Yes...I'm a Slacker!

Ok....Ok...I know I totally slacked on the blog thing this week. If you could see my to-do list you'd see that I slacked on pretty much everything this week (including my house which is HUGE for an OCD-er's sanity level!). Making bows for this craft show as well as keeping close to 25 sets of bows on ebay all the time has had me spinning this week. My ebay bows use up pretty much all of my kid-free time but then trying to get ahead enough bows to fill a table or two at a craft show is crazy! I set up tomorrow night and still don't know how many I'll have! That's even with having a sitter come today and babysit with Nathan and I both home...just so I could focus on making the bows! We'll see?

Here a few of my latest...

I'll let you know how the show goes?? If I sell 0 bows I am just out $20 fr the table space. I know that all the bows I've made up will sell easily on ebay. So we'll see?

Sorry to cut this short but I have to run! Waaaaaay to much to do on my to-do list before bed and it's already 12:46! Wow! How did that happen??

Bathing the Cat

So the funniest thing that happened today was this converstaion.....

Maddelyn: We gave the cat a bath!
Me: What?
Me: Pretent of for real (they had been pretending all morning)
Maddleyn: For real
Me: Let me see the cat - Sure enough it was wet from ears to tail
Me: Why did you give the cat a bath?
Emma: Maddelyn did it
Me: Don't EVER do that again!
Me: Did you know that when cousin Kaytie was little she decided to put her kitty in the bath tub with her and it scratched her up really bad?
Me: Do you want that to happen to you? Then DON'T give the cat a bath again!

Yep...life with toddlers!

We practiced calling 9-1-1 with Maddelyn in school today Nathan said he wanted her to know what to do incase there was an emergency since I'm home with the girls by myself all the time. I was kinda leery about teaching how to use the phone since she is a wee-bit of a talker. I guess she's fine now since doesn't know anyone's #. But then again she went through a phase a few months back where she had everyone write their phone number down in her Holly Hobby notebook...hmmm...might have to find that notebook and hide it??? Anyways she did really well with it and we roll played a 911 call as well. She did note that Grandma answers the phone when you call 911 and tells grandpa where to go to help someone who is sick or hurt. She didn't like the fact though that grandma only answers the phone in Willard and not in our town.

Tomorrow we have MOPS again and then we are headed to Willard to help my mom put up her Christmas tree. She decided to do a candy tree again this year (she does a different theme each year) because the kids liked it so much last year. Who wouldn't when it's a TREE FULL OF CANDY? Anyone see a problem with this and Emma? Last year she horded it big time. While we were decorating it she found the large gingerbread baby that was to be the tree topper and took a bite out of it's foot. Yep, she feels the need to personalize everything in her path! I have pictures of it here: http://sweetsugarcandy.blogspot.com/2006_12_03_archive.html Yep there is a picture of the poor tree topper and all. Oh Emma......maybe someday you'll have children and then we can bring out all these pictures and scare you 1/2 to death over what they might do!

Results of Black Friday........

This is your BRAIN......

This is your brain on DRUGS.......

And this is your brain on drugs meeting your SCRAPBOOKING ADDICTION!

So that is part of the reason I've been MIA the past few dayswell, besides the holiday. Above is evidence of the insane mad dash for the sales that my mom and I did yesterday morning. Yep....that's right 4:09 a.m. at Walmart to get my new CRICUT!!! Woo-hoo!!! Yep I'm the proud new owner of a Cricut (that came with 2 font cartridges for only $117 reg $299 with 1 font!) and 2 additional fonts making 4 fonts! Gotta love picking out your own early Chirstmas gifts! Thanks Mom and Carla! :D So I am listing my other Xyron diecut machine with all the accessories on ebay so if your interested check out my auction link on the right. -------> I also picked up another Cricut to sell as well......maybe pay for another font??? Hey, Nathan says I can sell anything on ebay. He often comes home and asks if I listed the girls on ebay today???

We had a lovely Thanksgiving at my mom and dad's house. The girls enjoyed playing with their cousins and of course I had to take a picture of Caroline's first Thanksgiving. The girls wanted one of just them as well.....ok...Mommy wanted one of just them together.





I know goofey face on Emma in the 3 sisters one, but at least I got some good birthday and family pictures with her today at Sears. We did the picture thing today (they did great!) and then went out to eat and to see Enchanted at the theater. The girls loved it and we thoght it was pretty cute too. We had a pretty nice family day and now it's back to bows for craft show, custom orders, and a custom order mini scrapbook album! BUSY, BUSY, BUSY! The story of my life, but I don't think I'd handle sitting still long very well. My OCD-ness insits on me staying busy.

Something to Think About....

For all you mommies to preschoolers, here is a great devotional for you. I get the daily encouragement emails form Proverbs 31 Ministries http://proverbs31.gospelcom.net/ It's a great way to start your day and is a simple, hassle free way to have a bit of reflection time with it coming to your inbox. The less of an effort the more likely I'll be faithful to it. I know, sad!What more could a mommy want than devotions coming to YOU? So this one the other day really got my attention. All I can say is E-M-M-A!

Ruined for Good
By Lysa TerKeurst

“A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”
Proverbs 15:1 (NIV)

Devotion:
If you have kids, then I’m sure you’ve felt the frustration of having things ruined. Maybe you’ve experienced grape juice on the carpet, scratches on hardwood floors, permanent ink on your favorite shirt, or something similar. Ashley once went up the stairway with a crayon putting tick marks on our freshly painted walls with each step she took. Then she dragged the crayon all the way down the hall to her room. Yes, I said freshly painted walls. I wanted to pull my hair out by the roots!

I’d like to be a mom who handles mishaps and messes with a graceful, “That’s okay, Dear.” But I’m wired with firecrackers in my blood. So, I have to make the choice to let the Holy Spirit reign me in. This means getting into God’s Word every day and praying for Him to give me grace, patience and self-control. I have to make the choice every day to invite God’s spirit to interrupt my fleshly tendencies so that I can have gentle answers that turn away wrath.

God helps me with this through perspective changers. He shows me a different way to look at and process things that trigger my emotions. In response to my frustration with my kids ruining things, He gave me a sweet change of perspective that improved my outlook and diffused my anger.

While visiting Art’s parents, I took a liking to a writing desk in their home. I mentioned to my mother-in-law that I’d love to have it if she ever decided to get rid of it. But she was quick to tell me that she would never get rid of it because it was priceless. She unlatched the fold-down lid to reveal what made this desk so priceless. In a little boy’s handwriting the letters A-R-T were scratched onto the surface. She admitted to being angry with my husband when this happened, but now the scratches that seemed to have ruined her desk are priceless treasures to her. Her little boy’s handwriting is saved for her to cherish and remember. The desk had been ruined…for good.

Dear Lord, Thank You for perspective changes that help us to see past the here and now so that we can see Your truth which sets us free. We are freed from anger, firecracker emotions, short fuses and explosive tempers…free to reveal the YOU in us! In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

More tomorrow....I'm super busy trying to finish Christmas decorations and get extra bows made for the craft show I'll be doing in 2 weeks!

Your Eyes Aren't Messing With You.....

Yep...that's my family infront of our Christmas tree that we put up tonight! I know that it's not even Thanksgiving yet, but I don't care. If it were up to me we'd put it up in October! We decided to do it tonight since Nathan is working so much is is hard to find him with an open evening. He got off early from the guard so we jumped on the chance to get our tree up since we aren't sure the next day off he'll have to do it.

The girls had a blast getting it up and were wiggly wanting to hurry to the "ornamet stage" so they could help out. After it was up we had them close their eyes while we turned out all the lights. When they opened their eyes this was Maddelyn's expression. Cute huh? Funny part was after I took the picture she stepped aside and said you're turn dad. What a ham! You can't tell she has lived with photographer mom for 4 years now.

Caroline sat in the playpen while we will have loads of fun keeping her out of the tree this year! HaHa! I wonder who will be into the tree more...her or Emma?? Probably Emma. Oh wait! There's the 2 kittens as well. Okay who want's to place bets (you know those Church of God typy) on which child or kitten will have the tree knocked down first? Or maybe just on how many days/hours the tree remains upright?

We took Caroline's 10 month pictures this afternoon. I couldn't believe how well she did! Generally whenever I take her picture she crawls away before I get my camera focused. Right now she is in a really giggly stage so I just played peek-a-boo with her and she would giggle out loud at me.

For you family members out of town who asked for it.... here is a picture of the girls room set that they are getting for Chirstmas. I think the colors are pretty close to the actual spread. Of course it will look much cuter on their new white bunk beds instead of layed out on my bed.

I also would like to ask everyone to please be in prayer for my Uncle Carl. He was life flighted today after having chest pains. The doctors ended up saying that he had suffered a heart attack (he's only 40 but has family history) and had a stint put in. At this point he is doing okay but they are watching him very closely since his clotting level was still very high. Our family would appreciate it greatly if you could remember to lift his name up in prayer.

What I learned from my kids the week.....

- Ear wax tastes bad.....yes while cleaning Maddleyn's ears the other day she tells me that ear wax tastes bad? She said the other day she stuck her finger in her ear..and you can figure out the rest. Yep...and she's my girly one!

- You can't bite your toenails.....another Maddelyn discovery. She has a bad habit starting of bitting her fingernails so we were discusssing how yucky this was and she tells me you can't bite your toenials. I tell her yes, that's really gross. She says, yeah and can't reach them either. I asked how she knew that and of course she said she had tried.

- A baby can and graciously will put water bottle caps in her mouth....with Emma leaving a trail of bottle lids and open water bottles in her path, this is a real problem in our home.

- Fighting with your sister over who gets to potty first suddenly makes you not have to go anymore. I could hear the girls screaming at eachother from downstairs over who was "first." I of course told them to hurry up and go and just be done with it. Well there continues to be screaming...of course I'm on the phone...and by the time I can get upstairs to deal with it they are both in their room playing. I asked Emma if she had gone yet and she said no, she didn't have to! Uhhh! What was all the fighting for then? Do they do these things just because I'm on the phone and they want anyone who calls to think my kids are monsters?

- A small 3 year old girl can bust through and break a baby gate. Yep, Emma snapped our baby gate in two the other night. We double baby gate them in at night, one stacked on top of the other to keep them (Emma) from wandering in the morning. The other night I was feeling sick so I had the girls go and play in their room. Emma kept coming back downstairs so I put the gates up. A few minutes later I hear this loud crash and here comes Emma? I go upstairs and find the baby gate in shambles on the floor???? Nathan said the other day he had seen Emma back up , put her shoulder down, and ram the gate to get it to fall down. When it does she just casually walks out under the second gate still above her in the doorway. So my not-so-girly-girl ramed the gate! Nothing surprises me with Emma.

- Hungry Hungry Hippos is the best pressent for parents of "that annoying child at playgroup or church." Good friends of ours got Emma this game for her birthday and the girls love it. Of course there is hurt feelings and yelling because Emma and Maddelyn think they each need to be the winner of ALL the games. Don't you love that American competitive spirit? Anyways it's a great game...if you have ear plugs. All you can hear through our whole house is....pound pound pound pound pound....which is always followed by "I WIN!!" "No I Won, I had more!" So if you ever need to think of a game to get back at parents for their kids behavior...Hungry Hungry Hippos. Oh no! What if we were those parents? LOL! No I think it was just a gift by "adoptive" grandparents who let our kids do anything they want as long as they are having fun!

- Kids know how to play you...Ok, I already knew this but they just reaffirmed it for me. As you all know Nathan started his second job this last week and worked about 30 hours on top of his 40 in Columbus and the roughly 13 hours of commuting to and from Columbus. So needless to say we have not seen him. He goes form one job straight to the next, gets off at 10pm and has to leave for work again at 5:30 am. So Maddelyn and I had it out this week...seriously roughest day I have had with her in a long time. She cried and whines all day! So in the midst of me having it out with her she tells me she misses her dad and that is why she is acting that way! That little weasel! I told her I miss her dad too, so can I treat her poorly? They sure do know how to tug at the right strings at the right time don't they? Of corse they miss their dad, but that had nothing to do with whinning for about 12 hours straight. I see politicing in her future...always blame your circumstance and somone else! LOL! (not that my hubby does this, just the normal political stigma.):D

Well time to go and do Maddelyn's school work so we can get to the post office......bows, bows, bows!

6 days....16 hours...40 minutes until....BLACK FRIDAY Begins!

Hip-Hip Horray!

So I have been pretty busy today filling ribbon orders since my new shipment came in. I also of course was playing catch-up house-wise after being on the couch sick yesterday. Why is it that when you take 1 days off, you about 3 days work to make up??? Maddelyn played model for me tonight with my bows. She was such a trooper smiling for about 50 different bow pictures! Yes, she did get rewarded with ice cream! Bribery is always a last resort in our home....but it sure does work wonders!

I have GREAT news...(no, we're not pregnant!) Why is it that any time I have news someone thinks we're pregnant? Probably because we've had 3 kids in 5 years? Ok...back to what I was saying....... I had two different online boutiques pick up my korker bows today! Woo-hoo! One has ordered 20 bows to start with and she will be coming up with more color combos for me. :D The other lady is going to be letting me drop-ship with her. Basically that means she puts them on her website. When somone orders she sends me their address, I invoice her my price plus shipping and then after she pays I mail them out to the person who ordered them. Basically she never touches them and gets the profit. Actually I don't mind though because it gets my bows sold! So...please be in prayer that I get some more boutiques to pick them up. I have been contacting lots of stores to see if they are interested.

Ok, well I need to head out..... Mommy and Me Stroller exercise class in the morning.

Wonderful Weekend

So as I had mentioned the other day we did go away last night to hear Nathan speak. Of course my ever-talented hubby did a wonderful job speaking at this Veteran's Day Event. I did tell him though that this might be my last speaking event sponsored by Vet's for Freedom that I could handle. See, generally whenever someone from Vets for Freedom (which Nathan is a co-chair for the state of Ohio of) speaks, someone from the Gold Stars Families speaks as well. For those of you not familiar with Gold Star Families....back during the second world war families of deployed soldiers began hanging a red an white banner with a blue star on it in their window to signify a loved one over seas. If you came across a flag with a gold star, it means that home had a family member killed overseas. So today's Gold Star Families group is made up of moms and dads who go around speaking on behalf of their son or daughter that was killed in action. Last night we did have the parents of a KIA soldier speak. It was heart wrenching hearing his parents during their first speaking engagement. They spoke highly of their son and how patriotic he was even from a small child. They showed a slide show of baby picture and army snapshots. Yep...heart wrenching. They made a point to show us how we could recognize the "heros" of out society from hollywood in an instant but had no clue who all the "real heros" where that they read off who had been KIA overseas. Kinda made you feel like an idoit or at least ungrateful. I just wish more Americans had that same feel-like-an-idiot moment. Anyways, totally NOT meaning to bring you down! LOL! It was a great event, I just don't know how many more I can handle!

Last night we spent the night with a co-worker of Nathan's and his wife. The girls LOVE going to "Sergeant Major's" house to see him and Miss Molly. That might be in part to the fact that they spoil them rotten while we visit! We got up this morning and headed down to the outlet malls south of Columbus. I've been wanting to go for sometime but from our house they are about 2 hours. Since we were already in Columbus, it wasn't that bad of a drive. I LOVE those outlets because there is a Pottery Barn, Gymboree, Old Navy, Children's Place, Gap and Baby Gap, Heartstrings, and soooooo many more outlets. It's huge! Anyways I got a little Chirstmas shopping done today but the best was the deals I found for the girls' bedroom that they are getting for Christmas. We had found their bedspreads at Pottery Barn Kids on major clearance this Summer and I was trying to match them up today. I found a metal trash can for them and in the clearance I found the bedskirt to match their set! It had a spot on it but we can just put that side to the back. It was 80% off the clearance so it was only $4.00! Then I found some pink corduroy duvet covers that would work great as just an extra blanket for the bottom of their bed. They were $35 with a sale of 50% off that...ok $17 I could totally do that instead of the normal $99.99! Well when got to the register they rang up with 80% off!!! So we paid $7 a piece for them! Great deals! I love Pottery Barn, on sale that is!

Only a few more days until we'll put our Christmas tree up. I know most people think we're nuts but I want the Chirstmas season to last as long as it can. I love this time of the year.

Here is a picture of the girls this morning, don't you love Maddleyn's funny smile!

Emma playing hair bow model for me. What a cheesy fake grin!

Have a great night!

Bows, Bows, and Some Nonsense

So this is what running a hair bow boutique looks like......bows, bows, and more bows! And these are just what I have on ebay right now or those that sold this past week and are awaiting payment. The toddler bows and baby headbands are not pictured either. For those who know me, what more girly of a job can you have than making hair pretties??? LOL!

The rest of this is just because, and not like I don't have 1 million other things that I should be doing tonight.......a bit of nonsense about me.

Let others know a little more about yourself, repost this as your name followed by "ology."

~MOUTHOLOGY~

Q. What is your salad dressing of choice?A. ranch or italian

Q. What is your favorite fast food restaurant?A. Long John Silver's

Q. What is your favorite sit-down restaurant?A: Red Lobster

Q. On average, what size tip do you leave at a restaurant? about 20%

Q. What food could you eat every day for two weeks and not get sick of?A. popsicles

Q. What are your pizza toppings of choice?A. mushrooms, bacon, and ham

Q. What do you like to put on your toast? A. peanut butter and jelly

~TECHNOLOGY~

Q. What is your wallpaper on your computer?A. sad to say nothing now, I accidently erased my other wallpaper.

Q. How many televisions are in your house?A. 3

~BIOLOGY~

Q. Are you right-handed or left-handed?A. right

Q. Have you ever had anything removed from your body?A. a gall bladder and three babies

Q. When was the last time you had a cavity?A. i don't remember...

Q. What is the last heavy item you lifted?A. totes of homeschooling stuff this afternoon

Q. Have you ever been knocked unconscious?A. No

~BULL[CRAP]OLOGY~

Q. If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die?A.No

Q. If you could change your name, what would you change it to?A. something not by Barry Manilow

Q. What color do you think looks best on you?A. brown

Q. Have you ever swallowed a non-food item by mistake?A. a bee when I was 5

Q. Have you ever saved someone's life?A. my friends baby nefew in a pool when I was about 10

Q. Has someone ever saved yours?A. no?

~DAREOLOGY~

Q. Would you kiss a member of the same sex for $100?A: ok, that's just dumb??

Q. Would you allow one of your little fingers to be cut off for $200,000? no??

Q. Would you never blog again for $50,000? lol...maybe???

Q. Would you pose naked in a magazine for $250,000?A. definite no

Q. Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1000?A. I couldn't get past smelling it, I'm a wimp!

Q. Would you, without fear of punishment, take a human life for $1,000,000?A. only if they were threatning my family or myself and no money would be needed to do it.

~DUMBOLOGY~

Q: What is in your left pocket?A: Don't have one at the moment

Q: Is Napoleon Dynamite actually a good movie?A: yep, out of the loop me hasn't seen it.

Q: Do you have hardwood or carpet in your house?A: carpet

Q: Do you sit or stand in the shower?A: Stand??

Q: Could you live with roommates?A: does Nathan count?

Q: How many pairs of flip flops do you own?A: too many

Q: Last time you had a run-in with the cops?A: about 2 weeks ago I side swipped a car in my blindspot on the interstate. Got a ticket for that one.

Q: What do you want to be when you grow up?A: First Lady?

~LASTOLOGY~

Q: Friend you last talked to?A: Angie

Q: Last person who called you?A: Mom

Q: Person you hugged?A: Nathan

Q: Person you texted?A: Nathan

Q. Last person you recieved a text message from?A. Nathan

~FAVORITEOLOGY~

Q: Number?A:7

Q: Season?A: Winter

~CURRENTOLOGY~

Q: Miss anyone?A: my bestest best friend Alicia and her sweet baby Emma-Lee

Q: Mood?A: okay.

Q: Listening to? A. Nathan watching the Nebraska game he DVR'ed while working today.

Q: Watching? A. The Game

.Q: Worrying about?A: how much I have to do before bed and why I'm still on the net???

~RANDOMOLOGY~

Q: First place you went this morning?A: Been home cleaning all day.

Q: What can you not wait to do?A: Put up My Christmas Tree! :D

Q: What's the last movie you saw?A: Mary Poppins with the girls tonight

Q: Do you smile often?A: yep

Q: Are you a friendly person?A: yep, sometimes too talkitive though???

Okay...enough goofey info on me for tonight. I've gotta head out for the night. I need to go and pack our stuff for tomorrow. Nathan is speaking at a church south of Columbus tomorrow night, for Vereran's Day and the girls and I are tagging along.

Have a great weekend!!!

I am Thankful For.....

So during this time of stress, someone (thanks hubby) once told me that it helps you get through the hard times when you count your blessings. So that's what I'm doing tonight. I am being thankful for what God has given me! Besides it fits the season :)

I am thankful for.......

1. A family that is healthy
2. A roof over my head
3. A daughter that always asks why, which makes me evaluate the details of my world in order to be able to answer all her questions.
4. A sweet camera...gotta love spending 3 days at walmart in line waiting for a playstaion 3 last Nov just to sell it on ebay for $$$ and get my camera! Yep....and even thought I was pregnant it was so worth it!
5. A van that runs...hey when you've had this much car problems in one month, that's a huge blessing!
6. A Christmas Club at our bank which takes out a bit each month for a Christmas fund. This way Chirstmas is paid for each year and we don't have to stress about it! :)
7. My scrapbooking room, even though I don't get to use it much lately. It's inspiring when I walk through it on the way to the laundry room??
8. A MOPS group in which I have made such sweet friends and gotten the girls and I involved in other local groups.
9. A wonderful church and pastor that have been such encouragers in the rough times.
10. A 3 year old that has me laughing most days and only wanting to strangle her some days! HaHa!
11. A husband who supports me in no matter what I do and is always there for me. He truely is my gift from God.
12. A family that is close by (never thought we'd live this close to them).
13. A hairbow buisness that is taking off to a great start.
14. Being able to find a great deal on my girlies bunk beds that they are getting for Christmas....shhh!
15. God providing Nathan with a second job, which he doesn't mind too much :P
16. Living in a country where I can worship my God freely.
17. Having stangers that I will never meet, leaving all they know here in the US, flying into a war zone, and risking/giving their lives just to protect my childrens' and I's freedoms as Americans.
18. Having made it through all the rough patches before.....NICU, Iraq, College with a baby and pregnant again, Running for Congress, Presidential Campaign, and the current place we find our selves in. As that same wise person (Love ya hubby!) has told me many times, If God did it Before for us....He'll do it again.


So I encourage you guys to make you're own thankful list on your blogs, on a piece of paper, or even in the comment box here! So what has God done for you lately????

Like the New Look?

So do you like the new blog header??Just popping in real quick to see if everyone saw the new header. I'm in the middle of listing some more bows on ebay and then off to bed. I have my brother's kids here tonight so with it being 6 kids to 1 adult, I didn't think there is much time for blogging! Tomorrow morning I start my first Mommy and Me excercie class! Woo-hoo! It's a stroller walking class at the mall where you break for excersises and streches. The perfect solution for mommies with small kids! I'll let you know how it went!

Oh...and I finally named my bow buisness......

Sugar Sweet Boutique

I Will Praise You in This Storm

So as many of you know it's been kinda stressful around here with Nathan starting a second job and all. He goes in tomorrow for his 1st day as a cashier at Walmart. So for those of you family members you also know that we have been under some serious attack with our cars. I think I told you all that I had some major work done on my van a few weeks back? Well, Nathan has also been having a time with his car that he drives back and forth to work in Columbus. This tiny car was meant to save gas on the highway and all we've done so far is put $$ into it! It's broken down several times with throwing a belt and overheating. So after about 5 times of getting that repaired, we ended up putting a new alternator in for $600. It's frustraiting but worth it if it stops breaking down on the interstate. Well, this morning Nathan's car overheated YET AGAIN on the way to work. This was the first day driving it after the alternator was replaced. So we're back to square one after spending about $1000 on a $1500 car! Uhhh!


I say all of this to say that I/we are asking for prayer over and for our family. The whole car ordeal is just a tiny window into the serious attack of the enemy as well as a time of waiting on God to move, that we have been going through these past several months. It's a time of releying on God and knowing that He in in controll. As Nathan says, I know it's frustrating all that is happening, but at least we are all here and all healthy. It could be so much worse! Praise God for the blessings in the storm!

The song "Praise You in This Storm" by Casting Crowns has really been an inspiration to me. I heard it when it first came out after Katrina, but the words to this song go so much farther than just a real-life storm. I attached a video that shows the song from a deployed soldier's point of view. It's worth checking out. There are some very inspiring scriptures in the video as well. I wish I knew how to imbed the video into my blog. Oh well?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ef9jKHwHueQ

Here are the lyrics to the song as well.....

"Praise You In This Storm"

I was sure by now

That You would have reached down

And wiped our tears away

Stepped in and saved the day

But once again, I say "Amen", and it's still raining

As the thunder rolls

I barely hear Your whisper through the rain

"I'm with you"

And as Your mercy falls

I raise my hands and praise the God who gives

And takes away

I'll praise You in this storm

And I will lift my hands

For You are who You are

No matter where I am

Every tear I've cried

You hold in Your hand

You never left my side

And though my heart is torn

I will praise You in this storm

I remember when

I stumbled in the wind

You heard my cry

You raised me up again

My strength is almost gone

How can I carry on

If I can't find You

As the thunder rolls

I barely hear You whisper through the rain"I'm with you"

And as Your mercy falls

I raise my hands and praise the God who gives

And takes away

I lift my eyes unto the hills

Where does my help come from?

My help comes from the Lord

The Maker of Heaven and Earth

It's times like these that our family clings onto our fmaily scripture as well. We remember that no matter how frustraiting the now looks, it is all for his purpose and to lead us to towards the calling He has set before us. No one ever said a calling was a "free gift" Sometimes you have to prove yourself worth to carry out the calling by enduring the hardships and staying the course.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile."

Jeremiah 29: 11-13

Ok....I so did not mean for that to be a sermon! LOL! I guess that's what you blog readers should expect by now! It's all about a little scripture of encouragement amoungst the Emma stories, hair bows, scrapbooking, and cute kid pics! This is a well rounded picture of who I am and what matters most in my life. Isn't that what blogs are supposed to be about??

Today was probably the last evening we'll see Nathan home for a while so we decided to have a family night. We went out to Fazoli's (after driving 1/2 way to Columbus to get Nathan) and then had a family movie night. We all got in PJ's and layed on sleeping bags to watch a Veggie Tales movie in the dark. The girls love movie night and I think it was a stress reliever for all of us.

Happy Birthday Dad!

So my Dad is the big 3-9 again! :D He wishes! We went out today to have an early birthday lunch with all the grandkids. Of course my nefew had Logan's do their embarrasing birthday yee-haw to him. The kids really got a kick out of it and of course Dad got embarrassed! Isn't that what birthday dinners are all about?



Here are a few pics of my parents with the grandkids and of course one of my lovely ladies in their matching outfits. You can't really tell but my Aunt Donna got them all green shirts with matching green camo skirts from the Children's Place. They looked adorable with their leggings.

Speaking of leggings. Okay so what are the "cool kids" calling them now? I have no clue but when I was younger they were leggings. I said that to my 19 year old cousin and she chuckled at me calling them that. Man, I think this is the first time I've been "dated" with one of my terms! I feel old!




Ok...what's with the wierd faces girls? I mean ya'd think after living with me for this long these girls would would see me walk into a room....freeze...smile...and await the camera to appear. But do they??? NO of course not! Mommy only takes 50 pictures of the same pose so we can get one picture to not look like these. I guess I should have taken 51 pictures?

Just wanted to add that yeah...I want 3 of these shirts for my darlings. Way too cute!!! They say "Mommy Makes My Bows" http://www.cafepress.com/mom_makes_bows.81873967 They even have the matching ladies shirts and canvas bags that say "I'm a Bow Making Mom." On my Santa List! :D

And the Winner is.....

Ok, so I check tonight and I have had 40 some hits since I asked for comments to see who was lurking. And do you know how many comments I got???? 8? Hmm? I know there are more lurkers out there because I had lunch with one of them today who said she didn't comment but read the post....MOM! Anyways, just thought it was funny how many people read my blog that I have not clue who they are. I guess "Emma stories" draw in people from near and far. I can't blam then though, I'd read a total stranger's blog about her crazy stay-at-home mom life just to see if all 3 kids lived to see yet another day. Wait I do read a blog like that ( http://mom2my6pack.blogspot.com/ ) just to say...hmmm...my life isn't THAT bad! We aren't totally losing it!

So without anymore rambling....the winner of my little 5000 post celebrations is...... AMY! I'm glad to know that someone else can relate to my stores! So email me glassslipper02@yahoo.com and we can figure out what color bows you want. See all you lurkers, if you had made your presence known, these cute bows cold be yours! HaHa! No in reality I do know several blog friends that didn't comment either maybe everyone when on a scrapbooking cruise or to Hawaii without me and didn't let me know??? No, probably not.

So another Emma story.......

So yesterday Emma had a bit on yellow on her face and I asked her what it was. She just kinda smiled ...which tells me she's up to something. I tought it was candy since that's the normal thing in Emma's mouth these days. Since we went Trick-or-Treating this kid has stockpiles of candy horded in secret places. I put the candy WAY up on top o the fridge (not that Emma hasn't been up there before) but almost everytime I see her she is munching on more candy? I think what it is, she knew I'd eventually hide the candy so she made herself up a little (huge) reserve in every room of our house to tide her over. I seriously think 3/4 of the day Emma has yet another piece of candy in her mouth. Of course my house looks like it's candy-free but nope...Emma knows exactly where her stashes are.

Anyways back off my bunny trail. So I thought it was just more candy. I told her to open up so I could make her spit out what was left of it, well when she opens her mouth, inside its NEON yellow! What? So I finally get her to fess up that it's not candy, it's from sucking on a magic marker??? Thank God they are non-toxic! So we have this huge talk about they're nasty, don't do that again, it could make you sick, yada yada. So later that night Nathan comes downstairs and says Emma's grounded from markers? He says you're not going to believe this...Oh really? Try me?? She's been sucking on markers again????? Ok, I am the first one to admit that my child is wierd. Yep, now that I've said it out loud you all can sit back in your chairs and say, we already knew that. Oh Emma! Wish I'd have taken a picture of that, but then again we'll probably see that polaroid moment again in the next few days.

Five Thousand

5000: is the number of times already this moring I've told the girls to pick up their room and quit fighting.

5000: is the number of inches of ribbon that I have spun around doll rods this week to make korker bows for ebay. With 900+ yards, it seems like I am always spinning and baking ribbons!

5000: is the number of people Jesus fed with just a handful of loaves of bread and fish.

5000: is the number of days I've been pregnant or nursing in the last 5 years! Actually it's more like 46 months or 3.8 years of the last 5! Yeah, exactly! No wonder I'm always tired??

5000: is the number of children's items per square inch of our home. By the looks of our home, I think they are taking over??? You can barely tell that Nathan and I still live here...well besides for the scrapbook room downstairs.

5000 is the number of things on my to-do-list that was suppoes to already be done. It seems like I add ten items for every one item that I cross off? I survive by lists! Nathan said the other day I knew you were wierd and OCD, but I didn't know that you fell apart without your organization. Yep! Gotta make those lists.

5000 is the number of hits my blog has had in the past year!!!

So to celebrate we are having a contest! Just because I feel like being nice to all of the people that listen to my silly ramblings! So.......post a comment in the next 2 days and tomorrow night I will pick a random winner to receive a set of korker bows (see below for example) made with whatever colors you want. If you don't have girls, I'm sure you know someone who does. They would even be great Christmas gifts???? So, all you need to do is post a comment! Oh, and all you lurkers (including family!!!) post so I can see just who is reading! I'm curious just who these 5000 hits were from! :D

Have a great day and leave me a comment!