Trying to be Better at Taking Pictures

Josh and I have always liked to take pictures, and have always been interested in photography. I love to take pictures of the kids, but I think I am better at scenery. It is much easier to capture! So here are some for you to enjoy. Let me know what you think, all you photographer people=) Keepers or not keepers??

A beautiful Daffodil ( A little out of focus)


Hyacinth, I think


Tulip (I love this picture)


A bird at the Rainforest

Overwhelmed and Raging Hormones

I have been overwhelmed by my wonderful children lately. We just got done playing Monopoly Junior with our little Merci. I suppose she isn't so little anymore. She just looked really cute to me tonight for some reason. Especially since I got a few hours away from the kids today=) As we were sitting there we were listening to Carrie Underwoods cd. Merci knows most of the words to Jesus Take the Wheel, and she was sitting there, playing monopoly signing to the song, boppin her cute little head, and it occurred to me that she is really growing up. I almost cried in that instant. I love my girl so very much. A lot of times, I just am annoyed by the stupid things she is doing, but I need to take time and just watch her and just smile. Lately I have been really observing how mothers react to their 5 year old daughters. Today at church God kind of let me see a few interaction with girls and their mom's, in slow motion. He said to me, "See you aren't the only one who deals with this, and Merci isn't the only 5 year old that does it." I was humbled.
Lord, help me to take the time to understand Merci, help me to be slow to anger, slow to speak, but quick to understand, quick to take every incident as a learning tool. Jesus I want to be a good mommy. I really need more patience. Help me to appreciate my children more and more everyday!

Tonight Ethan was being so goofy. I love when he gets all crazy and acts goofy. It is so fun! Here is a picture to enjoy!

Oh yeah..Raging Hormones..I almost forgot. I live in a big, rundown city, some would call it the ghetto. All of our friends live in suburbs, and I don't really mind, most of the time. Our street is nice, our neigbors are all older and it's our home! Well, the time has come for warm weather and driving with the windows down. Is is just me or do you notice that men's hormones go sky high in the warmer weather?? So I was on the way to the grocery store the other night (only about 2 miles away) and got hit on 2 times. Some people would feel good about the so called compliments, but not me. Especially since one was an old drunk, and one was a decently overweight man. Maybe that is why it was so yucky. I wonder how I would feel if it was a hot man???? J/K So what does the neighborhood have to do with it?? There are too many "ghetto" people here. I am sure you understand! Good Night!

Boys are fun to dress up too!

Got me thinking

I was just reading a blog I often visit. The lady who writes the blog lost her baby girl 1 year ago. Her baby was born, but was only in her moms arms for 7 hours. A sad, sad story I have been following. I just read her latest entry,where she shared what they did to remember their baby girl on the 1 year anniversary of her death. Her and her husband shared a cake and let 7 pink balloons into the air, to represent the 7 hours she was with them. This woman had shared her interest in eastern religions and has shared that she doesn't believe in God. I am always so crushed that the enemy has won in her situation. If I was in her shoes, I am not sure I would believe in God either, especially after having my baby taken away and recently loosing another baby. I am so thankful for my roots in the church. I am a very trusting, unquestioning person, but am bombarded with attacks of doubt from the enemy daily, thankfully it is easy for me to recognize the doubt and quickly turn from it.

Ask yourself....would you believe in God if numerous tragedies followed you?? (and you weren't rooted in a church as a child)

I was able to ask myself that. With all that has happened to my husband and I in the 5 1/2 years we have been married, and even when we were dating, we have been able to see God's faithfulness through it all and grow tremendously in our relationship with our God, but what if we didn't know God?? Where would we be? What would we do?

I feel so much pain for this fellow blogger. I have never lost a child, I have come close to loosing a husband though. I hope this tribute to their daughter can bring some kind of healing. It really helped me to go to the place of Josh's accident at the 1 year mark. It really brought closure to me. I used to get this gut wrenching feeling everytime I heard sirens, I used to think about it a lot, cry a lot. Now that is has been almost 3 years, I am much better. I am able to smile and give praises to God when I think about it. My husband is with me. But will this woman ever be able to look back and smile. Women I know that have lost children, born or unborn are able to talk about it and be peaceful about it, but I am sure it has something to do with having God in them.
I am sad because I know that without God her future only holds more hurt and more confusion.

Thank you God for loving me. Thank you for all you are and all you have done in my life. Where would I be without YOU???

Happy Easter

Haircuts

Yesterday I decided it was time for little Ethan to get a hair cut. The back of his hair was getting pretty long. He was looking kind of girly! I was really scared to screw it up. I couldn't have my little man looking goofy! Merci has been asking to got to a "beauty salon" for awhile now, so I did it. I made an appointment at a way too expensive hair salon for my kids. Don't ask where or how much, just know I feel guilty and will NEVER do it again. And Yes I know, Best cuts could have done the same thing! Anyway here are some pictures:


Messy long hair...


short handsome hair...


Looking like a little man, not a little baby!



Trying to be excited, even though she ended up with a 102 degree fever=(
I still need to take after pictures of her.

My not so busy life!

I just read my friend Kimber's blog and she gave us all the details of her week. With 4 kids, she has a pretty hectic week, Yikes! So I thought it would be a fun idea to let you take a sneak peak at my week!!

Monday(today)---Ummm nothing.
Tuesday-A cute little girls birthday party and Josh's siblings Spring concert
(I get to go tot he birthday party while Josh goes to the concert)
Wednesday-hmmm, Our car insurance is due!!!
Thursday-ummm nothing again
Friday-No school and No gymnastics, so that means ummm nothing...Again.
Saturday-TAXES DUE ( phew..already done and money spent..haha) Here we go, Easter egg hunt at Schusters. Angela is 25!! My dad is 43!!
Sunday-EASTER. Church, and Grandmas's to eat some yummy food!

Nope, I don't have a Rabbit life=) I might be happy to have one though.

I am blessed

So, my previous post was about complaining about the car I do have.
Today as I was driving to and from taking Merci to school, I couldn't help but realize, how many people had to walk in the horrible rain storm. Kids were being splashed by passing cars, and mind you, those kids weren't even dressed for the rain, and I am sure they have to sit wet all day long. I saw people who probably didn't even have a warm, dry home to go to. And I sat in my car for 10 minutes because I didn't want to get a little wet from the walk to the house. I was humbled as God said, "I will provide, what are you worrying about? Have I let you down before? You have never been stranded. Quit your complaining." So I did! until I ventured tot he gas station and forked over $45 to the gas nazi's. Take time today to really reflect on the blessings God has given you! I sure will.

Oops, Gas

Well, I was going to change my template, but I didn't find one I liked better. But I did accomplish to erase all my personalized links on the sidebar. Oh well. Someday I will learn how to make my own template for my blog.

Not much exciting happening here. Same old, same old.

Sorry, I gotta complain. Gas is soooo expensive. Let me tell you about my Jeep. I drive it because it is my only car and because we can't get rid of it, still 2 more years of paying for the darn thing. (Not to bring up the fact that we will be driving it until it is nothing but and engine and steering wheel, because of the $4 grand we put into it after having it for only 3 months, yeah that is a whole other complaint). So anyway...Since we live in a city where we refuse to send our child to school, and are too poor to pay for no good "Christian" schools, we have the, I mean I have the wonderful tedious task of driving our lovely child to a school that is affordable and about 30 minutes away. I drive about 17 miles per day just taking her to school...that is CITY miles only, unfortunately. So since my wonderful Jeep only gets oh a whopping 11-12 miles per gallon, that is about $5 a day. WAIT...For some reason these number aren't working out..hmmm. No good at math. But I have to fill up my tank every 5-6 days. Costing $40+ each time. Well you do the math. And than there is Josh's truck. Getting like 8 miles to the gallon, costing us about $100 to fill up (2 tanks, since it is a truck).Let's just say, we need a miracle to get by every month! So those of you friends that have little Civic's, I don't want to hear ANY complaining! But I do love you all.

Ok Bye! (Not that any of you actually read my ridiculous blog post)