"I don't know."

Aaron and I have been working with the boys to not use "I don't know" as an answer to questions we ask them. We often will tell them that "I don't know is not an answer it is an excuse." Sometimes this works and sometimes it doesn't. We have come to accept that this will be an ongoing issue and challenge.

However, the stakes have just been raised...

Emma came walking into the kitchen last night and she was without her diaper. I asked her where it was, she pointed to the living room. I asked her why she took it off, and she said "I don't know."

AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

The changing of seasons

I love spring. I love the fact that in just a few days it will officially be spring.

Here in Indiana, Sunday was a beautiful day. I actually spent the afternoon cleaning. There is something about opening the windows and getting some fresh clean air circulating through the house that just gets me excited. It is also a great time to reorganize and purge. And it was absolutely the best background music to hear the birds singing.

I am thrilled that the next few days are supposed to be warmer and much more like spring than winter. YEA!!!

I was thinking about how our lives are like seasons. We often have to walk through the dead of winter where life can be overwhelming, depressing, and harsh. But the glorious truth is that at the end of winter, new life emerges and spring arrives. I am enjoying this spring time in my soul. God has granted me such a gift in coinciding the coming of the season of spring with the renewal and strengthening of my soul. It is such a great reminder of who HE is and how much HE loves me.

Emma makes us laugh

These are some recent pictures of Emma.

She was just practicing her makeup techniques.

Here are some recent videos. She loves to "help" daddy when he is playing the Wii. She also loves to sing. And finally she has a new saying, "Howdy Matey". But more than anything she loves that she is on the camera.

The Strong Willed Child

Aaron and I have always known that we didn't stand a chance having a child who is compliant and content to do what they are asked. We knew, based upon our personalities, that we would probably have varying degrees of "The Strong Willed Child." Last night proved once again that even at the tender little age of 2, our daughter probably has the strongest will of all of the kids.

For some reason, she was really fighting going to sleep last night. Actually she asked to go to bed and so we put her in bed and she stayed there for about 30-45 minutes and then got back up. So we put her back in bed. We also went to bed at this time (or so we thought). This was the beginning of her getting out of bed and coming to our room. We tried putting the gate up at her door, which she barrelled through (and scared us as it crashed to the floor); we tried ignoring her, which she didn't seem to mind. At one point she actually fell asleep standing up next to our bed with her head on the mattress. I thought maybe if I ignored her and acted like I was asleep she would take herself back to her room. No such luck.

She stayed in bed a little longer after falling asleep standing up, but eventually she tried to "escape" again. She knocked the gate down again, but this time it must have taken all of her energy because she fell asleep on the floor next to it. I put her back in bed and she began to scream so we went downstairs, laid down on the couch and she fell asleep. I did too. After a little bit I woke up and put her in bed and this time she stayed in bed until morning.

She just could not give in to sleep in her bed and she was determined to sleep with mommy for at least a few minutes. In the middle of the night I will definitely lose the battle of the wills. I value my time in my bed too much. :-)

I have to share...

My mom sent me the following story yesterday and it is so amazing that I just have to share it:

Malachi 3:3 says: He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.

This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God.
One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study.
That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining Silver.
As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities.
The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: 'He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.'
She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined.

The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.
The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, 'How do you know when the silver is fully refined?'
He smiled at her and answered, 'Oh, that's easy -- when I see my image in it.'

If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has his eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you.

Isn't that so cool?! I began to think about the journey I have been on with God over the past year. I have asked Him many times "Why?", "Show me just a glimpse of your purpose in this.","I don't understand." I had asked God a number of years ago to not reveal certain issues to me unless it could bring Him glory. He has now walked me straight into those issues and then seemed to have been silent as to the purpose. As I thought about the story and verse above as well as my situation, along with my heart's desire to be like Christ, I realized "What greater glory could I see in this situation, than a relfection of God in me?" I may not be out of the fire yet, but I know that His eyes are always intently upon me and that His desire is purity and refinement so that it is clear His relfection can be seen.

It's Been Awhile

It has been awhile since I have posted anything. We have been dealing with some tough issues in our household.

Alex is struggling with school. His grades have drastically dropped in the past two months. He has not been completing work or bringing it home. We have caught him in many lies. We have taken privileges away until his grades improve. He really wants to play Pee Wee Football this year and to play he knows that his grades as well as his behavior have to improve. It is hard to believe the change that has come over him in the past few months. First quarter he made High Honor Roll and then last time he got one "B" so he was on the Honor Roll. Now he is not getting any "A's" at all and even is close to failing in a class. We have increased his ADHD medicine recently and are just at a loss as to how to help him. God has gifted Alex with such amazing smarts and abilities. It is hard to see him not using those gifts. We are praying that Alex will find a motivation or a change in habits that propels him forward. If you have any advice or ideas that may help-please feel free to pass those along.

Another hardship in our household has been the continuation of my depression. It has been close to a year that this has been going on and I am very ready to be at a point where I could walk out of this heaviness. God has revealed many truths to me over the past year, but it continues to be a struggle to even function some days. I am on a medicine that as I continue on it hopefully will bring some help. I am also going to be seeing a counselor to talk through some issues that have come to the surface within the past few months. I believe that God is sovereign and that He knows exactly what I need and can handle right now. However, most days I feel like it is too much, but that is precisely why I am not God. :-)

Emma has also been having night terrors about two to three times a week. This of course causes a disruption in everyone's sleep. This morning she was up at 5:30. Of course, that meant that I was up too. She would not give in and go back to sleep. She is a stubborn one. (I have no idea where she gets that--must be her daddy.) Hopefully she will nap well at daycare and come home in a better mood.

Jackson and Stephen are doing well. They are both enjoying school and being with all their friends. Stephen had been going through a phase where he didn't want to be anywhere but with us. That seems to have passed and he is enjoying school, daycare, and church again. Thankfully!

Pictures from the weekend (and misc.)

Here are some pictures from the weekend. We celebrated Stephen's 5th birthday with lots of family and friends. We had so much fun enjoying everyone's company. We definetly are going to be needing a bigger space to keep celebrating these birthdays. Either that or warmer weather in January so the kids can run around outside.

Stephen wanted a giraffe cake, so I planned to make a giraffe cake. Originally I was going to shape the cake like a giraffe and everything, but then realized the stress of that was going to ruin the fun of the weekend. So I had a local bakery make the cake and just ice it with the white frosting. I then decorated it with the giraffe. When I finished and Emma knew what it was I figured it wasn't too bad, and of course when Stephen saw it and was excited-that was all that mattered. The giraffe theme carried on into the gifts. He got two stuffed giraffes and Aunt Laura and Uncle John gave him framed pictures of giraffes to hang in his room. He is thrilled.

Another big hit was his very own remote controlled car. Now all of the boys have one and they can now race each other around the yard and driveway. (Mom and Dad just have to find the chargers before spring.) :-)

Another theme for Stephen this year was art. He received a number of gifts that were art themed including an easel. Hailey and Emma were thrilled. They spent quite a bit of time at the easel and ended up with quite a bit of color on themselves as well. Thankfully they were washable markers.

The one gift that I don't have a picture of that was truly his favorite was from Daddy. It was a whoopie cushion. I rolled my eyes and thought it would be a "dud" however I had to admit it was a good idea. Such a good idea that Sunday morning it ended up popping due to over use. Prior to it popping it sure did provide a lot of laughter.

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Here are a few pictures I just had to share. Emma got a Cinderella dress up outfit for Christmas and she loves it. She already knows she is a princess so this was right up her alley.
Emma also got her big girl bed around Christmas and for Christmas got new bedding. She looks lost in this bed but she loves it.