Thankful to be 3-0

(this picture was taken the night of my birthday. My 3 little blessings. My friend brought the tiara to church and I had to wear it all evening. Mady has now claimed the tiara!)

I thought I would be really sad and upset when I actually turned the big 3-0 but it was quite the opposite! I went into this birthday and new year feeling overwhelmed with thankfulness... I'm thankful for my wonderful husband who goes out of his way to make sure that I am happy and does everything in our power to take care of us. He is a wonderful husband and a magnificent father. I'm thankful for my 3 healthy and beautiful children who teach me something new everyday. They are a wonderful creation that bring me closer to my Creator. I'm thankful for great friends who are there when I need to talk, cry, laugh, and have some girl time. I'm thankful for a home church where I feel like family. I'm thankful for a beautiful home. I'm thankful for family. I'm thankful for good health. I'm eternally grateful for my Savior and what He has done for me... Thank You, Lord!

I could go on and on... I am blessed beyond measure. Thank you to everyone who is a part of my life. You all mean so much.

And thank you all for a great birthday and for all the birthday wishes!

Thanks for another wonderful birthday, Babe! I love you SO much!!!!

I think we should give it to God....

The words from a 3 year old regarding tithing. I don't think I knew what the word "tithe" meant when I was 13. I'm grateful that my little girl is learning very important lessons while she's young and I'm praying that she'll keep these lessons in her heart as she gets older.

A couple of weeks ago Mark and I told Mady that if she left go of us in the swimming pool (she had on a swimmy and she was still holding a death grip on us) that we would give her $5. Yep, crazy right?! She let go for a whole 5 seconds and then resumed her grip on my bathing suit. To keep our word, we gave her $5 the next day after she continued to ask us about it. Mark used the $5 to teach her a little about tithing and what it meant to give money back to God. At that time they placed $0.50 in one cup "for God" and they placed the other $4.50 in another cup for her to save. The next week she excitedly reminded us that she wanted to take her money to God (at Wednesday service) so we packed it up in a bag and she happily carried it to her class and dropped her change into the Buddy Barrel.

The next week she again wanted to give money to God so she got into her piggy bank and got $0.50 to take in. Each time we used it as a teaching time continuing to teach her about tithing and giving back to the Lord. We talked about how all money is His and we are to be good stewards of it.

My mom came up and gave me a $50 bill for my birthday. Mady was excited that I had gotten $5! Ha! I asked her, "well Mads, what should we do with my money?" She looked at me, completely serious, and said "Mom, I think we should give it to God."

Wow. I was floored! Such a small child who is learning such a big thing. It's awesome to me that she is learning things like that and that she has a sincere desire to give back to the Lord. Just this morning she again raided her piggy bank (as her pawpaw had given her some change this weekend). She picked out her change and took it to church. During worship she put her change in a title envelope, sealed it, and wrote her name on the front all by herself (her newest adventure)!

As I was watching her do this I wondered why we adults have such a hard time giving things back to the Lord... whether it money, or circumstances, or problems... I want to have faith like a child. I want to give all things cheerfully. I want to be a cheerful giver.

Thank You Lord for my beautiful kids and what they teach me each and every day. Thank You Mady for a very big lesson from such a little girl.

First Day of MOPS

I decided to join MOPS (Mothers of Pre-Schoolers) this year and let me tell you... I'm SO excited! I had seen a post on a message board of another moms group that I was in and I emailed the mom asking her more about MOPS. She gave me all the registration info and I signed up, ready to go! l

Last Monday we had a play date with other MOPS moms at a park in town. It was a nice way to meet some of the other moms, let the kids play, and get some of our questions answered before we actually start. I met some wonderful new moms and even reconnected with a couple of moms that I knew.

This morning was our first meeting and it was great! I had so much fun! There were about 30 moms there. We had a hot breakfast, played some icebreakers, introduced ourselves and broke up into our discussion groups. I love my discussion group and I know that we're going to have so much fun over the next year! What a blessing it is to be around other moms who are going through the same things in life. Just in my discussion group, there are 2 moms with twins and one of those moms even has triplets as well! Thank You Lord for putting these people in my life.

I'm looking forward to the year ahead with activites, speakers, and moms-night-outs! I am looking forward to building new relationships with other moms and my kids building new relationships with other kiddos!

Oh, and my kids did wonderful... even Hannah who tends to go through a little bit of separation anxiety!

Usborne Books & More

Have I mentioned lately that I love my "job?" Yes, I love my job as a stay-at-home-mom and wouldn't trade it for the world, but I also love my other job as an Educational Consultant with Usborne Books & More! I've been meaning to post about my side job for a while but just haven't gotten around to it.

If you're not familiar with Usborne Books & More, you'll want to make yourself familiar! :) UBAM believes that kids should have every opportunity available to them, especially a good education. We offer a huge variety of fiction and non-fiction (over 1500 titles in our catalog) in age ranges from infant to high school. Our books are very educational and cover a wide range of subjects. UBAM also has a ton of activity books like sticker books, lift the flap books, touchy feely books, puzzle books, Things to Spot books, activity cards, and I could go on an on. We have one of the most creative and original books lines in the US.

Here's the Usborne Books and More Mission Statement:

"The future of our world depends on the education of our
children. UBAM delivers educational excellence one book
at a time. We provide economic opportunity while fostering
strong family values. We touch the lives of children for a lifetime."

I LOVE this company. I've been with UBAM for almost 3 years, and I absolutely love the privilege of introducing these wonderful books to new moms, teachers, librarians, grandmas, etc. everywhere that I go. I first began this business so that I could build my daughter's library (we're avid readers) and so that I could take advantage of the discount. However, it didn't take long for me to get hooked. I quickly developed a strong passion for promoting literacy among our children in today's society! I feel like our children today are losing a love for books - there's nothing better than a good book!

I do literacy workshops for groups of women in their homes telling them about the importance of reading aloud to their children. I give tips on literacy and how to promote it in your own home. I also work with schools and libraries doing various programs like Bookfairs, Reading Incentive Programs, Summer Reading Programs, and even a Grant Matching Program. I love that UBAM has something for everyone... a way to help every child get great books. I especially love delivering bags of books to children at schools that have participated in our Reading Incentive Program. Their faces light up when they get their books that they got to pick out on their own. It's priceless. Some of these kids don't have the opportunity to get books for themselves so I love seeing them so excited and ready to read!

If you'd like more info on what I do with my Usborne business, let me know! I'd be more than happy to chat with you. My team is expanding now - I love working for a great company and working with a great bunch of a women!!!

I'm also booking for September / October - we have some great incentives for hostesses right now. I'd love to come and do a literacy workshop for you and your friends / family. It's the perfect time with the holiday season right around the corner, and we just had a bunch of new titles released!!!!

Feel free to check out my website at www.ReadingGeneration.com and don't forget to enter the drawing to win $50 in FREE books!!!!

Lessons from Hinton Rural Life Center in Hayesville, North Carolina

This was where the hubby and I took our college ministry for our missions trip this summer...only about 3 weeks ago. It was awesome! We all have awesome testimonies of what the Lord did in all of us and those that we came in contact with. Let me start at the beginning...

Earlier this year, we decided on taking the group to Camp Hinton. Mark and I both were really bent on taking our 3 kids (yeah, crazy right?). I wanted Mady, especially, to experience what happens on a missions trip and plus I didn't want to even think about a babysitter for 3 kids for a week! So, it was a deal - we were taking the kiddos! We had talked about it, and I knew that I would be staying back during the day while Mark and the students went out to the work site and helped those in the community. I was okay with that - or so I thought...

We left on a Saturday morning and headed for Nashville (a little over half way) where we stayed the night. We attended a church service in Nashville on Sunday morning (SO good) and then headed out to make it to Camp Hinton by 5pm! The babes did exceptional - all except for the last 30 minutes or so...they wanted out of those carseats and so did I (especially with the last hour or so being in super windy curvy roads through the mountains!).

We arrived at Camp Hinton and introduced our group via a skit, we broke up up into work teams, had dinner and received further instruction for the week. Our group was put in the Patterson Cottage - a 5 bedroom, 2 story, 5 bath cottage with a big living room and a balcony upstairs. We let the group raid the bottom and we overtook the top floor which was great for the kids. I ended up putting the babies to bed that evening and then going back down to the main cabin to hang out.

That first night was rough for me... the babies got sick and so I was up rocking them during the night (they were coughing so bad that the only thing that helped was to hold them upright). Then the next morning was stressful as Mark was trying to get the group ready to leave and get last minute instructions so as to not forget anything, and I was having trouble with 2 tired, sick babies. I was feeling overwhelmed. Then, the group getting ready to leave and they were all having fun and all excited, and I found myself getting a little jealous. I had been questioning this trip for a while - just wondering what my purpose would be and what the Lord would teach me on this trip. I knew I wouldn't have the same experience of working with a homeowner and being on the site.

I spent the day praying and reading my Bible (and crying!) just asking the Lord why I was here... I felt like I could have done what I was doing at this camp at home... especially since the babes were sick. I also wasn't able to really connect with the students that much because they were out all day and then when they got home and stayed up late, I was beat from staying up all night with sick kids. I was really struggling.

Just a bit later (on Wednesday), God spoke to me. He spoke to me clearly about what my purpose on this trip was, and my purpose in life. It was amazing! The Lord told me that I was on this missions trip for my kids... YEP, can you believe it?! I was there to be with them... not just be with them in the same house but to really BE with them all day and play with them, teach them, read to them. My problem a lot of the time at home is that with 3 kids I get caught up in doing for each of them and then doing things around the house that before I know it it is nap time and I haven't really spent any quality time with any of them. Sure, I have my good days where they are all read to and all get mommy time but a lot of the times it is hard. On this trip we were all in the same room with no distractions - no computer, no cell phone, no house to clean, no messes to pick up, no dishes to do, NOTHING! It gave me time to be with my kids 150%! and I loved it - even if they were sick.... which gave me time to cuddle with them which I might not have had otherwise. The other thing that He taught me was that I'm too busy and that I need to prioritize my time. With my home based business and 3 kids and a husband, life can take off. I'm looking to slow things down, now that we're back, and really focus on what's important.... my FAMILY, my CHURCH. I'm of course still going to keep my business but it needs to have it's time and place.

The other thing that I think sometimes is a struggle for me is my purpose in life. I forget that being a mom is the coolest thing in the world and that I have the privilege of raising up 3 souls for the Lord. How awesome is that. Thank You Lord for just helping me to see that again - helping me to see that what I do on a daily basis - change diapers, make PB&J sandwiches, clean up, laundry, etc DOES make a difference even if I can't see it right now. Being a MOM is the best job in the world!!!! I definitely feel like the Lord got breakthrough in my life and I totally know now why I was on this trip.

Mark actually switched with me the last day of the camp. He stayed back at the cabin with the kids, and I went out on the work site with the students and painted. It was awesome being able to hang out with the students and serve Mrs. Ledford by working on her house.. what a saint she is! I'll never forget her and the wisdom that she passed on to us.

Camp Hinton was a blessing to me this year. I spent uninterrupted time reading with my kids, playing with them (someone even gave Mady a big ole tub of play dough out of the blue - he brought it with him not knowing why, and then he felt the Lord saying he should give it to mady!), taking walks to the lake with Mady, doing school with Mady, spending long uninterrupted hours reading in the Word and praying, and really listening to the Lord. A lot of the times I think that missions trips are all about serving others, and that's awesome, but this one felt more like me and the Lord - an appointed meeting for us to be together. I also love it that Mady had a great time - she told everyone she came in contact with before we left that she was going on a missions trip. She was SO excited!!! She connected and loved hanging out with the students and we had a great time hanging out together. She even went out on the work site and got to play for a while and talk with our homeowner! What a blessing it is to have my kids learning things like this at an early age! Thank You Lord!

I could go on an on about this trip... Thank you Lord that you had each one of us right where we were supposed to be. I couldn't have been more blessed on this trip.

**Just another note of excitement: We had planned to go white water rafting the last day on the way home. We had it worked out where the kids had a sitter but that fell through last minute (long story). I was definitely bummed that I wouldn't be able to go rafting but completely understood. Long story short, Mark was praying and felt like he needed to make a phone call. He phoned an AG church in the town outside of the rafting place. The youth pastor said he'd love to watch our kids - his daughter and her friend as well - and so we were able to drop our kids off at the church and I was able to go rafting with the group! Thank You Lord!

Weight Update

I was gone over the weekend for 4 days (Thursday - Sunday) at an Usborne Books and More Convention in Tulsa, Oklahoma (more on that later). When I got home on Sunday, Mark had mentioned that the twins had been a little wheezy sounding. On Monday I could definitely tell that they had some congestion and were dealing with runny noses and sneezing! Sam had also been spitting up his food over the last few days that I was gone. We've got it narrowed down that he usually starts his puking episodes when he's getting sick as the draining in his throat tends to cause him to cough which brings things back up. Not Pleasant!

I was a little concerned because we had been puke free for a while. I immediately thought about possible ear infections. Hannah had been extra crabby on Monday and so I assumed that with the colds they were developing ear infections (they've both had a few this summer). I took them in to the doc on Tuesday and both were clear of infections! Thank you, Lord... since we're getting ready to go on a missions trip and we're taking them with us! Sam had some fluid on his right ear but the doc didn't see a reason to treat it. So, hopefully we'll be fine while we're away on our trip! I would hate to have 2 miserable babes!

The fun thing is that Hannah is 19 pounds 1oz now! She's almost hit the 20lb mark ... Sam was 16 pounds 6 oz! He's gained a pound in a month so I guess that's good! July 20th was there anticipated due date so they just hit 14 months old! Keep growing little ones :)

"Easy Like (Satur)day Morning..."

I guess it's time that I put some thoughts on here. I feel like I need to, so that when Monday morning starts again, I'll remember my priorities.

Sitting here on a Saturday morning drinking a cup of coffee and listening to...silence. What an extraordinary sound. It's really quite settling. Jenn's mom came up this morning and so she, Jenn and Madalyn all went out shopping. Garagesales, that is. The twins were great this morning and about 45 minutes ago, I put them to bed.

I see people bustling around outside on golf carts, and some are mowing their lawns and some are going for a morning run. Not me. I'm sitting at the kitchen table, drinking a cup of joe and periodically staring out my back yard. My phone is ringing, I'm getting text messages, but I'm not answering. Not right now. I'm listening to quiet.

Jenn started a load of laundry before she left and the washing machine keeps beeping. I started it again, and it just sits there and beeps. I think it's broken. So, I turned it off. Not right now. I'm listening to quiet. I could pull out my tool belt and search on the internet for a new electronic motherboard and order it, but not right now. I'm listening to quiet.

The babies apparently have decided to play in their beds. I guess I could go get them, bring them downstairs and play with them some more like I did this morning. Not right now. I'm listening to quiet.

Last fall, when I went through a really turbulent time, I learned a secret to life. I learned that you really can max yourself out. I learned that you really can press yourself to the breaking point...and I broke. Life just became too overwhelming. With the pressures of a new promotion at work, a new supervisor that we were coming to terms with, 2 new babies and a vivacious 2 year old and some other pressures that were stacking up, I hit rock bottom. Emotionally, physically and in a lot of ways spiritually, I was spent. I even started having this really strong pressure in the center of my chest that would last for a day or two during these times. Well, that pressure in the center of my chest is back this morning, so I needed to defuse a little. I'm having a little time to myself, listening to quiet, and ultimately, listening to my precious Savior.

The texts, the emails the phone calls start to cloud my vision. The pressures at home to be available, not only in a physical sense, but in an emotional and spiritual sense, are very difficult when you sometimes work 60+ hours a week. But that's not for now, I'm listening to quiet.

And so, you sometimes need mornings like this, when I put the phone down, I turn off the broken, beeping washing machine, when I let the twins play in their cribs, and listen to quiet. To have a greater sense of spiritual acuity. To not get worried about outstanding contracts at work, or organizing a missions trip coming up in August, or changing dirty diapers. To not get charged up about painting our entryway, hallway, dining room and stairwell next weekend because the delivery guys scratched our stairwell moving in our new bed last week. To just stop, drink my coffee, and allow the grass to grow one more day without running out to cut it, in hopes of keeping up with the Jones' (who really do live next door, Amy Jones just ran by walking their dog).

Thank you Lord for a few hours of refuge. Thank you for revitalization. Thank you for quiet. Thank you for the dishes in the sink and the dirty laundry. Thank you for the blocks that Mady assembled as a house for her play puppies on the living room coffee table. Thank you for Sam's smile and Hannah's hugs and Mady's joy. Thank you for my wife that literally makes my world go around. Thank you Lord for my family, the greatest gift you could entrust to me.

An update on my Sweet boy, Samuel...

Sammy at 5 months old!

Over the past few months, we've noticed that the continuous cough that Sam had was not going away. We figured that by the time he hit a year old it would be getting better. He coughs after he eats and then a few times while he's awake and playing. We've just never heard a baby cough as much as he does. Mark was a little concerned as he has CF and coughing is a big side effect of it.

Last Wednesday (6/16/10), Mark called the nurse to tell her our concerns. She said that before Dr. H referred us somewhere that he wanted us to bring Sam in so he could take a look at him. This was at 3:20 and they had his appt set up for 3:50. I woke him up, fed him quickly and headed to the appt. He was so happy and flirting with one of the girls there, Melissa, who always calls him "handsome." Unfortunately they all know us so well from being in with all of the kids over the years.

I expressed my concerns with Dr. H and he examined Sam. I'll list out a few of the big things that I remember, mostly for me to remember :)
*During the exam, Dr. H said that Sam had a left ear infection and some sinus issues, especially with draining (visible by a very runny nose). He said that the drainage could be causing the cough. He said that if Sam just had the ear infection by itself that he probably wouldn't give him meds but because of the sinus issues as well, he wanted to put him on some antibiotics for 10 days. He wanted to see us back in a week to check and see how the medicine was doing and to see if it was helping the cough.
*Dr. H said that because I'm not a carrier of CF (i was tested even before we got married), that the chance of Sam having CF was almost impossible. That was a relief even though we knew that deep down. It just hits so close to home that we were a little apprehensive.
*Dr. H said that he was going to do a chest x-ray today but that he wanted to wait because of the ear infection. If the meds didn't help over the next week, then he would do a chest x-ray to see if that was indicative to anything.
*He also said that he would possibly check him for reflux. He said that one of the side effects that goes along with reflux is sinus problems and draining. That in turn ususally causes coughing and then spitting up, among other stuff. Interesting! I've wanted to have him tested for reflux ever since he was tiny because of his puking but they always said that he would just grow out of it. We'll see what happens, I suppose...
*His weight was 15lbs 5.5oz!
Update:
6/21/10 - Yesterday, we headed back to Dr. H for Sam's followup appt. Again, Sam got to flirt with Melissa on the way back :) Little Mr. Handsome! Here's a rundown of the appt...
*Sam has fluid on both ears. Dr. H wants to continue the antibiotics for another 10 days to see if that clears it up. He didn't say much about his sinuses although his nose is no longer running profusely and his cough has cleared a bit... although still present.
*Sam's weight was 15lbs 13oz (up 8 oz in 5 days! go bubby!)
*Dr. H wanted a chest x-ray done today (they asked me during the x-ray if there was any chance that I could be pregnant!! Ha... All I had to do was say, "um... he's a twin!" That answered any questions. This happened back when he was only about 3 months old as well. I said the same thing and got the same response... Nope, not pregnant!!!!") If the chest x-ray comes back abnormal then he'll want to do a sweat chloride test (a main test for Cystic Fibrosis). If it's normal, then he says a SCT isn't necessary at all.
*He put Sam on a relux medicine for 10 days. He also put in a standing referral on Sam's chart for a referral to a GI doc. After 10 days, I'm supposed to call in and let him know how the medicine is working and how it's affecting his cough. If nothing has changed then we are going to be referred to a GI doc who most likely will put a probe down Bubby's throat to see if they can figure out the cause for the cough. Dr. H said he's not so much worried about the spitting up that he's doing because he only does that when he's coughing. He's more worried about the cause of the cough.
*We're also supposed to go back in 4 weeks to check up on his ears and the fluid that's there... Hopefully it'll be gone!
(side note: I heard one of the receptionists saying that this year has been the worst for ear infections in kids. She said that everyone is coming in right now for ear infections. Sam has had one and Hannah has had one... I had no idea Sam had his... Hannah was a little crankly and pulling on her ear. Madalyn never had issues with them. Interesting!)

Update:
Yesterday afternoon, Katie (whom I also know and probably gets really sick of hearing from the Bettinger's! ha) called and said that Sammy's Chest x-ray was normal! Praise God!

Now we'll just wait and see how this new reflux medicine works. As of last night, he's cough has gone down considerably and he hasn't even spit up (even though he wasn't do it very much anyway... only because of the cough). We're putting our trust in God and praying for complete healing! I'll post updates as I get them!

Sent by God

Last night was an extremely scary night for us! We picked the babies up out of bed and took them straight out to the van and put them in their car seats. We loaded up Mady and pulled out of the driveway. We got almost to the end of our street when we heard Sam starting to cough, what sounded like choke, and then vomit a very large amount. He did this a few times and then I flew into the back to see what was going on. I noticed that he was doing all of the above plus it was almost like he would stop breathing for a second after he coughed. I swept his mouth and felt something but couldn't tell what. Mark pulled over on the side of the road and I handed Sam out of the van...

Now, I'm almost in tears, Mady is crying and Hannah was starting to get fussy. Mark is on the side of the road (at the other entrance to our subdivision) patting him on the back and sweeping his mouth out. Sam is still continuing to choke, spit, cough and having trouble breathing. He's even coughing up a little bit of blood at this point. I looked up for a second and out of nowhere a there was a lady getting out of her truck (she was a state trooper) and a man with blue lights in his truck (he was a paramedic) getting out to assist us. They were off duty but stopped to help us. I know they were sent from God and were definitely angels sent to help us. I mean, they appeared out of nowhere! After a bit, Sam had calmed down and wasn't coughing or choking anymore. She told us that we needed to get him in to get checked out in case whatever was causing the issues had gotten caught somewhere else and later might get dislodged. We thanked them for stopping and then they were gone... almost as quick as they had arrived. It was definitely a God thing.

We put Sam back in his seat and started to head for the ER when he started having issues again. I took him out of his seat and sat in the back with him while Mark raced to the ER running through stop lights and stop signs. By the time we got to the ER, Sammy was acting normal but we wanted to get him checked out anyway.

I dropped Mark and Sam off at the door and went to park the van and get the girls out. When I walked in the ER, they were in the triage room with about 6 nurses. I started to get a little nervous but everything seemed ok. Our friend, Lindy, was working and was actually our nurse so that was nice.

They did an xray but didn't see anything on the xray. The doc said that if it was something small like a piece of cardboard or a bandaid that it wouldn't show up on the xray though so who knows. Mark said he felt something in his throat that resembled a band-aid. I thought I felt something a little more rough. There was a cut in the back of his throat when they examined him either due to something scratching him or us scratching his throat when we were doing the finger sweep?! We were just thankful that his lungs were clear and that there wasn't anything stuck in his esophagus or stomach. Praise God! A lady from peds came down and brought toys and crayons as we had all 3 kiddos in that tiny little ER room (fun!). We were released fairly quick and brought the kids home and put them to bed! What a night!!! Thank you Jesus that my little man is okay!

On a positive note, Sammy was weighed at the ER. His weight was 16lbs 4oz. He was weighed 3 weeks ago at his 1 year appt and was 14lbs 10oz. His weight has been a concern to us and so we've been praying for him. Praise! He's gained over a pound in 3 weeks!!!! Granted he had a diaper on and his wet shirt on last night but I'm still thankful that he's gaining so much weight! Hopefully by his 15 month appt he'll be close to 18lbs at this rate!!!! Go Buddy Go!!!!

What a blessing this little messy eater is! I love you so much, Samuel, and we're so thankful that you're okay!

Welcome back, Bettinger Family

I haven't blogged in ages! A lot has happened since the last time I posted... one of my favorite things being the twins' FIRST birthday party! I can't believe we made it to a year!!! We celebrated with family and of course lots of birthday cake! The babes LOVED their cake and ate almost the entire thing!! Even Mady had a mini-cake her with name on it! Thanks to my mom for making the cakes.

The babes are doing well. At their 1 year appt, their weights came in at 15lbs and 17lbs... Hannah being the bigger of the two. Doc decided to keep them on formula another 3 months and see how their weights go over the next couple of months. Hannah is on the growth charts but my little man isn't quite yet... It's okay though! I know he'll make it soon! Doc gave us the go ahead to feed them whatever I want to feed them so currently their favorite thing is Peanut Butter sandwich (easy, good, and a good source of protein for weight gain). Doc did draw blood from both of them to make sure there weren't any other underlying issues with thyroid, for example, among other things that would be making them small. He's not super concerned but the next appt we have at 15months will tell alot! Please pray for my little man especially... that he's able to put on some pounds in the next couple of months! Otherwise, they are happy and healthy... an ornery! Just today I found Hannah sitting on the door to the dishwasher. Guess I won't be leaving that down anymore! Sam can climb stairs so we have to be careful about those! Oh the joys that I wouldn't trade in for anything!!!

After their birthdays came what felt like a month of sickness. Both babes had croupe. Mady had the flu. Mark was sick with something and I had a positive strep test followed by a week of a horrible cold or something to that effect. I finally think everyone is starting to feel better! Thank you Jesus!

I'm hoping to get back in the rhythm of blogging. Life has just been crazy. I'll leave you with a few photos though...
It is extremely hard to get 3 kiddos to look at the camera... not to mention getting Dad to do the same!
Before the mess...
About half way through - Sam needed a little break :)
Mady learning to use her new skates
Mommy and her cute munchkins on Mother's Day! I love dressing the girls alike! I'm so blessed!

Wow it's been a long time...

Just a couple of pics from over the past month or so... I hope to get back into blogging about my beautiful family soon!

The girls having fun. Hannah is in Mady's doll stroller - she loved being pushed around the house!
My adorable little M and M's!
Mom and the kiddos on Valentines Day!
Bubby and Big Sis having a good time together on the bean bag!
My adorable baby girl doing some creative artwork!
These two always seem to crawl to the kitchen floor for some reason... they love playing with plastic bowls and lids! Works for me!

My little dancer.

Last night our college ministry put on a Valentines Dinner for the couples at our church. We served around 106 people and it turned out magnificently. It was an evening full of good food, good fun and hilarious entertainment! It was great seeing the young people at our church serve the couples and show Christ's love. Amazing!

I got to the church at 1:15pm, put all 3 kids to bed and began decorating and getting things ready. The dinner began at 6 and we left at 10pm... so it was a long night! As we were putting on some of the final touches for the evening, Mady went up on the stage and started dancing. I happened to walk in and see her and so I had to grab my camera. She is always dancing in our living room and asking us to dance with her. I hope you enjoy watching my baby girl do what she loves to do...

Best Numbers Ever!!!

I just wanted to give a quick update on Mark's routine doctors appointment yesterday! After his lung capacity test, he was given the news that he is at the top of his game! The numbers that he gave yesterday were his best lung capacity numbers in the last THREE YEARS! Praise the Lord! I'm so thankful that he's doing so well and I'm praying that his numbers will even continue to rise.

Just a side note... In May when he went in for his check-up, his numbers were 13points lower! What an increase!

Thank you, Jesus!

Homemade Dave Ramsey Envelope System

Mark and I have been on the envelope / cash system for almost 6 years now. We love it and wouldn't have it any other way. We love the Dave Ramsey style of working with finances.

I don't deal with the budget as a whole (that's definitely Mark's job as I hate working with money) but I am in charge of the grocery budget and the grocery shopping. I get an allotted amount on the 15th of every month when Mark gets paid. If we run out of money early, then we find stuff in the pantry and the freezer to eat. I could get more money but that defeats the purpose of having a budget. So, my goal is to not go over our grocery budget every month - I even try to have excess. I use coupons like crazy and find good deals everywhere (I'm getting ready to take advantage of a Huggies Diaper Deal that I found - Diapers for less than $5 per pack!).

Anyway, I've been searching for a cool envelope system for my grocery cash each month. I saw some cool ones on Etsy and Ebay but they were pretty pricey. Then I found a blog where I can make my own .... so I did. Here are some pics:
Here's the front.
I made 4 separate envelopes, all the same matching colors. I woke blue/green ribbon through the top and labeled each envelope "Week One Groceries" - "Week Two Groceries", etc.
I put a piece of matching cardstock on the back so that I could slide it in my wallet and the envelopes would stay put!

I love my little system. I may even make up more for other things like "Eating Out" - "Dates" - "Gifts" - etc. I like the idea of separating out the cash for each week. Maybe that will help even more with not overspending... and I'll only buy what I need.

I'm sure excited to use my new system! Now I just need to go shopping :)

Don't ya just love strangers!

On Monday, we headed out to Hobby Lobby as a family to pick up some things for some projects around the house. Mark was off of work due to the holiday so we were enjoying some time together. We had both of the babies in their carseats and tucked into the stroller. Samuel was sound asleep so we had a blanket over his carseat. Hannah was wide awake and enjoying everything around her, which is pretty typical for her - never wants to miss a thing. She was jabbering and smiling at everything and everyone who stopped to talk to her.

A couple, maybe in their early 60's, came up to us and the wife started talking to Hannah. She made a comment something like, "Aww, look at her smiling at me. She's adorable." Then the husband walked over and said, "Yeah, it's only because she has no idea of how crappy her life will be in this world."

Are you serious? I stood, probably with my mouth wide open, in shock as they walked away. I turned to Mark and made a comment about how apparently our daughter is going to have a crappy life. C'mon! I'm sure he was meaning that the world is so negative and such but I can't be certain. It makes you wonder... I was a little annoyed but then my annoyance turned to sadness for him. It didn't sound like he had any Hope at all.

**On another note, back when we had all of the snow, maybe in late December, we were visiting some store. We had the babies completely bundled up (sometimes to the point they were sweating when we took them out) and Mady was all warm and cozy as well. We were walking from our car to the store when a lady passed us and said, "you should have those kids out in this weather. It's way to cold for babies to be outside." Apparently she thought it necessary to be the parent for a little bit. I'm just so surprised that people would say things like this to complete strangers. Maybe she could say that if my kids were in shorts in the middle of winter but honestly... gotta love strangers!

Sledding Fun

The past couple of times that it's snowed, our family has taken advantage of the hill out back introducing Mady to sledding. She LOVES it. I think Mark and I end up more worn out as we have to pretty much carry her back up the hill (if we don't want to be out there forever).

A little ways down, on the east side of our house, is I-72. The hill we were sledding down is on the side of the overpass and so much fun (and completely safe - there's no way we can sled onto the interstate!). It's a decent hill with a big field at the bottom so there's lots of room. The first time that we went (a few weeks ago), there were some other kids out there but today it was just us... and lots of fresh, un-touched snow!

Here are some pictures from the last couple of times that we've been.
This isn't exactly of her sledding but I LOVE this photo. There's something about the way the light is hitting her face that makes it a super neat photo!
This was the snow we got in December. Not a huge amount but enough to get the sled out.
Having a ball!
Mady was brave enough to go on her own! She kept saying, "Again, Again, Again!"
Enjoying some hot cocoa after the first sledding adventures
This was today. After a few times down the hill, this is how Mark started getting Mady to the top again. I carried her a couple of times and Mark even put her on his back. This seemed to work the best.
Yeah, I admit... I was a little nervous at first, but I ended up having as much fun as Mady did!
Mark making snow angels... ah, isn't he so cute. Ha!

Won't you be my neighbor

Speaking of neighbors... we have the BEST neighbors in the world. We've now been in our house for 8 months and we know most of our neighbors. I love them all! Unlike our other home that we moved from, here our neighbors are friendly... the kind that would give you a cup of sugar if you ran out, the kind that invite you over for play dates, the kind that use every excuse to get together and hang out as neighbors, and the kind that shovel your sidewalk... YEP they shoveled our sidewalk for us! What a surprise AND a blessing.

The one thing that we didn't think about when we moved into this beautiful home... S.N.O.W. Because there is nothing behind our house except Staley Road and huge open fields, we get a lot of wind which isn't good when it's snowing. This last round of snow that we got pretty much "snowed us in"... literally. The wind whips around both sides of our house causing snow drifts in different places. We have 5ft snow drifts in the back of our house and in the front over the sidewalk that leads to our porch. I went out and shoveled the deep snow off of our driveway on Thursday only because we had friends coming over for dinner and I wanted them to be able to get TO our house.

On Friday afternoon Mark yelled from the other room, "Jenn, come here and look at this!" Apparently 2 of our neighbors and 2 other guys drove up in their jeep, jumped out, and started shoveling the huge drift off of our sidewalk. They also used a snow blower on the sidewalk by the road and out by our mailbox! What a blessing! We thanked them profusely but aside from that we were at a loss for words. How nice of them! I'm very blessed to live in a neighborhood with such thoughtful neighbors. I'm looking forward to building our friendships over the years and blessing them in other ways as well!

Some pictures:
Out our front door. Our poor little christmas trees are almost completely buried.
another view of the front. It looks so soft and smooth that I just want to run and jump into it!

Our our back door. It's hard to see the actual size of the drifts but I think it looks neat anyway. At some points during the snowstorm the visibility was so bad that we couldn't see past those stick trees - we couldn't see the road!
we DO have a sidewalk! This was after our neighbors came and shoveled it!