Thankful Thursday (a little late....)

Today, I am thankful....

1) For the cooler weather! I love fall!!! Aaron can't wait to jump in leaves one of these days, too!
2) For friends who pray! It's so awesome to have a group of precious friends who I can always call and say, "Will you pray for me?" on a hard day!
3) For the way God uses Scott to minister. I was SO blessed by his message this weekend!
4) That our God still heals!!! It was so thrilling for me to hear this week that Terry's scans came back great AND to continually read Krista's updates about how well Kate is doing right now!
5) That Aaron is loving preschool! His teacher, Mrs. Seiffert, continually amazes me!!!

Have a great weekend, everybody! Hugs to you!

Terry Polston Update!

If you attend WCC and heard the interview with Terry that way on Sunday, or if you listened to Scott's message via the link on this blog earlier in the week.... I wanted to make sure that you heard the latest. Click here and go the Terry Polston Update podcast to hear Terry's great news! Praise God!

A Mom's Survival Guide

I think I found a new trick for my momma survival kit today!!! Aaron and I were playing "hide and go seek" a little bit ago. Well, when it was my turn to hide, I hid in BED!!! BRILLIANT!!! Playing with my kiddo and getting a little breather at the same time! He counted to 20 this time.... wow, I really can't wait until he can count to 100 (I just may get a whole cat nap in while he looks! HA!) The other kicker.... he LOVES the anticipation of being found while I'm looking.... so, I just keep yelling "Where's Aaron?!!" as I wander through the house.... and stop to put a dish in the dishwasher.... and throw away a piece of paper.... and put a toy in the toybox on the way as I "seek"! Brilliant, just brilliant!! :) This game beats CandyLand ANY DAY!

"A God for Real Life"

Loved Beth Moore's blog today. Wish I could thank her in person for the perspective that she adds to my life. Really appreciated this one today!!!

I'm crazy about this guy....

Scott preached this morning at WCC. I'm telling ya, yes, I'm biased.... but he hit it out of the park today. Our church is in the middle of a series entitled, "When the game is over, it all goes back in the box." Today, Scott interviewed a precious friend, Terry, who is a cancer survivor and is now battling the disease again. God's Spirit was all over that message and interview.... if you want to be blessed by this message, click HERE and click on Scott's message towards the top of the screen (sorry, I can't figure out how to allow y'all to listen without hearing all of the announcements first). Scott has other messages that you can listen to on this page as well. It's such a great privilege to walk the road of ministry with this amazing, godly man!

Silly, silly, silly...

Wow, I love these silly kids!

Picture of the day

A friend of ours (Hi Stevan!) described this momma as lazy. Rather, I think she is hilarious.... and BRILLIANT! I'm thinking, if I had a 5 mile walk to work, this is the way to get it done! I'm also thinking she is pretty brave because I am certain that she gets odd looks every time she does this! HA! My second thought after seeing this picture, "Hey, that's our stroller!!!" :)

Thankful Thursday....

Well, it's 11:51 PM so I guess it's time for my thankful Thursday post before Friday hits!!! Today, I am thankful....

1) For STAIN STICK!!! We've had A LOT of grass stain going on at our house these days, so I'm thankful for the person who created stain stick, too!
2) For this season in our marriage. Scott and I are in a season where God is TOTALLY drawing us together. We're learning so much.... we're stretching so much.... He's pulling us together so much. I can't even describe it; it's just been flat-out amazing!
3) For Beth Moore's study on Daniel. I've only experienced 1 video and 2 days of lessons, and it's already been life-changing!!! Wow, that woman is gifted, and there is such a huge calling on her life! Whew!!!
4) For our DVD player. I was in a bit of a mommy-funk today, and the TV and DVD player helped me survive. Now, here's to a better day tomorrow....
5) That Scott's little 1994 Saturn is still running!!! It has around 175, 000 miles on it (the odometer quit working for about 2 years at one point so we're not exactly sure of the specific number....) It's funny because it's the only vehicle that he ever purchased.... correction.... leased and THEN purchased.... NEW. When he looks at the scrapes and dings and worn steering wheel and torn fabric, he'll say, "Yeah, I did that...." Kind of cute! Yep, that's the car we took on our very first date, too!!! :)

Have a blessed day and a wonderful weekend!

Amazing....

Yep, I'm a blog thief and proud of it. Check this out..... amazing!

Encouragement for Moms

If you are a mommy, I offer this as encouragement for you today.... I just read this in Jill Savage's new book, "My Heart's at Home" (p. 157). Enjoy.... and I hope that you feel encouraged as well....

CONTINUE ON

by Roy Lessin

A woman once fretted over the usefulness of her life.

She feared she was wasting her potential being a devoted wife and mother.

She wondered if the time and energy she invested in her husband and children would make a difference. At times she got discouraged because so much of what she did seemed to go unnoticed and unappreciated.

"It it worth it?" she often wondered.

"Is there something better that I could be doing with my time?"

It was during one of these moments of questioning that she heard the still small voice of her heavenly Father speak to her heart.

"You are a wife and mother because that is what I have called you to be.

Much of what you do is hidden from the public eye.

But I notice.

Most of what you give is done without remuneration.

But I am your reward.

Your husband cannot be the man I have called him to be without your support. Your influence upon his is greater than you think and more powerful than you will ever know. I bless him through your service and honor him through your love.

Your children are precious to Me.

Even more precious than they are to you.

I have entrusted them to your care to raise for Me.

What you invest in them is an offering to Me.

You may never be in the public spotlight.

But your obedience shines as a bright light before Me.

Continue on. Remember you are My servant.

Do all to please Me."

Lord, may YOU be pleased with me. May my life be a reflection of You. May my husband's life and my children's lives be forever marked by the influence that I have had and the love I have shown...

Our super heroes!

These fun pictures are from a few weeks back, but I was just browsing through my online photo album and ran across them! We had two playdates in a row, and the kiddos were totally into the dress-up box both days! So fun! I love watching Aaron and his buddies use their imaginations!

All day, Blake and Aaron talked about rescuing their princesses and marrying them. My favorite part of the day was when Blake and his mom (and sis) were getting ready to go and he said that he needed to marry his princess first. However, as his mom proceeded to officiate the ceremony, Blake informed us that his princess was "dead"! Oh, 4-year olds are SO MUCH FUN!!!! I think that parents could make millions just by recording all of the hilarious things that they say and publishing them!

Selah and Aaron loved running around in these masks. However, Selah informed us that she was NOT Violet from the Incredibles; rather, she was "just a raccoon"!

NARNIA!

Ooh, ooh.... enjoyed the first one.... anxious for this one!

A fun morning....

I had the privilege of volunteering in Aaron's preschool class this morning! This was his very first "leader day," and I didn't want to miss it!!! It was so fun to see all that they do in their class; I was SOOOO impressed with Mrs. Seiffert! She is WONDERFUL!!!! I also enjoyed leading a few games of "Crayola Fun Factory" (much like CandyLand) with most of the kids in the class, so it was fun to see some of Aaron's classmate's personalities as well! They are all such sweeties! Thanks to Beth for watching Isaac so that I could enjoy some uninterrupted time in Aaron's class!

Oh dear, it's officially been confirmed: Aaron is a talker just like his mommy and daddy. I love this picture, because it displays what I watched a lot of the day! Yes, he did have his quiet, respectful moments, but I think that he is probably going to get in trouble as much as his mommy and daddy did for talking during class! OOH! He just processes EVERYTHING out loud! Oh dear! Hopefully, it will get better with time!Playing in the sand box with a new friend! Mrs. Seiffert taught the kiddos about primary and secondary colors; the boys were actually all pretty intrigued!
Enjoying his show-n-tell time!

The sweetest homecoming couple!

We had a fun night! Aaron was asked by one of our WCC students to help out at homecoming by handing out flowers to the couples on the homecoming court. He's been counting down the days for the past week and was very excited to dress "snazzy." He was even more excited to hear that his "team-mate" for the night would be his buddy Brielle from his class and from church. They were ADORABLE (as you can obviously tell from the pictures!) and they did a terrific job! His Mom and I are friends (we've actually known each other since elementary school).... at one point, I leaned over and told Beth that I'm all for arranged marriages and asked if she agreed!!! :)

I think this is MY life!

Okay, this made me laugh. No, I do not watch this show.... but this clip did give me a chuckle because I think this is actually a daily occurrence in the Greene household!
(thanks, Angie, for sharing the clip!)

Encouragement for Today

I am going through a great book study right now. I would highly recommend it.... The book is called "What Happens When Women Walk in Faith: Trusting God Takes You to Amazing Places" by Lysa TerKeurst. It's challenging me and stretching me. Do you ever read a book and think, "Wow, this is perfect timing...." The perfect reminder for a not-so-perfect day at times?!! This afternoon, I LOVED this...

"The enemies to a great life are not tragedy, heartbreak, and hard times. The enemy to having a great life is to simply lead a good life. A life where you seek comfort and ease above growth. A life where you avoid the risk of taking chances with God. We live in a fallen world, so no one can avoid every pothole in the road of life. You will have hard times. You will get bumped and bruised, but you don't have to get bewildered. Say yes to God now. Say yes to whatever He brings your way. Seek Him wholeheartedly through it. Ponder what He is teaching you. Surrender what He is requiring from you. And know that He is working out His wonderful plans for you right now behind the scenes."

I don't know about you, but I don't want to have a good life.... I want to have a GREAT life where God does BIG things!!! Have a great Friday!

Thankful Thursday...

Today, I am thankful...

1) That Kate is probably headed home tomorrow! She has some hurdles to overcome, but I'm so excited for Andy and Krista to reunite their sweet family in Fort Wayne!
2) For Dr. Fishbaugh! We took the boys to this pediatric dentist this morning in South Bend, and HE WAS AWESOME!!! We were so impressed with the way he interacted with Aaron, in particular. And.... other great news.... he said that Isaac's teeth are looking great. They aren't going to fix the chips, because the risk of making them sensitive is quite high.... but he told us what signs of infection to look for in the future. Also, Aaron was a TERRIFIC patient as he got one cavity filled. The doc was also SO affirming of us.... said that his teeth look great and that we have taken very good care of them.... the cavities are just probably a genetic thing (boo!) Thank goodness for laughing gas, too!! Yahoo!
3) For Kid's Market. I'm selling some kids' goodies and hope to make a buck or two this weekend.
4) For the fact that Aaron let me give him lots of hugs and kisses at bedtime tonight, AND....
5) For the fact that Isaac let me rock him to sleep! Ahh, precious moments!!!

Hugs to all!

My new favorite word....

I love some of the things that Aaron is saying these days (some of the things he says, I could do without though! HA!) He can't quite make the "sh" or "th" sounds so he says all kinds of fun things.

I love to ask him who Bambi's bunny friend is; he says, "Sumper."
I love to ask him what a little instrument used for sewing is; he says, "A Fimble."

BUT.... my favorite.... my very favorite.... is this one:



Scott sometimes corrects him and tries to get Aaron to say words properly. However, I always try to stop him from correcting because I know this is a fleeting thing, and he'll be saying all of the words correctly soon enough (and.... my dear friend, Shanda, is a speech therapist and assured me that I shouldn't be concerned yet!) Goodness.... he already does know how to say "spaghetti".... he corrected himself on that one far too quickly, if you ask me!!!

Please keep praying...

... for little Kate. As her mommy has shared on her blog, Miss Kate is in need of a miracle for her little heart. I do believe that our God IS big enough to do BIG things. Would you join me in prayer for Kate?

Thankful Thursday...

Today, I am thankful....

1) For Aaron's adventurous spirit. To be quite honest, no, I am NOT always thankful for that fact, but I do know, deep down, that it is an amazing blessing and that God will use him to do great things because of his courage. Now, if I can keep him alive and safe until adulthood!!! HA! :) Here's just a little example of Aaron's courage.... he loved the zip sled again last night! I think that he did it about 20 times!



2) For the Bible. I needed some encouragement over the past couple of days on a specific issue in my life, and it was like the words were jumping off the page into my life. Love that about the Word of God!!!
3) For the anticipation of starting another Beth Moore study with a few precious friends!!! We're starting a study on Daniel.... I was flipping through the book and CAN'T WAIT to start it!
4) For Isaac's smiles and giggles and dancing. He cracks me up.
5) For the hilarious things that come out of Aaron's mouth at this stage. Today, he was playing with the dress-up box and came out in the Incredibles costume with a tie around his neck. He said, "Hey mom, I'm Mr. Incredible going to a wedding!" What REALLY makes me laugh about this is the fact that he thinks the only time men wear ties is for weddings.... it's the only time he's seen his daddy in one (Scott did two weddings this past weekend so I guess it's fresh in his mind!)

Have a blessed day!

What a difference one month makes!

This was the day of Isaac's first steps...



And this was last week! Wow, they advance quickly... and move faster and faster and faster! :)

What a rough life!

Well, I guess our little Isaac had another minor adventure last night, and we didn't even know about it at the time. This one is titled, "Sleeping with Skeeters"! Those nasty bugs! When we put him to bed last night, he had a bite or two.... but when he woke up this morning, he had TEN on his face and neck (you can see a few in this picture)!!!

We were in and out a lot last night (and with a 4-year old, I'm sure that the door probably stayed open more than I even knew) but this morning when I made the discovery on Isaac, I just kept saying, "Buddy, Mommy is SO sorry...." I think we've decided that the boys both have my sweet blood! :) I get bit up worse than anyone I've ever met and swell up like it's nobody's business (yeah, that was A LOT of fun when we were in camping ministry.... it seems that it doesn't even matter that I use bug spray religiously!) Wish they would've gotten Scott's genes on that one.... I tease him and tell him he has "bitter blood"!

The other rough part of Isaac's little life.... it seems that not a day goes by that I don't have to wake him up from sleeping in the morning or from naps. With running around with big bro for preschool, playdates, and early church on Sundays, the little man doesn't get to sleep in very often (or according to his own biological clock). And today, I even had to wake him twice this morning: once to take Aaron to school. Then, I had to wake him from a morning nap to go pick Aaron up. I guess this is why youngest/middle children have to learn to be so adaptable! (huh, I'm a middle child though and am not always very adaptable; please don't confer with my hubby on that one!) Anyway, obviously from this picture, Isaac doesn't seem too stressed out about his life though....

A New Adventure

Well, it sure was fun, and it sure did confirm the fact that Aaron is fearless!!! Yesterday, Aaron conquered the "Zip Sled" on Winona Lake. He really was proud of himself! It was so cute.... before he had tried it as we talked about it with family, he said, "Nothing is going to stop me!" Adorable! Next step: THE SKIS!

Concentrating with his little tongue sticking out!

Still making funny faces at Daddy!Waving for the boat after the first fall!So proud of himself after he finished two rounds!

Teeth update

If you look really closely, you can tell that Isaac's front teeth are chipped.

Someone mentioned to me the other day that they kept waiting for an update on the teeth and that I continually didn't post anything. So..... no news is good news!!! Isaac's teeth seem to be staying in place just fine. I just can't bring myself to try to wiggle them though, so I don't know if they are still wiggly or not! However, they aren't turning colors, AND they are both still in his mouth at this point, so I'm thankful for that! He will go to the pediatric dentist in a week, and we'll see what happens at that point. Overall, he's done great without the pacifier; however, last night was a REALLY rough night.... Scott and I tag teamed a lot of the night.... but I'm hoping it was just a fluke! Sure would have been nice to have just walked in and popped that paci in his mouth though!!!

I love these pictures of Isaac. I love this stage. I love everything about this kid. I remember the fleeting thoughts while I was pregnant, wondering how a mommy loves the second as much as the first.... in fact, a few pregnant mommies have mentioned that to me over the past couple of weeks. My response: you just DO! Isaac certainly has his own, precious personality that is developing more and more every day. The amount of times this little one has caused Scott, Aaron, and I grin from ear to ear is truly uncountable! He is such a joy!!!

Baby steps.... baby steps....

Well, dear friends, the other day I blogged about how overwhelmed I was about the clutter and "stuff" in my home (thanks for the tips....) I realized that there were some bigger organizational projects looming that were making the daily keep-up-with-the-house cleaning routine even more overwhelming. SO.... I did it.... I decided to just start tackling projects, one at a time. The last three days have included:
1) Boxed up Fisher-Price Little People toys and figurines. Wow, those things were overtaking the basement, and my boys have barely been playing with them recently. We borrowed them from my sister, so now my debate is about whether to keep them to pull out again on a rainy day or not...
2) Condensed 3 boxes of old pictures, notes, yearbooks, etc. into TWO!
3) Reorganized my coupon file! YEA!
4) In honor of "Kid's Market" coming up, I sorted and purged the toy boxes.... one in the living room and one from Isaac's room.
5) Sorted, stacked, gave away, and recycled the goodies and junk in the magazine rack.
6) The biggest project of the morning: FINALLY tackled Aaron's closet and pulled out the clothes that don't fit and got them boxed up to save for Isaac. I was mortified to find that there were even some 2T/3T still hiding out in there (he's in 5's!) Anyway, it felt AWESOME to tackle and FINISH this project this morning! I think I hear the Hallelujah Chorus being sung in my ears right now!!! YAHOO! :)

I apologize as I know this wasn't the most entertaining blog entry, but THANK YOU for letting me celebrate!!! I think that my confession the other day helped give me a jump start!!! :)

In process....

The finished product!!!