Life with the Little R's

Mommy

2012-02-16T11:27:00.001-08:00

"Mommy." She said it and I knew. She was mine. I was captivated. Because Mommy is forever.

It's such a powerful name. Mommy means "I trust you." Mommy means "You will protect me." Mommy is for shouting when you need someone dependable and for laughing with when you are excited; Mommy is for crying on and cuddling with when you are sad or giggling and hiding behind when you are embarassed. Mommy is the fixer of boo-boos and the mender of broken hearts. Mommy is a comfort place, a safe place. Mommy means you are mine and I am yours and we are family.

excerpt from Kisses from Katie by Katie Davis.

Thanking God for His amazing grace today in allowing me to be mommy to three amazing kids and praying that I stop taking the blessing of my children for granted.

My very own Valentine

2012-02-14T07:24:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Day always takes a back seat in this house to my birthday! However, I couldn't let today go by without giving a shout out to my very own Valentine... the hubs.

My top 5 favorite things about Nick Ramsey....
5. He is bald. I love it. I think it is hot.
4. He makes me laugh all the time and is the funniest person I know.
3. He is an amazing dad and strives to be better all the time. He truly has a heart to love and serve our family.
2. He is my best friend. There is no one I would rather hang out with... and I seriously get excited everyday when he calls and says he is on his way home from work.
1. He loves Jesus and truly has a heart to live a life that glorifies God. I am inspired by Nick's attitude towards service and his heart for others.

I love you, Babe! There is no one I would rather live this crazy life with!

My afternoon.

2012-02-10T12:08:00.000-08:00

I am spending my afternoon getting a certain little princess ready for her night out on the town. Nails are done and now hair is curled. Her Daddy is taking her to a Daddy/Daughter Valentine's Dance. Is there anything sweeter than that?

Recipe: Baked Monte Cristo Sandwiches

2012-02-08T09:56:00.000-08:00

The only thing better than a super easy recipe is a super easy recipe that is delicious... and the kids will eat it! This recipe was a real winner with all 5 of us which sadly, hardly ever happens.

Baked Monte Cristo Sandwiches

Ingredients:

1 package puff pastry (2 sheets)

16 pieces of thinly sliced deli ham

8 pieces of swiss cheese

one egg

optional: powdered sugar and your favorite jam, or if you like savory opt for a good quality mustard

Directions:

Thaw puff pastry sheets for 40 minutes

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F

Cut each sheet of puff pastry into 4

On each square put one piece of swiss cheese and 2 slices of ham

Fold puff pastry into a triangle and seal edges with a fork

Scramble one egg and brush the tops of each puff pastry triangle with a fork

Bake 20 minutes or until golden

This is a great base recipe and you could easily switch out toppings and sauces, types of meat and cheese, etc. The sky is the limit!

Where did January go?

2012-02-07T08:24:00.000-08:00

Can y'all believe it is February? I still can't get over it. January has just flown by.

But, I always welcome February because that is when my birthday is! Yep! I am a Valentine's Baby! And what is even crazier... so is my mom. I was born on her birthday! It was always so fun growing up... for me... she had to spend her birthday at Chuck E. Cheese...

I finally uploaded a bunch of pictures from my iPod touch to my computer (secret: I don't have an iPhone... I don't have a smart phone at all. My thrifty husband refuses to pay for a data plan. But, I can use my iPod for all of the apps so I still look like I am with it.). Do any of you use Instagram? It is my favorite! Here are some of my recent pics:

I hope everyone is having a happy Tuesday!

Children

2012-02-06T08:15:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I want to write a post and I just can't get the words out. And then sometimes I realize that someone else has already done it for me! This post totally touched my heart and said so many of the things I had been wrestling with lately... Motherhood is Calling (and Where your Children Rank) by Rachel Jankovic.

It was an amazing read as I have been wrestling with the fact that definitely as a culture... and even as a Christian culture we do not truly believe that children are a blessing and that motherhood is a high calling. And I have realized that while I love my children intensely I have been believing that children are not a blessing but a job. That motherhood is good... after you have done other things...

I found this post so affirming because I constantly get comments in the grocery store about "having my hands full" and while people rarely mean anything by it, it does get in your head and make you start to believe it. Everyone has this idea that the perfect family is 2 children. When we had our third I got more negative comments than positive ones. It was so disheartening. And I am almost positive that if we had more a lot of people would be less than supportive. Which, honestly, I think boils down to people not believing what God says about children.

I do not think you have to have 20 children to believe that children are a blessing. But, I do think we need to look at our hearts and motives and search our hearts as Christians and mothers and determine if our beliefs are lined up with what God says.

Psalm 127:3-5 "Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate."

Bullet Point Friday

2012-02-03T06:37:00.000-08:00

I am so excited that it is Friday! I just love weekends. I am going to a baby shower on Saturday and we were invited by some friends to watch the Super Bowl on Sunday. Now I am just trying to decide what delicious snack to bring for the big game.
Jack has been waking up a lot in the middle of the night for the past few weeks because he is getting some teeth. I can tell he is feeling better but he is still waking up so last night Nick and I got a little tough and went in to check on him when he cried but never got him out of bed so hopefully we will have all our kids sleeping through the night again soon.
We have started attending a new church (for a variety of reasons that I won't go into) and we have been beyond blessed. We have been so welcomed in and made to feel like part of the family right off the bat. This church is truly an answer to prayer and while there are no perfect churches we feel right in the middle of the will of God right now and that feels awesome.
My birthday is in 11 days. I will be 28!
I started a one year Bible reading plan back in August and am still doing it! This is a HUGE victory for me!
I think most people know this but I haven't officially announced it so I guess I will go ahead and say that the Lord willing we are going to be homeschooling next year. I am so excited. Last week I read the book Family Driven Faith (awesome book) and it was great because it really confirmed everything I was feeling.
We don't have anywhere to be today which is very exciting... and my house really needs me home all day. This place quickly becomes a pit when we are out and about a lot.

Well, that is all I can think of for now! I hope everyone has a blessed weekend!

Some updates

2012-01-31T06:17:00.000-08:00

In case you didn't see it on Facebook here is a pic of my new haircut. I love it! The only problem is I am kind of having a difficult time learning to style it myself! I need to keep practicing! But, I absolutely love having bangs and having a real "hairstyle" helps me from feeling like a frumpy mom.

And speaking of not being a frumpy mom... I lost 4 pounds my first week of Weight Watchers Online! I am thrilled! And it is totally motivating me to keep going.

It is also officially the last day of TV free January. We didn't do as well as I had hoped with having sick kids throughout the month and Jack's teething keeping me up at night for the past few weeks. But, honestly, even with those factors, we watched way less. My favorite habit that we broke (with a few exceptions) is watching TV first thing in the morning and through breakfast. It has been great starting off my kids day by chatting over breakfast and a few times they even asked me to read them Bible stories while they were eating. It was awesome. The other nice part has been because they watch a lot less we are much choosier about which shows they watch. We have tried to find shows that are beneficial instead of just "neutral".

And in totally unrelated news, we went to Culver's last night for dinner (which was tasty but I only had 6 points left for the day so there was no delicious Butter Burger and frozen custard for me!) but it ended up being kids night. Look at these cute balloons the super talented balloon artist made for them!

Weight Watchers... 5 days in...

2012-01-25T09:40:00.000-08:00

Last Friday I mentioned that I was going to start doing Weight Watchers online. I am on day 5 and thought I would let you all know how it is going!

So far so good! Sadly, I think this is the longest I have stuck with something without cheating at all! Ha! Sad. But true. I think my favorite part about the program is that "cheating" is built in. I get 26 points a day but then an additional 49 points for the week to use whenever. I love that because there are always those events that come up where you really have to eat something that isn't in your plan and I like that this plan allows for that. So far I have only used 2 of my weekly points.

Here are my favorite things about using Weight Watchers Online so far:

I am eating way more fruits and veggies than I used to. I have always been decent but now I get them in at every meal and snacks
I am drinking more water
I am so much more conscious of mindless eating
I feel like I am learning to make good choices... if I know I want a cookie after dinner I know that I have to make sacrifices earlier on in the day for that to happen
I am getting a better idea of which foods I should be eating and which ones I need to limit
I am discovering some great healthy recipes that our whole family is enjoying (hello! Skinnytaste.com anyone? Her recipes are delish and lists all the nutrition info and the points on every recipe!)

The cons:

It is a little tricky to eat things other people cook (I have decided to try to not use up my weekly points so that there is a little bit of a buffer when I am guessing about how many points are in some foods)
It can be a little bit of a pain to log everything I eat... but then it is a really good thing

I will keep updating! But, for now, I feel like it has been a great choice for me and I feel like I really am learning a new lifestyle as they say.

Prayer Cards

2012-01-24T10:01:00.000-08:00

My friend Jenn posted this idea on Facebook awhile back and I loved it so much I just had to ~~steal~~ borrow it. You take your Christmas cards and put them on a ring and use them to pray for a different family every night.

Nick has been pretty great about reading the Bible and praying with the kids every night (thank goodness... because I am horrible at routines!). But, recently, he was challenged to start doing family worship every night so we read the Bible, have discussions with the kids, sing a few praise songs, and pray together as a family every night. I thought the prayer card idea would be a great addition to our family worship time so last night I grabbed all the cards off the Christmas wreath (yep... the one Christmas decoration I still have up) and we tried it out. I loved it. It was awesome to hear my kids praying for another family. Their little hearts are so sweet... and Sophie added her trademark... "thank you God for princesses"...

Today while I was at Wal-Mart I grabbed the ring and a package of reinforcement labels (I figured the kids wouldn't be quite as gentle when flipping the cards).

And TA-DA! I love the ring because then it is easy to hang up and keep track of the cards.

So if you sent us a Christmas card know that the little R's will be praying for you!

I am linked up at...

I love Fridays... Fridays are my favorite

2012-01-20T11:53:00.000-08:00

Catch the Elf reference? I replaced "Smiling is my favorite" with "Fridays are my favorite". Haha. Get it? Okay... moving on...

I really do love Fridays. I had a little playdate this morning with a dino theme. And guess what? I didn't take a single picture? That is just not like me! But, it happened. Thankfully, I saw Jenn with her camera a few times so I will point you her direction if she posts any!

I did take some pics of a tiny little organizng proejct I did last week. By the phone tends to always be a big pile. So, I grabbed a little basket and attempted to get a little organization going on. Ahhh... feels better already... and who doesn't love a dog leash in a bowl? I know I do.

In other news... I joined Weight Watchers Online today. I didn't really want to post that because then if I don't lose any weight nobody knows I was trying. I think that is part of my first born perfectionist/people pleaser personality. But, then I also thought it might add an extra layer of accountability so I went for it. I was getting a little fed up with my pants getting tighter and the scale going higher ever since December so I knew I needed to make a change. When it comes to money I am a firm believer in using someone else's plan (like Dave Ramsey) because I think in areas like money where we might have a problem it is best to listen to the wisdom of someone who knows what they are talking about. So, the same thing can probably be applied to weight loss too. So, hopefully, you will start to see pictures of a smaller Katie here on the blog. At least that is the hope...

Anyway, I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!

Breakfast Pizza

2012-01-19T12:06:00.000-08:00

When I threw a baby shower last week for my friend Jenn I decided to make a breakfast pizza. The hubs liked it so much (he was able to sneak a piece when he got home) he requested it for breakfast the next morning.

Breakfast Pizza

Ingredients:

One loaf of frozen bread, thawed (I love Rhodes white bread in the orange bag)

1/2 C. ricotta cheese

3 eggs

1/4 C. heavy cream

1/4-1/2 C. (each) shredded cheddar cheese and montery jack cheese

3-4 strips of cooked bacon

salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, roll out dough in a pizza pan

2. Scramble eggs, let cool completely, add heavy cream to eggs

3. Put ricotta cheese on dough (like you would pizza sauce), sprinkle a little salt and pepper on top

4. Layer both cheeses on to pizza

5. Layer on scrambled egg mixture

6. Top with bacon, bake in oven for 20-26 minutes or until crust is golden brown and cheese is melted

Disclaimer: I have to thank Heather for teaching me the beauty and versatility of Rhodes bread dough.

Tip: I like to put my Rhodes dough in a ziplock bag sprayed with Pam overnight in the fridge and then take it out and let it sit on the counter for a few hours before using.

What do YOU want?

2012-01-19T11:49:00.000-08:00

The trouble with blogging...

2012-01-18T11:44:00.000-08:00

I am a lover of blogs. A lover of blogging. Honestly, a lover of social media in general. I am a people person. I love people. I love relationships. I love friends.

But, I find the trouble with blogging (and Facebook) is that while they increase the quantity of relationships you have they tend to decrease the quality. People stop really interacting and choose to just keep up with people by seeing what they were up to. This is totally fun and it can be great to keep up with people who you might not otherwise keep up with. But, we also tend to stop talking as much to the people we otherwise would talk to or seek out because we already know what they are up to. No need to send a birthday card, I said happy birthday on Facebook! And like I said, this is great for people you don't know that well, but I think it is hard on your real friendships.

I have had a few people say things to me like, "I don't need to talk to you! I just read your blog!" And while I get what they were saying, it is hurtful on some level.

All this to say while I think Facebook and blogs are awesome. I also think they are hurting real relationships. And I personally want to make sure I am not relying on Facebook to cultivate the real relationships in my life. I want to make sure I am not reading my friends blogs instead of calling them in real life and asking them how they are doing. Because I think, for me at least, at the end of the day I would rather have a few real relationships that hundreds of "virtual" ones!

What I am reading lately

2012-01-18T06:52:00.000-08:00

I just love to read. I always have. I remember in first grade my mom buying me the Babysitters Club- Little Sister books and I would read them in a day. Having young kiddos has definitely made me cut back on my reading. But, as they are getting a little older I am starting to get back into it.

I recently read the Hunger Games trilogy. I read all three in like a week. Loved it!

I actually read the second two on Nick's Kindle. Which... I might need to get one of those. For awhile I wasn't so sure if I wanted one but they really are so nice. One of my favorite features is that you never lose what page you are on!

I also started reading this little devotional book to go along with my reading the Bible in a year plan.

It is awesome. Very encouraging and the devotionals are super short. This would be great if you are in a crazy season of life because you can easily read the devotion and look up the Bible passages in under 5 minutes.

Right now I am also reading Real Marriage by Pastor Mark and Grace Driscoll. It is no secret that I am a big fan of Pastor Mark's teaching and I am finding this book to be no exception.

I haven't read a marriage book in quite awhile. Our marriage has been in such a good place for the past year or so that I was feeling like I didn't need to work on it. Why mess with a good thing, right? And let's be honest... a lot of marriage books are the same old thing... I am so glad I went ahead and got this book anyway. I am about 30% in and already have learned so much and I know that our marriage will be blessed because of this book!

Speaking of... Most of you probably saw that I posted Pastor Mark's first Real Marriage sermon on Facebook the other day. Nick and I watched it together and we were so blessed and encouraged by it.We decided to make a regular Monday night date of watching this series together. Here is the link if you want to check it out.

What? Today isn't Monday?

2012-01-17T09:29:00.000-08:00

There isn't much better than a three day weekend. But, man, do they get me all sorts of thrown off. I have to keep reminding myself that it is actually Tuesday.

Our weekend was fabulous and included a baby shower, watching the Broncos game (insert sad face), church, celebrating my Grandma's birthday, buying new beds for the kiddos, and lots of time for family fun.

I thought I would give a little update on how things are going with our little pup since a lot of people thought we were crazy to get one with three little kiddos. And I will admit, we are pretty crazy! But, life with little Scout is going great. He is honestly the best dog. He is super calm for a puppy, he is almost potty trained, he is a fabulous snuggler, he is wonderful with the kids, and he is just so cute! I mean look...

He is a part of the family for sure.

Yay for baby girls!

2012-01-15T05:34:00.000-08:00

This weekend I got to throw a little brunch "sprinkle" for one of my nearest and dearest girlfriends, Jenn. Jenn is a mamma to two boys and baby number three is going to be a girl! So, heaven knows I had to bring the pink to our little celebration. Here are some pictures from our event. Unfortunately, once the guests arrived we had way too much fun chit-chatting and I only took one picture of Jenn opening presents and didn't get any pictures of all of our other beautiful guests.

On the menu was breakfast pizza, chocolate chip scones and blueberry scones, fruit salad, hashbrown potatoes, and pink doughnuts (from Heaven Scent bakery... yum).

Now we just have to wait for Hannah to get here... Hannah, might I suggest a Valentine's Day birthday? Some very cool people {me} have birthdays on that day... I am just saying...

My Big Loser

2012-01-13T06:29:00.000-08:00

I am pretty ~~jealous~~ proud of my husband. He has lost about 65 pounds over the past year! I can hardly recognize him in old pictures anymore. Here are a few older ones...

And here is a little before and after. (He isn't mad in the second one... we were being "silly"... apparently he thinks that is a silly face... I don't know... )

Nick was so sweet and gained weight with me during all of my pregnancies! I mean, the couple that snacks together stays together, right? No? Hmmm... Well, here are a few more current photos...

Doesn't he look great? I hate to say it but Nick lost the weight by exercising and eating right. He didn't do anything gimmicky at all. I watched. I should have joined in! Because now that my husband has reached his goal weight I feel a little more of a drive to get to mine.

Brothers don't shake hands

2012-01-12T04:57:00.000-08:00

Brothers gotta hug!

I love that the boys are starting to play together. There is 4 years between them so that is a pretty big gap when you are little. But, Max is really stepping up and being a great big brother... a lot of the time. I mean... Jack is still a pesty little brother.

30 Day Salad Challenge

2012-01-10T13:06:00.000-08:00

Please tell me that I am not the only one who added on a few ~~pounds~~ layers of insulation over the holidays. If only sugar cookies and coffee for breakfast wasn't so amazing. But, now that every last crumb of sugar cookies is gone (trust me, I have checked many times) it is back to reality.
In order to get started on taking off those new pounds, plus the ones I wanted to loose before I even added on the new ones... I decided I needed to get my eating back down to normal human portions. One of my biggest challenges is eating a healthy lunch. So, yesterday I decided to challenge myself to eat a salad for lunch everyday for the next 30 days.
Here was yesterdays-

It really was so good. Today's wasn't quite as healthy... I made a salad with some of our taco leftovers but no doubt it was still much better than a fast food lunch.
Hopefully I will come across a few fun new salad recipes to share along the way! And in the meantime, if you have a favorite healthy salad shoot that recipe my way! I would love to try it!

Bread Pudding

2012-01-08T19:32:00.000-08:00

The week after Christmas some of our very best friends were in town and Nick and I got to be "real grown-ups" and meet them for dinner at a "real restraunt" read: real napkins, real silverware, and get this... no kids menu. It was devine I tell you.

We went to Harvest in St. Louis and I give it 2 thumbs up for sure. The ambiance was superb, the staff friendly, the menu was well put together... but none of it compared to the deliciousness that was the bread pudding... Apparently people come from miles around to partake of this delciousness... and now I see why.

Since then I have been searching the internet for a bread pudding recipe... but none seemed like they would fit the bill. But then, a friend mentioned that a friend of theirs had the REAL Harvest recipe! I had never thought to look for their actual recipe! So I "Googled" it and within minutes had the recipe in hand and was out the door at the store getting the ingredients (honestly, this is not much of an exaggeration at all.)

I couldn't find all of the exact ingredients and cheated a little on a few things. So, I will share my adapted version. But, feel free to make theirs! It is probably even better... although I got no complaints about this one.

Bread Pudding

Serves 12

Ingredients:

2 loves of brioche (I searched high and low and had to settle for European hearth bread which is probably nothing like brioche but all I could find)

2 cups milk

2 cups heavy cream

3/4 cups granulated sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg

3 egg yolks

3 whole eggs

powdered sugar for garnish

For the sauce:

2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 Tbs. light corn syrup

1 cup buttermilk

2 sticks butter

1/2 C. bourbon

Whipped Cream:

1 pint heavy cream

2 Tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees f
Remove the crust from bread and cut loaves into 1 inch pieces. Place cubes in a large mixing bowl
In a saucepot combine milk, cream, 3/4 C. sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Bring to a boil and remove from heat.
In a mixing bowl, whisk togehter the eggs and egg yolks. Slowly pour half the hot milk mixture into the eggs and whisk to incorporate. Add remaining milk and whisk together.
Let egg mixture cool slightly and then pour over cubed bread. Toss the igredients together lightly and place in a greased 9x12 baking dish. Bake approximately 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.
Make the sauce by combing all sauce igredients, except bourbon, in a sauce pot. Bring to a boil. Remove from head and add bourbon, set aside.
Make the whipped cream by combining heavy cream, vanilla, and sugar by mixing with a mixer. Whip until stiff.
Serve bread pudding warm. Cut into desired size pieces, top with sauce and a dallop of whipped cream. Sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired.

Enjoy! Your mouth will thank you. Your scale might not.

Another one down...

2012-01-06T05:30:00.000-08:00

Around midnight Soph came into our room and told us she had thrown-up. She then proceeded to throw up at least every hour until about 6am. So, if you are keeping track it is just me and the pup that are still healthy. And also if you are keeping track.. that is the 3rd night of no sleep for moi. You better believe I turned on my espresso maker first thing this morning!

Here is a pic of my most current sicky back in December... before all the throwing up started...

And I have another confession... I am writing this as PBS kids is on in the background. I had committed to a TV free January... but what else do you do first thing in the morning and you haven't slept in days and all 3 kiddos are sick? I am going to give myself grace on this one and we will be back on track once everyone is on the mend!

Gentleness

2012-01-05T20:47:00.000-08:00

I have a confession. Sometimes I do the one thing I always said I would never do... I yell at my kids. I get annoyed. I speak more harshly than I should. I get really frustrated. A few months ago I really made the decision to change. I didn't like being the mom that yelled.

So, God has been working on me. And I have to brag on God here because he has totally changed my heart. For awhile there I had to try really hard not to yell. I had to count to 10. I had to take deep breaths. I had to walk away... But, little by little I got much better.

A few days ago I saw this on Women Living Well (one of my absolute favorite encouraging blogs)

and I had the most amazing moment. I realized that God has totally done a work in my heart. And where I used to have to REALLY try to not yell it is now easy. Yelling at my kids is no longer my default. And it is wonderful.

Tonight I had one of those nights that just a few months ago would have sent me over the edge. I have 2 sick kiddos (you can read more about that here), Nick came home sick from work at noon and is totally out of commission, I have a puppy, and I haven't slept in days. (Disclaimer: I am not saying any of this to brag in any way about myself and I know that tomorrow I could easily slip up and be a mopey/crabby/disaster of a mom... but I just have to brag on what God did for me tonight). But, despite these circumstances, I had a great night. And it wasn't even that hard. I was patient with the kids, we read books, played... I didn't get through the evening in survival mode but attempted to have a great evening regardless of the circumstances. I truly believe that God got me through tonight and that He is helping me be a better mom to my kids and I am SO grateful for that!

Friends, all of this is just to say that God really does hear our prayers. He really does care. And if you ask Him, He really will help you become who He created you to be. And if you need a little help or encouragement in the area of gentleness along the way check out The Gentleness Challenge at WomenLivingWell.org.

"Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near." Phillipians 4:5

Our night at the E.R.

2012-01-05T07:09:00.000-08:00

Wow! What a whirlwind past few days! As most of you know who are on Facebook with me our little Jack ended up in the ER on Tuesday night because of low oxygen levels. What started out as a little trip to urgent care because of a suspected ear infection turned into an adventure with an ambulance ride and not getting home until 2:30 in the morning!

I am so thankful to my parents who came right away to stay with the big kids so Nick could be at the hospital with us! And I am happy to report that Jack woke up this morning in a great mood and is totally acting like himself!

We are headed to our regular doc here in a few so that Jack can have his post hospital check-up. I am also taking Max in. He has had a fever for a few days and was up all night coughing last night despite his breathing treatments. So yes... I haven't slept in days... so if you see me around please just hand me a latte and ignore any wacky statements I might make in my delirium.

TV-free January

2012-01-03T07:44:00.000-08:00

I guess as part of a new year/new start kinda thing I decided back in December to have the kids take the month of January off from TV. My kids don't watch a ton of TV but they certainly watch everyday and usually more than a few times. TV had kind of become the background noise in the mornings around our house. And every morning when the kids woke up the first words out of their mouths were requesting TV shows or movies and it was driving me crazy!

So, Nick and I decided to cut them off! We decided once a week or so we would let them watch one of their new "What's in the Bible?" DVDs. '

I personally do not think TV or movies are bad. Heck, Max has basically learned how to read from the Leap Frog movies! But, I just didn't like that it was becoming my kids first choice of activity.

I know it has only been three days but I already feel like my kids are being more creative and playing more. Sophie has actually started playing by herself in her room a little bit which she had never really done before (although that could also be due to her fabulous new Barbie Disney Princess Castle)! She is almost always playing with Max and while I love that, Max is pretty bossy so I think it is good for Soph to get to imagine on her own.

I will give you guys more updates throughout the month. Honestly, the one it is going to be hardest on is me. I totally use the TV as a babysitter. But, I need to stop. They need to be playing and creative and not sitting in front of the TV.

I have been reading this book and it is totally convicting and awesome. It is about how kids cannot be kids when their is too much stuff, information, chaos, etc. It has really convicted me to scale back on my kiddos toys and our business level during the day. The book talks about one of the best things we can give our children is the free time to just imagine and play on their own. It is hard to get a child who has always been entertained by mommy and daddy, movies and video games, or a busy schedule to do these things at first but with time kids will learn to entertain themselves and some of their best learning will happen during this time. So, that has also spurred on my desire to go TV free in January.

In case you are curious we did decide that they could each have 20 minutes a day of computer, LeapPad, OR Wii. But, that time has to be earned by completing their chore packs. Soph is a little young for this but Max is already so excited about it and it has only been one day. I think he feels really good about himself being able to work for what he wants. This morning he totally took initiative and put his clothes in the hamper and put his shoes on for preschool without being asked. This was a BIG deal in our house! And he was so proud of himself. It was great!

So, just curious, if you all have included New Years resolutions for your kids this year or if you are trying anything new with your parenting in the New Year?

Christmas Eve

2012-01-02T13:31:00.000-08:00

To celebrate Christmas Eve this year we mixed things up just a bit. My parents went to church with us at 3pm for our church's Christmas Eve service. After church we all went to a hibachi resteraunt for dinner and my sister and brother-in-law met up with us. Then we all met up back at our house for the kiddos to open their Christmas Eve present and to make cookies for Santa!

Christmas Eve Eve

2012-01-02T13:19:00.000-08:00

The day before Christmas Eve we had my mom's side of the family over to our house for a little Christmas celebration. You would think a party with 13 adults, 2 teenagers, 3 children and 2 puppies would be a recipe for absolute chaos... but the evening was actually quite lovely!

2 of my boys in matching shirts

Grandma holding baby upside down... per his request

lots of family fun

My brother-in-law Simon, sister Emily, and their puppy Hank

the puppies were worn out! So they "smuggled"

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day posts to come!

The Day After Christmas

2011-12-26T07:21:00.000-08:00

Wow! What a fun Christmas we had this year! I hope every one of you can say the same! I plan to do a full Christmas recap with photos but have to wait for my camera to get back home. (It is in the car and Max and Daddy are out on a Daddy date). The little kids and I are having a quiet morning at home. Jack is napping, Sophie is playing with her new Disney Princess castle (which is only half put together because I gave up!) and I am rotating between attempting to get my house back in order after Christmas exploded, playing princesses, and reading this book...

Check it out here

Oh my goodness! I am not really into fantasty/sci-fi type stuff but I heard good things about this book so I asked ~~Nick~~ Santa to put it in my stocking. And now I can't put it down!

Anyway, I hope you all are having a fabulous Post-Christmas day! I hope to be back later or at least by tomorrow to share all of the Christmas fun!

The look on this guy's face...

2011-12-20T09:54:00.000-08:00

just screams... "I know how cute I am".

Our new addition

2011-12-19T06:13:00.000-08:00

Meet Scout Ramsey...

He was our little Christmas present to our family! And we couldn't be more in love with the little ball of fur.

Nick and I had started having the dog talk when Max started begging for a dog. Nick who had been extremely anti-dog up until this point was starting to really soften up so I started doing some research. I really wanted to find out what would be the best dog for our family. After lots of research I decided that a shih tzu would be a really great match for us. I thought maybe we would get one in the spring or summer. But, then my sister sent me a link to a really cute shih tzu puppy named "Mickey" at a local animal rescue.

Nick and I fell in love with his picture and decided we had to have him. Unfortunately, right before we left to go visit him we called and found out he had already been adopted the evening before. Honestly, I was a little devastated. Nick convinced me that we should go to the place anyway and look at their other dogs.

When you go there they have pictures of all the dogs they have up on the wall and then they bring you the one you want to the visiting room. There was a picture of a super cute lhasa-poo named "Kenny" and we asked to see him. They told us that "Kenny" was super shy so they were going to bring his brother "Kyle" in too so that he would be more outgoing. We ended up falling in love with "Kyle" and decided he was the dog for us. We liked "Kenny"'s size, he was most likely the runt of the litter. But, "Kyle" was much more friendly with the kiddos.

The place we got him from rescues puppies who are going to be killed from puppy mills. I guess the pet stores and people who buy from puppy mills only like a certain type of dog and when they don't sell them they just kill the rest. So sad. I think ours didn't make the cut because typically people prefer white faces on this type of dog and he doesn't have enough color variation. But, we think he is just adorable...even if it is hard to get a good photo of him with his dark eyes and face!

Max had already named our dog Scout so that was already settled! Scout is settling in well here at the R home. He is a very good little dog. He loves to snuggle and is doing pretty well on potty training. Not perfect... but pretty good! I think he is just the perfect fit for our family!

Run Run as Fast as you Can...

2011-12-15T09:27:00.000-08:00

Am I the only one who {HAS} to say this everytime I see a gingerbread man?? Ha!

My kiddos are so into Christmas this year. They want to be involved in every last detail. I am hoping to have them help me make wrapping paper tomorrow. But, for some of our gifts we handed out earlier I had them help me by making these cute little gingerbread men and women from a little kit from Michaels. They are supposed to be ornaments but they also make super cute gift tags. The kids were able to add their own personal touch to the gifts and added to craft paper and a ribbon the gift still looked festive!

Just say {no}

2011-12-13T07:45:00.000-08:00

I can't believe Christmas is getting so close! This year our family has really been enjoying the time leading up to Christmas. I love our Advent Activity Calendar and think we will have to do it every year. It has provided so many fun evenings for us. Here is a pic from our shaving cream drawing the other night...

Had to give the blog a little shout out! But, in all reality, it has been an amazing last few weeks. Whenever I hop on to Facebook or read blogs or talk to people there is so much complaining about business. And I totally get that. But, I think us moms need to step up and take back the Christmas season for our families. Use what you learned in middle school and "just say no"! Ha! Don't bake cookies, don't go to that Christmas party, don't buy your kids 20 gifts each... unless that is what you truly love to do.

Some people like being really busy this time of year and that is great. Business is a different standard for everyone. I have friends that could go to a Christmas party every night for the 24 days leading up to Christmas, bake two dozen cookies everyday and still feel refreshed and festive. Great! And I have friends that if they get more than a few things going on in one week they feel out of sorts and run down. That is okay too. Figure out your own limits and what works for you.

Just enjoy the time with your family. I know that I will treasure each precious memory made this month for the rest of my life and I pray that these are the memories that will shape my children.

Sophie the Ballerina

2011-12-12T11:07:00.000-08:00

Saturday was a very big day in our house. It was Miss Sophie's very first ballet recital! She was so excited... although I think the word had no definition until after her first time on stage.

Sophie had a full row of supporters for her stage debut. Mom and Dad, Grandpa and Grandma, Grandma June, Uncle Simon and Aunt Emily and Cousin Lauren were all there to cheer on our little dancer. I think someone loved all of the attention even though she was a little nervous at first.

After the first song she was totally into it and couldn't wait to get back on stage. Her group got to dance twice and I was very surprised at how well she did.

Even if she did spend the second half of her last song just playing with her hula skirt. But honestly, who can blame her? And she looked super cute.

Of course like any ballerina should be she was showered with flowers after such a wonderful performance. Which may or may not have been her favorite part of the day!

Mommy and Daddy couldn't have been more proud of our little girl! She was wonderful for her stage debut!

But, being such a wonderful ballerina can really wear a girl out...

Kid Pics and Friday Links

2011-12-09T06:37:00.001-08:00

Here are a few pics of the Little R's this week. They keep us busy all the time! But man, they are cute!

We have had a fun week continuing our Advent activity calendar. Last night we got to go to Journey to Bethlehem at Harvester Christian Church. For any of you local peeps I highly recommend it! It is quite an amazing production! We loved it! And we got to meet up there with my sister and brother in-law and my two sweet nephews which was a very special treat.

I wanted to share my favorite links again this week! I am having to re post because as some of you may noticed a certain 1 year old posted my draft which was only half done earlier in the week and added a few of his own words! Thankfully Jenn alerted me of the issue and that post was deleted. So, here are favorite links for the week in their complete and un baby edited form!

My Philosophy of Parenting: Pondering Christ by Sally Clarkson at I Take Joy
http://www.itakejoy.com/my-philosophy-of-parenting-pondering-christ/
I have a feeling a week will not go by without a Sally Clarkson post included in the round-up. She is by far one of the most encouraging women. She is truly a Titus 2 woman teaching the younger women to love their children. The world would be a better place if we had more women like her being bold and mentoring us young moms without a clue! And she does it without talking down to younger women which is a rare gift!

Ode to a Mouse and His Cookie by Jenn at Just Us Scotts
http://justusscotts.blogspot.com/2011/12/ode-to-mouse-and-his-cookie.html
My dear real life friend Jenn wrote this post and it totally cracked me up. I think we can all relate to this kind of day! And I was very impressed at all the pregnant lady was able to accomplish! Ha! :)

Enjoying the Simplicity of Staying Home by Lindsay at Passionate Homemaking
http://www.passionatehomemaking.com/2011/12/enjoying-the-simplicity-of-staying-home.html
This post was so timely for me. I tend to feel the need to always be out and on the go but I also am very easily overwhelmed when life gets too hectic. So, obviously, I have found myself frustrated a lot lately. I felt like this post gave me the permission and encouragement I needed to stay home! I think I need to become much more intentional about my time away from home.

Let it snow!

2011-12-07T06:28:00.001-08:00

Pickle was a litte bit mischevious last night...

Maybe he was inspired by the light dusting of snow we got here yesterday? Either way, I love the touch of whimsy that was added above my kitchen sink!

On the Road Again

2011-12-06T05:01:00.000-08:00

The kids had so much fun last week with this activity that I decided I needed to keep it going. So this time I took out the craft paper, taped it to the floor, drew a road and voila! Hours of entertainment! The big kids mostly enjoyed drawing the scenery but my little man loved zooming his cars all over that thing!

As you might have noticed, Max liked to draw lots of animals on the side of the road. Let me tell you, a roll of craft paper has been a very good investment into hours of fun around the R's House!

It's Beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

2011-12-05T13:31:00.000-08:00

and I am loving it! Christmas is my second favorite holiday afterall (surpassed only by Valentine's Day which is obviously the best holiday ever because, hello! It is my birthday!). This year has been a fun combination of old and new traditions.

One of our new traditions this year was an advent calendar that included a fun family activity each day. It has been so much fun already! Here is what we have done so far...

Get out the kid nativity sets and play out the story of Jesus' birth
Watch Elf
Make snow playdough
Decorate a gingerbread house
And on tonights agenda... Draw pictures in the snow (a.k.a. shaving cream on the table)

And Pickle is still bust suprising us every morning (or most mornings.. we might be a little forgetful when it comes to moving Pickle!)

And I have added a few more decorations to spruce things up around here. I have definitly gone much simpler in my decorating this year!

And I wanted to give a big "thank you" for everyones amazing support of my first post over at Homemakers Challenge. I feel so blessed by such amazing friends!

I am contributing over at Homemakers Challenge today!

2011-12-05T04:08:00.001-08:00

Happy Monday, friends! Today is the day! Please click over to Homemakers Challenge and check out my first contributor post! It is about simple ways to decorate your home for Christmas. Click here to check it out!

Favorite Links from this week

2011-12-02T06:21:00.000-08:00

I thought it would be fun once a week to share my 3 favorite blog articles I found online during the week! Not as much fun as goofing off with my favorite (and only) husband... but still lots of fun. So, in no particular order, here are my favorites from this week!

"Violence in Video Games- does it really matter?" by Cassandra at The Better Mom
http://www.thebettermom.com/2011/11/violence-in-video-games-does-it-really-matter/
I loved this article and thought it was such a great reminder. Since my husband was addicted to video games growing up this is something we both feel very passionate about and I think her article is well written and really gives a lot to think about.

"Do unto your children as you would have them do unto you" by Sally Clarkson at I Take Joy
http://www.itakejoy.com/do-unto-your-children-as-you-would-have-them-do-unto-you/
A wonderful article on loving and nurturing our children. As an ex-Babywise mom I am so thankful for Sally Clarkson speaking the TRUTH moms need to hear! Snuggle, cuddle, and respond to those babies all day long mommas! You won't regret it!

"Why the Heck do we Hate Tim Tebow?"by Jen Floyd Engel at Fox Sports
http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/Tim-Tebow-why-the-heck-do-we-hate-him-110211
I love this article because not only do I love Tim Tebow and the Broncos but I found it to be something all of us Christians need to think about. I was challenged.

If you read these I would love to hear what you think!

Pay it Forward

2011-12-01T07:33:00.001-08:00

Today I finally got to be a part of a "Pay it Forward" line at Starbucks! If you don't know what that is, it is when the person ahead of you pays for your drink and then you pay for the person behind you. It is really neat to be a part of. Especially in our world where people pretty much keep to themselves it gives you an amazing feeling of community!

As I was driving away I couldn't help but feel very "Christmas-y". And although I couldn't really define that term in real words I will just say that it felt nice.

And it got me thinking about how I can give that feeling to others this year. Especially to those who maybe don't know Jesus. It made me realize that at Christmas time we really have an opportunity to be "light". What if Christmas time became a time of year when people couldn't ignore Jesus because His love was so obviously being displayed?

I know for us mommas with young kids serving can be hard. So, I thought of a few things we can do for others without taking away from our own families this season. And please add your ideas to the comments if you have some!

pay it forward (or backwards!) at Starbucks or any other drive-thru
leave cookies or a gift card in your mailbox for your mail carrier
leave a special treat on the porch for the UPS and Fed-Ex delivery guy
take cookies to the fire station or police department to thank those who serve our community
leave an extra big tip for your waitress or waiter... or pizza delivery guy
take time to WRITE (handwritten notes are so meaningful) Christmas cards to people in your life who might be lonely this time of year
Buy fewer gifts for your own children and help them buy gifts for children in need (we were able to do this this year and it gave us an amazing teaching opportunity)
Invite someone to your home for a meal or dessert that you know needs a friend right now
"Ding dong ditch" your neighbors with a little gift basket of Christmas treats given anonymously
And pray for God to show you who He wants you to bless this Christmas season! He will tell you who He wants to say a special "Merry Christmas" to!

Let's share the hope that we have this Christmas season. If you can't do anything else just smile at people and say "Merry Christmas"...

“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."- Matthew 5:14-16

Oh Christmas Branches!

2011-11-30T05:49:00.001-08:00

When it comes time to decorating for Christmas I love to watch my house transform from fall to Christmas. It is especially fun when you can turn your fall decorations into Christmas ones.

I finally got my mantle looking decent this fall. It is a challenge because it is a super narrow mantle. I didn't want to have to take everything off and start from scratch so I decided to just change the fall to Christmas.

All I did was add some ornaments to my branches (voila! New Christmas tree!), put a bow on the bunny, change out the pumpkin for a cranberry ball, and change out my candle. I love being able to use what I have and keep it simple.

Afternoon Fun- House Drawing

2011-11-29T06:13:00.000-08:00

My kiddos are little artists. They love to draw, color, paint, you name it. And as I have admitted before I am just not the most crafty momma. So, I am always on the lookout for new ideas. This idea dawned on me when the kiddos were getting a little squirmy yesterday afternoon. I had some craft paper that I plan to use to wrap Christmas gifts. I taped a big piece of it to the floor and then drew a house and told the kiddos it was their job to "decorate" the inside of the house. While Jack's favorite part of the acitivity was to sit right in the middle... everyone else had a really great time and it kept them busy for a good long time! And it really stretched their imaginations. I loved listening to them decide what would go inside and outside of the house. If you know Max you know of course that the outside of the house was totally surrounded by animals! Ha!

Keep Rowing

2011-11-28T04:08:00.001-08:00

I have mentioned several times the wonderful Bible study I had the opportunity to be a part of this summer at my church called, Bloom. I think it was on the first night our wonderful pastor's wife shared this concept from a devotional she was reading, "Hidden Gems from the Greek" by Rick Renner. Here is an excerpt from the book and a part of what she read to us.

The Attitude for Success - by Rick Renner
"In 1 Corinthians 4:1, Paul wrote - Let a man so account of us, as the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God.

In this verse Paul calls himself a minister. This is the Greek word hupertas, a vivd term that conveys"the essential attitude necessary to get the job done."
Interestingly, this word hupertas, translated "ministers" here was used in classical Greek society to describe "low class criminals."

- Why would Paul use such a word?
- Is he using the word as a picture to make a point to us?

Originally, this word described the very lowest class of criminals. These criminals were so low that they were outcast and removed from society. Often they were assigned to the bottom galleys of huge shipping vessels where they literally became the engine's on those huge ships.

They were sentenced the rest of their lives in the darkness below the deck-endlessly rowing and rowing and rowing. Day after day their job was to heave those massive oars back and forth, pushing them through the water to make the ship move through the sea.

This is the same word that Paul uses as the attitude necessary to do what God has called us to do! God has called us to take our place in His plan - to grab hold of an oar, so to speak, and to begin to serve Him practically in some way. We are to keep rowing, rowing, rowing, and rowing doing our part and fulfilling what He has asked us to do."

Picture Source

Since hearing that concept whenever I am really having a struggle I think of that picture. Of just putting my head down and rowing, and rowing for God. Lately I have really had that picture in my head when it comes to parenting.

My Max is the sweetest boy. But, he is a hard little guy to raise. Lately, we have really had some issues coming back with his fits and tantrums. It has been very rough. It is easy to get discouraged. And it is really easy to get very down and just see myself as a failure as a mom. But, the truth is, I am not a bad mom... I am just an American girl who likes instant results! Ha! But, in this situation that is not happening. But, instead of being discouraged, I know I need to just keep rowing, and rowing, and rowing. I need to be diligent in doing what I need to do.

But, it is hard to be the one rowing at the bottom of a large ship. It is not glamorous. No one really knows what you are doing so you don't get any praise. And the worst part... you can't see the shore. So you keep rowing and rowing not knowing if you will reach the shore in an hour, or tomorrow, or 5 weeks from now.

Dealing with Max's behavior is hard right now because I can't see the shore. I don't know if we will get past this next week, or in a few months, or maybe not until his eighteenth birthday. But, I believe the diligence will pay off at some point. I believe that our diligence as Mom's WILL pay off. And I believe our diligence in serving Christ in all that we do will pay off.

For most of us who are Christ loving moms we rarely get to see the shore in the things that we do. We often are the ones that stay home and care for our children, serve in the nursery at church, take meals to new moms or sick people. We are often at the bottom of the ship rowing and rarely getting to see the end results of what we are doing. But, Jesus sees what we are doing. And He knows who we are doing it for. We just need to remember who we are doing it for. Although I will be very happy when Max's behavior is better (life will be easier for ALL of us!) but, at the end of the day, I am doing it for Jesus. And Jesus will get me to the shore every time.

Contributing at Homemakers Challenge

2011-11-27T09:55:00.001-08:00

I am super excited that I have a new opportunity to be a contributer at one of my favorite blogs, Homemakers Challenge! Click over here to see me and the rest of the team. This opportunity was such a neat little God thing. Especially since most of these other ladies are REAL bloggers! I am so excited to get to be a part of a community and write about one of the things I am most passionate about; homemaking! I will let you know when my first post is going to be published. But, until then go check out the blog. There are some really wonderful writers over there!

Thanksgiving Weekend

2011-11-26T12:45:00.000-08:00

This weekend is flying by a little too fast for my liking. I am trying to savor every minute of wonderful family togetherness that I can. We have had so much fun so far!

Wednesday night was when the weekend officially started in my book! I took the big kiddos to the library after dinner and we got some movies and books. The kids wanted to surprise daddy so we swung through the Starbucks drive-thru and got coffees for Daddy and Mommy and cake pops for everyone! Then we all snuggled up and watched "The Last Airbender" together... and looked at pictures of puppies on the computer. (A certain 5 year old has "puppy fever" pretty bad)

Thursday was great! We got up and had a little breakfast and then when the Macy's parade came on we had doughnuts while we watched. The kids were really into the parade this year. Then they helped me make an apple pie to take to my mom's house for Thanksgiving. We headed out to my parent's a little after lunch but didn't eat Thanksgiving dinner until 5. The weather was beautiful and we had a great time just playing outside and enjoying each other. After dinner and dessert (which were amazing!) the big kids spent the night at Mom and Dad's so Nick and I took Jack home and put him to bed and got to enjoy the rest of the evening by ourselves!

Friday morning Jack slept in a little (I was pretty sure I heard the Hallelujah chorus when I woke up at 7am and Jack was still sleeping). When he got up the three of us went to Panera and then Toys 'R Us to do a little shopping. We forgot how easy it is to go do things with just one kid! Ha! Toys 'R Us was crazy but we were able to find some great stuff. Let's just say a certain boy is going to have a very Star Wars Christmas! Then we went and picked up the kids and had Thanksgiving leftovers with my parents (YUMMY!). We spent the rest of the day doing some Christmas decorating, playing outside, and just enjoying being the 5 of us! We topped the day off snuggled up on the couch watching the CBS TV Christmas movies. Seriously, I went go bed feeling so overwhelmed with gratitude for my family.

This morning all three kids slept until 7:30 (more Hallelujah chorus!). Nick made us all waffles for breakfast. Then my parents came and helped (and by helped I mean, they did it alone) hang our lights! After lunch Sophie and I went to Michael's and got the finishing touches to decorate the outside of our house. I will try to get a decent pic but I just love the way it turned out. This is the first time we have ever had lights on our house!

We are just hanging out right now and then our plan is to go to church this evening with my sister and brother-in-law! We are hoping to grab dinner at IHOP together afterwards and then go to a drive thru Christmas lights display in Wentzville. I am really excited! I love getting to do fun things with my sister!

And the best part of all of this... we still have tomorrow!! I imagine it will be a day of housework and lounging! I can't wait!

Oh... and look who showed up last night!

It is Pickle! Our Elf on the Shelf!

I hope everyone else is having a wonderful weekend!

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T19:20:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you! I am thankful for all of my sweet blog readers. Thank you for encouraging me to write and for giving me an audience. I am one {blessed} lady!

Thanksgiving Party

2011-11-18T10:49:00.000-08:00

Today we threw a fun little Thanksgiving Party for a couple of our friends. I advertised it to the mamas as a "real playdate". Not the kind where moms just sit and drink coffee, but one with actual activities for the kiddos! Although, don't worry... there was plenty of moms drinking coffee...

We had a Thanksgiving snack and cookies, made a craft, colored a picture, read a story, and even did a poem with motions. I think all of the kiddos had a great time! And I am almost positive all of the mamas felt like they needed a nap afterwards!

But, I sure am {thankful} for such wonderful friends for myself and for my kiddos!

Hair, Pinterest, and Christmas

2011-11-17T08:45:00.000-08:00

I have two very important questions...
1. Have y'all seen my new haircut? It was a big change for me but I am really starting to like it.
2. Can people from Missouri say y'all? Because I really like to.

Life here at the R Home has been pretty good. Things are starting to settle down a little bit with activities ending and this mama LOVES that. I was never a homebody until this year and now, when I have too much outside stuff going on I get stressed out!

I should be getting some stuff done around the house today but that just doesn't seem to be happening! We are having a little Thanksgiving playdate for a couple of our friends tomorrow morning and I have some super cute crafts and snacks planned... but I should probably be getting my house cleaned up and things like that!

I must say, thank goodness for Pinterest when you are trying to plan kids activities! There are so many cute ideas and I love being able to find them all in one place! I am already looking forward to some winter/Christmas crafts! Here are some cute ones I have found so far...

Source

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And just asking... does anyone else already have their Christmas tree up? I usually decorate the weekend before Thaksgiving. I know to some people that is just plain wrong! But, I love having my tree up on Thanksgiving day!

Can Mommy drop out of preschool?

2011-11-14T07:57:00.000-08:00

So, Max is in preschool this year. He does great and his teacher has nothing but wonderful things to say about him. And I have heard her talk to other parents when their kiddos are having issues so I know she isn't just saying things to make me feel good! Ha! Really, it is a fine situation. Max is just fine with preschool. He usually doesn't want to go in the morning... I mean, who wants to leave their dino game and go to school? But, he is always happy when I pick him up.

But, I don't like preschool. I don't like getting 3 kiddos dressed and out the door in the mornings.... and usually having to wake the littlest one up to go. I don't like getting three kids into carseats, out of carseats, walk into the building and then get two kiddos into carseats and back out at home... only to repeat the process about 2 hours later. And this is only going to get worse as the weather gets worse.

Plus, I just don't rest easily when my kiddos are away. I am on "alert" the whole time making sure I can hear my phone in case I get a call that he needs to be picked up or something. Plus, I have two other kiddos! Life is actually easier with Max because he is pretty helpful and keeps his sister entertained!

So, chances are... I will not have a preschool drop out. But, a Mom can dream right?

Max before basketball practice on Saturday, how cute is he?

All boy...

2011-11-09T06:11:00.000-08:00

This boy just makes my heart so happy.

Pictures from Sunday

2011-11-07T12:40:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to share a few pics from before and after yesterday's Resolution Ceremony. I was pretty pleased that the kiddos managed to look at the camera since it was on self-timer mode! Anyway, I hope everyone is having a wonderful Monday!

The Resolution Ceremony

2011-11-06T17:52:00.000-08:00

So have you all seen the movie Corageous yet? Oh my goodness it was so good. I laughed, I cried, and everything in between. Well, our awesome pastor saw the movie too and thought it was so good he decided to rent out the whole theater for the men in our church to view the movie. Our church then decided to have a Resolution Ceremony like the one seen in the movie where the husbands commit to be men of God and leaders of their families. It was an amazing event. Of course our kids acted up the entire time and Nick and I both felt our patience wearing thin. But, at the end of it I was so happy we chose to participate. Nick is already a commited husband and father and in the ceremony he didn't promise anything that he wasn't already trying to do. But, it was still so meaningful to participate in a ceremony as a family and see Nick publicly promise to be the man and father that God has called him to be. I am so thankful we go to a church that truly wants to see lives changed and to see men step up and lead their families. I will be forever grateful for the opportunity that was given to our family today.

And if you haven't heard of Corageous here is the movie trailer. Go see it!

2011-11-04T06:19:00.000-07:00

Does anyone else feel like we live in a time where people say "being a mother is the highest calling" or "being a mother is so important" but the same people put down motherhood in the next sentence. I know that this is just venting and that there are some people out there who actually DO believe that being a mom is an important job. But, I feel like most people who say that are also the ones telling me, "you need to have something you do outside of your family just for you... why don't you sell Tupperware?" Or "this is great now, but you are going to go back to work once your kids are in school right?"And the most discouraging thing is that so much of the time I hear this from moms. The message is: "What you are doing now isn't good enough. It is fine for the meantime, but you need to get in the game!" I know these women are just buying into what the world is selling them but it is so disheartening.

I CHOOSE to be a full time mom. I have a college degree. One I could easily use to work from home (as many people point out to me on a regular basis). I am an educated adult and have the option of going back to school and getting even more degrees if I feel like it. But, I choose to make my family my full time job. I am not saying it is wrong for other people to choose to work from home or even outside of the home. But, I do feel tired of being put down for my choice to not work and dedicate myself full time to my family. And I am even more tired of Christian women trying to pass off these "suggestions" as Truth.

A few months back I started buying into this idea that I needed to be doing something outside of my family just for me. I had been hearing it a lot. And I started to believe it. Where before I felt secure and confident as a full time mom I started to feel insecure. I started to think I was a bad mom because I didn't have a job outside of my home or a big hobby that took me away from home a few hours a week. And again, I don't think those things are necessarily wrong for some people. But, I also don't think they are necessary for everyone.

I do believe that we need to see ourselves as people outside of just our calling as mothers. But, I believe that God wants our identity to be in Him. And for me I do not need a job outside of my home to see my identity in Christ.

I DO enjoy time away from my children from time to time. I love getting out by myself and grabbing a coffee and reading my Bible at Starbucks or even going to the grocery store by myself. I love getting together with ladies for Bunco or a craft night. I love meeting up with my mom to go shopping or spending some time during the afternoon on the phone with a good friend. I love getting date nights out with my husband.

So, I am not saying that women who choose to work or have hobbies are doing anything wrong... unless they are using their work or hobbies to give them an identity. We as Christian women need to be loving each other and encouraging each other to find our identities in Christ. The only other thing the Bible tells us to encourage each other in besides who we are in Christ is to love our husbands and children and to be busy at home (Titus 2:4-5). We need to stop preaching the world's gospel to one another and start speaking truth to each other.

So, if you are struggling as a mom feeling like you don't have your own identity outside of your children and I want to encourage you to find your identity in Jesus. He is all we need. And if we pour our lives into Him he will pour His life back into us. When we are keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus we realize that it is not us that matters, but Him.

2011-11-03T13:54:00.000-07:00

Here is a pic of those cute little R's on Halloween! We had a great night. My parents and sister and brother-in-law came over for dinner and we took the kids to a few houses to trick-or-treat. Like always it is wonderful to be able to celebrate with family! And the kiddos had a blast!

I haven't posted a reading list in awhile but I thought I would share my two favorite books I have read/been reading!

"The Well Trained Mind"- I am loving this book. When I first learned about Classical Education a few years ago I knew it was the direction I wanted to go in teaching my children. This book really reinforces my views and gives step by step, year by year instructions. I checked this book out from the library but will be buying myself a copy for reference for sure.

I actually checked this book out from the library and then ended up buying a copy too. This book has a lot of great practical tips for raising kids to know and love the Lord. And above all I am so inspired by Michelle Duggar's calm and patient parenting! After reading this book I have been able to apply a lot of what I learned and have found myself parenting with more love and kindness. So good!

The weather here today is super rainy and dreary so I am currently trying to find the motivation to get some housework done and dinner going. We have spent the majority of our day doing crafts and reading books! My favorite kind of day!

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T06:22:00.000-07:00

From a cow...

a princess ballerina and Batman.

And I must comment on the joy that is having small children. I let them pick out their own costumes from Target and they insisted on a dinosaur and horse costume... so $60 later I gave in. After getting home and getting the tags off Max decided he wanted to be Batman (a borrowed costume from a friend) and Soph wanted to wear her ballerina stuff. Although, maybe it is a tradition. Last year Soph insisted on a last minute costume change as well...

Max's room

2011-10-29T07:07:00.000-07:00

One of my other spray paint projects a few weeks ago was spray painting a cheapo headboard and footboard I found on Craigslist for $10. It was beat up but solid wood. And, since my sweet 5 year old had been living with just a mattress and box spring on the floor (classy, right?) I felt like he needed a "real" bed!

Here are the pieces before...

I ended up just using the headboard for now. We don't have the parts to attach the footboard and I think I might just like the headboard. It is small (the mattress set is really tall) but I think for the price it works great. Since we are thinking of having the boys share a room down the road and getting bunk beds I didn't want to invest much money into this bed.

I think Max's room is looking pretty cute!

5 ways I cut our grocery bill while eating better!

2011-10-27T11:33:00.000-07:00

Recently we really tried to tighten the purse strings and really stick to our, excuse my language.... {budget}. I decided I wanted to try to save some money on groceries. But, I knew that extreme couponing was just not for me. I love to use coupons for household products but I really feel like for the most part when it comes to food most of the coupons are for processed foods that my family just doesn't need. Here are the top 5 things I did that helped me cut our grocery budget almost in half!

When I make our meal plan I try to make sure all of my ingredients will be used. For instance, if I know I will have a lot of leftover chicken I will plan a second meal around the leftovers.
When grocery shopping I always go to Aldi first! I am able to pay next to nothing for a lot of our staple items. Bonus: their milk is hormone free and they now sell Greek Yogurt!
I make almost everything I can from scratch. I don't buy pre-made spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce, etc. Whenever possible I make it from scratch! I have even started making almost all of our breads and am able to make super healthy versions for a fraction of the cost!
I keep meals simple. Usually a main dish and a side dish. Ina Garten... you know, the Barefoot Contessa said that this is the way she prefers to make meals and although it has been hard for me to get used to and I still find myself trying to sneak in one more side... you know, for color! But, in reality, we are getting plenty to eat and meals are simpler to prepare!
I eat leftovers. I used to refuse to eat leftovers. But, then I realized it was time to put on my big girl panties and eat the food we had and be glad to have it! Now I actually enjoy eating leftovers and especially love when I can take them and create something totally different for lunch! Like last night's leftover bread became today's grilled cheese at lunch.

I do a few other things but those are the main CHANGES I made to save money on groceries! And the pay off has been great! We are eating healthier and yummier meals (yay for knowing what is IN your food!) and it has been nice on the wallet. What is your favorite way to save money on groceries?

Playing Hard

2011-10-27T07:08:00.000-07:00

We have been playing hard around here lately! Pinterest has totally been inspiring me to get a little more creative with my kiddos and planning fun activities for us to do together. Some of my mommy friends are awesome about doing stuff like this all the time! But, it has never been my strong suit. However, I have really been enjoying all of the fun things we have been doing lately! I took a picture of a few of our favorites lately!

1. Playing animals in flour

2. Making pipe cleaner rings that Jack likes to put around other objects

3. Playing animals in corn

4. Drawing letters in flowers

5. Decorating construction paper pumpkins

P.S. Who knew pipe cleaners could provide so many different activities and hours of entertainment???

Happy playing friends!!

Letters to my peeps

2011-10-26T07:47:00.000-07:00

I haven't done the Sunday Letter thing in awhile so I thought it would be good to do a little update on what all of my favorite peeps are up to these days.

Dear Max,

I must say, I am so glad you turned 5! I really like 5! You really are turning a corner as far as behavior. It is so nice to be able to say that most days with you really are a joy.

Last week I had a parent teacher conference with your teacher and she said that you were one of the smartest students she has ever had. She said she can see you becoming the next Steve Jobs. She went on about how intelligent AND creative you are. I beamed with pride as I heard someone else confirming what we already know about you... that God has created you to do big things for Him.

I love our time in the afternoons when we do learning activities together. You catch on so quickly and you truly love learning. I remember I used to think that doing learning activities with kiddos was silly and that kids should just play... but then I learned that for little kids, learning IS play! We have so much fun together and I love the one on one time.

Dear Sophie,

I think you are about as girly as they come. You love all things pink and princesses. You pretty much live in your ballet outfit these days. You have even talked us into letting you sleep in it. And I must say, you are pretty precious coming downstairs in the morning in your ballet outfit and a super hero cape!

You love to call people on the phone and you love to have conversations. I love listening to you tell your grandma and Grandma June story after story. You remind me so much of myself.... sorry!

I was telling a fellow ballet mom yesterday that you are as disagreeable as you are agreeable. You feel very strongly about things one way or another. So, when you are happy you are really happy. But, when you are mad... it is not so pretty! Ha!

Dear Jack,

What can I say? You are growing up way too fast! You are walking and even running. You jibber jabber and sing. You have 6 teeth now. Overall, you are a very happy little man.

You love your daddy a lot which has been an adjustment for me. At this age your brother and sister were all about mom. Don't get me wrong, you LOVE your momma! But, if Daddy is around you tend to gravitate towards him.

It is cute because your favorite toys are balls and cars. Daddy and I aren't sure if those are the toys you really love or just that those are the toys your older brother leaves for you to play with! Either way! It is pretty sweet to watch you crouching down zooming cars across the room or trying to find someone to play catch with!

Dear Nick,

I have loved watching you grow as a husband and dad over the past year. It is amazing because you were a good husband and dad before. But, God is totally transforming you and I love that He gave me a front row seat! I can see that you truly enjoy being with our kiddos and that is so priceless to me. I don't feel like you are doing things out of obligation, but out of a true desire to be with our kiddos.

Thank you for always supporting me and being there to listen. I appreciate your encouragement in all areas of my life. And an EXTRA big thank you for taking two days off of work last week for some awesome family time! I feel like it was one of those weekends that I will never forget!

And in other news... I am SO excited for our date night this Friday! I can't wait to just spend some time with you! I love you so much!

Women Living Well Blog Bash

2011-10-25T19:04:00.000-07:00

Hi! If you are coming here from the Women Living Well Blog Hop, WELCOME! This is my blog where I blog about life with the Little R's (my affectionate name for my children... our last name starts with "R")

I love Jesus, my husband, my kiddos, decorating, cooking, coffee, and laughing with good friends. I love to write about all of those things here. Feel free to take a look around and come back any time!

Green Smoothies

2011-10-23T13:03:00.000-07:00

One of my most dearest friends, Heidi (who REALLY should start a blog! She is always making super, yummy and healthy recipes) mentioned she had started making green smoothies and totally inspired me to get "back on the wagon". And she shared that her green smoothies go beyond spinach and that she also uses kale, arugala, and baby romaine.

I noticed I had a big container of spinach but could tell that it would be bad within a few days. Then I remembered how you can puree and freeze your veggies for homemade baby food and decided to apply the logic to smoothies!

In this picture I filled by blender up with Kale, added about 1/2 cup of water and pureed it all up.

Then I poured the puree into ice cube trays until frozen. The below pictures are of my spinach puree.

Once they were frozen I popped them out and put them in a freezer bag. Now it will be super easy to throw then into smoothies without worrying about my greens going bad. And I could even mix greens in the smoothies.

My kiddos love green smoothies, or dinosaur smoothies as we call them a lot of the time. This is such a great way to get those awesome leafy greens into their tummies! This is especially great to do as we are going into cold and flu season!

Green Smoothie (makes 2)

3-4 spinach cubes

1/3-1/2 C. Greek Yogurt (I had the vanilla bean kind on hand)

1 banana

2-3 Tbs. ground flax seeds

1/2 C. frozen strawberries

1/2 C. frozen peaches

1/3 C. water

Pink Smoothie (makes 2)

3-4 kale cubes

1/2 C. Greek yogurt

1 banana

1/2 C. frozen raspberries

splash of lime juice

1/3 C. water

The best part about making smoothies is that you can use whatever is available, you can easily use frozen ingredients, and you can experiment and have lots of variety!

Saturday Morning Ramblings

2011-10-22T04:37:00.000-07:00

I am not sure when this happened, but not too long ago I became a "morning person". I wake up early almost every morning and I love it! Usually by 6. I love having time to get my quiet time in before I have to start being Mommy! I know a lot of people say they do better reading their Bible at night and I used to be one of those people too. But, I would really encourage you to get into it first thing in the morning, even if it is just a verse or two and you do the rest at night. I feel like it works just like tithing and when I give God the first part of my day the rest of my day always goes so much better... even if it is just my attitude that is better!

We have really enjoyed having Nick off the past few days. Like, REALLY enjoyed it. I am actually a little sad that it is already Saturday and the weekend will be over before we know it.

In the past few months Max has really started asking more questions about God which has been awesome. At first it was just a facination with the devil which made us a little nervous (ha, not really, but it was kind of funny). But, now it is like he is really starting to put things together. Last night Nick asked if I would read the Bible story for the kiddos. As I was reading Max was being a real... I don't know... 5 year old I guess. He didn't want to hear the story I chose and he spent the whole time sighing and laying his head down and covering his eyes... basically being really dramatic. I feel like normally I would have said something but for some reason I didn't. When we were done I asked if anyone wanted to pray for us and Max volunteered. He immediately said, "Dear God, Please forgive me for being angry. I know that you forgive us for every bad thing we do..." It was so amazing to see him recognize his own sin and turn around and repent on his own. It was one of those moments where I felt like I know as a mom I mess up a hundered times a day but God's grace really does cover us even in parenting.

I think today will be pretty low key around our house. Yesterday and the day before were pretty activity filled which has been great but I think today we might just hang out. We will go to Saturday night service this evening and then my sister and brother-in-law are coming over for dinner which should be a great time. We love it that they have started coming to our church!

Breathe in, breathe out

2011-10-19T05:11:00.000-07:00

Is pretty much what I have been saying to myself lately. We are so busy around here and as it turns out, Katie and busy are not best friends anymore. The sad thing is that we used to be. I used to love having my days filled to the brim. And even when I just had one child I loved for our days to be filled up with lots of activities. But, I have changed over the years and have gotten to where I do not like being busy. I don't like rushing.

The bummer of it is that I love pretty much every single thing that we are busy with. But, when all put together my weeks just fly by without me feeling like I have adequate time to get stuff done. On Mondays I watch my neighbors little girl, Tuesdays are preschool, ballet, and small group, Wednesdays are Friend2Friend, Thursdays are preschool, and Fridays are our only day without a preplanned activity. And then you throw in all of the extra appointments and fun stuff that comes in and our weeks our just jam packed.

I think the reason I don't enjoy the business anymore is that my priorities have really shifted. Where I used to have my social life as my #1 priority (and I don't mean social life in a bad way! God created us to be in relationships with people and spending time with others and loving them is a great use of our time). But, now with having three kiddos my priority is my family and home. And with a bigger family and home I need a lot more time to take care of my priorities.

The problem is, that I can't see anything that can be cut out. Although I am considering not doing Friend2Friend next year and pick it back up again next fall when we don't have preschool twice a week. I guess I just need to learn to manage the stress and deal with the business better. Any tips???

On a very happy note the hubs took Thursday and Friday off so we will have a 4 day weekend to spend having quality family time so I am excited about that! Maybe that will be the refreshment I need to get through the rest of the "semester". Ha, does anyone else still live their adult, post-college lives in semesters?

Anyway, happy Wednesday all!

World Bird Sanctuary Fieldtrip with friends

2011-10-18T13:04:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we got the chance to go with my friend Jenn and her kiddos to the World Bird Sanctuary. I had never been before but thought it might be a good time! We will be going again for sure. The price... {free}... was perfect and it was just a great place to take kiddos. We all actually learned quite a bit about birds and had fun while doing it!

And they didn't just have birds. There were snakes, a rabbit, a bat, and some other bugs and lizards and such.

Here is Max with his buddy Ben. We talk about Ben a LOT at our house. I am very thankful that Max has such a sweet friend.

Sophie-Girl really liked the birds too! Soph is a pretty happy child and tends to have fun wherever we go and the bird sanctuary was no exception!

All the kiddos loved taking turns pretending to be bald eagles. They also tried to pose for a photo with the statue. But, sitting still for long when you are having that much fun just doesn't work!

I thought this was a great picture of Jenn with her boys (and baby girl in her tummy!)

My kiddos were LESS cooperative with the mommy photo shoot. As you can see, Max was "real pleased" to be sitting still taking a picture when there are birds to look at!

Oh, how I love my littlest man. In reality he was reaching to be let out of the stroller. But, it looks like he is giving snuggles to his Mommy so that is how I will choose to remember the moment! Ha!

And the cutest little birds we saw on the whole trip were in this cage. They even let us take these birds home with us... let us, made us.... who can remember the details?

I heart spray paint

2011-10-16T20:06:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to pop in and show one of my completed spray paint projects from last week. We had this cheapo piece of furniture we bought when we were first married and living in our town home and had like, no storage! The doors of it broke off in our most recent move so it had been sitting in the garage. I was looking for a piece of furniture to put in our laundry room to hold shoes and such and since I was working on a small budget I knew I needed to use something I already had. Enter the old shelf! With a little spray paint, some new knobs, a tension rod, and a fabric drop cloth from the hardware store this is our newest piece of furniture! Here is the before and after!

Sweet Saturday

2011-10-15T14:12:00.000-07:00

I have mentioned before that around here we pretty much live for the weekends. We love having Nick all to ourselves. We decided to take full advantage of our Daddy Time and spend some time at Cuivre River State Park today. And of course I took the opportunity to try to snatch a few pics for the 'ol Christmas card.

I don't know that I will ever get over Max's gigantic eyes. He just gets more handsome every day. And don't even try to convince me that I am the mom of a 5 year old... I won't believe you for a second because I am positive this guy was just born!

And of course a Christmas photo shoot wouldn't be complete without Jesse. Do you remember last year? I didn't even suggest Jesse come along... it just happened. That girl LOVES Jesse.

And of course Jack loved being outside. He is pure perfection rolled up into one adorably chunky one year old package!

We even managed to grab a family shot using the self timer. Too bad I look AWFUL!! Thank goodness I have an adorable family to make up for it!

Daddy and the kiddos checking out some kind of little lizard. Gotta love nature!

And I rediscovered that it is a physical impossibility to get a good picture of three kids all at the same time!

I am okay with that though. Kids this cute don't have to all be looking at the camera at the same time, right?

And you gotta love live action shots of the princess being chased by a wild T-Rex.

Yep. Saturdays are awesome. And the best part is, it isn't over yet! We are heading out here in a few to meet up with my sister and brother-in-law for Saturday night service at church and then we are headed out to my parents for a family dinner. Love it!

Happy Saturday everyone!

Before and after

2011-10-12T17:16:00.000-07:00

Do you notice the "very dramatic" before and after?

I am a spray painting fool today! I will post all of my fun projects later this week!

What I am reading this week...

2011-10-12T05:56:00.000-07:00

I had fun making my little reading list last week so I thought I would share what I am reading this week! And obviously, I read A LOT of books at once. When I sit down to read I usually have at least two books with me. What can I say, I love reading but I have a short attention span! And, thanks to the wonderful library I can read as many books as I want! Yay for free things!

So, on tap for this week:

As you can tell I don't read much fiction outside of super easy to read Christian fiction these days! I love good books (I mean, Hello! English major over here!) but my time is a little limited right now and if I have time to read fiction I want to make sure it is going to be uplifting in this little season of my life!

So, what are you reading?

Fresh Start

2011-10-11T14:07:00.000-07:00

I know a lot of people think of the New Year or even spring as a fresh start, but for me, fall has always signified a fresh start. Maybe it comes from years of being in school and the start of a new school year, but something about fall just seems to remind me that God says that he makes all things new. I love the start of new activities, getting into a routine, and I even love to rearrange my home and spruce things up in the fall!

The above pictures are a few of the areas of my home that have recently been "made new". And I love that while I have been busy sprucing up my home, God has been busy sprucing up my heart!

Max's birthday celebration!

2011-10-03T05:57:00.000-07:00

Saturday night after we went to church we celebrated Max's birthday! I can't believe my baby will be 5 on Tuesday! Time flies!! We had a family party and I went totally low key. We ordered Chinese take-out and got a DQ ice-cream cake! I think everyone had a good time though!

Especially the birthday boy!... who I think now officially has every Imaginex dinosaur they make!

Hallellujah

2011-10-02T01:52:00.000-07:00

This weekend was amazing. I know I say that a lot because we have a lot of fun around here. But, this weekend was truly special. My husband was baptized this weekend at our church. It was something I know I will never ever forget. It was also very special to have some of our family there with us!

Nick was baptized as a little kid but it wasn't out of a decision to follow Christ but in a "everyone else is doing it I guess I should too" kind of way. Over the past few years Nick has really grown as a follwer and believer of Jesus. He has questioned the decision on weather to be rebaptized a lot and this weekend decided to go for it.

He knew that he didn't need to be rebaptized for salvation. We believe that you do not have to be baptized at all for salvation. But, it is an act of obedience to Christ and a public way of professing your own death and resurrection in Jesus.

As his wife it has been truly increadible to watch Jesus transforming my husband. God's hand on Nick's life has been nothing short of a miracle and to get to be a part of that has been one of the most amazing experiences of my life.

Watching my husband be baptized was one of the most thrilling experiences of my entire life. To have watched him line his life up with Christ and then to get to see him take this step was amazing.

I am so thankful for my husband. He is an amazing leader for our family. I am thankful that he has willingly put himself under the Lordship of Christ and I see how much it is blessing him and our entire family. But, mostly I am thankful to God. He has been so faithful and the way he has transformed my husband is beyond what I ever could have asked for.

You asked... {Part 3}

2011-09-30T07:40:00.000-07:00

You asked: Are there any more little R's in the future?

I answered:

I love this question because I feel like it is that question that we WANT to ask everyone but people get offended by! The answer, though is honestly, I don't know! If you had asked me a few months ago I would have said "absolutely not, no never ever ever" or something to that effect. But, now that Jack is getting older I will have to just go with "I don't know"! We truly believe that children are a gift from God and so we will welcome any more children God has for us. But, with that said we aren't actively pursuing more children either!

Nick and I also both have big hearts for adoption so that could be a possibility in the future too.

Thanks for the questions this week! It was super fun and just what I needed to get me out of my little blog rut! Happy Friday everyone!

Recipe: Apple Crisp

2011-09-28T19:02:00.001-07:00

Since our little trip to Eckert’s we have a lot of apples on hand! Which is a major yay! I made homemade applesauce the other day… but it was gone before I had a chance to snap a picture. But, oh my goodness! The jarred stuff is NOTHING like the real thing! That will be a “make again” for sure.
Tonight in order to use up a few more apples I decided to make a homemade apple crisp! The hubs and I were having a late dinner sans kids (I made this again, oh yeah!).
I looked up a few recipes and kind of mashed together what I liked and came up with this one!
Apple Crisp
Ingredients:

5 or 6 apples (I used a mixture of what I had from apple picking)
1/2 C. butter, softened
1 C. sugar + a little for sprinkling
1 C. flour (I used whole wheat flour)
1 C. old fashioned oats
a sprinkle of cinnamon

Directions:

Peal, core, and slice apples
Place apples in a pie plate
Combine butter, 1 C. sugar, flour, and oats in a food processor until crumbly
Sprinkle sugar and cinnamon over apples
Sprinkle crumb mixture over apples
Bake at 350 degrees or until done

Enjoy!

P.S. I have added a place at the top right corner where you can subscribe to Life With the Little R's via e-mail. I don't always add new posts to Facebook and so if you don't have something like Google Reader you might miss a post or two. So, feel free to subscribe and have new blog posts delivered straight to your inbox!

You asked… {part 2}

2011-09-28T15:24:00.001-07:00

You asked: What books are you reading right now?
I answered:
That is a great question! I read lots of books at one time. I am a little bit of a skimmer and I don’t always finish books! Right now I am reading one fiction book, a few books on homeschooling, a parenting book for Friend2Friend, and of course the Bible!
Here are my current reads:

So, I have to ask… what are you reading right now? I would love some suggestions!
*Disclaimer… just because I am reading the book doesn’t mean I recommend it! But, you have to read it to know whether it is good or not, right?

Too much

2011-09-28T06:34:00.000-07:00

Some days it all just feels like too much. Too much to do. Too much to worry about. Kids everywhere, messes everywhere, a "to do" list that I know will never get even close to completion. Some days I just want to sit and cry because I just can't handle it all! I am a mom to three kids ages four and under and none of them is an "easy going" kind of kid. They are all strong willed, hard headed, and a MESS! It just all feels like too much to even make it through the day sometimes. And then add in the responsibilities of being a wife, serving at church, having friends, trying to loose weight... I mean, how does one person even begin to do it all?

But other days, it really feels like too much. It is too much that God has given me three beautiful, healthy, wonderful children who are so full of life they are about to explode. It is too much that God has taken my marraige which started out pretty broken, because it started out with two very broken people, and turned my husband and I into giggly teenagers who are so in love we can barely get through the day sometimes. It is too much that God is changing us everyday and that we can visibly see His hand in everything. It is too much that we have this beautiful home that is so much more than we need and we have money to buy food and water and keep our children safe. Some days it just feels like way too much.

I am not saying my life is perfect. But, when I choose to focus on the struggles it is all I see. I can't get past it. And when I choose to focus on the blessings it is all I see.. and I can't get past it. And I wish I would choose to focus on the right "too much" a whole lot more.

You asked... {Part 1}

2011-09-27T05:53:00.000-07:00

You asked: Katie- What are 5 random things we might not know about you?

I answered:

Gee... good question! I don't know! I tend to be kind of an open book. You guys probably already know more than you want to! But here we go... 5 random things...

In high school my best friend and I would pretend we were dating and married to Backstreet Boys. I of course was all about Brian Littrell. Yep... you can't make this stuff up.
I HATE the sound of someone scratching fabric... especially like jeans. I tell Nick that it makes my "teeth curl". He says that makes no sense but it is true. I can't handle it! Recently my sister was over and she had a bad itch on her leg and she was scratching her jeans and I told her if she continued to scratch she was going to have to leave my home.
Both my parents can curl their tongue and so can I. But, my sister can't. So, when she was little I liked to tell her that she was adopted because it would be genetically impossible for her to not curl her tongue too. I was sweet like that.
I love pedicures but I really don't like those foam toe seperater things they put between your toes when painting. The feel of the foam between my toes really creeps me out. But, I deal with it in the name of beauty!
Despite being a somewhat organized human being the inside of my purse is always a totally trashed mess. It is usually full to the brim with church bulletins, receipts, toy cars, and lots of other random things. I can never find my cell phone or keys once I stick them in my purse.

So, there you go! Now you know! And now you have no excuse to be scratching your jeans when we are together... and if you can't curl your tongue I might tell you you are adopted...

First trip to Eckerts in Illinois!

2011-09-25T19:25:00.000-07:00

As you can tell from the pictures our first trip to Eckert's Farm in Illinois for apple picking was pretty wonderful! We went with my sister and her husband... and without Jack. We actually missed the little guy but it was so much fun to be able to focus on the big kids and just play! Now to find things to do with all of our apples....

Saturday Ramblings!

2011-09-24T09:14:00.000-07:00

First off, thank you for a few great questions! I will have a few fun posts based on those next week! Keep them coming if you can think of anything else!

I am just hanging out at home this morning. We took the kids to the new Chick-fil-a in O'Fallon for breakfast this morning. Then we came home so Jack is taking his nap and Nick took the "big kids" to run some errands. I really should be doing some housework but I am enjoying the downtime.

The kiddos got their Halloween costumes yesterday. They were pretty excited. Max is going to be a dinosuar (again!), Sophie is going to be a flying horse, and Jack is going to be a cow. Max had big plans that they were going to go trick-or-treating by themselves. He told me that Sophie was going to carry the candy bag and say "trick-or-treat" and he was going to carry Jack. He was really bummed when I told him that an adult had to go with them. He decided that his grandma could go with him but that Daddy and I have to stay home. I won't be arguing that!

In our "quest" to save money I have been thinking a lot about needs versus wants. I like to think of myself as "above" being influenced by my culture but as I have been really considering what we spend our money on I realize that I am not! I totally have bought into believing that we "need" to have cable, cell phones, certain brands of things, etc. It is kind of crazy what we just start to accept as normal. I know I am always a little frustrated when people are showing off their smart phones and complaining about money in the same 5 minutes. But, even though I don't have a smart phone, I know I have my own "things" in my life that I have decided I "need" and then I complain about money! I am really excited about our message at church this weekend being about making good money choices. I know I need the reminder!

Tomorrow we are going to Eckerts in Illinois for a little apple picking fun! I am super excited to do such a "fallish" activity. I LOVE traditions and so I am excited to hopefully start a new fall tradition with my kiddos. Although, we are just taking the big kids with us. My parents offered to take Jack. I think they are secretly excited to have the one on one time with him. Whenever they babysit Max and Sophie really demand most of my parent's attention so it will be fun for them to get to just play with and enjoy Jack!

Anyway, I guess that is all I will ramble about for now! I hope everyone is enjoying this gorgeous fall Saturday as much as we are!

Update...

2011-09-23T12:39:00.000-07:00

Update: The last episode of "All My Children" was really dumb! A major bummer of an ending... in case you were at the edge of your seat waiting to hear how it went! :)

P.S. I haven't been able to think of anything fun or exciting to post lately. So, I have a huge favor!! YOU pick the topic! You can ask me anything! Or suggest any topic and I will make it happen! You could request a recipe, ask for a tutorial, ask for a photo of something, ask me a deep dark secret... ANYTHING! Feel free to leave me a comment or shoot me an e-mail (KatieLRamsey (at) gmail (dot) com) and I will make a post about it next week!

the end of an ERA!

2011-09-23T06:34:00.000-07:00

It is a sad day in the Ramsey household... Actually, it is only sad for the mom. The hubs and kiddos probably couldn't care less. But, today is the very last episode of my soap, All My Children.

I know! It is just a show. But, I have watched "All My", as my sister and I call it, since I was like 4 years old! My mom watched it so my sister and I did too! She would even tape it and would watch it when she got home from work so we would all watch it. In college I would schedule my classes around being home to watch.

So, I am a little sad that a show I have basically watched for the last 24 years is coming to an end! But, then I guess all good things must come to an end! So, if you were thinking about it, don't call me today between noon and one because I will not be picking up the phone... I will be watching my very last episode of All My Children. And possibly crying about it....

Organized

2011-09-22T14:47:00.000-07:00

I really attempt to be an organized person. I am not naturally neat and organized. However, I get very stressed out when things aren't neat and organized. How unfair is that? So, I am constantly working to streamline and organize my life, especially with three little ones! And I am sure a lot of you stay at home moms can agree that even though there is more than enough to do to keep us busy, without careful planning it is easy to let the day go by and not get ANYTHING accomplished!

I recently got this handy dandy planner and it has helped me a lot. I am able to put everything in one place and I have even color coded! I put our schedule, my things to do and clean, our meals for the week, everything! I love it!

I am all about increasing my efficiency in my home!

Do any of you have any tips or tricks you would like to share when it comes to home management?

Recipe: Pepperocini Roast

2011-09-21T12:39:00.000-07:00

I am not a big fan of traditional roast. I don't know, the meat always seems kind of dry and like it is missing something! And don't even get me started on the cooked carrots and potatos people usually serve with it! I know, it is like un-American or something! But, I am a big fan of anything easy that I can throw into my crockpot! Well, it doesn't get much easier than a 3 ingredient recipe! So, to make this you will need a 3-4 pound roast, a jar of pepperocinis, and 4-5 cloves of garlic.

(I really wish I had a picture but we just ate it too fast! Ha!)

Thinly slice your garlic cloves. Then take the point of your knife and pierce the roast all over, inserting a piece of garlic into each slit. Put roast in crock pot and pour entire jar of pepperocinis on top. Cook on low for 8 hours. Shred or chop up beef when finished and return to liquid.

Last night we had this on tacos but it is also delcious on a crusty bun with cheese or just eat it with a fork!

What's new...

2011-09-20T14:03:00.000-07:00

Well... we have been keeping ourselves pretty busy lately! Jack of course is walking and climbling and is pretty much into everything so he keeps me pretty busy!

I am also trying to get back on the weight loss wagon! After loosing and gaining the same 8 pounds over and over again I am ready to just get it off! So, I am down about 4 pounds and hoping to continue!

Aside from getting back on the weight loss wagon I have also gotten back on the Dave Ramsey wagon! Nick and I worked hard and got out of debt a few years ago but we have still not quite gotten our big emergency fund in order yet. We also need to save to replace my van here in a few years since we will be buying our replacement vehicle with cash. So, we have really tightened the belt around here and it is going well. I have worked to cut down our grocery bill significantly (while buying healthier foods, woo hoo!) and we are living on less! We are planning to cancel our satellite dish next month when our contract is up and we have been working on making some cuts in other areas. It feels good to be going in the right direction there.

In Friend2Friend this semester I am reading "Effective Parenting in a Defective World" by Chip Ingram. It is AWESOME so far! And my group of women is just great! I am so blessed by this semester already.

We are really praying about what we will do for school for Max next year. I really believe that God will make His will perfectly clear but it is hard to wait! Especially when there are so many pros and cons with each possibility.

Max is going to be playing basketball this winter at the YMCA. It is super cute how excited he already is! I will be suprised if he ends up really liking it but I think it is cute he is excited! I wanted to sign him up for soccer but I missed the cut off so I went ahead and signed him up for basketball. I think we will definitely try soccer in the spring though.

And Sophie Lou has started her ballet class. Her second class is tonight. She did SO well the first week! She cried when it was time to leave! She is going to Daughters of Grace Dance Academy which I think is perfect for her starting out. It seems low stress and it is a Christian dance studio so I like that. They even pray at the end of class which with all of those little girls is totally precious!

I guess that is all that is up with us! Just wanted to give a little update! I hope everyone else is having a great Tuesday!

First Word!

2011-09-20T06:13:00.000-07:00

So, this handsome little guy said his first word about a week ago and hasn't stopped using it since! It was "ball". How cute is that? He pretty much always has a ball that he is chasing around these days. It goes to show that kids really do have their own personatlies and interests. I think it is pretty cute since Max's first word was "duck" and he is still OBSESSED with animals! It will be funny to see if Jack is a little sports guy!

Recipe Link! Try it! Seriously!

2011-09-15T03:53:00.000-07:00

I am not usually a big fan of vegan/vegetarian soups. I know... but it is true. But a friend on Facebook posted this recipe and even though it sounded odd I was intrigued... So, I went to the store that day to make it for dinner! And I do not regret it to this day! So, now I am telling you to do the same! Go make this delicious Sweet Potato Chili. It is kind of sweet and spicy and oh so filling! Seriously make it! Or I will send this guy after you...

and it won't end pretty!

Direction

2011-09-13T08:32:00.000-07:00

For the last several months our family has been attending a wonderful church. If you are in the St. Louis/St. Charles area and are looking for a church we would love to have you!

Just the other day I told my husband, "you know what the annoying thing about Element Church is?" He looked a little shocked but asked "what?". And I replied, "That after a service I can never just go home and keep doing what I was doing. Every week I am presented with something that I have to change or implement in my life or a realization about something that changes the way I think about everything!" I have never been so encougaged to be a "doer of the Word" and it has been awesome.

Several months ago I shared that I felt a call to blog but I wasn't exactly sure of the details. Well, pretty much as soon as I said that my mind was a BLANK! I had no idea what I was supposed to write about! And my very exciting news is... I still don't! But, our pastor said something that really made me think about my approach. He was not talking about blogging obviously but what he basically said was, it is easier to direct a moving car than one that is sitting parked.

So, I realized that I need to just keep blogging and hopefully then, while obeying and moving forward I will get the direction I have been waiting for! So, there might be a new blog down the road or maybe this one will take a different direction... we will see!

So, Lord willing, you will start to see me post on here a lot more often like I used to! Thanks for sticking around!

Meal Planning

2011-09-01T14:58:00.000-07:00

On my list of personal strengths I would not list being naturally organized as one of them. So, in this house, although I have a VERY strong desire to meal plan, it always falls by the wayside eventually. I have done a little better since I started using this cute little printable but I still struggle.

So, I have seen a few people that use kind of a day of the week system for meal planning, so I think I might give it a try. The idea is that you think of seven "categories" and think of as many meals as you can for each one. Like: Italian, Mexican, Chicken, Breakfast for dinner, etc. Then you pick a day of the week for each category and you fill in your menu plan from that.

In my attempt to be cutsie I came up with this for our family...
Mexican Mondays
Tuesday Mornings (Breakfast for dinner)
Wild Wednesdays (New recipe or something "fancy")
Traditional Thursday (Cassroles, meatloaf, etc.)
Friday Fun (pizza night, appetizers, or something else fun)
Soup 'n Salad Saturdays
Spaghetti Sundays (anything Italian/pasta really)

I know! How dorky am I, right? :-) So, if you have any great recipes that fit these categories let me know and I would love to add them to my list! I thought it was at least worth a try! I will let you all know if I stick to it for more than a day!

a new post!

2011-09-01T08:09:00.000-07:00

Our Little R's are keeping us pretty busy these days! And Jack has started walking which has added another demention of CRAZY! But, it is super precious!

See for yourself...

Don't you don't want to SQUEEZE him until he is all squishy? No? Just me. Okay. Moving on...

In other news, I have been re-reading one of my favorite books of all time, "Boys Should be Boys". And I am telling you now if any of you have boys or know boys or anything you HAVE to read this book! Whenever I tell people about this book they say, oh, that is nice, I read "Bringing Up Boys" by Dr. Dobson. Now, I LOVE "Bringing Up Boys" but they are totally different books! So, just humor me and read this one. I really don't think you will regret it. And if you have a daughter, while you are at it, read her book about girls, "Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters" which is also amazing!

Okay, so to recap this post...

Life is busy.

Jack is walking and squishable.

Read "Boys Should Be Boys".

Sowing and Reaping

2011-08-26T06:43:00.000-07:00

Sorry I have been a little blog absent lately. God has been working with me a lot lately so I have been pretty busy emotionally. That probably sounds a little weird! But, I am not good at writing, even about the simplist things, when I have a lot going on in my little noggin!

This summer I did the most amazing Bible Study/Discipleship course I have ever been a part of. Honestly, I have never learned so much about myself and God's plan for my life in such a short amount of time before! Ah-mazing stuff. And I am so grateful.

One thing that came up several times throughout the study and then again in lots of other random places was God's principle of sowing and reaping.

Galatians 6:7 says, "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows."

And 2 Corinthians 9:6-8 says, "The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work."

And the Bible mentions this concept several other times. I found this link helpful.

I had honestly mostly thought of this concept in very broad terms or in terms of money only. Do good things and good things will come back to you. Sowing and reaping was God's version of Karma in my mind.

But in my learning it has been brought to my attention that this is a specific promise. The thing we sow into is what we will get back. If I spend hours sewing into blogging I will not reap the harvest of having very well behaved children. Or if I sow my energies into saving money using Biblical principles I won't directly reap a harvest of having lots of Godly friends.

I am by no means saying that God cannot choose to bless us with whatever he wants despite the fact that we are not sowing into it. But, He has promised us that, that which we sow into we will also reap.

So, that got me thinking about two big things in my life.
1. What seeds am I currently sowing
2. What harvest am I looking to reep

To be honest, my lists did NOT match up very well. Although, I am looking to reap whatever harvest comes from spending hours looking at Pinterest brings in the very near future (silly, right?).

All of this to explain why I haven't been around much lately. God is really working on my heart. He is helping me try to figure out His priorities for my life and it is a PROCESS! I am trying to figure out how blogging, friendships, etc, lots of really fun things! But, how they all fit into my life. So that everything can be in its right place and I can spend my time sewing into the things that I want to reap.

And honestly, I am not even close to having things even kind of figured out yet. But, I do know for sure of one purpose that God has for my life and one part of my life I cannot afford to be constantly sewing into and that is this...

I am praying for myself and everyone that reads this James 1:22. That we will not merely be hearers of the word but doers of the word.

First day of preschool!

2011-08-18T09:04:00.000-07:00

Today is Max's first day of preschool! I cannot believe he is so big. We are only one year away from Kindergarten! I just can't believe it!

He was so excited this morning. He must have told me a dozen times that preschool is JUST for big kids.

I can't wait to go pick him up and hear all about it!

Seasons

2011-08-17T16:01:00.000-07:00

Ecclesiastes 3:1-4 (NKJV)

To everything there is a season,

A time for every purpose under heaven:
² A time to be born,
And a time to die;
A time to plant,
And a time to pluck what is planted;
³ A time to kill,
And a time to heal;
A time to break down,
And a time to build up;
⁴ A time to weep,
And a time to laugh;
A time to mourn,
And a time to dance;

This verse has been on my heart and mind so much lately. It is so true. There really is a season for everything. Lately, I have found myself clinging to a season in life that I used to be in. Or maybe not clinging, but maybe just not realizing that I am now in a different season in life.

I am currently in a season in life I have never been in before. So many things are going on... I have three young kiddos, Max is starting preschool, we are going to a new church, one of my best friends moved away, my husband is more on fire for Jesus than he ever has been, etc. Most of these are REALLY good things, some aren't, but either way, it is all new!

I have been struggling because I keep trying to live my life the way I did in a previous season and it just hasn't been working! And I have been wondering why! Until I read this verse and God reminded me that I am in a different season and that it is the way it is supposed to be.

I am not in a season in life where I can go to playdates all the time, where I can have people over all the time, where I can go out all the time. Life is busy around our house and it is just where we are at right now.

So, I hope everyone can be patient with me while I am learning to navigate this new season. I know it is where I am supposed to be and I want to get the most out of it that I can! I am excited about what God is doing in me and in our family right now and I don't want to miss it by clinging to the way things used to be.

Now and then...

2011-08-15T13:11:00.000-07:00

Here is our sweet Sophie-Girl yesterday on her 3rd birthday!

And here she is exactly three years before.

Time really does fly when you are having fun! Sophie Nichole, you are the sweetest little daughter anyone could ever ask for. You are so girly we don't know what to do with you sometimes. You love pink and make-up and you even tell us that your favorite animal is princesses! But, you are sassy and you can hold your own against your brothers! We are thankful that God put you in our family and we can't wait to see the grown-up girl you become!

Happy Birthday Jack!

2011-08-02T06:21:00.000-07:00

One year ago today I was starting at this sweet face in the hospital. After a mad dash to the hospital in the middle of the night and a few short hours of labor Jack came into the world and our lives were changed for the better forever! You can read about it all here!

And now one year later this is the sweet face I am looking at this morning. He is still just as sweet but not quite as snuggly. Instead of sleeping and being held he is climbing and crawling to torment his siblings at high speed!

We love you Jack and can't wait to watch you grow this year!

Jack's 1st Birthday Party

2011-08-01T05:44:00.000-07:00

Our little man turns {1} tomorrow... so yesterday we celebrated in true "R style" with a birthday bash for our little man! Lots of our wonderful family joined us to celebrate the life of our sweet boy! Here are some pics from the super fun par-tay!

We did a circus theme so we served popcorn and Cracker Jacks and then had a hot dog bar for dinner! We hosted the party at a friend's pool so everyone was able to swim and have a great time! I would say it might have been our best party yet!

Popcorn bags and hotdog wrappers- Hobby Lobby
party hat- Target
banner and cupcake toppers- homemade with paper from Archiver's
fabric bunting- Etsy http://www.etsy.com/shop/jaimemancilla?ref=pr_shop_more

We are so excited!

2011-07-31T06:10:00.000-07:00

Today is our sweet Jack P.'s 1st birthday party! There will be cupcakes (although they are not the cutest!), balloons, presents, and lots of family! We can't wait!

I really can't believe that my BABY is going to be a year old! This year really has just flown by! We are so thankful for Jack P. Ramsey! He is the perfect addition to our family and we are all just so in love with him!

I will post party pics later this week!

What we have been up to...

2011-07-25T07:45:00.000-07:00

We have been keeping busy having lots of fun in our house lately. Jack is turning 1 next week... I can't even believe it! This past year has just flown by! He is super close to walking. He has also started doing lots of copying. Yesterday he picked up my cell phone and held it to his ear and he spent some time trying to put Sophie's shoes on his feet. He is such a smart cookie!

Jack also likes to get into EVERYTHING! He even is convinced that it is his main purpose in life to take full rolls of toilet paper and stuff them in the toilet. He even screams when you take him away from his "work". We are trying hard to keep bathroom doors shut but Max and Sophie have a hard time remembering!

And I also can't believe that our little girl is going to be 3 in just a few weeks! Which makes it also hard to believe that we have been living in St. Louis for 3 years now!

And Max will be starting preschool soon! Someone hold the phone on this one! Preschool? Seriously? I can't believe that a year from now he will be getting ready to go to kindergarten!!

We are excited for our week and plan to spend a lot of it prepping for the BIG birthday bash on Sunday!

I hope everyone has a great Monday!!

Having a ball!

2011-07-21T05:43:00.000-07:00

This week has been super busy but we are having a great time! With Nick and I both volunteering at VBS it is crazy getting dinner prepared and to get everyone out the door before 5 and then we get back home around 9 (okay... now that I am typing it out it actually doesn't sound that bad! And it isn't bad! We just aren't used to it! Ha!).

Nick and I are both having a blast volunteering. It has been a great way to start to get plugged in at a new church. Nick is helping with 4th graders and I am helping with 6th. My 6th graders are so much fun but man am I tired at the end of the night. During the program part there is lots of jumping up and down and yelling and of course I have to join right in... I am not sure when my calves will stop being sore!

The kiddos and I have been spending our days mostly at home just playing but yesterday we did get out for a little Target trip with my mom. These fun balls were on clearance so we couldn't resist!

Tonight is the last night of VBS so life will be returning to "normal" soon! But... when is life normal when you have 3 kiddos age 4 and under??? :) It is always craziness! But... we wouldn't have it any other way!

Back in business...

2011-07-18T06:08:00.000-07:00

Thank goodness! Our internet has been out for the past few days and it was awful! I guess I might be a little too addicted! I couldn't even cook some of the meals I had planned because I look up all my recipes online! And of course I had to abandon my dear sweet blog! :(

We have had a pretty good weekend and are gearing up for a very busy week! This will be Max's first year to get to go to VBS and Nick and I our volunteering! So, every night from 5-8:30 this week we will be at the church for VBS. They have childcare for Jack and Sophie so our whole family will be busy! We haven't been a part of VBS at Element Church before so we are very excited! But, I plan on keeping our days very low key since our evenings will be so crazy!

Our weekend was actually pretty laid back. Friday night Nick and I got to have a little date night. We went to dinner at a super yummy italian place in Chesterfield (Babbos Spageteria for you local peeps) and then did some shopping/wandering around. We acutally ended up doing some birthday shopping for the kiddos which sort of defeats date night but we had a great time and got to shop together so I think it was fun!

Saturday we hung around home most of the day. I went over to my Grandma's for a little while with my mom and then we went to church Saturday night. Sunday Nick was feeling a little under the weather so we spent most of the day just playing and hanging out around the house. I was also able to get some housework done.

I hope you all had a good weekend and are gearing up for a great week! I can't believe it is already the end of July! Summer will be over before we know it!

Max and Protein... a {love story}

2011-07-12T14:54:00.000-07:00

How sweet is this boy? Well... lately... pretty stinkin' sweet! You might remember from some of my "Sunday Letters" blog posts that Max had been having a rough time lately. And by rough I mean... well... basically out of control half the time. Lots of screaming fits. Lots of agression. SO not our Max. I finally (after some encouragement from some awesome friends) decided to talk to our doctor about it. After a lot of talking (I cannot say enough how much I LOVE our doctor who actually LISTENS... if you are in the O'Fallon area looking for a new doc I will give you her info! And she loves Jesus! Hello! She rocks!) Anyway! She suggested we make some sleep and diet changes.

So now our little Maxy-Max is back to taking a nap (or at least a rest) for two hours everyday and is eating a diet of mostly protein, dairy, fruits and veggies. Basically we are avoiding all starches, anything processed and sugar. She said it is the diet she puts her ADHD kids on or kids with behavior problems. I am already seeing a huge change. And I notice when we fall off the wagon a little bit how quickly he goes back to wigging out at the drop of a hat.

So, it is awesome. BUT... oh my gosh it has been a challenge. You don't realized what a sugar/processed foods/carb obsessed world we live in until you are trying to avoid them! I feel like we can hardly go anywhere and have him stick to his diet. Thankfully our family has been awesome at keeping things "Max friendly" so that has been a huge help!

I am working hard at trying to keep meals and snacks creative! And I am working hard at keeping Trader Joe's in business because I can get a lot of great foods for Max there that are fairly inexpensive!

So, if you have any great recipes along this vein please shoot them my way! And I am sure I will be sharing lots more healthy recipes as we go on this journey with our favorite 4 year old!

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Night out in Carlyle

2011-07-11T07:57:00.000-07:00

Nick and I and the Little R's headed out to Carlyle, IL to visit Nick's sister's family in their new home. They moved from Indiana and {we are so excited} to have them living closer. Nick's younger sister Kate came too! She is doing a summer program at Wash U so she is currently living it up in STL too! We have had so much fun getting to spend some extra time with her too!

Here are some photos of all of our Carlyle fun! It was SO hot but I think the kids didn't notice they were having so much fun!