home

Right now we have 2 houses one we constantly try to keep clean so someone will want to buy it and one that seems a constant mess as we try to fix it up! I'm really hoping that beginning next week Rick and Ron will be finished with all the hard stuff and we can get in there and begin painting, getting the cabinets in and the floors..... But in the midst of cleaning and working on both houses one thing is for sure the 'home' that we have is still going strong!

Mason still wakes us up when it is exactly a 7 on his clock! I hear a big creak, thump, pitter patter pitter patter as he runs down the hall to touch my shoulder to say "mommy, its a 7 on my cwock" Buzz Lightyear and I proceed down stairs where he bangs the metal folding stool to reach and measure the right amount of coffee for me and daddy then proceeds with his favorite breakfast choice WAFFELS!!! All the while Micah is sound asleep! Once Micah wakes up sometimes he wants to get out of his crib but most days he just laughs, rolls around and doesn't really want you to get him out, but that could be because he knows the FIRST thing we will do is change his diaper (he HATES getting his diaper changed) At breakfast he always asks for "mo milk peas" while tilting his head and flashing a little pout /grin. When he tastes his food he lets you know "mm, tase ood" (yumm tastes good) And if anything gets on his hands while hes eating you'll see him raise his hand and eyebrows to say in a very concerned voice "HAANNS" meaning- oooh I have something on my hand Quick! Get a Napkin! When we ask him most anything his answer will be "yeth" In fact sometimes I ask him a question I know he will say yes to just so I can hear him to say "yeth" However sometimes his answer causes him to wrinkle his eyes and mouth, tilt his head and point his finger as he says " Hmmmmm, dis" or "Hmmmm Yeth" that answer may even be cuter than the simple "yeth" Its also super cute to hear him say "Kaay" When he says it the 'ay' at the end goes up to a higher pitch and he nods his head really quick- hes so happy about it! Hes always been so agreeable, he wants to cooroporate and even in a tough situation, for him, like church nursery, he trys to be so brave and when Chris tells him "Mommy and Daddy wiill be back to get you after you play with your friends" Micah responds with teary eyes and pitiful face and they 'ay' at the end going down a note along with his nodding head "Kaay" For the first time this past Sunday Micah FINALLY seemed to be enjoying himself at church and he turned from his table of toys and swung that little right arm to run as fast as he could to daddy, but this time with a smile vs tears!

During the day Mason has been soo into coloring lately, he will sit and color for an hour at a time easy, paying very close attention to what he should color what, using a mix of crayons and colored pencils. Today he got a set of 3 crayons with a coloring book at a little Stranger Danger meeting we went to and was coloring and needed orange so he just colored lightly yellow and red to make his own orange! I love to see him figure stuff out and look at the pride on his face as he shows me his finished masterpiece! Meanwhile Micah will be off in a corner playing by himself he loves the little people school bus and loves to give his duck a ride, speaking of rides he loves to ride the stick horse we have and says "hosee, hosee" he also likes to pretend Chris is a horse too! When we go to the play set in the back yard Mason loves to pretend he is on the show "Jake and the Neverland Pirates" and enlists all of us as the crew on his ship: He has named himself "Jake", I'm "Izzy" and Micah is "Cubby" We have played this so much that the other day and everyday since then, as soon as we get to the play set Micah lays down pretending some swamp monster or crocodile has hold of his leg trying to pull him down the slide as he screams "JAKE" clear as day Micah says "JAKE" in a very concerned voice too...its the funniest thing too, Mason thinks I'm participating because I just love to sprinkle pixi dust but really its because I love to watch Micah call for "JAKE" he cant say Mason yet but he calls him "Payson" Micah asks "Payson" to play with him all the time, and he wants him to see what hes doing and he wants to do EVERYTHING "Payson" can!

We have so many fun little memories in this house and I love this house so much and I know its going to be a great one for someone else I just really want it to sell so I can be even more excited about the new memories in the new house! SOOO while figuring out the two houses is kinda crazy the kids that make our house a home are keeping me on my toes and are a constant reminder that the best things in life aren't things!

Micah Babe

Micah babe isnt feeling like much of a baby anymore! He is almost 20 months old but goes right along with whatever his big brother is doing! He asks for a plate for his food- "I pate", climbs up the ladder at the play ground to slide down the tallest slide- "eedy, et, GO!" , counts, loves hide and seek, sings some of his ABC's-its like his brain knows it he just cant get all the letters out, loves to color and draw" uses his manners- "mo mik, peas", Hates going to bed because he's afraid he's going to miss out on something, Loves to hold Pappas bird- "ROosee, I hod Rosie" (and its really so cute to watch him lean his head on his shoulder and point to his arm) Shouts my name "MAMAA" , Runs and swings his little arm as his chubby cheeks shake up and down, Loves to put on his "coks"-crocks, would rather drink from a water bottle or regular cup then a sippy,...the baby is leaving very quick from this kiddo!

Micah got this little name "Micah Babe" from Mason right after he was born, I'm sure he won't keep it forever, especially since he thinks he's soo big! But, tonight I felt like he was still a baby, a moment that is rare these days. Its totally my fault that I just spent the last 30 mins rocking a screaming crying Micah Babe to sleep, (we took him to the raptor center today and he missed his nap, loved the birds but is now over tired and screaming) but, I really didnt mind it at all! He just kept saying, "mamma, daddgee, mamma, daddgee" over and over as little tears streamed down his face, it was so pitiful but as I started to sing Jesus loves me his tears and screams slowed down he stopped saying "mamma, daddgee" and began to just sniff at every other breath but also began to really listen as I sang. I really started to think of the words as well, and found myself holding back tears too. Its amazing what just saying the name of Jesus can do for you and pondering the words: Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so, little ones to him belong they are weak but He is strong! Yes, Jesus loves me, yes Jesus Loves me, Yes Jesus loves me, the Bible tells me so! As I sang and rocked Micah back and forth I found myself praying the song to Micah hoping that just as this simple song was comforting him as I held him that he could always know that he can rest and feel safe in times that he is weak, and he would trust the truth of the Bible that Jesus does love him and that Micah would always know that he is a child of God. And when you think of it, I mean really think of it, in whatever time of trouble all that really matters is that Jesus loves me and I love Him!

Micah is such a caring, tender little boy, even today Mason commented "wow, Micah sure is nice" -Mason said this after Micah had tried to share his push pop with everyone at the raptor center even the birds! Micah IS genuinely nice and kind and tender...something that God put there! I pray God will give me the wisdom to help Micah grow in this gift! And I hope that anytime in life that Micah is in need of comfort or is sad about anything that God would bring the song "Jesus Loves Me" to his mind and that he would be flooded with peace just as he was as I held him a few mins ago!

Lemonade For Sale!

The house has been on the market for awhile now, or to be exact, 37 days, but who's counting? We've had 6 showings, one of them today, but in efforts to draw more attention to our house we thought it may be good for us to participate in the community yard sale. Chris and I enjoy going to yard sales, drinking our coffee, taking a walk finding something you never knew you needed until you got there...BUT...we really don't like the idea of being the one who's hosting a yard sale. Going through all your stuff you don't want trying to make it appealing to someone else, getting up really early, sitting in the heat while people ask you how much money you want for something ...just seems like alot of work...so we don't really "host" them instead we just clear out everytime we get a call that the Kidney Foundation or Inspire will be in the neighborhood, and we always try to "fill our bag for the vet" that comes in the mail or donate to Goodwill and just make our money at the end of the year when we file taxes...BUT this time I gave in, well sorta. I tried asking Patsy, Kristel or Sheila to bring some stuff over or but it didn't really work out and when Kristel mentioned the idea of letting Mason have a lemonade stand I got really excited!! He made a wonderful sign over at Papas house and I took him by the bank to let him ask for some quarters and when I told him he could sale bottles of water, cups of lemonade, and packs of crackers he knew what he wanted to price them at. One quarter for the lemonade, 2 quarters for the water and $1 for the crackers. When Chris got home last night we had the stand all ready and he and Micah practiced selling to Chris and I. I walked up and handed Mason a dollar bill and told him I wanted a bottle of water and without hesitation he took my dollar and opened his cash register and gave me 2 quarters (Chris and I just looked at each other and both were thinking..."did he really know what he was doing and what the correct change was or was that just by chance") So Chris orders next: "Okay Sir, I'll take one water and one lemonade please" Chris gave Mason his dollar and Mason returned 1 quarter back to Chris! This took us back to him playing uno with us when he was 2...he just really likes numbers- like father like son.

Mason went to bed with No trouble because he wanted to have lots of energy to run his lemonade stand! As soon as we finished breakfast Mason was dressed and started bringing his stand out to the driveway! I had like 5 items in the driveway and by the end of the day had sold 2 but Mason and Micah loved the lemonade stand! Right away, as in any business with a partner, Mason and Micah had to work out some issues: Who was going work the cash register, who was going to get the cups, who was going to use the spout to fill the cups... but once we brought out a cooler of water that Micah could push as often as he wanted instead of spilling the goods that were for sale it was pretty much smooth sailing! Business was slow at first but then it started to pick up as Mason yelled to the top of his lungs, "LEMONADE FOR SALE, NICE FRESH LEMONADE" anytime a car would drive by he'd wave and shout as loud as he could, Micah was quick to catch on as well and he began to shout too but his words weren't quite as clear as Masons :) The boys had people say they came because they heard them 8 houses down and figured this must be some good stuff! Chris and I were just sitting in our folding chairs smiling agreeing that we could not think of a better way to spend our Saturday morning!

Nicholas arrived on the scene with some more variety of things to sell! Passion Punch, Suckers, and Pirate Treasure (little bags of rocks and shells) So now we had Mason and Micah, Nicholas and Mary Kaylin and all the kids had a sucker and all the lemonade and passion punch they wanted because everyone agreed that if you work there you get everything for free :) They had lots of neighbors come by, shoppers, and even a visit from their buddy Ben! Nicholas was very excited to have Benjamin as his first "costume" (customer) Mason asked Ben to take over for him while he and Mary Kaylin went into the kitchen to mix up some more lemonade but before going in he gave Ben some detailed training! It was very cute, ...I just actually LOL as I think back on it!

The kids had fun, Mason ended up making well over $10, which he said he was going to save-again, like father like son, and I will NEVER pass up another lemonade stand EVER!

its never too late

So its been almost a year since my last blog post and I find myself often thinking...I really wish I blogged or was writing this stuff down, but then I think, "OH its been too long there is too much to say" But alas, I'm gonna try this again!

And I'm not sure where to begin, I guess with this week! This has been a busy week Mason started his first VBS of the summer (as of now hes going to be attending 3) He LOVES LOVES LOVES it! Hes been telling me all about how Saul was a bad guy who put people in prison that believed in Jesus and he was blind and couldn't see but he was walking down a road and they prayed for him and the scales came off of his eyes and Jesus made his heart soft and Saul became Paul and now hes a preacher for Jesus! Its also fun because he has "friends" that are family in his group: Olivia, Ben, and Nigel! All of us moms were pregnant together and its crazy that they are all getting close to FIVE years old!!

I have been looking forward to the extra one on one time with Micah while Mason plays at VBS but Micah, who is usually the happiest baby alive, hasn't been him self...I honestly think he misses Mason...this whole time that hes had separation anxiety at church and the gym, I've been thinking its because of me...but maybe its because hes not with his brother? That kid is 19 months going on 5 yrs old, he thinks he is a big kid! We went to the pool this week with friends who have kiddos that are even older then Micah who were holding moms hand, unsure of the water or the slide or the waterfall that gets in your eyes as you slide down the slide...where was Micah? Holding my hand? NO NO NO, he was barely able to walk steadily in the pool making his way to the steps to slide down the waterfall slide just like the big kids, clapping and laughing proudly at himself that he too can "do it" I really feel like I no longer have a baby, hes official toddler material, trying to be a big kid too quick.

After dropping Mason off at VBS today I met Christy at Granite Depot to pick out some choices for our new kitchen in our new house on Woodcroft Drive!!! Talk about a tough decision!! There are so many choices and the light in the warehouse is horrible I was so thankful to have someone with me who had already done that and could kinda walk me through that, then I spent the rest of the afternoon calling places trying to get some quotes on what I had picked out! But thats nothing...Chris is really doing all of the work! We work so well together, I pick stuff out and he negotiates all the details and fine print stuff and he is really good at making decisions so that's wonderful for me! Then once we get the stuff I go back to doing my part! We close on the house JUNE 30th its going to be here SOOO SOON and along with it the work! But I am soo looking forward to it! I know its going to have its ups and downs but Chris and I are excited about having a project we are both working on together! Its so fun at night instead of us doing our own thing or watching a random nothing on TV, or surfing nothing on the computer to be thinking and planning and dreaming of plans for our new house, that we are planning on being our forever house. And today I had my first experience working with cement for a craft with the boys so if we need any cement at the new house add that to the list of things I can try to work with!

Okay...I think that was a good start at "getting back to blogging" it really is Never Too Late to record memories of your growing family...even if its only once in a while I need to check in!

Jesus Come Into My Heart

Wednesday, March 30, 2011 was seemingly like any other day but I woke a little earlier than normal, wide awake thinking about Easter and this pressing desire for me to really share the Easter story with Mason this year along with my upcoming women’s retreat and meditating on the scripture for the weekend 2Corintihians 5:17 “Therefore if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation, the old has gone the new has come.” 

Our children come into the world seeming so innocent, so pure and as they grow so does the sin that they are born with.  I’m so thankful that Christ died to take the chains of sin for us, but how do you explain this to your child, your four year old? How do you get him to grasp the concept and real meaning of the scripture he loves to quote so proudly reminding you that he has hidden Gods word in his heart every time he says, “Mommy do you want to hear my Bible Verse”…I love that he already knows that Gods word is personal just for him if for no one else!  He stands, sometimes fidgeting, sometimes looking you in the eye but it’s very clear he’s proud as he proceeds with, “For God so loved the world that he sent is only one son, that whoever believes in him, shall not perish, but have eternal life. John 3:16” I love it!  He’s been saying that verse over and over for a while now…but you have to wonder does he understand what it means?  That God sent his son to the world for him. Will he get the fact that Jesus took his sins and died so that he doesn’t have to?  But that’s something I think we get too caught up in as parents…where does the Bible say everyone must understand everything about God before they can accept him as their personal savior?  NO, the Bible says anyone who believes in me shall be saved.  Salvation is God’s gift, I don’t know anyone more ready to receive a gift than a child, he extends his hands ready to take the gift without wondering what he needs to do to earn it.

Jack and Sam Catoe came over to play today while their mom went to a meeting.  It is rainy and yucky outside so I thought making cookies would be a fun activity, the boys were all into it and while they ate their cookies I read them an Easter Book, “The First Easter”   that I had just purchased from the Christian bookstore for Mason and Micah this week.  While I was reading it Jack and Sam sat silently listening and looking while Mason asked questions at almost every page.  At first I was a little annoyed at his questions and was just thinking…,”goodness son, just let me read the story” but, answered his questions, after all, isn’t this the reason I bought the book? To invoke conversation about why we celebrate Easter? So the Story begins along with the questions and I mean when he started with the questions they kept on coming and he would hardly wait for me to answer him:

The book begins with the camels carrying the Magi as they bring gifts to baby Jesus. –Mason- “is that the star that is showing them where to go? And where is their gold and franksis and myrrh?“

The next page talks of how Jesus preformed miracles- Mason- “mommy why are those kids smiling, are they happy because Jesus healed them?  Is he going to hug them? How come the pages of this book don’t show us Jesus face? When will I get to see Jesus face, when I go to Heaven?

Then the book moves on to Palm Sunday. – Mason, with his proud face beaming- “Mommy I know a verse about this from AWANAs, “Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord”

Jesus is in the temple- “Mommy why are they doing something they shouldn’t have been doing and why are they mad when Jesus tells them to stop doing what they shouldn’t have been doing anyway?”  “What? why would they want to get rid of Jesus?”  “Why would they think they could Trick Jesus, Jesus never did anything wrong, he is the only person who never sinned, Jesus and God don’t do wrong things”

As soon as I turned the page and it revealed three temple leaders and priests Mason said, “Oh look how sad they look, are they whispering are they making a plan?”  Why were they afraid of Jesus?  he only does good things”

Passover Meal where Jesus breaks the bread and passes the wine-“mommy Jesus never runs out of things, he always will have enough food for you to eat, if he can feed 5000 people he can feed you, and Mommy did you know that Jesus turned water into wine at a wedding, I have an idea, maybe onetime when I ask you for water you could give me my favorite drink instead!?!”

The Garden to Pray and Soldiers come with spears and torches- “Mommy look that picture looks like Jesus is holding the moon, his hands are bigger than the moon, I guess Gods hands really are bigger than the moon if he made the moon.  Why were they all sleeping if Jesus was praying? Why didn’t his disciples help protect him?”

Jesus before Caiaphas and Pilate- Mason-“Look how sharp those thorns look, I wish they wouldn’t have done that to Jesus, but he knew it was going to happen, he had to do it, Jesus had to get hurt and die on the cross for our sins so we could go to heaven”

Believe it or not there were a few more questions before the books end but I love how he was connecting the dots and understanding the story!  After the cookies and story time they wanted to make something else so I quickly searched for a salt dough recipe and let them play with salt dough they were asking me what they could make and we ended up making tombs and a Hill and crosses and Mason was so excited and said, “now I can tell the story!  He said come on Jack do you want to tell the story, it’s the greatest story ever told!”  I got some popsicle sticks and let them make some wooden crosses to stick in their hills and Mason began:  “Jesus came as a baby and did great things and turned water to wine, and fed a lot of people and said peace be still to a storm and he came to town riding a donkey and people waved palm branches and said, Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Then soldiers came and arrested him and he had to carry his cross and they hung him on the cross with nails in his hands and feet and thorns on his head and he died and they took him down and put him in a cave, tomb, grave and rolled the stone and 1, 2, 3 days later the stone rolled away and Jesus rose from the dead and went to heaven to make a place for me, a really big house!” 

Jack and Sam went home and Mason told me and Micah the story again and then said, “Mommy I want to ask Jesus into my heart!” I said, “okay, well when Daddy comes home we will talk to him about it” He said, “No I mean, right now, I want to ask Jesus into my heart right now!”  I said “okay” and before I could do anything Mason raised both hands, dropped to his knees and said, “Jesus will you come into my heart” Micah ran over to him thinking Mason was in the position to want to be hugged and tackled and knocked him over with a ‘Micah hug and kiss’ (one of my favorite things to see them do, such sweet brothers)  and I said that that’s probably what Jesus is doing right now too, wrapping his arms around you smiling giving you kisses and hugs and all the angels are celebrating too saying, welcome to the family of God Mason! Micah hugged him, and the boys rolled around on the floor and Mason said, “Micah when you get bigger you can ask Jesus into your heart too, right mommy?!” To which I replied,” I sure hope and pray he does!”  I put Micah down for a nap and Mason said, “you wait right here mommy, I want to go get my Bible” I sat, smiling beaming with pride and joy overwhelmed that the savior of the world had revealed himself to my little boy at such an early age!  Mason and I read his Bible and continued to ask questions and he stopped me at one point and said, “it makes Jesus happy that we are reading the Bible, this is how we can get to know him, but I want to see his face, has anyone ever seen his face other than Moses?  And Mommy, Jesus is with God his father but who was his daddy here when he was a baby?” I told him Joseph was his earthly father and he said “yeah Chris is my earthly father, and I love him infinity times” I was about to tell him that God was his Heavenly father but Mason beat me to it…he said, “And God is my father too right? In Heaven! And he was finished making a house for Paw Paw and I think hes almost ready for Grammy and then Mawmaw, and one day he’ll be ready for me too!”  Our conversation ended with a prayer and Mason repeated after me as we thanked God that Mason knew he was a sinner in need of Gods salvation and that from this point on he forever would have Jesus in his heart as his best friend!  You know the “adult” came out in me feeling the need to “make it official” by saying a “repeat after me prayer”.

So now, a few hours later from my early waking I am still meditating on Easter and the awesome gift of Life and salvation that we have in Christ  and 2 Cor 5:17 The old has gone the new has come if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation!  I know this is the first step in the journey of faith for Mason, but I am so excited to watch him grow and learn and ask MORE questions as God forms his little heart into a new creation!  I know he will need to be discipled but I am releasing the pressure that I have put on myself to reveal God to my children…that’s the Holy Spirits job, He will do it He will reveal himself to them I am just blessed to be alongside them on this journey!  The best thing I can do for them is continue to allow God to remove the old stuff in my life so that I too can become a new creation!