Beautiful....

Long before you drew your first breath,
the dream was coming true
God wanted to give a gift to the world,
so he wrapped it up in you
Every step that you've taken,
every move that you make is part of his plan

You were meant to be touching the lives that you've touched
And meant to be here making this world so much more than it would be without you in it
You were meant to be bringing the gifts you bring
And singing the songs you've been given to sing
You were perfectly, wonderfully, beautifully meant to be
You were meant to be

Long before you took your first walk
and stumbled to the ground
God started telling the story of you
to the angels gathered round
Every failure and victory, and everything in between,
it's all in his hands

You were meant to be touching the lives that you've touched
And meant to be here making this world so much more than it would be without you in it
You were meant to be bringing the gifts you bring
And singing the songs you've been given to sing
You were perfectly, wonderfully, beautifully meant to be
You were meant to be

You are, you are, you are meant to be

For every breath that you're taking, and every move that you make
It's a meaningful life you've been given, so live it well

Aaron's Baptism

What a special day! Aaron decided to be baptized at our church's annual baptism party.....

Last night, Aaron was asking about our plans for today. I told him that we were going to church in the morning and then, back to church in the afternoon for our baptism party. He said, "I want to get baptized!" We asked him what baptism is.... at first, he just talked about going under the water. But then, we asked him WHY people get baptized.

He said, "Because they want to tell EVERYBODY that they are a Christian.... that Jesus is their forever friend!"

At first, we told him that we could make plans for him to get baptized next year.... so we could plan ahead.... invite people.... so on, so forth....

And then, he became ANIMATED, "BUT I WANT TO GET BAPTIZED TOMORROW!"

Scott decided that he has a new answer for parents when they ask him how to know if their kids are ready.... they HAVE asked Jesus to be their forever friend (which Aaron has done!).... and they can articulate WHY people get baptized (yep, check!)....and when they become angry when you tell them that they can't (yep, check again!).... yep, they are ready!!! :)

Special thanks to my friend, Abbie, for capturing this amazing photo sequence.... I love this and will always cherish these pictures of a super special day!

Look at this super happy and proud daddy!

Thankful Thursday...

Today, I am thankful....

1) For cabinet locks!!! Scott installed them a few days ago in the kitchen, and they have been such a sanity saver!
2) For a fireplace screen!!! Ellie was LOVING eating the rocks from the fireplace a little too much! I went to Lowe's to get one, and they acted like I was crazy, stating that it is a "seasonal item".... and that we're NOT in that season yet (at my house, I have a fireplace year round, so I couldn't figure out what "season" I should be in!) Anyway, a friend of mine called and said she saw one at the local Goodwill. SCORE! A great fireplace screen, AND it was much cheaper!
3) But on the other hand, I AM thankful for Ellie's mobility and curiosity! She is so much happier now that she is on the move!
4) That Aaron is settling into his new school and making friends. Just found out that his new teacher does "Writing Workshop".... which he LOVED in NY!
5) That Isaac has finally mastered ALL potty training skills.... it was a long journey in certain areas, and I'll leave it at that! SO relieved!!! ;)

Have a blessed day! Love ya! :)

Our little antagonist!

A few weeks ago, Isaac fell asleep in the van on the drive home from somewhere. I carried him inside and laid him on the loveseat to finish his nap. Well, in a matter of minutes, he ended up like this....

Thought you might enjoy seeing what happened after that....

Yummo!

No mystery here.... the babies of my house LOVE spaghetti!

Here is Aaron....

And Isaac....

And it was finally Ellie's turn last week....

Do you think she liked it?!
And.... do you think that she looks a little bit like her big brothers?!
But then, the fun was over.... she had enough! Aaron had some interesting commentary for this picture.... we'll just leave it at that.... :)

Joy.....

I was gone for the evening at a MOPS Steering Team meeting.

I came home to this.

Beauty.

Joy.

Happy tears.

Scott said that it was ALL Aaron's idea. He disappeared into the house tonight to complete his gift for momma.

What you don't know from this beautiful picture is the back story.

We are going through another crazy difficult time of parenting with Aaron.

He walked in the door on Friday after school, begging for me to homeschool him (with a note from the teacher in his hand).

He got out of the van this morning for school with tears streaming down his face.

BUT.... it was a new day.

He came home with a smile on his face.

And he put a smile on mine today.

In the past, I've talked about how, sometimes, we just need "glimpses" as parents.

Tonight, I got a glimpse.

I am thankful.

A Day at the Lake

Aaron and my nephew, Zach

We had an awesome day on Winona today! Click HERE to see more pics! :)

Flashback....

I love blogging. I love blogging because it keeps friends and family in the loop of our lives a bit. But I also love blogging for me.... it helps me capture "glimpses" that enable me to catch a memory and to look back....

I just was looking back through the "archives", trying to find the post I did from Aaron's first day of kindergarten for a friend.

Seriously, click here and look at our Isaac.... could he be any sweeter?!?!

Aaron's first day...

.... of 2nd grade! We were worried that he would be nervous about the transition to a new school. He wasn't..... not even an ounce. He was excited and ready to roll! So, so proud of him....

With our buddies from the neighborhood

Dear Lord, thank you for Aaron. Thank you for loving him even more than I do. I pray that you would guide him through this day. Give him wisdom, give him joy, give him peace.... help him to make wise choices and to be full of self-control. I know that you have big plans for his life. I believe that lots of people will know about you because of Aaron. I pray that lots of people would know about you today because of Aaron. You are good. Thanks for loving this family of mine. Amen

Trying this out....

....a link to more of our pics from our NY trip!

13

august 16, 1997.

it was a good day.

it was a great day.

i wore white.

he wore black.

my life was changed forever.

i didn't know i could love so deeply.

i didn't know i could be so deeply loved.

i didn't know how selfish i could be.

i didn't yet understand that marriage would reveal so much of my core.

i didn't yet understand that marriage would give me a picture of the grace of God like i'd never yet experienced.

i had no idea that i would have so much fun.

i had no idea that i would laugh so hard.

i had no idea that i would cry so many tears on his shoulder.

i had no idea that i would cry so many tears while he slept.

i couldn't begin to imagine what it would be like to look at the faces of our beautiful babies for the first time.

i couldn't begin to imagine what the journey would hold.....

it's good.

and it's hard.

and it's rich.

and it's forever.

i love my man.

i always will.

Picture sequence....

Sigh..... I think that I have determined that parents should be able to earn activity points at Weight Watchers for trying to capture a good picture of their children together. Seriously, this is hard, hard work. When we were at the Falls, we saw an amazing tree.... loved the natural light.... so we thought we'd try....

Here was the result of our photo shoot:

2 out of 3 smiling isn't bad

Decent.... Ellie's crying could be mistaken for a smile, I guess!

And last but certainly not least.... CLASSIC!!! I PROMISE that NOTHING about the expressions in this picture was staged. I wish you could have heard how hard I laughed when I saw this one on my camera's screen. I think that I have a new favorite picture of my children....

Our Fam at the Falls

When we were in New York last weekend, we were so excited to visit Niagara Falls. A little fun fact.... our mailing address was actually "Niagara Falls, NY" while we lived there (I figure that it's safe to post that on my public blog now that we no longer reside in NY!) We fully intended to get a picture WITH Ellie at the Falls before we moved away; however, h1n1 and a stay at Buffalo Children's Hospital hit our family instead. Therefore, no picture.

Until, our trip last weekend! We had a fun visit to the Falls. PERFECT, mid-70s weather with NO humidity. It was amazing!

On our way

Watching the Maid of the Mist

Taken at "Goat Island," with the Horseshoe Falls (no, we don't all have passports, so we couldn't travel to the Canadian side!)

And this is for the mommy readers of my blog.... true confessions: I was nearly choking down a panic attack while I took this picture. My heart was racing, and I was sweating. Without exception, it FREAKS ME OUT to take my children to Niagara Falls. All I can picture is one of my little monkeys somehow jumping over these fences and pummeling down the Falls. I am NOT normally an anxious mother.... but take me to Niagara Falls, and things look a bit different! :)

Thankful Thursday...

Today, I am thankful....

1) That we were able to see so many of our precious friends while we were visiting Buffalo last weekend! It was awesome. The only problem.... prior to the weekend, I hadn't even thought about the fact that every time I said "hello", I had to say "goodbye" again. Love them.... thankful that God gave us roots there.
2) That Ellie FINALLY got her picture with Niagara Falls! Right before we moved, we planned to go to the Falls to get a family picture..... but instead, 4 out of 5 of us got h1n1 instead (and sweet Ellie camped out at Buffalo Children's Hospital instead). Because Ellie's first address was Niagara Falls, NY, we really wanted her to have a baby picture there at some point! Mission accomplished!
3) That I just got an amazing email from Aaron's new second grade teacher. I had emailed her earlier in the week, just bringing her into the loop on some things about Aaron, and her response was amazing! Excited to meet her on Monday morning!
4) For wonderful neighbors who will carpool with us! When I found out that there isn't a bus to our new house, I was a little nervous about how it would work out. BUT.... I think it will work out fine, thanks to two wonderful families on our culdesac (love ya, Myah and Carla!)
5) For EMPTY boxes! The boys are at Grandma and Grandpa's for a few nights, and Scott and I were able to get a bit more accomplished while they were gone! Our master bedroom is now unpacked; yippe!!!!!!

Love you all! Have a blessed day! :)

Conversations from the road.....

We are home.

We had a fantastic trip to NY.

I have tons of fun pics to post.

But until then, just one story.....

On our LAST leg of the journey, we stopped at Wendy's to grab a quick dinner before we finished the last couple of hours of the road trip.

Aaron was doing "something"..... I don't know what.... but Scott, very firmly, said, "STOP."

Aaron didn't STOP.

To which, Scott said, "What part of STOP did you not understand?"

To which, Aaron replied.... without missing a beat.... without much thought.... and in a NOT very snotty manner....

"The S."

We laughed. And then, we told him that was only funny once. If he said something like that again, he would get to endure another word that starts with an S (I am pretty sure that it ends with a K!) :)

Whew. Parenting is HARD work. This weekend, we decided that it is CRAZY HARD in one hotel room with three young children!

Like father, like son!

So, many of you who have gotten to know Scott a little bit through his preaching know that he has a certain obsession with infomercial products. You might recall when he talked about the sausage gravy spewing out of the VacuSeal 2000? (I think that is what that thing was called!)

Well, we had a little "moment" at our house tonight. Scott pulled out our "George Foreman Lean Mean Grilling Machine" (to use his words!) to make a burger, at which point, Aaron said something along the lines of:

"DAD! It's like the Redi Set Go!"

OH.MY.GOODNESS.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

My boys and their father then shared a three minute conversation about the Redi Set Go (I HAD NEVER HEARD OF IT!)

Did I mention that when my children and I have missed church over the past couple of weeks because of their sickness and bugs that they have been watching Sunday morning infomercials?!

Lesson learned. We will be sticking to DVD's or no TV on Sunday mornings from here on out to quiet the coveting at our house.....

Pure sweetness....

.... just a sweet little picture with 2 of my 4 favorite people! :)