For Comparisons Sake

Ok, this was me as a baby and toddler

Daddy and Son...uncanny

This is Brian when he was 2 months old. and then...Ayden at 6 weeks. Ok, Ayden definitely favors Brian. It's funny because as soon as everyone saw the "prominent" nose that Ayden has they immediately said "Ohhhh Heather, he looks just like you". Ok, check out the picture. So, yes, there is hope that he will not have my nose.. Brian's nose is not at all prominent as an adult. The child looks almost nothing like me as of yet...well, maybe in his mouth a little. But I had almost white hair as a child and extremely fair....no, Ayden looks like his Daddy.

Anjolie said,...

..my Boo Boo is still Boobooing. :) Yep, you heard it right here folks "boobooing" a new word soon to be a household common. Good Day and God Bless, my friends.

Operation Kill Procrastination

..has commenced. So please forgive me for the lack of posting. I have been tackling some little (and I do mean little) areas that I have been procrastinating, like my desk drawers, the girls playroom, and 1 of the 4 closets that need some serious organizing.
Other than that, I have been busy with some VERY (tee hee) important things like Brianna's "Stick Meeting" for which I showed up VERY late. I almost missed the hunt for sticks and the "show and Tell" part of it ;). I also attended Anjolie's Birthday party she hostessed for "dead bug" he turned 1. There was even a mud cake with flower candles. We all sang "Happy Birthday" to dead bug...it was quite the celebration. We chased and caught some butterflies with the girls' nets they bought from the 100yen store which was alot of fun.

Oh, and one of my friends gave me a really great idea. She said that we should, as sisters in Christ, "treat" each other more in the way of preparing meals. We take meals to those who are ill or just had a baby, but why not do it "just because". So I had the blessing of preparing a "just because" meal for one of my friends. I just emailed her and just let her know what I was doing. Believe me, it totally made my day, and I am going to try and do it once a month for whoever the Lord lays on my heart. This church has done so much for our family and it truly is a blessing to give back even in a small way as the Lord allows. God is so good and soooo incredibly patient with me.

Crafty

This is a close up of the detail on the girl's shirts. What a cute idea! I love hand made things...sooo cute.

Thank You GiGi and Pappy!!

Fresh as a rose...
This is just reality at its best...little ones can be chaotic :)
Sister love
We received a precious gift from Brian's Grandparents yesterday. Ayden's little blanket was handmade and GiGi (Great Grandmom) hand embroidered and stitched the girl's shirts. They all 3 had matching skorts that Brian's mom had gotten them which matched the ribbon embroidery perfectly! Unfortunately the girls would not sit still all at the same time for a picture...big surprise there huh ;)

Choked Up

..that is how I feel today. My children, well, one little girl really....(I am SURE by some of my past posts you know who I am talking about) has been having an awful problem with temper tantrums. I do handle her defiance in a Biblical manner (heh heh how's that for P.C.?), but I think I have found the problem...the real problem...ME. I use such a harsh tone with her. The Lord allowed me to really hear myself and it is awful. Eph 4:31 "Let all bitterness, and wrath and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice." I am going to use this I hate feeling angry. Anyway, I took the girls to gymnastics and it was an extremely difficult morning getting them all dressed, fed and out the door by 8:45am with them fighting and crying me being angry...*sigh* So, we prayed and got it together before we arrived to gymnastics. I watched my little girls during their class and saw that Anjolie (oops, cats out)was still having some "listening and obeying" trouble even with her teacher. I wanted to frown at her to show my disapproval, but thought better of it and smiled at her when I caught her eye instead. She gave me a warm smile back and immediately started to participate with her class. After the class, I did not mention the difficulty I saw, but asked what her favorite thing about the class was...she said "When I saw you watching me mommy and you smiled at me". My heart just broke. When the Bible speaks about exhorting one another...He means our kids as well..I am so set on letting them know exactly when they are wrong and what they need to improve on that I forget to truly praise them to obedience. I am so weak in the area of temperance when it comes to my children...in my mind, once they turn 3, they need to be miniature adults (WRONG). Brutal honesty...that makes me a worldly mom who wants kids that "look" good instead of guiding their hearts Godward. Please pray for me as the Lord guides and corrects me in this area.

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Priceless

...ok, so I went digging through the neighbors garbage again ;) I pulled out this cute little table and chair set. The girls scrubbed the table while I found a table cloth and put together a little bit of make-believe "restaurant". I donned a cute little apron, made some menus and took two orders of Ramen noodles, chamomile tea and water. We really had a good time. It cost me nothing but a little bit of time...but the memory is priceless.

Egg Hunt

...well...they were SUPPOSED to go on an egg hunt. We waited in a huge line to pay $5 per child ages 1 year and up to go on an egg hunt. There were 5 times the expected amount of kids so the place was a literal mad-house. Parents were the worst behaved of all..I heard the most foul language from MOMS!! Anyway, we did have a good time watching the girls on the inflatable slides, and Jupiter Jumps. And..they even gave us a refund since the girls did not get to do the hunt!

As Said by Brianna

The girls have a play-room (praise the Lord) and the rule is that they are never allowed to dump out a bin of toys unless I am asked first. Well, Anjolie dumped out the "Little People" bin without asking. I told her that she would have to clean it up immediately. I asked Brianna to lovingly help her sister clean up the mess. Brianna takes a look and says "we are gonna need ALOT more kids" ;)

I love FOX News :)

Go, Granny! Go, Granny! Go-Granny-Go!

LOS ANGELES (AP) — An 82-year-old woman received a $114 ticket for taking too long to cross a street. Mayvis Coyle said she began shuffling with her cane across Foothill Boulevard in the San Fernando Valley when the light was green, but was unable to make it to the other side before it turned red...

She said the motorcycle officer who ticketed her on Feb. 15 told her she was obstructing traffic... (You can read the rest of the story on Foxnews.com)

Compiled by FOXNews.com's Taylor Timmins.

Got a good "Out There" story in your hometown? We'd like to know about it. Send an e-mail with a Web link (we need to authenticate these things) to outthere@foxnews.com.

FOXNEWS.COM HOME > FOXLIFE

Brian LOVES Pizza...

with everything on it .....well, not quite

:) I forgot to post about Brian's trip to an Okinawan Pizza joint called Pizza Inn. This happened way back when I had just had Ayden and was still in the hospital with a fever. I suggested that Brian take the girls to this Pizza Inn that I had heard was great from a friend. Brian agreed and took the girls. He called me back about two hours later to check on me and I remembered to ask how the pizza place was. Brian got kind of quiet and said that it was good until his last slice of pizza. I was like uh-oh...I thought maybe a roach or hair had gotten in it. He assured me it was neither. He said he was up at the Pizza bar and saw the guy next to him had a piece that had jalapenos on it. Brian absolutely LOVES ANYTHING spicy...the spicier the better for him. So, Brian gets himself a piece of this jalapeno pizza, and I am sure he was very excited about it...(I AM DYING THAT I WAS NOT THERE FOR THIS NEXT PART)...Brian said he took a bite of it and was not too crazy about it because it sort of tasted fishy. He took a few more bites, but was almost gagging at the fish taste. He looked at the cheese, and he said it just did not look right...he pulled back the cheese to discover fish EYES alllllllll over it LOL LOL. I almost fell out of the hospital bed I was laughing so hard....I mean, his poor brain probably about shorted out at the sight of those eyes all over his pizza. If you have not gathered from my other posts, Brian grosses out VERY easily...the truth is, he used to NEVER eat pizza with even cheese on it because the smell and taste of cheese was enough to make him gag....boy has he come a looong way...all the way to little fishy eyes :)

Boy, Do I Want Some Coffee

I am so incredibly tired today! My husband was reading last night from Matthew before we went to sleep...I fell asleep on him, for the second night in a row!! Now, that would be totally normal for Brian...he can sleep anywhere, anytime, but not me. Other than Ayden nursing quite a bit last night, I slept very well so I have no idea what my problem is.

Yesterday was beautiful, so we met some friends at the playground and spent a good 2 hours there. That left alot of my Monday Madness cleaning for today, but it was worth it :) So now, I am going to load up the kids and get myself a non-fat caramel latte.

There is still no news from my labs, and of course I can't get in to the u/s til' May 4th so thank you for your continued prayer on this.

Precious Blood

Taken from one of Spurgeon's Morning Devotions

"It is written, "They overcame through the blood of the Lamb." How could they do otherwise? He who fights with the precious blood of Jesus, fights with a weapon which cannot know defeat. The blood of Jesus! sin dies at its presence, death ceases to be death: heaven's gates are opened. The blood of Jesus! we shall march on, conquering and to conquer, so long as we can trust its power!"

Naughty Monsta Face

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I finally got her naughty face on tape!! She won't do it on command of course... She makes this little pursed lip face when she is feeling naaauuughty...;)

Cowboy Bootie

One of the ladies at church crocheted these adorable little booties for Ayden!! Now he just needs a hat! :)

Da Monsta Dance

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Sleepy Monster

Lily saw little Ayden in the swing and decided that she wanted a turn. I put her in there thinking she would want right back out, or the swing would collapse...one of the two. I never guessed she would zonk out within 10 min of the poor swing hoisting her chubby little body back and forth. :)

The Saga Continues...

..seriously, there is never a dull moment. Which I enjoy for the most part, but when it comes to sickness and stuff...I am just wearied of it. My "unspoken" is now going to be a spoken one *sigh* but keep in mind, it is probably nothing... please pray it is nothing.

About 4 weeks ago I found a lump just under my collar bone and without going into the boring...yet irritating detail (I was majorly "put off" by the staff concerning this whole thing) I recently found out that it is not bone material as the Dr and I were both hoping. So, my hope is that it is a cyst. The Dr I saw today did not believe it was a cyst (that does not mean it isn't!!), but ordered a bone scan by ultra-sound and some blood work to check for bone cancer and lymphoma. He said we would start with worst case scenario first and then work our way back. So, I go to make the ultra-sound appt. and they don't have an opening for 3 weeks!! I was sooo incredibly frustrated. Sooo what if I DID have bone cancer, wouldn't that 3 weeks plus an extra week for results and then another week for a follow up make a difference in my treatment time?! :brief head smacking "DUH" moment:

But, after the ashes settled from my little panicked "eruption"..the Lord did remind me, that as botched up as the system is...He is in charge and He did give me a brain to discern whether I should push the issue or not about getting a sooner appt (which I will), but if indeed everything ends up out of my control- He is the one who has taken charge and has put me safely out of the way while He works in His mysterious way.

So, I was looking forward to being able to report next week that I had this little troublesome lump that turned out to be a silly little cyst...but it looks like instead I am going to beg you for prayers so I can blog that in ...oh 5 weeks ;) Please pray for an earlier appt opening. It is hard to be patient about something like this.

Just Some Pictures

Ayden's Pop-pop's Secretary made this beautiful blanket for little Ayden.
Ayden in his Maya wrap. I love this thing..
Daddy and Ayden
Lily loves the Maya wrap too!!

Rainy Day Blues

Yes, I have the rainy day blues. I think all the craziness from the weekend has left me VERY thankful, but definitely emotionally drained. I also seemed to have picked up something (probably in the hospital) that has left me achey allll over.

It is storming today...I DO like thunder storms :) I took the girls out for a little car ride in it...on base. I picked up a non-fat caramel Latte for myself ;)(do you see my ticker...just barely inching along). Now, the kids are all down for a nap, and I am going to catch up on some Bible reading. ...I also would like to ask for prayer for something. Right now it is unspoken (sorry). But just please pray. I will definitely be up to sharing about it next week...by then it will, Lord willing, be a Praise :) Now THAT is something I like to share :)

Quick Update

Poor little Ayden had to stay in the hospital this weekend :( He is fine now, and we are home Praise the Lord. On Friday he suddenly spiked a 101.4 temp at home. I was not too concerned, but I called the Dr just in case- to make sure I could give him some Tylenol. The Dr said I needed to take him to the ER immediately because new babies should never run a temp over 100.4. Well, I held little Aydens little hand the entire way over and just prayed and prayed for him. Of course his fever broke before we got there ( a praise, but that always seems to happen!!) It was just slightly elevated when the nurse took it, so I thought "oh good, we get to go home!!" Nope, as a matter of fact the poor thing not only had to have his blood drawn, and a urine sample, but he had to have a spinal tap :( AWFUL. My emotions were just on a roller coaster...he's fine, he's not, he's fine, he's not etc...

The Dr came in to tell me that his blood and urine were fine, but the spinal fluid was not...I thought I would throw up. He came in about 10 min later...well, it might be ok. They finally clarified that he had white blood cells and bacteria in his spinal fluid....oookaaay. So, I was like what are you telling me? The Dr just kind of scratched his head and thought maybe we caught spinal meningitis in its early stages..but possibly not. ANYWAY, they treated him for it to be safe. So little Ayden spent 2 nights getting 3 different types of antibiotics. During that time, 4 other babies came in within 24 hours and admitted with the very same strange situation!! All of our babies were in isolation, and the whole thing was just really weird. BUT God is soooo good. It happened on the weekend so Brian is home, and the nurse we had every day was a friend of mine from church!! The other babies that came in were much more sick which leads me to believe if we would have waited any longer Ayden would not be doing so well. whew!! So, Praise the Lord :)

Sooo True!!

I just had to share this from my devotion today- Charles Spurgeon's Morning and Evening Devotions

"The life of separation may be a path of sorrow, but it is the highway of safety; and though the separated life may cost you many pangs, and make every day a battle, yet it is a happy life after all. No joy can excel that of the soldier of Christ: Jesus reveals Himself so graciously, and gives such sweet refreshment, that the warrior feels more calm and peace in his daily strife than others in their hours of rest."

We all know of those saints, and instances that we ourselves have personally gotten through by relying on the Lord- that we just admire and think "HOW do they do it?!" when it happens to us...we KNOW it was the Lord.

A Ladies' Retreat

I have posted before about the Author/Speaker Debi Pryde and the amazing Mina Oglesby, well there is a retreat that I would LOOOOVE to go to, but obviously I can't :) But, if any of you are in the area, or even within a few hours driving distance ( it is being held in Spring City Tennessee), and are looking for some great teaching- I would really recommend you check it out. The price is great!! Conference fee is $145 per person if deposit or full fee is postmarked by July 28 and $155 after July 28- the retreat is September 28th-30th. The fee includes lodging, meals (Thursday evening through Saturday brunch), conference materials and all activities.

The Lord is really using these ladies to change lives...He has used them to change mine!! Just click the link below then click the Rescue 911 icon.

Rescue 911 Retreat( A Far Above Rubies Retreat with Mina Oglesby)

At least pray about it :) I know it would be a life changing experience.

First-born

*sigh* I can't believe she will be 5 next month!!

I Must Remember!!

My mom gave me a suncatcher with this poem on it...which I have over my kitchen sink as a daily reminder... NOT as an excuse to let my house remain in disarray, but a reminder of what is truly important:


Cleaning and scrubbing
Can wait 'til tomorrow
For babies grow up, we learn
to our sorrow
So quiet down cobwebs,
dust go to sleep,
I'm rocking my baby
and babies
don't keep

Day to day

Sometimes the "mundane" is such a comfort. Today it offers me a sense of stability and routine. Getting a "treat" of coffee this morning from Seattle Coffee was motivation to get the girls, Ayden, and myself dressed and ready early for today :). I find that I function more effectively (the girls too) when I am "dressed" for the day. It is sooo tempting to just stay in pjs with homeschooling, and believe me, some days I still do. Like Monday...that is my BIG cleaning day (after the weekend the house is pretty chaotic) , so I have made it an official pj day for all of us until around 2pm :) Well, today, is a quiet day...I still have a ton of laundry to do and more schoolwork for Brianna. She has her first piano lesson today, and then we have visitation tonight...I sure am glad I got a good night's rest! Have a good one...and God Bless!

Spring Time

The girls and I had fun making some spring time cookie cut outs! I just love spring :)

ANOTHER potty Adventure

Well, Anjolie has done it again! You might remember the fate of her "paci", in one of my first posts on this blog, -she accidentally dropped it in the "potty" at the O-club when my DH (dear husband)lovingly took her...yep FLUSHED. My husband has recently had the opportunity to redeem himself...isn't that wonderful. I know he was just thrilled at the chance. This time, it was a cute little Cookie Lee ring that I had bought her, and ironically, it was on another Sunday. We were getting ready for church (as if we needed any more chaos on a Sunday morning right?) I was in the bathroom doing my hair and make-up when Anjolie's sweet little face looked up and she said, "Mommy, my ring is in the potty by accident", then her little lip puckered out and she started to cry and buried her little tow-head into my legs sobbing. I looked, and sure enough, there her little sparkling pink flower ring sat- at the bottom of the bowl...amidst a swirling sea of tissue (Anjolie LOVES to throw LOTS of tissue in). Brian comes in...and at first I was afraid to tell him, but I told him and he did not seem too displeased...rather- he seemed eager to redeem himself for his little princess. Brian planned his "attack" and came in, confidently, with an unraveled hanger, but he was a little over confidant because as he was dragging the ring up the side of the bowl, he pushed it right into that little hole in the front (what IS that little hole for anyway?). "GO FIGURE!!" he grumbled loudly, face red with frustration (that was quick) and quickly flushed the toilet to Anjolie's wailing "MY RING...*gasp* MY RING..." I was just quietly doing my make-up and trying not to get involved...which is best when these sort of things happen, but I gently reminded Brian how much Anjolie loved that ring and to try and be a little more sensitive. I told Anjolie that perhaps I would just buy her a new one...which seemed to fill Brian with a fresh new fervor for getting the ring because out of the corner of my eye...I see him doing what I thought was impossible!! Brian, who was already dressed for church, had his sleeve rolled up, tie safely tucked away and was down on his knees with his finger digging in that little hole!! It was all I could do to hide my shock and amazement...I really could NOT believe it...Brian...with his hand in the toilet..it just doesn't happen. I stopped what I was doing and stood silently with Anjolie out of respect for her valiant father. "Anjolie" I said in an "awe-hushed" voice "do you see what your Daddy is doing for you honey?" Brian continued to work and grunt a little in his effort to retrieve the stuck ring.. "Your Daddy sure loves you honey.." I prayed as Brian worked with such effort, I thought "Surely, Lord you would bless in this moment! Please, let him get the ring, please" I was afraid of what would happen if he didn't after *ahem* stooping to that degree to get it. It was a humbling moment as we stood there silently, hoping and praying that my poor husbands efforts would yield favorable results. Such a loving moment... ended very abruptly ...and came crashing down when Anjolie, who had been silent (in shock I think), said very loudly "BUT THERE'S POOP IN THERE DADDY!!...POOOOP!!"...

...searching abruptly stopped for the little ring when it seemed to "dawn" on Brian what he was actually doing. Brian never was able to get the ring out, but he sure gets a gold star in my book for Heroism.

Weight Loss Ticker

Ok, I did not want my ticker to look ridiculous because the weight I am losing is baby weight. I gained about 35-38 pounds this pregnancy, and have already lost 18-20 pounds (most of it was the swelling I had from BP) so I have like 17 to go...I did not think it would be fair to post that I had "lost" the weight when it was really just water. So, I am just recording the pounds I am going to have to "work" off/ "watch what I am eating" off. I am not complaining, just wanting to hold myself accountable because there is no health reason I cannot get those pounds off within the next few months (I would rather weeks...but I will be reasonable):)

M.V.P ?!

It is kind of ironic how MVP is across his stinky little bottom...Most Volatile you know what ..is what comes to MY mind. :)

Ayden had his 2 week appt today (yes, he is 3 weeks) but this little boy has gained over a pound in a week!! The Dr was concerned at a 2 week check because he had not re-gained his birth weight. Well, Ayden must have heard because he has been "chowin' down" every two hours :) We have him in bed with us for now so that I can get some rest in between nursing...which I do :) Hopefully he will move to every 3hrs soon!! Brian surprised me by showing up unexpectedly at Ayden's appt :) Sooo sweet. I had reserved child care for the girls so he was able to help me get them picked up and loaded back into the van. That was a nice warm fuzzy for my day. Today is another beautiful sunny day so we made a stop at the playground to take advantage before the rainy season hits (I thought we were already in it!). Now, the girls have been fed, and I am going to put 2 of them down for a nap and get some of Brianna's school work done *sigh* it's been a good day so far. Thank you Lord!

I THOUGHT....

...I would be so depressed today! Today is Monday and the start of my first official week "on my own" with the kids and Brian back to his crazy work schedule. I really thought I would be bummed about it, but I prayed before I got out of bed this morning that I would be able to have the energy and mindset so the children and I could have a wonderful day together. The Lord saw fit to bless :) I feel exhilarated and READY :) So, I will take this day, embrace it and then tuck it away- that I might pull it out for reflection on those days that I don't feel....Exhilarated ;)

I am getting my hair cut today...pray it goes well. It will be the first time getting my hair cut here. I put it off to have a "treat" after the baby was born. I also have 18 pounds of baby weight to lose :( I know it has only been 3 weeks, but I CAN'T WAIT TO GET IT OFF!! Well, I think I will take "the crew" out for a walk this morning before starting Brianna's schoolwork! Have a great day!!