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Thursday, May 28, 2015

winding down

This little dude has been going in and out of naughtiness lately.  Saying no and throwing toys and screaming just for kicks.   He loves everything super heroes.  Slicing, dicing, sword battles and karate chops.




This little man is trying to stay focused these last few weeks of school.  Very hard for this little guy and these last few weeks are dragging for this momma...


He likes to talk to his figurines real close...he is seriously funny.



this little star has started to eat something new finally..
 

love this picture of Grandma Mimi and Papa Julio



Can you tell Olivia loves to do this.  He is quite cute!


Olivia bought the Brick Bible(new and old testament) with her rummage money.  They all love them.  It's kind of different seeing the Bible done in Lego world.  They are really cool books. 


Gabe decided he didn't have enough marbles and added his chocolate balls to Hungry Hippo.


Olivia colored some sand and made these cute little bottles.  So cute.  She is my crafter and science girl.


She loves to color water with things in nature and chalk crumbs.  They paint everything in the summer.  Love their little creative minds.


This is  a serious battle Gabe and Olivia were having with figurines and vehicles. 





Miah got bit by a dog.  No stitches so we are good.  Never had this happen before.  We are on trip 2 to the Er so far for this year.  Hope we have a safer summer this year than last year.


 faith is believing in advance what will only make sense in reverse..have big faith

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

kicks, sweets, popcorn
 My kids loved this grandpa's kicks at the Dr. office.  So fun and bright! This sweet grandpa just got diagnosed with cancer.  So we prayed with him and had a nice chat.
Love the elderly.


 Olivia's funny/cute note booking entries.  Love that everything is a rainbow in her world!




Love that they don't match.  They have no care in the world about matching or what others think.  

They love free popcorn at the car dealership.  This picture is great.  Love that they are all just hanging out eating popcorn.


My husband's delicious skillets. He is so good to me.  Fried eggs, potatoes, sausage and cheese on the weekends.  Love this!


We made scotcharoos.  One of our favorites. I may have eaten over half the pan of these deliciously awful for your waist line treats.  No shame people. 



Dave cleaning and dusting.  The vacuum fell and made a delightful dust mess.  He's a good housekeeper too!



Blessing bags for Chicago.  They love to pack blessing bags and have them ready at all times.  They used their own money for these this time and they were so excited.  They all truly love to give to others.   Can never  keep up with Odin though, he is always giving and giving and giving.   He loved putting money in the jars that the homeless had  and talking to them.  


 My happy packers.



I love my kitchen window.  So happy and can you tell I have a problem with little bowls.  I love little things and  I noticed my children do too. Not sure if that's good or bad.  Most of the time they are filled with nothing and have no purpose. 


 Our happy grandma and her hedgehog


This was our cake topper for our farm/country wedding.  They are so cute and they are 13 years old.

Keep loving others!

Thursday, May 21, 2015

Lego madness

We were totally getting cranky over these Legos the last few weeks before the rummage.   Thank goodness,  we are done.  They were  making us cranky.  Seriously we were  obsessed about getting them done. This past year of building all these Legos has taught me many things.

 I have met and talked to many wonderful workers there. I was able to ask for certain workers every time I called.   They are all so helpful and chatty.  They love to hear about our kids and ask questions every time. Sad but true..we will miss all this Lego activity.   Sorting and finding all these pieces and then putting together the set.   Finished sets are so nice. It's like therapy in some ways.  We have the funniest conversations while we have all the pieces out all over the floor.  Singing and laughing go along with it.  Sometimes we find ourselves singing the funniest songs,talking about all the orphans in the world  and re enacting the funniest movie lines. 
On the flip side of it...when we get pieces in the mail,  they flock to the package and devour it.  They frantically add them to their set and they transport themselves into another world.  You could tell them they just won a million dollars over and over and they never hear you.  They are like zombies.  I give orders and tell them to do things and they say ok, ok, ok.  But never move.  They want to get that set done. They are focused.

Of course they still buy Legos with their money though... Everybody loves them.  Keep building.
   

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

God is good

Rummage is done and we are getting back to our regular schedule here. It was exhausting and fun at the same time.  I love rummage sales and organization.  My OCD kicks in triple time when it comes to these things.  The kids were awesome in helping whenever we asked including corralling Gabe.  Thank you mom and dad for helping also. Thank you to all of those who donated things to sell for the rummage.  We couldn't do it without you all.  Thank you to those of you who showed your support and stopped out to say hi and loved on us.  Thank you too those of you who just blessed us with your love and giving.  We are so blessed to have you all in our lives and so thankful. We made $1800!!! We used $1200 of it for Dave's first post radiation dentist appointment and the rest will go towards the next appointment.  We have no dental insurance and when you have neck/mouth radiation it does one hell of a number on your teeth.  This will be a long process but we know God is good and faithful to his word! 





We sold 46 pans of funky buns and a ton of brats and puppy chow.  
I think my kids ate the most brats and puppy chow.  Every once in awhile we would find Gabe hiding in a corner with a bag of puppy chow and powdered sugar all over his face..


One of the mornings when I was preheating the oven, there was a slight fire showing up in the oven window.  One of the kids yelled for me and checked it out.. I totally left this hot pad in the oven for some odd reason.  Let me tell you I have started a lot of things on fire in our stove but not a hot pad.  



On another note...
went to the Dr. yesterday,( a great way to start our  Monday...)
 2 of them are seriously sick with a really bad head cold and strep throat.  We got our amoxicillion and have been schooling and laying around.  These last weeks of school are dragging a bit.  Hard to get back on schedule after all these days off for the rummage sale. 
Thank you again for all of your prayers.

Hoping and praying for a great week! 

Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Rummage
and back to the airport today
 
 
10 family charitable rummage sale.  All proceeds go towards Dave’s medical bills.
283 E. River Terrace 
Items for sale include: Household goods, shoes, games, books, toys, and lots of beautiful clothing for kids  adults. Brats and “Funky Bun” Cinnamon Rolls on sale too! 

Clean and neatly organized


85 + Assembled Lego Sets For Sale Including  Marvel, Star Wars, Harry Potter, Ninjago, Lord of the Rings, City, Chima, Pirates of the Carribean, Lego Friends, and more


Come say hi...


Thursday 8-6
Friday 8-6
and Saturday 8-5

Thanks for all your love and support.

Taking Grandma Mimi and Papa Julio back to the airport later today.  Putting up the tent and starting to set up for our rummage.

Please pray for good weather and great sales.  
Thank you

Love Wins

Friday, May 8, 2015






thank you


When I was younger, all I could dream of was being a mommy. I spent hours daydreaming about how many children I would have, what their names would be,  how many orphanages I would open and how could I possibly house all the homeless children out there??? Once I was old enough, I spent my time babysitting and  nannying for families and falling in love with kids 

 I wasn’t looking for a career path, and no college for this girl. I didn’t have a strategic post-graduation plan. 



Peace Corps, working with animals or somehow opening an orphanage. 


Now that I’m here – on this side of my dream – with five healthy, joyful happy and unique children, there is something I want you to know.

My sweet children, you have made my dream come true.
From the moment I realized you were going to be part of our family, you each captured my heart. That love developed through the months of growing you in my tummy, holding you for the first time, staring at your squishy little face, admiring how you looked so much like your siblings and yet so very different. Each of you have your own personalities, your own talents, your own struggles and needs. As you grow, you become more and more of your own person and I get the best view to watch it all play out. I see things in you that remind me of daddy, you have mannerisms that you get from me. Then there are those things that are all your own and I get to find ways to encourage you, protect you, understand you … those are the best parts of being a mommy.
You are mine; we are forever connected, and I love you so much deeper than I ever knew was possible.
What I have learned over and over in my 11 short years of being a mom is that as hard as I try to lead you confidently, I will let you down.  I am still a work in progress – I’m still figuring out how to be less selfish and well-rounded and kind right along with you.
So, my kiddos, here’s what I want to say to you today:

thank you. 

Thank you for making me a mommy. For being a dream come true. For teaching me about selflessness and forgiveness and my unending need for grace. For making me laugh and being my companions. For following after me like  baby chicks. For wanting me and needing me and accepting me. You are awesome!

I love you 

  Happy Mother’s Day!

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

kids



I love this guys eyelashes.  One of these days I might just put some mascara on them before he gets to old and knows what I'm doing. 


He is still a neck rubber.  Love this.  It  does nothing for my aging chin/neck though.



the little stars love scoops


took this on my walk one morning...God is so good


Took these 3 schmucks to the Dr. for their yearly check ups.  It is always entertaining. They were reading the diabetic news magazine.


Love how they make themselves at home while they wait. 


They all argue over the stool that takes you everywhere.





We are having fun with Grandma Mimi and Papa Julio.  Have a great week!

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