Sigh....

..... my children are torturing me today. I think that they got the memo that Daddy is out of the state.... :)



(before you send me hate mail, please note that Ellie was having one of the "those nights" when she cried whether or not I was holding her or not.... I promise that I do care about my child's needs!)

Thankful Thursday...

Today, I am thankful....

1) That Scott is such an amazing Daddy to our kiddos. I always miss my parenting partner SO much when he is gone! It has always seemed like a foreign language to me when I hear moms talk about life being easier when their hubbies are out of town. Really?! When mine is gone, I always just ACHE for him to come home.... for help in the journey, but more than anything, for my favorite grown-up companion.
2) That Scott got an amazing Christmas gift from his mom and dad this year. In lieu of presents, Scott requested the gift of "presence" this year.... and flew out to Fort Myers Beach, FL with his dad last night, headed to visit his grandparents.
3) Again, for Skype! We were able to use Skype to talk with Scott and everyone with him in Florida tonight. I think that Granny was truly amazed by this technology and seemed to really enjoy seeing and hearing the boys!
4) For my daughter's healthy lungs. How is that for choosing to see the glass as half full?!?! AHHH! That girl of mine is ripping some cries in the other room right now.... but I am D-O-N-E at the moment. Yep, her crib is a good place for her momentarily....
5) For the fact that God sustains us in our weakness. My day officially started at 4:00 AM this morning. I had already been up with Ellie at midnight and 2 AM, then, she was up from 4 - 5:50 AM this morning. After we both finally got to sleep, my boys were up to start the day at 6:10 AM (yes, you figured that correctly.... 20 minutes of sleep for momma at that point!) Sigh.... there are TONS of things that I WILL miss about this stage.... the beginning of my day is not one of those things. BUT.... God is faithful.... and my daughter will eventually go to sleep so my neverending day will come to an end as well today....

Much love to each of you! Thanks for allowing me to ramble and have some "grown up conversation" tonight! :)

Haiti video....

.... incredible....

Our little STAR! :)

Aaron had his acting debut last week at his elementary school. All of the first graders performed a musical entitled, "Once Upon A Lilypad." It was SO cute and SO well done! Thought that some of these clips were pretty fun.... Aaron is in the back row! Notice some of his fun and VERY animated movements! :)





"Listen to your parents".... yeah, we all loved this one!


Aaron's "famous" line! :)


It really was so sweet, and they were SO serious about the performance! Aaron's music teacher even told all of the first graders that they shouldn't drink milk for dinner because it would make their voice a little more gunky, and when I was helping the "fire flies" find their hats, they were all doing vocal warm-ups together! Cute, cute! :)

I.LOVE.THIS.POST.

I think that we can all use THIS reminder as parents....

In honor of the Winter Olympics....

For those of you who watch this video and think, "What in the heck is that kid doing?", this is simply the opening of the Mario and Sonic Vancouver Winter Olympics game for the Wii (yes, it's certainly hard to tell on the TV screen). You will notice that Isaac takes on everything from figure skating to curling to skeleton to the bobsled to snowboarding. Enjoy....

Winter Fun!

We had a total blast last weekend at my mom and dad's house! My brother in law brought his 4-wheeler along, and wow, that IS sledding at its finest, I do believe! Aaron and Isaac were grinning from ear to ear the entire time!

A little "wake boarding" action by Zach!

Aaron dodges the rope

Notice Aaron dragging behind!

Our drivers: Uncle Shawn and Isaac

And our camera crew!

And a few short, fun videos of the action:

Thankful Thursday...

Today, I am thankful....

1) That I have other friends in the blogging world who do "Thankful Thursday" so that I remember that it IS Thursday, and I should do the same. Just keepin' it real.... I forget what day it is sometimes (thanks, Angie!)
2) For McCormick's Chicken Rub. Seriously, we love that stuff. I have a whole chicken in the oven right now, in a bag, with the seasoning.... and I know it will be yummo (AND my kids will eat it, too!)
3) For the funny things that kids say. Yesterday, I was just showing the boys pictures of our house in NY online.... Isaac was totally excited and yelled, "Look! That's my time-out chair!!!" Ahh, the excitement of a child!
4) Again, for pandora.com.... I LOVE my "Worship" channels.... it totally redirects my heart!
5) For MOPS. In Warsaw.... in Buffalo.... in Fort Wayne.... MOPS has helped me to connect quickly, yet deeply, with other mommas in the journey of life. It has made ALL the difference to me! :)

Love you all! Have a great THURSDAY! :)

Five months

Our darlin' baby girl is just over five months old now. Wild.... just wild! I haven't done a great job posting pics of our sweetie regularly, so I'm catching up a bit with this post!

-Ellie has discovered her feet. They are her new favorite toys (and she likes them as a snack, too, I think)!
-Yep, she officially has mobility! She started rolling in both directions at 4 1/2 months.

-She has a love/hate relationship with her new Bumbo seat.
-Her ENTIRE face lights up when she smiles. It warms our hearts. And daddy often gets the BIGGEST smiles when he gets home from work!
-She has started to play with toys and loves to grip them and then taste them!
-Still likes her pacifier.-Often, finds her thumb and fingers after she has pulled out her pacifier.
-Ahem.... still struggles to sleep for long stretches. We have tried some "baby boot camp" around here, and I think it has helped a little. She will usually do a 5-7 hour stretch at night at least. It's just SO MUCH EASIER to just feed her in the middle of the night as she typically goes right back to sleep easily. If not, she literally cries for hours. It's making us very anxious for a different living environment that includes a room of her own though! :)
-Still is nursing full time. We've been thinking about cereal but haven't started yet for a few different reasons. One of these days....

We sure are crazy about you, baby girl, and thank God for blessing our family with you!!! You are a gift.... a precious, precious gift....

Kate's Kart....

I love it that two of my favorite families have partnered up to make a huge difference for a lot of kiddos and their families! Read more HERE! Love ya, Laymans and McClearys! :)

THIS.IS.BEAUTIFUL.

Haitians rejoice....

Sweet siblings....

Does anybody else think that our three kiddos have a few similarities?!! :)

Aaron

Isaac
Ellie

Our darlin'....

I love it when I catch a picture with my camera that I know I will LOVE and will bring me so much JOY to look at for years to come, capturing the moments of life with our precious children. This is one of those for me.....
Seriously, I love every single thing about this little darlin'.... the light in her eyes, the joy in her smile.... priceless!

Financial Peace University

Scott and I recently started Dave Ramsey's "Financial Peace University" class at our church. We have wanted to be more intentional with some areas of our finances, and the class has been incredible. In light of the class AND Valentine's Day.... THIS cracked me up! Hope that you enjoy a good laugh!

Pampers + Football!

I love seeing celebrities who seemingly are involved parents. And I love this Pampers ad that I received in my inbox from my Dad!



And how about this picture and video?!! No, I WAS NOT cheering for the Saints on Sunday.... but that's just cool....

Ice Castles!

We're so excited! We LOVE the Firth girls! They were key volunteers with us during our time at The Chapel in Buffalo (and favorite babysitters, too)! AND.... Taylor's movie comes out today!!!! We're all excited to see it!!! So proud of this great, young woman! See the trailer HERE.

A little more tolerable....

So.... last night was heartbreaking for the Colts fans of our house which would be, ahem, ALL of us. Aaron just kept walking around saying, "I wish the Colts would have won....." ALL morning, too. However, the fact that Drew Brees is a Purdue guy and THIS video made a bit more tolerable for us. Well done, Saints.... but you better watch out for the Colts in 2011!!!

A musical tribute....

.... to a few of the great people from the Bible. Saw this from Granger Community Church and wanted to share a laugh here.... terrific! "All the single ladies...." :)

The Culps from Granger Community on Vimeo.

Thankful Thursday...

Yes, I am LONG overdue on my Thankful Thursday posting.... yes, it's been weeks. No, it doesn't mean that I am not thankful.... rather, Thursdays are just busy days around here, I guess (ahem.... I am laughing that this one is even late.... I am starting at 12:09 AM on FRIDAY, to be exact!)

Today, I am thankful....

1) For my new friend, Sheri. She has a great heart and GREAT wisdom! She has been so encouraging to me in my mommy journey already, and we just met recently! God knew I needed her as I travel through this season of parenting, and I am thankful!
2) For "Financial Peace University"! Scott and I just started the program at our church last week, desiring to be even more intentional with our financial decisions. We're off to a great start.... I've loved it....
3) For grandparents that live close! Our kiddos have been playing "catch up" with both sets of their grandparents since we moved back from Buffalo.... lots of fun overnights and quality time!
4) That my hubby is SO patient with the "mess." Because NOT "everything has a home" in our apartment no matter how hard I try, it seems that this place is in constant chaos. I am still attempting to think through some better systems around here.... but in the meantime, I love that he is so patient (AND HELPFUL!)
5) That "baby boot camp" has been working, to some degree, and we are getting a LITTLE more sleep around here.... NOT a lot.... but a LITTLE!

Speaking of sleep, it's 12:17 AM now.... I'm outta here....

Much love!

Smiling in the midst of adversity....

One of my favorite blogs can be found here. Lori just posted an amazing video.... I needed the perspective that it offers. Thought that you might be blessed by it as well..... WATCH HERE.