7 Quick Takes Friday

1. Brrrr. In case no one noticed, it’s cold. -17 degrees at this current moment. That’s the temperature not wind chill.  It’s days like these I so wish I could stay home and cuddle with my kids.

2. And soon I’ll be able to do just that!

I gave my resignation yesterday at my current job. I work for our church and I absolutely love it. But I’ve known for the past 2 years that my heart’s desire has been to stay home with the kids. As you might have read about here a few months ago all hope was lost that this would ever happen.

But then over Christmas God laid it on my heart to step out in faith. I applied for two positions, both of which I’d only have to work three days a week, and I got both of them. How awesome is that. God just totally knocked my socks off.

Next week I’ll share a little more about my thoughts on leaving my current job and where I’ll be going. I’m sad. And excited. And just praying for a -17 degree day the first Thursday morning I’m home so me and kiddos have a good excuse to cuddle in bed!

3. Caleb has been feeling rotten the past few weeks. He’s had a bad cold, very icky nose and I’m pretty sure alot of it is teething. He also is still very attached to his bottle and refused to use a sippy cup, unless of course there’s Root Beer in it.  I think we’re just going to have to bite the bullet and do a hard cut off. Not looking forward to that.

4. On the other hand Angel loves her sippy cup. And we’ve always let her take one to bed with water. That’s going to have to change as I get a little more serious about potty training. Not looking forward to that.

5. I’m going on day 3 of no pop. I know, that doesn’t sound too impressive, but it’s huge for me. Recently I was up to drinking 2-3 a day, Coke being my drink of choice. But I’m on a mission to lose weight – no really – and also just get healthy. So far the major headaches have been pretty major but it helps to drink water and I think I’ve been doing a good job of that.

6. Princess goes back to college this weekend. It’s been such a blessing to have her home for a few weeks. Her and her mom have been making good progress and plans for the wedding. The other night her and Prankster came over and we played the game “Things”. It’s kind of a new game and it was so fun.

And this is where it gets a little crazy.

One of the questions was ‘What is something you hope you can still do when you’re 85?”

Pat’s answer was “my spouse”.

Ya, nice.

7. Do you have any regrets? Next week I’ll share a little bit more about my thoughts on that. (Thanks to Erin for this link).

Stop over to Conversion Diary for more Quick Takes. Have a great weekend!

7 Quick Takes Friday

1. I always want to start 7 Quick Takes Friday by saying, “It’s Friday!”. But isn’t that obvious? Anyway.

Tomorrow is Angel’s 2nd birthday! I was able to take today off to spend it with my baby girl and Pat surprised me and took the day off too! We don’t have alot planned other than family pictures at 11:30. It wasn’t going to be family pictures just some shots of the babies but we figured since we’re there we might as well get a family picture too. I’m a little stressed about it because last time we went there (JC Penny) they turned out really crummy. Unfortunately they are very cheap and so we’ll have to make do and I’ll just pray the babies are super happy. It’s looking good though because as I write this both babies (and Daddy) are sleeping!

2. I was also bummed about taking a family picture because Princess wasn’t able to come home this weekend.  Well guess who came waltzing in the door last night:

Princess and Prankster!  What a wonderful surprise. They are here for the whole weekend and I’m so excited they were able to come. Angel’s birthday wouldn’t have been the same without them.

Princess is feeling alot better. She still has a long road of healing – probably the hardest part is the up and down of Mono. One day she feels amazing and then the next day she’s hit hard again. Thanks for your continued prayers!

3. We aren’t doing a whole lot for Angel’s party. She loves butterflies and so we are having her party at The Butterfly House. It’s a neat little place that has…yes, you guessed it… butterflies! But there are also a few other rooms with other animal displays and a play room. The butterflies are so tame they usually land on you. Which is very creepy but Angel loves it. This was at the butterfly house last year (sorry bad picture):

 

We’re keeping it simple. Invited just family and a few close friends. We’ll have cake and ice cream, open presents and then go on a tour of the butterfly house.  Angel is very excited though. She’s been counting down the days and also reminds us multiple times a day that she is going to have birthday cake. Pat better come through for us ~ he’s convinced me that he wants to make Angel’s butterfly cake.

4. We had a close call last night.

For the past four nights Angel has been waking up at 3:00-3:30 am wide awake wanting to read her books or play. The good thing is that she will usually stay in her bed and just cry for us. She doesn’t get out of her bed.

Last night we decided to let her “cry it out” a little. She doesn’t really cry too hard, just kind whines and whimpers. She started that at 3:30 am. I waited probably just 5 minutes and she went back to sleep. Or so I thought.

At 5:30 am I heard her crying again. I decided to just go get her and put her in bed with us. When I opened her bedroom door it was about 150 degrees in her room. Turns out she had gotten out of bed, turned up her space heater and for some reason moved her little chair right next to the heater. This is what I saw when I went in there:

The chair was very very hot. And it seriously felt like a sauna it was so hot in her room. It makes me sick to my stomach to think of what could have happened. If she would have put one of her plastic toys next to the heater it surely would have started on fire.  Thank you Jesus for protecting our baby girl – and the rest of us!

And I guess it’s probably time to eliminate her morning nap. Not sure if that’s why she feels the need to get up in the middle of the night or not. And we definitely need to come up with an alternative to the space heater!  And I will probably never let her “cry it out” again!

5. I was writing a devotion the other day for our youth group blog and I was trying to find the scripture that says we need to be in the world but not of it.

Do you realize there is no scripture that says that? At least I couldn’t find it. I looked up every single scripture with the word “world” in it. There are many verse that imply that – to be in the world but not of it – but I always thought that was an actual Bible verse.

If there is a verse with those actual words let me know!

6. Angel does not like chocolate. No really, she doesn’t. And I also did not let her have four Dove chocolates right before bedtime.

And she does not lock herself in the bathroom with the light off. Because that would really annoy her mommy and she’d never do that.

Did I mention that she does not love chocolate. She also doesn’t love our friend (and one of her babysitters) Gloria. Really, she doesn’t.

7. Because I can’t get enough ~ here’s my little man earlier this morning as we played together in our jammies (because I have today off!).

Have a great Friday and a great weekend! Head over to Conversion Diary for more quick takes.

7 Quick Takes Friday

1. Do you want the good news or the bad news?

The good news? Princess is home for a long weekend.

The bad news? She has mono and is in the hospital.

And more good news. She’s totally stoned on pain medication.

Seriously though, we do covet your prayers for Princess. That she would heal quickly and get the rest she needs.

2. Have you seen this picture?

Oh my word, how precious. And sad. And heart-wrenching. Join me in saying a prayer for all those having to say goodbye to loved ones to serve our country.

3. Some blogs/websites I’ve been visiting alot lately. And praying alot for:

The Sullivans

Bella Mella

Sam’s Miraculous Journey

Kate McRae

4. Good news: A new Target store just opened up about a mile from our house.

Bad news: A new Target store just opened up about a mile from our house.

More good news: Target’s generic formula is the exact same as the brand name expensive brand.

More bad news: A new Target store just opened up about a mile from our house and now I think I have an excuse to go.

5. Angel is starting to get really lippy.

Case in point, the other day I told her no about something and she didn’t listen and so I said, “Angel, mommy said no.” And she said, “MOMMY, I SAID NO!”

Some funny things she’s said lately:

“I don’t think so.”  Can’t remember if she learned this from Grama Barb or Veggie Tales.

My sister, an avid Steelers fan whispered in Angel’s ear, “Angel tell Daddy Go Steelers.” And Angel looked at her and said, “GO PATRIOTS!”  And then she kept saying it all night to my sister. Just to make sure she understand where her loyalties were I guess.

“Oooohhhh cute.” She said this to the manaquin at Target.

“Hi balls.” She said this to the big round red ball decoration things that were outside Target.

“Mommy, can we please stop going to Target now?”

Just kidding. Although it is probably what she’s thinking.

6. It was Hubby’s birthday today.

We went out to eat for supper and then my plan was to take him to Scheels and let him buy a few things for biking. We get to Scheels and he wouldn’t buy anything. Now yes it’s a good thing because he said he can get what he needs online for alot cheaper. But I really just wanted to buy him something for his birthday.

Surprise, surprise we went to Target.

And bought formula. And dog food. And cookies for Princess. And two shirts for me.

Happy birthday Hubs.

7. My new favorite song is I’d Need a Savior by Among the Thirsty. LOVE. IT.

Yes, He knew that I’d need a Savior. He knew I’d be filled with despair and hopelessness and emptiness. He knew I’d look for things and others to fill that void. He knew my steps. He walked with me. And knew I’d need a Savior.

I just realized Conversion Diary isn’t having Quick Takes this week but I’ll post mine anyway because I’m too tired to think of another reason to give you a 7 point list.

Thank you and goodnight. And have a good weekend too!

7 quick takes Friday

1. I have to use my #1 spot to tell blog world that my Hubby now has a blog of his own. I KNOW! He’s still working on getting it set up but if you want to stop over and say hi here’s the link: Fire Road

2. Speaking of Hubby (again), he’ll be going paintballing tomorrow with a group of guys from church. He’s pretty excited because he likes to shoot people and cause them pain. Ya, he’s a keeper.

3. While Pat is shooting people, me, Princess and the babies are going to go to a local apple orchard with Grama Barb and the kid’s cousins. The orchard is having a carnival type thing and I’m sure it’ll be a blast.

4. Yes! Princess is coming home this weekend! She was home over Labor Day weekend but that was a whole two weeks ago! Unfortunately she has alot planned in her weekend so we won’t get to see her much but at least we’ll be able to give her a hug and visit for a little while.

Prankster is going paintballing with Pat.  Let’s all stop right now and say a prayer for Prankster.

5. The other day me and the kiddos were playing and making a mess out of Caleb’s room. One of Angel’s favorite things to do is stand up on our back or stomach. She thinks she’s hot stuff. Caleb was playing and Angel kept trying to stand on my back and eventually Caleb decided that he was big enough to try to climb on top of mommy too.

6. Our house is officially off the market as far as listing it with a Realtor. We are listing it ourselves because we have to sell quickly. Please be in prayer with us that we sell it and if you’re in the market for a wonderful family home or know of someone let me know!

7. Kelly at Kelly’s Korner shared this link on her blog. And I wanted to share it here too. I hope you take a few minutes and listen – it’s great.

When I went through many years of infertility I don’t remember ever talking about it – at least not in the beginning. I remember telling myself, and others, that I was ok, that it was God’s will, blah, blah, blah. But I don’t think I ever really believed that because my heart grew very cold.

Now almost 10 years later, I look back and the pain of those years still runs deep. While Jesus has brought healing to my soul and continues to each day, the scars from infertility and divorce will forever be etched in me. But as she talks about, it was through those trials and through the despair that I learned so much and grew closer to the Lord. And because of that it was worth every tear and heartache.

Stop over at Conversion Diary for more Quick Takes and have a wonderful weekend!

7 Quick Takes Friday – Princess Edition

Well of course it’s a Princess edition! If you’ve been around this week you’ll know that Grasp the Love is dedicated to Princess this week as she’ll be graduating from high school in TWO DAYS!

1. First of all it’s 4:00 am and I’m wondering why I’m not sleeping. Pip woke up at 3:00 am wanting a little snack and now I’m struggling with going back to sleep. Of course it might be easier to sleep if I was laying in my bed instead of sitting at the computer.  Well there’s plenty of time to sleep after Princess’s big weekend. Which by the way IS HERE!

2. First (well actually second) of all a list. This is everything I still have to do before the party TOMORROW! Yes, around here most kids have their graduation open houses the day before graduation. Her party is Saturday from Noon-4:00 and her graduation is Sunday at 1:00 pm. We really have no idea how many people will be coming on Saturday. We’re estimating around 300.

Oh my word.

Anyway, to my list:

-Meet my parents 1/2 way between our house and their house this morning. They are taking Belle and Pip today and overnight so we can have some uninterrupted time to get things done. (We just got home!) And can I just say that I’m struggling with this. Yes I know they’ll be fine and probably never want to come home but this is Pip’s first time being away over night and oh my goodness my heart is heavy that both my babies are going to be gone overnight. Ok, thanks for that. Moving on…
-Finish cleaning (dust, sweep, mop, vaccuum and windows)
-Finish scrapbooking. Unfortunately I have about 600 hours worth of scrapbooking left. I’m just going to get done what I can – obviously.
-Decorate and set up tables and put out eating utensils and all that stuff.
-Put out Princess’s pictures, scrapbooks, art, etc.
-Put away Belle’s and Caleb’s toys and books.
-Blog
-Plant flowers and bushes (maybe – this is low priority but if we have time we will)
-Enjoy a relaxing evening with Hubby and Princess (maybe – this is high priority but depends how much we get done!)

3.This past week as I’ve blogged about Princess you may come to think that she’s perfect. Or that I think she’s perfect. Well I figured I should just come right out and say that no, I do not think she’s perfect. For example:

-When she comes home from lunch she often makes a grilled cheese or some other sandwich and uses the Foreman Grill. She always leaves the grill on the counter. Every. single. time. This makes me wonder why she can’t put the Foreman Grill away. Is it too hot? Does she forget? Does she just know I’ll do it?

-Sometimes she’ll leave her laundry basket in the laundry room. You may think that’s exactly where the laundry basket should go. Well yes, but when she does this she doesn’t say, “hey sweet step-mommy can you do my laundry?” or “hey, sweet step-mommy, I did a load of laundry and left mine in the laundry room for the next load.” No, she just leaves her clothes thinking that the laundry fairy will do them.

Ok, obviously I’m really stretching here to make you think Princess isn’t perfect. And if I thought hard enough I could probably think of a few other things but honestly, it’s a given she’s not perfect and she’d be the first to admit it, but she’s a pretty amazing girl and so let’s get back to focusing on how God has blessed her and used her and how she makes our family so great!

4. When Princess turned 16 her mommy bought her a car. Princess named her car Betsy. Yes, Princess names vehicles. I think our van’s name is Bob but I can’t remember for sure.

Anyway, Betsy has been a good car these past few years. She’s pretty reliable but is a Ford Focus and so kinda small. Princess will be driving four hours to school in the Fall plus driving in a big city. And so I’ve been wondering if for graduation Princess is getting a new car from her mommy.

(Princess, I have no evidence to back this up – I’m just wondering).

5. For Princess’s graduation party we were in charge of the desserts and punch.

First of all – any good punch recipes out there?

Princess wanted mini-desserts instead of cake and we were going to make them. Cheesecakes, cupcake balls, mini-brownies.

Thankfully we all came to our senses and last night drove to Sam’s Club, purchased about 4678 pieces of mini desserts, drove home and put them in the freezer.

And yes, Hubby and I had to test the desserts last night. YUM. O.

6. Princess’s mom is in charge of the food portion of the party. Princess convinced her to go with walking tacos (mini-bags of Doritos and then you add all the taco toppings) and she’s also making three different kinds of salads.

And remember we have approximately 4678 pieces of dessert. Did I mention you’re invited? I’m pretty sure we’re going to be eating cheesecake and walking tacos until the end of time. Not that I’m complaining or anything.

7. I can’t believe the today is Princess’s last day of high school. I remember when we first met. She thought I was pretty cool (even though I was the farthest thing from cool). And then eventually she didn’t like me so much. And then she did. And then she didn’t. Now I think she does. At least when I do her laundry and put away her messes!

We love our Princess so much and are so proud of her. Later today Hubby will have a special post for Princess. I know many of you aren’t online on the weekends (and that’s awesome!) but we’re making an exception this weekend and I’ll be posting Hubby’s post plus pictures from tomorrow!

Thanks for praying for our sweet girl (and us too!). Have a great weekend. And don’t forget to stop by Conversion Diary for more Quick Take Fridays.