Oh, Toodles...

Two people's admission to Wild Waves/Enchanted Village: $ more than we would like it to be

Rides: Free

The look on Todd's face when he drew the "short straw" and had to ride the Frog Jump with the kids: Priceless


(Good thing he was under the 150 pound weight limit for the ride! :)

Thank you Fry Fam for the use of this picture that I totally swiped off your blog!

Dedication...

Yesterday we dedicated our kids to the Lord at our church. It was so great to stand in front of everyone, let them know that we intend to raise our kids to know Christ, and ask for help in the process from our church family. We have some AWESOME people that we know will be huge helps in this journey. We also chose verses for each of the kids that we will pray for them throughout their lives.

For Hailey, we chose Deuteronomy 6:5, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, strength." We've prayed that for her since she was little and when she was old enough, she began praying it for herself before bed. We pray that she will be a woman following hard after Jesus one day...

For Owen, we chose Numbers 6:24-26, "The Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace." We chose this because we want our son to reflect God's glory in his life.

It's also become very real to us lately that we are raising kids that will one day become spouses and parents! Maybe it's the many weddings we've been to recently, but I want to commit to praying for them, as well as their future spouses. We also want to be a good representation of a marriage before our kids, and that's not an easy task sometimes. So pray for us, if you think of it, that Todd and I would think before we speak and communicate rightly.

After the service, our pastor gave us this book to read...I started it last night and am so intrigued about "The Blessing" that God intended we give our kids. I'll let you know how it goes, but I'm just really figuring out that these kids don't belong to us, they belong to God and that the responsibility of parenting is big...

Hailey-isms...

"Is that clean?" - This is what she asks when she wants to make sure that whatever she's about to eat is still good. She's very concerned about germs, you know...

"I wanna watch harcoons!!" - She wants a cartoon.

"What ya doin'???" - This is a question she asks all day long...whether or not she already has been told what you're doing.

"I no like bees!?!" - This is something she says when she sees an insect of any kind. This is usually accompanied by flailing of the arms and perhaps a few tears.

"I wanna hold you!!" - This means she wants YOU to hold her.

"Whoa...that was a big one...like a polar bear!" - Ahem...this is a Hailey-ism she uses in the restroom...don't ask me why she likens her BM's to that of a polar bear... (I have a feeling this last one could get me the "worse Mom ever" award when she's a pre-teen!!)

The Sweetest Sound...

Owen has become quite the "talker"! He's the sweetest boy.
We love him. :)

The Paci-Fairy...

She came!! ;) We'd been talking about "her" for quite some time and she finally came. She works a lot like the tooth fairy...she leaves a present in place of the pacifier when she's sure you've become a big kid.

Hailey is potty-trained, has moved into her big girl room, and is a big sister...I'd say that makes her a big girl, right??? :)

She LOVES her new back pack...and the two or three little surprises that were in it! She spent the better part of this afternoon playing with the fresh play-dough she got... :)

So far, she hasn't mentioned her paci except for when she first went down for her nap this afternoon and suggested we run to Target to get her a new one. :) She did, however, have a really hard time getting to sleep. We're hoping she has an easier time tonight, but we know that she'll adjust okay eventually.

life is rich...

This is how Hailey, Owen and I spent one afternoon this week...they were contained in Owen's crib while I cleaned his room. For some reason his room ends up the "catch all" place for all of their stuff, so it needs to be tidied up several times a week. I'm not saying I do it several times a week, but it needs it that often. :)

And this is a picture of the tiger we saw this past week at the zoo. He was just chillin' right up by the fence. I'd post the rest of the pictures, but this is the only one that fit on my memory card this past trip. :) Obviously I need to carry my extra one around just in case!

(Keens...you have NO idea the oodles of fun your gift of this zoo membership has brought to my family! Thanks so much for your thoughtfulness. :)

God is teaching our family some very important lessons right now. How to be content with less, how to trust Him with our every need, and He is absolutely proving to be a God of provision.

Oh, Bert...

Remember Bert?? He is the silly little bug-looking guy in all of these pictures that were taken back in April. Since then, Bert was misplaced and forgotten. Sorry, little guy!!

Today while dinking around in the garage, I came across a familiar face, grabbed him off of Todd's workbench and said, "Hailey, look!!".

She looked right at him, ran to me with an excited look on her face and said, "Boobie!! Belly!!"

"What?!?" I replied.

"I forgot his name", she said.

"It's Bert, Hailey...not Belly...and certainly not Boobie!?!"

Needless to say, Bert has been saved and is now back in the usual repertoire of toys that she loves. :)

Little Miss Sassy Pants...

The other night while tucking Hailey into bed, I snuggled in and gave her lots of kisses and "I love you's". She turns toward me and says, "I don't love you."

WHAT?!? I immediately started fake "crying"...nothing like a little maternal manipulation, right?!? :)

She lightly grabs my face with both of her hands and in her sweet little helium voice gently says, "It's okay, Mommy...I don't love you."

WHAT?!? My fake crying didn't work?? So, naturally, I "cried" even louder!

"Mommy...don't cry...it's okay! I don't love you."

It's as if she thinks that saying it nicer is better...

I know she was just being silly, but let's just say I was so relieved when I went to get her up the next morning and heard my usual, "I'm awake! And I'm happy! I love you, Mommy!". :)