Martin's Hillside Orchard!

We finally made it out to the orchard!  Here are some pictures!  Enjoy!

Rainbows!

This picture was taken outside our home...so pretty!

Did you know???

The rainbow came in the wake of the great worldwide flood brought by God in order to remove sinful and evil-minded man from the earth.  The rainbow symbolized the covenant God made with Noah (representing mankind) not to destroy the world in such a way again:

 

^Genesis:

¹³I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.

 ¹⁴And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud:

 ¹⁵And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.

 ¹⁶And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.

Milestones with our kids...I worry too much!

If you are a parent there are different milestones in our child’s young life that we look forward to and there are different ones that we dread.  I always hear...I can’t wait for my child to crawl, walk, sleep through the night etc.  It is always nice when our child achieves those milestones.  Some things though, at least for me, are things that I dread even starting because I do not know how the child will respond.  I fear the worst that they will be difficult and not accept this new milestone that I am forcing them to achieve.  More specifically I am talking about moving from a crib to a big bed, taking away a pacifier, and potty training.  These three things I think about often with each of our kids.  Jocelyn accepted all three of these things without incident.  I worried…she obviously didn’t care about having to switch beds, or all of a sudden losing her binky.  Granted potty training took some time, but she is 5 and has been fully potty trained for a few years now.  Katelyn did not like the idea of moving into a big bed with her sissy.  She cried and cried and I tried sleeping up there and she would do checks on me to see if I was still there...some long nights.  We decided after a few nights that it just wouldn’t work and we tried again the next month and she did just fine.  Saying good-bye to her binky and potty training went on without problems…even though I worried…she was not.   So now we are on #3, Easton.  Big bed!  I was worried that he wouldn’t like it…he was not.  He so far has loved his new bed.  He curls right up and lays down.  I made him a new fleece blanket for him to snuggle up with and he still enjoys his binky at night.  He has only refused to take one nap for me…but stayed pretty quiet in his room…2 ½ hours later I went up to check on him and he went through all of his toys and things in his closet.  His floor was covered with stuff.  Since then, he has been just fine.  Next step:  his binky.  I am worried…as usual.  Will things go as smoothly as they did with my girls?  He hates the car and it seems to help a bit when we are driving.  I need to try though…maybe next week…maybe the following week.  Time is ticking though and we have less than two months to go!  My goal is to not have two little ones with binky’s…that is my goal.  I am sure things will end up just fine…but I still worry.

Easton in his toddler bed...with his binky!

Our favorite songs!

UPDATE:  And the winner selected by www.random.org is #1 Micah and #4 Nancy!  Micah will choose first and then Nancy you can have the 2nd!

My kids love music.  I started Jocelyn and Katelyn in Kindermusik when they turned one.  They loved it!  We have moved on to other activities, but we still listen to music quiet a bit at home.  They all have their favorites. We mostly listen to old Kindermusik CD's, Seeds Family Worship (bible verse songs), and different things on You Tube.  I can always count on music to cheer Easton up.  If he is a crank, I turn on his favorite song and he comes a running!  Here are few links to some of my kid's favorite songs:

This is the girls' favorite! They love when Sean plays his guitar to this video.

This is Easton's favorite song to dance to. The girls love it too... thanks Janalynn for sharing your brother's music with us!

This is another one from Janalynn's brother.

And then there is Seed's Family Worship. You can listen to all of their songs on their website...or buy their CD's so you can listen to them in your car. You get two CD's of each...so you can share one with a friend!

http://www.seedsfamilyworship.net 

 We have more favorites...but these are just a few.

Contest and giveaway!!!  This contest will end Monday night , September 27th at 9pm (CST) and the winners will be selected by www.random.org.  I have two CD's to give away.  The first winner will receive his/her choice of the following (the 2nd will receive the other CD):

1.  Seeds of Courage CD by Seeds Family Worship.  I bought a copy for myself...and remember I said they give you a second...haven't given it away yet, so I am doing it now!

2.  Steven Curtis Chapman's:  All Things New CD

Both are complimentary of me!

You have several ways of entering to win: (please include your e-mail address with each entry so I can contact you if you win!)

~Post a comment on my blog on what type of music you like to listen to with your kids/grandkids or just by yourself if you don't have any children.

~Post a link to this contest on Facebook and then leave a comment that you did on my blog.

~Post a link to this contest on Twitter and then leave a comment that you did on my blog.

~Become a follower of this blog...no you don't have to have your own blog...just click on "become a follower" on the lower right hand side.  I would like to have more giveaways in the future and it might help if the company saw how many people read my blog. Then comment that you are a new follower...if you are a current follower, just put in an entry that you are!

And oh...listen to the links I posted...maybe they will be your new favorites!

Happy commenting! 

 

Crafty with the girls

The girls and I made sun catcher thingies-- not really sure how to describe them.  I cut out two pieces of wax paper for them in their desired shape.  Jocelyn chose a butterfly and Katelyn wanted a heart.  We then pealed crayons and used a cheese grated to shred them. That part of the project was not fun, but we somehow needed little pieces of crayon.  We then used the iron to melt the crayon in between the pieces of wax paper and whoola we have pretty little window hangings!

Getting a little crafty for my little guy

My little guy has three things he really likes to do...besides eating and sleeping.  He loves to play with his broom, vacuum cleaner, and clips.  So I sewed him a book full of clips.  He LOVES it.  I am by no means a good sewer...but I try.  A picture of the book is below and then a picture of him with his three favorite toys...no I didn't plant those in the picture...he just happened to be playing with his broom and vacuum when I handed him the book.

                                      

Will the crying ever end?

I did not have to deal with this with my two girls, but Easton is a bit different.  He is having major separation problems lately.  I noticed it first a few weeks ago when we joined the "Y" and I left him for an hour and half so I could go to aerobics class.  Apparently he cried and cried and cried and would not stop.  They tried feeding him his bottle, cheerios, playing with him...but nothing helped.  I have left him twice since then at the Y and the same thing.  We started MOPS last week and in addition to the food items I sent him with his blankie, hoping that would help....it didn't.  I left him with a friend yesterday for 45 minutes and he just cried and cried.  I am at a loss of what to do.  He does fine when he is left with my parents and he did fine this summer when he was left with my friends Rebecca and Erin.  I just don't know what to do. Sometimes I think it is the timing of when I leave him...always during his morning nap.  He is a grump at home as his naps nears and still really needs his morning nap.  The places I leave him typically aren't nap friendly, so I just hope he can make due.  Anyways, I know some people will just say-- well don't leave him with strangers-- easier said than done-- I need breaks to keep sane-- the Y and MOPS have provided me with such opportunities.  Have you ever had a child with this same problem?  I am at a loss.  Any suggestions?

Dora....am I crazy or what?

A few years ago, I was a dedicated parent.  I was only a few weeks pregnant with Easton and I had all of the motivation in the world to STAND IN LINE IN THE HEAT FOR 90 MINUTES just so my two little girls could meet Dora....in the end Jocelyn was scared to death and I had to hold her and force her to smile in the picture.  Katelyn loved her.  So last night I got an e-mail from our zoo that Dora would be appearing for 1 hour for pictures.  I was thinking maybe no one knew about this event and with a little bribery, maybe Jocelyn would be interested in meeting her again.  She agreed and when we got there and got the very last parking spot in the lot, I knew we were too late.  The lady at the gate, confirmed we could no longer stand in line because it was already too long, but we could see her from a distance, so I assured them, we would ride the train instead and that made them happy for a few minutes until we found out it was broke.  So we took a walk through the zoo and saw Dora from a distance.  Got a free tattoo and sticker...and then rode the ponies.  In the end I think they were happy.  I guess the next time I think that maybe no one else will know about the event, I should think twice because apparently Dora is still a popular character.

Dora two years ago

Dora now-- she has lost quiet a bit of weight...not impressed...I like the fluffier version better

Happy at last on Butch the horse...yes we waited to ride that particular one...seems to be everyones favorite...poor other horse was bored.

MOPS is starting!!!

I am so excited that MOPS is starting!!  When we moved here 4 ½ years ago I didn’t have any local friends.  The only people we knew were our neighbors and a few people in Kindermusik.  I didn’t join MOPS until a year and half later and thank goodness I did!  MOPS gives me a little time to just get away from my kiddos and the daily grind of every day life.  I have met some amazing women in MOPS and I am blessed to have them in my life!  This year I am not on leadership, so I am excited to just be a normal MOPS mom and sit back and be surprised!

 

Rebecca and I at Target acting like gnomes

Stacy, Rebecca, & I at Roca Berry Farm

Football party

Getting a facial...don't I look lovely!?

Cakes!

Something that I aspire to do one of these days is to learn how to make really pretty cakes...you know the ones with fondant that you see on tv....I am addicted to watching cake shows! It is my guilty pleasure in the evenings when I sit down and relax. Probably drives Sean crazy, but these cake people do some amazing things with cakes. Anyways, I took a 2 hour cake class this past fall through our community college and learned a few tricks. I would love to take a real Wilton class from Hobby Lobby or Michael's, but that is a huge evening time commitment, so one of these days when the kids are older, hopefully I can do that. Here is a little sneak peak at my attempts to make pretty cakes...."attempt is the key word in that sentence".

Jocelyn's 4th birthday cake-- I baked...Sean decorated! He did such a great job!

The inside of the bottom layer of the cake-- Jocelyn wanted rainbow!My first attempt at a rainbow cake for Katelyn's 2nd birthday! It turned out!Easton just plain didn't care-- or didn't even know it was his birthday, so he got a simple confetti cake.

My in-laws bought the girls a Hello Kitty cake for their 3rd & 5th birthdays...and a really cute mini-cake for Easton. I did not get good pictures of the cake...bummer...but Katelyn wanted to use the same accessories from that cake on her cake here at home. She also wanted a pink and purple cake inside.

Jocelyn wanted a beach themed cake for her 5th birthday... so I used her Polly Pockets and a few things that Sean picked out at Michael's Craft store.

The cake was soooooo yummy! The frosting was to die for! I made this cake in my cake decorating class!

There you have it...I am not very good, but who doesn't love a good cake!

Summer has come to an end...

With the Labor Day weekend over, summer (in my book) has officially come to an end.  It went by so fast, but overall our family had a great summer.  We did quiet a few things, as next year we will have another little baby in tow, so who knows how much we will do compared to this summer.  I like being busy, but am glad that things will calm down, and we can get back into a regular schedule.  I started Kindergarten and preschool with Jocelyn and Katelyn a few weeks ago and we just got back from our last vacation today.  The girls activities (swimming for J & gymnastics for K) start next Monday and MOPS starts this Friday.  I can't wait to just be back into a routine.  I also started doing water aerobics--after a 5 year break-- and that is so refreshing...even though Easton still cries for an hour and a half straight in the nursery at the Y...it is still refreshing to get a little break from the kids. In June, I posted my summer bucket list.  I revisited this list and I had only three things that didn't get checked off.  Not to blame others..but two were out of my control (a day by myself and hanging up a swing) and one...going to the State Fair was just bad timing since we went to Missouri instead. 

  Sean and the kids at the lake