. To explain, each day the children are assigned different responsibilities and I was trying to figure out if she had her turn yet. She said she was in charge of clean up...and "I was in charge of all the friends!" Hmmm...sounds like we've got the boss of the bunch all figured out!

A few more summer additions

2008-09-01T12:21:00.003-04:00

There were some milestones in Baby Girl's world this summer as well. I wanted her to have her own little space for updates. She is about 14 lbs now and still in the 75% for her heights...WHAT???! She is sweet as can be, loves her Big Sis and laughs at her all the time in the car! She had some fun firsts this summer, one being the girls first bath together! It's so fun, but Big Sis has to have her "swimming pool bubble bath" after Baby Girl is finished.
Not only is she now enjoying her exersaucer, she had her first foods in there.
Early in the summer, she took her first nap in her crib. She had been in her cradle/our bed up to that point. It was just a few days later that she moved to her room with her Big Sis on a full time basis.
In July our family headed to Meremec State Park. I took her table seat. She wasn't too fond of it, but Big Sis LOVED sitting next to her, as did the Tudor girls. There was quite a battle over who was going to sit by her each meal. Must be rough to be so popular so early!!
She's now on foods. I started her on cereal at 4 months. It was early, but she is ALWAYS trying to steal food! :) So, now she's up to two meals a day and on fruits and oatmeal. She LOVES her food...as you can see!

In other news, she now has two teeth on the bottom, she rolls everywhere, and does quite a bit of yoga. She has mastered the downward facing dog position as she tries to use it to get to whatever is on the floor. Fortunately, she moves backwards from her target, which gives us time to realize what tiny things might be on the floor!!!! We're also working on sitting up on her own. I thought purchasing a Bumbo Seat would aid in this progression, but being the acrobat that she is, she arches her back and almost does a backflip out of the darn thing!

She is about the happiest baby around. It doesn't take much to make her whole face light up!

Summer Summary

2008-09-01T11:45:00.004-04:00

I feel like I haven’t done an adequate job of keeping those of you who check this updated on the summer we’ve had. It doesn’t help that we were without a computer for about a week and I still feel like I’m catching up. That being said, here is my feeble attempt to sum up what has been a FULL summer. The summer kicked off with two BIG events in my life…I turned 30 and almost as earth shattering, the Sex and The City movie debuted!!! Yep…the two hold almost equal weight in my world! A good friend returned home after living in Boston for the first part of the year and I worked several weddings. That just brings us to June!The girls and I had a great time enjoying the Wherenberg summer movie series. Big Sis saw her first movie with Grammy over Spring Break, but I got to take her for our first time together in June. Each week they offered a free children’s movie. We got together with a group of friends and took on the challenge of a theatre full of children! Baby Girl loved the movies…I think she’s going to be a tube head! In addition to this activity, Jeff and I enjoyed a FANTASTIC Dave Matthew’s Band concert at Busch Stadium and Jeff and the guys in my family made that larger than life bike trip to Champaign. The kids and I also had a weekly date with the Wageners and Deans at story time and swim time on Monday’s. Thanks Melody for inviting us!July was another full month with Big Sis going to her first VBS. She and some friends attended Rooftop Community Church’s program and she LOVED it! She spent the week singing her songs and shouting out “Yee Haw”! That being said, I assumed that since she sang all week and is ALWAYS dancing and singing, she would really take to the stage at the closing program. So, Jeff & Grandpa David took off work and headed to the church for the program and lunch. Much to our surprise, Big Sis took the stage and STOOD THERE!!! She was still cute as can be and we enjoyed laughing at her sly smile knowing we were anticipating her to be singing her heart out! At the end of the month, Big Sis attended another VBS at my parent’s church, Christ Community. The theme was the Olympics and she really loved getting her medals, playing the games and going to VBS with her cousins.Jeff and I also celebrated our 5 year anniversary in July and I had a lovely visit from an old and dear friend from Jr. High. Jeff scored us some rockin’ seats to the Cards game. Despite it being one of the hotter days of summer, we were lucky to be shaded and enjoyed a fun game. We took it easy most of the weekend and really enjoyed catching up. I can’t wait for her return!August finished out nicely. Jeff had his birthday early in the month and we had a great family celebration. The Tudor girls also had their birthdays the first of the month. I can’t believe they are now 6! Big Sis attended a fun birthday for a friend…Build a Bear was quickly taken over by little girls! What a great place!!! We finished up our movie series this month as well. I’m so sad to see it go, but am excited for next summer! We went boating with friends on the Mississippi! What a blast and we had a gorgeous day. Thanks Denisons! The girls and I took to the road, along with my Mom and headed to Omaha to visit the Jansens last week. The girls traveled like champs. We had so much fun hanging out, shopping, getting pictures of all the girls. Despite what seems to be an episode of motion sickness for Big Sis (thanks to the Millard Days carnival), it was a great trip. Jeff took to the trail with some guys for a weekend of backpacking and a nice dose of seed tic infestation. I think they are all still itching!

I think that brings you up to speed! I wish I could load all the pictures and milestones, but I’m sure those who check this aren’t THAT interested in our life!! Ha, Ha!!

One happy Post Man

2008-07-25T20:08:00.005-04:00

Well, as most of you know, we started a porch replacement project in mid-April. The project started off with some much needed removal of the lovely shrubs that encompassed our front yard. That was done in an afternoon by three very strong men; my hubby, my dad and my nephew. And, might I add, this was done after a 54 mile bike ride. Devin’s, my nephew, hands were visibly bruised. My Dad was out there at almost 60, yanking shrubs out of the ground w/ his little Toyota truck…that looks itself to be almost 60 as well! Next we rented a large dumpster and started the dumping of these lovely shrubs with some help from Big Sister. She was out there lugging the shrub branches down the driveway, pink cowboy boots, her dress and her work hat... just like Daddy.The next phase was the jack hammering out of the old porch, starting at 9 a.m. so as not to bother the neighbors too much, and then some major digging. Once that was completed, we had another Saturday morning work day when we poured the footing. Thank the Lord for our amazing group of friends who are easily bribed with Bellacino’s & donuts!!!Once that was completed Jeff worked on backfilling and trying to sort out all the chunks of rock from the huge pile of dirt. Good thing we had little hands to help pull out the rocks. I was able to help w/ the tamping and at least feel like I contributed something. Then came the laying out the new porch. It’s so great to have such a handy hubby who loves to work hard! Finally, about two weeks ago, we recruited our faithful friends, yet again, offered them donuts and coffee in exchange for them sacrificing one more Saturday morning to pour the porch. We hired a finisher named Reuben who worked into the afternoon to ensure that it took shape properly. He was also kind enough to let Big Sis helped with…and stick her hands in the wet concrete. Unfortunately we were not able to get handprints like we had hoped, but we’ll find some way to commemorate our family’s addition to this house! So, now we have a beautiful front porch and one happy mail man. He informed us at the start of this project he almost broke his neck on our old, cancerous steps!

Sad Goodbye

2008-07-21T12:45:00.005-04:00

Jeff decided it was time to say goodbye to our rooster. So, Saturday he loaded him up (in a tiny box might I add) and took him back to the feed shop. Much to our surprise, this was pretty devistating to Big Sister. When we sealed up the box, she asked, with a small quiver "Is he coming back?" When I told her no, that's when the waterworks began!!! It was so sad!

Now he's gone and coincidentally we've had our first hen kill of the year! YIKES!!! Hmmmm...makes you wonder!!!

Sassy Sleeper

2008-07-21T12:32:00.003-04:00

I walked in to check on Big Sister last night and this is what I found...I cracked up!!!!!!!!!

Even in her sleep she's got the sass!

Ah...Sweet Serenity

2008-07-21T12:20:00.004-04:00

If you would've told me 11 years ago that I would actually be married to my high school sweetheart, w/ two beautiful girls, living in a great house, I would've had to agree with you. However, if you would've told me I would be a cloth diapering mother w/ an organic garden and chickens in my backyard...I WOULD'VE LAUGHED IN YOUR FACE!!! But here I am, married for almost 5 years (next week BTW), and as I was hanging out my cloth diapers last week, listening to the crow of a roost only feet away, I thought to myself..."this is unimaginable peaceful!" I love our backyard and the beauty that it has become and the curious wonders it holds for our girls as we teach them to observe and explore and appreciate the small things in life like a ripening tomato, a new hydrangea bloom (to quickly be picked..."this is for you Mommy") and watching 6 chicks grow to produce yummy, fresh eggs!!!

Meet Me at the Muny

2008-07-12T08:21:00.003-04:00

Much to my chagrin, my niece, Jadyn, is on the cusp of becoming a teenager. Yep, this October, she will officially be 13 and I can hardly believe it! So, to honor her, Jeff and I decided it would be fun to take Jadyn and Big Sis to the Muny to see High School Musical.
We spent June 30th together w/ the Moore family, honoring my Mother in Law, and then spent the evening at the Muny. For those who don't know, the Muny is a fantastic, outdoor theatre where live plays are performed all throughout the summer. Just another GREAT thing about St. Louis!
Anyway, the girls LOVED the play...however, I had to head out at intermission b/c Baby Girl had her first meltdown!
At the end of the play, Jeff asked Big Sis what her favorite thing about the night was...to which she responded..."The bowing and the sprinkles!" (sprinkles = confetti at the end)

Meeting Her G.G. (Great Grandma)

2008-07-09T16:52:00.002-04:00

Our Champaign trip was not simply about the men in our family biking over 200 miles, it was also about celebrating an amazing woman as she turned 90! My Dad's Mom, Dorothy Morrow, mother of 9, grandmother to 19 and Great-Grandmother to 22 turned 90 this June! It was an amazing celebration of her life!
Our Baby Girl had a particularly enjoyable time with her!

Anyone else think...

2008-07-01T15:03:00.001-04:00

...I'm Asian???????????????????????????????????????

My first nap...

2008-07-01T14:56:00.002-04:00

...in my own crib!!!!!

The Big Bike Trip

2008-07-01T14:37:00.004-04:00

The Team

Before Departure

Dick Tudor and the amazing Support Van!

The BIG Arrival!!!

Big Sister was sooooooooooooo glad to see her Daddy!!!!!!

Conversation

2008-06-10T15:13:00.003-04:00

My very aware three year old is totally in to talking about God...I LOVE it! Here is a recent & short conversation.

Big Sister: "Mommy, it's really hot out here."
Mommy: "It sure is!"
Big Sister: Little snicker "We need God to fix our earth!"
Mommy: "We sure do!!!!!"

Ah...the innocence.

Stats

2008-06-10T09:47:00.003-04:00

Baby Girl had her check up last week. I had to take back up b/c she required 4 shots. It was awful, but w/ some kisses from Big Sister, we made it through.

She is growing wonderfully. Here is where she checked in at...

Weight: 11 lbs. 6 oz 50-75 percentile
Height: 23 3/4 in. 75-90 percentile (could the Moores have a tall one???)

She is the happiest baby! It's incredible! She wakes up smiling and goes to bed smiling and even laughs while she nurses!:) She pulling to her side and when she's on her stomach she's pushing off...she's also pulling her head out of her car seat. She's ready to start keeping up with her Big Sister...and Big Sister is ready for her to play!

Stream Team

2008-06-02T17:33:00.003-04:00

This weekend, Jeff organized a Stream Team event for the joint venture at his work and the Pfizer people. They set out to clean a 1/2 mile section of the creek that runs behind their job. Here is a glimpse into what they found.
...a tire...

...some pipes...

...a semi-truck tire and about 1,000 pounds of additional waste and trash.

Thanks Jeff, Pfizer and Gilbane-Tarlton for keeping our water clean!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When You're the Best of Friends

2008-05-16T08:15:00.002-04:00

When you're the best of friends
Having so much fun together
You're not even aware, you're such a funny pair
You're the best of friends

Life's a happy game
You could clown around forever
Neither one of you sees, your natural boundaries
Life's one happy game

If only the world wouldn't get in the way
If only people would just let you play
They say you're both being fools
You're breaking all the rules
They can't understand, the magic of your wonderland

When you're the best of friends
Sharing all that you discover
When that moment has past, will that friendship last?
Who can say? There's a way!
Oh I hope... I hope it never ends
'Cause you're the best of friends!

...and we were swingin'

2008-05-11T11:16:00.004-04:00

Big Sister's first swing 2005

Baby Girl's first swing 2008

2008-05-05T13:22:00.000-04:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Snuggle bugs and smiles

2008-04-24T12:54:00.003-04:00

Lack of explanation

2008-04-24T12:49:00.002-04:00

For those of you perplexed by the "paint chip time-out" I will try and explain.
1. We had a small chip in our wall. I had asked Jeff two days before the aforesaid "incident" about fixing that chip.
2. Growing struggles w/ Baby Girl have made us re-evaluate discipline.
3. Decided to implement the "naughty chair" taught by our favorite gal Jo-Jo from Super Nanny.
4. I stupidly decide to place Baby Girl in that "naughty chair" directly in front of the small chip of paint and instruct her not to pick it.
5. Set time for three minutes.
6. She sits quietly, about 1/2 way through tells me she can't do it and I proceed to encourage her in what a great job she has done thus far.
7. Timer goes off, Baby Girl gets up and receives more praise for a job well done in time out. She is very proud of herself as well.
8. Begin to vacuum in preparation for our small group meeting that night, round corner see large spot where small chip once was, also see circles on the wall from the plaster under the now LARGE chip, told those are smiley faces.
9. Make Baby Girl vacuum up chips and move "naughty chair" to other side of the room.

Hope all is clear! :)

Awaiting warmer weather!!!

2008-04-22T10:35:00.003-04:00

Quickly losing my love for the Super Nanny!!!!

2008-04-22T09:28:00.004-04:00

Well, ironically, that paint touch up we discussed the other day is now on the urgent list...wish we could get it done today. In an attempt to follow the "nanny" instructions of the naughty chair, I placed Baby Girl in front of the wall for three minutes. In which time, she sat silently for her three minutes and I praised her for a job well done during time out. She was very excited. I was vacuuming in preparation for tonight (our community group has been moved to our house) when I rounded the corner and found the situation below! Check it out...

P.S. I erased the plaster "smiley face" before taking pictures.

Loving bath time

2008-04-19T10:35:00.004-04:00

Not only have we been blessed w/ two beautiful girls...we've been blessed with girls that don't mind baths and diaper changes!!!

Getting so strong

2008-04-18T17:12:00.001-04:00

Baby Girl 2 turned one month on Saturday (3/12). She's been exceptional at holding her head up since she was born, but with her sudden interest in being awake in the evening, she really enjoys practicing looking around and has even started giving us a smirk or two!

Home, Home on the Range

2008-04-18T12:59:00.007-04:00

...where the squirrel and the chickens play.

Oh wait, those aren't the right words, but in our house that's all that sounds right these days. Wondering what I'm talking about...we purchased our new chicks last weekend. We now have six babies. Wondering where the squirrel comes into play??? Our neighbor thinks we are fit to raise a baby squirrel found across the street under another neighbor's porch. They all have dogs and since we don't raise "normal" animals, we've now adopted this baby squirrel who is living in our basement in a CAT carrier!!! She's pretty cute and Baby Girl loves her. She and Daddy are feeding her granola bars and peanut butter. She literally (we believe she is a "she") crawled into our neighbors hands and when he tried to release her she stood next to his leg!

My future Clinique Consultant

2008-04-18T12:55:00.002-04:00

A conversation

2008-04-03T18:41:00.004-04:00

Baby girl really absorbs and remembers things which is wonderful now that we are talking about Biblical things. We've been doing our best to explain Grace to her and in doing so have talked a lot about the purpose of the cross and what happened at Easter. So, two days ago, as we were coloring, this was the conversation that transpired.

"Mommy, I want to make a cross"
"Okay, draw a line this way, and now go across."
"I want a cross with God-Jesus on it...and a tomb (previously referred to as the 'tube')...and the BIG stone"
"Yes, but the tomb is???"
"Empty! :)"
"Because why?"
"Because Jesus taked all our sins back!"

Hallelujah sister!

p.s. Above is my feeble attempt to depict the cross and resurrection!!!

"Kake my pitchure"

2008-04-01T16:44:00.003-04:00

This has become a common quote around our house these days...that and "Can I kake a pitchure?" So, here is what we've been doing.

Portrait by Baby GirlAunt Dina & her girlsSilly EyesHer idea of a photo op.

De-Javous

2008-04-01T16:37:00.001-04:00

Can you tell which is which?????????????????????

Monkey Joe's Shots

2008-03-31T12:35:00.002-04:00

If you've never been, Monkey Joe's is GREAT!! It's a huge place full of inflatables! The kids had a blast!

They even have a HUGE throne for the birthday girl! She knew right where her place was at the head of the table!!! :)

Backtracking

2008-03-31T10:26:00.003-04:00

I just got these pictures from Dina! She got some great shots from the shower & Baby Girl's birthday party at Monkey Joe's.The Morrow ladies

The outfit Baby Girl 2 wore for Easter

Letter blocks!!! :) They look great in her room!Nikki & IAwesome princess onesie from Aunt Dina!

Baby Girl 2 arrives

2008-03-22T15:16:00.003-04:00

Induction started...Tuesday, March 11, 7 p.m.

Jeff's famous self-portraits!!

The proud Daddy!!!

Our newest beauty

...and then there were FOUR!!!

The Baby Shower

2008-03-22T14:48:00.006-04:00

Grammy's beautiful quilt...hand-made for Baby Girl!!!

Sweet outfit from Aunt Nikki

Best of friends...me & Dina

Another best friend make a special trip to celebrate!
Nikki & I
Two of the hostesses!!!
Eryn & Mandy

So this is a little behind now, but what can I say...at least I'm updating! :)
I had my baby shower in February!
It was a wonderful morning surrounded by wonderful women
who wanted to celebrate our new baby!
Eryn, Mandy, Heather and Dina worked together to make everything beautiful and yummy!!!
Just what an 8 month pregnant woman needs!

Baby Girl turns 3!!!!

2008-02-27T09:55:00.004-05:00

February 7th was such an exciting day...and a little sad for this Mommy! Sad in a loose sense, as I am so blessed to watch our baby grow up, but it is very bittersweet, as I'm sure any parent can relate!
Anyway, the day started with taking her to school with a box full of Krispy Kreme (sorry Miss Brooke and Miss Kim). The box held two very special sprinkle donuts for Baby Girl and her little friend Princess Lila. The only two girls in a class full of very active boys!! :) Anyway, after school we came home, made dinner and waited for Jeff to get home and depart on our special "secret" date we had planned for Baby Girl. We took off to the Galleria and headed to a store called "Friend 2 Be"...it's a Build a Bear store only it's all baby dolls...scary looking, but none the less, perfect for all little girls!!

Baby Girl surrounded by pink!!!Making a wish on her babies heart...very sweet!!

"The Salon"I have to say I was so proud of Baby Girl's ability to select a very cute outfit with matching shoes and purse! It's a proud moment when you realize your daughter can accessorize!!!

Ice Skating at Steinberg Ice Rink

2008-02-19T17:52:00.002-05:00

One might assume that having lived in Alaska for 4 years as a child, I would have experienced outdoor iceskating b/f the ripe old age of 29...but that person would be wrong. However, I've still not "experienced" this to the full extent due to my current state of pregnancy. I did, however, get to experience this novelty through the tiny feet of Baby Girl! It was great! A group of us met at the ice rink earlier this month and had a great time, and then headed to Dina & John's for yummy snacks afterwards!

Clifford at the Magic House

2008-02-17T10:14:00.003-05:00

We were lucky enough to be invited by our Tudor cousins to visit Clifford at the Magic House in January. Even though Baby Girl was a bit overwhelmed by the Big Red Dog in person, she thoroughly enjoyed all other aspects of the Magic House.

Mara & Adde in their Clifford ears!

The painting room was a hit with all the kids...little tip...they need a few more easels!

Jadyn was a huge help and the girls LOVED having their older cousin with them!

Mara's beautiful snowflake creation!

January Afternoon

2008-02-15T17:08:00.003-05:00

This past Christmas was what we refer to in our house as "the outdoor Christmas". All three of us received items to improve our future camping experiences. Jeff got his new fancy sleeping bag and tiny burner for backpacking, I got my own thermarest, full legnth, and baby girl got her very own tent. Thanks to a nice winter day, she and Daddy had the chance to put it up last month and test it out...we even had lunch together inside!