Somebody turned three...and Mommy hasnt blogged about it

Shame on me.
We had a nice party for Elizabeth with a Sesame Street theme- it was a lot of fun. We had a Cookie Monster, Elmo, Bert and Ernie, and more. Things were kind of last minute since I had been done for a month but it all pulled together well. Kids dressed up like the characters and we did a blindfolded putting cookies on Cookie Monsters tray. Mom was dressed up like Jesse in one of our Zero to Three Sesame Street movies and Elizabeth was Grizzy from Elmo in Grouchland. She was a little grouchy too, when everyone starting singing to her she got upset and told them to stop. There is one very good thing that Elizabeth is excited about being three for. She starts BALLET classes in like two weeks!

Two little monkeys...

It is amazing how they can look so alike and yet different. Even when they are not together they do some of the same exact things- it never ceases to bring a smile to my face and warmth to my heart- that is unless they are doing this...CLIMBING ON EVERYTHING! he did it in a matter of second too.

When Melmo turns to ...

ELMO.. than you know your boys are growing up. I was speaking with a mom who has two kids already and one on the way- she told me every stage is her favorite- there is just something in every stage she adores and says this is my favorite. I think the same has been with our kids- I loved all the silly faces newborns make, puckered lips were my favorite. When she started rolling we awed at our little baby, first time sitting up, when they started cruising along things we cheered them on- starting solids, first birthday, first steps, and everything in between. Life goes by fast, and I am left to ask if I am a parent training my kids, giving them the tools to be successful in their relationship with God.

These are Jachin's before and after shots

These are Jesse's before and after shots

I am still alive

I did drop of the radar for a while- was in St. Louis for 4 weeks for some things- but I am back, and the kids are talking more and I am lovin it.
I will post some pictures soon of the boys first hair cuts and I have fun new things to share about my kids.

I Love You

The bottom one is Jesse, when his brother was born he ended up flipping around and delivered feet first, the nurse was pushing on my tummy, the doctors were pulling his legs and I was pushing. We had to break for a couple seconds to get his cord, it was stuck in between his legs. When he was born he was limp and not crying he needed a little oxygen and an iv. He had bruised legs for the first couple weeks of his life.
Elizabeth is my chubby cheeked little baby in the middle. Tonight I was showing her pictures of herself and she was so excited- calling herself "my baby Elizabeth." She had people there waiting to greet her but did not decide to come until 1:46am so the people just waited until she was born (which I really appreciate). But it was a long night for them to return home. I have had a two member (3 including my husband) cheer leading squad at my delivers- I heartfeltly appreciate that.
Jachin is the last little guy (the top pic)- what a trooper and what a set of lungs, just like his big sister. I think we went into the OR room at 8:14 and Jachi bear arrived at 8:25- he did great. He did not have any problems. He took a little while to catch on to eating and Jachin and Jesse only ate like 1-1 1/2 oz at a time at first- it was a wooohooo when we got to 2 oz at a time.

Kids, I love you.

When bandaids fail...

Try superglue!
A couple of Saturdays ago Jesse hit his head on the wooden part of our glider and had a small cut that bled alot. I had a band-aid on my littlest man as he thinks he is an animal that should roll around on the floor- but the band-aid resulted in his first hair cut when it was stuck on a lock of hair, so our awesome doctor and his crew put a little superglue on it, of course while listening to his screaming while a nurse had to hold him down.
And they say girls are dramatic...
I probably would have been worse at his age.

Hanging in there

Believe it or not we are still ALIVE. I dont know how many posts that I have started and then had to stop because of screaming kids because of an injury or because of little kids fighting, or other interesting things that happen at our crazy zoo. We are blesses and doing pretty well, some teething issues-but we are coming through the grumpiness- so I think. My mom is here right now and the kiddos are having fun with Gma Suzie.

God supplies

Today (7/1) I was cutting some slices of cheese and thought "Ok, I am going to run out of cheese before we can go shopping again. We are due to shop on Saturday but we are hosting our Open House that day and will be unable to go shopping. A young lady that I get to spend time with was over and said she needed to go home real quick, just a few minutes later she was back with some cheese, she saw me cutting the cheese and had wanted a piece but knew we did not have much left so she asked her mom for some and brought it back. I was blessed. And then my neighbor and friend brought me a cheesecake that same night. Recently someone bought us a forward facing car seat,and one time we did not have bread and another woman sent her daughter over with bread. The boys (Jach and Jesse) are a huge blessing in our life but the two for the price of one is only valid at one place (and I am grateful for them!). Besides did I mention the "Cadi" My triple stroller that was also a gift as well as the exersaucer, diaper bags and baby carrier. We are a blessed people.
When we get the stroller out they say bye-bye and sometimes even go and stand next to it where their designated seat is.

Honey...

No Honey, go sleep. This is the line out of Elizabeth this morning. She told me, no honey go sleep. She is definitely learning to repeat things like "honey" or sometimes she calls her brothers "son". And I have to explain to her that they are not her sons. Just a minutes ago she went in the boys room and they are supposed to be sleeping but one is crying. She came in and said "Go sleep" and then closed the door again which of course made him cry all the more. She also shut Jachin in her bedroom closet her first or second day into being in our new house.
Great memories....It must all be Uncle Matt's orneriness coming through... :)

Moving...

We have moved into our BEAUTIFUL new house. We are super blessed. We started moving Monday afternoon and have just a very little left at the old house. the boys seem to like it quite a bit too- enjoy.

A beautiful thing

Elizabeth is turning 2 1/2 at the end of May. In June she will be moving up to the 3-T classroom. At first I was very emotional (are you kidding me, I still am) but it really is a beautiful thing. she is growing up and getting prettier and becoming a little girl that is obedient, polite and loving, she loves people, she likes to sing and she loves Church,and she can be so girly! This is her in her dance leotard- she enjoys twirling. And another favorite is wearing moms shoes around the house. I talked with her on the phone today as she has been with grandma since Monday. She sounded so grown up saying "Hi mom, I miss you" When did she start to lose her baby fat...when did her voice start getting more like a little girl than a baby. When did she get that beautiful smile that lights up her whole face...her physical body is changing, growing, developing everyday and her body requires rest and proper nutrition to do this. She is not a new born baby anymore. (many tears) but I do rejoice as I get to see her grow and mature and be the product of her dad and I's love, labor, teaching, disciplining, imparting, etc...
This is like our relationship with God- we grow and mature and it has times where it is uncomfortable and awkward (like those geeky stages physically) and there are days you definitely feel growing pains and I am not talking physical growing pains. We have to feed our spirit like we do our body. And something beautiful for God comes out when we humble ourselves and let Him reign.

How we are

We are doing well. Elizabeth was pretty sick which was a little scary one day when her temp was almost 105. Doc thinks she had a real resistant strand of strep throat or a virus, her tonsils were red, swollen and had other stuff but don't want to gross you out. As of today Jesse was running a fever and he has an ear infection (this is his 6th one). The boys have a breathing machine now because they get bronchitis. Tonight Jachin was coughing that seally or barky cough so out comes the breathing treatments/machine. We are blessed regardless if our kids are sick. I am glad I have kids to drive me crazy! (just joking):O). I love my kids and the silly things they do, I would sure miss them if I had never had them, oh wait- if I never had them how would I know I would miss them- now I am just being silly. It is past Elizabeth and I's bed time but we have been having girl time and she has been giggling at me for no real reason- I enjoy her smile.

A catch up

OK, so it has been a little bit since I last posted. I tried to post a picture last week but it would not upload it right, so I gave up. we are all alive, the boys had been sick again so we have been doing some breathing treatments, it was their second round of bronchitis is just a few weeks. They seem to be doing ok now. We had visitors earlier this week (Gma Susie and Uncle Blake) and then visitors today (Paka and Gma Moore). mommy has been packing up stuff for the move into our BEAUTIFUL new house. I really like the house we are in now, its our home- but it will be nice for the boys to have their own room together and then for Elizabeth to have her room that way she can have ballerina/girly stuff as decorations on her dresser and it not having to compete with John Deere stuff. We are very blessed.

Brothers Are Crazy

This morning I made breakfast, pancakes from scratch, I had a little bit of time to spend with the kids, Elizabeth and I were sitting at the table and the boys were playing on the ground. Something the boys were playing with hit the ground with a thud. Elizabeth asked "What was that?" I told her it was her brothers, her response was... "Brothers are crazy."
This picture is of Jesse drumming away on his brother with the bottles- like Big Sister said the look says it all- they are crazy :)

Brotherhood

The Boys were playing in a box here. They had fun for a little bit but decided after a few minutes they were too close to each other and did not want the other one touching them anymore. They are brothers, there are days one looks at the other wrong and makes him cry (normally it is Jachin who does NOT want to be touched by Jesse, or Elizabeth) and there are days they laugh and giggle with each other and chase each other. It is a special bond.

Boys Birthday Bash

Birthdays...What a wonderful way to celebrate life- its not about the gifts (AND our kids never need another toy again-they have tons). We had lots of people come and celebrate with us- which meant a lot. We had Grandpa Moore, Grandma Marcia, and tons of friends here to celebrate two of our gifts.

Life-much to be gratetful for!

I have a good friend, the reason why we are so close is because we have lived life together, the good and the not so good. I was there when she had her first baby go to glory, she was there when I liked Joe (and told me to give it to God), I was there after she had her second child (she still gives me a hard time cause I hardly held him). She was there when I got married. She was there when we had our fisrt,and there for us with our second and third (she watched Elizabeth for us). When she lost her sister in 2009 I tried to be there. Am I always a good friend, no. Sometimes I talk when I should listen and other times I say nothing when I should, or I dont know what to say- but I do know that her friendship means a lot to me and I am thankful for her. There are a lot more things I am grateful for...
1. God changing my life
2. My husband- even when we do not always communicate well. I am grateful for our three year old marriage. he is so handsome still:)
3. My little girl- she is amazing. Yesterday we were walking to church and I was behind Joe and her and she turned around and said "Come on Momma".
4. My boys-they were pretty healthy, and still don't have that many problems, even though they have been sick the last week, I am grateful it is not pneumonia.
5. A sister who had cancer 10 years ago, but is still alive.
6. A dad who I am getting closer to as the years go by, I look forward to our phone calls, when we get them.
7. A stepdad that has great convictions, and instilled some in me- I find myself saying "this is not a restaurant, you eat what you are served"
8.Two younger brothers and two younger sisters (even if they are crazy and pick their noses).
9. A stepmom that always told us she loved us, especially at night.
10. A mom that laughs really loud, I used to be embarrassed by that but now I love it, she makes me laugh so hard I cry.
11.Four older brothers and two older sisters (who would have thought I would have survived living life with you guys/gals)Actually I always looked up to them.
12. My four nephews and three nieces and another two babies on the way.
13. Both my sets of grandparents. Even though my grandpas are no longer living I am grateful for their service to their country and their family. My grandparents were instrumental in my life. I am grateful for my grandma G even when she does not always remember things, I am so grateful she is still alive and for all the memories I have in me. And grandma A always prayed for me, those prayers mattered.
14. My coworker who is 80, she means a lot to me.
15. My brother in law, who survived a motorcycle accident that he should not have, and I am grateful he is getting married to a great lady.
16. I am grateful for uncle Anthony and Aunt Tabitha- they are very generous and giving.
17. I am grateful for the extra set of parents I inherited marrying Joe. Dale, JoHelen and Marcia. They really care about their grandkids and they have been a blessing to us.
18. I am grateful for the people that take the time to speak into my life, I need sifting and refined.
19. I am grateful for the church I am in and our Pastor- who speaks the truth in obedience and glory to God. And I am grateful for this community.
20. I am grateful for my extended family and the family I inherited when I got Joe.
21. I am grateful that I can feel gratefulness, I never want to become too consumed with myself that I forget others, it is easy for em to do.
Remember that we are imperfect people in an imperfect world trying to serve a perfect God.But we don't want to stay imperfect.

Im sure sure

This is a phrase that Elizabeth says...It normally goes something like this...
Mom: Elizabeth do you need to go potty?
Elizabeth: NO
Mom: Are you sure?
Elizabeth: I'm sure sure.
She says many other funny things as well, so do the boys- right now the boys are in their crib and I can hear them giggling. I should probably go get them-and hopefully I will post some pictures from their party last week.

Hello All...

Alright, I am definitely way behind in technology (which does not bother me one bit). I thougth this would be a fun way for family and friends to see pictures and look at updates, etc. Please bear with me, as it took a while to even figure out how to write this. Well welcome to our blog- Refining gifts- that is what children are- they are gifts from God, and they refine- and I don't mean that in a bad way- God uses them to refine me- He trusted me to be their momma, He knows I have something to give to them- he entrusted them to me to raise them right, and to set an atmosphere of godliness. Enjoy...