Fall Is Here!!

Fall is here!! I love this time of year!! Those of you who have had the opportunity to talk with me know my life has been "out of control." I am over volunteered, over worked, over mommied, over committed. It had to slow down. I needed to take back control of my life, before I needed medication. So today was family day, and I needed it. We picked up Carlie this morning after her "sleep over" at the Church (which - by the way - she had an absolute blast). We spent the morning hanging out on the couch watching a Disney movie. Everybody took naps ... even mommy & daddy. Then we were heading to Matea Park in Leo for some trail hiking, and we came across a small fall festival going on. We stopped and bought pumpkins, and they were having a "chainsaw sculptor" exhibition going on. It was amazing. Lucy fell in love with the pig sculpture (of course), but as you can see from the bench Lucy is sitting on above, it was truly a talent. We then hiked the trails at Matea Park, learned about Sycamore leafs and Sassafras plants, and topped our evening with an unlimited Pasta Bowl at Olive Garden. The girls were so good, I think they needed my undivided time and attention as much as I thought. Carlie is normally a good gauge as to when my life is getting "too busy." She starts acting like a baby (literally), being mean to her sister, and just plain ole' acting out. We had none of that today. I commit to be more committed to my family.

House Church Name

Here is less than a half of our House Church. The other 12 are our combined children. Our legacies. Between the four of the couples, there are - yes - twelve children. It has been requested by the Church that we come up with a name for our House Church. Hmmm...really? A Name? The leading name at this point is the The Clay Pots. Not bad, but I think I'd prefer a Hebrew or Greek name. Perhaps one for service, or fellowship. Or how about Gilgal? I came across this in one of my Bible Studies, and Gilgal means circle. Gilgal was the place God brought the Israelites full circle and broke the old cycle. At Gilgal, God cut away the sign of the Israelites unbelief (after their experience in the wilderness), and they wore the mark of their new beginning. Often a wounding precedes our full reception of God's promises, but healing always follows. Interesting, wonder if the group would go for it? And if they don't, I don't mind being a member of The Clay Pots. In my opinion, the name is such a minor issue of what we are trying to accomplish, I don't want that to hang us up - and it won't.

CLS Back To School Picnic

Today was my (our) first PTL project - Central Lutheran School Back To School Picnic. Mind you that the picnic was 3-6p, but because crazy mommy was "co-in-charge" (a/k/a control freak), we were there at 1:00p to set up, and naturally my family came with me. Lucy immediately made friends with Sarah (pictured) and Sarah (although only 8 years old) watched and played with Lucy all day long. They played on the play ground, did many rounds for the cake walk, played play dough, side walk chalk and who knows what else...at times, I forgot where Lucy was. When I asked, I was told - "with Sarah." We ate many hot dogs, played way to much and had an absolute fun time. I truly believe in being active in your child's school. I think when you are active and interested, your child will naturally follow. We met many new families and each day are thankful for the choice and sacrifices we are making for making this our school. I guess that's what happens when you follows God's direction. Praises to God!

Our First Community Service Project

Our House Church participated in our first "community service" project this weekend. We took the older kids and cleaned (from top to bottom) a member of our church's house. She is widowed and disabled and needed some help with the basics - mowing the yard, cleaning the windows, cleaning the mini-blinds, dusting, vacuuming. So we went to work!! The kids dusted, cleaned blinds, pulled weeds and even cleaned an oven! The guys mowed the yard, rearranged furniture and cleaned the gutters and dryer vent, and us girls took care of the blinds, windows, vacuuming and dusting. It was a great way to teach our kids service and help out a fellow sister in Christ. I can see many more opportunities in the future. I have been praying for God to lead our family to more opportunities to serve. I know our girls are young, but I want them to realize (as much as a 5 and 3 year old can realize) just how fortunate and blessed we are. I am having a hard time trusting God on this one, as at what point do you put your children in a dangerous situation to serve. Or do we continue doing the "safe" projects, and not grow to where God wants us to be. That's the question I am struggling with. God hasn't revealed anything to me yet, but I'll continue praying. I know He will!

Carlie's First Field Trip

I went with Carlie for her first field trip on Friday. We went to the Zoo, and I got to meet all the kids in Carlie's class and a lot of the other parents. It was a good way for me to start selectively picking her friends....just kidding....sort of..... Carlie's BFF's for the past week has been Samantha (pink sweatshirt - middle) and Jordan (red sweathshirt, right), who just happens to be the daughter of New Haven's Chief of Police. Which I thought was a good thing until Jeff reminded me..."you know who are the worst one's....Preacher's Kids and Cop's Kids." Huh. Didn't think of that. Scratch Jordan from the list. We had perfect weather and we enjoyed ice cream when we returned to the school. Everybody was pretty tired that night - including mommy! I don't know how Miss James handles 14 kids all day long, every day. I have a new admiration for her.

What Is Your Favorite Smell?

Roses? Fresh laundry? Apple pie still in the oven? Since becoming a mommy, my new favorite smell is my girls after they get out of the bath. I am not sure what Johnson & Johnson puts in their body wash, or No Tears shampoo, but it is addicting for mothers (well, this mother anyway). I love giving my girls a bath, getting them in their fresh pj's and snuggling up with them on the couch. Life just doesn't get much better than that. Even after their hair dries, and I am putting them to bed, I can't snuggle up close enough to take it all in. Sometimes you need to ignore "the big picture" and just take in the small details that make the life so great.

Lucy's First Dance Class

Today was Lucy's first dance class. After sitting through a number of Carlie's dance classes, Lucy was READY for those tap shoes in her size! This is a video of the first "step" of her dance, and it looks like Lucy is one of the better ones!! I guess all those years of copying her sister has paid off. One thing is for sure, Miss Christina is a saint. Teaching 9 3-year-old's a dance....ummm...not exactly easy. But she does such a great job and makes the learning fun. Which is probably why both of my girls love her!! Lucy made friends with Ruwtba (the little Ethiopian girl two down from her), because Lucy "loved her hair"!! All those braids!!

Don't Let the Pictures Fool You

Today was Lucy's first day of Preschool, with Miss Jeannie as her teacher. We were all smiles and happy faces until it was time for Mommy to leave. Miss Jeannie had to "pry" Lucy out of my arms, and - yes - Lucy was crying. But as I stood outside the doorway - out of sight - it didn't take her long to calm down. When I picked her up she was all smiles and had the hop back in her step. Her biggest complaint was that she was named the "Caboose" for the week. She said, "I don't like being the Caboose...you have to be last in line!" Hey - I don't blame her! So day one I will mark up to a success. Please say a prayer on Thursday morning, because if you didn't know it already - when my girls cry, I cry....and I can't take it if Lucy cries each morning. I may need to keep an extra stash of mascara in my car.

Undefeated!

Jeff and I enjoyed a little mommy & daddy time this weekend at the Notre Dame v. San Diego State game. We enjoyed Bloody Mary's in the morning, and lots of team spirit throughout the day. Our seats were great and we had great people sitting around us. The couple to the left of us just had a son graduate from Notre Dame with a nice one year tuition of $40,000...one year...Notre Dame....$40,000. Holy smokes. Let's see...four years of school....two girls....more than our house and cars combined. Okay girls, what do you think about IU? We so much enjoy our Irish games, and the company (Chris & Shelly) and we couldn't go without the help our our familes (thank you Grandma Barb for watching the girls!). Here is to the undefeated Irish!!!

Let The Germs Begin

Yesterday morning Carlie requested to stay home from school. No fever, no red throat, "sorry sweetie, you got to go." When I picked her up I was informed by her teacher that she tripped and fell in the bathroom at school - a la black, swollen eye. If that wasn't bad enough, I could just tell she actually was coming down with "something." Well that "something" reared its head - when else? - at 2:30 a.m. this morning. Carlie had a fever of 102 degrees, a barky cough and had problems breathing. Obviously, the later of these had me in a bit of a panic. The more she couldn't breath, the more she panicked, and so on. We ended up using Jeff's inhaler and calming her down. I ended up sleeping with her until the ibuprofen kicked in, the fever broke and her breathing returned to normal. There is truly a reason I am not in the health profession - situations like "not breathing" make me extremely nervous. Thanks goodness God made Jeff her Daddy. He just takes control during these times. So today is our official first day of missed school, mommy is staying home with her this morning and Daddy is coming home at noon to take the afternoon shift. Doesn't she just look pathetic?? Pray for wellness in our household!

Labor Day Fun

Busy, busy, busy! That is one word to describe our Labor Day Weekend. We attending Jim & Nyla's Annual Labor Day Party for a few hours yesterday, and now there are kids there!! Well, we did contribute two of those children. Carlie showed off her big sister skills by following and taking care of Sidney most of the afternoon. We had a kickball game going until the ball hit a Hornet's nest in the tree - YIKES! Run everybody!! Thankfully we convinced Jim not to mess with it while the party will still going on. It was fun seeing everybody and eating good food (way too much!). What a fun weekend this has been!