Family Reunion

Oh, the family reunion is always so much fun! The kids never want to leave the farm. Here is some fun pictures that captured the excitement of the little time that we were there.

It is always fun to see the kids swinging on the swing. We used to swing in this same spot on a not so fancy swing. Our swing was a board with a newspaper rolled around it.

Poppa and Jolie rocking.

Jaelynn was locked in the chicken coop by some cousins. Hillbilly fun! Right?

Jolie turns 2!

We started off Jolie's Birthday morning with a not so wonderful surprise! We went to get her and her and her bed was covered!!! Poor baby had got sick sometime in the night and we never heard it in the monitor. So, our plans to go the zoo and meet Jason for lunch were postponed for another day. :( We just chilled at home and she acted fine all day. Jolie really wanted McDonald's for dinner and cake. We invited my parents and Sue (Ross was out of town) to come after Jaelynn's soccer practice. 

I am NO baker. I leave the cakes to my friend, Lauree. I had to make one for her actual birthday though.

She loved her monkey purse, monkey lipstick, and Belle phone.

Poppa and Grandme gave her cute shoes and clothes!

Granny brought some more cute clothes and a fun tricycle to ride!

 Jolie was really excited on Thursday when we went to the zoo. She HAD to carry her purse to the zoo, but look who was sweet enough to carry it for a little while. ;)

My Three Beauties

 These were her favorite animals that she could not stop talking about......

This was my first attempt of Wonder Under on clothes. She is really into princess right now and I love those initial shirts.

His shirt says it all...Superhero! Well, to us anyway. :)

Peek-A-Boo Beautiful!

Cutie Pie!

Getting Di-R-tYYYY!!!!!

Goodbye zoo! We had a wonderful and beautiful day celebrating Jolie's Birthday!

Addiction- Ouch It Hurts!

Ok, friends it is time to be real! We all have habits, addictions, hurts, relationships, fears, a past, worries, etc that hold us back from a real relationship with God. This is what we are studying right now at our church. We are hosting a small group at our home each week to study God's Word on dealing with all these subjects and more. Each week we hear a sermon and then study that topic deeper in our small group. Well, let me bare my soul here! I have thought my "thing" was failure. I do not want to be a failure! So, I strive with everything I have to not let people down. God let me know this morning that...I am addicted too!!!! I am addicted to technology!!!!!!!!!! I love my iPhone, Facebook,and  blogging! So, gulp gulp gulp I am going on a technology break for gulp gulp gulp TWO WEEKS! (We do have two birthdays coming up. So, I will only blog on those two days and NOT read or do anything else.) Psalms 139:1-2 "O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I am far away." I will use that time wisely. Instead of cruising on Facebook... I will play more games with the kids, instead of playing on my phone...I will write a card, talk with my kids more, be OUTSIDE more,etc. The main thing is I do not want to live regrets! I want God to know my heart and I want to know Him better. I will use this break to better my relationship with the Creator. James 5:16 "Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results." SO, please pray for me during this two week break from technology. I will be praying for you too!

This is How We Play.....

We enjoyed a beautiful afternoon on Thursday. Jason came home early and played soccer with Jake. Jaelynn went over to friend's house for a little bit. Jolie and I hung out in the grass eating a snack. I love those moments when everyone is happy and the weather is just right! 

I hope you have days like that sometimes too! They are truly the best!

It might get Deep! *BeWaRe*

I just have to get this load off my couch! I have always been a pigsty kind of person. Ahhhh, I feel better all ready about admitting my imperfections! It is truly gratifying! My mom and dad chose not to fight that battle with me when I lived at home. My room was a MESS!!!! You could barely walk through the door (if you could open it). Then, I got married to ummm...Mr.OCD. He does not think this of course. I would walk in his room at his house and let's just say perfect describes it best. So, our worlds collided. Mrs.Messy and Mr.Tidy! Our first home was a tiny 2 bedroom 1 bath duplex. It did NOT have much storage and needed to be really organized to stay clean. Ha ha! I tried really hard at first, but you know I just could never keep up. So, we lived with a HUGE pile of  dirty clothes always on the bathroom floor and a HUGE pile of dishes on the counter by the sink. We did not have a working dishwasher to make matters worse! Well, anyways has the years have gone on my sweet patient never saying any harsh words husband has dealt with messes. I really do not know what came over me, but my dad just laughs. He wonders who is this girl who has a house that is usually pretty clean. I would NOT say always picked up, but yes it is clean most of the time. Jason honestly has never, that I can remember, said an ugly word to me about the house. We do joke about the laundry that good grief just keeps appearing on the couch. I do love that I am so open to share a picture of the mountain of laundry on the couch on facebook today and people flocked to empathize with me. SO, all this to say I heard part of a radio talk show today. It sums up what I love about having a clean house. If your house is clean then all these things seem to happen more frequently....you and your husband can sit and talk and NOT worry about all the clutter around you, you feel more apt to have impromptu get togethers, you are not as stressed in general, etc. So, what if you do the same things over and over again. Yes, your going to wipe counters off who knows how many times, there will be a never ending cycle of clothes to be washed,and the floor will need to be swept numerous times a day. Just do it and you will feel better! Let me just say though....that we love having people over even if the floor needs to be swept and there is clutter on the desk. Sometimes you have to get over having a perfect house and have FUN! I have tried all different systems to make things run more smoothly at our house. All I can say is teach your kids YOUNG to help do daily chores. I am not great at many things, but I do appreciate every article of clothing and every towel I do not have to pick up because my kids KNOW where they belong!!!!! They also help with lots of other things around the house too. One day when they get married I want them to be more like their Daddy, Mr. or Mrs. Tidy! Thank you to all my peeps who helped motivate me today and get that huge LOAD off my couch. I am sure even if he did not say a word Mr. Tidy enjoyed seeing the couch again. :)

Q&A from the kids

Q: Why do you like having school at home?

A: Jake- Math and swimming for P.E.

Jaelynn- We get to go on fun field trips every week and I get to spend more time with my Momma.

Q: What is one thing you have learned this year so far?

A: Jake- God gave each star a name.

Jaelynn- If everyone in the world named 50 billion stars we would still NOT COME CLOSE to naming all the stars in space.

( Can you tell what we talked about this week?)

Q: What do you miss about Cain?

A: Jake- Math and my friends

Jaelynn- My friends and my teachers

Q: Would you go back to Cain right now if you could?

A: Jake- No

Jaelynn-No, but I would like to invite all my friends to come do school with us at home. (Momma-HA HA HA HA HA!!!!)