Fall 2008

Nana and Ryan looking cute together - Just wanted to share some more pics from my visit with my mom... I love her!
Joe in his wolverine costume talking to some hot chick (Rick)

Carving the pumpkin - silly faces.

Ryan and I at Charlotte on a brisk fall day!

We really enjoyed this fall... and now it looks like winter has arrived!

Christmas... YEP I said it!

CHRISTMAS is around the corner! Yes, I know we haven't even made it through Thanksgiving, but I am trying to get pumped up! I have been very sad lately as we will not be with any of our immediate family this year other than ourselves, for Thanksgiving OR Christmas. I started thinking last night about the last 4 years Joe and I have been married. What our Christmas' have been like. I am finding that we haven't really started any of our own traditions... and I'd like to. I'm just not sure what! Also I'm wondering if there is anything exciting that other people do to "stay connected" to family they are away from during this holiday season. I'd LOVE to hear some ideas. The one tradition we have kept is going out for Chinese food on Christmas Eve... that one was inherited from his family. In the past (not every year or consistently) we have made Christmas cookies, gone to see SANTA (this deserves another entry entirely), gone to look at Christmas lights.... So I am asking for ideas!!! My boys are 3 and 1... I want to make memories that will last a lifetime (good ones preferrably!).

Coronary Christian

Sometimes I get discouraged being mommy, a little more than I should lately! Then I read this and was so encouraged - I want to share!


John Piper—from his book The Roots of Endurance resonated with me:

“As I write this Preface I have just preached to my people several messages in which I pleaded with them to be ‘coronary Christians,’ not ‘adrenal Christians.’ Not that adrenaline is bad, I said; it gets me through lots of Sundays. But it lets you down on Mondays. The heart is another kind of friend. It just keeps on serving—very quietly, through good days and bad days, happy and sad, high and low, appreciated and unappreciated. It never says, ‘I don’t like your attitude, Piper, I’m taking a day off.’ It just keeps humbly lub-dubbing along. It endures the way adrenaline doesn’t. Coronary Christians are like the heart in the causes they serve. Adrenal Christians are like adrenaline—a spurt of energy and then fatigue. What we need in the cause of... [motherhood] is not spurts of energy, but people who endure for the long haul. Marathoners, not sprinters.”
Being a wife and mother—or doing any other long-term kingdom work—requires us to be “coronary Christians.” It requires faithfulness even when we don’t see the fruit. It requires joy in the mundane, unglamorous tasks. It calls for confidence that God will bless our gospel-motivated labors.
So if you are weary, discouraged, or even bored with the work God is calling you to today, join me in asking for God’s grace to be a “coronary Christian.”

Friday Funnies...

ME: Ryan, you need to take care of the things God gives us. (after he tore a page in one of his books.) God is not going to give us new things if we don't take care of what he's already given us.

RYAN: God will fix my book mom.

Hmmmm....

____________________________________________________

An old one that Ryan has said several times is "my mouth farted."... and recently he learned that he "farts" and thinks it is quite funny. So yesterday he burped and said "my mouth farted, no thats silly... my mouth is stinky not farts!".... Not sure about this kid.

____________________________________________________

Logan is truly coming into his own personality, but has so many traits that Ryan does also. It is amazing to watch. He has been "giving kisses" for awhile now, but Ryan is disgusted by the drool. Lately he has gotten better and will close his mouth to kiss and say "mwaah"... so the other day Ryan was laying on the couch and Logan snuck up beside him and kissed him right on the lips. I laughed as Ryan is screaming "EWWW! Logan ONLY kiss my head - thats GROSS!"

____________________________________________________

Logan also loves music. So recently I was singing "I'm in the Lords army" with Ryan and he caught on. Now when we get in the car he often starts out with "yes sir! hmmm hmmm hmmm".... He cant pronounce the words but definitely hums the tune and when he gets to the "yes sir!" you know it!

_____________________________________________________

Now this one I'm not proud of, but it happened and it was hilarious at the time. The other night I was annoyed by Joe and I was exhausted and wanted to go to bed. So as Ryan Joe and I were standing in the bathroom getting ready for bed I think I must have rolled my eyes and walked into our room and shut the door. As I did, Ryan said "where's mom going?" to Joe. And Joe said " I think she wants to go to bed", and Ryan's reply was " I think she's pissed." Both of us couldnt help but laugh, then proceeded to tell Ryan we shouldn't use that word and neither should he.

___________________________________________________

Friday Funnies...

Recently I read a blog from another mommy, who posts funny things her children do each week. I thought this was a GREAT idea, as I have had several little notebooks lost of sayings and things Ryan has done. It makes me sad to lose those, because in all reality I do forget the little things they do that bring me joy. So each Friday I will post sayings or things the boys are doing throughout the week. This is mostly for us to look back on, but if you enjoy reading -- go ahead!!

Eatin' Good in the Neighborhood...

Ok. I'm no Applebees, but I will admit we have been eatin' good around here lately. (Not always the best thing for my weight... but most has been healthier!) I recently went to a friends blog who moved away to AZ. I check her blog frequently to keep up with her life, and she always has new and great ideas to keep the kids busy - for free! (thanks Terri!) So as I was looking at her blog I saw a blog for recipes... little did I know this woman goes to my church but we have never formally met! The recipes have been amazing AND easy! A few new things we've had lately are:

Veggie Stuffed Shells
Potato Chowder
Baked Pesto Chicken
Oatmeal Carmelites

I say if you're a woman (or man) with a busy family like ours, you should totally check out her blog! http://mommabeesrecipes.blogspot.com/ Let me know if you try anything yummy from there... I'm interested. I can't make EVERYTHING there.... so I'll be waiting for you to do the taste testing!

Bittersweet Weekend...

This weekend wrapped up my mom's 2 week visit (actually just 10 days...). Friday we spent the day at Strong Museum with the boys trick-or-treating and enjoying the Halloween festivities there. I dont know which word describes that best - fun - or insane! There were so many people there, the line extended around the building. I think I should look back next year as a reminder of just how crazy that was!! After that we came home and mom watched the boys while Joe and I went to hunt for last minute costumes... totally fun! We dropped by the good ol' V.O.A.... to find some interesting and downright hilarious costume ideas. I'm sure my husband trying the spandex jazz costume on in the middle of the store added to the event! Needless to say, we found costumes! Joe decided he would purchase a Wolverine costume that will fit Ryan next year and pinned it to his upper half of his body... then made his own claws out of hangers and duct tape. I was impressed with his idea. I went as bat girl or woman.... and Ryan was batman. Logan - Blue, from Blues Clues, and my mom went as a high school graduate. After all the hustling to get costumes on etc, we were on our way out the door for an evening of trick-or-treating at the Dyer's house. (our community group) Fun was had by all... but as the night progressed I became all to aware that my mom would be leaving very soon. So we left a bit early so I could spend the last couple of hours with her. She left early that morning, and Saturday was quite emotional for me. I really am praying that it will be possible to see her again before next year... I miss her already. While she was here we had a great time! Not only did we do lots of sight seeing... mostly looking at the fall leaves, we managed to get to the Strong Museum of Play, the Seneca Park Zoo, a garbage plate was appreciated, we fed the ducks, strolled Medley Ctr while the boys played, had a girls day of SHOPPING and relaxation (THE BEST PART BY FAR!), and mom even watched the boys one night so Joe and I could go on a date! We also enjoyed lots of baking, painting pumkins, and chatting. Here are a few pics from our time together with more to come:

I'm sure there are others out there who live great distances from immediate family (Heidi...), how do you stay connected with those you love? I would love to hear ideas. With Joe's family living in PA, and mine in Tx, no matter where we lived we'd always be far from one of them. I really would like my boys to know all of them... any suggestions?