Christmas and Winter Pics

I'm being lazy this time and not messing with facebook to upload tons of pics at this time anyway... it wastes my time I end up babysitting the computer for a whole day trying to get them uploaded so here are highlights. Above is the Kongable family at Linda's sister's Lana's.

Here are all of Grandma Irene's great grandchildren, Grace, Evan, Easton, Mason, Christian, Isabelle and Sutton. The 3 little boys with the matching sweaters are all brothers, about 19 months apart. (brave momma!) Grace, Mason and Isabelle are 4, Easton is 3, Christian is 2 and Sutton is 1. Christian's birthday is april 8th and Sutton's in april 7. Almost an exact year apart.

They both hammed it up for me, good job little cuties.

Mitch made a little fun of his "thweater" but I really liked it on him, I bought it, he's wearing it. :) I really like this picture of the two of them, and they coordinate.

Love this one of Isabelle!! I have a hard time getting her to relax and show her cuteness on camera so I really was glad to have gotten this!!

Christian's first real time playing in the snow, and even that day he ended up getting stuck in a drift and throwing the HUGEST fit ever. He wouldn't let Isabelle help him and his mitten ended up coming off, he was screaming, rolling around in the snow... it was quite the ordeal...

That's all from me for now!

Here Comes Christmas

Before I forget I want to share with you all a couple funny things the kids have said recently.

Isabelle has the issue of making sure she wipes herself good enough after number two. She is always wanting me to check her but I'm encouraging her on how to know on her own she is clean and do it all herself since she wont' have any help next year in kindergarten. She kept coming out of the bathroom for a "check" one day and I kept telling her to go back in the bathroom, she can't be coming out like that and so on. Christian is by the bathroom door as she goes back and says ," hi poopy buns". I think the worst word he knows is poop, so he trys to get away with saying it unnessesarily.... so so much teaching to be done. :)

Onto more cute quotes. Yesterday, that pampers commercial came on with all the sleeping babies to the song silent night. Isabelle said " awww they are so cute. Can we buy one of those sometime? One that can't walk yet?" ( I had to ask her "is that where babies come from??" she then remembered from mommies bellys, just so you all dont' think we tell her the store or ebay or something!) I suppose I could've said, we can't afford one those right now lol.

We had our christmas together just us on saturday night. Christian got tonka trucks and tools which I was very happy he loved them all, I was right on the button with him. Isabelle however was not as thrilled, I thought she would like this little play laptop thing and polly pocket ( which the polly pocket she did like) the laptop thing was kinda lame, the mouse didn't work like a computer like she's used to an it required some reading and it was just, well kinda lame... she hit me with the dreaded " is this all I get??" which I had to lecture her about appreciation and yada yada but I knew if I had gotten her one thing she actually liked and was more age appropiate she would've appreciated it.... what did we exchange for?? something I've been avoiding that she's been begging for and that she is now super excited about... Moonsand, the castle one, it's cool stuff but Christian got into with her while I was gone and Mitch had the kids and it made a HUGE mess, so the rule is, no little boys named Chirstian may play with Moonsand. Good grief this crud even got in our fridge.... I broke the handle off our little sweeper since the kids had turned it wrong while I was cleaning and I went to turn it right and broke it clean off...darned Moonsand... she is at least enjoying it now at the kitchen table while I have Christian trapped downstairs with me. :)

ok last one and I'm still confused

What is Stomach Flu?
Gastroenteritis, also called stomach flu is an irritation of the stomach and the intestines. It usually goes away (by itself) in a couple of days.
The stomach flu is often called the 24 hour flu because it usually goes away by itself within a couple of days.
Germs which cause stomach flu get into your body through your mouth. Stomach flu usually takes several days for symptoms to appear.
Even though Gastroenteritis is often called the "stomach flu," it is not caused by the influenza viruses.
Symptoms of Stomach Flu
Some of the most common symptoms of Stomach Flu are: diarrhea, fever, headache, dehydration and vomiting. Vomiting and fever may or may not occur, but diarrhea almost always occurs. The symptoms of stomach flu usually takes several days to appear.
What causes Stomach Flu?
Stomach flu is caused by bacteria, viruses and certain parasites. The bacteria, viruses and parasites can be found in soil, wild and pet animals including birds, and humans.
The stomach flu occurs when the germs enter the stomach. Germs that cause the stomach flu usually enter the stomach by mouth.
How Can I Avoid Getting a Stomach Flu?
Since the stomach flu is often spread by putting germs in your mouth, washing your hands is the biggest way you can avoid getting a stomach flu.
Darrhea almost always occurs?? several days incubation???? She hasn't had a bm since tues I think, I'm confused... oh well.. I just a had a triple sneeze and need to go blow my nose.

maybe I am right

The main symptoms of viral gastroenteritis are watery diarrhea and vomiting. Other symptoms are headache, fever, chills, and abdominal pain. Symptoms usually appear within 4 to 48 hours after exposure to the virus and last for 1 to 2 days, though symptoms can last as long as 10 days. [Top]
Causes
The viruses that cause viral gastroenteritis damage the cells in the lining of the small intestine. As a result, fluids leak from the cells into the intestine and produce watery diarrhea. Four types of viruses cause most viral gastroenteritis.
Rotavirus is the leading cause among children 3 to 15 months old and the most common cause of diarrhea in children under the age of 5 years. Symptoms of rotavirus infection appear 1 to 2 days after exposure. Rotavirus typically causes vomiting and watery diarrhea for 3 to 8 days, along with fever and abdominal pain. Rotavirus can also infect adults who are in close contact with infected children, but the symptoms in adults are milder. In the United States, rotavirus infections are most common from November to April.
Adenovirus occurs mainly in children under the age of 2 years. Of the 49 types of adenoviruses, one strain affects the gastrointestinal tract causing vomiting and diarrhea. Symptoms typically appear 1 week after exposure. Adenovirus infections occur year round.
Caliciviruses cause infection in people of all ages. This family of viruses is divided into 4 types, the noroviruses being the most common and most responsible for infecting people. The noroviruses are usually responsible for epidemics of viral gastroenteritis and occur more frequently from October to April. Infected people experience vomiting and diarrhea, fatigue, headache, and sometimes muscle aches. The symptoms appear within 1 to 3 days of exposure.
Astrovirus also infects primarily infants, young children, and the elderly. This virus is most active during the winter months. Vomiting and diarrhea appear within 1 to 3 days of exposure.
Viral gastroenteritis is often mistakenly called “stomach flu,” but it is not caused by the influenza virus and it does not infect the stomach. Also, viral gastroenteritis is not caused by bacteria or parasites. For information about bacterial infections, please see the Bacteria and Foodborne Illness fact sheet from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK).[Top]
Transmission
Viral gastroenteritis is highly contagious. The viruses are commonly transmitted by people with unwashed hands. People can get the viruses through close contact with infected individuals by sharing their food, drink, or eating utensils, or by eating food or drinking beverages that are contaminated with the virus. Noroviruses in particular, are typically spread to other people by contact with stool or vomit of infected people and through contaminated water or food—especially oysters from contaminated waters.
People who no longer have symptoms may still be contagious, since the virus can be found in their stool for up to 2 weeks after they recover from their illness. Also, people can become infected without having symptoms and they can still spread the infection.
Outbreaks of viral gastroenteritis can occur in households, child care settings, schools, nursing homes, cruise ships, camps, dormitories, restaurants, and other places where people gather in groups. If you suspect that you were exposed to a virus in one of these settings or by foods prepared on the premise of places such as a restaurant, deli, or bakery, you may want to contact your local health department, which tracks outbreaks.
interesting maybe I am right.. 1-3 days of exposure would rule out walmart :) I'm way too into finding out HOW we get these viruses
[Top]

Darn Mom, you may be right...

well I've been argueing with mom that Isabelle has two virus, stomach virus plus a cold... I said, you can't throw up with actual influenza, she argued the contrary, so I looked it up online and found this.
Think You Have the Flu? What Are Flu Symptoms? Know the FACTS
Fever
Aches
Chills
Tiredness
Sudden symptoms
FluFACTS Information
Flu symptoms can be mild or severe — and if they’re mild can become severe without much notice. Be aware of your body and monitor your body temperature. Flu symptoms can come on suddenly — be sure you know your treatment and prevention options so you can be prepared.
The common symptoms of the flu include:
Fever (usually high)
Headache
Muscle aches
Chills
Extreme tiredness
Dry cough
Runny nose may also occur but is more common in children than adults
Stomach symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, may also occur but are more common in children than adults
You don’t need to experience all of these symptoms to have the flu.
Isabelle symptoms:
Fever but wants hot bathes
Headache and said she her body hurts
Tired
Vomitted
Nasal
Sore throat complaints but comes and goes
hmmm and we got the flu shot why???????? It seems like with your traditional stomach virus you aren't nasal with a headache and fevering for over 24 hrs....
any imput anyone??
So you're right Mom. :) I think... :)

Sickly Days Are Here Again

Well, Christian and I ended up getting Mitch's cold. Last night was the first night in 4 days that I slept decent without a cough drop in my mouth... (yes I know I sleep with it my mouth, my throat gets too scratchy so I'll risk my life for some sleep) So yesterday I thought I was getting another cold and indeed today I'm sneezing, running and watery eyes... But the real sickness updates lies with Isabelle. Tuesday night she complained of her ears itching, I thought, great the cold... the next morning we set off for groceries and we did fareway and once we got to walmart she said her eyebrows hurt aka she had a headache and was too tired to walk, she rode in the cart through walmart laying her head on the cart. She said it helped to lay, I hurried, she sat by the cart when I loadedup the sacks. I asked her if mcdonalds for lunch sounded good she said yes, but when we got home she went straight into her bed too tired to eat. I asked if she wanted to eat her food in bed, she did so I brought it to her. I went into the kitched to her a drink and she was crying in her room... she had thrown up in her bed "I'm sorry mommy, I didn't mean to" she was running 101 degrees and threw up again an hr later... poor thing, she took and hr nap, which as many of you know, she is not a napper. Anyway she slept through the night but has been couch/bed bound since. I finally got her to take tylenol an hr ago, she said her head hurt...she still had 100 degree fever this morning and has been having a low grade fever since. This is her first stomach virus. So that's our status, this has been ONE SICK year so far... and we hardly go anywhere!!!!!!!! I'm perplexed as to how she caught this virus, unless she picked it up while shopping the wed before but that's a long incubation time....

oh yeah KATIE C. this is for you, it's about TIME you read your BFF's blog. :)

Whoa... Christmas Is Almost Here?

Well we are back in Iowa, we left the red, orange and GREEN trees of Texas for rolling snow covered hills last week. We have not been home a week yet and I've been catching up this whole time!! Paperwork, unpacking, you know the drill of the household duties. Anyway so it was one heck of month in Kansas in November. A lot going on!! Tom and Mara got to stay a few days for Grandma's funeral and that was wonderful to get to spend time with them!! ( Isabelle said yesterday after looking at pictures from the wedding, I want Uncle Tom to come stay at our house for a long time) It was really fun getting to spend time with Bethany this month too we had really never gotten to just do nothing ( or horrific saturday walmarting :)) together. Oh yeah, they (dan and bethany) were married Novebember 30th in TX. :) Her dad is a pastor and married them. He also did Tom and Mara's ceremony and those were my favorite wedding messages and vows I have ever heard, very touching and biblical. I'm a big baby and yes I cried. I'm working on pictures, dial up you know...I am wanting to find highspeed internet for under 30$ a month that stays at that price, I don't want phone or cable tv though. If anyone has any suggestions let me know... maybe I've missed some of my options. I'm sitting here not really knowing what to type because it would be too much info... we got through the trip with no puking yea!! We crushed dramamine and put it in pop or juice for Isabelle and that seemed to do the trick. A lot of driving.. 11 hrs from Hutch to TX where the wedding was. The Lord's hand certainly did carry us through each day because it was a lot of work traveling but there was no way I would miss my brother's wedding!! Mitch has a nasty cold he came down with Friday night... one of those that didn't really get bad till Sunday morning. I can't believe how fast time is going!! When we left after halloween things were green and we weren't wearing coats... we get back and it's full force winter with snow on the ground and lows in the single digits and Christmas is 2 weeks away????????? Mitch will deer hunt the 2 saturdays before Christmas then Christmas extravaganzing begins....why can't we space this out into Jan and Feb?? It's overkill junk going on then nothing in Jan and Feb, except my birthday, our anniversary, and valentine's. But those dont' involve driving south. :) I'm having quite the random thoughts here so I apologize if I'm all over the place. It was really sad for me to leave, I wanted to go back home and you know be a wife ;) but it was hard leaving my parents and family....it doesn't get any easier, I pretty much just relegate myself to the fact that I will be hugging my parents while crying when saying goodbye. It was hard for me to initially step foot out the front door for the last time for a while...Mom had to say " you can do it" :)
So if you all could just pray that all of my family and extended could move to Iowa that would be great. :)
Wedding Pictures

Still Alive

Just a quick update. We've been in KS since Nov 5th. My mom's mother passed away the 3rd so we drove down for the funeral and just figured we would stay till Dan's wedding the 30th. She was 91 with her physcial and mental health steadily declining the past 7 years or so. We were praying for a peaceful departure into the sweet rest of the Lord and that's how it happened. It's encouraging to know she is fully herself again yet without the burden of sin.
The trip down was not great, I couldn't get Isabelle to take her bonine for motion sickness, it gags her, it was windy and she puked on the drive. And when we stopped at mcdonalds, I begged her to try again to take it, she tried, gagged and a couple seconds later, puked all over the table and booth. poor thing, and disgusting for us all.
In encouraging news, I can say that Christian has been 100% potty trained this past month. Dry pullups every night, pooping and all so that is wonderful. I don't think I can take any credit for it since Isabelle had a tougher time and wasn't poop trained till 2 months before turning 3.
So that's all for now as I type for Aunt Kathy's!

Halloween on the street where we live

img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5264506405221646642" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsCK76as5sPo2XAUYw8sZ7c4fWu5gvyddXeszwNwfHIWuCwd0Cxvra6k6iFQeMvy99sgciiH9jBf4uALKqcB-FfmLhwkHeHA7s0CAOoKj87SI-TjmsEwqm5tVv6XOpyqx1YYlFxzalLiFu/s320/fall+trees+006.JPG" />

Talk about the most perfect trick or treating weather ever!! It's been in the 60's and 70's here lately. Which is fine by me, winter will be long enough. The kids enjoyed trick or treating of course and I also took some pictures of our street. I swear we have some of the most beautiful trees on our street!! click the kids pic to see more photos.

The One Issue That Gets My Vote,Read To The End If You Dare

In all this political hub-bub, the one issue that will always get my vote is pro-life. I cannot with a clear conscience ever vote for someone who makes the most horrific injustice to the very most helpless, easier.
An exerpt from and article called The Choice Facade.

Abortion advocates don't want to talk about facts or science, but they love to talk about "choice". "This is America...We're free to choose...You can't legislate morality!" Nothing has so clouded and confused the politics of this debate more than the misconstrued application of this one little term. The bottom line is this. Choice is nothing apart from the context to which it is applied. Individual choices are either recognized or restricted based upon the circumstances at hand. That's how our laws work. You simply cannot talk about choice in isolation.
For thirty years, however, abortion advocates have sought to bestow upon choice a nobility all its own, a nobility it has no claim to. They refuse to be called "pro-abortion", but they gladly accept the label "pro-choice" (despite the fact that there are countless other issues for which they are decidedly not pro-choice). The fact is, laws against rape, murder, assault, theft, speeding, drunk-driving and even smoking are all "anti-choice". They take away legal protection from one particular choice in order to protect a more foundational freedom. All such laws are "legislating morality". That's the only way society can survive. Personal choices that infringe on the life or livelihood of another human being must be legislated against. Therefore, anyone who defends legal abortion by simply arguing that people must be free to make their own choices is either ignorant or dishonest.
Furthermore, in almost 99% of all U.S. abortions1, the woman having the abortion chose to have sexual intercourse in the first place. Therefore, it could just as easily be argued that these women already made their choice when they chose to engage in behavior that often leads to pregnancy. Ultimately, restricting a woman's right to abortion does not restrict a woman's right to not be pregnant. Abortion, after all, does not keep a woman from being pregnant. Abstinence does that. Abortion simply ends the pregnancy of an already pregnant woman by killing the embryo or fetus living within her.
In the end, we are only free to choose so long as that choice doesn't kill or harm someone else, and our government exists to take away those choices that do. Nobody argues that a man should be free to choose when the context is sexual assault. What a fool he would be to try and justify rape by saying, "My body, my choice." Why? Because rape is a violent assault which involves more than just one body. And so is abortion. The heart of the issue is not "choice". The real question is humanity, and nothing short of anarchy can guarantee the perfect freedom of choice.
1. Just over 1% of all abortions in the United States happen as a result of rape: Torres A and Forrest JD, Why do women have abortions? Family Planning Perspectives, 1988, 24(4):169-176.
read the rest of the artible here

My question is this: Is your baby precious because you think it is or because... it IS?

WARNING THE PICTURES YOU WILL SEE AFTER CLICKING THE LINK ARE INCREDIBLY DISTURBING.

But they need to be seen. They depict the bloody, dismembered remains of human embryos and fetuses after a surgical abortion. While these images are incredibly shocking, they are no more shocking than the act of abortion itself. And so long as this injustice is hidden, it will continue to be ignored. Millions of dollars are spent to keep you in the dark, to keep you from seeing what you are about to discover. Abortion isn't about choice, it’s about the systematic slaughter of innocent human beings. These photographs are real and untouched, depicting the brutal reality that daily occurs behind sterile clinic doors. Until you see what abortion does, you will never understand what abortion is. Naomi Wolf, one of the most celebrated feminists of the modern era puts it this way:
How can we charge that it is vile and repulsive for pro-lifers to brandish vile and repulsive images if the images are real? To insist that the truth is in poor taste is the very height of hypocrisy. Besides, if these images are often the facts of the matter, and if we then claim that it is offensive for pro-choice women to be confronted by them, then we are making the judgment that women are too inherently weak to face a truth about which they have to make a grave decision. This view of women is unworthy of feminism.*
It is thoroughly inconsistent for anyone who supports abortion to be unwilling to face the reality of what abortion does. Enough is enough. It’s time you knew the truth.

Dare To Know

Hazardous Haircolor

Well I last colored my hair 7 months ago with all natural henna dye and itwas a pain, on for 2 hrs, I felt like it colored my grays blonde and taht stuff is a bear to get out, it's like dried dirt and it pulled a lot of my hair out with it. Since thyroid issues, from both the imbalance and my med which can cause hairloss, gotta ask the dr about that, I lose way too much hair when I shampoo. And now my ponytail's about half as big as it was.... kinda scary, I used to have annoyingly thick hair, as in I bought my own thinning shears, and now it's I thinking, ok scary, I can wrap the rubberband around more than once here. So anyway after reading how the haircolor you buy at the store is HIGH hazard, pretty much all of it, otherwise I would've colored by now, I researched and found this ecocolors brand. Here is a blog entry I found interesting too while researching. http://organic-skin-care.blogspot.com/2006/06/ugly-side-of-cosmetics.html. So if you care about haircolor toxicity check out the info, I personally don't need anything harsh causing anymore of my hair to fall out. And just check the database in my fyi section and search haircolor if you want to know the ugly truth about the stuff on the shelves.

Congrats Dan and Bethany!!

All I have to say is I am blessed with great sister in laws!! ( I have four now and I couldn't ask for better) Dan(my youngest brother) made it official this weekend and we are so happy and excited for them!! Bethany is a sweetheart and I'm blessed to have her as another sister!

The wedding is Nov 30th. This Nov 30th in Texas. So it's going to be pretty crazy but exciting as well!!

In other less glamorous news, Christian continues to potty train like there's no tomorrow. I'm shocked, I can't take credit, he is just getting it. I thought it was going to be long and drawn out. Mom said Tom potty trained in a week and I couldn't fathom that. Until now, I'm amazed. He wore a pull up to church and told me he had to potty and he actually went on the toilet at church, and he was dry till we got home and he came home and used the potty, met me on the stairs with the potty bucket with a special poo present, he pooped on the pot again today and I'm so thankful!! I can't believe it and it's encouraging admist our busy life right that God's caused Christian to catch on. Oh did I mention he was dry saturday morning??? Maybe the difference is this time I prayed about it instead of forcing my agenda for a change... who would've thought.

Here is a random funny thing Christian said last week. He was at the table and kept throwing down his napkin and I was distracted and kept picking it up. Finally he was whining " my napkin!!!" I said, you threw it, you need to get down and get it yourself. " I'm not going to play anymore MOM! You're not FANCY!!!!"

Also he has retained something Mitch told him a month ago I guess and Mitch was impressed when he brought him one of hot wheels and said " it's a dodge charger" He loves cars way too much. It's definitely his thing. "see my race car? it's really fast."

Fall Leaves and Tinklings

First some really pretty trees from across the street, we can see them out our front window.

The next update has to do with big breakthroughs in potty training. Tuesday I thought I would try the naked buns techinique. I'm not crazy about the idea but I thought I would try that with Christian since he seems to not want to potty onthe carpet. So I put a potty in the livng room and in the basement for easy access. The first day he had one pee accident and he pooped beside the potty ont he floor.....progress though. The next day was grocery day so it was diaper for the shopping and he pottied int he diaper and pooped in the diaper as soon as we got home, but after that cleanup, we were back to naked buns. No pee accidents for evening and he pooped on the potty, not IN the potty, but on it, the little turd was on the rim. We're getting closer lol. That night he was not able to relax to go before the bath ( he has many time sitting on the potty with nothing) he told me he wouldn't potty int he tub, and when he got out, he said he had to go and he did!! yea!!! Last night he did the same thing, holding his potty through the bath, dont' ask me how, but pottied after getting out. No pooping yesterday and he had one pee accident. He kept saying he had to go poop which I could tell but he didn't relax. I expected poo in his diaper this morning after he woke up. But no... so far today no accidents and we are still naked bunsing it. AND he pooped in the potty like 20 minutes ago!!!!!! SO EXCITED!!!! I don't know how it will be once we put on pants but this is a lot of progress for us!

Baby Steps in Pottytraining

I can't remember which morning it was this week, but at 2:37 am Christian woke up in the night to try to get in bed which he often does, I took him back to bed to hear him cry again once I get in bed. I go back to the room, " I have to go potty" I think, hmmm sounds like a ploy to me.. but ok. He went right in, sat on his little potty and went! So at 2:40am we're headed to the kitchen for 2 m&m's. Then in the morning, he was dry and Isabelle helped him go in to potty and he went again! That was it for the day but, progress. And last night he actually told us he had to go before he went, usually it's " I pee peed on cinderella" which he does say pee pee now insteadof poop. :) Anyway, encouraging.

Surviving Along

Life is busy. Mitch worked 59.5 hrs the week before. I don't think he's had less than 50 hrs all summer, except for our TX trip. We had one date this summer, to Chicago. One date in September. Christian doesn't nap. Our toilet leaked under our lanolium and reaked of urine so this would-be recovery weekend turned into Mitch tiling our bathroom floor. He was up till 2:30 am Friday. And if you know tileing, he finally was done around 6 pm on saturday night,he mowed the front lawn after that, he still has the trim to put back up. Church this morning, which was worth going to forsure, mowed the back lawn, raked leaves, but then yippee a business meeting tonight at church, which I don't go to because we end up getting home at 9:30, with kids... then he has to go to a church library meeting tomorrow night that I'm begging him to get out of, it's a half hour drive to church. so we are both beat, Mitch is run into the ground and I feel like a single parent when he works so much. So pray for us as we consider what God would have us to do to shift into a more simple life and have my husband home more so he can feel like he isn't living to work. NOBODY works harder than this man, nobody. If there was a give it your all, all day, all evening trying to squeeze in time with the kids, still bring your wife flowers guy, he's it, but nobody can stay on a pace like that, it makes us all tired. So we're looking into options and I will update as updates become available, I just want to be right where God wants us and living within the funds that a regular human who works 40 hrs or heck even 45 can provide. Souls last, people last, we'll never get this time back with the kids and there is so much more to life that always working to get more because when you die, you won't think, gee I had a lot great stuff. Give me the simple life any day. A nice supper at the end of good days' work, relaxing and enjoying family time.
Through all the possible changes and current stresses though, God is so faithful and the peace He has given me is wonderful. I want to look at the whole mountain but I try to remember the wisdom that Jesus spells out in Matthew 6, the Lord knows you need these things, sufficient for the day is it's own trouble, who by worrying can add one day to his life's span?? It has helped not to unnessessarily overburden myself with future things and things that may not happen. Do I plan?? Heck yeah! Do I obsess? I try to reign my natural tendencies in. The past couple months I've had a couple small anxiety attacks that were short lived, about an hr in the middle of the night and they've been during my period. Naturally when they occur, I want to start worrying, because everything seems overwhelming when you just don't feel right, but trying to take my thoughts captive and think ok, I wasn't worried about this during the day so I'm not going to worry about this now. I know it's corny but I visualize gathering up my pressing issues that concern me and giving them over to the hands of Lord. We sang In Christ Alone, not the one you'd think, it was written in 2001, anyway that song made me cry today to in church when in the first verse it talked about peace because I'm so thankful to the Lord for the peace He's given me.
In other news, Isabelle wrote her name this week, as in, really good, in a line, and I didn't have to tell her what letter came next. It's a big deal for us anyway!! She loves doing school lessons and we've done one so far this year... one... sigh... oh well, getting it one way or another still make s a difference I can tell, she loves one on one attention. I told Mitch if she could scoop poo with you she'd love it because she's doing it with you.
Christian pottied on the potty once this week, our pastor's wife said she just sits her little boy on the potty 4 times a day or so and I thought well i 'll just sit Christian on a few times a day and expect nothing. So once is better than nothing. He will tell me, " I poo pooed (which means all pottying and stinky means poop to him, don't know why) on tweety bird mommy. I poo pood on cinderella."(can you tell we're using Isabelle's old pullups??) He answered me today with " yes, definitely" Other quotes " you're the best mom, you're the best" " stop it Mom" stop it Isabelle"I quit!!!!" " do you want to play with me mommy?" ok..."you do?" " I want some bacon, that's what I like"
"Mommy, hold me, I scared"
what are you scared of?
" I scared the train"
why?
"it's looking at me"
"waaaaaaaaaa" I laugh at him he says " I crazy Mommmy"

And the words to In Christ Alone:

In Christ alone my hope is found;He is my light, my strength, my song;This cornerstone, this solid ground,Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.What heights of love, what depths of peace,When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!My comforter, my all in all—Here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone, Who took on flesh,Fullness of God in helpless babe!This gift of love and righteousness,Scorned by the ones He came to save.Till on that cross as Jesus died,The wrath of God was satisfied;For ev'ry sin on Him was laid—Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay,Light of the world by darkness slain;Then bursting forth in glorious day,Up from the grave He rose again!And as He stands in victory,Sin's curse has lost its grip on me;For I am His and He is mine—Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death—This is the pow'r of Christ in me;From life's first cry to final breath,Jesus commands my destiny.No pow'r of hell, no scheme of man,Can ever pluck me from His hand;Till He returns or calls me home—Here in the pow'r of Christ I'll stand.

awesome

Holiness By Grace

Mara gave me this book as part of our bridesmaid present. I had finished Loving God With All Your Mind, and I wondered what I would read next, then I got this. I really love it so far. It talks a lot about the co-existing doctines of a wretch saved by grace, (we have nothing to offer before or after salvation, yet if we love Christ we keep His commandments) and obedience to God only by His grace. I also love that this book reminds me that even the "works" we continue to do don't gain us merit or higher standing with Him. Any merit we have is Christ alone and that means after salvation too. God is not impressed by our works before or after and he is not obligated to bless us or react to our obedience, or bless us in the way we would think of a "blessing". Yet we are blessed if we obey Him. Makes sense right??!! :) I must admit I never thought of the obedience that we do after being saved as really not impressing God. We think, oh God is pleased with me, I did this, whether it be in outward action or inward thought. Which really God judges the heart behind this anyway. Ok so after my probably confusing description of the intro, and first chapter, I'll put some quotes in here that say it better. If you can endure till the end of all these, it's worth it!!! :)

GRACE. God's Riches At Christ's Expense

Belief in this provision of grace, wherby God chose to view us as his beloved through no good of our own, becaome the greatest joy of our souls. What robs many believers of this joy, however, is a misunderstanding of how God continues to view us after we have received the grace that justifies us. ( either by meriting favor with our "accomplishments" for him or having our stocks drop when we fail spiritually)

We race in the confidence that his grace does not cease just because we have faltered. Grace becomes not only the means by which God once justified us, it is also the means by which we are continually encouraged and enabled to serve him with undimished delight.

For is we cannot lift our eyes from an earthly perspective, then we wil so focus on our weaknesses and stumbles that the race to please God will be misery. But if we remember that God is the lifter of our heads, then we will raise our eyes to see the afffection in his own.. When we see that his regard for us does not waver, then his grace will quicken our steps. strenghthen our hearts and delight our souls to carry on. (reminds me of the verse, even when we are faithless , he remains faithful, he cannot deny himself)

(the intro goes to talk about the balance between license, do whatever you want cause hey I'm saved by grace and legalism, boundaries that aren't always bible based of what a "christian" should be like)

Still, it is not enough for the advocates of grace simply to react against legalism. We must also respond to the license that always tempts Christians when preaches say, " God will love you no matter what". Legalism makes believers think that God accepts them on the basis of what they do. Licentiousness makes believers think that God does not care what they do. Both errors have terrible spiritual consequences.

Jesus said, " if you love me, you will obey what I command" John 14:15. Grace should not make obedience optional. When God removes good works as a conditon for his acceptance, he does not remove righteousness as a requirement for life. The standards of Scripture glorify God and protect his people from spiritual harm. We cannot undermine the legitimate standards of the bible without grave consequences.

God does not love us because we obey him, but we cannot know the blessings of his love without obedience. Thus, a grace focus that undermines Christ's own demand for obedience denies us knowledge of and intimacy with him. This is not grace.
Grace that bears fruit is biblical.

Resting on God's grace does not relieve us of our holy obligations: rather it should enable us to fulfill them. As the assurance of God's love allows us to cease striving to please him for our own benefit, our good works will begin relfecting more of the selfless righteousness that is truly holy.

God's glory andthe good of others increasingly replaces self-centered motivations. And, as our obedience becomes a gratitude response to God's grace rather than an attempt to bribe God for blessings, holiness more and more characterizes our actions. We increasingly and forever serve God in the holiness he grants by HIS grace, making the pursuit of HIS holiness our delight.

We will see how a grasp of biblical grace both releases from leagalism and rescues from license.

Grace overwhelms us with God's love, and as a result our heart resonates with the desires of God. His purposes become our own.....True grace produces joy and promotes godliness.

And that was some of my favorite stuff from the intro. Are your eyes tired yet?? cause my wrist is...

My favorite points from chapter one:

Read Luke 17:7-10

This parable troubles us. The character Jesus uses to represent the divine perspective seems so unsympathetic. Not only does the master not invite the hardworking sevant to his table, Jesus also says the master OWES the sevant no thanks....we should learn that even when we have done all we were told to do, we hsould still say "we are unworthy servants, we have only done our duty. (God is not moved by the deeds we do)

Because of the great disproportion between our best works and God's true holiness, we are unable to trade our righteousness for God's favor. Our bargaining chips of good works have no currency with God. God will bless according to his purposes good works done in obedience to him, but we cannot bind him to our definition or preferred degreee of his blessings. God's blessings, for instance may come in the form of difficulites that bring us closer to understanding his heart by allowing us to share in Christ sufferings (phil 3:10)

Rock of ages verses:

Not the labors of my hands can fulfill they law's demands; could my zeal no respite know, could my tears forever flow, all for sin could not atone; thou must save, and thou alone.
Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to the cross I cling; naked, come to thee for dress; helpless, look to thee for grace; foul, I to the fountain fly; wash me Savior or I die.

Many of us regularly sing these words with the thought of our intial salvation in mind. We rejoice that God made us right with him apart from any goodness in us.. But health and vigor will be added to our spritual service as we understand that this song applies to us at every stage of our Christian lives. To grasp fully the grace that daily restores out confidence in His love, we must keep our hands empty of any claim that God must bless us on the basis of our goodness. For if he loves us because of what is in our hands, then the day will come when we will believe that his affection has diminished because our works are small, or that his care has vanished because our deeds are wrong.

When I face the reality of the inadequacy of my works to merit God's favor , then I recoginize that I must depend on his goodnes and not on mine....I recognize the true character of my good works. According to scripture even my best works are "filthy rags" There is too much of human imperfection and mixed motives in my best deeds to have them obligate God to do as I wish. John Calvin : To man we may assign only this: that he pollutes and contaminates by his impurity those very things which are good. For nothing proceeds from a man, however perfect he be, that is not defiled by some spot. Let the Lord then call to judgement the best of human works: he will indeed recognize in them his own righteousness by man's dishonor and shame.
such words should not cause us to think that God never desires or blesses our goodness. Walking in God's ways is itself a blessing. ( as in the natural consequences of being honest, faithful to spouse, honoring ones parents etc;) Still no degree of human goodness will lock God into a path of blessing according to our choosing, as though we had become his master through our merit.

God promises to bless obedience by using it for his purposes. The blessings that result, however , should be seen less as credit for our goodness and more as evidence of his faithfulness to his purposes.

...the difficulties we face that lead us ( and those who observe our faith) to greater dependence on, and satisfaction in, God alone. In such trials God still truly blesses our faithfulness to him but these blessings can as well involve the mercy of removing us from the grasp of this world's pleasures as rewarding us with worldly delights.

THus we cannot guarantee that his care will flow according to our plans simply because we conform to some degree to biblical standards. Our works do not obligate God to care for us in a way that WE think is best. We cannot put God on a leash through our goodness, nor obligate him to our wishes by our deeds. God blesses according tot he wisdom of his eternal mercy rather than in proportion to our works of earned merit.

BB Warfield :
We are sinners, and we know ourselves to be sinners lost and helpless in ourselves, but we are saved sinners, and it is our salvation which gives tone to our life- a tone of joy which swells in exact proportion to the sense we have of our ill-desert. For it is he to whome much is forgiven who loves much and, who lovingly, rejoices much.

our best works are not worthy of God's favor

If our teaching of grace causes us to make light of sin, or to slight the requirements of the Savior, then we have really not understood either the monstrosity of our sin or the greatness of the heart that forgives it.
When we truly percieve how great is the heart that pardons us, then our hearts begin to beat in harmony with that heart. Honoring God becomes the joy of our lives, and love for him becomes that power that fuels that joy.

The tears of confession and the joy of pardon are required to produce the gratitude that empowers the Christian life. Biblical grace neither minimizes the guilt of our sin nor grants libery for it's expression. We know grace in its fullness when we are broken to the point of tears over our shame of our sin. We, in fact, strive to see our wrongdoing in all its horror and betrayal of our Savior: for when we do , the marvel of God's graces becomes all the more profound and mobilizing.

this belief in God's unmeritied grace will transform our lives by unleashing us from the peformance treadmill of trying to gain God's affections (or other people's) by our deeds or despondency. When the confession of our hearts is, "everything that is right about me, Jesus did." then the power of heaven's joy comes to earth for us.

One Heck of Week In Parenting

Things have been going less than smooth since we got back from Texas. The night after we got home, we had some water in the laundry room downstairs and after going a day, with minimal flushing ( we thought maybe Mitch could fix it) we ended up calling the roto rooter at 10:30 pm. Then this last week I had to figure out our new health insurance since they didn't cover my lab work I had done to check my thyroid at st lukes. So I'm going to recap the stunts of my children the past week.
-After informing the kids I would be on the phone to the insurance company not to bother me, Isabelle thought she would throw a supernanny-sized 2 year old fit outside the door, yelling banging on the door, throwing things at the door... who was that child I did not know. Did I react in a peacemaking ( by biblical terms) sort of way our pastor talked about this sunday, nope I followed the peacebreaking route and used my full mom arsenal of yelling, spanking, grounding.
-Christian decided to give up naps last week, that's always pleasant.
-Christian rolled the watermelon off the counter while Iw as trying to put away groceries and it split, we have kitchen carpet by the way.
-Isabelle hung off the shelve in Christian's room pulling it and everything on it down. ( at least she told the truth about it)
-Christian crawled up on my nightstand and he and the stand came crashing down along with the plant and dirt in it, and this was before breakfast... and while I was scolding both kids (yelling) at this is why you obey the FIRST TIME I ASK!!! Christian says " shut up"
-Christan often manages to embarass me at the meat counter at fareway. This week I let him walk with Isabelle, they were messing around poking at each other and Christians blurts out giggling " my nipple, my nipple!" while clinging to my leg as I'm trying to order. One of the meat guys asks me " got your hands full today?" my response..."everyday"
Throw in a few " I NOT!!!"s in there and that was my week, and Christian's been getting up in the night trying to sleep with us too... so that's work to either have to take him back, or have him scratching my arm repeatedly with a sharp toenail.
Christian now thinks the words " I forgive you" are a term of endearment. So when he hugs me out of blue and says " I forgive you Mommy" I guess I should say "thank you"

Big Ol Texas Wedding

I'm finally blogging after getting home last wednesday! I don't know where to start, do people really want me to recap the whole trip to Tom and Mara's wedding? I guess I'll type and see where this all goes. :) The wedding was Sept 7th. We set out on Thursday driving to Chicago, it rained on us steady the WHOLE way. :) And it was chilly, like jacket and jeans chilly. We got to our hotel near the midway airport and ate an early supper. We then decided to go swimming, the fairfield's pool was under construction so we went across to the courtyard. And let me say, the walk back across the street was Cold in my suit, wet in the rain to boot... The kids would not settle down to sleep till we came to bed at 10 and we had to seperate them because they kept poking at each other and giggling. :) The kids slept good through the night, and I woke up at 4:30am and couldn't go back to sleep knowing I had to get up at 5 am anyway. Our flight left at 8:05am and we had to be at the airport by 6:30. We fly non revenue thanks to some buddy passes from my cousin who flys for southwest so we fly on the space left over and plan our flights according the loads. Checked bags are not garaunteed so we fit everything into our carryon's and that's quite a task with the rules now days, but we are thankful, we did check a carseat base for Isabelle, that did get to Austin with our flight but we did get it back before our flight home, go figure, but I'm not complaining that's forsure!! Anyway so if you can picture us going through the airport and security....4 suitcases, a dvd player, my huge purse, 2 backpacks and Mitch carrying Christian's carseat on his back in a carrier....Anyway, amidst all the navigation with that load in tow, the flight was wide open, and the kids did really great on the 2.5 hr flight. They did well on the ride backtoo and we discovered that Isabelle could not only carry her backpack on her back but also pull one of the suitcases...

grrr I just realized this didn't autosave my whole commentary on the wedding.... I HATE dialup. I may just need to do something about this internet situation....

so the wedding, beautiful venue, Mara looked like a model in her chic dress. Isabelle did great as a flower girl! Walked all the way by herself and tried to keep dropping petals once she got up to me and didn't want to stop. Cried a lot at this wedding, ahh sweet love. :) So great to see everyone! Love and miss my family so much!! Extended included, I was so thankful for this fun time to see everyone. It was great meeting Mara's family too!

I've been in the long tedious process of uploading pics on facebook+dialup= no picnic. I have to be here babysitting it, only doing a few pics at a time so as to not get logged off, ridiculous. So if you check back you may see pics you didn't see before, if you have that kind of time. :) Take care all and I will write more later and keep working on the pics.

http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=41221&l=1dbb3&id=520472082

http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=41885&l=be41c&id=520472082

2 albums

Click The Pic

2 Weeks

I can't believe I haven't blogged for 2 weeks, and with all my talking... :) This is pretty much just a post for the sake of posting.
It's been busy... Mitch has been working lots of overtime... 57 hrs the other week... hmm maybe that had something to do with the lack of blogging...
Life is just busy lately, I'm still getting ready for our TX trip. There are so many little details to remember and bring. We leave the Thursday after Labor Day for Chicago and fly out Friday am!! I am SO excited to see my family and see my brother get married. I've been waiting for this day for a LONG time!! :)
This weekend we went to have a 30th anniversary supper with Mitch's folks, I'll get pictures up of that eventually.
More Christian one liners: When asked to say Kongable, he says Konbagel. He's been calling Isabelle, Isabelle instead of Izzy lately. And today as I had to take him back for yet another spanking for getting out of bed and going to Isabelle's room to play with her jewelry, he said " goodbye necklace... goodbye"
I'll just end there.

Sweet Corn Festival

Here are some pics from this weekend. The weather was beautiful and we took the kids to the sweet corn festival. Christian got to see a life size version of the kind of cars he plays with. He adores all vehicles, especially race cars. The sky looked threatening at one point and we thought we better leave, we got in the van and checked the radio, no warnings... other people were going in and we even saw some people come out of their house and start walking over the festival. I thought surely they would've checked the radar to know it must be ok to go. So we went back with an umbrella just in case. The the rains came, heavy rain blowing you. So there we were almost back to the festival, huddled under a tree, under the umbrella, getting soaked and muddy. ( there was no lightening by the way) Mitch then ran to the van in the rain and came and got us, he said we looked pretty funny under that tree.... so we went back sunday to let the kids use the rest of the tickets, the weather was even more awesome sunday!

More encouraging words from the book Loving God With All Your Mind...

Knowing God and His promise in Romans 8:28 also eliminates the need for to us to manipulate circumstances. ( I can tend to do this!! I think God needs my help for some reason) Taking matters into our own hands...is evidence of our lack of trust in God. We can have something of a hands- off approach to life when we are trusting in the truth of Romans 8:28, the promise that God causes all things to work together for the good. After all, God is the Author of life. - Liz George

If our circumstances find us in God, we shall find God in all our circumstances. -D.L. Moody

Operation Pottytrain Status : ABORTED

That's it, I gave up, for now on pottytraining little man. I feel that since he is enraged at his potty, I need to work on his many temper tantrums right now instead. I'm DONE. I will close my ears and eyes when I hear of younger children pottytraining and just except that is where God has my child at this time. I can only force my structure on him to a certain extent. So I can ruin my life now... or just wait till he's ready. Which trust me better be before 3, but I can give him 2 and half at least right?
I'm now reading Loving God With All Your Mind right and I found a few things encouraging that I will share with you. Gensis 41:52 " God has made me fruitfull in the land of my affliction" Now orginally I thought that this verse would be encouraging to Mitch since his job can really take it out of him, mentally and physcially. But today my kids are afflicting me!! Ok so it's minor, I'm not living in cancer but I can't even seem to be fruitful in these things today. I got ENRAGED when Christian dumped a whole bag of goldfish out, he knows not to do this, and he threw a fit and said no when I told him to clean it up, and this was before breakfast... then Isabelle gets gum on the carpet....AAAHHHHHHh I was ticked, and I don't think pmsing helps either. I'm so ashamed at myself for not controlling my anger. I had to apologize to the kids for the cracker incident to which ISabelle says with a hug, " I forgive you Mommy" and Christian hugs me and says " I love you Mommy" you'd think I would've learned my lesson but I lost it again over the gum incident, I am down here trying to do bills, balance the checkbook, see how bad the budget looks, Christian's throwing a fit upstairs not wanting to take a nap. Isabelle comes over, " Mommy, I got gum on the carpet... forgive me..." I was still ticked....humbled by my own sin, ain't it grand... the Christian walk is a such a stumbling journey. God will break you if you're not broken already I am finding out. When I'm broken, I walk in a more careful manner, talk etc; more sensitive to Lord and His Word etc; when I have it together, I just go stomping, ranting and raving, till I fall on my face and get back where I should be again....
ok so now my other quote from the book, she quotes a pastor

see God as the God of the Bible-supreme, sovereign, and sensitive....The Christian life is kept fine-tuned by biblical theology. We should always interpret experience by truth-we should always filter every pain through the lens of deity. When God is in sharp focus, then life is also undistorted.

Talking So Much, Potty Training SO Little

While I'm thinking I thought I should blog Christian's latest cute sayings... while he says funny things all the time, he really does NOT want to potty train. I've been having him sit on the potty every night before his bath that's how Isabelle started out and also when Christian had his 2 and only potties EVER. I guess I should be glad for at least two. Anyway I've tried everything, got cool Thomas Train undies, I told him I'd buy him a new hotwheels, give him marshmellows, be really happy, sad if he didn't. Begged. please Christian, he says, I don't want to, can I get down now? He got m right up this morning when I heard him say, I need to go potty. He sat on the potty and Isabelle got up and needed to go to which he said while sitting there It's my turn now, Izzy. He didn't go after like 5 minutes of sitting, oh yeah we even sing songs while on the potty, look at toys and books to no avail, oh well...I think put him a (girl left over from Isabelle) pullup, he went a few minutes later... so I don't know I give up for now except for the sitting before tub part.

Other things he says that I'm recalling, he likes to go around saying this word Jumba J! I ask him what does jumba j mean??? Ina know what it is..." but it's funny anyhow.

This morning, he gave Isabelle a big hug to which Isabelle got annoyed because she said it was making her fall over. I told her that wasn't very kind to her brother trying to hug her. And Christian says I love you, Izzy. So sweet!!

And while Christian seems to be the funny man around here, the other day Isabelle did make me laugh ( I had the news on) and she comes into the kitchen saying with a big smile like she thought she was funny Barak Obama,Barak Obama. You know you're watching too much politics on tv when your 4 year old pics that up and we don't even have cable!

Our Big Fat Wedding Weekend

We are back from Trevor and Alexa's wedding. The weekend started off with us leaving at 4:30 on Friday and we got back home at about 8:45 pm Sunday night. It was a nice wedding, we are so happy for Trevor and Alexa, she is such a sweet girl and we are happy she is in our family now! Mitch's cousins Lauren and Evan were back in Iowa, along with Shelly, Evan's girlfriend, she is a such a sweetheart. They all were really nice help with kids since Mitch and Linda were out of commission for large chunks of time.

In other big news, on Sunday they also were shooting clay birds and I shot a gun for the first time in my life... it's hard, hard to stand right, hold the gun up, let a lone right, aim right. I asked for the a lightweight version and I guess that's what I already had that was fatigueing my forearms. It was so humid out and I thought let's just get this over with, so I shot, I missed, what a shock. I tried one more time, Randy said, you have to think you're going to hit it or you're not going to. Ha real funny. I'm just all sticky holding up a gun with trembling forearms. So he threw the clay disk and Audrey shoots, and HITS it! And not just a knick, it actually went into pieces, I was so proud of myself being the weenie girlie girl that I am that I tried it and I hit it. Randy asked if I wanted to do it again and I said, no thanks, better stop while I'm ahead... :) Plus my arms couldn't take much more of holding the 20 gauge shotgun that's supposed to be light.

And for the Christian's funny words segment of the post...

He wakes up at 6:30 am last week, and I'm not getting up that early, sorry, so I tell him to go back to sleep or be quiet and play in his room, (he's gated in and yes he can climb it but he usually wipes out on the other side which is a detourent) So he's whining at the gate .... Can I get up now? I need Daddy... I need Izzy... I pooped... I'm stinky.. so I go into check and he's laying by the gate and says I need some friends....and by the way he wasn't poopy. Anothert thing he says that makes me laugh is when he's mad in a "tone" I'm not gonna PLAY! huh!

That's all from me for now!

Matching Bunny Children

Here are my kids in matching outfits. My aunt gave them these for their birthdays, please note their names are on them as well. And while Mitch questioned the lack of manliness in Christian's outfit I had to put them in these together at least once! Look at Christian, he's so happy saying "cheese" he doesn't care. :) A random funny thing Christian said recently, I was telling Mitch about how I had to spank him one day, and how whenever I do Christian responds very put out and says " you spanked me" like how dare you? Anyway so Christian hears me telling this to Mitch and Christian comes over with a naughty look on his face smiling,

"Mommy you spanked me all gone!"
That boy is funny.

Just Checking..

I was having a heck of time uploading pictures on here, it would not work so I ended up deleting my temp, cookies etc; and now it does... this is a random pic from May. The two little buddies eating fruit and watching PBS in the morning. Isabelle doesn't like when Christian naps because " I love him, I want to play with him" que "awwwwww" They really are great playmates most of time, we just won't mention the occasional physical altercations... :)

Is July really almost over?

What a busy summer... hence the lack of postings....I've been online looking up info on a hotel in chicago for flying out to Tom's wedding and my options aren't pretty we're limited to midway airports and we have to have a shuttle, the rates go down the day after we need one...sometimes you just have to bite the bullet I guess! I want to have all our travel plans done by Aug 2nd for Trevor's wedding so I can just enjoy knowing all I have all this other stuff figured out. I think we can get a rental car for5 days for 126$ in TX, so that's good, other companies were charging 200+ for the same thing. I went to Alamo and they had a 15$ off coupon too. So that's a plus. Carseats are 10$ a day per seat!!!!! So I'm buying a cover with wheels for 25$ and bringing Christian's seat which is also made for airplane rides. And we'll just throw in Isabelle's booster for carryon. 100$ saved! ok or maybe 75...

I am finally (hopefully, they're uploading right now) getting the ks pics up. I can't think of any major kid updates.. Christian shows absolutley no interest in potty traing.... looks like I'll be packing diapers for the trip in sept. And he is still thrilled with his farting abilities....but at least I can get him to say "exuse me" and he puts his hand over his mouth, I don't know where he learned that. Isabelle is pretty happy with herself in her mariokarting skills as she can now get to the podium at the end all by herself. I'm impressed that she can turn it on and set the tv right to get it on. :) They're also really into gum right now and Christian was chewing some in church last week and he was doing good no swallowing it for a long time then I could tell he just had swallowed it and looked at me and said "more guuUM" He keeps on talking and talking, Mitch thought he was talking more since he had seen him for 3 weeks.

Oh, I got my thyroid tests back after being switched to 75 mcg of levothyroxin and my levels are normal again, hopefully they can stay normal on a dose, for say maybe a year or more....my anxiety attacks seem to be improving, it's rare if I can go 4-5 weeks without one BUT if it's just one a month that only bugs me for an hour or two, I can deal with that. Every night that I can go to bed and feel peaceful is such a gift from the Lord! It's really hard for me to not have all my lose ends tied up, I'm the type of personality where I can't relax unless all is in order around me, but that isn't always possible and I just have to focus on what I can get done in one day and leave the rest. I keep reminding myself of Matthew 6 ( I think) about how the Lord takes care of the birds, how much more will he provide for me, the Lord knows I need (blank) ( a rental car, hotel, our ends to meet etc;) sounds simple but for me it's a struggle, I want my ducks in a row, all the time. :) (ok it's the day after I posted this and I had some sentences to correct that did NOT flow or make sense, that's what happens when you've got kids interrupting you every 2 words...)

Also I finished the book Don't Make Me Count To Three. I loved it, it was practical, biblical and heart reaching based. It brought to light so many things I was doing that I thought were just fine that actually were wrong. It addressed scolding, one of my favorite parenting tools...so really that is wrong, in essence you're supposed to calmly instruct your children and deal with their disobedience accordingly. More details in the book. Also ANOTHER thing I tend to do is vary my discipline on my mood, and energy level. Kids need to know that when they step outside a set boundary that the result is always the same. It's unfair to let them go and then BAM, let them have it because I've had it!!! I'm so guilty of that.... I love the way this book is not about behavior modification but she talks about keeping your child's heart tender for the Lord's leading and their conversion to truly know the Living God through His Son Jesus. It also has a chapter about leading your child to the Lord BUT what I like is that she balances it, knowing that you can get any kid under 10 years old to pray the prayer and which can give kids a false assurance. It's an easy read. So what I'm saying is, I highly recommend this book!! :) Ok, I'm tired, hungry and my chigger bites on my hip are itching me so I'll end with an encouraging verse.



Galatians 6:9 " Let us not become weary in well doing, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up"



" You reap what you sow, you reap later than you sow, and you reap more than you sow" good ol Ginger Plowman

Shopping List

Well I just can't help myself and I have to list my new chemical free beauty findings! I have not ordered this stuff yet. But like I say I put lots of effort into find safe yet AFFORDABLE stuff. Plus IHerb just dropped their shipping to 4$, free if you spend 60.00 I think.
Desert Essence, Thoroughly Clean Face Wash with Organic Tea Tree Oil and Awapuhi, 8 fl oz (240 ml)http://www.iherb.com/ProductDetails.aspx?c=1&pid=3578
Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps, Hemp Almond, Pure Castile Soap, 32 fl oz (944 ml)http://www.iherb.com/ProductDetails.aspx?c=1&pid=6974 I plan on using this for shower gel and also for the kids and hand soap since hand soap is full of bad junk. I am thinking of getting the foaming dispenser to make it go further.
Earth Science, Fragrance Free Shampoo, 12 fl oz (355 ml http://www.iherb.com/ProductDetails.aspx?c=1&pid=-4921533034635062713 even cheaper shampoo for the kids than what I got last time.
Jason Natural, Nutrismile All-Natural Ester-C Toothpaste, 4.2 oz (119 g) http://www.iherb.com/ProductDetails.aspx?c=1&pid=6241 for the kids, it's fruity flavored and they don't care for my peppermint Jason toothpaste, while I find it quite refreshing.. :)
Look on your toothepaste tube and probably even your kid's toothpaste and will have this high hazard ingredient SODIUM FLUORIDE ( I just realized that Heather's husband may find this heresy)http://www.cosmeticdatabase.com/ingredient.php?ingred06=706065
I also found some good " clarifying lotion, astringrent, toner etc;" to replace my clinique, it figures about the same per ounce and works just as well, maybe better....Home Health, Blemish Treatment Lotion, 4 fl oz http://www.iherb.com/ProductDetails.aspx?c=1&pid=6454
So to the people that don't give a rip about this... this is a pretty boring post. :)

Hello and We're Back Home

What a week of catch up this has been around the house after being gone 3 weeks! I don't know where to start at the moment so I'm going to throw out what I want to update in no particular order and whatever pops into my head.
EWG
Confirmed: New shower curtain smell is gross
It may not be news to regular Enviroblog readers, but it's official: new shower curtain smell is caused by toxic chemicals.
A study commissioned by the Center for Health, Environment, and Justice looked at the chemical composition of PVC shower curtains bought at a variety of retailers (from Sears to Bed Bath & Beyond). They found, unsurprisingly, that shower curtains contain high levels of phthalates. They also found high level of organotins, and the single shower curtain tested for off-gassing released 108 different volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
Which kinds of VOCs? Not that there's any such thing as a good VOC, but these are some particularly nasty ones. In fact, seven of them are considered hazardous air pollutants by the EPA. All kinds of fun possible health effects too, from asthma attacks to liver toxicity.
But there is good news. Many retailers are offering a greater selection of PVC-free shower curtains, made of other types of plastic or fabrics. Sears (which owns Kmart) and Target both told reporter Tami Abdollah that their companies were phasing out PVC shower curtains altogether.
What's troubling is that it takes health and environmental advocates to get clearly hazardous products off the shelves. Our toxic chemical regulatory system leaves consumers to fend for themselves, without even giving them the information they need to make decisions. Have I mentioned the Kid-Safe Chemicals Act? Yes? Just making sure.
I knew that "new" smell probably meant bad, and when Christian was chewing on the curtain one day, I knew it probably wasn't good.... at least I can get a liner at target.....
Heather you asked me about Arbonne click here http://www.cosmeticdatabase.com/wordsearch.php?query=Arbonne this website is in my FYI section and it's my beauty product bible. For lack of a better term. I have researched specific ingredients if the product is not in the database AND some formulations change so double check what you are buying with the info on the site... I have noticed some products are listed with parabens but they have taken it out. It's just a really good reference. Eye opening really. I'm working on making a list on iherb of stuff I'm about to buy again.

Ok what else....my mind is blank, I'm tired... but the good tired from doing so much around here...We had a nice time in KS. I cry every time I leave my parents, it really doesn't get any easier. Christian went around calling Mom, Marsha, he would say Grandma Marsha and Grandma but it was really funny to hear him say " thank you Marsha, and Hi Marsha!! and the whiny.. My Marsha :) I love you Marsha, and he did say I love you papa Bill" unsolicited so that they were eating that up! We discovered that he can count to 14. He can also sing the song that he self titled " rock a by Christian" He got a kick out of showing off and making people laugh.. aw yes and he is very proud of himself for passing gas. He laughs and says " I tooting" then he gets beet red trying to push out another for entertainment. In contrast, Isabelle was so embarrassed for letting one go at the table, that she cried, and she was only 14 months old!!!!
Eventually I will get pics on facebook, but it's slow on dialup and many times the upload will fail and timeout when I've waited a half hr. So we'll see!

Ask EWG: What is "fragrance"?
Question: Is it true that the cosmetics industry can put any chemical into a product’s "fragrance" without showing it on the ingredients list? What do they put in there?
Answer: It's true. When you see "fragrance" on a personal care product's label, read it as "hidden chemicals." A major loophole in FDA's federal law lets manufacturers of products like shampoo, lotion, and body wash include nearly any ingredient in their products under the name "fragrance" without actually listing the chemical.
Companies that manufacture personal care products are required by law to list the ingredients they use, but fragrances and trade-secret formulas are exempt. An analysis of the chemical contents of products reveals that the innocuous-looking “fragrance” often contains chemicals linked to negative health effects. Phthalates, used to make fragrances last longer, are associated damage to the male reproductive system, and artificial musks accumulate in our bodies and can be found in breast milk. Some artificial musks are even linked to cancer. And if you've got asthma, watch out-- fragrance formulas are considered to be among the top 5 known allergens, and can trigger asthma attacks. The same kinds of chemicals are often used for fragrances in cleaning products, scented candles, and air fresheners.
To avoid those unpleasant side effects, choose fragrance-free products, but beware labels that say "unscented." It may only mean that the manufacturer has added yet another fragrance to mask the original odor. Check ingredient labels carefully, or search Skin Deep to find products that do not list "fragrance" as an ingredient.
The best solution is not to allow cosmetics companies to get through this loophole. They should be required to list all of their ingredients on the label where consumers can find out what they're buying. On top of that, cosmetics manufacturers regularly include ingredients with known or suspected links to cancer, reproductive toxicity and other negative health effects. The federal government must set safety standards for personal care products.
If you're concerned about the chemicals you use on your body every day, sign EWG's petition at cosmeticsdatabase.com and urge the FDA to make personal care products safe.
Got a question for our researchers? Send it in! We'll select one (or a few) for next month's edition of Ask EWG.
Want Ask EWG sent to your inbox? Sign up for our monthly bulletin.

That's all for now, tried to upload a couple pics 3 times and I give up........

Kid's Say

Isabelle was telling Mom today how when she gets older she's going to do this and do that and "get a bra" We laugh, " well that's what you told me" she giggles. Christian then tips his head back and mischieviously says " A BRAAAAAA" ISabelle tells him " No Christian, girls get bras when they grow up and boys go to work"
There's my kids-say-the-darndest-things moment of the week.

Flooding and Chicago trip

Llast weekend we went to Chicago to see Bethany, Dan's girlfriend. She was there for business training that week. She works for Marriot. We also got to meet her sister Kari. We had fun time and we walked everywhere downtown where we were staying... my ankles were sore for 4 days!! Should've worn different shoes I suppose. I was a little more tired than usual because the night before we left I was dumb enough to read an email I recieved about a possible pediafile roaming around c.r. and approaching a 3 year old girl in her backyard only to be scared away by the dog. My kids were already with Linda for the weekend and it really upset me and got my thoughts whirling about many times someone could snatch my kids out of our yard when I'm working inside (even though we do have a privacy fence and you can't open the gates from the outside.) but still my absolute worst fear for my children (other than their souls) is being abducted by some perve. And I just wanted to be able to hug them and think ok they're safe, calm down. But they weren't there, I wanted to cry. What a weenie. So I had a little trouble sleeping and then at 4 am woke up with my heartracing and feeling gross. I finally got back to sleep around 6 am but it left me queasy and weak, and my chest was sore... I hated myself for getting worked up and tried to work through it but the Lord just reminds me I still need Him. I'm hoping I don't have issues when we go to Texas. I'm almost done with Anxious For Nothing, and this chapter was on contentment, really good and when I have more time I will probably be posting quotes.

Chicago, was CRAZY, so many people, honking crazy cab drivers, oblivious tourist/pedestrians, beggers, guys playing intruments for money, funky smells, over-priced bandaids (for my blisters) ... and lots of cool sites and architecture ( and Bethany, it was fun to hang out with her!! I'm so thankful for the women in my brother's lives)