I used to believe...

that participation ribbons were silly, over-rated and cheesy. Until a few days ago. Mikayla participated in her first ever contest. A coloring contest having to do with the "magic of savings." She worked hard and colored to the very best of her 3 yr old ability. We turned it in and waited:)

Then Jody emailed me from work telling me that Mikayla got a ribbon and that he'd pick it up on the way home from work. How excited we all were! Mikayla won a RIBBON. Not a blue, red or even yellow ribbon, but a PURPLE ribbon!!! Oh, you could just feel the joy. She prizes her little ribbon, and now it's looking pretty rough since she takes it places.

So, I stand corrected. Participation ribbons are actually under-rated.

Wouldn't it be great...

... if this was the new way to get children? You'd know right where to be at just the right time and then you'd be prepared to catch them as they fall out of the sky. Just kidding, of course. If that were the case, you'd have to miss out on pregnancy, labor and delivery, etc., and what fun would that be?? :)

Never too early, never too late to start

One thing that I want to share with mommies is the importance of teaching our children from the Word of God at home. Your children are never too young to get started. And, if you feel like you're "so far behind" and your children are too old, start NOW.

What works for us is to have Bible time as one of the first things in the morning after breakfast. For us it's best to have it before play time or tv time. We start with reading from the Bible (we're going through Proverbs right now), then move to singing scripture songs/hymns, and then finish with memory verses. It's amazing to see the capacity of a child's mind to memorize. It really blesses our mornings and helps our day to be more structured.


"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:


And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.


And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:


And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up."


Deuteronomy 6:4-7

In everything give thanks

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
1 Thessalonians 5:18

The Lord has put this verse on my heart and I'm so thankful for it! What a blessing to read all your kind, uplifting comments from my previous post. Thank you, dear friends, for your love, prayers, and kind/understanding words. One way we know what the will of God is is to GIVE THANKS IN EVERY THING. I think that's so fitting/practical/timely.

How I love my ever-growing family:) Thought I'd post a few pics of the kiddos. Mikayla giving Joseph too-tight hugs. Joseph drinking his bottle resting on Mikayla's tummy and Mikayla feeding Joseph yogurt. The make me laugh!

Hope you had a good day; I sure did. My mom made it safely to South Dakota- thank the Lord!- and now they're waiting for the birth of a beautiful little girl. I so wish I could be there. I can't; so I'm thankful I can pray and see pictures eventually.

Have a great evening!

Still here, I promise

Hi, friends. Sorry for the lack of blogging. I've been EXTREMELY NAUSEOUS for the past few weeks. I figure I'm about 7 weeks pregnant, so I think this nausea thing is just getting started. Oh boy. It actually lasts almost all day long. Thankfully, I've got a terrific/understanding/helpful husband who is my HERO. And, my dear mom saved the day (the other day) and brought me lunch and helped with kids, told me to go to bed and while I was sleeping CLEANED MY REFRIGERATOR. How do YOU spell true love...? Yeah...

Just thought I'd do a quick post to let you know why I've been so "quiet" lately. So, I'm very sorry if I owe you an email, a snail mail, a comment or anything. I'm behind on quite a few things, but when I don't feel well, it's hard to make time for things like that.

Good night, dear friends!

After church photos

After church this morning, I asked two of my Sunday school boys if they would take our family picture for us. They both wanted to! How sweet, eh? So, here's what we look like today, if anyone was curious:) I know I'm posting lots of pics, but remember!- Mikayla and Joseph's grandparents read this blog and like updated photos:)

A lovely shower for a dear friend

These are a few of her favorite friends

Yesterday we were invited to join our friends at the park. Mikayla is quite the goofy girl, as you can see :) I took the opportunity to take a few photos of her with her "favorite friends" Megan and Katie. We love those girls!

My Josephs

This is a special picture for me. I love that little Joseph is SO relaxed on his daddy. You should see how Mikayla and Joseph greet their daddy when he comes home from work. It warms my heart greatly. Daddy coming home is definitely the highlight of our day!

On a perfect pancake quest

Do YOU have a terrific (homemade) pancake recipe?? I can't seem to find one, so I'm on a quest for a good one. I've sadly resorted to buying a pancake mix today:( Not that they're horrible b/c some of them are actually pretty good. I just want to make homemade pancakes for my family. So, can you help me?

The Lord always provides

Our Joseph was in desperate need of some new shoes. So, we went to Goodwill and found these shoes (navy blue and white) for 2 dollars and they are in excellent condition. To top it all off, my mom treated him :) Thanks, Mom!

Our third 2nd Tuesday

Just another taste of God's creation

It's bluebonnet time!

On our way home from church today I tried to get some family photos taken with a tripod. Alas, I couldn't get the timer to work. I have to figure that out. I'm borrowing my mom's nice camera which she is super generous with. Hopefully soon I can get some family photos taken. I love bluebonnets!

Christy's first baby shower

Jalapenos and orange juice

There are SO many pregnant women right now, it seems like. I'm in the mood for some jalapenos- I might run away tonight and get a bbq chicken jalapeno Schlotzsky's pizza- and orange juice. I remember when I was pregnant with Joseph, I just craved orange juice. I used to think cravings were made up. Um, no! ;) Any of you pregnant ladies have certain cravings??

My first appt is April 6th at 3:30. Lord willing, we'll be able to find a babysitter by then. From my calculations my due date will be around December 8th. Happy to see it's still in 2009!


Hope you all have a wonderful day! Let's meditate on this verse this week (only if you want, that is!)

Proverbs 31:26 She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.
How I NEED this; I fail so often, but God is gracious!

The swingset that Grandpa and Daddy built

It's finally finished! The children had fun playing
on it this evening. Thanks, Grandma and Grandpa,
for your wonderful contributions :)

In the family way

Remember when they used to call it that? Yeah, me neither. That's what our pastor calls it though when a woman is expecting a baby. And that's what I'm doing!

We found out this morning. I didn't expect to be pregnant at all, but since I have a dentist appt. tomorrow and I KNOW they'll want to take x-rays, I decided to just rule out pregnancy b/c I knew they'd ask. I was shocked- still am! Very thankful, very excited. I guess the baby fever I had was for a reason :) The Lord is good!

Having had a miscarriage before, I am well aware that it's a possibility for it to happen with this child. We do have 2 live, healthy children for which I'm SO THANKFUL FOR. I don't want to live in fear, but just enjoy every single day the Lord gives us with each life he blesses us with. That's all I want. My aim is that all I do to be to the glory of God. He gives life. I'm thankful for this life He has begun.

Psalms 127:3-5 Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.

My bubble breaker

This picture is my little Joseph playing
(quite intently) bubble breaker on my
mom's cell phone. I just love his
intensity :)