swing set relocation

So another amazing story about how awesome God is.  I love how in this season where money has been the tightest it’s ever been, God has been pouring out blessings on us right and left.  We had really wanted to get Owen a swing set/play structure for his birthday.  But it just didn’t fit into the budget.  I’ve been watching for them to go on sale now that summer is over, but they still didn’t come down much in price.

Enter Steve and Stacie.  Their girls had outgrown the swing set in their back yard.  Out of the blue, Stacie emailed me and wanted to know if our family would want it.  We would just have to come and pick it up.  Are you serious. . .yes!!

Elmer and Jackie, my inlaws are in town for the week and Elmer loves to have things to do and he is where William learned to be so amazingly handy around the house.  So they went over on Wednesday to assess what kind of tools they would need, and what size truck etc.  They took detailed pictures so they would know how to put everything back together.  Here Elmer is checking everything out.Then on Thursday afternoon/evening, Elmer, Jackie, and William went over and dismantled everything.  This morning, they rented a truck and went to pick everything up.  Owen didn’t really know what was going on, but was so excited about the moving truck in our driveway! William had warned me that it might be sitting our garage until next summer.  So I really didn’t think we’d have a swing set by the end of the day.  But some bug must have gotten into these men and they became bound and determined to get it done in one day.  They got everything unloaded and started the wash down process.  Owen even tried to help with that. We picked a spot and the laying out of the boards began.  Ellie was a good supervisor and Grandma helped keep the kiddos in check. Then things began to be pieced together: These 3 didn’t even take a lunch break.  Owen on the other hand needed a little break from working hard to play in his sandbox.Owen woke up early from his nap and I was going to try to get him  to go back to sleep.  But he looked out his window and I’ve never seen a child bolt outside so fast.  It wasn’t done yet, but there was enough that he could climb.  Wow, did he learn fast how to do that ladder!He spent the remainder of the day inspecting every inch of that thing.  He went up and down and up and down the ladder. Then we added the swing.  I found a cheap one on Craigslist and Ellie will be getting hers for Christmas.  He was now officially in heaven. At dinner, Grandpa arrived from teaching at church and got the tour from Owen.Then the men spent a good deal of time figuring out how to muscle the roof on top. Owen was quite unhappy that he wasn’t able to help with the muscles.  But then, it was DONE!  And I may never be able to stay inside again.  We may add a slide to it next summer. :)S&S – We could not be more grateful for this amazing gift.  Owen is so in love with it already and seeing his excitement made me tear up more than once today.  Thank you for your generous hearts.  We promise to make lots more memories on this swing set just like your girls did!   Thank you, thank you.

Mommy Minute

This past Tuesday, I got the privilege of sharing a quick thing at Mom2Mom.  We have instituted the Mommy/Marriage minute each meeting.  It’s just a 5 minute segment on anything. . .could be something God’s teaching you, a cool thing you do with your kiddos, or a way you love on your husband.

I decided to share a little about what we do with Owen to help start getting some Bible in him. :)  We’ve been reading his Bibles to him since he was a baby.  This is his current favorite of his 4 Bibles.But around 18 months I realized, he could repeat things  back to me, so I decided to start doing Bible verses with him.  I printed off a few of my favorite simple verses and decided to read one a week.  We use it as his bookmark and after we read his story, we read his verse.  I have him repeat it back to me and we sometimes talk about it.  Then, I pray it over him.  I think it’s so important to let your kids HEAR you pray over them.  So for example, if the verse is “Children obey your parents because you belong to the Lord.” I would pray that his obedience would stem out of a love for the Lord.  I would also try use this verse when talking to him about obeying me. I want to try to teach him the “why” behind why I’m asking him to do certain things
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After I used my ugly ones for awhile, I finally found these 2 cute printable ones.  No re-inventing the wheel here.  I printed them and “laminated” them with contact paper.  I put them all on a D ring to keep them organized.

{From HomeSchool Creations}

{From I Can Teach My Child}

Hope maybe you can use these with your kiddos.  Here’s a fun story from a friend who started using them with her daughter:
“I have a cool story I have to share with you since you shared those verses with me!   We had friends over yesterday & when it was time to leave, their son threw a fit.  I walked out with them, husband & kids were inside.  Daughter told dad "he was being naughty when they left."  He asked why & she said "he kept saying no, no & wasn't obeying his parents.  He needs to obey his parents because he belongs to the lord!!!"  What a huge blessing to me!  So, thank you for sharing those verses with me:) “

Happy 5 Months!

My little girl is 5 months!! The post is a bit late because as always, we were waiting on a weight report from her vaccination appointment.  Ellie is weighing in at 16lbs, 5 oz.  She’s wearing her 6-9 month clothing very easily and is still in her size 3 diapers.Sleeping: Well, she’s definitely still a better sleeper than Owen, although her night sleep isn’t as great this month as it was at the beginning.  She does a short nap about an hour after she gets up.  Another one around 11, and then a long chunk one from around 2-5 (with a nursing break or short wake in here).  She’s been going down earlier, between 7 and 8, but she’s been getting up a ton.  Like 4-6 times.  Boo.  But Owen’s been sleeping awful too lately and I’m trying to juggle them both so William can get up early to study.  So sometimes it just doesn’t work very well.  Hoping she starts sleeping longer chunks soon!  At least she puts herself to sleep wonderfully, unlike her brother.Eating: Still loving nursing.  She’s a quick eater, but I love how excited she gets about eating.  She waits for it, getting excited, and then dives in!  She loves stroking my chin and sometimes gouging my cheek with her fingernail. :)  Every couple days I get un-lazy and try to give her some big people good.  She’s tried avocado (loved), peas (hated), and rice cereal (liked).  She also tried some banana in her Fresh Food Feeder which is like a mesh pacifier.  She loved these but they stopped her a up a bit so we’ll hold off a bit. Milestones and other tidbits:  She is pretty much sitting up!  I still have to be close and usually have a pillow behind her, but she’s doing it.  If she has something in her hand, she forgets she’s sitting up and doesn’t topple over.  I have a feeling she may be moving a bit quicker than Owen.  She rolls from front to back and back to front and does it on both sides!She loves blowing bubbles with her lips and mimics me like we’re having a conversation:
She is a screecher.  I think she just really wants to be heard amongst all the noise her brother makes. She loves her jumperoo and her favorite toys are a little doll and any of Owen’s cars. She loves bath time in her Bumbo with her brother.  Even when he dumps water in her face, she shrieks and laughs.She loves loves loves her brother. I think he may be her favorite, not me.  She giggles at him and lets him squeeze her and give her kisses.  She watches his every move.Everything goes in her mouth and the drool is everywhere.  But Owen didn’t get his first tooth until he was 10 months, so I’m not getting excited for those yet.I’m just loving this little girl so much!   It’s hard to imagine life without her.  As a fun side note, I wrote this all and then went to go look at Owen’s 5 month post.  Amazing how similar they are!  :)

Pinned It, Did It Monday {cooking}

Good Monday morning to you all!  Welcome to Pinned It, Did It Monday where I tell you about something I attempted to actually do from Pinterest, instead of just spending time “pinning” things. 
I’m just going to tell you about one thing today!  But I’m excited about it.  Many of my friends do freezer cooking.  In a nutshell, it means you get your kitchen really dirty for a short length of time and prep a ton of meals at once that go in your freezer.  And ta-da more kiddo time instead of cooking on a day to day basis.  I’ve wanted to do this for awhile, I just haven’t.  So when I saw this from Six Sisters Stuff, I was sold.  I have not tried a single recipe from them that I haven’t enjoyed.  Picture I Pinned:

Source: Slower Cooker Freezer Meals from Six Sisters Stuff
My pictures:My review: Fabulous!  As my first foray into freezer cooking, I appreciated the simple recipes, what side dish I could serve, and a shopping list!  I made 7 of the 8 meals as I wasn’t really feeling in the mood for beef stew yet.  It probably took me more than an hour, but I had 2 kiddos I was dealing with and I kinda worked on this over a whole day instead of one chunk of time.  We’ve already eaten 2 of them (the cilantro lime chicken and BBQ ribs) and they were both very good!  I can totally see falling in love with freezer cooking.  If you're wanting to try it, this is a great place to start!

new church kids space!

Today marked a big day at our church!  The new children's space, Kingdom Kids opened!  While I'm not a huge "themey" person, I will admit the space is really neat and the kiddos were all pretty much in awe today.  The  castle theme is complete with fancy new check in stations, cool fun-house mirrors, a playspace, and brand new classrooms all with their own bathrooms.  Yay!  I love this video that sums up how our church views kids.  "We are the church, now."  I cry every time I watch it.
  (Kingdom Kids Vision from Vineyard Communication on Vimeo)

Here's Owen and his buddy Caden checking out the bridge.

 

Keira (or KiKi to Owen) going down the slide:

 

Peekaboo, I see you!

 

And so Ellie doesn't feel left out, here's her in her cute purple sweater dress and tights.

You see, I was saying. . .