Obedience

A goal that I've had this year is to read through the Bible.  I've done it before, once, and I'd like to do it again.  I've tried numerous times since then, but I noticed that I would start at Genesis and get going real good, and then the genealogy would pop up and I'd nod off.   This year I resolved would be different, I would start, and finish.  Even if it took me longer than the year to finish.

So I started--at the end--and have been working my way back to the front since then.  I got halfway through the new testament and realized that if I didn't start reading the old testament too, I would probably not make it through.  And that's where I am right now, up to my eyeballs in Ezekiel.  And I've noticed each minor prophet book thus far cries out to me for obedience.  Oh I'm sure that there are lots of other things that I could be getting, but the Spirit keeps pointing out how much He wants me to obey.  Squirm if you want, I've done my fair share of it, it ain't easy.  It's not my nature.  I'm such a rebel.  Who me?  I need God?  Pssssh, naw, I'm good on my own, got my 'thing' goin on.

But I'm not, and I don't.  I'm nothing without my Maker.  And just when I think that I'm doing ok, and I'm starting to feel kinda holy.  The Spirit keeps pointing out more things that I could work on.  Right now it's the white lies.  Since God has started pointing out the little lies, I'm amazed at how often I do it.  Especially as a parent, I find myself twisting or omitting the truth to my children.  And the crazy thing is, I don't even know why I do it!

Back to Ezekiel.....
God asked him to lay on his side for 390 days to make a visual point to Israel.  And he did it.  God asked Ezekiel to shave off his beard and hair for another point.  And he did it.  There have been so many things that God has asked Ezekiel to do, some of which seem totally crazy to me.  But he did it.  No questions asked.  No whining.  No back talking.  He just obeyed.  And I am in total amazement and awe over Ezekiel's obedience.

I wanna be like that.  I want to do what God asks, without questioning Him over whether He thinks that's a good idea or not.  I want to be the kind of girl who is so trusting of my Savior that I just do.

It's not easy bein me.  I got a lot of me to work on, that's for sure!

Latest Tricks

Wesley is really just coming into himself and developing quite the personality.  He loves to give hugs, occasionally wide mouthed kisses.  He can click his tongue and make kissing sounds.  Just this weekend Wesley started saying hi and bye.  It sounds like 'iiiiii' and his little arm is waving at you while his ever constant grin is on his face.  He has also started taking steps here and there.  And he really motors around while pushing a walker, doll stroller, or laundry basket.

I love watching Wesley and our dog Emmy interact, he just adores animals!  He will get her tug toy and they will go at it.  I must admit that I am impressed that Emmy tones down her play with him.  And the peals of laughter while he is tugging spills over to those of us who are watching.

Just tonight all of the kids were playing together.  I feel lucky to have caught all the squeals of delight on camera.  Sorry to say that it's not getting posted for your eyes as 2 of 3 children were naked!  Wesley would crawl out of the bedroom down the hall as fast as he could and then one of his sisters would grab his diaper and drag him back into the bedroom.  Apparently when one is tired, this is quite the comedy routine.  When the diaper finally fell off, then the laughter really erupted.  And then I saw a naked sister and half naked older sister chasing a bare bottomed baby down the hall.  They were all laughing so hard they could hardly finish the game!

I am sure with Wesley so close to walking, the fun is just around the corner :)

Sleeping Booties

There is nothing that gets a bigger smile out of me than to see my children sleeping.  But when they sleep with their tushies up in the air, I have to hold back my giggles.  I don't know what it is about baby booties, but I just love 'em!

Abi thus far is the only kid to pass out in the middle of play 

I know, it's not a bootie picture, but Lizzi just didn't roll that way and I couldn't leave her out!

Fast forward 20+ years and you'll have an idea how his daddy sleeps :)

New Kid Pictures

I have been in a creative slump for a while now.  You might have noticed it by the lack of posts.  Blame it on the nice weather, or maybe the fact that I spend my day chasing two babies around the house that are constantly making messes!  Either way, I'm bummed that I don't have a slew of amazing things that I've been working on.  But I have been working on raising the kiddos.  So without further adieu, you can have a pictorial glimpse into our lives :)

Wesley cheering for the ball that he threw to Lizzi

Because everyone loves a good nudie baby pic!

swinging together on mother's day

drums at the park, we'd never seen that before!

best looking guys I know :)

Security Object

Wesley is my first baby to have a security object.  It's not that I did or didn't try with the girls, they just didn't care.  But Wesley, he cares.  In fact he cares very deeply about his security object.  He eats with it, sleeps with it, nurses with it, even goes to church and the store with it.  I'm very thankful that it's not a blanket like Linus off of Peanuts.  Or a stuffed animal like some kids.  Nope, Wesley's security object is a lego.  Quite humorous to me actually.  He carries around one of the small 'megablock' legos all day long.  Thankfully, he's not picky on what color his block is, just so long as it's his lego.

Now if you know my husband, you might know that he's quite the lego fanatic himself.  In fact when we were setting up a baby registry when pregnant with Abi, he tried to put legos on the list.  Needless to say, Phil is thrilled that someone in the family is as obsessed with Legos as he is.  Oh, and it's his son that is in love with legos.

So we are running with it, I let him hold his little lego while eating his meals.  One day he held it upside down and placed all his peas in it, an accomplishment for only being ten months old!  Yesterday, we let him take his lego to church to help ease the separation anxiety.  Aaaaand to Menards while we did some long shopping to keep him happy.

I like that his security object is small enough to fit anywhere (even in the toilet as I discovered the other day, thankfully before using it!) and is easily washable.  I have enjoyed seeing him bang his lego on different surfaces to make different noises. I love watching the interaction between the children when they are building together.  It's amazing to watch him try and mimic his sisters putting blocks together.  And the outrage he screams at them when they take his lego to finish up their projects makes me chuckle.

And to feed the obsession between father and son, Phil ordered Wesley a plush stuffed lego man doll for his upcoming birthday.  And I will be trying my hand at making a lego cake for their party.

Boys and their toys, or legos at least!