Trendy Heels

Maeve has the typical toddler obsession with adult shoes. I picked these brand new white heels up for a $1 at the goodwill for a fun outing or for vacuuming (lol). Maeve would not put them down!!!

To the tired and overwhelmed...

This is stolen from another blog. It is the daughter of a woman at our church who is married to a quadriplegic. We all just came back from our women's retreat and this devotion that she wrote applied to us. Her mom shared it with us and I am sharing it with you!

TO ANYONE WHO'S EVER BEEN TIRED OR OVERWHELMED
I read a story in my bible the other day that I can't seem to get out of my head. It's one that I've heard a thousand times over the years, but it is an encouragement to me today more than it ever has been before. The part I read was in the New Testament, Mark 6: 30-44. To sum up, this is what's happening......

Jesus had 12 men that he hung out with, the disciples. He had sent them out to different areas to help others and they returned to him and told him everything that they had done on their journeys.

"And He (Jesus) said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.".....for they had no time to even eat (because they were helping so many people)."

So they get in a boat to get away from people and "recharge" but crowds of people followed them and found them, 5000 people in total. Jesus felt sorry for the people so He started to teach them.....which meant more work for Him and for the disciples who were already exhausted and hungry. After a while the crowds of people were getting hungry and the disciples told Jesus they had nothing to feed them. He asked them to bring Him WHAT THEY HAD, which was 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. Jesus looked to heaven and said a blessing and then divided the food to each of the disciples in order to hand it out to the people

"And they all ate and were satisfied."

After everyone ate the disciples picked up 12 baskets full of leftover pieces.

So here is what that says to me as I think about my role as wife of a man who is quadriplegic with intense chronic pain and recurrent infections and a mommy of twins........

If I do what Jesus suggests then my first step would be to
"come away by myself to a desolate place and rest a while"
If that is not possible, as sometimes it is not and the people who I love need me to physically and emotionally be present to comfort them, then my next step would be to
"bring Jesus what I have"
to bring Him whatever energy, ideas, creativity, patience, compassion, love, kindness, and strength that I have (as little or great as that is).....and THEN wait and watch for HIM to bless it and to divided it out to those in need as well as to myself as He sees fit. If He does what He did in this story, I will be satisfied as well as my family.....HE'LL MEET ALL OF OUR NEEDS.

It's another encouragement to me to NOT try to do everything myself, but to give any ability that I have (mental, physical, emotional, or spiritual) to Jesus and ALLOW HIM to be the one to use the LITTLE that I have to provide far more abundantly than I can ask or imagine.

Oh Lord I just ask that you provide for everyone of us who are at times overwhelmed with the load on our plates - the schedules, the committments, the babies, the husbands, the wives, the bills/finances, the work/jobs. We have such a miniscule ability on our own to handle the situations and circumstances in our lives....but You have ABUNDANT, MIGHTY POWER as our Creator....You speak and the world is created.....please care for us as you did the thousands of people who came to hear you on that infamous day that we read about today. In Jesus' Name
AMEN

http://suzieskinner.blogspot.com/2011/03/to-caregivers-among-uscaring-for-others.html

Playdates

Noah has a cute friend here. It is hilarious to watch the kids.

I had one banana muffin and they wanted it. Sallie said they could share. So I cut it in half. Well, Maeve started to cry so Noah cut his half in half and gave it to Maeve. I congratulated Noah on sharing so well. Sallie then ripped a piece of her muffin off to give it to Noah to share too. Peer pressure works in great ways too!

The big kids laugh at a funny joke. Maeve squeals with laughter 3 seconds later to be like them.

Maeve of course wants to play with big kids. The pack and play is set up in the spare room. Noah and Sallie keep luring Maeve into it and then leaving so they can play alone. She just keeps calling their names until I come and get her out. She goes back in each time they ask her. Oh, this time I found her in the bathtub, which she cannot get out of. She isn't upset. I'm pretty sure she thinks its part of the game.

I remember being the little one!

A day with Hopper

Noah's preschool has two take home projects going on right now. One is A day with Hopper. Each child gets one day with a frog named Hopper. The child also gets to bring home a book that was made by the students. The task is to have the child read the book to the frog several times in 24 hours. It is really neat to see Noah reading to Hopper.

Noah has an overactive imagination to begin with so he was beside himself with the thought of having the frog. He had to have it with him the whole time. At dinner time he wanted Hopper to sit at the table with us so we put a plate out and a cup with water. Hopper had fish sticks, green beans and blueberries, just like Noah and Maeve. Noah had to run to the bathroom and I was hungry so I grabbed the blueberries and ate them. When he came back he FLIPPED about Hopper eating the blueberries. I almost couldn't contain my laughter. I snagged the green beans when he wasn't looking. Hopper only had a fish stick left and Noah desperately wanted him to eat it so Hopper could get dessert. I was able to snag half of the fish stick but left half. Noah tried to coach Hopper into finishing his dinner but no matter what he did he couldn't convince him.

We did a similar scenario at breakfast, except this time Hopper had Kix and Strawberries. Noah was so much fun to watch.

When it was time to go back to school, Noah insisted that Hopper was buckled tightly with him. Fun Project!!

How did we ever get here?

After a rough first year with Noah I was reminded over and over again about God's supremacy. We really ultimately have no control. I was well read, well prepared, happily married in a beautiful home. I had great experience with children and I was so excited to welcome a child into our home. The story is old so there is no need to repeat it.

But today, I was home with my kiddos and I just marveled at their interests and willingness to try new things. I admire their personalities and zest for life so much!

I made them each a PB and J on whole wheat with natural peanut butter and all fruit jelly. Their sides were bananas, blueberries, strawberries, and grapes. I went to make myself an omelet and they begged for more and more mushrooms as I put them in the pan. They ate half of the container. And then I got out some green beans to cut up and they ate a ton of them raw. Over the past week both kids have gorged themselves on hummus and tzatziki (greek cucumber and dill yogurt that I used to love in germany...).

In the grocery store I saw banana chips on special and I asked Noah if he wanted some for home. He said, I've never had them, but I'll try anything!

Our life is full of chaos that we are working to quell, but it is a process that can't happen over night. And as we work toward a new life together, I am often reminded on days like today that there is so much good in the little things (trite I know).

The kids played for hours running around in circles and falling in piles of pillows laughing hysterically. They colored for ages and Noah continued to work on his cutting skills which amaze me. Noah drew a brontosaurus "I'm sorry" card for a friend who he wasn't nice to. Maeve is pushing her skills into our lives as she reminds us that she is growing too. She interrupts me to point to my face and show me the words she knows -- mouth, nose, eyes, ears, hair. She runs out the door to climb into the car by herself without help and shrieks when I try to pick her up. She has an adorable defiant "I don't want to" that we probably let her say too much. We both know she isn't in control. She is using the potty 2-3 times a day and loves the family joy and attention when she has a success. All three of us rally and clap and dance for her.

Last night Noah read me the entire book Danny and the Dinosaur and I was in tears at his ability to figure out words by sounding them out. And right now, Maeve is asleep and Noah is listening to Rhinoceras Tap and following along to the music during his quiet time.

Yes, they drive us crazy. Yes we yell and cry a lot. All 4 of us. But the blessings are so numerous, too many to count. The joys are so sweet, too difficult for words to capture. And again we are reminded that our supreme God is in control and for that we are grateful.

After Dinner Games

Tonight after dinner Noah asked if we could play bingo. Noah's Godmother Yaz is teaching elementary spanish and she gave us a set of Spanish Bingo. We got out the cards and set it up. Noah rocked!! He knew all of the colors, numbers, and many of the animals in spanish. We all learned the modes of transportation and some foods tonight too.

It is mind blowing to me to think we can do this! I can't imagine knowing any spanish words as a child, let alone before school. Between Kai Lan, Diego and Dora kids are exposed to so much more language than ever before... cool stuff.

Growing So Quickly...

My little Maevey Gravy just looked so big today so I snapped a few pictures. She's 21 months now... almost 2.