this will be short....

this is a short post.... 

but... 

I have been thinking about how blessed as a mom i am....  and as a child of God...

i am such an imperfect mom... but i am so thankful to have a perfect father.... who helps me with my children on those rough days... you know, the ones that are messy, and loud, and just plain crazy!... the ones where, you SOOOO just messed the whole day up.... 

God can fix it...

 i have learned in recent days, to ask my lord to help me BE with my children. there are days that i have literally said... "i so messed this up, Lord please fix this," or "i have no clue what to do, so, please let this be the right thing that i am doing... " 

i have found that these days are less and less, as i learn to give everything to God. 

it is the days that follow that bless me... seeing my children learn to love God, and seeing my husband encouraged to be what God wants him to be. 

i guess all im saying is..... im glad i have such a perfect father.. and im so glad i can run to him every day....

because i need him... EVERY day. 

3 years!

It is such a blessing to have had my James for 3 years now! he has made life interesting, fun, and i could not imaging my life without him.

Through all of the mess, and training... he has blossomed into one of my favorite people to be around...
He is such a gentle, caring boy... (when hes not destroying my house and screaming like a dinosaur)

Some of his likes and loves are:
Books, he loves books... he always grabs daddy's theology books and sits with them pretending to read them. he has bible story books, and these are his favorite... he grabs them saying "BIBLE, you read?!"  i think he will love to read. he gives me a reason to sit and read.

He also loves his brother, (from a small distance at times). he does not like when Jonathan is hurt, or crying.
it's funny, he reminds me of being a kid some times.... he hates when Jonathan picks on him ,or get up in his business... but if Jon is hurt or being "trained"  James is a puddle of tears, saying "im sorry!"  or, "its ok"
(this is not because he thinks he is in trouble or because i am a mean mommy... he is just that sensitive)

he likes going on walks with mommy... we walk across to the store often.
he also likes to help me shop, and carry groceries to the house for me.
he is such a great little helper. always cleaning up, or setting things right.


he loves the abc's.... that the only song he will sing...


he loves dinosaurs, and balls, and puzzles, and matching games, and super why! (his only tv show)

he is learning how to communicate a lot better in the last few months... and li love some of the things he says...

after breakfast today it was "um, I dun!"  i said ok...  he walks off to his room, blanket in hand and says "oh good night"  i say, ok i love you baby...  he says "I wub you! good night"


or James: " um, i hab coppie (coffee)" mommy: daddy is making it... James: "oh, i need a cup!"

the potty training has been put off during moving but will pick up easily very soon.

my favorite thing about James right now, is how he always knows just when ineed a hug, and he always says i love you... just when i need it... i love how caring he is.

a sneek peek....

moving has taken a while... but God has perfect timing in it all.... and... i can finally say we have moved in... 

here is a peek at our new home... 

living room before (even before the carpet cleaning)

living room mid way... (we are adding this slowly)

we are excited to get more seating and have people over.... there are many

souls who need the lord, and we pray we can be used here. 

boys room before....

boys room after... 

(we still have to repaint the bed... i had painted it for hadassah's room originally)

our room before.... 

our room after! its like we go on vacation every time we walk in! (and i have already added a few more things since this photo. 

life lately...

life has been a tad busy... but the boys are napping and i have a few minuets to catch up on what life has been this month... 

we finally Got the green light to move! for those who weren't int he know... Philemon has been hired as a live in building manager for a condo place on Kitsap way... God has his perfect timing! 

We are looking forward to all the souls there... ready to harvest! 

Pray with us that we will be a light, and a blessing to these older neighbors, and to the staff there. 

if anyone has boxes or newspaper we could use some...the plan is to move next Friday/Saturday. 

Philemon has also started driver as of this past Tuesday... 

he is very excited about this opportunity, and is loving every minuet of driving for UPS! 

we are so blessed that God has given us these jobs with the ability to work the condo place around the UPS schedule.  WE are looking forward to the ability to help more people with what the lord has blessed us with. 

James has been doing so well with potty training... he is telling me every time he has to go, and just today has gone #2  on his potty 3 times! and has kept his underwear dry for this whole week! even midst our packing things,a nd his playing, and running about... our next hurdle will be training to go while we are out, and nap time dryness. 

His favorite thing is praising himself  "Oh good job!, I get candy!" ... ("candy" is really dried fruit, which makes him go more;) 

though life has been busy, stressful, and a little rough, God has given us many blessing through it all! 

What a God we serve! I pray we may continue to be used and continue to grow. 

9/11

While I am so very thankful to those who died and served and sacrificed on this day.... 

I am reminded of what america as a nation did on this day.... We prayed... 

I pray that America will remember this... 

That we will remember to pray... and turn from our wicked ways. 

May the Lord heal our land. 

whos training who...

most of the time my answer to this question is, i am training my children... but in the case of potty training... 

yep, they are training me... 

teaching me when, and how they go.

teaching me to be patient... 

and they are making huge strides this week!

today James has been in undies all day.... (just undies hehe!) 

James, has figured out how to tell me he doesn't have to go, he just says, no... 

so i wait... then make him go a little later... (he hates to leave what hes doing to go)

well, today, he has been dry! all day! even through nap time!  

he had also been occasionally taking his undies off and running to me. i then would ask him if he had to go, and he would go... he figured out he has to do this before going... so hes been taking his pants off and running to "show me" he has to go..

i finally just decided to leave the door open, and he decided to go on his own! , then! get this! 

he took his undies off again, ran to me, then rushed to the potty and POOPED! yippie! 

i know its pretty silly, but im sooo excited... he is basically teaching himself, and Jonathan is close behind him! 

we have had issues with Jonathan pooping in the bath, every time he bathed! 

i told him hes to go on the potty, and not int he bath... 

today, while this was messy... he realized he had to go, and climbed out of the bath, but didn't quite make it to his potty... but, i will take what i can get... 

this is why the bathroom is bleached at least every other day! heh! 

im super excited to be rid of diaper very soon!

His ways are higher...

Jonathan will be keeping his crib after all... 

The lord knows best... there can always be an next time... 

3's a crowd? i love crowds!

Build up, or tear down...

First , i do not claim to be perfect, or better than anyone in this area... it has just been on my mind lately... 

Im just going to cut to the chase... 

It seems that today, women, sometime unknowingly, are tearing at their husband's self worth and confidence in what God made them to be. 

It comes in the little things, like, "he cant cook" or  "when mom is gone, the kids are a wreck, and the house is trashed"...

I hear it so often lately, and mostly in a joking manner... but it makes me think of when I was first married... 

I wanted my husband to be and do all these things... comparing him to other men,( :O yes, I did that!).

Joking about all the things he couldn't do, and never bragging about his attributes... who he was.

 I didn't realize that it was a huge blow to him... 

He was not the man I wanted because I was not encouraging him to be him, to be who he believed God wanted him to be... I was expecting him to be what I saw in others... 

I was convicted... I asked the Lord to help me encourage him to be what he was made to be... 

It started with the kids... I would ask him to do something with the boys, then intricately tell him how to do it, or leave instructions...   Then the lord pricked my heart, and said... "He is their father! " and I thought... If God gives me the things I need to BE as a mommy, he would give Philemon the things he needs to BE the daddy... right?  I can say, Philemon blossomed as a father when I put away all my controlling concerns, and let him to with them as he saw fit, as he followed the Lord's will in raising them... and he is such a good father to them! 

So they don't have matching clothing all the time, or maybe they had dessert before dinner... 

What my husband needs to hear, is that he makes sure they love the Lord, and they are fed, and that he did a great job doing the dishes and keeping them alive!  

You have to admit, its hard to keep a house clean, with toddlers running around... and WE are with them all day....  but i digress... 

I have found that my husband will pay attention to those little things I ask of him that make being mommy easier, if i am bragging about, and thanking him for all the things he is doing right... It stroked his inner need to be the man he should be...the man God wants him to be.

Proverbs 31 talks about the husband being known in the gates... How do I want him known... How is he feeling he is known... Am I making him a leader? or am I forcing him to be...

Yes we joke now and then about those kinds of things together... but think about it... how would you feel if all you ever heard was how the house isn't up to so and so's standards (even though we do this to ourselves anyway)... or how you just don't know how to be a mommy....You are encouraged to be the woman God wants you to be when you husband builds that up in you....

This is not to say that I never ask him to do things, that i normally do, a certain way. Or that I am perfect in what I am thinking about now... 

This was just a thought and has been on my heart to change in me recently..... 

Let's build up our husbands, to help them be what God wants them to be...

opinions? anyone?

this came to my mind today, as James ate a normal breakfast, took a normal nap, then work up, not hungry... at all! (he didn't even want candy!:O... he then got shaky (which is typical) and so i gave him milk and he then felt hungry, but now he will not eat dinner until around bed time, because he ate late.... 

without judging others, and without hostil coments, i was wondering what you think... 

which is better, keeping toddlers on an eating schedule so they can eat with the family, or letting them eat when they are hungery... 

my reason for asking is, i have been struggling with James and Jonathan on eating with the family, either because they are not hungery yet, or they ate right before we did... 

James as a baby ate when he wanted, and still seems to eat like this... he eats when hes hungry, and that tends to throw off any chance of him eating with us at then table, because timing just doesn't work out... 

since he eats this way, i make sure he is getting all of the proper foods he needs...

he is super lean, and very strong... so im not worried he is not eating the right things... i just wonder if and when he should be made to eat with the family... (he does sometimes just sit there with us, and nibble now and then)

jonathan is a much better eater... he will eat alot at the table... but then goes through DAYS of not wanting anything but drinks... but then he usually grows... or is teething

There are days i feel so lost in what to do about their eating... 

(the days that james is rummaging my house eating things like candles, and egg shells!, but wont eat dinner! ) 

i took James to the Dr about his eating candles, she gave him and iron supplement, but i have run out, and honestly, im not sure how he could be loosing iron. because this is a frequent thing... he has phases of eating super odd things... (sand, shells, candles, are his favorite) i try to teach him they are not food, but i still have thrown away every candle i own, and he doesn't get sand anymore... )

i will be taking him in to get his iron checked again, becuase he has been eating odd things again... 

i was just curious what you all thought...

learning more tricks in photography!

learning how to focus better! and what a pretty pair of eyes i got to photograph!

learned this nifty trick... it required taking the lens off the camera, holding it up to the camera and tilting it... was pretty fun!

learning to make a yummy black and white! (not the yummiest, but it'll do)

Learning to enhance color! (kind of an odd pose, but im loving the purple!)

Learning to better control depth of field... plus.. shes is just sooo cute!



that's all for now... 

more photos

this boy loves apples! 

a new trick!

i finally found a trick to making my photos more colorful! 

Before                                                  After

what do you think?

starting up jogging....

im startin up jogging (walking just isnt enough) on mondays and firdays...
any one who wants to join, just post here,and we can meet at my house, and maybe a few time i can drive to local places.... i usally like to go in the morning, before nap time, or in the evening around 7pm.  after dinner has settled ;) hehe!

I might be braggin' :)

Ok, i might be bragging a bit, but i am loving how well James and Jonathan have been potty training! 

a few weeks ago, when i first decided it was time to really train James, i thought i would have a permanent flat spot from banging my head against the wall a few days into it, so i gave up for a bit... 

After Jonathan wanted to train, i thought i would have an even harder time, but i knew i had to keep it up... and i was surprised to find that doing it with them both, is easier... 

its a little harder getting them on the potties at the same time, (getting Jonathan undies soon, so i don't have to keep undoing the diaper. ) but Jonathan and James are encouraging each other to train. 

James  has always been a leader, and Jonathan a follower, which in the case of training... has made things easier. James has reason to "show" Jonathan how to do it, and Jonathan always wants to do what James does... 

i suppose i should not have been so surprised, because that is how they have done everything else... James is motivated by Jonathan, and Jonathan just HAS to 1-up James... 

for the last 3 days James has been dry!(except at nap time) and Jonathan is learning quickly! 

training together...

James and jonathan are potty training together... i never thought this would happen... but im glad! 

its kinda like having twins,,, (i think) 

i couldnot get james to sit on the potty long enough, and he would go in his pants... 

then yesterday, jonathan walked up to his bathroom door and said... "I PEE PEE! " 

i was thinking, yea right... but lets try... and 

he went! and has been for the last 24 hours! yippie! 

then james notice he had a buddy, so he wasnt bored, and now he will sit and empty his bladder... 

today they are both dry! with only one accident with james... (he get into playing, and has trouble telling me, so really the accedent is my fault, cuz i get caught up and forget to take him sometimes... )

Jonathan seems to be really good at telling me he has to go, so i am hoping this will help James SAY that he has to go... (i have found that his delay in speech is a hindrance in the potty training area) 

Quick question...

ive been having problems with people who are not on google, being able to comment on my blog, and i would also like to know how to approve comments, (not that i have had the need yet) just in case....
how to i change both these things?

more photos...

Thought these were kinda neat... they are blurry... (my camera seems to be very sensitive to movement... gotta read up o the manual to fix this...)

The cat had to join us

James loves his Nanna

Had to throw these in too! he's just so cute! 

one more....

finished this one today... (its hard to edit with todlers running around!)

More during nap time!

Some senior photos.

more to come...

Random post!

we are off!  i have decided that using pullups is only making the potty training take longer... he seems to think its ok to go in his pullup... (most likely because it is like a diaper...)

i am hoping that a different approach  on what to wear will give this boy some reason to go on the potty all the time... 

he picked out thomas the train underwear... 

 he says "wooo wooo! its Thomas!" 

here's hoping.

a few grad photos

there are more, but here are a few for now. 

day 2

day 2 went well

honestly it was too hot to eat much anyway.

i really wanted ice cream, and i found that Greek yogurt makes an excellent substitute!

and while i tecnically not supposed to have sugary foods... i did put a small bit of chocolate syrup in the yougurt, but im sure that is WAY less calories than actual icecream... :) 

i was unable to go walking but i did get out in the pool with the boys, and used my pull up bar to do some upside down situps, and a few pullups. (i cannot do many yet hehe)

tomorrow is my last day of phase one, then i will look forward to veggies and fruit! 

if anyone knows of a really yummy protein powder i would love input, cuz i can have skim milk on this diet, and would love to try my hand at making a protein smoothy with fruits, yogurt and milk.  all things allowed on the diet. (cuz its been hot you know:)

day one of breaking the wall

 

  i have hit a wall in my plan to be healthier... 

after a year, i reached my goal weight, and was feeling healthy, and fit... (i just needed some muscle..haha)

well, Jonathan weaned, and i gained 15 lbs... 

some may say (and have) that 15 isnt that bad... well, i feel slow, clogged, and yucky...

so its day one of breaking this wall i have seemed to hit...

im kicken' it into high gear... 

i found this diet that some family has done and ive seen great results from it... 

called the dukan diet

http://www.dukandiet.com/ 

there is a part that is free... and based upon it my goal weight is actually the weight i should be to be healthy... so, 

phase one = 3 days of pure protein, and only 1 tbsp oat bran.. plus a little extra water and 20 min walking every day... 

on Monday i will begin phase 2, where i get to add veggies, and up the oat bran. to 2 tbsp

day one, i feel energized and ready for the rest of the day... and i am so grateful for my husband sitting with the kids when he can so i can get out and walk! 

he is superman! and so encouraging with my goals to be healthy! 

Its a party!

i will be sending out invitation just like this one, but wanted to get it out there early...

(i think if you click on the photo you will see it bigger... not sure... )

a few more photos...

i finally have pick-able flowers growing in my yard! 

here is the lilies that have popped up... 

James and Jonathan decided that after the pool, they would play in the mud!

 

Jonathan also found out that mud is not chocolate!:) 

i love his face! 

just some fun with photo shop!