On Bad Days

On tough days, I still have the funny things to laugh at :)  Two days of rain, packing for a crazy weekend trip to Ohio, struggling finances, Dave breaking down on the road yesterday morning on his way home from work, and this morning getting the phone call saying he needed to go the ER because of an infection in his finger......is a recipe that leads me to feel overwhelmed.  You can be all fake and say that you are great...but that is not me.....I am HONEST!!!  It is hard!!!  But as I was walking the kids to school I was trying to point my eyes up....for those who don't understand those "christianese terms :)" ...I mean I need to look towards God and not the messy circumstance in front of me.  God is good even during little bumps in life.  God never changes even if life does and He is faithful to hear all about how I am feeling and patient as I battle through them.  Then I thought of my funny things that were in  my morning.  Genevieve's bunny is soooo gross.  But yet she loves it sooo much.  I had to give it a bath.  And then when it got all clean she wanted me to take a picture of it :)  Dawson had picture day today.  I laid out a collared shirst and pants but he wanted a nice shirt and tie.  Well, normally, mommy's choice wins.  But since his was a better option, I gave in :)  He was so sticken cute.  He wanted me to gel his hair and all ...just like his daddy.  So, my "hard things" are not that big compared to someone's else maybe but they are enough to get you down.  Recognizing your emotions and then moving forward is the way to go....and looking towards God ...and then all the funny things He also puts in my life with those "hard things" :) 

Playtime

Everyday, normal playtime is where I see my kids personalities the most :)  God has made each of them so different and unique.  I am thankful for each one of them and the blessings and challenges they bring.  In these pics, you can see "baby jonny" is sitting up and starting to crawl.  You can also see how the other kids torture him by putting all kinds of stuff on him like sunglasses.  Today I found Gena trying to ride on his back....poor boy.  Genevieve just loves to play with little dolls....so much so that she enters her own little world and hears nothing else around her.  I would love to know all that is in her little mind.  She is so out there sometimes....she is my artsy one.  You also see Giules and Dawson doing their muscle/fighting poses :)  Not sure where that came from.....lol.  Four kids and four personalities.  God, help us to learn and study each of them so that Dave and I can best shepherd their little precious hearts.

Apple Picking...Yum!!!

So, at the last minute we decided to go apple picking.  We sent out a email inviting people from our pastorate group from church to join us if they wanted.  Well, we probably have 40-60 people in our pastorate and we didn't think people would come since it was so late.....but to our surprise, we had a bunch of them join our family outing (we also had a pastorate picnic that night so we thought it would be too much too).  It was loads of fun. I love apple picking and I love family and friends, so together, it was fabulous!  So, now we have lots and lots of apples :)  The kids eat them everyday for after-school-snack.  Amazingly, they have not gotten tired of it. 

Go Phillies!

We were fortunate enough to be given 4 free tickets (with parking :)  to a Phillies game.  So, we wanted to take our oldest two kids.  It was a night game and didn't think the other two could do it.....good thing cause Giules was falling asleep at one point until the sugar kicked in...then she was "crazy girl" :)  The seats were amazing.  We could see everything.  At first, the park was quite overwhelming to Dawson but as soon as he saw the "wall of balls" in the VIP hallway, he was in love :)  I wonder what it would be like to get into his little brain to see what he is thinking as he just stared in amazement at everything.  Believe it or not, he talked my ear off the whole game asking me what everything was and who everyone was (he went to a game last year but barely remembers it).  Phillies won which made it even better.  And we stayed as late as we could in the park looking at every last thing (which is a tradition with my husband)  We even got to make a visit to the first aid station because Giuliana fell as we were leaving.  Oh, and I almost forgot....we got to hang out with "little sarah" too.  She ended up having tickets one row in front of us and didn't know it until we got there.....how cool! 

A New Year

So, heres to another year of school!  We started the morning SUPER excited about going back to school.  Then Nona came over and brought us some donuts which were sooo yummy.  Then Daddy came home and helped finish all the last minute details.  And then we wanted to pray over our two big kids :)  And of course I was crying when I prayed.......  Long story short, Dave finished praying and the two kids ran into the kitchen.  I walked in after them and they were hugging and balling their eyes out.... then Gena started crying for absolutely no reason at all.  Dave and Jonathan were the only ones who were not crying...amazing in itself :)  Once we got through all the tears and talked about how God would walk with them through the day and they did not need to fear, it seemed to get better.  Then, finally, we took pics and headed off to school.  And they did great when we got there.  As crazy as the morning was, I was thankful for our intimate moments of family time.  It was a great morning!

Hello "Tomorrow"

Well, we had a fun week.  We went down the shore, bikerides, Phillies baseball game, campfire, and bunches of picnics.  And tomorrow school starts.  I sit in my very, very messy house at the moment with not an ounce of energy to clean it.  We were so busy this week that I did not have any time.  But tomorrow will start a wonderful schedule for all of us.  No more of trying to find fun activities everyday....well, I still will try to do special stuff with Genevieve, but I wont have to find things to challenge the minds of my older ones.  There is something about routine that is so attractive.  Now, I LOVE change, but routine is neccessary with children.  So, I welcome you TOMORROW....bring it on.  I am excited about learning how to be a homemaker with kids in school.  I am excited about finding time for myself and God in my day during naps.  I am excited about finding time to excercise.  I am excited about having some more time to prep dinner.  So, will that all happen between 9 and 3?  Maybe or maybe not.  But for now, I welcome tomorrow :)