Tidbits

• I am so ready for the sun to come back.


• Peyton got a pink & purple lady bug pillow pet for Easter - & she named her Micky Mouse.


• I have never taken a negative pregnancy test.


• I still love Nsync.


• I am counting down the day until I get share some GREAT news with all of you!


• My kids want to live outside. Literally.


• I talk to my mom everyday.


• I do not like my ankles to be touched.


• I have no idea what to get Ben for his birthday.


• Selling things on Craigslist is like getting free money.


• I finally watched Tangled yesterday, and I loved it.


• Our family is currently OBSESSED with the OKC Thunder.


• I could live on chips and Wholly Salsa.


• Peyton cries everyday when Ben leaves for work.


• My favorite place to shop is Francesca's.


• I ordered my canvas from CanvasPeople this week and I am so stinkin' excited.


• I have tried all week to convince Ben to watch the royal wedding with me at 4am.


• Royal Wedding - 4am - Party of one.


• I would rather by clothes for my kids than myself.


• I have 3 really awesome, Godly supportive friends. And I couldn't do it without them.


• 6 1/2 weeks until vacation. YIPPEE!!


• I broke my ankle on a trampoline in the 4th grade.


• I love to bake for other people. Well, and myself too.


• I do these crazy lists when I have nothing else to blog about.


• Aren't my children the cutest?
  

Happy Easter

Oh the blood of Jesus washes me.
Oh the blood of Jesus shed for me.
What a sacrifice that saved my life
Yes, the blood, it is my victory.


Praise the Lord, the blood wasn't the end of the story! Happy Easter Everyone!

*insert darling picture of my children in perfectly placed Easter outfits with award-winning smiles - of which I forgot to take. Oy.

7

Today, I dared to go where few have gone before.

I rolled up my sleeves and got my hands dirty.

I made a pact to pull up my boot straps and become a man.

Except I'm not a man, and I have no idea what a bootstrap is. But that's beside the point.

Ahem. The point is, today, I hosted 7 children ages 4 and under at my house. By myself. And frankly, I'm pretty proud of myself.

First, I'm proud I tried. And second, I'm proud I survived.


I would now like to introduce all 7 of them to you because they all played a vital role in my motherhood maturing, and I want to prove to myself someday that there were indeed 7 children (4 & under) in my house at the same time, and I lived to blog about it. With pictures nonetheless!

#1 - Keith - wins the award for best snack distributor and activity picker-outer.



#2 & #3 - Conley & Ellie Kate - both awarded for their heroic efforts in attempting to keep the younger ones in line.



#4 - Claire - easily wins as the most daring and the most likely one to give me a hear attack. (ie. turned my back for ten seconds and she managed to stick her whole leg into the fish pond. Oy.)



#5 & #6 - Peyton & Stone - most easily forgotten for their exceptional independence and laidbackness - until they needed a snack, and then - WATCH OUT!



And last, but certainly not least, #7 - Canaan - champion eater, slobber-er, and paci-sucker.



So, there are the troops. And never once did they fight, argue, push, hit, or decide to turn on me.

No, really, I'm serious. They were great!

So, what do you do with 7 kids (4 & under) at a play date for two and a half hours by yourself?

You read books....



Eat plenty of snacks....



Feed the rabbit....



And an assortment of other things, of which I can't recall at this very moment.

Hey, give me a break. I survived!

On a more serious note, I did this as a part of a mom's morning out. I host the kiddos one day, while mom goes out and gets some much needed TLC, and likewise, she keeps mine while I go out another morning. I'm not sure why it took me so long to figure this out, but it sure has made a world of difference. Every mom needs a little time to herself - to grocery shop, go to the post office, or just pull over and take a nap. We moms gotta stick together, and I am so glad I have friends who come along side me and help during this sweet time in life.

Now excuse me while I got eat a pint of Ben & Jerry's Creme Brulee ice cream.

Way back When-sday

In honor of both "way back When-sday" and Easter weekend, I thought I'd give you a little glimpse into our Easter weekend just two years ago.

Sometimes I wish I could go back, just for a moment, and squeeze those little cheeks!

My Big girls

My girls are getting bigger, and this is how I know....

• They drink from big girl cups.


• They have friends (ie. Sunday school) to whom I have never met.


• They strap themselves into their own car seats.


• They eat cereal with milk. And don't spill.


• They stay in bed when we put them to bed.


• They get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom.


• The only evidence of said bathroom trip, is the stool in front of the potty that Ben trips over every morning.


• They've mastered "the lip."


• They put on their own shoes.


• They pedal a bike.


• They get invited to more birthday parties than I do.


• They remember last year's vacation and talk about "da beach" often.


• I let them play for hours in the backyard - by themselves.


• They play with bubbles, without spilling the entire bubble container.


• They wipe my kisses off, because they know it drives me crazy.


• They carry their own purse.


• They say embarrassing things to strangers like "Are you pregnant" and "Whats wrong with your hair?"


• They actually WALK in the grocery store as opposed to riding in the cart.


• They reprimand me for saying words like "Gosh" or "Stupid."


• When they get hurt, they cry for "Poppy" because they know it pulls on my heart strings.


• They are asking for a pet of their very own. (not gunna happen)


• They can easily grasp a cup with one single hand.


• They are best buddies and I usually don't even have to convince them of that. *usually

Boy do I love them.

You're so vain.

Maybe a better title for this post would be "I'm so vain."

But I'm really not.

Yes, every single picture in this post is of me, but its not because I enjoy it. To be quite honest, its a little distrubing to my psyche. But if I chose not to post pictures with this post, then it might lose all its meaning and practicality.

Not that it contains an ounce of true meaning or practicality. But thats neither here nor there.

Remember, like in the early 90's, when it was all about Alicia Silverstone. I mean seriously, what ever happened to that girl? Its like she was here and then she wasnt. I blame that lame Brendan Fraser movie, "Blast from the Past." I mean, it was really bad. I completely blame the entire demise of Alicia's acting career to that one movie. At least that what helps me sleep at night.

Huh? Nevermind.

Anyway, back in her peek years, she was the source of idolization by every preteen girl with her charismatic role in the classic hit, "Clueless." I mean that movie was awesome, if for no other reason than the closet scene.

C'mon you all remember. She had the revolving closet that was remote controlled and contained the hippest, coolest, most amazing clothes on the planet. Yep, it was pretty awesome.

During one particular scene, Cher is getting ready for a date and she can't quite figure out the outfit of choice. At this point, she goes on a rant about how she "never relies on mirrors, and only takes polaroids."

Genius.

Well, since its not 1995 anymore, and no one actually even owns a polaroid camera, I have since upgraded. Now, I take a picture of myself with my iphone.

Its simple really. I take the picture, and then send it to myself, so I get a complete unbiased opinion of myself.

I have no idea why I always have one leg out, and one arm on my hip. Like I said, this post is self-reflective. I'm learning quite a bit about myself - and all my little quirks.

And I always chop my head off in the picture, so I can give an honest, unbiased opinon of my wardrobe choices.

Am I the only one that has ever done this?

Surely not.

Everyone takes pictures of themselves before leaving the house, right?

Anyone?

Hello?

P.S. Children, don't laugh at mom. I swear, these clothes were cool in 2011. Dont judge. You should have seen what your daddy was wearing.

An update

Hey guys, whats up?

Whats up with me? Oh nuthin much. Just the same ol' thing. You know, taking care of the kiddos, fixin meals, yadda, yadda, yadda.

My weekend? It was good. Thanks for asking.

Oh, you wanna know more? Anything specific?

Oh, yeah, I forgot I told you guys about us flying out of town. I must have forgotten about the 3,000 blog hits I got in 24 hours. Or the 20 new followers on twitter. Or the 10,000 emails and text messages.

Seriously, guys, thanks for praying and thanks for supporting. Ben and I could feel the prayers and the encouragement from the moment we stepped foot into the airport. It is amazing when God's people join together and fervently pray over the anointing of a task. We feel so honored and loved to be connected with all of you.

The weekend was more than we could have ever hoped for. The pastor and his wife were some of the most amazing people we have ever met. They share our passion for families, our desire to do things differently, and our heart for a city in need. Oh, and they share our admiration for good food. God bless 'em.

We had the chance to meet the youth, the elders of the church, and some amazing parents. They asked some tough questions. Everything from Coke or Pepsi to how does your family fit into this ministry. Ben answered all of them in such a way that brought honor to his Heavenly Father and great honor to his wife. I am so very blessed to be married to an amazing man, and this weekend only re-confirmed that for me.

So when do the moving vans come? I wish it were that simple. There are some things we are continuing to pray through, some things they are continuing to pray through, and for now we just wait. We wait for God to open some doors and wait for his perfect timing and place for our family. He never lets us down.

Thanks for supporting our desire to keep the details a little under wraps. I promise we won't keep you in the dark forever.

It was amazing to come home to these smiling faces though....



Although, I had imagined three smiling toddlers running full force into my arms, demanding me to never let them go, and begging me to never leave them again. But it turns out, Uncle Neal and Aunt Jennifer, Mimi and Papa, and Aunt Kristy are pretty good parental surrogates. Boy, do I feel under-appreciated.

It is nice to be back into our normal routine again. Please continue to pray for us this week as we continue to seek God's face and continue to make these all-important decisions for our family. I appreciate each and every one of you. *at this moment, I'd like each of you to grab hold of your monitors, wrap your arms tightly around, squeeze for three seconds, and consider yourself hugged.* There, now I feel better.

Out of the rubble

This blog of mine - its a complex thing. You see, I started this blog, back in 2007, hoping to give my out-of-town relatives a place to ooh and ahh over the adorable faces of my sweet new babies.

As times moved on, it became a place for me to capture more than just their smiling faces, but the stories that surrounded the love and the laughter. I got addicted to recording their development, imagining their giggles one day when they read back about the time their daddy gave them a Schwann's man push-up pop.

But then it reached yet another level. Well, really I reached another level. God began placing on the hearts of my little family, the desire for something more, something new, something unknown. Something scary. And I recorded it all. Mostly because I didn't know what else to do. I was afraid to blog about it, fearful that I would sound ungrateful, unwilling, or even disgruntled with my God. But I was also afraid not to blog about it. This seemingly innocent portal into my little family became my lifeline. My journal. My therapy in a really bumpy time in my life.

The encouraging letters Ben and I have received, the anonymous gifts, and the words of encouragement have been a gift to me. About 10 months ago, during a rough patch in this journey where I felt God was simply not answering or speaking to me, a mentor of mine encouraged me to give God specific reasons I was asking Him to answer my prayers. "What, you mean like, convince God?

"Exactly. Tell him why you need this from Him. Why you want this prayer answered."

So I did. And one of the reasons that topped my list was simple. I wanted God to answer my prayer, restoring us into full-time ministry, so that I could be a testimony to all of you. To you - my best friend from high school. To you - the girl who sits next to me at MOPS. To you - the hundreds of you who read this blog that I have never met. I wanted to be a testimony to you. A testimony of God's faithfulness and his steadfast love. Living proof, that when you stay firm in your faith and when you seek the Lord, He will always restore, always comfort, and always lead you to a better place.

Well, my friends, I hope I have been that testimony of faithfulness to all you of. Ben and I are leaving on an early flight tomorrow to venture into an opportunity that could change our lives forever. They haven't officially offered. We haven't officially accepted. But the peace in my heart is indescribable. It is unlike any other. And it is well worth the wait.

While we aren't ready divulge all the juicy details - you know, the ones like where, when, how, and who, I wanted to give you all some hope and encouragement as you have followed and prayed so faithfully for my sweet family. I hope you will continue to pray as we journey onward, settling for nothing less than God's best.

In the New York Times best-selling novel Eat Pray Love, Elizabeth Gilbert writes these amazing words, "Ruin is a gift. For ruin is the road to transformation." 18 months ago, my life felt ruined. 5 months ago, my life felt ruined again. And just 2 months ago, the rock fell, and I felt yet another day of ruin. But through it all, God has made me believe stronger, love harder, and dream further. These past months might have been filled with some ruin, but I am so thankful for them. So thankful for who I am today. And so thankful for a God who counted me worthy of the ruin and worthy of the transformation.

I'll be updating through the trip via twitter (@ekandpeyton) and on the blog. Follow along, and of course, I'll divulge those "juicy" details as the Lord (and my husband!) allows.