Do You See Connor? (Part 2 and 3)

This wasn't the last time we have went to check on Connor and he wasn't in his bed. Here are a couple other of his "offenses":

He is "reading" an actual Bible, without any pictures. How do you get mad at him for that?

Or this...

Oh, wait, that's not Connor, its Spiderman. Silly me.

Nine Months!

I just took a really cute picture of the bald and beautiful Chloe and my battery died! I guess I will have to post that one later!

She did turn nine months yesterday and is growing, growing, growing...(well, except for her hair!) She had her well-check today and weighs a whopping 17lbs. As petite as she is, she still holds the record for the biggest baby ever in our house! She has climbed the charts all the way up to the 25th percentile while the other two have yet to make it above the 20th. I think its the booty...Summer and Connor never did get one! Chloe on the other hand, has some junk in her trunk!

She had two more shots today, which made her cry like a girl. :) Other than that, she had a great appointment and hopefully won't have to go back until the big 1!

The Dude

Summer came out of her room flashing me this look...

I shook my head and mumbled, "Oh, Summer..."

"Mom, Not Summer, I am a dude."

Christ In Me

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but
Christ lives in me.” (Galatians 2:20)

“O my God, Jesus, I am in every way unworthy of You. Yet, like Joseph of Arimathea, I want to offer a space to you. He offered his own tomb; I offer my heart. Enter the darkness of my heart, as your body, entered the darkness of Joseph’s tomb. And make me worthy to receive you, driving out all sin that I may be filled with your spiritual light.”
-Bonaventure, the successor to Francis of Assisi.

Christ in me…in me…just as He was laid in His tomb. It was an ordinary tomb, no different than any other. There was nothing much to it, until He moved in. When we see pictures of the tomb, do we stop and admire the dusky gray color? Is it the rock formation or the size of the mountain it is carved into that makes us stare at it in wonder? No, it is the light…the marvelous light beaming out of it. It is Jesus’ glory we see. That is what draws our attention to the rock and what holds it there.

I am much like that tomb. He resides in me at this very moment the same as He did in it. At this moment when my heart is filled with praise and awe at Who He is. He is in me...dwelling in me. When I am praising Him, when I am praying to Him, when I feel so in love with Him, I could almost burst…I can feel Him in me.

When I am having a bad day, when I can’t get past myself and my plans, when I am frazzled trying to make dinner with a fussy baby on my hip and a preschooler pulling on each leg…when I yell at them yet again…He is still in me. He sees every part of me from His throne in my heart. He sees the good and the bad, the beautiful and the ugly. Am I worthy?

I am worlds away from being a worthy dwelling place for the Lord of heaven and earth. Again, I am not that much different than that old tomb. Wouldn’t it have seemed more appropriate for the King of kings to be laid in a jewel clad coffin, or at least something gold plated. But instead He was laid inside a hole carved into the side of a mountain. Shouldn’t He, raised in all His glory, choose now to reside in a
flawless heart…yet, He lives in mine. From inside my heart, I hear Him calling to me. He longs for His light to freely shine out of me as it did the tomb. Oh, I long for the same.


Lord, make me just as aware of your presence in me when I am praising you as when I am complaining. Here is my heart. I offer it to you as Your home…every moment of everyday. Amen.

For The First Time In My Life...

I saw two movies in one day! Crazy! So NOT me! I don't watch movies...unless someone makes me. I will cuddle up to Shawn or watch something with the kids....even then chances are I will fall asleep. (There are a few exceptions.) It is rare for me to go to the theater, but I went twice today! A few of us girls from church went and saw "Hairspray" tonight. And it gets crazier...I really liked it! Not only did I not fall asleep, I didn't want to get up to go to the bathroom. (Normally, my survival tactic for making it through a movie.)

I wasn't sure I wanted to go, but Shawn talked me into it. I have been quite needy this weekend and driving us both crazy. When Shawn doesn't know what to do with me, he sends me away for some girl time. That must be what I needed because I feel so much better!

The movie was great! I want to own it...I want the soundtrack! I could have danced in the aisles for the second time today. :) I laughed. I almost cried. It was a super cute film...I even think Shawn might like it. At least he would like making fun of it. :) I will have it when it comes out on video and for once make him watch a movie with me!

We Did It!

We just returned home from seeing a movie...in the theater...all 5 of us! I am so excited! Not about the movie (that was just OK) but that we all made it through the movie and the only drama was on the big screen!

The last time we tried this, Chloe is was in my belly...so it was probably about a year ago. We went to see Cars, The Movie. It was Connor's first theater experience and we thought that he would enjoy it since...well, it was Cars, and anyone that knows Connor knows he loves his cars. Summer sat through the whole movie, spellbound. Connor on the other hand...he sat for a good 20 minutes. He than made his way from Mommy's lap to Daddy's and back again several times before deciding the floor was more interesting. Me, being good and pregnant, made frequent visits to the potty and Connor accommodated me each time, and each time, we were sure to take the scenic route back in hopes of releasing as much energy as possible. The last, little while of the movie he was pretty good. He was fascinated, not by the big screen or the racing cars, but by the seat and how he could fold himself in half inside it. Yea...that was our LAST trip.

We decided to brave it again today. Summer (our little movie lover) has been wanting to see Ratatouille and some friends asked us to join them. They have a little girl Connor's age and a 5 month old little boy. I thought the kids would keep us on the edge of our seats, even if the movie didn't.

The two babies actually slept through most of it. When Chloe did wake up, she was so excited by the big screen. She talked for a bit but then some cheerios quickly quieted her. Connor sat on my lap the whole time! He never squirmed, he never fidgeted. I was so impressed. He was ready to go home about 2 thirds into it. I only know this because he would whisper to me now and then asking if it was over. Finally, I asked him if he wanted it to be over and he said, "yes, me go home." I reassured him it would be over soon and he waited patiently until it was. I couldn't believe it! I was so excited I was able to sit in my seat the whole time, I nearly skipped down the aisle! Connor definitely isn't the movie-goer his sister is, so I don't know just when we will all be going back. But for now, I am just content we did it. It was a fun, family outing and nobody (including me) cried!

Chloe's New Outlook on Life

She is seeing the world a whole new way...

She is so proud of her newest trick. You can hardly stand her up anymore without her going straight down to stand on her head. She has yet to crawl, but for now, this new view has her fascinated!

Goodreads.com

Has anybody heard of this? I hadn't until this morning when my friend Tara sent me the link. It is a great way to keep track of books you have read, reading and want to read. I had so much fun searching my bookshelf and my brain for every book I had ever read. Here is my page... http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/195034. Check it out! I want more friends! So if you sign up, don't forget to add me! Or, if you already have a page, tell me about it!

Now, this is my kind of myspace!

Thank You, G.G and Grammy!

G.G. (Grandma Gloria) made Connor a blanket when he was born and it has become his favorite. His love for it shows, if you know what I mean. :) When both G.G. and Grammy (great-grandma) were here the last time, they offered to make him a new one - at least for backup. They asked him his favorite color and he told them orange. Shawn's family loves the Gators about as much as mine loves the Packers, so they opted for orange and blue. Connor immediately was done with his old blanket - he wouldn't even allow it in his room (at least for one night!). He was so excited about G.G. "coloring" his blanket, he continually asked for it even after they were gone. G.G. started the blanket right away and Grammy worked hard to finish it up before we came to visit. It took Connor some "warming" up to this new one, but now he is loving it. Although, he still has his old one handy at all times. Last night when I went to check on him before going to bed, he was one big pile of blankets, even covering his head. He sat straight up in bed when I tried to help him get uncovered. I didn't get a picture but it looked something like this...

The Blanket Monster

Thank you, G.G. and Grammy!

I love my new blanket!

Love you!

Connor

Vacation Update! (Finally!)

Sorry for the delayed post. Blogging isn't the only thing I get behind on when my husband if off work! I have been unpacking endless bags, working through mounds of laundry, and struggling to get everyone back into a routine. Shawn went back to work Monday after having last week off. We had so much fun as a family, but at the same time "normal" feels nice too. We spent the beginning of the week at home and took off for a little road trip towards the end. Here is the play by play of each day...

Monday:

We had planned to be in Tampa at this time, but rescheduled due to my dentist appointment. Once we knew we would be in town for the day, we planned on going to the zoo. However, a 80% chance of rain (which never happened!) changed our plans again! We instead headed to Ollie Koala's. First we stopped for an early lunch at Chick-fil-a. We were surprised to discover that it was Chick-fil-a's 40th anniversary and since we were one of the first 40 customers, both Shawn and I received FREE Chick-fil-a sandwiches! The kids all received these hats...

Here is a pic from Ollie Koala's...

Anyone who has even been with us to Chick-fil-a or Chuck E. Cheese, knows how huge this is for Connor! He has never ventured up in any nets or tunnels. But he walked right up there that day like he had done it a million times! Summer was so proud of her little brother!

Tuesday:

Shawn and I went on...(drum roll please...) A DATE!! Yay!! Grandma and Grandpa watched the kids for us and we walked around the mall and then had dinner. We enjoyed our alone time but we didn't make it out of the mall without picking up a little something for all of them. We arrived back just in time to put the kids in bed! Now THAT was vacation! :)

Wednesday: Happy 4th of July!!

We spent the majority of the day around the house getting ready to leave bright and early the next morning. We did take a break from laundry and packing to go to dinner and then take the kids to fireworks on the beach. We didn't feel like dragging three kids through the crowd and weren't sure how Chloe would react to the noise, so we decided to enjoy the show from the car. We had a great, quiet view! All of them ended up loving it!

Thursday:

Probably our biggest day! We left in the morning (but not quite as early as we planned) and headed to Orlando! We met my friend Angela and her two, sweet boys at Downtown Disney. The kids played in Lego Land, ate at the most expensive McDonald's in the world :), strolled through the never ending toy store, rode the Choo Choo train and the merry go round. This stop was definitely a highlight for them. Even Chloe was excited by it!

Connor and Angie's son Alex waiting for the train to start...

Summer in the caboose...

Connor and Buzz...

Summer, Connor, Mickey and Minnie...(the kids are scared of costumes, so this worked out well for them)We left Downtown Disney late afternoon and headed toward Tampa to visit some dear friends, Kim, Steve, Jordynn, and little Hunter (who is on the way). It was an overdue visit and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves! We spent the evening at their house catching up. Once the kids were in bed the parents broke out the games. We laughed and talked and laughed until about 2:30 am, when we finally called it a night. Oh, how we have missed them!

Kim reading a bedtime story...

Friday:

Did I mention Steve was a chef? We woke up to pancakes and bacon and later that evening went to his restaurant. Connor even tried escargot...and liked it! When they lived in Jacksonville, we were regularly invited over to their house for dinner...we miss that too! :) It was nice to eat his cooking again...truly, the best we have ever tasted!

The rest of Friday the kids worked hard on some well decorated, very yummy rice crispy treats!

Saturday:

Another early morning, we were up and headed back to Orlando. This time to see Shawn's family. Jordynn gets in a little more big sister practice before we leave...

We arrived in Orlando just in time for lunch. After lunch we headed over to Shawn's mom's house, where we spent the rest of the day hanging out. The kids played in the water (the only way to play outside this time of year!) and Shawn was able to put the brand new grill to good use. We had a huge dinner and then headed home...which despite all the fun we had, was sounding pretty good to all of us, I think.

Some final pictures of our time with Shawn's family...

I suppose I better clarify that this is Uncle Michael (not Daddy) and Chloe up there! :) Uncle Michael and Aunt Alysa are expecting our new little niece in October! We are all very excited - especially Chloe who is anxious for a playmate smaller than her! :)

Speechless (Daniel 7-12)

Writing this has been difficult. Through this section of Beth Moore’s “Daniel” Bible Study, I learned depths about history and Bible prophecy. I struggled through long names and many dates. I was left completely confused by the end time theories. But through all of this my faith in God grew leaps and bounds. I delighted in “God’s Story” from beginning to end. Bigger than any Spielberg film or best selling novel, is there any wonder where we get our imaginations? What a creative God! This portion of Daniel made me fall in love with God in a new way. I thrilled to see Him keep His Word over and over. I absolutely can’t wait to see Him in all His glory. My faith is bigger than ever that the Father’s Kingdom will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. Finally, I am in awe that we ended the study learning how everything ends.

All I can come up with is bits and pieces of quotes from Beth Moore. Nobody says it better than her. I don’t even know if these excerpts make sense outside of the Bible study, but these are the words I am praying I never forget…

“What we do here matters forever…”
May the words and concepts He taught us [in Daniel] be sealed in us. I don’t ever want to get over this!”
May we go our way like Daniels… The world needs to see it work…Shine bright till all is well.”

There was SO much more. I can’t even begin to account all I learned…all that stirred me. I can’t get over Daniel! I don’t want to get over it! I want to live this! It leaves me speechless…

Vacation! (Sort Of)

Today officially kicked off Shawn's 1st week of vacation for the year. We started it off big with a 8:45 am dentist appointment! :) We had plans to go out of town, but they have been rescheduled for later in the week. I had to go to the dentist because I now have an infection (what's new?) where one of my wisdom teeth used to be. After my appointment, we did go do some fun things...I will post that as soon as my dear husband downloads the pictures off his phone for me. :) We are excited about the rest of our week, now that Mommy once again is on meds!