New Year's Resolutions???

Chris always loves the beginning of a new year, he says it feels like a fresh start. I on the other hand, with my rebellious side, doesn't like the fact that everybody holds off until Jan. 1st to straighten out their life. I mean if you have goals and things you want to change, change them, why wait till Jan1st? So with that said, I don't make New Years Resolutions, but if I did... I want to love on my hubby and kiddos, and show them more of Jesus. I want God to deepen my commitment to Him this year. I don't want to test the endless grace He offers me over and over again. I want to get past myself and to sacrifice a life a comfort so others can know no pain. I want to serve without limits. I want to know God more today than I did yesterday. I want to love without limits. That's what I resolve for this year.

Why do we need vacations to recover from vactions?

The kiddos have been off school the last 2 weeks and I was so looking forward to getting sleep! That didn't happen, needless to say... Christmas was great! We surprised the kiddos with a bengal cat this year that we pre-named Bella (we did this because Chris says kids always pick lame names like sugar or something wierd, so instead he names her Bella, is that really any better? I don't know). Bengal cats are part leopard and they are really cool looking cats with great temperments. She is 9 weeks old and can already scale her way onto the counter tops! The best part is the kids (and maybe Chris and I) fighting over who gets to hold her every second of the day! I would have pics on here but for the second year in a row Chris and I have managed to lose our camera on Christmas day, how does that happen 2 years in a row??? Then we took the kiddos up to Lake Arrowhead for a week. It was beautiful! Snow was everywhere! We went snowboarding for Chris 33rd birthday. We took our boy Elias and he did amazing! I want to take him up there every week just beacuase I think he could become a professional one day! I on the other hand was a little rusty. You see I have this fear of getting hurt! I didn't have that fear last time I went, I don't know what happen to me, but I don't like it! Chris spent a good amount of the time trying to teach me the "proper" way to snowboard, but I think my way is just fine! We also took the kids sledding. Cade, the one who I thought would be whining about the snow, was our wild sled momma! She would sled down these huge hills alone and then drag her sled back up, it was so cute. Then there were boat rides, jacuzzi soaks, game board matches, ping pong competitions, pool competitions, and eating, eating, eating! Anyways after all that craziness I am exhausted! I need some sleep this week!

Christmas story review...

I have been waiting all day to sit down with the 3 munchkins before bed and go through this Christmas in a box story. Now, in my head I am imagining this sweet time with the kids reviewing the glorious story of Christ's birth. Where all of the kids are hanging on every word I say and that each of them share with me in turn the story of Christ's birth, as we reminisce together. Needless to say things didn't go as planned... The girls fought over who opened the box and from there it was fights over who opened the little boxes, who was moving the figures in the nativity, who was touching who, who was tackling who and who could talk louder than mom while I am trying to read the story. Chris says I often envision these lovely moments and more often than not they never end up the way I am thinking. Oh well, I got the story in there. Now at least they know Gabriel wasn't Mary's friend (that was Ryah) and that baby Jesus didn't come to bring us food (that was Cade), by the end they could've lead anyone to Jesus with the gospel story! Take every advantage to pour into your kids that Christmas is the celebration of the life of Christ and not how many presents are under the tree...

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!!!

It's that most wonderful time of the year again... I love Christmas! But, I must admit, I do lose my mind a bit more than usual during this time because of the busyness. Our friends, the Yuen's, had invited us over for dinner and I asked them if they could just come over to our house because the kids have school and it would be easier. She said no problem and that she would bring a pot roast and all I had to do was provide the sides. Fair enough easy for me. That was on Sunday, well Wednesday rolls around and I'm getting my day together and trying to figure out what I shall make for our guests that evening. I decide on spaghetti. So I make a trip to the market, come home and start making my (or should I say Brenda's) homemade sauce. It's 6:00 and the doorbell rings and as I am walking toward the door I can see the Yuen's through the window and they are holding something. I think to myself oh good they brought dessert, I hadn't thought about that. As I get closer and place my hand on the doorknob and we are looking at each other through the window, I realize they are holding a pot roast! In a matter of seconds my brain is processing what to do now. I think should I run to the kitchen and hide the spaghetti dinner I made, and then I realized how awkward that would be to go from holding the doorknob staring at them through the window to running away into my kitchen. So , I decide to face the music. The music, not only that here Nancy had slaved all day over a pot roast that she told me 3 days earlier she would bring, to the fact that at 32 I am losing my mind! I don't know which is worse. Thankfully they are some really great people and went with it! Thank you Yuen's!!! All that to say, I was reading a devotional about Christmas and it was talking about how John 3:16 reads during Christmas time "For God so loved the world that He gave His only forgotten son". It hit me because I am so guilty of getting caught up in the celebration of the season that I forget the very One I am celebrating. In a world that pushes Christ out of Christmas more and more every year, it is our responsibility to make sure that we always pointing back to Him. I went into a store the other day to buy stamps and the lady said, "we only have Christmas stamps, oh I mean holiday stamps. We aren't allowed to Christmas this year, because it has the word Christ in it". I asked her, "isn't that the very one were suppose to be celebrating this year?" She said, "well maybe you are but other people are celebrating something else". "Like what?" I asked. This world has so diminished itself that we are celebrating whatever it is you want to celebrate. Be loud for Christ this Christmas and use every opportunity to share the true reason for celebration this season.

What do you do???

What do you do???

As many of you may know, I take some pride in how my kids look. I mean we all know that our kids are a reflection of us and so I always make sure to iron my kids clothes and do their hair and make sure they look good. I'm actually really kind of obsessed about this! Well, yesterday I went to pick up Ryah from Kindergarten and I am laughing and talking with other moms and out the door runs Ryah with her adorable cute smile, and poor thing, little does she know... Well, Fridays are Daddy-gets-me-dressed-and-takes-me-to-school days and I really try to help him out by setting out the kids clothes for the day. We've had some mishaps of Ryah wearing Cade's clothes and Cade wearing Ryah's clothes and we've had some strange shoe situations and crazy hair days. But Friday was a new one I must admit! When I picked Ryah up she had her shirt on inside out, and it was the kind of tank that has a built in bra (why they put a built in bra in a size 4 shirt for girls is beyond me), so the bra part was on the outside (if you can see it in the pic), and if that was not enough her pants were on backwards (notice the BIG back pockets in the pic)! I was devastated for her and for me. Luckily Ryah is still young enough that she had a great day at school and wasn't bothered at all by her clothing. I'm sure her substitute teacher that day thinks we are a little weird and I'm not quite sure why she didn't help a girl out! I called Chris to ask him if he bothers looking at the kids before he takes them to school and he said yes. But, I'm still not so sure about that. What do you do? Be thankful that your hubby tries and that your daughter is only 5!!!

Homework:(

Mondays is our day off and we take full advantage of it. Chris and I like to start the day with going out to breakfast, which we did. Then we shopped for a friends birthday present and spent some time at Peet's Coffee (have I ever mentioned they have the best coffee ever!!!) relaxing and talking. We grabbed the kids from school, did some grocery shopping, what a great day, huh? Who could ask for more? Then there's this little part of our day called HOMEWORK! Now, I know teachers give this to the kids under the pretense that they are suppose to do it, but let's be realistic here, it's really the parents that are doing this stuff. Tonight I was interviewing my dad (for Elias), collecting info from my mom-in-law (for Elias) while Chris was transcribing a story about Halloween (for Ryah). And if you ever run across this Elias' teacher I didn't do the WHOLE assignment for him, but let's be real, my dad did not want to sit on the other end of the phone and wait for Elias to correctly write out what school was like when my dad was little, what his chores were and what he did for fun as a boy. Now I am putting down teachers, I have many beloved teachers in my life, my own sister, sister- in-law, brother-in-law, Lisa, Melissa and the list goes on... But I've graduated now and I don't want to do homework anymore...