This and That

Christmas was wonderful, the kids got everything they wanted plus some. They have so many clothes (that I still have yet to put away.) I'm dreading it, if you must know. Putting away clothes is my least favorite chore. I plan to clean the kids room later today and put everything away. It's on my list.

The only thing Madison asked for this year was a doll house. So Leo put the house together in the basement and wrapped it down there so she would be surprised. She made it half way through her gifts and said in her sad voice. "I guess Santa didn't read my list." So i asked her what she mean't, and she said, "I love everything I got. but I really wanted a doll house, so I guess Santa didn't get my list." So of course we had to stop her and take her downstairs to open the house. She made me proud because she was still very appreciative even though she didn't get the one thing she wanted.

Leo bought me a beautiful white sapphire ring and a handmade hand stamped necklace with the kids birthstones and names printed on it. Overall it was a great day. We spent the day at my moms and the evening Leo's sister's house, then came home and went to bed at 8 and slept until 12 the next day! We definitely used the weekend to catch up on sleep!

Yesterday we went to PA to meet with the realitor, to talk about our moving options. Now Leo isn't 100% set on moving up there. I still want to move so bad, but who knows what will happen now. I'm still praying about it for God to have his will. So I'm not stressing too much. I'm just waiting on the email with a few houses to look at.


A few Christmas pics:

all of the grandkids

Moving On!

I took today to contact everyone I needed to get the ball rolling for our move. I called a half dozen lawyers to try and get some legal advice about custody, I spoke with 1 who didn't really help all that much. But then spoke with a friend who is a lawyer and he was a little more helpful. Basically I contacted Madison & Caden's dad and told him that we are moving to PA. His response was before he gave permission he wanted a written statement that stating that I will pick up the kids and drop them off every weekend, since he doesn't have a car. Frankly, I find that a bit unreasonable. I can't predict the future and I am not being bound by something like that. So basically the lawyer said I didn't have to do anything and that it shouldn't be an issue. So I did gave him notice that we are moving and now pretty much I am in the clear! Score!

 I also spoke with the Realtor today. We have an appointment with him on Monday, I couldn't be more excited. Everyday more of my anxieties are going away and being replaced with excitement! We saw a house we loved on their website but when I spoke with him he said he thinks it's a bit farther then we want, and since I don't know much about the area, I'll take his word for it lol. But the cool thing is he told me to tell him what kind of house I want and they will buy it and remodel it, we also can pick the counters, tile and colors, so it's almost like having our own house built. They are actually investors who flip houses. It's pretty awesome and I can not wait to get out of here. The rental office said that I have to let them know 90 days in advance that I am not renewing my lease, so that means January 2nd!! I know, Next week! Everything is happening so fast but I am more now then ever ready for the change. I will still be making the drive down here on Wednesdays and Thursdays for dance, since everything is paid for but I prepared for it. I can't wait, I feel like all of my dreams are coming true! A wonderful husband, 3 great kids, and now my dream house!

Weekend Woes

Someone asked on BlogFrog if you are careful about what you write for fear of judgement. I had to think about it and yes , I guess I do. I think because I share the posts on fb and I don't want to say anything to personal for fear of people making comments about sharing my "business" but I think I am going to start writing what I feel. Tastefully of course, but I don't know why I wouldn't share my own feelings and insecurities when it's my blog. That being said, my entry has nothing to do with that. haha.

The other morning I woke up in complete hysterics. I have never experienced a dream like this before and when I woke up and realized it was a dream I think a wave of relief overcame me as well as the heartache I still held from the dream. It was so strange. In my dream Leo had died right in front of me. And I went through the whole process of the funeral and I was sitting there talking to a friend crying and begging God for a "redo" asking him to let this not be real. The hurt i felt was real and I honestly had no idea I was dreaming. It scared me to death. When I woke up , my first thought was Leo isn't in bed with me, "Oh my God, this wasn't a dream." Then i heard the tv on downstairs and I started crying harder and ran downstairs. Of course he freaked out because I was crying so bad but I couldn't control myself. My heart ached at just the thought. It was my worst nightmare and I hope I NEVER ever have to have a dream or reality like that again. It was awful.

We ended up finishing our Christmas shopping later on once I regained my composure and got ready, and I wrapped them all last night. it was horrid. It took me 4 1/2 hours to wrap everything. I was exhausted and sore to say the least. So my wonderful amazing husband got up with the kids this morning and let me sleep in. Did I mention he was wonderful? The only problem is I will be up all night now because I slept in. ugh, insomnia sucks!

Where my money tree, and the real meaning of Christmas?

I spent the entire evening shopping till I dropped. I'm exhausted. My back hurts, my feet hurts, and I spent too much money! I hate that Christmas has become so commercialized. We spend a fortune on toys and clothes, for what? So the kids can play with them for 2 days and then either destroy them or forget about them? Pretty much. And yet I still do it. I wish there was a way to cut back, to let my kids have a great Christmas and still know the reason for the season, as they say.

I was hanging up a window decal of a nativity scene on the door, when Madison pointed to one of them and asked if that was Mary. I told her it was and my niece, who was standing there watching, asked me who Mary was. I couldn't believe it. It made me really sad that she had no idea about the birth of Jesus. So I took it as an opportunity to go get the children's bible and read her the story of Jesus. Just one more reason that we need to get back to the real meaning of Christmas. I think this Christmas eve we are going to reread the story and maybe watch The Nativity Story just as a reminder of why we celebrate Christmas.

On another note, I called a Realtor today and we were pre approved for financing for PA! We have a great interest rate and we can even get 3k back toward our down payment! I am super excited and we are going to start house hunting. I am also very very nervous about moving so far away. My parents are already moving so it's not like we are leaving them, and Leo's mom is in PA already, but it's just scary. I will have to give up baby sitting and although I know quite a few people up there, I am still leaving behind my friends. Honestly, it scares me. Even thinking about it makes my stomach drop. But I feel this is a great step for us and I am in prayer about this move, and so far things seem to be working out. So please keep us in your prayers during this whole process, that God will have His will in everything that we do, and to give me peace and guidance about this huge decision for our family.

" For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and He shall take over the running of the world, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. " -Isaiah 9:6

On the 12th Day of Christmas....

I wont lie, some days being a mom is the hardest job in the whole world and I am ready to ship them to bed at 6pm. Between the fighting, screaming, crying and whining I get so overwhelmed that I just am ready for the silence of sleeping children. More often then not. But tonight was one of those nights that I look at my kids and realize just how lucky I am to be their mom. Tonight I watched them write their letters to Santa and make birthday cards for Jesus, and my heart just swelled because of how excited they were to make a simple birthday card.

(I wrote the Happy Birthday for Caden on the blue card)

At one point Madison asked me what color Jesus' eyes were, I told her I didn't know. But Caden jumped up excitedly and said I'm going to go get the book! So I asked him what book he was talking about, and he says very mater- of- factly " Uh the Bible mommy, that will tell us what color Jesus' eyes are?" My heart melted. To see my son at 3, reference the bible just amazes me. I caught Madison one time in the kitchen swaying with her hands in the air and her eyes closed, and when I asked what she was doing she told me she was praising God. Seeing my baby in all of her innocence praising our loving Father is just one of those moments that I hold in my heart. To have the Faith of a child is something I long for, and to see my children being instilled with this is amazing. These are the times thank I thank God for. 

Anyway, after we made our cards, I laid Alanna down for bed and made hot chocolate for the kids. We popped popcorn and sat with just the tree lit and watched The Santa Claus. Snuggling up on the couch with them, not crying, not fighting, not complaining, it was wonderful! Last night we baked a ton of cookies (for us at least) and aside from the fighting between Madison and Caden, the kids had a blast using the cookie cutters and mixing the batter. We made chocolate chip, snicker doodles, peanut butter, confetti , and sugar cookies. All the the containers were full to the top as of last night. I wont mention any names of who might have ate half of the container (ahem Leo) but like I said I wont mention any names . I am hoping to make this a new Christmas tradition to share with the kids and bake cookies every year. I think about growing up and all of our family traditions and I think it will be so much fun to start some of our own this year. I think we are going to read the birth of Jesus on Christmas Eve and maybe sing happy birthday to him. I am trying make everyday Christmasy around here by watching movies, and playing Christmas music, I guess you could say I am pumping myself up for the holiday. We are finishing up all of the shopping this weekend and then hopefully I will be able to relax and enjoy the rest of the days leading up to Christmas. 

and here is our Christmas tree for good measure :)

"Give thanks to the LORD and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done. Sing to him; yes, sing his praises. Tell everyone about his miracles." 1 Chronicles 16:8-9 

30 Day Blog Challenge- Day 9

Let me start by saying....I have FAILED this challenge. I haven't done it everyday but I am going to keep going just for the heck of it.

Day 9- Your Friends

I have a lot of great friends. Some of which I don't speak to as often as I'd like but I have a best friends who are always there. Of course Leo is my best friend. He is my love , my best friend and soul mate. I tell him everything and I am lucky enough to get to share forever with him.

This is my bestie Amy. She is the person I call for everything. We have been friends for about 5 1/2 years and although we have been through sooooo many ups and downs, it has just made our friendship that much stronger.

This is Rachel. We have been friends for almost 10 years. She was my matron of honor and I was her maid of honor in her wedding. Her daughter is my God child and we have been there for everything from the births of our kids to each others weddings weddings. 

Mae is my other best friend. We haven't been friends as long as Amy or Rachel and I but we have become close over the past 2 years. I met her when I started dating Leo. She is dating Leo's younger brother, so not only is she my friend, she is family too. I'm lucky enough to live less then a half of a block away from her so if I ever need anything it's really easy to get to her lol.

Aside from these 3 lovely ladies, I have many other amazing people in my life. Some have been there for many years, others for just a few years, but I am lucky to be surrounded by such great people!

Caden's First Christmas Concert

My baby boy had his first ever Christmas concert tonight. He was absolutely adorable up there. They sang a few songs and he stood front and center and sang his little heart out and waved at me the whole time. All I could think of is where did the time go?  They were all so cute. And yes, I was one of those moms who kneeled at the front, waving at their kid and taking a ton of pics. I couldn't help it. It was all I could do not to get all teary eyed. We ended the night with with a trip to Chick fila for ice cream and playtime in the play place.

30 Day Blog Challenge- Day 8

Day 8- Some place you traveled

My favorite place I've been , hands down is the Bahamas. It was paradise! Crystal Clear waters, hot sun, I loved every second of it. Here are a few of my favorite pics from there.

30 day Blog Challenge - Day 6 & 7

Day 6- A picture of something that makes you happy

This is so easy!

Day 7- Favorite Movies

These are my top 3! In this order.

Baby, It's Cold Outside.....

It is freeeezing outside now! The temperature has dropped dropped over the past 2 weeks. I'm ready to migrate. I feel like if it is going to be this cold, then we should at least get some snow flurries. Right? Here I am saying this now, until we are covered under 24 ft of snow like last year. I'm excited to see how Alanna and Molly react to the snow this year. Last year she was still so young and had no idea what was going on. I remember the hunt for snow boots and the lack there of. I couldn't even find them online. I told myself I was getting them early this year. Well , it's December and I still haven't got any. Ah well. We will see. I'm still hoping for a white Christmas. After that it can get hot again! Until then I guess I will have to break out my snuggie! haha.

All the kids have some kind of sniffle, runny nose or cough. Which means I have all of them minus the cough, add a sore throat! I drank some hot tea with honey, hoping it will help. No such luck. I can feel the sickness coming on. I hope this passes.

On another note, Leo and I are going to start house hunting. Please keep us in your prayers because we are looking in PA and it will be a big change for us. We will have a lot of transitions to make and I am nervous about it. However, it will be so much cheaper up there, not to mention it's more quiet, and the school are better. We are only looking at places right on the PA, MD line so it's not like we will be really far. Plus, I do have a few friends who live up there, so it's not like I wont know anyone. Also we had some issues with financing the last time we were house hunting so if you could just pray with us ask God to have his will with this situation that would be awesome!

30 Day Blog Challenge -Day 5

Day 5- Your Siblings

This is an old pic of my brother Ivan and me from my graduation

Let me hurry and post while it is still December 7th. Today is about my siblings. I'm not really sure what to say about them. My brother and I are 35 years apart. When I tell people everyone looks at me like I'm crazy. Obviously we didn't grow up together, but it was cool having a big brother who is so much older because I was spoiled by him. His name is Ivan , after my dad.

My sister Amber and Maddie , getting ready for my wedding

My sister's name is Amber. She is 5 years younger then me. Yes , I know. It's so weird. My dad being 87 and having kids with such an age difference. I guess it keeps him young. Anyway, Amber and I obviously were raised together and argued pretty much our entire childhood. But I guess that's normal. She has 2 little boys. Devin and Darron, and right now they are both 2 years old :) Nope, they're not twins, they're 11 months apart. Devin will be 3 on December 28th and Darron just turned 2 on Sunday. Let's just say they give Amber a run for her money!

This is all 5 grandkids from Easter, Thats Devin & Darron on the left.

30 Day Blog Challenge- Day 4

Day 4- Your Parents

My Parents & Alanna

My parents names are Ivan and Mary, they have been happily married for  30  years.  My dad is 30 years older then my mom so growing up i was often asked if he was my grandfather. I never minded though because my parents are great people. My parents would do anything for anyone. My dad is the smartest man I know, and he is completely self taught. He's the cook in the family, I think I can only remember a hand full of times that my mom ever cooked.

I was pretty lucky to have both of my parents home when I was little. My dad retired when I was born and my mom only worked part time for a while on and off. My mom was always very involved with everything. She went to every school event and every field trip. My parents are great and I am really lucky to have them!

30 Day Blog Challenge- Day 3

Day 3- Your First Love

OK I know that I am suppose to write about my first love. However, my first love was Wesley (my ex husband) and I don't feel it appropriate to even bring him up in my blog. Other then my 2 beautiful children, and the friendships with his family, not much good came from that mess.

SO I will tell you about my amazing husband and how we met! :) Leo and I met when we were 16 and 17 at our church. We were both involved in our church youth group, back then it was awesome! My first real memory of him was during a skit we did for Halloween and he was my "boyfriend." I believe that was the first time I ever really noticed him. I wont lie, when we pretended to kiss, I could feel the chemistry. But I was in a relationship and so was he so we just started our friendship. 

A few years later when I was 18, Wes and I had broken up, and Leo and I started talking on the phone, then began dating for a few months. It was a lot of fun but it didn't last long and we both ended up back in our previous relationships. I continued to go to church but he stopped coming, and time went on. 

I got married, had Madison, and Caden and hadn't spoke to him in at least 3-4 years. Well in the midst of my marriage falling apart, he just happened to walk back into the church during a coffee house that we had there. From there, we started talking and catching up on life. We talked pretty regularly on the phone and through text and started becoming friends again. I could definitely feel the attraction between us but even though my marriage was over, I wanted to wait until he was gone before anything happened. 

I was nervous about going right into a relationship but after a few weeks I decided what the heck and jumped on in. And it was the best decision I have ever made! Once my divorce was final in Dec 2008, Leo proposed. He sent the kids in the bedroom with signs that said "Will" and "You" except they mixed it up and came in and Said "You Will" and he came in with a sign that said "Marry Me." So I guess I didn't have a choice :) and we were married September 12, 2009. And I can honestly say it was the happiest day of my life. I feel so blessed and I have never ever been so happy in my life! 

I believe God sent him back to me to help me heal and show me how to be loved. And I am so grateful. I have now entered a new chapter in my life and I just can't help but think how lucky I am to have a chance at real love and a healthy marriage!

Progress

Today has been a quite successful day! This afternoon Leo and I went Christmas shopping and we finished Caden. We will do the girls in 2 weeks with his next pay, but I already feel some what of a relief. I also ordered my necklace "from Leo." even though I picked it out and i ordered it. But It's cute and I love it! Here it is Necklace . I hope it come before Christmas.

We also cleaned and organized our back room in the basement. When we moved in everyone just kind of threw it all in the back and we haven't bothered to touch it since. But since we had to get to our Christmas decorations, we decided it would be a good idea to go through it. So we got rid of a ton of stuff, then we moved into the kids play room. I wish I would have taken a before and after pic because you would not believe how disgusting it was. We got rid of 3 1/2 bags of toys to donate and 8 bags of trash from the basement. The kids also colored my walls with permanent maker, which I am so mad about. Let's just say I will be breaking the child labor laws on Monday because they will be scrubbing it off with magic erasers. I just hope it comes off, otherwise we will have to repaint. But the place looks nice now. I just hope they can keep it that way....at least until after Christmas. *insert eye roll* 

Leo brought all of the Christmas decorations up and decorated too. I helped very little lol. I hate decorating, it's a pain. So our tree is up , the stockings are hung and the nativity scene is in the window, and I can finally breathe. We are just waiting for the kids to come home tomorrow to decorate the tree. I am starting to feel a little more in the Christmas spirit at last. I will post pics of the tree tomorrow (or today rather) when it's finished. Until then I am finally going to sleep. It has been a long , yet very productive day!

30 Day Blog Challenge- Day 2

Day 2- The meaning behind your blog name.

Originally I was calling my blog The Schriefer Family but I thought that was blah and I needed something different. So I thought of the phrase Live. Laugh. Love and decided to change it to Faith. Love & Insanity. I chose those 3 because they most represent me and what my blog is about. My faith in God and my relationship with him, the love of my family and friends and the everyday insanities that I face as a mom and a wife.

30 Day Blog Challenge - Day 1.....again

I saw something about a 30 blog challenge and thought...oh this would be fun. I even started the 1 st entry and then realized what I was getting into and deleted it. As the days went on it was asking some very personal things, that I do not wish to share so I found a different one...something fun and upbeat! :)

So here goes:

Day 1: Share a recent photo and fifteen facts

Fifteen Facts About Me That You Don't Already Know

1. I hate wearing jeans and I change into sweat pants of pj's as soon as I come home.

2. I am scared of heights and tight spaces

3. I don't really like chocolate unless it's dark chocolate and even then I can only eat a little bit.

4. My favorite food in the whole world is Pizza.

5. The one place I would love to go is to Italy.

6. When I was young I had a serious obsession with pigs.

7. My passion is dancing and I danced for 21 years and gave it up after I had Caden, but now I just started again.

8. I have a hard time listing things about myself.

9. I hate mess, even though my house is always a mess!

10. I love Glee and crime shows like Law & Order SVU & Blue bloods.

11. I love to eat bake cookies

12. I love to write, even if my grammar isn't perfect.

13. I love to read but I can't name my favorite book because I have so many

14. My favorite movie of all time is Dirty Dancing. I love love love it. Especially the end where the ever so handsome Patrick Swazye wrinkles up his nose. *sigh*

15. I am madly in love with my husband and I consider myself lucky every single day! 

This Is The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year?

Christmas is fast approaching and the stress is coming on! We still have to decorate, finish shopping, and bake cookies and I haven't even started on one yet. I did, however, make an advent tree. Which I will say, was so hard. I though it looked easy enough when I started but after I got half way into it I was over it. My back and my finger tips were killing me. The good news is it turned out really cute, and the kids are loving it!

This is it with all of the ornaments added. An every day reminder that I still have so much to do before Christmas. I did get the kids pictures back from Sears. They look good. We got Christmas and Birthday pics (even though Caden's birthday was 9 mths ago and Alanna's was 6) ooops!

I think we are going to start Christmas shopping tomorrow and we are going to clean and organize the basement. Then pull out all of the Christmas decorations. I'm hoping once we are decorated, I will feel more in the Christmas spirit. I am also nervous about Alanna and Molly pulling things off of the tree. So we shall see. I hope we can get something done this weekend. I know this post was a whole lot of nothing ...sorry. There's not a whole lot of exciting things going on right now. More of a lack there of! Here's to a hopefully productive weekend! Wish me luck!

Here are the kids Christmas and Birthday pics:

Birthday Pics

My New Favorite Thing!

On Black Friday, Leo bought me a sewing machine for $50, which was suppose to be my Christmas gift. But Friday night while he was at work ,I got into because I just couldn't wait! I have never sewed before but I felt the need to teach myself. I will say now that I am OBSESSED! I have been sewing all weekend. I am fighting the urge right now because Leo is watching the Ravens game and I know if I interrupt while the game is on he will likely kill me!

Friday night I made a blanket, which turned out pretty well, considering I have never used a sewing machine. Last night I made a poncho for Alanna to wear in the car. Tonight I am going to make a baby sling for Alanna and/or Lexy and a coat for Molly. I know, I sound crazy for making a coat for my dog but poor Molly freezes and shakes when she goes outside! And at some point this week  am going to make Maddie and Caden Poncho's. I have also decided i am making everyone's gift this year, but I wont tell you what that is in case anyone reads this that is getting one! :)

 

The Blanket I made

Alanna's poncho

And My New Wreath I Just Bought (just adding it in here for fun)

Turkey Day!

It was so nice to get away, even if we had to come home today. We left about 2am to head to PA and we got there about 6am. It wasn't a bad drive, because of the time we didn't hit any traffic. I was really impressed with how well the dog did on the ride, since she has never been on a long ride, and generally tends to get sick when we are in the car. But she was a trooper! She was even pretty well behaved at the house which I am sooo happy about!

When we woke up it was snowing!! It was beautiful too. I was really excited since it was the first snow fall this year AND it was on Thanksgiving! It was really a day I wanted to last forever... I sat by the fire with Leo while the food was cooking, the snow was falling, and the kids were playing. At that moment I truly felt blessed and wished I could stay in that moment forever. It's times like those where you just sit and take it all in. I couldn't have asked for a better day. The food was great, we were with family relaxing and spending time together, and it was wonderful. We finished off the evening with everyone sitting around playing poker and eating desert. We ended up sleeping on an air mattress the first night which when we woke up it was deflated... whoops. SO the next night we slept on the other air mattress and guess what....we deflated that one too. ah well. I'm gonna go out on  a limb and say it's probably not a great idea for us to sleep on them anymore.

Around midnight, we went to Wal-mart for the Black Friday sale and it was insane but not as bad as last year. This year we were able to get the things we needed and get out of there without camping out. It was so much easier. I ended up getting the kids bikes for $35 each, a vacuum for $8, pj's for the kids for $4 and a sewing machine for $50. I am the most excited about that. I have really been wanting to learn to sew, so if anyone wants to volunteer to teach me, then please let me know :)

Now we are home and I am exhausted!

I am so thankful for my wonderful husband who has turned my whole world upside down. Each one of my babies whom I am so lucky to be called mommy. I am also thankful for those little moments where you realize that your life is complete and life couldn't get any better then this. And last but not least, I am so thankful that  we were able to be surrounded by family for Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving Eve

On the eve of Thanksgiving, most people are baking pies, and preparing for tomorrow's big feast. I, on the other hand am cleaning, packing and chasing kids back to their beds! Oh, and I made some brownies which didn't turn out quite how I wanted them but that's alright. In just a few short hours we are heading to PA to visit my mother in law. And I am really excited about it. There is just something about spending the day with a lot family that makes Thanksgiving.

I thought with my parents out of town, my sister working and Leo's mom being in PA, I would be stuck here attempting to cook a bird for just us. Thank God that we decided to go visit his mom. I have never prepared a turkey or anything that goes along with it, and frankly, I wasn't looking forward to it. If we didn't have kids we probably would have went out to dinner. I just recently have branched out into the cooking world and I am not quite ready to tackle something that big. My mother in law of course had 8 kids so she is good at making a ton of food.

Unfortunately Leo had to work tonight so we can't leave until 3am when he gets off. Not something I am looking forward too..driving 4 hours with a packed car and a dog in the middle of the night. Not ideal but it will work out. And the worst part is we have to come back Friday because Leo couldn't get off Friday night. Sucks I know. I am just thankful that we will get to get away even for just a few days and have a nice weekend with family.

"Praise the LORD. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever." Psalm 106:1


Happy Thanksgiving!

God's Sense of Humor...

I truly believe that God has a sense of humor. Do you ever feel like you just can't take one more thing, and bam you get hit again? That seems to be my life these past three days. After being sick in bed for two days, I was not ready to go full force back into mommyhood on my first day out of bed. But sure as it was, Leo had to go back to work last night and of course the kids got sick. My house was in disarray, kids are exploding everywhere, and the only thing I wanted to do was run back to bed.

Alanna started by exploding through her clothes...not twice...but three times! I had to change her 7 times through out the night. Caden started projectile vomiting while I was in the process of changing Alanna for bed. Of course he made it all over my hallway carpet  and bathroom floor, but missed the toilet by a mile. :) Gotta love 3 yr olds. So I had to lay Alanna down, give Caden a bath and clean up the mess, all while keeping the dog away from it. Let me just tell you, you don't appreciate the ability of multi-tasking until you become a mom. So I think OK, he is cleaned, Alanna is in bed. If i can just get him to sleep we will be OK. But nope, here is where God's sense of humor kicks in....I put all of the kids to bed and think once they are sleeping they will be fine....nope wrong again! Caden wakes up and gets sick in his bed, So I am gathering sheets to throw them in the wash, finding a little trash can and trying to get him down stairs to the couch. I figure it would be easier to "catch" him if I'm within arms length. Finally after a few more sick spells he is out. So I am thinking, this is good, he will sleep in, if i got to sleep now I will get a good five hours of sleep before I have to get Maddie up for school....wrong again.

Here is where i start to become overwhelmed...

I start to carry him upstairs to his clean sheets and he is soaked...though his clothes, through my new couch, and now me. Awesome! I finally got him changed and in bed and I am still counting, OK so I get 4 1/2 hours of sleep I can do this! So as soon as I hit the pillow I hear MOMMY!.... Awesome! Madison is up....and she is sick. At least she made it to the toilet,right? Well by now I am crying, exhausted and still not feeling well. So of course I called Leo at work and cried to him. No sooner did I say "I can't take anymore..." Madison says "Mommy, it's in my bed!" See God's sense of humor...I guess i should be more careful of what I say huh?

Cue breakdown...

So needless to say, it was a loooonng night! I finally got to sleep about 5:30. Thankfully the kids slept until 11, so I was able to get a little rest before I had to get up and be nurse mommy again. I spent my whole day not only cleaning up the mess from two days of being in bed, but sanitizing, washing bedding, washing clothes, and cooking dinner. We had homemade chicken and rice. yummm!

So it has been one heck of a week so far, I am praying things calm down for the next few days at least! They definitely don't put this kind of stuff in the What To Expect books. I think I need a vacation!


"He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak." Isaiah 40:29 (NIV)

Sick , sick and sicker

The past few days have been less then lovely! Yesterday I came down with some type of nasty stomach bug. I spent most of my day and evening in bed or the bathroom. It sucked to say the least. My wonderful husband stayed home from work to take care me and the kids. Thank goodness, I'm so glad he did otherwise I 'd have no idea how I would have made it through the night. It was awful! I spent most of today in bed also but I am feeling better and I am able to finally eat!

Of course about 3pm Leo started complaining of his stomach hurting, but he had to go into work anyway since he stayed home last night for me. Then about 7:30 Caden started crying with a belly ache and fell asleep out on the couch. In the meantime Alanna exploded so while I am cleaning her up Caden projectile vomits all over my hallway and bathroom floor....just missing the toilet by a mile! Needless to say I am not feeling 100% and having to clean up severe baby poop and puke is not my idea of a good night. I wish Leo was able to get off early tonight, I have a feeling it is going to be a long night. I guess it's what you would call another day being mom. Oh how wonderful!

On a much better note, Congrats to my cousin Terry who's wife had a baby today. Almost 2 years ago this spring they lost their precious little girl to SIDS, and now they have been blessed again with a little boy. Congrats!

Happy Veteran's Day

In honor of Veteran's Day, I'd like to make this post about my dad. My father was born November 21,1923. He was the youngest of 5. And he only went to school until the 3rd grade because they were so poor he couldn't afford to go. He grew up in West Virgina and moved to Baltimore in his 20's for work. Here he taught himself to read and write. My dad learned as much as he could by reading anything and everything. He started to work at Bethlehem Steel building ships, where later he worked his way up to be a supervisor until he retired when I was born.

During WWII he met a woman who he planned to marry, at that time he was drafted into the war and sent over seas. Only to return to find out she was pregnant with his son but already married to another man. Just like a movie right? I know. Although he stayed in contact with them, he respected her wishes and didn't tell him that he was his father. A few years later my dad met his first wife and together they had my brother, Ivan Jr.

Eventually they ended in divorce and he met my mom. My mom was quite a bit younger....30 yrs to be exact. They were married in 1980 and are still happily married to this day. Eventually my eldest brother did find out that my father was also his father but died a few years after in an accident.

My dad is getting ready to celebrate his 87th birthday and he is my hero. When you're a small child you always think your parents know everything, and then as a teen you think they know nothing. And now as an adult I am always calling him for advice or to ask him about this or that. My dad with no formal education is the smartest man I know. And I am really lucky to call him daddy!

(in)courage.me

I came across this website while I was blog reading. It's such a great for women to connect and share. It's called  (in)courage.me. Of course I got it from Bring the Rain . :) So I (in)courage you to check it out.

I feel like Martha Stewart lately. I have been cooking, and cleaning, and making crafts. now if i could just learn to sew then I would be set! I am really proud of myself for actually making real meals now. I am so sick of the same ol' junk over and over again. Monday I made chicken and rice soup, yesterday was chicken pockets, and today we are having pot roast! mmmmm I started it this morning and it smells sooooo good! I'm ready to eat it now.

I am so thankful that God answers prayers! Things have been quite stressful spiritually for for me lately. I asked on a previous post that if anyone reads my blog to keep me in your prayers while I deal with these trials. Of course I knew it was because I was actively seeking the Lord.

Sunday night was a tough night, I had a huge weight sitting on me which brought up a lot of emotions that I thought I had got over. Leo went to sleep and all I could do was cry. I sat in the hallway and cried and prayed and cried and prayed and finally pulled myself together to read my bible....then prayed some more. It was a long night. And well without going into details, yesterday was wonderful! Everything had changed and the weight was removed. And I believe the Lord used the song Lead Me by Sanctus Real,  speak to hearts. I really believe he is changing me day by day, and I am sooo grateful for that!

ETA: Today I am thankful for the time I get to spend with my loves!

And if you haven't heard the song Lead Me


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLr6G8Xy5uc

Well Hello!

Wow , I just had 3 paragraphs and bam, they're gone! AWESOME!

Anyway, It's been a few weeks since I have caught up on my blog. Not that I have many readers, if any. lol Not to much has been happening on the home front, other then Alanna is finally walking! She started about a week ago and has been on the go ever since! It's bittersweet for me, I am happy that my almost 17 mth old is finally walking but I am sad because she is my last and I wanted her to stay a baby for as long as possible. This is just one more step (literally) to being a toddler! :(

We decided to go to PA to visit my mother-in-law for Thanksgiving. I am actually really excited about it. It will be nice to see her (she is about 3 1/2 to 4 hours from us) and it will be nice to spend the holiday with family. My parents decided to go to WV for the holiday. I'm not so thrilled about it since they are packing up my child hood home (one that my dad has owned for 60 yrs) and moving 3 hours away from us. I am really upset about it if you couldn't tell. (insert temper tantrum here!)

I digress

Any who, the Lord has been moving dramatically in me and my family for the past week. I'm not saying God isn't always here but I have really felt his presence lately. More so then ever. I feel like he is calling me for something and I am not sure what yet.

It really when God lead me to this blog.... Angie's Blog. She has been such an incredible light for me and I have found myself longing for a relationship with the Lord like she has. I have started reading and doing a devotional, and boy has things really started to change. I will say I cry a lot more now (I have always cried a lot, but even more so now) I think God had just given me such a compassion for people. Of course, those of you who are believers you also know that with this renewal comes trials and man is it coming on right now. So I am asking if anyone out there reads my blog if you could just keep my family an I in your prayers that would be awesome! I am soo soo soo excited for what is what God has in store for my family.

I feel so thankful, maybe it has to do with Thanksgiving but whatever it is I feel amazing! I have made it a point to post on facebook everyday something I am thankful for. Someone mentioned how great it was to see me so thankful recently lol. But I just feel so blessed, for even just the small things.

Today I am thankful that I have such an amazing husband, who works so hard so that I can stay home with my 3 awesomely rotten kids. :)

And I leave you with this:

"For everything we know about God's word is summed up in a single sentence: Love others as you love yourself. That's an act of true freedom." Galatians 5:14 (MSG)

-Michelle

God's heart

The other day I was listening to the Christian station on the radio in my frantic search for a Jessie costume for Madison, when I heard Angie Smith speaking about loosing her daughter and how God has carried her through that trail. She is the wife of Todd Smith of Selah. For those of you who don't know who Selah is look them up, they are an amazing group.

So when I came home, I looked her up online and found her blog. Since then I have been reading her journey starting with her finding out that the baby she was caring was not going to make it. Of course I sat here in tears while reading it but as I was reading about her faith and how she looked to God even through the pain. I could feel God's love pouring out from her words. Her writing has touched me greatly and seeing that even though she was preparing for the loss of her baby she still praised him with everything that was in her. I cant explain the emotions that ran through me but I feel like my whole life has just been flipped. I had a real "God experience." I have always considered myself a Christian, even though I don't always act like it. But her words were so real. Her faith was so sincere and she was so honest.

I turned my sound on (I usually keep my laptop muted) to listen to a video that she had posted and a song that she had on her blog started to play. It was Bring The Rain by MercyMe. And I literally stopped. I don't know why but I stopped reading and closed my eyes and started to pray. I could hear God telling me "I know you have been feeling down and stressed, but I am here. I have always been here and through it all I will still be here" I could just feel His presence.

Now I will add that in no way am I going through anything like she has but for the past few days I have just been down. Physically and emotionally drained and my stress level has been through the roof, between dealing with the car situation (it was totaled) and the kids, I have checked out. But after reading all night I feel empowered. I feel empowered to make a difference in peoples lives and I am so excited for what is to come and what He has in store for me! On a side note, Leo and I have taken over the teen Sunday school class at our church and it has been very trying on me and we are in the process of adjusting to the kids (they are all inner city youth, and it's tough to get through to them.) But I believe more now then ever that this is my call and I am so excited to see what is to come of it!!

'The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him.' Exodus 15:1-3

Fall is here...and I LOVE it!

I love this time of year. I love everything about it! The beautiful scenery, the smell, the pumpkin patches, the cool air. It's perfect! Saturday we went to The Land Of Promise Farm with our church and took the kids. It was beautiful riding up there in the woods. It was really cool because the kids could feed the goats and they just ran free. They had all kinds of animals that the kids were able to get close to, ducks, horses, bunnies, they used to have pigs and cows but for some reason they weren't around this time. The kids didn't care though they had fun. We went on a hayride, which Alanna was not so fond of at first.

 She cracked me up because she didn't want the hay touching her, but by the end of the ride she was playing in it and trying to eat it. After the hayride we picked pumpkins and the kids roasted marshmellows and ate hotdogs. mmmmmm. It was a good time, even though I was exhausted by the time we got home. It was a nice family outing though. Caden is going to another pumpkin farm tomorrow with his class so that should be a lot of fun!



My 2 favorite men!