What a Weekend!

I'm too exhausted at the moment to go into much detail, but I had an amazing weekend that I can't wait to share with you all when my brain is functioning at a better capacity. Long story short, I had the honor of meeting a dear sister in Christ, Jennifer (otherwise known in the blogging world as MckMama), whose blog I frequent. She's the real deal folks, such a wonderful person, and I had the pleasure of meeting many other "real deal", wonderful women, all of us connected by the computer world, that I hope to get to know better. And I did a bit of star gazing, no not at the twinkling gems in the sky, but at a famous TV star and childhood heart throb who happens to be an amazing man of God, married to a gorgeous woman of God. Any guesses? Until tomorrow and pictures, I must. go. to. bed.
Goodnight:)

Grumpy

In my effort to be more real on here, the truth is, I'm grumpy! I'm in a rotton, sleep-deprived, one child is sick, one is needy and one is pushing all the buttons bad mood. And I'm frustrated...with my body...with everything, which may be partly to blame for this crumby mood I'm in. Let's just say I've never "worked" normally, I've never been "regular" and at this moment in time, it's driving me crazy! And I don't like having decisions unmade, I like to hash things out right now and make a decision...right now. But there are some decisions that can't be made right now, and at this moment in time...it's driving me crazy! And you may be asking, have I been praying about all this? The answer, yes...but it's been more like stomping my feet around like a two year old and I'm sure God is not amused. But I know He wants my heart, right where it's at, not fancy words or fake holiness...but I also know I can't stop in my tantrum and leave it at this...don't worry, I won't. But here you have it, realness. Thanks for loving me!

A trip down memory lane

This past weekend, we had the rare pleasure of seeing one of my favorite childhood homes, both inside and out. To make a long story short, I wrote a letter to the current owners telling them our story behind the house, about how my parents bought the property in the early 80's and farmed it for ten years before getting to build their dream house on it. And about how our time there was cut shorter than we would have planned when my dad got sick and we had to move back to town. The owners, being the gracious, wonderful people that they are, invited us out for a visit. It was a day I'll never forget, such a special treat to feel so connected to my dad's dream again, to see the views he hoped he'd see into old age. Thank you, Gary and Nancy, for blessing our family with such a sweet day!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Heart Hair

Funniest thing! I woke up this morning and what do you think the first thought was that popped into my head? Inspiration for how to do Emma's hair for valentines day! Here you have it, simple and adorable. She had a great Valentine's Day party by the way. We have a great weekend planned with Nana coming, including a wonderful date night with my hubby. I have a fun story to share about one of my childhood homes next week, so stay tuned.

Here a few cute pics of some cookie icing the girls did yesterday.

And last, but certainly not least, here we have Sawyer thoroughly enjoying his chicken noodle soup for lunch. The boy likes his food, what can I say?

Valentines and Other Cuteness!

These pictures are a hodge podge of randomness, but each set tells a little peice of the story that has been our life this month. First, some Valentine cheer straight from our home to yours. I found these cute little bowls at Micheal's craft store and thought they would display some yummy M & M's very nicely. These goodies have since been ingested, but we'll pretend they still looking like this:).Next, a picture that Travis will surely KILL me for putting on the blog, complete with him in his lovely Super Man pants given to him by his mother for Christmas, but that so aptly epitomizes the pathetic state our family has been in for the past few months as we've been hit by one illness after the other. We're tired folks and ready for spring in more ways than you can ever know! This has got to be the most hilarious position my two men have ever fallen asleep together in!Here's my sweet Peanut making her Valentine box for school. She is such a little crafter, I love to watch her go to town being creative and artistic. She also addressed all her Valentines for her friends at school all by herself, she was so proud. "All by herself" seems to be the theme for Emma right now. She insisted on making her own lunch for school this morning and even had to write the note on her napkin...from ME go figure! The note read, "Emma, I have a hug waiting for you when you get home. Love, Mommy". Then she proceeded to tell me how excited she was for that hug...that was her idea. The girl cracks me up and blesses my heart!Next up, sibling love. These were taken some morning when I wasn't ready to face the day from being up all night with sick kids and self, so we were undoubtedly watching cartoons, waiting for mommy to emerge from her sleep-deprived stooper.
This one of Sawyer reminds me of a look my dad used to give, something in the eyes. I love it when he reminds me of my dad!
yes, vegging out, winter time, you've over-stayed your welcome!Here we have the "I'm too cool for Kool Aid" look. And I'll give you one guess as to which three year old girl taught him how to color on himself;). But what else can you do when you're one and cooped up in the house all day?Ah...pure sweetness! Sawyer has this thing about wanting to hold wrapped up dolls. Emma will wrap them for him and he just can't wait to get ahold of the little bundle. A daddy in the making... or a guy who will really like pigs in a blanket, one of the two. And last, but not least, here are some pictures of Emma's bike-riding lessons. I am amazed how fast she picked it up! Now from these pictures, it appears that Daddy taught her this monumental skill. But for the record, yours truely ran twice around the block and numerous times back and forth in front of the house with her and was the first one to successfully let go before these pictures. When I was beat and profusely sweating, I gave the reigns to Travis and grabbed my camera. But whatever, she learned in less than an hour, yay Emma! Now it's just perfecting the take off and stopping part. We'll try again on the next sunny day.

Wheh, I may need to blog twice a week to avoid these long posts, but it feels good to get them up nontheless. I'm happy to report, we are all on the mend...for now. Heres hoping AND praying we can have a little break from germs and that spring gets here soon!

Chloe's Story

The rabbit trail that is the made up story of a three year old. And I must say, I love Chloe's little voice and lips, precious!

A Short Month and A Long Post!

In the past, I've often felt like February is a rough month. The holidays are a month gone, we're still in the thick of winter and we're starting to get a bit stir crazy with cabin fever. I've noticed that the girls have been bickering and fighting more lately, I know we're all just ready for more outdoor time. This on top of the fact that we've been sick, off and on, since our bout with Swine Flu in October and not getting the greatest sleep because of that fact. I had a great chat with some girlfriends last night about the sibling stuff, it's so encouraging to share our struggles and insights with other moms, I don't know what I'd do without my sisters in Christ. I have some new hope and ideas to try, a chore chart being one of them, which I've been meaning to do for awhile, and more structure to our time. I'm also taking a break from Facebook for the month of February, it's so easy to get sucked in and before I know it, time has been wasted and I'm not making the most of my time with the kids or with house work. Taking a deep breath, I refuse to be negative this month! It's a short month after all, the shortest month in fact, so bring it on February! This is the month the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it! And spring really is just around the corner, we'll make it! Here are some recent pictures for your viewing pleasure. These first ones are very belated pictures from our Christmas baking day back in December. We made traditional shortbread cookies with homemade red and green icing, and then tried a new recipe that is now Travis's favorite! They are called Death By Carmel Bars. They have Snickers in them, need I say more? A lot of shortbread dough was eaten, but cookie baking wouldn't be right without lots of dough eating, right?

eating the yummy dough, guilty as charged!

The little pastry chef making her icing.

Did I mention the icing-eating?

This is the tin we assembled for Emma's teacher, she insisted on having the recipes after sharing them with her family:).

These next pictures are of Sawyer from a really warm day when there was still snow on the ground. Only in Colorado can you be in boots, hats, and gloves with no coat on!

Gotta love that baby gut hanging over his pants!

This last bunch are from Emma's half-birthday celebration at school. I love this idea! It makes sure the summer birthday kids still get to have a special day at school. We brought ice cream sandwiches to share, Emma was beaming, especially to have me there seeing her be the special birthday girl:).I'm hoping to get back to my once-a-week blogging this month...if we can stay well that is. Happy February!

Expectations

Are you ever amazed at the way the Lord blindsides you with a lesson when you're least expecting it? Last week was one of those times for me. Travis was in Indianapolis for a business trip, the first time we have ever been apart for an entire week in our married life. Leading up to that week, I found myself trying to give myself pep-talks like, "you'll be fine, you can do this, God will be with you, He will provide all you need..." My mom gave me a pearl of wisdom before the week started by sharing with me how she dealt with times when my dad was away, either hunting or working long hours during tax season. She said something to the effect, "I just knew I was it, just got into single mom mode and then I was fine". So that's what I did, got into single mom mode and we did our week. A couple days into the week, something dawned on me, I could do a lot more than I thought I could... and I could keep a positive attitude about it to boot! God was giving me what I needed and then some as I relied on Him. And at the end of each day, when I sunk into our recliner with a sigh, ready to curl up with a book, it was a sigh of satisfaction. I had accomplished, with strength from above, all the work of the day, meals, clean-up, bedtime routines and lived to tell about it. I was begging the Lord for patience and kindness towards the kids each day as I feared that the extra tiredness and stress of being alone would take its toll in those departments. I was abiding in the Vine, I kept my Bible open on the counter at all times so I would be sure to read in it each day, praying throughout the day.

Was it a perfect week? No. Did I stumble? Yes. But God was whispering something to me as the week moved on, wisdom that was for more than just that week. He was teaching me that my expectations are in direct correlation to my attitude and the way I interact with Travis and the kids. When I wasn't expecting Travis's help, I wasn't disappointed when it wasn't there, after all it couldn't be right, he was gone. But that's where God gave me the challenge, what if my misplaced expectations are the root of bitterness and "grumpiness" on a regular basis? What if I was truly able to release some of my expectations, or at least change them, of Travis and the kids in our daily lives? What if I learned what it is to rely only on the Lord to meet my needs instead of being needy and self-focused with Travis? Could it be that he is often feeling burdened by my never-relenting expectations of him? Does he feel like he can never measure up? Do I lay guilt trips, knowingly and unknowingly, when he doesn't meet some unspoken or spoken expectation? Do I play the "woe-is-me" card a lot? Does he feel wrongfully responsible for my happiness? Yuck! I don't want to do those things! Now I have to be careful here. At first glance, it could sound like I'm picking on Travis, that he's not doing much around the house. Quite to the contrary! He is SO incredibly helpful and serving, I often brag about him being my night time hero as he often lets me sleep while he addresses the kid's night time needs. We are partners! But the sad thing is, I think we can often get into the mindset that what our men do is never enough, or we can nitpick the small things while forgetting the huge things they do and are every single day. I often have to ask myself, "how would you feel if Travis was thinking these things about you?" Again, YUCK! But the bottom line lesson I heard last week is that the only way to be truly selfless (and NOT in the pathetic martyr way) is to be filled. And the only one who can fill me is the Savior of my soul, my Creator and Father, Jesus Christ. When He talks about abundant life, I think part of what He means is a life that isn't lacking, that inner soul satisfaction that transcends circumstances or the successes and failures, strengths and weaknesses of another person or ourselves. It is being in a place where we don't expect perfect equality in our relationships, where we're not keeping score so to speak. When we are so filled by His presence and His spirit, when we are bathed in His Word, and when we are infused by a life-giving relationship with Him, only then can we overflow into the lives of those around us and be a blessing rather than that proverbial dripping faucet, only then can we stop being needy and expecting others to make our lives better or easier or more fulfilled. Did I not know this beautiful truth before last week? Well, let's just say head knowledge is different than heart knowledge.

Oh friends, if only it was as easy as one little lesson. Even today, so close to new learning, I have struggled with my expectations. But talking to you all has helped remind me, so thank you for listening. I am praying that God will continue to show me where my expectations need health, that He would continue to call me to Himself each day as I long to abide in the Vine, that He would light the ear candle regularly so I can clearly hear his voice! And even, yes even, that He would continue to bring challenges onto my path so that I am forced to grow. I want to be an overflowing cup! I want to let go of expectations and be a bigger blessing to those I love.

I would love to hear from each of you about how you've struggled and grown in this area of expectations, particularly in your marriages. Keepin it real sisters, trying my best to keep it real! Let's grow together:).

Lunch Ideas

I'm needing some lunch ideas ya'll. I'm talking about for MYSELF...not the kids. They like simple foods, and I've found healthy menus for them that I rotate through, about 4 of them. But for me, on the other hand, I'd like something a little more mature, if you know what I mean. And healthy is what I'm looking for, low on the simple carbs, sugars and saturated fats, high on flavor and all things good for you. Do you have a favorite healthy lunch you make for yourself a lot? Please share:).
Thanks!
Sarah

Chloe and Sawyer

When Emma is at school, some special times are had with my "Roo" and "Monkey". I am having a hard time with Emma being back in school after Christmas break...I miss her so much when she's gone, but on the same token, the household dynamics take on a new feel in her absence that I must say, seems good for Chloe and Sawyer. They play together in ways they don't when big sister is home. These two are close, and it blesses my heart to see the special relationship they are developing. So here, a post devoted to my younger two beauties.

I came upon Sawyer like this the other morning, he had gotten himself in the box all by himself. As you can tell by the next picture, the boy loves boxes!

This was Christmas morning, he was in heaven!

This shot really captures the playfulness between Chloe and Sawyer. I love the shadows their little profiles cast on the tub wall.

We felt like Sawyer was needing some fresh air, so during one of our recent big stores, we bundled him up and straped him in his plastic play off-roader to watch Travis shovel. He was SO ready for a nap, I think he would have fallen asleep in the car if we hadn't gotten him out when we did.

Ah..., the bathing beauty. I love this girl so much!!!